Reborn As An Overpowered Villain

The sky had turned a shade of red and gold, casting the academy in a warm luminous glow, giving the white colossal building a breathtaking view of burning colors that made its enormous domes and spires look almost majestic against the darkening evening, as though they were announcing to the world to witness their glory.

Amber turned her head away from the academy toward her new friend, well, not quite a friend yet but a friend in the making, Melissa, whom Amber would at any cost make sure to befriend because the girl was too innocent and too endearing for her own good. Melissa's cheeks were soft and plump, and her golden hair looked almost like threads of spun gold as the sun cast its red and golden hue across her, and for heaven's sake Melissa was so breathtakingly beautiful, like an angel, and Amber had already begun to believe that if angels were to descend from heaven, they would look exactly like Melissa.

"Melissa, did you enjoy any particular class?" Amber asked as she lightly tapped Melissa's shoulder to pull her out of her stupor, for the girl had been far too busy gazing along the path and watching students pass by on the streets.

Melissa, like a squirrel startled by a sudden touch, gave a small jolt and shifted slightly to the side on the bench where the two of them were currently sitting.

"You almost scared me, your highness," Melissa blurted out in accusation.

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Amber," Amber pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

Melissa meekly nodded. "Sorry, it is just that your highness feels more natural to me and I enjoy calling you that rather than Amber." She trailed off, and Amber found herself baffled by the answer. Who in the world would actually enjoy calling someone your highness? Only a complete oddball, but no, Melissa was no oddball. She was an angel and she would remain an angel in Amber's eyes.

"But still, try to call me Amber, alright?" Amber repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. Melissa would manage it for a little while, but like a mechanism reverting to its default state, Melissa would always drift back to your highness eventually, which meant Amber had to keep correcting her every time if she wanted her friend-to-be to actually use her name.

Melissa gave another meek nod, and Amber found herself fighting the urge to pinch the girl's cheeks, stopping herself just in time as that would be considered crossing a boundary. "So, which subject did you enjoy?" Amber repeated, steering the conversation back to her original question.

"Not a single one interested me," Melissa replied with a dejected look. "What about you, your highn… Amber?"

Amber smiled at the small victory, noting how Melissa had nearly slipped before catching herself and finishing with her name instead.

"I think I am going to choose runecrafting," Amber answered. "I have learned some of it already and I think I will try to advance myself in runes even further with that elective."

Melissa nodded, and for just a moment Amber thought she caught a flicker of relief pass across the girl's face, as though some quiet burden had been lifted from her shoulders. "You look happy for some reason," Amber remarked.

"Huh?" Melissa mumbled, shaking her head. "How could I? You are just imagining things, Amber."

Amber nodded, though more at the fact that Melissa had used her name correctly than at any acceptance of being wrong about what she had seen, because she was fairly certain she had caught that fleeting happiness on Melissa's face, a brief look of someone suddenly freed from something.

"Still, I am not entirely settled on runecrafting," Amber added, pressing her fingers to her chin thoughtfully. "I will be visiting the other classes with you, and if something captures my interest even more, then I may well choose both if the schedule allows for it, since there is apparently no limit to how many electives one can take."

And for the briefest moment, Amber felt Melissa's mood dim again, just for a micro second, which Melissa immediately hid away by putting on a smile "Am I truly just imagining things?" Amber muttered, more to herself than to anyone else.

"Did you say something, Amber?" Melissa asked, the faint smile still resting on her lips.

"No, I think I simply need to sleep earlier tonight because I think I am seeing sudden shifts in your expressions, only for them to vanish the moment I look properly," Amber muttered, quietly resolving to herself that she absolutely had to get to bed at a reasonable hour. She had spent most of last night devouring half a romance novel, only setting it aside when her eyelids grew so heavy she could no longer keep them open.

"Yes, you are simply imagining things," Melissa said softly, and her lips gave the tiniest twitch, which made Amber rub her eyes, and when she looked again, the twitch was gone entirely.

Amber decided that from tonight onwards, she would allow herself only a page or two of the novel at most. Yesterday she was utterly helpless against it due to how addicting the book had turned out to be.

"Melissa, I think I will head back to the dormitory now," Amber announced, rising from the bench. "Would you like to come along, or would you rather stay out a little longer?"

"I think I will stay here for a while," Melissa replied.

Amber glanced around, scanning the surroundings in hope of finding Eleena as she had not seen Eleena once since they had parted ways after lunch. Amber suspected Eleena was off somewhere training her magic, as the girl had for some reason become intensely driven since the morning, consumed by determination to raise her rank and reach master level as quickly as possible.

"Then we will meet again tomorrow," Amber said warmly, bidding Melissa goodbye before turning to make her way back to the dormitory room. Melissa replied with a quiet nod, and Amber had to deliberately pull her gaze away from Melissa's golden hair, which in the light of the fading evening was shining as though it were woven from actual gold.

***

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