How to Survive as the Academy’s Villain

Chapter 144

“Please be sure to come back next time!”

“Have a safe journey, Princess.”

“You must succeed in the ‘Novice Challenge.’”

“May the Goddess Demeter’s blessings guide our city’s heroes on their path…!”

As we left the Port City of Califa, many people came out to see us off.

“Thank you, everyone.”

“I’ll definitely return.”

“…”

Princess Francia, Kyle, Fabian, and even Chelsea were all deeply moved by the crowd’s reactions, energetically waving back.

Even Mayor Everdon joined in.

“I wish you all victory and happiness on your journey.”

With a warm smile, he gave us his final blessing as we departed.

[All of that used to belong to me…]

I shook my head at Airsya’s reaction as she gazed longingly at the crowd.

‘Why would they be yours? If you’re going to spout nonsense, why don’t you just go back to the ‘Orb’?‘

[What? Nonsense? There’s nothing false in what I said. They were all supposed to be my prey. If it weren’t for you…!]

Airsya’s jealous spirit grumbled in anger, but I simply shook my head and raised my right hand.

[W-wait. Fine. I’ll stay quiet, just don’t—Ugh!]

After making it clear who was in charge, I turned to Princess Francia.

‘She wants me to take command of the upcoming journey?’

She had logically explained over dinner why I should be the one to lead from now on.

– Kamon. It may be surprising from your perspective, but we absolutely must succeed in the ‘Novice Challenge.’ You know more about the geography, locations, and secrets of the Vade family than anyone else. You’re the perfect fit for this role.

No, not at all.

The real Kamon Vade would know that stuff.

I’m Kang Hyunsoo, after all.

However, her request made one thing crystal clear to me.

‘The Princess already knows our destination.’

If she didn’t, she wouldn’t so openly ask me to take on the role of a guide.

She would have been worried and hesitant, much like the others, watching my every move with concern.

A normal person wouldn’t react that way unless they were prepared or already knew what was happening.

Yet, I couldn’t reject Princess Francia’s request without a valid reason, so I had no choice but to follow her instructions.

‘Sigh, how did I end up in this mess… But what do I do now? I really don’t know anything.’

As I briefly met eyes with Princess Francia, she gave me a small smile and nodded.

“From here, let’s have Kamon take the lead.”

“Uh? Me?”

“Yes, you’re the one who knows the way best, aren’t you?”

I replied to Princess Francia with a hesitant smile.

“Haha, well… Alright.”

‘Damn it, how am I supposed to navigate from here?’

After a moment of contemplation, I noticed her confident gaze and reluctantly took a step forward.

‘I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.’

All roads lead somewhere, right? As long as we keep moving forward, we’ll get there eventually, whether we circle back or get lost. I’ll worry about it later.

Since I had no idea where we were heading, I could only move forward blindly.

* * *

How many days had passed?

After leaving the Port City of Califa for what felt like a long time, we were now deep within a forest.

Rustle, rustle.

As I was making my way through the underbrush, Kyle spoke up.

“It’s definitely easier with someone who knows the way leading us. There seem to be fewer obstacles too.”

What? How is that…?

To me, it’s all just a forest path.

At that moment, Chelsea, who was walking beside me, nodded in agreement.

“We’ve been wasting time on unnecessary detours, but now we’re finally making progress.”

Though no one spoke to me directly, they all looked at me with trust and confidence in their eyes.

‘Damn it, stop looking at me like that.’

I really have no idea where I’m going.

I’m just walking straight ahead!

Then suddenly—

“Kamon, are we going the right way?”

Princess Francia, who had sidled up next to me, whispered in a low voice.

“Yes?”

“Is this really the right way?”

“…”

“I mean, when I checked the map earlier, it looked like we were supposed to go left, but this path seems to take us in a roundabout way north.”

Oh, so it’s still the right path, even if it’s roundabout.

“I don’t understand why we’re taking this route.”

As she continued to mutter and question me, I shrugged and answered briefly.

“Well then, why don’t you take the lead, Princess?”

“What? What did you say?”

“You seem to know the way better than I do. Perhaps you should lead.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Her eyebrows raised slightly as she glared at me, and she tried to continue.

“Kamon, we made a promise…”

“Oh, I remember. I remember it clearly, and that’s why I’m doing this.”

“Then why? Don’t tell me you’re…”

“…?”

“Are you intentionally leading us astray because we’re headed to the Vade family?”

“Princess.”

“What? Don’t look at me like that.”

Princess Francia huffed and turned her head away sharply.

‘What’s with her?’

When did I ever glare at her?

[That woman has an irritating personality.]

‘I completely agree.’

[Oh, this is the first time we’ve agreed on something.]

The jealous spirit Airsya fluttered around happily.

I then turned my head slightly to the left path.

‘Should I take the left path now?’

There’s no need to insist on a roundabout route when I’m supposed to be guiding.

Yeah, if I get the chance…

Grab!

“Kamon. Wait a moment.”

Princess Francia’s sudden grip on my shoulder made me stop in my tracks and turn to face her.

“What is it now?”

“Shh, just wait a moment.”

