The Villain Bought the Female Lead - Ch. 19
“What an incredible coincidence…! I never imagined I’d meet a professor from Academia.”
“Hohoho, indeed. I never thought I’d meet two freshmen so soon either. Ah, since I’m a professor, can I speak casually?”
Before Liam and Emily could even agree, Paula started speaking casually with a cheerful smile, walking along with them.
As they walked, Emily pondered for a moment and then asked a question that had come to her mind.
“But… why are you here, Professor? At this time, everyone at the Academia must be really busy.”
Paula looked a bit awkward at Emily’s innocent question, as if she had been hit right in the mark.
Despite proudly boasting about her job, she found it hard to admit that she was on her way back after being suspended.
“Ah… well, you see…”
“There must be a reason. Did you go on some kind of mission to another region?”
“Wha…? Oh, uh, yes, that’s right. You have a keen eye. I had a brief mission to take care of. Yes, that’s it. Hoho.”
It wasn’t Paula who answered Emily’s question but Liam, who had been watching the situation.
From Paula’s perspective, there was no way Liam could have known her situation, but by coincidence, she was saved.
Emily nodded, mumbling to herself, “Professors sure are busy.”
Hearing this, Paula decided to change the subject and asked about the two of them.
“You both said you’re from the Oria region, right? Oria is almost at the end of the Troa Empire. You made it here well.”
“We’re from a remote village, the outskirts of the outskirts. It took us about a month to get here. The travel costs were enormous too.”
“Liam, if you hadn’t gotten lost, we could have arrived sooner.”
“That’s… I have no excuse for that.”
When Emily teased Liam a bit, he admitted it easily, showing their familiarity.
Even though they had just met, Paula could easily tell that these two had a deep relationship.
“Are you two dating?”
This was a mandatory question when seeing a close male-female pair.
“No.”
“Ah, no!”
Liam and Emily both denied it simultaneously.
Oh ho.
This was unexpected.
Paula thought if there was any affection, it would be from the boy, as he seemed to respond well to the girl. But unexpectedly, it was the girl who had feelings.
While Liam answered calmly, Emily seemed slightly startled and defensive.
“We’re just childhood friends. She’s the village chief’s daughter, so we think of each other as siblings.”
“Y-yes, siblings… nothing more, nothing less…”
Emily’s expression darkened slightly. Whether Liam noticed or not, he smiled brightly, not reading her expression.
“Oh, by the way, your admission certificates! Do you both have them? Could you show me?”
Paula quickly changed the topic. They both took out their treasured admission certificates and showed them to her.
First, Paula checked Emily’s. Ignoring the elaborate text inside the fine envelope, her eyes focused on the red seal at the bottom. It was a plain, unremarkable design.
She felt the faint mana contained within.
‘Emily is of an average level. Actually, maybe below average… it’s hard to say she has talent. She probably passed the admission standards as a notable individual from her village, but it would be tough to compete with the geniuses at the Academia. Still, her mana is swift and lively, which could synergize well with swordsmanship.’
“Emily, you chose to be a swordsman? That suits you well.”
“Really?! That’s a relief. I knew I lacked talent in magic, but I enjoy wielding a sword and have confidence in it.”
“You made a good choice. Your mana suits a swordsman well.”
“Is that so? Oh, how about Liam? He couldn’t even do basic magic before, but in a few months, he’s become strangely strong. Could his talent have awakened late?”
“Emily… I’m not that great…”
“Really? Let’s take a look.”
Paula played along with Emily, though she thought Emily was slightly exaggerating.
A kid who couldn’t perform basic magic suddenly improving to the level of entering Academia in just a few months? Unless it was a rare case like Alicia, that didn’t happen. The Academia wasn’t that easy to get into.
“Let’s see~”
Paula opened Liam’s admission certificate. Like Emily’s, she ignored the text and focused on the seal at the bottom.
Oh, the seal’s design indicated potential. As she said, he had some potential.
She extracted the mana within. Information flowed into Paula.
