The Villain’s POV in the Academy

Chapter 39

[Next news.]

[According to the fire department’s announcement, damages from this Titan attack are estimated to exceed 5 billion Credits. The authorities stated that regarding this incident…]

Beep.

[With confirmation of Mr. Aaron Stingray’s survival, the VCPD has closed its investigation into Mr. Vladimir Kharitonov and…]

Beep.

[Now, as you can see from the graph, with Mr. Aaron Stingray’s return, the stock market—which had been in a slump—has risen 8 percent in a single day, returning to its former level. Meanwhile, the release of the V-Series module announced by Stingray has been delayed for undisclosed reasons…]

Beep.

No matter which channel I turned to, all they did was chatter about the incident.

Bored of hearing the same story over and over, I pressed the power button.

Phew.

Leaning back in my chair, I let out a deep sigh.

‘Seriously. This is why it’s such a headache.’

Aaron Stingray was far too big of a figure.

Power, wealth, combat strength—he was at the very top of the world. But because of that, even the slightest action I took drew everyone’s attention.

‘Thinking about how far the flow has diverged from the original story because of this just makes me sigh.’

Of course, I had taken all of that into account before doing what I did.

Besides, with the original protagonist dying early on, I had no intention of fussing over every little detail anymore.

More importantly, with the knowledge I possessed, I could probably cover for it all.

Still…

‘I’m getting further and further from my original goal.’

At first, I just wanted to live in the body of a rich family’s young master, enjoying a life of luxury, fangirling over my favorite characters.

But it hadn’t even been a month since the Academy opened, and already I had been at the center of major incidents like this. Physically and mentally, it was exhausting.

‘Tsk. Nothing I can do.’

For now, things were proceeding steadily according to plan, so I had to be satisfied with that.

And more than anything, considering the rewards I’d received for completing Act 1 of Part 1, I couldn’t just whine about it.

[Scenario End]

Relationship change with ‘Iri Elisbell.’

Part 1 Act 1 has ended.

Final Contribution: 87%

*Scenario rewards will be distributed.

*Rewards vary depending on contribution.

【Scenario Rewards】

Achievement Points: +3500

‘Violet Hunting Ground Admission Ticket’ x1

[Achievement Unlocked]

Opened Iri Elisbell’s heart.

Achievement Points: +2000

A total of 5,500 points.

That was the amount I’d earned upon completing Act 1 of Part 1.

Adding in the 2,600P I already had left brought the total to 8,100P.

‘Feels like they’re being way too generous…’

A single Module Compatibility Ticket cost 300P.

I had 17 existing modules I still couldn’t equip due to compatibility issues, so ‘17×300=5,100.’

In other words, I could use tickets on all remaining modules and still have 3,000P left.

Of course, to bring out the full performance of a single module, I would have to use multiple tickets per module. If I wanted to regain my peak specs, I would need to keep farming points diligently…

‘Even considering that, isn’t this too much?’

Thinking about Ciel’s case, the game felt unfair.

‘Some people start as the eldest son of the richest conglomerate family in the world with unmatched combat power, while others aren’t even treated as human.’

Sure, I had lost all my initial specs while curing my illness, but if I could recover this fast, that demerit was meaningless.

Even now, with just Act 1 of Part 1 over, I’d already restored most of my original modules.

‘I mean, it’s not like I’m complaining…’

I had no problem with being at an advantage over other transmigrators.

But if I were the transcendent managing this world, I would have tried to fix this kind of overbalance.

‘If I got this many points, they must have given out plenty to the others too. Or maybe they’ll throw dangerous events at me later.’

I wasn’t certain, but it was a possibility I couldn’t ignore.

That meant I couldn’t afford to relax.

Sure, I was now strong enough to take down a Titan on my own, but there were far more dangerous beings in this world than those giants.

‘Like, for example… a dragon.’

The instant I thought of that name, chills ran all over my body. It felt less like a conscious reaction and more like my body’s instincts responding.

That was how terrifying a dragon must be—even to Aaron.

‘…Well, I’ll think about that later.’

I had to keep possible surprises in mind without getting fixated on them.

For now, there were too many things I needed to take care of.

First, the shop.

I immediately opened the shop window and bought everything I currently needed.

Purchase complete: Module Compatibility Increase Ticket ×19

Remaining Points: 8100P → 2400P

I didn’t use the tickets right away but tucked them inside my pocket.

If I equipped all 17 remaining modules at once, there was no telling what kind of problems might occur.

First, I would consult with Miyu.

And there was a reason I bought 2 extra tickets beyond the 17 I needed.

There was something I wanted to test.

‘Now, the issues I need to handle…’

Iri’s module-related problem.

Ciel’s treatment problem.

The Stingray Group and the G20 Corporate Summit.

Preparation for the next scenario.

And various other matters.

‘No time to rest.’

But what could I do?

This was all because the protagonist stupidly died in the prologue.

If I wanted to protect my remaining favorite characters and myself, I had no choice but to work tirelessly.

‘It’s about time.’

Checking the time, I saw it was already 2 p.m.

It was time for him to arrive.

No sooner had I thought that than I heard a knock at the door, as if on cue.

“Master, may I come in?”

“Enter.”

The door slid open, and a refined East Asian beauty with neatly trimmed bangs stepped inside.

It was, of course, my exclusive secretary, Maria.

I tensed up again, keeping as solemn an expression as possible as I asked her,

“So. How did it go?”

I was talking about the mercenaries I had hired.

Officially, I had been the victim of an unexpected attack by unidentified assailants.

I had supposedly gone into hiding for about a week, fearing for my life, while observing the situation.

