The Villainous Young Lady’s Despicable Move (4)
Zeke was flustered.
He couldn't just spit out the magic stone necklace after using it.
And saying things like,
‘I’ll give it to you later,’ or ‘I sold it.’
would be pointless, as anyone could easily figure out the truth. So he just told her the truth, but then Iriel started crying.
The gazes of the students looking at Zeke all changed ominously.
‘Oh, shit.’
Is this, perhaps, the technique of a veteran villainess in a romance fantasy?
‘A woman’s tears are her weapon.’
If she had cried with this intention, it was certainly effective.
Especially with the look of betrayal in Selena’s eyes, it felt like cold sweat was about to pour out of him.
You said you wouldn’t go to her when I told you not to!
Zeke subtly avoided her gaze.
‘Hey, how was I supposed to know she’d pop out of nowhere when I went to the bakery…….’
Zeke met Iriel’s gaze with complicated eyes.
Seeing her tears cooled his head a little.
‘Is she really crying to screw me over? Or was that necklace that important to her?’
He didn't sense any particular malice in her tears.
‘It doesn’t seem like she’s acting.’
Having been backstabbed so much during his time in the dark fantasy, Zeke had, whether he liked it or not, honed his ‘sense’ for hostility and malice to a superhuman level.
That’s why he was well-versed in the tricks and methods his opponents used.
And in those days, since every choice was directly linked to survival, his resourcefulness and quick thinking in unraveling situations were objectively outstanding.
‘But……. To be honest, I'm not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.’
Zeke wasn't confident in reading the ambiguous emotions of others or deducing their intentions.
‘Tsk, there's definitely something fishy about Eustia, but Iriel, she’s a real enigma.’
Zeke set aside his preconceptions and thought about Iriel.
‘When I used the Eyes of Judgment, she wasn’t harboring any hatred. And seeing how possessive she was, perhaps this body was her close guard or something?’
The villainess from the original novel?
He couldn’t be sure about that anymore.
She got along well with the female protagonist, Soi Spoon, and aside from following him that one time after he insulted her to her face,
she hadn't done anything directly to harm him.
She seemed to have a bad relationship with Selena, but that seemed more like a family feud spilling over to individuals.
‘Her attending my class and giving me the magic stone, if I think about it as just a devoted fan trying to provide what’s lacking……. Do villainesses usually operate this way?’
Nevertheless, Zeke couldn't bring himself to approach Iriel rashly.
There was the matter with Selena, but more importantly, there was something about the aura surrounding this woman that made him feel uneasy.
As he was lost in thought, Zeke suddenly realized that all the students were staring at him.
‘Right, first things first, the class.’
Zeke turned to face the students.
“Today’s lesson will also be physical training.”
At his words, the students’ faces fell.
“However, Selena will be exempt from training.”
“““…….”””
Now that her growth path was set, Selena didn’t necessarily need physical training.
And since he had silenced the Second Prince, there were no students with more power than Selena.
Therefore, although the students didn’t voice their complaints, their expressions clearly showed their dissatisfaction.
Soi Spoon, in particular, was shooting him a look that screamed, You said there’s no discrimination between nobles and commoners!
It seemed like a little more explanation was needed.
“In Selena’s case, she will be receiving specialized training from now on.”
Zeke looked at Selena.
Selena also seemed uncomfortable being the only one exempted from training while the other students had to suffer.
“Selena is the first among you to have her path determined, but from now on, in my class, I will be providing specialized training to those whose growth paths have been established.”
“You will all soon have your paths confirmed and will receive individual lessons tailored to your growth, so don’t be too dissatisfied.”
Then Soi Spoon raised her hand.
“Then how will the order be decided?”
It seemed she was desperate to get out of the grueling training.
‘Hmm, even if you receive specialized training, I doubt you’ll be able to escape basic physical training, though?’
“I’ll be accepting reservation requests on a first-come, first-served basis. I need to personally visit and confirm, so I’ll start with those who are available. I'll start accepting requests from the next class, so think about when you’re free.”
Despite his explanation, the envious gazes of the students didn't change much.
Their unspoken question was, Then why did you start with Selena?
‘Well, it’s because I live at her house.’
Strangely, only Iriel, who he thought would be the most upset, nodded with a serious expression and pursed her lips.
‘She’s really acting strange today.’
Zeke was puzzled but hid his expression.
“Let's begin the basic physical training.”
Zeke made the students, excluding Selena, wear sandbags on their arms and legs.
“Run 20 laps around the training ground. Selena, you train separately.”
As the students began to run in circles, Zeke had Selena sit on the ground.
Then Zeke sat down opposite her.
“Selena.”
“…….”
“From today onwards, you will be training to awaken your mana road.”
“…….”
Selena seemed to have a lot to say.
Tsk, Zeke clicked his tongue inwardly.
“I’ll tell you about the necklace later.”
Only then did Selena open her mouth.
“……The necklace, more importantly, about yesterday’s growth path confirmation……. That……. Are you telling me all the students are doing that?”
Nod.
Selena bit her lip.
Does that mean all the students are showing their naked bodies in front of Zeke?!
“Isn’t there any other way?”
“That’s the most certain method.”
‘Even so!’
Selena was about to retort.
“Stop. Now close your eyes.”
Selena had a lot to say, but she decided to follow Zeke’s instructions for now.
‘I’ll be sure to give him a piece of my mind after class!’
She closed her eyes tightly.
*
The process of awakening one’s mana road was like a child learning to ride a bike.
Once awakened, one could always perceive its existence no matter how much time had passed,
but the process of first grasping it wasn’t easy.
