The Villain is Too Good at Sniping

73. A Story That Never Was (1)

The weather that day was a bit strange.

Rebecca stretched out her hand outside the window. What she felt wasn’t hail or snowflakes. It was something in between, a rare sight in the north.

“…Is it raining?”

“No, it’s not.”

She slowly lifted her head to look at the sky.

The sun was hidden behind the clouds. Raindrops were falling from the sky, but at the same time, small snowflakes were also falling. It was an unusual climate that she had never experienced before.

“It’s strange that it’s snowing together. Is this also an omen of disaster?”

Rebecca was a bit frightened that day.

“The weather is strange, Unni.”

“Is it scary because it’s raining and snowing at the same time?”

“Yes.”

Iana von Gaussfelt Grandeur slowly stroked Rebecca’s hair, gently combing her crimson locks that reached her shoulders.

“This isn’t an unusual climate, nor is it an omen of disaster. It’s just one of the natural climates that occur very rarely. It’s often mistaken for an omen of disaster because it happens so infrequently.”

“……”

“Remember, it’s called graupel.”

It was a strange weather day, with graupel falling from the sky.

Iana brushed Rebecca’s hair and tied it up neatly. Then, she picked up the hand mirror that had been lying down.

“How is it?”

“…….”

“You can be honest with me at times like this.”

“…….”

Rebecca still didn’t answer, only gazing at her reflection in the mirror as if it were someone else’s face.

With an unfamiliar expression, she stared at it without blinking.

“If you don’t like it, I can change it for you.”

Iana was about to untie Rebecca’s hair when a small voice was heard. It was a sound that would be inaudible if you didn’t lean in to listen.

“…I like it.”

“What did you just say?”

“…….”

“Say it again! Louder! I didn’t hear you!”

Rebecca didn’t say anything more, as if it were Iana’s fault for not hearing her, and confidently escaped from Iana’s arms.

Iana gazed at Rebecca’s back for a moment before noticing the servant’s gaze outside the door. When she nodded slightly, the servant approached and bowed.

“…Iana von Gaussfeld Grande, milady.”

“What’s going on?”

“The Gaipiste of the Southern Hunter’s Association has sent a gift from their estate.”

“Really? Can I open it?”

“Of course, milady.”

The servants who followed brought in the gifts and placed them on the floor one by one. Iana picked them up without hesitation, only to glance at the servants’ reactions belatedly.

“You can leave. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Yes, milady.”

Waving her hand, she dismissed the servants.

Only after the footsteps outside the door had disappeared did Iana finally open the gifts.

She had received gifts from all over for her 20th birthday and displayed them in her room.

There were dolls, electronic devices, wine, and various jewels or artifacts that she couldn’t even identify.

Among them, a long, wooden box caught Iana’s attention.

Iana carefully opened the box. Inside, there was a beautifully crafted sword.

The ornate sword was not meant for actual combat but rather as a ceremonial item or decoration.

However, for some reason, she felt an inexplicable attraction to it.

Iana carefully grasped the hilt.

…It was the moment when the Grande Duchess of Gaussfeld awoke as a sword spirit.

“…….”

Iana shook her head, dispelling the sudden flashback.

Why had the old memory suddenly resurfaced? It was likely due to the time she had spent with Zion Esperanza.

The sensation of piercing Zion’s heart still lingered in her hand.

Zion Esperanza was dead. He had refused to be with her. As she recalled that fact, she felt her heart beating.

Iana carefully touched her chest. A strange, unfamiliar sensation spread from her fingertips.

It was a strange feeling.

It was only natural for her heart to be racing, but this pulsating sound was something else. It was subtly different from what she had experienced before.

It was sorrowful and suffocating.

“…You’re hurting too, Rebecca.”

Ianah felt a strange, creeping sensation on the edge of her consciousness. She tried to shake it off, but it only grew stronger, suppressed by her ego.

“I do too. It’s regretful that we can’t be together. I’m being sincere.”

The resistance that had been struggling like a small insect eventually dwindled and completely disappeared.

Ianah stretched out her left hand with a relieved mind. She thought she had completely suppressed it, but strangely…

“……”

Her index, middle, ring, and pinky fingers.

Her left hand trembled as if it was anxious. No matter how many times she clenched and released her fist, the trembling wouldn’t stop.

“I understand too, Rebecca. Losing someone is a painful thing.”

However, Ianah could only forcibly move her uncontrollable left hand using her magic instead of her muscles.

“But we still have a lot to do. Ruminating on the past is something we can do after we’ve finished our remaining tasks.”

Gently-

Ianah’s left hand, which had been trembling, was now under her control. However, the subtle pain left in her chest didn’t easily disappear.

“…It’s strange.”

It was all something Ianah had abandoned a long time ago. The emotions she had let go of while holding her sword had faded away.

Originally, she had gotten rid of those emotions, but now they were starting to resurface. Those weren’t Ianah’s emotions.

She had forgotten all the pleasures of the world when she held her sword.

Only her sword, and the series of actions she performed with it, filled Ianah’s emotions.

So, this wasn’t Ianah von Gaussfeldt Grande’s heart. It was Rebecca’s, sleeping deep within her.

“You didn’t originally show your emotions. Why are you doing so now?”

Perhaps Rebecca’s emotions were a bit larger than Ianah had thought.

Ianah turned her head to look out the window. The cracks spreading in the air were gradually increasing in number and growing thicker.