After saying that, she closed her eyes and began to murmur to herself.

I noticed her nodding and her lips moving slightly.

‘Ah, is she communicating with her spirit?’

It made sense that the giant wolf spirit was nowhere to be seen; she must have sent it ahead.

Then, unexpectedly, Airsya made an offer.

[Do you want me to interpret that?]

‘What?’

[Do you want me to interpret what she’s saying?]

‘You can understand that?’

[Ahem, hey. What do you take me for? I’m the one and only Jealous Spirit Airsya. That’s child’s play for me.]

Amused by her boastful attitude, I nodded with a smile.

‘Alright, let’s hear it.’

[Hmm, she’s being informed that a group of monsters is gathering to the west. That’s probably in the direction she said we should go earlier. She’s being told to avoid that area. Hehe.]

Listening to Airsya’s snickering translation, I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

‘Monsters gathering to the west?’

At that moment.

Flash!

Princess Francia suddenly opened her eyes with a slightly flustered expression and gave an awkward smile.

“W-well then, shall we continue?”

Seeing her like this, I couldn’t help but grin as I asked.

“Princess, I think we should take the left path.”

“Huh? Why all of a sudden? Why?”

“After hearing your advice, I realized there’s no need to waste time taking a roundabout way. Even if it’s a bit ‘dangerous,’ it’s better to push through…”

“N-no. No. Let’s just keep going straight as planned. Kamon, you’re the guide after all.”

With a hasty wave of her hand, she quickly agreed to follow my lead, her awkward smile betraying her true thoughts.

I couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly as I tilted my head.

“What?”

“I mean, I’m just saying I’ll follow the guide’s lead.”

“Then let’s go left. There’s no need to go around…”

“No, Kamon!”

Finally, Princess Francia couldn’t hold back and shouted.

Her sudden outburst caught the attention of the others behind us.

With a slightly embarrassed flush creeping up her ears, she whispered to me.

“I’m sorry. You must be upset because I kept interfering when I didn’t know anything, right?”

“What? I don’t understand what you’re…”

“I heard there are monsters that look like orcs hunting to the west. So let’s just go north. It seems like that area is dangerous.”

Seeing her repeat exactly what Airsya had told me earlier, I smiled inwardly.

“…”

However, it seemed that Princess Francia misunderstood my reaction.

“I’m sorry, Kamon. I won’t doubt or nag you again. Please forget what I said earlier.”

She looked regretful, and I struggled to suppress the smile that threatened to break out as I answered.

“Well, alright. Let’s get moving again.”

[You’re similar to me. You find joy in other people’s misfortune, which usually falls under the realm of jealousy.]

‘If you’re going to start with the nonsense again…’

[You knew everything but still tormented her. That’s also similar to arrogance. And maybe even anger… Hiiik.]

I rubbed the ring again, silencing her, then turned to the others.

“Let’s go. This way will do.”

And so, we continued our journey toward the Vade family.

As we continued toward the Vade family’s estate in the west, it felt like an unexpected stroke of luck had entered my life.

“Let’s take the left path.”

Choosing the left fork at a crossroads without much thought—

“…I hear there are Vade family members hunting on the right. I guess it’s hunting season.”

Not only did we avoid the Vade family’s men—

“We should go this way.”

“Look, the bridge is out.”

“If we’d taken the other path, we’d have had to turn back here. We’ve saved time. As expected of Kamon.”

We even managed to save time.

“We should head south over the mountains instead of crossing the river.”

“Is there really a need to go around? Let’s just cross the river here.”

Although Fabian opposed my suggestion—

“Has Kamon’s guidance ever led us wrong? Let’s just go over the mountain.”

Princess Francia, who had somehow become my loyal supporter, helped us head south over the mountain.

And then.

Rumble, crash!

Thunder, lightning, and a torrential downpour ensued.

“Is that the river we were going to cross?”

“Yeah, probably.”

Seeing the river swollen and raging, everyone shook their heads and looked away.

If we had chosen that path, we would have been swept away by the current.

“As expected of Kamon.”

“It’s best to follow Kamon’s advice.”

Everything I decided seemed to unintentionally turn out to be the right choice.

And.

‘Is this the right way?’

[There’s a suspicious group on the other side. They seem like bandits.]

At Airsya’s advice to take the overgrown path instead of the frequently traveled one—

“Let’s go this way.”

I led the party down a route that could hardly be called a path.

Some of them looked dissatisfied, but—

“I definitely sense a few people on the other path. They seem like bandits.”

Princess Francia’s timely interjection quelled any complaints.

‘Is it because we’re both spirit mages that we’re in sync?’

Ever since I started receiving Airsya’s help, Princess Francia and I had been working surprisingly well together.

Then—

[Don’t compare me to something as lowly and stupid as that!]

‘Lowly? Stupid?’

Who in this world could call an imperial princess lowly and stupid?

Yet, I found myself nodding in agreement with Airsya.

‘I’m not sure about lowly, but there’s definitely some stupidity there.’

I’d been watching her struggle for something that could never be achieved.

It did seem like Airsya and I were more alike than I’d initially thought.

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