I Thought I’d Reformed the Villainous Heroine. But Their True Nature Remained Unchanged, and They Were Still Being Doted On—I Just Don’t Have Enough Lives. - Chapter 2

The Main Flow of Fate Doesn’t Change

The training ground of the Eisenburg family.

The indoor space was solidly built with soundproof and shock-resistant materials. Training weapons hung on the walls, making it the perfect place to work up a sweat.

Because they were frontier counts, the Eisenburg family also handled defense.

As people who protected the citizens and gathered respect from them, daily training was their duty.

Of course, the old me—Gant—hated gripping a sword because of my twisted pride. I thought only people without talent for magic bothered with it.

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!”

My battle cry tore through the drowsy afternoon air.

I swung the training sword wildly, but the person in front of me casually handled everything with bare hands and was frowning at my sudden change.

“Hmm? Myris, what’s suddenly gotten into Young Master Gant?”

It was Instructor Bakudou.

He dressed like a proper gentleman, but he had a big scar across his face. The eyepatch over his right eye made his tough look even stronger.

He was a current mercenary and an old acquaintance of my father.

He’d been hired as my sword instructor, but I barely ever attended his lessons properly…

“Young Master Gant hit his head with a book, sir.”

Myris said it from a distance, sounding amused.

“Did you have a doctor check him?”

“Nope~. But it looks like motivation is pouring out of his head now, so maybe it’s better than fixing it~”

Instructor Bakudou raised one eyebrow and muttered, “I see.”

He actually bought it!

Well, yeah… I had been skipping sword practice like crazy… The honest instructor and the old me who only wanted praise were a terrible match…

“Yes! After hitting my head, I suddenly got super motivated!”

I swung the training sword again, but Instructor Bakudou didn’t move an inch and parried everything.

Adult versus child. The difference in strength was obvious, or so it seemed.

But [Yggdrasil Defense Battle Chronicle] was a world where the quality and quantity of mana decided everything.

Mana could boost your physical ability and reflexes. It was totally normal for a kid under ten to beat an adult here.

Gant’s magic talent was trash. But his mana amount was average.

I was trying to find hope in that.

“Nuuuooo! Hit me properlyyyy! At least graze meeee!”

My spirit didn’t mean anything at all. Instructor Bakudou blocked everything perfectly.

Completely exhausted, I dropped to my knees on the floor and tasted helplessness from the total lack of feedback.

The true villain was a kid my father would bring in because he felt sorry for Gant.

They had a very thin blood connection, barely even on the edge of the family tree, but their magic talent was outstanding. It seemed like they were planning to have that kid support me… and if necessary, even inherit the house.

In the end, the Eisenburg family gets taken over by the true villain.

“Guuu… I have to get stronger, stronger…!”

Basically, I just needed to become properly strong.

If I could turn my personality completely opposite to fate, I should be able to avoid the worst death end.

While I was catching my rough breath, Myris called out in her carefree voice.

“Young Master Gant~, it’s almost time for magic training~?”

“You… your master is wiped out here…”

“Because I’m a talented and beautiful maid~. So, what are you gonna do?”

“Tell the instructor to go home! He only says flattery and I’m firing him, firing him!!”

Both Myris and Instructor Bakudou looked surprised at my shout.

The magic instructors only ever said stuff like “As expected of Young Master! Such deep insight!” “Young Master is a bundle of potential!” “We’re the ones learning from you!” Nothing but flattery.

The old Gant would get angry at painful truths, so only those kinds of teachers remained.

They only praised nonexistent potential. Now I could clearly tell they were laughing behind my back and making fun of me.

“Ah! But I don’t want any hard feelings, so just say it’s for personal reasons, okay!”

Plain, ordinary, and safe is the best.

I wanted to avoid future trouble.

When I stood up and showed I wanted to continue training, the instructor made a troubled face.

“What’s really going on with you, Young Master Gant?”

“Is there any point in spending time on someone with zero talent?”

“That’s………… well, you seem to hate flattery. Indeed, Young Master has no talent for magic. It’s fair to say it’s completely nonexistent.”

He told me straight. That was exactly the part I used to hate.

