The Villain is Too Good at Sniping

81. The Untold Story (3)

In the meadow, Rebecca opened her eyes.

The sensation in her hand felt unfamiliar. She fumbled around and grabbed a white shirt.

Only then did Rebecca raise her head. She was still wearing her school uniform. As she looked around, what in the world… It was a colorful flower field.

“Are you awake, Rebecca-nim?”

A few steps away, Sion Esperanza was sitting on a white horse.

“Sion… Esperanza?”

“For starters, that outfit… um, you should change into something better, don’t you think?”

Click-

The moment Sion snapped his fingers, Rebecca’s clothes changed. Her school uniform disappeared without a trace, and a pure white dress was put on her, with a hem that dragged on the ground.

The white horse approached. Sion Esperanza stretched out his hand. Rebecca hesitated for a moment, then grabbed Sion’s hand and got on the horse.

Dag-dag-dag-

The white horse, carrying the two of them, galloped across the meadow, going who-knows-where. All Rebecca could see was the entrance of Arsene in the distance.

Hee-hee-hee—

But Sion ignored Arsene and passed by. Rebecca felt a sense of unease belatedly.

“…Where are we going?”

“You’ll see. Don’t worry, Rebecca-nim.”

The meadow was long. Rebecca silently held onto Sion’s waist, as there was nowhere else to hold onto.

It was strange, but despite the horse having no saddle or reins, it felt surprisingly comfortable.

“We’re here. We’ve arrived. Now.”

“Where?”

“Look ahead.”

Sion, holding the reins, pointed straight ahead.

A grand, decorated wedding hall was before them. Sion, without hesitation, jumped over the entrance on his horse. Only then did Rebecca shake her head.

“Just a minute… just a minute!”

“Are you going to hesitate all the way here?”

“It’s not that, but… something…”

Something felt strange.

She couldn’t figure out where to start, and her senses were all over the place.

“Then, let’s go.”

“…….”

Rebecca couldn’t say a word in the end.

“Congratulations.”

“Congratulations, Rebecca.”

“Congratulations, Rebecca-nim.”

“Rebecca, how could you do this?! You’re getting married before me?! Really?! Rebecca!”

Fireworks exploded, and petals scattered everywhere.

Ding-ding-

The sudden knocking sound woke Rebecca up.

She saw the pure white ceiling of a hospital room. It was a private isolation ward in Arsene.

The sound of the door opening was heard, and a man entered the isolation ward. For a moment, Rebecca thought it might be Sion, but unfortunately, it wasn’t.

“Ah? You’re awake?”

“Exision…”

“Professor, isn’t it?”

The familiar sound of Exion pouring water.

“Will you take it?”

“…….”

Exion offered the water to Rebecca, but she didn’t take it. Exion awkwardly stood still for a moment before putting the cup down on the tray.

“So… how much do you remember?”

“What happened?”

“Ah, it seems you don’t remember. It’s still affecting you, after all-“

Exion, who had been nervously fidgeting, finally noticed Rebecca’s gaze. Exion cleared his throat and corrected himself.

“Um… let’s get straight to the point. Rebecca, you’ve become a Mine. Not that you’re being treated like a Mine, but in terms of classification, you’re categorized as a Mine now.”

Rebecca cautiously looked at her own arm. Her hand, without the glove, was no longer pitch black. The darkness that had once threatened to engulf her entire body had now completely merged with her.

“So, you’ll need to stay in this isolation ward for a while. There’s no precedent for a student becoming a Mine at Arsen, so they’re still discussing it. I’ve been visiting you regularly to keep you company.”

“…Is it because of the magic detected in my body?”

“That’s right, but it’s an extremely small amount. The Hunter Association is also discussing it, but let me tell you first… nothing will happen to you, Rebecca.”

The reason was obvious, even without saying it.

“Is it because I’m Rebecca von Anastasia Grandeur?”

“You’re right on the mark.”

“…….”

Exion paused, choosing his next words carefully, as Rebecca’s expression fell.

