[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-m-in-love-with-the-villainess":3,"chapter-i-m-in-love-with-the-villainess-i-m-in-love-with-the-villainess-chapter-97":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","I'm in Love with the Villainess!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},895272,1171,"Chapter 97: Reverse Hunt","i-m-in-love-with-the-villainess-chapter-97",97,"\u003Cp>As expected, the second supply drop arrived without any competition, giving us a day’s worth of food without the exhausting battle that usually came with it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kevin was clearly thrilled; by the time we got back to the janitor’s closet, he was already taking bites of his food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no point in rationing it; there would be more supply drops on the way anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was best to eat our fill now and let our bodies recuperate without relying too much on recovery magic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This stuff is surprisingly good for being canned food.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kevin said happily as he ate canned beans, using dark manipulation as a utensil so he wouldn’t make too much of a mess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’d be disappointed if it tastes bad.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I replied with a laugh, also eating some canned beans with dark manipulation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How could they call themselves a prodigious noble academy if they don’t have good food?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beans, oh how I love them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only are they cheap and filling, but they’re also stable, nothing weird, just clean energy. But most importantly, they’re incredibly cheap when you’re starting off as a beginner assassin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I would die mid-missions if they didn’t exist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kevin paused mid-bite. \"You know, I think you have some sort of future vision spell.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Who knows,\" I replied flatly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We finished eating in silence, the good kind, the kind where nothing was trying to kill us for once. I let the food settle before circulating magic, letting my body recover the old-fashioned way instead of forcing regeneration. Less strain, fewer traces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kevin leaned back against the wall, satisfied. \"I get it now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Get what?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why you don’t rush things. Everyone else is burning through spells like it’s the last day already, and here we are fine like its just a normal day.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kevin laughed, lying down against the cold tiled floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not really a comfortable spot, but our uniforms were good enough insulators and improvised pillows to make anything comfy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nodded. \"And on day three, they’ll start paying for it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Night deepened. The academy’s ambient barrier dimmed slightly, standard energy conservation. Somewhere outside, a brief clash flared and died just as fast. No screams this time. Professionals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stood and checked the perimeter again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Soul Sense]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sparse movement, professors repositioning, and students consolidating. Nothing really directly aimed at us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sleep,\" I said. \"I’ll wake you in four hours.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kevin hesitated. \"You sure?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah. If something comes close, I’ll wake you up.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t argue this time. Within minutes, his breathing evened out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I kept watch, back against the door, counting pulses of distant magic like a metronome. The exam wasn’t slowing down; it was just compressing. People were learning and adapting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And once people start to learn and adapt...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Light Judgement]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ambushes are sure to follow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With my soul sense and acute sensitivity to magic, I could tell it was directed at a storage unit just a few buildings away from us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We weren’t part of the blast radius, but it’s best to be prepared just in case some would plan to migrate to our location.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Kevi—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guess I didn’t need to wake him up after all...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"H-Huh!?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Dark Serpent]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kevin stood up quickly, instantly casting a spell. He had the survival instincts of a literal war veteran.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I have to give him props... he was better than most colleagues I knew from the past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kevin looked at me for answers, and I just gave him a shrug with a blank expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Looks like the professors are finally taking things seriously...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked through the wall towards the destruction, but it looked like the students who were camping there were smarter than I initially thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most of them weren’t eliminated, probably had to do with some stupid amounts of defensive magic layering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kevin hurried to the window to check what I’d said. From there, he immediately saw a huge fire blazing in the distance and dozens of students running away in all directions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each one was hunted one by one by professors who had everything planned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Reverse hunt event has started, good luck everyone.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The announcer’s flat, almost bored voice was a strangely funny contrast to the chaos outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Should we leave?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not yet, we aren’t in a place that’s an obvious target.\" I position myself beside him on the window, taking a peek as well, just in case my soul sight missed something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let’s play defense and take out anything that comes close.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That alone already put us ahead of most people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inexperienced people panicked when announcements like that dropped. They ran, regrouped badly, collided with other fleeing groups, or sprinted straight into prepared kill zones. Defense was never their first instinct.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It should have been.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few minutes passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then my soul sense picked something up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three signatures. Fast, erratic, and severely exhausted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Company,\" I said quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kevin stiffened. \"Students?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah, they’re inside the building already.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The footsteps came soon after, heavy, uneven, scraping against stone as they cut through the seniors’ building halls without any plan. One of them tripped, and another cursed him silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They rounded the corner outside our hallway and froze when they saw the closed door at the end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Dead end,\" someone whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was when one of them finally noticed us through a wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had better magical perception than the rest, too bad that didn’t really help him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hey—!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Shadow Snare]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dark tendrils erupted from beneath their feet, pinning all three to the floor before they could even raise their staffs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kevin didn’t hesitate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Dark Pierce]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He adjusted the output perfectly, enough to incapacitate, not kill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Didn’t even need to tell him; he’s growing quickly as I expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Uhhh... I didn’t need to attack them, did I?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No... but it’s fine either way, at least it means they’ll no longer be obviously leaking magic everywhere for other professors to track them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So... what do we do with them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let’s dump them in the janitor’s closet, this place is compromised anyway...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I thought you said they can’t be tracked?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah, but do I look like someone who would take that risk?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I laugh, snapping my fingers and stuffing them into the janitor’s closet without wasting another second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Profaned Step]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too bad... I was already getting comfortable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Besides, I already have a second hideout planned.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1053,"2026-06-03T05:52:53.768Z",1,"novelbin.me","c601aecd3a3e6cc5d205e951503b79bcd67bcaa6337d91b69490ee3613c6b138","i-m-in-love-with-the-villainess-chapter-132","i-m-in-love-with-the-villainess-chapter-96",324,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-in-love-with-the-villainess-cover.jpg"]