Reincarnated as the Villain Who Experiments on Orphanage Kids – Why Are the Test Subject Girls Begging Me for "Night Experiments"? - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Monster VS Test Subject & Ramen Shop

“Sai!”

“Master!”

“Sai!”

It happened right when I was busy blocking the nonstop fierce attacks from the monster that used to be Jimbara.

Suddenly three familiar voices came flying from the front.

“…Huh?”

I froze for a second while still holding back the attack.

The ones coming closer were the three I knew well.

Priere, Rafal, and Fioraia.

Wait, wait, wait, why are they here?

And all three of them were in full battle mode.

“Why are you holding swords?”

“That’s our line. Why are you holding a ball?”

I asked while blocking Jimbara’s claw with my ball, and Priere shot back at me.

Yeah, I was probably the weird one here. I couldn’t argue.

Then Rafal, who had come right next to me, spoke up.

“Whoa, I never thought I’d see Master fighting in a ramen shop outfit.”

“It just kinda happened…”

I gave a bitter smile, and Fioraia, who had also come beside me, puffed out her chest.

“Hmph! Why is Sai a ramen shop guy? That’s so wrong!”

“I know it looks weird. But what can I do? I’m on break from my part-time job.”

The moment I said that,

“GROOOOOOH!!”

Jimbara roared.

Then he swung his massive arm down at us.

“Whoa!? I’m in the middle of something, so can you wait a bit?”

I quickly blocked it with the ball.

The impact was stronger than before, and the ground under my feet cracked as I braced myself.

“I don’t have time to chat right now!”

“True.”

Priere calmly said that and readied her sword. She looked straight into my eyes.

“Sai. From here on, we’ll join the fight too.”

“No way. This isn’t a game.”

“I know.”

When I instantly turned her down, Priere gave a small smile.

“Please don’t worry. We’re not weak. We have enough strength to at least protect the orphanage.”

“Hmph! Protecting the orphanage isn’t just your job!”

Fioraia stepped forward in agreement with Priere. She looked ready to charge any second.

“Wait—”

“Opening!”

I reached out to stop them, but Rafal gently grabbed my hand from behind.

She laced her fingers with mine in one smooth move and said it in a playful tone.

“Master treats us too much like kids. We’re already proper adults. Adults who can stand up to an evil organization head-on. So won’t you trust our power this time?”

“But…”

“Plus, you’d probably lose if you fought alone, right?”

“Well… I can’t deny that.”

It was hard to say I could beat him easily by myself.

“Please watch us first. We’ll show you what we can do.”

“Hmph! Just watch!”

Right then, the air changed.

Fioraia charged in at incredible speed.

“GROOOOOOH!!”

Her sword flashed, and with a huge sound Jimbara’s giant body flew back.

“…Huh?”

I froze without thinking.

But before I could even stop thinking, Rafal fired her magic.

It formed stake-like shapes and flew straight ahead. The wind stakes pierced him one after another, pinning Jimbara’s huge body to the ground.

While he couldn’t move, Priere rushed in.

Her movements had no openings. A perfectly sharpened strike stabbed into Jimbara’s eye.

“GROOOOOOH!!”

He screamed, but Rafal’s magic wouldn’t let him escape.

“Taaaaah!”

And Fioraia wasn’t about to miss that.

She jumped high, raised her sword wide, and let out a battle cry.

Then she brought it crashing down from straight above.

“——!”

With a massive BOOOOOM, the ground shattered. The shock shook the whole yard and kicked up a cloud of dust.

“Ah! My flower bed!”

After Rafal’s voice rang in my ear, everything went quiet.

“……………………”

Then I spotted Jimbara’s giant body collapsed beyond the smoke.

He seemed completely unable to move. He was still breathing a little, but he clearly couldn’t keep fighting.

So the battle was over.

“Fuu, that’s about it!”

Fioraia rested her sword on her shoulder and wiped sweat from her forehead.

“As expected, Fiora. You took the medicine, right?”