‘Above average for a new student. Not bad. As long as his pride doesn’t get too high, he won’t be overshadowed at Academia. Hmm? This tingling feeling… oh, he has a notable affinity for lightning. So, his potential is… huh?’
Paula furrowed her brow and tilted her head, ignoring the two sets of eyes watching her, and checked again.
But the result was the same.
‘What’s going on here?’
“What’s wrong?”
Liam looked at Paula with a slightly tense gaze. Paula met his eyes, her frown still in place.
“I can’t see it.”
“Pardon?”
“Your potential, it’s too foggy to see.”
She could tell he had potential and hadn’t fully realized it yet. But a thick fog obscured everything.
It was strange. If he had talent, it should be visible. Was he cursed? No, it felt different, like something from another dimension. This was a first.
“Why are all the new students like this?”
“Pardon?”
Thinking of her two disciples, Paula let out a chuckle after seeing the bewildered Liam.
***
“Ah, this is great~!”
“Don’t kick up dust. Don’t jump on the bed.”
“Emily, you should try it. It’s really soft and smells nice.”
“No, thanks. I’m not a kid. And I’m not in the mood.”
Emily’s voice was calm but had an edge. She wasn’t pleased with Liam’s carefree attitude.
Ever since entering the grand floating city of the Academia, she had been tensing about the upcoming entrance ceremony, but Liam seemed completely unconcerned.
“I feel like an idiot.”
“Why would you be an idiot?”
“Because of you, you idiot.”
Liam, clueless about her irritation, continued to act obliviously.
Emily let out a long sigh, thinking that perhaps Liam, who was resting comfortably without any worries, was smarter than her, who was tense and anxious.
“No, you’re right. I was a fool.”
“What are we even talking about, Emily? Are we really having a conversation here?”
Liam lifted his upper body from where he was lying on the bed and moved his face closer to Emily’s. Startled by his sudden action, Emily tensed up and slightly pulled her head back.
“Wh-why…! What is it?”
“Emily, you’re really tense, aren’t you?”
“What?”
Realizing that she hadn’t been able to control her expression, Emily tried to deny it strongly, but soon, like a blade of grass bending in the wind, she lowered her head.
“Yes, I’m tense… I’m so nervous I’m going crazy.”
“Stop worrying so much.”
“How can I? We’re the pride of our village, and I’m the village chief’s daughter.”
The fact that the two of them, from a small corner of the village, had been accepted into the Academia was a cause for celebration among all the villagers.
Two dragons had emerged from a small stream. While Emily was happy with their cheers, it also felt like a heavy burden.
Moreover, her childhood friend, who used to have no talent and only vague fantasies about magic, had changed.
Suddenly, he had overtaken her and was now running so fast she feared she might lose sight of him at any moment.
This fact only increased her anxiety.
The professor they had coincidentally met near the Academia had also said that his potential was unknown and that she was looking forward to seeing what he would become.
Although it might have been just a remark out of curiosity, to Emily, it sounded like the professor was acknowledging Liam. A professor from the Academia was acknowledging her childhood friend.
Liam was moving further away, leaving her behind.
“Emily, no, Teacher. Don’t worry needlessly.”
“I’m not in the mood for jokes, Liam.”
“Jokes? Have you forgotten who taught me magic?”
Liam slowly took Emily’s hand with a gentle smile.
“You were the one who taught me magic, just because we were childhood friends, when I had an interest but no opportunity to learn.”
“How hard is that…”
“It was a difficult thing.”
Liam continued speaking.
“And I will always be grateful for it.”
“……”
“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have even dreamed of becoming a hero, and I wouldn’t be here with you now. I can say this with confidence!”
Liam, trying to lighten Emily’s mood, smiled playfully.
Emily, exchanging glances with him for a moment, felt his sincerity and responded in a slightly sassy voice, as if she had regained some strength.
“So what? You’ve easily surpassed your teacher.”
“Then we can just help each other. Like I received your help, you can get my help when you’re struggling.”
