Became the Villainess’s Guardian

Freugne struggled to calm her slightly racing heart.

Entrusting such a task to her.
It was akin to leaving a cat to guard the fish.

In truth, she had already glimpsed this future months earlier, but deliberately feigned surprise.

“…Very well, I’ll gladly do so.”

She had been waiting for this very moment, thus readily agreeing.

Edan’s reasons for assigning her this task were obvious.
One was because he trusted her to that extent. And she had resolved to willingly meet those expectations.

The other reason.

“It seems I’ll be a bit busier for the time being.”

Was that he would have difficulty sparing time elsewhere.

“Starting this year, I’ll need to liaise with other magicians and attend some academic societies too.”

“For any particular reason?”

“I need to prepare for admittance to the Royal Academy.”

Promoting his achievements, self-promotion, and garnering public popularity would undoubtedly facilitate the process.

Upon hearing this, Freugne, despite being forewarned of this inevitability,
felt a slight unease for some reason.

Unfortunately, contrary to his expectations, Edan was not summoned by the Royal Academy solely due to his ‘Savior of Humanity’ title.

“The morning paper [Londinium at 9] selected the air conditioner as the top invention of last year.”

“This too must be thanks to the great Edan.”

“Refrigerators! Refrigerators are incredibly convenient. Without them, we might have had to skip meals……”

“Well now, it seems we’re getting a bit overheated, so let’s refocus on the more fundamental elements.”

Of course, it wasn’t that he disliked the praise, but rather that he placed greater emphasis on the underlying technology that enabled the products, rather than the products themselves.

It was the era of peace, after all.
Unlike ancient times of recklessly pursuing raw output to vanquish demon tribes with no thought for consequences, there was little demand for such ignorance.

To prevent sewage pipes running through cities from bursting due to water pressure.
To prevent the flames spinning turbines from explosively overheating.
To ensure the currents flowing through wires didn’t damage machinery or cause fires.

Thus, this era’s magicians were tasked with achieving practicality and precision, making the study of magic to realize those goals their paramount mission.

Moreover, the wars with the demon tribes that had ended inconclusively decades ago had left a deep scratch on humanity’s pride.
Hence, people yearned for heroes. Great discoveries and inventions served as proof that humanity had not merely scraped by against the Demon King by a hairsbreadth.

At the Royal Academy, the sustainable batteries, potent motors, and superior current conductivity found in Ceres Palace’s products were seen as such.

“Behold these intricate machinations! Are they not truly marvelous? Even the circuit configurations are ingeniously original.”

“Humanity, having overcome darkness, has now been liberated from heat as well! Is this not evidence that humanity’s future shines bright, while the demon tribes shall remain mired in the gutters for eternity?”

“Indeed, does humanity’s future not seem so brilliant? The magic world can entrust its legacy to the next generation.”

While magicians had their own social clubs, or inner circles as they called them,
the Royal Academy was an assembly of intellectuals transcending schools and factions, standing above them all.

Becoming a Royal Academy member held few direct benefits.
The title ‘Member of the Royal Academy’ would merely prefix one’s name on official documents, without any separate activity allowance.

But more importantly, it was the honor itself that mattered.
The mere fact of being a member lent authority to one’s words and facilitated invitations to various academic societies and lectures.
And the network of nearly a thousand of the era’s finest magicians and researchers gathered from across the world was an added bonus.

Occurring biennially, member admissions took place through recommendations from existing members followed by stringent vetting, with the number usually around thirty.

The last admission had been the previous winter, so nearly two years remained until the next intake.
But the process of existing members nominating candidates was already underway.

Out of this kingdom of Glasgow’s tens of millions, or the world’s population likely over a hundred million,
just thirty – even if only candidates – carried considerable weight behind their names.

“Ahem, so what are your thoughts?”

“Magni, the professor who was your mentor, was it?”

“He taught you all this?”

“Well, I had some part in it, but the rest was his own doing.”

And the esteemed Royal Academy member Professor Magni had also thrown his hat into the ring.

Among the eminent scholars, it was exceedingly rare to find someone in their early to mid-twenties.
But unlike when others spoke of a ‘prodigy of the century’, Magni was well aware of how Edan had achieved such accomplishments.

“Heh, how much of his body did he have to sacrifice.”

“……”

The professor, about to continue speaking, closed his mouth.

Typically, magic advancement proceeded like this:
Veteran magicians would don protective gear, with medical staff on standby depending on the experiment.

“Alright, let’s begin with the chant as always!”

“Safety, safety, safety!”

“Everyone in position with equipment ready! We’ll try Hypothesis 1 first.”

