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

20 – 10. Master

The potato reselling operation was successfully completed.

According to Oliver, the potatoes sold out in no time.

Despite the insane price that was twice the normal price, there were people queuing up to buy them.

“Some nobles even tried to buy them with extra money?”

Thinking about how nobles were in a desperate state to buy small and insignificant potatoes made him burst into laughter.

“It’s good that I believed in the nobles’ extravagant habits…”

Small and unattractive potatoes that wouldn’t sell even at half the usual price were able to be sold at double the price, all because of the nobles’ luxury.

“The nobles want to show off through luxury. It’s food and clothes that commoners can’t even dream of.”

Stuffing beef into a giraffe’s throat and eating it. The sole reason for eating something that even if you were given, you wouldn’t eat it was only one.

“I am better off than you.”

The nobles were obsessed with it, and Ian aimed for that.

“Baron Volkanoft’s specially raised environmentally friendly organic potatoes.”

Of course, he never actually raised them himself, nor were they environmentally friendly or natural, perhaps grown through plantation farming. But the important thing was that it had distinctiveness compared to regular potatoes.

That alone was enough reason for the nobles to buy this potato.

Ian smiled happily and looked out the window. The snowy mountain that he hated so much was unexpectedly beautiful today.

“Now our family can live comfortably.”

Soon, the potatoes would once again grow prosperously.

Oliver, after experiencing the miracle of potatoes, said he would plow the fields and dedicate himself solely to potato farming, so he would be able to harvest a greater quantity of potatoes.

“Now I have to start a business. I’ll make potato chips, fry them, and if I have spare time, I’ll make salads too. They’ll sell well if I put a picture of my father smiling and holding a potato on the packaging. I’ll raise the price by about 10 times.”

The empire’s hero. A product made with potatoes personally grown by a mana master?

I can’t stand it. The nobles will be so frustrated because they can’t buy it.

If things go well, it might be possible to turn it into a pride of Count Volkanov’s hunting game made with potatoes.

I’ve got some ideas on how to solve the family’s problems.

Now all that’s left is to become stronger.

“Initiate a mock duel.”

[Starting the mock duel program.]

In an instant, the view blurred. The snowy mountains that were visible from the carriage disappeared. Inside, there was an endless white floor.

Alex Volkanov, wielding a sword, came into view.

A man who had already been defeated over 100 times. Ian had been challenging him intermittently since he was hospitalized.

“And this will be the fifth challenge.”

Ian looked at the system window next to him.

[Duel with Alex Volkanov]

[Reward for the 5th challenge: ???]

[Reward for the 10th challenge: ???]

.

.

.

They say you can gain a lot even through defeat against a strong opponent.

The mock duel was exactly like that.

Although it was just getting beaten by opponents far beyond his level and dying.

Even if he lost, there was a system that allowed him to receive rewards proportional to the number of challenges he took on.

And Ian was on the verge of receiving the reward for the 5th challenge.

There was no reason to hesitate.

“Will you take on the challenge?”

“I will.”

Dark mana surged through Ian’s body as ether materialized in his hand.

Seeing this, Alex Volkanov raised his sword as usual and shouted.

“Fight fair and square!”

After that, Alex charged ahead with a force field wrapped around his body.

***

Inside the rapidly moving carriage.

Even amidst the jostling, Eri looked fixedly at the sleeping Ian.

“What kind of life have you led, after all?”

The Ian she had seen so far was clearly different from the world’s perception.

He wasn’t lowly or ignorant, and he wasn’t blind to fame. In fact, he was closer to the opposite.

“If he was truly a bad person…”

Even if the family fell apart, he would have lived without caring. He probably wouldn’t have found a way to save the crumbling family from the start.

Eri never forgot the miracle of potatoes that Ian had created.

When she thought about it, Ian was a pitiable person.

Even the way Count Volkanov treated Ian at the manor was not like that.

Ian’s room was so small it could be called a storage room. There was only one bed and a desk. There was no wardrobe to hang clothes, and it seemed that no one had been taking care of it at all. Dust was thick.

Thud!

“Ugh.”

And even the jolting carriage.

It was hard to believe that this was the possession of a high-ranking nobleman leading the empire.

Despite enduring such unfairness, Ian hadn’t said a word. Instead, he had worked for them, even cutting down on his sleep.

“Did he live like this since he was young?”

For a moment, Eri imagined how her life would have changed if it had been Ian instead of her.

But she soon gave up on the thought.

She couldn’t bear the sadness and loneliness that would be too much to endure… she didn’t have the confidence.

Eri wiped away the tears falling from her cheeks and gently embraced the sleeping Ian.

The coachman driving the carriage couldn’t see inside, so it didn’t matter.

Even though she knew it wasn’t right… Eri wanted to be honest with her emotions this time.

***

It had been a day since they returned from Trisha, Volkanov’s ancestral home, to Ashlan.

Due to the potato harvest, they couldn’t even properly enjoy the weekend, and it had become Monday.

Ian had to head straight to Ark without even taking a breath.

It wasn’t because of Kaien’s call or the sweaty morning training with Igor.

There was a different reason.

Sweep, sweep.

“Hoo…”

In his right hand, a broom; in his left hand, a dustpan. He was sweeping the classroom floor.

It was a lesson on understanding close-quarters combat that took place on a Friday.

