The Villains I Taught Became Heroes - Chapter 45

45 – Preparation Period – 3

She was a beautiful woman with deep red hair.

Wrapped in a robe the color of her hair, the beauty approached Ihyeon with a seductive gait, as if tempting everyone around.

“It’s been a while~?”

Her voice carried a languid tone but held a hint of allure.

From her gestures to her faint smile, even her voice.

Unconsciously, Lena caught herself holding her breath at the entrance of the woman who seemed to embody allure in everything she did.

‘W-who is she?’

Instinctively, Lena sensed the danger emanating from this woman.

That’s why, despite feeling fearful, Lena couldn’t tear her gaze away from her.

“What’s wrong, Rhys?”

“Oh my~? What’s wrong? Why so cold? We fought together risking our lives, remember~?”

“Ma-master?”

“Let me introduce myself properly. I am Rhys Faegran, the Official Superior Magician of the Ivory Tower, Deputy Head of the Blue Order, and the aide to the Empire’s Crown Prince, Termaio Yggdrasil.”

“Ah~. That’s too complicated~. Isn’t it okay to introduce yourself more casually~?”

“In that case, just a passing magician 1.”

“Ahahaha! Still the same~! Your wit is remarkable~!”

Giggling, Rhys reached out her hand to Ihyeon’s shoulder.

Long fingers began to wander on his shoulder.

If it were another man, he might have already fallen into temptation just by the way he touched her.

But Ihyeon was only sullen.

“What’s going on here?”

“Hmm~ To meet you?”

Blinking one eye, she playfully replied, and Ihyeon grimaced and reached for his sword hilt.

Once again, she smirked at him and stepped back before casually speaking.

“I came to have my disciple participate in the magic competition. The prince has commanded for many good wizards to be gathered, you see.”

“Good wizards, huh? Is that nobleman still the same?”

“Yeah, he’s still the same. By the way, who’s behind you?”

“My disciple.”

Boldly, Ihyeon pulled Lena forward.

Under normal circumstances, she would have been hesitant about his actions, but this time was different. Lena unknowingly gazed at her.

“Oh my, what remarkable talent?!”

Ignoring that gaze, Rais simply found it fascinating.

After briefly exchanging glances, Rais’s eyes sparkled.

“Hey, what if you send her to our side?”

“Will that work?”

“By ‘our side’, I mean sending her to the empire.”

If it were the Ivory Tower, it might have been different, but Ihyeon, who had no intention of getting involved in unnecessary affairs, flatly refused.

“Tsk~ You’re too much~. If you cut me off so sharply, it hurts, you know~.”

“I’m not responsible for that. Anyway, it’s been a while since we last met, and it’s good to see you’re healthy. Well then, goodbye.”

“Aww~. Are you trying to leave so soon? But hey, have you thought about it? About becoming the prince’s servant.”

“I haven’t thought about it.”

“Ugh. It’s really valuable, you know~. Stop saying that and think about it. Money, honor, women. You can have everything you want~.”

Money, honor, women. They were all unnecessary. All Ihyeon wanted was a true ending.

With a smile, he refused her proposition.

But even so, Rais didn’t get angry.

Just like the first time, she just found it amusing and turned her gaze away.

“Well then, what about taking my disciple to our side at least~? Oh. How about this? My disciple will also participate in this magic competition. If my disciple wins, you and your disciple will become the Prince’s servants. Hm? Sounds good, doesn’t it?”

“I’m not sure what part is good. We don’t have any advantage.”

“If your disciple wins, I’ll give you this.”

She smiled and took out a vial from inside her robe.

“What, what is that?”

“A potion of youth. One sip and anyone can return to their twenties with a firm appearance! It’s a very rare item even in the Azure Blue Chamber~.”

Smiling confidently, she drew a V sign with her finger and looked at Rice.

“So, Rice, too…”

“What do you think? Heheh. The effect is amazing, right?”

Displaying her youthful skin with a charming smile, she shook the vial in front of Lena’s eyes.

“With just this, you can maximize most people’s favor~.”

That potion is hard to obtain even at the elixir level in the game.

Hyun Do also has one vial, but there’s a saying that opportunities are fleeting.

There is no reason not to accept the bet if you receive that.

“I have no intention of losing.”

Considering a plan B just in case, Hyun Do looked at Lena.

“Lena. Can you win?”

“T-teacher… I, I don’t want to go to the Empire…”

“Is that so?”

After finishing teaching Lena, she must go straight to the Sage Tower and obtain the qualification of a sage.

But going to the Empire and working under the Crown Prince? Absolutely not acceptable.

“…I’ll win! F-for my teacher!!”

Breathing heavily, Lena clenched her fist.

Her confidence, completely different from usual, made Hyun Do marvel.

“She has grown up.”

I hope she continues like this.

Hyun Do gently stroked Lena’s head and turned his finger to Rice.

“My proud disciple will put an end to the breath of your disciple.”

“Ah, no. Killing is prohibited in the Magic Tournament, so don’t do that. Anyway, that’s the plan, right?”

She chuckled and took a step back, walking away with the same charm as before.

Glancing at her back, which came and went like the wind, Lena was astonished.

“But, but Master.”

“Yeah?”

“Um, do you know the, the extent of my disciple’s abilities?”

“Hmm…”

Lee Hyun paused for a moment, then gently stroked her head.

“Don’t worry, you’re stronger.”

