My Next Life as a Villainess

by Satoru Yamaguchi

  “A spell to keep the garden tidy?! That kind of spell exists?!” I asked, interested by this type of magic I’d never heard anything about.

  “Yeah. But it’s Lost Magic now.”

  “Lost Magic?” I asked. I’d never heard of that expression before.

  “There are lots of different types of magic, right? As magic changes with the times, new types come along, and some old types become extinct. Didn’t you learn about it at the academy?” he said, chuckling.

  I turned to Maria, and she was looking flustered. Yup, turns out we did learn about it at the academy. I guess that’s one downside to my “forget everything I learned right after the test” policy.

  “But then, why did the garden disappear?” I asked, trying to change the subject to take attention away from my ignorance.

  “I don’t know. The Ministry has a long history, with new things being built and old things being torn down all the time. The garden must be something left over from a project that was abandoned a long time ago.”

  Indeed, the Ministry was as old as the kingdom itself, and a lot must have changed since its establishment. Maybe even this place, which was now empty and forgotten, had been different in the past.

  “Right now it’s just empty land,” I said, looking around, “but if it used to be a garden, did it have like a pond or something?”

  “There’s a circle made of stones right over those bushes. Maybe there used to be a pond in the middle,” said Cyrus.

  “I’d like to see it,” I said, and he looked at me like a tired father hearing his child’s troublesome request. But then Maria added that she wanted to see it too, and he immediately stood up to guide us there.

  We followed him and reached the place that he was talking about. It was a conspicuous circle of stones around what probably used to be a pond, but it had either been filled up or had naturally dried up. The pond looked as if it had been considerably smaller than the one in the Claes garden.

  Most of the stones reached up to around my knee, but there was one that was wider and about as tall as me — it kind of looked like a tombstone from my previous world.

  Curious whether there was a name or something written on it, I started cleaning the large, dirty stone with my handkerchief, but with very poor results. It was some really stubborn dirt.

  “Lady Katarina, what exactly are you doing?” asked a confused-looking Maria.

  “Oh, I was just wondering if there was anything written here.”

  “Written? On the stone?” she asked, even more confused.

  I had never seen a tombstone in this world, so maybe they didn’t exist here. That would explain her confusion. It would also mean that there probably wasn’t anything written on this stone here, but I figured that I might as well keep cleaning it up just to be extra sure.

  After some serious rubbing and scrubbing, I finally managed to get rid of most of the dirt on the stone, but there was nothing written on it. However, I noticed that there was something sparkly.

  Oh? Is it a jewel or something?!

  I scrubbed the sparkly portion even harder — so hard, in fact, that my hand slipped and I ended up scratching my skin.

  “Ouch!”

  It was literally just a scratch, but it stung a lot, and I was bleeding.

  “Lady Katarina! Are you okay?!” Maria asked while running towards me, then taking my hand into hers. “You are bleeding! I will heal you.”

  She probably meant to use her Light Magic to heal me, but I felt bad having her use her powers for such a small wound (that was also entirely my fault).

  “Don’t worry, it’s nothing,” I said, but she shook her head.

  “It could get worse, and I wouldn’t want for you to be left with a scar,” she replied, so I happily accepted her offer. I let Maria grab my hurt right hand while my left one still rested on the stone.

  A faint light appeared out of Maria’s hands. I’d already seen this happen a few times, but I was excited because this was the first time I was the one actually being healed. I stared at the faint light... and all of a sudden, it turned into a blindingly bright flash. I shut my eyes, and even when I reopened them, all I could see was white light.

  White above, white below, white left, white right. Nothing but white as far as I could see. White, empty space.

  I was in front of that stone just a few seconds ago... Where is this?

  I was stunned, but thanks to Maria, who was still holding my hand, I managed to stay on my feet. However, she was staring at her surroundings too, looking as surprised as I was.

  “L-Lady Katarina... Wh-What happened to us?” she asked me nervously, her voice shaking.

  “I’ve got no idea either. Where are we?” I asked, and noticed that my voice was a bit shaky as well. I was too scared and confused to move, but the silence made it all the scarier, so I kept talking. “Just a few moments ago, we were standing in front of the stone, and...”

  Suddenly, a second flash of light forced me to close my eyes again. I fearfully opened my eyes, and saw an orb of concentrated light floating in the air. It was smaller than my head, and kind of looked like a light bulb. But unlike a light bulb, it wasn’t suspended from the ceiling — it was just levitating in mid-air.

  “What is going on? What’s with this light bulb?” I asked, puzzled at the absurdity of this series of events.

  “Light bulb? What’s that?” asked... the light bulb.

  D-Did the light bulb just speak?! What?!

  “Eek! It talked! It’s a ghost! Ghooost!!!” I screamed, terrified.

  “That’s a mighty rude thing to call someone,” said the voice from the light bulb, sounding slightly displeased.

  I’m sure of it this time! The voice came from it!

  “It talked agaaain!!! What kind of ghost are you?! Begone! Begone!” I shouted at it.

