The Return Of The Exiled Villain

[Dream Realm]

”Mhm... I wonder how to deal with this one, though,” Gray muttered to himself as he looked at the last door in his dream world.

More than twenty doors stood in a circle, each with a plaque bearing something written on it.

But most of them were already open, with only one closed.

As for what was written on those plaques?

[Tsundere]

[Kuudere]

[Himedere]

And much more...

Gray turned his Dream World into a different dimension, each one bearing a woman with a different personality for him to conquer.

And only by conquering all of them could he potentially awaken the so-called Law of Seduction, and be able to strengthen himself through each small and big realm.

And he also figured out that the strange cyan thing that appeared in his eyes was because of the [Kuudere] door.

He started gaining different color on his eyes as he passed through each door. But of course, he’s hiding those colors with his mana as he prefers his dull black eyes.

”...Mhm.”

However... there was a small problem now, and that was the last door, which Gray didn’t have any way to conquer this type of woman.

[Kamidere]

He stood in front of it with his hands in his pockets and looked at it for a long moment.

[What’s the problem?]

Jasmine suddenly asked.

”A Kamidere is someone who genuinely believes they are above everyone else. Not arrogance in the conventional sense. Not pride that covers insecurity.”

He looked at the plaque.

”An actual, sincere, unshakeable belief that they exist on a different level from the people around them. That ordinary rules and ordinary expectations simply don’t apply to them.”

[That sounds like several people you know...]

”Trust me, it’s much different. There’s no gap between their exterior and the interior. They genuinely are exactly what they present themselves as,” he sighed.

”It’s not like, for example, a tsundere that says almost the contrary of what they want to say. Or a Kuudere that is warm on the inside, but cold on the outside. This means that...”

[The usual approaches don’t work.] Jasmine finished for him.

He nodded lightly at her words.

”You can’t reach someone who doesn’t believe there’s anything above them worth reaching toward,” he furrowed his eyebrows.

”You can’t charm someone who considers being charmed beneath them. You can’t make someone fall who doesn’t believe falling is something that happens to people like them.”

He looked at the door.

[So what’s your plan?]

Gray was quiet for a moment.

”...I have a concept for a plan.”

[That’s not the same as a plan.]

”I know...”

[What’s the concept?]

”A Kamidere believes they are above everything.”

”Which means the only thing that could possibly reach them is something they can’t place below themselves. Something they can’t look down at.” He paused.

”If I can make myself into something they have to look at as an equal, or something they genuinely can’t categorize as lesser...”

[Then you’re working from a level they can actually react to.]

”Theoretically, yeah.”

[And practically?]

Gray stared at the door.

”Practically... I have no idea how to make a person who believes they are divine look at me and see something worth acknowledging.”

[You’ve dealt with difficult personalities before.]

”Difficult is manageable... After all, just being difficult has some openings. A Kamidere doesn’t have openings because they don’t believe anything from the outside is worth letting in.” He rubbed the back of his neck slowly.

”Every approach I can think of either registers as an attempt to lower them, which they’ll reject, or an attempt to elevate myself, which they’ll find laughable, or an attempt to appeal to them directly, which they’ll find beneath their notice.”

[So all three available directions are closed.]

”Currently, yes.”

[...That’s a problem.]

”That’s what I just said.”

He sat down in front of the door.

”A person who sees themselves as a god,’ he muttered to himself.

”You can’t worship them into opening up; they’d expect that. You can’t challenge them head-on; they’d simply dismiss it. You can’t ignore them; they wouldn’t notice.” He pressed two fingers against his temple.

”You can’t be beneath them, and you can’t be above them, and you can’t be beside them because they don’t believe anyone is beside them.”

[What if you didn’t try to reach them at all?]

”Not trying is still a strategy they’d see through.”

[I didn’t say try. I said don’t reach toward them. Make them reach toward you.]

Gray looked at the door.

”...How do you make someone who believes they are above everything reach downward voluntarily?”

[I don’t know, and honestly, that’s your problem.]

Gray looked at the plaque intently.

”...I’ll think about it later,” he sighed deeply.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them once again, he was met with Maelis poking his cheek curiously.

”Ah~, did I wake you up?” she asked, smiling widely as she stopped poking his cheek.

”...Mhmmmm!!!”

Blinking a few times, Gray stretched his arms above his head, letting out a satisfied hum before his eyes landed on Maelis once again.

This time, she had actually changed her hairstyle into a high ponytail.

”....”

