The Villainess's Petty Ploy (4)
Zeke was flustered.
That magic stone necklace had already been used to prettily stamp the tattoo seal, so there was no way to spit it back out now.
And yet, on top of that,
"I'll give it back later," or "I sold it," or whatever.
Such excuses would be easily seen through once people were questioned.
So he'd just told the truth, and Iriel started crying.
The students' gazes toward Zeke all shifted into something far from ordinary.
'Ah, fuck.'
Was this truly the skill of a romance-fantasy villainess with her webnovel chops?
'A woman's tears are a weapon.'
If she'd aimed for this, it was undeniably effective.
Especially Serena's eyes, brimming with betrayal—enough to make cold sweat trickle out.
—You told me you weren't going to her place, but then you did!
Zeke subtly averted his gaze from her.
'Hey, did I know she'd pop up when I went to the bakery...?'
Zeke met Iriel's eyes with a complicated look.
Seeing her tears made his head cool a bit.
'Is she really crying to screw me over? Or was that necklace that important?'
He sensed no malice in her tears.
'Doesn't seem like acting.'
After getting backstabbed so often in his dark fantasy days,
Zeke had inevitably honed his "sense" for enmity and malice to superhuman levels.
He was an expert at spotting dirty tricks and schemes.
And back then, every choice meant survival, so his quick thinking and improvisation were objectively top-notch.
'But... honestly, I'm not that smart at reading vague psychology or making deductions.'
'Tch, Yustia reeks of something fishy, but Iriel... she's really ambiguous.'
Zeke set aside his preconceptions and thought about Iriel.
'When I used Judgment Eye, there was no hatred. And with all that possessiveness, this body was probably her close bodyguard or something.'
The original novel's villainess?
Even that wasn't certain now.
She got along with the heroine Soy Spoon,
and despite Zeke insulting her to her face, she'd only followed him once,
never directly doing anything after.
Sure, she didn't get along with Serena, but that seemed like family feud spillover.
'Her taking my class and giving me the magic stone... if I think of it as a sasaeng fan bringing stuff for her fave's shortcomings... do villainesses usually act like that?'
Still, Zeke hesitated to approach Iriel rashly.
There was Serena's issue, but more than that,
something attached to this girl gave him a seriously bad vibe.
As he pondered deeply, Zeke suddenly felt all the students' eyes on him.
'Right, class first.'
Zeke turned to the students.
"Today's class will also be physical training."
Their faces fell instantly.
"But Serena's exempt from training."
"““……””"
Now that Serena's growth path was set, she didn't need basic stamina training anymore.
With the Second Prince's mouth sealed,
no student outranked her in power.
So they didn't voice complaints,
but their dissatisfied expressions were clear.
Soy Spoon especially shot him a silent glare screaming, You said no discrimination between nobles and commoners!
He needed to explain more.
"Serena will undergo specialized training from now on."
Zeke looked at Serena.
She seemed uncomfortable being the only one sitting out while others trained.
"Serena's path was determined first, but in my future classes, anyone whose growth direction is confirmed will get specialized training like this."
"You'll all get checked soon and have individual sessions based on your paths, so don't complain."
Soy Spoon raised her hand.
"So what's the order?"
She clearly wanted out of the grueling training.
'Hmm, even with specialized training, you'd still need basic stamina work.'
"First-come, first-served for appointments. I have to visit personally to check. So whoever's free first. We'll take sign-ups from next class—think about your open days."
But the students' annoyed looks didn't change.
Why start with her, then?
'Because I live at her house, duh.'
Surprisingly, Iriel—the one he'd expected to flip out—nodded seriously, lips pressed tight.
'She's really off today.'
Zeke hid his fluster.
"Begin basic stamina training."
He made sandbags for the arms and legs of everyone except Serena.
"Twenty laps around the training grounds. Serena, train separately."
As the students started circling like tops, Zeke sat Serena on the ground.
He sat facing her.
"Serena."
"……."
"From today, you'll train to awaken your Mana Roads."
"……."
Serena looked like she had a ton to say.
Tsk, Zeke smacked his lips inwardly.
"I'll explain the necklace later."
Only then did Serena speak.
"……The necklace—more than that, that growth path check yesterday... does that mean... you'll do it for every student here?"
Nod.
Serena bit her lip.
That meant every student baring themselves before Zeke!
"Is there no other way?"
"It's the most reliable."
Even so!
Serena's lips puffed out a good two inches.
"Enough. Close your eyes now."
Serena had words choking her throat, but she obeyed for now.
'After class, I'm grilling you!'
