Rustle, rustle, rustle!

An overwhelming aura spread out beside Llyn. Imperceptible to the naked eye, within the Arcane elements that formed the foundation of the material world, a twisted destructive force was brewing.

‘...This has really gotten out of hand.’

Llyn felt a headache coming on.

‘As expected of the female lead. To think she's already mastered the highest-level Secret Spell of the Balance School just in the first chapter of the plot?’

He cast a complicated glance at the cold-faced, murderous female lead Louise beside him.

‘But…’

Sensing the bottomless hatred from the princess, Llyn rubbed his chin.

‘As expected of the villain route? Just a few sentences and Louise already hates me enough to gnash her teeth?’

Although in the original work, the relationship between Llyn and Louise was ordinary, it had never been so hostile. Even in the plotlines where Llyn fell into becoming a villain, Louise's opinion of him was merely a bit contemptuous, far from this "deep-seated hatred."

So the only explanation for the current situation...

‘Is that my acting is simply too brilliant?’

Llyn raised the corner of his mouth smugly.

‘Hmph, indeed. After all, I painstakingly studied all kinds of tropes in my last life and completed countless missions for the World-Saving Heavenly Scripture. Using that experience in a newbie-village plot in this life, isn't it a piece of cake? Hmph. Now it would be easy. Louise would show her divine might, ruthlessly slap the face of this evil villain—me—thoroughly tear off that hypocritical mask, and help boost Ivan's reputation. My first chapter's role would then come to a perfect close. Come on, come on, hit me harder!’

Hiss—

Feeling the suffocating pressure getting closer, even his body's instincts triggering alarms, Llyn's eyes shone, just waiting to be thoroughly "humiliated" by Louise's unparalleled forbidden spell.

Click.

However, just as Louise was about to unleash the Arcane spell formula, a crisp tearing sound was heard, and that terrifying aura abruptly ceased.

"...Instructor?"

Llyn, who had just closed his eyes waiting for the key plot point to unfold, sighed in disappointment and reopened them.

Chris, Councilor of the Supreme Arcane Council of the Neutral City-States, Grand Elder of the Five Rings Mage Tower, Dean of the Balance School, and Louise's father, walked out from behind the grand door.

That dignified middle-aged man, wearing a grayish-blue linen robe that set him apart from the lavishly dressed apprentices, now narrowed his eyes, looking towards the lectern with an involuntary aura of authority, a trace of incomprehension flashing through his pupils.

"What happened here?"

He barely opened his mouth; his voice was faint, yet it reached every apprentice's ears with absolute clarity.

‘As expected of the Master rank.’

Llyn's heart tightened, and all his previous ease vanished.

What surprised him was not Instructor Chris's profound magical power that allowed him to transmit his voice to every apprentice in the hall simultaneously.

What truly made him feel inferior was...

"It was just a little bit short."

Louise curled her lips ruefully, and the chill in her eyes grew even colder.

‘Tsk, it is a pity indeed. Clearly Louise's forbidden spell formula was about to be released, yet he could actually directly halt the elemental fluctuations? Old man, just how deep is your study of incantations and spells? Forget it, forget it.’

Even if he wasn't directly beaten to a bloody pulp by the female lead, having everyone curse him while mentioning the protagonist Ivan's outstanding performance just now—"unbowed by might" and "arguing with reason"—to create a contrast, and then mentioning the miraculous nature of Ivan's trump card, Indestructible Body...

‘My rewards from the World-Saving Heavenly Scripture won't be missing a single bit~’

Llyn was happily looking forward to it.

‘Come to think of it, I've almost forgotten exactly how much my family owes those Golden Oak vampires. Hiss, if my memory serves me right, it seems to be several hundred thousand Mithril Coins? That was almost the annual budget of an entire small country. Oh, wait, I almost forgot.’

Technically, Llyn, who bore Royal Blood, was also the "monarch of a country."

‘Yeah, the monarch of a baron-nation, heh.’

Glancing at his own simple attire, which could be "compared" to his instructor's, Llyn just wanted to laugh at the sky.

The dignified and renowned Master Chris, son-in-law of the King of the Bauhinia Kingdom, dressed this way to display the bearing of a true master.

