The Villain Bought the Female Lead - Ch. 60
That afternoon, at 4 PM.
The church’s heroes visited Academia once again.
The auditorium was filled with first-year students.
The students were buzzing with anticipation, excited about the unexpected possibility. Normally, this event was simply an announcement, officially declaring the already decided mentor-mentee relationships, so there should have been no commotion.
However, this time was different.
This was because the hero Crain, which I referred to as the Dark Hero and who was originally supposed to be Vargan’s mentor, had given up mentoring me.
After Helion’s suggestion, Crain persistently sent letters to me or came to ask me to become his mentee, but when I refused, he transferred his rights.
How could a hero be so petty?
… anyway, the two mentee spots that were supposed to be Crain’s were given to other heroes. It was unknown who got them, but Helion said he didn’t.
Still, this was an opportunity for the students to potentially receive a lifeline.
“You might be one of them.”
I jokingly said to Emily next to me, and she shook her head. Then she said she knew her level and that it wouldn’t happen.
“I’m not a fool, you know.”
I was a bit surprised.
“… why are you making that face?”
“Emily, you finally understand your place. I guess my contribution to your growth is significant.”
“Ugh! Stop it!”
Emily pouted and scowled, but it was somehow awkward. She might not realize it, but I, who excel at reading expressions, could tell.
“When Finn was announced as Helion’s mentee, you had the same mix of emotions.”
“… what are you talking about?”
“You outwardly showed surprise and congratulations, but inside, you harbored darker feelings.”
“T-that’s….”
Emily looked away and fell silent.
She seemed to be recalling the ugly emotions she felt then, blaming herself.
But there was no need for that.
“People feel various emotions about a single event, and even a single word can hold different meanings. It’s not strange at all that you felt envy at that time.”
“… what’s with the odd behavior? You don’t have to sugarcoat it… ah, okay, okay. I get it. You’re just stating the facts, not trying to be kind to me, right? So, stop looking at me like I’m trash.”
“I’m glad you understand.”
As I was having a casual conversation with Emily, the place became even more chaotic. Everyone’s eyes were on the nine figures walking forward.
The heroes walked confidently, greeting people. Some waved or smiled.
Zzzz!
A high-pitched noise, like when a microphone was turned on, hit our ears. The person who turned on the magical device also covered one ear, squinting.
[Ah, can you all hear me well?]
The leading hero, a woman with a ponytail, was someone I knew. She played a significant role in the novel as well.
Her name was….
[As you all know, due to some circumstances, we will be selecting additional mentees. There will be teams with three mentees in this selection, so don’t misunderstand. Okay?]
The ponytailed hero smiled sweetly.
She then added, ‘The newly selected students can refuse if they want. If you don’t want to accept, just inform Academia later.’
She knew such a thing would never happen but had to mention it for formality.
[Oh, by the way. One of the heroes accepting new mentees is me. I’ll teach you kindly and gently, so if you’re thinking of refusing, please reconsider carefully.]
The hero shortened her introduction and started the countdown.
A large number appeared in the air through video magic.
It looked like an event where a host was conducting a recreation activity at a well-funded venue.
Looking around, there were many tense students, so at least it was effective.
And when the remaining numbers all disappeared.
A list appeared in the air.
– Helion
Class 1 Vargan Troa Schugenhartz · Class 1 Finn Troa Toiren
– Charlotte
Class 1 Alicia · Class 1 Liam · Class 1 Emily
– Portlane
Class 4 Bantlo Troa Belliard · Class 1 Serena
– Freihind
Class 2 Arterion Vi Ocell · Class 2 Lauga Solus Ocell
……
Emily, who had minimized her expectations, scanned the list.
Naturally, she didn’t expect it, but still, out of hope….
“W-wait, what?!”
Emily, with wide eyes, repeatedly rubbed them and rechecked. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. No matter how many times she looked, it clearly said <Class 1 Emily>.
There was only one Emily in Class 1.
Emily covered her mouth, unable to hide her astonishment.
I was a bit surprised too. Although Emily didn’t perform poorly in the class competition, she didn’t particularly stand out either.
Perhaps Helion hinted at it.
Such suspicion arose.
“Miss Emily! This is great! … really, really great…!”
“A-Alicia… waaaah!”
Emily hugged Alicia, who was beside her, and started crying noisily.
Alicia gently patted her head, softly whispering congratulations. Tears welled up in Alicia’s eyes too.
Her empathy was something to be appreciated.
All eyes were on these two, but Emily’s crying didn’t stop. Alicia comforted her until she was satisfied.
Even so, Alicia occasionally glanced at the hero leading the proceedings.
It made sense that Alicia was interested in her. This aspect was the same as in the original work.
[I’m grateful you’re so happy. Let’s get along well from now on!]
The ponytailed hero’s name was Charlotte.
It was the same name as Alicia’s older sister, who was lost in the past.
***
After the announcement ceremony, Finn and I had a meeting with Helion. It wasn’t a grand meeting, just a simple conversation to inform us of the upcoming mentoring schedule.
