I'm Disappointed
Lately, the blatant harassment directed at me had definitely died down.
Well, the biggest reason was probably that Camilla — the one who'd been the most enthusiastic and aggressive about tormenting me — was now completely ignoring me.
But even Camilla wouldn't be able to keep ignoring me any longer.
Thanks to Professor Merlin ordering us to meet with our group members and discuss the exam by the end of the day, I was finally going to face Camilla properly for the first time since that day.
That day. The day she'd dragged me off to torture me while I was out of my mind on truth serum. The day she'd watched my head explode right in front of her, spitting curses even as she shook with raw terror.
The sight of her — usually so cold and ruthless — trembling in fear had been… honestly, pretty cute.
Cute enough that I wouldn't mind seeing it again.
Hmm… she looks more put-together than I expected, though.
The shock that day must have been considerable. Had she already recovered? Or was she just forcing herself to act normal?
Her expression was as haughty and arrogant as ever, but in the eyes that met mine, a faint wariness — and maybe even a flicker of revulsion — seemed to pass through.
Unlike Camilla, Clara, who'd witnessed the same thing alongside her, still hadn't recovered from that day's trauma. Every time she looked at me she flinched and trembled with fear, unable even to hold my gaze properly. It looked like she'd developed a full-blown trauma response.
Camilla, on the other hand…
"Since everyone's here, let's decide on a group leader first."
She swept an arrogant glance over us as if it were the most natural thing in the world, then declared that she would be the leader herself. Her attitude made it clear she had no intention of considering anyone else's opinion.
Normally, the group leader position in a project like this was something people shoved onto each other and avoided. But of course our Camilla couldn't rest until she was in charge of everything, no matter the setting.
Clara, being one of Camilla's loyal followers, wasn't about to raise any objections. She just nodded quietly.
The girl with neat brown hair and a tidy impression — Rea. Even as a commoner, she somehow gave off the air of someone raised gently. Apparently deciding she had no say in the matter, she simply sat with her eyes wide, glancing around at the highborns gathered in one place as if the whole scene were a novelty. Then her eyes met mine, and she startled, hastily looking away.
But…
Hm?
Her reaction was a little strange. It didn't feel like pure fear so much as… something almost bashful, her face faintly flushed.
What is that about?
It was subtly different from the contempt, disgust, or outright terror I got from the other students.
Among the group members, the only one who could reasonably push back against Camilla's authority was Rina — and she simply nodded in quiet agreement as well.
As for me, I didn't care who became leader. Thanks to Camilla volunteering herself, the headache of choosing one was over in seconds.
"Good. Since I'm the leader, first…"
Camilla smiled with satisfaction and opened her mouth. She looked us over once, then asked as if confirming something obvious:
"Does anyone here not know about the Hatchery?"
A brief silence settled over the classroom.
Rina, Rea, even the still-terrified Clara — all of them either shook their heads or simply looked at Camilla without a word.
Well, of course. There was no way an Academy Class A student wouldn't know about the Hatchery.
The Hatchery. The name alone made it sound like some peaceful place for raising fish or livestock. The reality was nothing of the sort.
It was a specially managed zone near Tera's front lines. In the past, vast stretches of land had been lost to Contamination. The strategically vital areas — or the ones that had once been densely populated — had been reclaimed through the direct purification of a Saintess's powerful authority. But the regions too awkward for people to live in, or that would have required too much divine power to fully cleanse, were handled differently.
They used Saintstones to halt the spread of Contamination and turned the interiors into a kind of training ground. Those places became the Hatcheries.
Contamination wasn't fully purged, but the Saintstone barrier kept the zones relatively safe and under control. As a result, they were mainly used by reserve forces preparing for the front lines — and by Academy students building real combat experience.
In fact, under the Academy curriculum, every first-year had to take their midterm practical exam at the Hatchery. A rite of passage, of sorts.
Up to that point, it was all ordinary enough.
The problem was… during that very midterm practical exam, a horrific "raid" was supposed to take place.
Honestly, the original plot has already changed so much that whether that raid will actually happen is kind of up in the air…
Thanks to my meddling here and there, the story was already flowing in a completely different direction from the one I knew. But considering my luck so far…
Something bad is definitely going to happen.
I sighed inwardly. I wanted to think positively, but my life had always charged headlong toward the worst possible scenario. This time, too, that terrible raid would almost certainly arrive in some form or another.
