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~ - 5

Chapter 5: Noah Nearly Gets Attacked by Layla

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“Please wake up, Noah-sama. It’s morning already.”

“Mmmh… Just a little longer…”

Lemon-colored sunlight spilled through the curtains. As if resisting the sensation of his shoulder being shaken, Noah rolled over and muttered, “Just a little longer.” Watching him, Layla smiled affectionately, but she did not loosen her hand.

“Geez… If you react like that, I won’t be able to wake you up, Noah-sama… Just a little bit more, okay?”

Yes, lucky me… I can sleep a little longer…

Layla puffed out her cheeks cutely and poked Noah’s cheek with her finger as she played.

“Heehee… What an adorable sleeping face. Honestly, with such a lovely face already, how many women do you plan to surround yourself with in the future?”

……Huh?

As Noah tried to sink back into his pleasant drowsiness, her words made him twitch.

“When will you invite me to join you for the night?”

……Wha!?

At the word “night visit,” Noah’s body twitched again. A night visit meant the master of the estate summoning a maid and forcing himself on her… That was what it implied.

“Of course, you’d have to love me the most—”

“No, no, no! I’m not asking for anything like that!”

I mean, I’m finally starting to change for the better, and if I ordered something like a night visit, it’d ruin everything!

Noah sprang up from the bed and hurriedly denied it. Then his eyes met Layla’s broad smile, and he somehow realized the truth.

Ah… Thank goodness. She was just teasing me.

“Come on, Layla, don’t tease me so much just because I’m slow to wake up in the morning.”

He spoke with a wry smile, but…

“…Huh?”

Layla blinked in confusion at his words.

“…Hm? Wait, what? That was a joke, right?”

Noah’s expression stiffened with a sharp crack, while Layla puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

“Mmph… Why won’t you believe me?”

“……Why on earth would I believe that joke?”

Layla’s reaction was so unexpected that Noah blurted out Kansai-style speech he had never even used before.

“If that’s how it is, then…”

“Huh? ‘If that’s how it is,’ what do you—whoa!”

Thud. The sound of the bed receiving Noah echoed as Layla pushed down on his shoulders.

“Please be quiet, Noah-sama. Otherwise, other people might hear us.”

With a suspicious little laugh, Layla straddled Noah and pressed her nose against his.

“Ah… Noah-sama’s face is so close…”

Layla’s breathing grew ragged as she wore an expression of rapture. Her moist, half-lidded eyes stayed fixed on Noah as she leaned closer.

“L-Layla…? Don’t you think you’re a little too close…?”

At Noah’s words, Layla froze in place. His heart was pounding violently, and Noah’s mind went completely blank. The only things he could barely register were Layla’s perfectly shaped features and the pleasant scent surrounding her.

W-wait, what is this development…? Huh? Hold on, hold on… No, no, no, I’m the villain here! I’m not supposed to be doing this, right!?

He desperately tried to force his blank mind to work and was about to tell her to get off, but Layla was one step ahead.

“Noah-sama, please count the stains on the ceiling. It’ll be over quickly.”

“No, no, no! That’s something the guy is supposed to say! And anyway, this isn’t about a night visit or anything like that! Wait! What am I even saying anymore!?”

While Noah panicked and argued with himself, Layla’s eyes remained feverish.

“Honestly, Noah-sama… You’re blushing, aren’t you? How adorable. Yesterday, our hearts were connected. So next comes—”

“No, no, no! Calm down! Look, you wouldn’t want to do this with a guy you don’t even like, right?”

“It’s fine. I love you, Noah-sama. I already liked you before, but now I like you even more… So much so that I want to devote both my body and my heart to you…”

That’s heavy! I mean, yeah, that was her character setting, but still…! And wait! Didn’t Layla still have a terrifying hidden plot twist I haven’t reached yet!?

“Or am I a burden to you…?”

Layla suddenly looked dejected.

