Surviving as a Villain at the Academy chapter 120

120 – Resolving the Unjust (2)

A slightly plush sensation lingered near my head. Moreover, a familiar fragrance wafted through the air. Asty. It was Asty’s scent.

Come to think of it, Asty was using her lap as my pillow. Opening my eyes with that realization, I saw Asty looking at me with worried eyes.

“Frahu.”

A sense of relief filled her eyes. I rose from my position as I observed her.

Certainly, it didn’t seem like much time had passed. Not as much as when I first entered the Umbra… or when I faced Salus, as she mentioned. Time had seemingly come to a standstill during the trial with Salus.

Anyway, it was a whopping 1630 times. During that time, I had fought for a very, very long time in that world. It was challenging, though I didn’t show it.

Honestly, I was immensely glad. Asty, and even Lina cautiously watching me from there, made it so.

I gave a slight smile to Asty looking at me. Just because, I was happy.

“Asty.”

“Yeah?”

“How long has it been since I disappeared to the other side?”

“About half a day has passed. The dawn will break soon. So, how did it go? Is everything finished properly?”

“…Just half a day?”

“Hold on. ‘Just’? How long were you in there, exactly?”

“I’ll tell you the details later. The mission was completed successfully. I even met the Ghost Queen herself… and the Land of Ghosts will be purified soon. Shortly.”

“What do you mean? The Land of Ghosts will be purified?”

Lina, who had been quietly listening, asked me.

“Just as I said. The Ghost Queen said it wasn’t her intention. And by accepting her final request, the Queen disappeared.”

“What?”

“The Phantom Queen disappeared…?”

“Yeah. The Phantom Queen’s final wish was to find peace.”

“Wait a minute. I don’t understand… Her wish was to find peace?”

“Yeah. She had been searching for someone who could bring her peace. I can’t go into detail… but anyway, I granted her wish and she found peace.”

“Oh… I see.”

We decided to keep the information about the Bondage Sword hidden from Lina and Nea, so we adapted it appropriately. Mikael, who was trapped in the corner of the Papal Office, might open his eyes and watch us without us knowing, so we couldn’t casually mention the Bondage Sword, even if they didn’t know about the Phantom Queen.

Honestly, the chances of him monitoring our every move were slim, but it was better to be cautious. Mikael was definitely an enemy.

“But how do you know that the Phantom Land has been purified?”

“We have to go and check now. By the way, only you guys know about the Phantom Queen.”

“Okay.”

Nea looked at me with curiosity-filled eyes. What did I do to be able to grant the wish of a being from a legend… Well, it was probably not this type of curiosity.

– Ah, so I have to keep my existence hidden.

Suddenly, Salus’ voice echoed in my ear.

“For now. I’ll reveal it after we leave the kingdom.”

Fortunately, it seemed like my thoughts were well conveyed to him.

– Ah, really? That would be interesting.

I wasn’t sure what was interesting, but Salus seemed strangely energetic compared to when I first saw him. Maybe this was his true nature before becoming the Phantom.

What I had set was only the personality, narrative, and power of the Phantom Queen. That is, I never thought about Salus before becoming the Phantom Queen.

“Anyway… I’ve achieved all my goals, so let’s go back now. We’ve probably purified the Phantom Land, so the mission of the investigation team should be over.”

“It feels kind of empty, though. I didn’t expect it to end so quickly. And I didn’t even get to see the face of the Phantom Queen that I wanted to see.”

“Ah, that… I’ll tell you the details later when we return to the empire. It’s a sensitive issue.”

“Aren’t those priests all captivated by Asti?”

“It’s not just a matter of the priests. There might be someone within the kingdom who is monitoring our every move.”

“Someone monitoring our every move?”

“Yes. Until we go somewhere beyond their surveillance, I will refrain from discussing the events after meeting the Phantom Queen. Just be patient a little longer.”

“But who is this person?”

“Archangel Michael.”

It was Asti who answered Nea’s question, not me.

