I’m a Villain, but I Want to Live a Long Life - Chapter 123

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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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“That idiot!”

Rosette jumped up from her spot immediately after. She rushed out of the hiding place without hesitation.

I also followed behind her quickly with a pale face.

The light emanating from Estelin’s body had become unbelievably bright, but was now gradually subsiding.

Fortunately, all the magical beasts had disappeared in the meantime.

“Estelin! Are you crazy!”

Rosette finally grabbed Estelin’s wrist and shouted.

Estelin quickly turned around. She looked pale, as if she was also surprised.

“Ah…”

Her trembling light brown eyes were shaking aimlessly.

“I, I’m sorry… I promised not to interfere…”

“Shut up!”

Rosette furrowed her brow deeply. She grabbed Estelin’s cheeks with both hands and turned them this way and that.

“Are you okay?! Are you hurt anywhere!”

Estelin blinked with a bewildered face.

“I’m, I’m fine but…”

Rosette’s expression relaxed for a moment. However, she soon shouted fiercely again.

“Are you really insane?! No matter how urgent it was, jumping in front of magical beasts – is that something you should do?! Do you really want to die that badly?!”

It was a voice that seemed to be barely suppressing anger.

I looked around just in case. The forest was quiet.

Thanks to Estelin’s tremendous ability from earlier, the magical beasts seemed to have scattered in surprise.

Then a small, cracked groan came from the ground.

“Ugh, urgh… What is this.”

Lark, who had fallen after being attacked by the Dearmant, seemed to have regained consciousness.

“What on earth happened…”

It was the moment he frowned and barely managed to get up.

“Lark!”

Anita, who was nearby, crawled on her knees and approached him urgently.

Lark looked back and forth between Anita and us with a surprised face. Anita sobbed.

“Ha, Hanod is…!”

Soon everyone’s gaze focused on one place.

Hanod, who had been fighting the Dearmant just moments ago, was lying unconscious on the ground.

“Ha.”

Rosette grabbed her forehead with a complicated expression.

Estelin and I quickly approached Hanod.

While the other group members were regaining consciousness one by one, Hanod’s complexion grew worse as time passed.

I examined his face, damp with cold sweat, and said.

“…It’s mana depletion.”

Estelin nodded.

I had experienced a similar situation before.

At the gladiator event, Rin was in exactly this state right after the final match.

Back then, Rin had mana depletion because she maintained her beast transformation too long while facing Rubel.

Thanks to Estelin’s treatment, she was able to recover her strength quickly.

Anita quickly approached us.

“Ma, mana depletion?”

“Yes.”

Anita’s face darkened instantly. She bit her lips tightly while sobbing quietly.

I asked her calmly.

“Has the prince been facing the Dearmant alone all this time?”

Anita lowered her head with a despairing expression.

“The Dearmant absorbs human mana. So there was no one else who could face the magical beasts except Hanod.”

Our group members’ faces became serious.

“Hanod… his ability level was much higher than ours. He fought off dozens of them so we could escape here.”

I recalled the scene I saw while hiding in the shelter, where Hanod was attacking the Dearmant.

He seemed to be desperately using telekinesis, but all he could move were just a few tree branches and stones.

I frowned.

“It looks like he needs treatment…”

“I’ll do it!”

Estelin answered quickly. White light was already floating in her hands.

But I grabbed her arm and shook my head.

“Estelin can’t do it.”

Her eyes widened.

“What? But if not me, then who…”

“You used a lot of mana healing everyone just now.”

Estelin closed her mouth. Rosette, who was watching, also urgently intervened.

“That’s right. Stop using your ability anymore. What if you also get mana depletion?”

Estelin hesitated, as if she hadn’t thought that far.

But then, Anita suddenly grabbed Estelin’s opposite wrist.

“Please do it, just a little bit would be fine!”

Estelin looked at Anita with surprised eyes. Anita roughly pulled Estelin toward her and shouted.

“Hurry up, hurry and heal him! What if something happens to Hanod!”

Estelin froze in place, opening and closing her mouth.

Rosette stepped between them and slapped Anita’s hand away.

“Are you really crazy?! You should be grateful she just saved your life!”

Anita, who was looking down at her rejected hand, widened her eyes and scowled.

“If you’re going to help, you should do it properly to the end! Will you take responsibility if Hanod doesn’t wake up?!”

Rosette’s mouth fell open. Anita’s lips trembled.

Then she approached the fallen Hanod, tightly grasped his hand, and lowered her head.

“Sob, Hanod…”

The sound of sobbing quietly echoed through the forest.

Behind us, Janet and Verain were helping other group members get up one by one.

I quickly counted the number of people with my eyes.

