The Villain is Too Good at Sniping

95. Sisters’ Quarrel (1)

“I’ll conclude the pre-event inspection for now. We’ll stop here for today, and discuss the details again tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

“Then, be careful on your way back, students.”

The afternoon, when the sun was about to set, marked the end of the scheduled pre-event inspection.

It was the Magic Engineering Expo.

The episode where the main characters participate in the Magic Engineering Expo is one of the major episodes in Act 2.

Arsene, who was formally invited by Elysium, selected students and sent them to the expo.

The main characters participating in the expo were Kyle, Lara, and Serin Anet, among others.

The main characters, who were exploring the Magic Engineering Expo held in Elysium, sensed something strange and sneaked into the expo hall. After a thorough search, they discovered that the organizers had mixed in some ‘Mine’ elements.

And they decided to boldly destroy the expo hall. In the process, they met Mine and discovered the hidden purpose of the expo.

“It just so happens that the problem is that guy, a member of the Mine Association.”

The problem was that the Mine wasn’t just a simple extra, but ‘Elto’, the single number of the Mine Association.

The main characters were threatened to the point of feeling their lives were in danger, but they barely managed to survive after Elto achieved its goal and retreated.

While they were lucky to have survived, they vowed to return to Elysium later and defeat Elto… which was the original story.

This pre-event inspection at the expo hall was the starting point of that episode. It was an event that wouldn’t have happened if they hadn’t taken the student council route.

“You worked hard, Sion.”

“So did Silvia, senior. You seemed to be running around everywhere since morning.”

“That’s… I almost missed an important schedule… Hehe.”

I was now leaving the student council’s office and the expo hall. Today’s schedule wasn’t that long. I heard it would start in earnest from tomorrow.

“Where are you going now?”

“Where are you going? You said you’d only participate today, so aren’t you leaving now? To somewhere else.”

“…That’s true, but.”

I had no choice but to join them after receiving permission to go out and being asked to accompany them.

As I finished the pre-event inspection at the expo hall, Isabella’s words came true. The accompaniment with the student council ended here.

“Let’s eat before we go.”

While walking with the student council members, Silvia Reaper tapped my shoulder and suggested we have a final meal together.

It was something I had roughly expected.

Before answering, I saw Rebecca walking a few steps away from us. She didn’t show any particular reaction, but it wasn’t like there was a problem.

Originally, the student council members, who were opposed to the main characters, were surprisingly kind to me.

Especially Silvia Reaper. The Silvia I knew from the original story was a bit more cold-hearted and didn’t show much interest in anything outside of her own interests.

“…You’re being too attached, aren’t you?”

“It’s the last one.”

“It’s not like we’re parting ways forever, anyway. We’ll see each other again in Arsene.”

“Well, if that’s the case…”

Totally-

It was only then that Silia took a step back, getting closer to Rebecca’s side.

Anyway, Silia’s disarmament would be something to consider later. The incident where the student council clashed with the main characters in the first act had already been erased, so it wasn’t something to worry about right now.

“So, what will you do, Rebecca?”

“…I’ll be fine, at least for now.”

With Rebecca’s permission, the student council entered a tavern-like shop in the old town, reminiscent of a medieval blacksmith.

I sat at the edge of the table, having helped with some tasks during the preliminary survey. As I wasn’t a student council executive, there was no need for me to sit inside.

“Well, the secretary isn’t here today, anyway.”

Silia was the first to raise her glass, which seemed to have originally belonged to Amelia.

The student council, including Rebecca, responded, and the festivities began in earnest.

I didn’t actively participate, maintaining a moderate distance and atmosphere.

The situation was unfamiliar and astonishing, but what mattered now was that Rebecca was with me.

With Rebecca taking over as student council president, Cecilia Brown’s chance to intervene had disappeared. However, the change in protagonist wouldn’t significantly affect the story that was to come.

In any case, the second act had begun, and the sacred temple had been built in Arsene. The early elimination of the doppelganger that disturbed Elysium was a relief.

