The Villain is Too Good at Sniping

58. Arsen’s Hero (1)

Some time passed, and we find ourselves at the Esperanza Manor.

The lighting in the indoor training hall remained on despite the late hour. The silhouette of a man practicing swordsmanship was reflected through the stained glass, illuminated by the moonlight.

It was Camil Esperanza, who had surpassed Sion Esperanza and was chosen as the next head of the family.

Whenever Camil’s cross-shaped sword drew a circle, a faint, blue-green afterimage appeared.

With his sword still raised, Camil swiftly finished his swordsmanship, perfectly timing it with the sound of footsteps hurrying down the corridor.

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Kwang!

“…Young Master!”

The door of the training hall, which seemed to burst open, creaked.

Camil Esperriend gazed at the stranger who suddenly intruded.

“…What’s going on?”

“There’s an urgent matter! I came as quickly as possible to deliver the news!”

Camil looked at him with a puzzled expression.

It’s an unspoken rule not to disturb superiors while they’re working, especially for maids, who are even more strict about following regulations.

…He wouldn’t normally do something that would get on people’s nerves.

The maid who came to the indoor training hall was Armin Dias.

With two years of experience, he wouldn’t make such a trivial mistake.

However, before Camil could point it out, Armin respectfully handed him a newspaper.

“Please take a look at this!”

Camil received the newspaper with a gloomy face.

As he read the newspaper without emotion, Camil Esperriend’s eyes trembled, and the newspaper in his hand became half-crumpled.

“They caught the Mine…? With Sion Esperriend?”

The newspaper featured a photo of the Mine that appeared in Arsen’s mock dungeon and Sion and Rebecca, who helped defeat it.

This wasn’t a fabrication. The newspaper was published by a renowned broadcasting station.

Sion, who had disappeared after leaving for Arsen, had confronted the Mine and caught it.

‘He really did it, in the end.’

Camil was genuinely astonished.

Armin Dias, who brought the newspaper, might not know, but Camil, the head of the household, had heard a story while moving around the mansion.

Sion had opposed the Esperriend family’s assassination plan, and the elders had opposed it, but the family head, Esperriend Duke, had accepted Sion’s opposition.

However, his father had set a condition.

To calm down the elders and test Sion’s abilities, he sent a target to Arsen as a test.

Sion had passed the test and solidified his position as a skilled assassin, proving himself as a member of the Esperriend family.

‘I thought he was giving up and leaving, but…’

Sion had proven his abilities and dealt a blow to the family’s elders.

Camil felt both admiration and concern. He hoped this wouldn’t offend his father’s sensibilities.

Thud—!

“Camil, young master.”

At that moment, another maid arrived late.

It was Sallia Difon, a maid of the same rank as Armin Dias, holding another official document.

“There’s something I need to inform you of, so I came hastily.”

“What do I need to confirm?”

“This is an official document directly issued by the Esperriend family.”

Camil received the document. This time, it wasn’t an external news article but a publication from within the Esperriend family.

He worried that it might contain information related to Sion, but the document had entirely different content.

“The Esperriend elder council announces that they will soon conduct a regular demon-slaying operation.”

“…Already?”

“Yes. The number of demons inhabiting the Esperriend territory has surged. It seems to be a consequence of the Gate incident that occurred nearby.”

Camilly carefully handed over the official document and turned around. The moonlight, which had passed midnight, was now illuminating the entire training grounds.

“I thought it would start in the fall.”

“It’s an unavoidable situation, I think.”

The Masu Tobeul season is approaching regularly. It’s just that this time, the schedule is abnormally early.

Of course, it’s understandable, given that the gate has opened nearby.

“Wait, what about the kids who aren’t in Esperanza right now?”

The kids from Esperanza are currently dispatched outside. It’s a season when requests are pouring in.

Representatives include Johan Esperanza and Siella Esperanza.

Shion has gone to Arsen, so he’s an exception, but kids like Johan and Siella are different. Those two are probably immersed in their own activities.

“If an official announcement comes out later, we’ll call them back to the mansion then. I heard there are no exceptions.”

The mission is important, but Esperanza’s work is equally important. If necessary, they might even temporarily suspend their mission and return.

So, once the schedule is set and the official announcement is made…

“Shion, Johan, and Siella.”

Shion Esperanza, who is currently in Arsen, will also be called back to the Esperanza mansion.

***

Three days have passed since the mock dungeon conquest. Time has flown by in the blink of an eye.

Until then, the uncleared dungeons were forcibly closed, and the students inside were returned to the Geord Observatory.

Some were heavily injured, and there were students whose conditions were not good. Most of them were guided to the infirmary by the professors.

Among them, Shion Illeonhart stands out.

Although he received additional points for defeating the mine hidden in the dungeon, he paid the price with his health and is now frequently visiting the infirmary.

The journalist group “Elinor,” composed of students who gather gossip in Arsen, spent four hours tracking down Shion Illeonhart.

“…So, it’s highly likely that he’ll be in the student council room.”

“Are you sure? What if we’re wrong again?”

“This time, I’m sure. There’s a witness.”

“What about the witness? Who is it?”

“It’s Kail Ivanstear, the student who ranked first this time.”

Ah…?

