How to Redeem a Trashy Side Villain

Chapter 147: Catching up with the Crew

[Shitty God]

A week has passed since Bell disappeared.

To say that his immediate circle is in a frenzy would be an understatement. If only they knew just how much "fun" he was having over there. He's doing what he does best: gaslighting a whole bunch of people.

To be honest, I don't even know how he managed to convince the Mudwads that the prophecy was real, let alone the fact that it existed for many generations.

Shall we visit some of the characters — I mean, people, and see what they're up to?

First, let's go see Diana.

To say that she's struggling to suppress her thirst would be an understatement. She looks like she's one bad nap away from losing all control over her urges.

The day is quite warm and lovely with a nice breeze of wind and plenty of sunlight; however, if you took a peek into Diana's home, you would've thought that they were in the middle of the coldest winter storm in history.

The struggling vampire was in her room, hugging the black egg that she had been gifted. She was squeezing it so tight that I was starting to get worried that it might pop.

By the half-light of her nightstand lamp, you could just slightly make out her outfit, which was this oversized hoodie that darkened her entire face. She had her blanket wrapped tightly around her and she was nearly melted into her bed.

"Has she eaten today?" her mother asked her little sister.

Her sister shook her head and although the mother looked like she wanted to approach Diana and ask her to eat something, it seemed that she knew it was futile.

Her mother said in a soft voice, understanding that Diana would be able to hear her despite the wall between them due to her super-hearing: "That boy is strong. Has he not done the impossible numerous times? Trust in that kid. He'll be back before you know it."

Within the shadows of the bed, Diana opened her eyes.

"Take care of yourself, my poor child," her mother said. "When he returns, how do you think he'll feel if he sees you… like that?"

And she was gone shortly after, dragging her little sister along with her.

Even though she shared the basement with most of her siblings, at the moment, it was only she there. Everyone else had agreed to sleep in the living room, even though none of them had discussed it.

Diana sat there, leaning against the egg, muttering to herself, "He won't judge me if I look a mess. So… this is fine."

Last time I observed her, she was trying to find a way to get to Bell or bring him back, but it seems that, based on how she's acting, research has not gone the way she wanted.

There had been many things she must have learned, but not what she was looking for. If she wants the answer, it could be found in my novel but what a shame she doesn't and will never have access to it.

Now moving on. Let's see what Bell's fiancée is up to.

Is Ichiko in a better state than Diana? It's up to how you interpret it.

She was in the middle of the library, her table stacked with so many books and papers that it reached the ceiling. Just in case you are a foolish reader unable to understand that was a hyperbole — it was a hyperbole.

She was mouthing words to herself in her native language, Japanese. And yes, I called the language Japanese in my novel. Sue me.

To say that she looked like she hadn't slept in a while would be the equivalent of calling the sun hot.

Renzo, her personal bodyguard, was zooming back and forth in the library, grabbing anything that looked like it could remotely relate to the topic she was researching.

"Drink this, Young Miss," Kaede, one of her maids, said while handing her a cup of liquid that contained all the essential vitamins and minerals as well as electrolytes and caffeine.

Ichiko's eyes didn't leave her book. She grabbed the cup, chugged it, then tossed it back.

"During the first great war between mankind and the demons, the two dimensions were…" she muttered to herself, reading the words out loud. Then her eyes kept skimming and when she realized the information was useless, a frown developed on her face.

The more she read, the more frustrated she became.

"Dead end after dead end. Were these historians and authors a bunch of…"

She refrained from finishing her sentence as she placed the book back down. Sensing her level of tension, she sat down and practiced a breathing technique that was used by every member of the Asano Clan.

She repeated the technique over and over, sitting so still that it looked like she was a statue as the people around her were constantly moving under her orders.

Once her heart rate slowed down to its usual pace, she opened her eyes and grabbed the next book.

I would tell you more details of what she's doing but to be honest, she isn't really doing anything interesting enough to talk about. She doesn't even use the bathroom. She just sits, paces around the room, reading and researching for hours on end.

Let's move on from her. I'll let you guys know if she likes… passes out or something. But seeing how much life and fire are still burning in her eyes while the bags under them seemingly weigh more than a mountain, I doubt she'll stop any time soon.

Who are you curious about now?

Maya?

Hmm… I don't want to spoil what she's up to or what's going on with her. You'll have to see it for yourself when Bell makes it back home. That is, if he makes it back.

Who's left that matters and won't be a drag?

His family?

Well, they are trying their best not to collapse, but it must be hard to act like everything is normal when their beloved family member is gone. I wonder how they would react if I told them that Bell is Bell but is at the same time, not Bell.

