Raising Villains the Right Way

The ones shouting, “I’m really good at basic calculations!”

If you interpret it closely, they were basically yelling, “I’m really good at living like a slave!”

When Alon pushed through them and stepped inside—

“Deputy Tower Master, do you know what this is? This is the famous Mana-Sensing Herb—”

“Oh~”

“If it’s not too presumptuous, may I present it to you as a gift~?”

“Hmph, refusing a gift would be rude, wouldn’t it?”

“Thank you so much............! I am Professor Penberil of the Green Tower.”

Penia was extorting goods from the mages.

“Next.”

She exaggerated her throat-clearing, puffing herself up as though it suited her.

Penia flicked her fingers casually as she spoke.

“So, what do you—eh.”

When she spotted Alon, she quickly uncrossed her legs that had been resting on the desk.

“Hehe, you’ve come, Marquis?”

“So that’s what people mean when they say to open your eyes innocently.”

Evan clicked his tongue in disbelief.

“Shut up.”

Penia scowled fiercely at Evan, cutting him off, then wriggled her hands as though seriously debating how to explain herself.

Her eyes darted everywhere.

“Th-this wasn’t me trying to take anything on purpose........”

Her voice shrank to a whisper.

Alon let out a light sigh.

“I’m not planning to get angry, so at least give me a simple explanation of what’s going on.”

“......!”

Penia’s face brightened immediately and she nodded before quickly beginning her explanation.

Time passed for a moment.

Alon summarized the situation.

“So, you’re saying all the slots for calculation have already been filled, but there are still leftover mages who couldn’t apply.”

“That’s right.”

“And those unchosen mages tried to have an extra interview with me.”

“Exactly.”

“And you leached off those mages?”

“Shut up, will you.”

Evan interrupted, but Penia shot him a harsh look to silence him, then turned back to Alon with a wronged expression.

“No, I didn’t do anything! I was just sitting here and they kept bringing things to me!”

“Is that so?”

“They kept—like, even when I said I didn’t need them, they insisted on leaving them. What was I supposed to do............. And when someone begs you to accept it, refusing would be rude too. It was hard for me, you know.............”

Without even trying to hide the pile of reagents and artifacts stacked behind her, Penia slumped her shoulders and sighed.

Evan looked annoyed, but Alon stayed silent for a while before asking,

“Why did this situation arise in the first place?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, why are so many people gathering for this research?”

He truly couldn’t understand it.

They called it basic calculation, but in reality it was no different from grunt labor.

The closest analogy from his old world would be coding slaves.

And yet, to think there were so many mages willing to volunteer for such slavery.

Naturally, it seemed absurd to Alon.

Penia quickly answered.

“It’s probably because of the research results.”

“Research results?”

“Yes. Even if the work is dull, the moment you participate, you can see the research outcomes.”

Alon nodded, but not all his doubts were cleared.

He could understand that mages wanted to be enchanted by his magic and take part.

But even if they saw his research results, they couldn’t replicate Alon’s magic.

No matter how much they continued the research, there was nothing they could truly gain.

“But wouldn’t those results be meaningless to the other mages?”

“Hmm~”

When Alon pressed her, Penia thought for a moment before saying,

“Why don’t you meet with Lord Heinkel, Marquis?”

“Hm?”

“Among the things Lord Heinkel said she wanted to discuss with you, the answer to this was included.”

She mentioned Heinkel.

At that, Alon slowly nodded.

“Very well.”

***

“You’ve come.”

“Yes.”

A little while later, Alon met with Heinkel.

“You’re later than I expected.”

“I was held up with some business. Did I keep you waiting long?”

“Not at all, there’s no deadline anyway. It’s about magic. Have a seat. This might take a while.”

“......That much?”

Heinkel thought for a moment.

“Well, it depends on the situation. Hmm.”

Saying so, she sat across from him.

“What is this about?”

“Before that, just a moment.”

Heinkel immediately began murmuring something.

And with that, magic circles spread across the entire library.

Even with a rough count, there were dozens.

They activated in response to Heinkel’s chanting.

And the moment they shone brightly—

“—!”

Alon realized the scenery around him had changed.

Into one he knew very well.

“This place is.......”

It was the ruined world.

The same ruined world he always saw whenever he met Kylrus.

As he stood there blankly,

“Don’t be too startled. This is your inner world.”

At the sound of Heinkel’s voice, he turned his head.

And there she was.

Unlike in the real world, she had a proper physical body.

“......Still, for an inner world, this is quite desolate.”

Heinkel’s remark.

Alon asked,

“Weren’t you unable to use magic?”

“That’s right.”

“Then how......?”

“Don’t rush. I came here precisely to explain that. First, sit down.”

Following Heinkel’s gesture, Alon saw that a desk and chairs had appeared in the middle of the ruined world.

He sat at the desk and asked,

“Why exactly did you enter my inner world?”

“Hm?”

“If it’s just a conversation, couldn’t we have had it in the library? Even for security reasons, this feels a little excessive.”

At that, Heinkel stared at Alon for a while.

