I’m a Villain, but I Want to Live a Long Life - Chapter 120

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Naila, don’t you sense anything?”

Nyla Merin turned her body slightly. Anita was staring at her with an urging look.

She shook her head toward Anita with slightly anxious eyes.

“I’m still not sure yet.”

Anita frowned and stared at the dark forest spread out before them.

She and her group members had formed a formation and entered deeper into the forest.

Anita, who had been silent for a while as if thinking about something, spoke.

“Everyone remembers, right? We agreed to attack as soon as we spot a magical beast.”

The group members nodded while making eye contact with each other.

None of them were particularly tense, but Hanod and Anita looked especially relaxed.

Joseph looked around at them and asked.

“Are you two really not bothered at all?”

“About what?”

Anita asked back. Hanod also had a puzzled expression. Joseph gulped.

“Well, you two really don’t seem nervous at all…”

Anita blinked and answered nonchalantly.

“There’s no reason to be nervous in the first place.”

“But still, we’re dealing with ancient magical beasts…”

Hanod chuckled and interjected.

“There are few of them, and there are no adults in the group.”

Then he smiled leisurely and gestured toward the forest.

“Besides, Rishion wouldn’t recklessly give students dangerous assignments. As proof of that…”

Hanod glanced back at the forest path he had walked.

“A supervisor has been lurking behind us for a while now.”

All the other group members stared at the dark area behind them.

“As Professor Sadina said, they’ll intervene immediately if we’re in danger. Well, not that such a thing would happen.”

A slight sense of relief settled on Joseph’s face.

“I see. Then it should really be fine.”

Anita nodded while pausing her search for traces of magical beasts.

“Of course. Besides, we’re all exceptionally capable, so what could be the problem?”

Lark, who had been fidgeting nearby, asked timidly.

“R-right?”

Anita looked at Lark and let out a small sigh. Then she shook her head and answered.

“We’ll definitely be the top group. Do you think I formed this group with only high-level ability users for nothing?”

Anita raised an eyebrow. Then she looked at Naila again and pressed her.

“So put some effort into it, Naila. Still nothing detected? I put you in the group because you’re supposedly amazing at sensing magical flows, but really…”

Naila coughed briefly. She had been suffering from a mild cold since Anita took her cloak away on the camping night.

Naila cleared her scratchy throat and answered quietly.

“N-not yet. I think we need to go a bit deeper inside. Then I might sense something…”

Anita, who had been frowning, soon shrugged and nodded.

“Fine, whatever.”

And she began striding toward the interior.

From a distance, faint lights and people’s murmuring could be heard. Joseph whispered.

“Other groups seem to have started searching too.”

Anita said with sparkling eyes, relaxed.

“Let them search hard. We have Miss Naila anyway. As far as I know, no other group has someone with this kind of ability.”

Then she looked back at Naila.

“Miss Naila, you can do well, right?”

Nyla Merin nodded timidly.

Anita smiled slightly, seemingly pleased about something, then walked the forest path with light steps.

Meanwhile, in a forest not far from there.

“Selene, are you sure about this direction?”

“Really, is this path correct? Several groups went completely east.”

At Rosette’s anxious voice, Verain hesitated before interjecting.

“Everyone seemed to be following Anita’s group, right? Because that group has Miss Naila.”

Estelin and Rosette nodded.

Nyla Merin in Anita’s group was a manifester with keen search abilities.

Search abilities were useful in many ways, so Naila was also one of the notable talents.

She could accurately detect the magical power of living beings even from great distances.

So naturally, the students thought Nyla Merin would be the first to find the Diermant.

Rosette, Estelin, and Verain thought the same.

However, as soon as the test began, Selene moved in a completely different direction from Naila.

“You’re not just going randomly, are you?”

“No, this direction is certain.”

Selene’s voice was very serious. Verain moved closer and whispered.

“Well, I’ll follow for now. What makes you so confident that the Diermant is in this direction, Miss Selene?”

Selene glanced back at her and whispered quietly.

“The Creda Tree.”

Everyone’s eyes widened at the unexpected word. Rosette, who had been gaping, asked.

