How to Survive as the Academy’s Villain

Chapter 148

[Avoid eye contact?]

‘Yeah, since their mind control magic only works if you make eye contact. If you block my view with your body, it should prevent the magic from affecting me.’

Although Airsya’s form was slightly transparent, I could still see the dryads’ movements through her.

[But they can’t see me, though?]

‘I can see you, and that’s enough. There’s no direct eye contact with them.’

It was a bit of a loophole, almost like wordplay, but it made sense. For their magic to take effect, there had to be direct eye contact between the caster and the victim.

‘But since you’re visible only to me, I can avoid their gaze entirely.’

I wasn’t entirely sure how it worked, but my gut told me this strategy would work.

As I quickly approached the dryads, I found myself face-to-face with one of them.

And—

“…!”

[How do you feel? Any headache or discomfort?]

As requested, Airsya placed herself between me and the dryad, and to my relief, I felt nothing.

‘Nothing at all.’

Proven that their magic had no effect on me thanks to Airsya, I prepared to counterattack.

“Fireball!”

A swarm of fireballs shot up into the sky, ready to rain down on the dryads. While physical attacks wouldn’t work on them, magic was another story.

‘Let’s burn them all.’

Just as I was about to launch the attack—

Schwing!

“Bring it on!”

Kyle’s sudden shout made me turn to see him, sword in hand, glaring at me.

“What?”

Kyle continued, seemingly caught up in his own thoughts.

“I told you before, didn’t I? That kind of magic won’t work on me.”

“…?”

I shook my head at Kyle’s apparent misunderstanding and directed the summoned magic toward the dryads.

Then—

Whoosh, boom, crash!

With a series of explosions, the two dryads were obliterated.

“Now, what were you saying?”

“…Huh?”

Kyle, who had been spouting dramatic lines, suddenly looked confused, his serious expression faltering.

“What have you been mumbling about over there?”

My sharp question seemed to snap him out of it. Sheepishly, Kyle lowered the sword he was holding, scratching the back of his head with an awkward grin.

“Oh, uh… nothing, really. Haha.”

[Is that guy an idiot?]

‘I wouldn’t say that… maybe just a little too earnest.’

As I shook my head, responding to Airsya’s comment, I heard familiar voices approaching.

“Kamon!”

“Is everyone okay?”

It was Chelsea and Princess Francia. They looked a bit battered, with some soot marks and bloodstains on their armor, indicating they had been through a tough fight.

“Yes, it’s all over here.”

“Kamon, why are you here?”

Princess Francia seemed puzzled, recalling the role I was supposed to play.

“It was necessary.”

I replied matter-of-factly.

“Necessary?”

“As you can see, they couldn’t handle it alone.”

“Alone? But Kyle and Fabian were… Hm?”

Princess Francia noticed something and looked slightly startled.

“Why is Fabian on the ground?”

Most of the monsters, who had been under the dryads’ mind control, were now unconscious on the ground. With the dryads gone, they seemed to have fainted.

Fabian, too, was unconscious, lying on the ground.

“Well, about that…”

Kyle, who was standing nearby, hesitated to explain, so I stepped in firmly.

“Fabian fell under the dryad’s mind control. Because of that, the children were in danger.”

“What?”

Princess Francia’s face showed a moment of confusion, but she quickly pieced the situation together and nodded.

“It was the dryad’s mind magic.”

“Yes.”

At that moment—

Rustle.

“Fortunately, the children are safe.”

Chelsea emerged from the bushes with the children who had been hiding. Most of them were pale with fear, but one little girl’s eyes were still sparkling despite the terror.

‘That look is a bit unsettling.’

Her gaze was locked entirely on me, making me uncomfortable. I quickly averted my eyes and spoke to Princess Francia.

“I’ll leave the cleanup to you, Princess. I need a break.”

“Oh, alright.”

Princess Francia nodded as she surveyed the wreckage.

[You’re tired after just this? The same you who was casting those powerful spells nonstop?!]

Airsya seemed indignant, flustered by my comment.

‘Just be quiet. I’m tired, that’s all.’

Ignoring her complaints, I quietly slipped away from the group.

Then—

“Hm, so this is how it works.”

I picked up a few unconscious gnolls and goblins, examining the traces left on them.

The dryads’ mind control magic intrigued me. Despite its limitations, if successfully cast, it seemed to be a highly effective form of control.

However—

“So, it’s not mana, but corrupted spirit energy they use?”

[Didn’t I tell you? They’re spirits, but too lowly to be considered true spirits. They’re just low-grade tree spirits!]

