I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

[Scarlett PoV]

The survival exam had ended, but I still didn't feel like my abilities had grown much further. I needed to awaken my own Codex, yet I kept remembering what that man had said before.

'You're different from your family, Scarlett.'

What exactly had he meant by that?

"Sister, why do you keep spacing out like that?"

Geralt and I were watching a black-haired man training in the dueling arena.

He wasn't the only one training here, of course. Plenty of other students were sparring or drilling on their own throughout the space.

"It's nothing, Geralt," I answered him. "What do you think he's practicing? He's just been taking spell after spell from his training partner this whole time."

"No idea. I'm guessing he's trying to make his mana evolve, like the instructor mentioned in yesterday's lesson," Geralt answered, sounding just as curious. "Sister, do you want to try it too?"

Today, I'd planned to talk with that man about the conversation we'd had after the first-stage exam ended.

"Find another partner. I've got something I need to take care of," I told him.

"Alright, guess I'll ask Brian instead."

After Geralt left, I kept watching their training session. His partner was aiming her palm directly at him.

"Captain, are you sure about this?" the mage asked.

"Of course, Marlo. Whenever you're ready," the black-haired man answered, his entire body already covered in wounds.

The mage began chanting, yellow sparks of flame flickering to life in her palm.

"Fire Ball!"

The fireball shot toward him instantly, and he opened his palm toward it.

Something surprising happened—the fireball didn't explode on contact with him. Instead, it began spinning around his body like a comet, circling rapidly in every direction.

"What is he actually doing?" I muttered.

His expression stayed calm, clearly focused entirely on the flame orbiting his body.

—Boom!

But suddenly, the fireball expanded uncontrollably before finally exploding. Smoke billowed around him, and the other students training nearby all turned their attention toward the sound of the blast.

"Captain!" The mage rushed toward the black-haired man. "Are you alright?"

The black-haired man slowly got back up, his academy uniform badly torn from the explosion.

"I think we'll call it there for today," he said, walking out of the arena.

I started making my way toward him. It looked like he was heading to the men's changing room.

Once there, I waited outside until he came out. Before long, the door opened, revealing him now dressed in a fresh uniform.

"Scarlett? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Didn't I tell you? Once the exam ended, I wanted to join the disciplinary committee," I reminded him.

"Ah, right, I remember now," he said, nodding. "Follow me."

We left the dueling arena building together.

As we walked, I noticed students glancing at Raul with looks full of resentment. What exactly made him so disliked? Wasn't the survival exam already over? Were they still holding onto some grudge from back then?

"Just ignore them," he said, noticing me looking around. "They're a little irritated—the Student Council called their clubs in over some budget issues."

At Grunbelt Academy, students could also develop their skills outside of official classes.

There were plenty of clubs built around each student's particular talents. I was a Brawler myself, so naturally, I'd joined that club.

Club activities included things like group training sessions, sharing combo techniques, and seniors usually teaching juniors specific Brawler tricks for facing off against other combat classes.

Sometimes, the Brawler club would even bring in famous Brawler-class knights to train us for a few days. Still, I'd have to leave the club now that I was joining the disciplinary committee.

We eventually arrived at an office on the third floor of the Student Council building.

Raul opened the door, revealing a room where several members were reading through something.

"Everyone, listen up," Raul greeted those inside. "We've got a new member joining us today—Scarlett. Starting now, she'll be working with us."

Everyone turned to look at me. A few faces looked familiar, including a man who'd been on my team during the first-stage exam.

"Viera, is there anyone here without a partner yet?" Raul asked a brown-haired woman.

"Emm... I think everyone's already paired up, Captain," the woman named Viera answered.

"In that case, Scarlett will be my partner," Raul said, glancing over at me. "Viera, Piers, walk Scarlett through the rules and requirements every disciplinary committee member needs to follow. I need to head to the infirmary first to heal up."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

After giving his members instructions, Raul left the room.

Looking around, I found myself curious what exactly they were reading.

"Come here, Scarlett. We'll fill you in on how the Captain runs the disciplinary committee," Viera said, smiling.

I nodded and walked over to sit down with them.

"Scarlett, curious about what we're reading right now?" a man beside Viera asked.

Hmm... Piers, if I remember his name correctly.

I simply nodded in response. He then showed me a map, along with several notes on another page.

"A map? What's this for?" I asked him.

"Not sure, honestly. Captain told us to memorize the topography of several regions along the Empire's border," Viera answered.

I looked over the map they were studying, showing a forest, mountains, and a river along the Empire's northern border.

"The northern border... isn't that where our country borders the Republic of Venetia?" I murmured, vaguely recalling that nation as the most advanced in the world.

What was that man planning, having his members study the Republic of Venetia's border region like this? What did it even have to do with academy activities?

For the second-year class, only the final exam remained for the rest of this year. Once the third-year class began, several important activities would determine everyone's eventual graduation.

The first was field practicum, where students would be assigned to various regions with high crime rates and weak security. They'd help out however they could, based on their individual skills.

The second was joint training with the imperial military. This was meant to instill discipline in following the chain of command and familiarize students with the Empire's security systems. They'd be stationed at fortresses typically found along the nation's borders.

The third was the final qualifying exam, where students would be tested on every spell and combat technique required for graduation.

Among these three activities, the one most likely to place us anywhere near the border was the military fortress assignment. That would make some sense, if I connected it to what they were studying.

Still, did they really need to prepare this thoroughly just for a training assignment there?

I had no idea. That man's way of thinking always left me completely baffled.