“Creda Tree? The one planted in the Central Building Garden?”

Selene stopped walking. Then she turned around and nodded.

“Yes. Diermant dislikes that tree.”

A moment of silence followed. Estelin was the one who broke the silence.

“Diermant dislikes the Creda Tree?”

Rosette, Verain, and Janet also looked bewildered.

“I’ve never heard such a story?”

“Is that reliable information?”

Selene nodded.

“It’s certain. I asked a reliable source this evening.”

“A reliable source?”

“Yes. My father’s adjutant, Walter.”

Verain jumped in surprise.

“W-Walter Levy?! You asked him?”

Walter Levy wasn’t just a ‘reliable source’ level person!

But Selene nodded calmly.

Rosette, who had been frozen, suddenly came to her senses and asked quietly.

“B-but isn’t that… cheating?”

Selene, whose eyes had widened, made an ‘ah’ sound and hesitated. Then she smiled awkwardly and answered.

“Since we didn’t get caught, maybe it’s not…?”

Rosette was at a loss for words and closed her mouth. But soon she nodded as if enchanted.

“Well, anyone who just sits still in that situation would be a fool.”

The other group members felt the same.

“Right. Especially when the other party is the adjutant of House of Tigris, called the Empire’s best intelligence source… I think I would have asked too.”

Finally, Rosette raised her head. Then she asked with a determined face.

“What exactly did you ask? You couldn’t have just asked what Diermant dislikes.”

Selene answered with sparkling eyes.

“It wasn’t much. I found it strange that Creda Trees were planted around every Academy building.”

“Strange?”

“Right. Creda Trees are large and difficult to maintain, so why plant them around every building? And so densely like a fence.”

The classmates made puzzled expressions.

“Moreover, Creda trees are never even used for landscaping. Has anyone ever seen gardens decorated with Creda trees?”

Everyone hesitated then shook their heads. Selene spoke with a confident voice.

“So I thought there might be some other purpose. Then it suddenly occurred to me. You know how Creda trees are commonly called sacred trees.”

“…That’s right, they are.”

“Actually, if you go to Prater Temple, you can see many Creda trees, right? Since they’re called sacred trees.”

Rosette covered her mouth slightly and widened her eyes.

“Don’t tell me you thought Diermants would dislike Creda trees since they’re monsters?”

Selene nodded with a smile.

“That’s right, exactly that. So when I asked Walter, sure enough, he said Creda trees are rarely found in Diermant habitats.”

“…My goodness.”

“To be precise, Diermants don’t come near Creda trees.”

Verain clenched her fists and shouted with an excited voice.

“Then the Creda trees planted around every Academy building were…”

“That’s right. It seems they were planted to prevent Diermants from approaching.”

Janet looked in the direction they were heading.

“Th-then that’s why we’re going northeast! There are hardly any Creda trees in the northeast. No buildings either.”

“Yes. It’s the perfect place for Diermants to appear. Also…”

Selene trailed off slightly and looked to her side. Then she muttered.

“I just have some kind of… intuitive feeling.”

The classmates looked at each other with wide eyes.

Unlike Selene, they couldn’t see Amon chattering away enthusiastically beside her.

[From this point on, I can sense the presence of quite a few creatures. Each individual seems to be scattered here and there.]

Selene smiled slightly and took a step forward.

Amon was several times more accurate than Nyla Merin’s detection ability.

Then Janet muttered from behind.

“W-wait a moment.”

Everyone stared at Janet. Janet frowned and muttered.

“Anita’s group that was heading east has changed direction toward us. They’re already quite close, and from what I can hear of their conversation, they haven’t found any Diermants yet.”

Rosette scratched her head.

“Nyla Merin’s ability really is impressive. She must have detected Diermant magic from this direction. What should we do? Of all groups, we had to cross paths with the one we least wanted to get tangled up with.”

“Surely she won’t drag other groups along too, right?”

But Selene’s expression was bright.

“No! This worked out well.”

“Worked out well?”

“Yeah. Let’s use this opportunity to test it with another group.”

Everyone stared at Selene with bewildered faces.

“Whether Diermants are really still friendly toward humans.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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