I Became the Savior of the Academy’s Villains

'I absolutely cannot win.'

That was the impression Luca felt after seriously crossing swords several times.

It was, quite literally, an insurmountable wall.

Even if he used his ultimate move, the wall was so immense that he couldn't see even a hint of victory.

'Is this the Imperial Family's secret weapon? She is definitely different.'

If there was this much difference even when she wasn't using magic power, he couldn't even imagine how powerful she would be if she used the 'power of the night'.

According to the setting, the two of them were the same age, but all he could do was marvel at the gap between them.

'By the way, I'm drawing more attention than I expected.'

Feeling the gazes around him, he realized he should stop here.

'Still, what is this? Why do I feel this strange sense of regret?'

Inside, he felt a kind of, how should he put it, pining.

Luca pondered briefly at the emotion even he could not quite interpret, but soon ignored it and slightly loosened his grip on his sword.

Clang!

Luca's sword was sent flying and stuck into the ground.

"I lost."

"......"

Watching Luca admit defeat without resistance, Isella made a curious expression.

But she quickly erased it and retrieved her sword.

"Tsk."

She clicked her tongue, seemingly dissatisfied, but said nothing.

"Both of you did excellently. I think it was a spar that clearly showed how well-built basics can be both clean and weighty. I hope the other students also work hard to hone their fundamentals like these two."

Kryphi sent the gathering students back to practice and approached the still slightly heated Luca and Isella.

"I want to say once again that it was excellent. Especially you, Isella—I apologize for looking down on you because you are a commoner."

Seeing his attitude completely changed from before, Isella's lips trembled slightly before she averted her gaze and replied briefly,

"... Yes."

"You two must be tired from the match, so you're free to leave without attending further lessons today. And, Luca, I'd like you to come to my office after the afternoon classes."

At that, the two glanced at each other briefly.

But without saying anything, they shifted their gazes and nodded.

"Understood."

"Then, I'll see you next class. Rest well."

* * *

"Oh my?"

After class, Milia stepped out of the classroom and spotted Isella waiting outside, looking at her curiously.

'No matter what, she wouldn't have ignored my order, so how did she get here so quickly and is waiting?! Is this the work of one of the Night?'

Milia marveled to herself and approached Isella.

But Isella remained deep in thought, her face grave, and didn't seem to notice Milia approaching.

"How long have you been waiting?"

"......"

"Isella?"

Milia tilted her head as Isella didn't reply.

It was only after they made eye contact that Isella startled, suddenly realizing Milia was there, and stepped back in surprise.

"Your High—"

"Isella!"

"A-ah, S-sorry, milady."

She'd almost slipped up, but fortunately, nobody was paying attention to them.

Watching the flustered Isella, Milia asked curiously,

"What were you thinking about? You didn't answer when I called you."

"Ah, th-that's... I-it's nothing! Nothing at all!"

"Hm?"

Milia was a little surprised.

Isella, who never hid anything from her, was reacting strangely.

But even so, soon enough, Milia's interest was thoroughly piqued.

"Why? Did something happen during class?"

"N-no, nothing."

"Don't tell me it's related to Luca Traverse?"

"!"

"Oh my?"

Isella's reaction was right on the mark, and Milia's eyes sparkled.

'As expected, there's something about Luca Traverse. Isella, who's never shown interest in anyone but me, is reacting like this!'

Her interest flared even more, not disappointed in the expectations for entertainment.

Just then, someone called out to her.

"Huh? Miss Milia and Miss Isella?"

"?"

Milia turned at the sound and, recognizing who it was, smiled brightly.

"Oh my, the second son of House Gress."

"Haha, please just call me Ottbo. By the way, it seems we're in the same class!"

"Ohoho."

Seeing his awkward smile, Milia internally sighed.

'I slipped up. Even if I couldn't avoid the common classes, I didn't plan to take even the magic classes with him. He looks boring and not even competent.'

She'd registered for this class for other reasons, but if she'd known he would be in it, she would have stopped him by any means necessary.

Ottbo Gress was a person she hadn't thought about at all, which was why she had made this slip.

"Were you just talking about Luca? I was supposed to have lunch with him."

"Oh my."

Milia, still pondering how to deal with him, saw a new opportunity in her eyes.

'There really is nothing that is completely useless in this world.'

If Ottbo had heard her thoughts, he would have shed a tear.

Milia moved closer to him.

"Well, since fate brings us, why don't we all have lunch together?"

"Huh? I-I'd love that!"

"Ah, milady?"

Ottbo and Isella reacted in opposite ways.

But Milia smiled, unconcerned.

"So, where should we go?"

"Ah, we agreed on the second student cafeteria!"

"That's nearby. Shall we go right away?"

"Let's!"

"M-milady..."

Isella looked pitifully, but couldn't stop Milia's stride.

In the end, the three went to the second student cafeteria and met Luca, who was waiting for them.

"Luca! We're here!"

"......"

"Ah! By coincidence, I signed up for the same class as Milia!"

Watching the excited Ottbo, Luca's cheek twitched.

But soon he sighed, collected himself, and looked at Milia.

"It's an honor to meet you again."

"Oh my, there's no need to be so formal between students. You can speak comfortably."

