I’m a Villain, but I Want to Live a Long Life - Chapter 149

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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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“So, the student council was in charge of the entire process of selecting current students to fill the exam spots?”

“Yeah, from selecting assignments to preparing the examination hall, the administrators have been too busy lately. So they just roughly outlined the process for selecting students to fill spots and handed it over to the student council.”

“I, I see….”

Rosette showed a rare expression of bewilderment. Martina cheerfully continued.

“That’s how I got to join your group!”

Then she whispered as she added.

“Hehe, lottery draws are easy to manipulate.”

Watching this, I asked.

“But still, is that really okay?”

Martina shook her head as if telling me not to worry.

“Yeah. All the other kids also wanted to go to groups where they knew someone, so somehow we reached an agreement. There were only three groups that needed additional members anyway.”

Rosette looked at Martina with an expression of amazement she couldn’t hide. Martina added sheepishly.

“Besides, I analyzed the level of other groups too, distributing them so it wouldn’t go against fairness. If problems arose, it would be our responsibility anyway, so even though it was manipulation, we couldn’t proceed recklessly.”

Then she glanced at me and added.

“Actually, I heard about it a few days ago. They said it was chaos as soon as you arrived. The current students were told not to leave the dormitory the whole time, so we didn’t know much about the outside situation.”

Rosette nodded.

“That’s true. Even Her Majesty the Empress and His Highness the Prince came and went, so you can imagine how it was.”

“Exactly. This kind of thing must be a first for Rishion too, right?”

“Well, it was resolved well, so whatever.”

Rosette lightly patted Martina’s shoulder. Then she smiled.

“I was wondering when I’d see you, and we meet like this? Good, Martina.”

Martina smiled awkwardly.

Then she quickly greeted Estelin, Janet, and Verain who were standing around looking dazed.

“Ah, I’m Martina Grimaldi. I’m a current student here at Rishion, and with Rosette I’m….”

“She’s my older sister.”

At that moment, Rosette interrupted Martina’s words. Martina’s eyes widened.

I also looked at Rosette with a slightly surprised expression.

This was the first time Rosette had called Martina her older sister.

Rosette was the biological daughter of the Marquis and Marchioness Grimaldi, but Martina was not.

She was just one of dozens of children adopted into that household.

Even at their first meeting, Rosette hadn’t called Martina her sister. If anything, she had shown a sharp attitude.

“Uh, older sister?”

When Martina asked back, Rosette nodded. Then she soon frowned.

“Why? Technically, you are my older sister, aren’t you? Even though we’ve been getting along like friends.”

“Ah, no! I’m just happy…!”

Martina smiled with a strangely flushed face. Across from them, Estelin smiled brightly.

“I’ve heard so much about you, Lady Martina. It’s wonderful to meet you like this.”

Martina was startled and waved her hands.

“La, Lady! Please just call me by my name. And please speak casually too.”

Martina looked extremely nervous.

And for good reason, as she had been adopted into a marquis family but hadn’t been raised as a marquis’s daughter.

This was because the Grimaldi couple were only interested in the abilities of the children they adopted.

So from Martina’s perspective, Estelin, a Lady of House Laurent which was one of the Four Dukes, would naturally be intimidating.

Even setting aside the time she’d known me.

But Estelin wasn’t the type to let others feel uncomfortable around her.

“What are you saying, Martina. If you’re a friend of Rosette and Seleneae, then you’re my friend too.”

“Uh, but it’s really okay… even if you speak casually….”

Rosette interjected from the side.

“Estelin never speaks casually to anyone. Except to her nanny and personal maids. Peculiar, right?”

Martina opened and closed her mouth with a bewildered expression. But soon she reluctantly nodded.

“If, if that’s the case….”

She seemed to conclude that if it was her, who was famous throughout the Empire for her kind and gentle nature, it really could be true.

Estelin smiled like an angel.

“I was wondering who we’d be taking the exam with, but I’m truly happy that Rosette’s older sister came.”

“I, I’m happy too!”

Martina grinned back at her.

I looked around with satisfaction at the brightened atmosphere. Janet and Verain didn’t seem particularly wary of Martina either.

But then, the tightly closed door of the examination hall opened.

Everyone turned toward the door. Inside stood an administrator.

“The previous group’s exam has ended. If you’re ready, please come in.”

Verain was the first to stand up.

“Shall we go?”

Following the administrator out the door, a dimly lit corridor stretched ahead.

“So this is what the basement of the Tower of Wisdom looks like…!”

At Janet’s murmur to herself, Martina whispered quietly.

“This place often changes its appearance as needed. Maybe next time you come, it won’t have this structure.”

“That, that’s amazing.”

“There are many incredible people at Rishion.”

Martina smiled shyly. I looked at her and smiled.

‘The atmosphere seems a bit different.’

Even when we occasionally met as three with Rosette before, Martina had a much more timid and gloomy atmosphere.

But now she seemed to smile more and talk more than back then.

