The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Chapter 77: The Unqualified Person (1)

Today, in the peaceful mansion courtyard,

Olivia watched the parked Pe x ri Unit 1 with tense eyes.

A week had passed since her birthday.

After verifying the performance of the protective magic, the time had come for the historic moment of Olivia's test drive.

From being carried on the butler's back to becoming the owner of Pe x ri, Olivia was worried she might become a reckless driver, but luckily, the anxiety of a novice driver could be seen in her eyes.

"Hmm…"

Looking at the Pe x ri Unit 1, whose design had been changed from black to red to reflect the rapidly changing trends of the empire, Olivia's eyes widened in amazement.

"Oh… Oh… Oh my…"

The sleek body.

The elegant, red-painted color and the chair made of top-grade memory foam were remarkable features of the wheelchair.

Though there were complex buttons on the footrest, backrest, and handles, it didn't look messy, thanks to the astronomical amount of money invested in it.

I lifted Olivia like a princess and carefully sat her down in Pe x ri Unit 1.

Olivia's eyes rounded in surprise at the soft cushioning.

"Oh…"

She couldn't stop her admiration.

She bounced her buttocks to feel the cushion and hit her back against the backrest to test its sturdiness, then gave a thumbs up.

"Pass…!"

I nodded at Olivia's satisfied smile and put a helmet on her head.

"Is it comfortable?"

"Mhm."

"That's good."

"Then, let me go over a few precautions. I told you yesterday, but I think you might have forgotten."

"Mhm. I forgot it all."

As expected, Olivia hadn't disappointed my predictions.

I held up three fingers and began to explain.

"One. No driving after drinking."

"Okay."

"Two. No hitting people."

"What about people who make me angry?"

"Um… should I allow that?"

"Okay."

I nodded at Olivia's reasonable suggestion.

"And finally, the third."

I fastened the safety belt around Olivia's waist and continued.

"No speeding. Especially see that flame symbol next to the lever?"

Olivia glanced over to the armrest.

"This?"

She looked at the button with the flame symbol and a question mark popped up in her head.

I nodded and confirmed her curious gaze with a positive response.

"Yes, that one. That's the…"

"Eh!"

-Kkooouuuk.

Before I could finish my sentence, Olivia pressed the button. She looked at me, as if asking if she did well.

I gave an awkward smile.

"Uh… you're not supposed to press that."

Feeling that something was wrong with the rumbling Pe x ri Unit 1, Olivia looked at me with panic in her eyes.

"Shouldn’t have pressed it?"

"Yes…"

"I already pressed it, though…"

"Um… well… good luck?"

I waved at the Pe x ri Unit 1, which was roaring like a bull. Since the protection magic was certainly in place, it should be fine no matter where she crashes. With that belief, I bid farewell to the flustered Olivia.

"Drive safely."

-Buaaaaaang!!!

"Eeek…"

Olivia flew off into the distance.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!"

Olivia's wheelchair raced across the courtyard.

I nodded with satisfaction.

"Excellent…!"

It was a touching moment. Chasing after Olivia as she unveiled the majestic sight of the Pe x ri Unit 1, I wiped away tears of emotion.

"Kyyyyyyack!!! Heet… Heeeet!"

As I listened to Olivia's cheers, I became lost in thought.

‘Now… another episode is about to start.'

With a bittersweet smile, I thought about Yuria, who would soon be clashing with the heretics at the end of her second year at the Royal Academy.

‘Well, she'll figure it out.'

It's an episode where they'll be trampled mercilessly.

An episode where Michail will face defeat.

Where Yuria will experience shock.

Where Ruin will feel helplessness.

Hoping they would grow through this episode, I followed after Olivia.

"How do you like it? The Pe x ri Unit 1!"

"Kyyyyyyack!!!!"

"I'm glad you like it."

"Heet… Hooooooooet!!!"

I'm glad she likes it.

***

In the capital's underground dungeon.

Three figures tread on the damp dungeon floor as they descended deeper underground.

"Be careful since it's dark. Yuria."

"Yeah, thanks."

"Michail, you too, be careful."

"…Okay."

Yuria, with her pink hair.

Michail, who had awakened his aura.

