The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

"Why does that kid and his weird monsters get their orders first?! I arrived earlier than them!"

"Why are you even letting him in with his dirty monsters?!"

"…"

Raye's face darkened when he heard those words.

-...

The same went for Zephyrus, whose gentle expression had vanished.

-...

Pyro, on the other hand... simply looked down, sadness in his eyes. And seeing that—Raye clenched his fists under the table.

He turned to look toward the source of the voice.

And there—he saw a fat young man, roughly the same age as him, built like a sumo wrestler. His cheeks puffed out with every breath, his face twisted with arrogance.

The guy noticed Raye staring at him, and with a twisted scowl, he barked out—

"What are you looking at?! That's right, I was talking about you and your dirty pets!"

The disgust in his voice was sharp—every word intentional, every insult meant.

That's when one of the restaurant staff quickly rushed to Raye's side, bowing repeatedly and apologizing.

"I-I'm terribly sorry, sir. Please, ignore him—he's not a regular—We'll kick him out immediately—"

But Raye didn't say anything.

He remained seated for a few more seconds... just listening to the man ramble and throw out more nonsense.

"Seriously, letting mutts like that in here? I thought this place have class! And that floating fire—what is that, a weird fireball?"

Each word was worse than the last.

Then finally—

"..."

Fwish~

Raye stood up.

The server flinched.

"W-Wait, sir! Please, calm down!"

But Raye didn't look angry.

He didn't look furious.

He just looked... blank.

Swoosh~

Silently, Raye took out a bag of gold coins from his spatial ring.

"...?"

The server blinked, confused.

Raye handed the bag to him—

"That's compensation for the commotion."

Then he said that.

"Eh…?"

The server stammered.

But Raye had already turned his gaze forward—toward the loudmouth who didn't realize he had already crossed a line.

But before the bastard or the server could even react—

"[Flash]"

S W I S H—

Raye suddenly vanished from their sights!

The server flinched in shock, his eyes darted left and right—

Then—

"Ah...!"

He spotted Raye—now in front of the counter, already grabbing the fat loudmouth by the neck!

"KEK…?!"

The bastard let out a choking sound, completely caught off guard! One moment he was standing there ranting— Now he was being lifted in the air like a child!

He looked down in panic, his thick hands grabbing Raye's wrist, trying to pull it away—

"I-I'm the s-second s-son of—!"

"Didn't care. Didn't ask."

Raye coldly cut him off.

His voice sharp and emotionless.

The bastard froze, his blood ran cold as he stared into Raye's blue eyes.

His entire body tensed.

'T-This guy…! H-He's insane—!'

He screamed in his head, his lips trembling.

"Wai—!"

He tried to speak again, desperation in his tone.

But before he could even finish a word—

"[Electrocute]"

BZOOOOOOM—!!!

"GRUUUUAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

The restaurant shook as lightning surged through the air!

Blue arcs exploded from Raye's palm and struck straight through the loudmouth's entire body!

"GRAAAAAHHHH—!!!"

The guy convulsed violently, eyes rolling back as his mouth opened in a pained scream!

Smoke rose from his body.

"...!"

"KYAAAA!!!"

"WAAAAAHHH!!!"

Everyone in the cafe was surprised—eyes wide, mouths open, completely stunned.

They couldn't believe what they were seeing!

Even Pyro and Zephyrus turned toward the scene with wide eyes.

The bastard's body twitched a final time—

Then—

THUD.

Raye let go of him, and he crashed to the floor like a sack of garbage.

"..."

Raye looked down at him. Not a trace of emotion on his face.

And in the heavy silence that followed—

"Let this be a lesson."

He muttered.

"No one insults my family."

Then without sparing the unconscious man another glance, he turned around... And calmly walked back to the table.

Tap- tap- tap—

As Raye was walking back—

Whoosh~

The body of the loudmouth suddenly floated up in the air.

Everyone's eyes widened.

He was being lifted effortlessly by an invisible force.

Raye's hand was just slightly raised—He was using [Telekinesis]!

Then—

FWOOSH—!!!

He flung the unconscious bastard out of the restaurant. Literally.

CRASH—!

Far into the distance, a faint crash echoed as the man disappeared over the rooftops.

"..."

The entire place went silent.

And with that, Raye returned to their table, where Zephyrus and Pyro were patiently waiting.

He smiled at the two of them as he sat down.

"Finally, it's quiet again. We can eat in peace now."

Raye said.

-True, it's nice again.

Zephyrus gave a small nod, calm and content.

And Pyro—

-meep...

He seemed to brighten up, a small smile finally forming on his face.

"Don't mind that bastard's words, Pyro."

Raye said, his voice gentle but firm.

"He was just a narrow-minded idiot."

-meep! got it...!

Pyro nodded, the smile not leaving his lips.

And with that—

The three of them finally began eating.

...

...

Not far away—

"..."

The server who tried to stop Raye earlier was still frozen in place, staring blankly at him.

He couldn't believe it.

'I... tried to stop someone like him...?'

Cold sweat rolled down his neck.

*****

After the incident with the annoying loudmouth, everything went peacefully for Raye and the two.

They enjoyed their food with light smiles, chatting casually, not a trace of stress on their faces.

Raye even treated everyone in the cafe for the commotion he caused. And they didn't like the fat loudmouth being noisy too earlier so they didn't really hate Raye.

Also, Raye left a hefty tip for the server who handled them, he thought that he was so attentive to them—

(Though the poor guy was just fearing for his life the entire time, scared he'd mess up and end up flying like the fat bastard.)

Anyway, now...

Raye, Zephyrus, and Pyro were back at the Academy's Hospital.

More specifically—the room where Old Man Rey was being treated.

The lights were soft and the room was quiet. The faint scent of herbs and clean linen lingered in the air.

"..."

Old Man Rey was there, still lying down, eyes closed. But his breathing was steady... calm.

Raye stepped closer, quietly, with Pyro and Zephyrus flying behind him.

"...He looks better."

Raye muttered softly, his voice low and filled with warmth.

-meep... he doesn't look like he's in pain anymore.

Pyro nodded.

-Yeah... I think he's healing properly now.

Zephyrus added.

Raye smiled faintly and took a chair, sitting by the bedside.

He gently placed a hand on the old man's arm.

"You better wake up soon. I have a lot of story to tell you."

He said with a quiet chuckle.

"..."

Silence answered him.

But Raye didn't mind.

He just sat there in peace, waiting, hoping... and simply being there.

By now, Old Man Rey's body is fully recovered. He's good to go.

The problem is, even after being like that for a couple of weeks now—he hadn't regained his consciousness yet.

And what's more, The Healer Old Man, Raphael... Told him that there's a chance Old Man Rey wouldn't open his eyes anymore.

"But I know he will."

Raye mumbled to himself.

-...

-...

Zephyrus and Pyro remained silent, but they believe in the Old Man as well.

And then, at that moment—

-Wait...

Zephyrus suddenly thought of something. His eyes widened, and he immediately turned to Raye.

"Hmm?"

Raye looked back at him, confused and tilting his head.

And after that, opening his beak...

-Do you think using the [Phoenix Feather] on him can wake him up?

Zephyrus suggested that.