I Became the Narrow-Eyed Villain in a Dropped Novel

I sat in the study and glared at the bookshelf.

Not that glaring made my closed eyes open or anything, but still—I gave it my best shot.

A book quietly slid out from the shelf and floated into the air.

After hovering for a moment, the book flew straight into my hand the moment I raised it.

“This should be good enough for the basics.”

I smiled while examining the book in my hand.

Though it looked like a picture book filled with big illustrations, it was actually a beginner’s guide to magic.

It was a book used to test if children had a talent for magic—basically a magic-themed educational comic.

Originally, I picked a thick tome titled Basics of Mana Control, something you'd expect to see in a college course or use as a blunt weapon, but the moment I hit the first page and saw all the dense terminology, I nearly passed out.

So instead, I chose Think Big—no, I mean, Intro to Mana.

“…Still, if I’ve come this far in just a day, maybe I’m actually a genius.”

Well, most of it was thanks to my abilities.

Because of Snake creeping in the shadows, which lifted mana restrictions, and Origin of magic, which maxed out proficiency and versatility, I picked up how to use spells themselves almost immediately.

The real issue was basic mana manipulation—the absolute fundamentals.

No matter how much mana you had, if you couldn’t draw it out, you were basically a leaky bucket.

I spent the entire night poring over that educational comic and revisiting the lore from The Path of the Demon King, and eventually reached a basic level of proficiency.

The spell I cast was Mana Grasp.

Originally, it was just a minor spell used to fetch light objects or open doors from a distance, but the euphoria I felt from using mana…

It gave me the confidence that I could do anything.

‘If proficiency and utility are maxed, then with the right approach…’

“Of course, Lord Valheit is a genius.”

Holy—!

I flinched at the sudden compliment.

When I turned my head, I saw a massive, rough-looking man standing silently nearby.

“Apologies. The study door was open, so I let myself in.”

“…Next time, knock—even if the door’s open.”

“Understood, Lord Valheit.”

Guess I got so caught up in practice I forgot to close the door.

Now that I thought about it, anyone could walk into the study, not just Ron.

Technically, this was a public space.

I’d need to find a private practice spot later.

“So? I doubt you came for no reason.”

“It is time for the regular headquarters meeting. I came to confirm whether you will attend.”

Oh, right. That was a thing.

It was only ever briefly mentioned in the novel, so I’d completely forgotten about it.

And for good reason—most important characters were described as skipping it anyway.

I only remembered because someone in the fan café once asked about it and I had to dig through old posts.

“If you have no objections, shall I assume you’re not attending, as usual—”

“I’ll attend.”

Ron froze, his mouth snapping shut.

That was probably his maximum expression of surprise.

“Understood. Then shall we head down?”

We’d be seeing each other often. Might as well show my face.

With that simple thought, I got up from my seat.

***

“Yaaawn—”

“You’re gonna dislocate your jaw.”

“I pulled an all-nighter. Had to deal with stuff after someone up top suddenly rejected a bunch of proposals.”

“Since when did that guy ever care about the Finance Department?”

“How should I know? Probably up to some scheme of his again. Strategy Division got anything?”

“Not yet.”

The Finance Head muttered that he was jealous and let out another long yawn.

The Strategy Head sighed and turned his gaze outside.

The lake shimmered silver, putting on a spectacular view—but neither of them cared.

Back when they first came to Count Valheit’s villa—now known as headquarters—they were fired up, ready to change the world.

But after the leader disappeared, that passion had gradually faded.

Now, they just mechanically processed whatever was thrown at them from above.

“Man, I wish they’d stop calling us for morning meetings. It’s just a tea party between department heads.”

“Still need reports. Someone has to let the higher-ups know what’s going on.”

“Like hell. You think Valheit actually reads any of it? Ah, sorry we’re la—”

The Finance Head pushed the meeting room door open—and froze in place.

The Strategy Head, who followed behind, also stiffened.

Someone was sitting in the seat that was normally empty.

