I, the Villainous Prince, Buy the Ruined Villainess with Money - Chapter 62-63

Chapter 62: Reunion

And so, the club activity of just admiring my fave looking all happy and having a good time came to an end.

…Yeah, maybe this is enough already.

I sipped on some tasty snacks and nostalgic tea while gazing at my fave.

There’s probably no greater happiness than this.

“Haa… finally over, huh.”

“Um, uh, sorry as always. We’re the ones who keep talking the whole time…”

“What’re you saying? (Isn’t that the best part! There’s no need for any guys in that space!)”

“Huh? N-no, I just thought… maybe you’re getting bored or something…”

Crap!? I made my fave worry about me!

But if Alvis Mistlutin had opened his mouth back there, he’d just be in the way.

Even I’d think the mood was off, and the other side would feel the same—no one wins in that situation.

“Heh, as if that’d happen. Do I really look like the kind of guy who’d stick around in a room if he was bored?”

“Yeah… Master is a very kind person, after all.”

“Wh-what are you even saying! I’m an arrogant, insolent guy! (Aaaaaah!? My fave just called me kind! I’m so happyyy!)”

“Hehe, right, that’s what you’re like.”

Then she clasped both hands behind her back and peeked up at my face from below.

Wh-what’s this… this feeling of being totally played with… it’s kinda nice.

Is it really okay to be this happy…? Feels like something bad’s gonna happen soon and it’s kinda scary.

After that, I went back to the mansion once, got changed, and headed to the adventurers’ guild.

I walked up to the reception desk, gave my real name, and the receptionist lady freaked out and rushed to the back.

Right away, a guide came over, led me deeper inside, and brought me into a room with a plate that said “Guild Master.”

Inside was a guy in his mid-forties, wearing glasses, looking kinda timid and weak-willed.

“Th-this is… Your Highness Alvis, welcome!”

“Mm, so you’re the guild master, huh?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Please, have a seat on the sofa first.”

“Alright then, I’ll take you up on that.”

I sat down on the sofa, but the guild master stayed standing.

Yulia didn’t sit either, so now I looked mega arrogant.

Well… I mean, I actually am the second prince.

“Why aren’t you sitting?”

“N-no! It felt too presumptuous!”

“I don’t care about that stuff. Today I didn’t come here as the second prince—I came as just a regular adventurer wanting to register. Still, I’m sorry for causing you stress.”

Now I can’t laugh at my older brother anymore.

Guess it really was impossible, huh—I started to stand up.

Then the guild master suddenly dropped to one knee.

“I’m truly, deeply sorry.”

“…What’re you talking about?”

“I received letters from Duke Zeheia and from His Majesty the Emperor. They said Your Highness Alvis is not the kind of person who would act unreasonably. But as guild master, I told myself I wouldn’t believe it until I saw it with my own eyes.”

“That’s only natural. Honestly, the person at the top should be that way.”

“…Thank you for your generous heart. It seems your character is quite different from the first prince’s.”

He muttered something under his breath at the end, then finally sat down across from me.

The timid vibe from earlier was completely gone.

This was probably his real self.

“So… can I register as an adventurer? Like my father’s letter said, I’m taking full responsibility for everything.”

“Yes, we’ve confirmed that. Above all, he personally told us to let you do whatever you want—so honestly, I’d love to give permission… but our guild has a rule. Newcomers always get paired with a veteran.”

“I see. To lower the death rate, right?”

“Exactly. And the problem is… we don’t really have any veterans who feel suited for—or rather, who actually want to be paired with—Your Highness Alvis.”

Ahh, I get it now.

“His side” probably means my grandfather.

And since both my father and grandfather told him to, the guild master wants to accept me.

But no adventurer wants to tag along with a royal… yeah, that makes sense.

Even if I’m an adventurer, I probably just scream “trouble” to everyone.

“I get what you’re trying to say. First off, I’m planning to follow the local rules when in Rome.”

“Thank you very much. For now, finding the right person seems like the priority.”

