“Good morning, father.”
The morning after the entrance ceremony, Milly, dressed in her school uniform, greeted her father with a flat tone as she entered the dining room, where he was already eating breakfast.
“Mm,” he grunted in reply.
“The weather’s lovely again today, isn’t it?”
“Mm.”
In the Asteara ducal household, warm family conversations did not exist, only obligatory greetings and perfunctory small talk. Milly was used to that, and she felt no real desire to change it. There were far more important things demanding her attention right now.
As she layered cheese and bacon onto a piece of bread, her thoughts wandered. Come to think of it, what exactly does a “final boss” do? I don’t read much fiction, so I’m not all that familiar with the concept.
She’d sworn vengeance against Angelina and declared she would become the “final boss” to see it through, but truth be told, Milly didn’t actually know what the role entailed.
Still, one thing was clear: she needed overwhelming strength and ruthless cunning to exploit others to her advantage.
She would make allies—in other words, friends from school—and use them to her benefit. Then she would utterly crush Angelina with sheer, unmatchable power. That was the “villainous final boss” Milly aspired to become. She was confident it was the right path forward.
However, there were still countless problems to overcome. Putting aside magical prowess and physical strength, Milly lacked even a shred of the cunning required to manipulate and exploit others to her advantage.
Hmm... I am fairly confident in my physical strength, at least. Letting out a sigh, Milly swallowed her bite of bread.
It had been ten years since her mother passed. During that time, Milly had devoted herself to studying and honing her magical abilities, and now she possessed magical talent far beyond that of others her age.
Thanks to her training, she’d also developed a decent amount of grip strength and now, if she got serious, she could pulverize a thick wooden plank with a right hook alone. On the strength front, she had nothing to worry about. Her communication skills, however, were sorely lacking.
Final bosses usually have this air about them, don’t they? They toy with people and bend others to their will before turning them into allies? I’d like to be like that, myself.
But no matter how charitably one viewed her, Milly didn’t possess the sly cleverness it took to manipulate others—a damning flaw for someone aspiring to be a “final boss.” Still, this was the sort of thing that could only be learned through real-life experience.
More importantly, she needed friends if she wanted to survive the next three years. Her top priority at the academy would be building friendships. Before the timeline reset, Milly had stood out—and not in a good way—so her first step would be to simply blend in with the rest of her class.
Once she’d befriended everyone in her class, she’d move on to the entire grade. Fortunately, she still had all the conversation topics she’d brainstormed for yesterday’s party, untouched and ready to deploy.
That is to say, she’d been a total wallflower at the party, but it worked out for her. According to Milly’s calculations, she’d have ten new friends by the end of the day. Depending on how things went, she might need to prepare even more backup conversation starters.
One way or another, things were about to get busy.
Heh. When I think about it that way, being the final boss sounds kind of fun. I may actually be cut out for this.
Cheered by the thought, Milly took a spoonful of her seafood soup, when Kyle suddenly broke the silence.
“Your maid told me you joined the student council?”
“Huh?” Milly blinked, brow furrowing in surprise. Kyle was staring straight at her with his usual dull, unreadable gaze. “Yes, well...”
“Why didn’t you inform me?”
As she’d declared to Gilbert, Milly had decided to join the student council. The headmaster’s face had practically lit up when she gave her answer. He’d looked on the verge of tears, even though Milly had only agreed because she wanted to try something new. Still, his reaction made her feel like she’d done something good.
Because of that, she’d ended up proudly announcing her decision to Bibi, but now that she thought about it, she hadn’t said a word to Kyle.
Tilting her head, Milly answered plainly. “Why? I didn’t see the need to inform you, father.”
While the student council held decision-making power within the academy, ultimately, it was just a school organization. As far as Milly was concerned, there was no need to share such details with someone like Kyle, who showed zero interest in his daughter’s life.
“‘Didn’t see the need’?” he parroted.
“Yes. I assumed you were busy.”
“That’s not the point. First the party, now this. You don’t make decisions behind your father’s back—”
“My, my.” Kyle’s unusually impassioned words were cut off when Milly gently raised her hand to her mouth. “Do you mean to say you’ve suddenly developed a sense of fatherhood?”
It was a genuine expression of surprise. She would never have expected Kyle—who had long since tossed aside both ethics and decency—to possess any such awareness.
“How unusual,” she said with a cheerful giggle. “Perhaps pigs will fly tomorrow.”
“Regardless, you are still my daughter.”
“I certainly am.”
After giving the calm reply to her frowning father, Milly brought another spoonful of soup to her lips. The light, salty broth was exactly to her taste.