Taming The Villainesses-Chapter 367: Peeling Off the Wrapping (1)

"Even if I’m being treated like a criminal now, bound hand and foot like this, in the future our magical order, Yggdrasil, will—"

"That’s enough. Just quietly get into the prison cell. And someone gag this guy already. Who’s in charge of this transfer? Who handles a mage this carelessly?"

—Uh, that would be Lady Elga.

"Don’t talk back to me!"

Elga handed the mage Roland over to the soldiers and furrowed her brow deeply. Her patience had already run dry after days of non-stop suppression of the rebel elements.

How long was she going to have to keep doing this? Elga had no idea. She just felt like a cat endlessly chasing after rats that kept popping up.

‘I’m not a rat-chasing cat—I’m a lion.’

That’s what she wanted to complain about, but there was no one around suited to hearing her grievances.

Just then, she saw someone waving from far down the alley. She momentarily mistook her for someone else, but it was Stella.

"What the—oh, it was Professor Stella."

"Who did you think I was? Anyway, Elga, we’ve rounded up all the Black Robe Revolutionaries. Once we captured their field leader, Porpori, he started spilling everything."

"Well, that’s good."

Elga responded just as half-heartedly as Stella’s report. A slightly awkward silence began to pass between the two. Elga didn’t like the tension.

‘I’m still awkward with this woman.’

She’d rather be a rat-chasing cat again if it meant going off to catch more rebels. That was how much she wanted to get away. Then Stella spoke up.

"So, it’s already been three days since the tournament ended. Looking back, time really flew. It took over three months to prepare everything."

"Yeah, true."

"But the whole world’s buzzing. The taverns, the alleys, the markets—everyone’s talking about it. The world is changing."

Stella was right.

Three days since the tournament ended.

And yet the world hadn’t moved on. Instead, the buzz about that day had grown even louder than during the festival itself.

Even the soldiers of House Leones were no exception.

—What’s going to happen to us now? Everyone already knows Lady Elga and Sir Teo are close. What’s our status supposed to be?

—Shh, guys like us don’t need to worry about that stuff. ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) Just follow orders, that’s enough.

—Still... the world’s changing. Maybe even we low-ranking soldiers might have a shot at rising up....

Elga, who had been silently listening to their conversation, couldn’t hold back and scowled.

"You think I can’t hear you whispering back there like a bunch of rats? If you’re soldiers of a lion’s army, speak proudly to my face."

The soldiers flinched and quickly scattered in all directions. Pathetic. The way they got worked up or froze with tension wasn’t to her liking.

And it wasn’t just the alleyways, the markets, or the soldiers of House Leones. The entire Kingdom of Angmar itself felt like boiling asphalt—sweltering, unstable.

Elga couldn’t begin to imagine what form the melting kingdom would take. But it was the same for everyone, wasn’t it? No one could sit still.

Then Stella asked,

"So what happens now? To us, I mean."

"I don’t know. Aren’t you the professor? Shouldn’t you know more about this kind of thing than me? You’re the intellectual here."

Stella only shook her head at Elga’s jab.

"Politics isn’t my field."

"Convenient excuse."

"But even now, I still can’t calm down. I don’t even really understand what happened. And I have no idea what we’re supposed to do next. That Teo boy, could he really have...?"

Stella trailed off, trying to broach the subject, but Elga cut her off immediately, as if she’d been waiting for it.

"I have nothing to explain. Ask him yourself."

Stella narrowed her eyes in response.

"I know that. So what’s the guy in question doing right now?"

Elga raised her head. That tall spire that seemed to reach the sky—somewhere in Sandora’s city hall, the half-fairy would be lying down. Had it really been three days since he lost consciousness?

"He goes and causes all this mess, and then leaves everyone else to clean it up."

Once that guy woke up, she was definitely going to give him an earful.

But it wasn’t even anger—it was just the natural course of things.

What really weighed on Elga’s mind was the other party. Her cousin Ayra, who should have been the true star of the tournament.

For the past three days, her movements had been like...

***

Something warm and heavy was pressing down on my chest.

When I opened my eyes, I found a small, warm bundle of brown fur curled up and lying there.

It was Kkeongkkeong the flying squirrel.

Why was this guy always sleeping on my chest?

I couldn’t even breathe properly.

I tried to sit up to move him gently near the edge of the bed—but as I did, a sharp pain shot through me and I instinctively grimaced.

"Ugh."

It was like my entire body had been tenderized with a meat mallet. Muscle soreness radiated everywhere.

Even a twitch of a finger caused a chain reaction of pain through the muscles and joints in my hand and arm.

So instead of trying to get up, I let myself sink back into the soft pillow and looked around. The window was slightly open, letting in sunlight. The curtains fluttered in the breeze.

