Villainess Level 99

Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I'm Not the Demon Lord is a Japanese light novel series written by Satori Tanabata with illustrations by Tea. It initially began serialization as a web novel published on the user-generated novel publishing site Shōsetsuka ni Narō in June 2018. It was then acquired by Fujimi Shobo who began to publish it as a light novel under their Kadokawa Books imprint in May 2019. A manga adaptation illustrated by Nokomi began serialization in Enterbrain's B's Log Comic magazine in February 2020. An anime television series adaptation produced by Jumondou aired from January to March 2024.
Yumiella Dolkness was a college student who reincarnated into another world after dying in an accident. Unfortunately for her, she is now in a world where her dark hair and dark magic are reviled and feared by the country. Yumiella recognizes her new self as the secret boss of an otome RPG Light Magic and the Hero that she played before she died. Hoping for a peaceful life away from her absent family, she decides to level grind in order to survive, spending her childhood doing so. However, upon entering the country's academy at age fifteen, Yumiella discovers that she went overboard; Level 10 was the highest expected from students, but she maxed out at Level 99, making her the most powerful person in the country. With her plans turned upside-down, Yumiella must navigate everyone's wariness and the country's politics to find her place in the world and join the original game's heroes in defeating the Demon Lord, all while attempting to dispel the negative preconceptions regarding her dark hair and magic.
The original love interests of the otome game. Unlike the original Light Magic and the Hero, they are very stuck up and immediately flock to Alicia, thinking Yumiella cheated on the level test and constantly antagonize her and even prevent her from interacting with Alicia (there are some occasions where they are unable to interfere); however, they soon begin to warm up to her. While harassing her over her level, the boys inadvertently revealed the state secret about the Demon Lord's revival to the public. Because of their quick, but coddling relationship with Alicia, she is falling behind and unprepared to face the Demon Lord, which is partly why Yumiella is chosen to join them as a party to defeat the Demon Lord.
Written by Satori Tanabata, the series began serialization as a web novel on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō on June 15, 2018. It was later acquired by Fujimi Shobo, which began publishing it as a light novel with illustrations by Tea under their Kadokawa Books imprint on May 10, 2019. It has been collected in six volumes as of January 2024. The series is licensed in English by J-Novel Club.
A manga adaptation illustrated by Nokomi began serialization in Enterbrain's B's Log Comic magazine on February 5, 2020. It has been collected in three volumes as of February 2023. The manga series is licensed in English by One Peace Books.
An anime television series adaptation was announced on March 24, 2023. It is produced by Jumondou and directed by Minoru Yamaoka, with scripts written by Fumihiko Shimo, character designs handled by Hitomi Kaiho and Lo Ho Kim, and music composed by Kana Utatane. The series aired from January 9 to March 26, 2024, on AT-X and other networks. The opening theme song is "Love or Hate?", performed by Mayu Maeshima, while the ending theme song is "Love on a Different Level" (好きがレベチ, Suki ga Rebechi), performed by Fairouz Ai and Rina Hidaka as their respective characters. The first episode features an insert song titled "Ray of Light" performed by Hanatan, which serves as opening of Light Magic and the Hero. Crunchyroll licensed the series. Plus Media Networks Asia licensed the series in Southeast Asia.