How to Survive as the Academy’s Villain

Chapter 141

“Thank you so much, Your Highness.”

“Don’t thank me; thank him over there…”

“No, I thank you, Your Highness.”

The boy in the Flance Imperial Academy uniform first glanced at me, then bowed deeply to Princess Francia, offering his thanks solely to her.

‘Fraus? No, that’s not right. Was it Friar?’

He looked like the owner of the student ID Princess Francia had shown me while we were searching the mansion.

“I will repay this life-saving grace in the future.”

“I’m telling you, the one you should be thanking is not me, but Kamon Vade.”

Princess Francia spoke in a frustrated tone, but the boy still did not bow to me. Instead, his eyes were filled with fear and resentment as he looked at me.

‘I don’t know the details, but were you a victim of Kamon Vade too?’

I was used to this kind of situation, so I didn’t feel much, but it seemed that others felt differently.

“Hey, Friar Tarius.”

“Yes?”

“Whether your ears are blocked or you’re deliberately ignoring me, listen up this time.”

Princess Francia’s tone was firmer than ever.

“The person you should be thanking is Kamon Vade, not me. Understood?”

“…”

But Friar, stubborn as he was, kept his mouth shut and did not answer.

At that moment, Fabian, who had been watching, intervened.

“Hey, Your Highness, let’s not make things awkward. Hey, you, just leave now.”

At Fabian’s instruction, the boy bowed once more before quickly disappearing from sight.

Princess Francia sighed deeply and asked.

“Fabian, what are you doing?”

“There are other people here, not just that boy. If you get angry here, it will only harm your image, Your Highness.”

“….”

As Fabian pointed out, many of those rescued from the mansion and their families had gathered to express their gratitude.

And most of them were directing their thanks to Princess Francia, which was only natural.

‘Of course, when a princess and an ordinary student are together, people’s eyes are bound to go to the princess first.’

“Your Highness, thank you so much.”

“I will never forget this grace.”

“As expected, the light and pillar of the Empire. The grace of the royal family is boundless.”

Endless praises directed at Princess Francia.

“Hmph, this is ridiculous.”

I shook my head and chuckled at the sight.

I wasn’t doing this for the gratitude, and I was already satisfied with the pile of parchment accumulating there.

Those were all certificates of resolution with signatures.

Certificates confirming the resolution of complaints with the signatures of everyone here!

‘I should make a deal with Mayor Everdon for some good items. Resolving this many complaints makes me practically a hero of the city.’

Lost in such pointless thoughts, I glanced again at Princess Francia, who was engulfed in a flood of thanks, and heard a familiar voice.

“Kamon, are you okay?”

“Huh, what?”

Chelsea had approached without me noticing and asked with a concerned look.

“No, it’s just… like this.”

“What do you mean, like this?”

“You’re the one who actually fought and defeated the spirit in the mansion, Kamon. But people are…”

“I don’t care.”

“What?”

“I didn’t do it for the thanks, and it just happened by chance.”

Plus, I gained new power through the Orb.

That alone was a sufficient reward.

Honestly, I just wanted to leave and research the spirit magic circle.

I wanted to make the new abilities and powers my own.

“But!”

“Enough. I don’t like pointless formalities.”

I cut off Chelsea’s concerns decisively.

“….”

She stared at me for a moment before abruptly turning and walking away.

“What’s with her?”

She seemed to have come to comfort me, but it felt like she left in a huff.

Unable to predict Chelsea’s actions, I shook my head in confusion.

Suddenly, I felt someone tugging at my clothes.

“Oh, it’s you?”

The girl who had insisted I find her doll was standing there.

She bowed politely.

“Thank you for saving me, big brother.”

“Oh, uh… it’s nothing.”

Caught off guard, I stammered a bit and awkwardly asked,

“So, are you hurt anywhere?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“That’s good.”

“Yes, but…”

“Hm?”

“Did you find my doll?”

She asked with a sad look, her head hanging low.

“Ah, that…”

The doll had completely disintegrated and been absorbed by the Orb.

…But I couldn’t say that.

At that moment,

Thunk.

“Here, this is the doll you were looking for, right?”

I saw Chelsea approaching with the Blue Dragon doll.

The girl’s face lit up with a bright smile at the sight of the suddenly reappearing doll.

“Yes, that’s it! Thank you, sister.”

The girl bowed her head politely again, expressing her gratitude, and Chelsea smiled softly, patting her on the head.

“No, don’t thank me. Thank this person here. He’s the one who found it.”

“What? Me?”

“…Thank you.”

