The villain's way to tame the protagonist

In fact, no one knows what Sitana is thinking. Everyone only knows that she is working hard for the village.

The reason why I couldn't think of it was that after yesterday, Xitana seemed to have stopped smiling. She became serious, but not serious at all. Rather, she seemed to be in a kind of... suppressed anger.

Just seeing how hard Shitana was working, everyone in the village also tried hard to leave a good impression for her in the eyes of Lord Hydra.

Ruiyota was afraid that Xitana was under too much pressure, so she would often accompany her, chat with her and entertain her without interfering with her work. Even if Xitana had to run a long distance every day, the girl would grit her teeth and follow her.

Whoosh——!

In the silence, the whistling sound of the arrow breaking through the air startled Ruiyota. Almost at the same time, the muffled sound of the arrowhead penetrating into flesh was also heard.

Silently, Xitana put on her bow and arrow, strode into the woods, and dragged out a rabbit with dry fur and not fat.

Ruiyota didn't disappoint and said to Xitana happily: "It's great that we got something so soon!"

"..." Xitana shook her head. "This kind of snow rabbit didn't store enough food for hibernation. It ran out to look for food because it couldn't stand it anymore. It's not worth much."

"Well, that doesn't matter. Just let Lord Hydra know that you are working hard."

Ruiyota put her hands on her hips and said carelessly: "Anyway, we rely on hunting, which is not enough for the village... Well, I feel that not even one family can--"

"Why is it not enough!"

Hitana, who was holding the snow rabbit's ears, suddenly raised her voice and turned to stare at Ruiyota.

"How have we survived all these years? Is it all thanks to the nobles giving us gifts?"

"I...that's not what I meant."

Reyota was frightened by Shitana. Shitana had a bad temper and was always angry, but in fact her temper came and went quickly. As a top smoothing player, Reyota knew very well how to coax Shitana.

But this time, Ruiyota couldn't help but take a small step back. The best friend in front of her, with whom she had lived for sixteen years, actually made her feel...scared.

“…I’m sorry, Yota.”

Xitana lowered her eyes and said softly, "Don't take it to heart."

"Um...ah, okay, nothing much."

Ruiyota scratched her head. She really didn't take it seriously, but Xitana's condition made her a little worried.

"How about we go back today?" the girl asked tentatively.

Hitana looked down at the snow rabbit in her hand, wondering what she was thinking.

After a long time, she smiled at Ruiyota and said, "It's okay. You can go back first. I'll go hunting for a while."

"Then I won't go back. I will stay with Xier."

Without thinking, Ruiyota said, "Don't worry, it won't affect you."

"……Um."

The day after the nobles stopped supplying resources, Xitana hunted four animals for a total of two silver coins.

A micro magic crystal that can support the operation of the heating array for six hours costs one gold coin.

That night, Sitana dreamed of Hydra again.

He still spoke the same old-fashioned and hypocritical nice words, but Sitana remained indifferent.

She felt she was supposed to remain indifferent.

*

On the third day after the nobles stopped supplying resources, one family ran out of coal. Because they had a newborn baby, they had to maintain a source of heat 24 hours a day. Other families in the village that had surplus coal shared some of it, but it couldn't last long.

Shitana changed her mind and came to the Mercenary Guild in Blackwater City, trying to find a high-paying job, but she had to pay a fee before registering. Shitana didn't want to ask for money from the village anymore, so she took private jobs.

"Yes, the guy in the room."

The employer in a thick cotton coat pursed his lips and said, "Help me get my money back. Ten silver coins."

Sitana glanced at her employer, then walked towards the dilapidated house he was pointing to with an expressionless face.

As soon as she opened the door, a huge iron rod hit Hitana on the head from the side.

Without even looking, she kicked the ambusher sideways, breaking almost all of his right ribs.

Amidst the shrill screams, Shitana stared at the guy who opened the door for her. Her dark red eyes, in their cold and dead silence, were filled with a cruelty that she had never shown towards any human before.

