I Will Fulfill the Role of the Villain-Chapter 129

"As soon as Theo left for the palace, Luke returned to the office, biting his lip anxiously. Watching Leo’s noticeably displeased expression, Paul hesitated before cautiously asking,

'Why do you think His Majesty summoned the Commander?'

'Isn’t it obvious? Because there’s been no progress,' Luke sighed deeply.

He had expected this from the moment Sion had rushed in with news that the Emperor had personally called for Theo.

The Imperial Army had been investigating the possibility that Welharun was colluding with corrupt forces to threaten Hainerne. It had been weeks since the special investigation unit had been assembled, but so far, they had uncovered little concrete evidence—just some intelligence about the leader of Nox and the internal state of Welharun.

But while these findings provided circumstantial support, they weren’t solid proof.

'If His Majesty hadn’t ordered us to proceed so cautiously, we wouldn’t be in this mess. Keep it a secret, don’t alert anyone, move discreetly... And we’re not even dealing with a domestic enemy; it’s an external power. The limitations are obvious!'

Luke slammed his hand against the desk, frustration boiling over. The other soldiers exchanged wary glances, while Leo, already used to Luke’s outbursts, simply nodded in agreement.

'What is the Emperor thinking? We literally have Benji and Hayes in custody—if we just used them as bait, we could pressure Welharun into revealing the truth!'

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'Luke, you know that could backfire on us. Do you think His Majesty would take such a big risk?'

For once, Leo made a reasonable point. Of course, Luke knew it wasn’t a practical solution, but venting his frustration was the only way to keep himself from exploding.

Just then, Theo entered the room.

Everyone immediately straightened and saluted, while Luke simply stood still, staring at him.

'His Majesty demands results—immediately,' Theo announced.

As expected. The moment he spoke, the room filled with low groans. Luke bit back the string of curses forming in his mind. The same emperor who had tied their hands was now demanding fast results? How convenient.

'It’s clear we can’t keep using the same approach.'

'Yes. We need to discuss a new strategy,' Leo agreed.

Theo nodded. 'Let’s schedule a meeting as soon as possible.'

As Luke watched Theo’s exhausted expression, his own face darkened.

***

'You really don’t need to help.'

'Just shut up and keep working.'

Fail smiled awkwardly as he watched Luke sorting through supplies on the storage room floor. The administrative division mainly handled paperwork and supply management. While logistics had traditionally fallen under the operational units, responsibility had shifted after the supply embezzlement scandal.

Since Luke had been wrongly labeled as the culprit back then—and because the theft had been so easy to cover up within the combat division—the previous Supreme Commander, Vale, had reassigned the task to administration before stepping down.

'Aren’t you busy?'

Fail was on supply duty this week, so he had been heading here to work when Luke had suddenly offered to help.

'I don’t know. My head’s a mess. I needed a distraction.'

Luke scowled. As if Theo’s bombshell confession hadn’t been enough, the case was going nowhere, and the Emperor’s pressure was making things even worse. He needed something—anything—to take his mind off it all.

'Why is there so much dust here?'

The moment Luke opened a box, a cloud of dust rose, making him wave his «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» hand furiously.

'Probably because these supplies have been sitting unused for a long time. I figured I might as well take this chance to organize them.'

Fail chuckled as Luke coughed and cursed under his breath.

'Shouldn’t you delegate this kind of work? You are a superior officer now.'

'It’s my assignment for the week, so I might as well do it. Oh, by the way, Captain—'

Fail trailed off, hesitating. Luke, who had been inspecting some old equipment, looked up.

'You have three seconds to spit it out, or I’m not answering.'

'Has... anything happened between you and the Supreme Commander?'

Fail blurted out the question, speaking so fast that he barely processed his own words.

Luke’s hand slipped, and the item he was holding clattered to the ground.

'W-What? What do you mean?!'

Fail tilted his head in confusion at Luke’s sudden stammering.

'N-Nothing happened! I don’t know what kind of weird thoughts you’re having, but that’s not it!'

Luke vigorously shook his head, trying to erase the memory of Theo’s intense confession—and the kiss that followed—from his mind.

'Ah... well, if you say so...'

Fail had only asked because Theo had recently interrogated him about the supply scandal. He had been curious if Luke had heard anything about it. But seeing Luke’s very suspicious reaction, Fail decided it was best not to press further.

Luke suddenly sped up his movements, making a racket as he aggressively stacked boxes. His mind was once again consumed with thoughts of Theo, and his heart wouldn’t settle.

Fail was used to Luke’s short temper and didn’t think much of it.

But maybe Luke had been too rough, because one of the stacked boxes suddenly tipped over.

Thud.

A loud crash echoed as dust swirled into the air. Both Luke and Fail coughed violently.

'Captain, seriously...'

'What?!'

Luke cleared his throat, reading the unspoken complaint in Fail’s eyes. He had promised to help but was only making things worse.

The fallen box had spilled its contents—books. Luke sighed in relief. At least nothing fragile had broken. He crouched down and began gathering them up.

That’s when he noticed something.

'Huh? Why are these here?'

The books were strangely familiar. Looking closer, Luke realized they were cadet training manuals—textbooks he had studied at the academy.

'Ah, I believe the headquarters keeps a collection for new recruits.'

Most cadets, upon graduation, either burned their books in celebration or passed them on to juniors. But eventually, they would learn the hard way that military life required constant learning.

Additionally, while academy graduates had formal education, most soldiers were enlisted with no structured training. So to support them, the military kept a supply of basic textbooks at the headquarters.

'I had no idea.'

'Well, Captain, you were already a prodigy back then.'

'Damn right. Winning battles isn’t about reading books—it’s about fighting smart.'

Despite his words, Luke couldn’t hide the nostalgia in his expression. Back in his academy days, just seeing these books would have made him gag. But now? They felt oddly sentimental.

As he flipped through the texts, one book caught his eye.

'Basic Combat Strategy'—one of the most fundamental first-year subjects.

Luke absently opened it, skimming through the pages. Then, suddenly, his hand stopped.

Fail, seeing Luke completely engrossed, decided to continue organizing alone. He smiled at the sight of Luke, sitting cross-legged, absorbed in the book.

But then—

'...Fail.'

Luke abruptly stood up.

'Can I borrow this book?'

'Huh? Oh, of course. Just return it later—wait, Captain, where are you going?!'

The moment Fail nodded, Luke grabbed the book and bolted from the storeroom.

Fail blinked in shock as Luke disappeared from sight.

Bursting into the investigation unit’s office, Luke shoved open the door so forcefully that all eyes immediately snapped toward him.

Theo and Leo had already returned and were seated inside.

Theo parted his lips, about to say something—but Luke spoke first.

'I think I’ve found a way. A way to get the concrete evidence we need for this case.'"