Freshman Welcome Party

The entrance ceremony ended without much fanfare.

"Cheers!!"

What did draw attention was the freshman welcome party held afterward. Of course, the commoners' gathering was modest and simple, but the nobles' event was anything but.

"...This is wine from the Western Continent. The '56 vintage."

"Veal tenderloin steak with foie gras. Enjoy your meal."

While the empire's citizens starved, these young ladies and lords—without even titles yet—were blowing enough money to feed an entire village for months on a single welcome party.

And I was at the head of that pack.

"Lord Frey! Give us a toast!"

"Oh my, you're as dashing as the rumors say. Are you free tonight?"

"Hello, Lord Frey! I'm the second son of Viscount Ariel..."

Seated at the head table, surrounded by a swarm of sycophants, I flashed a cheerful grin on the outside while downing drink after drink.

Of course, inside, I was agonizing over how to survive the heroines... and how to eradicate the vermin devouring this empire.

"So, what'd that commoner punk say earlier?"

"What'd he say?"

"Get this—he wants to be a student council officer. Isn't that hilarious?"

"What a loose screw. Want me to rough him up?"

I was pretending to flirt with the girls approaching me when snippets of the nobles' chatter drifted over from nearby.

That's right. On the surface, Sunrise Academy preached equality for all, but underneath? Nothing of the sort.

Most nobles subtly looked down on commoners, and a few outright bullied them. The same went for nobles among themselves—power and perks scaled with status. The professors turned a blind eye to it all.

In a word: chaos.

"...It's a girl, not a guy?"

"What? A chick? Even better then!"

The girl they were talking about was probably her—the one who'd rise from commoner roots to become the empire's grand mage, commanding battlefields in the future.

Back in her academy days, she'd gotten blackout drunk and injured three noble students who picked a fight, turning her into a target for every noble here. Sounded about right.

"...Yeah? Sounds fun."

"Ah, uh, L-Lord Frey...?"

"So, when are you gonna mess her up?"

"Uh... well... sooner the better, right...? Haha..."

"Yeah? Make it good."

"Y-Yes, sir!"

The noble in the middle bowed at a perfect ninety degrees at my half-hearted words, then huddled with his buddies in heated discussion before scurrying out of the hall.

Goddamn show-offs. Never met a reliable one among 'em...

I watched his retreating figure—the soon-to-be grand mage's future victim—with pity, then sank into thought.

Tomorrow, classes at the academy would start in earnest, which meant I'd inevitably run into the heroines. All of us—me included—were in Class A.

Unlike the five heroines, who were either prodigies or outright geniuses, I'd gotten in through connections... on purpose.

I could've aced the entrance exam even now and tied for first with my fiancée, but no—I had to be incompetent, vicious, pathetic, and ugly.

Anyone clueless about the system might say, "Don't stress—just confess you're a villain to a few trusted folks and be selective with your villainy." God, I wished.

But this rigged world wouldn't hand out its status window that easily.

"...System. Unique skill window."

That's right. This insane penalty prevented selective villainy.

I was already sharing life force with Kania regularly, swamped with tasks—any more drain from system penalties, and I'd be done for.

So, letting slip that I was the villain? Absolute no-go.

...Should I just smash the villain system?

The thought flickered, but I shook my head and steeled myself.

As the hero's descendant appearing once every millennium, I'd been drilled by my father from childhood: if I didn't step up, the world would end.

But Father wasn't the type to send his son to die knowingly. If he'd known my fate, he'd have shredded the prophecy book.

Our ancestor must've anticipated that—he'd enchanted the book's final line, "The hero and Demon King shall perish in vain," visible only to me, the subject.

Problem was, that painted our otherworldly ancestor as a heartless bastard forcing sacrifice on his heir a thousand years later.

"...System. Clear reward."

Not wanting that reputation, our ancestor had negotiated with the Sun God a millennium ago, leaving this gift for his heir.

Makes sense—the Sun God, bearer of the world's light, could easily grant a mere mortal's wish.

Anyway, my plan: Rack up villainy steadily, hoard proof, rule as the mastermind while quietly dismantling the empire's corrupt traditions and weakening the forces of evil.

On the final day, use the system for mutual destruction with the Demon King... then wish for revival from the Sun God.

Ancestor left a tip in the prophecy: the Sun God was pettier and sneakier than expected—wishing for something tougher than revival might backfire into punishment.

The Sun God Church and saintess would brand him a heretic on sight, but I'd trust the empire's hero over a loudmouthed cult.

Post-revival, release the intel proving my innocence and sacrifice, live out my days in luxury as a national hero—with a purified empire to boot.

Sure, the journey sucked compared to the payoff, but what could I do? I was the only one who could save this doomed world.

And if I didn't? I'd die with my family when it all collapsed anyway.

This madness was the only way to save the empire—and us.

"Hey, get over here!!"

"L-Let go!"

"P-Please, spare me!!"

"Filthy wench... shut up and follow."

As I nursed my drink, sorting my thoughts, the hall's doors burst open amid an uproar.