"Have you discussed this with that guy outside?" she said.

"I...I don't know...Ugh!"

Sitana punched him in the liver: "Yes, or no?"

"Yes, yes! Big sister! Big sister, please show mercy!"

The thug knelt on the ground and howled in pain while begging for mercy: "Rofford is in the same group with us... He said he could trick a little girl into coming here... Go find him!"

"I will." Xitana kicked the thug over without any sympathy, "How much money do you have here?"

"……what?"

boom!

The seemingly slender and delicate white fist brushed the gangster's cheek and slammed into the floor.

"Let me ask you." The wolf's pupils were slightly distorted, and the cruelty was unreservedly radiated through her eyes and words, "How much money do you have here?"

Five minutes later, Sitana left the house with thirty-one silver coins and fifty-seven copper coins, and fifteen minutes later, she politely received the payment she deserved from her employer.

She found a basement full of torture instruments and a female skeleton in the corner of the house, so she threw her employer's body in there as well.

After leaving Red Frost City, she had endured so much malice that she had become accustomed to plundering lives.

Walking on the way back to the village, the girl looked at the bulging purse in her hand and suddenly felt nauseous.

——She felt extremely disgusted that at this moment she had the thought that "this is a good way to make money quickly".

Xitana rejected the idea of ​​continuing to rob other cheaters, and planned to take out a small amount of the money from tomorrow to register as a mercenary.

"Everyone, I transferred so many silver coins today!"

After returning to the village, Hitana smiled and shook the purse in her hand.

"Oh! As expected of Hitana! Incredible!" A young man widened his eyes, "You can earn so much gold in one day... ah? Silver coins?"

The muscles under Xitana's face twitched slightly: "Yes, silver coins, what's wrong?"

"Oh, oh... I thought it was gold coins. Uh, I didn't mean it was too little. I meant... when we rebuilt the village, the baron paid us with big bags of gold coins. I was mistaken."

"Oh, it doesn't matter. Gold or silver coins don't matter."

Someone lazily said, "The more money Xi'er makes, the more powerful she will be in the eyes of Lord Hydra. At this rate, we will be able to live a good life relying on Lord Hydra in a few days."

"Yes! We must help Xier!"

"..."

Xitana tried hard to keep a smile on her face. She distributed the money to those who were most lacking in resources at home, and then responded to the calls of the crowd and walked back home.

In order to avoid seeing Hydra again, she did not sleep tonight.

*

On the fourth day after the nobles stopped transporting resources, more and more people ran out of coal in their homes, and the villagers began to try to sell the things given by the nobles in their homes in exchange for food and coal.

But ordinary people don't need these, and the largest nobles in Blackwater City are even less likely to take over. Merchants have spent their money on hoarding daily necessities, and no one will spend money to buy such things at this time.

Hitana took five silver coins to register for mercenary qualifications. After passing the registration, she began to look for commissions with high rewards. However, ideals are always ideals. In Blackwater City, a remote city in the Red Frost Territory, there are no commissions with large amounts of money. Even if there are, it is not Hitana's turn to take them.

But the girl still worked hard. She tried her best to select two commissions that could be completed in a short period of time and did not require her to travel far, and began to work independently in a real sense.

She worked non-stop on the fourth day, and by the fifth night, she had completed the two commissions.

"Hey, Xi'er, don't work so hard. Be nice to yourself. I have some barbecue at home. Come and eat some tonight and have a good rest."

An auntie looked at Xitana who was still returning under the cover of night, and couldn't help but stepped forward and touched her cold cheek: "I feel distressed just looking at you, let alone Master Hydra."

"Although we can't say we're doing this in front of Lord Hydra, Xi'er, you really don't have to work so hard." The other villagers were also very worried. "We can still hold on, and this little money can't change anything. Don't worry, just take your time."

"…I'm fine."

Xitana still tried to smile at everyone, but that smile had almost turned into a straight line, with only a slight upward rise at the corners of her mouth: "Don't worry."

