I Was Reincarnated as the Villain Who Confines the Heroine in an Eroge World, But for Some Reason I'm the One Getting Confined by the Heroine Instead - Chapter 24: School Life That Won't Come Cheap

Chapter 24: School Life That Won’t Come Cheap

It felt awkward. Way too awkward.

When we entered the classroom, the buzzing classmates all fell silent at once.

Their gazes poured onto us, watching as if they didn’t want to miss a single move we made.

Feeling the awkwardness from those strange stares, small whispers started to spread.

I knew why we were getting all the attention.

Yesterday, the duke’s daughter and I both skipped the academy together, and the next morning, we showed up at school side by side as if it was normal. There was no way people wouldn’t be curious.

“Hey, about those two…”

“Are they living together or something?”

“Married, maybe?”

“They both skipped yesterday, so it’s possible!”

“But didn’t their engagement get broken off?”

Whispers flew from every corner of the classroom.

Piercing looks, wild rumors, and teasing comments made for fun.

All of it reached my ears whether I wanted it to or not, and it made me feel so uncomfortable.

I hadn’t done anything guilty.

I got confined, escaped, and then she broke into my room on her own, leading to us living together.

It was a problem way beyond anything guilty.

“Ask-kun, let’s sit down quick!”

While I stood shaken, Safira didn’t seem to care at all. She smiled as usual and naturally leaned her body close to mine.

“Hey, Safira.”

“What is it?”

“Isn’t this a bit too close?”

“I’m guarding you.”

“Huh?”

“I can’t leave your side because I’m guarding you.”

“…Oh, I see.”

She said it with a straight face, and I had nothing to say back.

This was bad. The kind where nothing I said would get through.

“…”

The stares from everyone in class hurt.

Was this what people called a public execution?

Being confined was bad enough, but this was tough in a whole different way.

“Ask-kun, it’s dangerous, so don’t look at other classmates, okay?”

But Safira smiled as if she was enjoying the whole situation.

I wanted to jump into a vineyard.

※

Classes were basically held in the same classroom the whole time.

The only exception was probably practical lessons for magic control.

That meant there was no chance at all to scheme behind Safira’s back.

Not that it was scheming or anything. I just wanted to plan my escape abroad a little.

Even so, I couldn’t possibly keep living within one meter of Safira forever.

I needed time alone to gaze at grapes slowly.

So after school, I headed straight to the library.

“What book are you reading?”

But there was no way I could shake her off that easily. Naturally, Safira sat across from me, propping her cheek on her hand.

She looked at the cover of my book and asked.

“A book about foreign countries.”

Specifically, it was a book that covered grape varieties from other nations. It summarized the characteristics of the varieties and the regions where they were grown, roughly but carefully.

For me, aiming to escape abroad, it was very important information.

Ideally, I wanted to go to a country where interesting grape varieties were grown.

Excluding the neighboring country ruled by malt fanatics, there were realistically two countries I could escape to.

One was the Falbrav Kingdom. They used the long north-south terrain to grow various grapes depending on the region.

In the north, Nebbiolo and Corvina, and in the south, Fiano were the main grape varieties. It was just like Italy.

The other was the Albino Republic.

They produced a huge amount of grapes for wine. It was said to have the world’s largest cultivation area.

The main grape variety was Tempranillo.

Rich in tannins and acidity, it was a solid grape with deep flavor. Most black grape cultivation was Tempranillo, and it felt just like Spain.

“Both sound good.”

Neither variety existed in this country. In terms of encountering unknown grapes, both were very appealing.

The grape variety names were the same as in reality. Since this was based on a game world, it made sense, but personally, I was grateful.

It would be a pain if they had different names for the same varieties. I didn’t have a tongue delicate enough to identify grapes just by tasting.

“Falbrav Kingdom and Albino Republic…”

It was a tough choice.

As I thought about grapes and my mouth curved up,

“What is it?”

Safira tilted her head and stared at me.

“There are a lot of rare grapes in other countries.”

“…”

No response.

She wasn’t even blinking.

This was bad.

She was definitely suspecting something.

If things stayed like this, my escape abroad might get exposed and stopped in advance.

Thinking that, I hurriedly opened my mouth.

