The Villain is Too Good at Sniping

7. Arsen (2)

On the autocab, heading to Arsen.

I was wearing a helmet, of course, but the wind blowing in was refreshing, perhaps because of the speed.

I grasped the steering wheel tightly and accelerated. In my mind, I reaffirmed my destination.

‘Arsene Academy.’

At Arsene, I couldn’t use my original name. The reason was that Esperand was an internationally notorious villain organization.

I had countless enemies worldwide, especially with the Hunter Association, which was in a state of complete hostility. Every encounter would lead to a fight.

Although the rules of Arsene wouldn’t allow me to say it out loud, the students and professors there wouldn’t welcome Esperand.

Among them, there must be those who had been victimized by Esperand.

To minimize the risk of being discovered, I had to conceal my true identity.

Thus, a fake identity was prepared for me.

The name I would use at Arsene was not ‘Sion Esperand,’ the one I had used until now.

“Illayonhart.”

Sion Illayonhart.

A fallen noble family’s youngest son, who had once been wealthy but was now alone and destitute.

I had no family and was left to fend for myself. From now on, I had to get used to this new identity.

…That’s that.

“What road has no end……”

The Esperand mansion was located far from the city center, nestled deep in the mountains. It was so well-hidden that even an insider would find it difficult to discover.

And that’s not all.

The forest surrounding the mansion was home to demonic beasts, and periodic magical storms would sweep through. The distorted magnetic field made it impossible to detect from the outside.

…It was truly a natural fortress.

Esperand, the Duke, was one of the bosses in ‘Grimoire Tales’ and the main villain of the third act. He was a ruthless individual who wouldn’t leave any loose ends.

If someone’s tail grew too long, he would cut it off mercilessly. That was the current head of Esperand, Duke Esperand.

The villain organization he led was a tightly closed society, a group of assassins living in the shadows.

…That was Esperand.

The name had become a new shackle for me.

It wasn’t anything special, just……

“Wow, it’s really dirty, seriously.”

The problem was that the road ahead was long. Because Esperand was so isolated from the world, it would take a while to reach the city.

It felt like driving on an endless highway across the American continent.

To the side, I saw tumbleweeds rolling by, like in a Western movie. This was the result of driving for three hours.

The highway ahead stretched far and wide, with only mountains or plains in sight.

If there weren’t occasional rest stops, I would have gone crazy. And I still had a long way to go.

To reach the gate at the outskirts, I would have to drive for two days. Even that was the closest location.

“Ugh……”

Anyway, since I couldn’t reach my destination in a day, I stopped at a hotel.

The accommodation fee was expensive, but I had plenty of money from Esperand. The allowance I received was sufficient, so this expense was negligible.

I spent the night at the hotel, and the starry sky was visible from the distant outskirts.

Chirp-

And the next morning. I left the hotel early.

I sped down the road like the day before, without a care in the world. Since there was no one on the road, I didn’t need to slow down.

“…How much longer?”

I glanced at the navigation system in the center. The displayed time was just over an hour, so I thought I’d arrive soon.

…But, as they say in some comics.

Life doesn’t always go as planned. That’s what makes it interesting.

Yeah, that’s true. Even though it’s tough at the time, once everything is over and you look back, it often becomes a fond memory.

That’s exactly my situation right now. It’s so absurdly fitting that it’s giving me goosebumps.

“Save me!”

On the outskirts, near the forest.

A girl suddenly burst out of the woods, screaming. I quickly turned the wheel in response to her sudden intrusion.

Screech-

My first drift ever.

I ignored the skid marks on the road and looked in the direction of the girl.

“…What’s going on.”

As soon as our eyes met, the girl collapsed onto the ground.

I thought she was dead for a moment, but fortunately, that wasn’t the case. I could faintly see her twitching fingers and the movement of her blood vessels.

And…

Creak…!

A strange cry echoed from the forest.

I got off my motorcycle and pulled out my Glock from the holster.

There was a demon nearby. The loaded magazine had fire-attribute bullets that were effective against beast-type demons.

As soon as I locked onto the target with my Thousand-Mile Eye, I was ready to pull the trigger. But no matter how long I waited, the demon didn’t appear.

I stayed on high alert for a while, then eventually put away my Glock.

Sometimes, there are demons like that.

Intelligent demons that can distinguish between good and evil. Those demons know where they stand.

If they’re in a favorable situation, they’ll attack without hesitation, but if they’re at a disadvantage…

“……”

They’ll immediately flee.

Demons belonging to the Feline category often have this characteristic. I didn’t know what kind of demon was chasing this girl, but I couldn’t sense any presence in the forest.

…So, what do I do now?

I first approached the girl. Using the medical knowledge I learned during training, I checked her pulse.

I didn’t feel any magical power surging through her. Other than that, I knew this symptom all too well.

“…Magic exhaustion.”

Her condition indicated magic exhaustion. It’s an extremely dangerous symptom that occurs when magic depletion continues.

“This won’t do.”

In martial arts terms, it’s similar to “Juhwaipma.” If left untreated, her magic could backlash and cause harm.

That’s what magic exhaustion looks like.

Anyway, I couldn’t just leave this girl lying here. First, I had to solve the magic exhaustion problem.

Magic exhaustion has a simple solution, as its name suggests.

Once the depleted magic is replenished, the symptoms will naturally disappear.

However, it’s not as easy as it sounds. If I’m drained of magical power to the point of exhaustion, I won’t even have the minimum amount of mana left to circulate within my body.

