MV – Chapter 163: Sweets and the Minor Villain

“Kukukuku, behold, everyone. Thanks to my cunning, I’ve acquired this mysterious card. Fufufu, just as planned.”

Lanpeach toyed with the metallic key card in his hand, grinning mischievously. The customers at the sweets buffet passed by him as quickly as possible, but he paid them no mind.

“To take something precious from someone in exchange for giving a little girl candy, only Soldier could pull that off! Even Libra-chan must bow down to such ingenuity.” (Libra)

“Hey, that makes me sound like a terrible bad guy! That’s not it, okay? I figured I’d get a hint at best, but I never expected to get my hands on such an important item.” (Lanpeach)

Libra, manifesting due to the mention of the sweets buffet, munched on a wafer with a deadpan stare.

It certainly looked like villainous behavior -tricking a little girl with candy to steal an item. No matter how you looked at it, it was classic minor villain stuff. In other words, perfectly suited for Lanpeach.

He still claimed it was all because of his skill and insisted, “I’m not a bad guy”. He had no self-awareness that those actions of his were undeniably villainous.

“Well, isn’t it fine? This means Vapula won’t be resurrected… Is what I would like to say, but it’s not guaranteed.” 

The food fighter Mira said while piling her plate high with sweets. Lanpeach tilted his head in confusion. With the key card in their possession, resurrection should be impossible, right?

“Did you forget? They can choose their destiny. They’ll probably select the one where Vapula is resurrected without the key card. This key card isn’t an absolute guarantee to prevent it.” (Mira)

“Ah, so that possibility exists. I didn’t consider that. But…” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach responded to Mira’s warning with a serious expression…

“Hey, don’t you think eating like that is a problem? It’s rude to the other customers.” (Lanpeach)

Only to turn to a black-haired girl with her face buried in a whole cake.

Mira glanced at him briefly before returning her attention to the cake.

“It’s fine, isn’t it? There are plenty of whole cakes for seconds. Besides, I won’t do something as wasteful as making a mess.” (Mira)

Mira opened her small mouth wide and resumed devouring the cake. Her pace would make even a powerful vacuum cleaner grow pale, leaving not a crumb behind in minutes. Lanpeach wondered how her stomach worked; it wasn’t even bulging.

Libra got weary after seeing that way of eating and stopped eating. 

“Well, I understand what you are trying to say. Since that’s the case, don’t you think we can find another use for this key card?” (Lanpeach)

“Another use? Like what?” (Libra)

“Thinking up more dastardly plans, aren’t you?” (Mira)

“Well, listen to this. Isn’t this…” (Lanpeach)

The three huddled together, whispering. Libra and Mira’s expressions turned to amazement as Lanpeach continued, accompanied by impressed murmurs.

“Soldier… You’re good at coming up with schemes like this.” (Libra)

“It’s efficient, that’s for sure. I see how this could give a use to that keycard. You might just outsmart them.” (Mira)

“Right? Fufufufu, call me the modern-day Zhuge Liang!” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach’s cunning smile could rival a sage’s wisdom, though it only made the customers more wary, creating an empty zone around him.

Still, neither Libra nor Mira seemed to mind, nor did they object. It was probably fine.

“By the way, I understand that the demon of fate is the strongest, but she doesn’t seem to be leading that happy of a life…” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach’s gaze softened as he watched Mei eat sweets with Koume. This is something he thought of before, but this girl is way too weak to sweets. She might have a less-than-luxurious life at home…no, living a lifestyle where she doesn’t even get sweets?

“Now that you mention it, that’s true. I didn’t notice in battle because we were against an adult woman, but she wouldn’t be so happy over a single piece of candy if she lived lavishly.” (Mira)

“Oh, I still have some candy from last time.” (Lanpeach)

“Give it to me! Pla-san, you love teasing, don’t you? Thanks!” (Mira)

Mira was super happy for a single candy, disproving her earlier point about living in luxury, since she herself lives in luxury.

“Mira is an exception. Most people wouldn’t be that happy.” (Libra)

He handed another piece to Libra. Libra didn’t think much of it and was about to calmly put it in her Dimension Pouch, only to have Mira haunt her like a puppy. It is true that Mira is a special case…

“Do we know who’s the support character controlling that girl?” (Lanpeach)

“I’ve never seen them, but I have a guess. It’s probably someone she trusts deeply… In other words, her parents.” (Mira)

Mira replied after getting the candy from Libra and putting it away in the Dimension Pouch and stuffing her cheeks full of dorayaki. A bit more seriousness would be appreciated.

“Parents, huh… You may be right, but if they’re involved, why haven’t they shown up in the war? You’d think their presence would be obvious.” (Lanpeach)

“They exist, no doubt. Their photos are on the corporate website as the presidents. But they never appeared on the front lines during the war. They had their duties as presidents, but they also just gave orders from the back.” (Mira)

“I see. Makes sense. Commanders don’t go to the front lines. Still, it feels way too real to identify an enemy using their corporate profile.” (Lanpeach)

Corporate introductions often include the CEO’s face. Still, isn’t this method of identifying the enemy who plotted world domination a bit too stupid?

