How To Live As An Academy Extra Villain chapter 126

126 – Underwater (6) + Additional Content + End of Part 1

“…Edwin Reed… the person Ellie said would do it with her…?”

“I wondered…”

Ellie’s friends, who realized me belatedly, muttered vaguely. It was obvious what they were thinking without asking.

Sometimes, when our schedules overlapped, commoner students who watched me with Ellie and Selen had exactly the same look in their eyes.

Suddenly, I remembered Ellie’s complaint from last time. Despite Ellie’s efforts to speak well of me to her friends after returning to the academy, it didn’t have much effect.

It’s naturally hard to believe easily. In addition, Ellie’s explanation didn’t cover the duel I had with Eugene and Selen.

Unlike the last time with Patricia, it was fortunate that she didn’t conclusively label it as the ‘phenomenon where the victim is charmed by the perpetrator.’ And showing it directly to such people might indeed have a better effect.

But… how?

“Ed… quickly…”

“Just showing me treating you normally…”

“That’s not enough… act even friendlier, like a really precious person…! That way, they’ll believe…!”

Ellie urgently whispered to me while looking up at me. In fact, there’s a bit of awkwardness in the word ‘acting.’ Ellie is already a precious person to me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have gone to help her like I did last time.

But expressing that thought so that others could understand was a different matter. Meeting Ellie’s conditions made my head even more complicated.

The situation was urgent, and there was no time to ponder. I had to make a decision.

-POOK…

“Ed… quickly… uh…?”

In the end, actions might speak louder than words. People tend to be sensitive to visual stimuli, just like the other students who murmured upon seeing the bruises on Celine’s body.

I placed my hand on Ellie’s shoulder, smoothly pulling her towards me. And just like last time, Ellie ended up in my embrace.

“Ellie. Is this okay…? Now, if you could explain…”

“Ha… huhuh… huhuh…”

“…Ellie?”

I whispered in a small voice that only Ellie could hear. Now, it was up to Ellie to do the rest.

But Ellie’s reaction was odd. There was a moment of confusion on her face, as if she was taken aback by the topic she had brought up herself. She lowered her head and remained silent.

“…What should I do… can’t even rebel…”

“Is it to show off in front of others…?”

The silent Ellie only fueled misunderstandings. A more serious expression on her face, she mumbled something while looking in our direction.

Given Ellie’s personality, I expected her to say something like, ‘Oh my, it’s embarrassing in front of others…’ And then, everyone would naturally understand that Ellie wanted to be with me.

That was the plan, right…?

“Ellie… say something quickly…”

“Uh… uh…? Th-that… uh…”

I urged Ellie again, but all that came out of her mouth were syllables that couldn’t even form into words.

“Come to think of it, Ellie… you look really tired…”

“Did someone bother Ellie in that direction all night…?”

“I can’t take it anymore…! Edwin Reed! Who do you think you are treating our Ellie like that… ugh!!”

“Shh! If you keep it up, what if they find out…! The professors aren’t here either…!”

A female student tried to confront me, but she was quickly subdued by other students.

All they could do as they disappeared was send Ellie sympathetic glances and me disdainful looks.

“Ha… it’s really unbelievable…”

“Vulgar…”

From behind, I could hear Selene and Herty whispering quietly. I couldn’t catch the content, but the tone didn’t seem friendly.

“…”

Ellie still remained silent. With a red face, she fiercely rotated her eyes.

…She really seems vulnerable to being handled forcefully…

“Edwin. Ah…”

Celen offered me a small, red fruit.

“…Just if I eat it…”

“Ah.”

Though I expressed a slight reluctance, Celen responded sensitively. The tone that descended in an instant was enough to send shivers down my spine.

Why did Celen suddenly make such a spontaneous move? Did something about Ellie just now provoke her…

-Thup.

“hehehe… Right.”

As I slightly opened my mouth, Celen deeply inserted her finger along with the fruit. Naturally, I could only lick that finger slightly.

