How To Live As An Academy Extra Villain.

If you want to read it for a cheap price until the last chapter, patreon.com/Makima02

After finishing dinner, I returned to my room. Despite not being used for several months, traces of human presence were evident everywhere.

I sat in front of the fireplace and lined up the three shards of the Divine Dragon I had obtained from the Demon Realm last time, and the one I had obtained with Flame of Purification this time.

Even with all these pieces laid out, I still couldn't fathom the original form.

From memory, items that were not weapons or accessories were mostly used by absorbing and channeling mana through them. If the shards of divine dragon were indeed meant to empower the owner, I may be able to absorb them in a similar fashion.

There were exceptions like Lakisia's Eye, but these shards didn't seem to correspond to any replaceable body part if absorbed that way. And even if I were to lose consciousness like before, the circumstances were different now — there were no immediate threats around me.

It seemed there was no more appropriate opportunity than now to experiment.

I made up my mind and placed one shard on my palm. As I infused a little mana, the shape melted like the Flame of Purification, and the shard was absorbed into my palm.

In case of an emergency, I had my other hand on the emergency switch, but time passed without incident, rendering the tension pointless.

The profound, searing surge I felt when I absorbed the Flame of Purification was nowhere to be found; even though I absorbed the remaining three shards in succession.

It was a bit disappointing, but perhaps it was because the absolute number of shards was insufficient. After all, they were called shards, and they were broken into pieces so small that the original cannot be imagined.

If I were to find and absorb other shards, wouldn't the results be different? However, unlike the Demon Realm, shards from other places will be one per location, so it may take a long time to get meaningful results.

Still, their absorption into my body without issue did seem to support the hypothesis that they were meant to empower the owner. For now, I can only be satisfied with having validated that premise to some extent.

*Knock! Knock*

"Brother…are you awake…?"

"Adele?"

Not long after I finished absorbing the last shard, I heard a knock on the door.

When I answered, Adele opened the door slightly and poked her head out through the gap.

"Adele. What brings you here at this late hour? It's time for bed now."

"…I…I…"

She hesitated as she entered the room. Around her neck, I could see the necklace chain of the ring I had given her earlier peeking out.

It seemed she had faithfully followed my instructions to always carry it with her.

And she was holding a storybook in her hand. It was only when I saw it that I realized Adele's purpose for coming.

"You want me to read you a story?"

"Yes…and I can't seem to fall asleep in my room…so…"

Judging by the way she was trailing off, it seemed Adele wanted something more than just a storybook. I thought back to the contents of the letter my father had sent me. He had definitely said that she had slept in my bed while I was away.

Come to think of it, even though it had been a long time since I had been here, my room was neatly maintained as if someone had been living in it all the time. Considering the current situation, I think Adele might have done it.

"Would you like to sleep here tonight then?" 

"Heheh…" Adele responded with a bright smile. Then she walked over to me and naturally climbed on my lap.

She handed me the storybook, silently urging me to begin. As I turned the pages and started reading the storybook, she was instantly lost into the book's world.

The way she immersed herself so realistically in the story, exclaiming "Wow!" or "Oh no!" at pivotal moments, was quite endearing – as if she herself was the protagonist in that world. 

In a sense, it was not inaccurate. She had scribbled over the princess's name and written her own in childish handwriting. And when I saw she had changed the prince's name to mine as well, I couldn't help but chuckle.

At twelve, one might think she'd outgrown fairy tales, but considering her tough life, perhaps she was trying to fill some void. If I help her fill that void whenever I can, maybe she'll naturally let go of these stories in time.

I didn't feel any inclination to scold her, though. The mere thought of it brought an odd sense of discomfort. In that sense, I'm not much different from our father, who raised me leniently.

I just hope she doesn't end up becoming a bit crooked like I did from being spoiled too much.

"So then the princess… no, Adele was… huh?"

Just as the story reached its climax, Adele's reactions oddly fell silent. I looked down to find her softly snoring, having drifted off to sleep; though it was long past bedtime, her excitement at seeing me and the enchantment of the story had kept her awake as long as she could manage.

I set the book aside and gently lifted Adele to lay her on my bed. As I tucked her in, she mumbled my name in her sleep.

"Heh… brother…"

I lightly stroked her hair, and she twitched contentedly. As time passed, her dreams shifted. Her face, initially serene, began to twist into a frown.

"No… these sneaky cats… brother is off-limits…"

"…What?"

I muttered reflexively, though I knew there'd be no answer from the sleeping Adele. What kind of dream was she having to say something like that? Children's worlds were often incomprehensible.

After tucking Adele in one last time, I went over to the rocking chair by the window and took a seat.

With Adele occupying my bed, this chair would be my resting place for the night.

