The Return Of The Exiled Villain-Chapter 29: Finally Getting A Knight Rank!

"...Gray Vireux."

A calm voice called from the sidelines, and Gray immediately knew who it was, since only one person knew his whole name in this city.

He paused, turning his head ever so slightly.

Arderia stood there, arms crossed beneath her cloak, her hazel eyes locked onto him. Her lips were pressed tightly into a thin line, the look in her gaze unreadable, calm, but cold.

"That was too much," she said plainly.

"You didn’t need to almost kill the instructor. This was a simple spar... You aren’t in a gladiator arena, y’know?"

Gray turned to face her fully, slowly brushing a crimson drop off his cheek with the back of his glove.

Then, with those hypnotic, mismatched eyes of his, one a dull silver, the other faintly glowing, he stared into her as if she were a puzzle he’d already solved.

"I don’t give a single fuck about that," he said flatly.

"Besides... It’s his own damn fault. He forgot that he could also give up."

And just like that, he turned away.

Arderia watched his back as he walked away, her fingers slowly loosening from the slight tension in her arms.

She didn’t stop him at all, and simply sighed quietly.

"...You scared him so much," she muttered, almost to herself.

"That he forgot..."

Her gaze lingered on the trail of blood still being cleaned off the dueling platform. The instructor hadn’t even activated a single serious skill.

He’d been too careless at first, then confused, then terrified.

He could win if he weren’t so careless.

And Gray...

He walked away as if nothing had happened at all.

’The higher-ups are definitely going to want a report on this...’ Arderia thought grimly.

But even more than that...

She was curious.

Wasn’t he supposed to be a useless playboy?

What kind of playboy kills someone without even flinching?

Just as that thought passed through her head...

BAAM!

A sharp, heavy thud rang out, and several heads turned.

Arderia’s brows knitted together as she twisted toward the source, just in time to see Gray casually stepping on the face of a boy, pinning him down against the stone tiles with his boot.

"...Ah~ What did you say? Can you repeat it for me?"

Gray’s voice was soft, teasing, yet the smile on his face was far from kind.

It was the kind of smile someone wore when they knew you couldn’t do anything back.

The boy beneath him squirmed, hands trying to push Gray’s leg off.

"Ack—! I-I didn’t mean it like that!" he coughed.

But Gray only pressed down harder, making the boy’s nose bend slightly beneath the pressure.

"Oh~? But didn’t you just say that ’I only won by luck’?"

"You bastard—!"

Crunch!

"Aaahh—!"

Arderia sighed harshly, shaking her head before walking over with heavy steps, her crimson cloak swaying behind her.

"Enough," she said sharply.

Gray turned his head slowly, still smiling, but something in his eyes flickered, like a child caught dipping a hand into the cookie jar, but unrepentant.

"Tsk," he clicked his tongue and stepped off.

"He talks too much."

"Let me handle him," Arderia muttered under her breath, glaring at the boy on the ground.

"Get up. You’re next."

"H-Huh?" the guy blinked, dazed, his swollen face twitching in pain.

"Your name was called while you were getting stepped on. So move." Her voice was sharp and final.

The boy looked shaken but slowly staggered to his feet, wiping blood from his face. He glared once at Gray, but quickly turned away and dragged his bruised body to the platform.

Gray simply folded his arms and leaned against a wall in the background, quiet. His eyes didn’t blink.

They just watched.

Then the duel began.

The instructor walked toward the center of the platform, cracking his knuckles.

"You ready?"

The bruised boy gave a trembling nod and barely raised his fists.

The instructor took one step forward.

And then...

Fwip!

A direct punch, straight to the face.

And in that very moment...

SPLUUUUURT!

The boy’s head exploded like a smashed watermelon, gore bursting across the stage in red mist.

Brain matter and bone fragments splattered the instructor’s arm, dripping from his knuckles.

"...Huh?"

The instructor blinked, lowering his blood-soaked hand, his face frozen in disbelief as he stared at the missing head.

The platform fell into complete silence.

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"

"W-WHAT THE HELL?!"

"HE’S DEAD! HIS HEAD—!!"

"I-I’M GONNA BE SICK!"

Screams erupted from the crowd as the trainees began backing away from the platform in a panic.

Arderia’s eyes widened, her calm shattering for a moment. Her jaw tightened, and her gaze locked onto the body still twitching on the stage.

’That wasn’t a normal punch... No, he was already—!’

[...That was a nice one, Gray~]

Jasmine giggled inside his head, her voice honeyed with delight.

Right now, Gray stood silently, watching the chaos unravel as he nodded silently to Jasmine’s words.

A faint smirk pulled at his lips.

"...These strings really are a wonder~"

Gray tilted his head slightly, letting his fingers lightly tap the side of his glove again.

’Didn’t think he was that weak...’

His smile curled a little deeper.

Arderia turned quickly, her eyes scanning the surroundings.

Her gaze locked on Gray, and quickly analyzed him.

His hands were clean.

His posture relaxed.

But there was something terrifying in that smile.

Something she couldn’t really figure out, but she gave up on doing it since there was no way Gray could have killed that guy from that distance without her knowing.

And noticing her look, he leaned lazily against the wall, crossing his arms. His eyes turned half-lidded like he was watching a boring play unfold.

