I Don't Know The Playthroughs Of The Returned Villainesses - Chapter 23

“Am I alive?”

My consciousness had cut off after I collapsed next to Sephir, gasping for air. As I regained my senses and turned my head to assess the situation, I saw Sephir lying on her side, seemingly asleep, facing me.

‘…She’s beautiful.’

Her soft, gentle breathing, her form subtly glowing in the moonlight—she was more breathtaking than any meticulously crafted jewel.

“…Mmm…”

Sephir mumbled something cute in her sleep, twitching her ears. Perhaps because of her previous antics, the tension surrounding her villainess persona had eased considerably. Even though she was simply lying there, eyes closed, breathing softly, nothing I had ever seen seemed to shine as brightly as Sephir in this moment.

‘…What do I do now?’

I knew Sephir had been close to my future self, but the current me knew nothing. I was grateful for her friendly advances, but her almost unfamiliar actions felt a little overwhelming.

And I knew.

That Sephir’s bright smile was the same kind of smile my past self used to hide something. She was concealing something important from me, something she couldn’t share.

‘Still, I have to trust her.’

I would trust her. Not complete, blind trust. It might be too soon to say this, having only met her yesterday and properly spoken for less than a day, but I would try to trust her as a friend. Not that I had much of a choice.

“I should probably get up.”

My body felt surprisingly refreshed, and the moon seemed to be setting. The sun would likely rise soon. I was too awake to fall back asleep now.

I started to get up from the hammock, half of my body hanging off the edge since I had been sharing it with Sephir…

I froze.

While the tail that had constricted me until I couldn’t breathe was no longer wrapped around me, her hand now held onto my shirt. She wasn’t hugging me or gripping me tightly. She was just lightly holding the edge of my shirt, as if it were nothing.

When I lifted my arm, hers moved with it. I tried shaking my arm to dislodge her hand, but she refused to let go, as if her grip held a desperate plea.

“Sigh…”

She wasn’t holding on tightly. I could probably just brush her hand away. I could easily detach her hand.

But… I couldn’t.

I settled back down onto the hammock.

“Hee hee…”

As I moved closer, she tugged at my shirt in her sleep, even drooling a little. Her sleep-talking was almost comical.

“Good grief…”

I supposed I would have to stay like this until sunrise.

*

“Good… morning?”

“Is it, though?”

Sephir finally woke up when the moonlight shifted to sunlight, and the owls’ hooting turned into the chirping of sparrows.

“Why did I have to end up like this in my own room?”

“…Sorry.”

Sephir, who had not only knocked me unconscious in my own room and taken over my hammock, but had also pushed me to the edge, grabbed onto me as I tried to leave, and forced me to sit there for hours.

She, who had slept soundly enough to soak her cheek with drool, finally offered that apology after seeing her hand clutching my shirt.

“My back is stiff.”

“…”

Perhaps because I had spent hours sitting in a hammock with no back support. My back ached.

She seemed to understand the situation, judging by my appearance. She looked genuinely apologetic, her ears and tail drooping.

“So, Sephir.”

“…Yeah.”

“When are you leaving my room?”

I needed to change. She needed to leave.

“…Can’t I just watch?”

“Seriously?”

Even though I had indulged most of her pranks, this was where I drew the line. I spoke firmly.

“I’ll say it again. I don’t know what kind of relationship my future self had with you, and even if I did, that wasn’t me. This might sound harsh, but I can’t completely trust you yet.”

It couldn’t be helped. No matter what I had heard or experienced, I couldn’t bring myself to trust a woman I had only known for two days and properly spoken to for less than one.

“…Okay.”

She seemed to understand, nodding hesitantly after a moment of silence.

“Then, please leave.”

It was time for class. I needed to change.

“…”

“Sephir?”

Why was she acting like this? She remained motionless, her head bowed.

“Sephir.”

Twitch

See? Her ears twitched when I called her name.

“Aaron.”

“Yeah.”

“If I change clothes while you change clothes, then we could both…”

“Leave.”

*

“Oh! Good morning, Aaron!”

Aslan approached me with a bright smile as soon as I entered the classroom.

“Good morning.”

I returned his greeting with a smile of my own.

“It seems you retired early last night. I was worried because I didn’t see you at the gathering for the new students and upperclassmen! I was going to introduce you to some of the seniors.”