“Heh, hehehe…”

“And you should be thinking about something else, shouldn’t you?”

“Like what?”

“The tournament. It’s going to be 3 people in a team.”

At those words, Lena felt her mind going blank.

“Oh, I, I forgot!!”

Despite having Rice, who strangely seemed friendly with Lee Hyun, stepping forward, she had forgotten the most important thing.

Can she really form a party with someone else?

Lena looked at Lee Hyun with eyes that seemed like tears could fall at any moment.

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“Do you want help?”

“Yes, yes!”

“No.”

With a sly smile, Lee Hyun tapped Lena’s forehead.

“But if I can’t participate, you might lose the empire…”

“Oh. Don’t worry about that. We have Plan B.”

…

Finding teammates weighed heavily on Lena. She struggled with the fact that not only was she bad at talking to strangers, but even saying hello was a challenge for her. Could someone like her easily find party members?

Of course, Lee Hyun had reassured her with the existence of Plan B, but Lena had no intention of just sitting around doing nothing.

Thus, she wandered around the area near the guild headquarters every day, hoping to somehow join a party that lacked members. However, all that came her way were novice wizard hunters.

“Sigh…”

As the day of the magic tournament arrived, Lena still hadn’t found a party.

Even this time, I had no choice but to rely on Yi Hyun. I thought this as she was sitting cross-legged near the competition venue.

“Hey there! Hey!”

“Yes, yes?!”

“You look like a magician! Are you planning to participate in the magic competition?”

She was a bright girl with thick black hair and dark eyes. Was she around the same age as Lena?

As if proving she was a magician, she was dressed in a typical magician outfit.

“Well, um… it’s just that…”

“Great! Um. It might be a bit awkward to ask for this on our first meeting, but if it’s okay with you, could you join our party?!”

“Whaaat?!”

Lena was taken aback.

Lena, unsure of what to say to the girl who bowed her head with both hands together, was even more at a loss when the girl firmly grabbed her hand.

“W-well, um…!”

“If it’s really tough, you can forfeit when it’s your turn at the very end! Huh?! We’ll handle the fighting! With us, we might even aim for victory!”

“Oh, oh my… I-I’m already aiming for v-victory…”

“Oh?! Really?! Then let’s go! You can register right away when you’re with us!”

The girl was so lively and confident.

To become a party member without even knowing her skills.

But if she stayed like this, she couldn’t even participate, let alone aim for victory.

‘I, I have to pull myself together…!’

Drawn in by her, Lena arrived at the competition venue, not knowing what to do.

There were a lot of people.

With Lena, who was trembling in the midst of quite a crowd, the girl led her to the competition headquarters and shook hands with the girl waiting there.

“Hey~! I brought her~!”

“Thank you for your hard work. But this competition is one that I can participate in alone.”

“No, no. The participation requirement is to form a team of three, right? Let’s not be like that~.”

A truly energetic girl.

She patted the shoulders of the purple-haired girl with short, blunt words.

Staring at it intently, Lena smirked.

“Yuria Seitz. Cannon Biral…?”

“Yes! I’m Yuria Seitzaya! This is Canon Byral!”

“Hello. I am Canon Byral.”

“Oh, uh, hello… H-hi. I-I’m Lena!”

“Yes! Write your name here! Uuhh… There! I’ll go register now!”

With Lena’s name noted down, Yuria quickly dashed towards the registration counter.

Lena, left alone with someone she just met, once again felt a bit uneasy.

“Um, excuse me. You two… are acquaintances, right?”

“With Yuria? Yes. We share the same mentor.”

“Oh, ooooh…”

Somehow, she felt as if she were the only one left out.

While grappling with that feeling, Yuria, done with the registration, returned.

“Phew~ That was close! I almost couldn’t register, and it would have been a disaster! I wouldn’t be able to face the mentor if that happened!! Thanks to you, I could register! And don’t worry about magical skills! I’m confident, Canon is confident, so magic is not a problem!”

“Ah, I see…”

“Anyway, it’s the first day we formed a team! Shall we have a simple drink together?! Oh! Let’s go~!”

She’s a truly energetic girl.

As she led the way, Canon followed silently, and Lena hurriedly followed her too.

The place they arrived at was a café next to the inn where Ihyeon and Lena stayed.

While glancing around, wondering if it would be better to buy something for the mentor, Lena spotted Ihyeon sitting in the corner of the café, reading a newspaper and drinking coffee.

“Hmm? Lena. Did you go looking for party members as you said you would?”

“M-Mentor!”

Lena smiled brightly. She was happy to meet someone she knew.

And just as she was about to run towards him,

“Huh?! Mister?!”

“What’s up. The Bella kids, right? How’ve you been?”

Ihyeon greeted warmly, and in response, Yuria grinned broadly.

‘Wait a moment. Bella kids? Then…?’

“You’re Lady Bella’s disciple?”

“Huh?! Didn’t I introduce myself?!”

Yuria laughed heartily and struck a casual pose.

“I am the apprentice of Archmage Bella! Uria Seitz!”

“The real apprentice is me, Canon Vayral.”

With their confident responses, Eihan affectionately patted Lena’s head.

“You found good party members, didn’t you? Impressive, right? If something like this happens again, handle it well!”

“Uh, yeah. That.”

Whether to call it a discovery or being chosen was unclear. Unable to find appropriate words, Lena could only awkwardly smile.