The Redo of a Novel's Villain: Moira - Chapter 18: Chapter 18

"Have you decided on clubs yet?" Kayson patted his black sweater vest down, smoothing out the wrinkles caused from sitting too long. The emblem of the academy is stitched by the left chest: A golden shield containing a crown and a four petal flower.
Huey nodded. "Yeah, you?"
He shrugged. "I'll just choose whichever." He picked up his school bag and moved to leave the classroom.
"Alright." Huey trailed after Kayson. He had come into the boy's classroom earlier after class to meet up.
It's already been a week since he discussed with Kayson about the Winter Showcase incident. Currently, they've only briefly touched on the plan strategy and details. Focusing more on pinpointing the locations of the bombs as well as holes in the plan.
Now, their focus was on the numerous clubs offered by the academy. In fact they were making their way down to the club choosing area now by the main building's lower foyer.
The place was flocking with people. There were students from all years as well as academy staff going about. Fortunately the mini map they have on their watch shows where each club stand is. The main issue was making their way to said stand through the mountains and seas of people.
Kayson sighed looking at the crowd, the tumult assaulting his ears. He turned to Huey.
"What clubs are you joining?"
"Art, Magic and Theory, and Combat and Weaponry." Two of which were clubs he joined last time, which meant for plot convenience the protagonist and other important characters will also be in the clubs. Still, although he didn't want to have anything to do with them, these two clubs are essential for building his strength. He'll just think of it like keeping an eye on the plot distortion.
"Oo maybe I'll join the last two too." Kayson remarked. Good, Huey was planning on dragging him in anyways.
"Alright, I'll sign up at the art club first."
"Then I'm gonna go look around, bye." He waved and left.
As Kayson disappeared amongst the crowd, Huey calmly made his way to the art club's sign up stand. The familiar figures of Vincent and Mathew soon appeared. The duo were conversing with students. Mathew wore a benevolent smile as he introduced the club to someone, his soft orange eyes soon catching Huey in its sight. After nudging Vincent, he quickly called out to him.
"Huey!! Over here!" The happiness coupled with his innate laid back character was a stark difference compared to the surrounding people (Vincent excluded).
The typical questioning whispers arose and Huey skillfully ignored it all. The knowledge he's 'changed' and has been taking art lessons has already been circulated throughout all of the second years, but only a handful of first and third years know of it. This reaction was expected, he supposed.
"Hey Mathew, hey Vincent." He greeted. The three of them have gotten a lot closer in the past week.
Vincent smiled. "Hello Huey, are you joining?"
"Mhm."
Mathew wooed and handed over a printed-designed card. "Here, this is the club information."
The card was well designed with toned down colours coupled with abstract shapes. On it listed the room number, time, a list of activities, and such.
He swept a look over the card before tucking it into his pants pocket. Huey opened his mouth to say something, but noticing the line he was holding up, stopped. A bit of shame came upon the realization which caused a subtle pink to dust his cheeks.
He cleared his throat. "Thanks, I'm gonna go check out some other clubs now."
"Okay~" Mathew waved goodbye and went back to assisting the other students.
Huey walked away and headed to the next closest stand: Magic and Theory.
One of the most popular clubs, one where a good chunk of the main casts joined. Such as the heroine Celine, the rival-turned-friend Melissa, and his highness Kade.
Sorin did not join because his power relied mainly on his exceptional swordsmanship as well as an unique power known as aura. Similar to magic but not. Whereas magic is drawn from the world (with the mana core acting like a filter), aura stems from oneself. It is proof of when someone has honed their bodies to the extreme and surpassed one's limits once. A force capable of cutting through the hardest of stone and serve as the strongest of armour.
Naturally not many people can obtain aura. Even if they do, in order to strengthen it one must constantly strengthen the body and technique. If not it's nothing more than a show weapon. That's how difficult it is to hone. So much so that in the world there are only a handful of aura users.
For the sixteen year old Sorin to be able to use aura meant he was a prodigy of prodigies. But he only recently obtained aura around a year ago, so Sorin was still relatively weak compared to the other users. But fret not his strength will soon skyrocket and he will reach the level of a sword master in three years time, earning the title of youngest sword master in history. At least that's how it's written, he never lived up to that moment after all.
Huey rubbed his neck, the phantom feeling of the cold slice of Sorin's sword which had cleanly decapitated him passing through. Although brief, his memories retained the sensation as though it happened just yesterday. The blade was barely, but surely coated in aura. Or else the cut wouldn't have been so clean, so sharply painless.
An incomprehensible expression formed on Huey's face. Why was Sorin merciful to him even up until death? He didn't—shouldn't deserve it. Was he just that kind? Even to someone like him?
He shook his head.
Huey smoothed his face and finally arrived at the stand for the Magic and Theory club. As expected there was a long queue. Huey once again lamented over the absence of his phone and made his way to the end of the line.
Then the face of the person in front of him paled and moved behind him, and so on and so on. More and more people offered up their place to him and it would have been flattering had their faces not made their fear clear.
...
What a way to kill the mood.
Huey uncomfortably glanced at the students and walked to his new spot in line which was a lot closer to the stand. He was hoping that the next person in front of him wouldn't continue the pattern and fortunately they did; but unfortunately, the person was Melissa Roseri. Just his luck.
Her long lilac hair swayed as she moved her head to glare at Huey. She raised an eyebrow.
"What? Mad that I'm not moving too?"
"..No." He answered truthfully.
Melissa deadpanned and made firm eye contact with him.
Of course he'd bump into the girl who's extremely venomous towards those she dislikes. She was feisty and prideful, only respecting those she deemed worthy even to those with strong family backings. All because her father was the prime minister of Ecrelyn, the king's right hand man.