”What’s up with that blank gaze? Are you smitten by my looks?” Maelis couldn’t help but say as Gray was staring at her almost blankly.

But... he ignored her, and continued looking at her face... causing her cheeks to flush slighly.

”H-hey, I know I’m pretty, but t-that’s enough, no?” she stammered lightly, twirling her front bangs with a shy expression.

Upon hearing those words, Gray glanced away, letting out another sigh.

’...A god complex? Tsk... that’s so annoying to deal with, as the only thing that one can do is probably force them to submission.’

’However... to actually cultivate the Law of Seduction, I cannot wound my target whatsoever, which also brings down that option.’

”...Maelis?” He called out her name.

”Y-yeah...?”

”...If the guy you liked had a god complex, how would you conquer him?” he asked lightly, turning to look at her once again.

Upon hearing his words, Maelis frowned slightly.

”A god complex?” she hummed thoughtfully.

She spent fifteen more seconds like that before letting out a deep breath.

”I’m not sure... It’s pretty much impossible, I think. However...” she paused slighly before giving Gray a bright smile.

”If... people like that usually believe in fate, so if they see that they’re fated to fall in love with that person... they’ll pretty much hypnotize themselves into falling in love with that person,” she pointed out, before poking his cheek again and giggling.

”What’s up with that question anyway?”

She sat down next to him and leaned her head into his shoulder.

”...Nothing,” he replied lightly, patting her head, causing her to hum in comfort.

’...Fate, huh?’

His eyes narrowed slighly as he thought of a plan, but just as quickly, he dismissed it, and instead... his mind drifted backwards.

To the other doors.

He hadn’t thought about them collectively in a while, had been too focused on the closed one to look back at the open ones with any real attention.

The Kuudere girl was the first one.

The outside felt cold, but underneath, it was much warmer.

This was a unique way of building relationships... not as a barrier, but as a system that needed to be understood from within.

Unlike a wall, which could be climbed, this approach required a little bit of... insight.

He learned to notice the little things: a slight pause before she answered, a silence that showed that she was thinking rather than dismissing him, and that attention could feel the same on the surface but meant different things depending on the situation.

That girl required him to get a different kind of... patience?

He didn’t need to wait for a change, but instead needed to pay attention to something that seemed unchanged.

He needed to believe that there was something else underneath ’that something’.

Then came the tsundere...

She was straightforward in theory but exhausting in reality.

He faced the challenge of understanding her responses, which often came from a different... kind of angle.

It took him time to learn the difference between her words and her true feelings, and he discovered that replying directly to her words usually led to misunderstandings.

The key was being consistent, and not aggressively persistent, but just being there for her. He stayed reliable and didn’t make a big deal out of it.

Over time, her defenses weakened, and she started to feel safe, making less need for her sideways responses.

By far, that one was the easiest.

But there were a few difficult ones, like the Himedere that required something else entirely.

That pride that wanted to be recognized and appreciated often led to two mistakes: either relying too much on that expectation, which created a dependency, or rejecting it, which led to feelings of hurt.

He had approached her differently.

He treated her like someone deserving of real attention, without considering her status or what she expected from others.

This approach confused her at first, then annoyed her, and eventually led to something more.

Others around them had their own unique ways of communicating and challenges to overcome, but he had taken the time to understand them all.

However...

How can he understand a Goddess?

Jasmine has been with him for more than a year, and she doesn’t express herself much. But still, she doesn’t seem to have a true god complex...

But his target would have one!

Rustle...

Maelis moved slightly against his shoulder.

”...What are you thinking about?”

He looked at her sidelong.

”...That previous scenario.”

”Did my answer help?” she asked curiously.

”Partially.”

She looked pleased by the honesty.

”The fate part... It has potential. But fate has to be demonstrated, not declared. Telling someone with a god complex that they’re fated for something just gives them something to dismiss.”

”So you make them discover it themselves,” Maelis replied instantly.

He looked at her.

She shrugged lightly against his shoulder.

”That’s how it works with most things, isn’t it?”

”The things people believe most completely are the things they think they figured out on their own.” She paused.

”Even if someone arranged all the pieces.”

Gray was quiet for a moment.

’Arrange the pieces,’ he thought.

’And let them draw the conclusion.’

He looked at the ceiling...

”Mhm... That could potentially work,” he hummed thoughtfully.

Maelis looked up at him again.

”Did I help?”

”Don’t push it.”

She laughed softly and settled back against his shoulder, satisfied.