  “Do me a favor and shut up, will you? We won’t get anywhere if you keep shouting,” it said in an annoyed tone.

  I suddenly found that I couldn’t open my mouth anymore. I was trying as hard as I could, but my lips were sealed together.

  “I’m just making sure you’ll stay quiet for a while,” it explained.

  This thing has terrifying powers! It looks like a normal light bulb, but it’s actually one heck of a ghost!

  “And now that I look at you, you aren’t even a worthy one! You just slipped up in here by mistake, didn’t you? What a troublesome kid.”

  I couldn’t see the thing’s face, but I was pretty sure that it was mocking me. How dare it?

  But I was feeling a bit calmer now. Maybe it was because I’d screamed the fear out of my system, or maybe because I couldn’t scream anymore. Either way, I looked at the light bulb which, even upon closer inspection, definitely looked like nothing but a light bulb. It didn’t even have any mouth. How was it speaking?

  And then, after forcefully shutting me up, it started speaking to Maria. “Oh, it seems that you’re a worthy one, young girl.”

  Worthy one? What’s it talking about?

  “...M-Me? Worthy?” Maria asked, obviously scared and confused as well.

  She’s such a polite girl though. A light bulb starts speaking, and she just replies to it.

  “A worthy one, yes — a Wielder of Light,” it explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

  I still have no idea what it’s talking about, but what I know is that I really don’t like this thing’s condescending tone.

  “...I am a Wielder of Light...” Maria said with a thoughtful expression.

  “I know. Do you long for greater powers?”

  “Greater powers? You mean... more powerful magic?”

  “No. It’s not about making your magic more powerful, it’s about learning how to control it.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I will teach you all I know about controlling magic. And that will make you much more powerful.”

  “More... powerful...” Maria said, looking at the orb and then, inexplic
ably, at me. Her eyes were staring into mine.

  Maria...? What’s up? I couldn’t speak, so I had to communicate by blinking.

  Maria nodded at me, as if to say that everything would be alright, before looking back at the light bulb. Her expression went from scared and confused to intense and fierce.

  “I want greater powers,” she said clearly.

  The light bulb grinned. Well, it didn’t have a mouth, so it didn’t really grin, but it felt like it did.

  “I see...” it said, satisfied. “If that’s the case, find the covenant and come back to me. Then, I will teach you everything I know.”

  What? She has to do stuff for him before getting her powers? And what’s a covenant? My head was full of questions, but since my mouth was sealed, I had to keep them to myself.

  “Excuse me, this covenant you speak of...” Maria started speaking.

  However, the light bulb interrupted her, simply saying “I’ll be waiting,” and there was yet another flash of light.

  When we opened our eyes, we were back in front of the stone.

  What was that just now?

  Maria and I looked at each other.

  “Hey, Maria... that thing just now...” I started saying, but then Cyrus came running towards us, visibly shaken.

  “Hey! Are you two okay?! Where did you disappear off to?!”

  He said that he saw Maria and me disappear instantly, and then he’d started running around to look for us.

  “And when I looked back at the stone, you were back there... what happened?” he asked, but I was still too confused to explain it properly, so Maria started talking instead.

  “To be honest, I am still trying to understand it myself...” she started, and went on to tell him what we had seen — the flashes of light, the white space, and the floating orb.

  I’m so glad she was with me. I’d never be able to explain something that weird so well.

  “If I hadn’t seen you two disappear with my own two eyes, I’d have a hard time believing you,” Cyrus said. “But after seeing how you vanished and then reappeared in the blink of an eye, it makes sense that you were transported... somewhere else.”

  He reflected silently for a while before speaking again.

  “...This could be Lost Magic as well. It could be a spell placed here by the very person who built this garden way back when. That’d explain why the garden is being magically kept tidy to this day.”

  “So was it true, what the light orb said? Could it really grant me greater power?” Maria asked.

  “I have no proof, but I’d say it’s likely. As technology has advanced, magic users have become fewer, and their powers have become weaker. A lot of magic has been lost to time... If you could get some of that back, you’d definitely become more powerful, no doubt about it,” Cyrus said, and Maria’s face relaxed into a smile.

  “I see. If so, I want to try my best to obtain that power. I will have to look for the covenant that the orb was talking about. I wonder where it is... If it is a book of some kind, perhaps it is in the library...”

  “Hold your horses. Do you want to go to the library right now? It’s already closed at this hour. And how do you plan on looking for something that you know nothing about?” Cyrus stopped Maria, who looked ready to run to the library that very second.

  “...That is true. I should ask that light orb once again,” she said, making for the stone.

  “Wait, it’s too late today. If you want to do that, wait until tomorrow,” he said, and we decided to go rest for the day.

  Maria and Cyrus saw me to the carriage. They both lived in the dormitory, so they would be going back there together.

  “Maria Campbell looks tame, but she can be intense, huh?” Cyrus whispered to me. He was probably talking about how she wanted to go look for that covenant right away.

  “Yes. She isn’t just some docile girl!” I said.