‘Is academy life suiting her well?’

I was secretly beaming with pride when suddenly, small voices could be heard from far across the way.

“Suddenly telling us to disable an artifacter… A simple, easy mock battle would be much better.”

“Joseph. Have you ever seen what an artifacter looks like?”

“I saw Father installing one in his bedroom once. It just looked like an ordinary motion-detecting magical device.”

What emerged from the opposite corridor shrouded in darkness was

Anita, Hanod, and their other group members.

“…Oh.”

As the distance closed, they also recognized us and let out short exclamations.

They were all looking at us with surprised faces.

Their expressions carried a slightly troubled look.

‘They must feel uncomfortable around us.’

Anita’s group members had initially been hostile toward us. But not anymore.

Because it was none other than us who had saved them when they were about to die at the hands of Dearmant.

Joseph’s face, who kept glancing at Estelin, was even bright red.

‘He looks completely smitten.’

Since she had rushed in front of him when he was dying from poison and saved him with holy power, Estelin must have looked exactly like an angel.

‘But that’s wishful thinking.’

I was confident that Estelin had high standards. Then the administrator spoke up.

“This way.”

When I came to my senses, we had entered a place where three long corridors met.

The administrator guided us toward the direction where the largest of the three corridors was open.

Several sets of footsteps echoed carefully in the empty space.

Perhaps due to nervousness about the exam, no one rashly opened their mouth.

But that was an opportunity for me.

“Estelin, how many top-grade artifacters were released in the examination hall?”

It was a small voice, but loud enough to be heard if one listened carefully.

Estelin smiled brightly and answered.

“One. I believe they give 1,000 points for disabling it.”

Verain interjected.

“Then just disabling that one would be enough to pass the exam. But it’s probably quite difficult, right?”

“Well, would it really be that hard?”

When I smiled, Estelin beside me said cheerfully.

“Don’t worry, Miss Verain. If it’s placed in the examination hall, it must be at a manageable difficulty level.”

Martina looked back and forth at us with a bewildered expression as we resumed our seemingly casual conversation.

Then Rosette drove the point home.

“With Seleneae or Estelin’s abilities, they could probably disable it easily on their own, right? They’re kids who’ve even faced Dearmant, so what’s an artifact? Honestly, it’s kind of trivial.”

Her gesture of shrugging her shoulders with apparent boredom really radiated annoyance.

Even the administrator walking ahead glanced at us at her statement that seemed tinged with strange arrogance.

But while everyone’s attention was focused on Rosette, I was observing the situation elsewhere.

Eyes staring straight ahead but unfocused and wide.

Tightly bitten lips.

Her body was rigidly tense, and her fists beneath her arms were clenched tight.

Anita Solb’s face was not just pale but blue.

After walking down the corridor for quite a while longer, we finally entered the examination hall.

According to the administrator, there were two entrances on either side. This was due to the symmetrical design.

We took position at one entrance, while Anita’s group left to enter through the other entrance.

As soon as they disappeared with the administrator, Verain gasped for breath.

“D-did I do well…?!”

“You did great, Verain! You have a talent for acting!”

Estelin chimed in with an excited tone.

Rosette looked at me while nervously rubbing her palms on her clothes.

“I-it was good that Estelin and I switched lines. My voice was trembling so much at the end, I almost got caught.”

“What are you talking about, Miss Rosette’s lines were perfect too! And Miss Estelin was frighteningly good.”

Verain made a fuss. I smiled contentedly as I looked around at my teammates.

Martina, who had been standing there with a bewildered expression, asked.

“Wh-what’s going on?”

I answered with a smile.

“We coordinated our story beforehand.”

“You coordinated your story?”

“Yeah. Since it’s an exam where two groups compete over a limited number of artifacts, I thought we’d need a strategy.”

Martina’s eyes widened.

But at that moment, a beeping sound came from the magical device mounted above the door to the examination hall.

It was the signal to enter.

We looked at each other with tense faces.

Then we nodded and grabbed the heavy iron door handle to turn it.

What appeared before our eyes was another enormous room.

There were a total of four doors in the room, each with a different colored sign in the center.

Unknown numbers were blinking within each sign.

“The gold sign says ‘1’!”

“The green sign says ’20’?”

I carefully checked the other two signs as well and nodded.

“The numbers must indicate the quantity of artifacts.”

Since the grade of artifacts with 20 pieces was low-level,

“The green sign must be where the low-level artifacts are.”

“Then the gold sign is…”

“It must be the space with the highest-level artifact.”

The moment we sorted that out, bright lights came on in the room with a humming sound.

Everyone turned their gaze toward where they felt the light.

Numbers that hadn’t been there before were glowing on the ceiling of the enormous room.

【59:59】

And those numbers began decreasing rapidly.

【59:58】

【59:57】

【59:56】

…

“It’s the time limit.”

Everyone nodded.

And without hesitation, we opened one door and went inside.

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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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