The Lustful Villain: Every Milfs and Gilfs are Mine!-Chapter 117. The Universe Works Together for Protagonists. (I Hate It)

Chapter 117: 117. The Universe Works Together for Protagonists. (I Hate It)

Rex smiled back and wrote her down right away as a high-value early contact. She was easy to talk to, always there for others, and the emotional anchor of any group she was in.

What’s even better is that she looked like a sexy priestess; it’s one of those things that Rex liked the most to have fun with. And she wasn’t the first person to not trust him, which made her more useful than the more cautious ones.

Next came a woman who had been sitting still since Rex came in. She wasn’t relaxed, but she was in control.

She had dark hair, dark eyes, and the kind of face that would be described as striking rather than conventionally pretty. When Professor Elizabeth nodded at her, she simply said, "Vireth Noctyra. Phantom Blade," and then said nothing else.

Rex stared at her for exactly one second longer than he did at the other people. She was looking at him with an expression that didn’t give anything away.

He put her in his mental file as a long-term target. The people who didn’t show anything were either the least interested or the most, and the way she had been following him without showing it suggested the latter.

And also when the notification of the desire level didn’t pop up. He knows that it’s probably not the best target for him to have.

"TALYRA SKYDANCER!" The shout came out of nowhere, and the person herself was half-jumping out of her seat with a wave that was more appropriate for a street festival than a classroom.

Her auburn hair was curly, and she had so much energy that the room felt like it got two degrees warmer. "Gale Archer, best shot in the division even though Zeraphyra refuses to admit it, and also, Rex, you are SO much cuter up close!"

[TALYRA SKYDANCER DETECTED — DESIRE LEVEL: 0/100 — ELIGIBLE TARGET]

’Oh...? It seems like we got another eligible target that I can use, and with that kind of attitude... I’d love to break her.’

"Hey, Talyra," said Professor Elizabeth.

"I KNOW, I KNOW, keeping it short." She quickly put her hands together in an apology to the professor and then smiled at Rex with no remorse. "But I really mean it."

Rex’s mouth turned a little. "I like how honest you are."

"Right?!" She pointed at him as if he had just said something crucial. "Look, he understands."

From two seats away, Kaelira whispered something that Rex suspected was a criticism of Talyra’s self-control.

The woman who came after Talyra had green hair that looked like the color of old trees. She sat cross-legged in her chair with a little plant on her desk that Rex was pretty sure hadn’t been there when he walked in.

She looked calm, like someone who spent a lot of time outside and found most indoor situations to be a little too much.

"Nerith Sylvarune," she said in a soft, distant voice, as if part of her mind were somewhere else. "I’m a Spirit Druid, and I work with nature magic, mostly growth and talking to living things."

She stopped and then looked at Rex with eyes that were more focused than her voice suggested. "By the way, this plant likes you... and for your information, plants are good at judging people."

Rex looked at the tiny plant. It seemed to be leaning a little bit in his direction. "That’s good to know," he said.

’Even plants can’t detect any manipulative tricks on me, huh? That’s exactly how great and dangerous I am.’ 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

[NERITH SYLVARUNE DETECTED — DESIRE LEVEL: 0/100 — ELIGIBLE TARGET]

The next woman stood still and moved in a way that was smooth and slow but somehow still got everyone’s attention without being loud. Her dark red hair fell loosely to her shoulders, and she had the kind of smile that said she had long since accepted that she was the most captivating person in most rooms.

"Calivara Crimsonveil," she said, stretching out the syllables a little. "Blood Sorceress."

She looked at Rex with a warmth that felt more like judgment than welcome. "Blood magic is interesting, and it works with the body’s own systems in ways that most other magic can’t."

"I think most people only understand what it can do after they see it in action." She tilted her head a little. "I really hope we get to work together, Rex. You seem like an interesting person."

"Subject," he said, categorizing her not as a student or a coworker. He noted this in the "approach carefully but approach soon" file.

The last person to introduce herself had been very still the whole time, which was different from Vireth’s controlled stillness. This person was so busy thinking that their body forgot to move.

She had dark hair with very faint silver strands at the temples, and she looked like she was in her mid-twenties. She wore round glasses that she pushed up once before she spoke.

"Eryndra Voidstar, and I’m an Astral Summoner." She looked at Rex like she had just added a new piece to a very complicated puzzle. "I study reincarnators and their system abilities all the time."

"I already have about forty-seven questions." She stopped. "I won’t ask them now, but I will."

Rex said, "I’ll hold you to that."