* * * * *

I found myself enveloped in impenetrable darkness, unseeing in every direction. Paralyzed by fear for a time, I eventually forced myself to start walking.

After trudging along for a while, a faint cluster of light appeared in the distance. Eventually, I reached it, and the light began to take shape, showing me something akin to moving images.

Within that strange scene, I saw a familiar figure — blond hair and eyes as blue as the sea — Eugene.

Once in tattered clothes, toiling in the fields, he was now wearing a proper school uniform. The scene revolved around him, showing his surroundings.

Various people flickered in and out of his perspective and surprisingly, some were familiar faces. There was me, before I regained my memories.

Through Eugene's eyes, I watched myself with a sneering expression, mocking him. I saw myself, corpulent and jiggling, engaging in fistfights, and eventually getting dragged out after causing a ruckus in the student council room.

Eugene's path was constantly obstructed – by all manner of thugs, dangerous beasts, wicked demons and their underlings, even the Demon Lord leading the demon army.

But Eugene was not alone. Always by his side were companions united in purpose. And some of them were faces I recognized as well.

The visions continue to unspool, with Eugene journeying forward alongside Iris, Patricia, Selene, Claudia, Leta, and many others. 

Together, they fought against villains, defeated monsters plaguing villages, grieved for those sacrificed to demons and confronted the demons' minions and summoned beasts; they even breached the demon army's defenses and faced the Demon Lord himself, clad in his heavy black armor.

However, Eugene's journey wasn't all grim and blood-soaked. Eugene also spent precious time with each of the women, deepening their emotional bonds.

They strolled through the village hand in hand, attended festivals together, danced at balls, exchanging their passions. They explored uncharted territories, and huddled together for warmth when a sudden downpour soaked them to the bone.

Time had woven them together, and they had become inseparable.

At first I watched the flickering scenes without much thought, but then, something familiar yet strange caught my eye. The repeating scenes began to feel more and more like something I had seen before. And then, I realized.

The images before me were fragments of a story from my previous life, with Eugene as the protagonist — and I was now dreaming.

As soon as I recognized it as a dream, the surroundings dissolved in an instant. My room in the middle of the night was silent. All I could hear was Adele's soft snoring and the occasional creaking of the window, which I was sure was closed.

And yet, despite my open eyes, there was something far more alien present than any dream.

Perched heavily on my chest as I reclined in the rocking chair was a grotesque, simian-like creature — it looked vaguely like a monkey, but far more grotesque and sinister. Its body was covered in long, matted black fur, patches of which were missing to reveal an utterly repulsive form beneath. Its face was red and wrinkled, with a nose elongated to dangle over its upper lip. Where eyes should have been were only hollow, cavernous sockets.

Just as its long, coarse tail started to coil around my neck, it froze momentarily — as if taken aback. As if it hadn't expected me to wake up from the dream.

But its hesitation did not last. It released its tail from my throat and turned in an instant. It tried to escape through the open window, but unfortunately for it, I was faster.

I grabbed it by the neck, flinging it back into the room, then conjured a fire as black as pitch.

And I plunged it straight into its empty eye sockets.

— SHRIEEEKKKKK! KYYAAHHHHHH!!

An ear-splitting squeal, like a pig being slaughtered, reverberated through the room. I immediately pulled the emergency rune strand, and the entire mansion was blaring with alarm spells.

While the night had been moonless and pitch-black, the surroundings instantly flared with torchlight.

"Hieek…bro…ther…"

Startled by the commotion, Adele woke up from her sleep. And seeing something squirming on the floor, she quickly hid behind me. I gently wrapped my arm around her, and her trembling subsided slightly.

The screeching didn't last long — the creature now lay motionless, its grotesque body devoid of life.

The sound of footsteps grew louder and louder in the hallway, and soon, a group of soldiers burst into my room.

"My lord! Are you unharmed?!"

"I'm fine. But take a look at that thing."

On my orders, one of the soldiers flipped over the thing lying on the floor with the tip of his long spear. Upon seeing the revealed monstrosity, everyone present grimaced.

"Good heavens…what in the world is that…"

"Some kind of foul beast…"

Though its form was further distorted by the fire I had thrown, I could still make out its general identity.

A Nightmare Demon — a type of monster that sneaks into homes in the dead of night to induce nightmares in sleeping people, feeding on the negativity that arises from those dreams.

But this wasn't just any ordinary home.

The mansion I was in was located in the deepest part of the inner city, surrounded by all sorts of strict defenses.

How could such a lowly creature have breached…

"Brother…" 

Adele gripped my hand tightly, her anxiety palpable.

If you want to read it for a cheap price until the last chapter, patreon.com/Makima02