Stealing Heroines’ Affections Is My Job as the Villain

It was a humid night.

God Vritra stood in his room, arms gracefully spread out and eyes calmly closed. A bright purple aura glowed around him as he took deep, steady breaths.

『Excellent…』

He could feel his power growing to a level that even surprised him. But in the end, this was the result of his relentless trickery and god-like foresight.

『Ah… another increase in my Fate Value. It almost feels like I can interact more deeply with the workings of the world. On top of that, I can feel my [Void Dragon Heart] getting stronger this time as well.』

Vritra looked at his hand and noticed it had changed.

… Oh?

It now resembled a dragon's claw, covered in dark purple scales and ending in sharp talons. A powerful, decaying purple energy flowed from his hand, as if it could rot anything it touched.

The young Asura smiled at this.

『I haven't gotten a clear answer as to why, but I have two hearts. One is my normal heart, which, like everyone else in this world, serves as the receptacle for my mana core. The other is my [Void Dragon Heart], which makes me a unique kind of Fiendcelestial… something that's only been seen once in history. For now, it hasn't awakened, but I don't plan on forcing it. I'll take my time.』

Vritra's hand gradually returned to its normal state.

Not long after, a blue screen popped up before him.

… Hm?

He skimmed through its information.

…

[User: N/A]

[Fate Value: 205]

…

[Heroine Name: Luciana Aveline Duranzia]

[Fate Value: 800]

[Current Affection for You: 1,224/500]

[Relationship Status: Engaged]

[Seduction Success Rate: 100%]

[Current Affection for Lumis: None]

…

[Individual Name: Esmeralda Bluenette Kirkwood]

[Fate Value: 235]

[Current Affection for You: 850/300]

[Relationship Status: Complicated]

[Seduction Success Rate: 100%]

[Current Affection for Lumis: None]

…

Vritra placed hummed thoughtfully.

『Hrmm, my name still doesn't show up as the user…』

But that didn't really bother him.

『It seems that a love interest's affection never stops growing, no matter how high it gets. But that only happens if you give them a reason to keep developing those feelings for you.

『Thanks to Luciana's constant deep thoughts and vivid imagination, I've passively gained 60 Fate Value in just a month. I also put in some effort and earned more Affection Points from her, which added another 30 Fate Value.

『There's still a lot I don't know about her, the first and only heroine I've encountered… but being a God Vessel certainly makes her special. Her Fate Value keeps increasing, and I don't think it'll stop anytime soon.』

He was very pleased with Princess Luciana's status. There was really nothing more he could've asked of her.

In other words, he could confidently say she was acting like a proper heroine… when they're not causing trouble for their love interest, they're either being helpful or staying out of the way, and that was much better in Vritra's opinion.

Probably in everyone else's too.

『Still…』

There was not much development on Esmeralda's part.

『I know the idea of turning Esmeralda into a heroine is still a long shot, but if someone's Fate Value isn't set in stone, my theory should hold up.

… However

『Esme's Fate Value hasn't increased as much as Luciana's. That could be because Luciana has experienced more character growth, or it might just be another random daughter of fate bullshit. Sigh~ either way, I need Esme to become a heroine soon… it would greatly boost my Fate Value gains.

『I know my progress seems steady, but now that I've seen how Fate Value can grow in this world, there are likely heroes far stronger than Lumis. Hrmm, I'll figure something out.』

Vritra nodded slowly.

He was already working out a plan in his mind.

[Ding! You've left the rewards from the System's warehouse untouched for 36 days, 45 minutes, and 34 seconds. Because of this, the rewards have been stored in a chest and are now waiting for the host to give permission to open it.]

Prince Vritra had earned many rewards.

He'd stolen the princess, disgraced the hero, completed numerous side quests, and, most importantly, wrapped up the first storyline. He didn't want to deal with the hassle of reorganizing his inventory, so he left it as it was.

As a result, the rewards had piled up, leading him to where he was now.

… Sigh~

He clearly didn't want to open it.

[You've opened your storage chest!]

Suddenly, a bunch of screens popped up in front of Vritra.

