I Became the Savior of the Academy’s Villains

Chapter 164

"So, did you catch the woman thief?"

"No. Malcolm said she probably had her own circumstances, so we decided to let her go and head back."

"Oh my, how romantic."

"Do women find stuff like this romantic? For us, we just called him an idiot... but it seems he was right."

"... You're being sarcastic, big brother."

Once they broke the ice, the mood inside the auto-carriage brightened considerably.

Wylde led the conversation better than expected.

Luca had thought he would be the type to be too shy to talk about these things, but that wasn't the case.

"After that, we came to Havok, rested for a bit, and then all returned to our own territories. I went back to the Traverse territory. And Luca, what about you? What happened to you afterwards?"

Wylde's question made Luca hesitate momentarily.

He was unsure how much he should say.

'There's no need to mention anything about the great soul or Demonz... it's also a bit awkward to say I used the family name to move Tularik and get rid of Albino...'

As Wylde watched the contemplating Luca, he spoke dryly.

"If you're hesitating because you participated in illegal races, don't worry about it. I've competed in them too."

"... You competed, big brother?"

"There are many types of illegal races. I did a survival race where my friends and I protected our auto-carriage and hunted monsters."

As Wylde spoke, he smiled faintly.

"I smashed up too much stuff that time, so I got banned from the place."

"... Huh."

Seeing that expression on him for the first time, Luca fell silent for a moment.

Then he shrugged.

"We conquered the Minota League."

"The Minota League? I've heard it's quite dangerous."

"I wasn't the one racing—it was my friend, Ottbo. He's an exceptional auto-carriage driver."

"Is that so. If he conquered the Minota League, he must be pretty skilled."

"Because of that, I get frustrated riding in these auto-carriages now."

"Same here. My friend is also very good at driving these. After riding with them, this speed feels way too slow."

The more Luca talked with Wylde, the more puzzled he became.

'Was he always like this?'

Beyond the memories of Luca Traverse, the original Wylde from the source material—the "Masked Swordsman Willow"—wasn't the talkative type.

Usually, it was one-word answers.

He never put effort into continuing a conversation, and even when hearing something interesting, barely reacted.

About the only conversation worth mentioning from the original novel was the slow talk he had with the protagonist while raiding the Demonz's headquarters.

But now, he was responding properly and saying things that kept the conversation flowing.

'The original said he became like that because of his obsession with revenge... but why is it so different in Luca Traverse's memory?'

In Luca Traverse's memory, Wylde Traverse was cold and taciturn.

His main interest was honing his own swordsmanship, and he hadn't even given Luca Traverse so much as a glance.

-...

The inner Luca Traverse also seemed confused.

That's when Bella glanced at him.

She seemed to sense Luca's confusion.

"Hehe, this is odd. I never knew the big master talked so much," she said.

"..."

Luca flinched for a moment at Bella's words.

But Wylde remained expressionless.

"Really? Seems pretty normal to me."

"You weren't this talkative when you were at the family."

At Bella's words, Luca—or rather, the inner Luca Traverse—spoke up.

"Bella. That's rude."

His voice had grown a touch colder compared to just before, and Bella glanced at his face, then beamed.

"Oh my, I'm sorry. That was thoughtless of me."

Wylde answered her dryly.

"It's fine. I can see why you'd think that way. At the family, there were a lot of people to learn from, so I focused on training."

He said this, glancing at Luca for a brief moment before slowly shaking his head.

"It's true; back then, it might have seemed like I didn't care about anything but training. But I cherish the family and our household."

"..."

"My dedication to swordsmanship was always to protect those things. I'm sorry I was so closed-off before. After enrolling in the academy and making friends, I realized just how brusque I used to be."

Wylde looked Luca in the eyes as he spoke.

Luca—or rather, Luca Traverse—bit his lip as he met his gaze.

Watching him, Wylde continued in a dry tone.

"... Luca, now that you go to the academy too, you must understand how fun it is to get along with friends. I want to get along well with you too."

"..."

At that, Luca Traverse half-closed his eyes and murmured hoarsely,

"I see."

Srrrrk—

'!'

In that moment, 'Luca' was pulled into the thoughts of 'Luca Traverse'.

***

Return of the Fang.

The greatest talent in Traverse family history.

The one destined to revive the swordsmanship of the Hernan Empire.

All these were Epithets attached to Wylde Traverse.

And for Luca Traverse, those titles were a massive weight.

Clang! Clang! Kang!

"Aaah! That's why you're the young head!"

"I'm not the young head yet."

"Haha! So humble!"

Even before he entered the academy, none of the knights at the family could defeat him in swordsmanship.

