I Became A Third-Rate Villain In The Hero Academy-Novel

"I think he fainted. Isn't this enough?"

"Tarkan, you sloppy orc. Why are you so afraid with only this much blood? He's an active hero, isn't he? He won't mind being stepped on this much. Hey, you, lend me your club."

The orcs continue beating him even after he had fainted.

"This should be enough."

Afterward, the orcs tightly wrapped the broken Francis with thick ropes.

His entire body's bones were probably shattered. It wouldn't matter much even if they didn't tie him, but it's better to make sure.

'Francis might still have some mana left.'

Thinking that, I decided to seek out the senior professor, Rok.

Rok would likely have a mana sealing stone.

"I will be back after visiting the senior professor. Everyone, maintain your positions."

"Leave it to us, Captain!"

"···Yes, Young Master."

It's really nice that they obey without question.

I handed the clinging Siena, who was continuously muttering, over to Amy.

Siena obediently laid on Amy's lap.

"Huee······ Hueeee. Don't go······."

···It doesn't seem like she's pretending.

I thought she would find any reason to cling to me, but she was staying still.

Is Siena really suffering from the aftereffects of debuff magic?

‘I did cast Magic Nullification.’

I don't know. This situation never occurred in the original story, so I can't tell.

Anyway, let's take care of urgent matters first.

"Then, I'll be back."

Rok's room is on the top floor of the dormitory building.

Truly, that bald old man also likes high places like Theo.

'Judging by his demeanor, he's definitely from a high noble family······. I wonder what his story is?'

I saw Rok's status window last time, but like Neike, his last name didn't appear.

With such thoughts, I climbed to the top floor and knocked on Rok's door.

Amy found the current situation thrilling.

She was filled with a sense of accomplishment from completing her first assignment.

They had truly caught a villain who was also an active hero.

"He seems to be a spy from another group."

However, as a low-ranking member of Equilibrium, Amy didn't have access to crucial information.

Just like her, Francis could also be a spy from the same faction.

"Was it right to have helped Theo?"

During the mission, the situation was so sudden so she had suppressed her doubts.

Honestly, something still stirred within her heart.

The satisfaction of completing her first real assignment as instructed.

And since their top priority was actively assisting Theo, there shouldn't be any problems.

She had faithfully carried out orders.

"Uh, uh-huh... Please don't leave, please..."

Amy looked down at the elf princess lying on her lap.

Siena was still moaning in pain.

"It seems like the aftereffects of the debuff magic are severe."

According to Theo, orcs can escape from debuff magic once through self-harm, but elves cannot.

Siena is approximately 150 years old.

She must have had a variety of experiences living for a much longer period than humans.

The depth of her trauma would be different as well.

"I should report this to them too."

Amy looked down at Siena with calm eyes and reminded herself of her goal.

"It's all for my younger sister. No matter what happens now, I have to trust and support Theo."

Judging by how Theo acted today, if he gets scouted by the Equilibrium, he would quickly secure a high-ranking position.

Power isn't everything. What's more important for a high-ranking official is the ability to control talented subordinates.

Today, Theo led the team perfectly.

"First, I need to carry out the given orders without any mistakes."

Then, Theo, once he becomes a high-ranking official, might be able to save Selena—Amy's sister.

While thinking about this,

"?!"

Amy felt a sharp presence.

Someone was watching her.

Her innate senses, surpassing even her stats, was activated.

It was a subtle, assassin-like aura, just like hers.

Soon, Amy turned her head in the direction of the presence.

She saw a silhouette swiftly retreating.

It was difficult to identify because the figure was wearing a big hat and coat...

'Judging by the build, it's a woman, and quite small.'

Amy's innate senses were excellent.

A petite woman who seemed to be about 150cm tall.

And that calm aura proved that she was of the same kind as Amy.

'I need to tell Theo about this right away.'

Before, she wouldn't have had any expectations of him.

But now, she found herself thinking, 'What if?'.

In the basement detention room of the Hero Department.

I looked at Francis, who was tightly bound and sitting in a chair.

His outer appearance looked surprisingly unharmed.

But his insides must be completely shattered.

A mana seal was placed on Francis's wrist.

Although I already secured the high-level magic artifact [Amplification Orb], debuff magic is dangerous.

He has recovered from mana exhaustion. By tomorrow, all his mana should be restored.

'I don't know when he'll wake up.'

Francis's pants were wet around the crotch.

···Well, if he was hit that hard, even the founding principal Ryuk would have wet his pants.

With my arms crossed, I stared at Francis.

This never occurred in the original story, and the physical abilities of a hero are different from ordinary people, so it's even harder to predict.

"Hmm······ He seems likely to wake up in about an hour."

Rok, who was standing next to me with a stern expression, had a glint in his eye.

"How do you know?"

"Well, naturally you learn these things when you've been in the teaching profession for a long time.”

But we may have gone a bit too far in beating him up. Most healers would be shocked by his condition.

At this point in time, there's no one like Archmage Odius—a saint level healer, the last grand mage of the continent.

"···Even if he is a prime suspect, there was no need to handle him so roughly."

Rok looked at me sternly.

Well, that's understandable.

From a third person's point of view, it looks like a group of big orcs beat up an instructor.

"We had to, for fear that he might escape. We're just first-year students, and the culprit is a current hero. One of our team members was also attacked. We'll secure evidence within an hour.”

"···How did you confirm the culprit? We had skilled and trustworthy personnel conducting thorough investigations, they didn't find him.”

"I got some help from the family. Please don't misunderstand, I only received it for this emergency. Also, we have been investigating separately since the moment the magic dungeon incident occurred.”

The Waldeurk family is a major family known throughout the vast continent.

Given Theo's current image, this should be a plausible excuse.

If by any chance, they inquire further... it's time be more straightforward.

After all, the future has changed significantly compared to the original story.

This is my best move right now.

Anyway, Amy, who was sent to collect evidence, should be arriving here soon.

Francis would have placed a perception disorder spell where he hid the evidence, but it's not a particularly outstanding spell, so it should be found quickly.

Even in the original story, the staff investigation teams couldn't find it due to an unexpected, powerful debuff spell.

Amy's words come to mind.

She said that a small girl had been watching our team and fled. She definitely seemed to be a professional in espionage.

It's obvious who it is.

'Jang Woohee.'

If a natural-born assassin like Amy barely noticed her presence, the number of suspects is greatly reduced.

And if it's a petite woman of about 150 cm, there's no one but Jang Woohee.

···Given her character, she wouldn't have trailed us only from the words of students.

'Is it personal curiosity?'

Is she interested in me because of magic nullification?

If it's Jang Woohee's sharp intuition, she must have definitely noticed when I used magic nullification on Ralph during the practical evaluation.

At that moment.

"I'm back, young master."

Amy, who had returned, bowed to me.

"You've worked hard. The item?"

"I secured it, young master. It was exactly where you told me."

Amy handed me a bundle of letters.

I took one out and read it.

The letter was encrypted. The others were the same.

They also had special characters that made them unreadable.

But there is someone who can decode this cipher.

'Jang Woohee.'

She decrypted them in the original story.

And considering her righteous character, even as an assassin, she wouldn't lie.

'Well, even if she lies, I can invite a decryption expert.'

I asked Rok to send a staff member to bring Jang Woohee here.

She's probably training in her room.

After a while, Jang Woohee arrived at the underground interrogation room.

"······."

But Jang Woohee wasn't the only one who arrived.

A total of six people.

Neike, Piel, Jang Woohee, Aisha, Andrew, and Eshild.

They all came.

***

1/4 Enjoy the chappy!