The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 29

I turned around.

A man walked toward me with a familiar smile, hands casually tucked into his pockets.

The great Village Chief of Green Algae Village.

It was Ruin.

Seeing him, I thought to myself.

“Why is Ruin here?”

I was glad to meet an Academy Mate in such an unexpected place, but Ruin shouldn’t have been here right now.

In about a week, news about the dungeon would spread in the capital, adventurers would flock here, and that’s when Ruin was supposed to join the story. Why was he here now?

It’s not like he came here to hike.

Unable to suppress my curiosity, I asked Ruin why he was here.

“Excuse me… Algae Mage?”

“…It’s Ruin.”

“Ah, I see. Algae Knight?”

“Not a knight, a wizard. And it’s Ruin.”

Ruin clenched his fist tightly.

It seemed he still disliked me, just as he did in the past.

Even though I remembered his name properly and addressed him respectfully, he always seemed angry whenever he saw me. I couldn’t understand Ruin’s psyche, which was worse than a young lady on the Day of Magic.

What did I ever do wrong?

He acted like he’d give his liver and gallbladder to Yuria, but he only ever had fits around me. It was truly disheartening.

We weren’t close at the Academy, but we at least greeted each other in passing.

-Second Place, hello~

-Are you mocking me?

-No? I’m just bragging that my Young Lady is the Top Ranker.

-Son of a b*.

-Woof.

We used to greet each other cheerfully in the corridor, congratulating each other when appropriate and teasing each other with bright smiles. But now, all I saw was an angry Ruin, and it made me feel regretful.

They were good memories, after all.

-Oh… Ruin, I heard you burned the Young Lady’s dress during the last duel. It was a bit expensive. Are you okay with that? If it’s tough, we can…

-I can pay for it. Do you think I can’t afford a single dress?

-It was 300,000 gold, though.

-What…?

-The Young Lady said you don’t have to pay it back, but should we send the bill to the Magic Tower instead?

-Wait a second..!

I vaguely remembered comforting Ruin when he lost to Mikhail every day and collapsed in the training grounds.

-Young Lady, there’s moss on the floor.

-Oh…! It’s huge!

-You sons of b*! Stop teasing me!

-It even talks.

-Heeeek…!

I was happy to see him, but why was he acting like this?

Ruin clicked his tongue as he looked at me.

Even though it wasn’t something I was going to eat, he clenched and unclenched his fist, looking agitated. He reminded me of a dog in heat.

[Ruin Lv. 35]

[Job: Academy Student]

[Favorability: -77]

[Favorite Conversation Topics: Yuria/Recognition of Magic/Dates]

[Disliked Conversation Topics: Inferiority Complex about Magic/White Hair/Red Hair/Losing to a Junior]

He wasn’t even my household’s nemesis, so why was his favorability so low?

It hurt my feelings.

Still, he was my friend.

With a warm heart, I extended my hand for a handshake.

“Anyway, it’s good to see you, Ruin.”

“Good to see me?”

Ruin scoffed.

It seemed he found me amusing.

Or maybe he found the situation amusing.

Either way, I could tell it wasn’t a laugh born out of positivity.

Ruin peeked behind him, as if looking for something. After glancing around a bit more, he spoke to me in a mocking tone.

“Hey. Where’s Olivia?”

“She’s at home.”

“At home?”

Upon hearing that the Young Lady wasn’t here, the Village Chief of Green Algae Village grew bolder.

When we met at Friends of Forest, he had looked like a drenched puppy, but now Ruin resembled a bulldog standing before a Chihuahua.

Ruin briskly.

Walked toward me.

He shouldn’t come too close.

I was afraid I might instinctively slam his head into the ground again.

I took a step back to maintain a safe distance.

“Don’t come closer. You’ll faint again.”

If I were going to knock him out, it would be better to hear his last words first. Just in case there were other students besides Ruin, I’d have to knock them out too.

Ruin spoke to me.

“Ricardo, I’m not happy to see you.”

“I see. What should I do? I’m really happy to see you, though.”

“Really?”

Spit. Ruin spat next to my shoe.

His white spit landed precariously close to my worn-out leather shoes.

“Pfft. What are those shoes?”

Ruin chuckled as he looked at my shoes.

It felt like a dog marking its territory, and it left me in a foul mood.

“Even goblins wouldn’t wear those.”

“Is that so? Then I guess I’ll have to take a goblin’s shoes.”

Ruin’s provocation didn’t work.

It would be strange to fall for such a childish provocation. If I did fall for something so simple.

That wouldn’t make me a possessor.

It would make me someone with anger management issues.

People should know how to endure and be patient. Someone who charges at every little provocation isn’t mature.

True victors and magnanimous people endure provocations with a “That happens sometimes” attitude and quietly focus on their tasks.

I looked around.

It was silent.

No one was there.

“This place is too dangerous.”

This area, with elite orcs napping nearby and tricky elite goblins around, was a place where a person could disappear without a trace.

It wouldn’t be surprising if someone ended up buried here.

Honestly. He had no sense of caution. Did he even realize how dangerous it was to come to such a gloomy place alone?

I thought about Ruin’s burial site.

If the person standing before him wasn’t me but Pascal, Ruin might have ended up as a work of art rather than a person.

I spoke with concern.

“Mr. Ruin.”

“Speak casually. You did at the Academy. Why are you acting like this now?”

“It’s just… a habit.”

I was genuinely worried about Ruin.

