The Male Lead Is the Villain, and I'm the Only One Who Knows - Chapter 86

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Male Lead Is the Mastermind, and Only I Know It — Episode 86
“Rene, Rene, please put that down first and—!”
Whoosh.
I brandished the short sword I’d polished until it gleamed, slashing it through the air as if for effect, and Baanel’s face went ashen as he retreated two steps from me.
Well, apparently this blade unsettles him.
“There are still three more up there, you know? I promised to handle them as you wished, so you two just watch.”
I let out a derisive laugh, waved Iban back with a careless gesture, then strode sideways to target one of the beasts still hovering in the air above us.
— Kiiieek! Splurt!
Without warning, one of the beasts spat its saliva directly at me. I was standing right beneath it with no time to defend myself, and took the full wet spray across my face.
‘Damn it all.’
The moment that sticky, viscous slime ran down my hair and across my cheek, my mind flashed back like a panorama to my first day after the kingdom’s founding, when the attendants had tortured me in the bathtub since dawn.
“Rene, Rene, perhaps we should clean your face first.”
Perhaps having witnessed my expression turn cold in real time, Baanel crept forward with bated breath. He produced a handkerchief and fumbled to wipe away the filth clinging to my hair.
“Rene, that’s enough. We’ll handle the rest.”
“…Both of you step back. I’m killing this one myself.”
I bared my teeth in a fierce smile, my face darkening with irritation, and hurled my short sword in one smooth motion, piercing the beast’s throat clean through.
A shriek tore from its mouth, and moments later, another beast crumbled to ash and scattered.
But none of it mattered—my face was still covered in slime.
‘Damn, I should have learned that Clean Wash with a Gesture magic spell or whatever when Lion told me to!’
I should have just accepted it back then, instead of coldly dismissing it with ‘When would I ever use something like that?’ But look at me now…
Ugh. From now on, I’m listening to my brother.
Two left. I fixed those remaining beasts with a keen, cutting gaze as they spat indiscriminately from above, and only then did I catch sight of something odd.
“Wait—the places the saliva hit—!”
The buildings struck by the beasts’ spittle were corroding at a sickening speed, melting away with alarming ferocity.
Fortunately, no one was passing through this area at the moment, so there were no casualties, but the indiscriminate property damage posed a serious problem.
“It’s fortunate you’re Filth. Had you been an ordinary person, you’d have melted away without a trace by now.”
Iban reminded me again why I’d come away unscathed from the saliva, then grabbed my shoulder and shoved me to the side.
Ah. So that was why he’d just been standing there watching…
“You’ve had your revenge. Rest now. If you keep throwing that tiny blade around one by one, your wrists will give out first.”
His stern voice made my resolve waver for a moment. Hmm, now that he mentioned it, my wrists were indeed aching slightly from all the exertion.
‘I suppose I can’t help it. My method is admittedly inefficient.’
Though my accuracy was good, the process was slow, which made it difficult to face multiple beasts at once.
Once I’d accepted the situation and stepped back without complaint, Iban simply flicked his fingers, and in one swift motion, removed every trace of the beast’s saliva from my hair.
The sticky slime that had been dripping away vanished instantly, and my damp hair and face became dry and fluffy in seconds.
Wait, he could do that the whole time?! Why didn’t he just do it from the start?!
“If you knew how to do it, why are you only cleaning me up now?”
“Your angry face is beautiful.”
His casual response left my thought process completely derailed. What in the world was going on inside this man’s head?
“Iban, are you insane?”
“More or less.”
His brief reply had barely left my mouth when the world tilted and I let out a hollow breath—
— Coooough…
Dust, who had been sleeping soundly without the slightest movement deep inside my sleeve, stirred restlessly and poked out his round form.
“You’re awake? Go back to sleep. Things are a bit hectic right now, so I’ll play with you later.”
I tried to push Dust back into my sleeve, but he resisted with surprising strength, then suddenly threw himself out into the open air.
With a rushing sound, the small, precious furball took flight into the sky.
“Hey! Don’t just fly off like that here!”
Doesn’t he realize the saliva could go anywhere?!
I reached out urgently to grab him, but Dust’s small, sturdy body began to glow brilliant white.
For a moment, I saw what looked like radiant star dust scattering all around—a mystical effect like something from a magical girl anime—and I found myself frozen, hand lowered, staring at it in bewilderment.
“What’s this, a magical girl transformation?”
In the meantime, Baanel and Iban had swiftly annihilated the beasts that had been spitting everywhere and ravaging the town, then returned to my side.
“What is this, now?”
Iban approached, his eyes narrowing with intrigue as he calmly observed the brilliant white light expanding in volume.
“Ah, it appears to be a Second Growth. Excellent timing too. The next wave of beasts should be arriving shortly.”
Baanel spoke in his measured way, suggesting this was a perfect opportunity to test its new capabilities.
— Coo-ing. Thud.
Beyond the light, I heard something rustling, and the thumbtack-sized white form suddenly stretched vertically to enormous proportions.
In the blink of an eye, a form that had grown to match Iban and Baanel’s height slowly emerged from the dissipating light.
“…Good heavens.”
The world, the world, the world…….
I found myself murmuring the same words over and over, exclamations tumbling from my lips and scattering aimlessly through the air.
“Dust…… my Dust!”
“Well now.”
“He’s become human.”
The moment I clapped my hand over my mouth in shock, Iban and Baanel responded in turn, their eyes fixed on the figure standing before us.
“So the academic hypothesis that a Beast loved by humans seeks to resemble its master and undergoes Second Growth in human form has just become established fact. Excellent research material indeed.”
Baanel produced a thick sheaf of documents from somewhere and began scribbling something hurriedly across the pages with his pen.
“Dust.”
I called his name carefully, and the moment I took a step forward, his closed eyes slowly opened.
…….
Those black pupils, like polished jet and identical to how they’d been when he was still Dust, now gazed upon me. Beneath tousled ash-gray hair, his delicate features arranged themselves with perfect proportion.
He was considerably taller than I was—nearly as tall as Iban, with the solid, muscular frame of a full-grown man.
It seemed he’d taken after Iban, since I spent so much time with him.
“Rene. Yes.”
Dust called to me haltingly, then slowly reached out and grasped the hem of my robe in his hand.
“You…… give name. Surname. Want to have. Astel…….”
His speech was awkward, his lips moving laboriously as he made his first request.
He wanted a name? Was he asking for a family name?
It seemed my time with my family must have left quite an impression on him.
“What should I do? I can’t just give Astel a surname on my own. But I’ll give you something else instead—something special, something no one else on this continent has ever had.”
I looked up at Dust, towering above me like a timber beam, and gently stroked his disheveled gray hair.
“From today on, you are Kim Dust.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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