As the girl bowed her head again, I waved my hands dismissively.

“It’s fine, really. Just make sure not to lose your doll again, okay?”

“Yes!”

The girl replied energetically, then ran off somewhere, disappearing quickly.

“Phew.”

As I exhaled a breath I had been holding, Chelsea’s voice came again.

“Still, it’s nice to see a kid who knows how to show gratitude.”

“What? By the way, Chelsea, where did you find that doll?”

“Huh? Oh, it was just lying around in the mansion.”

Chelsea answered nonchalantly, and I couldn’t help but be impressed.

‘She found the doll amidst all that chaos? She’s really something.’

As I marveled at Chelsea’s thoroughness once again.

“Mr. Mayor, you’re here.”

With the shout of his attendant knight, the mayor of the port city Califa, Everdon, appeared through the crowd.

With a hearty smile, he approached us and began to speak.

“Thanks to you all, a great danger to the city has been averted. On behalf of the citizens, I would like to express my gratitude.”

Then, Mayor Everdon bowed his head in a show of respect.

“We were just doing our duty. Any student of Flance Imperial Academy would have done the same.”

Princess Francia responded calmly.

Mayor Everdon nodded with a gentle smile.

“Knowing one’s duty and performing it are two entirely different things. Perhaps we are witnessing the birth of new sacred heroes of the empire.”

“Your praise is too much, Mayor.”

“Haha, not at all. No matter how many words of praise I add, they can’t fully convey the gratitude I feel and the grace the entire city has received from you. So…”

Mayor Everdon signaled to his secretary, who then brought two large shields.

“I would like to present these plaques of appreciation, in the name of the city of Califa, to Princess Francia and Kamon Vade, who have rendered great service. Additionally, the city’s treasure vault will be opened to you and the other students, allowing each of you to take one item of your choice.”

With Mayor Everdon promising such thorough rewards, the gathered crowd erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers.

“As expected of Mayor Everdon.”

“He sure is generous despite his appearance!”

“Yes, he should reward them that much.”

“Cool, he’s handsome too. The mayor is great!”

“Well, maybe not that much.”

With the people’s enthusiastic responses, the ceremony to present the plaques of appreciation proceeded.

After all the events, ceremonies, and the celebration and gratitude party ended, and everyone had returned to their accommodations late at night.

“…”

I stared at the shield-shaped plaque of appreciation in front of me.

It bore the name Kamon Vade, the name of the port city Califa, and the signature of Mayor Everdon.

“I didn’t expect to receive another one of these.”

Last time, I had received a plaque of appreciation from the academy for preventing Princess Francia’s assassination.

This time, it was for subduing the spirit and rescuing the citizens.

“Should I be happy about this?”

Of course, I felt quite pleased.

No, it would be more accurate to say I was slightly excited.

However,

“Having more attention on me isn’t necessarily a good thing.”

The more attention I received, the more the original storyline was likely to twist and be disrupted, which required caution.

It could even alter the ending of this world.

“Phew, I don’t know.”

But with the student council election results already changed and the Novice Challenge event altered, would worrying about such things now really make a big difference?

‘What’s changed has already changed.’

The most important thing was for the protagonist, Kyle, to become a hero and defeat the Demon King, as long as that didn’t change.

“Yes, something like this shouldn’t have a huge impact.”

Kyle, the protagonist, was growing stronger with his constantly cheat-like abilities.

And the other supporting characters as well…

“If I gear them up with good equipment from the city’s treasure vault tomorrow, they should become even stronger. That’s enough. Now I need to focus on the spirit magic circle and…”

As I tried to clear my mind and organize my complicated thoughts.

Whirrr.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, the Orb on my finger began to glow.

“What’s going on…?”

The intense light from the Orb soon began to leak out.

“Damn!”

I quickly focused, trying to control the Orb’s rampage.

‘It’s not listening.’

Despite my efforts, the Orb continued to emit light uncontrollably.

Simultaneously.

Tingle.

Once again, I felt the familiar sensation, a feeling related to the spirit energy.

“What is this?”

Then, the light particles from the Orb started to gather, forming a shape.

The shape quickly took on the form of a dragon, emitting a familiar sound.

[Ugh…]

“…Airsya?”

It was definitely the voice of Airsya, the spirit of jealousy I had supposedly destroyed.

Flash!

[What’s going on, why am I here…? Oh? You! You dare to destroy me?!]

The spirit, locking eyes with me, flared with hostility and shouted.

And I could only stare in bewilderment at Airsya and ask,

“Why are you coming out from there?”