The Villain Bought the Heroine

Chapter 59

“Ugh……”

Alicia, heading to the lab after finishing her morning classes.

She was holding her swollen forehead, tears streaming down. Normally, she would have recovered overnight, but this time it was severe. The anger didn’t subside.

Every time the pain came, memories of last night resurfaced.

Alicia had to spit out positive words about herself until he was satisfied. If she showed even a hint of sadness or hesitated, she would be punished mercilessly without any hesitation.

…It was the first time she had been hit repeatedly like this.

A person gently touching her back.

Alicia, startled, moved reflexively.

“I, I am great…! More superior and beautiful than anyone in the world!!”

“Alic…ia?”

“…Emily?”

Realizing that the person who touched her was Emily, Alicia breathed a deep sigh of relief, then blushed, her mouth repeatedly opening and closing without a purpose.

It was a familiar face to Bargan, but Emily was seeing her like this for the first time.

Sensing something odd, Emily lifted Alicia’s forehead.

“W-what is this…?! Did you get stung by a giant hornet?!”

How big of a bee must have stung her to cause this? Emily worried, adding, “You have a bruise! …Did Bargan do this? Is it real? Crazy, isn’t it?! How did it come to this? Ugh!”

As she started to shout loudly, Alicia quickly scanned her surroundings and covered Emily’s mouth.

“It’s really fine…! It’s all my fault! Please be quiet… we’re near the lab!”

Alicia lowered her head like a frightened child. Emily had never seen Alicia like this before.

With her mouth covered, Emily found it hard to breathe, and Alicia, realizing this belatedly, quickly removed her hand.

Emily coughed, clutching her throat.

“S-sorry, Emily…! I didn’t mean to do that… Oh, what should I do….”

Frantically, Alicia cast a healing spell on Emily. Alicia was desperate, but the spell had no actual effect on Emily, who shivered.

Puff, cough? Emily’s body trembled.

Alicia, even more surprised, increased the strength of the healing spell.

“Ahahahaha?! Stop it, Alicia!”

“Yes? B-but…!”

“Who casts a healing spell this intense. Even in excessive protection, there should be a limit.”

Only then did Alicia retract the healing spell. Emily wiped away tears from laughter and said, “Oh, really… you too show such a flustered and awkward side. Wow, I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“What do you mean….”

“I thought you were always flawless and perfect, like some superhuman. Turns out, you’re not. Well, you used to be embarrassed often with Bargan.”

“Ugh….”

Alicia, blushing to her ears, bowed her head to hide her embarrassment. Emily found the new Alicia’s reaction surprising yet cute, making her laugh.

“I don’t know how you’ve managed to hide this cute side until now.”

“Please don’t tease me, Miss Emily.”

Watching Alicia, who didn’t know what to do, hiding her face with both hands, Emily stopped teasing and continued with admiration.

“Wow… if a beautiful person has aegyo, they can be this intimidating. I might understand why Bargan treated Alicia like that… but still, he went too far this time. Should I cast a recovery spell?”

Alicia lowered her head and tried to remain calm.

She was the epitome of the prestigious Shugenhardt family.

This delicate appearance should not be shown to the outside world.

Alicia took a deep breath and was able to calm down.

“…So you’ve been hiding it that way all this time.”

“……”

“Do you really not need a recovery spell? It seems like it might last a long time.”

“It’s okay. It’s a punishment for worrying Lord Doyeon because of my own actions.”

“It seems to have surpassed a light-hearted level… Anyway, if Alicia says so, I have nothing to say. Alright then…”

Emily, who was considering changing the topic of conversation, came up with a suitable subject.

“Right, what do you think about the assignment?”

During the first and second semesters at the Academia, there are seasons when a pile of assignments drops once for each.

At this time, professors of each subject give out diverse assignments for evaluation. Of course, depending on the grades, one can receive Katiya.

“What assignment are you talking about?”

“It’s from our class professor. She gave it out so easily, but it was actually too easy, causing me to worry.”

The assignment given by Louise, the professor of Class 1, was as follows:

“State what you want to achieve before you die.”

“Yes, that one! You know the volume, format, and even the fact that it’s unrelated to heroes… Each student’s answer will be different, but I don’t know how she plans to evaluate it.”

“There’s still time, so it’s okay to think it over slowly.”

“That’s true, but it’s not clear, so it’s really… Huh?”

The two, heading towards the research lab, stopped in their tracks. It was not the narrow room they were in before, but the entrance to the new spacious room they had been assigned, unable to enter and hesitating.

A huge number of students.

Are they new members of the research council?? They looked around, but there were too many, and they didn’t recognize anyone. They didn’t seem to be new members.

A buzz could be heard.

“The first-year captured the third danger group?!”

“I heard they collapsed with their fiancée!”

“No, the fiancée was already down, and the first-year top student killed it alone?”

“Is that important now? It’s a genius! The first-year who caught a genius has never been seen before!”

…

“I was certainly surprised too, and I thought it would be an issue… for us.”

“Yes…”

“How do we get in here?”

Rumors spread fast indeed.

Today, the Academia is buzzing with two incidents.

One is the ‘Archbishop, Caliculae Suppression’, centered around me.

From the moment I entered the Academia in the morning, I struggled to shake off the persistent crowd. Erica had a similar experience. Instead of morning classes, she and I were interrogated.

