Harem of the final villain in an ERO MMO!!! I just need to survive

'I am not running away; I am just in a hurry right now. Look, even the message I got from Clair is asking me to come back. How can I ignore Clair's desperate words?'

So, Keith was running away but he refused to believe he was running away from his problem. He was currently making a tactical retreat and if Katy wanted Keith for something, she could look around for him.

It was a short trip back home and Keith threw his body on his bed as soon as he caught sight of it. He was about to fall asleep when the door to his room was smacked open.

"Grandmaster, you are finally back. I waited so long to give you this long-awaited news. How could you ignore my concern-filled messages and not reply to them."

Whatever sleep Keith had left in his mind was blown away by Master Shinzou's loud yell. The red-haired master had no regard for Keith's comfort as he entered the room.

Long Dong, the assassin-turned-believer walked behind Master Shinzou with a calm step. He looked startled and awe-struck to see the grandmaster but then his face calmed down.

"Grandmaster, I- Oh, were you going to sleep? Did I disturb you somehow?"

Master Shinzou realized what he had done a little too late. By then, Keith was fully awake and his sleep had been blown away.

"No, it doesn't matter what I was going to do. For now, you can come in and tell me what you wanted to tell me." 'And get out of here once you are done. I do not think I can go back to sleep.'

Keith forced his annoyance down as he waited for two in front of him to start speaking.

"Grandmaster, you asked us about the tournament Olivia is hosting, right? It was originally supposed to take place in a month but we heard that there were complications along the way. As a result, the timing for this competition was moved up a few days."

Keith felt his eye twitch as soon as he heard those words. Was there any kind of complication he had not faced until now?

"And that is not all. We also heard that Master Olivia is performing strict background checks on people who are participating. None of our bios went past her check. But don't worry, I will get someone trustworthy to enter on our behalf."

Long Dong continued to speak once Master Shinzou had finished speaking. He sounded sorry that he could not personally help.

Keith held his hand up for Long Dong to stop speaking for now and he began to gather his thoughts in his head.

"It's alright. I understand the situation now so I will take care of it. You both can go back now."

"But grandmaster, what about the mother pearl? I should just go in person and demand the pearl back. Olivia does not deserve-"

"Shinzou!"

It was not often that grandmaster cut someone off while speaking and that startled Shinzou to render him speechless. His voice fizzled out and he stopped speaking as soon as his name was called out.

Initially, Shinzou wanted to handle the situation himself and not cause the grandmaster any sort of problem. But the grandmaster seemed to have a sharp look in his eyes that assured Shinzou that he had a plan.

Having known the grandmaster for such a long time, Shinzou's trust in this man was unshaken.

So, if the grandmaster was asking him not to interfere, then Shinzou shall not interfere.

"Grandmaster, surely we need to do something. Otherwise, how will we-"

"I understand, grandmaster. Since this is your will, then I shall leave this matter to you. For now, I will ask all of our people to back out of the competition so that they do not hinder your plans."

Keith's jaw dropped when Shinzou made this decision. Never in thousand years had Keith thought that Shinzou would back down if Keith did not make him back down.

While Keith was busy summarizing what happened, Shinzou bowed and dragged Long Dong outside the door. They had left as soon as they had arrived.

'No, wait. You did not tell me the exact date of the competition. How am I supposed to prepare for it!'

Keith cried out inside his mind but it was too late. His only hope was to ask Clair in the morning or to start poking around with his new identity.

Thankfully, he was able to go outside the next day and it was a perfect time to establish himself a little more locally.

..........

The hustle and bustle of the city clubs was an ever-present thing. It stopped for no one, not even the grandmaster who walked into the club in his disguise.

Keith walked boldly into the club, knowing that he would not be recognized in his new get-up.

He quickly made his way to the counter where the bartender was. The elderly man was somewhat dashing in a rough sort of way which made him popular with the female population.

The club looked the same as Keith's memory from the game so he felt familiar with the place. Now all he had to do was to sit down and order the special drink.

"Hey lady, you are a new face around here. So, what can I get you?"

The bartender walked over to Keith and placed the menu in front of him. Keith already had his order memorized so he did not need the menu.

"I want 'Salt on the rocks' and make it extra flavored."

There was a barely noticeable shift in the bartender's jawline as the elderly clenched his teeth and got serious.

What Keith had spoken was a code word from the game that the information guild often used in-game and the protagonists often got useful tips from them.

And while Keith was sure the information guild would not be as fast and as accurate as Shinzou had been in gathering information, they were quite good at validating information and making false statements the truth.

"Oh, you, my friend, are a bold one for sure. Are you sure you will be able to handle such hard liquor?"

The bartender asked one more time to confirm if Keith was interested or not in this 'drink'. But Keith did not back down either.

"I am a hard drinker so I am sure I can manage anything you give me."

Keith's eyes smiled while his face remained passive. The bartender looked impressed that Keith had not backed away from his challenge.

"Sure kid, you asked for it. But such hard liquor is not kept on the front side of the shop. You better head to the back section where the 'other' bar is located."

The bartender pointed behind his back. Many people suddenly started paying attention to Keith and the bartender's conversation.

They looked interested to know more about Keith but his blatant disinterest in other people was obvious.

As soon as Keith had gotten the location of the hidden guild bar (although he already knew from the game.) he stood up and walked away.

The first step of today's mission was complete for him. He had gathered everyone's attention and soon there would be gossip about him everywhere.

Keith walked toward the backdoor and disappeared behind it.

From that day onwards, there was another legend added to the guild's association. It was about a daring man who walked into the lion's den without any fear or regard for his life. Keith had suddenly become a legend.

In the original game, the protagonist had already been a part of many missions by this point so he was relatively known in the circles. As such, his entry into the guild's circle was well-established and even expected.

But Keith had yet to make himself well-known to the normal public.

Gossip began and people pointed toward him as Keith walked into the well-hidden establishment. He took the same seat that the protagonist had taken in the original MMO because that seat gave the best view of the room.

From his position, Keith noticed that there were people who looked uncomfortable with his presence.

He was getting quite a different treatment than the protagonist had gotten in the original game. But somehow, Keith was not worried about his reputation.

He was not the grandmaster right now so it was quite liberating for him to sit in this seat. He could finally feel his body relaxing.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Keith noticed the person he was waiting for. The leader of this hidden establishment and the person who could get you anything you asked for in the early parts of the game.

"So, what can I help you with, dear stranger? I don't think I recognize your face having ever visited me before."

Arata Musakabe, the best do-it-all man was finally in front of Keith. This was one man in the game who could get you anything if you paid his prices.