Rebecca Grandeur wanted to live as just Rebecca, but in the end, she was bound by her affiliation with Grandeur.

It was understandable.

Arsen or the Hunter Association couldn’t afford to antagonize Grandeur, who controlled the northern continent.

If Grandeur’s anger were to destroy the barrier, hell would break loose across the entire continent.

But even though Rebecca had saved her life, this wasn’t the end of it.

“What about Zion Espieren?”

As soon as Zion’s name was mentioned, Exion cleared his throat again.

“As for that, Zion Espieren has also been isolated.”

“Isolated?”

“Don’t worry, it’s not because he became a Mine or anything.”

The explanation was brief, but Rebecca had already guessed the reason.

“In Zion Espieren’s case… it’s a bit different. He’s with Isabelle right now.”

“Yes…?”

“This is a sensitive issue that could escalate quickly. If things go wrong, it could lead to a religious trial. Just for now, please don’t move!”

From noble mtl dot com

Clank!

Rebecca’s face fell in real-time. Exion hastily held up both hands.

Rebecca’s hands were currently bound by chains, a manifestation of Arsen’s intention to keep her confined.

“If those chains were to break, it would be difficult for me to defend you, Rebecca. So, for now, please just stay still until everything is resolved.”

“You’re telling me to just sit here and watch?”

“Don’t worry, it’s not like a religious trial will definitely happen. I said it could happen, but that’s not a guarantee.”

“Exion…….”

“It’s okay, Rebecca-nim. Don’t worry about it. Everything will be fine.”

Exion took a step back, distancing himself.

“Rebecca-nim is like Grandeur, and Shion is from Esperanza, isn’t that right?”

Shion, also known as Illeonhart, is staying in Arsen, but his true identity is Esperanza. He has been hiding his identity and most of his reputation has been built on a false name.

“If Shion gets caught by the Inquisitor, what will happen? In fact, he’s been hiding his identity, and behind him are me, Professor Bearn, and Rebecca-nim, and Arsen knows about it but is keeping it a secret, and behind that is Esperanza…”

If Shion’s secrets are exposed when he gets caught by the Inquisitor, it won’t just be one or two people who get dragged down. Everyone involved in the irregular admission will face a crisis. It’s not going to end with just a small incident.

“Anyway, if that happens, my head will roll, and the professor will get caught up in a troublesome situation, and… Professor Bearn is trying hard to cover it up right now. I’ll have to go and help soon.”

Exion slowly closed the door to the isolation ward.

“Then, rest well until then. I’ll come again later.”

“……”

Click-clack. The heavy iron door closed, and the sound of the lock mechanism echoed in Rebecca’s ears.

Rebecca slowly lay down on the bed. There were many suspicious parts, but there was nothing she could do for now. She could only believe and wait.

When Shion falls into the hands of the Holy See, Arsen’s secrets will be exposed. So, Professor Bearn will stake his reputation to defend Shion.

…But what about Isabelle, the priestess?

Will she also take Shion’s side?

Rebecca couldn’t shake off the question. Late at night, she had seen Isabelle, a priestess of the Holy See, in Shion’s room.

What conversation had taken place, and what had happened?

Rebecca didn’t know. Only Shion and Isabelle knew.

At that moment, a suffocating feeling overwhelmed Rebecca, and she grasped her chest tightly. It was an unfamiliar emotion she had never experienced before.

‘Water…’

The water Exion had left was still on the tray. She felt like throwing it away, but Rebecca eventually reached out and grasped the water glass.

***

At the same time, in Arsen’s faculty building.

“Yes, thank you for your hard work, Priestess. Let’s meet again next time.”

“Thank you for your efforts.”

“Yes, yes!”

I entered the meeting room where I had met Isabelle before. At that time, Isabelle was smiling softly.

Click-clack. But when the meeting room door closed, and the noise-cancelling magic began.

“…Then, it seems we have something to discuss, Shion-nim.”

Isabelle was still smiling, but her expression was somehow frightening.

