Page 325 of The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

One who becomes a 'subordinate' among the wandering souls is someone who has no place to return to.

When life lacks a destination, it tends to wander. Exhausted from aimless drifting, one eventually collapses and becomes a subordinate in relationships.

The strongest person is not the one who defeats dragons. Not the hero wielding the holy sword. But the one who conquers themselves.

For everyone, the greatest enemy is 'oneself.' If one can overcome their own self, then they can overcome all of life’s adversities.

"Hmmm..."

"What is this nonsense?!"

Once again, Shoen, who was reading a philosophy book in a convenience store, scratched his head and bit into a hot bar.

Cooked with a magical device called a magic stone range, the hot bar was a magical food that released juices filling Shoen's mouth.

"Nom... nom..."

Shoen preferred the hot bar over philosophy.

Even though his family, the Tetra household, was renowned for its achievements in philosophy, Shoen, who didn’t understand philosophy at all, sighed out of boredom.

"It’d be more fun to have another customer than read this stuff."

"No emotion. No fun. Why would someone write this boring stuff, making me sleepy..."

Shoen and philosophy just didn’t get along.

Philosophy, as a discipline, is about incorporating life’s realizations into wisdom.

"This is why our family is broke."

Philosophy, which has long missed its time, only spouts boring nonsense.

Shoen thought that philosophy, which pursued ideals contrary to what people wanted these days, was too outdated.

"I’m glad I passed this burden to my sibling. If I were in charge, I would’ve bankrupted us for sure."

Shoen was good at self-assessment.

At that moment, only one philosophy filled Shoen's mind:

"Money is the best."

Money is everything. Without money, you can’t do anything. So money is the best.

Having read a book passage that said, "If you have something you can't achieve, it’s because you lack money," Shoen resolved to work hard.

"The success secrets of the founder of Forest Friends."

"This person is my role model."

Without realizing it, Shoen had taken the convenience store owner as his role model, aspiring to become a wealthy person someday.

Ding-a-ling.

"Welcome! This is Happy Convenience Store SU!"

As the door chime rang, Shoen quickly closed the book and stood up.

— The beginning of customer service is a greeting. No matter who walks into your store, they are royalty in that moment.

"...Oh. Hello." — Nod!

Not close friends. Even though they were classmates, these students were not familiar with Shoen.

He had no friends at this academy, no one to eat lunch with.

Shoen forced an awkward smile as he looked at his classmates, and a slight twitch crossed the face of the girl looking at him, as if neither was happy to see the other.

On his way to the display shelf, Shoen overheard the students' conversation.

"Hey... why is he doing that over there?" "Yeah, finals are around the corner. Isn’t he studying?"

"..."

Shoen clenched his fists.

"I hate studying."

It wasn’t that he hated studying, but he was just focused on other things. He knew that this lazy appearance was wrong, but he did study in the dorm whenever he could. Although he had a lot to say, Shoen decided not to say it.

They weren’t close.

He was shy around people. At the entrance ceremony, he had made a mistake, which led to many people disliking him. There were too many instances where he was hurt trying to approach others, so he was scared.

"I’m lonely."

Shoen tightly gripped his blue uniform and lowered his head.

At that moment, a conversation about how to become popular caught his ear.

"Hey, did you hear?" "What?" "The Holy Sword." "The Holy Sword?" "Shh! Not so loud!"

Before the student could turn around, Shoen whistled, pretending to show no interest in their conversation.

— Sly look. "Whistle~" — ...

His act seemed to work, as the students refocused on their conversation.

"Yeah, the Holy Sword!" "Oh... but what’s the Holy Sword? You mean that thing from fairy tales?" "Of course!" "So, why?" "Idiot... it's the Holy Sword." "The Hero?" "Yeah! I overheard in the student council room the other day." "Really?" "The student council president found a clue to the Holy Sword. They’re gathering elite students from the academy to go look for it." "Re-really?"

Shoen’s thoughts raced.

'The Holy Sword?'

If he found the Holy Sword, wouldn’t he become popular too?

— Behold, the Holy Sword! — Wow! Shoen, you’re amazing! Nobles truly are different! — Heh heh! Please don’t touch it! It’ll wear out! — Of course! Why would we commoners even touch it! — Heh heh!

"Ohoho!"

The idea of finding the legendary Holy Sword was indeed thrilling.

It was said that when the world was in danger, only the chosen one could wield the Holy Sword, a weapon that only a Hero could lift.

And if he gifted that Holy Sword to that man...!

"It would be a fine dowry!"

Shoen was more excited about preparing a dowry than about becoming popular.

The dowry was traditionally something both men and women prepared. Considering the man’s low status, Shoen assumed he’d likely have to handle the gift himself.