The lantern that lit up the space between Emily and Liam flickered. Emily stared at him with eyes as reflective as the lantern’s light.
“Can I do it?”
“You can. And this isn’t like you, Emily.”
“Not like me…”
Emily repeated the words to herself. Then, with a faint smile, she showed a bit of courage.
“You’re right, this isn’t like me.”
Seeing her smile return somewhat, Liam felt relieved. She now seemed like the bright person he had known from long ago and had briefly read about in the novel.
For a moment, he pondered.
Since he had been transmigrated into this novel world and inherited Liam’s memories and emotions, his feelings for this girl were genuine.
However, his memories as a reader who had read the novel remained vivid.
This delicate but strong girl, Emily, was more or less a supporting character. If it weren’t for inheriting Liam’s memories, he wouldn’t have known much about her.
Could such a girl endure in this harsh place? A girl without any special advantages, unlike himself?
Although the question lingered in the depths of his mind, Liam chose to ignore it and embraced Emily.
Of course, before that, he quickly blinked twice while looking into her eyes. It was a necessary action to activate <it>.
⎯ Ding!
Accessing target’s status.
Emily
Strength: 3.5/10 ⦁ Stamina: 3.9/10
Magic: 2.9/10 ⦁ Mental Strength: 2.9/10
Defense: 3.3/10 ⦁ Agility: 4.3/11
The transparent screen he had grown accustomed to appeared.
The small amount of information displayed accurately reflected Emily’s current situation.
Although he didn’t have many comparisons, she couldn’t even be compared to Paula, whom they had met earlier today, and was roughly similar to the information of random applicants he had seen.
The girl who had been stronger than him at first was now being overtaken and showing slow growth.
Closing his eyes, Liam dismissed the screen. Then he tried to wash away the uneasy feelings floating in his heart.
It’s okay. You can do it.
Everything had gone smoothly until they arrived at the Academia, and he knew the future of this novel inside and out.
Before the wave of problems hit, he could prepare a surfboard to ride it, or if he couldn’t prepare, he could get out of the water and wait for the wave to pass.
“It’s okay, Emily. We can do this.”
He had his own special system.
He knew the content of the novel.
Even though he wasn’t in the main character’s body, he had the potential to grow beyond the protagonist. As he expected, this status window power was a mysterious ability that even magic experts couldn’t comprehend.
It was a unique power that belonged only to him in this world.
Information that no one else knew, that only he was aware of.
Yes, we can definitely see the happy ending of this novel.
***
… that was what I thought, but what was going on here?
[I am Vargan Troa Schugenhartz, the valedictorian who will be giving the opening speech.]
The man with a dignified and handsome appearance, perhaps even more impressive than described in the novel, confidently introduced himself in front of the new students. His movements were full of grace and elegance.
Every word he spoke carried a mysterious power, and his pronunciation and articulation were as precise as a speech expert’s.
His hand holding the magical device serving as a microphone looked like a swan perched gracefully.
[I won’t speak for long. I’ll get straight to the most important point.]
His refined manner of speaking exuded a cold air. Despite being a fellow student, he seemed like someone from another world, standing as the representative of the new students.
Vargan Troa Schugenhartz.
Liam knew him very well. He was the main character of the novel he had read and played the role of the main antagonist in Academia.
Liam, looking at him, broke into a cold sweat. It wasn’t because of his cold tone or his intimidating presence.
‘What? What’s going on? Did I mishear? But the atmosphere is exactly like that character from the novel.’
His heartbeat quickened, and his whole body sounded an alarm.
Vargan?
That villain Vargan?
Why?
This shouldn’t be happening. Why. Why are you standing there?
It doesn’t make sense. Am I remembering wrong?
The top new student this year should have been the protagonist, not the antagonist.
‘The protagonist…’
And then, the next words hit him like a final blow.
[You are all maggots.]
“Oh, my God.”
The train that had been smoothly running along the storyline suddenly derailed.