I Became Close to the Villain - Chapter 29

“Is Liliel standing next to you? I’d like to speak with her in person.”

[She’s here right now. I was  in a lot of trouble because she’s wary of me.]

Camellia passed the communication tool. Then I heard Liliel’s voice.

[Vianne? Is that you?]

“Yes, it’s me. You were concerned, weren’t you? I’m sorry for disappearing so abruptly. It’s because the Marquess of Lahrat arrived.”

[No, it’s fine. I wasn’t surprised because you told me in advance that you would go to Mage’s Island. Are you doing well? Now that I hear your voice, I’m relieved.]

“Of course. Idris is protecting me well. My physical condition is getting better.”

[Oh my. I’m glad.]

“Right, Liliel. You can trust the mage in front of you. I’ll guarantee it, so please cooperate. This magic doesn’t last long, so you have to let the mage know the details.”

[…You know. He’s a mage…….]

“I know. But it’s an unavoidable situation. If you let him know as briefly as possible, I’ll ask Camellia to withdraw immediately.”

[…Okay. Take care. Don’t get sick]

“Yes, Liliel. You too.”

The communication was cut off.

She sighed briefly and shook her head.

Eustave was visibly tired. I smiled awkwardly at him.

“I’m going to die while drawing out the mana.”

He grumbled.

“I told you if you need a lot of mana, tell me. I have a lot of it

He was terrified.

“How can I take that away? You’re going to faint right away. Then I’ll die tonight!”

 He’s really scared of Idris. He’s worried about being murdered.

“No, Idris, is he that scary?”

I asked because it was kind of funny. Two days ago, Eustave wasn’t weak either, but he’s afraid with Idris?

“What are you saying? Isn’t everyone like that?”

“Is that so?”

The last time I saw the lower level mages, it was also like that. I thought not eveyone was like that. But if I look closely, all the people here always avoided Idris.

“I don’t know what you’ve seen of your master.”

Unlike me, Eustave was serious.

“He has always been like that since 10 years ago. You’ve only seen him for a few days. On the contrary, I’ve seen what he has been like for 10 years.”

“Well…  …  He’s not a bad kid though.”

“It seems that he wants Vianne to see him that way.”

Eustave didn’t quite agree with me.

Idris has a reputation for what he’s been doing.

I just nodded my head.

***

Camellia appeared in front of me just after lunch.

Considering the distance from the empire to here, it was clear that he used magic.

“Marquess Lahrat doesn’t come out of the house after that day. The knights officially announced the disappearance of Astahilt. The investigation is actively underway.”

I heard the news as I stared at Camellia’s dark hair. His hair color was so nice.

“There is no harm to Liliel yet. However, she said that on the day of your disappearance, she suspected Marquess Lahrat for a while. But she responded well so it’s fine now.”

“Thanks for the information, Camelia.”

“No. I was just following my master’s orders.”

Camellia spoke politely and went away. He was such an efficient person.

Shortly after Camellia left, a piece of paper flew into the room.

Eustave lightly grabbed it, unfolded it, and told me the content.

“The master is calling you.”

It must be magic class time.

“Where are we headed?”

“I will accompany you.”

Eustave took the lead in leaving the room. I walked as he led me. I think I came out for the first time after coming here. The sky was bright and clear.

As I left the area where Idris lived, I saw many mages I had never seen before.

They glanced at me.

‘Because of the nature of Mage’s Island, there must be many residents from outside, but why are they so interested in me? Does my face say I’m too much of a normal person?’

“Is that the person? The archmage brought her…  …  .”

“She look young and weak…  …  .”

‘They’re really harsh.’

Somehow I didn’t like it, so I glared at them. The mages went away after shrugging.

“Look, who is this!”

Then, someone came running to us, shouting loudly.

What? I turned around.

“Eustav Ilcanes, I can’t believe you’re showing up now. Are you finally going to fight me…?!”

“I have absolutely no intention of doing that, so get out of the way, Sinahan.”

Eustave replied to the man.

‘Sinahan Gail. He’s the one who ranks second with Michael, right?’

Sinahan put a hand on his jagged hair. 

“Then why did you come here?”

He swung the huge scythe he held in his hand.

The scythe struck Eustave.

Eustave blocked the attack by opening a shield. It was a collision between pure magic, not matter, but there was a sound of blades clashing.

“Be restrained!  Behind me there is a person whom the master has brought.”

Eustave, who was pushed back even after blocking properly, said so.

“The master brought that scrawny kid?”

Sinahan opened his eyes wide and asked back.

The opinions of the mages were all the same.  Sheesh, is there a law that says to bring only super strong friends?

You guys don’t know yet, but even if I look weak, I have a lot of mana.

Oh, of course. Idris doesn’t seem to have any intention of using my mana. Anyway, I felt it was unfair.

“That’s right.”

Eustave confirmed again.

“Really? This archmage have a unique personality like the last archmage as well! Eustave, are you going to show her around the island?

“Yes. Please speak formally. Take away your weapons too.

“Is that really necessary?”

“Don’t make me threaten you.”

Sinahan used mana as it condensed. A blue monster-shaped mana tore Eustave’s shield.

“What…!”

It was that moment before Eustave was ready to attack again.

I heard a strange sound. It sounded like an arrow cutting through the air.

‘I don’t think this sound was made by Eustave or Sinahan.’

Just as I was about to turn my head, mana from another direction tried to hit me.

“……!”

It happened instantly without me having the time to scream, so I couldn’t even see what happened.

A creepy and ferocious mana from somewhere attacked me.

I felt it. That it was something that was meant to kill me.

When I thought I was going to die, someone hugged me. A white light flashed in front of me.

Pure white light. It was Idris’ magic.

“Ugh…!”

I was so startled but I was able to breathe again. I was alive.

“…….”

Idris hugged me and shot mana in the direction it flew in. And so, a building exploded because of it.

“Ugh.” 

I let out the sound of pain without realizing it. Idris ended up putting more stregth on my arm.

“Track them.”

Idris ordered in a cold voice. Then, he locked me in his arms completely.

The pain started to be felt more when my heart, which was beating mercilessly fast, hugged him. My ears are all ringing.

“…  …  Idris.”

I was dizzy and called him.

“It’s okay, Vianne.”

It’s okay. He just repeated it quietly. As if it was him, not me, who wanted to confirm that I’m okay.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

I relaxed my hands and spoke slowly. When I did that, it really seemed to get better.

Idris added strength to the arm that held me. I took a short breath.

“I, right now… I need to let him go, but I can’t let him go. I won’t.”

His tone was harsh. I was very surprised so I pushed him away.

He ended up letting me go. But before I could see his expression, he turned his head. At the same time, he summoned a shiny sword and hung it on Sinahan’s neck without hesitation.

“If you betrayed Rezenbaum and become my dog, you should be helpful.”

He tried to conceal my vision.

“Yet you’re barking loudly and causing an accident.”

Idris’ sword pierced Sinahan’s neck.

Sinahan could not resist. It was because of the violent mana of tying his feet and arms.

Is that the side effect of the pledge of allegiance?

I saw that Idris was angry, something I’ve never seen.

If left as it is, either Idris reasoning or Sinahan’s body will surely burst.

“Stop it, Idris.”

So I said firmly.

The knife that had been digging into Sinahan’s neck paused. But it didn’t back down.

“It is useless to kill your subordinates. We should find the culprit instead.”

“I ordered Eustave already. While he’s looking for them, I just have to punish him, who doesn’t listen well.”

Idris said dryly, like a person who had already made up their mind.

“Don’t kill him but punish him instead. You can do that right?

“I can’t.”

“Idris!”