I Became the Mastermind Who Betrays the Heroines

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 67 – School Trip (1)

The duel had been shocking.

The cruel performance that followed, hard to believe even now, finally ended after two hours.

The boy, exhausted from dancing, eventually collapsed.

Thud!

He rolled on the ground, completely drained.

Even so, his hips continued to twitch as if he were still convulsing, a sight that made the onlookers wrinkle their brows in disgust.

The students gazed at the arena with cold, blank stares.

"…"

The arena, which had once been filled with cheers, was now silent.

Just hours ago, these same students had been cheering wildly for Ian. Now, they were speechless, unable to find the words.

The looks in their eyes were far from admiration.

What they had witnessed was nothing short of humiliating.

Students, professors, followers—all those in the audience watched Ian with unpleasant expressions.

He had been flawless.

The top student of his year, regarded as the next student council president, the academy’s finest talent.

But the image he had spent years building was shattered.

All that remained in people’s memories was Ian’s enthusiastic twerking, the image of him shaking his hips wildly.

It was perhaps the most humiliating end possible.

"Hehe."

Meanwhile, only the mastermind behind it all was smiling.

Clearly pleased with Ian’s social death, the snake couldn’t hide the smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

Judas gently covered his mouth, a typical villainous gesture.

《…Ah.》

《Th-The duel is over.》

《Ian Ternado is incapacitated. The winner is Judas Snakes.》

The announcer’s voice echoed belatedly.

Though the victor had been declared, there were no cheers or applause.

Only a heavy silence lingered in the air.

"It was quite the fierce battle."

Judas shrugged and turned to leave.

The students, dazed, could only watch the snake’s figure fade into the distance.

***

The duel between the top students ended overwhelmingly.

It was so one-sided that it hardly felt like a fight at all, but it had certainly been entertaining.

It had been a long time since I’d tasted such an intense surge of dopamine.

‘Maybe I went a little too far.’

For a moment, that thought crossed my mind.

I hadn’t just trampled on Ian’s pride—I had completely shattered it.

The image of the perfect genius was no longer an option for him.

While it was satisfying, considering all the annoyance I’d endured, a part of me almost felt pity for him.

But I didn’t regret it.

‘It was necessary.’

If you looked at it objectively, it was his own fault.

He had picked a fight, received a duel challenge, and then insulted the professor in front of her head teaching assistant.

I had every right to do what I did.

In any case, it was time to settle the terms of the duel.

It was time for what I liked to call [Execution].

I spoke casually.

"How have you been, Senior Ian?"

"…"

Ian sat there, looking pale and exhausted.

His trembling lips held no words.

Whenever our eyes met, he flinched, clearly haunted by the trauma of that day.

Thanks to that, I was able to get the answer I wanted quite easily.

"My request is simple."

"…"

"Just once, I want you to become my pawn."

"A… pawn?"

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"It’s nothing too complicated. When I give you an order, you follow it."

"What kind of order are you talking about?"

"You’ll find out when the time comes. I’m under no obligation to tell you now."

"…"

Though he had been thoroughly beaten and humiliated, Ian was still the top student of the second year.

He was also a contender for next year’s student council president.

Of course, that position was now on shaky ground, but his talents remained undeniable.

He was still a valuable asset, even if he was now infamous for twerking.

Having him bound by this condition would surely prove useful later.

Especially since he was the head teaching assistant for Cadel, who stood in opposition to Selena. He’d be helpful in keeping the balance of power.

In short, he was a promising tool.

"Oh, and one more thing."

I added, almost as an afterthought.

"You’ll need to attend classes regularly."

"Wh-What?"

"You can’t just hide in the research building until graduation."

This condition didn’t serve any real purpose.

It was simply for fun.

After all, now that Ian was the academy’s top dancer, he couldn’t just disappear from the public eye. That would be a waste.

It was like the proud feeling of a producer who had just debuted a superstar.

"Wait, wait a second! Why are you giving me two demands? The duel’s terms only allowed for one!"

He tried to protest, of course.

But I calmly quashed his resistance with a soft voice.

"Senior Ian."

"Y-Yes…?"

"If you don’t like it, I can always make you dance again."

"…"

The choice was simple.

He could accept my conditions, or he could relive that terrible nightmare.

This time, I was thinking of having him do the Zero Two dance at the front gates.

For three hours.

"Feel free to choose."

"…"

Ian, sitting there in a daze, trembled before eventually nodding.

"P-Please, let me be your pawn."

Tears glistened in his eyes.

With a single tear rolling down his cheek, the once-promising genius knelt before the dark schemer.

It was truly a brutal scene.

***

News of the duel spread quickly through the academy.

A mere first-year student had defeated the second-year’s top student—an overwhelming victory.

It had hardly even been a fight.

—I didn’t think it would be that one-sided.

—I thought it’d be close, but Senior Ian couldn’t even put up a fight.

—Is illusion magic really that powerful?

—If it were, it wouldn’t be such an unpopular subject.

—No, it’s just that the first-year is absurdly strong.

The students were shocked.

Illusion magic, known as one of the hardest schools of magic to master, was not typically seen as a dominant force in combat.

But Judas had wielded it so effortlessly, completely subduing an upperclassman, and the students were left in awe.

Some even started reconsidering illusion magic as a viable field of study.

—But still… That was brutal.

—I didn’t expect revenge to play out like that. Who on earth would even think to do something like that?

—Once you’re on his bad side, there’s no going back.

—Come to think of it, didn’t he do something similar before…?

Of course, it wasn’t just Judas’s power that had people talking.

What stood out even more was the way he had tormented his opponent, humiliating him in front of the entire academy.

The whispers were endless.

