I Became A Third-Rate Villain In The Hero Academy
chapter-258

Since then, Theo's life became exceedingly simple.

After academy classes ended, he would immediately return to his room to practice Qi and then go to bed.

His dinner was taken care of by Amy's cooking, making him look like someone who had renounced worldly desires.

Two weeks had passed since Theo acquired the [Demon Sword]; it was currently a Friday afternoon.

The main content of this week's classes was a practice dungeon exploration.

To improve the students' ability to deal with large numbers of enemies, the faculty prepared practice dungeons primarily filled with humanoid monsters.

The students were busy fending off the relentless waves of monsters.

"Ah sh*t, that scared the hell out of me! I thought it was a person!"

"Everyone, tie bands around your heads! There are so many monsters it's confusing."

However, Theo's team was quiet.

Alice, who was holding a bow in the rear, yawned.

"Haah~ There's nothing for me to do since everything's being taken care of at the front."

Seria, who was next to her, replied.

"Hehe, right. I'm getting sleepy because there's nothing to do. I don't know whether to be happy or sad about this."

The two of them looked towards the front with sleepy eyes.

In the front, Theo, Irene, and Alphs were literally slaughtering the humanoid monsters.

Theo lightly swung his sword, splitting a humanoid monster in front of him in half, and said.

"Hmm, Irene. Let's take a break for a bit. If the two of us catch them all, Alphs will have nothing left."

"Got it, Theo."

Irene likewise split a humanoid monster in half and responded.

The two sheathed their swords and stepped back, arms crossed, watching Alphs deal with three humanoid monsters at once.

"Ugh... Heh! Ha, yah!"

Alphs grunted as she dealt with three at the same time.

"Hyah!"

She exhibited skilled technique, slicing off one creature's arm and then spinning to slash at the ankles of another behind her.

Theo nodded calmly and evaluated.

"The fear of facing humanoid monsters has completely disappeared. As expected, practice makes perfect."

"Right. At first, I doubted whether Alphs could do it, but she did in such a short period, didn't she?"

"It had to be. The two of you were personally coaching her."

To be precise, it was three people.

Nay, just like Theo, immediately recognized that Alphs's biggest problem was her mindset.

─Hmm. Silver child. From what I see, this white child has solid fundamentals. But her stance with the sword is hesitant, as if she has a great fear of slashing something with it. In such cases, real combat is the answer. Of course, pushing her too hard without care might backfire, so make sure to be nearby when she acts to give her a sense of stability.

Thus, under the strict care of the three, Alphs's skills rapidly improved within two weeks.

Irene spoke to Theo, who was momentarily lost in thought.

"But indeed, a divine item is a divine item. An artifact that chooses its own master... I've only heard about it, but this is the first time I've seen one."

Irene's gaze was fixed on the [Demon Sword] strapped to Theo's waist.

Not long ago, with Theo's permission, she had tried to make contact with 'it'.

But as soon as she did, a strangely distorted voice filled her ears, causing the hairs on her body to stand on end, and she had to stop the contact in less than a minute.

About a week ago, Maximin, the head of the Chalon family, announced that Theo was the first in history to be chosen by the Chalon family's divine artifact.

The aftermath was intense. It became an unstoppable wave.

It didn't take long for Theo to start creeping into the discussion of whether he was 'the greatest talent on the continent'.

Articles related to Theo were headlining all sorts of media outlets across the continent.

While it was a happy situation to be engaged to someone so praised, Irene couldn't be entirely happy.

'It's strange no matter how I think about it.'

Even though Theo has become a completely different person in the past few months, she knew well his reckless youth. It was hard to erase the unease filling her heart.

'I need to press for answers again.'

She knew that most of the Aslan family members were currently running around trying to decipher the letters Theo had written.

But they needed to hurry even more. To move even faster.

Now that Theo has been chosen by the Chalon family's divine item, there's not much time left...

Today's classes had all finished.

This marked the end of the week's schooling.

Students gathered in the dome stadium were chatting in small groups.

"Phew... Finally, this week is over. I thought my body was going to break apart."

"Yeah, yeah. Throwing us into the practice dungeon every single day was too much. Are they crazy? My arm broke twice just this week."

"Was Theo's team first place again this week?"

"Yeah."

