Chapter 1:  Fall of the Villainess I

Investment.

It was a concept you'd get after removing the part of luck from the word gambling. The word gave off a sophisticated feeling at first glance, but in the end it was not that different from gambling.

Either way, the cruelty it carried was the same in that, as a result of their choice, one side could get everything and the other side could lose everything.

And now, in front of the eyes of many people, the cruelty of the investment was being revealed in an unfiltered manner.

"This… you can't do this! Bahamut! How dare you betray me!"

A woman with red hair screamed while being tied up by soldiers. Her appearance, with red eyes that matched her hair, was very beautiful even by simple standards. However, her beauty gave off the impression of a sharpened sword, which made sure that no one dared to recklessly approach her.

And at the moment, an intense rage was blazing on that sharp, beautiful face.

"I just invested in what I thought was right. So don't be too angry, Miss Isolda."

With those words, the young man looked away from her.

The young man gave off a sharp impression, with a moderately slender body, but his face, to be honest, it would be proper to call him handsome, and he had a good appearance that fitted that term.

His name was Bahamut Fernandez, and he looked at the judge in front of him with a relaxed expression on his face.

Right after that, a cold authoritative voice began to flow from the mouth of the judge who was done checking the documents in his hand once again.

"Now that everything is clear. This court finds Isolda Evergarden, the head of the Evern Merchant, guilty!"

"Ah, no… "

"As it is a serious crime, half of her entire property will belong to the state, and the other half will belong to the victims of this incident and the person who made the most contribution in uncovering this incident. That would be Beden Merchant, who has suffered the most. I declare that it will be paid as compensation to the owner, Bahamut Fernandez."

"No… eh eh!!!!"

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Isolda Evergarden shouted in despair.

On the other hand, cheers of joy erupted from most of the people in the courtroom except for her, and among them, the loudest shouts erupted from the edge of the courtroom.

All the people there were adventurers dressed in plain clothes that made their poverty visible at a glance. And while watching them, Bahamut, the man who had completely turned this trial upside down, let out a deep sigh of relief.

It wasn't simply because he had won the trial.

It was because of his secret that he couldn't tell anyone here.

'Whew… that's good. With this, the main character wouldn't turn bad and become hostile to me in the future.'

Bahamut looked at a particular young man.

Bahamut knew very well who he was and who he would become.

'Isaac Freeman.'

Bahamut knew who he was… to be precise, he was the main character of the medieval dark fantasy novel [The Fallen Warrior] that Kim Jin, a young man in his 20s in Korea, had read before coming to this world.

Although at the moment Isaac was rejoicing the victory of the trial with his colleagues, the original development of the novel had flowed in a completely opposite direction.

Isolda Evergarden, who appears as a villainess in the novel, and Bahamut, her fiancé and an extra side character who is simply used by Isolda, conspires against Isaac. As a result, Isaac loses the trial and is imprisoned, losing his colleagues in the process. Which forces him to enter the path of depravity.

To be precise, Isaac becomes a being close to a dark hero, but in any case, Isaac is portrayed as a fallen warrior who is notorious to the people of this world.

'Isaac does reform and returns to the right path at the end. But that happens about 5 years later…'

In a situation where he clearly knew the future storyline, Kim Jin, who was now Bahamut, had no intention of dying with Isolda after being dragged around like a pushover as it was in the novel.

It was also a matter directly related to his survival, and since Kim Jin himself, unlike Bahamut, was a prideful man who would never accept being used by others, he decided to ignore the original work and find a way for himself to live.

So, the plan he came up with was, to continue pretending to be manipulated by Isolda and stab her at the back at the crucial moment during the trial.

In the first place, Isolda's plan was to secretly steal Bahamut's property and put the blame on the main character's party. It was a very simple thing for Kim Jin, who was now Bahamut, to secretly collect

evidence and turn the situation around.

And as a result, at the moment, Bahamut, who should have become the main character's enemy and the object of sharpening his sword for revenge, was receiving deep gratitude from the main character and his party.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Bahamut. If it wasn't for your help, who knows what would've happened to us…"

"Hahahaha… no, I'm just sorry you got involved in something bad like this. This is an expression of apology, so please accept it."

With those words, Bahamut held out a bag full of gold coins.

Anyway, according to the ruling, Isolda's property should be divided between them, and in addition, it would also create a favorable impression towards him in the mind of the main character who would become one of the strongest in this world. It was the best kind of investment for Bahamut.

"We can't take this much money… rather, it is we who should thank Mr. Bahamut. You don't need to give us money me like this…"

"It's okay, so please accept it. I have to take responsibility for this matter… at the same time, it is natural for a merchant to invest in adventurers with a promising future. If you don't forget me when you become great in the future, that will be enough."

"Still…"

Bahamut forcibly placed the money into Isaac's pocket, who repeatedly refused.

Having succeeded in raising the favorability of the main character quite easily, Bahamut slowly turned back, relieved by the fact that he would no longer be beaten to death by the main character after 5 years.

