Villain's Refund System: The Protagonist's Harem Is Mine

Black residue crossed Halcrest’s western corridor faster than Damien could walk on his injured leg.

He followed its hooked trail beneath empty display cases, ’damn, the murderous sludge received better medical treatment than I did.’

Mina remained behind with healers and her reclaimed spark, though three angry messages already waited on his phone.

[MINA: If you opened your wounds again, I am replacing your boots with wheels.]

[MINA: Answer me before the faculty blames another machine.]

[MINA: I know you read these, rich boy.]

Damien typed one-handed while the residue slipped through a ward junction near the west faculty tower.

[DAMIEN: Following something ugly. Leg remains mostly attached. Explain later.]

’Mostly attached should reassure her, no, that sounds terrible, you idiot, send another message.’

His phone chimed before he finished correcting anything, filling the empty corridor with another sharp warning.

[MINA: I hate every word inside that answer.]

The trail climbed one stone wall and entered Halcrest’s ward lattice through a maintenance seal.

Eye of Reckoning opened across the silver lines, revealing ordinary academy mana around one crawling black thread.

[Unknown Fate Residue]

[Destination: Obscured]

Damien pressed two fingers against the seal, then Iron Veil formed around his hand before the residue could touch skin.

’Same hook from the gala, workshop and showcase, somebody keeps feeding murder into Lucas’s missing rescue scenes.’

He traced the black thread through three junctions until it reached a faculty gate without any visible lock.

The gate stood inside a narrow alcove between classrooms, its gray surface carrying no department crest or room number.

Damien checked both corridor ends, ’nobody guards this place, yet even dust avoids the floor, somebody uses that gate often.’

Eye of Reckoning touched the metal and returned a blank panel for the first time.

[Read failed]

[Authority exceeds current access]

"Mysterious doors should at least provide a handle before refusing cooperation," Damien muttered, testing one seamless edge with his saber.

The blade produced no scratch, while black residue passed through solid metal and disappeared beyond his reach.

’Protected faculty route, Hallow is a thief, but whoever owns this door can hide Corrections from the system itself.’

Footsteps entered the corridor behind him before Damien could test Dread Presence against the gate.

Imani approached in partial marshal armor, carrying Hallow’s broken command ring inside a clear evidence tube.

"Lord Sterling, healers reported your disappearance twelve minutes after another structural injury," she said, stopping beside the black trail.

"Yeah, recovery staff report escapes much faster than they keep doors closed," Damien replied, lowering his saber from the seamless gate.

"Return before Park dismantles the recovery wing while searching for you," Imani answered, raising the evidence tube toward its last dark fleck.

The fleck inside Hallow’s ring pulled toward the sealed gate, confirming the same hidden destination.

"Can academy marshals open this entrance without requesting Hallow’s permission?" Damien asked, watching her expression harden at the blank surface.

"No faculty map admits this gate exists, which means somebody altered Halcrest’s internal registry," she replied, placing one armored palm against it.

’Good, an honest marshal sees the problem, though honesty near hidden Corrections probably earns its own death flag.’

Imani copied the gate’s coordinates and ordered two security constructs into the alcove before escorting Damien toward recovery.

The residue had vanished, yet one hooked stain remained beneath his saber guard where the sealed door reflected them.

’That door swallowed every trace, damn, whoever waits beyond it expected somebody capable of following this far.’

"I need a name for whatever keeps attaching these marks to fatal events," Damien said, wiping the stain against an evidence cloth.

"Call it an investigation until physical proof identifies an actual person," Imani replied, sealing the cloth inside another tube.

"Nah, investigations belong to people who expect procedure to survive contact," he answered, glancing back at the gate, "this thing sponsors outcomes."

The word settled unpleasantly inside his head before a better one replaced it.

’Benefactor, somebody funds every opportunity Lucas was meant to receive, using victims nobody notices after the applause.’

By afternoon, Halcrest placed the professor under restricted review while every showcase clip remained online.

Damien reached the recovery gallery with a fresh brace, finding Mina beside three confiscated screens and one annoyed healer.

Lucas stood before her in his spotless white coat, with concern softening the bright expression cameras loved.

"Lady Park, what happened inside that arena should never have reached you," he said, offering a gold recovery charm across one palm.

"Yet you reached the barrier after Damien was already bleeding inside it," Mina replied, returning her attention to the captured spark.

"I meant that the professor’s betrayal failed every student who trusted this academy," Lucas answered, keeping the charm extended.

"Then give that charm to the attendant Damien cut free," she said, tightening one wire around her recovered signature, "she needs it more."

Nearby students lowered their phones toward Lucas’s hand while his smile held through another late adjustment.

Damien stopped outside Mina’s view, ’she does not need me entering this conversation, wow, staying quiet feels strangely satisfying.’

Lucas placed the charm beside the injured attendant and turned back toward Mina before noticing Damien near the doorway.

"Sterling, your courage protected many lives today, though entering alone created unnecessary risk," he said, making room inside the compliment for correction.

"Mina entered first after you blocked her control signal," Damien replied, stepping toward the bench, "praise the person who reclaimed everything."

Her hands paused above the amber spark before one pleased grin escaped across her face.

Lucas looked at the repaired signature and offered Mina a careful nod, though the surrounding gallery had already heard Damien’s answer.

’That bothered him, credit barely matters here, maybe everyone expecting Damien beside her felt worse.’

That evening, six members of Lucas’s academy circle occupied a private dining room beneath the eastern residence.

His campaign handler replayed Mina’s rejection above a glass table while two sponsor representatives argued across muted showcase footage.

"Park was meant to associate Lord Arden with safety after the exhibition," the older handler said, dragging Hallow’s arrest frame aside.

"She associated Sterling with arriving first during another fatal emergency," a younger woman replied, closing the file before Lucas could see its hidden notes.

Lucas sat at the table’s head with Daybreak laid across his knees, watching Damien carry Mina from the arena on repeat.

"Stop discussing her as if gratitude belongs inside our event schedule," he said, switching off the projection through one controlled gesture.

The handler stiffened, surprised by resistance from the young man their plans had always served.

"Lord Arden, nobody questions Lady Park’s agency, but public alignment shapes every future opportunity around your ascent," he answered, choosing each word carefully.

Lucas looked at his reflection inside the darkened glass, where his smile had disappeared without cameras demanding another.

"Then shape something that does not require her almost dying first," he said, rising with Daybreak held beside one white sleeve.

Nobody followed him from the room, though the younger representative opened a black-marked file after the door closed.

’Lucas pushed back against his own handlers, huh, the original hero might be trapped inside their plans too.’

Back inside recovery, Damien received the midterm bracket while Mina tightened a new sensor around his wrist.

[Midterm duel]

[Damien Sterling vs Ezra Noll]

[Scholarship division]

[Ascension Board: #197 → #160]

’Ezra, Lucas was supposed to inspire him after a humiliating loss, which means another important scene just landed beneath my name.’

Mina read the opponent profile and pulled his sensor one notch tighter than necessary.

"Finish healing before you collect another dramatic rival this week," she said, testing the monitor against his pulse.

"No promises, apparently my schedule belongs to whoever keeps sending murder through walls," Damien replied, watching the bracket lock.

The sealed faculty gate appeared for one frame behind Ezra’s profile, then the Benefactor’s hooked mark vanished beneath his sponsor crest.