"We don't worry and don't care about you, so who cares about you?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Lord Hydra must be worried about Xi'er right now!"

"Oh, that's true. If Lord Hydra saw Xi'er's current state, he would definitely be heartbroken."

Xitana hurried back home.

Like running away.

On the fifth night, the girl still chose not to sleep.

*

On the sixth day after the nobles stopped transporting resources, Xitana's family ran out of coal. But the good news was that as the only active mercenary in the small city of Blackwater after the Great Cold Wave, Xitana received a commission worth two gold coins, but the employer needed to conduct an inspection.

After wiping her face with ice water, the girl stared at herself in the mirror.

His whole face seemed to be frozen, without any expression, his dark red eyes were almost lifeless, and even bloodshot from not sleeping for a long time.

"Mom and Dad, I'm going out."

She grabbed the black bread on the dining table, stuffed it into her mouth and chewed it hard. Without even waiting for her parents' response, she walked out the door and rushed to Blackwater City as fast as possible.

At night, Hitana returned to the village and was still welcomed warmly by the villagers.

"Xi'er, how are you today?"

With a slightly empty look in her eyes and a gaze that was not fixed, Hitana was in a trance for a moment. She tilted her head to look to her side, where Hydra, with a blurry face and only a smile visible, was standing with his head slightly tilted.

Yes, Hydra, he has gone to such lengths that even if Shetana doesn't sleep, he will appear in reality and influence her.

Or... is this just an illusion caused by Shitana after three consecutive days of sleeplessness?

"How should I explain this to my dear family and friends?" Hydra said in embarrassment, "Tell them that the commission was issued by a businessman who had a sudden inspiration and tried to help you out? In the end, you only had this opportunity because of Hydra's face?"

"Tell them that the merchant treated you with the best tea and food, but you almost overturned the table when you heard the word Hydra?"

"Tell them that in the end, you still rejected these two gold coins that were given to you for free, or even more gold coins that could help your family and friends, just because of your meaningless self-esteem?"

Several blue veins popped out on Hitana's forehead, making her already cold, tired, stiff and gloomy face look even more terrifying; the ferocity emanating from her bloodshot dark red pupils as they shrank slightly spread around almost unrestrainedly.

She didn't speak, nor did she yell hysterically, but the dangerous aura she exuded made all the villagers quiet down.

All that enthusiasm and care were frozen.

In this dead silence, Xitana walked forward expressionlessly, without any smile on her face, towards her home.

"It's really not easy." Hydra, who was following her, continued to chatter, "Shitana, you clearly know what is the right thing to do, what is the simplest thing to do, and what will make everyone happy. Why are you still so stubborn? What can you get from this stubbornness?"

boom--

Xitana opened the door, and Alana, who was cooking, poked her head out of the kitchen and smiled gently: "Let's have dinner first--"

Sitana did not respond, but walked silently upstairs and into her room.

She sat woodenly on the bed, staring at herself in the mirror, looking as hideous as a monster or ghost.

Hydra sat beside her, and as if to defend her, he sighed:

"Look at them, look at your uncles and aunts, your friends."

"You've been working so hard these past few days that you didn't even want to sleep. You've been working so hard to make the village a better place. Even though you know you don't have any good ideas, you've still tried to this extent, haven't you?"

"But do they notice your efforts? Ah, of course they do. After all, you are already 'very tired', hahaha."

"But do they care about what you get in return for your efforts? They don't care. They only care about whether your value in Hydra's eyes is higher."

"……Shut up."

Xitana murmured weakly: "Shut up... They are doing this for me... They are doing this for my own good."

"Yes, isn't this the funniest part? They are doing this for your own good... dear Sitana."

Hydra hooked Xitana's chin and stroked it gently.

"They love you so much, but why are you... so miserable?"

Downstairs, the door seemed to be pushed open again. The sound was very light, as if someone didn't want Xitana to notice.

But with Shitana's hearing, how could she not know what was happening downstairs?