I Don't Know The Playthroughs Of The Returned Villainesses - Chapter 3

Whoosh

 

“Ninety-eight…”

 

Whoosh

 

“Ninety-nine…”

 

Whoosh

 

“One hundred!”

 

Thud

 

As soon as I completed one hundred swings, I dropped the sword and collapsed onto the dirt floor.

 

“Ha…ha…”

 

I was so exhausted I couldn’t speak. Let’s rest for a moment and think.

 

Thinking was also tiring.

 

“Phew…”

 

After a long rest, my breathing finally calmed down.

 

“This body is truly trash.”

 

One hundred sword swings required circulating mana like crazy just to barely manage. Honestly, I felt like my mana-less body from my previous life, when I was doing manual labor, was better.

 

Woo…wooong…

 

It was almost time. Circulating mana for too long resulted in a kind of mana blockage, like muscle cramps. Normal mages experienced it briefly before reaching the 2nd Circle, but how long did I have to endure it?

 

Wooong…

 

I slowly reduced the mana circulation. As the circulation stopped, the weak physical enhancement on my body began to fade.

 

“Ah, I don’t want to… Cough!”

 

Thud

 

Blood landed on the hand covering my mouth. It was a coughing fit of blood.

 

Trickle

 

As the physical enhancement dissipated, the accumulated muscle fatigue stabbed at my already broken body. The severity was such that the blood flowing back up my throat turned the dirt floor into mud.

 

“Ha… Ugh!”

 

The flowing blood made it difficult to breathe.

 

“This damn Terminal Illness…!”

 

This was the reason I was trying to strengthen my body these past few days.

 

Rebound.

 

This damned body coughed up blood whenever I overexerted myself. On the first day, I coughed up blood and passed out for half a day after just five swings, so that spoke volumes. It was a small victory that I could now swing one hundred times after five days and not faint, thanks to some muscle gain.

 

“Once I reach the 2nd Circle…ugh!…I’ll never deactivate the physical enhancement.”

 

The mana in my current body was barely at the 1st Circle level. Reaching the 2nd Circle would increase my mana capacity, eliminating the mana blockage. In other words, I wouldn’t have to deactivate the physical enhancement and suffer the bloody rebound.

 

“Once I gain some muscle and my body improves, the rebound should also decrease…cough.”

 

Seriously.

 

Late in the evening, while cooking the rabbit I had hunted, I thought,

 

‘I need to make a plan soon.’

 

While strengthening my body was paramount, planning was the next most crucial step. Since I knew problems would arise if the original story unfolded, it was almost certain I would have to intervene in the events. The problem was that my current limits were too clear compared to the enemies that appeared alongside the protagonist’s growth. I could forcefully intervene in the early stages, but by the mid-game, even a gust of wind could send me flying for meters. And I couldn’t help the protagonist’s growth to increase stability due to the penalties.

 

Sizzle

 

Flip

 

Sizzle

 

“It’s cooked well.”

 

It wasn’t like all options were blocked, though. If the protagonist was off-limits, I would train the supporting characters. According to the main storyline, there was the Spirit Archer, the Swordmaster, the Archmage, and the Saintess, right?

 

Pour

 

Sizzle

 

“Even the sauce sounds delicious~”

 

But what could I do? The social standings of those supporting characters were impressive.

 

The Elven Prince, the Imperial Duke, the Apprentice of the Tower Master, the Child of an Angel.

 

“…”

 

How could I fit into that lineup? My head was already hurting.

 

Clink

 

Deliciously cooked rabbit grilled with special seasoning.

 

“Let’s eat and think.”

 

Thinking while eating would ease the headache a bit.

 

“Ah, I’m full.”

 

Home-cooked meals were the best. I had gone down to my territory, wanting to use the money I received from my benefactor. But,

 

Empty

 

The territory was already ruined. Well, what fool would live in a territory whose lord had abandoned it? Anyway, moving on.

 

Tap

 

“This is the problem…”

 

I was currently contemplating how to solve the biggest problem. Other problems could be somewhat resolved with a bit of luck, but this one had no visible solution.

 

The Villainesses.

 

As mentioned before, there were villainesses who served as rivals to the supporting characters. The Duchess’s daughter, a swordswoman who inherited the blood of madness, the mage who conducted human experiments without a second thought, seeing people as mere objects, the elf who held extreme hatred for humans, and the mafia boss who would sell even people for money.

 

Furthermore, each of them had completely opposite personalities to their rival supporting characters. To summarize,

 

“It’s a mess.”

 

Laying it all out, it was truly a mess. Even putting eight stray dogs in a single cage wouldn’t result in such conflicting personalities.

 

“Sigh…”

 

What to do? I suddenly didn’t want to go to the Academy. The Academy was a place where even insignificant fights involved fireballs and aura blades flying around. In such a place, amidst the incidents and accidents caused by the supporting characters and villainesses, I…

 

“Do I have to get involved?”

 

Let’s think about it seriously again. Did I absolutely have to get involved?

 

The answer that emerged after long deliberation:

 

‘Yes.’

 

Shit. No matter how much I thought about it, all I could picture was the Academy collapsing, not a solution.

 

“Should I just sleep?”

 

Yes, let’s sleep. I couldn’t solve it by thinking any further here, so let’s sleep and think again after waking up early. The carriage was arriving the day after tomorrow anyway. I still had one day left.

