I’ll Become a Villainess That Will Go Down in History

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“Alicia, we were able to get permission for that boy, Gilles, from the impoverished village to enroll in the magic academy,” Father tells me a few days later.

Yes! That’s great! I need to hurry and tell Gilles the good news.

Oh, come to think of it… I wonder if I’m allowed to tell him that I’ll be acting as a villainess. Since Gilles is going to be my assistant?

“Father, is it alright if I tell Gilles about monitoring Liz-san?”

“Yes, since you’ll be working very closely with him. He’ll have to carry out a lot of tasks for you during this operation, so he needs to know what’s going on. So go ahead and tell him, and pass this along to him as well,” Father says, handing me a small vial. It’s filled with a pink liquid.

“What’s this for?”

“Anyone who drinks this will be able to pass through the wall of fog surrounding the impoverished village.”

Ah, so that’s what it’s for. And it seems that Father is aware of the wall.

“Thank you,” I say. I bow my head and turn to leave the room.

“Ali, don’t you regret your decision at all?”

…..Regret? I’m super happy right now.

“Not in the slightest,” I tell him, smiling over my shoulder.

“I see,” he murmurs, his eyebrows arching up in the center and a sad smile forming on his lips. Without saying anything more though, he motions that I can go now, and I leave the room.

Why was he making that sort of face I wonder?

….It really is because he’s worried for his beloved daughter, isn’t it?

But everything’s fine, Father. I’m extremely satisfied with this turn of events.

As soon as the day begins to grow dark, I make my way over to the impoverished village.

At this point, I’ve become completely used to the ominous atmosphere in the woods at night. It’s amazing just how much a person can grow accustomed to with repeated exposure.

After passing through the fog, I head towards Grandpa Will’s house. But before I can get very far, suddenly I feel something gripping my leg. Hard.

For a split second, I freeze. But then I pull myself together enough to look down.

A grimy hand that’s nothing but skin and bone clutches my leg tightly….. It’s so thin and frail yet bears a surprising strength to it.

“H….. Help….. me–” A weak, hollow voice rasps out at me pleadingly.

It’s hard to tell just by looking, due to all the filth, but from the sound of her voice, this person is likely a woman. And the stench that her body is giving off is enough to make my eyes water. The smell is nauseating.

Without meaning to, my hand juts up to cover my nose. Even though I’ve long since gotten used to the general malodor of the village, being this close to one of the sources is almost unbearable.

What should I do about this hand that’s grasping my leg, though?

My brain throws itself into overdrive.

A villainess wouldn’t act based off of emotion, she would let reason guide her. So what would a villainess do in this sort of situation…..?

She certainly wouldn’t harm someone who is weaker than her, right? I mean, don’t they often say that you should be kind to the weak and relentless to the strong? That’s the main reason why I can put my all into confronting Liz-san. But this woman is so frail…. A true villainess would definitely help her.

I place my hand on top of hers.

“Everything is going to be fine,” I assure her and then I lift her up.

With all the regular training that I’ve been doing, utilizing something like a princess carry is a piece of cake for me.

……But, even so, this woman is still way too light. Although she appears to be older than me, she weighs way less than I do. It’s amazing that she’s even still alive right now.

Careful not to jar her too much, I rush towards the plaza.

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T/N: Lol, Alicia has been going to this place every day for years and this is the first time someone has begged for help? XD As unlikely as that seems, I’m still excited for the possible introduction of a new character!! Any guesses as to who she might be/what significance she will have in the story??

(My guess is that she is going to be the catalyst for improving the living conditions in the village. Also, it would be nice if she could become Alicia’s friend, since this is the first female character that’s been introduced aside from Liz!)