“Huh!? N-no, that’s not what I meant, it’s just, um…”

Strangely enough, just seeing a beautiful girl look sad caused guilt to well up inside him.

“That’s right… Someone like me…”

“No, it’s not a burden at all! Look, stuff like this is—”

“Then there’s no problem. I’m relieved! In that case, let’s begin at once—”

Huh…? Something’s wrong. Layla’s suddenly smiling… So the sadness just now was an act… And, oh yeah! That’s right!

Because it was an emergency, his memory came flooding back like a bolt of lightning.

Layla was a sweet-looking but dark-hearted maid with extremely heavy love…! Wait, don’t tell me she already cornered me!? Somebody help me!

As he screamed incomprehensible thoughts in his head, perhaps his voice reached someone. With a knock, a dark-skinned maid entered the room.

“Head maid, you’ll need to return soon—”

Her words trailed off. Before her eyes was Layla straddling Noah. After a silence that felt like it lasted forever…

“S-sorry for interrupting! I’ll just take care of it myself—”

“No, no! You’re not interrupting at all! Please, listen to me!”

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“Ah… I’m exhausted even though it’s still early in the morning…”

“Something interrupted us, but we made a wonderful memory, didn’t we, Noah-sama?”

In stark contrast to Noah’s utterly drained expression, Layla looked radiant, as though she might start humming at any moment.

She’s not listening at all… W-well, I’ll set that aside for now.

There was something Noah absolutely had to ask Layla if he was going to live in this world.

“Layla, when you were about to be attacked by those vagrants, was there anyone besides me who tried to help you?”

“That time? Let me think…”

“Sorry for making you remember something unpleasant…”

This was something Noah had to ask no matter what.

Depending on her answer, I’ll know whether the protagonist of this world goes down the Layla route… Though when I arrived, there really was no one else there.

“Please don’t worry. That day was our beloved anniversary, when our feelings connected.”

Layla answered with a serious expression, leaving Noah with a complicated look.

“I think there was no one… That’s the best answer I can give. I’m sorry it’s so vague…”

“That’s fine, but what do you mean?”

“I was desperate, so I could be mistaken, but I feel like someone was watching us before you arrived, Noah-sama. For just a moment, our eyes may have met. But then you came right away.”

“I see, I see… Huh?”

W-wait… The protagonist of this world didn’t step in to save her…? No, no, that can’t be right. With the protagonist’s personality, he definitely would have helped. So maybe Layla was just mistaken…?

Or perhaps it was someone else entirely.

Well, the main Layla event is still later anyway. That’s when the protagonist will show off his handsome hero power… Probably.

Noah deliberately ignored Layla’s dreamy gaze as she stared at him. As he was thinking that…

“By the way, Noah-sama. We’re going shopping this afternoon, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, we are. I thought I’d buy study supplies, books, and a few other things.”

Normally, this task would be left to a servant, but Noah had a reason for going himself. Although he would be living in this world, his future was still unclear. He wanted to think things through slowly while shopping.

“May I accompany you? I’d like to buy ingredients as well.”

Noah nodded at Layla’s words.

“Thank you very much, Noah-sama. Let’s enjoy our time alone together.”

“…Yeah. Sure.”

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(Abel’s POV)

Time rewound slightly. Unbeknownst to them, there had been one man secretly watching from the shadows just when Noah had saved Layla from the vagrants.

His name was Abel Granado. He was the original protagonist of this world, the one whose role in the game was to defeat Noah. Abel belonged to the same marquis family as Noah and was the same age as him, thirteen. Though he could be a little absent-minded, Abel was supposed to be kind, considerate, and someone who treated everyone equally…

“Damn it… Noah, you bastard… How dare you save Layla before me!”

Slamming his fist into the wall, the boy vented his rage. Yet he grinned as if the pain in his hand didn’t matter at all.

“Well, whatever… That villainous noble will be abandoned soon enough anyway.”

With those words, the boy turned and left the scene.

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