Everyone naturally treated him as the young leader.

The one thought that Luca Traverse had as he looked at Wylde Traverse was simple.

'As long as he exists, I have no value.'

It wasn't strange for him to think this way.

Families of swordsmen traditionally believe that strength is everything and the strong seize everything.

The Traverse family was no exception—everyone who taught him swordsmanship said the same.

"The swordsmanship of the Traverse family is the embodiment of strength itself."

"Only the strong survive the battlefield, and the one who becomes head of the Traverse family must be the strongest."

"But it's fine for you, young master. Lord Wylde Traverse, the young leader, is sure to become the next head. Since surpassing him is impossible, you don't need to inherit the family or take the field."

These weren't words of malice.

All the knights knew how dangerous war was.

Among those returning home, most had suffered grievous injuries or had been repeatedly warned about the perils of battle.

The battlefield is dangerous; it's best to avoid it if possible.

But if you must go, you have to be prepared to give your life for honor, family, and nation.

Such grave duties would fall to Wylde Traverse, the one destined to become the strongest swordsman.

And so, beautiful and precious Luca Traverse—who resembled Merian Traverse—need not face such danger.

That's why everyone in the family whispered to him that there was no need to learn swordsmanship or compete with Wylde Traverse.

But they didn't know.

Luca Traverse may have resembled Merian Traverse outwardly, but in temperament, he was the spitting image of Malox Traverse, just like Wylde Traverse.

'Do I have no value?'

Luca Traverse was responsible and taciturn.

So, being told he didn't need to do anything for the family felt less like freedom and more like being ignored.

And he never voiced these feelings.

"The young master... he's quiet, right?"

"Well, the young leader was like that too. Maybe he just dislikes noise."

"So we shouldn't approach him carelessly."

People mistook his nature.

They thought he just wanted to be alone.

That misunderstanding only made Luca Traverse more isolated.

"..."

Wylde Traverse was the only one who might have talked to Luca Traverse, but he was always immersed in swordsmanship.

If his mother, Merian Traverse, had remained at home, perhaps she could have looked after him, but for some reason, she too was away at the front.

"Oh dear, master, what's with that face?"

Only Bella cared for him.

In place of Merian Traverse, Bella played a motherly role for him.

But she was simply too good to Luca Traverse.

"Master, this Bella will protect you! So don't you worry about a thing!"

"..."

Bella existed solely to protect him.

Her very presence only added to the pressure on Luca Traverse to do nothing and remain still.

But he couldn't just sit around.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

And so, Luca Traverse trained with his sword alone.

No one had taught him swordsmanship, so he could only swing his sword as best as he could.

"..."

Wylde Traverse, seeing this, sometimes approached and swung his sword alongside him.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

Though they both swung their swords, Wylde's strikes were different—heavy, precise, destructive.

Luca Traverse imitated him.

Tunk! Tunk! Tunk!

His strikes became a little sharper.

Seeing this improvement, Wylde quietly left, and the family knights approached instead.

"Oh my, young master, who taught you that?"

"Wow, you never learned, but you know the basics. But it seems a bit rough."

"The Fang Sword is tough at your age, but we can teach you the basics at least! Now, here's how you do it~"

The knights taught Luca Traverse the basics after seeing him imitate his older brother.

They did it because he was cute, trying to practice on his own... But to Luca, it sounded like:

"Who taught the young master this stuff?"

"Hah, such sloppy basics."

"The Fang Sword is too hard for you. Just learn the basics for now."

It was almost paranoia, but Luca Traverse only thought these things to himself.

There was no one he could talk to.

He only continued to train alone.

Tunk! Tunk! Crack!

"Ugh."

"Master!"

Luca Traverse kept swinging his wooden sword.

Unable to withstand his fierce practice, the sword finally broke, leaving him injured.

Bella rushed to him in worry.

"Master, this is too much! If you keep on, your body will—"

She was worried he would get hurt, but to him, it sounded like "Don't train."

That made Luca Traverse answer coldly.

"Don't... touch my body... Bella...!"

"!"

Bella looked shocked at his words.

Luca Traverse wanted to say something after seeing her face, but nothing came to mind.

In the end, Bella bowed her head and stepped back.

"... I'm sorry, master."

"..."

Seeing her retreat, Luca Traverse only bit his lip.

That was how he made himself lonely.

― Hah... seriously...

And after brushing through those hidden memories of Luca Traverse, Luca himself stuck out his lips.

― So he became a loner all because he got paranoid and threw a fit about it?

It was an almost unbelievable truth.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Talk about peak misunderstanding...

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】