WeTried Translations

Translator: Goku

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Became a Villain Perfect for Leveling Up

Chapter 023

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Aquila Knights (2)

“Ugh…”

“Don’t move. Your wounds will worsen.”

When I let out a groan as the throbbing from the bruises all over my body intensified, the female knight’s voice was heard softly.

“Your wounds were so severe, you would have died if I had been even a little later. The doctor says you need to be hospitalized for at least four months.”

“…You are.”

Realizing this was someone’s bedroom, I turned my head to look at the female knight.

She wasn’t in armor as before, but elegance and restraint flowed from her everyday attire.

However, it also felt a little… light, to the point of wondering if it was a somewhat revealing outfit.

“I am the Captain of the Aquila Knights. Altair.”

“…!!”

At that moment, my eyes widened significantly as the female knight introduced herself as Altair.

Altair.

One of the NPCs who inherited memories and stats.

And highly likely to harbor vengeance against me.

“Surprised by my rank? I am merely the same as you, so don’t be nervous.”

Altair gently brushed back her blue hair and carefully raised one corner of her mouth.

She didn’t seem to be stingy with expressing emotions, but it also didn’t seem like she was accustomed to such expressions.

Cold sweat trickled down.

Though she didn’t know my true identity at all right now, if the moment ever came when she did.

I would be killed hundreds of times again without even being able to resist.

“…Are you alright, young man?”

As my breathing became increasingly ragged and cold sweat flowed, Altair picked up a dry towel from beside her and wiped my forehead.

It was a touch filled only with kindness, devoid of any other emotion.

“You have a fever…. I’ll be right back with a wet towel.”

As she, misunderstanding my condition, hastily left the bedroom, only then did I begin to breathe, having held it in.

…I must escape.

I could die right now and escape to the Altar of Lamentation.

I moved my joints, which made sounds they shouldn’t, and searched for Freud’s Fang.

But even after rummaging through the surrounding furniture, the brass dagger was nowhere to be seen.

Perhaps it was taken by the thugs when I was beaten.

Thinking I should check other rooms, I got off the bed and lost my balance, collapsing to the floor.

“Kkeu-eueuk…”

A pain like an electric current shot up my spine, tormenting my entire body.

The severe burning pain made me lose all desire to move further.

As I lay sprawled on the floor in a fetal position, gasping for breath, simply wishing for this pain to disappear.

“…!”

Altair, who had brought a basin of water, discovered me fallen and rushed over.

“Are you alright? Oh, my…”

I was quickly laid back on the bed, and she wiped away the sweat that had begun to flow with the rising fever using a dry towel.

She carefully cared for me until the dry towel was soaked with sweat.

A benevolent person.

As I felt it, Altair was definitely not a bad person.

It’s rare to find someone who would bring a complete stranger to their home and nurse them.

Especially after experiencing such a future in the 1st Playthrough.

Moreover, that gaze, worrying about others’ affairs as if they were her own…

My amplified anxiety and fear gradually stabilized due to her devotion.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes…”

The scenery visible from the window had already changed from morning to night.

“That’s good. Even if you’re in a lot of pain, try not to get off the bed. Most fatal accidents when seriously injured happen from falls.”

“…I’ll bear that in mind.”

When I affirmed with slightly unfocused eyes, Altair made a small sniffle and nodded.

Her natural movement, though unintentional, seemed to be her usual habit.

“Ah. Now that I think of it, the weapon you had is being kept in the armory.”

“…”

I wondered why there was no weapon in the bedroom, but it was being well-preserved where a weapon should be.

However, I could only despair at her subsequent words.

“I’m sorry. But don’t expect to get your weapon back.”

“…!”

“The weapon you possess is too dangerous. So much so that it threatens the public order of our Aquilian.”

Altair was resolute.

“I remember how you protected that dagger. …It seemed like a family heirloom or a precious item. I’m truly sorry to confiscate it.”

Altair bowed her head, earnestly apologizing for the unavoidable reality.

The reason for confiscating the weapon was understandable, but it wasn’t a relatable story for me.

“…”

Assuming she wouldn’t budge from her firm resolve no matter what I said, I remained silent, and Altair, reading my expression, awkwardly averted her gaze.

“Now that I think of it…. The clothes you were wearing were St. Liberta Academy uniform.”

Perhaps to liven up the subdued atmosphere a little, she opened her mouth.

“Even after inquiring about your identity, no one seemed to know you.”

Just as my tension rose at the word “inquiring,” I was relieved to hear that no one knew me.

“Still, I found the origin of the uniform. It seems it was forcibly stolen from a male student at the academy?”

“!!!”

“Would you tell me your story? Why you were wearing that uniform.”

Altair, who skillfully made the flow of the atmosphere her own in an instant, narrowed the distance and crossed her arms.

She was certain that even without knowing my exact identity, I wasn’t simply a good person.

“Our Aquila Knights’ intelligence could easily find your identity if we tried, but I haven’t bothered to.”

Facing her clear gaze, which demanded the truth, even employing her unique negotiation skills, the fear of all the deaths I had experienced so far surged.

“…Wait!”

When I came to my senses, I had pushed Altair away and was bolting out of bed.