Each blue screen showed illustrations of the rewards he had gained, along with detailed information about them.

[Ding! Congrats, User, on getting these rewards!

You have received the following: +150 Fate Value, +14000 UPs, Fate Extraction Stone x3, Two-Fourth Fragment of Gluttonia, Two-Sixth of the Imperial Black Dragon Arsenal (Imperial Black Dragon Armor), Three-Sixth of the Imperial Black Dragon Arsenal (Imperial Black Dragon Sword), Medium Fire Elemental x2, Medium Lightning Elemental x2, Anti-magic Mask x2, Great Demon Robes x1!]

Prince Vritra had a puzzled look on his face as he went through the descriptions of the items.

Some were straightforward, like the [Great Demon Robes], a defensive item made from the skin of a Great Demon that could protect its wearer from three blows from a full-powered Type-5 phenomenon.

Or the [Fate Extraction Stone], a rune stone that could pull Fate Value from its target and add it to the user's own pool.

"Tch, now I get it…"

If he had known he'd receive such an item in his rewards, he would have organized his inventory sooner and used the rune stone to drain all of Lumis's Fate Value. That way, he wouldn't have to worry about the Deva Prince anymore.

The elementals he received were mid-tier summons.

What was really complicated were the new items from the [Imperial Black Dragon Arsenal].

He was sure he'd need more time to fully understand the pitch-black, dragonic sword and armor.

"Hrmm, I'll read a bit more on th──!"

A loud knock interrupted him mid-sentence. He glanced at the door and knew exactly who it was, causing him to smile. Prince Vritra quickly swiped his finger to close the item screens, cleared his throat quietly, and adjusted his attire.

『This time I didn't even need to set bait…』

The smile on his face widened.

『She came to me…』

The knock sounded again.

"G-, G-, God Vritra? It's me, Luciana…"

"Oh? Come in."

The dark prince spoke as if he hadn't heard her at all. His acting was so convincing that a stranger would think he didn't even know who Luciana was.

────CREEEEAK!

The doors parted open, and Luciana walked in.

She was wearing a red nightdress and carrying a tray with a jug of wine and two fancy goblets.

… Hm?

Normally, Prince Vritra wouldn't be surprised to see her in a nightdress, since it was late and it made sense she'd wear something comfortable.

But this nightgown seemed a bit too revealing? It wasn't just that it was easy to move in; it was tight enough to outline the sexy shape of her hourglass body and left much of her maiden-worthy skin exposed.

Truly, a sight to behold.

Prince Vritra kept his calm as he enjoyed her appearance.

『It might be a bit too much for her, but I guess she must have read another book and thought it would be a good idea to recreate that scene here. Silly girl.』

He chuckled inwardly.

"Luciana, what's this? It's quite late, you know."

"Since God Vritra didn't get to eat or drink much at our celebration today, we'll make sure to enjoy a meal together now!"

With that, Luciana turned her face away, blushing.

She seemed to realize that the young lord mostly just drank tea during today's small celebration.

The princess thought he might not enjoy crowds and couldn't find much to like about being around old, round-bellied nobles who only knew how to eat, laugh, and drink.

She figured God Vritra had left early either because he was annoyed by the nobles or found no reason to stay longer.

『Regardless, I-, I am technically his wife… so I should be a step ahead in understanding him.』

Her cheeks glowed even more red.

God Vritra saw this and decided to tease her.

"Oh? Well, it's just the two of us here. I might just tear you out of that dress and do some inappropriate things."

Rather than a tease, he was testing how desperate she was in a playful way.

Luciana was a principled woman who valued the idea of waiting until marriage for sex. But more than that, she was a princess-heroine, and their type would immediately spit in the villain's face the moment he said such.

Surprisingly, though, she gave an unexpected response.

"I… I'm sure it would be fine. As long as… you're gentle with me, my lord."

She could barely meet his eyes as she spoke, her pretty blue eyes darting everywhere but at Vritra.

Clearly, she was ashamed of what she had just said!

… Oho?

『This woman is really forcing herself tonight. Tsk, tsk, should I be worried?』