The Master of the Villains Has Disappeared

Life is but a dream.

Considering how I've started anew in a completely different world, rendering all the time I've lived so far meaningless.

"Do you prefer the arm or the leg?"

"What's the point in bringing them before the master? We should just burn them alive."

"Anyway, you uneducated fools. Wouldn't it be better to just hang them neatly as an example?"

"It would be fun to make them high on drugs. Hehe..."

...I stand corrected. Life is but a nightmare.

There's no other way to explain this mess.

"All rejected. How is it that your heads are filled with only such things?"

With a final warning that I won't tolerate anyone's mischief, I stood up from my seat.

After all, the ruffian I encountered recently had simply mistaken someone's identity.

It's too harsh to have one's arm or leg cut off, be burned alive, be hanged in the middle of the market, or be drugged just for misunderstanding someone.

Yet even that wasn't enough for these deranged disciples of mine.

'How did it come to this....'

I couldn't help but sigh at the sight of my disciples, who showed no trace of normal thinking.

Is it my sin for choosing only those destined to become villains as my disciples?

Still, my intentions were good.

Taking in these kids as disciples before they became villains, to reform them and prevent them from doing foolish things.

It was the best I could do, having been reincarnated as an extra who never appeared anywhere in the novel.

In any case, the good guys and the protagonist's group tend to do well on their own if left alone.

That's why I only chose those who shouldn't be left alone as my disciples.

"Rita."

"Yes, yes!"

"Throw away the hair in your pocket. Quickly."

"B-but. This is the only strand I have..."

"You were going to use it for a curse, weren't you?"

"...I'll throw it away..."

Even Rita, who is the most well-behaved, is like this.

I thought I had taught them proper values, so why did it turn out like this?

The fortunate thing is that they all follow my words, and the unfortunate thing is that they don't listen to anything but my words.

This is why my study is filled with letters of complaint.

Everyone who needs to know is aware that I've raised these troublemakers since they were young.

Although my name hasn't spread across the entire continent, the so-called 'important people' send me letters without fail whenever something happens.

However, 90 out of 100.

No, 95 out of 100 times, I couldn't even feel wronged because it was indeed these kids who caused the trouble.

After all, I was the one who took responsibility for these kids who should have been excluded from society.

'But if left alone, they would have become villains just like that.'

Looking at it optimistically, they were less evil than I remembered, so I could say that my goal had been somewhat successful.

True to their nature as villains from the original work, they had gained some power in their respective fields.

At least they don't seem to have any intention of unfolding any secret ambitions. Not right now, anyway.

They're fools who hold an emergency meeting just because they were provoked by a mere ruffian.

I want to believe that the continent won't be in danger from such fools.

"...If only they wouldn't cause trouble..."

After the disciples returned to their respective quarters.

Left alone in my modest house, I rummaged through the drawer in my study.

What I was looking for was stationery to send a letter to the Archmage who had recently suffered an unexpected attack.

And a parchment with a life-extension magic circle drawn on it.

Having suffered a great injury in a battle long ago, I need to use magic to extend my diminished lifespan every few years.

With a body already stressed from dealing with disciple-related issues, and the aftereffects of battle on top of that, sometimes I think it's a miracle that I'm still alive.

'But I can't die now, after all this.'

If I die before the 'ending' of this world, all the efforts I've made to reform these villains will have been in vain.

I don't even want to imagine what these kids might do once they're unleashed after my death.

Although there are still a few years left before the 'story' begins.

But human life is unpredictable - you never know what might happen tomorrow.

The option of closing my eyes and trusting in the time I've spent with my disciples doesn't exist.

Anyway, after sending a letter full of apologies to the Magic Tower, I took out and unfolded a brown parchment.

The parchment that one of my few friends had recently obtained for me had a slightly new form of life-extension magic circle drawn on it.

"He said he got it from some ruins, didn't he?"

I didn't feel particularly excited about extending my lifeline, as I had done it several times before.

Although the form of the magic circle was different from what I knew, the way it worked was exactly the same as last time.

It's like the difference between TyX500 and AdX.

There might be differences in the detailed ingredients and taste, but the purpose of drinking is the same.

Eventually, I floated the brown parchment in the air for a moment, drew the magic circle inside the parchment, and recited the spell.