A man with gray hair and a smiling face, though his eyes were hidden.

Someone you’d never expect to see at a meeting.

“Glad to see you know you’re late. No need to stand—have a seat.”

“Ah… y-yes, of course.”

Tension filled the room as the two awkwardly sat down.

Everyone had the same thought.

‘What the hell is he doing here?’

“Now, now. Relax. It’s not like I’m going to eat you.”

“H-haha. Right. Of course.”

“Well then, Finance—why don’t you start us off with your report?”

The Finance Head’s face turned pale.

He did have something to report.

But he never thought he’d need it for a regular meeting, so he hadn’t prepared anything.

“…Currently awaiting—”

“Apologies! I’ll go get the materials right away!”

Valheit let out a long sigh.

The temperature in the room seemed to plummet with that sigh.

“So not a single department came prepared for this meeting…”

The Finance Head could probably squeeze out a few words, but he didn’t know what kind of backlash he’d get, so he kept his mouth shut.

Valheit’s gaze turned to the Strategy Head.

His heart began pounding like mad.

“Strategy. Do you have anything to report?”

“Y-yes! One item. There’s been an increase in demonic activity in the Northern Federation. Here’s the material.”

The document the Strategy Head produced floated smoothly to Valheit with a flick of his hand.

“The Northern Federation doesn’t have many native demons. But recently, external demons have been making frequent incursions.”

“Isn’t the Northern Federation already a haven for criminals fleeing from other countries? What’s so special about this?”

Valheit asked while flipping through the document.

‘He’s even asking questions now… seriously?’

The Strategy Head wiped the sweat from his brow.

“Even non-criminal demons have been invading the Federation—and sometimes engaging in combat. It’s not a major issue yet, but I judged it to be out of the ordinary.”

Valheit flipped through the pages for a moment, then smirked.

Whether it was a good or bad sign, no one could tell.

“We’ll end the meeting here. Next time, I expect the other departments to come as prepared as Strategy. Otherwise…”

A stone statue at the end of the meeting room twisted, then shattered with a loud crack.

The debris hovered in the air for a long time before finally turning to powder and falling to the floor.

“Use your judgment.”

As all the department heads nodded, Valheit waved them off like they were a nuisance.

As they filed out in a rush, a calm voice rang out behind them.

“Oh, Strategy Head. Please stay a moment.”

Why me?!

The Strategy Head’s face twisted in injustice as the others disappeared, glancing back at him with sympathy.

“L-Lord Valheit. Why have you asked me to stay…”

“I heard the regular reports Til submits are drafted by your division. Is that correct?”

“We compile the materials submitted by each department, yes.”

Because of Valheit’s ambiguous expression, I had no idea whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

But it didn’t feel good.

“Excellent. I like how direct your answers are. The reports you’ve submitted so far were also satisfactory.”

“Thank you.”

The Strategy Head let out a sigh of relief, clutching his chest.

Maybe not exactly good news, but at least it wasn’t bad.

“May I ask you a favor?”

“…Pardon?”

“Starting tomorrow, deliver a written report to the study in person every day.”

Damn it, so it was bad.

His workload had easily tripled.

Just this morning, he’d been feeling sorry for the Finance Department for having to pull an all-nighter.

His answer was already decided. Whether he liked it or not didn’t matter.

The Strategy Head replied with resigned acceptance.

“It would be an honor.”

“Come to think of it, I never got your name.”

“Doruga.”

“Very well, Mr. Doruga. I’ll see you next time.”

Looking at the beaming Valheit, Strategy Head Doruga instinctively realized his life had taken a turn for the worse.

As Doruga was about to leave, Valheit called out to him again.

“Oh, Mr. Doruga.”

“…Is there something else you’d like me to do?”

“No, nothing like that. I was just wondering—do you happen to know what Til likes?”

“…Excuse me?”

***

After the Strategy Head left, I was alone in the meeting room.

I let out a long breath and collapsed onto the table.

I thought I was going to die from the tension.

