I, the Villainous Prince, Buy the Ruined Villainess with Money - Chapter 28-29

Chapter 28: The Close Pair

Several days passed, and the day of the field trip arrived.

The lessons in between focused mainly on the power structure of the continent.

The empire controlled most of the area from the west to the center of the continent.

To the south lay the Kingdom of Ichibal, in a cold war with the empire.

On the east side was the Republic of Eden, home to many beastkin, and in the southeast was the country of the dwarves.

These four were the major nations, and the rest consisted of various smaller countries.

Well, to be honest, I did not need to memorize it since I would never get involved.

My mission after avoiding the bad ending was to see Yulia happy.

“I have something else on my mind, though…”

“Master? Is something wrong?”

“…You really have no combat experience, do you?”

Yes, I was amazed at how much Yulia had grown.

Just the other day she had sparred with Yorba, and her skills had improved even more since then.

No one would ever guess she had been a sheltered young lady for sixteen years.

“Yes, that is right. But for some reason… it feels natural.”

“I-I see. (This is bad! I have to work harder too!)”

“One day, I will protect you, Master.”

“Hmph, you are a hundred years too early for that. (Her smile is precious!)”

I was happy that Yulia was becoming strong just as she wanted.

Still, the male heart—no, the fan heart—wanted to protect her.

In that case, I just had to become even stronger.

“Sebas! Let us continue training!”

“Are you sure? The field trip starts soon…”

“I do not care! No holding back!”

“Heh heh, just what I wanted.”

When I began sparring with Sebas,

in the end, Yulia and I kept training right up until the last minute.

When it was time, we took showers and changed—not into uniforms, but into our equipment.

Yulia wore the one we had bought the other day, and I wore an all-black rider-suit style outfit.

Later, Garon the dwarf had come to visit and taken an additional order for ice.

This equipment was what he gave us as thanks for that order.

“Master! It looks wonderful on you!”

“Hmph, of course it does. (I am so happy! Dopamine rush!)”

“And… how do I look?”

She said that and spun around once.

What was that!? So cute!

“I chose it myself, so there is no way it would not suit you. (You idiot! Just say it looks good!)”

“Hehe, that is true.”

As always, this guy… even I think I am too much of a tsundere.

Who would ever want a male tsundere?

Yet for some reason, Yulia was smiling.

“You two should hurry, or you will be late.”

“You two are as close as ever.”

“W-We are not that close! (That is rude to my favorite!)”

“N-No, me and him…”

“A-Anyway, let us go!”

“Yes, I will accompany you.”

We picked up our bags and boarded the carriage.

And just like that, we headed toward our destination.

—

Chapter 29: Forming Groups

Regardless of school, this time we all gathered in front of the imperial capital.

Since many came from noble or wealthy families, each had their own private carriage.

Knights and adventurers stood waiting around them.

We got off once and headed to the area for Class A.

The representative took roll call, and everyone gathered in front of our homeroom teacher, Mr. Horn.

“Everyone! Are you all here!?”

“““Yes!”””

“Good response! Let me explain again! From here, you will ride in carriages to a forest suitable for beginners! There you will set up your own tents, prepare your own food! And you will also get experience in combat!”

Hmm, aside from the fighting, it sounded similar to the orientation camps from my previous life.

But now that I thought about it… could this be some kind of flag?

I realized I had been so focused on saving Yulia that I had not considered my own ruin events at all.

Come to think of it, I had not even met the protagonist who was supposed to bring about my downfall.

“Or rather, do those protagonists even recognize themselves as protagonists? Depending on that, the whole story might be different.”

“Master? Is something troubling you?”

“No, it is nothing.”

No good, no good. I must not make my favorite uneasy.

No matter what happened, I just had to crush it all.

As long as Yulia survived in the end and I survived too, that would be fine.

After that, we boarded the carriages again and set off.

We took lunch breaks and other rests, arriving at the destination forest just after noon.

“Well, we have arrived, but… now comes the group assignments.”

“Y-Yes…”

“I believe we were told to form groups of four.”

“I heard we can team up with people from other classes… what should we do?”

Mr. Horn had told us during the lunch break.

He said it would be best if we could form our own groups of four.

To be honest, this was a problem.

After all, the two of us stood out in a bad way in our class.

And we did not have acquaintances in other classes either… especially not me.

“We do not necessarily have to form a group… but that would not work. Do you have any acquaintances, Yulia?”

“I do have some, but I ended up in this position. Some people distanced themselves from me, and on the other hand, there are good people I do not want to trouble.”

“I see. In that case, we need new people…”

When I looked around, everyone averted their eyes.

That was only natural, since I was known as an arrogant and insolent prince.

No one would want to get involved with me.

However, to avoid ruin, I probably needed some image management too.

Then someone came running toward us.

“Your Highness Alvis! Yulia!”

“You are… Arnold, was it?”

“I am honored you remember me.”

It was Arnold from Count Nord’s family, the one who had helped us in the tennis club.

From our conversation back then, I believe he was in Class B.

“Of course I remember. (Thanks to you, I got to see my favorite in tennis wear.)”

“How kind… By the way, you seem to be in some trouble.”

“It is just that I cannot find anyone suitable to group with. (I am just a loner!)”

“I see, so that is it. Well, if it is all right with you, would you like to form a group with us? I do not know if we are suitable, but…”

“No, you are fine. You said ‘us,’ so there is one more person, correct?”

“Yes, that is right. I was just wondering if she would be accepted. Hey! Agnes!”

Then, from the crowd, a girl with glasses and braided hair came running.

As she did, her large chest bounced noticeably.

At the same time… I felt like I had seen her somewhere before.

“D-Don’t call me so loudly~! I am coming right away—kyaa!?”

“Whoa—careful, you are clumsy.”

“S-S-S-Sorry! Eek! I almost crashed into Your Highness Alvis!”

It was less that she crashed into me and more that I caught her when she was about to fall right in front of me.

Still, I really did feel like I had seen her somewhere.

For now, I let go of her, and my eyes met Yulia’s.

“…”

“What is it? (Huh? Is she angry?)”

“No, it is nothing… What is this feeling, I wonder?”

Then Arnold came to his senses and bowed his head to me.

“Hey! What are you doing to His Highness! I apologize for the rudeness!”

“Do not worry about it. (I have bigger things on my mind right now!)”

“Phew, thank you. This is my childhood friend, Agnes. We are paired up this time.”

“M-My name is Agnes! Pleased to meet you!”

“Hmm, very well.”

“Pleased to meet you as well.”

…That is right. I remembered now.

The girl named Agnes… was a character Alvis bullied.