And Ruin, walking with his hands in his pockets, were descending into the dark depths of the dungeon.

Ruin, with his hands still in his pockets, grumbled to himself. Apparently annoyed about something, his muttered complaints echoed loudly through the dungeon.

"Why are we reporting something that could be settled in the magic department to the royal family…"

"Quiet, Ruin. The student council president has her reasons."

"That's what I'm saying, I don't like it. You're so ignorant, only knowing about swords."

Michail and Ruin argued back and forth.

Yuria, standing between the two incompatible people, gave an awkward smile as she tried to defuse the argument.

"Let's not fight everyone… We should get along."

"What did you say?"

"Why, you wanna get hit?"

They didn't get along well at all.

***

It all started at the student council meeting.

This morning, the student council president, Chartia, gathered the student council officers and brought up rumors circulating around the Royal Academy.

-You've all heard the rumor, right? A second-year from the magic department has disappeared in the underground dungeon.

-Isn't that a lie? Sounds like someone trying to skip classes.

-Haah… I wish that were it… But there's a witness who saw him going into the dungeon…

Chartia, with dark circles under her eyes, spoke to the officers.

-It seems almost certain. Strange things were found in his dorm room… No. For now, make sure that no crazy rumors leak out. The atmosphere at the Academy hasn’t been great since the last incident.

-Especially you, Ruin.

-Why?

-Don't run around like last time looking for a student from the magic department. Just wait. The royal family said they would send a search party.

Chartia had instructed Ruin, ‘We don’t know what might happen.' To just stay put.

But Ruin, also a student from the magic department and a friend from the magic tower, wasn't one to just stand by upon hearing of his comrade's disappearance.

After the meeting, Ruin went to Yuria. He asked if she would join him in searching for ‘Hans'.

Yuria, who had been friends with ‘Hans' since their first year, thought they shared the same sentiment and accepted Ruin's invitation.

-Yuria. I'm going to look for Hans. Wanna come with me?

-The student council president said to stay put.

-Who knows when the search party will come. And Yuria, you know Hans isn’t the type to skip classes. He must've found an unexplored area in the dungeon.

-But…

-Come on. I'll buy you something tasty.

The disappeared second-year from the magic department, ‘Hans',

Was also from the magic tower like Ruin.

He was a second-year student with a timid personality and not many friends.

Yuria, who had been friends with Ruin and had become acquainted with Hans through him, also decided to follow Ruin's suggestion.

Yuria was meddlesome but confident in her abilities.

Though her skills were pitiful compared to Ricardo's, Yuria knew that they, hailed as the ‘Golden Age' of the Academy, were superior to any ordinary search party.

Thus, the search party for the missing student was formed.

Ruin, the top student of the magic department.

Yuria, the prodigy of the healing department.

And Michail, who tagged along worried about Yuria.

A party leading the ‘Golden Age' of the Academy was assembled.

***

-Squelch.

As Yuria descended into the damp underground, sticky mud clung to her shoes.

‘Phew… It's okay, it’s been over a year.’

The place held a terrible memory of being left behind by the friends she trusted. Yuria, going down into the dungeon, clenched and unclenched her fists with nervousness.

‘It's okay…'

Even after a year, Yuria vividly remembered the terror of that day.

-Guys…?

-Where did you go…?

Unable to shake off the memory of being left alone in the dungeon, Yuria shivered and forced the bad thoughts out of her mind.

"Cold?"

Ruin, standing next to her, noticed Yuria shaking and spoke. He was ready to give her his own clothing, but Yuria shook her head, declining his offer.

"No, it's a bit chilly, but I can manage."

"Yeah? If you get cold, tell me. I’ll make a fireball for you."

"Okay, I will."

An awkward atmosphere enveloped them again.

They had descended into the dungeon with high spirits, but without any information.

As they continued their aimless walk through the dungeon, Ruin broke the silence to lighten the mood.

"Oh yeah. Did you meet him last week?"

"Who?"

"Ricardo."

-Jerk.

At Ruin's sudden mention, both Yuria and Michail flinched. They had recently received help from him and heard harsh words from the man whose name they now spoke.

It was a difficult name to speak casually.

It was also uncomfortable.