The sweetness bursting in my mouth felt like it was Celen’s flavor.

Like praising a puppy, Celen raised her eyebrows, ran her fingers through my hair, and gently stroked.

“So sweet and delicious… Ellie, Herty, you too…”

From Noble mtl dot com

“…”

“I’m good.”

I asked the two ahead, but the response was not particularly positive. Herty refused in a feeble tone, and Ellie remained silent, seemingly still savoring the aftertaste.

Now, we were entering the edge of the northern forest swamp. The ground was damp and sticky, surrounded by herbs and flowers that needed a lot of water.

The clouds floating in the clear sky and the swamp extending beyond the horizon created a breathtaking view that couldn’t be found anywhere else.

For herbalists and healers, it was truly a paradise. No wonder Tephira demanded access to all areas as a condition for working at the academy.

We chose firm ground to step on and gradually ventured deeper into the swamp. The dense area of reeds and bullrushes, as tall as a person, was the ideal habitat for Water Rippers.

The best way to catch a Water Ripper was undoubtedly the Light Veil Fishing. Normally, it was the only way to lure out monsters hiding in the swamp using camouflage.

Each of us created a ball of light with magic and floated it above the reed field, shaking it here and there. Soon, a giant shadow rushed to devour the ball of light.

“Herty, now!”

As the Water Ripper swallowed the ball, I gave the signal. Herty’s cutting magic instantly pierced through the Water Ripper’s neck.

-Glump!

The grotesque, large horned frog collapsed onto the reed field. Its body was large enough to swallow Adele in one bite.

“Ugh… Disgusting.”

Checking the Water Ripper’s corpse, Herty shivered all over. It was a reaction even stronger than Celen and Ellie.

“…Herty, are you okay?”

“…I’m fine…”

“This way…”

“This way?”

“…?”

In response to my question, Herti looked more puzzled than anything.

***

“Edwin… There are a lot of mushrooms growing here…?”

“They look like corpse mushrooms… It’s best not to touch them…”

“…Agh.”

Upon hearing my words, Ellie frowned and stepped back. In front of her, small mushrooms with pink caps were sprouting in piles.

I distinctly remembered seeing them in a herbology textbook. They were mushrooms that only grew on corpses that had been dead for less than three days.

“…Ed, can’t we go somewhere else?”

Ellie asked in a slightly uneasy voice.

While it was easy to hunt down the four Water Rippers as our initial goal, we had to present the proof of our success by retrieving the demons’ cores.

And the cores of the Water Rippers were formed in the midst of a thick layer of fat, taking longer to extract than anticipated. By the time we had collected the four cores and returned to the dry land, it was already dark.

I wasn’t particularly thrilled about camping next to a pile of corpse mushrooms either. But moving at night carried too much risk, and finding a desired location would be difficult.

“We couldn’t extract them sooner, and Edwin ended up doing it all by himself… Take some time to think before speaking, okay?”

Behind Ellie, Celen muttered softly. Those words carried a sense of anger.

In my heart, I wanted to object to Celen immediately. They were probably speaking such words because they didn’t know about Ellie’s true identity…

“…I didn’t mean it in that way. I’m sorry, Ed… You have suffered the most…”

In an instant, Ellie flinched and quickly softened her tone. Approaching me, her apologetic face was as pitiful as an abandoned puppy.

“It’s alright. I know… And don’t worry too much. I will be the one on alert…”

“Are you really okay…? Even so, being alone…”

“I’m fine. If you really have a hard time, just wake me up.”

Though Ellie and Celen showed their reluctance, they eventually relented to my persuasion.

Of course, I also had the intention of allowing the group to rest since we were exhausted. But I had another purpose as well.

Throughout the day, there was something off between Celen and Ellie. It became even more evident with Celen’s sharp words just now.

While it was true that there was some tension between the two, it wasn’t to this extent. Did they have some argument while I was asleep yesterday?