Even though my body, riddled with injuries, kept losing its balance, the fear that I would die if I stayed like this made me forget the pain.

Altair was chasing after me from behind, telling me to calm down, but I didn’t care and somehow made my way to the armory.

A musty, cold atmosphere permeated the armory.

“Please, calm down! You really might die if you keep this up!”

As I entered the armory and locked the door, I heard Altair’s voice shouting, pounding on the door.

Fortunately, just as she said, the brass dagger was visible, laid among countless weapons.

Besides Freud’s Fang, I noticed the greatsword Altair used, but I paid no attention to it.

There was no point in collecting such weapons anymore, and besides, that greatsword would likely have stat limitations like Maeve’s weapon.

With trembling hands, I grabbed Freud’s Fang, and surrendered my body to the now familiar pain.

* * *

“I won’t ask your identity, so please just rest in bed for now… Huh?!”

Not long after, when the doorknob shattered and the armory door burst open, the scene Altair discovered was too cruel.

She had found the young man, with Freud’s Fang stabbed into his neck, bleeding and dying.

“Wh-what have I… What have I done…”

As she realized the situation, despair began to fill her eyes.

This was the young man who had nearly died from being indiscriminately beaten in the red-light district.

Naturally, his tension towards strangers would have been high.

Not caring for him as a patient, and approaching him professionally was, by anyone’s standard, a mistake.

Even as Altair belatedly pulled out Freud’s Fang deeply embedded in the young man’s neck and tried to stop the bleeding. It seemed it was already too late.

“I’m sorry…. I’m truly sorry…”

As she clasped the dying young man’s hand, he clutched her hand tightly even as he died.

From his gradually chilling touch, the desperate emotion of wanting to live was acutely conveyed.

That emotion was something Altair would never forget.

When the ruin had come.

…Because countless subordinate knights who fought and died with her were like that.

“Twice… I’ve made you all die again…”

Altair was already overlapping the young man before her eyes with her subordinate knights.

“It was the second chance he gave me…”

《 Perk ‘Addicted to Defeat’ activated!

- Your level increases by 14. 》

At that moment. When she checked the alert that popped up in her status window, she fell into even greater despair.

“…!!!”

The trace left by the young man’s death. It became an indelible brand on her forever.

As the young man turned to ash in her arms and vanished from this world.

Altair faced her two strongly trembling hands.

* * *

《 Resurrecting at checkpoint. LOADING… 》

As I resurrected at the entrance of Aquilian, I massaged my neck where a bitter pain lingered.

Stabbing myself in the neck to commit suicide was a sure way to die, but it had a major drawback.

Having to powerlessly listen to the sounds around me while death slowly approached.

‘Twice… I’ve made you all die again…’

‘It was the second chance he gave me…’

Altair’s monologue echoed in my ears.

“The second chance I gave…”

She, who had been killed by me in the 1st Playthrough, had similar thoughts to Maeve.

To her, my existence wasn’t a murderer, but a savior who allowed her to return to a world where precious things remained.

“…”

I felt a sense of relief from the fact that I wouldn’t be killed by Altair, at least.

Though it was a significant leap to be certain without my true identity being revealed yet.

Having forgotten the purpose of entering the city, I intended to return to the Altar of Lamentation, and.

“Excuse me, but it’s dangerous to roam outside right now.”

“It’s past curfew, so we ask for your cooperation.”

My path was blocked by two guards at the entrance of Aquilian.

The form of armor they wore was similar to Altair’s, but different.

I considered telling them to move right away and subduing them, but then abandoned the thought.

Causing a commotion would only be detrimental to me, so I silently nodded to the guards and took a spot in the city park.

I could just sleep rough here until the sun rose and curfew ended, then leave immediately.

So I found a spot in the corner of the park and lay down.

“Excuse me…”

“…?”

Not long after, one of the guards who had been blocking the entrance came and woke me.

I wasn’t the only homeless person sleeping in this park, was I?

Feeling a question about why he specifically woke me, I looked at the guard, and he handed me a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket.

“If you happen to need a place to stay…. Our Aquila Knights are always accepting enlistment applications.”

A natural enlistment recommendation.

Having already served in the military once, I didn’t want to go again, so I was about to return the paper he handed me, but my hand stopped.

What was most important to me right now was strength.

No matter how powerful Freud’s Fang was, my own strength ultimately didn’t support that power.

When I was beaten by scum like those in the bar, I painfully realized how weak my own strength was.

“If I go there…. Can I become stronger?”

“Of course, you can become stronger. Our Captain was also someone who was weaker than anyone. But now she has become a Captain stronger than anyone.”

He answered my question with conviction.

His words that even an existence like me could become stronger, and the consideration of accepting me in my ragged state, moved my heart.

“…I’ll enlist.”

With the clear goal of becoming stronger and the thought of no longer wanting to be alone, I readily accepted enlistment.

It was also because Altair, the Captain of the Aquila Knights, didn’t know my face.

My face, damaged from being beaten with fists and feet, was clearly different from my current undamaged face.

I vowed that if it didn’t seem right, I could always return to the Altar of Lamentation.

“Yes! I’ll guide you to the barracks right away!”

The guard, with a kind smile, helped me up, and together we headed to the Knights’ headquarters.

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