What kind of guy was Calicolea?

Did he know he was hiding there?

And why did he go there, etc.

Poking around wasn’t a walk in the park. Of course, I didn’t reveal my plans, and there was no evidence to suggest they knew and acted accordingly; there was no reason. The main reason for the investigation was not that. It went smoothly.

No, not entirely smoothly.

It was quite a hassle all day with people’s noise swirling around.

By the way, Erica and I were forbidden from going out for the first semester.

The other incident was related to Liam.

Interestingly, Liam followed the original story without Emily. After the class, he joined the research society at the request of a fellow spirit mage and learned the secrets there.

The society purported to serve the illiterate commoners by teaching them to read and write, but internally, they exploited them. They would have the illiterate fools sign contracts, infuse magic, and stamp seals with mutual consent.

Naturally, these contracts were unequal, luring in ignorant fools and making them collateral.

Liam discovered this and managed to break free and succeed in publicizing it. Through this experience, he undoubtedly grew significantly experientially.

Well, even though my timing coincided, and Liam’s publicity was somewhat overshadowed, it was resolved, so it’s fine.

Now, more than that…

“Shut your mouths and step aside.”

The noise filling the hallway silenced as the students shut their mouths and parted ways.

Just by observing this scene, you can tell.

Those who are interested in rumors and move lightly are filled with fools who can’t even thwart a simple curse.

I walked down the open path, opened the door to the research society, and entered. I added extra magic to ensure soundproofing and sealing before closing the door.

Until the door shut, the eyes of the fools were visible. I felt like sweeping them away like trash.

Swoosh?

As the door closed, silence descended.

I sensed the gaze of the seventy eyes behind me. Fortunately, these selected individuals knew how to be patient. They awaited my first words.

I continued as usual.

With each step, the sound of footsteps echoed throughout the room at regular intervals.

And then.

Upon reaching the central desk.

“It’s good to see you again like this. As you know, I am Jang Arboll Prutal, Shugenharz Troa Bargan. First, allow me to offer my congratulations.”

I smiled at the selected talents sitting in front of me.

“You have been chosen.”

***

After a brief speech and an explanation of Arboll Prutal’s ideals, we each sat separately according to our groups.

Normally, it would have been appropriate for the root-level officials to gather together, but today, on the first day, the supervisors also joined their assigned groups to explain.

I am currently with the members of ‘Mokdae’.

“…I’ll say it again, once you enter Arboll Prutal, you must regularly fulfill the allocated time and tasks. Just because you are seniors, there will be no leniency. Any other questions?”

“Wow… He looks so alike. Did he copy your eyes exactly?”

Alexeria, tilting her face up with playful remarks like “Can I look closely from here?” Her fiancé, Brackium, holds her hand and sits her down.

Alexeria, stopped by his actions, puffed up her cheeks in discontent.

“Why are you like that? I just wanted to see if he closely resembled Line.”

“Sit quietly. It’s impolite behavior right now.”

“Am I a senior?”

“He is the head of the research council.”

Alexeria turns her head sharply and sits down. She deliberately emphasizes a hint of displeasure.

Unbelievably, that woman named Alexeria was the student council president last year and is now a fourth-year student who took a leave of absence.

By the way, ‘Line’ seems to be a term used to refer to the current student council president, Line Carben. It’s probably a relief that they don’t call her Laim.

Alexeria quickly regains her composure and asks. She looks excessively eager, as if she might go blind.

“You used informal language when you first came in, but now you’re using honorifics. Is there a special reason for that here?”

“…”

She’s one of the types that make me hesitant.

Why is it that seemingly decent people each have a screw loose in their heads?

“If there are no further questions, let’s conclude this meeting.”

“Oh, I’ve been ignored~!”

“…”

As I try to leave the podium, Francesca, a second-year who had been quietly listening, speaks up. Her sunken eyes turn towards me.

“…Shugenharz Trois Bargan, hailed as a prodigy since childhood, to the extent that his name spread to the kingdom.”

“It seems you have questions about me.”

Francesca slowly nods her head.

She sits facing me, a suitable conversational partner.

“What would you like to know?”

“Your reputation hasn’t spread beyond the age of 13. Occasionally, rumors have been less than flattering.”

“I wasn’t aware of receiving this level of attention. It’s an honor.”

Clank.

She picks up her teacup. After taking a sip of the still warm tea, she asks me casually.

“Why have you suddenly become active again after keeping quiet for so long?”

Since the age of 13, Bargan’s personality had undergone a complete change. Once the center of attention in social circles and society, he had since lived quietly, almost disappearing from public view.

Living quietly here meant taking precautions to avoid rumors and engaging in questionable activities without attracting attention.

Rumors of him killing the Court Magician, or abruptly halting his research on magic, hardly spread beyond the external world.

Then, suddenly appearing at the Academia, he began to stir up rumors once more. Despite being from different countries, Francesca, who had lived her whole life in the nobility, had quite a bit of information about Bargan.

“Or… is there a reason that necessitates this?”

As she sips her tea, her casually muttered words carried about half certainty.

She turns her gaze towards me, eyes unwavering.

“…It’s not easy to say outright. To put it simply…”

I smiled knowingly.

One could confidently claim that my eyes exuded an air of righteousness.

“For the sake of world peace and stability. Let’s leave it at that.”