The Villain Hersy.
As the main villain, she was disliked by everyone. Readers and characters within the novel alike despised her.
In a recent survey, she confidently topped the list of “The Most Disliked Antagonist.”
Especially in this current incident, where she lost her feathers due to her own carelessness and then blamed the protagonist, she received much criticism.
However, Lloyd thought differently.
“As expected, I can’t help but feel sorry for Hersy, both then and now.”
It was clear that Hersy was at fault for blaming the protagonist for stealing her feathers and causing a commotion.
But the protagonist was also problematic. Regardless of the process, shouldn’t they return the feathers to their rightful owner once the Phoenix feather’s owner shows up?
However, the protagonist simply ignored Hersy’s grievances and swallowed her words, achieving great magical feats and earning fame as a result.
The magical wand made from the Phoenix’s feather played a significant role in her success. While Hersy only used the feather as a pillow, when crafted into a wand, it became a powerful item with immense advantages.
From Hersy’s perspective, it must have been infuriating.
Having her precious Phoenix feather stolen by someone else, not to mention someone she considered beneath her.
If she didn’t repay the favor, she would be disqualified as Minerva’s successor.
Setting that aside, the setting was medieval, and there was no noble who could peacefully coexist with commoners.
But was the protagonist just an ordinary person?
Instead of being insulted, she caused Hersy even more distress.
After that, there was a notable change in how the students, who used to admire Hersy, treated her. There was no way the naturally born noble Hersy could endure that.
In the end, Hersy crossed the line, got expelled from the academy, and was exiled from the Minerva family, bringing about her downfall.
One noble aristocrat falling from grace was enough to affect the protagonist’s mood, let alone being responsible for her downfall.
“So, helping Hersy wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
There was some concern that assisting Hersy might make her look bad, but the other reasons weighed more heavily on Lloyd’s decision.
He disliked the act of disparaging others based on sentimentality.
**
“What is wrong with that person?”
Hersy muttered as she walked.
“Can you believe this? Asking for help? Ha, what does she think of Minerva?”
Upon a moment’s reflection, it seemed ridiculous.
She stopped walking and gazed toward Lake Deline.
A magical prodigy born into the swordsmanship clan.
Lloyd Christopher.
Even as a child, his name was so famous that she had known it well.
-If I help you, then…
“It’s fine. I don’t need your help. I can do it myself.”
After giving an evasive answer earlier, she sealed her lips shut.
In reality…
-Well, if you insist…
She almost said, “If you help me, I’ll be grateful.”
Hersy’s face flushed.
But rejecting the help offered by the prodigy Lloyd would be foolish.
It did not align with Minerva’s principles of always being rational and reasonable.
Was the prodigy just a prodigy?
Didn’t the headmaster of the renowned academy even say that Lloyd didn’t have to attend classes?
Some speculated that the headmaster received significant funding from the Windsor family, others claimed it was a tactic to hide the inadequacies of the lazy genius Gongja.
But that was absurd.
The royal family couldn’t interfere with the decisions of the powerful Northern Duke, and the Windsor family was known for doing things their own way.
Furthermore, staying at Delin’s Lake all day and even sleeping there, even for an active magician, was not an easy feat. Hersy herself could only last three hours.
Just seeing that was enough to prove his magical talents.
“Uh, it’s embarrassing.”
Hersy sighed deeply.
But she didn’t really hate it.
Hersy had a lot of pride. If she truly disliked Lloyd, she would have refused, no matter the benefit.
“…He’s quite good-looking.”
More than calling him good-looking, he was adorable.
Anyway, it was Hersy’s taste.
“…Can we become friends?”
Hersy’s hidden feelings revealed themselves subtly.
However, deep down, she had this thought:
“If I become friends with Lloyd, perhaps my father will acknowledge me?”
“I’m such trash.”
Hersy continued walking, wearing a bitter smile.
Today, as always, Lloyd visited Lake Deline without fail.
Although the emerald lake shimmered and welcomed him, Lloyd didn’t seem pleased.
“Did I oversleep?”
Despite using the Phoenix feather as a pillow, he couldn’t fall asleep and felt restless.
It seemed that sleeping for 20 hours yesterday became the issue.
“This is troublesome…”
The academy’s classes lasted until 4 p.m., a quite lengthy time. Without sleep, it would feel like time had stopped.
Lloyd felt a sense of urgency.
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“How did I handle this in my past life?”
