“H-Hi there, everyone.”

    “...”

    “N-Nice to see you.”

    As the final day for Frey came around, he chose to visit the academy.

    “What’s this? Is it really Frey?”

    “What a sight.”

    “What’s he doing here with that face?”

    As soon as Frey entered the classroom, the atmosphere turned icy.

    “...Haha.”

    The five main heroines, Lulu, and Isolet were still tirelessly searching the world for a way to save Frey, even on his last day.

    Of course, they hadn’t found any solutions, not even an alternative, which left them absent from the academy.

    Thus they couldn’t defend Frey against the still hostile students unaware of the truth.

    “But didn’t they say his left arm was cut off?”

    “Yeah, and he lost his power because of it.”

    “Must be a fake arm. Didn’t you see the article?”

    As they said, Frey now had a prosthetic arm designed by Serena and Irina.

    At first glance, it was indistinguishable from a real arm, but up close, it was obviously a cold, hard mechanical arm.

    They would have preferred a biological arm, but due to Frey’s ongoing demonification, a mechanical arm was the only option.

    “Hey, take off that glove.”

    “...What?”

    Noble students approached Frey, who was hiding his hand with a white glove.

    “Take it off. Let’s see if it’s really a prosthetic.”

    “...”

    “Not taking it off? Must be a prosthetic, then.”

    “So he really lost his power?”

    As the nobles whispered among themselves, Frey, who was trying to maintain a smile, started to crack.

    “Guys, today is my last day–”

    “But it’s funny. How could that maniac even make such a face?”

    “Right? Such a mild expression. Pff.”

    “Our dear Lord Frey, reduced to a commoner, huh?”

    Despite trying to keep his smile, the nobles started to poke and prod him.

    “Because of you, my family’s connections are all gone. How will you take responsibility?”

    “You’re the one who shattered my brother’s bones, right?”

    Frey bit his lip in silence as they taunted him.

    “Look at that. Look!”

    “Pff...”

    Students gathered outside the classroom pointed at him, whispering as if he were an animal in a zoo.

    “Lord Frey.”

    “Yeah?”

    “Um, this...”

    At that tense moment, members of the Hero Party approached Frey.

    “...Come over here.”

    Alice, who stepped forward, reached for Frey’s arm.

    “Here’s what you asked for... Ah.”

    Trying to pull him out of the hostile atmosphere, she froze as she felt the difference in Frey’s left arm.

    “Let’s get out of here.”

    “...Okay.”

    She quickly composed herself, gritted her teeth, and helped Frey up.

    “...”

    The nobles glared coldly at them.

    “I’ve prepared as much as possible for you to experience academy life. So...”

    “Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”

    Ignoring the nobles’ icy stares, Frey left the classroom.

    Murderer.

    Psycho.

    Pervert.

    Die.

    His desk was covered in countless curses.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Thanks to the Hero Party joining me, the initial clashes didn’t escalate further. Even the nobles hesitated to confront the Hero Party directly.

    So, I could enjoy my first and last days of academy life as ‘Frey’ instead of a villain.

    “Today’s lesson is about the total amount of mana and its limits. Everyone, please turn to page 218...”

    “Hehe.”

    Academy classes were fun.

    I already knew the content from the previous cycles and Serena’s personal tutoring.

    But it was delightful and enjoyable to learn with the students without having to pretend to be bad or dumb.

    “I have a question. You said the total amount of mana is fixed for humans, but is there no way to forcibly increase it through training or experiments?”

    “Um... It’s impossible. No human has succeeded.”

    “Then, how about artificially reducing the total amount? It could be useful for deception tactics...”

    “If that’s possible, they’re not human.”

    “It works for me, though...”

    “Pardon?”

    “... It’s nothing.”

    Ah, I also asked questions during the class.

    They kept saying things weren’t possible, even though they worked for me, which was confusing.

    But then again, I’m an exception to the rules.

    Wait, but Irina and Serena could adjust their total amount of mana easily too.

    Were the three of us just weird, or was the theory wrong?

    “Hello?”

    “Eek!?”

    After class, I went around greeting each student.

    My connections were mostly with the noble factions and the main heroines, so there were many students whose faces I knew but weren’t close to.

    I wanted to greet everyone while I was at it.

    “What are you doing? Get away from me...”

    “Ah, um...”

    “Get lost.”

    Of course, most of the students either looked at me with frightened eyes or cold stares.

    But even so, it was a joyful experience.

    “It’s lunchtime...”

    “Is that so? Then I’ll join you for lunch.”

    “...Alright.”

    Anyway, life at the academy was full of fun, but it reached its peak when lunchtime came.

    “F-Frey?”

    “Give me a lot, please!”

    “...?”

    Holding my tray in the common dining hall, I received my food and sat down to eat with the students.

    “This rye bread... it’s really good.”

    “...”

    I will never forget this moment.

    “Lord Frey...”

    “Munch, munch... What?”

    “What am I supposed to do now?”

    “What do you mean?”

    As I enjoyed a peaceful and happy time chatting with the students, Alice, who had been sticking close to me, spoke in a trembling voice.

    “I’ve spent my whole life as the Secret Lord’s lap dog.”

    “...”

    “You saved me, and I wanted to serve you for the rest of my life... But now, what should I do with my life...?”

    “You have to find that out for yourself.”

    I answered calmly.

