The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen - Chapter 10



10 – Making Good Money -2-

Michael became stronger through stimulation.

It was written in the novel like that.

-Michael, in his childhood, met a goblin in the mountains and was threatened with death by coincidence. At that moment, with a warm stimulation in his chest, Michael awakened a talent for swordsmanship.

The novel probably wrote it like this.

And it would have been written in the favorability quest as well.

[Q. Michael in need of stimulation]

With skills developing rapidly, Michael, who no longer had rivals, began to grow complacent.

1. Provoke Michael in front of everyone.

2. Win against Michael in a place where no one knows (1/1)

3. Lose to Michael in the ‘Semi-Counter’ (1/1)

Reward: All stats +5, Swordsmanship Lv. 4

Michael’s Reward: Swordsmanship Lv. 3

Failure: All stats -10 decrease

I am confident that I can help the target of the quest grow faster than anyone else.

Rather than swinging a sword aimlessly alone, I have seen with my own eyes that with the stimulation provided by the keywords in the quest, one can grow faster even without the rewards.

Luin said so.

Because I gave her a little push, she grew like crazy.

Luin took inspiration from defeat, while Mikhail thrived on stimulation. The quest concerning the torment of the heroine had emerged.

I found it refreshing that a quest driven by peculiar tastes like theirs, as if they were the protagonists, had an undeniable effect.

I diligently completed the quest.

After all, we can’t just let freebies go to waste.

In the latter part of the novel, the main characters were set to evolve into saviors of the world – a saint, a hero, and a grand wizard. So, it wasn’t a bad idea to nurture them in advance.

I passionately troubled the main characters. They might have seen me as an unmanageable thorn in their side, but if they moved with thoughts of world peace, wouldn’t that be touching? Don’t you think?

In conclusion, when people are prodded at their shortcomings, they gain a stepping stone for growth.

They can break through the walls that were blocking them.

They can perform miracles, climbing to heights they couldn’t reach before.

You can see this in martial arts novels as well.

After being soundly defeated by the villain, they go into seclusion, pondering, “Was I a fool?” and achieve enlightenment, reaching the realm of Hua Keng or Xian Keng.

The Favorability Quest feels like this.

When you scratch an unreachable itch, it’s like a refreshing sensation. When you unknowingly fill in your deficiencies and receive stimulation, the parts where you were lacking get fixed, and you quickly become stronger.

This was the power of my Favorability Quest.

– A Quest has appeared.

The notification rang after a long time.

It felt like I hadn’t seen it in a year.

[Q. The short-lived, unfortunate extra ‘Hanna’]

She receives disrespect from her father and servants, constantly resenting her pitiful talent.

She is parched for praise.

As the beginning of school approaches, Hanna quickly takes on a quest of a level she can’t handle, leading to her demise as an ‘Elite Orc Slayer.’

If she had received continuous praise, she might have realized her own strength, surpassed the rank of a knight commander, and even gone beyond to become the Empire’s top sword.

(!) Help her become stronger on her own.

1. Give compliments to boost her self-esteem.

(0/10)

2. Raise ‘Favorability’ above 40.

[Favorability: -10]

3. Defeat the ‘Elite Orc Slayer.’

Rewards: Swordsmanship Level 6. Increased Strength +3.

Hanna: Swordsmanship Level 4, Novice Aura (C)

In case of failure: Hanna from Histania dies.

“I must do it.”

It wasn’t just about the money. The fact that she would die was what moved my heart. No matter how good the money was or how annoying it might be, I couldn’t ignore someone’s future death.

Of course, the money was the biggest factor.

I wanted to help.

I didn’t know much about her past, but I could tell from the short description that it wasn’t easy.

Histania Hanna.

She was a character who didn’t appear in the novel. That’s why she died.

It didn’t make me feel any better.

Hanna, who didn’t understand my troubled heart, looked at me as if I were ridiculous.

“What did you say? What are you going to do for me?”

She seemed to find it hard to believe that I would make her defeat the strongest second-year student. Perhaps she was too moved.

But judging from her expression, it didn’t seem so.

“How can I defeat Senior Mikhail?”

Hanna burst into laughter.

She must have mistaken it as a joke. I spoke sincerely.

“It’s possible.”

Mikhail hasn’t awakened his aura yet, so there is still time for him to do so. It happens in the episode where the second semester begins and the protagonist is kidnapped. Mikhail awakens his aura and becomes a monster.

Until then, Mikhail is simply a student who is slightly skilled in wielding a sword.

He can be easily defeated with enough skill in swordsmanship.

Of course, the current Mikhail is already a talented swordsman. He possesses excellent swordsmanship skills and a sense of combat. But it would be easier to face him before he awakened his aura.