But then, came a loud voice, shaky and bruised:

"GRAY!!"

Ronan stumbled toward him, his face swollen on one side, lips cut open, a massive bruise spreading across his cheek.

His hair was a mess, his clothes torn at the shoulder, and his right arm hung stiffly, like it had been dislocated and jammed back in place by someone who wasn’t gentle about it.

"GRAY!! Those instructors are insane!! INSANE!!" Ronan yelled, waving his hand like he was going to punch the air.

"One of them beat the shit out of me!!" he pointed at his face, then his ribs, then his knees.

"I thought I was gonna die in there! And now... and now—!!"

He motioned back to the platform where the guy’s headless corpse was still being wrapped up by medics with pale faces.

"That one just straight up killed someone!! He didn’t even hesitate!! I’m gonna report this— I don’t care anymore! I’m gonna—!!"

But before Ronan could say another word—

A calm, soft voice cut cleanly through the air.

"...You can’t report it."

Ronan froze mid-rant.

He turned his head, and there she was.

Lira.

Standing with her arms behind her back, her long, brown hair swaying slightly as the breeze passed.

Her eyes were cold, calm, unmoved by the chaos or the blood or the crying.

She stared at him with the calmness of someone who already knew the rules.

"Instructor Arderia clearly said that this training would be real. That means we could die." Her tone was simple.

"So... no, Ronan. You can’t report it. Even if you want to."

Ronan’s mouth hung open.

His lips trembled.

"But—he was just a normal guy! He wasn’t even fighting back properly! That wasn’t fair—!"

Lira blinked slowly, her expression blank.

"Fair? You think life is fair?"

Her words struck like a slap.

Ronan’s eyes twitched.

"N-No! I have to say something! I—! I saw it happen! That guy got his head blown off like a water balloon! You can’t just pretend that’s normal!"

He waved his arms around, voice rising into that nasal, panicked tone again.

"We’re not in a war! We’re just knights in training! Newbies!!"

Lira didn’t even blink this time. She just stared at him like he was nothing but a mildly annoying buzzing fly.

"...Then maybe you shouldn’t have signed up," she said calmly.

Ronan blinked fast, his face turning red and blotchy.

Gray, sitting on a stone ledge nearby, picked his nails with a nail and glanced over with a bored smirk.

"Mm. You’re still alive. Be grateful, Bronze Boy."

"I’m not bronze yet! They haven’t even announced the ranks!" Ronan spun toward him, his eyes wide with insult.

"Right..." Gray replied lazily, "...yet."

And just like that, thirty minutes later...

Phew~

Everyone stood in formation, the afternoon sun casting long shadows across the sand.

Arderia stood at the front, clipboard in hand. Her hair fluttered slightly in the breeze, and her voice rang out cold and clear.

"We’ll now begin announcing the results of the first ranking evaluations."

Some looked nervous.

Some looked excited.

And Ronan... looked very nervous.

His bruised arm twitched every now and then.

"We’ll begin with the Trainee Rank. This includes anyone who failed to meet the minimum requirement of thirty points."

She read off names quickly.

"Kael Brent, Sarah Milzen, Zuin Garreth, Mike Oxmol..."

Name after name was called.

And after a few minutes... silence.

Ronan leaned forward, his eyes darting around.

He wasn’t on the list.

Gray leaned back and whispered, cold as a breath down Ronan’s neck:

"...Huh. Not even a Trainee? Maybe they forgot you exist."

Ronan jumped slightly and spun, glaring at him.

"Shut the hell up!"

But his voice cracked halfway, his skin pale from anxiety.

Just as his trembling lips opened again...

Arderia spoke once more.

"Now for the Bronze Rank."

Ronan perked up instantly, standing straighter with a prideful little puff to his chest.

Arderia continued.

"Derek Vell, Minori Tyne, Ben Dover... Ronan V. Dravenholt."

"HAH!!" Ronan shouted suddenly, full of life again.

"See?! I told you! Bronze, baby!!"

Gray yawned, rubbing one eye.

"...How prestigious," he muttered, with just the right amount of sarcasm to make Ronan’s smile twitch.

He didn’t answer.

He just looked away quickly, face red again.

"And now," Arderia said, her tone shifting slightly, turning colder and firmer.

"We move to the Silver Rank."

A wave of silence fell over the group.

"There were only two who managed to attain enough points for Silver."

Her sharp hazel eyes scanned the crowd.

"First... Lira Starlight."

Lira stepped forward without any change of expression.

She didn’t smile at all.

Just a slow, confident walk that ended with her standing quietly off to the side, arms folded behind her back.

"And the second..."

Her eyes landed on him.

The corner of her lip twitched upward, barely a smile, more like an acknowledgment.

"Fingercrusher."

The crowd murmured again at that name.

Eyes turned.

Even some of the instructors raised eyebrows.

"The person who attained maximum points."

And then, Gray stepped forward slowly, his footsteps quiet and even... then turned his head slightly back toward Ronan.

He didn’t say anything.

He just looked at him.

And that look...

That devilish, dangerous smile and those haunting, hypnotic eyes...

"Uaaha...!"

It gave Ronan a full-body shiver that climbed up his spine and scratched behind his skull like claws.

"Damn... he’s too fucking scary..."