How To Live As An Academy Extra Villain

84 – Mouse Hole (2)

“Let me ask you something. Is there a place called Armhole around here?”

“It’s our village…But who are you…?”

I stopped a farmer who was walking down the street and started talking to him. Even as he answered, a look of caution passed over the farmer’s face.

His fingers holding the plow can be seen lightly exerting force.

“I think I came to the right place. Then, is there a cave nearby?”

“…I don’t know who they are, but I can’t tell something like that to an outsider…Huh?”

The farmer, who was preparing his posture, unconsciously caught something I threw.

And the moment he confirmed the identity of the shiny thing, his guard collapsed helplessly.

“It’s a standard Hale silver coin. If you answer a question, I’ll give you 3 more coins, and if you give me directions, I’ll give you 5 more coins. Don’t worry too much. I came here because I need a special herb that only grows in caves.”

“Oh, I’m also… Now that I think about it, you’re dressed in classy clothes… And you’re definitely not just a wanderer…”

The farmer put his finger on his chin and pretended to struggle for a moment, but even that didn’t last long.

“Actually, it’s not really a secret…Everyone who lives around here knows…You can find it right away if you go up the mountainside. The road isn’t that rough, so you won’t need any guidance. “

The farmer said, pointing his finger into the air. As I turn my gaze accordingly, a low mountain not far away comes into view.

“Thank you. This is the return promised here.”

“hehehe, I don’t know anyone who has a very generous heart. I feel sorry about this.”

When the bag containing the silver coins was thrown to him, only a bright smile remained on the farmer’s face.

The farmer turned around after telling me to find the armhole pole if I needed help, and I walked towards the mountain in the opposite direction.

As long as I remembered the place name and the approximate location on the map, it wasn’t that difficult to specify a place nearby.

All the places where hidden items were hidden were caves, and the terrain called caves themselves was not common. It’s just a shame that I couldn’t remember all the dozens of place names.

Still, it’s really fortunate that I was able to recall at least some of them. This is especially true if it is a place where there is an item that I really need.

As if what the farmer said was not a lie, as I climbed halfway up the mountain, the protruding part of the rock wall and the cave below it came into view.

I turned on the light and headed toward the entrance of the cave. And I repeated the search I did last time in the demon world.

After going as deep as possible, we carefully searched the area where the road was blocked.

And not long after, traces of the item were found near the ceiling of the cave.

Near the rock wall touched by the light, a star the size of a yew fruit can be seen engraved.

The cross pattern required holy power, so does the star require mana?

There is a legend that mana originated from the stars, and groups related to magic often used the pentagram as their symbol. The emblem of the Academy’s Department of Magic is also a star.

On the other hand, those who tried to go against the order actually showed their will by using the stars upside down.

-Kukukung!

I placed my hand on the star and weakly flowed unrefined mana.

After a while, the stone wall cracked and a small box popped out. It is definitely smaller than the two huge boxes I saw in the demon world.

Even though I have already experienced it once, anticipating the gift contained in the box is always accompanied by excitement.

When I carefully opened the lid, what was inside finally revealed itself.

A bead as black as the night sky and the size of a chestnut.

And this is also an item that I have been meaning to get since the last raid. Fortunately, I remember how to use it very well.

‘Purification Fire’ is a necessary item in any case.

Purification Fire, as its name suggests, strengthens the user’s flame, but the biggest advantage of this item is that the targets it can burn include demon energy.

So, if you have this item, you can deal with not only demons, but also their minions who have been given that power, demons from the East Continent, and secondary demons that have mutated under the influence of demon energy much more easily.

And what came out with it was, of course, a fragment of the divine dragon.

Since it is in such a fragmented form that the original cannot be identified, it is bound to look like a by-product…

I was very curious about its identity, but I don’t want my eyes to fall out and roll around like last time. And now there is no one like Isana who can help me.

The most reasonable choice would be to suppress curiosity for a moment and calmly take it to the mansion and check.

After taking the fragments of the divine dragon, I placed the black bead on my palm and infused it with mana. Then the beads lost their shape, melted, and soaked into my hands.

And then, a heavy and hot energy circulated along the bloodstream of the whole body, and then quickly subsided as if nothing had happened.

“…Is it done…?”

At first glance, nothing has changed from before.

After I left the cave, I found a clearing in the forest.

After settling down, I recited the most basic fire spell.

“Ignis, Farum…Nergo.”

