The Villainess With A Heroine Harem

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Emilia didn't usually check forums or the like for news related to herself, but with the mainstream media soon picking up on it, neither she nor her team could remain oblivious to what was happening for long.

"Wasn't 'Arcadian Times' supposed to be a place for people to discuss strategies and stuff? How come it has been such a toxic cesspool…" Robin grumbled.

The large screen in front of them was already muted to make sure it didn't ruin their mood any further than it already had, but the self-righteous expressions of the 'anchor' as well as the highly caustic 'comments' on display were enough for them to know that none of it was in their favor.

Danielle hummed thoughtfully. "To be honest, although it wasn't our fault that everyone was kicked out of the dungeon, as the only ones who completed it, we might have really stepped on a lot of toes this time."

Robin and Nico still whined about how unfair it was that they were being blamed for something they couldn't control, and were being punished for just trying their best, but Sylvia and Emilia remained silent.

Obviously, while their perspective was far from being the same, they both understood that the world was rarely ever 'fair'.

"This is the oldest post on the topic, right?"

Noticing how Emilia had opened the [Arcadian Times] on her phone and was now scrolling through the highly toxic topic, Danielle couldn't help but frown. "Didn't I already tell you not to look at it? It'll just pollute your brain."

Emilia blinked innocently, but before she could respond, someone had already snatched her phone away from behind the sofa.

Turning back to look at the tall, dark-haired girl staring down at her with a gloomy expression on her face, Emilia could only pout.

"Good job, Sylvia."

Despite how rare it was for Danielle to praise her, Sylvia only snorted disdainfully in response, causing a certain crimson-haired girl to roll her eyes in exasperation. 'If you really want to pretend not to get along, couldn't you have spared my phone?'

Of course, Emilia understood their 'concern' that she might see some words that disturbed her, so she gave up protesting against it after some thought.

They were only trying to protect her 'innocence', and she'd already seen what she needed to see, anyway.

'The person who started it all was definitely trying to target us maliciously, and wasn't just motivated by jealousy, right?'

It wasn't hard for Emilia to notice that someone was intentionally trying to take advantage of their 'misfortune', though she wasn't exactly sure who it could be.

Cynthia chuckled. "There's no way to be sure, but based on how little they focused on the great injustice that they themselves suffered, it's very likely."

Emilia also understood that there was a certain chance that her guess might be wrong, but the feeling she got from the words of the post's author was quite strong.

Her first suspect was naturally the 'hero', but she didn't think Darryl would make such a 'small' move. Moreover, there was a certain trait of the malicious poster that made Emilia certain that it couldn't be him.

Not only did the person seem to hate her team quite a bit, but based on her latter posts, they also had a special vendetta against Sylvia in particular.

From what she understood based on the past she'd 'seen', while the hero's feelings for Sylvia were quite complicated, he wouldn't try to arouse public hatred against her without reason.

'… That just leaves Dolly as the main suspect, right?'

Based on her past 'experience', Emilia knew that the girl not only had the motivation to bring harm to Sylvia, but also the 'skill' for similar malicious stunts. Otherwise, the dark-haired girl wouldn't have been so 'notorious' despite her lack of popularity at that time.

Cynthia agreed. "Mhmm… Unless that girl has more enemies that we don't know about. Anyway, it doesn't matter much at this point, does it?"

Emilia looked at the rest of her team discussing the matter seriously, and couldn't help but shake her head with a smile. 'Although it's true that everyone's attention will turn to the 'Pillar' once it becomes public, that doesn't change the fact that someone tried to hurt us.'

Cynthia thought about it for a while as well, then frowned.

Although the tip of the spear this time was definitely aimed at Sylvia, it didn't change the fact that Emilia would also have been severely hurt by its edge if not for the timing of certain events.

Naturally, the crimson-haired girl had intentionally phrased it that way. The raven-haired girl may not care much about mortals, but she wouldn't be so indifferent when dealing with her own matters.

Emilia sighed. 'Unfortunately, even if I know it's likely Dolly behind this matter, there's not much I can do about it.'

Listening to her partner's defeated tone, Cynthia finally couldn't endure it anymore. "That's not true."

The crimson-haired girl blinked in 'surprise'.

Cynthia flicked back her hair haughtily. "Although you haven't been able to use your own skills within Arcadia, things might change now that the 'real' pillar has appeared in this world. And even if it doesn't happen… don't you still have me to channel it through to the target using the game as a medium?"

Feeling her partner's shock and awe, the raven-haired girl couldn't help but grin. "With your 'Predator's Mark', tracking that Dolly girl down would be a piece of cake."

Emilia was delighted to finally have a solution for a while, but then she recalled something and frowned. 'Wait a minute… didn't that skill have a limit of ten minutes?'

Cynthia coughed. "T-That's… it's only used up when the distance between you and your target changes."

Obviously, her implication was that since both their physical bodies would be 'stationary' relative to each other until they 'logged out' of the game, a mark applied from the 'inside' would work for at least ten minutes in the outer world.

Emilia couldn't help but be shocked. 'Ehh…?! Why didn't you tell me about such a great 'feature' earlier?!'

"Ehehehe…"

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