"Wow, that's unbelievable. Did they awaken or something? He was even chosen by a divine artifact."

"It really might be possible. The instructors said his form has improved tremendously."

"Ugh... Which teams were second and third?"

"Neike's team and Piel's team, I guess?"

"Ah, I expected those two teams. Ugh, next week is going to focus on physical training, so I guess we'll have to come up with some strategies in the meantime. I feel like we're going to end up at the bottom at this rate."

"Sigh... Keeping up in the top ranks isn't easy. Anyway, everyone worked hard this week. Should we all go out to eat?"

"...Why are you looking at me?"

"If you're jealous, you should have done better. We drove the carriage, so at least pay for the ride."

"That's a low blow. Fine... Let's go have some meat for a change."

"Yay~"

Similarly, Theo, who was in the dome stadium, spoke to his team members.

"This week has been tough on everyone. Take a good rest over the weekend. That's all."

Seria opened her mouth with a playful smile.

"Hehe. Now that this week's training is over, how about we have dinner together, Theo? You haven't had dinner with us since last week. Please pay a bit more attention to us."

Alice chimed in from the side.

"That's right. Or maybe we could train together. I've been just watching from behind since last week, and I feel like my practical skills are getting rusty."

Theo shook his head calmly.

"I'm sorry. I have urgent business to attend to at home. I'll be leaving now."

Yesterday, Theo received a report from Amy that the atmosphere in Polaris, the city where the Waldeurk castle is located, was not normal.

The report was about small-scale bomb attacks happening continuously within Polaris.

In the game, the story officially began after bomb attacks reached the Waldeurk castle, with Aisha taking over the Waldeurk family.

The culprit is highly likely to be [Turning White].

Although it happened much earlier than in the game, bomb attacks are not common incidents.

'I should take Aisha with me.'

Immediately, Theo scooped up Aisha, who was giggling with the team members.

Startled, Aisha looked up at Theo with wide, rabbit-like eyes.

"What, what is it, Theo?"

"Follow me, Aisha. There's urgent business."

"Can't we just have dinner first? It's a restaurant we booked two weeks ago."

"It's a family matter."

"...Oops. I'm sorry, everyone. Please have dinner without me."

Theo, with Aisha who dramatically covered her mouth with both hands, stepped out of the dome stadium.

"Wait a moment."

Theo took out a communication crystal from his pocket and contacted Taylor.

He had distributed the ones he received from Sonya to Taylor and Irene earlier.

'Taylor would be quite helpful.'

He had asked for his cooperation before coming to school today.

Soon after, Taylor responded.

─Hello, Branch head. I just finished class.

─I was waiting for your call. Are you near the dome stadium now?

─Yes. Aisha is coming with us.

─Alright. I'll come by carriage immediately. It's nearby, so I'll arrive within 5 minutes.

─Thank you.

The call ended.

Aisha then said to Theo.

"Wow. So, am I going directly to Polaris now?"

"That's right."

"Then you should have told me earlier. I have a lot to pack. I need to pack clothes, cosmetics..."

There was no time for that. If Aisha started packing, it would take at least an hour or more.

Theo said.

"It's urgent. Use the items available in the Waldeurk castle."

Theo took out a purse from his [Subspace Bag] and showed it to Aisha, continuing.

"Otherwise, I'll buy you what you need after we arrive in Polaris. Is this not enough?"

Aisha looked inside the purse.

"It's enough."

The purse was filled with gold coins, an amount that would cover dining out for the entire four years of academy attendance and still have some left over.

Aisha's pupils wavered.

'Could this be... a date?'

She knew that Theo liked her.

He was a shy guy, so maybe this was his way of expressing it indirectly.

Aisha asked.

"Theo... But where did this money come from? I thought you didn't receive an allowance from your family."

"I earned it as a reward for bravery."

Theo stated calmly.

The source of the money was private gambling among the students.

After realizing that there were bets on which team would win first place, he consistently bet on his own team taking the top spot.

He even went so far as to repeatedly bet all the winnings on his team being the first, without losing a single time over two weeks, becoming a legendary gambler who achieved a 10-win streak......

While Theo and Aisha were waiting for the carriage,

"Hey, you! I told you to come to the principal's office, or that I would come to you!"

They encountered an unexpected figure.

"Good day, Principal."

Theo greeted Luna with a bow.