I Became the Academy’s Time-Stopping Villain – Chapter 21

Chapter 21: NTR Rank 1

Translated by Vine
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A heroine has collapsed before you. Choose the most appropriate course of action.

1. Help her.
2. Life is cruel. Put a bullet between her eyes.
3. If you leave her alone, a teacher will eventually take her away.
4. Number 3 is probably the best answer.
5. Commit suicide(?)

“Fuck.”

A curse slipped out unconsciously. I stared at Mars.

“Huu…. huu….”

Her breaths were shallow and ragged. Her face, illuminated by the moonlight, looked flushed. Her lips were dry and cracked, her hair matted, and her skin looked dry, as if she had stopped sweating.
‘She must be sick.’

Normally, a teacher would have taken her away by now. Collapsing like this is a serious matter. But the teacher hadn’t taken Mars, leaving her until she collapsed. …Left her? No, that’s not right. Considering Mars‘s personality, she wasn’t abandoned, but rather

“She refused to go back, didn’t she?”

I said, looking down. There was no reply.

“I know everything, Teacher.”

“…Ahem. I didn’t think it was that obvious.”

“Is she really there…?”

“………..”

I asked, just in case, and she actually appeared. The teacher emerged from behind a tree and approached Mars.

“Step aside, Cadet Chrono.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Take her back, of course.”

“………..”

A natural course of action.
The teacher slowly approached Mars──and I blocked her path.

“…Cadet Chrono?”

“…………”

It might be
just my imagination, but

“She looked at me and said,”

“Thank goodness,”

“Thank goodness it’s Chrono.”

Only after confirming my face did Mars relax and collapse.

“She must have been at her limit. But she didn’t want to collapse, she didn’t want to give up. So she endured through sheer willpower.”

“…However, Cadet Chrono, Cadet Mars is no longer in any condition to continue this test.”

“That was true even before she saw me, wasn’t it?”

“…..What do you mean?”

It didn’t mean anything in particular.
I just vaguely remembered.

“If I wasn’t here, Mars would have kept going until tomorrow.”

Event Condition 1: Mars‘s Affinity Rank is 0.
Event Condition 2: Minerva‘s Affinity Rank is 1 or higher.
Event Condition 3: Haven’t encountered each other on the island until Day 3.

Special Event
‘Mars‘s Resistance’ begins.

“Enduring, enduring, and enduring some more.”

The event is simple. Think of it as a raid boss. You team up with Minerva to subdue Mars.

“She probably would have taken at least one more person with her, no matter what.”

During the event, Mars pushes her Berserk trait to the limit and enters a ‘Transcended’ state, fighting against the protagonist. It’s a common trope. A character who is weak when they’re on your side becomes incredibly strong, almost like a final boss, when they’re an enemy. This trope is in full effect during this event raid, making it incredibly difficult.

Of course, if you win, your affinity rank with Mars increases by 1, and the ‘Transcended’ skill tree is unlocked, making it a popular route for speedruns──but that’s something only those who restart with powerful blessings or experienced players would do. And it seems like the protagonist, intentionally or not, triggered this event.

“But she collapsed after meeting me, so….”

This was unexpected. Even if Mars were to collapse, it should have been in a different location, a special event map. But why did she come looking for me specifically?

“….Haaa…..”

I wanted to give up. I wanted to leave her alone.
But she said that right before collapsing…

“Teacher, don’t take her.”

In the end, I hugged the collapsed Mars.

“I’ll… take care of her.”

“…..Cadet Chrono.”

The teacher looked at me thoughtfully and asked,

“Helping someone in a survival situation means losing your own resources and putting yourself at risk. Moreover, since Cadet Mars was being chased, the risk is doubled. Even so, will you take care of Cadet Mars?”

“If I abandon her now, who will save me if I’m in the same situation later?”

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Even aside from that, I didn’t want to ignore the girl struggling in front of me.

“Even if it becomes a burden?”

“I can handle it.”

“You won’t be able to advance to Class A.”

“If I was aiming for Class A, I wouldn’t have taken a 10kg penalty.”

“….There’s nothing in it for you.”

“Why not?”

