A Villain's Will to Survive novel Chapter 179

Chapter 179: Dreams, Memories, and the Voice (1)

On a night when the campfire cast its glow against the darkness, Primien handed Ganesha an antique hand mirror, its surface adorned with elaborate carvings.

"Captain Ganesha, this is a gift from Professor Deculein to you," Primien said.

Ganesha blinked in disbelief, staring at the mirror in surprise, as many questions ran through her mind.

A gift from Deculein? But why? Why would he do that for us? Ganesha thought.

“... A gift? From Professor Deculein, of all people?” Ria asked, stepping in for the shocked Ganesha.

"Yes. Is there a problem with that?" Primien replied, nodding without a hint of emotion.

“No, not really...”

Ria, not particularly concerned, fiddled with her fingers and started wondering which Characteristic she would select.

Ganesha, her eyes moving between Ria and Primien, suddenly had a thought flashed across her mind and muttered, “... Could it be?”

Snap!

Ganesha snapped her fingers, and a sudden shiver coursed through her, as if electricity rushed through her entire body.

“I think I know why,” Ganesha muttered, a slight nervous look on her face.

“Why?” Primien asked, awaiting an explanation.

Ganesha glanced at Ria for a moment.

“... What is it?” Ria said.

Each time Deculein saw the child, tilting her head in innocent curiosity and bearing a resemblance to his lost love, his heart probably grew heavy with complicated emotions. Of course, no improper or impure intentions were expected from Professor Deculein, as he wasn’t the type for such things.

However, the memories and emotions from his past must still have remained in his heart, and the thought of the one who had once filled his soul was now nothing but a painful memory.

“Ria, did Professor Deculein say anything to you?” Ganesha asked, her face serious.

Ria shook her head in confusion, but then, as if a buried memory had broken free, her eyes widened in sudden realization.

“... Oh.”

“What is it?”

Just before losing consciousness after being smacked by Daeho, Ria remembered Deculein's words floating into the blur of her fading awareness, flickering like pale mist.

"Umm... well, these are exactly the words he said," Ria said, clearing her throat with a small cough, then mimicking Deculein's voice. “... Even the personality is just like hers."

At that moment, everyone’s attention was drawn to Ria, including Ihelm, Yulie, Louina, who had just arrived, along with Gwen, Sirio, and Raphel—all of Deculein’s colleagues and peers were watching.

“Haha,” Ganesha muttered, bursting into laughter. “Well, that makes sense then~ Right, Ria?”

“Sorry?”

“This is for you, Ria~” Ganesha said, grinning as she handed the hand mirror to Ria.

“Eh? Wait, why?” Ria replied, blinking in surprise.

“You protected Professor, after all. So it should go to you.”

“... Oh.”

“Go ahead, take it.”

Though Ganesha carried a hint of disappointment, Ria accepted it without hesitation, discreetly assessing its value. It was a unique attribute of someone in the profession of an adventurer—Adventurer’s Instinct.

[Professor Deculein’s Handcrafted Hand Mirror]

◆ Value

: Treasure

“A treasure?! A treasure? It’s just a handcrafted hand mirror! But it’s a treasure?!”

Just as Ria's eyes popped out in shock...

“Knight Yulie, why don’t you come and sit down with us~?” Ganesha said, turning toward Yulie.

Yulie approached with slight awkwardness, and Ganesha gave her shoulder a light nudge with her elbow.

“Have we talked too much about the professor~?”

“No, it’s fine,” Yulie replied, shaking her head.

“Oh? Looks like you’ve made peace with everything, I’m guessing?” Ganesha said, surprised by Yulie’s unexpected response and raising her eyebrows playfully.

Ria, who had been watching this exchange closely since the relationship between Deculein and Yulie was a crucial aspect of the independent quest, took a glance at Yulie.

"That is not the case," Yulie stated.

Then she turned her eyes toward the campfire, and the mana in her stare began to freeze the flames, causing them to slowly die down.

“I’m not... not at all.”

The knight remained silent, and a heavy silence settled over the area, instantly chilling the air. Ihelm, clearly uncomfortable, quietly walked away, while Gwen and Sirio stepped outside to spar with one another.

At that moment, a gentle, warm voice flowed in, like a breath of spring melting the cold.

“You seem like a really good person, Knight Yulie.”

Yulie turned to look, and there stood the child, Ria, who looked at her with eyes far too knowing for someone so young.

“... Thank you,” Yulie replied.

“And your armor looks really cool! I want to wear tiger-skin armor like that one day too!” Ria exclaimed, flashing a bright smile.

The mature child, now once again speaking like a child, made her feel strangely out of place, but Yulie smiled back and replied, "Yes, I was the same when I was little. And Miss Ria?"

“Sorry? Oh, yes, I—”

“You’re doing well. There’s no need to rush.”

“Sorry? Oh, I’m not really rushing to—”

"Becoming an adventurer at such a young age is an extraordinary achievement. There is so much more ahead for you to accomplish, so..."

Yulie continued with her advice and counsel, and it lasted for a full thirteen minutes.

***

[Quest Completed: Daeho Hunt]

◆ Defeat of the Vesilita, the Akho of the Altar

◆ Rare Characteristic Catalog Acquired

I moved my arm in every direction—up, down, side to side—testing its range. The sutures had healed well, however, it didn’t feel as natural as before. It would take at least a month of recovery and training to regain its full strength.

“... A new Characteristic,” I muttered.

