How to Survive as the Academy’s Villain

Chapter 158



Chapter 158

“Fresh fruit! Get your fresh fruit here!”

“Come and listen to an entertaining story!”

“…Visit Seriton’s Blacksmith for all your metal needs! Our finest craftsmen are ready to serve you!”

The bustling street was alive with activity, filled with vendors and townspeople going about their business.

“Everyone looks cheerful.”

“It’s definitely what you’d expect from the main stronghold of the Vade Marquisate. Even the guards are well-disciplined,” Princess Francia whispered to Fabian, who nodded in agreement.

As they walked, Chelsea murmured as she eyed the goods being sold.

“The variety of goods and the level of craftsmanship here are on par with the Empire’s capital.”

“Well, they are one of the five great Electors of the Empire, after all. And this is also Kamon’s…”

“Shh, Kyle!”

At the sudden mention of my name, everyone shot Kyle a sharp look, prompting him to fall silent.

“Oh, sorry. I forgot,” Kyle apologized with an awkward smile, waving his hands in embarrassment.

Princess Francia, in a firm tone, ended the conversation.

“No more unnecessary chatter. Let’s head to the location we discussed.”

With half-white masks that subtly distorted people’s perceptions, we moved quickly and quietly through the streets.

Finally, we arrived at our destination.

“…Is this the place, Kamon?” Princess Francia asked cautiously, after confirming that no one was around.

We stood before an old, dilapidated cabin on the outskirts of the city. It was a stark contrast to the orderly and beautifully maintained city center.

It looked just like the place described in the original story.

“Well, I think so,” I replied.

“What do you mean ‘you think so’? How can you be unsure at a time like this? Are you certain this is the secret passage?” she pressed.

‘…Well, how would I know for sure? I’ve never been here before.’

Before I could respond, Chelsea interjected, saving me from further questioning.

“Kamon hasn’t been here before, so he probably doesn’t know for sure. Right, Kamon?”

“Yes, that’s right. This is my first time here too, so I’m not completely sure. But it should be the right place. As you can see, there’s nothing else around here,” I said, nodding in agreement.

The cabin was located in an abandoned area on the outskirts of the fortress, where no one lived. Aside from this rundown cabin, the area was dotted with structures that were hardly worthy of being called buildings.

“Hmm,” Princess Francia muttered as she scanned the surroundings.

“Well, in that case, I’ll have my spirit scout the interior…”

“Wait a moment.”

“Fabian?”

“There are signs that the path in front of the door has been cleared. This definitely isn’t just an abandoned house,” Fabian pointed out, examining the area closely.

Kyle quickly moved to inspect the spot Fabian mentioned and asked, “Where? In front of the door?”

“Yeah, right there. The rest of the area around the building is overgrown with weeds and littered with debris, but the area in front of the door is clean. It looks like people have been coming and going here,” Fabian explained.

“Oh, you’re right.”

The sharpness with which Fabian assessed the situation surprised everyone.

‘After all the trouble he’s caused, he’s finally proving useful.’

[That one’s attitude has completely changed from before,] Airsya noted, also noticing Fabian’s transformation.

“Alright then, I’ll check inside…” Princess Francia began, then hesitated, glancing at me briefly before continuing. “Let’s see what’s inside.”

She closed her eyes and murmured something under her breath. Moments later, a spirit in the form of a wolf emerged and merged with her, then darted into the cabin.

“Hmm, there’s no one inside the cabin, and nothing seems out of place… Wait, what?”

“What is it, Your Highness?” Kyle asked as she abruptly paused. Raising her hand to stop him from speaking, Princess Francia muttered something else quietly.

Then.

“There’s a hidden space behind the fireplace, no, a staircase,” Princess Francia said with a bright smile, then turned to the rest of the group. “This is it. We’ve found the secret passage.”

After ensuring there were no alarm spells or traps hidden nearby, we opened the cabin door.

Creak!

The door’s hinges groaned as we entered the cabin. Just as Princess Francia had described, there was nothing inside.

“You said the secret passage is behind the fireplace?”

Kyle was the first to approach it. He placed his hand on the wall behind the extinguished fireplace and pushed with all his strength.

“Hmmph.”

But the wall didn’t budge.

“Eh, what’s this? It’s not moving.”

“Are you sure you’re pushing it properly, Kyle?”

“Yeah, I’m pushing with all my strength. Wait, maybe if I just cut through…”

Kyle reached for his sword, but before he could draw it, both Princess Francia and Chelsea shouted at him simultaneously.

“Kyle, stop!”

“Don’t do that, Kyle.”

“…Huh?”

Kyle froze mid-action, clearly taken aback by the simultaneous commands from Chelsea and Princess Francia. His confusion was palpable as he slowly lowered his hand, still gripping his sword.

Chelsea quickly took the opportunity to explain, “There might be some kind of mechanism or trap nearby. And remember, Kamon mentioned that the door can only be opened by a blood relative of the Vade family.”

“Oh, right,” Kyle mumbled, realizing his mistake.

“Chelsea is correct,” Princess Francia added with a gentle smile. “Let’s search the area first. We know there’s a space behind the wall, so we just need to find a way through.”

Following her suggestion, we all began inspecting the area around the fireplace.

Not long after…

“…I think I found something here,” Fabian announced from near the lower right side of the fireplace.