The protagonist may have changed from Cecilia to Rebecca, but the magic engineering exposition would still take place, and the main characters would start to clash with the Magic Association in earnest.

As I pondered what I needed to do amidst the impending chaos…

“Don’t sit there looking so serious; have a drink first.”

“…Yes?”

I thought I had managed to hide my emotions, but it seemed I had been found out. After all, only Rebecca and I were quiet in this gathering.

“Is it okay for a first-year student like me to drink?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.”

Silia brought over an empty glass and started pouring a slightly turbid, pale pink liquid. The empty glass was a giveaway.

“It’s not like anyone else will know what we drink here. Who’s going to go outside and talk about it?”

Perhaps not.

As the student council that had to lead the students in Arsene, it was questionable whether they should be offering a first-year student a drink.

Incidentally, the student council’s guidance director was also present, silently eating snacks. It seemed they had tacitly agreed to let it slide.

“Well…”

I had originally intended to make an excuse and not drink, but Rebecca’s gaze caught my attention.

The Rebecca I remembered was quiet in private settings, but now her expression held a faint smile.

“Drink, drink.”

“Just one glass.”

“Right, right, you’re doing great~!”

Even so, I still felt a slight burden, and I had plenty of ways to escape, but…

Gulp-

I downed the glass in one go.

My body isn’t good with alcohol, but as a superhuman, one glass wouldn’t be a problem. To get drunk, I’d need to drink at a level of bottles.

“Did I help Rebecca last time? Thank you.”

However, another student council member suddenly grabbed my empty glass. They were about to pour a white liquid into it, but Silvia waved her hand to stop them.

“Just one drink, okay? That’s enough!”

“What? No, but…”

“Siwon can’t get drunk.”

“Why? Didn’t we come here for that?”

“Ahh, stop it. Don’t do it!”

In the end, the other member backed down.

Although the situation was different, the words “I can’t get drunk” were quite right. The student council’s schedule for today would end here, but I still had things to do afterward.

“I’ll be right back, I’ll go out for a bit.”

At that time, Rebecca got up from her seat. She said she was going to get some fresh air and quickly left.

I waited for a bit and followed her. I was thinking of waiting for the right moment to leave, but maybe now was the time.

Whoosh…

The cool night breeze blew in.

Rebecca was standing at a distance from the store. She had said she was going to get some fresh air, and it seemed she really did come out to do so.

“…Huh? What’s up with that guy?”

“He looks like a student, check out his uniform. It’s the Arsen school uniform.”

“Ah, it’s that guy. The one who came to the exhibition hall…”

As the mages from the Magic Tower walked by, chatting, I made a big commotion and approached Rebecca.

Rebecca turned around, glancing at me.

“The important schedule is over for today. Now, we’ll take care of the other tasks we’ve been putting off for two days. What are you going to do now?”

Rebecca’s eyes were different from before. There was a subtle, probing emotion hidden in her red eyes.

“…Did you know?”

“I suspected that you had a separate goal and visited Elysium from the time we were on the train.”

There wasn’t any particular clue, but Rebecca seemed to have caught on with her intuition alone.

“Are you leaving now?”

But even Rebecca couldn’t talk about certain secrets. So, I cut off the conversation and bid her farewell.

“It’s a family matter.”

“……”

Family. In other words, an Esperanza matter.

That should be enough of an answer.

***

It’s a shame that we couldn’t enjoy the party together until the end, but I have things to do.

My schedule with the student council has changed, but my original goal is to kill Aidan Stillheid. In reality, I’m supposed to release Aidan, but that’s just a nominal goal.

-You have to kill him. And don’t you dare die and come back.

The warning David gave me before.

Originally, the task that should have been taken by David Esperanza has been passed down to me.

There’s no coercion. It’s not like the Esperanza Duke directly ordered it, but David handed it over to me.

Even so, it’s still a dangerous task.

I still have my loneliness left. If things go wrong and the family elders or the Esperanza Duke get involved, I’ll have no choice but to take out Aidan.

Of course, as a top-tier idol like Aidan Stilhaiden, I wouldn’t be caught off guard by a mere 1st-year student’s attack. On the contrary, the likelihood of me being counterattacked and killed is high.

