How To Live As An Academy Extra Villain

✦ Chapter 91 ✦

「Translator – Creator」

The presence of the Inquisitors from the Holy Kingdom was certainly remarkable. Even though there were only six of them, including Cecila, they accomplished more than their numbers suggested.

With their help, stability was restored to the mansion, but our territory is quite vast beyond the confines of the mansion walls. The places most vulnerable to such attacks were the small residential areas in the villages outside the city walls or on the outskirts of the territory.

These places were not easily accessible for outsiders to keep an eye on, but once something happened, it was also difficult to spread the word to the outside.

I was racking my brain over this issue when, unexpectedly, Cecila volunteered to tour those remote areas herself. She said that since there was a sacred site of the Trinity Faith in the south, she could disguise herself as a pilgrim visiting there and inspect the villages while drawing relatively less attention.

Her entourage seemed very concerned about her safety, but she quickly suppressed their concerns. She naturally acted as the leader of the Inquisitors, and no one dared to question her actions.

And in exchange for conducting that patrol, she requested that I accompany her, saying that having the Lord’s son along would help mitigate any minor difficulties if an unexpected situation arose.

My Father wasn’t too keen on it, but he couldn’t bear to appear selfish by keeping just his own son safe from those who had traveled so far to aid us. Instead, he took small comfort in the fact that the prestigious Westford inquisitors would be guarding me.

And I also agreed to Cecila’s proposal on the thought that I might be able to find the lurking enemies myself. Judging from the situation so far, there was a high probability that someone was working behind the scenes.

“Then I will be in your care. I shall never forget the favor you have shown us this time.”

“You give me too much credit. Well then, until we return.”

As my father and Dante exchanged farewells, Adele clung to my leg like a cicada, showing no intention of letting go. Displeasure was written all over her face.

“Uuu…”

“Adele…won’t you let go now?”

“…………….”

At the end of Adele’s gaze was Cecila, preparing to mount her horse.

She was mysteriously wary of Cecila. Whenever Cecila approached, she would hiss softly like a cat with her hackles raised.

It was just as well that Cecila found Adele’s behavior rather endearing.

Eventually our group set out, and Adele kept waving until I was out of sight.

“Your little sister really dotes on you, young master…”

Cecila said, looking back at Adele.

“Isn’t she adorable? It would be nice if others were as warmly kind to me as she is. She’s still quite shy around strangers…”

“Hmm…it seems a bit different from just being shy…”

We rode side-by-side, keeping pace. Though my gaze was ahead, I could keenly feel Cecila’s piercing stare from the side.

The depth in Cecila’s eyes was unfathomable. Perhaps it was my imagination, but whenever our eyes met, I couldn’t shake the feeling that my innermost self was being laid bare.

“Still, it is curious. Even if we were, I wouldn’t have expected my father and Count Reed to be acquainted.”

“Your father?”

In response to my question, Cecila suddenly spat out the dogtooth herb she had been chewing on and made an expression as if she had made a mistake.

“Ah…this.”

“What?”

“…It’s nothing. It’s just…Archbishop Timothy is my father, you see…”

Cecila sighed deeply, then resignedly explained. From her reluctance, it seemed she really didn’t want to reveal her family name.

But the fact that Archbishop Timothy had a daughter was a bit of a surprise to me, as that detail wasn’t mentioned in the original work. If the story of the Holy Kingdom had progressed further, Cecila’s connection to the Archbishop might have been revealed, but my knowledge was limited to events before that point.

It makes sense that as the daughter of one of the Holy Kingdom’s ten great noble families, who was further elevated for recovering a sacred artifact, Cecila would wield considerable clout. Yet she didn’t let on about her prestigious background at all at the academy, which was quite unique.

“Just as I thought, you’re from a truly distinguished family. Does this mean I should show more respect…”

“No, no! Absolutely not! What’s with friends showing respect!”

Her vehement refusal, even shouting, surprised me instead.

“I was just joking.”

“…You won’t mention it to anyone else though, right?”

“You don’t need to worry about that. By the way, Cecila, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“About the Saintess…”

“You’re curious about the Saintess? What about her? What specifically?”

When I brought up the Saintess, she suddenly showed great interest. She always seemed curious, but her reaction now was especially intense.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t make sense of why the Saintess had issued me a Absolution last time.

I wondered if Cecila might be able to satisfy my curiosity since she was from a noble family in the Holy Kingdom and might have a connection with the Saint.

