The Villainess’s Guide to Winning the Male Lead

“…Hello.”

I responded with a greeting, not sure who he was.

The man approached me, a broad smile on his face.

“So, you’re the human Hans has been concerned about lately?”

“Hans?”

“Yes. Oh, you might know him as the manager.”

Finally, I learned the manager’s name.

Hans.

It was a new name for me since I only knew him as the manager or Bates.

Gabriela playfully chided the man.

“Again in Hans’s office?”

“It’s quiet and nice here. Plus, I don’t have to listen to the secretary’s nagging.”

It seemed this man freely used the manager’s office for his work.

He appeared to be quite close to the manager. It was surprising to learn the manager had friends.

“Hans isn’t here, though. What now?”

“I knew he wouldn’t be. I came to show Jiha around the office.”

Listening to their conversation made me feel like a child caught in adult talk.

I glanced around the office.

True to the manager’s character, the room was immaculately organized. One wall was lined with capsules whose purpose I couldn’t discern.

“Interesting?”

The man noticed me surveying the room and spoke to me.

He was very friendly towards me, but something instinctively made me wary.

“But what’s your relationship with Hans?”

He asked me with a grin.

“…It’s one-sided. I just receive help from him.”

“Is that so?”

He tilted his head, curious.

“Why do you ask?”

“Hans is usually quite warm-hearted, but this time it seemed a bit excessive. I thought he might have fallen for a human.”

“The manager is indeed attentive to Jiha. He wouldn’t care so much otherwise.”

“So it’s true. Cute, though. With the black hair and all.”

What does that have to do with anything? The more time I spent with him, the less I understood him.

“…I think I’ve seen enough. I’ll be going now.”

“Oh, why? You can stay longer.”

He was shameless, especially considering it wasn’t even his office.

With the manager not around, there wasn’t much point in staying. Maybe I’d come back when Hans was here.

I decided to return and rest for the day.

* * *

I moved the shopping bags I had just placed in the entrance to my room. I organized the clothes and put them in the closet, but it was already full before I could fit even half of them.

‘…Should I have bought a new closet first?’

I pondered over the remaining clothes and decided to fold them neatly and place them on the sofa.

After finishing organizing the clothes, I sprawled out on the sofa, exhausted.

“The day feels so long…”

It was a different kind of tiredness than what I was used to with the broadcast.

My gaze inadvertently drifted towards a dress lying on the sofa.

I had worn it countless times as Anais, but as Jiha, I had never tried it.

After some contemplation, I picked up the dress and put it on.

Standing in front of the full-length mirror, the sight of myself in this attire felt unfamiliar. Somehow, the reflection seemed to overlap with the image of Anais.

‘I don’t want to go back.’

The comfort of the moment was too precious.

The thought of just living here crossed my mind, but then I remembered Carrot, Ian, and the other angels.

Those angels who enjoyed watching me mess up and cause trouble.

If I quit the broadcast, there would be no reason for them to care for me anymore.

It was the broadcast that made my presence in this place possible.

“…I need to go back.”

I sighed deeply.

* * *

The next day, I headed straight to Gabriela’s office. I felt bad for not saying goodbye to Carrot and the others, but it seemed better to leave directly, knowing they would try to hold me back.

Waking up, I found myself back in the temple, as expected.

It was the middle of the night, and no priests were guarding me.

I got out of bed and left the room. My reflection in the candlelight in the corridor showed no injuries, as always.

It wasn’t time to start a broadcast, and I couldn’t sleep until morning, so I decided to wander around.

My mind was hazy, perhaps from not being fully awake. Wearing a white dress, I thought I might be mistaken for a ghost if I bumped into someone.

“Kyaaak!”

I hadn’t hoped for that situation to become a reality.

A scream came from behind me.

Turning around, it was Davi.

Simultaneously, I heard footsteps.

“……!”

Quickly, I pulled Davi behind a pillar and covered her mouth with my hand.

Davi, fully immersed in the moment with me, held her breath until the footsteps faded away.

It would probably have been just a patrolling guard or a priest passing by. But my body had acted on its own.

Only after the footsteps had receded did I let Davi go.

Davi looked up at me with a bewildered expression.

“Why are we hiding?”

“…Just instinct.”

“What kind of life have you lived for this to be your instinct?”

Indeed. What kind of life had I lived?

I moved away from Davi and tilted my head, somewhat disgruntled.

“Why did you scream at me like that? You hurt my feelings.”

