The Villain is Too Good at Sniping

60. Arsen’s Hero (3)

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud—

…It was a rough and angry footsteps.

It’s not like I’m running or walking fast, but the distance keeps getting farther away. I was half-running, chasing after Rebecca, and eventually fell to the ground.

The aftermath of magic exhaustion still lingered, and my body wasn’t fully recovered. I felt the reason why the school nurse told me not to overexert myself.

“…….”

Rebecca, who slowly turned around.

I thought she would ignore me and leave, but it was a bit unexpected.

“Why are you following me?”

“I chased after you because you were running away.”

“I didn’t run away.”

What’s with the ‘I didn’t run away’ nonsense? If you just review the CCTV footage in the guest room hallway, you’ll know.

Rebecca slowly approached me, stretching out her hand as if to support me. I hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to grab her hand or not, but eventually, I took it and stood up.

***

The place we arrived at, following Rebecca, was the dining hall of the guest house. It was where I had come with Professor Biern before taking the entrance exam.

Perhaps this was the starting point of all these events.

I felt a sense of déjà vu, and for a moment, I stopped in my tracks.

“Will Professor Biern be coming too?”

“I don’t think so. He’s busy with the recent dungeon incident.”

…That’s a relief.

If it were during class, I wouldn’t mind meeting Professor Biern privately, but the timing is bad.

He’s probably still busy dealing with the aftermath of the dungeon incident, and it’s not a good idea to stir up unnecessary trouble.

Rebecca led me to a reserved room, and the process of interacting with the staff, from ordering to sitting down, was as smooth as water.

“Do you always do this when you eat here?”

“Not always.”

“Well, I heard that your dorm and the guest house are quite far apart.”

I had expected as much, but there was no response.

For me, moving to the guest house was a simple matter of going down the stairs. But Rebecca had moved to the 2nd-grade dorm.

Honestly, the route was quite complicated and troublesome.

The guest house was located at the edge of Arsene, which made it so.

Rebecca didn’t call the staff. She just exchanged a few glances with the counter staff. It seemed like there was a close bond between them.

Honestly, I didn’t expect to come here, and I didn’t think I’d get to eat for free.

“Your ordered food has arrived.”

On the table, my plate and knife were neatly arranged. The wine bottle, which looked like a high-end brand, was an added bonus.

“…Royal Veilers, 735 vintage.”

“I didn’t know they sold this at the guest house.”

“It’s precisely because it’s the guest house that they can sell it legally.”

“That’s amazing.”

In Arsene’s dining hall, they do sell liquor, but technically, it’s against the rules.

Especially for 1st-graders, it’s a bigger issue. Most people just turn a blind eye and let it slide.

When I was at Esperanza, I drank a lot of this wine. Siyon Esperanza’s body was quite weak against liquor, so I couldn’t drink too much, but this scene was all too familiar.

It was surprising to see it happening not in some high-end Esperanza or noble family gathering, but in Arsene’s dining hall.

Rebecca filled two empty glasses and then carefully picked up her knife. I watched her for a moment, timing my question carefully.

“So, why did you come to my dorm?”

Her hand, which was cutting the steak, stopped. Rebecca looked up at me, then back down, and continued cutting.

“I had something to tell you, so I came to visit. I didn’t know you had a guest.”

“If you had told me in advance, I would have set aside some time.”

“Yes. Since it was an unannounced visit, I took the liberty of coming.”

That part was fine. I wanted to maintain the atmosphere, so I played along.

Rebecca snapped her fingers, and a faint magical residue spread out.

Middle-grade magic. Silence.

She had cast a spell that was only used when sharing confidential information, on the table.

With the unnecessary noise eliminated, the only sound left was the clinking of knives and forks on plates.

At the center of it all, Rebecca spoke.

“I’ve had a change of heart since the Mine incident.”

“I hope it’s a positive change.”

“I’ve been struggling to take care of myself, let alone lead the student council and Arsen. I’ve had my doubts.”

I sat quietly, tilting my wine glass. The sweet aroma of fruit lingered on my lips.

“That’s why I came to see you at this late hour. You’re the only one I can share this with.”

Even Amelia, Rebecca’s closest aide, was unaware of Rebecca’s secret.

Perhaps it was because of the recent incident that she had become more cautious.

While it was a positive change, it could also be the opposite in certain situations.

“The student council can’t function without me. I’ve always been the one making the decisions, and everything revolves around me.”

That was typical of a dictator’s speech.

If Rebecca were to collapse, the student council of Arsen would also crumble.

It was clear that Arsen’s administration would be thrown into chaos.

“So, I have to make a choice. I need to find someone to take my place for the sake of Arsen.”

“Is that why you think Amelia is insufficient?”

“…I’ve already burdened her with a lot. I don’t want to give her any more responsibilities.”

