I’m the Villain? Heck No!

Various bystanders stood speechless as Nozomi stepped into the fighting area. Raziel, seeing this, already guessed her objective.

Since she suspected he could use aura, Raziel couldn't rely on his combat skills like he had with Boban. Nozomi was far more proficient in combat than he was and would easily counter his moves while simultaneously confirming her suspicions.

There was no way he could win with his current strength against someone born into a warrior clan, known as one of the top ten fiercest clans on the entire Eastern Continent.

Her level was well above his, so accepting this duel meant he was naturally prepared to lose.

'Damn, woman, you really are making things hard for me,' Raziel thought while looking at Nozomi, who stared at him with a fierce gaze.

"So, do you accept my challenge?" Nozomi asked, placing her hand on the handle of her katana.

The crowd was curious to see how Raziel would respond. Winning would be a tough challenge; even those who looked down on aura users admitted that strong ones were very difficult to fight.

Mages are naturally weak in close combat, so they can easily be crushed by a single hit if they make a mistake.

"I accept, but please go easy on me," Raziel said as he accepted the challenge.

In fact, for him, losing was certain, but this was also a good opportunity to dispel her suspicions. He planned to use his mana at full force until he lost, hoping it would make Nozomi stop bothering him.

Moreover, Raziel could gauge his raw strength against someone slightly inferior to Eve.

With a light bow, Nozomi drew one of her black-bladed katanas from her waist and assumed a defensive stance. Raziel didn't waste any time; he was already reciting a spell.

"<Goddess of Nature and Earth, grant me your blessing to use [Eathare Lancae]!"

As Raziel finished his fake recitation, various stone spears instantly surged from the ground, floating in the air.

All the spears slowly rotated, aiming directly at her, and in an instant, they rushed toward Nozomi like bullets. Nozomi remained in the same position, calmly waiting for Raziel's attack to land.

Before the stone lances could hit, the girl swiftly covered her sword with aura. One by one, the spears shattered with a single swing of her katana, as if she were merely warming up.

Not a single drop of sweat appeared on her delicate face, which prompted Raziel to recite another spell.

"<Goddess of Nature and Earth, grant me your blessing to use [Divinae Soil]!"

Raziel used the same spell he had employed against Boban. As before, pillars of dirt rose from the ground, acting like tentacles and swinging toward Nozomi. She jumped backward to dodge them.

Around ten pillars lashed out, trying to hit the girl, but she appeared unfazed.

The spectators were impressed by Nozomi's agility because even such a strong spell was nothing against her.

While dodging seven of them, Nozomi sensed another surging from behind. In the blink of an eye, she vanished from her spot, reappearing in the sky as she leaped through the air with four quick jumps.

"Oh look, isn't this the Seven Sky Steps? She can already use four of them? This girl is a monster!" a random aura user commented, causing the people around to be even more surprised than before.

"She used the Speed Boost too, and at such a high velocity! Her aura control is absurd!" another aura user said in an excited voice.

“As expected of someone close to the Third Queen. Nozomi's strength is incontestable,” a girl remarked, prompting various people in the crowd to nod in agreement.

Most of the onlookers began to feel sorry for Raziel, who seemed to be doing his best.

With remarkable precision, Nozomi cut through all the pillars and rushed at Raziel, aiming for his torso. Instead of continuing the attack, Raziel decided to use another element for defense.

"For the glory of your son, Mother of the Seas, grant me your strength to activate [Wateria Torrenta]!" Raziel recited, invoking a low level defensive water spell he had discovered in the magic library.

A massive wave of water surged from thin air, covering the entire fighting area, impressing the mana students with his control. The spell didn't seem to target the crowd, which was quite difficult to manage; controlling that amount of water required exceptional mana control.

Nozomi continued running toward the massive wave of water, imbuing her katana with aura as she prepared to split it in half.

However, she was caught by surprise when her foot suddenly sank into the ground.

'When did he cast a quicksand spell?' Nozomi wondered, releasing a black slash from her katana that sliced through the approaching wave.

She activated an Aura Booster on her feet, propelling herself through the air, and then used Seven Sky Steps to land just seven meters away from Raziel.