The ceiling, the bed, the antique carpet, the mounted decorations—this must be one of Sandora City Hall’s guest rooms. Why was I here?

I tried to remember. But the moment I pushed my brain, it started to throb. It was a kind of muscle pain inside my head.

Maybe I’d pushed my body and mind too hard. I couldn’t even move or think properly.

Could I still speak?

I opened my mouth and tried to say something—anything.

"━━──."

The only sound that came out was like an old tree being cracked open by a woodpecker.

I hate to say it, but one of my few redeeming qualities was my half-fairy voice, and now even that had cracked. Even I frowned at how bad it sounded.

But I knew the reason.

I’d wrecked my throat.

Trying to mimic the lion’s roar of House Leones must’ve done it. The pain wracking my body and brain was likely from the same cause.

I hadn’t thought about the toll it would take—I only thought about surviving and winning. And in the end, I did win the tournament. I remembered raising the crown high.

Yeah. I won.

But after that—

What happened?

Nothing came to mind. My head felt like it had a boulder resting on it, and I couldn’t think straight at all.

My whole body felt like it had been torn to shreds.

Was this the recoil from using Teo-Nova Ultimate Hierarchy, burning up a hundred years’ worth of life?

That’s about all I could recall. Even my eyes felt like they were going to pop out of my skull.

This is bad.

It was so bad it made me laugh.

"......."

A silent laugh. My chest and stomach trembled, and that must’ve stirred the flying squirrel, because Kkeongkkeong slowly rose from my chest.

—Kkeongkkeong...!

As he barked, I heard something rapidly thumping from a distance. Then the door burst open and a head of orange hair swung wildly into view.

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"Ahhh—! He’s awake! He opened his eyes!"

"He opened his eyes! Tartar is witnessing this glorious moment!"

"I, Purupuru, also wish to see it!"

"Garuru...!"

In an instant, the room filled with imps.

I had no idea what was going on—I could only blink.

Kkeongkkeong hopped down from my belly and scurried up onto Marmar’s shoulder.

"Comrade! Are you awake? It’s been three days since the tournament ended!"

Three days?

"But your body’s a wreck! Muscles, joints, even your mana circuits are all shredded! You probably can’t even speak!"

Despite the chaotic voices, Marmar was accurately assessing my condition.

"Of course, I didn’t figure that out myself. The best healer in Sandora said so! Said it’ll take at least a month to recover! And..."

"Glorious Comrade Marmar, now is not the time for grim reports! We must celebrate our new champion, Teonoi...!"

Slip.

The imps gently pulled my body out from under the covers. Now that I saw myself, I realized I was completely wrapped in bandages like a mummy. My hands, legs, chest—even my face probably.

"Ughhh."

Even their soft little hands made my muscles scream. Just a touch was enough to make my eyes water.

"Urgh..."

"Let’s toss him in the air to celebrate...!"

No, if they did that now, I was going to pass out again. Just as I was flailing desperately, someone coughed at the door.

"Ahem. Imps, would you kindly give us a moment?"

That calm voice belonged to Mirna. The imps exchanged glances, then gently set me back on the bed and filed out in a rush.

Mirna approached and said,

"Those imps are always such a whirlwind... I’m not sure who’s more dazed, them or you, Sir Teo."

"......."

"I heard your throat’s destroyed. Talking must be hard. Not just your voice—muscles, ligaments, even your bones are supposedly a mess."

I’d already heard that from the imps. And frankly, I knew my condition better than anyone. My body was busted.

Even if I healed completely—

I wasn’t sure I could return to what I was before.

"You were far too reckless. I watched your match. It was all recorded in a crystal. Just surviving is enough to call it a miracle."

I see.

So it was recorded.

Not that I cared about the footage. What I wanted to know was the outcome. I must have won. But lying in this bed, it didn’t feel real.

I slowly parted my lips.

"Ho... how..."

"You want to know what happened, right? I’ll get you some water first. Let’s moisten that throat of yours."

Mirna scooped up some lukewarm water with a spoon and held it to my lips. As I swallowed, I could feel the liquid spreading through my body. Even my insides were a mess.

But just drinking that helped my condition a fair bit.

"So... what happened?"

At my question, Mirna slowly turned to the window.

"A lot’s happened since you collapsed, Sir Teo."

"Three days..."

"Yes, it’s already been three days. Explaining everything would take a while, but I’m sure the thing you want to know most is about the queen."

"......."

"The queen is now stationed beyond the Clarice Grand Barrier, in the northern forest. She’s set up a base there with soldiers."

What? Why did that happen all of a sudden?

I furrowed my brow in confusion. Mirna reached into her robe and pulled something out—a small crystal orb.

Shhk.

As she extended it, the orb glowed with colorful light and began projecting something onto the wall.