A soft light filled the room, and I felt a strong energy enveloping my entire body.

'...I wonder how many days it will take this time.'

Life-extension magic is originally a forbidden realm.

It's not a normal thing to gradually extend the life allowed to a human, so it's understandable in a way.

The side effects range from fainting at best to permanent physical damage at worst.

I had cast some precautionary spells in advance, so for now I only needed to worry about how many days I would be unconscious.

A moment later, when everything became quiet and I opened my eyes, I saw the darkened night sky.

As expected, my body was lying face down on the floor.

"Ugh..."

It was just a moment for me, but in reality, it seemed that more than a day had passed.

Still, judging by the fact that the number of letters in my study hadn't increased much, it seems I regained consciousness earlier than expected.

"...Huh?"

But something feels strange. My hands are especially small.

No, my whole body is small?

My head tilted involuntarily at this unprecedented experience. What kind of phenomenon is this?

"What is this..."

Leaning against the window where the dark night sky and the soft moonlight were visible, I stared at the unfamiliar face in the mirror right in front of me.

My short hair had somehow grown down to my waist, and my rough skin had become as smooth as fine porcelain.

It's as if my body's time has been rewound, but I've never had such long hair in my life.

What's this discomfort I feel from my chest?

"Ah, aah..."

For some reason, even my voice had become thin.

Although the flow of mana is more normal than ever, the state of my body is more abnormal than ever.

But if you ask if my health has deteriorated, that's not the case either.

Rather, as I was wondering about the slightly overflowing state of my body, a strange hypothesis came to mind.

"...No way."

But it was a surprisingly plausible hypothesis.

So I slightly lifted my now slender arm and cast a simple clothing magic spell.

-Swoosh.

"..."

The mana that had never left my side for a very long time dressed me in a skirt, not pants.

In other words, my mana judged me as a woman.

The jacket and cloak were also women's, not men's.

Yes, the conclusion is simple.

'...How much does lizard meat cost these days?'

That lizard Orphion deceived me.

The life-extension magic he said he found in some ancient ruins didn't extend my life, but made me younger and even changed my gender.

If you ask whether the goal of extending life has been achieved since I've become younger, I have nothing to say.

But I was never told about the risk of changing gender, so this is entirely the fault of that lizard Orphion.

Now that the conclusion has been reached, all that's left is action.

-Rustle...

I used the longest-range teleportation magic circle I knew several times to cross to the opposite side of the continent.

What I faced next was a vast snowfield and mountain range.

Of course, I already knew that everything before my eyes was nothing more than an illusion.

Orphion is a dragon who's extremely sensitive to cold despite his nature.

There's no way a creature who extremely dislikes even a small piece of ice would decorate the surroundings of his dwelling with snow.

This is precisely why.

"Orphion─!!"

I was able to call out the lizard hiding in the illusion magic covering the surroundings.

Eventually, when I added that I would pour freezing magic into the dragon's lair if he didn't come out, a huge shadow finally crawled out.

「...Who are you?」

A voice like a deep cave hit me as if crushing me down.

Naturally, I had to look up due to its size.

However, right now, I came here as a victim who suffered damage from Orphion, so.

"The parchment you gave me. Exactly which ruins did you find it in?"

Skipping the introduction, I went straight to the main point.

But again, he asked who I was.

Finally, the anger welling up from deep within my heart moved my fingertips.

How dare this lizard pretend not to know.

"『Polymorph』"

「?!」

The mana that rose with the chanting of the spell.

Soon after, the mana found Orphion's core, seeped into it, and then transformed Orphion into a human form, dropping him in front of me.

At the same time, with my now small hand - come to think of it, my hands becoming small is also all because of this lizard - I grabbed Orphion's collar and shook him vigorously.

"What are you going to do about this? I said, what are you going to do─!!"

"You, could it be.... Asher?"

"Yes! You damn lizard!!"

To make matters worse, even my voice was unmistakably that of a young girl, making me feel even more miserable as I shouted.

Fortunately, Orphion finally recognized me, but.

"...Pfft. What's with that appearance?"

The decisive cause that made me look like this was rather dying of laughter.

I really need to fry this lizard, I need to roast him...