I Got Reincarnated as the Villain and Saved the World, but After the Ending I Was Betrayed and Exiled. I Just Wanted a Peaceful Life in the Frontier, but for Some Reason My Former Companions Started Chasing Me with Yandere Eyes… - 36

Chapter 36: A Story from Bygone Days

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“Onii-chan, you’re finally back. Everyone has returned to their rooms, but… You didn’t do anything perverted, right?”

After chatting with Tia for a while and returning to the party venue, I found that the meal had already ended. I was immediately snatched up by Ange, who was giving cleanup instructions, and ended up strolling around the mansion with her.

“How’s the mansion after so long? Feels nostalgic, right?”

“Yeah… I’m reminded again that this is really my hometown. Sorry for causing you so much trouble, Ange.”

“Fufu~ I’ve been working really hard, you know. You should praise me more.”

“Yeah, Ange, you’re amazing.”

It had been a year since I began my life on the run, yet the mansion hadn’t changed at all, and the people in the territory looked cheerful. That must mean her governance was steady. Memories overflowed in the mansion I hadn’t seen for so long, and I could feel my heart settling down.

“Hey, Onii-chan. Beyond that wall… That’s my room, right? What do you think those two are doing over there?”

“Elena and Ceres…? Seriously, what are they doing?”

Following Ange’s pointing finger, I saw the two of them facing a wall, apparently talking about something. I was happy they’d gotten along again during dinner like in the old days, but I was curious, so I strained my ears to listen to their conversation.

“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me the Great Sage can’t even hear through a wall?”

“Don’t underestimate me. A wall is only wood, after all. For an elf like me, picking up sounds is easy. But… Is it true that Phantom is making moves on his real sister?”

“Who knows? Still, a man and a woman of that age sleeping together is risky. I’m only trying to protect Phantom-oniisama’s chastity just in case. Besides, God says—one should unite not with their blood sister, but with their busty stepsister. Yes, that is the divine instruction.”

“That ‘god’ of yours is definitely just your delusion… Or a demon god. Oh, I think I can hear something now.”

“…” “…”

They were talking about something completely ridiculous.

And besides, Ange IS my actual sister, although she’s my half-sister… There’s no way I’d make a move on her. 

“Let’s just punish them before it becomes a habit.”

“Pigyah!! My ears!!”

“Ah, Elena-san, are you okay? I’ll heal you right away.”

I gave the wall a solid thump, and Elena, who had her ear pressed against it, shrieked and clutched her ears.

“Onii-chan… You really should choose your friends more carefully.”

“They’re usually normal… They’re probably just drunk right now…”

I smiled wryly at Ange’s icy glare toward the two of them and kept walking.

“Ah, the library’s lit up. Who’d be in there at this hour?”

“Oh, right. Earlier, Solomon-chan said she wanted to read some hero tales, so I gave her the key.”

“…You’ve gotten pretty close to her, huh?”

“Yeah, she seems to really love hero stories, so we got really into talking about it.”

Calling the Demon Lord “chan”… It seemed my little sister had more guts than I thought. While I was thinking, I heard the voices of Amon and Solomon.

“Young Lady!! You really need to get to bed, we’ve got an early morning tomorrow!”

“But, Amon, this is a treasure trove! Humans have made so many stories! I must read more…”

Amon seemed to be getting dragged around by Solomon like usual, which made me chuckle.

“Come on, you’ll never wake up tomorrow. You’ll lose your Demon Lord dignity if you sleep through the carriage ride.”

“…Hmm. Very well. But may I ask you just one question?”

“Yeah, ask me anything.”

“What is this ‘sex’ thing?”

“Bffft—”

The sound of Amon spitting out whatever he was drinking carried clearly to where I stood. 

Good grief… Does the demonfolk don’t have any sex education lessons? No. Come to think of it… Just how old is Solomon in human years anyway?

“Ah… Well, that’s… When a man and woman become really close… Ah, but… This is the thing you only do with someone you’re really close to.”

“I see… then perhaps I shall try this ‘sex’ with Gustav. We are close, after all. This will help humans and demons coexist better. I can’t wait to do this ‘sex’ thing with Gustav.”

“No way!! Absolutely not, Young Lady! That’d start a war not just with humans, but with the elves too!”

Wait, wait! Don’t drag me into this!

“What’s wrong, Onii-chan?”

“Nothing. Let’s go.”

Pulling Ange along to continue our walk, I left Solomon’s sex education to Amon and pretended I hadn’t heard anything.