“Alright, then I’ll wait for that. Sorry for the hassle.”

“No, no—actually, it really helps when you say it like that.”

Since I’m the one asking, I guess I’ll just wait patiently.

Luckily, I made some decent cash at the arena.

Then I heard some talking outside the room.

“Sorry, but the guild master is currently with a guest…”

“Is that so? But I was told to come show my face…”

That voice… I’d definitely heard it somewhere before.

“Ah—this is rude of me. I did have an appointment with someone…”

“No, I’m the one who showed up without warning. Don’t worry about me—just let me in the room.”

“Thank you very much. Please, let him through.”

As soon as the guild master spoke, the secretary opened the door.

And standing there was… the guy I met at the arena.

—

Chapter 63: Kindness Is Never Wasted

The guy standing right in front of me was the gladiator from before—the lion beastman, Kaizel.

He spotted me right away and came jogging over.

“No way, running into you here! I’ve been looking for you this whole time!”

“Heh, good to see you looking so lively. From the looks of it, your body’s doing fine now, yeah?”

“Thanks to you, I’m back on my feet as an adventurer, just like this.”

“Well obviously. I’m the one who treated you, after all.”

Back in my previous life I didn’t have much education or anything, but I at least knew how the body was put together.

Using recovery magic to remove foreign objects from the body—there’s probably only a handful of people in the church who can even do that.

Which means those guys had no intention of actually healing him… bunch of scum.

“I’m really sorry I couldn’t even thank you properly back then. Just like you said, the kids were safe too. Because of that money, we managed to move them somewhere secure… I’m seriously grateful.”

“Like I told you at the time, there’s no need to thank me. I just did it on a whim, that’s all.”

“Even so, I’m never gonna forget this debt of gratitude.”

“Hmph, do whatever you want.”

Then Yulia started giggling quietly next to me.

She’s probably thinking something like “wow, so tsundere” or whatever.

…Yeah, even I can admit I’m being super not-straightforward right now.

That’s when the guild master finally snapped back to reality, his face shifting.

“…You two know each other?”

“Ohh, guild master! Long story short, this guy’s my benefactor.”

“I see… so that’s what that was about. Your Highness Alvis was the one who did it.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“Ah—my apologies. I won’t ask anything more.”

Looks like he’s a guy who gets it.

He’d have to be, to run the adventurers’ guild.

Especially in a country that’s already such a pain with the church faction and the pro-royalty faction constantly clashing, and the guild has to stay completely neutral.

“Mm, appreciate it.”

“So… why exactly are you here at the adventurers’ guild?”

“Shouldn’t that be my line?”

“Hahaha! Yeah, fair enough! Alright then, let me introduce myself properly… I’m Kaizel of the lion tribe.

And I’m also a B-rank adventurer.”

“Kaizel’s one of our most promising up-and-coming adventurers—he’s way ahead of the other young ones. But he suddenly went missing, so we were really worried.”

“Huh… so he was B-rank, third from the top… yeah, that tracks.”

Everything clicked into place now.

He probably started standing out, caught the eye of the arena’s manager.

And since he’s a beastman with low social status, they figured they could just cover it up if anything went wrong.

“I got a bit full of myself, but I’ve come back down to earth now. So what about you?”

“I was thinking of registering as an adventurer, but apparently they pair newbies with veterans… Anyway, guess I should introduce myself properly too. I’m Alvis, second prince.”

“What… a member of the royal family saved a beastman like me… and figured out the whole situation… Guild master, is it okay?”

“Yes, if you’re fine with it. You’ve already reached veteran level, and it looks like the arrogance I was about to point out has completely disappeared.”

“That’s perfect. This way I can at least start paying back the favor. Your Highness Alvis, if you don’t mind, I’d like to be your veteran partner…”

“That’s exactly what I was hoping for. Kaizel, looking forward to working with you. And since you’re teaching me, drop the formal speech.”

“…Got it! Leave it to me!”

And just like that, me and Kaizel shook hands.