I couldn’t directly ask, making it even more frustrating. I had no choice but to create a situation where it was just the two of them without me. Even if it meant taking turns keeping watch tonight, I had to separate them…

-Crackle

Elly and Celen must have been tired because they fell asleep early. I turned my head when I heard a presence next to me, and there was Herti Nox, a boy with beautiful fair hair.

“Herti? What are you doing up instead of sleeping?”

“…I just can’t sleep…no, I mean, I can’t…hahahaha…”

Even though it has been a long time since we became friends, Herti still occasionally speaks formally. I wonder how ingrained his politeness is.

Herti approached me and sat down hesitantly. After a while of silence, he spoke up.

“Um, Edwin…”

“What is it?”

“I…um…have a dilemma…can I talk to you about it, maybe…?”

“A dilemma? Of course. What’s the matter?”

There’s nothing better than sharing dilemmas to bring people closer. I welcomed Herti’s words happily. After waiting for so long, his voice finally opened up.

“Well…I had a fiancé before…”

Herti started explaining hesitantly. He said that his parents had arranged a fiance for him when he was younger.

And even though the engagement was recently cancelled, Herti realized his feelings too late. He felt that he had pushed away someone who was different from him, someone who only wanted to do their best.

“So, now when I think about it, I feel like it was not because of me that it was broken off…no, it was not because of me…”

“…Um, are you overthinking things…?”

Herti shook his head firmly in response to my words. He was full of conviction. According to him, his actions had changed completely afterwards because someone let him go for his sake.

“Then, what do you think about your ex-fiancé now…? Did you develop any feelings for them later…?”

“I don’t really know…but this feeling doesn’t seem typical…it’s both ticklish and bitter at the same time…”

“So…what do you want to do…?”

“…Now we can’t go back to how we used to be, but maybe we can still be friends…what do you think? Well, I think so…”

I listened to Herti’s words and fell into deep thought. He said that the cancellation of the engagement made him reflect on his narrow-mindedness. But he could only grieve over a situation that couldn’t be reversed.

I feel like I can empathize more than I expected because I’m in a similar situation.

Come to think of it, Iris must be somewhere in this forest right now. This time, Iris didn’t seem to team up with Eugene. It was just Saint and Claudia, Letta, and other names I didn’t know. Maybe there’s no longer any connection between them and me…

But being friends with my ex-fiancé? It’s certainly not impossible. But can I be friends with Iris?

I couldn’t simply answer that I could be, even if it was just empty words. My very existence is an obstacle to Iris.

Considering the hardships I caused her before, she might get angry even if I just ask to be friends…or maybe I should hope to not see her at all.

“…Well, it might be difficult…”

“…I see…”

Herti didn’t say anything for a while after my response. Sadness filled his eyes as he looked at the campfire.

I was dreaming. A woman adorned with laurel leaves and ivy in her hair appeared. She stood across the wide, blue river, gesturing towards me.

Realizing a dream within a dream was a remarkably rare experience. However, I was in the midst of an unending dream.

Soon, the events from earlier came to mind. Herti, with eyes that held all the sorrows of the world, silently stared into the campfire before entering the tent.

And I, regretting the overly honest sentiments I had expressed in the past, sat there guarding my position.

Certainly, the last thing I vividly remembered was the flickering flames of the pale campfire. No matter how many spirits surrounded me, the insomniac slept. In an exhibition, there would be no complaints even if faced with execution.

But my mind was undoubtedly clear. I wasn’t tired at all, nor did I feel sleepy. It was as if something was pulling me into a dream.

– Hurry…

– Just a little more… a little more…

The dream seemed to end, but it didn’t. The surroundings were silent, yet a constant whisper tickled my ears. It was then that I could be certain. The sounds when I first crossed the northern forest boundary were not hallucinations.

“Huh…?”

As the whispers echoed, the dream shattered. A sharp pain jolted through me reflexively.

The sturdy cloth was torn into rags, and scratched wounds covered the exposed parts of my hands and arms. It looked as if I had come out of a dense thicket.

