How to Survive as the Academy’s Villain

Chapter 124

“Sorry, I had a place to stop by for a bit.”

Rosen Ravenia, who joined us a little late, raised her hand in apology before sitting down in front of us.

“It’s alright, we didn’t wait too long.”

“That’s right. We already ordered for you.”

The renowned Pouncen Bakery of Velium was indeed overflowing with female students. As soon as Lady Cecilia and I showed up, I felt a bit of a prickling sensation at the back of my head.

‘But it was just for a moment.’

Soon, everyone was so obsessed with the bread and cakes that they stopped paying attention to us entirely.

“There are really a lot of people here.”

“I told you, everyone is desperate to come here.”

Rosen chuckled at my remark, and soon Lady Cecilia voiced her genuine admiration.

“Wow, this is amazing. It’s really delicious.”

‘Is it really that good?’

Curious about her enthusiastic reaction, I cut a small piece of cake with my fork and put it in my mouth.

Swoosh.

Like melting snow, the rich taste of milk and the sweet and tangy flavor of raspberries blended harmoniously, creating a symphony of flavors in my mouth.

“Oh, it’s good.”

“Right? Kamon, does it suit your taste too?”

“Yes, well.”

I didn’t think I would come back here just for this, but it wasn’t bad to try it at least once in my life.

…was what I wanted to say with a macho attitude, but the taste was undeniably impressive.

“I might want to come back here just for this.”

“As expected, Kamon. You know how to enjoy food!”

Indeed, from the harmony of the sweet and sour flavors to the smooth texture, it was clear why the girls were so crazy about it.

“Yes, it’s definitely good.”

Rosen Ravenia also nodded, reacting with a measured emotional response.

“Try this too, Kamon.”

Seeing Cecilia offering me another bread, I waved my hand and replied,

“Oh, I’ll help myself.”

“Yeah, Cecilia. Let him eat at his own pace.”

“But this one is really good…”

Lady Cecilia murmured with a slightly disappointed look, but soon she was back to enjoying her dessert. As the sweet treats filled my mouth repeatedly, I began to feel a bit of a high.

‘Is this what they call a sugar high?’

Lady Cecilia, having devoured all the bread and cake, smiled brightly with whipped cream on her lips.

“Um, can I get some more?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll be right back then.”

“Take your time, Cecilia.”

Smiling brightly at our responses, Lady Cecilia quickly went back inside the bakery. With her gone, Rosen Ravenia spoke to me in a more serious tone.

“Kamon Vade.”

“Yes?”

“Do you really have no intention of joining the student council?”

“No, I don’t.”

“You’re very firm.”

She chuckled, and I tilted my head, asking,

“But don’t you dislike me?”

“Me?”

Rosen Ravenia looked slightly surprised, then seemed to remember something.

‘Oh right, the Monster Trio. They said they’d introduce me to the student council…’

Well, I can mention that later. As I brushed off the thought, Rosen Ravenia continued.

“It seems there’s a misunderstanding. I don’t dislike anyone in particular.”

“I see.”

“But that doesn’t mean I support you joining the student council. I’ve always opposed it, but our president is very keen, so I thought I’d make the offer.”

Her answer seemed unnecessarily long for my simple question.

‘Whatever.’

“Yes, thank you. But I’m not interested.”

“Good, it’s better to be clear.”

Nodding, she then brought up another topic.

“But you see, even if you don’t join the student council, you need to help solve one problem.”

“A problem?”

What problem? And why should I help solve it?

As various questions rose in my mind, she said,

“The ‘Vishran’ hot spring.”

“Ah…”

I roughly guessed what was coming next.

“It seems the Duke, I mean Cecilia’s father, has caught wind of the promise regarding it. Naturally, your name came up.”

“…”

It was just a pledge to gather votes. It’s not like it had to be carried out.

“I can guess what you want to say from your expression…”

Rosen Ravenia chuckled and glanced at Lady Cecilia inside the bakery before continuing.

“But our Cecilia isn’t the type to just let it go.”

“I see.”

Our Cecilia, huh… This from someone who used to look at her with eyes that could kill.

“Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say. Whether you want it or not, if this proceeds, you’ll be involved to some extent.”

“Can’t you just handle it yourself?”

“Of course, I’d like to.”

As Rosen Ravenia shrugged, I quickly tried to add,

“Then Vice President, you should use your influ—”

“Here’s the new dessert… Huh? What were you two talking about?”

Lady Cecilia, having chosen another dessert and returned, asked us.

“We were just chatting about nothing important.”

“Yeah, nothing at all.”

“…”

Looking back and forth between us, she then shouted in a firm tone,

“Tell me honestly. What were you talking about without me!”

At her firm demand, Rosen and I could only shake our heads.

* * *

“So you ended up paying double?”

“Yes, but Angela covered more than half.”

“I see. You’ve worked hard, Nike.”

In the Velium branch of the Dark Guild City, Director Senbran sighed deeply as he spoke to the woman assisting him.

She smiled faintly and replied,

“It was nothing. And don’t scold Angela too much. She did what she thought was best.”

“Then at least finish the job properly. It’s a problem when you keep causing trouble every time.”

“Who could have predicted that Lady Romanoff and the Ravenia kid would show up there? No one could have seen that coming.”