“You were wandering around in a white dress in the middle of the night! And your hair was all disheveled! I thought you were a ghost!”

It was a fair misunderstanding. But then, why was Davi wandering around at this hour too?

Seeing my suspicious look, Davi crossed her arms and retorted,

“I received an oracle. That you had awakened.”

“Oh.”

It seemed like Ian had passed the message to Davi.

“And now what? Falling off railings? Do you have multiple lives or something?”

Davi poured out her disbelief.

She didn’t know I had actually died. I was relieved that it had been properly managed.

‘Well, I do have multiple lives.’

Sorry to the people here, but it was true.

The downside, though, was the points it cost.

Out of curiosity, I opened the shop window.

〈Celestial Realm Point Shop〉

* Resurrection Ticket: 80,000P

I had just spent 40,000 points. Next time, it would be 80,000 points. The mere thought was dreadful.

But then, I discovered something interesting.

* Transformation Magic Scroll: 10,000P

Was this the same thing Irmin used?

I had asked for it before, but I didn’t actually think they’d add it.

“Be more careful in the future. You have no idea how worried everyone is!”

“Were you worried too?”

“As if! What kind of relationship do we have that I would worry about you!”

She still wasn’t ready to accept me as a friend. I decided to ask Davi something I had been curious about.

“Why do you dislike me?”

“…….”

Davi seemed startled by my direct question.

“That’s because……”

“Hey!”

Before Davi could finish, a shout came from nearby.

“…….”

I couldn’t bring myself to look in that direction. I recognized the voice.

Before I could even glance at him, I was already getting a scolding. Davi, standing next to me, widened her eyes in shock.

I turned my head and looked at him, feeling overwhelmed.

“Why are you hitting me like that?”

“Quiet! Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused me!”

It was indeed the manager, in the form of Bates. With an annoyed voice, he grabbed my cheek. I was powerless and could only let it happen.

“Come here.”

The manager, apparently planning to give me a proper scolding in private, dragged me away.

“Sorry, Davi. Let’s talk tomorrow! Promise!”

“Yes, yes…”

I was dragged away by the manager, fixated on Davi’s true feelings. Davi, though flustered, let me go.

We arrived at an empty room.

Well, not entirely empty. It had basic furniture like a bed, so it was clearly a guest room.

Once the door closed, the manager glared at me sharply.

“Did you also hear about it from asdf?”

“I came running as soon as I saw you opening the shop window!”

Ah, damn. I shouldn’t have opened it. It made sense now why someone who hadn’t received an oracle knew so quickly.

The manager didn’t seem like he was going to let it slide. His face was filled with serious anger.

“Even if this place isn’t reality, how can you be so careless? If you keep acting like this, I’ll have to take away all your resurrection tickets!”

It was the first time I saw him this angry. He had scolded me before, but never to this extent. It made me shrink back.

But I also felt unfairly treated.

It wasn’t like I did it on purpose. I was caught up in magic and died against my will. Why was that my fault?

Just thinking about the debt of points was overwhelming. And now being scolded on top of that. Already struggling with recent hardships, even the manager, whom I believed to be on my side, was scolding me, and it brought a wave of sadness.

I clenched my mouth, trying to hold back tears.

“……?”

The manager seemed puzzled by my reaction.

“Are you crying?”

“…I’m not crying.”

“Your voice sounds like you’re crying.”

“I said I’m not.”

The only relief was that the room was too dark for my face to be clearly seen, and that my eyes were just welling up with tears. I had my pride; I wasn’t going to cry just because I was scolded.

I turned my head and roughly wiped my eyes with my sleeve. Realizing my actions, the manager started to fumble with his words.

“I mean… it’s true you made a big mistake this time. I was just saying you should be careful, but if you’re going to cry over that…”

“It’s fine.”

I knew why the manager was talking to me like this. It was his way of showing concern. Even if it wasn’t, he had every right to be angry. He had to deal with the aftermath of this incident all by himself.

Normally, I would have brushed it off with a joke. But maybe it was the dawn emotions, it felt much more sorrowful than usual.

I sniffled and said,

“Just feeling a bit of disillusionment. Tired of broadcasting. Things aren’t going the way I want them to. And the points, I can’t even accumulate them properly…”

“……”

The manager fell silent after hearing me.

I couldn’t see his expression as my head was turned away.

Then, his cool voice came through,

“Why don’t you just quit the broadcast?”