As for him...

Forget it, the more he spoke, the more tears.

‘But, finally. These days of humiliation are about to end.’

Llyn began to look forward to the World-Saving Heavenly Scripture distributing its rewards.

‘In my last life, even though I didn't execute the plot perfectly, the Heavenly Scripture still gave me a few hundred Mithril Coins. I wonder, with my out-of-the-box performance this time, how many the Heavenly Scripture will give me? It should be at least a thousand, right?’

An image of glittering Mithril Coins surfaced in his mind. With great effort, he composed himself and, without changing his expression, slightly bowed his head in greeting to the instructor entering the great hall.

"Instructor." Llyn, whose eyes were already filled with desire, ‘beat others to the punch’ by accusing first: "It's just that Miss Sophie had a slight misunderstanding regarding me. Mm, in regards to how to properly discipline a Dust Clan servant... the part about eavesdropping on the sacred Arcane Secret Arts."

"You're lying!"

Ivan was enraged and loudly declared, "Sir, what happened just now was..."

Seeing Llyn so "shameless," Ivan couldn't help but panic. He hurriedly spilled all of Llyn's "evil deeds" from just moments ago in one breath.

"..." Chris listened thoughtfully but did not rush to a conclusion. Instead, he looked at the newly recruited student Sophie beside him and said, "If I recall, your Crohill Family is a member of the Senate of the Golden Oak Confederation?"

"Yes." Sophie blinked, puzzled, as if not understanding what her family background had to do with the conflict at hand.

"I see. Then it's not surprising."

Chris rubbed his brow and looked at Llyn somewhat helplessly. "Tell me, Llyn... are you using public office to settle a private grudge?"

The instructor's words jolted Llyn.

‘Ah, why hadn't I thought of that?’

A flash of inspiration struck him, and he immediately analyzed:

‘Right! Our Morsol Family owes the Golden Oak Confederation who knows how much money. A dignified Sun Clan has been driven to such an embarrassing state by a bunch of Moon Clan half-blood merchants. So naturally, my hatred extends to everything connected to them, and I've also taken a grudge against Sophie, who also comes from the Golden Oak Confederation and whose family is a ruling elder of the Confederation? And then, in order to get revenge, I went so far as to frame a tiny Dust Clan servant. Not bad, not bad, how did I not think of this plot?’

This was a "cannon-fodder clown" that was several levels more "advanced" than the average villain!

After all, even among villains, there were differences in style and caliber.

For example, take this mobile game's final boss, the Supreme King of the Myriad Laws Empire, who currently occupies a third of the known world and would, ten years later, conquer the Bauhinia Kingdom and even cause the Neutral City-States to fall apart. Though a villain, his vision, scope, and role—tsk tsk—made him the perfect Demon King to max out Ivan's reputation.

After all, without a world-ending crisis, how could the greatness of the heroic Savior be highlighted?

But in terms of the protagonist's growth, such a character was clearly inappropriate to come into contact with the protagonist at the very beginning of the story.

How could any game have you crash straight into the Demon King in the starting village? If so, how would the script continue?

Naturally, there had to be cannon-fodder clowns, low-level villains, minor bosses, high-level villains, the Four Heavenly Kings, and only then would it be the Demon King's turn.

As for Llyn, well.

At least in the early stages, he had to play the image of a cannon-fodder clown to fit the tone of nurturing the protagonist.

‘And bearing a grudge for revenge is clearly the standard template for a cannon-fodder clown, jie jie jie.’

Thus, Llyn immediately went into an acting frenzy. Righteously indignant, he flatly denied it: "Haha, Instructor Chris, you wouldn't actually believe the words of a lowly Dust Clan servant, would you? As a dignified Sun Clan lord, the heir of the noble Gold Bloodline Morsol Family, how could I be so contemptible?"

With unparalleled arrogance, he coldly pursed his lips and added, "And speaking of which, truly worthy of the Dust Clan. Their minds are full of such filthy thoughts, desecrating the sacred Hall of Arcana with every word from their mouth."

"You, you..." Ivan's face flushed red, smoke practically billowing from his seven orifices, his whole body trembling.