The one who is most intriguing to me is that little angel. She's not a character from the novel. I don't really know why she's here or what purpose she will serve in Bell's story. And even though I'm a god, I can't really read her despite her existence being the most holy and impure thing in the world.

"Let's hurry up and dress," Bell's mother said, addressing her two daughters. "Your grandfather is waiting."

…Oh?

I didn't expect this. Bell's grandfather is a character mentioned in passing in just a few lines in the novel. The relationship between him and the main family of House Agnus is pretty strained, which is why he hasn't appeared in the story yet.

"...Grandpa? I have a grandpa?" Rubi asked, confused about this revelation. "What?!"

Eloise revealed to her mother, "I dreamed of him once."

She was a little stunned at what Eloise said, but Bell's mother quickly regathered herself and chalked this up to something caused by the angel blood that coursed in her veins.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes. He was Father's teacher and was against his marriage to Mother. He claimed that noble and commoner blood should not mix. And—"

"That's enough Ellie. Thank you for that quick history lesson. Let's hurry up and get dressed. Father will be home soon to join us." She grabbed Eloise's pink hair and, with a few flicks of her hands, she had turned it into a tight and neat ponytail.

"What about Big Brother Cyro?" Rubi asked.

"He's… busy with something else."

Speaking of Cyro, what is he up to?

Is he still blaming himself even though his father assured him that it wasn't his fault? Yes. Yes he is.

But on the bright side, he has returned to his job and is currently with the First Order. However, they are still investigating the dark magic user responsible for Bell's disappearance so he's not really able to distract himself from the guilt and anger he's feeling.

He leaped up, landing on the top of a building. "Are you sure we have evidence that he's been here?"

Someone in his earpiece responded, "Yes. One of our guys provided us intel that someone matching the description of our guy was recently coming in and out of that building we're heading to."

Cyro spoke as he clenched his non-sword-wielding hand so tightly that it sounded like his finger bones were going to shatter, "It's taking everything out of me not to rush in by myself. Please hurry and confirm that he's here."

"Will do."

His greatsword seemed itching to slice at something.

Let's move along now. Don't want you readers to get too bored. Who else can we visit? Grace? Hmm… I don't think she's really relevant at the moment. One of the Three Stooges? Mmmm… nahhh.

Oh. I got it. Let's go see what Arthurr is up to.

Oh. Oh? Oh my. The horrors. The horrors of what I'm seeing.

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Just kidding. Imagine if I actually just left you on that crazy ass cliffhanger. What is my original protagonist up to? Well, he's currently with his best friend and sidekick from the novel, Merlin. The two of them are in a dungeon and it seems that Bell's disappearance is motivating Arthurr to push himself even further so that he can step up and fill his shoes in case Bell never returns.

"Slow down Arthurr. I don't have the stamina as you do," Merlin complained.

"Opps. Sorry about that," Arthurr said.

The two of them seemed to have been in the dungeon for quite a few hours now. They were down to the tenth floor.

"...Shall we take a break?" he asked.

Merlin shook his head. "You say that, but you're probably going to head off by yourself while I rest. You think I want that? I'll just feel like garbage if you're putting in the hard work while I'm doing nothing."

Arthurr's hand landed on Merlin's shoulder. "I know it's hard but… it can't be harder than what Bell is going through over there. Do you think he has the luxury to rest?"

I mean, he isn't wrong but if he only knew what Bell was up to in the Underworld, he might reconsider just how highly he was speaking of Bell.

He took his hand from Merlin's shoulder and asked, "Shall we continue forward?"

Taking a deep breath, Merlin didn't say anything in return. He just nodded and mustered up all the strength he had in his legs to continue treading forward down the dungeon tunnel.

"Bell," Arthurr muttered, calling out to the man whom I brought into this world to replace him. "...Come back safely. I'll try my best to be like you, but… I don't know if I can."

If I had water in my mouth, I would've spat it out like a shotgun blast. If only he knew just how wrong he was. I understand that my novel and the universe aren't matched 1:1, but he was a great hero. He was a greater hero than Bell. Bell's a fraud. But — a fraud is what the universe might need.

That's enough for this chapter. Sorry if I interrupted your enjoyment of Bell's adventures in the Underworld. You will be returning to regularly scheduled programming in the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed this semi-filler chapter.

"Bye. See you later," I say to you, stupid reader.

Don't think that I haven't noticed that you're getting used to the fact that I'm referred to by "Shitty God". That's not my name. My name is—