“As I received the report…”.

“I know that. The student council president was about to become a martyr and took action to prevent a greater disaster, and in the end, they safely resolved the situation. And…”.

“And there were no casualties in the process.”

“Yes, yes… that’s right.”

The next moment, Isabelle’s face twisted like a tiger’s.

“That’s not what I’m asking, right now!”

Isabelle grasped the back of her neck, expressing an indescribable frustration.

“Do you know what’s going on right now?!”

“I do, so what? The Inquisition is coming for us, isn’t it?”

“We almost got into huge trouble. The Inquisition’s investigators were going to flip Arsen over, and you know how terrifying those people are! They torture and kill as if it’s their daily bread. And they were coming for us?!”

“I know. I’m aware of it too.”

I leaned back in my chair, feeling exhausted and limp like a wooden puppet.

To be honest, I didn’t expect things to escalate this far either. I thought we could just cover it up and move on, but the situation got more complicated than I thought.

The reason was… my artifact got broken.

“Maybe it’s possible, considering its original purpose. But to think that even the Holy Grail got broken… it’s really…”

The Holy Grail was just an insurance policy, and thanks to it, I managed to survive.

System corrections and whatnot are just secondary factors. You can’t rely on them, so I prepared everything I could on my own.

In the process, I borrowed Isabelle’s artifact and broke most of it.

The only thing left was Isabelle’s rosary, which got slightly damaged while blocking the Ghost Sword’s attack.

Almost all of Isabelle’s artifacts that she lent me got broken. And it wasn’t even her doing, but an outsider’s.

Isabelle had to explain the situation, and in the end, it got resolved well.

“-Cough! I… my body wasn’t well, so I had no choice but to lend it out. It was a situation where I couldn’t take action myself.”

“-So, I directly asked Sion Illeionhart for help. Sion had dreamed of joining the Inquisition since long ago and visited me every day.”

“-That’s why I trusted and handed it over. I thought it would be used for the right purpose, and it turned out well in the end.”

In the process, I got sold out as a passionate newcomer, but that’s beside the point.

Anyway, the result was that things got resolved well.

I told them that I went to see Isabelle because I dreamed of joining the Inquisition, and that got nicely packaged. In reality, I went to remove the artifact’s debuff, but it got blown out of proportion.

The alibi was sufficient, and regardless of the process, we managed to prevent a huge disaster. The Inquisition’s elders decided to cover up the incident.

Isabelle received disciplinary action from the Inquisition, but I didn’t get any punishment thanks to Professor Vienne’s enthusiastic defense.

“Ha…”

Isabelle, who was grabbing her neck and twisting her expression, didn’t look like a priest at all.

“…What do we do now?”

“Joining the Inquisition? You didn’t think I’d say that, did you? How would I know that?”

“There was no other way to explain it. You’re pushing all the responsibility onto me, and now you’re saying that?”

The weak fluttering of my wings eventually turned into a storm.

“Anyway, for now, you have to come with me. The sermons might be a bit boring, but you can endure that, right?”

“Are you seriously thinking of making me join the Inquisition?”

“I don’t expect that much. I just want you to pretend to be a good student.”

I left the professor’s office with Isabelle. As we walked down the corridor, I saw a building in the middle of the forest.

“…Is it already complete?”

“We had to finish it no matter what, even if it meant staying up all night. That’s how it is.”

Isabelle shrugged her shoulders.

The distance from the professor’s office to the forest was quite far, but it was visible to my [Thousand-Mile Eyes].

Workers were building a huge cross in the construction site, and the red flags with the Inquisition’s symbol on either side were unmistakable.

“For now, you have to make time for me. Especially on holidays, you have to squeeze out time that didn’t exist.”

Isabelle pointed to the forest, letting out a deep sigh.

I’m not a fan of coffee, but right now, I really craved one.

The Sacred Temple of the Shinseong Sect had entered Arsene. This fact hinted at only one thing.

“It’s going to get even busier from now on.”

The second act of this remarkable world had finally begun.