Villain's Odyssey: Enslaving heroines, Conquering Villainesses
Chapter 68: Emotions

Chapter 68: Chapter 68: Emotions

’JUST WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?’

That question echoed in my mind so much it felt redundant at this point. But I just couldn’t get it unstuck from my train of thought. Everything happened so fast that I still can’t believe it all actually happened. I was already prepared for the test, had already calculated how it would proceed, and given Sam’s attitude, I had predicted he would try to use me as cannon fodder at some point during the examination. But all of a sudden, the most unexpected situation took place—some lunatic whom I’d already had a bad feeling about hijacked me into a hidden corner and began complaining for me to stop what I was doing to her.

I remember it clearly. Her wild eyes, the way she’d grabbed my arm with surprising strength, and the desperation in her voice that didn’t match her composed exterior from earlier. What had she even meant by what I was doing to her?

"Sigh..." I exhaled, staring at the ceiling. The sterile white tiles blurred slightly as my vision adjusted. I was just too shocked for words at this moment.

I mean, what did she even mean by what I was doing to her? Could it be the entity’s presence in me was affecting her somehow, or were my looks too disturbing for her? The questions spiraled endlessly. I just don’t get it. Before I could properly process the situation, my ’instincts’—I guess I can call them that—kicked in, and in the next moment I fell in sync with her panicked energy and tried to forcefully get away from her. At that point in time I was well prepared to utilize a spell on her even when it would incapacitate me. But before I could even do that, her eyes glowed with an unnatural light, and she began using some strange ability on me.

It felt like she was intruding into my soul, peeling back layers I didn’t even know existed. Then she suddenly made a strange expression, like she had seen something in me that shouldn’t have been there. Could it have been the entity? Was that why it suddenly released its hold on me? To hide from her probing gaze? I don’t really understand what happened, but at that point, everything just went wrong, and in the next moment, I felt an influx of indescribable levels of emotions hit me like a tidal wave. And now, here I am.

"I missed the test..." I noted, the words tasting bitter.

This is a problem. A major one.

Missing the test means I forfeited any chances of getting good teammates. They might as well just slap me up with some weaklings who scored extremely low. Well, in all honesty I don’t really care about the grading of the academy, the prestige that comes with it, or whatever benefits they get from being elite... well, except for the comfort. I would have remained completely passive with the academy system, but I chose not to be for one reason alone—the comfort that comes with being an elite. I didn’t want to be placed in some cramped space where five people would be sardined together. I won’t have any privacy for my plans if it came to that. That was the only reason I was bent on retaining my elite rank. But now, it seemed that plan wouldn’t work. If I end up with incompetent members, no matter how strong I eventually become, it would be useless, since I would basically be carrying the worth of four people on my shoulders, considering a team is made of five people.

The weight of that realization settled on my chest like a stone.

"..." I touched my chest, feeling my heart beating slowly but steadily.

Bump.

Bump.

I felt oddly calm, which was strange considering the circumstances.

Emotions.

"Sigh..."

It seems whatever happened distorted the connection I shared with that entity. And with it gone, my emotions that had been restrained have now been released. This... this is a problem. I can’t act efficiently with emotions acting as a hindrance to my decision making. They would influence me, and that is a major problem I hadn’t anticipated.

’Can I artificially bind them?’

I thought, but I hadn’t heard of such a spell or technique. Emotions are the most troublesome aspect of being human. They cloud judgment, create unnecessary attachments, and make logical decisions nearly impossible when they run high.

Creak.

I tilted my head to find someone walking in. The door opened slowly, and a familiar figure stepped through.

"Tracy?" I muttered. Yes, I did catch a glimpse of her before everything went to hell. Perhaps she was the one who saved me from that psycho. Well, the damage had already been done.

Tracy stepped into the room with careful, measured movements. Her long blue hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, though several strands had escaped to frame her heart-shaped face. She wore a fitted navy sweater that hugged her curves in all the right places, paired with a skirt that accentuated her long legs. Her almond eyes held a mixture of concern and something else I couldn’t quite place—relief, maybe? Her lips, naturally full and currently pressed into a worried line, parted slightly as she took in my appearance.

"Yeah, so... how are you feeling now?" she asked.

’And so it begins...’ I thought, already feeling my heart quicken a bit at seeing her. Perhaps I was being influenced by her looks? I can’t tell. Even back when I was Azalea, I wasn’t influenced by physical appearances... come to think of it, I feel my emotions more actively now than back then. Could it be because they were restrained for such a long time?

"Okay... just a bit tired," I said, watching as she smiled and nodded. The smile transformed her entire face, making her eyes crinkle slightly at the corners. She walked over to a chair and pulled it close to the bed, sitting down so she could look directly at me. The movement was graceful, and I found myself noticing the way the afternoon light from the window caught the highlights of her hair.

"... You seem... different," she said, tilting her head slightly as she studied my face.

"... In what way?" I asked. It seems acting with true emotions would always be different from falsified ones, no matter how much I had perfected the act before.

"I don’t know... you just seem more... real?... That sounded weird, right?" she asked with a frown, her brow furrowing.

"It sure did. So, what happened in the test... is it over?" I asked, though her expression already told me the answer.

She grimaced, and her shoulders sagged slightly.

Okay.

Did she not pass it either?

"I... missed it," she said, and I quickly put two and two together.

"Sorry," I said with a strained smile.

"Huh?" She was caught off guard. Did she not expect me to apologize?

"You brought me here, right?" I asked, gesturing vaguely at the infirmary room around us.

She nodded, a slight blush coloring her cheeks.

"Sigh... It wasn’t my intention for that to happen... I am truly sorry," I made a small bow from my position on the bed.

"W-wait, you don’t have to do all this," she stuttered, the blush deepening to a lovely pink that spread from her cheeks down her neck. Her hands fluttered nervously in her lap.

"It’s nothing... but... you owe me one..." she said with a shy smile.

"Sure... how about... our date? Why don’t we go after I get out of here? My treat," I said. The words came out more naturally than I expected, and she suddenly smiled beautifully, her whole face lighting up even more.

Damn human heart.

Stop reacting to such small actions!

This is unacceptable. If I’m reacting like this to such little gestures, how can I possibly hope to deceive more perceptive targets? It seems that having emotions truly is inefficient. Maybe that book would have a way to permanently terminate these needless feelings. If I don’t do something about this now, I can already foresee a future where I won’t be able to dispose of characters when needed, due to emotional attachment.

’System,’ I thought, hoping for some clarity.

[@#$%^&*()_+]

Oh?

[Loading...]

[System online]

’Status.’

[User at Level 0]

[Advance to Level 1 to access system]

Just great.