Melissa was Celine's rival magic wise and love wise (Sorin having saved her from a potential injury when she was younger). Her younger self believed that this must be the knight in shining armour thing in the story books, and this fantasy's residual feelings carried on through the years. However later on she outgrows this crush and acts as a trustworthy ally after some character development.
But that's far into the future.
Huey sighed internally, preparing himself to tune out all the berating insults that'll be thrown at him.
She narrowed her violet eyes.
...
And nothing came.
Huey was confused, normally she'd dish out numerous biting insults, even to him, confident of her family's protection. But nothing? Weird. Instead she just kept staring skeptically at him.
Her stare made Huey shuffle his feet as an effort to cope with the awkwardness. Finally she turned her head, long lilac hair brushing past him.
Huey was pleasantly surprised. Perhaps he was lucky and she was in a really good mood.
Some time passed and there were only a couple more people until it was his turn. Kayson even came and used him as a free budge. Now with their vision less obscured by people they could finally see the stand properly. The club captains were signing members up, and on the opposite side of the stand was Celine and Kade.
They seemed to be making small talk with the club captains, but thankfully it was quick. Finishing their business they left to sign up for other clubs. And eventually it was their turn.
The club captain looked over them once and handed over a clipboard with multiple sheets of paper. She flipped over to a page and pointed towards two empty spots with her pen.
"Name, year, and student number."
Huey quickly jotted down the information followed by Kayson, and they were once again given a card of some sort with all the club information listed down. Afterwards the long arduous process was repeated with the Combat and Weaponry club. At least neither of them bumped into any important people in the line. By the time they finished it was already five.
Kayson collapsed onto a wooden bench outside the main building, his legs throbbed from standing. He groaned.
"Aughh we're finally done!"
Huey plopped down beside him and slumped into the seat.
"At least we got a spot in.."
"All that waiting is making me hungry, when's dinner?"
Huey looked in the direction of the giant clock tower above them, barely reading the time due to the distance and angle.
"Hmm, in an hour or two?"
Kayson clicked his tongue.
A couple minutes of silence passed, both of them far too worn out to continue a conversation. Gazing at the light blue sky with half lidded eyes Huey fumbled around in his pockets and fished out the club cards. He looked over each carefully.
Neither club had coinciding times and would all take place after school unless specified. He shuffled the art club's card to the very back and scrutinized the remaining two's activities.
Both clubs are sponsored by the academy and provide the exploration and understanding of the club subjects. For example, magic, mana, spells, weapons, tactics, skills, how to respond in certain situations, and the such. Both clubs also provide trips to places to give insight onto members such as the national museum, knights, magic tower, nature areas, and the like. They also allow spars between members as long as it's under supervision.
Speaking of spars...
Red eyes wandered to the Combat and Weaponry card.
It was no unknown fact that Sorin was a prodigy in the sword, having hailed from the Ceylon family most renowned for its immaculate swordsmanship which moves as calmly as a river but strikes as deadly as a deluge. Sharp and precise. But House Ceylon only came to be during Sorin's grandfather's time as a common knight who valiantly helped protect Ecrelyn in a war, earning a noble title and becoming a part of the three knight house, officially making it four. Each responsible for protecting one cardinal direction of the nation.
House Nevoid, which shields the north.
House Ceylon, which guards the east.
House Wolint, which defends the west.
And House Czareesh, which protects the south.
They go by many titles, the four knight houses, the protectors, the cardinal houses, but there is one specific title everyone unanimously knows of. Together, the four houses are known as the King's Watchdogs.
But of course there are always opposing parties. For example House Wolint, who is wholeheartedly opposed to the idea of House Ceylon becoming a part of the Knight Houses. Especially after Sorin's grandfather married a commoner woman from his village, dubbing her as the countess.
The Wolint's logic being that the original three houses are proud nobility with honorable histories that plays a deep part of the roots of Ecrelyn. The three having sworn with blood to protect the kingdom and that a mere common knight's blood will now become a part of this holy pact was sacrilege in and of itself.
Basically, a pretty version of saying they're classist. So imagine their pride when nearly the entire world acknowledges Wolint and Ceylon to be of rivaling strength?
The old noble Wolint Household and a new household without a speck of blue blood as rivals? Preposterous.
Thus Albert Wolint, Sorin's delusional self-proclaimed rival, constantly challenges Sorin to a duel for days. And when the protagonist eventually relents and ends up defeating him, the Wolint family incessantly creates trouble for the youth. Which was just annoying.
Huey remembers the pure irritation he felt in those chapters where after Albert, came his younger brother, and after younger brother was the oldest brother, and after that was an older sister, then a cousin, and more and more.
Essentially the Wolint Household was a snowball type enemy, where it'll just keep getting bigger and bigger. What's more was that it didn't really help improve Sorin's strength, rather it actually stunted it in his opinion!
Because all they did was create relational and political trouble, interrupt him, hinder him from obtaining something, as well as a good chunk of Sorin's challengers not being up to his level. And the ones strong enough hardly make up for all the other opportunities Sorin could've used to get stronger—which they ruined.
Huey's face scrunched up, with the academy villain, him, gone added with the plot changing... will Sorin even be able to achieve his strength in the novel?! After all, one antagonist gone means a boatload of development sunk.
Huey pinched his eyebrows and began to think.
What can he do to aid Sorin?
Lead him and his companions to obtain certain items such as a mystical weapon, or an ancient scroll containing a spell formula, or a powerful artifact? Maybe help get rid of the unnecessary obstacles?
Huey let out a loud groan and rubbed his face.
"Looks like I'll be taking things into my own hands.." He mumbled into his palms, not minding Kayson's questioning look.
'I'll take care of Wolint for you Sorin.'