In his previous life, Lloyd suffered from insomnia. He tried countless methods to get some rest.
Now, as he was reborn, the terrible insomnia that tormented him had disappeared, making the current situation even more effective.
“Usually…”
Ironically, the most effective method was YouTube.
Listening to ASMR or watching space videos helped him fall asleep relatively quickly.
Although it lost its effect after some time, he still watched them persistently.
Without them, he couldn’t fall asleep at all.
“But there’s no YouTube here.”
No matter how versatile magic was, he couldn’t summon a space science YouTuber from another world.
“…Magic?”
Lloyd blinked his eyes. Upon reflection, could he use magic to implement ASMR?
“I’m a genius.”
Lloyd displayed a smile of realization.
He decided to try it right away.
First, he briefly considered which ASMR to implement.
The one he usually listened to was the sound of crackling firewood, in other words, a campfire.
“I just need to bring a few pieces of wood and ignite a fire, right?”
If he used the “smell-blocking magic” and “barrier,” it might be similar enough.
“But first, I need to find firewood.”
Lloyd got up, holding his pillow.
The surroundings of the lake were dense forests.
Finding firewood was like searching for sand on a desert.
He walked to the closest area.
“It’s too big.”
The mana concentration around Lake Deline seemed to be the reason why there were no ordinary trees.
In his previous life, there were only giant trees like baobabs.
“Let’s just cut one piece and break it down.”
Lloyd found a suitable tree and extended his hand.
He hesitated for a moment.
How could he cut the tree?
Magic required a specific form to be effective.
For example, just thinking, “I want to cut the tree,” wouldn’t make it happen.
Thinking, “Create an axe,” wouldn’t work either, as he couldn’t create objects with magic.
“Hmm.”
It wasn’t a difficult problem. After all, Lloyd Christopher wasn’t someone who would hesitate forever.
The issue was that there were too many possibilities.
“What could be like a blade?”
A blade.
Lloyd first thought of wind.
“Compress the wind…”
The problem was that Lloyd’s magical power was too strong. If he used it carelessly, the Delin Forest’s trees would end up as stumps.
“Specify the range.”
Lloyd imagined a square, thin frame, placing the tree inside.
Then he swung his hand, compressing the air in the square frame.
-Shuk!
With a cheerful sound, the tree was cleanly cut. At first, it seemed so clean that it didn’t look like it was cut at all.
After a while, the slanted cut section of the tree became visible.
-Kugugu.
The tree was huge, and if left as it was, it would cause a big commotion.
Fortunately, there was a magic he could use without much thought.
Pyrokinetics.
Before the tree touched the ground, Lloyd stopped it with pyrokinetics.
-Thud.
Then, he divided the tree into ten pieces, using the same method as before.
-Thud.
The ten pieces of wood floated gently in the air, all held in place by telekinesis.
In truth, this was a highly challenging magical feat. Telekinesis acted on “a single object.”
However, since Lloyd divided the tree into ten pieces, he was essentially using ten different spells simultaneously.
Considering that the average magician could manage only up to two spells, it truly showcased his genius.
Lloyd discarded most of the ten pieces of wood and kept only one, floating it in front of him.
-Thud.
Even just one piece was quite substantial in size, resembling a large log.
Nevertheless, it should be enough to create an excellent campfire.
-Thud.
Lloyd neatly arranged the pieces of wood, creating a visually pleasing stack.
It looked good and would also sound good for ASMR.
With care, Lloyd brushed off his hands and raised his index finger, creating a spark.
“This should do.”
With a snap of his wrist, he lightly flicked the spark towards the wood.
-Tick.
However, the fire didn’t catch. The spark hit the wood but bounced away.
“….”
Feeling a little embarrassed, Lloyd increased the size of the sparks and tried again.
-Fwrr.
“Ah, darn.”
This time, it was too big. He hastily reached out and quenched the sparks.
“Phew.”
He nearly turned the carefully stacked wood into ashes.
“Now it’s finally okay.”
Lloyd activated the two spells he had prepared earlier and lay down on the pillow in front of the campfire.
-Crackling.
The comforting sound of a campfire successfully echoed in his ears.
Just like the ASMR he used to listen to on YouTube.
It was the perfect balance, neither too loud nor too soft.
Lloyd felt a sense of drowsiness, and before long, he fell asleep.
Today was the 1st of March in the 52nd year of Lemedria.
It was the day before the grand entrance exam, the “Batchi Gosa,” at the Royal Academy.