But now I gratefully accepted it as good advice.

“Do I have any talent for swordsmanship… no, for combat?”

“I’m not talented enough to accurately judge someone’s future.”

“I’ve heard you’re a skilled mercenary, sir. Surely experience lets you sense some things?”

Maybe my desperate gaze touched something in him, because Instructor Bakudou scratched his chin.

“Well, yeah… Young Master, talent is honest. From childhood, you can tell from the way mana rises and how the body moves. If a rough judgment is fine, I can give you one.”

“?! Please do!!”

“However, this time I’ll fight back too… so prepare yourself.”

“Y-yes, please go easy on meeeeeee!!”

I flinched for a second but still shouted with the feeling of clinging to a straw.

Right after that, my screams rang out nonstop—“Gueh?!” “Gohoh!” “Dogubaa?!”—and I collapsed helplessly onto the floor.

Instructor Bakudou and Myris watched me lying there motionless with great interest.

“Hmm… this is…”

The instructor’s eyes looked somehow impressed.

Wait, could it be, could it be… do I actually have some kind of talent?!?!?

“At best, upper middle. Or maybe, by some miracle, you could reach lower high.”

“Goddamiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!”

This body is completely committed to screwing me over!

No matter what, it’s still the body of a cannon-fodder villain!

I can feel the devs’ twisted love pouring straight at me aaaah!

While the teddy-bear end and the taxidermy end spun around in my head, the instructor asked with a somewhat cheerful tone.

“You want to get stronger, right, Young Master?”

“…Y-yeah, really badly.”

“Then let me ask, how do you want to get stronger?”

I blinked several times, not understanding the intent of the question, and the instructor continued.

“Strength to fight in glamorous royal matches. Model strength to uphold discipline. Strength for the sake of health. Strength comes in many forms.”

“…Strength to survive.”

I wanted strength to avoid my fate—even if it was dirty and ugly, I wanted strength to survive.

Maybe that feeling showed in my eyes, because Instructor Bakudou smiled gently.

“That’s exactly what I’m good at.”

“Huh???”

“To become strong as a mercenary, you need to see what you lack. Judge what you have and what you don’t, trim yourself down that way, and find the means to survive.”

“Even if I’m only upper middle… or lower high, can I still compete with the very best?”

“Yeah. It depends on your effort, Young Master.”

My body was battered, but my head felt clear.

It felt like the heavy weight in my heart had lifted a little. If I could gain enough power to avoid the worst outcome.

“Let me say it again—please take care of me, Instructor!”

“Very well. Then stand up.”

The instructor kept smiling broadly.

While I was still lying on the floor opening and closing my mouth like a fish, Myris quietly brought over a wooden sword for the instructor.

“You said at best upper middle, right? To reach lower high, you’ll need hellish training. Training so harsh that blood becomes your sweat.”

“Hiii…”

“Now then, to make up for all the times you slacked off, I’ll have you prepare to break some bones. Don’t worry, we have plenty of healing medicine. Your family status is your advantage, Young Master.”

“Please take care of meeeeeee!!”

I bet he’d been fed up with the arrogant little brat for a long time.

And so, days of training that washed blood with blood began.

※※※

Inside the Eisenburg house, the way the servants looked at me started to change.

Or rather, I made a conscious effort to change it.

I kept showing off with things like “Thanks everyone, as always!” “Thank you again today!” “Ah, I wanna grow up fast and make Dad feel relieved~” I didn’t change my attitude toward Myris much though.

Thanks to that, people started treating me as a normal human instead of an arrogant kid.

Dad looked happy too.

…He’d been down ever since Mom died. I’m glad.

I was heading toward a good future.

I could get real safety.

Literally while spitting up blood and vomit every day, I was gaining that solid feeling.

But I had forgotten.

In [Yggdrasil Defense Battle Chronicle], the ending could change depending on choices, but the big flow of fate didn’t change. …Sometimes it even got worse.

At the entrance, Dad was standing there with a big smile.

“Gant, let me introduce you. This child is going to be your little sister from today.”

――The silver-haired villain wearing a black cape had arrived much earlier than expected.