 

“Hmm, I messed up.”

 

I ended up sleeping the entire day. Perhaps the accumulated fatigue had caught up to me.

 

Flip

 

I checked the timer on the admission confirmation letter, wondering if I had misread the time, but

 

“Oh dear…”

 

It only served to confirm that the time I saw was correct.

 

Ding

 

The crystal ball’s alarm woke me from my daze.

 

[Arriving soon.]

 

The coachman, like a fantasy taxi driver, brought me back to my senses.

 

“Uh…”

 

My scattered thoughts returned.

 

“Prepare, prepare!”

 

I had to hurry.

 

Wooong

 

Mana began to circulate as I got up.

 

“I need to wash up qui— Huh?”

 

The flow of mana felt different.

 

Wooong, wooong

 

It was like lubricating a stiff bicycle chain. The previously somewhat distorted mana movement had become lighter and faster.

 

Whoosh

 

I swung my arm, enhanced by the mana. It definitely felt faster than before.

 

“Oh.”

 

It seemed I hadn’t accumulated fatigue, but rather had fallen unconscious while reaching the 2nd Circle.

 

“I finally reached the 2nd Circle.”

 

By this world’s standards, the 2nd Circle was a level that novice mages reached within a week. It was the state where the mana circulation within the body became continuous, like a single circle.

 

Simply put, it meant I had just learned how to move mana around.

 

“I have no talent.”

 

Despite the name ‘Circle,’ at the 2nd Circle, there was little I could do with mana besides circulating it. It had taken me almost twenty days since regaining my memories to reach a state where I couldn’t even use basic spells like Fireball.

 

“Still, it’s better than nothing.”

 

Let’s think positively. At least I wouldn’t inconvenience the coachman by coughing up blood in the carriage on the way to the Academy.

 

Clip-clop, clip-clop

 

The sound of hooves echoed from outside, right on cue.

 

“Customer!”

 

It seemed the carriage had arrived.

 

Glance

 

I looked down at my sweat-drenched and dirty clothes.

 

“The timing!”

 

I hadn’t even washed up yet.

 

After quickly washing up, I got dressed, packed my belongings, and went outside.

 

“I’m so sorry!”

 

Since I was the one who came out late, I had to apologize first.

 

“Uh…”

 

But the reaction I received was strange. The coachman was staring blankly, as if he might drop the twig he was chewing on.

 

“Excuse me…?”

 

“Oh, I apologize. It’s been so long since I’ve received an apology for such a trivial matter… Haha.”

 

The old coachman opened the carriage door, expressing his gratitude.

 

“Are there many customers who take being late for granted?”

 

I asked out of curiosity as the carriage began moving.

 

“Being late is a given. Someone with the profession of a coachman can’t be a noble, so what noble would care about a coachman?”

 

“Ah…”

 

Today’s additional knowledge: the nobles of this world lacked common decency.

 

“You’re a very kind-hearted nobleman, young master.”

 

“Not at all. It was a natural apology. Besides, a ruined nobleman isn’t a nobleman. Just a commoner.”

 

“Hahaha! To think a nobleman would humble himself and speak to me like a commoner, this job never ceases to amaze me.”

 

“Is that so? Well then!”

 

Thump

 

I carefully exited the carriage and sat next to the coachman.

 

“W…Whoa! That’s dangerous!”

 

“I was getting bored on the journey, so please tell me some stories of the world.”

 

It would be boring to travel in silence for four days, and I had finally met someone to talk to. I might as well gather information while listening to various stories about this world. Of course, the biggest reason was that it sounded fun.

 

“Hahaha. Alright. Then for the next four days, I’ll be in your care as a conversation partner.”

 

“Likewise.”

 

Two days had passed since I left the mansion. Talking with the coachman, I heard countless stories I couldn’t have learned from the game. Things like the typical attitude of nobles and people’s perceptions of mana and aura. It was quite enjoyable to think that I was learning about unknown settings just by listening to the coachman’s anecdotes.

 

“Young master, would you look to your side?”

 

Turn

 

I turned my head in the direction the coachman indicated.

 

“Wow…”

 

A vast, green field stretched out before me, visible from the carriage. A beautiful sunset painted the horizon beyond the field.

 

“Even as a coachman, I rarely see such a sight. You’re lucky.”

 

“Indeed.”

 

The yellow hues of the sunset reflected on the green field. The distant sky where night was approaching, yet the still-bright horizon and field, created a scenery beyond words. No photograph or painting could capture this beauty.

 

The coachman and I simply rode in silence, watching the setting sun. The sun eventually set, and the carriage continued its journey under a starry sky, with meteors streaking across it.

 

“Hahaha. That was a beautiful sight.”

 

“Thanks to you, I was able to see something beautiful.”

 

“I’m grateful for your humility.”

 

The night sky, overflowing with stars rarely seen in my modern life. I finally understood why the expression “sea of stars” was used in old novels. Countless stars, each emitting a different light, held their positions.

 

“There are a lot of stars.”

 

I muttered to myself, gazing at the night sky.

 

“Indeed. Those stars, like ships, and the sky, like the sea, are the guides for us coachmen.”

 

The coachman replied, simply smiling and looking up at the night sky with me.

 

“I see.”

 

It was just a carriage ride to the Academy, but it was an experience I wouldn’t easily forget.