Because an awakened Mikhail is a monster.

That was the meaning of my words. An unawakened Mikhail is more than capable of putting up a fight.

If you think of him as a student who is slightly better at handling a sword than others, you can get closer to defeating him.

Currently, Mikhail’s swordsmanship is around Level 3. Once Hanna reaches Level 4, she will witness the birth of the Holy.

Hanna, who had no idea what I was thinking, looked at me with pitiful eyes.

It was unbelievable.

“Hey, Jipsa-nim.”

“Yes.”

Hanna looked at me with cold eyes. It was as if she was scolding me, asking what I, a disruptive species in the ecosystem, knew.

“Do you know what the phrase that even our first graders can’t say as a joke means?”

“What is it?”

“It means ‘defeating senior Mihail.’”

“Ah, I see.”

Hanna’s expression grew cold at my sneering laugh. It seemed like she wasn’t used to seeing me laugh like that.

“Why are you laughing?”

“It’s just funny.”

“Sigh….”

Before her mood worsened, I asked her for an explanation.

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“It was just a matter of standing my ground against senior Mihail.”

“But that’s because Jipsa-nim was there and Mihail-sunbae was in our grade.”

“I stood my ground against Mihail as well, though?”

Suddenly, Hanna was at a loss for words.

It was a gaze as if she was seeing a crazy person.

As the conversation didn’t seem to be getting anywhere, I chuckled at Hanna muttering to herself, “How strong can Mihail be?”

“So?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think Mihail is stronger than me?”

I asked her a fundamental question.

Hanna’s eyebrows twitched.

It was a valid question, upon hearing it.

Suddenly, Hanna’s gaze was fixated on my sword.

Did she really think I fought against Mihail right now…

I have confidence in taking him down quicker than Ruin.

I tickled Hanna’s ear with a heavy voice.

“Can Mikhail overpower Lucien like I can?”

There was no answer.

Hannah looked at my confident eyes and clenched her lips tightly. Even though she was thinking, it seemed like Mikhail would defeat me. I asked one more question.

“When you see Mikhail… Did you ever think that he couldn’t be defeated?”

“…Yes.”

I interjected before she could answer.

“No, of course not. You probably wanted to be like Mikhail. Because it feels attainable.”

Hannah seemed like she had been struck by something. She had never even thought about fighting before.

Hannah couldn’t respond to my intuitive words.

She muttered to herself quietly.

“Me, as Mikhail’s senior?”

She blamed herself for straying off topic, shaking her head.

To gather my thoughts, I looked around. No one was watching.

I reached out my hand to Hannah. The red aura I had seen before sprouted like a flame.

“Don’t you believe me?”

Hannah couldn’t take her eyes off me.

The red aura seemed to embody the passion that had been crushed.

“But isn’t it better to try and fail than to not try at all? It’s a shame if you think you were deceived by a fraud.”

“No, it still doesn’t make sense. How can I dare to defeat Senior Mikhail….”

“If you can’t win, wouldn’t you regret it? It’s pathetic to give up without even trying.”

Hannah deep in thought.

I gently pressed the button that made everyone react.

“A coward?”

I wanted her to be my ally.

***

“Awesome, Hannah!”

Hannah blushed and looked at me.

It seemed embarrassing for her to be praised so loudly that even the monsters in the mountains could hear.

The more she felt embarrassed, the more I wanted to tease her.

“Oh! You’ve already caught one! Isn’t it a record time?”

“No…!”

Seventh day into today.

She decided to play along, pretending to trust my words.

But she added one more condition.

“Let’s make it 5 against 5. How about doing it this way?”

“What?”

“Really, if I defeat Senior Mihail in the school ranking once the school reopens, I’ll give you all of my allowance from now on.”

“What?”

“10,000 gold per month. That’s my allowance. But in return, you have to grant my wish if I win.”

Listening to her words, I pondered.

It seemed like catching a tremendous black sheep.

She wouldn’t be at a loss.

She’d gain the title of defeating Mihail and gain confidence.

But she still seemed to underestimate me.

I still hadn’t acquired exceptional strength, and she hadn’t taught me remarkable swordsmanship.

So far, my wallet was more precious.

Of course, I didn’t forget to praise her.

Hanna diligently handed over more than half of the profits she earnestly earned to me.

I yelled as an orc’s head fell beneath my blade.

“Wow! 10 gold!”

The falling orc heads.

It felt like my wallet was getting fatter.

It had been a while since I filled my bag with shillings, and the thought of filling it abundantly with golden coins made me happy.

1 gold for each orc head.

So far, 10.