“If they targeted me, there’s a high chance it was orchestrated by someone inside the group—or at least aided by them. Did you look into that?”

The lies flowed from my mouth without hesitation.

At my question, Maria answered with a slightly stiff expression.

“We succeeded in identifying those who attacked you.”

For a moment, I worried her report might expose my self-staged incident.

But soon, my mind cooled and began working again.

“Which means you didn’t secure them.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Maria bowed her head apologetically.

While this was actually good news for me, I didn’t hold back on chastising her.

“If you have an excuse, let’s hear it.”

“After asking around, we learned that among the underworld mercenaries, there were some who suddenly started spending lavishly just before the incident.”

“And?”

“Unfortunately, they disappeared immediately afterward. They likely completely changed their faces and identities.”

“Mercenaries, huh… Did you find the client?”

“The transaction was done through cryptocurrency. According to our group’s Wizards, tracking it is virtually impossible. However…”

Maria hesitated slightly before continuing.

“It seems highly likely that the Ashita-kyo (明日敎) was involved in this incident.”

“Ashita-kyo?”

A completely unexpected name had appeared.

While it was good that my self-staged attack hadn’t been exposed, Ashita-kyo was something I hadn’t anticipated at all.

Ashita-kyo.

A pseudo-Buddhist cult that played a major role even in the original novel.

Their core doctrine was that Augmented, Adaptees, and Androids must all be eradicated from the world, and only when all humans return to a pure state can salvation be attained.

In other words, an extremist Purist group hiding under the guise of religion.

The problem was, they had essentially swallowed up the Minjung Faction—a massive civic organization that, alongside corporations and the government, had been one of the pillars in founding the Academy.

They were also behind several major incidents that occurred in the Academy, but the problem here was that it was still too early in the timeline for them to appear.

‘Same with the Liberator I got in the hunting ground last time… Feels like something’s gone wrong in the scenario involving them…’

But for now, there was nothing I could do.

And if the opponent was Ashita-kyo, even the Stingray intelligence division would be limited in their investigation.

The reason was simple.

‘Their influence is far greater than people think.’

The Stingray Group also wanted to suppress extremist Purism before it spread, but it wasn’t easy.

Even a group called the “Emperor of New Valhalla City” couldn’t just wipe out all the believers.

If they pushed too hard and got labeled as a religiously oppressive corporation, they would only end up as prey for other corporate hyenas.

In short, it was a hornet’s nest with no profit to be gained, so the Stingray Group’s standing policy was to avoid getting involved as much as possible.

“As you know, Ashita-kyo is already under our group’s surveillance. Digging further here wouldn’t be wise…”

“…Got it. Can’t be helped.”

I nodded as if I had no choice.

Well, at least this meant there was no risk of my staged attack being exposed—good news for me.

“That matter’s fine. What about the others?”

“Yes. I’ll send you the report.”

Maria sent me a real-time report.

It was only about an A4 page long, but its contents were fairly extensive.

The summary went something like this:

Quite a few first-year Academy students died in the Titan attack. This might cause some setbacks in selecting new scholarship students.

Just before the Titan arrived in New Valhalla City, it destroyed one of our production colonies. As a result, production of the newly launched V-Series modules has been halted.

In the boardroom, there are at least a few voices blaming Aaron Stingray for this, since he failed to carry out his scheduled inspection of the colony.

“As expected, it’s come to this.”

Even though I had staged the mercenary incident, it seemed there were still people determined to pin the blame on me until the very end.

They were probably the ones betting on Benedict or Kallia inheriting the next management rights.

“The only good news is that your direct handling of the Titan incident has improved the group’s public image.”

“What do you mean?”

“It appears someone witnessed you rescuing Miss Elisbell.”

While other corporations stalled on dispatching high-level Adaptees for their own benefit, Stingray’s Crown Prince personally stepped in to protect one of his students.

It looked quite dramatic from the outside, and it seemed my scenario had also resonated well with the public.

“The Chairman is also evaluating your actions in this matter quite highly.”

“I see.”

It wasn’t a bad outcome…

But since it was outside my predictions, I felt somewhat reluctant. This kind of public attention hadn’t been part of the plan.

“The Chairman has requested to meet with you during the upcoming G20 Corporate Summit. He will make time specifically for it.”

“Hm…”

That was even further from my expectations.

The thought of facing that sly old fox when I hadn’t even fully regained my strength yet was already giving me a headache.

“The media was talking about the possibility of the G20 being canceled. Was that wrong?”

“No. In the end, only part of Sector E suffered direct damage. And the anti-rainfall was quite heavy at the time.”

The magic released by a [Arcane] becomes highly concentrated and causes all kinds of strange phenomena. Especially when it’s magic from a high-tier [Arcane] like a Titan, the effects on humans are tremendous.

That was why the media had speculated the G20 Corporate Summit at the end of the month might be canceled, but in reality, it wasn’t the case at all.

Anti-rain doesn’t just contain chemicals that repel [Arcanes]; it also erases magic in the atmosphere. Thanks to the heavy downpour at the time, the magic scattered by the giant was completely cleansed away.

‘So it’s confirmed I’ll have to meet that sly old fox…’

Meeting a final-boss-level figure from the story this early already made me uneasy.

But it was unavoidable.

The only relief was that there was still some time left before the G20.

Plenty of time to handle the unresolved problems.

“Alright. That’ll do for the report.”

I closed the e-report and rose from my seat. I’d spent the newly earned points well, and received the related briefings.

“It’s about time I headed to the Academy.”

Time to prepare for the next episode.