Reincarnated As The Villainess's Best Friend

After thirty minutes of driving on the rough, bumpy roads, our small horse carriage finally arrived at the gates of Greenhold, the capital city of Viridale.

A tall male guard – dressed in chainmail armor, with a green sash around his neck – marched towards the carriage, a sharp spear in his right arm.

"Who seeks passage into the Queen's city?" He yelled out.

"They are from the academy sir," the carriage driver quickly replied, his voice tainted with a slight nervousness.

The guard, doubting the words of the driver, marched over to the window and cast a cold glance into the carriage.

Noticing his apprehension, I quickly pulled out the permission slip from Miss Fumiko and handed it over to the stern-looking guard. He stared at the slip for a while, darting glances back at me at intervals. Reluctantly, he handed the slip back to me.

"Thank you," I said, feigning a smile.

The guard didn't respond. Instead, he kept his eyes locked onto Lucy, who sat in the carriage beside me.

For a moment, I imagined him calling the other guards and launching a full assault on the carriage.

"Any problem, sir?" I asked.

Jolting back to his senses, the guard turned back to me. Without another word, he marched to the front of the carriage to confer with three other guards, who were also stationed at the gate.

"Open the gate!"

A rumbling sound filled the air as the guards lifted the huge bars that comprised the gates of the city. Then, one of the guards raised a green flag.

The carriage driver, recognizing the signal, cracked a whip at the horses, and our carriage began to move once again.

Once we were past the gate, the main city came into view.

The last time I came to this city was years ago... Or was that years ahead? I'm not sure. Moving through time can be quite confusing.

The city was just as I remembered it; rows of tall buildings lined the dirt roads, their walls covered in moss and vines. The buildings, made out of stone and wood, seemed to grow out of the ground itself, as if the forest had simply decided to shape a city one day.

Tall trees, way taller than towers, stood between the buildings, their branches stretched over the busy streets, forming a natural canopy. Lanterns hung from the tree branches, which glowed like fireflies above the busy streets when dusk came.

Green flags hung from the edge of most buildings, adorned with the picture of a golden lily; the crest of House Lillith.

Even with the noise of a thousand voices and the bustle of the busy food markets, I could still hear the song of bluebirds singing in the trees above.

As our carriage made its way through the town, the smell of wet earth drifted into the carriage, occasionally accompanied by the familiar scent of grilled meat over a tavern fire.

"I'm hungry," Lucy said.

"We'll eat when we get back. Shouldn't take long."

Lucy made a slight grunt, then folded her hands, which could be loosely translated to, "I want to eat now, but since you're paying, I don't mind."

The carriage kept moving, past inns and markets, until it finally came to a halt in front of a large shop, carved into the trunk of a wide oak tree.

"We've arrived at your destination, Master Rin," the carriage driver yelled out loud. At his words, I pushed the door open and jumped out, Lucy following behind.

"Thank you," I said, tossing a small purse of coins to him. As soon as he opened it, his eyes widened.

"Thank you so much, Master," he said, wearing a bright smile. "You're so generous."

"Wait here until we're done. We'll need a carriage back to the Academy."

"Understood, Master."

Lucy went ahead into the shop, while I watched the driver park his carriage at the nearest alehouse. Then, I marched in afterwards.

The walls of the shop were covered from top to bottom with all sorts of wands; long wands, thin wands, wooden wands, sharp wands, crooked wands that looked like they had been made for not-so-legal magic uses.

"You said you had a surprise for me," Lucy said, picking up one of the wands from a shelf carved into the wall.

"Yeah," I stretched my arms out. "Surprise!"

Lucy frowned. "I don't need a wand."

"You heard Miss Fumiko...Having a wand can improve the precision of your spells, while reducing mana output..."

"That only makes me not want it more."

"You may not want it... But you just might need it," a grim voice replied behind us.

A wry old man dressed in a long dark robe stepped out from behind a counter. His skin was wrinkled and pale, and his eyes were hollow and soulless.

