The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

After resting and changing into his best set of uniform—

FWOOOSH—!!

Raye shot forward like a bullet, dashing toward Xapham Hall, where the headmaster's office was located.

"Ohh, you've mostly regained your speed, huh."

FWISH—

Jerusha muttered as she flew beside him, easily matching his pace.

She was accompanying him.

"Yeah, eating a lot really helped."

Raye answered.

His movements were smooth, controlled—his body finally feeling like his own again.

And with how fast they were moving—

-----

----

T A P—

They arrived in no time to the Xapham Hall.

"..."

Raye and Jerusha stopped at the entrance of it, all silent.

Fwip-

Jerusha turned to Rate.

"Well then..."

She stretched her arms lightly.

"I'll be going now. I need to see Professor Jacqueline."

She said.

Raye glanced at her, nodding.

"Alright. Thanks for accompanying me."

A small but genuine smile formed on his face.

'Hmm, he's smiling more now, huh.'

Jerusha thought, pausing for a second before smiling back.

(Guess why Jerusha!!! Guess why!!!)

And after that—

Tap- tap- tap—

Tap- tap- tap—

They parted ways.

Raye exhaled, rolling his shoulders.

"Time to claim my rewards, I guess."

And with that—

He headed straight for Bryan's office.

...

*****

"..."

Raye quickly arrived at his destination, standing before the large wooden door of Bryan's office.

And before he could even knock—

"It's open. Come in."

A calm yet authoritative voice came from inside.

It was Bryan Blackwood's—the headmaster.

"Hm?"

Raye narrowed his eyes slightly.

'Did he sense me approaching? Or was he just expecting me?'

He asked in his head.

Either way—

Creak—

Tap-

He pushed the door open and stepped inside.

And there—

"..."

He saw Bryan seated behind his desk, leaning back slightly, his sharp gaze already fixed on Raye.

"Good. You're here."

His voice was composed, but there was a weight behind it.

Fwish—

Raye walked forward and stood before the headmaster's desk.

"...You called for me?"

Bryan studied him for a moment before nodding.

"Yes. Have a seat."

He instructed.

Then—

Pat—

Raye sat down on the chair across from him, waiting for what was next.

Bryan rested his elbows on the desk, lacing his fingers together as he observed Raye.

Then—

"How's your condition?"

His tone was casual, but his gaze was sharp, as if analyzing every movement Raye made.

Hearing that—

Raye leaned back slightly on his chair.

"Hmm... I feel fine now."

He answered honestly.

"I've been eating well, moving around, and even training earlier."

His lips curled into a small smile.

"So yeah, I'd say I'm back in shape."

Bryan's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Back in shape, huh?"

A brief silence filled the room.

Then—

"You almost died, Raye."

Bryan's voice turned serious.

"And it hasn't even been a full week since you woke up."

"...I know."

Raye replied, his expression steady.

"I won't say I'm at my best yet, but I won't let myself stay weak either."

His voice was firm. Resolute.

Bryan just looked at him for a moment.

Then—

"...Good."

A smirk of approval formed on his lips.

"Because I didn't call you here just to check on your condition."

He said.

"You already know why I called you, right?"

Bryan leaned slightly forward, his sharp gaze fixed on Raye.

And without hesitation—

"Yeah, it's to talk about my rewards... Right?"

Raye answered confidently, his eyes meeting Bryan's without wavering.

"Mhm."

Bryan nodded, a small smirk playing on his lips. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"You're right."

Then, without beating around the bush—

Thud—

He rested his arms on the desk, his expression turning serious.

"What do you want?"

His voice was calm yet heavy.

"If it's within my power, I'll grant it."

His sharp eyes observed Raye, waiting for his answer.

"..."

Raye stayed silent.

His eyes lowered slightly as he took a moment to carefully rethink his choices.

This was an opportunity—one he couldn't waste.

Then, after a while—

"I want three rewards."

He declared that!

(Shameless bastard... Good one, Raye.)

His voice was firm, unwavering.

"...?"

Bryan leaned back slightly, his gaze sharpening.

"Go on."

And after getting the signal to continue—

Raye immediately opened his mouth.

First—

"I want to get a month off from the academy, without my grades dropping or losing my scholarship."

He said.

"...?"

Bryan's brows furrowed. He squinted his eyes at Raye, but after a brief pause—

"...That's doable."

He nodded his head.

"You deserve at least that much."

Then second—

"I want access to the magic engineering lab, and I want to be able to freely use the materials there."

Raye requested that.

"Huh?"

Bryan's expression darkened slightly.

Tak- tak- tak—

His fingers tapped against the desk.

"That one's a little tricky."

He mumbled, leaning forward again.

"Unrestricted access to the lab isn't something I can just hand over. The academy has its own rules."

Bryan explained.

"I don't need full access. I just need the materials to work on some stuff."

Raye remained calm and replied.