—He did something similar to Lady Vanity, didn’t he?

It had been in front of the whole school.

In that duel, Emilia had soared through the air before losing control and wetting herself.

Ian, meanwhile, had subjected the audience to an hour of passionate twerking.

Neither of them had escaped unscathed.

Thanks to these incidents, rumors were spreading quickly among the students.

—I’m terrified.

—Stay out of his way. Your school life is over if you get on his bad side.

—Just look at him. Doesn’t he give off an ominous vibe? Like, if you cross him, you’ll disappear the next day.

—I don’t know why, but there’s something chilling about him.

The rumors painted a clear message: Stay away from Judas Snaykus.

These whispers spread from person to person, eventually reaching me as well.

I let out a bitter smile.

"Well… Seems I’ve made quite the impression."

I could feel the wary stares of the students from all directions.

As I awkwardly chuckled to myself, Emilia, who was walking beside me, spoke up.

"Hmph. You brought this on yourself."

Her blue eyes shot me a sharp glance.

There was a mix of disdain and pity in her gaze.

Perhaps, as a fellow victim, she sympathized with Ian.

Frowning, she scolded me.

"This time, you went too far."

"I’ve reflected on it."

"Your grin is practically stretching to your ears."

"Ah."

I hurriedly covered my mouth.

Emilia sighed softly.

"…I get it. It was justified."

"I’m glad you understand."

"And I know you held back. If you’d really wanted to hurt him, it wouldn’t have ended with just making him a laughingstock. You could’ve erased him completely without leaving a trace."

"That’s quite a scary thing to say."

"But it’s true."

"Just because I can doesn’t mean I would."

"You always have a comeback, don’t you?"

Finally, Emilia pressed her hand against her forehead as if trying to soothe a headache.

With a quiet mutter, she added:

"That Ian guy… I wonder if he’ll ever be able to show his face again."

"Oh, don’t worry about that."

"Hm?"

"He’ll be fine. Just look at you, after all."

"What…?"

Seizing the moment of distraction, I struck with a lighthearted jab.

My words pierced her like a knife.

"Wh-What did you just say…?"

Emilia’s face flushed bright red.

Her eyes trembled with a mixture of rage, embarrassment, and disbelief.

She stood there, frozen for a moment, before snapping back to reality and shouting at me.

"You promised not to bring that up again!"

"I’m surprised you believed me."

"Y-You… You absolute scumbag!"

"How innocent of you."

"Argh! You…!"

Emilia, practically dying from embarrassment.

Dodging the ice spears falling from the sky with ease, I continued my dedicated tea-bagging.

Fulfilling my duty as an agent of chaos.

"Rest assured, My Lady. If you want, I can even embrace your shameful past…"

"Shut up!!"

"Isn’t this true, pure affection?"

"Ughhh!!"

And so, we walked down the road, the air around us buzzing with chaos.

***

The duel, rather loud and eventful.

Thanks to that, a whole week had passed in the blink of an eye.

The academy was now steeped in the depths of summer.

With the season came the lush greenery that greeted us.

Students were celebrating the months that had flown by.

The academy was a place of endless, suffocating competition.

But even amidst that fierce grind, there was a momentary reprieve—a first vacation.

None other than the school trip.

"It’s already tomorrow."

As I muttered while sitting on the couch, a voice came from beside me.

It was Irene.

"The schedule starting tomorrow… is it the school trip?"

"That’s right."

The fox girl was making tea.

She was trying her best, but her skills were still too clumsy to be called maid-like.

I swallowed the tea that had a strangely bitter taste.

"That’s unexpected."

"Hmm?"

"You seem excited."

"Of course I am. Who wouldn’t love a vacation?"

"I thought you’d be different."

"I wish you’d stop assuming I’m some sort of exception."

"I’ll try."

She fiddled with the teapot, expressionless.

After a brief silence, Irene asked as if something had just occurred to her.

"When are you coming back?"

"It’s supposed to be a week."

"That’s shorter than I thought. I guess I’ll just stay at the dorm."

"Oh, did I not mention?"

"Mention what?"

"You’re coming along too, Miss Irene."

"I’m going too…?"

"Each student can bring one servant. I was planning on bringing you."

"Can I refuse?"

"No."

"I figured as much."

Irene let out a short sigh.

I smirked, then gently stroked the tail wagging beside me.

The soft texture ran through my fingertips.

"…Why do you like my tail so much?"

"Don’t worry about it, Miss Irene."

"I said don’t touch my tail."

"A vacation with everyone will be fun, I’m sure of it."

"My tail—"

"The destination this time is by the coast. A perfect summer getaway, don’t you think?"

"You’re not listening at all."

I expertly soothed the whining fox.

And then, I said softly.

"Haha… It’s going to be quite fun."

Because there’s an unexpected event waiting for us.

A sinister smile spread across my face.

I quickly forced my lips into a straight line and took another sip of tea.

It was still bitter.

***

And so, the night passed, and morning broke on the long-awaited day of the school trip.

From early morning, Class A students had already gathered at the carriage stop.

Each one carried large suitcases, preparing for the journey ahead.

With eyes full of excitement, they waited for the last to arrive—their homeroom professor.

Perhaps she had overindulged the night before the vacation.

Selena looked like she was suffering from a hangover.

And yet, she still clung to her bottle, fitting the image of a true drunkard.

She conducted a final headcount and took charge.

"Everyone, board your assigned carriages. We’ll be departing shortly."

The students found their seats.

Neigh!

Before long, the carriages lined up and set off with a lively sound.

The horses’ hooves clattered as they crossed the academy’s gates and trotted through the streets.

[EP.9 School Trip]

—The Dazzling Sea, and the Singing Children—

The vacation had begun.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]