***

Sion Illeionhart said,

“Go to the main building. Go there and turn the generator back on.”

At the time, it seemed like an easy task. There were always staff members remaining in the main building, even on holidays.

Among them, there would be facility maintenance staff, and with their help, it wouldn’t be difficult to restore the lost electricity.

Even if there were no staff, it didn’t seem difficult to turn on a single generator. The equipment was automated, and most of it could be operated simply by pressing a button.

But all of that was a miscalculation.

“…They’re coming again!”

“Eshili, how much longer?”

“There’s still a ways to go! Just hold on a bit longer!”

According to Sion’s request, Kyle’s group headed towards the main building, but as soon as they entered the lobby, they faced a swarm of demonic creatures.

The gate wasn’t just open in one place in the dormitory. It was happening simultaneously in various locations throughout Arsen.

The gate had also opened inside the main building. The originally luxurious lobby was in shambles due to the demonic creatures’ attack.

However, there weren’t just demonic creatures here. There were also staff members and students who hadn’t managed to escape, barricading themselves behind doors and resisting.

While Kyle faced the demonic creatures head-on, Elin roughly pounded on the door.

Bang-! Bang-!

“Who’s in there?! If you’re in, come out! Come out now!”

“…Are you really a person?”

“You can tell by the way they’re talking, right?! If they don’t come out now, it’ll be big trouble, so hurry—!”

The door creaked open with a kkkk- sound.

Inside, there were a male and female teacher together. The lipstick stain on their collars made Ellyn’s face contort.

“What were you doing, I won’t ask, so just get out from behind.”

“Thank you, really. Student.”

“It’s fine, just hurry up and get out. Quick!”

Ellyn half-pushed them out and checked the surrounding area.

A female student who was hiding behind the vending machine, trembling like a rabbit, caught her eye. Ellyn carefully pulled her out.

“If you stay here any longer, it’ll be big trouble. Come out quickly.”

“…Huh?!”

“It’s okay, look. This is a 1st-year student badge.”

Ellyn pointed to the badge on her chest. Then, she suddenly felt a sense of unease and checked the female student’s badge. Only then did the female student open her mouth.

“I’m… a 2nd-year student?”

“…I’m sorry, senior. Let’s just get out of here for now, okay? If we don’t, it’ll really be big trouble.”

“Okay… got it.”

The female student, who nodded her head twice, hesitantly stretched out her hand. Ellyn grabbed her arm, as if she was holding a precious stone, and pulled her out.

At that moment, Ellyn felt like she had become a hero.

“Thank you, junior.”

“Never mind the thanks, just hurry up and… no, before that, just for a moment—”

But the 2nd-year student had already gone far away. Ellyn felt a pang of sadness, but as she was about to stand up, Esil pushed her shoulder.

“This isn’t the time to be dawdling around.”

“When did I ever dawdle around? I didn’t.”

“Just move aside, will you? This is the only way to get through.”

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“No, are you just going to do what you want?!”

Esil ignored her and pulled out her bow. At the same time, she signaled to Kail, who was standing in front. Kail moved aside, bringing Lara Steilhaiden with him.

A powerful magic that made Ellyn’s entire body tense up dwelled within Esil’s bow.

“…Help me, Rokan.”

The large arrow, loaded like a balista, finally flew out. The exploding magic engulfed the entire area.

The demonic beasts that were charging from the front were instantly annihilated. The remaining beasts that didn’t die were taken care of by the waiting armed guards.

As Ellyn Bernhardt watched the scene in a daze, one of the guards approached her.

“So, you’re going to the power plant, right?”

“Ah, yes… that’s right?”

“Then, go down below and check the underground area. You might find people who are still alive, but I’m not sure.”

As the guard pointed to a corner of the main hall, Ellyn asked cautiously.

“So, are you guards going to stay here…?”

“What kind of guards would we be if we couldn’t even handle this much? We’ll take care of the small demonic beasts. We’ll follow the manual and gather the people too.”

“Ah, haha, hahaha…”

Ellin scratched the back of her head awkwardly and took a step back.

“But is it okay?”

“Huh?”

“It seems like the protective spell got messed up because of the lightning strike. If we touch it carelessly, it might backfire and harm the students.”

“Huh…?”

Ellin narrowed her eyes, and then Kyle approached her.

“What do you mean the spell got messed up? What’s going on?”

“It’s exactly what I said. The protective spell is broken. I don’t know what happened, but it used to fix itself automatically, but now it’s not working because of the lightning strike.”

This was the first time Kyle Ivanstear had heard this story. Among the things Sion had said, there was no mention of the spell.

“I don’t know who messed with it from the outside, but if we touch it carelessly, it might cause a huge explosion. Even if we find someone who’s good at spell interpretation…”.

As Kyle listened to the story, he glanced at his watch. Essil was tilting her head, looking puzzled, and Ellin asked cautiously.

“Who should we contact?”

“There was someone who was good at spell interpretation. We met them during the last dungeon raid.”

“Edel senior? Can we reach them at this hour?”

“Considering the commotion in Arsen, I doubt they’re sleeping. They’ll probably answer.”

Ellin carefully operated her device and touched the screen. The call was connected to Edel Di Bison.

-…Sion, it’s not you.

-Huh, just a minute. Who is this…?

A sleepy voice could be heard from the other side of the watch.