Before the student in charge of the documents could object, the leader of the journalist group, Yelena, boldly opened the door. The entire journalist group was taken aback by her drastic action.

“Excuse me! We’re here for a quick interview! Can you spare some time?”

Behind the firmly closed door, there was one student and one adult. The adult was sitting, and the male student sitting in front of him was unmistakable.

“Found him.”

The Shion Illeonhart from the photo.

He was receiving a medical examination with a gloomy face, looking back as if wondering what the commotion was about.

“…What’s going on? Suddenly.”

“We’re the journalist group Elinor! We came to ask some questions!”

At that moment, the woman with a displeased expression appeared.

The owner of the infirmary room. The school nurse.

“Just a minute. There’s a patient in front of me, what—”

“It’s okay.”

However, Sion Illeonhart stopped him with a hand gesture. Thanks to that, he avoided the embarrassment of being chased out of the treatment room.

“Hero of Arsen, Sion Illeonhart-nim! Are you willing to accept an interview?”

But that didn’t mean he could cancel the original plan of the interview.

For a moment, Sion’s brow furrowed. He shook his right hand, which was wrapped in a bandage, repeatedly.

“I’m not a hero of Arsen, and I’m not willing to accept an interview. As you can see, I’m a patient.”

“Who told you to remove the cast on your own?”

“I didn’t. If I hadn’t removed it, I wouldn’t have been able to catch the demon. A bigger accident might have happened.”

He had sacrificed his own arm to defeat the demon. That’s what Sion Illeonhart was saying.

The doctor’s expression turned sour at the difficult-to-accept words. As a medical professional, it was hard to accept the situation, but there was no choice.

“Instead, I’ll just leave one sentence. I won’t answer any questions.”

“Yes! One sentence is enough! It’ll be enough for this article!”

“…It’s not a big deal.”

Sion scratched his ear awkwardly. Even he would find this situation unfamiliar.

“I coincidentally fell into a trap, and there was a demon there. Luckily, Rebecca-nim was with me, and we defeated the demon together.”

“……What?”

“That’s it.”

Orelana lowered her camera, feeling like something was missing.

“Don’t you feel like something’s been left out a lot? Is this right?”

“I said I wouldn’t answer any questions.”

“Just a minute! So, if we investigate the circumstances……!”

Sion waved his hand, as if chasing away a fly.

“The interview ends here. Please leave now.”

“Just a minute! Then, just one sentence……!”

Suddenly—

The doctor got up and closed the door.

It was a similar scene to the one he had experienced at the Esperanza mansion. Sion Illeonhart coughed awkwardly.

“So, it seems like we have something to talk about among ourselves. Sion Illeonhart-nim.”

“Why did you change your tone?”

It was a bit eerie.

“Luckily, the bones have been set properly, but they’re still a bit unstable. You should avoid intense exercise.”

“First of all, I’ll tell you that the cast won’t be removed.”

“What will you do if the bones don’t set properly?”

“You just said so.”

For a moment, the doctor tilted his head.

“The bones have been set properly, but they’re just unstable.”

“Are you trying to play with words?”

“No way.”

Sion got up from his seat.

“Don’t worry, you won’t be able to do intense exercise anyway. Even if you try, you can’t.”

He had pulled out all the stops, recovering his physical strength, mental strength, and magical power.

Due to the severe aftereffects, I’ve been going in and out of the hospital room, meeting with Professor Isabelle, and simultaneously undergoing rehabilitation exercises and rest. It’s a dreadful daily routine.

If someone asks if this isn’t intense exercise, I’d have no words to say in response.

“Thanks anyway. I’ll come again next time.”

“Don’t come again. Just don’t.”

“What?”

“It’s better not to visit the sickroom as much as possible. The more you visit, the more likely you are to get hurt, so it’s better not to get hurt at all.”

Don’t think about getting hurt and coming; think about being careful not to get hurt in the first place.

That was probably the health teacher’s own advice.

But in reality, more than half of the incidents I’ve experienced so far have been caused by unexpected accidents.

Accidents happen suddenly, and humans can’t prevent them.

Still, I fully agree with the health teacher’s words.

You can’t say that you can prevent 100% of accidents, but you can make it infinitely close to 100% by taking action.

I think that’s my role.

It’s something that only I can do in this world.

Sion, who had gone outside, checked his watch. He accessed the community and checked the new article that had been posted yesterday.

The title was [Is the Hunter Association Alright, Re-examining the Underground Gate Incident?].

It was one of the articles from the student journalist group ‘Elinor’. As soon as I saw it, I burst out laughing.

“If you’re going to take a picture, take it properly.”

A large photo of Kyle and Ailee, who had completed the dungeon conquest, was posted at the top of the article.

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[Main Quest Complete: Underground Town Everd]

▶Number of team members who dropped out: 0 (Complete)

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▶Reveal the truth behind the incident in the underground shopping district: Everd’s remains (Complete)

▶Reach the source of Mages: Defeat the Gluttony Mine ‘Onin De Shantus’ (Complete)

◇Basic Reward: All stat points +0.98

◇Additional Reward: Permanent 3% increase in HP/MP regeneration

◇Bonus Reward for Achieving Additional Objectives: Talent experience +330

*Overall Evaluation: A

May good fortune be with you.