Reincarnated As The Villainess's Best Friend
Chapter 30: A Heart Worth Protecting

Chapter 30: A Heart Worth Protecting

"I think I made a huge mistake."

The night fell silent once again, only interrupted in random intervals by the sounds of an owl hooting outside, or the crickets chirping in the grass.

"Calm down, Rin. You might be overthinking it."

I glanced through an open window. The moon was nowhere to be found, and the darkness outside was briefly pierced by the lights from nearby houses.

I wondered if the other tutors were discussing the same thing we were. Why wouldn’t they? It was the only thing everyone talked about for the rest of the day.

Even though the next two matches lasted barely two minutes, with both winners using just a single spell, everyone in the school still talked about Lucy.

"You saw what she did," I said, trying not to sound overly concerned, even though my body shook at the thought of it. "She’s becoming the Shadow Queen."

"It’s too early to make that conclusion."

"Is it?"

I turned to Miss Fumiko, rather abruptly.

"She summoned a Hellspire! How did she even do that?"

"It’s her bloodline affinity."

"What’s next? A Grimwolf? A Dragon? Before you know it, she’ll be summoning Demons."

"Take a seat. You’re overreacting."

"Am I?"

"Sit down, Rin!"

Her tone overshadowed mine – soft, yet firm. I quietly obeyed and returned to my seat beside her.

"Lucy won her fight, fair and square." Miss Fumiko dipped a soft cloth in wine and began to clean the wounds on my face. "The risk of injury is always high in tournaments like this. You almost died yourself."

I flinched at the sting of the cloth dabbing on my face.

"Baron might have enhanced his punches," I countered. "But he didn’t try to snap my bones in two."

"You don’t know that. His power surge spell could have probably killed you."

"Probably... But he gave me a choice. Lucy just... snapped Freya like she was a twig."

"Lucy didn’t snap her. The Hellspire did."

"On Lucy’s command."

Miss Fumiko pressed the rag on my wound firmly, causing me to wince in pain. "You’re acting paranoid. The Queen herself didn’t even complain this much."

"Maybe I am paranoid."

I grabbed Miss Fumiko’s arm, eyes locked on hers.

"I saw the Shadow Queen summon a thousand demons from the underworld. Demons that torched the entire continent. That image is forever locked in my head, so pardon me if I’m being paranoid!"

My chest tightened. I hadn’t told anyone about that moment. Saying it out loud made it feel all too real.

I let go of Miss Fumiko and rose up from the chair, heading back to the open window. She then dropped the cloth on the table and readjusted her glasses.

"Lucy summoned a single Hellspire to defeat an opponent in a school tournament," she said. "That’s not the same thing as torching the entire continent."

"Could be a start... but it’s not necessarily what she did that scares me. It’s her face afterward."

I turned toward Miss Fumiko.

"Lucy didn’t flinch. She didn’t even blink," I said. "There was only satisfaction. Like she enjoyed it."

"So? That’s not really surprising."

"What?"

Miss Fumiko reached for the wine bottle on the table and poured herself a drink. "You keep judging her actions... But have you asked yourself why she did it that way?"

I shrugged. "Because she’s evil?"

"No... To teach the Freya girl a lesson."

Miss Fumiko paused and took a sip from the cup of wine she poured.

"I didn’t know Lucy," she continued, "but from the brief encounter she had with Freya, I could tell she was being bullied."

"So?"

Miss Fumiko shook her head. I wasn’t sure if she was drunk already, or just disappointed.

"You may be a reincarnated Grand Mage," she said. "But you clearly don’t understand women... Especially those with power."

She emptied her cup and placed it back on the table.

"Lucy’s action wasn’t an impulse, it was a statement. Thought you’d realize that."

Finally, it struck me. Miss Fumiko was right.

Lucy wasn’t acting on a whim. Her brutal defeat of Freya was not a sign of evil, but an act of revenge against the girl who bullied her for the last two weeks.

The same girl who made fun of her best friend.

"So tell me, Rin..." Miss Fumiko added. "Is Lucy really the evil villainess you’re making her out to be, or are you just being paranoid?"

I sighed. For the first time since the fight, I felt a little... calm.