[3rd PoV]

In the academy cafeteria, countless students chatted happily with their friends over lunch. Among them were Brian, together with Valeria, Ariel, and Geralt, discussing something after finishing their training.

"Brian, be my training partner," Geralt requested after swallowing his food. "My sister won't train with me, so I have no choice but to ask you instead."

Hearing Geralt's request, Brian answered, "I don't know, Geralt, I'm getting bored of always sparring with you. Fighting different opponents broadens my combat experience—that's why I asked Princess Elena to be my training partner yesterday, but she turned me down, said she was too busy with Student Council business."

It was true—the last genuinely strong opponent Brian had fought seriously was Raul, and that had been quite a while ago.

"Speaking of training, that reminds me—qualifiers for the year-end tournament start the day after tomorrow," Valeria suddenly mentioned, bringing up the tournament.

"Huh? That soon!? I thought the tournament wasn't starting until after final exams!?" Brian said, looking startled at Valeria's news.

"The Main Tournament will start after finals, that's true, but participants still have to go through a qualifying round first to determine who actually advances to the main event."

Valeria was right—once the tournament began, plenty of military officials and nobles would attend to observe the students' abilities firsthand. They'd naturally want to recruit and secure any students they considered exceptional or unique.

"For this tournament, the top 10 ranked students automatically advance straight to the main tournament," Valeria explained to them. "In the second-year class, only Princess Elena and I currently rank in the top 10, and only one student from the first-year class made it."

Hearing Valeria's explanation, Brian and Geralt fell into thought, while Ariel, who'd stayed quiet this whole time, showed no interest whatsoever.

"I'm not entering this tournament. I'd rather focus on studying more healing spells," Ariel said, sounding entirely certain of her decision.

"Speaking of training, I actually saw that guy practicing something interesting earlier." Geralt's words caught Brian and Valeria's attention—they both knew exactly who Geralt meant by "that guy." "Looked like he was practicing what the instructor showed us a few days ago."

"Unreality Field, you mean?" Valeria murmured.

"Yeah, that's the one! But it seems like it'd be really hard to master if you have to take direct spell hits just to build it up," Geralt said, sounding somewhat pessimistic.

Their conclusion wasn't entirely accurate, though—Raul wasn't just training to master Unreality Field, he was also working on the even more difficult Redirect technique.

"Hey Geralt, we won't know until we try! Let's go practice that after this," Brian said, this time turning the invitation back on Geralt.

But just as they were chatting away, the cafeteria suddenly fell silent around them.

Before long, they understood why.

A beautiful gray-haired woman was walking through the cafeteria, a white-haired man trailing behind her.

Geralt and Brian both swallowed hard at the sight of the elegant, graceful woman, her flat expression, as if utterly indifferent to everything around her, only adding to her untouchable aura.

"If I'm remembering right, that's Princess Alisha Romanova of the Tsardom of Slavia," Valeria remarked, snapping the two entranced men out of their daze.

"Huh? A princess from another country!?" Brian exclaimed, startled.

"Yeah... she and Prince Vlad are transfer students who just arrived here yesterday," Valeria explained.

Hearing this, Brian immediately started walking toward Alisha. Ariel, watching this, could only sigh, while Geralt looked shocked at Brian's sudden move.

"Hey, Brian! What are you doing!?" Valeria called out.

Brian glanced back and answered, "Obviously inviting her to talk with us! I'm curious about people from other countries!"

Before long, Brian appeared in front of Alisha and Leon. The princess's attendant immediately stepped forward to block Brian's path.

"Allow me to introd—"

"What do you think you're doing, blocking Princess Alisha's way, you trash!"

But before Brian could finish speaking, Leon cut him off sharply, making the blond man's face twist with irritation.

"What's your problem!? I just wanted to introduce myself!" Brian shot back, his voice rising.

Sensing a confrontation about to erupt, Alisha simply sighed and told Leon to stand down.

"So then, who exactly are you, wanting to introduce yourself to me?" Alisha asked, her expression still perfectly flat.

"My name's Brian! I'm going to become the strongest knight in the entire Empire!" Brian answered with enthusiasm.

"Heee~ The strongest knight, is it?" At Brian's words, Alisha began studying the blond man's build. "So, what exactly do you want from me?"

"Ah, would you like to join us at our table for a bit? I'm pretty curious about foreign country, you know," Brian answered, looking pleased with himself.

"Sure. As it happens, I've been wanting to get to know this place a little better myself."

Brian then led Alisha over to the table where his friends were sitting. Geralt and Valeria looked stunned that Brian had actually managed to bring the princess over.

"This is Geralt, son of a Duke, this is Valeria, also a Duke's daughter, and finally, my closest friend, Ariel," Brian said, introducing his three friends to the princess.

Hearing names attached to such prestigious backgrounds, Princess Alisha made a mental note of them, in case she ever needed connections to benefit the Tsardom of Slavia down the line.

"Would you introduce yourself to us?" Brian asked, then took a sip of water to wet his throat, dry from all the talking.

At Brian's request, Alisha smiled and began introducing herself to the group.

"My name is Alisha Romanova, First Princess of the Tsardom of Slavia."

Geralt, Valeria, and Ariel all looked visibly amazed by the noble aura radiating from Princess Alisha. This was the first time any of them had ever met royalty from another nation.

"And I'm also Raul de Garcia's future wife."

—Pfft!

The instant Princess Alisha said that, Brian spat out the water he was drinking, spraying it directly onto Geralt's face. Valeria's mouth fell open in disbelief at the unexpected revelation, while Ariel's eyes went wide, as if she couldn't quite believe what she'd just heard.

"Pleasure to meet you all."

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