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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Proof (3)
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The first place Envy visited after stepping outside was a village near the academy.
"It's just as I remember."
From the large fountain in the middle of the village, to the long rows of inns, blacksmiths, and various shops and stalls.
The scenery that greeted Envy was exactly as Envy, who was once a student, remembered it.
"What was I thinking back then?"
Envy tilted her head, muttering. It was so long ago that she couldn't recall.
"Kyaa! We're in public, aren't you embarrassed?"
"We're in love, is this really such a big deal?"
Suddenly, hearing a man and woman's voices, Envy slowly turned her head.
A young man, with his arm wrapped around the waist of a woman who seemed to be his lover, was passing by Envy.
"Right, that's how it was."
Seeing them, Envy recalled the emotions of that time, which she had forgotten.
"I was steeped in jealousy."
She had envied someone, and felt jealous.
"That'll do nicely."
Envy slowly began to follow the young man and woman as they walked away from her sight.
****
Late at night, with the moon high in the sky.
In a quiet outdoor training ground at the academy, Fran was sweating profusely, swinging his sword without rest.
"This isn't enough..."
Even though he had swung his sword more than ten thousand times, Fran gritted his teeth, moving his body, which felt like it would collapse at any moment, and his hands, which felt like they would shatter.
The reason Fran was so engrossed in his sword, despite tomorrow being the mid-term exam, was simple.
Because he had recently realized, without a doubt, that his skill was pathetic compared to someone else's.
—Clang!
"Damn it...!"
Recalling the moment he had been defeated and collapsed by a corrupted individual in a certain cave, Fran dropped his sword to the ground.
He was ashamed. Ashamed that he, a candidate for the next Hero, had been defeated by a corrupted individual.
He was frustrated. Frustrated that the corrupted individual had been defeated by someone else, not him, the Hero candidate.
He was jealous. Jealous of a friend who possessed greater skill and talent than himself, a Hero candidate.
"..."
After suppressing his frustration for a moment, Fran picked up the fallen sword and began to swing it again.
Fran thought to himself. All of this was happening because he was weak. So, he decided to cast aside all extraneous thoughts and dedicate himself solely to honing his swordsmanship.
Indeed, Fran had been madly devoted to training ever since that day, swinging his sword over ten thousand times every day, just like today.
"Why are all Hero candidates like that?"
Envy, secretly watching from afar, quietly murmured, recalling a Hero candidate who had attended the academy with her.
"Mort, that guy was like that too."
Once a Hero, but now a foolish fellow confined somewhere in the temple.
Envy looked at the current era's Hero candidate, who was sweating profusely, and thought.
That fellow, he resembles my friend a lot.
"But, why is that fellow steeped in jealousy?"
Envy, staring at Fran, flicked her tongue out, muttering.
"It makes me want to help him."
Then she thought.
If things went well, it might make for an interesting picture.
"Hah..."
Thinking that, Envy suddenly bit down hard on her lip and stared intently at Fran.
No, to be precise, she was staring fixedly at the pale-blonde man approaching Fran.
The man was offering Fran various pieces of advice and uninspiring jokes.
"Still the same. Still meddlesome, and still terribly uninteresting."
Muttering that, Envy felt emotions stirring within her and turned her body away.
And then she thought.
Indeed, merely watching wasn't enough.
"Alright, time to get to work."
Envy began to walk.
To meet the person that arrogant human, Mandara, told her to meet.
****
Today, after the mid-term exams.
I sat alone on a bench, waiting for someone, and immersed myself in 'Mana Burn' training.
*Just a little more, I feel like I'm almost there...*
My mana, which had been motionless, now pulsed as if about to boil.
But that was all. Unlike Malik's mana, mine didn't boil or burn, and it was still being paid directly to the Scale.
*Well, at least there's progress.*
Though it was a bit bitter, I decided to think positively.
Even if I couldn't master it now, with repeated training, I would be able to make 'Mana Burn' my own in the not-too-distant future.
If that happened, even if my immediate combat power might be slightly less than when deceiving the Scale, I could fight without worrying about durability or recoil.
Thanks to this, I was able to set a short-term goal.
The Seven Deadly Sins: Envy and Gluttony.