"I may have interpreted it the wrong way," I admitted, "but my fears are valid."

I walked back to my seat.

"Ever since I got reincarnated, I’ve been haunted by the images of the apocalypse. But I don’t know how exactly I’m supposed to stop it."

Miss Fumiko poured another drink in silence.

"There was a moment," I said quietly, "where I thought killing her was the right thing to do."

Miss Fumiko stared at me, stunned.

"But I didn’t," I added quickly. "I couldn’t do it. It didn’t seem right to kill an innocent girl."

I buried my head in my palms.

"But what should I do? I’m so confused. I don’t know whether to stop her now, or leave her alone... I don’t know what I’m doing anymore."

"And you wonder why your magic is gone..." Miss Fumiko murmured.

I glanced at her with a rumpled face. "What do you mean by that?"

She dropped her cup on the table.

"There’s so much unresolved conflict in you... So much that it’s keeping you from using your magic. And here you are, complaining about it rather than resolving it."

She was right. I’d always been quite indecisive.

"But..." I muttered. " I don’t know what to do."

"Pick a side!... Make a decision and stop nagging about your choices. If you want to stop her, just do it. If you’re going to let her live, then let her be. Whatever choice you make, get ready to accept the consequences. You’re not a child Rin, so stop acting like one."

The weight of her words pounded heavily on my heart. As always, Miss Fumiko was spot on. I had to make a final choice, and I had to stick to it, no matter what.

But this was one choice I just couldn’t make on my own.

One last time, I turned to Miss Fumiko.

"I’m afraid of making the wrong choice," I said, my tone solemn. "I do not want the world to end because I chose wrong. I need your advice... Please."

Miss Fumiko picked up her cup from the table. She stared at it for a moment, before dropping it again. Then, she let out a sigh.

"When you met Rin – the actual Rin – What did he say to you?" she asked.

"He told me to listen to my heart."

"And what does your heart tell you?"

I paused for a moment.

"The very moment I met Lucy," I thought aloud. "I admired her, even before I knew who she was. But when I discovered that she was destined to be the Shadow Queen, I immediately resented her.

"Soon afterward, I realized that I... Rin... meant something to her. Something special. They knew each other. He was her best friend. Her only friend. She cared about Rin. And that meant she had a heart. An untainted heart. A heart worth protecting. A heart worth preserving."

I sat up straight and turned to Miss Fumiko.

"My heart tells me, that the only way to save the world, is to protect hers," I concluded.

Miss Fumiko nodded.

"Then do what you were destined to Rin... Be her best friend."

In that moment, I was overwhelmed with a sense of relief. For the first time since I got reincarnated, I felt light, like a heavy burden had been lifted from my shoulders.

Miss Fumiko continued. "Stay close to her. Be with her. Talk to her. Understand her. Only then, will you be able to stop her, if she ever decides to go rogue."

I sighed, this time in relief.

"I’ll do what I can. Thank you, Fumiko," I said, with a half smile on my face.

She waved it off, ignoring the fact that I said her name without her proper title. "You don’t have to thank me."

For the next few moments, we sat in silence, listening to the sound of the crickets, afraid to address the elephant in the room.

"Thank you again," I said.

"Like I said, you don’t have to..."

"Not for the advice," I cut her off. "For the kiss."

Even in the dim lighting, I noticed her cheeks redden.

"It was nothing," she blushed.

"No, it was a mind spell to keep me conscious during the fight."

She turned to me, her lips curling upwards.

"How did you figure it out?" she asked.

"Didn’t take long... Without it, I would’ve passed out like a log the moment Baron hit me in mid-air."

She let out a slight chuckle. "I’m sure you would’ve..."

Miss Fumiko suddenly broke off, her eyes darting towards the open window.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I sense someone out there. Watching us."

I stared intently out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of whoever it was.

Then I saw it. A silhouette against the dim horizon.

It was a humanoid figure, standing awkwardly, as if it were wielding... A crossbow.

A flash of lightning appeared outside, and in the fleeting light, I saw the face of the humanoid.

A white doll mask.

"Duck! Now!!" I yelled out loud and reached for Miss Fumiko.

Then, right below my ear, I heard the whistle of an arrow fly past me.