So, I need to wrap this up quickly before any unexpected interference from Esperand. It’s like dealing with a future obstacle, Doplganger, as soon as possible.

As time passes, Aidan’s trail grows fainter. Once I’ve got my hands on him, he’ll do everything in his power to survive.

I’ve spent three days chasing after Aidan. I’ve scoured the entire Elysium server, searching for any clues.

There was a time when I sat atop a watchtower, gazing blankly into the distance.

[Search results: 1,288,253 people]

[No search results for ‘Aidan Stilhaiden’. He is an unregistered magician.]

I’ve also spent time hacking into the Elysium server, searching through the list of registered magicians.

I even lingered around the Magic Tower, drawing suspicion.

-Who are you? Why are you always lurking around here?

-I’m a student of Arsen. I was just taking a look around outside.

-Ah, you’re from Arsen’s side. Got it.

Until then, I wore Arsen’s student uniform and used ‘observing’ as an excuse, so it didn’t raise any major issues.

And then I realized.

If I continued searching like this, time would only slip away.

I needed to approach my target in a different way, unlike the search methods taught by Esperand.

“This won’t do.”

I needed a change of mindset.

Right now, as Esperand’s assassin, I’m supposed to be searching for Aidan on behalf of David.

Here, I’m the pursuer, and Aidan is the fugitive.

But unlike David, who was a skilled assassin, I’m still treated like a rookie, both in Arsen and Esperand.

In reality, the magic bullet that David praised me for was a result of me using over 50% of my magic power in a single shot.

Even if I continue to chase after Aidan, the likelihood of actually catching up to him is extremely low, and it’s decreasing by the minute.

“This won’t do…….”

I took a whole day to review and revise my plan, recalling the original setting of Aidan and combining it with the information I knew.

From noble mtl dot com

And finally, I reached a conclusion.

“It won’t work…….”

No matter what I do, I won’t be able to catch Aidan. I need to approach this in a completely different way.

And then another thought occurred to me.

“Wait, do I really need to chase after him?”

What if, instead of me chasing Aidan, I make him come to me?

What if I create a reason for Aidan to come to me?

Thinking like that made it easy. I already know what Aidan fears the most.

I pulled out a single, pure white feather from my inventory.

Elfin’s feather.

During the harsh winter survival training, I met Elfin and Lara. I lost consciousness, and when I came to, I was carrying Lara back to camp, while hunting down the pursuers.

…Alongside the water spirit Elfin, of course.

This feather was something I happened to pick up back then. The spirit’s remnants possess unique magic power and are used as materials for various alchemy.

So, I took the fallen feather, and Elfin didn’t make a big deal about it, knowing that I genuinely wanted to protect Lara. Instead, it was like a gift.

The feather that Elfin used to shield Lara contains the magic power of Lara Stilhaiden, which Elfin possessed.

Even if the same magic is cast, the power, output, and color of the mana differ depending on who casts it.

Each magician has a unique way of releasing their magic, and their individual characteristics are reflected in it.

For example, most of the magic cast by Lara Stillhaden tends to have a blue hue.

A pure, high-purity blue.

The magical power emitted by the tower master of the Blue Tower, where Lara works, is close to sky blue. Only Aidan and Lara’s mother-daughter duo can emit magical power that is infinitely close to blue.

I scattered the remaining magical residue from the feathers all over Elysium, leaving behind faint traces of Lara Stillhaden’s magic throughout the city.

This was a provocation towards Aidan.

While other magicians might just ignore it, only one person, Aidan Stillhaden, wouldn’t be able to overlook the magical residue.

This was a warning to Aidan.

At the same time, it was a gamble that risked my own life.

No matter how much I tried to hide, a parent wouldn’t appear until their child was in danger.

I wandered around Elysium all afternoon, leaving behind traces of magic here and there, which would surely become a landmark for Aidan.

And the next day…

“Who are you? Who dares to scatter my daughter’s magical residue all over the place?”

Aidan Stillhaden appeared, destroying the lodging where I was staying.