In the original story, Amelia takes over as the student council vice president after Rebecca.

The student council election that takes place while Amelia is temporarily in charge is also an episode in the original story.

The end of Act 1, and the first episode leading into Act 2.

Rebecca emptied her glass. The full glass was suddenly empty.

“Siôn Illeionhart, there’s no one else I can entrust with this but you.”

“Are you telling me to become the student council president?”

“I’m not thinking of putting that burden on you. I just want you to support that person.”

“You’ve been talking as if you’re about to disappear.”

“…….”

Rebecca’s lips closed, and I didn’t say anything more.

In the silence that followed, Rebecca was the first to speak.

“…I’ve gained a sense of crisis.”

Although her glass was empty, Rebecca didn’t refill it. She simply twirled the empty glass and spoke calmly.

“Everything I’ve done so far might have been in vain, and if I’m trapped in an inescapable fate, then what can I do until that day comes? Perhaps it’s better to accept it with a calm heart.”

“Such foolish and absurd thoughts have been increasing lately. It’s the first time since handling your admission to the school.”

“So, I’m asking you for a favor. Not as the student council president, but as the representative of Grande R.”

At first glance, it might seem like she’s talking under the influence of alcohol. If the Silence spell hadn’t been cast, anyone would have thought so.

However, Rebecca, like me, has a superhuman body. Even if she downed an entire bottle, she wouldn’t get drunk.

Right now, Rebecca’s eyes are like wine, a deep red. It’s clear that she’s having unnecessary thoughts.

“If I were to transform into something like that Mine someday…”

“If I were to lose my rationality and harm important people like Amelia Seo, with my own hands.”

“Then, you’ll take my life with your own hands—”

Thud!

“No.”

I cut off the words just before they were about to continue. I didn’t want to hear the rest of that sentence.

“It won’t happen. No matter the situation, I won’t harm Rebecca-nim with my own hands, nor will I do the opposite.”

In the original story, I had tried 18 times but couldn’t change the ending. The system had fixed Rebecca’s fate.

The system had declared to Rebecca:

“You’re just a existence that will disappear after the first act, a mere stepping stone for the player and main characters to grow.”

So, no matter how I played or what choices I made, Rebecca would always end up as the final boss of the first act, defeated by Kyle’s hands. The circumstances behind it would only be revealed after Rebecca’s downfall. There was no way to change that fate.

In the end, every event in the original story led to Rebecca becoming the main villain.

But now, that world had become reality.

I had coincidentally met Lara Stillhyden, survived the entrance exam with Airi, and even defeated the evil spirit that was supposed to haunt the third-grade dormitory early on.

“There must be a better way.”

In reality, there were more variables at play, and they didn’t always work against us.

Just looking at myself, I had tried to help Kyle’s group but ended up destroying the Chanelier’s observatory, which led to the Holy Church visiting Arsen.

During the ghost incident in the dormitory, no one died, and in the mock dungeon, the main villain appeared.

However, the main villain’s claws never touched the students, and Esperanza and Grandeur’s relationship didn’t deteriorate.

In the end, all fates could be twisted and changed.

“I don’t know what will happen until the very end. Things that seem to be going well can suddenly take a turn for the worse, and things that seem impossible can suddenly work out.”

The main characters had to survive for me to survive.

On the other hand, if I survived, I could save the main characters when unexpected situations arose.

I didn’t know where this snowball would roll to, but at least the person I could reach was within my grasp.

I would stretch out my hand and grab theirs, even if it meant taking on a supporting role.

……And the person closest to me right now was…

Arsen’s student council president, Rebecca von Anastasia Grandeur.

“You can put your mind at ease, I’ll only say this: no matter the situation, I won’t abandon Rebecca-nim.”

“…….”

“So, if you need anything, feel free to ask anytime. We’re already acquainted, just like Esperanza and Grandeur.”

When Rebecca reached out to me, I rejected her offer. It was a path that was good for both me and Rebecca.

Now, I was the one reaching out to Rebecca.

The situation had changed, and methods that were impossible to see from the monitor were now possible.

Of course, Rebecca didn’t readily accept my hand. She responded in her own way.

“……Yes.”

Her voice was trembling, but…

Rebecca grasped the hand I had stretched out, and I wouldn’t let go of that hand now.

That night, I could finally get a good sleep.

Isabelle left a note and disappeared, and the magic tool I received was releasing a gentle, yet steady magic power, unlike an hourglass.

I lay down on my bed and closed my eyes.

At least today, I wouldn’t be tormented by nightmares.

***

It was two weeks after Rebecca awakened as a minion.

The final boss of the first act, who had thrown the player into a predicament.

From noble mtl dot com

The last story of the first act, which had brought both reversal and shock.

It was the beginning of the “Subjugation of the Ghost King Rebecca”.