Certainly, he was someone who had helped them.

But it wasn’t a pleasant feeling to hear the name of a person who had also tormented them, especially in a place that held terrible memories.

Not noticing Yuria's cold expression, Ruin rambled about a recent event.

"I went to Hamel for tower business. On my way back to the Academy, I saw a nice bracelet I wanted to buy. But that guy was there."

Ruin talked about what had happened in Hamel.

How he heard harsh words from Ricardo and couldn’t buy the bracelet because the shop owner knew Ricardo.

Regretfully complaining that he had wanted to give it as a gift but was unable to, Ruin grumbled.

"I'm never going there again. I'm going to spread rumors all over the magic department."

Ruin was plotting a childish prank.

During their chatter.

"Hah… Hah…"

As they descended deeper, Yuria's complexion grew paler, causing Ruin to exclaim in surprise.

"Yuria, what’s wrong?"

"Just feeling a bit sick."

Yuria, who had been verbally abused by friends in the dungeon.

-You've always been annoying.

-Why does a commoner like you act so high and mighty?

-Friend? Who's your friend?

Her stomach roiled with the bad memories.

The friends who had hurt her with their words and then disappeared.

And her, left alone.

She remembered running from monsters and fleeing into the depths of the dungeon, but Yuria couldn't recall what happened next.

She had heard that she was saved by Ricardo's hands, but she had no memory of it.

Fleeting memories of ‘you' and resentment that everything was a scheme plotted by Ricardo brushed through Yuria's mind.

-Stop it already! I… I trusted you…

-I thought you were different…!

-Get lost… Don't ever appear before me again.

It was a past she didn't want to think about.

She had been angry and scared.

Yuria felt sick as she remembered being left alone in the dark dungeon.

Seeing Yuria's pale face, Ruin gritted his teeth.

"That damn Ricardo…"

Muttering to himself, Ruin suggested turning back, concerned about Yuria's struggle, but she refused and continued toward the depths.

"…It's okay. I just feel a bit sick is all. It’s nothing major."

"Still…"

Yuria shook off the chilling feeling and pressed forward with vigor.

"It's fine, really."

"If you feel weak, tell us."

"Okay."

Yuria’s unpleasant memories kept resurfacing hazily.

She shook her head vigorously, trying to dispel the thoughts.

"Let's find him quickly. Hans must be waiting for us too."

That's when it happened.

-Aaaaaaagh!!!

A man's scream could be heard from nearby.

Yuria turned her head.

She saw the end of a gloomy corridor extending into darkness.

Unlike the dungeon corridors lit by torches, a hole in the wall of the pitch-black dungeon caught Yuria's eye.

It was where the man's scream had come from.

Yuria stared at the dark hole with a perplexed expression.

‘Why… does it feel familiar?'

It seemed like a place she had never seen before, yet it strangely felt familiar.

As if she had been there once before.

She hadn't returned to the dungeon since the day she was left behind, but having done numerous assignments, Yuria had a general understanding of the dungeon's layout.

And.

She was certain that this hole was something she had never seen before.

Michail and Ruin, who had frequented the dungeon for training, would also have known the dungeon well.

The dark hole before her was something they had never seen before.

Yet, Yuria felt a strange sense of familiarity.

As if she had been there before.

Suddenly, a blurry memory flashed through Yuria's mind.

-Run.

-…

-Run, I said.

As the image of a red-haired man flickered by.

"Was this place here before?"

Michail’s question awakened her muddled mind.

"What? You don't know either?"

"No. I haven't seen this place before."

"Wow… shit."

Ruin smirked at the sight of the dark space. He was excited, thinking there might be a nice artifact in this undiscovered area.

At the same time, all three felt an instinctive hunch.

That Hans might be here.

With a conviction that came with their instinct, Ruin's face began to glow.

"Let’s go."

Ruin swallowed and looked at the dark space.

"There’s nowhere else to look."

Although they were nervous, the three couldn't ignore the man's scream and nodded at the sight of the dark hole.

Michail, supporting Yuria, said,

"Can you go, Yuria?"

Yuria nodded with difficulty.

And then.

-A quest has appeared.

A blue window appeared before her eyes.