The Strongest Villain Sets Out: Reincarnated into a Merit-Based Clan, I Become the World's Strongest Swordsman - Chapter 32: The Protagonist Appears

After defeating the black-clad men who had entered the training grounds, I was heading to a certain location in the academy with Cornelia.

It was a corner lined with empty classrooms. We proceeded to the back and entered an unremarkable room.

“Luka? Do you have business in a place like this?”

Behind me, Cornelia tilted her head curiously. I answered while patting the wall in front of me.

“Yeah. If my memory is correct, there should be something around here… oh, there it is.”

When I touched the stone wall, part of it was pushed in as if drawing a small square.

A hidden door opened with a loud sound.

“Wh-what’s this… a hidden passage?”

“It’s a passage connected to the academy’s warehouse. Beyond here, there are tons of valuable items sleeping that are hardly ever used.”

“How does Luka know such things?”

“I just happened to overhear it. What will you do, Cornelia? I think enemies have already snuck ahead. There will be combat.”

“Of course I’m going~! If Luka kills, I’ll kill too. If Luka dies, I’ll die too. I have that much resolve.”

“What are you saying?”

I let out a sigh.

Cornelia looked down somewhat sadly.

However, I declared:

“Neither you nor I will die. All enemies will be killed. As long as we win in the end, anything’s fine.”

“Luka…!”

Perhaps immediately understanding what I wanted to say, Cornelia raised her voice happily.

Neither I nor Cornelia would die. We weren’t the side being stolen from, but the side doing the stealing.

She still didn’t understand that. That’s why I was exasperated.

There was no need to prepare to die.

Together with the noisily excited Cornelia, we aimed for the end of the dim hidden passage.

☆

We proceeded straight through the hidden passage.

Fortunately, it had a simple structure. Without getting particularly lost, we discovered enemies near the warehouse.

“Ah, there are enemies.”

“Right. From the looks of it, guards are keeping watch against intruders.”

“What do we do? Charge in?”

“…No. My destination isn’t the warehouse in front. It’s the warehouse on the left. If we go slowly there, we probably won’t be discovered.”

“The left… that dilapidated door?”

“Yeah.”

I slowly approached the door on the left side.

We weren’t discovered.

The door was already open. Did the intruders check here too?

In any case, I slipped past the guards’ eyes without problem and entered.

It was one of the warehouses used long ago.

It had been ransacked, and trash was scattered across the floor.

“What’s in such a dirty place? Luka.”

“There’s a legendary medicine created by a researcher long ago.”

“Medicine? You came looking for that?”

“Correct. If you drink that medicine, your total aura apparently increases. It’s perfect for me.”

In the game era, I got walkthrough information and went searching. I found that medicine in this room, and when I drank it, I properly powered up.

“Wow! There’s such an amazing medicine. How nice.”

“I’ll give it to you if I find a new one.”

“Really⁉”

“That medicine only has an effect once per person.”

From the second one onward, concepts like sub-accounts and other utilization methods were born.

But in this life, there was no concept like sub-accounts, and even if I tried to use it for alchemy, I didn’t have that kind of talent.

Even if I did, it wasn’t that amazing an item anyway.

In that case, it was better to give one to Cornelia and make her stronger.

“Yay! I love you, Luka!”

Cornelia said that in a small voice, being considerate of our surroundings.

I gave an appropriate response while searching for the medicine.

“Yeah yeah, thanks thanks… hmm?”

There was a strange texture deep in the shelf. I tried pushing, hitting, and sliding it sideways.

Then something slid sideways.

Something came out with a clunk sound.

It was a small box. When I opened it, inside was…

“Oh, lucky. Found it.”

I discovered the target item.

In the game, you could find it by pointing the cursor around this area and clicking repeatedly. I believed it would definitely be there.

Setting-wise, the guy who made the medicine probably hid it.

It was basically a cheat-level item after all.

“Here, Cornelia, this is for you. There were two.”

“Wow! Thank you, Luka!”

I tossed a small bottle to Cornelia behind me.

She caught it and drank the liquid inside without any hesitation.

Immediately after, aura leaked slightly from her body.

“How does it feel?”

“Yeah. I understand. I feel like my aura amount increased.”

“Just as expected.”

I followed her and drank the liquid inside as well.

Like Cornelia, I felt the sensation of aura overflowing from within.

My aura had definitely increased.

“Good. Now that we’ve powered up, shall we go kill the enemies in the front warehouse as practice for control?”

“Okay~. Muramasa, right? Will you test that sword?”

“No, this time Cornelia can rampage freely too. There will probably be more than enough enemies anyway.”

“Got it. Will you praise me if I kill lots?”

“I’ll praise you, I’ll praise you.”

Cornelia thrust her head forward. I gently petted her head. Cornelia smiled happily with embarrassment. Just like a dog.

“Then let’s go. I’m looking forward to it.”

We danced back the way we came to leave the room—just before, both Cornelia and I stopped simultaneously.

We quickly hid at the corner of the door.

“What are you doing here!”

A loud voice was heard from outside the room.

This voice was…

When I glanced outside from the entrance, I could see a very familiar young man’s figure confronting the black-clad men near the front entrance.

A blonde man. He wore a confident expression and pointed his sword tip at the black-clad men.

His name was—.

“Aiden, huh.”

The young man Aiden, thought to be this world’s protagonist and the initial avatar.

Why was he here?

I carefully observed his behavior.