Small villain's Viewpoint

Chapter 25

Inside the tent, Julian gloomily sat in the corner, trying to calm down his presence, which he fails to do so. Like the good friend he is, Ruiz also came in uninvited, patting his friend in the shoulder, nodding at the trembling Jade who was observing nearby.

Jade had never felt this much anxiety in his entire life. "Julius is suffering from a backlash. He must have use a fair amount of magic or used other mediums. Considering that he is not adept in using magic for combat, the amount of magic was beyond his capacity, hence the fever."
Jade was trembling as he observed Julian's face, which was turning dark.

"So it is not serious?",Ruiz ask this time, patting his friend's back. Looking at Jade's pale expression, Julian must be exuding a very bad aura right now. The poor priest looks like a scared rabbit, fidgeting at every turn. "Ah yes. He will recover soon enough", Jade nodded, avoiding the knight's questioning gaze. "Let your brother rest for now", dragging his friend outside, Ruiz was quite sensible, leaving Jade with a good impression.

"The new house head is scary",Jade murmured, shivering.

*Cough*

"Finally awake?", Jade asked, his eyes observing his friend. "Yes?!",laughing, Julius grins at the frowning cleric. "What a bad friend, leaving me to deal with your brother. He was very worried", Jade scowl in return, slightly annoyed. "You realize that I was awake? So why did you remained silent about it?", Julius asked. For a coward like Jade, he would have spill the beans whenever he feels a threat.

"Why would I expose my friend?", on the contrary, despite being a coward, Jade was quite a loyal friend. "Even still, I'm the only friend that you have, so you should be treating me with care", the cleric jokingly said, disgusting Julius to his very core. As far as he is concerned, the Jade that he knew in the book was a master manipulator, and a deranged psycho on top of that.

It really is a strange feeling, he was too comfortable with Jade, fooling around with him, as though they were familiar with each other. As if he is a friend he had known for a long time, even though this is the first time he met and talk with Jade. He had only known him from the book after all. Funnily enough, he knew Jade was a calculative psycho, yet he still feel at ease talking with him.

This dear friend of his who is pouting like a child was far from that description, it really was throwing him off. Seeing that very person grinning like a fool made him question himself. Just what happened that changed Jade, turning him into a psycho? Unfortunately, he never finished reading the novel. Jade was often mentioned as the chief instigator of various disaster, which almost destroyed the kingdom. Unlike Julius who had a small role, Jade was the first book's main antagonist, aside from Asmodeus who is obviously the story's main villain.

Then again, because that damn book was littered with plot holes, the villain's backstory was barely mention, often leaving out the most important parts, which added to Ling Chen's hatred for the book. That damn author really loves to leave unanswered questions. It really was a miracle that he even managed to read the first book.

Sighing, Julius wondered if his existence changed the story. Perhaps this was the point where Jade still hasn't lost his sanity. "Do you really want to continue this raid?", Jade stared at him. "Yes. I really need that panacea".

"In that condition?", as though seeing a fool, Jade's doubtful gaze made him uncomfortable. "You said I was okay", Julius frowned. Even if his current body is fragile, it was not to a point where he could die at any moment. "You're not", the bishop said, before casting a spell around them.

A silencing spell, Julius suddenly felt anxious. "So you lied?", it was his turn to felt doubt. Why is athena's priest going against his pledge, lying to his brother who is a holy Knight? He really is a weird fellow. "Yes. How could I disclose your condition to Julian? He is your enemy as far as I could remember", the bishop chuckled.

"I figured you wouldn't want him to know your real state, much less that lunatic from Deniro family". Julius groaned, sensing an ill premonition from the way Jade talks.

"Am I screwed?"

"Yes"

Arghh ...........damn it. Just when he started to adapt, this world is not willing to let him off. "You are suffering from a backlash. Although that is normal, your case was special. Normal people would recover from it after resting. However, your condition hasn't recovered at all"

"Didn't I just recovered?", Julius' was confused. "The fever is gone, but your body is still falling apart. The elixir's effect will not last for a long period of time", Jade frowned. His foolish friend is not concerned about his own health at all.

If he had not  extorted.....borrowed the archbishop's life elixir, his friend would be meeting goddess Hestia by now. Anyway, his friend is acting rather strange, the old Julius would never put his life at stake for another person, much less his father.

"Am I still good till I finish this raid?", Julius asked, finishing the raid was still his top priority. "Yes. Although you should not use any spells from now on. Your body cannot handle it", Jade was truly concerned, if Julius still pushes it, he might fell apart midway of the raid.

"Julius, did you have any encounter with a divine being somewhere?"

"None", Julius answered nonchalantly, peeking outside the tent. Damn, where is that obnoxious patient of his? Did he throw tantrums again? Furthermore, where is that little elf? Did those two fight again?"I'll go out first, I need to check on something", in a haste, Julius left Jade, missing the latter's mysterious gaze directed at him.

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