"Repulsion: Aura Shock!" Nozomi unleashed a repulsion technique, launching an invisible wave of compressed aura from her palms.

Raziel sensed the danger and knew it would be foolish to cast a spell now, so he chose to dodge by jumping to the side.

"Good thinking," a sudden feminine voice came from behind Raziel, making him shudder.

The moment he turned his body, Nozomi, who was already behind him, delivered a powerful frontal kick to his stomach, sending Raziel flying backward.

*BOOM

Suddenly, an explosion erupted near Nozomi, catching her off guard and propelling her several meters away.

“WOW!” The crowd was surprised by the sudden explosion.

Nozomi got up from the ground with some difficulty, the explosion having hit her hard.

As her gaze landed on Raziel, she noticed him clutching his stomach, struggling to breathe. He got up, coughing up a bit of blood.

"Cough... Cough. I lose; I can’t fight anymore," Raziel surrendered, lifting his right hand.

Nozomi nodded and placed her katana in its scabbard, bowing at a 45-degree angle to show respect.

“Thank you for the fight, Raziel-san,” Nozomi said, turning to leave the fighting area. But before going, she added, “Next time, don’t hold back.”

With that, she walked away, the crowd's admiring eyes tracing her every step.

Raziel just stood there, and after wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, a slight smile formed.

***

Upon arriving home, Raziel threw himself onto the sofa, feeling exhausted. Two-thirds of his mana had been drained during the fight with Nozomi, and even with a good reserve of aura, his mind was stressed.

He recalled what the girl said at the end, and even if he had used all his tricks, the chances of winning wouldn’t have been that high.

Still, he probably would cause a lot of emotional damage. After all, what mage can cast more than two spells in a row without needing to recite? Witnessing such a scene, combined with the ability to use aura, would make anyone feel threatened.

Even elite adventurers should be careful, as any mistake could cost the other party their life. In this world, no matter how strong you are, your body is not immortal.

Only the final boss had a monstrous physique, and Raziel remembered all the bad endings he faced just to defeat that creature.

As Raziel's mind wandered through some unpleasant memories, he suddenly noticed a presence. Before he could react, something landed on his already injured stomach, aggravating the pain.

"*OOF! I—I'm gonna die..." Raziel let out a painful cry as he noticed the culprit.

“I'M BACK~!” Eve said, making a cute gesture as Raziel gazed at her with teary eyes.

Raziel then decided to take revenge and silently cast a wind spell, causing Eve to lose her balance and bring her face close to his.

Not wanting to let her escape, Raziel quickly placed both hands on her waist and started tickling her, making Eve laugh loudly.

“HAHAHA! S-Stop th—HAHA! I’m sor—HAHA!” Eve tried to break free, but the tickling made it hard to do so.

A minute passed, and Eve sat on the sofa, pouting at Raziel, who smiled wickedly at her while holding his pained stomach.

“This time, you deserve it.”

“I already begged for forgiveness, but you still continued! You know I’m very sensitive in that area!” Eve retorted, crossing her arms.

Then they laughed at the same time, with Raziel letting out a few cries in between. Eve began to recount her journey, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she praised him and asked how he had found that place.

The low-level monster zone in the Eastern Snow Mountains truly had an untouchable abundance of Mederite ore. After receiving the news, Mikael sent an entire team to monopolize the place.

Noticing Raziel holding his stomach with a forced smile, Eve asked what was wrong. He told about his earlier fight, which prompted the girl to both praise and scold him for being soft and not using all his power.

Raziel rolled his eyes, having already seen this coming, and asked for help to be taken to his room. Eve then remembered to ask about Clarice, who was not around.

He smiled bitterly and told the truth; however, Eve didn't say anything more—she just nodded her head, not judging his decision.

Thankfully, both of them knew how to cook, meaning they wouldn't have to eat out every day.

Night fell, and Raziel lay with his eyes closed on the bed, feeling better after drinking a healing potion to mend himself. He had forgotten to take one in the academy infirmary.

In the early dawn, he felt a slight movement near him, and as Raziel slowly opened his eyes, he froze in place.

'Eve, what the hell are you doing?!'

His mind went numb as he noticed the bold act of his childhood friend.