How Could the Villainous Young Master Be a Saintess?

“In many legends about Erunes, He is regarded as the creator of [Alchemy], and many alchemists believe that the alchemy controlled by our Terraria continent creatures is just the dregs of Erunes’s [Secret Potion] authority.”

“It is said that initially, the term [Alchemical Potion] was often derogatory, even equated with [Poison], because in the early days of [Alchemy], all alchemical techniques were created with the purpose of harming people—they were all poisons.”

“Erunes wanted to plunge Terraria into endless poisoning and assassination by spreading poison in Terraria.”

“Later, Elusa Varelis, the Saintess of the Church of Radiance, issued a decree to impose certain restrictions on alchemy to dispel the shadow of assassination looming over Terraria. She strictly prohibited alchemists from brewing poisons and improved alchemy, transforming it from producing only poisons to creating healing and auxiliary potions. This changed the notorious reputation of alchemical potions for the better,” Seve explained the history of alchemy while guiding Vinny in potion-making.

Under Seve’s guidance, Vinny’s brewing went quite smoothly. Just as Aesphyra had said, this was a potion that could be successfully brewed without much control over the heat.

Not doing homework and having a teacher personally tutor him on the side—if it weren’t for the sake of points, Vinny would have skipped homework every time.

However, the Demon God Pillar?

If Vinny remembered correctly, the Demon God Pillars were also deities of this world, but they were mostly worshipped by demons rather than humans. Many of them were considered true evil gods by humans, as the doctrines and forbidden knowledge they spread in Terraria only created chaos and strife. Almost no one, apart from demons, would worship them.

However, evil gods weren’t entirely without contributions to the world. For example, Erunes contributed by teaching [Alchemy] to humans—although this was questionable—and His original intent was malicious. But the Church forcibly turned His techniques from poisons into beneficial medicines.

Perhaps this was why Erunes regarded the Goddess of Radiance and the Church as mortal enemies. His original intent was to create chaos in Terraria, shrouding the entire continent in the shadow of assassination.

Yet, the Radiant Saintess managed to dissolve His malicious intentions while also absorbing His techniques and authority, transforming them into something beneficial for humans.

“Hmm, the color looks good,” Seve said as she handed the final product to Vinny. She shook the potion under the light, nodded, and then gave Vinny a playful glance. “Remember to submit your homework on time next time? You can’t skip it like this again.”

“Okay, okay, thank you, Teacher Seve,” Vinny nodded in gratitude. Interacting with this beautiful elf teacher was quite thrilling, but Vinny had been through such situations countless times, so he remained unfazed.

—

“President, here is the list of first-year student council members for this year. Please take a look.”

“Mhm.” In the luxurious student council president’s office, Mirexia stretched her slightly sore neck and took the list of members handed to her by her assistant. She was surprised to see two familiar names on it.

Aesphyra and Vinny?

Recalling their recent cooperation, when Mirexia saw both names on the list, she even wondered if they had planned to join the student council together.

Their relationship seemed really good.

Mirexia felt quite pleased about this. In her eyes, both were her friends. They had previously had many misunderstandings and conflicts, but fortunately, someone had taken the initiative to resolve the issues, and now they seemed to have become very close friends.

Wasn’t this something to be happy about?

Thinking of this, Mirexia said something to her assistant.

“Understood, Miss President.”

—

A few days later, the final list of first-year student council members was released. Vinny, who was at the dorm, also received a notice from the student council informing him that he had successfully passed the student council’s assessment and would officially become a member of the student council.

Vinny wasn’t too surprised by this—he had expected it. In terms of learning the academy’s rules and regulations, everyone started from zero, so it purely came down to learning ability, and Vinny’s cough Vanessa’s learning ability surpassed 99% of the students in Carillian Academy.

Of course, it couldn’t be denied that the interviewers might have been impressed by his intelligence and good looks, which could have swayed their decision. Who knows?

Ah, there’s no helping it—looks do count.

Vinny pinned the student council badge given to him on his chest and looked at himself in the mirror.

The student council badge was made of rare metal, and wearing it outside would definitely make him look impressive.

The appointment notice also mentioned that he needed to gather in the student council hall at 3 PM that afternoon.

Vinny felt that he should dress formally for his first visit to the student council, but no matter what he tried on, he felt the school uniform was the most formal attire, so he decided to wear it.

When he arrived at the lavishly decorated student council hall, Vinny saw the other four members who had successfully joined the student council.

He seemed to be the last one to arrive.

Unsurprisingly, Isatia and Aesphyra were among them.

As he arrived, Vinny noticed two pairs of purple eyes looking at him simultaneously. However, Isatia only glanced at him briefly before looking away, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary, while Aesphyra’s gaze carried a hint of something indescribable, a playful glint.

It was a given that Isatia and Aesphyra would pass the assessment. Aside from Vinny knowing the plot, their abilities alone made it impossible for them not to pass.

Vinny shifted his attention to the other two successful candidates: a tall, lanky boy and a girl with thick glasses—the kind who looked like a total goody-two-shoes.

Vinny had no impression of these two. They were probably just extras in the game’s storyline.

But the girl with the thick glasses—Vinny felt a strange sense of familiarity with her, as if he had seen her somewhere before, but he couldn’t quite place it.

The impression was too faint—so faint that he couldn’t recall where he might have seen her. It was probably just a figment of his imagination.

“Sorry, everyone, am I late?” Vinny greeted the student council senior who was there to welcome them.