“But her father died in an accident before the Spirit War began. They held a big funeral for him, so… Come to think of it, people said the chairman started acting strangely after losing his only heir.” (Mira)

“Fumu fumu, I see. The typical story: despair over his son’s death drove him mad, leaving only his thirst for power?” (Lanpeach)

“There are plenty of stories like that in anime and novels. It’s a common trope.” (Libra)

Libra chimed in with my guess. Libra’s plate held some curry, signaling she had given up on the sweets. I prepared plenty of curry specifically for the older men who weren’t fond of sweet things, but many people were unexpectedly enjoying the curry.

“So, it’s a typical line of reasoning. But even if your guess is correct, it’s unforgivable. The world has been thrown into chaos because of it.” (Mira)

Mira held a cup under the chocolate fountain, filled it with chocolate, and drank it down. Some people watching her grimaced and decided to head for the curry instead. Was it her fault?

“Show a little restraint. Your eating is making people feel full even without eating themselves.” (Lanpeach)

“Mumumu, I suppose that was wrong of me. Then I shall use my Pebble Technique. From now on, others will only perceive me as a pebble. Don’t worry; this ability worked on everyone but the Demon Lord back in the demon world.” (Mira)

“Isn’t that just admitting that the time machine is the ultimate power?” (Lanpeach)

Once Mira became unrecognizable, the others resumed eating desserts, which was a relief. I want them to eat as much as they can.

“Peach-oniichan, you eating cake?”

“Hm? Oh, Dry. Not yet.” (Lanpeach)

The one who appeared was Dry, a blue-haired beauty. Her plate was piled high with cheesecake. Seems she has a fondness for that.

“Peach-oniichan, this sweets buffet you prepared is amazing. Didn’t know there were so many kinds of cheesecake: soft ones, mousse types, light ones. Eating all is a lot of work.” (Dry)

With an excited hum, she stabbed her fork into a cheesecake, took a bite, and her face melted into bliss.

“Cakes may share the same name, but they come in all sorts of varieties. Make sure to eat your fill.” (Lanpeach)

Seeing her happy face, Lanpeach couldn’t help but smile as he roughly patted Dry’s head.

“Mufu~ Dry will eat a lot. Might be more cheesecakes hiding around.” (Dry)

Dry giggled as her hair was tousled, seemingly ticklish.

“Yeah, I’ve placed them in various spots. Go ahead and search for them.” (Lanpeach)

“Kay! I’ll go look!” (Dry)

With that, Dry wandered off to other tables in search of cheesecake. Chihiro and the others were nowhere to be found, probably in another area. The entire complex has been turned into a sweet wonderland after all.

“Staaare…”

Looking down, Lanpeach noticed Koume and Mei standing at his feet. Did they want something?

“Papa-shan, pat my head too! Shay ‘good girl’ and pat me!” (Koume)

Koume made her demand while pouting her cheeks in dissatisfaction. It seems she saw Lanpeach patting Dry’s head and got jealous. Koume loves having her head patted.

“Alright, alright. Good girl, Koume. You are a good girl.” (Lanpeach)

“Kya~! Pat me, pat me! And carry me too!” (Koume)

Overjoyed at having her head patted, Koume clung to his arm, her happiness bringing a smile to his face.

“Mu~, that’s unfair-deshu!” (Mei)

“Hm? What’s unfair?” (Lanpeach)

Mei glared at him for some reason. He was confused by this and…

“You’re not supposed to pat heads unless the work is done properly-deshu yo!” (Mei)

Mei scolded Koume for getting patted without earning it.

“…Not unless the work is done, huh? I see… That’s not right. Kids should be patted unconditionally.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach sighed, understanding a little about Mei’s background from her words.

“To a parent, their child is always a good kid, and patting their head is just natural.” (Lanpeach)

“Really-deshu ka?” (Mei)

“Papa-shan always pats my head. He carries me too.” (Koume)

Koume climbed onto him, and he lifted her in his arms. Seeing this, Mei looked envious.

“Mei-shan, you should ask Papa-shan to pat your head too.” (Koume)

“…Will you pat my head-deshu?” (Mei)

“Of course. Here, you’re a good girl, Mei.” (Lanpeach)

Mei timidly leaned forward, and when Lanpeach patted her head, she closed her eyes in contentment.

“Ehehe. I’m so happy-deshu deshu… Oh! I get it now. You’re so kind because you’re Father! I have a father too! Carry me, carry me!” (Mei)

For some reason, Mei had the same thought pattern as Koume as she clung to Lanpeach, and he ended up carrying her as well.

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