Taming The Villainesses novel Chapter 353

The ancient House of Draco.

They were a lineage that had taken shape since the primordial era, when mysticism still pulsed throughout the world.

Although they were currently undergoing a period of great calamity, the foundations they had built were not so fragile as to collapse overnight.

For example, the Hall of All Gods that belonged to House Draco was one such thing.

In the Eastern Mountains—within the temple that served as their base of operations—lay the weapons and idols of the enemies the Draco family had fought against for countless generations, all under the meticulous care of elder monks.

Among those items were treasures of such power that they could astonish the entire world.

The artifact I’m about to introduce, the Karma Changer, was one of them. A mysterious hand mirror capable of altering a person’s appearance.

In the novel Villain Hunter, it had been a treasure owned by a wicked necromancer, one of the masterminds behind an episode.

It had also appeared when Mirna once used it on me, asking me to "pretend to be her fiancé." Though that whole affair fizzled out in the end.

Hearing the name mentioned again, I couldn’t help but feel a strange wave of sentimentality, realizing how much the story had changed since then.

That was when Elga asked:

"So, this Karma Changer thing—what is it? How do you use it?"

It was a simple question, and Mirna answered just as simply.

"Basically, it's a tool that lets you change your appearance once a month. It's quite the marvelous artifact. With that in hand, becoming someone else wouldn’t be difficult at all."

"What a weird thing. But hey, if something like that really exists, creating a fake identity and entering under that name wouldn’t be hard at all. So? Where is it? You got it on you?"

Elga scanned Narmee and Mirna’s bodies up and down. Mirna let out a faint sigh and turned her head toward her twin sister.

"It should be in the villa mansion over in Ark... Narmee, where’d you put it?"

"If you mean the Karma Changer, I think I moved it to the main temple in the Eastern Mountains? Keeping it at the villa seemed like it’d just rack up maintenance costs."

Elga’s expression twisted into a scowl.

"Wait, so you’re saying we have to go all the way to the Eastern Mountains? Even if we start riding now, that’d take months. Isn’t this a total nonstarter?"

Elga wasn’t wrong.

The main sanctuary in the Eastern Mountains was quite far from this northern city of Sandora, and the Draco family's ancestral grounds—The Hundred Thousand Peaks—were even farther still. Even on the fastest and sturdiest horse, it’d take several months to reach.

Of course, that was assuming you went on horseback.

"By any chance, is there a dimensional gate in the main sanctuary?"

For me, distance wasn’t much of an issue anymore—I had the ability to leap across great expanses via dimensional gates.

No matter how far the location, if I was willing to burn a little more mana, I was confident I could retrieve the item and return in under an hour.

However—

Time was still tight.

Shlk.

Elga turned her head and glanced toward the grandfather clock near the dining room, clicking her tongue. _{freewebnσvel.cѳm}

"It’s about ten o’clock now. The opening ceremony’s at «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» noon. You all know that anyone who isn’t present before their match automatically forfeits, right?"

I was well aware of the tournament rules. I had even helped draft most of them—it would’ve been odd if I didn’t know.

As Elga said, the opening ceremony for the Bimuje was at noon today.

Assuming about thirty minutes until the first match began...

That meant I had to be back here by 12:30 PM.

"Of course, before that, we’ll need to register a fake identity to enter under. Elga, could I ask you a favor? It wouldn’t be hard if we requested it from Lady Stella."

"Sure, if we ask that professor, whipping up a fake identity should be easy. What name and background do you want?"

At Elga’s question, an image suddenly flashed in my mind—a scene from character creation screens in the games I used to play, where you’d choose a nickname.

Change appearance. Create a new character—

It felt exactly like that.

Then, like a shooting star, an idea struck my mind.

"How about we do it like this?"

I spoke softly as everyone leaned in with expectation. Once I finished explaining in a calm and measured tone, Elga furrowed her brow deeply and muttered:

"You’re insane."

***

"Sir Teo, as far as I know, there is a dimensional gate installed at the main temple. But it hasn’t been used in so long—I’m not sure if it’ll still function."

"Still, just the fact that there’s a gate at all is something to be thankful for."

Dimensional gates were a technique devised by Solomon several decades ago. So if one had been installed, it was safe to assume that Solomon had once passed through.

And considering that the Draco family had maintained friendly relations with Solomon, it wasn’t strange that their sanctuary housed one of his gates.

It was now 10:30 AM.

Two hours remained.

Two hours was more than enough time to travel through a dimensional gate and retrieve the item. But as today’s events had already shown, things rarely go according to plan when people are involved.

Shlk.

Standing atop the dimensional gate in Sandora, I gathered my mana.

As I gently closed my eyes, strange flickering patterns began to rise in the darkness like candle flames.

They were the sigils representing each city—emblems, you could say, of the lords who ruled them.

Among them, I sought the symbol of the farthest eastern edge. A dragon embroidered in silver thread on a black background. That was the emblem of House Draco.

"I’ve found the coordinates. I’ll begin the dimensional leap now, so hold on tight. We don’t want to end up somewhere strange."

I felt the Draco sisters grab hold of my waist. If the spatial teleportation were to go wrong, it’d be best to cling as closely as possible.

Press.

Feeling the warmth and scent of the women pressing in closer, I drew more mana from within. At the same time, I could sense Bael, housed within me, performing complex calculations for coordinates and trajectory.

━ Hiiioooong...!

Truly brilliant.