How to Survive as the Academy’s Villain

Chapter 53

Since it was the first week of the semester, most of the students were bustling around, chatting with their friends.

“Did you hear about that?”

“Oh, I already miss the vacation.”

“Should we just skip class today?”

Unlike them, I didn’t have anyone to hang out with or any particular interest in others, so I always attended classes or moved around alone.

Then, at some point.

“Hmm?”

Seeing a familiar face, I immediately approached him.

“Bren!”

“Huh, Kamon?”

Bren, responding with an awkward expression, quickly had my arm slung over his shoulder.

Thud!

Having not seen Bren even once during the break, he seemed to have gained a bit of weight, as if he had been eating well.

“What’s this? Bren, where have you been hiding all this time?”

“Huh? Oh, I was just in the dorm.”

“Really? Then why did you gain weight? You must’ve been really comfortable.”

“Yeah, I guess?”

“Hey, no matter how much you like staying in, friends should at least see each other’s faces.”

“Uh?”

“So, how was the Magic Society Seminar? They said they wanted to see you.”

“Oh, yeah. I saw it.”

“Oh, really? Did you enjoy it?”

“Yeah.”

Seeing Bren nodding in response, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“How was it? Your big bro’s amazing performance, huh? It was incredible, right?”

Proudly asking, Bren nodded vigorously.

“Yeah, it was really amazing. The way you performed magic so perfectly, it was truly impressive.”

“Huh?”

I had exaggerated a bit to ease Bren’s awkwardness, but his compliment made me feel a bit embarrassed.

I rubbed my nose and continued talking.

“Ahem, yeah, I guess I do have some talent.”

“……”

Bren, who had been watching me silently, slowly opened his mouth.

“Kamon, by the way.”

“Huh? What is it, Bren?”

“If you’re so good at magic, why did you ask me to teach you back then?”

“Huh?”

Momentarily at a loss for words, I quickly tried to come up with an excuse.

“Well, you see, that was because…”

“Actually, a few people recently asked me if you really couldn’t use magic.”

“What?”

Bren’s serious tone left me speechless.

“I told them no. That time you asked me to teach you magic, Kamon… it was just to mess with me.”

“Hey, Bren. That’s not true at all!”

I waved my hands frantically, denying it, but Bren’s eyes were resolute.

“No, it’s okay. It wasn’t the first time it happened, and others did it too, so I can understand. But…”

Bren’s expression wavered slightly as he continued in a trembling voice.

“If you keep treating me like this, I don’t know what to do. I just…”

“I can’t use magic.”

“Friend… What?”

“It’s true, Bren. I can’t use magic right now. According to experts, my mana routes are all blocked.”

I confessed everything to Bren.

“Mana routes?”

“Yeah. Because of that, I can’t feel the mana around me, and I can’t properly use magic.”

“You’re lying. Then what about at the seminar…”

“Did you see the orb I was holding?”

“Huh? Yeah, I saw it…”

“With that, I can forcibly open my mana routes. It was risky, but thanks to it, I successfully performed the magic demonstration.”

“……”

Despite my explanation, Bren still looked at me with disbelief.

“Bren, whether you believe me or not is entirely up to you. But I want you to know that I’m telling you a truth I haven’t told anyone else.”

I sighed and nodded.

“Whew. Honestly, I wouldn’t believe it either. But if you want, I can show you later…”

Just as my tongue started to loosen and I kept adding words,

“Okay, I believe you.”

“Huh?”

“I believe you.”

Bren nodded lightly.

“Kamon, you said we’re friends, right? Friends just go along with things like this.”

Thud!

“You little rascal!”

I instinctively pulled Bren into a headlock.

“I spoil you, and you start acting tough. What, friends?!”

“Ow, ow! Kamon, that hurts! It hurts!”

I tightened my arm even more, but couldn’t help but chuckle.

‘What the hell am I doing?’

Honestly, it was embarrassing.

I was flustered by Bren’s words for a moment.

I hadn’t told him the truth.

‘Yeah, friends should be honest with each other.’

As I continued holding Bren in a headlock,

“Kamon!”

A familiar voice called out from a distance.

“Elliot?”

“What are you doing there? Are you guys fighting?”

“Huh? No, it’s not like that!”

I immediately let go of Bren’s neck and shook my head.

“Keek, kek. I thought I was going to suffocate and die.”

Bren spoke while coughing repeatedly.

My new friend, Elliot, alternately looked at me and Bren with a confused expression.

“We were just joking around as friends. Ha, hahaha.”

“What? Friends?”

My awkward laughter prompted Elliot to respond in a peculiar tone.

* * *

“Bren, did you hear what’s for dinner tonight?”

“Huh? I haven’t heard yet, senior.”

“It’s steak and chicken. Let’s wreck the dining hall tonight.”

“Wow, awesome. All the chicken is mine.”

“Hey, what’s with the chicken? If you’re a man, you should go for the steak!”

“I think the chicken tastes better.”

“What? Bren, what kind of nonsense is that?”