    “I want to serve you.”

    It’s too late.

    Even as she continued to ask, I found myself murmuring internally.

    It’s far too late.

    Why was this happening? I thought it would be okay because it was the last day.

    Dark thoughts began to creep up inside me. I might end up saying something I shouldn’t.

    “...I’m

    As I forced myself to hold back my words, Alice apologized with a pale face.

    “I’m

    “...Hah.”

    Seeing all of them made me laugh.

    “Hahaha... hah.”

    Is this what I had worked so hard to protect?

    How pathetic.

    Even if Clana tried to reform the empire, the roots were already rotting.

    I was deeply disappointed.

    Maybe it was the lingering effects of the Curse of Mental Weakness.

    Experiencing the empire’s and the academy’s true colors had eroded the rose-colored view I once held.

    - Rumble...!!!

    “Move aside.”

    “W-What?”

    “What’s happening?”

    As I began to radiate immense stellar mana from my body, the students approaching me widened their eyes and stepped back.

    “Get lost.”

    I spoke in a cold voice to those students, then quietly walked down a secluded hallway.

    “Leave me alone.”

    System Recovery: 1:00

    I didn’t even have the energy to move to another place.

    I’ll just let it end here at the academy.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    00:05

    Frey, having encased an entire section of the academy in stellar mana to prevent anyone from approaching, sat down in the middle of the hallway, blankly staring at the system window.

    “Five minutes left...”

    Before he knew it, there were less than five minutes left to organize everything.

    “...Hah.”

    Realizing this, he glanced around and sighed with trembling eyes.

    “As expected, there’s no miracle.”

    He waited and waited, but no heroine came through a portal to find him.

    It meant they were still frantically searching for a way to save him even now.

    He was truly grateful to them.

    Even in the last five minutes of his life, his mind was filled with thoughts of them.

    “What should I say at the end...”

    He quietly thought about what to say to the heroines after confronting and settling things with Aishi.

    If he drank the potion Eurelia gave him, he could buy time to leave a will even after receiving the penalty.

    “Hah.”

    He sighed and closed his eyes.

    “...”

    Then, he quietly envisioned a picture in his mind.

    Kania clinging to his side with a cool expression.

    Serena covering her mouth with a fan, clinging just as closely.

    Ruby sitting beside him, holding his hand.

    Irina looking at them with a displeased expression.

    Clana crouching in the corner with a slightly defeated look.

    Ferloche waving her hand with a foolish expression.

    Lulu rubbing her cheek against his hand.

    Isolet quietly stroking his head.

    And...

    Aria presenting a doll she sewed,

    Standing beside her were his parents...

    “Hah, hah...”

    Imagining a scene he could never see or recreate again made his breathing rough and his heartbeat quicken.

    The time to part with everyone he loved was just around the corner.

    00:01:00

    The system window in front of him now showed one minute remaining.

    His complexion was becoming increasingly pale.

    The barrier created by his stellar mana was bathing the entire hallway in white light.

    00:00:30

    It looked like an image of the afterlife, a glimpse of heaven.

    But the place he was headed wasn’t heaven, nor even hell.

    The price for protecting his precious ones at the cost of himself was eternal oblivion.

    - Rustle...

    Remembering that, he slowly stood up with eyes tightly shut.

    Beside him, the potions lined up on the floor were gleaming in the light.

    00:00:10

    And so was the system window mercilessly counting down.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    “...?”

    Realizing it was time to leave, Frey reached out with a trembling hand toward the potions on the floor.

    “What?”

    But then he stopped and looked puzzled.

    - Step, step...

    Someone was walking through the barrier of light he created and entering the hallway.

    “Stop.”

    He stared warily at the figure who easily breached the barrier that had kept everyone else out.

    The figure was too small to be one of the heroines.

    “Who are you... Huh?”

    As Frey spoke and stepped back, he widened his eyes.

    “You... You are?”

    “Hello?”

    Brown messy hair. Green eyes. Innocent and pure expressions.

    The familiar face of Glare, whom he had met several times over the past year, came into his view.

    “Why are you here...?”

    Frey asked Glare, who stepped out from the barrier and stood before him.

    00:00:00

    “F-Fuck.”

    Realizing the countdown had ended, Frey quickly grabbed a potion with his left hand.

    System Reboot

    The Path of False Evil System

    An all-too-familiar window that had shackled him for years appeared before his eyes.

    “As expected... my guess was right.”

    Glare, staring intently at the window, muttered with a satisfied smile.

    TITLE

    Penalty Triggered!

    His dreadful fate was descending upon him once more.

    Permanent Debuff: The Fate of False Evil

    User’s lifespan and vitality will be significantly reduced.

    [Stacks: 4] [Special Stack: 1]

    “Looks like it starts with you.”

    He raised the potion while staring at the cursed message that would appear dozens more times.

    “Mr. Frey.”

    He turned his gaze to Glare, who called out while raising her right hand.

    “No, Hero.”

    And then...

    - Snap!

    A crisp sound echoed through the hallway.

    “W-What...?”

    And a miracle occurred.

    The system that had shackled Frey for so long shattered and scattered in all directions.

    “I came to repay my debt.”

    Glare whispered with a bright smile to the stunned Frey.

    “It’s my turn to help you, Hero.”

    On her left ring finger, the Ring of Luck was quietly shining.