If I keep this up, I’ll quickly reach 100 gold.

Hanna shook her head, watching me as I zealously collected orc heads.

I glanced at her and smiled faintly.

“Oh…! Now you’ve caught two! Impressive.”

“Ah. Yes…”

“Go ahead and try catching three more like that.”

Hannah counted the orc heads she had captured. There was a five-fold difference between what I had caught and what she had.

Driven by unnecessary self-esteem, she swung her sword even harder.

“She’s really giving it her all.”

She must have encountered an elite orc like that.

I thought as I looked at her.

She’s truly dedicated to swordsmanship.

I thought she hated swordsmanship when we first met, judging by her initial reaction to seeing a sword.

But she turned out to be someone who loved swordsmanship more than anyone else.

That’s the feeling I got.

She studied harder than anyone else, but she seemed disappointed that her grades didn’t match her expectations. It felt like she didn’t even want to talk about her grades.

I didn’t expect any miraculous results from her black magic.

Perhaps she had polished her skills through consistent practice, but I couldn’t find any flaws in her mentality.

Instead, there seemed to be a significant gap in her technical abilities.

As the number of orc heads gradually decreased, I gathered strength in my fingertips.

The red aura gathered at the tip of the sword like a crescent moon.

With a fierce sound, the red blade extended. I confirmed that the orc charging towards us had fallen, and I sheathed my sword.

She looked at me in disbelief.

Hannah, who had been choking on water, already had water spewing out of her mouth.

With a smug expression, I told her, “It’s easy, you know?”

“You’re crazy.”

She regarded me as a monster.

Hannah slumped to the ground.

She seemed to be struggling a lot.

I quietly sat down beside her.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

“You’ve been through even more.”

“I’m done.”

The sun is setting.

It’s about time to go back to the young lady.

I spoke softly in a voice she could hear.

“I’ve put a lot of effort into my shoulders today.”

“Is that so? I thought I took a lot off.”

Hannah tilts her head slightly.

She doesn’t disagree.

“The movement of your lower body is too big.”

“That’s because my lower body is big….”

I nodded quietly.

Definitely a dasan type.

“Don’t have strange thoughts.”

“I won’t.”

I continued to tell her more stories.

My back is strained.

The movement is too straightforward. Especially.

“It seems like you’re trying too hard to imitate Mikhail.”

“Still…. Is that so? You’re amazing.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“I have an eye for these things.”

Excessive humility makes the other person uncomfortable. I raised myself up. I am good, after all.

[Hannah’s likability rating +1.]

I increased her likability rating a lot in one week.

I felt proud because my efforts paid off.

The cool wind gently caresses my hair. The wind during the time of leaving work is always refreshing.

Of course, Hannah’s eyes show signs of fatigue, but I’m fine because I’m not tired.

It’s about time to go.

I should buy some chocolate on the way home. The young lady has been singing for a week, and I’m afraid she’ll transform into chocolate if I don’t buy some.

I said to Hannah to wrap up the day.

The gentle feedback would be far more helpful to her than harsh criticism.

Carefully, I raised my hand to the head of the exhausted girl.

“You did well.”

“Me?”

Hanna blinked wide-eyed.

“You did really well today. It’s a compliment.”

“Why to me?”

Her thirst was for praise.

I don’t know how Hanna has lived until now. Whether she received neglect or lived happily, I neither wanted to know nor knew.

One thing is certain – the expression on Hanna’s face when receiving compliments is incredibly awkward.

Hanna looked at me with a face that seemed to say she didn’t know how to express herself in this situation.

It seems she isn’t used to receiving compliments.

Hanna looked at me with a strange look.

“Why do you look at me like that? Is my hand making you uncomfortable?”

“No, I just feel good.”

“You didn’t wash your hand after removing the orc’s tooth earlier…”

“Oh…!”

“Kidding.”

Hanna grinned.

She seemed to enjoy the jest of commoners.

With a sudden “Woosh,” Hanna sprang up from her seat, resembling an eager puppy.

“What’s your name, sir?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Just curious. It seems you haven’t even introduced yourself until now.”

Right.

I slightly lowered my head in courtesy.

“I am Ricardo.”

“Oh… That’s a cool name.”

“It is.”

Hanna picked up the orc’s canine with light steps.

I saw her affection that was above her head while avoiding laziness.

[Histania Hanna Lv. 28]

[Occupation: Academy student]

[Affection: 11]

[Preferred conversation topic: Compliments about swordsmanship]

[Disliked conversation topic: Beginning of school]

Hanna’s affection window, which had fallen into the same concerns as other college students, was looking good.

It seems that her growth will be fast.