I Was Reincarnated as the Villain in an Eroge, but I’ll Live Honestly ~Because the Protagonist Was Useless, I Ended Up Making the Heroines Smile and Somehow Built a Harem~ - 13-14

Chapter 13: Abel Thinks Things Through 2

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“Still, Flora really does work incredibly hard…”

Since then, Noah had been keeping an eye on Flora from time to time. And what he realized was that she worked far harder than most people. Even cutting into her break time to do so. While cleaning a room, she was moving at full speed, and perhaps because of that, she was breathing heavily, her shoulders rising and falling.

I should probably stop her before she collapses…

Precisely because things were starting to resemble the game’s scenario, Noah wanted to do something about it. However, there was a reason he hesitated to step in. While Flora certainly looked exhausted, at the same time she wore a lively, fulfilled expression.

“……………………”

After letting out a small sigh, Noah made his decision.

“…Just don’t push yourself too hard.”

Suppressing his urge to keep watching over her, Noah headed off to visit Canaria, who was down with a fever.

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(Abel’s POV)

“…Huh? What did you just say?”

Abel let out a foolish-sounding reply, his mouth hanging open. This was the mansion of Abel Granado. In his private room, Abel was being informed by a maid that Flora’s whereabouts had been discovered.

“S-so, um… Flora is currently at Noah-sama’s mansion… We asked around town many times, so I believe there’s no mistake…”

The maid answered hesitantly. That was only natural. Abel’s intense dislike of Noah was common knowledge throughout the mansion.

“N-Noah… You mean that Noah Maycraft? The one famous for being a trash noble…?”

Abel’s lips trembled as he spoke. The maid nodded awkwardly in response.

W-why… Why is Flora working for someone like that scumbag!? That’s not right! That bastard Noah, doing whatever he wants again!

Abel clenched his fists, trembling with rage. The current situation was nothing but intolerable to him. Not only Flora, but even Layla was now at Noah’s mansion. And yet, not a single heroine who was supposed to be by his side was there.

“Why of all people does it have to be Noah… That idiot Flora has way too little sense of caution.”

Abel ground his back teeth together as one of the maids cautiously spoke up.

“U-um… About that, sir. Lately, there have been rumors that Noah-sama has become an earnest and sincere person, as if his personality had completely changed. Because of that, perhaps there’s no need to worry about Flora—”

“Hah… You really don’t get it. You don’t understand Noah at all. There’s no way that trash could ever be sincere.”

Raising both hands, Abel shook his head with a weary expression.

I’m the only one who understands her feelings… Damn it. I just hope Noah isn’t taking advantage of her kind nature right now…

Abel took pride in the belief that only he truly understood Flora’s feelings.

“Whenever I pass nearby, Flora always looks anxious. And she very obviously keeps her distance, too. That’s proof she’s asking me for help, right?”

The maid wore an awkward expression and nodded with a vague smile. She couldn’t possibly say that Flora had been keeping her distance because she hated Abel’s borderline–sexual harassment.

“And her hands were so small… I’ve met the first woman I’d be willing to risk my life to protect…”

“Y-yes… I s-see… Ah, haha…”

The maid’s voice trembled as she tightly clenched the hem of her clothes, as if wrinkles no longer mattered. Even so, she couldn’t hide it. Her body was visibly shaking. Then Abel realized something.

“Flora only just started working at Noah’s mansion, right? That means she’s probably mostly doing errands and odd jobs?”

“Y-yes… I can’t say for certain, but that’s very likely. In fact, when we were asking around, we did hear that Flora had been seen running errands.”

“I’m worried about her, so starting tomorrow I’m going to look for her around town for a while. She’s probably being treated badly under Noah, so I have to save her. Don’t bother trying to stop me. Your effort will be in vain.”

“U-understood…”

“Yeah. And when I bring Flora back here, make sure everyone welcomes her warmly.”

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Chapter 14: Noah Is Asked by Flora to Let Her Take Care of Him

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The next morning.

“Ah, Noah-sama! Good morning! Are you on your way to breakfast now?”

“Morning, Flora. I was actually planning to practice for the knight qualification exam a bit longer, but it doesn’t really go well when I’m alone, so I decided to call it early. Do you want to walk together part of the way?”

At Noah’s words, Flora’s expression instantly lit up.

“Of course! Starting the day together with Noah-sama… How lucky I am!”

“You’re exaggerating a bit…”

Noah let out an awkward, slightly stiff smile. 

“Haha…”

There’s no way I’m getting closer to the heroine than Abel, right…?

It was still too early to panic. Shaking his head, Noah deliberately looked away from reality.

“By the way, Noah-sama, thank you very much for the snacks yesterday!”

“No, you’re welcome. Oh right. Have you gotten used to life in this mansion already?”

“Yes, the meals are all very delicious, and there’s nothing I’m having trouble with at all…ah, but—”

Flora paused and closed her mouth for a moment.

“I do feel a little lonely that I can’t see my younger brother.”

“Oh right, you did say you have a younger brother. How old is he now?”