I would defeat those two, who would soon come looking for me, without deceiving the Scale.
As my thoughts reached this point, I suddenly felt grateful to Malik.
If it weren't for him, I would have been racking my brain over dwindling durability instead of even learning 'Mana Burn.'
And that wasn't all. Malik was even teaching Rose swordsmanship and magic.
Thanks to him, I was able to secure a little more time to focus on my own training, and Rose was improving by leaps and bounds, honing her skills.
It was a good thing. Rose was one of the few allies I could trust, one I could rely on to watch my back.
I was certain. Rose's growth would be a great help to me, either immediately or eventually.
I definitely felt Rose's rapid growth today during the practical exam.
The practical exam was conducted using illusion magic, similar to the entrance exam, but the difference was that the academy directly decided what entity would appear before the examinee.
Rose instantly cut down the high-level monster that appeared before her.
I was genuinely impressed. Honestly, I thought a high-level monster would still be too much for Rose.
And, Rose wasn't the only one who surprised me.
*Fran.*
Fran, the protagonist of the original story, also cut down a high-level monster in an instant.
Perhaps he was greatly shocked after the travel club schedule ended?
I knew Fran had stopped flirting with women and had been focusing solely on training since then.
But I never dreamed that Fran would have grown so much at this point in time.
*Good.*
The world I lived in was already unfolding completely differently from the original.
So, it was a welcome development. With dangerous events sure to soon descend upon the academy, it was good that other key characters besides me were growing.
*I need to work harder too.*
It was true that I was ahead of others. But I had no intention of resting on my laurels.
I would fully master 'Mana Burn' and continue swinging my sword so my hands wouldn't grow dull. I would not stop chanting so my senses wouldn't dull.
Only then could I defeat those I intended to defeat and secure my own complete life.
As I sat on the bench, making that silent vow to myself, Senior Randel, whom I was supposed to meet, spoke to me.
"Did you wait long? Did you do well on the exam?"
"Well, isn't that obvious?"
I said that, but I couldn't help but smile wryly. The practical exam was, of course, first place, but the written exam wasn't.
"Really? That's strange. Professor Dian said something odd after seeing your written exam paper."
"...What did he say?"
"He said you were someone who understood the beauty of blank spaces."
"..."
"Well, the written portion isn't that heavily weighted, so you'll be fine."
"Anyway, what did you want to talk about?"
To hide my embarrassment, I pouted and asked Randel for the reason for our meeting in a grumpy tone.
"Alphonse, that man wants to meet tomorrow."
"Considering he suddenly appeared after being elusive... he means to settle things with you tomorrow, Senior."
"It also means that significant combat power has joined him."
I nodded, recalling my memories of the man named Alphonse.
He was the leader of the 'Wings of Freedom,' a person with twisted ideologies, and also an apostle of evil allied with the Chaos Cult.
His past was tragic. He lost his family to nobles, was abused, and even abandoned.
But the past was just the past. After establishing the Wings of Freedom, Alphonse soon fell into depravity, seizing countless innocent lives and properties.
Furthermore, Alphonse even tried to offer his subordinates, who were like his own limbs, to the Chaos Cult.
It was only natural that I defined him as evil and intended to take his life without hesitation.
"Understood. When should we meet?"
Therefore, I accepted Randel's proposal without hesitation.
Good. I was itching for a fight anyway.
"Thank you. But..."
Perhaps he felt grateful for my readiness.
Randel's eyes widened as he spoke.
"I'm not sure this is something to smile so wickedly about."
Saying that, Randel subtly avoided my gaze.
****
Envy, who had entered a luxurious room to meet the person Mandara told her to, crumpled her face into a frown.
"...Wow, I didn't expect this."
Envy was dumbfounded. And for good reason; what was visible in Envy's sight was an old man and a woman, both naked and asleep on the bed.
The woman, who appeared to have fainted, was covered in bruises from head to toe.
"Interesting."
Envy lifted the chin of the collapsed woman, a corner of her mouth twitching upwards.
It made sense. The face Envy was looking at was exactly identical to her own past self.
"Truly interesting."
Envy quietly murmured with an ice-cold smile.