  She was the protagonist of an otome game, after all. She was a strong girl who didn’t just wait to be saved, but who ran straight into danger when she had to protect her friends.

  I’ll have you know that my friend is cute and strong, sir.

  I left my two colleagues and rode back home, thinking of the weird events of that day. A white, empty space. A talking light bulb. Maria’s sudden eagerness. Just as Cyrus said, she could be intense at times.

  That said, today she sounded even too eager, as if she were in a rush. Or was that just my imagination?

  She already has the ring made by Larna to increase her powers, so why would she need to become stronger? She’s always working so hard... She should learn how to relax. What kind of otome game protagonist works harder than the love interests? I wish that Cyrus would learn from her and try a bit harder to overcome his fears without running away.

  Ah! I just left those two alone, but did Cyrus properly see Maria back to her room? I was so confused with all that stuff going on that I forgot about that... I hope he did.

  I was so worried about it that I didn’t even manage to fall asleep on the carriage like I always did.

  ★★★★★★★

  After seeing Katarina off to her carriage, Mister Cyrus and I walked back to the dormitory together while talking about my plans.

  For example we discussed how, if I really could achieve the powers that the light orb talked about, the Ministry itself could be interested in aiding my search. But unfortunately, I had no proof that what I’d heard was true.

  Mister Cyrus told me that he would report to his superiors and look into it, and that I should not do anything rash in the meantime.

  “There’s nothing to gain from scrambling ahead. There are too many unknown variables to this whole thing — diving in head first could be dangerous,” he told me with a serious expression that left me no option but to agree.

  “Anyway,” he said right before we parted ways, “your Light Magic is already much stronger than anybody else’s. Why do you even want greater powers?”

  I thought for a bit before replying. “...I do not want others to protect me anymore. I want to be the one to protect them,” I said, looking him straight in the eye.

  “...I-I see,” he said, before saying goodbye and making for his room.

  I went back to mine, where I changed clothes and prepared for the next workday. I was too tired to go to the dining hall, so I made do with the sweets I had in my room before going to bed.

  Today’s strange events had left me exhausted. I had been so happy to be able to spend time with Lady Katarina after so long, and then all of a sudden we were transported to that mysterious place, hearing those incredible things... It all seemed like a strange dream.

  But it was not. Lady Katarina experienced the same things, and Mister Cyrus also saw the two of us disappear.

  The covenant... I did not know what that was, but I wanted to find it and become more powerful.

  Since the time we first met at the Academy, Lady Katarina had always been the one protecting me. Every time I was in danger of being hurt, either physically or mentally, she would come out of nowhere to rescue me. Even when I was kidnapped, she was the first one to show up.

  And even during the examination, when we fought that dragon creature... That was so scary. Not the dragon, but thinking that Katarina could have died because of me. Had that happened, I doubted that I could have kept on living as before.

  I did not want Katarina to stand in front of me to protect me, but I knew that she would never hesitate to do so, over and over. I knew that she was that kind of person, and that was one of the reasons why I held her so close to my heart.

  I wanted the power to protect her. I needed much stronger magic, and I had reason to need it as soon as possible. Ever since the examination ended and we came back to the Ministry, I could ever so slightly feel an aura, a presence — an evil one. And I got the feeling that this presence was out to get Lady Katarina. It could all be my imagination, but I could not help but feel scared.

  At the academy, Lady Katarina
was once publicly shamed for things that she had never done. We later found out that it was all part of someone else’s plan, but the feeling that I had at the Ministry reminded me of the one from back then.

  It felt as if the universe was conspiring to take a loved one away from me. I absolutely did not want to lose Lady Katarina. I was ready to fight anyone — even the universe itself — in order to avoid that, and that was why I needed power. Lots of it. And fast.

  I hoped in my heart that I could quickly find the covenant.

  ★★★★★★★

  The day after meeting the lightbulb, I visited Maria’s department during lunch break because I was curious about what she planned to do next. I had Sora come along with me, in case we’d be eating lunch with Maria and Dewey like on the previous day.

  “Mister Cyrus reported to his superiors this morning, and now we are waiting for their reply before doing anything,” she explained to me.

  “I see. So you’re not going to start moving just yet.”

  “...Exactly,” she said with a disappointed look.

  “Maria, I’ve told you this already, but don’t push yourself too hard, okay? Learn how to relax. Breathe in, breathe out. In, in, out. In, in, out.”

  “What does that have to do with anything?” Sora asked, making Maria laugh.

  After that, we called for Dewey and the four of us went to eat lunch together again.

  I finished my lunch (today’s special: stew) while chatting with Maria and the others, and before I knew it lunch break was over. Once I was back in the office and was preparing for that afternoon’s work, Larna came back out of nowhere and told me and Sora to come to her desk because she had to speak with us.

  At first I feared that we’d done something wrong and that she was going to scold us, but Larna looked pretty happy. As Sora and I walked towards her, I wondered what she wanted to speak to us about.

  “I actually just received a mission from the higher-ups, and I want you two to help,” she said, grinning.

  “What mission would that be?”

  “It’s about looking for lost magic.”