I looked at the Characteristic Catalog in my hands and had already decided which one to pick.

───────

[Meditative Body]

◆ Grade

: Rare

◆ Description

: The more stable the mind, with composure and calm, the stronger the Characteristic grows. (Includes all forms of mental interference and status effects.)

: The longer and deeper the state of composure, the more purified the physique, attributes, and mana become.

───────

In other words, it was a Characteristic that grew with composure—the calmer I remained, the more it stacked, like a house of cards. However, a single shock, even a moment of panic, would wipe out all the stacks. The penalty was huge, and its versatility was limited; for a typical NPC, it would be completely useless.

[Would you like to acquire a Meditative Body?]

However, I was anything but typical. My mind was closer to a clear state of mind—calm and unshaken, with emotions that rarely fluctuated. Against mental interference-type spells, I was practically untouchable; therefore, without hesitation, I acquired the Characteristic.

[Characteristic Acquired: Meditative Body]

◆ Calm Stack ─ [0]

Knock, knock—

“I am here for a mission report.”

At the sound of a knock and a familiar voice, I opened the door. As expected, today’s report came from none other than Yulie.

“The third mission proceeded without incident. Zero casualties, three injured, and a total of 1,305 monsters eliminated,” Yulie reported as she approached, handing over the report in a businesslike manner.

After Daeho’s elimination, the process of reducing the number of monsters resumed without issue.

“I’ve received the report. Make sure the knights know that Daeho has been dismembered. Half of its hide will be presented to Her Majesty, and the other half will remain with me. The adventurers and knights who brought down the beast will be allotted the useful parts, such as teeth, claws, and the like,” I said, nodding.

“Yes, sir,” Yulie replied, seeming to have no objections, and left the room.

“Hmm...”

The brief moments of these days were enough to leave me feeling content. It lasted only thirty seconds a day, but even so, being in the same space and catching a glimpse of that face was enough. Of course, it was far from something that could affect the stack for my Characteristic.

“... Daeho’s hide,” I muttered.

Daeho's hide was practically the true reward of the quest, so I decided to have it tanned and apply Midas Touch to create the perfect robe. Since the distinctive leopard pattern felt far too conspicuous, I considered dyeing it black instead.

Lost in pleasant imaginings, a sudden curiosity stirred within me as I looked at the fragment of a robe on the desk—Allen’s, no, Ellie’s final belonging—preserved and passed down by Ihelm. Unbidden thoughts crept in, and I wondered where Allen was now, what Ellie could be doing, as a quiet longing to know took hold of me...

***

... Ellie was in the desert.

“It’s hot.”

After leaving the Northern Region, she arrived in the desert, where an underground village lay nestled near the bedrock, close to an oasis. The village, home to the Scarletborn, was a labyrinth of cramped tunnels and interconnected spaces, resembling an ant’s nest.

“I’m here,” Ellie said.

Ellie descended deep into the heart of the cavern, where the operations board and scattered magical artifacts filled a chaotic meeting room. Waiting there was a woman resembling Ellie, but with much sharper features and bobbed hair—Elesol, the next Great Elder of the Scarletborn, who fixed her eyes on Ellie.

Elesol clenched her teeth, her hands gesturing as she formed words and sentences in sign language.

— You’re late.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," Ellie replied, nodding.

— Why didn’t you. Deculein. You didn’t kill him.

Shh, sssh, sssshhh—

Elesol’s hands moved with lightning speed, the sign language flowing faster than speech.

“There was no need for that.”

— It is near. A massive sweep of the Scarletborn village. We can’t just stand by and watch. Deculein. Enemy of the Scarletborn.

"Killing the professor won’t stop the sweep."

— The Empire intends to exterminate the entire Scarletborn. To survive, war is inevitable. Mutual. Confirmation. Destruction. It’s the only option left to us.

Elesol pushed a document toward Ellie and continued moving her fingers.

— An operation to abduct him. We’ve already started.

“You won’t be able to capture him,” Ellie replied, skimming through the document before shaking her head.

— You. Going to reveal our plan?

“No.”

With a sullen expression, Elesol moved her hands in much more exaggerated gestures, her signs now more forceful than before.

— You. You. You. How could you? You are not listening to me now. You used to listen. How foolish. What happened to you? Have you been brainwashed? You. You. You.

"It’s not that I’m not listening to you, I’m just saying that you won’t be able to capture him."

— How so sure?

"Professor is very smart, even more so than Elesol."

Grind—

Bang—!

It’s true that Deculein is smarter than Elesol—that much has been documented in reports. But if that statement is the reason for her to be angry... Ellie thought.

“Sigh...”

“Oh.”

“Oh, you scared me,” Drent said, flinching as he looked up from his exam preparations in the shared research room, then added with a composed voice. “You’ve got to pull yourself together, Leaf. You know the assistant professor wouldn’t want to see you like this. Besides, the new year’s already come and gone.”

"I'm not stupid. I know how much time has passed... yawnnnnnn," Epherene muttered, letting out a wide yawn.

"Really? Oh, then... okay! I'll just take a five-minute nap... or maybe fifteen."

Yawnnnnn—

Whoooosh—

“... Haha.”

Thud—

“Ahh!” Epherene exclaimed, falling backward and landing on her bum, her hands pressing against the ground as she looked up at the man. “W-what are you doing here, Professor?”

Right in front of her stood Deculein, and he used Telekinesis to lift the fallen Epherene back to her feet.