Probably, my magic circuit won’t function properly right now either.

I can’t rely on natural magic recovery. I need to artificially increase my recovery power through external means, such as magic transfusions or artifacts.

But if I were to receive a magic transfusion, I’d end up draining my own magic and falling into a state of exhaustion. That would be a complete reversal of roles.

“What am I supposed to do…….”

With my current meager magic, I can’t save this girl.

But I can’t just leave her like this and wait idly either.

“…….”

Strangely, I happen to have a ring that helps with magic recovery.

Of course, I didn’t bring it for this purpose, but…….

-You should achieve a feat worthy of heaven.

-For example, accumulating good deeds or saving the world.

-Whatever the place may be, try to survive with all your might. It’s up to you, but you might just make it to heaven.

The words of the angel suddenly echoed in my ears. Even if it’s not because of that, doing good deeds like this can’t be bad.

Even if the person I’m currently possessing is part of an evil organization, I myself am not evil.

My path is not that of an assassin like Esperand’s. I will pave my own way. To do so, I’ve chosen the path of heading towards Arsene.

I’ll help the main characters in Arsene and, at the same time, prepare for a comfortable retirement. That’s my path.

…Although, since I was born as a villain, I don’t know what kind of path it will become.

At the very least, I won’t turn a blind eye to what I can achieve with my own hands.

[Achievement Unlocked: The Path of the Virtuous]

◇ Reward – All stat points increase by 1

…Even so, it’s not like I can proudly declare myself to be on the path of the virtuous.

Anyway, even if my stat points increase, I can’t even open my status window right now. I have no idea what kind of numerical value it is.

I’ll check the details later.

I cleared the message that appeared before my eyes and picked up the girl.

What’s most important right now is the girl in front of me. I carefully put on the ring that was on my weak hand.

I don’t know if I’ll be able to get it back later, but if not, I can just get a new one. Artifacts like this are abundant in Esperand.

“Then, let’s take a look.”

This is the outskirts.

Even if I call an ambulance, it’ll take a while to arrive. And I can’t stay in this place forever either.

I looked around. The open scenery came into view.

I used my clairvoyance to see the road ahead. A building’s shape came into view. I injected magic to further enhance my vision.

A signboard swaying in the wind.

The words written in the center.

[Dalphine Inn]

A sandstorm was blowing in from afar.

Luckily, there was a lodging nearby. Thanks to my increased physical strength, carrying the girl wasn’t a problem at all.

I took a step forward.

It was at that moment.

A piece of paper fell lifelessly on the ground.

I wanted to respect personal privacy, but my [Cheonrian] involuntarily read some of the contents and revealed them to me.

I stared at the fluttering paper for a while.

…It couldn’t be helped.

The paper that fell from this girl’s arms was made of the same material as the one I had.

It was none other than the ‘Admission Recommendation Letter’ from Arsene Academy.

The wind tried to blow the paper open, but I didn’t bother to look at the contents.

I also have a conscience. It’s not nice to peek at someone else’s information in a situation like this.

I carefully picked up the admission recommendation letter that had fallen to the ground.

***

So, after arriving at the lodging.

I laid the girl on the bed and entered the shower room. The dust on my face was uncomfortable.

The innkeeper seemed to misunderstand something, but after I briefly explained the situation, they readily provided a room.

The tea and bandages they provided were a bonus. I knew the source of their kindness.

The favorability of the innkeeper, ‘Armeda Siliond’, increased slightly.

Maybe Sion Esferand had lived a blessed life. It seemed like they could make a good living just by being a model.

Pshh-

I turned off the showerhead that was spewing out hot water. My whole body felt refreshed.

I put on some clothes and, just in case, wore the mask I received from Esferand on my face. It was an item to conceal my identity when I was active as an assassin.

And when I finished showering and came out.

“Don’t move! Freeze! Just come closer!”

It seemed like her magic had recovered, and the girl who was lying down regained her senses.

As the old saying goes, there’s no lie in it.

“The black-haired beast isn’t one to be saved, huh.”

The girl was pointing her wand at me. It seemed like she thought she was kidnapped. And since I was wearing a mask, it must have looked even more suspicious.

To be precise, it’s not black hair but blue hair, but I explained the events that had transpired. While doing so, I politely returned the admission recommendation letter that I had dropped. Only then did the girl’s wariness decrease slightly.

“Anyway, that’s what happened.”

“Really…?”

The brief commotion ended. I took a moment to introduce myself to break the awkward atmosphere.

“I’m not Sion… but Galion.”

The name ‘Sion Esferand’ stuck to my tongue.

As I spoke, I realized that the name ‘Illeiyonhart’ still didn’t feel natural on my tongue.

Just in case, I created a temporary alias on the spot, neither my real name nor my newly given name.

The girl was hugging a pillow instead of her wand. It was fortunate that her wariness had decreased slightly.

“I’m Lara. Lara of Stillhaiden.”

But the name that suddenly came to mind felt familiar.

Wait a minute.

Where did I hear it? I’m sure I know this name.

Lara Stillhaiden. This name probably appeared in the original…

For the first time in my life, I doubted the performance of my [Cheonrian]. How could I not recognize this? There were so many clues.

The blue-haired girl, Lara Steelhyden.

What had fallen from her bosom was Arsene’s admission recommendation letter.

She held a pillow in her arms, but still grasped her cane with one hand.

“I have to go to Arsene.”

…One of the main heroines who fought alongside the protagonist against evil in the original story.