Reincarnated as the Villain Who Experiments on Orphanage Kids – Why Are the Test Subject Girls Begging Me for "Night Experiments"?

Chapter 23: Rebellion VS Mad Scientist

“GRAAAAAHHH!”

“Nah, not ‘graa.’ Can’t you at least talk like a human?”

“GRAAAAAHHH!”

“I said I don’t get what you’re saying.”

The monster that used to be Jimbara had zero reason to target me, but here he was charging straight at me. In this super unfair situation, I was stuck on the defensive the whole time.

That was mostly because I didn’t have any real weapons.

“GRAAAAAHHH!”

His huge claw came swinging down.

I stopped it with a tiny ball.

A dull thud rang out, and the impact made my arm go numb.

The thing I was using right now was that same ball. It was made of pretty tough stuff so it wouldn’t break easily, but it still felt useless as a weapon.

Plus, this ball was just something I’d sealed spatial magic inside. I had to recharge it regularly, it couldn’t hold living things like people, and honestly it wasn’t that convenient.

If only I had a sword…

But I didn’t have time to go grab one. If I left this guy alone, he’d trash the orphanage. I absolutely didn’t want that.

“GRAAAAAHHH!”

“Anyway, I’m not even cut out for fighting.”

The mad scientist was a spatial magic user. And spatial magic was terrible for combat.

If I could move myself it might be okay, but just storing or moving objects made it really hard to take down monsters.

So yeah, I was completely stuck.

“GRAAAAAHHH!”

His claw smashed the ground and pieces flew everywhere.

While desperately blocking his attacks, I slowly tried to guide him away from his spot.

To get him farther from the orphanage building.

I didn’t want the kids getting hurt, no matter what.

But even blocking had one fatal problem. My arms were wrecked from draining hot water earlier.

“Crap… my arms are at their limit.”

On top of that, my throat was completely shot from all the shouting. My lower back kinda hurt too. And now my knees were shaking.

I was already beat up before the fight even started.

“I’m technically on break from my part-time job, you know.”

No wonder my condition was bad. The main reason I was this messed up was because the boss had beaten me up too much.

And why did he beat me up? Because the shop was dead slow. And the shop got slow because of all the trouble the Rebellion caused.

So basically, it was all the Rebellion’s fault that I was in this shape.

“I seriously can’t forgive them.”

Not only did they mess with ramen, they wrecked my body too. They really were the perfect example of an evil organization.

There was no way I could let guys like that off the hook, right?

The boss inside my head whispered that to me. Since I kept a ramen shop boss in my heart, I had no choice but to follow his words.

—So, what should I do?

I gripped the other ball in my pocket while my mind raced.

※

[Side: Priere]

It was an intense fight.

“GRAAAAAHHH!”

The monster’s roar echoed through the orphanage yard.

Each blow had enough power to kill a normal person instantly. Even if I went all out, I wasn’t sure I could block one with just one hand.

He was definitely stronger than the Rebellion executive we fought earlier.

But Sai was stopping every attack with a tiny ball. Over and over and over.

Again. And again. And again.

“Crap… my arms are at their limit.”

He kept talking casually, but his feet never took even one step back. Instead, he slowly shifted the direction of the attacks.

Like he was moving them away from the building. Away from the kids’ rooms.

“——!?”

In other words, he was protecting us. The orphanage. Our home.

All by himself, even while getting beaten up.

“…Sai.”

Just watching him made a warm feeling spread through my chest. I felt like I might cry from how moved I was.

Sai must have been fighting like this all along. Never telling anyone, never letting anyone see, standing alone the whole time.

—What an amazing person.

At the same time, I understood something.

Right now, Sai was in a really dangerous state.

His arms were shaking, his voice was hoarse. He kept touching his lower back and knees, so his whole body must be in pain.

Because while we were fighting the Rebellion, he had been battling this monster all by himself.

—Ah, Sai.

Just how noble are you?

It’s beyond what normal human words can describe. I think the word “god” fits you best.

Yes. Sai is a god.

He might look like a ramen shop worker, but on the inside he’s a god.

