I’m the Main Villain but the Heroines Are Obsessed With Me

13 – 6. The Hidden Princess Obsesses (1)

“Training has concluded well, so take the rest of the day off. You’ve worked hard.”

“Thank you, Squad Leader.”

“Very well. See you tomorrow.”

With a simple farewell, Kaien closed the door of the hospital room and left.

Ian, who was surveying the empty room, took a deep breath and lay down on the bed.

“It’s quite spacious…”

Admiration naturally escaped him as he surveyed the large room.

Suddenly, he wondered if he was allowed to enjoy such luxury, but since it had already come to this, he decided not to dwell on it.

There was no other choice. After all, they had assigned him this nice room. He couldn’t ask to be moved elsewhere, as that would be burdensome.

“I tried to refuse out of politeness, but they just told me to use it.”

Furthermore, refusing further might make the other party uncomfortable. Ian had at least that much sense.

“I guess I’ll have to stay here all day today.”

Now that he had some free time, Ian decided to deal with the backlog of tasks.

Ian’s gaze turned to the semi-transparent system notification window.

“Celia Wignoran has sensed a difference in your demeanor.”

“You have completed the quest ‘Surrounded by Threats.'”

“Would you like to claim your rewards?”

There was probably no need to hesitate.

“I’ll claim it.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the system notification became active again.

“You have obtained rewards: Ether, Weakening of the Curse.”

“The curse. The hatred of blades has weakened. Remaining until the resolution: 28%.”

“You have obtained ‘Ether.'”

A significant reward caused Ian’s eyes to widen.

Ether… It was definitely written like that unless he had read it wrong.

“…Did I see it wrong?”

He blinked and looked again, but the notification window still said “Ether.”

Even just the weakening of the curse was satisfying, but to receive Ether as well… It made his heart swell.

Ian looked at the black object that flowed around his hand.

The Ether he received as a reward seemed unlikely to slip from his hand.

“Ether… As far as I know, it was an inexhaustible source of power that could be used with mana.”

Although it appeared to be a liquidized mana at first glance, Ether had many differences.

First, it had no form. Other sources of power had specific weapon-like shapes, such as swords, spears, or axes, but Ether lacked such a form.

‘Normally, it doesn’t maintain any shape. But in the moment I infuse mana… it transforms into the weapon I envision.’

Ian liked that aspect.

To have a weapon that can change into any form he imagines.

It would be similar to creating a weapon with mana, which the masters had used.

But the advantages of ether didn’t end there.

Nathalion, who was watching the ether, suddenly woke up from his sleep and his eyes gleamed.

– Ian! With this, I can create arms!

‘To create arms means… you can manifest your own arms?’

– That’s right!

Nathalion contained his excitement and continued explaining.

– If I use ether to create the shape of my arms… from then on, I just need to infuse mana!

‘So there is a way.’

Indeed, it was not a bad method. If ether could handle the implementation process itself, the amount of mana consumed could be minimized.

Ian, looking at the ether, smiled satisfactorily.

He had never even dreamed of receiving such a good reward… At the same time, he felt the desire to try it out immediately.

‘Hmm… but I can’t swing my fists in the hospital room.’

The best thing would be to go outside… but that would be quite difficult.

He was trapped in his hospital room. If he went out on his own, there was a possibility that Kyaen, whose face had become terrible, would catch him on the road and hit his head in the hospital room.

‘Isn’t there any other way…’

At that moment, Ian had a thought passing through his mind.

‘Come to think of it, didn’t they say the simulated sparring has been activated?’

Ian quickly looked through the buried notification window, and he was able to find what he wanted.

[With Nathalion’s growth, it is now possible to engage in simulated sparring with the enemies in his memories.]

‘Simulated sparring with the enemies from Nathalion’s memories.’

In fact, Ian didn’t know which enemies Nathalion had fought so far.

There hadn’t been any stories about Nathalion at the Heroic Academy.

Ian had only come to know about Nathalion’s existence through the reports from his family, which he had read in Eleks’ document.

‘I don’t know who the enemies are…’

He didn’t know much, but if they were those who fought against the ancient gods, they would all be monsters.

Although he was slightly nervous about sparring with them, Ian made up his mind to give it a try.

Anyway, since this is just a mock battle, there shouldn’t be any serious damage.

[Will you proceed?]

A clear notification from the system. Ian nodded lightly. His vision swayed, and darkness enveloped the surroundings.

***

[Welcome to the simulated battle.]

At the crisp voice of a woman that resonated in his ears, Ian opened his eyes.

His eyes widened with a mixture of awe and amusement.

“What in the world is this?”

The flat white floor stretched endlessly, and the sky was pitch black.

He must be here to engage in combat with the enemies summoned in this place.

Ian, who had been looking around, shifted his gaze to the system window.

On the screen, a list of enemies was displayed.

1. [First Sword of the Empire, Alex Volkanov]

2. [???]

3. [???]

4. [???]

.

.

.

“What are these question marks? Can’t I battle them right now?”

