Reincarnated As The Villainess's Best Friend Chapter 40: It Ends In Three

"I heard your trial didn’t go so well," Miss Fumiko said before sipping from a white cup containing freshly brewed cinnamon tea.

For a mont, she turned to Theo, staring at him like he was one of her books, waiting to be read.

Theo, oblivious to her stare, dug deeper into the plate of mashed potatoes and pork laid on the table in front of him, its rich aroma filling the entire room.

The three of us sat in Fumiko’s dimly lit room, conversing around the dining table. Red, hot embers burned in the fireplace, giving the room a comfortable warmth.

Above us, a trio of moths hovered around the Lumi Crystal, and right outside the house, the cricket choir was in full swing.

For the first ti in what felt like days, the air didn’t reek of blood, fear, or judgnt. Only cinnamon and slow-burning cedar logs.

"I was hoping you’d co," I replied, tapping my finger on the teacup in front of .

"I wanted to, but I was quite busy trying to heal myself after you abandoned ."

"I’m sorry..."

"You don’t have to apologize. I know you had to leave." She took another sip from her cup, eyes glued on . "So what was the verdict?"

I sighed.

"I’ve been banned from all future tournants in the academy..."

Miss Fumiko let out a soft gasp.

"I’ve also been suspended from classes for two weeks – and placed under the direct supervision of Professor Varyn."

"That’s it?"

"Yeah."

"Wow... That’s good."

I lifted a brow.

"What?" Fumiko frowned, "You could have been expelled. I an, you did disrupt a tournant."

"Lucy would be dead if I didn’t."

"True. But you still disrupted a tournant. You didn’t just break the academy rules, you broke the Tesseract Treaty."

Well, she was right about that.

Article 27 of the Tesseract Treaty read: ’In the spirit of fairness, all tournants in Westumberland are to be held without any interference from external parties or houses, to avoid future conflict stemming from disagreents about the identity of the rightful winner.’

I didn’t just interrupt a school tournant between Lucy and Si Ya, I disrupted a match between Houses Lin and Daevalia, the punishnt of which was quite severe.

"You got off easy," Fumiko added, "and that’s being honest."

"I still don’t like the idea of being watched round the clock by Varyn."

"He’s not the worst. You’ll grow to like him."

I sighed again.

"Oh don’t look so sad," she said, her lips curling upward. "You’ve got your magic back, right? That’s a good thing."

I shook my head. "Not all of it."

"How so?"

I raised my left palm up and stared at it. A purple spark of electricity jumped between my fingertips.

"All I did was activate Rin’s bloodline affinity. My old powers... are gone."

I stopped... For a mont, the room fell still.

"Focus on the bright side," Miss Fumiko smiled. "Now, it’ll be easier to fulfil your mission."

"No... Without my full power, I’m no match against the Shadow Queen."

"Well then, focus on your promotion. You’ve been moved to Class 1A, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Then be happy about that."

I honestly wished I could, but sothing else jogged in the back of my mind, sothing even more worriso.

Miss Fumiko diverted her attention to Theo, who busied himself with a second helping of potato and pork.

"So... you’re an assassin?" she asked in a softened voice.

"Was," Theo replied without looking up. "I work for Rin now."

"Right."

Her gaze slowly returned to the table. She lifted a large jug and poured herself another cup of tea.

Once again, she turned to Theo.

"How did you get that scar?"

Theo let out a cough, apparently choking on his al. He reached for a glass of wine beside his plate and downed its contents.

"Fumiko..." I sighed.

"What?... I’m just trying to make conversation," she frowned. "I’ve never had this many visitors before."

It was just the three of us.

"Well, if that’s the case, there’s sothing else we need to talk about," I said, picking up a spoon. Then I tapped the cup in front of three tis.

Clink! Clink!! Clink!!!

Suddenly, Miss Fumiko arched her neck in the direction of the front door.

Loud footsteps echoed from the front porch. The front door gently creaked open, and Si Ya marched into the room.

Without hesitation, Theo rose to his feet, pulling out a long sword.