These guys, making so much noise without including me… Yeah, that’s right. It was Bren and Elliot.

The two had gotten close much faster than I expected after meeting through me.

I don’t know how much time has passed for them to become this friendly already.

“Kamon. Do you prefer steak or chicken?”

“Isn’t it obviously steak?”

How would I know which one tastes better, chicken or steak? I slowly shook my head, watching them argue so freely.

“Sigh.”

“Ah, senior Elliot. Kamon is struggling because you keep forcing him.”

“What? Forcing? When did I?”

“Just now. You were gaslighting him, saying steak is the best.”

“Ga-gaslighting?!”

Bren seemed to have become less timid after befriending Elliot.

Of course, he still seemed unaware that Elliot was a candidate to inherit the Fren Merchant Guild.

Well, that’s something for them to sort out.

“Hey, if you guys are going to chat so noisily, just leave. I, a poor commoner, need to go nibble on some bread.”

“No, it’s not like that.”

“Ka-Kamon. Sorry.”

Elliot and Bren reacted strongly to my joke.

I burst out laughing and waved my hand.

“It’s a joke, a joke. Why are you taking it so seriously?”

“Huh? Oh, it was a joke.”

“That kind of joke isn’t funny, Kamon Vade.”

Muttering that, Elliot soon looked at me and spoke.

“Kamon, so are you going to keep eating alone?”

“Well, mostly. Sometimes I get unwanted guests.”

“Unwanted guests?”

“Ah, there’s such a thing.”

I vaguely answered and then asked Bren.

“Bren, what’s your afternoon class today?”

“Um, rhetoric and magic circle studies.”

“Wow, tough ones. Especially rhetoric, it’s really a headache. I thought my head was going to explode when I took it last year.”

“You took rhetoric too, senior? Then maybe…”

Bren looked at Elliot with sparkling eyes, and he nodded with a meaningful smile.

“Of course, junior Bren. There’s always a record somewhere. Haha.”

“Senior, I love you!”

Bren shouted with a bright expression, and Elliot burst out laughing again.

“Love might be a bit much. Come to my dorm later, and I’ll give you the notes for rhetoric.”

“Yes, senior! By the way, where is your dorm?”

“Huh? You still don’t know where I live? It’s….”

After parting with the two who were getting along well, I had dinner alone at the commoner’s dining hall.

When I returned to the dorm, I saw quite a few students gathered in front of the first-floor hall.

‘Oh, right. The big cleaning.’

I heard the students chattering.

“There’s a student council president election this semester, right?”

“Yeah, Elik’s term is over, so they’re electing a new president.”

“Who’s the leading candidate? Should I run?”

“Oh, come on. A commoner as president? That’s only for nobles.”

“Well, yeah, but there’s no actual rule against it. Commoners can run too.”

“Then go ahead. You’ll learn your lesson after getting humiliated.”

“I’m not saying I definitely will…”

“Scared? Haha.”

Amid the noisy chatter, the word “student council president election” caught my ear.

‘Student council president election.’

Come to think of it, in the original story, Princess Francia won the election, right?

With Kyle’s help, she became the academy’s first first-year president, leading to various episodes and character interactions.

‘But that has nothing to do with me.’

Whoever becomes the president, it’s none of my concern.

Clap! Clap!

Just then, the applause drew attention, and a maid supervisor appeared among the students gathered in the hall.

“We’ve posted the assigned areas for each of you on the notice board. Please take the cleaning tools provided and clean your designated areas. Once finished, come to me for inspection.”

Students muttered as she mentioned the inspection.

“Inspection? Why bother?”

“Don’t worry. It’s all a lie. They don’t check properly anyway.”

“So we can just finish quickly?”

“Yeah, it was like that last time. Just do it half-heartedly.”

The students soon giggled, planning to slack off, but I slightly shook my head.

‘No way. I won’t give them any reason to criticize me.’

“Now, please start cleaning.”

Following her instructions, the students checked their assigned areas and began to move with cleaning tools.

And so did I.

‘The entire B section of the 4th floor corridor?’

The dorm I stayed in had a total of seven floors.

Usually, higher floors were occupied by higher grade students.

This was because every year, dorm room allocation was done by grade order.

‘Even in the 21st century and this fantasy world, everyone prefers higher floors.’

“Ah, the 4th floor again? This is really annoying.”

Turning my head, I saw a commoner freshman about my age, sighing and muttering, having experienced a big cleaning once before. His friend patted him on the shoulder and said shortly.

“I got the 5th floor, friend.”

“Oh, sorry.”

Watching those students, I could only nod.

From the 3rd floor onwards, it was usually a mix of second and third-year students, and the 5th or 6th floors likely housed seniors.

A typical freshman might feel pressured about cleaning the upperclassmen’s dorms.

“Upperclassmen? They’re just kids anyway.”

After all, I’m over thirty and have work experience.

Besides, cleaning is just sweeping some dust and wiping with water, right?

Thinking it wouldn’t be too difficult, I reached the 4th floor.

“Shit.”

I could only close my eyes tightly and curse.