"A wand isn't just a tool," he said, leaning on a tall brown staff. "It can also be... A partner."

He picked up a thin white wand with a gold tip and offered it to Lucy. She stared at it for a moment, before averting her gaze to another end of the store.

"I see you do not fancy shiny things, my lady," he dragged himself to another shelf and pulled out a wand with red feathers attached to it. "Perhaps this one will do?"

Once again, Lucy shook her head. Her gaze hardened with each passing moment, giving the impression that she didn't want to be here.

The old man soon got the message and directed his attention to me instead.

"Aren't you interested in a wand, young lord?"

I shook my head without hesitation. "No, thank you."

"Why? Do you not like wands, young lord?"

When I began my magic training under Arch Mage Trodon, he had gifted me a wand, which he claimed would greatly improve my strength.

I had used it for many years before I realised it limited my mana output. Using it did improve my strength, as I was able to cast powerful spells with little mana, but I had also lost many fights, fights which I would have won without it.

"I have nothing against wands," I replied, "I just don't think you have the right wand for me."

"Ooh, but that's where you're mistaken, young lord. I do not sell wands, I make them. All kinds of wands."

He stretched out his right arm towards his collection of wands. "For decades, many mages have come to me, and I have made wands specifically matched to their mana. With one touch, I can read your mana, and forge a wand specifically made for you."

With a dark twinkle in how eyes, he reached for me. "Would you like me to make you one, young lord?"

"No, thank you," I replied, not wanting to know what would happen when he detected two distinct sets of mana in my body.

Disappointed, the old man turned back to Lucy.

"What about you, young lady?"

I turned to Lucy as well. She was frozen in place, staring at one of the wands on the shelf.

"Lucy," I called out, to no response. I rushed over to her, following her line of sight.

She was staring at a black, crooked wand, with blood red crystals embedded into it.

"Do you want it?" I asked, whispering into her ear. Slowly, she nodded.

"As much as I'd love to sell it to you," the wand maker said, walking towards us. "I'm afraid this one's of no use."

"Why?" I asked.

"That wand is merely a relic from a forgotten age. I made it decades ago, for a mage from Valhaven... A young noble of House Daevalia."

Lucy flinched for a moment and turned towards the old man.

"I made that wand specifically for his mana," the wand maker continued, "It cannot be wielded by anyone else."

Ignoring the old man's words, Lucy walked over to the shelf, her fingers trembling as she reached for it. In one final move, she grabbed the wand.

At that moment, the wand responded to her mana, its crystals glowing with a faint red pulse.

"It can't be!" the old man yelled, his eyes widening. He raised a finger at Lucy. "You... You are... You are a darkblood!"

His words cut through the air like a knife. A frown appeared on Lucy's face.

"How much for the wand?" I asked the old man, trying to break the tension.

"I am not selling anything to you!" He walked to the edge of his counter and rang a bell. "Darkbloods do not belong here. Darkbloods do not belong in this world!"

Visibly angered by his words, Lucy pointed the black wand at him.

"Flaming Arrow," she yelled.

A bright red flame jumped out of the wand, rushing towards the wand maker.

"How dare you!" The wand maker yelled, placing his staff in front of him. The red flame struck the staff and was quickly absorbed by it.

"You dare cast a spell at me, darkblood?" He fumed, "I have faced mages far more powerful than you. Your puny tricks are no match for a mage like me."

"Wind Rush," I whispered.

A powerful gale blew at the wand maker, slamming him into the shelf beside the counter. With a dull thud, he fell to the floor, unconscious.

"We need to leave," I said, "Now."

Lucy ran out of the shop, the black wand still in her right hand. I walked over to the wand maker to check if he was still breathing. As soon as I felt a pulse, I hurried out of the store.

"F*ck", I exclaimed.

A dozen knights were waiting for us outside the shop, armed with sharp spears which they pointed at us. One of them stepped forward, a bright sword in hand.

"Make one move, and it'll be your last."