“I have a dream.”

I had no experience convincing anyone, so I didn’t know what to do.

But I remembered some wine influencer saying it.

Men should talk about their dreams.

Women follow men who chase dreams.

Wait, if she follows, doesn’t that defeat the purpose?

I had some doubts, but there was no turning back.

I started telling her my dream as she looked confused.

“My dream is to live a slow life surrounded by vineyards.”

“…Slow life?”

“Yeah. I want to become a grape farmer.”

I didn’t know how many times I’d dreamed of it since coming to this world.

Surrounded by grapes, thinking only about grapes, ending my life with grapes.

Just imagining it made my heart race.

“But to do that, I need to visit other countries and learn about different grape varieties. Not just from books, but see them with my own eyes, touch them with my hands, and experience them. No, I want to experience them.”

After saying that, I looked into her eyes.

“So, Safira.”

“…”

When I was about to declare “I’m going abroad to escape” with a serious gaze, I noticed there was no highlight in her eyes.

This was bad.

My instincts rang alarm bells that it was dangerous. If I honestly declared my escape, it wouldn’t end with just confinement.

In the worst case, I might never see grapes again.

Imagining that worst scenario, I quickly changed course. I wrapped it in mild words to avoid stimulating her.

“I want to study abroad.”

“Study abroad?”

“You know, nobles often do it. Go to another country to learn its culture… something like that.”

“It’s true that happens, but…”

“So I want to study abroad in that way too.”

Studying abroad without even a month since enrolling was impossible if you thought calmly, but Safira wasn’t calm, so it should be fine.

“I want to study abroad!”

I muttered it again with a serious gaze.

I put passion into my words and expression, showing my determination fully.

My strong feelings must have gotten through.

Safira’s suspicious look from before changed completely. She grinned and said happily.

“Does that mean you want to go on a trip with me, Ask-kun?”

It didn’t work.

Not only did it not get through, she misunderstood in a completely wrong direction.

“It’s not a trip, it’s study abroad—”

“A trip… That’s a great idea. If we leave the duke’s territory, pursuers won’t come, and if danger comes to us, we can make it the local lord’s responsibility. It’s killing two birds with one stone.”

For some reason, Safira assumed she was coming along.

People usually study abroad alone, right?

If two go, it’s really just an overseas trip, right?

And it’s not a trip, it’s study abroad.

“…Even though it’s study abroad.”

Next to me holding my head, Safira had already started planning the schedule. She took out her planner and wrote down dates.

“One month later!?”

“Yeah. Sorry. I have some things to do soon, so the earliest is about this.”

I see. Despite appearances, a duke’s daughter was busy.

“Then I’ll go ahead—”

“The dates are set, so next is the location.”

Safira forcefully cut off my words and tried to decide the destination.

Then I had one question.

“Is it okay for you to leave this country, Safira?”

“It’s not forbidden, but… it would probably be a huge hassle.”

I see. Despite appearances, a duke’s daughter had many obligations.

“Then maybe I should go alone—”

“It’s fine. There are perfect places for a trip even in the country. Really great places!”

Safira leaned forward, her eyes sparkling.

“…Really great?”

I had a bad feeling.

Because just a few days ago, she lured me with a good place, took me to the duke’s estate, and then confined me.

Her good places were bad for me.

“No, I have a religious restriction that I can’t go anywhere but grape-producing areas—”

“It’s the grape farm I’m developing!”

“—Alright, let’s go now.”

“Ask-kun!?”

Safira desperately tried to stop me as I stood up.

“Wait. Not now, one month later, okay?”

“It’s a grape farm, right? There’s no way I can wait for that.”

“Ask-kun, your eyes are bloodshot!”

“Grapes! The grapes are waiting for me!”

Study abroad didn’t matter anymore.

Confinement or assassination organizations, everything was the same in front of grapes.

Grapes or not grapes. That was all.

“Grapes… Ah, grapes.”

In my mind, the scent of greenery from vast vineyards was already playing.

Grapes.

They were the only thing in this world that made me happy. The wisdom created by humanity.

So I would go.

Even if it was a confinement room called a grape farm. Even if I was fated to be confined again.

I couldn’t possibly stop.