Through repeated experimentation and data accumulation, formulas would be established to derive the appropriate rituals for casting magic.
After all, fire magic could not produce cold flames, nor water magic dry liquids – the laws of nature had to be described before magic could be performed.

And unlike other schools that had evolved over centuries, electromagnetism’s history was still in its infancy.
The data and magical rituals were lacking. Prioritizing safety and trial-and-error would inevitably prolong the process.

But for Edan and Edan alone.
Only he could attempt the foolhardy methods instead of joining the roster of senseless casualties.

-Zzzap!

“Ow, that stings.”

-Zzzzzap!

“Aaaarggghhhh!!”

“Edan, are you alright?!”

“Urghh… Yes, I’m fine now.”

To put it simply, instead of solving equations, he tried brute-forcing by substituting values from one upwards.
Setting aside safety and moral qualms, it was the most efficient approach.

And as the one who had witnessed this up close more than anyone, Professor Magni saw Edan as someone being chased by something.
It was peculiar. With his abilities, he should have been destined to outlive most, yet he acted as if he could not afford to waste even a moment.

So when asked if he had sacrificed his body, well, yes – whether metaphorically or literally, it wasn’t inaccurate.

But mercifully, he seemed to have found a different hobby recently.
Granted, if it was some self-destructive pursuit, philanthropy would be the least concerning option.

Upon closer observation, he did appear unusually fixated on a young girl named Freugne, but for now, it didn’t seem overtly problematic, so it was left alone.

After a momentary contemplation, the professor addressed the surrounding members.

“Moreover, what of his usual demeanor? Our esteemed Queen’s association must not have any moral defects, after all.”

“Indeed, of course.”

“Then allow me to share insights into how Edan conducts himself – not merely as my disciple, mind you-”

While already a member himself, Royal Academy membership was hardly a dire necessity.
After all, it was an assembly of elderly individuals – a bit of leisure wouldn’t hurt.

Even so, Edan was his disciple and the hope of electromagnetism.
As a mentor, lending a supportive push to his pupil, the next generation, was the least he could do.

“So there should be no objections to his candidacy?”

“We’ll need to discuss it with the other members, but barring any major issues, he should pass muster. There aren’t exactly other promising talents either.”

And who knows?
If this dream was truly realized, perhaps he could finally find some respite.

‘I might be home a bit late today.’

‘Or maybe I’ll stay out overnight. So don’t wait up for me, alright?’

True to Edan’s words, he had not returned home even past 8 PM.

‘Edan, you’re late……’

Propping her chin on the dining table as she awaited his return, Freugne eventually could no longer bear the silence and rose.

Part of the reason she had prepared dinner in hopeful anticipation, only to be left disappointed, was…
It was only natural to feel let down when her diligent preparations became futile, wasn’t it?

Of course, as Edan had forewarned, she had naturally anticipated this possibility.
Still.

Edan did not return home that day.
Perhaps due to overlapping academic or social engagements, such occurrences had become frequent of late, not limited to just that day.

A return to normalcy would likely come in a few days, but for now, she had secured some usable time. For the moment, she chose to view it positively.

“I’ll be going out.”

The following day, leaving those words in the empty house, Freugne stepped outside.
In her hands was her worn premonition notebook.

Edan had instructed her to share the kindness she had received with others.
And Freugne intended to properly heed those words.

The fruits of her morning and evening news briefings with Edan were undoubtedly apparent.
She could adeptly summarize the important points from newspaper content and convey useful information not explicitly stated.

For instance.
Up-and-coming magicians destined for greatness through self-made success.

“Didn’t you wish to pursue further studies?”

“Eh, how did you know?”

“Well, there’s a good method, you see.”

Or those who would make their mark in the not-too-distant future.
The farther ahead, the harder it became to glimpse, but she had meticulously recorded every scrap of knowledge gleaned, no matter how trivial, in her notebook.

Of course, there were also quite a few unsavory characters mixed in.
Like the child who would soon embark on a killing spree, cursing the world.

“Hello there? Your name is Ulr, correct?”

“…I’ve never seen your face around here before. And who mentioned my name to you?”

“Of course, since I’ve never visited before. I just… overheard your name in passing.”

Perhaps it would be better not to become entangled with them from the outset.
But was she not living proof that the future could be sufficiently altered?

And.

‘This is what Edan would have done.’

“So there’s this charitable organization called the Edan Foundation, and I was wondering if you might be interested.”

Just like her former self, simply extending a helping hand to those lacking opportunities when they needed it most – as Edan had requested.