‘This shameless pampered aristocrat actually dared to insult the future Savior?! Fine, fine, just you wait. Under my master's tutelage, the day will come when I will make you kneel on both knees and beg me for mercy like a dog!’

Ivan swore to himself.

"Enough, Sir Llyn, please stop quibbling." Crossing her arms, Sophie beside them could no longer bear it and questioned with righteous indignation: "Then explain to the instructor, why did you secretly interfere just now while Ivan was dueling Her Highness Louise?"

‘An excellent question! As expected of the future renowned super-merchant.’

Llyn silently applauded Sophie's quick wit.

Her question struck perfectly at Llyn's weak spot.

Yes, no matter how Llyn tried to dodge with disdainful and cold responses, he could not change one fact.

He had interfered in the duel.

And as everyone knew, in the eyes of those arrogant Sun Clan Arcanists, an Arcane duel held a sacredness that brooked no questioning.

Thus, Llyn, who had disrupted it, was the truly despicable one.

An excellent question, a wonderful question!

Even as his heart lifted Sophie to the highest pedestal, Llyn used his superb acting skills to manipulate his face, controlling the amplitude of his muscles to present an expression of "daring to be angry but not daring to speak out"—a picture of grievance.

"Sigh, I think this time that new student has a point. Even if he is Dust Clan, a duel is a duel."

"Did you all just hear what Instructor Chris said? Sir Llyn, he... seems to have a grudge against that new student Sophie, something related to his family's debts?"

"Actually, I've heard about it long ago. Although the Morsol Family claims noble Gold Royal Bloodline, their territory is nothing but a small town. You all know how it is—in such a situation, they are absolutely fat meat in the eyes of those greedy Moon Clan merchants..."

"You mean, Sir Llyn really targeted that Dust Clan servant out of anger over this? I never expected it. Prefect Llyn, who usually performs so excellently, seems to have a tolerance that's... a bit narrow?"

Listening to the discussions of the crowd below, Llyn felt as if he were listening to celestial music, instantly becoming refreshed and invigorated.

‘Yes, yes, I, Llyn, am outwardly upright but inwardly full of malice, petty, narrow-minded—a cannon-fodder clown! This way, Instructor Chris will certainly be thoroughly disappointed with me, right? Although he probably won't immediately strip me of my position as First Disciple, it will at least leave a negative impression. In contrast, will Ivan, the protagonist whose origins are humble, be able to take this chance to enter his notice? Come to think of it, in the original plot, Ivan was only accepted into the mage tower as a menial disciple. In this life, under my extreme maneuvering, maybe after witnessing Ivan's Indestructible Body trump card, the instructor might exceptionally accept him as a formal disciple? Just thinking about it is thrilling~’

"Father."

‘Oh? Is our female lead here to deliver the final blow? Jie jie jie, wonderful. Just moments ago, I was nearly face-slapped by the female lead's top-tier forbidden spell. Though that's probably out of the question now, it would be nice if she could seal my fate, right? Expose my true hideous self!’

Llyn looked at Louise excitedly.

What met Llyn's eyes was Louise's utterly disdainful gaze.

"These people... really are completely fooled."

Louise lowered her head slightly, her heart aching.

Relying solely on subjective conjecture without any regard for actual evidence.

Believing a fraud who deceives the world is some so-called Savior, yet wrongly accusing the true protector.

Countless images flashed through Louise's mind.

Finally, the memory froze on that figure—blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, yet still utterly indifferent to his own injuries.

‘But... what right do I have to mock them?’

After all, in her previous life, she had been no different from the students below.

‘So… This time, let me protect you, Senior Llyn.’

With deep affection, she secretly glanced at the handsome face beside her, feeling a warmth in her heart just from sharing the same space and breathing the same air.

Hah.

Louise took a deep breath.

"During the duel just now, Senior Llyn did not kick anyone while they were down at all."

She extended a slender, delicate hand and pointed gently.

"Reproduce. Retrospect."

Buzz—

The Arcane elements around her constantly rearranged themselves, perfectly replicating the spell Llyn had cast during his so-called "kicking while down" moment.

"On the contrary, Senior Llyn was merely concerned for the participants' safety and used a spell to isolate the duel scene."

Louise declared with righteous conviction.