Bryan's frown deepened.

"That's the issue, some materials for magic engineering are either expensive or hard to get. So it's hard to let you use them however you want."

He added.

And without beating around the bush—

"Then let's settle for a compromise."

Raye said, looking directly at Bryan.

"I'll only use the common materials. And if I need anything rare, I'll go through the proper requests."

He followed.

And at his words—

"..."

Bryan's tense expression softened

"...Is that all?"

He asked.

Raye smirked slightly.

"And let me use one Epic-rank material."

Then he muttered that with a straight face!

"..."

Bryan stared at him for a long moment.

Speechless.

He was thinking about Raye's proposal.

Then after a while—

"...Tch."

He clicked his tongue.

"You sure know how to negotiate, huh?"

Bryan said.

"I've learned a thing or two."

Raye's smile widened.

"Haaaa...."

A deep sigh escaped Bryan's lips.

Then finally—

"Fine. You get access to common materials, you can request rares with approval, and you get one epic material of your choosing."

He nodded his head, accepting Raye's proposition.

"Sounds good to me."

Raye's smirk turned into a full grin.

Bryan narrowed his eyes, he can't believe he just agreed to that.

But remembering what Raye did before... He decided to just shrug it off.

So—

"...Your third wish?"

The rewarding continued.

Bryan asked, his tone steady but watchful.

"..."

Raye didn't answer immediately.

He went silent again.

His expression was unreadable as he lowered his gaze slightly, deep in thought.

Bryan's brow twitched.

'Why is he taking so long to say it...?'

A strange sense of unease crept up his spine.

'Is he about to ask for something outrageous...?'

He frowned, his fingers tapping against the desk.

But shaking off his bad feeling—

'If it's something unreasonable, I can just refuse it.'

Bryan reassured himself.

"..."

Tak- tak- tak—

But the longer Raye stayed silent, the more his nerves tensed.

...

...

And then—

Finally, after about a full minute of silence—

Raye opened his mouth.

And with a straight face—

"I want money."

He confidently muttered that.

"...?"

Bryan blinked.

And during that—

Raye's gaze lifted, sharp and unwavering.

"A lot of money."

He followed.

Bryan froze for a second.

Then—

"Pfft—Hahaha!"

He burst into laughter.

"You had me thinking you were about to ask for something absurd!"

Bryan exclaimed, relief.

"..."

Raye just smiled at him.

Bryan shook his head, wiping away a stray tear.

"So, money, huh?"

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk.

"And what exactly do you need 'a lot' of money for?"

Bryan asked, narrowing his eyes.

Then without hesitation—

"Drugs."

Raye answered immediately.

"...What?"

Bryan blinked.

Then, after a moment of silence—

"Huh? What? Can you say that again?"

He leaned forward, his expression twisting in confusion.

Realizing how misleading his words sounded—

"I mean enhancement drugs that would help me get stronger."

Raye quickly clarified.

"Ahhhh..."

Bryan let out a long sigh, slumping back in his chair.

"For a second there, I thought I was going to have to expel you on the spot."

He muttered, rubbing his temple.

"Haaa..."

Bryan exhaled through his nose, regaining his composure as he looked at Raye.

"How much money do you want?"

He asked directly, getting straight to the point.

But instead of answering with a specific number—

Raye let out a sly smirk.

"I don't know. Based on the other two rewards that I'm getting, you decide how much you can spare me."

His tone was casual, almost carefree, yet there was a sharpness behind his words.

Bryan's brows twitched slightly.

Raye was deliberately avoiding giving an exact amount.

And it didn't take long for Bryan to understand why.

The brat was trying to maximize his reward—getting the most money possible while still keeping things within a reasonable range.

Raye was being careful.

Not greedy enough to make Bryan outright refuse.

But not modest enough to sell himself short.

The realization made Bryan chuckle under his breath.

"...Cheeky brat."

He muttered, shaking his head.

Still, it wasn't like he was going to go back on his word now.

Scratching his head in mild frustration—

"Fine. I'll get your three rewards sorted out as soon as possible."

He stated plainly, as if it wasn't a big deal.

But it was.

Because in that moment—

He had just accepted all of Raye's demands!

And hearing that—

"Thank you."

Raye grinned widely, his expression almost too satisfied!

Bryan's eye twitched slightly.

That smile... That damn smile...

"...Is this what it feels like to sign a deal with the devil?"

Bryan muttered under his breath, realizing that he had just been thoroughly milked dry.

"Ugh..."

He groaned, rubbing his temples as if he had just made the worst deal of his life.

"You really don't hold back, huh?"

He muttered.

Raye just grinned, unfazed.

"I just take what's given to me."

"More like you take as much as you can without crossing the line."

Bryan scoffed, shaking his head.

"Exactly."

Then Raye replied without hesitation.

Making Bryan let out another sigh and just frown in silence.