The campfire and the two small tents were nowhere to be found. In front of me, a vast hilly area spread out.

The full moon in the sky illuminated numerous hills without missing one. The yellow primroses seized the night’s stage, displaying their beauty extravagantly.

However, what captured my gaze was neither the full moon nor the primroses. It was something in the distance, on the highest hill of the hills.

It was a peculiar structure. Built by tightly fitting different types of granite, it raised its walls in a stepped fashion. Despite countless years since the columns were erected, it still maintained its form magnificently.

I could easily recall its identity. The structure was none other than the ancient mound of the northern forest.

Lectures from my humanities class briefly flashed through my mind. The mound was a trace of the ancient people who lived in this land before the conquest of the Drakna.

Although its identity could be understood through architectural styles, the entrance was intricately sealed with a mechanical device, making it impossible to enter. It wasn’t interpretable by magic, so not even Eveline could intervene.

Occasionally, upperclassmen who had experienced the northern forest claimed to have seen specters near the mound, but besides scaring others with such stories, it was a useless ruin.

– Our…

– Finally…

Strange voices beckoned me, gesturing. Instinctively, I began to move my feet. The destination was undoubtedly the mound rising in the middle of that hilly area.

– He’s here… our savior…

– He’s here… the Dragon’s Heir…!

The whispers intensified as I moved. Dozens of words tickled my ears.

However, despite hearing them clearly, their meaning remained entirely elusive. What could a savior be? What about the Dragon’s Heir?

Before I knew it, I was standing in front of the massive tomb. The stone gate, impervious to any intrusion for many years, still seemed solid. No, it looked solid, at least.

– Thud, thud, thud…

The anomaly occurred in an instant. A heavy resonance vibrated throughout the surroundings.

Suddenly, as I looked down, the bracelet strapped to my right arm caught my eye. It was an item acquired at the last place I visited before returning to the academy.

A seemingly useless item, aside from slightly enhancing physical abilities, bearing the name “Guardian of the Old Gods.” The bracelet that had definitely been that way was now shining brightly, trembling intensely as if resonating with the vibrations.

-Drrr… Thud…!

As the stone door opened, the tremors that had been shaking the surroundings ceased instantly. The bracelet also lost its light and returned to its original state. Before me stretched an open, dark space.

Though a moment of fear crept in, I couldn’t turn back now. I illuminated the darkness with magic and cautiously stepped into the tomb.

Thanks to the faint light, I could discern the vast interior. Stone pillars supported the walls, and square bricks densely filled every inch of them.

At the end of a long corridor was a wide, circular chamber. In the center of the chamber lay a giant coffin, surrounded by walls entirely covered in murals.

And there, I had seen this mural before.

“This can’t be… How…”

Anna. The cave where I obtained the Guardian of the Old Gods. The image of falling stars and an inverted figure in the sky that I had seen there.

The exact same mural adorned the walls of this tomb. However, the burial mound in the northern forest was never mentioned in Eugene’s stories.

Suppressing the confusing emotions, I surveyed my surroundings. At the center of the chamber, next to the giant coffin, was a small altar. On top of it, a small black box. Carved into the box were patterns resembling those on the depiction of a heart, just like in Anna’s cave.

-Thud

With a heart divided between fear and curiosity, I opened the lid. Inside was a necklace, intricately crafted with silver chains and ivory-like decorations.

Accompanying the necklace was a shard of a divine dragon, precisely ten pieces. The amount of shards one would need to visit ten locations. It was all there, together with the necklace.

“After all this time, your devotion has finally borne fruit.”

I was genuinely puzzled by everything that had happened. Suddenly, a voice echoed from a very close distance, without any warning.

Turning around, I saw the shadow of someone pale and faint.

“Child of the Crossroads. What is your name?”

Before me stood the woman I had seen in my dreams. Blue hair flowed like the sea, adorned with decorations made of laurel and barely alive vines. A perpetually elusive smile played on her lips.