“Well, about that incident last time…”

As I began explaining, she listened intently with a very keen expression. And when I finished, she responded in a tone of utmost nonchalance—

“That’s only natural. The Saintess wouldn’t be a Saintess for no reason. She’s a perfect person. Not only is she kind-hearted, but her radiant beauty is also unparalleled…”

“……………..?”

“Ahem! Regardless, such a person wouldn’t simply abandon someone in trouble, would she? Especially since you were wrongfully victimized, she must have used her power to compensate you to some degree.”

“I’m grateful, but wasn’t that a bit excessive?”

“You needn’t worry about things like that. I’m sure the Saintess didn’t think much of it.”

“From how you speak, it sounds like you know her quite well. Cecila, are you personally acquainted with the Saintess by any chance?”

“Cough! Cough!“

“Sir Dante? What’s the matter?”

“Cough…It’s nothing…I just swallowed wrong…”

Inquisitor Dante, who was ahead, suddenly had a severe coughing fit. Cecila, who was about to speak, glanced lightly at Dante.

“…So Edwin, what do you think?”

“About what?”

“The Saintess. Don’t you have any particular impressions? She went so far as to pardon you after all.”

“Went so far…?”

“I just meant she might have gone to great lengths. Anyway, answer me.”

She persisted for my answer. Her eyes seemed to hold a slight eager anticipation, making me feel a bit pressured.

While I had some knowledge of the Saintess, I couldn’t say I felt particularly positive about her.

Saint Christina, the fifth heroine to appear.

Befitting her title as the “Goddess’ most beloved daughter,” she boasted limitless divine power which proved immensely helpful against the demons later on.

Despite being undoubtedly one of the main heroines, the Saintess first appeared relatively late in the second semester.

However, unlike the other heroines, it took the Saintess a very long time to fall for Eugene.

Outwardly, the Saintess treated everyone with a frank demeanor, but inwardly, she always prioritized their usefulness first. And Eugene was no exception to this.

Eugene, unlike others who held the Saintess in high esteem, approached her without hesitation, but the Saintess, on the contrary, found his reckless and eccentric nature distasteful.

Yet when she learned that Eugene had apprehended the demon worshippers at the academy, that marked their first encounter where she shone eyes on him.

And when Eugene, who had caught her eye, was chosen by the Holy Sword, she chose Eugene over her personal feelings, prioritizing the cause.

She had a clear understanding of her role, and the union of the hero and the saintess was too much of a cliché to be considered.

For her goal of reforming the Holy Kingdom, no one was more suited than the hero.

However, as they went through many incidents together, the Saintess eventually opened her heart to Eugene, and this culminated after the war with the demons ended in a truce.

And right after the war, the Holy Kingdom’s fall episode began, so the story must have revolved around the Saintess for a while, but I have no way of knowing what happened after that.

Anyway, she was just another person to me, and I’m not particularly interested in getting involved with her either.

Her tendency to sacrifice small things for the cause was the exact opposite of mine, who just wanted to protect those around me.

That mentality difference was likely the reason for her frequent conflicts with Claudia Acelus. 

The Saintess prioritized the greater cause while Claudia only her personal ambitions, so clashes were inevitable.

It wasn’t some petty catfight, but truly vicious battles, and Iris was always the one to mediate between them, as Patricia had no talent for calming people down and Selene took a long time to change her introverted personality.

Now that I think about it, Eugene catching demons and earning the Saintess’ approval likely didn’t happen either. And Iris didn’t seem on the best terms with Eugene either. So how will this situation unfold…?

…Anyway, but I don’t have to convey my feelings to Cecila exactly as they were.

Thinking about the praise she poured on the Saintess earlier, she seemed to have a tremendous faith in the Saintess, maybe because she’s from the Holy Kingdom.

“…I’m just grateful, that’s all.”

Hearing my carefully chosen words, she frowned as if unsatisfied.

“Is that all? Don’t you have any other good things to say to her? Like a compliment about her beauty.”

“I’ve never even met her, so how would I know? And what’s so important about the Saintess’s looks? Faith is more important, isn’t it?”

“Why wouldn’t it matter? There’s nothing better than beauty to inspire awe from the masses. And what if you happen to meet the Saintess later on? She’d likely be quite disappointed then?”

“Meet her? What are the chances I’d ever meet the Saintess? Well, unless she visits the academy I suppose.”

“………….”

At my offhand remark, she abruptly closed her mouth and turned her head away.

— End of Chapter —

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