“What? It looks like some kind of pattern,” Kyle said as he joined Fabian.

“That’s the Vade family crest, the griffin,” Princess Francia identified the symbol with a nod, then turned to me.

“Kamon, are you ready?” she asked.

I nodded and pulled out the dagger I had prepared earlier. *Ah, this is going to hurt.* But there was no turning back now. *Let’s just get it over with.*

Without hesitation, I made a small cut on my fingertip.

Slice.

As the sharp blade drew blood, I pressed the drop of red onto the griffin emblem.

Ssshhhhh, clank!

The sound of gears turning echoed from within the wall.

“It’s working,” Chelsea remarked.

“The door should open soon,” Princess Francia added.

As the others exchanged words of anticipation, the massive wall behind the fireplace began to lower with a deep rumble.

Rumble, rumble!

“Let’s go in,” I said.

***

Clop, clop.

The sound of our footsteps echoed in the quiet, narrow corridor. Kyle, his eyes wide with curiosity, scanned the surroundings as he spoke.

“Wow, so this is what a secret passage looks like.”

“What, have you never seen a secret passage before?” Fabian asked.

“Of course not. When would I ever have a reason to see one?” Kyle replied with a bright smile, leaving Fabian momentarily speechless.

At that moment…

“Shh! Both of you, quiet down,” Princess Francia sharply reprimanded them.

The two immediately fell silent, glancing around nervously. Fabian mouthed something to Kyle, who responded with a small grin and a shrug.

After walking for some time…

“A fork in the road?” Chelsea noted as we approached a point where the path split in two directions.

“Kamon? Which way do we go?” Princess Francia asked, naturally turning to me for guidance.

I shook my head. “As I mentioned earlier, I only knew that the passage existed. I’ve never used it myself.”

“Right, so we don’t know which way to go,” she said with a sigh, acknowledging the situation.

Chelsea, examining the split paths, asked me, “Kamon, is this secret passage designed like a maze?”

“What?”

“I mean, is the path divided like this in multiple places, or just here?”

“How would I know?” I replied, slightly exasperated. I only knew about the secret passage from the original story. Whether it was a maze or not was beyond my knowledge since the details weren’t provided in the source material.

Kyle turned to Chelsea, curious, “Why do you ask, Chelsea?”

“It’s just that the air and the sounds coming from deeper inside suggest that this isn’t the only split in the path,” Chelsea explained, then turned to Princess Francia. “Your Highness, do you think you could use your spirit again to scout?”

“No, Chelsea. I understand what you’re suggesting, but it might be difficult to use the spirit in this situation,” Princess Francia responded, glancing at me briefly before continuing. “I could try, but in a space this large with paths branching off like this, it wouldn’t be very effective.”

Her ancient spirit, Gatraon, a wolf, scratched the ground in frustration, seemingly disappointed by the limitations.

[A useless spirit, indeed,] Airsya commented smugly.

‘Could you do it any better?’ I shot back.

[Of course. A maze like this would be trivial for me.]

‘Oh, really? Then go ahead and show me.’

[Hmph, why should I?] Airsya retorted.

‘So you can’t do it?’

[Do you really think I’d fall for such a petty trick?] Airsya huffed.

‘Oh, seems like you’re finally catching on,’ I thought, a bit amused that my provocations no longer swayed her as easily as before.

Just as I was reflecting on how Airsya had grown, Princess Francia’s voice brought me back to the present.

“Let’s split up.”

“…Excuse me?” I replied, turning to face her.

“It’s hard to choose the right path immediately, and we can’t afford to waste time here. So, we’ll split into two teams, explore both paths, and then meet back here at the agreed time,” she explained.

“Meet back here?” Kyle asked, unsure of the plan.

“It’s difficult to move forward, but it’s not hard to retrace our steps,” Princess Francia clarified.

Her plan was to divide our group of five into two teams, each exploring one of the forked paths. After a set amount of time, we’d regroup here and continue down whichever path seemed correct.

Fabian, listening to her briefing, interjected with a concern. “But what if there are traps or other dangers along the way?”

“That’s a good question,” Princess Francia acknowledged, pulling out a set of small items and handing them to us.

“…?”

“What are these?” Kyle asked, examining the small, white figurines that resembled buttons.

Princess Francia smiled and explained, “These are artifacts that allow us to communicate with each other in emergencies. They won’t transmit voices or precise locations, but in a crisis, they’ll emit a sound and light that only those holding the matching figurines can see and hear. That way, we can locate each other.”

“How do we use them?” Fabian asked, intrigued.

“Just infuse them with mana, like this.”

Beeeep!

A sharp sound pierced the air as the figurine in Princess Francia’s hand emitted a high-pitched noise. At the same time, a faint orange glow emanated from it, spreading out toward the other figurines.

“Wow, that’s amazing,” Kyle marveled.

“Can’t anyone else hear this sound?” Chelsea asked.

“No, the sound and light are only perceptible to those holding the figurines,” Princess Francia confirmed.

The artifacts looked incredibly valuable, but as an Imperial Princess, it likely wasn’t too difficult for her to obtain them.

Fabian, seemingly on the same page, commented quietly, “I’ve never seen anything like this before. It must be really advanced.”

“Of course. These are newly developed items from the High Soren Magic Tower… Anyway, enough talking. Let’s divide into teams,” Princess Francia said, ready to move forward with the plan.

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