‘Eleven in total?’

Five from our group and six from Anita’s group. However, since Hanod was unconscious, he was just baggage.

‘We need to somehow support Hanod and return to the Central Building.’

Even if not the Central Building, if we could just reach the nearest tower, we’d be somewhat safe.

There would be Creda Trees there, so the Dearmant wouldn’t approach further.

Having made my decision, I muttered quietly.

“We should probably hurry and move.”

Everyone looked at me at those words. I took out the portable magic mirror I received before the exam started.

The magic mirror showed the current location of our four group members along with thin scales blinking.

The four directions – north, south, east, and west – were marked on the edges.

“Since this seems to work as a compass too, the direction opposite to where we came from…”

I gestured toward the direction where darkness had fallen.

“If we go that way, it should be the Central Building.”

Janet and Verain came closer.

However, someone was leaning weakly on Janet’s shoulder. It was Naila, who was said to have search abilities.

My expression gradually darkened as I checked her condition.

Naila was limping badly on one ankle. At a glance, it seemed she couldn’t walk.

‘Hanod isn’t the only injured one?’

If two people couldn’t move on their own, getting to the central building would be too much.

If we encountered another Dearmant horde while moving…

‘Should we just create a hideout here and stay hidden?’

A groan escaped me without realizing it. Rosette and Estelin approached.

“What’s wrong?”

“There seem to be more injured people than I thought. In this case, wouldn’t it be better to wait for the rescue team rather than fleeing to a nearby tower?”

Both of them nodded. Rosette gestured toward the other group members.

“I agree with you. Since we have a lot of people, it might be better to wait for the rescue team. If we move carelessly and become targets again, it’ll be troublesome.”

Estelin had the same expression.

“That’s right. Also, the fact that Dearmant absorbs magical power makes it risky to move rashly. They seem quite intelligent for magical beasts… The longer the battle goes on, the more disadvantageous it’ll be for us.”

I nodded.

“Yeah. It would be better to create a hideout and wait for people.”

But then, someone grabbed my shoulder and spun me around.

“What?! Who gave you permission! We need to go to the central building right now!”

The one gripping my shoulder tightly was Anita, her face flushed red.

Rosette swatted away Anita’s hand from my shoulder and shouted.

“This is really getting ridiculous!”

But I stopped Rosette with one arm and stepped in front of Anita.

“What’s your reason?”

Anita hesitated. But soon she lifted her chin and retorted.

“Hanod…! Hanod is in a critical situation right now!”

“It’s not critical. Magical exhaustion often improves with just rest. It just takes time.”

“Hanod is a prince!!!”

Anita screamed. Her voice was so loud that everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her.

Anita trembled and muttered as if being chased.

“Do you know how much King Drayden cherishes Hanod? Ever since the first prince passed away a few months ago, he panics even when Hanod just coughs!”

I had already heard rumors that another prince of Sorad had died from illness.

He was the person who had attended the last thanksgiving festival as a state guest.

‘We even had meals together, so I was surprised when I heard he suddenly died.’

“Hanod needs to see a physician quickly! If he remains unconscious for too long… if something goes wrong…”

Anita trembled as she looked down at Hanod. Then she glared at me and whispered threateningly.

“Then it’ll be war! I’ll tell everyone that Hanod got hurt because of you!”

A cold silence followed. When I sighed, Anita frowned.

“If you care so much about the prince, you should have saved him yourself.”

At my words, Anita shut her mouth.

“I saved everyone from dying, and now you’re ordering me around?”

“What… what did you say?”

“We’re not leaving now. Do you want us all to perish together?”

Rosette was already choosing a spot with thick bushes to create a new hideout. I turned around and said.

“If we’re lucky, the rescue team will find us, or we’ll have to wait until sunrise. Just keep that in mind.”

“That’s impossible!!”

Anita reached out to grab me. But Lark and Joseph blocked her.

“Please stop, Miss Anita! Lord Hanod isn’t in that critical a condition, so let’s wait a bit as he said.”

“That’s right. Moving now might be more dangerous.”

I shook my head while watching Anita struggle. Rosette approached and whispered.

“Is it really okay to just leave her like that?”

Rosette had a serious expression. She kept glancing at Anita and said.

“You know how in adventure novels, kids like that always cause trouble…”

That was the moment.

“Let go of this!! I’ll take Hanod to the central building by myself!! Let go right now—!!”

Her clear voice echoed loudly throughout the forest. The sound became an echo that circled through the air several times before stopping.

But then, in the forest that had fallen silent, a strange aura began to swirl.

Rosette let out a deep sigh and shrugged her shoulders.

“…Yeah, just like now.”

The Dearmant had returned.

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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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