Camilla spread a large map in front of us and launched into an earnest explanation of the group assignment's objectives, the expected route, and everyone's role assignments.
"…So we'll take this route and reach the objective in the shortest possible time. Rea and Lady Rina will handle forward scouting and cover… Clara, you're on rear support, and I'll take overall command and…"
Her explanation was fluent and unbroken — but I was watching something else.
The tip of her finger, pointing at the map as she spoke with such passion, was trembling ever so slightly. A tiny tremor that didn't match her usual arrogant, commanding presence at all.
I didn't miss it. I met Camilla's eyes and flashed her a meaningful little smile.
"…!"
Her shoulders jerked the instant she saw it. Her pupils wavered for a beat, then she hurriedly looked away. It lasted only a fraction of a second, but what flickered across her face was fluster — and a touch of fear.
Just as I thought.
I smiled to myself in satisfaction.
Sorry, Camilla. The truth is, I already know your real personality.
Camilla Medici. She, too, had been one of the main playable characters in the original game, Tales of Etheraisha. Naturally, I knew her abilities, her background, and her hidden true nature better than anyone. Including the fact that she so thoroughly despised her own weak, timid real self that she deliberately wore a cold, arrogant mask when dealing with people.
Her true self — the fearful, timid one — had its own charm, sure… but the cold, ruthless act she put on so desperately when she was bullying me was more my type.
Come to think of it…
Thinking about Camilla made me suddenly curious. If she used her Librarian ability, Mind's Eye, on me, what would it actually display for my core disposition?
…Please let it be something normal.
Ideally something cool, like "Cold-Blooded Strategist."
Yeah… that was probably too much to hope for.
"Yeon! What are you doing right now? Are you even paying attention?"
Rina suddenly rounded on me from the side, eyes wide, her voice laced with irritation and scolding. Startled, I hastily snapped my gaze back to the map.
In that same moment, I caught her muttering under her breath, so quietly it was almost to herself:
"…Don't tell me Camilla too…?"
…Huh? Camilla too, what?
I had no idea what she meant, but Rina said nothing more and pretended to focus on Camilla's explanation again.
Camilla's briefing went on for a long time — the Hatchery's terrain, the expected types and numbers of monsters, everyone's role assignments, emergency protocols. She'd prepared quite thoroughly.
At last she folded the map and said:
"All right. Until the written exams, everyone needs to focus on individual study, so we'll only hold group meetings once a week on a regular schedule."
With that, the long, tedious first group project meeting finally came to an end.
I rolled my stiff neck and stood up. I wanted to get back to the dorm and rest as soon as possible.
But just then, Rea — who'd sat quietly through the entire meeting without saying much of anything — suddenly approached me. Sandwiched among highborn ducal daughters, she'd been thoroughly cowed the whole time, almost nonexistent. Now she stopped in front of me and abruptly held out a book.
An ordinary-looking volume with a brown cover. But the title written on it was anything but ordinary.
The Villainess Doesn't Need Salvation
…?
I looked at Rea with an expression that clearly asked what this was supposed to be. What kind of title was that, and why was she giving it to me? Was this some kind of roundabout insult? Something like "a villainess like you doesn't even deserve to be saved"?
But Rea simply gazed up at me with sparkling eyes and said:
"…Please sign it, Lady Bennet!"
"??????"
…Excuse me?
A signature? From me? On this book?
I couldn't say a word. I just stared back and forth between Rea and the book she was holding out, thoroughly bewildered. Rea paid my reaction no mind at all and kept watching me with that same expectant look.
…No, seriously, what is this?
I couldn't bring myself to ignore those shining eyes, so in the end I took the book and pen she offered, still completely in the dark.
"The Villainess Doesn't Need Salvation"? What kind of title is that?
I awkwardly scrawled my name on the inside of the cover. The moment I finished signing, a deeply disappointed expression washed over Rea's face. The sparkle from moments ago was gone without a trace, replaced by the look of a child who'd received the wrong present.
"……."
She took the book back from me, fell silent for a beat, then let out a long sigh.
"…I'm disappointed."
And without another word, she turned on her heel and left the same way she'd come.
I stared blankly down the corridor where she'd vanished.
No… what?
You asked me to do it, so I did!
What on earth was that…?
"Who does that girl think she is, Yeon?"
Rina was already glaring down the empty hallway with a murderous expression.
And what's your problem now…