With the thought of how wonderful it would be to be the one to prepare it, Shoen nodded, listening to the girls' chatter.

"But doesn’t it seem strange?" "What does?" "The Holy Sword, which has been a legend for centuries, suddenly appearing. Sounds like a made-up story from some weird book." "Idiot! They couldn’t find it for centuries, but now they’ve finally found a clue. Were the scholars just loafing around all this time?" "Ah... now that you mention it, that makes sense." "Right? Ha... I hope Senior Mikhail finds it. He’d look so cool wielding the Holy Sword, with his silver hair flowing...! Just imagining it is thrilling." "Hehe... that would be something...!"

"Ho-hmm..."

Listening to their words, Shoen nodded.

If a red-haired butler wielded the Holy Sword with a swish...

"Hehe!"

A grin spread across Shoen's face.

"What’s up with him... He’s weird." "He’s always been weird."

"Hehe...!"

The Holy Sword.

Shoen decided he’d take a vacation soon. To claim the Holy Sword before anyone else.

Finders, keepers.

"Heh heh!"

It was up to him whom he gave it to.

Meanwhile, in the academy’s student council room...

The student council was struggling with information about the recent discovery of the Holy Sword’s location.

"I was reviewing the ancient documents, and I found out..." "..." "I confirmed that the Holy Sword seems to be located in the north." "..." "Yuria mentioned it. There’s a local folklore in a specific northern region. It’s more of a ghost story, to be honest. But hear me out."

The members looked at Shartia, who had a spark in her eyes. They had never seen her this excited before.

Shartia, in turn, was enjoying her happiness since the senior director took over, reducing her workload by half.

'Ah... bliss.'

— Delegate this task to the treasurer. — But... I’m supposed to handle budget planning. — You just need to stamp it. Isn’t that right? — Then I... — Should relax. — Oh... — Maybe write to Ricardo. He’s worried you’re overworked and might collapse. — Why is he such a competent butler...?

Shartia smiled warmly, pushing Yuria forward.

With a slight nudge from Shartia’s intense gaze, Yuria stepped forward, nervously recounting a story her father had told her.

"Ahem." "..." "In the north, there’s a mountain you must never climb." "..." "My father told me not to go there after sunset." "..." "Because of the monsters." "..." "And he was right. The northern snowy mountains are full of magical creatures. But when I was young..."

Recalling her childhood, Yuria continued.

"When I was about nine, I sneaked up the mountain without my father knowing, because the herbs growing on Andes Snow Mountain were of the highest quality." "..." "That day, it snowed heavily, and the sun was almost setting." "..." "Roaming the mountain for herbs, I reached the top. And at a certain point, the snowstorm subsided, revealing something." "...Something?" "A temple." "A temple?" "Yes. It seemed like a temple leading underground. I can’t remember clearly, but that’s how it was." "Hmm." "And then, because I was hungry, I went back down."

The council members frowned, feeling that her story was too far-fetched.

But.

— Bang!

Shartia spread out an ancient document decoded by the royal family on [N O V E L I G H T] the desk with a knowing smile, ready to crush any doubts they might have.

"This is it."

The Holy Sword can only be wielded by the pure-hearted.

A pure heart. A spotless heart. One who has a heart to protect others.

If someone unworthy attempts to wield the sword, they will suffer great pain.

However.

When the world is in great peril, the one worthy of wielding the Holy Sword will gain immense power to protect the world.

In a place cloaked in pure white, the Holy Sword slumbers.

'Pure white.'

The phrase "pure white" echoed in everyone’s minds. Shartia spoke in a heavy tone.

"You know where it is."

The council members muttered quietly: 'The north.' A region covered in snowy mountains. The only pure white place could be the north.

Shartia firmly added one last thing.

"This time, we’ll act with the royal family." "The royal family?" "It seems the royal family isn’t taking this lightly." "..." "Yuria and I helped with the interpretation, and we barely got permission to accompany them. Only 10 to 15 people at most can go." "But the royal family..."

One of the council members expressed his concerns.

He was worried that if they found the Holy Sword, they might have to hand it over to the royal family. However, Shartia, having a good idea of their selfishness, spoke firmly.

"The senior director himself said that if the student council acted on its own, they would all be dismissed." "..." "What if it’s a trap set by the heretics? If they are as strong as last time, can you handle them?"

Shartia, who had grown cautious after many hardships, spoke with a heavy heart.

"Stay focused."

And as for Mikhail, the destined wielder of the Holy Sword...

"..."

He pressed his lips tightly together.

'I have a lecture next week...'

Distracted, his mind drifted away from the Holy Sword.