As though debating whether or not she should tell him.

But only for a moment.

“Well, it’s like this—”

She swallowed her words and let out a soft sigh.

“Penia told me you were curious why mages are so obsessed with basic calculation?”

“Yes.”

“It’s simple. This research opened a new path for mages.”

“......Excuse me?”

“To be precise, it’s a new method of calculation. Or rather, a byproduct created in the process of interpreting magic. Strangely enough, it seems to be very useful.”

“......What kind of thing is it?”

“I’ll explain it later. It takes longer than you think. To put it simply, though—it’s like discovering multiplication and division when you only had addition and subtraction before.”

Heinkel gave that explanation, then moved on to the main point.

“Alright, now let’s get to the real matter.”

“Is something wrong with the magical research?”

When Alon asked, she shook her head.

“No, nothing like that. If anything, magic is being interpreted at an unusually fast pace. Soon, four of the second-tier spells will be fully deciphered.”

“Then what is it?”

Heinkel paused.

She seemed to be weighing where to begin.

Then slowly opened her mouth.

“In truth, there’s no problem.”

“......What?”

“It’s just that I stumbled across something a bit unsettling.”

“What kind of thing?”

She began speaking softly.

“Alon, do you remember what I said before? That all existing spells, once interpreted, turn into the spells of the True Mage?”

“How could I forget?”

“And that spells from the first through the eighth tier, once interpreted, are all equally powerful—the only difference being their abilities, not their rank?”

“I remember that as well.”

When Alon answered immediately, Heinkel corrected herself quickly.

“Sorry, Alon. I was wrong.”

“......? Wrong about what?”

“Recently, I tried interpreting an eighth-tier spell.”

Now that she had helpers to handle the tedious, repetitive tasks of the second-tier, she had dared to attempt deciphering the eighth-tier, wondering just how impossible it would be.

Cautiously, Alon asked,

“So, what did you find?”

“I spent nearly a month on it. Honestly, I gained almost nothing. But strangely, I came to understand the essence of that spell.”

Heinkel furrowed her brow as she recalled it.

“......That spell, at least as far as I can judge, was omnipotent.”

“Omnipotent?”

“Of course, it’s not fully interpreted, so I can’t be certain. But even Sparrow told me that no one had handled it, not even in the forgotten age. In other words, this eighth-tier spell—”

“—Are you saying it’s older than the Age of Forgotten Gods?”

“That’s right.”

Heinkel let out a long sigh.

“Sparrow was shocked but agreed. Some say the words and phrases were created in an age even the gods no longer remember.”

At her words, Alon nodded.

He had heard rumors like that before.

“Then isn’t that a good thing?”

“In terms of being able to use such magic once it’s interpreted, yes. But historically, it’s negative.”

“Why is that?”

Alon was briefly puzzled.

But Heinkel continued.

“Think about it, Alon. This world has perished over and over, never truly continuing. Even though such omnipotent magic existed long ago.”

“!”

Alon felt a chilling realization dawn on him.

***

A bleak sky.

Ground tangled with countless roots of the earth.

And within a giant, shattered temple built atop that land—

Two figures stood.

On one side, the Apostle of Wrath sat on the highest seat, draped in a black hood.

On the other side—

“Heh. Surprised I’m still alive?”

The Apostle of Jealousy sneered, his voice dripping with mockery.

A long silence.

And from within that silence, the first to speak was—

“You survived.”

It was the Apostle of Wrath.

In a flat, uninflected tone, Wrath spoke.

The Apostle of Jealousy smirked wider.

“Yes, I survived. I had plenty of insurance prepared.”

“Even after I destroyed all the hidden clusters of your cells, you still had more concealed?”

“Correct. I hid them where you’d never find them.”

Wrath observed his twisted grin and calmly spoke again.

“So, did you come here because you want to die again? Or is this revenge?”

“Of course not. I know full well—I can’t defeat you.”

“Yet you still came?”

“Yes. Because I hold your weakness.”

At those words, Wrath raised his hooded head and looked at Wrath.

“Weakness?”

“That’s right. Your weakness.”

“My weakness—”

“Your true identity.”

Wrath stared coldly at Jealousy’s vile grin and answered without hesitation, voice grated like iron being scraped.

“I don’t understand. How would that be my weakness, one that could stop me from killing you?”

But even faced with Wrath’s composure, Jealousy only looked more smug.

“True. If your identity was simply a demon who lived too long, that wouldn’t be a weakness.”

His lips curled upward.

“But you do have a weakness, don’t you, Apostle of Wrath? Or should I say—”

He enunciated each word carefully.

“Yutia Bloodia. That would be more accurate, wouldn’t it?”

A quiet silence followed.

Then—

The Apostle of Wrath, who had been unmoving, slowly pulled back the hood.

What was revealed—

“Heh~”

Was hair white as snow, and a voice as clear as rolling jade.

The Apostle of Wrath—

Or rather.

“I didn’t expect to be found out.”

Yutia Bloodia smiled faintly and moved her lips.

“You’ve caught me, haven’t you?”

Her crimson eyes gleamed.