“Fuu…”

I let out a small breath.

After drawing my sword to help, I suddenly glanced behind me.

There was Rafal walking toward me with a playful grin. Fioraia seemed to be right behind her.

“Huh? You noticed? I was gonna sneak up and tap your shoulder…”

“Yes. Fioraia’s presence is pretty easy to spot.”

“Hmph! At my level, I have an overwhelming presence!”

Looks like they had finished their mission too. I was relieved they weren’t badly hurt. Actually, they seemed full of energy. Fioraia had already stepped forward.

“…Seriously. Sai really isn’t suited for fighting.”

She said that while resting her sword on her shoulder. She looked fed up, but her eyes were gently narrowed.

“But I can tell he’s trying to protect our home.”

“GROOOOOOH!!”

“So I’ll specially help him out. Really, this is super special!”

With that, Fioraia dashed forward.

“Priere, let’s go.”

“Yes!”

We ran after her.

“Sai!”

We’re coming to back you up now!

※

[Side: Elina Yua Heart]

People have always said I don’t act like a princess.

When I was little I kept sneaking out of the mansion to catch bugs. I’d run off to town on my own and scare my servants half to death.

I’ve done all kinds of stuff. Everyone around me calls me a cheerful tomboy princess.

And they’re right. I’m not princess-like at all.

But I think the most un-princess-like I’ve ever been is right now.

Because right now I’m sneaking out of the academy and running away from pursuers all by myself.

“Haa… haa…”

I’ve shaken them off so many times, but they find me again right away and chase me.

Every time I have to sprint full speed, so I’m completely wiped out.

This is seriously impossible. I feel like I’m gonna collapse. It’s exhausting. I’m so tired. It hurts.

Still, I kept running with everything I had.

See? Not very princess-like, right?

‘Cause honestly, being a princess usually means getting captured, doesn’t it? Then a knight or prince comes to save you?

That’s how it goes in most stories, right?

So a princess running away on her own is seriously un-princess-like. I knew that myself.

But I just didn’t want to get caught.

The Rebellion makes no sense, and if they catch me I’ll just be a hostage. There’s literally nothing good about it.

So I ran. I ran like crazy.

I ignored the academy, my classmates, everything, and fled with all my might.

In the end, I happened to reach a small orphanage in town.

“Maybe I can hide here…”

That’s what I thought, but it sounded like a huge fight was going on.

There were crazy roars, and the ground was shaking from the impacts alone.

This is an orphanage, right?

Not a battlefield?

What kind of place is this?

A little curious, I decided to peek inside. I knew it was dangerous if it really was a battlefield, but my curiosity was too strong to hold back.

And right away I froze.

“…Huh?”

There was a monster. And it probably wasn’t a normal one.

“That thing looks seriously bad.”

It was knight-order level trouble. No, maybe even knights couldn’t handle it. Even the teachers would struggle.

I go to the academy so I’ve trained a decent amount, but this was on another level. I knew I couldn’t do anything against it.

“Wait, seriously?”

But the ones fighting it were… kids?

Three girls who looked about the same age as me.

All of them were slim with arms too thin to swing swords properly. It was obviously weird.

But what caught my eye wasn’t the girls. It was the guy behind them.

“A ramen shop guy?”

The three girls were fighting while this man stood there watching like a king. He had a towel wrapped around his head and an apron around his waist. He looked exactly like a ramen shop worker.

“Wait, a real ramen shop guy?”

These four were teaming up to fight the monster.

The three girls’ teamwork was amazing. Even from far away I could tell they were perfectly in sync. It was seriously impressive. Way too strong for people our age.

But the ramen shop guy had me so curious that those feelings got blown away.

“Why a ramen shop guy?”

This is an orphanage, right?

Not a ramen shop, right?

And that guy was fighting with a ball.

The other three had swords, but he was calmly blocking the monster’s huge claw attacks with a tiny ball.

“Why?”

It made zero sense. It was so confusing I couldn’t keep up.

“Pfft…”

It was so weird that I started laughing.

This was bad. It was hilarious. I was dying.

“Pff… ahaha…”