I’ll Make It a Bad Ending Like a Villain

***

Filina paused for a moment and looked at the two of them, then walked towards the office building.

Leon’s expression was very bad.
She had no intention of intervening, but she was concerned that Leon’s opponent was Carmen.

During the entrance exam, Carmen turned a blind eye on Leon even though he knew that the time for Leon’s exam was being delayed by someone else’s magic.

Perhaps he intended to drop Leon for being a commoner.

Filina stood up against the wall of the office building and quietly eavesdropped on their conversation.

“My father was a soldier who participated in the Kober War with the Imperial Palace Knights 9 years ago.”

Filina’s eyes widened at the sound coming out of Leon’s mouth.

He didn’t talk about his father much with his long-time colleagues.
Perhaps it was because of his responsibility as the leader.

She knew him better than anyone that he hated putting his own burden on other people.

She couldn’t understand why Leon was telling Carmen about his father now.

“…The Kober War?”

Carmen frowned, biting his lips as if contemplating something.

“I heard that deputy commander Carmen also took part in the Kober War and commanded militia soldiers.”

That was nine years ago.
Carmen was promoted to deputy commander of the swordsmanship academy just one year ago.

Carmen nodded his head as if he remembered, then looked at Leon and asked.

“I remember that there were very few soldiers who survived, but Sir Leon’s father was a militia soldier, so he died a very honorable death.”

Leon raised his lips at Carmen’s words and smiled.

“It is impressive that you still remember the fact that many soldiers lost their lives in the Kober War.
Deputy commander.”

Leon said with a bright smile on his lips that was unusually seen.

Carmen looked at him with a blank expression on his face, then suddenly frowned slightly.

“I understand that the imperial palace did not take appropriate measures, and that the bereaved family held a protest for a while.
Are Sir Leon’s family okay?”

He didn’t ask because he was worried about the rest of Leon’s family.

He was asking if there were protests.

There was no way Leon could not have felt the difference in Carmen’s voice.

“……Yes.
There were no protests.”

Filina couldn’t understand why Leon was having this conversation with Carmen, but what he said was not true.

Leon’s mother went to the Imperial Palace to retrieve her husband’s body and camped outside days and nights.

Most of the imperial family viewed the protesters as a thorn in their eyes.

“It was a wise choice.
You shouldn’t defile an honorable death like that.
How ashamed would your father be when he saw it from heaven.” 

Carmen patted Leon on the shoulder and said.

“From the first time I saw you, I thought your swordsmanship was unusual, but I guess there was a reason.
Of course, the sword that Sir Leon used during the entrance exam was strange because it looked old…”

His gaze stared at the long sword hanging from Leon’s waist for a moment.

“Anyway, it must have been a fate that we met like this.
I will watch the promotion test tomorrow with interest.
Sir Leon.”

Carmen immediately turned around after those words.
Leon looked at the back of him, moving away, without saying a word.

Both of Leon’s clenched fists were trembling faintly.
The only person who would have noticed it was Filina, who was watching him from behind.

She never thought that Leon’s father and Carmen fought a war together.

Maybe Leon’s admission to the Swordsmanship Academy was related to Carmen?

Why in the world did Leon have to come to this place…

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about an unidentified guild attacking the Imperial Palace.

Occasionally, on the days when Ian could not come to see her and broke his promise, the story about an unnamed guild spread all the way to the Swordsmanship Academy.

According to her third life, Leon would have done it.

But he could not attack the Imperial Palace this timeline.
He couldn’t even get out of the academy in the first place, so there was no way he would have attacked the people of the Imperial Palace.

Rather, Filina hoped that Leon would not get involved with the guild.
After graduating from the swordsmanship academy, she hoped he would live as an ordinary knight.

If that’s the case, then he wouldn’t always be running and hiding like he did in the past.
It was clear that the nameless guild would eventually come to an end due to Ian’s performance.

Filina turned around and walked away, leaving Leon alone standing there.

The dazzling sun announced its existence, still full of warmth.

****

“Nice to meet you.
Starting this morning, a promotion test will be held for the appointment of new students as official knights.”

Many people flocked to the training stadium.
The freshmen, who had slightly nervous faces at the instructor’s voice, began to warm up urgently.

“In the afternoon, the exam will be held in order from 3rd grade to 5th grade.
Everyone, please prepare so that there is no setback.”

After the instructor’s words were finished, the seniors moved to their seats.
Those who had already taken their exam went to the place where the freshmen were yesterday and settled down.

