The Villainous Me Turned the Losers into Blackened Bosses-Chapter 256 - Interlude: Something’s Off About Him x1

“...Not really. It’s just that something seems off about him.”

Shuna’s eyes remained glued to the newspaper.

She squinted at the blackandwhite print, which seemed especially glaring in the sunlight.

To be honest, even she couldn’t fully explain it.

If she went by what Will had confidently told her before he left, this “engagement” on the newspaper might be exactly what he wanted.

He had successfully assisted the princess, executed his plan, and was now walking down the aisle with her.

At least the princess seemed to “dote” on him and “love” him very much. She hadn’t harmed him or driven him to despair.

She had even announced their engagement to the entire nation.

Oh.

How wonderful. Truly wonderful.

He was so confident, so assured of victory—he deserved congratulations.

But...

“What exactly is off? Explain,” Pevran urged.

“Didn’t you say we were here to discuss important matters? Why are we gossiping about me now? You’re not my team leader anymore; you need to break that habit,” Shuna retorted.

Pevran glanced at the newspaper and then at Will, viewing him more like a distant public figure caught in a scandal than someone she knew personally.

Pevran felt no connection to him but had heard plenty of stories about him along the way.

The Hysterm family’s young masters were always surrounded by rumors, and this one seemed particularly significant.

“I’ve heard about this guy from his maid. How should I put it... He seems even stranger than you. That’s why I want to hear your take on him.”

“Strange, huh.”

Shuna didn’t deny it.

In some ways, it might have been Will’s strangeness that attracted her to him for so long.

After all, a “normal” person wouldn’t post questions like “How to use lowlevel ice armor spells to withstand 200degree steam” on the Adventurer’s Guild message board—especially not at ten years old.

“Alright. He is pretty strange.”

That quality was part of what drew her to him.

“So what’s off about this engagement photo? Isn’t being carried princessstyle by a princess just another one of his quirks?”

“This photo... He looks too normal. That’s what’s off.”

Shuna’s answer seemed cryptic and roundabout.

“You call that normal?”

“He’s smiling—not too happy but genuinely. There’s no hint of acting—that’s too normal to believe.”

In Shuna’s eyes, that was what was off about Will.

When she first met him, he had thick emotional walls, as if he couldn’t integrate into this world—as if he wasn’t truly “living” here.

After that witch took him away, those walls thinned somewhat, and he seemed more alive.

But...

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“The Will in this photo looks like he’s living a completely different ‘life,’ experiencing the joy of being carried by his fiancée as if it were a delightful surprise. But I don’t think he’s someone who would feel that way.”

“Will should be someone who outwardly shows more enthusiasm but is colder inside.”

As Shuna spoke, her fingers traced circles on Will’s face in the newspaper, smudging it with gray ink.

The more she talked, the more agitated she became.

She had thought she could make Will more honest with himself—now it felt like someone else had stolen her dungeon boss kill.

To her, Will now seemed very “off.”

“It feels like he’s been forcibly painted with bright colors on a gray stone—something doesn’t add up.”

As she said this, Shuna paused for a moment.

The newspaper was black and white, but one could infer colors from the shades of gray.

For instance, if Will’s eyes were deep blue, Treya was often praised for her “beautiful pale blue eyes” by those who had seen her as a princess.

Looking at it this way...

Why did Treya’s left eye seem darker? Darker than Will’s deep blue—almost black but not quite like Shuna’s black eyes either.

Could it be...

Violet?

Shuna thought of an empress from a remote dungeon whose eyes were violet—the same color as the demonic power source of the Entark royal family.

Pevran listened quietly to Shuna’s explanation and watched her fingers stop at Treya’s eye in the photo.

After waiting for a while without Shuna continuing, Pevran asked:

“Is that all?”

“That’s all. What more do you want?”

“Alright. What can I say? He really is a strange person. The women around him seem to have different opinions of him. Even Her Majesty probably sees him differently than you do.”

“Forget it. Let’s get back to your issue.”

Shuna scratched her head, seeming reluctant to continue discussing it.

“As I mentioned earlier, you’re not an ‘isolated case.’ In Novice Town, we found individuals similar to your origin. And... their bodies also had black hair and black eyes—just like you.”

“No surprise there. Was it found in the Green Wilds dungeon?”

“Yes. That’s the only dungeon there in recent months.”

“Hmm...”

Shuna began to ponder.

Though there wasn’t an obvious connection, the “Green Wraith Stone” was also found in the Green Wilds—and it was processed stone, indicating that Green Wilds was wellinformed about the Green Wraith Stone trade line.

“Did this person also kill the dungeon emperor—or did you find them holding a knife with the emperor lying dead?”

Pevran’s expression turned serious immediately.

“...How did you know? Could it be...”

“Yes, that was my situation too. But beyond that, I can’t provide any more clues...”

Shuna withheld some information.

Though Pevran hadn’t mentioned the cause of death, Shuna suspected it was likely suicide.

Because...

She had considered it herself once.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“Not much. Just that there have been more incidents of inexplicable combat power increases in dungeons managed by the Adventurer’s Guild recently. Our rescue team has reported many anomalies, but higherups haven’t found anything conclusive. I thought maybe you could provide some clues given how strange these events are.”

“!?”

Shuna felt she had heard something significant.

Inexplicable combat power increases and reported anomalies... When she and Will set out, they couldn’t get complete Green Wraith Stones anymore. With only fragments available, the rescue team wouldn’t know about this information.

So these dungeons might... no, must also have “Green Wraith Stones.”

The clues they thought were “cut off” had extended through the Adventurer’s Guild side.

“Where can I find information on these anomalies?”

If there were clues about Green Wraith Stones...

Clues about what he cared most about...

He would definitely take the bait, right?

He would definitely find an opportunity to go out with her again, right?

Just like before—his eyes lighting up at the mention of it, brimming with excitement and eagerness to investigate with her.

Then... then there would be a chance!

She held in her hand the card most likely to attract Will—the one held by the Adventurer’s Guild.

...

When Shuna realized this, her fists clenched tightly.

Was she really someone who got this excited over such things? It felt like...

She was acting more like a “failed lover” showing her ugly side after the story ended.

“Why are you suddenly interested? You seemed clueless just now.”

“The Adventurer... The Adventurer’s Guild couldn’t solve this issue despite sending so many people. Of course I’m curious. What? Is this something the Guild won’t handle?”

“...”

Pevran knew Shuna well enough to see through her lie—she had another motive.

But...

She also believed that if Shuna investigated, she’d do a better job than herself.

Most importantly, Shuna had more freedom; she didn’t have to drag an entire adventuring party along like Pevran did.

“There is a way. Register with the Adventurer’s Guild as an Srank member. You can join this investigation directly and gain access to relevant information. The dungeons with anomalies have been reported but are classified.”

“If they’re reported, why not clear them out?”

“They’re just ‘slightly harder’—not worth sending an adventuring party for. We’d only intervene if there were incidents of people getting trapped.”

“If they’re classified, how can I find out so easily?”

“The Guild probably wants someone to quickly figure it out too.”

“Alright.”

Shuna nodded.

Then she looked at the “wedding” date on the newspaper—a month from now.

Hmm...

If he wasn’t in the royal palace at that time, wouldn’t things get interesting?