“Anything new in the territory lately?”

“Hmm, let’s see… Other than the troubles brought by the stupid former lord… I guess there’s nothing much.”

“I said I’m sorry… Something besides that, please…”

“I’m joking. Arnold-san said the apple harvest was good this year, Henry the knight got married, and Stella got confessed to again. She turned him down, though…”

“Ah, how nostalgic… I used to visit Arnold-san’s fields a lot. And Henry finally got married, huh? He was dating his childhood friend, the maid, right?”

Hearing so many familiar names made me smile. With peace restored, listening to stories like this made me glad I fought so hard to defeat the Demon Lord. It proved that the battle to protect this world had been worth it.

I may have been reincarnated into another world, but my true hometown is here and my family is Ange and the others.

As I was thinking about that, we stepped into the courtyard. Even though I was just a local lord’s son, being a noble meant we could afford to light the place well with lamps. 

This allowed us to keep the courtyard bright even at night. Amidst it all, I spotted a small swing—old, but polished and well-kept.

“That’s…”

“Nostalgic, isn’t it? When I couldn’t ride it at all and cried, you and Henrietta-oneechan taught me so patiently.”

“…”

That was shortly after my engagement to Henrietta. I think it started when she found Ange crying in the courtyard during our weekly visits.

“At first you two were wary of each other, but you grew closer and closer. You two played with me a lot… I loved those times.”

Throb… Throb… 

My chest ached. Nostalgic memories—and ones I’d always feared would be broken someday, knowing the original storyline. But somewhere along the way, Henrietta had become someone important to me, and I’d intervened in the story to lessen her suffering.

“Onii-chan… Can I be selfish for a moment?”

“I’ll at least listen to you…”

Ange’s expression suddenly shifted from nostalgic to tense, and I could guess what she wanted to say.

“Can’t you get along with Henrietta-oneechan again? I know you suffered because of her. But I just can’t believe she’d betray you. Let’s make up, go on picnics together again… I was looking forward to blessing your wedding, you know.”

I had already told her about my banishment when I returned home, and about the words Henrietta had said. When I was hurting in the mansion, it was Ange and Stella who comforted me. So I knew she was truly being selfish here and truly trying to hold back the tears from spilling out.

“Ange… That’s impossible…”

“Onii-chan… Henrietta-oneechan has been regretting it all this time!! She’s been working so hard for us!!”

Tears overflowed from her eyes. But now, Henrietta and I stood in different positions. She was a lord, and I was just an adventurer. My feelings had also changed. Henrietta had once filled most of my heart, but now Tia and the others were there instead.That said…

“But… I guess talking with her wouldn’t hurt.”

Like with Elena and Ceres, it could have been a misunderstanding. Maybe there were circumstances I didn’t know. Thanks to everyone supporting me—and Ange crying for me—I finally felt ready to face it. We were still in conflict over the demon race issue, so reconciliation might be hard. But once everything was over, maybe she’d be willing to talk.

“Really…? Promise me, Onii-chan.”

“Yeah, of course. You’re still as much of a spoiled kid as ever, huh?”

“I couldn’t see you for a whole year. I’m allowed to spoil myself sometimes.”

As Ange hugged me tightly, I patted her head and she smiled happily. Things had been hard for her because of me, so just for today, I decided to let her spoil herself as much as she wanted.

“Since we’re already at it, tell me some stories from your adventurer days. I only know about life in the Pail territory and the nobles. Were there dragons?”

“Nah, I was only C-rank, so I never went on amazing adventures like that…”

“Yeah, that makes sense… But you’re pretty popular, so I bet some older, caring woman took you in when you were hurt. You probably hit it off, but since you’re such a wimp, nothing happened.”

“…That’s not true.”

…Did she see me and Aisha-chan’s interactions or something? I avoided answering directly. 

No—I’m not a wimp… right?

★★★

deep within some ruins, In a space ruled by darkness, there was a single gleam.

“We did it, Josef!! We’ve finally reached the deepest part!”

“As expected of you, Cain-SAMA. To think you’d explore such a monster-infested dungeon so smoothly.”

“Haha, you’re one to talk. Using magic like that… You might be even more impressive than Elena, huh?”

With his armor dirtied with the blood of slain monsters, Josef only smiled meaningfully at Cain’s comment.

“So the Holy Sword is beyond this door?”

“Yes. Once you obtain that sword, you will become a true hero.”

“Haha… And then Henrietta-tan will…”

Unable to hide his excitement, Cain put his hand on the door.

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