In the game, it just mentioned that she had a brother and that was it. Actually interacting like this made him more curious about the heroine than he had expected.

“He’s four years old now, and oh my goodness, he’s just sooo adorable! He walks right next to me calling ‘Onee-chan, Onee-chan,’ and every time I try to go somewhere, he looks at me with this anxious little face!~ Fuhuhu.”

Seeing the completely unguarded smile on Flora’s face, it was clear she doted on him immensely. On the day Noah hired her, he himself had been hugged tightly by her. It was easy to imagine how she acted with her younger brother. 

Flora is a real bro-con, huh…

And that Flora stared intently at Noah.

“Noah-sama, you really do resemble my younger brother, don’t you…?”

“…Huh? What do you mean?”

Being told I resemble someone’s little brother doesn’t really make me happy though…

“Well… Things like how you have such a cute face, or how you make me want to take care of you, I guess…”

After pausing her words, Flora once again stared straight at Noah with a serious expression.

“Noah-sama, please let me take care of you. Anything is fine by me.”

The moment he heard that, Noah nearly toppled over for real.

“Th-that’s… I think I’ll pass on that… Yeah.”

If I say yes here, I feel like something very bad will happen… And Layla would probably jump in too along with Flora…

A chill ran down Noah’s back.

It feels like I wouldn’t be able to turn back anymore, in all sorts of ways…

“W-why not…? Just a little should be fine, shouldn’t it?!”

“That’s not something you complain about! Listen, I—”

Noah stopped mid-sentence. The reason was right in front of him. Several maids had gathered in the hallway, talking with serious expressions.

“What’s going on, I wonder?”

“Yes…”

The two of them jogged over to the group of maids.

“Ah, Noah-sama… We sincerely apologize.”

Layla, who was among the maids, apologized to Noah, and the other maids followed suit by lowering their heads.

“Please raise your heads. So what happened?”

“One of the maids forgot to go shopping, and it seems breakfast won’t be ready by the usual time. We’ve urgently sent another maid out to buy supplies.”

“Oh, I see… Well, if it’s just that, it’s really no problem. I’ll be fine even if I skip a meal or two.”

At Noah’s words, Layla panicked.

“T-that’s not acceptable…! What if you collapse because you skipped breakfast?!”

“I-is that so…?”

He had said it lightly, but the unexpected response made Noah feel a little guilty.

But would they really all gather just because someone forgot to go shopping? Normally, I feel like Layla alone would come talk to me.

That question must have shown on Noah’s face. With an apologetic expression, Layla continued.

“This isn’t really something we should trouble Noah-sama with, but actually, the discussion turned to who was in charge of the shopping…”

“………………Ah.”

At Layla’s words, one person let out a faint voice. As if drawn by it, everyone’s gaze turned toward the source of the sound. There stood Flora, her eyes wide open. She was frozen in place as if stitched to the floor, her face deathly pale.

“I-I am terribly sorry… I-it was my assignment, and I f-forgot…”

As she continued speaking, Flora’s voice grew quieter and quieter. Standing right beside her, Noah could barely make out her words.

“It’s okay, really. Don’t worry about it so much. It might be because you have too much work right now. Why don’t you talk it over with Layla and review your workload together?”

“Yes, Noah-sama is right. Flora, you don’t need to worry so much. As for your workload, shall we review it during your break time?”

After that, Layla clapped her hands twice.

“Well then, everyone. Please return to your work.”

And with that, the situation was settled for the time being.

The commotion might have been a bit of a bitter experience for Flora, but once her workload is reviewed, things should be fine, right?

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“Hmmm… I can’t find either Flora or Layla…”

Wondering how the review of Flora’s workload was going, Noah walked around the mansion to check.

“Why is it that at times like this I can’t find anyo—ah, there she is. Heeey, Flo—”

But Noah’s words stopped abruptly halfway through. No—more accurately, he had no choice but to stop. Because he saw Flora in front of him, biting her lip tightly. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the angle of the sunlight, but her eyes seemed to be trembling slightly. Before Noah’s eyes, several maids were cleaning the garden.

“If she’s going to forget, I wish she wouldn’t take on the job in the first place!”

“You mean Flora, right? She really has been running around uselessly.”

“Right? Because of that, my workload increased…”

Even from where Noah stood a short distance away, he could hear them clearly. There was no way Flora hadn’t heard them too. Flora clenched her hands tightly, her face flushed bright red. When she tried to leave the spot, her eyes met Noah’s. She put on a troubled smile, as if trying not to make him worry.

She doesn’t want this to turn into a big deal, right… Yeah, my timing was probably bad too.

“Flora, can I talk to you for a moment?”

Lowering his voice as much as possible, Noah beckoned her over. It was hard enough hearing it alone, but having even the Noah she adored hear it must have been painful for Flora. It happened in an instant.

Flora’s expression crumpled. Large tears pooled at the corners of her eyes, and with her hand still covering her mouth, she whispered “I’m sorry” in a fading voice and then, she ran off somewhere as if she was fleeing.

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