Among them, the only one not marked with a question mark was his ancestor, Alex Volkanov.

With a hint of hope, he pressed the enemies with question marks, but the reply he received was harsh.

[The level difference is too great; we cannot confirm the target’s information!]

Except for Alex, he was currently unable to confront any of the enemies.

In other words, he had to defeat Alex Volkanov, the first one on the list, to proceed to the next opponent.

“I had plundered his tomb as soon as I possessed his body… I never expected to fight my ancestor directly.”

While Ian wore a puzzled expression, Natalion, in contrast, puffed out his chest with confidence.

“Ian! Am I really strong? How do I look? Cool, right?”

“Yeah. You’re amazing, our Natalion. Do you want a hug?”

“hehehehe! Hug me!”

Neltalion, who was bouncing along, embraced Ian’s cheek against his chest. As a warm energy slowly rose, his thoughts began to clear.

“Don’t worry. Whether it’s grave robbing or whatever, they’re just imaginary enemies anyway.”

There was no reason to invest emotions in something that wasn’t even real.

There was no need to be disappointed that he couldn’t fight formidable enemies right now.

“Just need to check the performance.”

Ian decided to focus only on testing Aether.

“Alex Volkanovf is quite a formidable opponent to just check the performance.”

As the Empire’s first sword with a record of victory against Neltalion, he was not a presence to be ignored.

Determined, Ian chose Alex Volkanovf.

[You have selected Alex Volkanovf. The difficulty will be adjusted according to the user’s level. The current difficulty is the lowest.]

With those words, the system window began to fade.

Instead, Alex Volkanovf materialized out of thin air.

With a toothy smile, he pointed his sword at Ian.

“Let’s fight fairly!”

As soon as he finished speaking and leaped toward him, Ian began to prepare.

“Aether.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a giant hand materialized around Ian.

***

“It’s a shame… I wanted to see you awake.”

Erzabeth looked at the quiet hospital room and sighed softly as she watched Ian, who seemed to be asleep.

She had taken the time to come and visit, but unfortunately, it seemed that Ian was already asleep.

It wasn’t her place to wake a sleeping person. Erzabeth brought a chair and sat down next to the bed.

As she looked at Ian’s face, she suddenly thought of the Paladin Sharon.

“Sharon, too…”

She remembered Sharon objecting vehemently to going to Ian’s platoon, even though she was the platoon leader herself…

To be precise, it seemed that she didn’t want to go to Ian’s platoon.

“Well… maybe Sharon had no choice.”

Thinking from her perspective, a bitter laugh escaped her.

If she didn’t know anything, she felt frustrated and almost wanted to die wondering why she made such a choice.

Ian was well aware of how he was known in the world.

‘The betrayer of humanity. A blind man consumed by fame, obstructing his younger brother’s path.’

If she were to enter the service of such a man, even more so, if she were to take orders from him… Sharon’s heart, who was supposed to protect her, would ache as if torn apart.

Erzebeth was not unaware of that sentiment. Naturally, she had her thoughts.

‘I’m curious… What on earth is this man’s true identity?’

Erzebeth climbed up on the sleeping Ian’s body and watched the spirits hopping around.

She had a talent for spirit magic from a young age. She spent a lot of time with the spirits to become friendly with them.

Of course, it was only natural for her to spend time with the spirits to get closer to them as a spirit mage, but, in truth, it wasn’t for that reason that she spent time with the spirits.

She liked the spirits. They, with their untainted purity, were too lovely.

Born with noble blue blood, the daughter of the Emperor, Erzebeth had to stand in front of many people from her early years.

And so, she witnessed it. How many dirty and vile humans there were in this world.

On the one hand, she thought it was fortunate. If there were no spirits, she would have been violated by their greed.

When the spirits found those with black hearts, they would immediately inform her. Thanks to them, only good people surrounded Erzebeth.

‘But what about this person?’

Erzebeth watched the spirits hopping around Ian, who was lying in bed.

If what was known in the world was true, Ian was an evil man.

Even if she examined the empire, he was perhaps the worst of all humans.

Is it really possible for spirits to be circling around him?

‘Why do the spirits like Ian?’

Is he really the person who committed evil deeds?

She wondered if she might be mistaken. Or perhaps Ian was falsely accused; she even speculated.

Personally, she had investigated, but there was no sign that Ian had been falsely accused.

Then… it would mean that Ian had acted of his own free will…

Erzebeth bit her lower lip tightly at the first sight of this phenomenon.

‘Is there a secret that I don’t know?’

She was curious about what he was hiding. If the spirits were not mistaken, he regarded himself as a villain… but what could be the reason for that?

That’s why.

‘I have to find out.’

The reason she decided to stay by Ian’s side.

Actually, even now, I’m not entirely sure. If I’m making the right choice… But one thing was certain.

If he truly considered himself a villain…

Unfailingly… if he displayed the qualities of a great man.

“Then… I will take you in.”

She wanted to comfort the one who had been abandoned by everyone.