“M-Michael?”

Nea was astonished. Lina was as well. It was probably because the name of an archangel that appears in the Bible suddenly came up.

“Immediately, when we were staying at the Papal See… Michael was there. Maybe the others didn’t notice, but Nah and Frah felt it. It felt like time had stopped, something like that.”

“You didn’t actually come face-to-face with him, did you…?”

“It didn’t happen… He seems to have chosen not to make contact with me either. If we had fought or something, the Papal See would have been destroyed. So, for now, I think he’s just observing. Anyway, I don’t know how he’s observing us. So we need to be as careful as possible.”

“Did you hear that? So, I’ll explain what I saw and heard in the empire this time, so just wait patiently.”

“Oh, yes…”

Nea and Lina couldn’t hide their disappointment. It was understandable, since they were excited to be able to see the Phantom Queen but couldn’t see Salus.

Of course, it would probably be fine once they go to the empire. Nea and Lina can now be considered trustworthy comrades.

Anyway, now that everything was roughly finished, we had to return to the investigation team. Asti had implanted false memories into the heads of the priests.

Roughly, it was a memory of us investigating a strange monument in the place we investigated and breaking it, causing the surrounding phantoms to disappear… something like that.

Perhaps the priests, unaware that the memories were manipulated, would confess everything to Adrian.

Nevertheless, Adrian wanted to hear the detailed story and insisted on monopolizing my time. So, I told her a fabricated story about why the land of the specters had been purified, as she desired.

We discovered a monument imbued with an inexplicably negative force, which the specters were guarding, and we defeated them and destroyed the monument.

After that, the energy started flowing through the surrounding land.

When I came back to check, I saw the same energy flowing through this land as well.

“So, the monument was the root of everything.”

“It seemed so.”

“That’s a relief. It was getting exhausting. The specters kept coming endlessly, and there was no time to rest. Even the priests and paladins, who had strong spirits, felt the strain.”

“Was it that bad?”

“Don’t even ask.”

Adrian’s complaints continued from there.

“You know how there’s a certain flow. It felt uneasy, like a sign of division within the group. Everyone was tired and struggling… We had to maintain the sacred barrier until dawn, so the accumulated fatigue was severe.”

“It’s fortunate it’s over quickly then…”

“Exactly!”

Adrian said, clenching my hand that was placed on the table. Without any surprise at the sudden contact, she poured out her words to me.

“You have no idea how lucky we are. If we had been tormented by the specters a little longer, we would have witnessed a terrible sight. They say physical strength can recover with rest, but in a situation where our mental strength is being depleted in real time… And to think all the specters we faced were former holy maidens and saints. Truly, the magnitude of Senior Frah’s merit.”

“It’s just luck.”

“Luck is also a skill. Moreover, if there was a monument with such a negative force, the specters there must have been extraordinary beings. I will personally inform His Holiness of Senior Frah’s merit.”

“There’s no need…”

“Yes, there is. Those who have earned rightful merit should receive appropriate rewards.”

“Then, I will gratefully accept.”

“Ahahahaha. You’re so practical in situations like this.”

“That’s how it has to be.”

“Hmm. You’re right. Anyway, senior, thank you for helping me again this time.”

Adrian bowed his head deeply to me. It’s a bit burdensome.

Now, it doesn’t really matter if I take the forefront, but ultimately, such attention could become a poison to me someday. So… I guess it’s okay to take out this insurance.

“But that doesn’t mean I want all the credit to be focused on me. This time, the biggest role was played not by me, but by Lina and Nea, right? If the two of them couldn’t communicate with the spirit, we wouldn’t have been able to find the gravestone.”

“Ah, that’s right. And the roles of Ruslan and the other seniors from our side were also significant… I understand.”

“Then, can we go rest now?”

“Yes. I’m also very tired… I need to rest now.”

“Then, this hand…”

“Oops…! I’m sorry. I must have gotten carried away without realizing it…”

She let go of my hand, blushing in surprise.