Branch Manager Senbran nodded at Nike’s defense of Angela.

“Alright, I get it. Keep an eye on her, Nike.”

“Got it. Take care, Branch Manager.”

Creak, bang!

As Nike, one of the members of the Dark Guild, exited, Senbran spoke towards the darkness.

“Angela, stop hiding and come out.”

From the seemingly empty spot emerged a familiar girl. Senbran’s voice had called her out.

“I didn’t give you that artifact so you could sneak around like a stray cat.”

At Senbran’s stern words, Angela hesitated before speaking.

“Sorry, I just…”

“Did you forget what I told you, or did you deliberately erase it from your memory?”

“What?”

“I told you last time not to mess with academy students, especially Kamon Vade. He’s… never mind.”

He let out a deep sigh and shook his head, causing Angela to glare at him with an aggrieved look.

“But, brother, you heard it too. Who would have thought those girls would show up…”

“Enough!”

He interrupted her before she could finish.

“When you’re out on a guild mission, are you going to keep making excuses, saying it couldn’t be helped?”

“Brother, I mean…”

“If you defy my orders and draw your sword, you better bring back a perfect success or some result. Instead, you’re just making disgraceful and stupid mistakes.”

“Give me one more chance. I’ll succeed next time and show those bastards what I can do.”

“Chance? You missed your first chance and now you expect another? Do you think you can become a guild member with that mindset?”

“That’s…”

“Enough. No more initiation for at least a year. You are not qualified to be part of the Dark Guild. And you’re banned from here for at least a month. That’s an order from your Branch Manager, not your brother.”

“Gah!”

Angela bit her lower lip in frustration, her eyes filled with tears, glaring sharply at her brother. She then shouted,

“Fine, I don’t need this guild!”

“Angela!”

“This is my personal revenge. I will repay the humiliation I suffered. Who are you to stop me?”

“You really…”

“Don’t interfere. I will get my revenge on those bastards. The Dark Guild? Ha, if this is what being a guild member means, then I reject it!”

With that, she stormed out of the office. Senbran shook his head and collapsed into his chair.

“Ha, really…”

After a moment of silence, he muttered towards the empty air.

“Yon, are you there?”

“Yes, Branch Manager. I’ve been on standby.”

“You heard everything, right?”

“Not intentionally, but yes, I heard it all.”

“Then stick close to Angela and keep a tight watch on her. I don’t know what she’ll do, so don’t let anything slip by.”

“Is that an order or a request?”

Senbran chuckled at the response from the invisible Yon.

“Does it matter?”

“Not at all. I’ll handle it.”

As Yon replied, Senbran added with a gleam in his eye,

“And gather more precise information on Kamon Vade and his friends.”

“Academy students? That’s not easy.”

“That’s an order.”

“Got it. I’ll get on it right away.”

“Good.”

With that, the presence in the air vanished, leaving Senbran alone. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

“Being an older brother isn’t easy.”

* * *

My visit to the city of Velium was over. Lady Cecilia had pestered me for a long time about what Rosen Ravenia and I had talked about, but…

“At least the dessert was good.”

The issue wasn’t really mine to handle. It was up to Lady Cecilia, the real student council president, to manage it.

“I’m sure Rosen, the vice president, will handle it well.”

I just hoped that no more problems would come my way. Elliot and Lois vowed revenge for me quietly slipping away, but mentioning Rosen’s shield quickly quashed their anger.

“All in all, it wasn’t a bad weekend.”

Time had flown by, but it wasn’t without meaning. It was a new and different feeling to enjoy these small things with close people.

The hectic weekend passed, and Monday at the academy felt the same as usual. Classes proceeded normally, and students engaged in their usual chatter. However, something caught my attention…

“Did you hear? There was an earthquake in the back mountain.”

“Yeah, I heard too. But it wasn’t an earthquake, it was an explosion.”

“Come on, you’re both behind. It wasn’t an earthquake or an explosion. A hidden dungeon was discovered in the back mountain. The professors dealt with it.”

“A dungeon?”

“Yeah. Some students found it.”

“Students?”

Hearing this familiar story, I felt a sense of déjà vu.

“This is from the original story, right?”

As I recalled more details, I nodded.

“Oh right, it’s about time for Kyle to make his move.”

After the midterm exams of the second semester, Kyle’s activities were supposed to ramp up.

A student mumbled,

“Yeah, I heard Kyle and Princess Francia were there. But it’s just a rumor, so who knows.”

In the original story, Kyle, as the protagonist, discovered a hidden dungeon in the back mountain, earning a fortuitous encounter.

“Didn’t he get the Sword of the Hero and the Ancient Spirit?”

These were prepared for the growth of the protagonist Kyle and the main heroine, Princess Francia.

“Looks like they’re doing well.”

I hadn’t seen Kyle since the Honor Duel, but hearing that the story was progressing smoothly without me felt satisfying.

Though…

“Should I ask him?”

Remembering the subconscious memory I saw, I considered it for a moment before shaking my head vigorously.

“No, forget it. Don’t do anything unnecessary.”

As long as Kyle was moving forward without any issues, that was enough.

“Just become the hero who saves this world.”

In the meantime, I would quietly stay out of trouble and live inconspicuously.

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