I’d been terrified that someone would start talking about something I didn’t know, but luckily, only one person came prepared.

It was great that I got through it smoothly, but I also managed to gather some meaningful information.

The incident in the Northern Federation—the one that marked the beginning of the first episode of The Path of the Demon King—was progressing as expected.

I still needed to keep a close eye on it, but I felt confident now that the story was staying on track.

Second, I found someone I could work like a mule.

Even in the original, he was portrayed as a tireless character, so no one would complain if I worked him a little harder.

For now, I was just taking his reports, but I planned to hand over minor approval authority soon.

Now that I had a workhorse, I needed to spend my free time practicing magic.

During the meeting, I’d tested Mana Grasp, and I wasn’t too happy with it.

Originally, I meant to just lightly crush the statue, but I ended up using too much power.

Must’ve been because I got nervous and didn’t want to embarrass myself if it didn’t break.

While I chose Mana Grasp for its versatility in both offense and utility, for now, I needed to focus on defense—at least enough to protect my own body.

[Relationships]

▶ Headquarters (-36 / Worsening!)

(+) Strategy Head’s abilities acknowledged!

(-) Valheit suddenly started working!

(-) Valheit issued threats!

So it applies to organizations as well as individuals.

If I’d known that, I would’ve gone in with a softer approach.

Just in case, I searched through the relationship list for original characters.

Except for one Eight Council member, all were in the negatives, and most of the future characters I’d meet were also in the negatives.

Even when I searched for people who didn’t know Valheit at all, it turned out -10 seemed to be the default relationship value.

And there were barely any individuals or organizations with a number higher than that.

I knew it already, but it was still pitiful.

‘Well, it just means there are that many bonuses to earn.’

With a positive mindset, I soothed my aching gut and checked the Timer.

My death probability was still sitting unmoved at 99.3%.

“Doesn’t go down that easily, huh.”

Not like I needed this kind of balance in my life.

Wouldn’t it be nice if it just dropped nice and fast?

“Oh.”

Lost in thought, my mana control slipped.

The document I was about to put away got crushed until it was the size of a bean.

I pressed my throbbing temple as I watched the bean-shaped document roll across the table.

It seemed I still had a long way to go before I’d be fully comfortable with mana manipulation.

***

Til Chartra hated headquarters.

Everything about it annoyed her—except the lakeside scenery.

The sluggish staff, the rooms that remained gloomy no matter how much sunlight came in, the tacky and obnoxious decorations.

But most of all, she hated Valheit, who’d turned his personal villa into headquarters.

They said he gave it to the boss out of goodwill, but to Til, that was clearly bullshit.

Since she had no assigned territory and moved alone, she had to stay at HQ when there was no work. So she always found ways to create some.

This time too, she’d escaped headquarters for a week, dealing with worthless nobodies.

Normally, she’d return to the usual bleak scenery—but this time, something was different.

“When’s the Finance Department planning to submit today’s daily accounts? Get to it!”

“Ma’am… we just got new intel from the Vestol Assembly, so we need to revise the report...”

“Confirm the number of mana stones first, then split them up and send them out. The next shipment arrives this evening. Clear the area.”

Has HQ always been this noisy?

Til watched the bustling staff with a curious gaze.

It was annoyingly busy, but there was a certain liveliness to it.

Yeah. It used to be like this.

A place where brilliant talents of the Empire gathered, forsaking prestige to devote themselves to changing the world.

But after the leader disappeared, that passion had gradually faded—until almost none remained.

And now, after just a week, a trace of that old energy has returned.

“Hey, Doruga. Something happened?”

“I have to report to Lord Valheit right now… I’ll explain later.”

“Report? To Valheit?”

“Yes, he told me to submit one every day.”

Til was dumbfounded as she watched the Strategy Head rush toward the study.

“Oh, right. Did you get on Lord Valheit’s bad side or something?”

“What? Why?”

“He asked me the other day what kind of gifts you’d like.”

She spent a long time frowning, then came to the obvious conclusion.

That bastard is definitely plotting something again.