Curious, I looked closer: drunk nobles, sloshed from booze, had dragged in commoner girls from outside and were causing a scene.

Last loop, I skipped the party plotting the empire's fall... didn't know this shit went down. Damn it.

Feigning calm sips while inwardly scheming a fix, a familiar string of curses echoed from afar.

"Fuck!! You fucking bastards!! Let go!! Let me go!!!"

"Quiet down... you feisty bitch..."

"Lord Frey! Got her! The rude bitch I mentioned earlier!"

".....Gasp."

I gaped in shock as the noble who'd left earlier returned, dragging a red-haired girl with fierce eyes and a scar on her cheek.

...Irina Philliard got nabbed here?

Reincarnation of hellfire, she lived up to the name—turning battlefields into infernos every deployment.

Master of flame magic, proficient in all elements: a genius born for sorcery.

She should've dominated school as top-tier... so why let them catch her?

...Wait, is she planning to torch the whole hall and wipe me and the nobles out!?

Horrified by the thought, I quickly manipulated the hovering system window to the shop.

In a panic, I bought Information Search Lv1 and Emergency Defense—the most useful for now.

"...Information Search."

Muttering under my breath post-purchase, a summary window of Irina popped up before my eyes.

...Mana exhaustion?

Her stats were basic due to low level, but mana exhaustion? With monstrous mana affinity of 8 at freshman stage? Absurd.

"Fuck!! I'll kill you all. Kill every last one!!"

"No attitude, but pretty face."

"The others too?"

"...You guys aren't seriously gonna do it with these lowborn sluts?"

"If she tastes good, who cares..."

Head tilting in confusion at the scene, the noble boys started leering at Irina and the other commoner girls, whispering.

"...I'll take the leftmost girl."

"Brown-haired one on the right for me."

"That rude bitch over there."

After murmuring, they smirked, rising one by one toward the trembling girls on their knees.

"Kyaa, kyaaak!!"

"Help!! Please...!!"

"L-Let go!! You fucking bastards!!"

The girls shrieked as the boys grabbed them. I couldn't stand by any longer.

"Can't you lowborns stay put...? Where do you get off..."

- Crash!!

"...Pfft!!"

I hurled my crystal wine glass at the boy gripping Irina's hair.

"...Fuck, what? Who the hell..."

Staggering from the hit, clutching his forehead and cursing, I fixed him with a cold glare.

"You fucking punk, who the hell are you to drag her off?"

"L-Lord Frey!!"

My drunken antics—smashing glasses and starting brawls—were infamous, chilling the room instantly.

"...Smash your head."

"Y-Yes, sir!"

He slammed his head into the floor with a dull thud echoing through the hall.

But I kept staring coldly and spoke again.

"Where?"

"...Pardon?"

"Into those broken champagne shards, punk."

"......!"

His eyes darted, but quick on the uptake, he smashed his head into the wine glass fragments with all his might, yelling.

"S-Sorry!! Lord Frey!! Forgive me!!"

The grotesque sight turned the atmosphere murderously tense. Sighing, I stood and said quietly,

"...Everyone except these girls. Out."

"...Pardon?"

"Deaf? I said out."

"B-But..."

"Get the fuck out so we can have our fun, assholes!!!!"

At my roar, the hesitating students bolted out.

"P-Please, spare us..."

Now alone with the girls, the slender one on the left trembled and spoke.

"...Let's see what we've got."

"H-Hngh...!"

I ignored her plea, stroking her chin. The girls froze in terror—right then...

"R-Run!!!"

"Uwak!"

Irina shoved me with all her infant-like strength, toppling me. She screeched at the others,

"Th-Thank you...!"

"H-Hngh..."

Terror-stricken, the girls fled en masse. Smiling at them, Irina collapsed, spent.

"...Feisty bitch, huh?"

Confirming their escape, I rose slowly, grabbed a liquor bottle from the table, chugged it, and approached her.

"...Hah, ugly to the end, you piece of shit."

"...What'd you say?"

"Soon-to-be corpse acting all high and mighty... perverted lowlife with a working dick. Human scum. Knew this'd happen—should've blasted ultimate magic at you instead of the Demon King..."

"What bullshit you spouting... you whore..."

I feigned drunken incomprehension desperately as she rapid-fired past-loop grievances, then reached out upon arriving.

"...Fuck, should've saved mana to off myself."

Her cryptic words rang as I grabbed her collar, then shut my eyes and flopped spread-eagle on the floor.

"Snore... snore... snore..."

"..........."

Normally, this vulnerability before ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her was suicide, but she was in mana exhaustion. No threat right now.

"........."

She stared down at my snoring form, then staggered out.

Honestly, worried she'd brain me with a bottle... but smart girl remembered the chased-off guys might return—and killing me meant her and her family's doom.

"Haa... fucking exhausting."

Tension shattered as villainy points appeared; sighing, I tried to rise—but...

I nearly passed out at the system window.

Looks like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I had a shitload of trouble ahead.