Even though he had to prepare for something else that would come after that. It was a problem that he could think about during the more than 5 years he had gained for himself.

'Now then… with this, the death flags in the beginning have been erased. Now, how should I begin to enjoy my life in this world?'

◇

In his original world, Kim Jin lived a life that was barely manageable as part-timer, failing to find a job every time.

For him, Bahamut Fernandez was a pitiful character. From the moment he first appeared until his eventual death, Bahamut Fernandez only received the readers ire.

But suddenly becoming Bahamut who was born with a golden spoon as the heir to a wealthy merchant family was literally a pie from the sky.

In addition, although it wasn't very helpful in his previous world, Kim Jin had majored in business investment, and even if there were some changes, he knew the overall contents of the novel, so the current situation couldn't be better for Bahamut.

'As a bonus, I also got Isolda's property. Since it happened like that, it wouldn't be bad to become a real colossus in this world. I have to do that in order not to be swept away by things that will happen five years from now…'

It was at that moment when Bahamut was lost in such thoughts.

"Unhand me! How dare you touch me with your filthy hands!"

"Huh?"

The next moment, Bahamut's eyes spotted Isolda being dragged away by the soldiers.

She had lost all her possessions and was now bound to go to prison.

The moment he saw her, a thought suddenly popped into Bahamut's head.

'No. Wait… come to think of it… isn't this a rather interesting situation?'

'The death flag is now gone anyway…'

While thinking so, Bahamut approached the soldiers.

"Hey, wait a minute, please stop."

"Ah. Yes, Mr. Bahamut. What do you require?"

At the words of Bahamut, the owner of the Beden Merchant, which controlled the commercial power of the city of Schwyz, the soldiers immediately stopped in place.

"All of this woman's property was confiscated. So it seems that she will be sold as a sl*ave. Why don't you sell h*er to me? I will pay you generously."

"Ah… you want to buy h*er?"

"If it is Mr. Bahamut's will, then so be it. We will let our superiors know."

With those words, the soldiers accepted Bahamut's money and handed Isolda over to him.

After the soldiers left, Isolda still looked at Bahamut with hateful eyes and said,

"What are you doing? Do you think I'll ever forgive you for doing this?"

"No, there is no need for you to forgive me. I didn't ask you to forgive me anyway."

"That… what do you mean?"

"Heh heh. That's what you'll find out soon."

At Bahamut's words, Isolda began to feel an ominous premonition.

Looking at her acting like that, a gloomy smile slowly began to form on Bahamut's lips.

Anyway, this woman was a villainess who didn't deserve any sympathy. The crime she committed against the main character was only the starting point. Countless people died as a consequence of her actions. Even so, this woman didn't admit her fault until the moment she died, and she died causing only more pain to the person who had loved her.

She was literally an irredeemable garbage!

On the other hand, he just saved the lives of countless people by preventing the previous protagonist from falling into darkness. In other words, this woman was a villainess who would bring suffering to the world and he was a good man who prevented it.

Such was the situation, so Bahamut concluded that there was no need to feel guilty no matter what he did to this woman, and based on that, he immediately took action.

'There is no need to show mercy to a wicked woman like this. Things like human rights? Go spout that bullsh*t somewhere else. The correct answer is to make the wicked lick the floor like a dog!'

With such thoughts in mind, Bahamut decided to use this opportunity to exact some of his personal desires that he had been longing for.

He had never been able to do that with his body as Kim Jin. But nothing prevented him to act upon some of his darkest desires.

***

A dark basement.

There was no other furniture to be seen except for the shabby bed on one side.

"Bahamut! You son of a bi*ch! Do you know what you're doing? Do you think you'll be okay after doing this to me?"

Isolda shouted with a voice full of rage while being chained in the basement.

Looking at her acting like that, Bahamut slowly shook his head with a puzzled look on his face.

"I mean, I knew from the beginning that you were a bi*ch with no conscience, but… I never thought you'd be blind to this extent."

With those words, Bahamut slowly approached Isolda, who was giving him a hateful look.

And…

Taash!

"Ouch!"

The next moment, Bahamut swung his palm and slapped Isolda on the cheek.

Isolda's expression soon turned into one of astonishment at his actions.

"When… when… huh? Yes… you… how dare you… me…"

Just a few days ago, Bahamut was a weak and foolish man who couldn't even speak in front of her.

Although she became his fiancé aiming for his wealth, he was a pitiful human being who thought she was not at all suitable as her husband. Then, at a crucial moment today, he stabbed her back with a dagger and

instantly destroyed everything that belonged to her, and now he was even slapping her on the cheek like this.

From Isolda's point of view, even though she was experiencing it directly, she was still finding it difficult to distinguish whether this was reality or simply a bad nightmare.

Bahamut slowly nodded as he looked at Isolda, who was making a shocked expression while looking at him.

"Looks like you've calmed down a bit now. Now then…"

Then, with a sullen smile on his lips, Bahamut drew closer to Isolda.

And…