-Hwareuk

A deep, heavy black flame burns on my wide open palm.

***

After several checks, I was able to figure out a few facts.

First of all, I successfully tamed the purifying fire, but that did not allow me to demonstrate my abilities beyond my current magical achievements.

Of course, it’s not to the point where I can’t use it now, but in any case, I think the efficiency will increase even more if I develop my natural strength.

My flame has also been completely stained black, so it is difficult to use it openly in front of others.

Because color is color, there may be unnecessary misunderstandings.

When using a spell through a spirit, it was the same as before, but in any case, the method was not something that could be easily revealed in front of others.

If there were one more elementalist besides Selene, there would be total chaos. There is no need to give unnecessary information to possible enemies.

Not being able to use flames doesn’t cause much inconvenience in daily life, so we have no choice but to be careful and monitor the situation for the time being.

I stopped by Armhole while postponing my meeting with Russ, but finding more items was difficult due to the time and route. I don’t really remember anything around here.

However, since we found the fire of purification, which was our top priority, we have achieved our intended goal.

“Young Master!!”

A campsite in an open area. A man is seen waving his hand among a group of armed men.

A young man with curly light brown hair and platinum-rimmed glasses. Russ, the leader of our family’s magic division.

Seeing his face after a long time, I too am filled with joy.

“Russ. It’s been a while. How have you been? What’s that blood?”

As I was about to get closer and shake hands, I caught sight of Russ, who had not been visible from afar.

There were two or three drops of blood on his face, and his clothes were torn in several places.

The attire of the soldiers Russ brought as escorts was not much different from his.

“This? It’s no big deal. There was a griffon’s nest on the way. It was an old guy, so I caught it easily. Thanks to that, I got some valuable materials.”

Russ, as if it was no big deal, swiped a drop of blood with his finger and joked.

“Are you okay, Master? You don’t know how surprised he was when he first heard about the Academy’s events.”

“It wasn’t a big deal for me either. As you can see, my body is perfectly fine.”

Russ looked at me with a worried expression, but only after hearing my answer did he look relaxed.

“The Lord really looked after me. You have no idea how much of an uproar there was in Maid Headen.”

“An uproar?”

“Yes. The young lady is crying, Laurel is making a fuss about having to bring the master right away, and the head deacon almost falls behind…”

“No, what should I do if I tell Adele? What does that little girl know…”

When I hit him lightly, Russ laughs as if he has been liberated.

“Actually, you were the first to know. After she learned how to read, she always opened the letters from the academy first.”

“What…?”

After listening to Russ, this time I was speechless.

“According to the deacon, the girl who opened Estelle’s letter suddenly started crying and ran to the Count. After that, the Count also realized the situation… It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the Count so angry.”

Listening to Russ’s words, the letter from her father that she received at the academy came to mind again.

Unlike her usual neatness, there was a faint anger tightly suppressed in her scribbled handwriting…

If Estelle hadn’t told me the news on my behalf, I really wouldn’t have been scolded later.

“Because something like that happened, a large number of guards were formed. However, I was very surprised when they suddenly changed the location and time. Even though security is not that good around here.”

From noble mtl dot com

“Sorry. I have some other business to attend to…”

“No matter what, that’s true. I followed your instructions, but if the Count asks a question, I have to answer the truth, right?”

She tried to give it a try, but Russ didn’t fall for my words easily.

“…It’s okay. There’s nothing you can do if you get scolded. How is Maidhead? Did anything happen?”

“There was a bit of a commotion. Please go inside. I’ll talk to you inside.”

Russ motioned to me as he lifted the cloth at the entrance to the barracks.

Once we got inside and settled down, Russ brought us two steaming cups of tea.

“In conclusion, we got through it without much fuss. Compared to the news we heard from other regions or the Academy, it was very peaceful.”

“Really? That’s really fortunate.”

“Well, that doesn’t mean nothing happened at all. With the help of the church, we hunted down quite a few subversive elements. Perhaps when you return, the atmosphere may feel a little different than before. The vigilance of nature has been greatly strengthened. And, public sentiment is also uneasy…”

“Seditious molecule…?”

“There were many categories. There were those who carved inverted stars on their bodies, drew ominous patterns with blood to avoid being seen by others, or made altars to offer animal intestines and skins and were caught…And summarily executed. “Most of them are in prison and being interrogated.”

Unlike the topic coming out of her mouth, Russ continued her words in a very calm and composed tone.