It was quite a coincidence—this senior was the same one who had interviewed Vinny a few days ago.

“Vinny, mhm, everyone’s here,” the senior said after glancing at the list in her hand. She then looked at the five of them.

“From today onward, you are members of the student council. No matter where you are, always remember your duties as student council members, fulfill your responsibilities, and be ready to be called upon at any time.”

“Although this might be a bit challenging for you as freshmen, since you’ve chosen to join the student council, I assume you’re all prepared.”

“First, Isatia, your management skills are outstanding. Therefore, both the student council president and the disciplinary committee president hope you can work in the disciplinary committee. What do you think?” the senior asked the silent black-haired girl.

In the academy, everyone was a fellow student. No matter how high someone’s status was outside, it didn’t matter here—especially since this senior wasn’t even from the empire. Thus, her tone with Isatia was very casual.

“That would be perfect,” Isatia replied decisively and succinctly.

“Great, we’re in agreement. I’ll have a member of the disciplinary committee take you there later,” the senior said before turning her attention to the other four.

“As for the rest of you, you’ll follow the usual routine for first-year student council members, stay close to your seniors, work hard, and learn well.”

Hearing this, Vinny pretty much understood that he was going to be treated as a tool.

This included, but wasn’t limited to, serving tea and water for the seniors.

“We all went through this when we joined the student council in our first year. After you’ve gained some experience and become proficient in these tasks, things will get much easier for you,” the senior said before leading them into the student council hall.

Afterward, Isatia was taken away by a member of the disciplinary committee, leaving the four of them.

As expected, as newly initiated members who knew nothing, they naturally couldn’t handle the official duties of the student council. They could only learn by observing.

High-level thinking: Their work was quite flexible.

Low-level thinking: They were to do whatever they were told—pure grunt work.

“Aesphyra Galactus and Vinny, you two come with me,” the senior called out to Vinny and Aesphyra after assigning tasks to the other two.

Vinny took another glance at the thick-glassed girl with the honest face before turning to the senior.

“Senior, what’s the task?” Vinny rubbed his hands together.

“Galactus, your abilities are outstanding. If we’re just talking about your skills, having you do tasks like serving tea and water would be a waste of your talent,” the senior said, not looking at Vinny, but first giving Aesphyra an evaluation.

“However, whether it’s me, the current student council president Mirexia, or many of the other seniors, we all went through this. In Carillian Academy, no one is an exception.”

“I understand, senior. This is a trial for freshmen. I’ll learn, observe, and ask questions from the seniors,” Aesphyra, being the seasoned expert she was, naturally wouldn’t climb the ladder by saying she was wasted or indirectly expressing dissatisfaction. Instead, she responded with humility.

Her demeanor made Vinny, who was standing beside her, purse his lips.

She really knows how to put on an act. If he didn’t know the plot, he wouldn’t have guessed that Aesphyra was actually extremely familiar with the student council’s operations.

“Next, Varelis,” the senior turned to Vinny, and the slight smile on her lips completely disappeared.

“Ah, senior, I’m here,” Vinny said, having listened to the senior’s evaluations of everyone present. It was finally his turn, and he was quite looking forward to it. He thought this senior was the type who knew how to judge people.

“As for you, just do your best and perform well from now on,” the senior simply tossed him this line.

“Uh...”

“Varelis, to be honest, you left quite an impression on me. Anyway, work hard from now on. If you don’t know something, ask. Don’t try to tough it out, understand?”

“...Understood,” Vinny replied, a stark contrast to what was said to Aesphyra.

The two followed the senior who was leading the way, and Aesphyra gave Vinny a teasing look.

Tch, this annoying woman.

Why did he keep losing to her recently?! Just a while ago, he was winning left and right, so much so that he started to think, “The protagonist is nothing to worry about.”

The senior led them to the top floor of the student council, to a large office with the words “Student Council President’s Office” engraved on it.

The student council president’s office??

Vinny was shocked.

Wasn’t this where Mirexia worked?? Why were they being brought here?

Vinny suddenly remembered that in the original plot, after Aesphyra joined the student council, she was assigned to work alongside Mirexia.

After that, their relationship progressed smoothly. After going through a series of events, it deepened, and in the end, they even left him, the villain, hanging while they flirted with each other like some MVP ending scene.

Just thinking about it made Vinny shudder.

But in this life, he hadn’t taken the evil path, nor was he an obstacle in their relationship. Surely, he wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire, right??

“The student council president has instructed that you two will occasionally serve as her assistants and help her with her work,” the senior explained.

Vinny immediately understood.

Mirexia probably wanted to give him and Aesphyra a leg up, helping them gain more experience.

Assist with work?

Who would ask two clueless interns to assist with work??

It would likely end up with Mirexia doing all the work while they just stood by as observers, like mascots. It would be like attending a class, with Mirexia acting as their teacher while she worked, answering their questions.

There was no denying that Mirexia was a very considerate friend.

The senior opened the door.

“Miss President, Vinny and Aesphyra are here.”

“Mhm, good job,” the golden-haired girl in the student council president’s office lifted her head from her work and nodded, looking at the two familiar faces standing at the door.

“Mirexia~ Long time no see,” Aesphyra immediately flashed a bright smile, like a flower surrounded by bees.

Tsk tsk tsk...

Vinny stood to the side with his arms crossed, looking at Aesphyra with disdain.

The female protagonist’s old habits are back, huh? Tch, typical!