“I-I-I’m honored to meet you…! I-I-I am Finn Troa Toiren!!”
Finn bowed perfectly at a 90-degree angle and extended his hand. He wouldn’t be this respectful even if a deity descended to Earth.
“Yes, nice to meet you, Finn.”
Helion shook his hand and had him take a seat.
Finn looked at the hand holding the Helion as if it were a treasure, his teeth chattering repeatedly.
Unable to bear it, I pressed his shoulder, forcing him to sit down.
There was a limit to fussing.
“Mentoring will start in earnest during the summer vacation. Until then, it’s just preparation for the vacation.”
The prospective mentees stayed until summer vacation, and just before the second semester started, one main mentee was selected.
This meant that all prospective mentees were guaranteed to receive training and field experience at least until the summer vacation.
“During the vacation, you’ll be with my team for two months. We haven’t received a mission from the central church yet, so I can’t say for sure what we’ll be doing, but we’ll probably be tasked with hunting bishop-level Altifes and destroying their <nests>.”
Helion glanced at me mid-sentence, seemingly wanting to gauge my reaction.
“That sounds exciting.”
I naturally deflected his expectations.
He still suspected I had some kind of prophetic power and wanted to use my reaction as a reference.
Sorry, Helion.
I wouldn’t give you any hints.
The incident you would face this vacation would be so impactful that it would greatly enhance your prestige.
Even if the future changed slightly due to my interference, you would inevitably end up there.
Why throw a stone into a stream that would flow smoothly on its own? It was best to just watch quietly.
“Since the nests are so dangerous, you’ll join the team only as an observer or support. But you should be able to handle priest-levels without trouble. With your skills, if you can’t even manage that, you’ll only be a burden.”
Finn swallowed hard, realizing his own inadequacies.
Even though he had been training hard since the class battle, he was still nervous.
“So, this training is to prevent that.”
“Exactly. I’ve heard you defeated a bishop, Student Vargan. Quite an achievement for a first-year student.”
“But mentioning it now means… the nests are a different matter, right?”
“Student Vargan is quick to catch on.”
Helion smiled as if acknowledging my answer.
“The Altife bishop you killed, Caliculea, didn’t have a nest. If it had, even you would’ve struggled.”
The nests of intelligent Altifes were like a defensive base.
They called them temples and performed rituals with human sacrifices. And with a crematorium, such places became their settlement.
As monstrous habitats, their appearance was far from ordinary.
“Entering a nest is like walking into the mouth of a predator or a dangerous dungeon.”
The nests were teeming with lesser beings loyal to the intelligent. The nest itself detected intruders and transformed to eliminate them, like a trap that had been set in advance.
While dealing with intelligent beings, one must also contend with the nest, making it extremely troublesome. If Caliculea had had a nest, I would’ve faced great difficulty too.
Helion handed us each a book—our preparation materials.
“This book covers the nests, countermeasures, and essential rules. It’s typically part of the second-year advanced course but consider this a head start.”
“Yes, thank you very much!”
“I’ll make sure to study it.”
“Your responses are quite varied, which is amusing.”
Despite his words, he didn’t smile at all. If he had at least pretended to smile, it would’ve been more convincing.
“And this is a relic for your training.”
“A relic? I can’t accept something so valuable!”
“It’s a cursed relic, actually.”
“Excuse me…?”
Ignoring Finn’s flustered reaction, I inspected the bracelet-shaped relic to understand its curse.
“It’s a relic that limits magic.”
I continued.
“And quite powerfully at that.”
Hearing my words, Helion smiled again. This smile, though also feigned, was more natural than the previous one.
Unlike Liam, who conveniently displayed detailed descriptions of relics, I could only roughly gauge its power.
This relic’s effect activated through mutual agreement.
The wearer, the <B>, agreed with the owner, the <A>, on the duration and strength of the effect. A stronger restriction lowered the maximum output of B’s magic, making even basic spells more taxing.
Of course, relics weren’t all-powerful. The extent of restriction depended on the relic’s performance and condition.
This one could control up to 80% of my maximum magic output—top-tier among top-tier relics.
“No need for further explanation.”
“…..”
“What? But why… Vargan?”
I smiled.
It just so happened that I needed material to limit my magic for researching unique spell techniques. Despite Helion’s casual offer, this relic was of the highest grade, comparable to Naias.
There was a reason why a relic that controlled magic under contract was on par with Naias, one of the protagonist Liam’s swords.
These relics were extremely rare and coveted by aspiring heroes for rigorous training. The demand far exceeded supply.
Moreover, it automatically broke after a month of use.
A treasure even nobles could rarely obtain.
The only time I used one as a Schugenharzt was in my childhood. Why refuse such a free gift?
“Alright. I’ll undergo the training.”
“That’s the answer I expected. So, the restriction on Vargan will be…”
“Maximum.”
“But Vargan! If you restrict your magic to the maximum…”
Ignoring Finn’s outburst, I conveyed clearly.
“I want the magic restriction set to the maximum.”