The Third-Rate Academy Villain Who Refuses to Become a Beggar

The demonic energy explodes.

The mercenaries fall, and Barosu Drage charges into the gap.

'No...!'

He screams as if wailing, but no voice comes out.

—!

With a thunderous sound, Barosu is thrown back.

Demonic energy extending like tentacles pounces on his fallen form.

Immediately after, his body, which had remained motionless until now, moves forward.

Flash-

A pure white light flickers, cutting off all the demonic energy.

The light, which shines brilliantly using anger as nourishment, charges directly toward the evil.

"Impossible...! Already at this level? Indeed, I can never let you live!"

With the evil's roar, light and darkness collide.

At that moment, Aint Armian opened his eyes.

"....."

He had realized it was a dream about halfway through.

A replay of the past that wouldn't have happened if he had been just a little stronger.

<Your clothes are soaked with sweat. Did you have that dream again?>

"Yes. I just can't seem to shake it off."

<Unnecessary anxiety.>

<That filthy demonic creature ultimately fell to your sword.>

<He was injured, but ultimately woke up, and there was a healer's opinion that he could recover if rehabilitation went well. You don't need to worry and be anxious anymore.>

Gardner Alpenfassen was right.

Barosu had suffered a critical injury and was in danger, but he survived the crisis.

It was a blessing in disguise—not only was the demonic energy completely driven out by the elixir brought by the Mercenary King, but it even led to growth due to it.

And the demonic species had fallen to Aint's hands.

"...Can we really call that a victory?"

But it wasn't such a smooth process.

He became angry at Barosu's injury, struggled desperately to survive, and in that struggle, gained new insights.

He could only say he was lucky.

<It's not something like luck.>

<Enlightenment only comes to those who are prepared.>

<Well, you should thank that upstart Gerhard. If it weren't for the Saint Bird's heart he gave you, it would have been you who became a corpse.>

Indeed. Aint nodded.

Due to the butterfly effect caused by Gerhard's intervention, Aint was rated more highly.

They didn't know that as a result, a stronger demonic species had come.

"I know. I know all that..."

<Are you afraid that if a mere demonic species was this difficult, how would you face a real demon?>

At the pinpoint accurate words, Aint carefully nodded.

At this moment, neither his lineage as an Armian bloodline, nor his brilliant light swordsmanship said to be the natural enemy of demons, nor his pride in being chosen by the first Emperor was of any help.

<Yes, indeed, the current you might not be a match for demons. No, you are not. I can assert that.>

"...But the current me is different from the previous me, right?"

<...Was that too obvious?>

"It's something you hear quite often in plays. I didn't expect to hear it in real life."

Still, it's somewhat comforting. Aint smiled faintly.

"You're right, Gardner."

When he first enrolled, Aint was ranked 38th. A bit special, but not that extraordinary within the Academy.

That had changed.

By meeting Gardner, he defeated Anton who had been ranked 10th.

He grew even more while avoiding the demonic species' ambushes and fighting the sea serpents.

And now, though his life had been somewhat in danger, ultimately Aint was the one who survived.

What if it had been Aint before entering the Academy? He would have died without even putting up a proper resistance, let alone achieving victory.

As Gardner said, Aint was clearly growing. At a frightening pace, too.

"Barosu almost died, but in the end, he survived, and I won against the demonic species. The Mercenary King now knows about the existence of the demonic species and has vowed to destroy them, so things have actually turned out well."

Yes, the situation had improved considerably.

"Unless a demon suddenly pops out of nowhere, there shouldn't be any problems."

Aint felt hopeful.

<Right, and demons aren't bugs crawling on the street that would just pop up out of nowhere.>

Knock knock-

"Lord Aint, Barosu Drage is asking if you'd like to have dinner together. Would that time be convenient for you?"

"Absolutely."

Having shaken off his idle thoughts, Aint's face was exceptionally bright as he left the room.

***

"I still can't believe it even with my own eyes. You killed that monster?"

"You didn't actually see it with your own eyes, did you?"

"Ah, so the trash who got knocked out before even fighting properly should just shut up?"

"Are you trying to make me look like garbage?"

"That's right."

Pffft, Barosu and Aint burst into laughter simultaneously.

"How's the mercenary work? Is it manageable?"

"I'm getting a bit used to it now."

After Barosu woke up, Aint's daily life became relatively monotonous.

Along with the surviving members of the Black Spear Mercenary Band, he carried out various missions, building up practical experience and familiarity with mercenary life, and visited Barosu after each mission ended.

"Ogres! Spread out and surround them!"

"Don't face them head-on! Slowly wear them down and nibble away at their strength!"

From relatively easy extermination requests...

"This isn't supposed to be gnoll territory...?"

"Protect the carriage. The carriage must not be damaged. It's carrying things more valuable than all your lives combined!"

To merchant convoy escorts.

"I'd like to reach Albes in three days."

"To traverse it in three days, we need to go through Kalkan Gorge."

"That's why I'm hiring mercenaries. The compensation is high because it's dangerous."

To VIP escort missions.

In just forty days, Aint had become a seasoned mercenary who had perfectly completed seven missions.

"At least looking at your appearance, I could believe you're a mercenary. If someone said an Armian bloodline was wearing tattered leather armor and doing mercenary work, no one would believe it."

"Even I couldn't have imagined myself doing mercenary work until recently."

He was imperial royalty, even if fallen.

They say even bankrupt rich families can last three years, so what about an imperial family that had ruled the empire for nearly nine hundred years?

At the very least, he shouldn't have had to wear smelly leather armor, sleep on the ground, and eat dried, withered jerky.

<That's why this mercenary journey is even more valuable.>

<Complaining about tough jerky? In my time, I chewed and swallowed magical beasts while fighting demons.>

Aint chose not to respond to these remarks. Barosu checked the calendar and said:

"You're leaving tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Now that I think about it, the new semester is just around the corner."