"... I'll do that, Milia."

Isella, agitated, seemed about to protest, but Milia, who'd already produced her cane, blocked her, smiling sweetly.

"I'll talk informally as well, Luca."

"M-me too... o-okay?"

"Of course, Ottbo."

"Yes!"

"M-milady..."

Watching Ottbo practically jump in excitement, Luca quietly smiled.

Then he turned to Milia and asked,

"So, what's this about?"

"Oh my, what do you mean? Aren't we just eating together?"

"... Is that all?"

Luca's brow twitched, but Milia responded serenely.

"It's not strange for friends to eat together."

"Yeah! It's totally normal for friends to eat together!"

Ottbo, who had always dined alone, enthusiastically agreed.

Now he wasn't just eating with one, but three others—how happy must he be?

Luca clicked his tongue and turned around.

"Well, let's go quickly. We need to get a seat."

"Okay!"

There was a minor incident when weak-legged Ottbo almost tripped while carrying food, but it was handled without fuss and they all began their meal.

"Oh... the floor is slippery..."

"That's why you need to exercise."

"M-my magic power is depleted, so I can't help it."

Watching him talk nonsense, Luca shook his head.

He looked across at Milia seated before him.

"As expected, boys eat a lot."

"I-I eat a lot too, milady!"

"Hmm... is that really necessary to compete over?"

She showed no particular intentions—just a normal demeanor.

But that made Luca even more suspicious.

'What is she scheming? She doesn't seem like the type to suggest eating together without ulterior motives.'

From what he'd read, she was cold, calculating, and ruthless.

Every action was planned, and everything worked around her.

He'd only intended to keep a distance, just close enough to get a hint from her.

But somehow, they were quickly getting close.

At this point, it was awkward to step back, and she wouldn't easily give him a chance to keep his distance.

'Is this a good thing or not?'

Luca glanced at Ottbo, who was grinning while eating bread.

"Hehe, it really does taste better eating together."

"... Tsk."

In the original story, Ottbo was probably alone up until next year, when he would meet the protagonist.

He was inevitably destined to become the 'early villain' who picked petty fights with the protagonist, so even if he hadn't met Luca, things would have gone that way.

'Guess that's why his personality was so bad.'

Thinking that, Luca felt a pang of sympathy.

At the young age of thirteen, he must have constantly watched his family's moods and likely only barely managed to breathe freely after getting into the continent's best academy—and in the very best class at that.

And even there, he was engulfed in loneliness and pain, eventually meeting the protagonist, becoming disabled, and returning to his family as a burden...

Even without searching for it, he could pretty much imagine Ottbo's backstory.

"Eat slowly."

"Yeah!"

It felt like he'd gotten a clingy little brother.

Unknowingly, Luca smiled lightly and looked up—then stiffened.

"......"

Milia was watching him with a curious look.

After a moment of silence, Luca slightly furrowed his brow.

"You have something to say?"

"No, it's just that you two seem close—Luca and Ottbo."

"That's right! We're really close friends!"

Ottbo's innocent remark showed he hadn't caught on to Milia's intent, but she didn't seem to mind and simply smiled.

Luca's lips curled slightly.

"Is there a problem?"

"Why are you so prickly? I just purely said you looked close."

"Hehe, do we really look that close—"

"Ottbo, shut it."

"... Okay."

After shutting the chattering Ottbo down, Luca met eyes with Milia.

'With this idiot around, it'll be hard to keep my distance from this girl.... If so, I need to establish boundaries now.'

There was no need to be hostile, nor too friendly.

He just needed to make it clear he wasn't easy to use.

"I dislike people who speak in circles. If you have something to say, say it directly."

"Is that so? In that case, could you tell me what happened between you and Isella in swordsmanship class?"

"A-ah, milady?!"

It was Isella, sitting beside them, who was most surprised by that.

She was dipping bread into soup when she dropped it in surprise, splashing soup everywhere.

Some landed on Ottbo, who screamed in pain.

But Luca did not react to that.

"... What?"

Because Milia's question was completely unexpected.

"When I walked out of the classroom after class today, Isella was acting odd. It was like her mind was somewhere else. She's never been like that before!"

"M-milady, that's... that's not—"

"So I just tried bringing up your name, and she reacted so freshly! How could I not be curious?"

Milia's eyes were shining brightly as she spoke.

She looked just like a girl in love.

'Wh-what? What kind of intention is she speaking with now?'

Luca couldn't help being thrown off.

The Milia he knew would never share such personal stories.

Compared to how tense he'd been just now, her questions were so innocent it was almost silly.

"As expected, the knight Lverta fell for is different. Isella never cared about this stuff before, but suddenly she was so weird today!"

"Milady! That's... that's not it!"

"Ah~ hurry and tell me~ I'm so curious~."

Hearing her act all cutesy, Luca finally realized.

'... She must also be a victim.'

Just like Ottbo.

This girl, chattering away about her romantic fantasies, must have become the notorious villainess through some unfortunate incident.

And the moment he realized that—

Bzzz—bzzz—

"!"

He felt his phone vibrating.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Some villains aren't born, they are made by their circumstances...
Those are the villains that you can't help but have sympathy for...
Then there's that bitch Umbridge...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】