’Like hell I would answer all of that.’

She seemed happy about that, like scientists are happy when a sample supports their theory.

[SYSTEM UPDATE — INITIAL TARGET ASSESSMENTS COMPLETE]

[TALYRA SKYDANCER: HIGH ACCESSIBILITY — EMOTIONAL OPENNESS, DIRECT COMMUNICATION STYLE]

[AISELLA MOONBLOOM: HIGH ACCESSIBILITY — NURTURING, TRUST-FORWARD PERSONALITY]

[ERYNDRA VOIDSTAR: HIGH INTELLECTUAL INTEREST — APPROACHES THROUGH CURIOSITY, NOT EMOTION]

[CALIVARA CRIMSONVEIL: MODERATE — SELF-AWARE MANIPULATOR, WILL REQUIRE STRATEGIC MIRRORING]

[ZERAPHYRA VOLTARIS: MODERATE — EGO-DRIVEN, RESPONDS TO COMPETENCE AND CHALLENGE]

[KAELIRA IGNISVALE: MODERATE — EMOTIONAL BUT GUARDED, HONESTY IS THE KEY]

[NERITH SYLVARUNE: MODERATE LOW — INSTINCT-BASED, REQUIRES GENUINE BEHAVIORAL INVESTMENT]

[VIRETH NOCTYRA: LOW INITIAL ACCESS — REVEALS NOTHING, PATIENCE REQUIRED]

[MIREYA SNOWLITH: LOW INITIAL ACCESS — MINIMAL VERBAL ENGAGEMENT, ALTERNATIVE APPROACH NEEDED]

’Better late than never, huh...? But why does the notification about their desire level only appear for some of them?’

[IT’S THE EASIEST TARGET YOU CAN REACH BECAUSE SOME OF THEM ARE REALLY, REALLY CLOSE TO APOLLO THAT THEY HAD A CHANCE TO BE BLESSED BY THE GODDESS OF LIFE]

[PROCEED WITH CAUTION]

’I see... I get it now.’

Rex took it all in and sat back down as Professor Elizabeth opened her leather folder and said that the real lesson for the day had begun.

...

The class went on for a long time, and it wasn’t captivating.

It was clear that Elizabeth Von Starlight was very smart. She was also clearly the kind of teacher who thought that sharing brilliance in large, uninterrupted amounts was the best way to do it, since she had been talking for almost forty minutes without stopping to catch her breath.

The topic was advanced magical theory, specifically how elemental affinities and soul-level resonance work together. She explained it in a clear, layered way that Rex could easily understand without having to write anything down.

He already knew a lot of it. He had taken the important parts from Helena’s explanations over the past few weeks, and his system-enhanced memory and Emotional Insight had filled in the gaps by watching.

The Academy’s curriculum was full, but it didn’t teach him anything new. It was giving him time to watch.

He had set his chair at a slight angle so that he could see the whole semicircle out of the corner of his eye while still looking at the board. The man was a model student in the most sincere, unironic way possible, and Apollo was three seats to his right.

He wrote things down, and he also put up his hand. He answered questions with enthusiasm and accuracy that felt real because it was.

And every time he spoke, all nine women in the room reacted like plants do to sunlight. Every time he spoke, the nine women in the room responded with a slight lean forward, a quiet smile, and a nod that seemed a bit too swift for mere academic agreement.

At one point, Elizabeth stopped her lecture to ask a question about how interference patterns work in dual-elemental spellcasting. Before anyone else could even think of an answer, Apollo had his hand up.

He said, "The resonance frequency of opposing elements makes a dissonance field instead of a real fusion."

"However, if you stabilize both elements at their base vibration first and then introduce them simultaneously, the dissonance becomes a carrier wave instead of interference."

"I read about it in some old notes from an underlayer scholar that were found."

"Good answer as always, Apollo." Elizabeth looked at him. "That’s right."

"The method you’re talking about was created about eight hundred years ago and was mostly forgotten after the scholar died."

"Most students at your level don’t come across that reference." She turned back to the board. "Good job."

Apollo smiled like she had given him a trophy. Around him, the women reacted: Aisella smiled warmly, Talyra clapped once before catching herself, Kaelira looked away but was clearly pleased, and even Mireya’s expression changed by about a millimeter in a way that Rex thought meant she was impressed.

Rex saw it all and felt a mix of professional respect and real annoyance.

He thought, "I really hate protagonists," but he kept his face completely pleasant.

"They make everything look easy because it is easy for them."

"The universe just works together."