The freshmen who remained in the hall dispersed after hearing the instructions given by the instructor.
Soon after, a huge iron grate came up through the wide space.

The promotion test was conducted sequentially, starting with the 1st Knights Division.

Filina sat in a corner and turned her head to look around.
It was to see if Hugh had returned to the military academy.

But his figure was still nowhere to be found.

Maybe he didn’t want to attend the promotion exam…

“Sir Argeny, you will proceed with the test.”

Henry was entering the center of the stadium.
Filina’s eyes stared at him indifferently.

Henry never mentioned the magic potion she took.

He must have known that she was talking to Hugh in the infirmary, but there was no reaction.

Perhaps it was because of his indifferent personality..…

In fact, Filina didn’t even care about it at all.
She knew Henry’s personality better than anyone.

His silver hair fluttered softly in the wind.
The purple eyes on his fair skin looked bored.

It was as if he wanted this boring time to pass as quickly as possible.

Weapons that could be used in the test could be selected on the spot.
Various weapons were laid out side by side on the brown desk.
A cadet could use up to two weapons.
Henry walked slowly towards the weapons.

[Long sword, bow, spear, enhancer, armor]

He chose a long sword without any hesitation.

The instructor asked in a puzzled voice.

“Sir Argeny, up to two weapons are permitted.
Are you really going to choose just one long sword?”

Henry answered his question with a quiet voice.

“This is it.”

Filina frowned.

She didn’t like his arrogant attitude.

After a while, five huge monsters were loaded into the cage from where the breeding house was.

“……Why are there so many monsters?”

The cadets, who were staring inside the stadium muttered in confused voices.

The level of monsters the freshmen faced was beginner level.
However, the exam was not so easy.

The instructor who had brought as many as five monsters opened the cage without any mention, and the test started as it was.

“Sir Argeny, please, pass the test.”

The cadet, who was waiting for his next turn, muttered in a desperate voice.

The type of monster would not change until someone passed the test.

If he didn’t pass this test, the person who took the next test had to face the same monsters in turn.

Most low level monsters recover all their stamina in 5 minutes.
So, after the test was over, the next cadet waited outside for a while and then started fighting.

The monsters Henry was dealing with had different appearances.

All five species were the same, but because they were growth-type monsters, and their attack patterns were different.
The two monsters flying in the sky seemed to be adults.
The rest of them crawling on all fours on the floor looked like they had not grown up yet.

Henry slammed his long sword diagonally to the right, releasing his hand.
A monster flying in the sky rushed towards him.

Henry slammed the ground with all his might and flew into the air, avoiding the monster with ease.
Then those crawling on the ground approached him.

With sharp claws, three monsters attacked at once.

Henry looked at them with an expressionless face, and then gently swung the hand that was holding the sword.

The three monsters died at once.
Green blood dripped from the tip of his sword.

But the fight wasn’t over yet.
The monsters flying in the sky made a strange cry.

They rushed to Henry with an angry appearance, but fortunately, he easily avoided the monster’s attack.

Filina’s face darkened as she watched.

Perhaps the monsters the instructor brought were a close family.

Watching other monsters die, the anger of seeing them die may have been intended to incite a fight.

It was a cruel way.
Her stomach felt twisted.

Henry killed the monsters that rushed at him without difficulty.
Two monsters fell on the spot in one sharp sword strike.

Henry returned his sword, and the promotion test was over.

“Sir Argeny, congratulations on becoming a knight.
You successfully passed the promotion exam.”

The instructor whispered in a low voice.

Henry turned around and leisurely exited the stadium.
Then, suddenly, his gaze turned to the seat where the cadets were gathered.

Henry’s eyes quickly found Filina.

It was surprising that he was able to find her among so many cadets so quickly, but now Filina didn’t want to worry about it.

For Henry, it was just a test, but for Filina, she felt rejected because it seemed to overlap with him from the past.

Immediately, another person’s promotion test began.
The image of Henry’s fight was still playing in her vision.

The lingering aftertaste did not go away.

The next cadet picked up a sword and armor to take the test.

It was a decent weapon.
After that, armor was an essential tool to take.
Attack weapons were a bow, spear, or long sword.

Of course, the low level of monsters was very easy for freshmen to deal with, but the exam was conducted in a different way so it was much more difficult.

“Sir Leon, we will conduct the promotion test for the appointment of an official knight.”

After a while, Leon slowly walked out into the stadium.

***