At that time, Ian had used mana to cover Haley, who had fainted, resulting in disciplinary action to clean up the damaged classroom.

The reason he had come out early in the morning to clean was also because of that incident.

Since they couldn’t clean the classrooms used by regular students after school hours.

Fortunately or unfortunately, cleaning was not the end for him.

Sweep, sweep!

“…”

“Sir, I’ve cleared the back. Now, we just need to clean the front.”

“Oh… yes… Ian, good job. Take a break for a moment.”

Haley Millers, she also came out to clean the classroom with Ian.

Of course, she had no reason to do so, but she heard that she volunteered for cleaning for some unknown reason.

It was at that moment when Ian, with an awkward expression, stared at Haley cleaning from a distance.

“Ian… How have you been lately?”

“… What do you mean?”

Ian cocked his head, looking at Haley who suddenly spoke.

***

Haley Millers.

Ian’s former mentor and the leader of the 1st Platoon of Ark’s 1st Year. She wanted to tear her hair out, recalling her words just now.

‘How have you been… I didn’t want to say that…’

She clearly wanted to express her gratitude. Thankful for not letting the freshmen embarrass her.

But it wasn’t easy to bring up those words.

In the end, in order to convey her thanks, she volunteered for cleaning that she didn’t have to do.

Throughout the cleaning, she stared at Ian’s back. When would be a good time? Should she say it now? While contemplating such thoughts, she couldn’t bring herself to talk to Ian until the cleaning was almost done.

And when Ian said he had cleared his assigned area… only then did she try to bring out the words she had kept in her heart.

“What does that mean?”

Of course, it turned into a sudden inquiry about his recent situation, not the words she had been thinking of.

The gaze of the former disciple, who looked at her indifferently… for some reason, when she saw it, it felt like her heart was being scratched randomly.

“In the past… he used to smile at me, but now he can’t do that anymore…”

In her memories, Ian always had a subtle smile. Even when his expression was so creased that it seemed like something bad had happened…

During the time when they practiced swordsmanship together, he smiled more happily than ever…

However… that smile had long since disappeared.

Since she had abandoned him. Ian’s expression had stiffened again.

“I thought I would never see him again in my life…”

While engraving a curse on Ian. She said that she would never see him again.

Ian, who had lost his sword, thought that he couldn’t prove his skills.

However… Ian somehow brought a new martial art and proved it himself.

And… he even tried to help the master who had abandoned him again…

That made Hailey’s heart ache. Why on earth did he do that? She wanted to ask what his intentions were.

But in the end, Hailey couldn’t bring herself to say the words she had kept in her heart.

“You did well on the transfer exam… you have exceptional skills.”

“It’s just the result of hard training.”

“Where did you learn that… did you get a new master?”

“Are you talking about my master?”

Did you learn from a master… She did learn boxing from the school’s master.

Ian said to Hailey as if it was nothing special.

“Yes. I had a master who taught me.”

“A great master, it seems. It’s not easy to improve your skills so quickly…”

“It’s not something I learned in a short period. I received occasional teachings from a young age.”

She couldn’t confess that she had learned boxing for four years, so she vaguely mentioned that she had received teachings in her childhood.

In response to her words, Hailey seemed confused for a moment, and then she spoke again.

“But still, it’s not easy to get good teachings unless you have exceptional skills…”

“I’m sorry if it disappoints your expectations… but I’m not exceptionally skilled either.”

“What do you mean…”

Ian thought of the master who had taught him boxing in his past life, in response to Haley’s words.

The master who ran a shabby boxing gym… He wasn’t that impressive.

His level of teaching wasn’t high, and he wasn’t someone who swept through multiple tournaments and won awards.

Why did he learn boxing from someone like that?

Because it was a hobby. He just wanted to try boxing once, and the gym was close to his house and affordable, so he went.

Naturally, he didn’t have much expectations… But there was one good thing.

“He was more passionate than anyone else.”

He was always sincere to himself.

Even the one hour of teaching himself was not wasted. He didn’t just give vague instructions like do this, do that. He kept watching his form while saying the same things.

And even when his home environment became difficult, to the point where he couldn’t learn boxing anymore… he opened the gym door for himself.

“I won’t take money. Just come and learn for an hour a day. I will teach you.”

“That’s bothersome… I don’t want to go that far.”

“It’s only bothersome if I’m uncomfortable. I’m fine. Come and learn. Once you start, don’t give up and go all the way, shouldn’t you?”

He had given him 100,000 won in a bag, telling him to at least buy a meal… he still couldn’t forget.

With his help, he was able to continue learning and survive even in the situation of being reborn in Heroic Academy.

Ian, who was thinking of his past master, looked at Haley and said,

“He wasn’t that skilled. His way of teaching was vague, so it was quite difficult to learn. But still, what didn’t you like so much that you kept grumbling about it?”

“…”

“But he was more sincere to me than anyone else. If I got even a little hurt, he would drop everything else and rush over to check my condition. There was even a time when he didn’t have much money, but he gave me some and told me to buy something.”

“Ah…”

“In short… he took responsibility until the end.”

Ian, leaving Haley’s distorted face behind, prepared to leave with his luggage.

“I-Ian…”

As Haley regained his senses, he reached out to grab Ian, but…

“Ah…”

He had already left the lecture hall.