‘Of course, I could forcefully awaken her road with a transformation spell and inject mana to get it going…….’
But skipping the process of awakening mana like that could lead to bad habits.
In the worst case, it could lead to a dependence on external stimulation to use mana, so he wanted her to awaken her mana on her own.
‘Using a transformation spell only when teaching her the Heavenly Dance of a Thousand Swords technique would be a better use of it anyway.’
“Focus on my voice, Selena. You don’t have to answer.”
“…….”
Zeke extended his hand, creating a flow of mana around Selena.
“First, the most important thing is to be aware of your own body. Becoming conscious of the things your body does unconsciously is the first step.”
The flow of mana Zeke created gently brushed against Selena's surroundings, but
she, with her mana road still dormant, couldn't feel any difference.
Zeke opened his mouth.
“How are you breathing?”
The cyclical process of breathing: air entering through the nose, passing through the throat to fill the lungs, oxygen being delivered throughout the body through blood vessels, and then being released back through the mouth.
“At what intervals do you blink?”
How many seconds does it take to blink once to moisturize dry eyes?
“Think about the position of your tongue. Is it uncomfortable? And when are you swallowing your saliva?”
Gulp. Selena’s throat moved as she swallowed.
“The muscles connected from your fingertips to your toes are constantly moving, even when you're not moving. Feel that movement.”
Selena’s fingers twitched.
Zeke continued to point out and awaken the unconscious habits ingrained in her body, one by one.
Selena furrowed her brows, trying not to miss a single sensation.
“And when you become aware of all those movements, stop them consciously. Even your breathing. Then, even with your eyes closed, you will feel the flow of mana around you. The first stage is complete when you can do this. If you feel suffocated, take a deep breath and start again from the beginning.”
The air that had been flowing through her nose stopped at some point, and her body began to lose strength.
“Focus. When you feel the flow, you can open your eyes.”
Selena soon began to sink into unconsciousness with terrifying concentration.
Her presence was already fading slightly, her ability to learn was so remarkable that the term ‘talent cheat’ came to mind.
Zeke crossed his arms and looked at Selena.
‘This is going much faster than I thought……’
Perhaps it was because she already acknowledged the existence of mana in her worldview.
‘Well, she has a body that’s aware of mana and talented in it, so not being able to do this would be like a bird not being able to flap its wings. It reminds me of myself when I was young. Hmm.’
Zeke nodded.
It was a shameless statement, completely disregarding his own struggles as a beginner.
Zeke, too, possessed an exceptional talent for mana when he was summoned to the Dave Continent, surpassing even Selena.
However, having lived on Earth where mana didn't exist, it took him a very long time to even accept the concept of mana.
-Zeke, are you an idiot?
-Ooh, I feel it! I feel it! My hair is swaying! Th-This is mana!!!
-Damn it, that’s just the wind, you fool. Mana, I said feel the mana! I brought you all the way here where the concentration is so dense you could choke on it! Why can’t you feel it?! Are you impotent or something?
-Saintess, that’s harsh.
-What’s harsh is your insensitivity.
Zeke turned his gaze away from Selena towards the other students.
They were already running with exhausted expressions, even though they hadn't been at it for that long.
‘They’re slacking off because I’m not poking them from behind.’
Zeke's eyebrows twitched as he watched them.
‘But why is she working so hard?’
Iriel was running with beads of sweat rolling down her face, her jaw clenched in determination, not caring if her hair was getting wet.
She was much slower than the other students, but she didn’t seem like she was going to give up.
Zeke got up from his spot and followed the students, correcting their posture with a poke from his bread every now and then.
Only then did the students pick up their pace and start running properly.
“Oof!”
“Ugh!”
“Eek!”
But Iriel…….
She looked like she was about to die. Her basic stamina was so poor that Zeke felt bad even touching her.
Despite being incredibly exhausted, she would glance at him with a forlorn expression,
then smile faintly, and then a tear would roll down her cheek.
It was so pitiful that Zeke felt awkward scolding her.
‘Uh……. Um, what’s wrong with her?!’
It happened once or twice, but he couldn't ignore her as she continued to look at him with teary eyes.
Countless question marks popped up above Zeke's head.
‘Tsk, is something really wrong? Did that fishy thing around her do something?’
As his thoughts went in that direction, Zeke’s intuition gave him a bad feeling.
‘It’s definitely not normal……. But now that my body can handle mana, it’s not like I feel a sense of crisis or anything.’
Still, Zeke wanted to minimize any potential threats.
‘Alright, let’s dig a little deeper.’
Zeke took out three magic stones from his pocket and held them in his hand.
‘That leaves only three for the kids. No, it’s fine. It’s easy to replenish them now, so I don't need to be stingy.’
The mana from the magic stones in his hand swirled and flowed towards his eyes.
Zeke's eyes glowed blue.
[ Guilt 50%, Affection 15%, Trust 10%, Gratitude 10%, Superiority 5%, Sense of Responsibility 5%, Resentment 3%, Burden 2% ]
[ ？ 60% DEATH 40% ]
‘Huh? What the, she might actually die?’
Unlike before, when he had no mana, now that he had a sufficient supply through the magic stones,
Zeke's Eyes of Judgment were able to read the target's fate in terms of probability.
This was the power Zeke had focused on developing the most in order to confront the final boss, the ‘Bard of Prehistory’.
Iriel has a 40% chance of dying.
He couldn't pinpoint the exact time, but judging from her current expression and behavior, it was probably soon.
‘Sigh, damn it. 50% guilt……. Did she cook up some crazy plan because of this body?’
Zeke let out a hollow laugh.
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