World's Strongest Became the Game's Weakest Villain

"Hey captain, there was a message from the leader to call everyone in the briefing room."

"Briefing room? A meeting?"

The captain and a few of his fellows from the strongest faction in the academy grouped together as the captain stepped down to the lower floors. He pushed open the door to the ivory and lavender-covered briefing rooms, the domes and the arches of the wide hall giving a clear view of the outside.

On the many chairs were the different students in the top brass of the faction.

"Timmy, are you really going to do it?"

The captain heard something odd as he entered the conference room.

"What’s going on?" He asked as he took a seat next to his friend.

"Oh, you’re here?" The man answered. "It seems Timmy is planning to confess his love for the leader today.

The captain took a glance at the bald Timmy and held in his tears. "I’ll pray for him,"

"You better. Hahaha!"

"Hey, folks. Come on, cheer him on."

It was then that the door to the conference room swung open one more. All the students inside turned to the sides and stared at the people flooding into the room.

The genius first years, Albert and Luka, followed by Noa Roselle whom everyone previously knew as a dead person, and lastly.

Locks of white hair, followed by some more.

A man walked into the room, in his hands, held like a princess, was the veiled woman all of them called their leader.

All the top brass of the faction got on their feet, their mouths hanging low in surprise.

Words were a luxury for the shocked.

"Is the head of the room where you sit?"

"Yup, my chair is real comfy."

"I’ll find out today."

Without even glancing at them, Eugene Hall carried over the leader in his arms and walked over to the front of the table, the seat reserved for the leader. He casually crossed his legs and sat down on the chair, pulling the leader up on his lap as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"W-what is happening…?"

"Is it the leader? The real leader? Not an imposter?"

"It has to be doppelgänger!"

The other three that had stepped into the room averted their gaze in embarrassment, but the students didn’t care a rat’s tail for them. Never in their lives had they imagined their inviolable, stern, and cold leader to let a man wrap his arms around her, let alone lean over on his neck and muzzle in his ears. Impossible, it was impossible to imagine.

"L-leader…?" Timmy spoke, "What is happening here?"

"Who is this person?" Another added to support Timmy while all the students nodded in affirmation. They were far too confused to sit back down.

"This person?" Lethe asked, pulling Eugene’s cheeks outward. "He’s Eugene Hall, I thought you guys knew him?"

"Ah… we do…"

Few didn’t.

"But…"

"But?" Lethe didn’t give them a moment to breathe.

"Uh… is he threatening you…?"

"Hey!" Eugene snapped. "Watch it, if I could threaten her she would have been wearing cat ears or something."

Lethe pulled Eugene’s cheeks out like a pile of dough as she shook her head.

"Why would he have to threaten me? We are lovers, we’re also going to get married."

"L-LOVERS?!" Timmy screamed!

"Shush it, I have no patience for your squeals. Talk like a human."

"S-sorry."

Even if she didn’t have a lover, Timmy didn’t stand the slightest of chances.

"T-then… since when…?" Asked another student, a girl that seemed to have been eyeing Lethe. Eugene didn’t miss the slight hesitation in her movements and was certain that she was aiming for Lethe.

He worried that he would have to set straight both women and men in the other factions.

Tightening his grip around her, he spoke.

"Have you not ever heard about the hero of the empire and the lady of Acacia? I thought it was a famous tale too."

The students thought for a few seconds. Gossip really faded just a beat slower than reputation.

"Ah!" One said. "You mean, adventurer dusk? And the lady of Acacia?"

Eugene nodded.

"Dusk," Lethe said pointing at him, and then she pointed at herself. "Acacia."

"HEH!?"

"What? That means the leader was always with someone?"

The students had received a grand whiplash and were having a hard time processing things.

At the right time, the captain faked a cough and spoke. "Congratulations, leader. You too, Eugene Hall, please cherish our leader—"

"Of course, you don’t even have to think about that."

Eugene answered right away, fairly pissed at being told to cherish the one person he cherished the most by some rando.

The captain coughed again and looked at the leader. "Then, what is the topic for this meeting today, leader? Since there’s an entire another faction here…"

"Yeah, they’re here for business." Said Lethe. "Junior, you take over from here."

"Yes!" Albert said, already being moved at her beck and call. They were given seats over the table and the other of the top brass gathered to hear their words.

"Well, we’re here to make you pay for our plans for the faction festival."

Straight off to a sour note, Albert’s words made both Noa and Luka smack their heads while the ones in the room got slightly interested in his arrogance.

"Of course, not for no reason."

With that, Albert began explaining the points for the festival one after the other. He slowly negotiated with them, giving them enough information to keep them invested and just not enough to not let his main plans leak out.

The other side had no choice but to get caught deeper and deeper in his web. Or that would have been the case… 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"What? So you spent all your nights learning the piano?"

"I would be sleepless too if you don’t sleep."

If it wasn’t for the two lovebirds giggling and flirting the whole time.

"So, what do—"

"—Hey, watch your hand."

Albert slammed the table and stood up.

"You two! Get out if you’re going to interrupt—"

—SLAM!

A loud sound resounded as Lethe slapped the table back. She didn’t say a word and only glared at Albert.

All the students in the room lowered their heads, and so did he.

"I am sorry. Please take your time."

Tyrants weren’t to be messed with.

The students all sat back down and the negotiations continued. The strong sense of camaraderie that formed under Lethe’s cold glare was enough to bring everyone on the same page.

Of course, Eugene and Lethe kept flirting till the very last second and then started all over again once the meeting ended.

***

The negotiations were already fixed since Lethe had given her nod, but Albert easily convinced the rest by creating a sense of belonging with them as someone who was under Lethe’s thumb.

It didn’t end there as the group also visited all the other factions. Sometimes Lethe would climb on Eugene’s back and other times he would straddle her on his shoulders. Though Lethe remained pissed at Eugene for letting the rumors float, he made up for it by flirting and spoiling her five times more than she planned.

"This this and that that," Albert would start.

"That that and this this," the others would argue.

"Why are you so damn cute?"

"No, why are you so damn cute?"

And Lethe and Eugene would bother everyone. It was enough to make quite a few of them pissed, especially the ones that eyed her Eugene or herself. But with a single glare that they couldn’t even see behind her veil, the other students had no choice but to shut the hell up and accept their fate.

They would lower their heads and continue. And Eugene and Lethe would keep flirting to the point it became unbearable to hear them for even a second more, they wanted it to end and they wanted it to end right now.

Albert also negotiated with them all with grandly bold and losing deals for them, which always left Luka and Noa shocked, but it would still take them ten years to reach his level. Of course, the role of Eugene and Lethe was too great to not be mentioned.

In the end, a satisfying day passed and now Lethe was back in her faction.

A smile was on her face below the veil, it must have been enough to get rid of all unpleasant rumors and start some pleasant ones.

As she saw a new group of students talking around, Lethe slowly strutted closer and perked her ears up to listen.

"Hey, hey, did you hear?"

"What?"

"Our leader! Is actually smitten with a man!"

Lethe nodded in satisfaction.

"An already taken man, that Eugene!"

"Oh! Some people even told me she forced him to carry her around!"

"Wow, she’s like the villainess in the novels!"

"WHY!?"

Lethe’s screams weren’t to be heard that day.

She learned a valuable lesson, that gossipers only gossiped about what was interesting and not the truth.

Well, at least gossip lived just a beat longer than reputation, she would only have to build it back up.