Ah.

So, there had been an evening gathering for new and returning students last night.

‘That’s a relief.’

I should thank Sephir later. I almost became the person introduced by a duke in front of almost everyone at the academy. Having thousands of eyes on me would have been unbearable.

“Oh dear.”

Such a shame.

No, this wasn’t the time for that!

I leaned in close to Aslan and whispered,

“Could you step outside with me for a moment? There’s something I need your help with…”

Aslan hesitated for a moment, then nodded with a determined expression. We moved to a secluded corner in the academy hallway.

“I didn’t expect you to need help so soon.”

Aslan’s gaze sharpened.

“What do you need?”

I bowed.

“Aslan! Please teach me about aura!”

“…?”

Aslan tilted his head, looking at me as if I were an idiot.

“Are you… stupid?”

“Uh…”

By this world’s standards, I lacked common sense, so I couldn’t deny it.

“Aaron… only those without mana can learn about aura.”

He started explaining as if teaching a child about basic knowledge.

“Mana users like you can’t learn aura, no matter what you do.”

“I know.”

“You know… and you’re asking me this?”

Aslan’s expression crumpled. It was the expression of someone trying to understand, rather than anger.

“You’re misunderstanding something.”

“And what is that?”

“My mana hasn’t stabilized yet.”

“Huh…”

He made a sound that could have been a sigh or a gasp of surprise.

“You do realize that, put bluntly, that means you have very little talent, right?”

I was grateful for his gentle phrasing. He could have called me a waste of space, but he toned it down to “very little talent.”

“If you truly haven’t stabilized your mana, there’s a high chance you won’t even be able to sense aura. And even if you could, trying to use aura with a body that can’t even handle mana properly honestly seems suicidal.”

Aslan’s concerned expression told me he wasn’t joking or exaggerating.

“That’s not the case.”

I quickly denied his assumption.

“Just try with me for a few days. One or two sessions is a reasonable number of attempts to take a chance on, isn’t it?”

I continued before he could jump to any strange conclusions.

“Hmm… you’re right. Talent and effort are separate matters.”

He nodded, agreeing with my words.

“Alright. I’ll try teaching you about aura.”

“Thank you!”

I expressed my gratitude to Aslan for agreeing to help me at the very beginning of the semester, a crucial period for nobles to establish connections and rivalries.

“I apologize for wasting your valuable time on such an absurd request.”

I bowed sincerely.

“It’s fine. People usually seek me out; I don’t usually seek others.”

‘Ah, right.’

He was someone who received greetings, not someone who offered them.

“And as a duke, I couldn’t refuse you after offering my help.”

“Ah…”

“Well, it seems like class is about to start, so I’ll be going now. Come to the back of the dormitory after classes are over. Let’s meet there.”

“Alright.”

As expected of a duke. He handled things quickly and efficiently.

‘I wish I had a boss like him.’

Comparing him to my trashy boss at the black company made me feel guilty.

*

After all my classes ended…

“I’m coming too.”

“Really?”

Sephir, who had apparently been eavesdropping, greeted me as I left the classroom, already knowing where I was meeting Aslan.

“Sephir, you don’t know anything about aura.”

Sephir was a mana user. She would know even less about aura than I did.

“That’s not why I’m going.”

“Then why?”

“Bodyguard.”

“?”

Anyone who attacked me at the academy would be reduced to cinders by Aslan’s fire show. Was there any reason for Sephir, who was at least Aslan’s equal, to come along?

“I’m pretty strong.”

She puffed out her chest, striking a confident pose, as if questioning my faith in her abilities.

“I know you’re strong.”

She wasn’t the Saintess’s rival for nothing.

“…”

I stared at Sephir silently.

“…”

She gradually averted her gaze under my continued scrutiny.

‘There’s definitely something more to this.’

“Sigh…”

Knowing Sephir, she would probably follow me secretly even if I refused. It was better to have her where I could see her.

“Fine. Let’s go together.”

“Yay!”

Wag, wag

Her tail was really tempting me to pet it.

*

“And that’s why she’s here.”

“…The Empress of the Underworld?”

“Yes.”

“As a friend?”

“Yes.”

“After knowing each other for less than three days?”

“Uh… yes.”

“Aaron, I think you’re being played.”

“…Maybe.”

It was a possibility.