I replied to the teacher,

“I’ll have a friend.”

“….Do as you please.”

The teacher dispersed like mist and disappeared. Not completely gone. I could still feel her presence, watching from somewhere.
‘She’s going to keep an eye on me until the end, huh?’

Since I’ve already taken responsibility, I have to do my best. I lifted Mars into my arms.

“Ugh….?!”

The so-called ‘princess carry.’ But Mars was much bigger than me, so I couldn’t call her ‘light.’

“…Did I make a mistake helping her?”

I could only manage this because of my training. If it were me on the first day, I would have had to drag her.

“Let’s lay her down.”

I opened the tent and unzipped the sleeping bag. The sleeping bag separated like a blanket and a mattress. I wanted to tell her to get in herself, but she was in no condition to do so.

“This should do for now.”

I activated [Present Vision] on Mars.

“….Oh my.”

Lord Chronos is scary.
I rummaged through my bag and took out an antidote potion. I actually got this from one of Minerva‘s group.

“Now, I just need to give this to her.”

“…Cough!….Ugh… uh…..”

Mars coughed weakly. She wouldn’t be able to drink it on her own. So, I had to find a way to make her drink it….

“…Is this right?”

A method suddenly came to mind. Is this right? It’s something I’ve only read in books and novels. Is it okay to do this in reality?
Even I thought it was absurd, but I couldn’t think of a better way.

“Sigh…. she probably won’t hit me later.”

She’s in such bad shape that she probably won’t even remember.
I immediately put my thought into action.

*************

Meanwhile, Ter:

“…..Hmm.”

He was waiting. Waiting and waiting. She should be here by now.

“Ter, what are you doing?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing.”

He sent Juno away and continued waiting.

“Hi, Ter! Were you waiting for me?”

“…Merck.”

But the person he was waiting for didn’t come. Someone else did.

“Hehe, just kidding! Just kidding!”

Merck coughed a few times and put her hands behind her back.

“Ter, let’s join forces!”

“…Join forces?”

“Exactly.”

Merck explained. Mars had recently attacked the base where Minerva and Merck were staying. They counterattacked but failed to capture her. Minerva went out to search again, while Merck was looking for allies.

“It was hard hiding and searching, you know? If it weren’t for my patron god, things could have gone badly!”

“….So, you want me to join you?”

“It’s not a threat, it’s a suggestion.”

“…………”

Ter covered his mouth with his hand and thought for a moment.
‘Strange…’

Something had changed. He didn’t know when or how, but the big picture had shifted.
‘….Did the future change?’

Mars was supposed to be here around this time. Hiding in the dense forest to avoid being found. He still remembered the scene vividly. A predetermined future. A past he had already experienced. He had acted to recruit Mars, but something went wrong.
‘If this is the case…’

Should he join? No. Even if he couldn’t be her ally, he shouldn’t become her enemy. He needed to make love with the eleven women to prepare for the Ragnarok (Great War) that would befall Earth. And Mars was one of those eleven women.

“Sorry, I don’t think I can──”

Just as he was about to say he couldn’t join, a message popped up before Ter.

“……Huh?”

Why?
How?

Ter was stunned by the incomprehensible message.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“…………..”

Ter stared at the message.
‘NTR?’

Mars? With someone?
That ill-tempered, tyrannical, annoying brat?
He couldn’t understand, couldn’t accept it. The idea of that hothead being with someone was absurd──

“──Ah.”

Chrono. The male cadet Juno introduced as one of her teammates when he formed a team with Minerva and Merck. He seemed to be avoiding him at the karaoke, so he just assumed it was typical Mars behavior and dismissed it──but maybe he was the culprit.

“….Merck.”

“Did you decide?”

“Yeah.”

Ter made up his mind.

“I’ll help with the search.”

“Yay! We always welcome strong people like Ter!”

He’ll find Mars. He’ll defeat her in a spar. He’ll build their bond, raise her affinity, and make her look only at him again. Ter vowed to defeat the NTR villain and extended his hand to Merck.

“….Wait, what? Mars?!”

He hadn’t explained anything to Juno, but that wasn’t important to him anymore. He was fixated on the NTR villain.

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