Airsya cackled as she explained, and I nodded seriously, considering the implications.

Humans typically couldn’t use monster magic because the methods and systems were fundamentally different from ours.

But—

“If it’s corrupted spirit energy, that changes things.”

If it’s not mana but corrupted spirit energy, then maybe I could use it too.

I had absorbed some of Airsya’s power, after all.

With the general principles understood and the information analyzed and stored in my mind, I wrapped up my study of the dryads’ magic and returned to the group. Princess Francia was the first to brief me on our current situation.

“We’ve decided to take the children back to their village nearby. We can’t just leave them here.”

I nodded at her decision, though Chelsea, who stood nearby, reminded everyone of something important in a firm tone.

“We don’t have much time left. We only have about a day before things get really tight. If we take longer than that, we might not make it in time.”

Princess Francia sighed lightly and nodded in agreement.

“Yes, I’m aware. We’ll move as quickly as possible. If things get too tight, we may have to leave Fabian in the village and keep moving. We can’t drag an unconscious teammate with us.”

“…”

Kyle, who was supporting the unconscious Fabian, didn’t say anything. It was clear from his expression that he agreed with this plan, despite its harshness.

I walked over to Kyle and quietly asked him something important.

“Hey, Kyle.”

“Yeah, Kamon?”

He smiled as he responded, still holding up Fabian.

I leaned in closer and asked the question that had been on my mind.

“When you were exposed to the dryad’s mind magic, what did it feel like?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, when you made eye contact with the dryad, how did it feel? Was it tingly? Did you get a headache or something?”

“Hmm… I’m not really sure. Things were so chaotic at the time that I didn’t really notice.”

“…I see.”

Kyle’s puzzled expression told me he wasn’t able to give me a clear answer. I decided not to press the issue further. Even if I got an answer now, it wasn’t like I could immediately learn or replicate the magic.

‘I was hoping to get a better sense of how it worked.’

I continued walking beside Kyle and gave him a parting remark.

“Let me know if anything comes to mind later.”

“Sure, I will.”

Kyle smiled faintly and nodded. I turned my gaze elsewhere.

‘He’s always so agreeable.’

“Alright, let’s get moving.”

Despite her natural discomfort around children, Chelsea took on the task of looking after them without hesitation. She led the way as we followed Princess Francia’s instructions and headed toward the village where the children lived.

We arrived at a small village just before dusk, where we were greeted with overwhelming gratitude.

“Thank you so much.”

“The kids wandered into the forest on their own… We’re just so relieved they’re safe.”

“Thank you, really.”

The villagers, who had been anxiously waiting after learning the children had gone missing, were beside themselves with relief. Parents, who were clearly on edge, repeatedly bowed their heads in gratitude.

“…We’ll talk about this later.”

“I’m just glad you’re back safe.”

“Whew, you really gave me a scare!”

There were all sorts of reactions from the villagers.

And then—

“Ho ho, we owe a great debt to you Academy students.”

Amidst the crowd, I heard a familiar voice.

“The village chief.”

“He’s the head of this village.”

As the village leader approached us, I momentarily lost my words.

“…”

The old man, smiling as he approached, also froze the moment our eyes met.

“This… this is…”

The village chief’s expression changed as if he had seen a ghost, his words stuck in his throat.

“Ch-Chief?”

“What’s wrong?”

The others looked puzzled, clearly not understanding what was happening. Even our group exchanged confused glances. Princess Francia stepped forward, speaking modestly on our behalf.

“We were simply doing what we had to.”

“…”

Despite her polite words, the old man couldn’t seem to take his eyes off me, unable to speak.

‘So, we meet again.’

I smirked at him, memories flooding back to me, memories of someone I had vowed never to forget, not even in my dreams.

– If you head that way, you’ll have to cross a mountain, but there shouldn’t be any real dangers. You should be able to cross it fairly quickly.

– I’m not exactly sure how long it’ll take, but I’d say about three or four days at a normal walking pace.

I remembered being chased by bears and wolves, spending sleepless nights shivering in fear while feeding blood to insects for free. All these unpleasant memories surfaced.

Yes, he was the one who gave me the wrong directions.

The first real crisis I faced in this world after getting transported here was all thanks to this man.

‘That was the first time I really got screwed over.’

And—

– The village chief directed you to that mountain path? Something’s not right. He wouldn’t send you through such a dangerous area unless he did it on purpose.

‘I still owe that chef back at the Academy, don’t I?’

I decided to save that for later when I returned to the Academy. For now…

I smiled brightly at the village chief, the man who had once sent me down the wrong path, and spoke.

“Good to see you again, Chief. We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

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