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~ - 7

Chapter 7: What Noah Wants in This World

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“Sorry, Noah-kun. I ended up getting in the way of your shopping…”

“Huh? What happened?”

“Well, you see, whenever Mimi held hands with Noah-kun, Layla-san made her eyes go all like this.”

Saying that, Mimi lifted the corners of her eyes with her fingers. From Mimi’s point of view, it probably looked like Layla, who had had her shopping interrupted, was angry.

“I-I see… But Layla isn’t angry, so you don’t need to worry, okay? It was probably just your imagination… Yeah, really, I hope that’s what it was… Yeah.”

Noah’s reply sounded closer to a wish than a confident explanation.

There’s no way she’s actually jealous of a kid like this, right…?

“Oh, I see! Then, Noah-kun, are you out with your family today too, like Mimi?”

“Huh, family…? No, no. You wouldn’t understand if I just said ‘maid,’ would you? Layla and I are…”

Noah trailed off and fell silent. He couldn’t figure out how to explain their master–servant relationship to Mimi. Still, he tried to put it into words that sounded close enough.

“Let’s see… Layla is someone who takes care of me, I guess? She’s also my benefactor, so in that sense, she’s an important person to me.”

When Noah said that, Mimi puffed out her cheeks and burst into laughter.

“Huh? Did I say something weird?”

“Yeah, it was weird! Because, you know, Mama said this, okay? If someone important is close to you, that means you’re family! So it is a family outing after all!”

“Uh, no, that’s not what I meant…”

What should I do? She’s not getting it at all…

While Noah was frowning and worrying, Mimi spoke up.

“You know, Mimi feels suuuper happy when she’s with Papa and Mama! It’s like, my chest gets all warm, and when I look at Papa and Mama, I can’t help but smile!”

“I see. You really love your dad and mom, huh?”

“Yeah! Oh, but, you know, when Mimi does something bad, Mama gets really scary!”

Spreading her arms as wide as she could, Mimi tried to show how scary her mother could be. The sight was so adorable that Noah couldn’t help but smile wryly as he patted her head.

If I had a kid of my own, would it be like this? With my personality, I’d probably never be able to stand up to my wife, spoil the kid rotten, and then get scolded by her for it…

“…Noah-kun?”

Mimi’s voice snapped Noah back to his senses.

“Ah, sorry. What is it?”

“You’re the one acting weird, Noah-kun. You suddenly started grinning.”

“Huh? O-oh, I guess…”

Noah himself had no idea what she meant, so he tilted his head without thinking. Because what Mimi said didn’t quite click with him, he felt a slight sense of unease. He had no idea why. Still, for some reason, he didn’t feel like it was something he could just ignore or forget.

If anything, it feels like something I should treasure…

As if to change his mood, Noah stood up and looked around again. Then…

“Ah, Noah-sama!”

Waving her hand as she called out was Layla. Near her stood another woman.

“Ah, it’s Mama!”

Exploding with joy, Mimi ran straight toward her mother.

“Honestly, Mimi! Where did you wander off to?!”

Even as she scolded her, the mother hugged Mimi tightly, as if trying to make up for all the time they had been apart.

“I told you not to go off on your own like that!”

“I-I’m sorry…”

Noah followed after Mimi and rejoined Layla.

“And on top of that, causing this much trouble for this nobleman as well… It’s a good thing you happened to be such kind people…”

A sniffle could be heard from Mimi. After hesitating over whether he should say something or not, Noah spoke slowly.

“…Please don’t be too hard on her.”

“………Huh?”

“Mimi-chan is reflecting on what she did, and I had fun being with her too.”

At Noah’s words, Layla silently softened her eyes with a gentle smile. Mimi’s mother then looked up with a startled expression, bowed deeply toward Noah, and said, “I am truly sorry,” before turning back to Mimi.

“I’m sorry, Mimi.”

“No, Mimi’s sorry too~”

Watching the two of them, Noah and Layla exchanged glances and smiled.

“By the way, where was Mimi-chan’s mother?”

At Noah’s question, Layla answered with a somewhat troubled expression.

“My apologies. There were various things going on, and it turned into a commotion near the fountain plaza. Mimi-sama’s mother rushed over there.”

“I see, I see. So she mistook someone else for Mimi-chan. Still, I’m glad everything worked out and you found each other.”

Noah then turned his gaze toward Mimi and her mother.

“Now, don’t you ever go wandering off on your own again, okay? You understand?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry~”

“Alright, let’s go home then! Papa’s over there waiting for you too, Mimi.”

At her mother’s words, Mimi nodded happily. Then her mother stood up and bowed to Noah.

“Thank you so very much for taking care of my daughter.”

“Oh, no, not at all! I’m just really glad you found her.”

As Noah panicked at having an adult bow to him, Mimi spoke up.

“Then, Noah-kun, Layla-san, bye-bye! Thank you!”

Saying that, the two of them walked off hand in hand. As Mimi and her mother slowly receded into the glow of the setting sun, Noah and Layla watched them off in silence. In the distance, the sound of a fountain echoed, gently swallowing the bustle of the city.

Then, all of a sudden, Layla softly took Noah’s hand.

“W-what is it, Layla?”

In response to Noah’s question, Layla’s grip tightened slightly. Then she murmured, almost as if speaking to herself.

“So this is what a family is supposed to be like…”

Layla wore a calm expression, but she was trembling just a little. Because of that, Noah didn’t try to force his hand free.

She’s probably thinking about her own family, right…?

When he thought about Layla’s family circumstances, a small pain stabbed at his chest. But it wasn’t just about her.

To be honest, I think I felt a little jealous of Mimi too…

From the moment he was born, Noah himself had hardly ever experienced warm time with a family. Without realizing it, he squeezed Layla’s hand back a little more tightly. As he watched Mimi and her family leave, Noah thought to himself.

It’s obvious, but family really is something special. I feel that even more strongly after reincarnating as Noah.

The warmth of Layla’s hand holding his, and the time he had spent with Mimi… Because those two things lingered in his mind, a small sense of desire welled up inside him. He had originally planned to quietly live his life while watching over the protagonist and heroine of this world. But in an environment like this, maybe it was okay to find his own kind of happiness too.

I still can’t bring myself to like who I am yet, but…

Mimi and her family were no longer in Noah’s line of sight. Even so, the ideal scene he had witnessed remained burned into the back of his eyes.

But someday, I want to reach that place too…

As he noticed the fading shadows and looked up at the sky, small stars shimmered faintly into view.

“…Shall we head home, Layla?”

“Yes.”

“By the way, what was that commotion at the fountain about?”

“Oh, about that. It was…”

The two of them, walking along the same road home, also melted quietly into the evening darkness.

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