"Take one more step, and you’ll lose that leg," he snarled at her.

"Relax..." Si Ya froze, arms raised in surrender. "I’m not here to fight."

Miss Fumiko turned to , eyes narrowed. "Isn’t she the assassin?"

"I asked her to co."

"She tried to kill us. She tried to kill you twice!"

"I know..."

"No, you don’t know," Fumiko snapped, her cup rattling on its saucer. "We could have died here, Rin. This is not a ga!"

Her eyes glistened slightly, and for a mont, I saw not just a Tutor, but soone afraid of losing the people she cared about.

"Say the word, Master Rin," Theo said, his eyes focused on Si Ya. "And I’ll cut her where she stands."

"There’s no need for that. She just wants to talk"

"You heard him," Si Ya cut in, "I’m just here to talk."

Theo pushed his sword closer to her chest.

"Sit down, Theo!" I yelled in a firm voice.

At my command, he lowered his arm, returning his blade back into its sheath. Then, he leaned back into his chair, placing his hand right on the hilt of his sword.

"You too, Si Ya."

Si Ya stepped forward, pulling out the nearest chair, and placing herself in it in a dignified manner.

"You told she was dead," Theo fud.

"I thought she was. Until I took her to the healing tent near the arena."

"Why would you save her?"

"I had no intention of letting her die..."

"You don’t just ’let people like her live,’" Theo growled. "I’ve seen what rcy costs. One hesitation, and soone you care about ends up in a grave."

"I understand your fears, Theo. But I can take care of her. Right now, she just wants to talk to us. So, let’s just listen."

Theo forced out a breath. Afterward, the room fell quiet.

All eyes turned to Si Ya.

"Go on..." I said.

"Can I have a drink first?"

"No."

"Alright then."

Si Ya cleared her throat, then pulled out a a small hourglass from her blazer and placed it on the table.

I stared at the object for a mont, trying to decipher if I had seen it before.

"I’m sure Belfor... Rin, told you all about ."

"You’re an assassin," Theo snapped. "A desperate one."

"No. I’m not just an assassin. I belong to a secret order... The Order of the Red Hourglass."

I recalled the red hourglass symbol on the folded note. It wasn’t a house crest. It belonged to the Order.

"What’s that?" Theo asked.

"The Order of the Red Hourglass is a sect as old as the world itself," she continued. "It was ford by the Seers of Xindao, who foresaw every apocalypse that could have happened, and made sure it didn’t."

Theo scowled. I just listened.

"I am one of three assassins, blessed with the ti affinity gift of foresight. Since birth, we were trained to be killers, and tasked with one single mission: preventing the end of the world, by any ans necessary."

"Is that why you ca to Viridale?" Fumiko asked.

Si Ya briefly nodded. "We saw a vision; an intense battle between two powerful forces. A battle which determines the fate of the world. A battle, which he lost."

All eyes turned to .

"So you ca here to prevent that from happening?"

Si Ya nodded.

"By killing an innocent girl?" Fumiko asked, her lips curled in a frown.

"I was taught by the Seers to be ruthless," Si Ya replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "I killed anyone I was asked to, believing our cause to be right. I still believe Lucy is a dangerous force but, I’m willing to find another way."

"Why are you telling us now?" Theo asked.

"Because I saw another vision."

I leaned forward, sliding my chair closer to the table.

"You saw another vision?"

"After you defeated ," she replied, her voice lower than before. "It was the sa one, but this ti, it was more violent."

I felt a sour taste in the back of my mouth.

"Glad to know the future hasn’t changed," I said, leaning back on my chair, my eyes darting to the Lumi Crystal above.

Miss Fumiko glanced at the cup of tea in her palm. "Well, it’s not sothing we need to worry about. There’s plenty of ti to change it. We still have about... fourteen years, right?"

"No, we don’t."

I tilted my head down, staring back at Si Ya.

"What do you an, we don’t?"

Si Ya swallowed, and dropped her gaze toward the hourglass in front of her.

"The world doesn’t end in fourteen years," she replied in a tiny voice. "It ends in three."