She squeezed her eyes shut.
Awakening Mana Roads was like a kid learning to ride a bike.
Once awakened, you could sense them anytime, no matter how much time passed.
But the initial acceptance was tough.
'Sure, I could force it with conversion formulas, inject mana, and spin them up...'
Skipping the awakening like that could ingrain bad habits.
Worst case, she'd need external stimuli every time she used mana.
So he wanted her to do the awakening herself.
'Conversion formulas are plenty for teaching Heavenly Flow Sword later.'
"Focus on my voice, Serena. No need to reply."
"……."
Zeke extended his hand, creating a mana flow around Serena.
"First, know your own body. The first step is consciously handling what your body did unconsciously."
The mana flow Zeke created gently brushed around Serena,
but with her Mana Roads still dormant, she felt no incongruity.
Zeke spoke.
"How do you breathe?"
Air filling lungs via nose and throat, oxygen spreading through blood, then out the mouth—the cycle.
"How often do you blink?"
Moisturizing dry eyes—how many seconds per blink.
"Think if your tongue's position feels natural. When do you swallow saliva?"
Gulp. Serena's throat bobbed as she swallowed.
"Muscles from fingertips to toes move even when you're still. Feel that movement."
Twitch. Serena's fingers trembled.
Thus, Zeke pointed out and awakened her unconscious body habits one by one.
Serena furrowed her brow, straining not to lose the sensations.
"Once you're conscious of all those movements, stop them voluntarily. Breathing too. Then, even eyes closed, you'll feel the surrounding mana flow. That's step one. Repeat from the start if you can't breathe."
Air through her nostrils suddenly stopped; strength drained from her body.
"Focus. Open your eyes when you feel the flow."
Serena dove into her unconscious with terrifying concentration.
Her presence already faintly blurring—prodigy learning speed indeed.
Zeke crossed his arms, watching her.
'This might go faster than expected...'
Probably because this world acknowledged mana's existence outright.
'Makes sense—with a mana-attuned talented body, failing this would be like a bird that can't flap wings. Reminds me of my kid days. Hm.'
Zeke nodded.
Heartless words, ignoring his tadpole phase.
Zeke had possessed a body with insane talent like Serena's when summoned to the Dave Continent,
but from mana-less Earth, accepting mana took forever.
—Zeke, are you an idiot?
—Ooh, I feel it! Feel it! My hair's waving! Th-this is mana!!!
—Fuck, that's the wind, idiot. Mana! I brought you to this thick, suffocating mana spot! Why can't you feel it? You impotent or what?
—Saintess, harsh words.
—Your dullness is what's harsh.
Zeke turned from Serena to the other students.
Not long into the laps, they dragged their feet with dying faces.
'Since I don't prod from behind, they slack off.'
Zeke's brow twitched watching them.
'But why's she going so hard?'
Iriel sweated profusely, hair soaked, grinding her teeth to keep moving.
Much slower than others, but no hint of quitting.
Zeke stood, following to poke their postures straight with baguette prods.
Speed picked up as they ran properly.
"Ack!"
"Urk!"
"Eek!"
But Iriel...
Looked near death. Her base stamina was so poor, he hesitated to even touch.
Exhausted yet glancing wistfully his way,
smiling faintly,
then a tear rolling down her cheek.
It made him too embarrassed to say anything.
'Uh... um, what's with her really!?'
Not once or twice, but constant sniffling glances—it was impossible to ignore.
Question marks piled over Zeke's head.
'Tch, something serious? Did something shady around her cause trouble?'
His instincts veered ominous.
'Feels off... but now that my body handles mana fine, no intense danger sense.'
Still, Zeke wanted to reduce uncertainties.
'Yeah, dig deeper.'
Zeke pulled three magic stones from his pocket, gripping them.
'Only three left for the kids then. Nah, resupply's easy now—no biggie.'
Mana from the stones swirled into Zeke's eyes.
Judgment Eye (Dark Fantasy Version)
Guilt 50% | Affection 15% | Trust 10%
Gratitude 10% | Superiority 5% | Responsibility 5%
Resentment 3% | Burden 2%
Live60% | Die40%
'Eh? She might actually die?'
Unlike mana-less days, ample supply via stones,
now Zeke's Judgment Eye read targets' fates probabilistically.
This power, honed against final boss "Sage's Bard."
Iriel had a 40% death chance.
No exact timing, but her current expression suggested soon.
'Ha, damn. Guilt at 50%... this body must've made her hatch some idiotic plan.'
Zeke let out a hollow chuckle.