To the point where I wanted to share the wisdom of life with him.

If he was going to come to such a dangerous place, he should at least have someone trustworthy by his side.

That way, even if he met an untimely death, someone could at least deliver the news.

I slowly approached Ruin.

Upon closer look, there seemed to be something on Ruin’s left cheek. Something unpleasant.

It was a stubborn stain, and I decided I should clean it for him.

“Ah… Now that I think about it, Mr. Ruin.”

“What.”

“What brings you here? You’re supposed to be at the Academy.”

“Ah… Because of an assignment.”

“An assignment?”

Ruin nodded.

And he didn’t forget to spit out bad words at me. Saying, “Why would someone expelled even care about that?” I couldn’t help but wonder how this guy would survive after graduating from the Academy.

Probably living like a wreck after being dumped by the heroine.

I was worried about Ruin’s future after the novel ended.

Ruin was like a refreshing turn of events that crushed frustrating situations in the novel.

In the part where the heroine was being bullied by the villainesses, the other male protagonists stepped back, saying things like, “Yuria will handle it herself!” or “I can’t meddle in Yuria’s personal matters, especially not with force…”

But when it came to anything related to the heroine, Ruin’s eyes would spin, and he’d appear like a prince on a white horse, saying a word or two to the villainesses.

Even if you didn’t like him, he was a character you couldn’t help but feel attached to.

Though his looks didn’t appeal to me and he wasn’t my type, other readers loved his rude demeanor and even made him their favorite character.

Ruin was consistent.

He spoke informally to people he met for the first time.

He spat informal words even at people he disliked.

And he spat informal words at people he liked too.

He even showed his consistency by calling the Master of the Magic Tower “Old Man” and speaking informally to him. Honestly, I hoped he’d meet his match and get put in his place someday.

Ruin said to me,

“Ah, now that I think about it, you asked Hanna to reverse your expulsion, didn’t you? Talking about expulsion reversal all of a sudden—I seriously thought you were a crazy woman.”

“It’s not expulsion; it’s a leave of…”

“For you two, expulsion or leave of absence is the same thing. Aren’t you embarrassed to ask a junior for help?”

Does he have some disease that kills him if he speaks kindly? Ruin, who seemed like he wanted to say goodbye to the world.

I took a step closer to Ruin.

Ruin flinched and his shoulders trembled.

Why was he so scared? I wasn’t going to do anything.

I gave an awkward smile.

“I just wanted to go back to the Academy, so I asked for a favor. Haha.”

“Damn.”

“So, how’s your school life, Mr. Ruin?”

“It’s great without you guys.”

“Hmm, is that so? That can’t be true.”

The Imperial Academy was special.

If you graduated, you could get a job at a prominent company or household in the Empire, or even surpass the limits of being a commoner and receive a title.

The educational policy was also specialized to discover prodigies.

Students chose their own assignments, and the grading system awarded higher scores for more difficult tasks and lower scores for easier ones.

Since higher grades meant climbing higher in rank at the Imperial Academy,

the system was designed so passionate students could reap the rewards of their efforts.

But for someone like Ruin, who didn’t care one bit about grades, coming all the way to this distant place just for an assignment made me think he had some other motive.

That’s why I didn’t fall for his provocations.

I asked Ruin,

“Ah, could it be that Miss Hanna stepped on you? Is that why?”

“Shut your mouth.”

Ruin flinched and reacted violently. It seemed the careless stone I threw had hit Ruin’s mental state.

I spoke as if making an excuse.

To make Ruin’s wounded heart hurt just a little more. And with the hope that the painful wound would deepen.

“No, I mean, it doesn’t make sense for a genius like Mr. Ruin to come all the way to Hamel, far from the capital. Don’t tell me you were eliminated early in the ranking tournament…”

“I told you to shut up.”

I poked at Ruin’s painful wound even further.

Ruin glared at me.

As if his shattered mental state wasn’t recovering, Ruin just stared at me in silence.

Not knowing what else to say, I gave a thumbs-up and said,

“Good choice.”

“Shut up!”

A red sphere shot out fiercely.

The three spheres from last time had now increased to ten, flying toward me.

Ruin had grown stronger.

At this rate of growth, I thought he could last about ten seconds against a mantis.

I naturally reached out to slam Ruin’s head into the ground. I intended to calm him down a bit and suggest we go our separate ways.

But then.

Just as my hand was about to touch Ruin’s head, a familiar voice stopped me.

“Ruin! What are you doing right now!”

A woman’s voice came from behind me.

A clear voice, like it was infused with fresh fruit, rang in my ears.

“I’m sorry─! My friend has a bit of a temper.”

The woman behind me apologized as soon as she arrived. Unlike the haughty tone of a noble, she approached me with the friendly tone of a country girl.

At the woman’s arrival, Ruin, who had been scowling fiercely, suddenly softened his expression as if nothing had happened.

Ruin’s foolishly grinning smile.

I lowered the hand I had extended.

“Ruin, what are you doing! Apologize!”

“It’s nothing, really.”

“Don’t lie!”

I thought to myself.

‘This is bad.’

I slowly turned around.

I really didn’t want to meet her like this.

Her smiling face gradually came into view.

Pink hair.

Lips like cherries.

A fresh and radiant beauty.

When she met my eyes,

her radiant smile began to fade.

“It’s been a while.”

I forced an awkward smile and said,

“Miss Yuria.”

Yuria, the protagonist of this novel, was standing before me.