“I didn’t. It doesn’t work on me anyway.”

“Fioraia built up immunity from all the repeated experiments, so it has no effect.”

“Ah, I see. Yeah, you worked hard, Fiora.”

“Hmph! Of course!”

I didn’t really get it, but the three of them were chatting in a relaxed way that didn’t match right after a fight. It was kind of scary.

Medicine? Immunity? Experiments?

I had no idea what kind of experiments they meant, but I decided not to dig too deep.

“How was that?”

While I stood there stunned, Priere turned around with a satisfied smile.

“You can acknowledge our strength now, right?”

The other two turned around at the same time too.

“Master! Now you’ll treat us like adults, yeah?”

“Sai! This is my power! Hmph!”

They stepped closer and closer, looking at me like they really wanted me to praise them.

I thought for a second, then told them honestly what I felt.

“Aren’t you guys a bit too strong?”

They had clearly gone way past normal kid level. No, this wasn’t even kid level anymore.

After all, their opponent was Jimbara, an executive of the Rebellion.

Even though it was three against one, they completely overpowered him. Their strength was on the same level as the original story’s protagonist, or maybe even higher.

On top of that, they had the handicap of not being able to use Holy Sword replicas. Showing this much power with normal swords was anything but ordinary.

“No matter how you look at it, you’re way too strong.”

“Sai! You finally acknowledge our power!”

“Fufu, we weren’t even at full strength yet.”

“Hmph! Of course!”

As I watched the three of them smile, I suddenly noticed something at my feet.

A piece of the tree that used to be in the yard was lying there.

It looked like Fioraia’s strike had completely snapped it. Branches were scattered all around.

I picked up one of them, gave a bitter smile, and said,

“You went a little overboard, but…”

I looked at each of their eyes in turn, then finally turned my gaze to Jimbara, who couldn’t move anymore.

“Well, the result is what matters.”

I’ll just go with that.

I was honestly happy to see how much the kids had grown.

And so our fight ended.

The orphanage yard was wrecked, but the building and the kids were safe. It was a pretty peaceful ending.

It was a bit different from the original story, but I figured this was fine too.

“Alright, time to get back to my shift.”

I thought that and started toward the entrance.

“Huh?”

That’s when Jimbara, who shouldn’t have been able to move, started getting up.

“Don’t mess with me! That guy isn’t a ramen shop worker!”

An angry voice echoed around us.

Wait? Ramen shop?

※

[Side: Jimbara]

There’s a saying that you can’t see even an inch ahead in the dark, and right now my vision was completely filled with darkness.

Pitch black. I couldn’t see anything.

But for some reason I could still hear sounds.

The growls of a monster, young women’s voices, and a hoarse, dry man’s voice.

What the hell is going on?

I drank the drug and that should have been the end.

So why am I still conscious?

I couldn’t figure it out no matter how I thought.

I wasn’t even sure if I was conscious at all. Maybe this was hell.

Haha, hell suits me just fine.

That guy is probably in heaven, so never seeing him again sucks, but it’s what someone like me deserves.

I was planning to just stay here quietly.

But then my vision suddenly came back.

It had been pure darkness, but now I saw three girls and a man dressed like a ramen shop worker right in front of me.

It was night so I couldn’t see clearly, but under the streetlight it was definitely a ramen shop outfit. No mistake.

That ridiculous guy was holding a tree branch. He was swinging it around with a bitter smile.

“…………………………”

Watching that scene, I suddenly remembered him.

He used to swing a tree branch like that too. Every single day in the exact same spot, practicing swings without ever getting tired.

They should be completely different, but for some reason that guy’s figure overlapped with the ramen shop guy.

In that moment, something inside me snapped. Emotions came flooding out.

Don’t mess with me!

That guy isn’t a ramen shop worker!

He was an amazing person who wanted to become a knight to protect people!

He was someone as bright as the sun!

Don’t you dare tarnish those memories with some ramen shop guy!

“………………………………Ah.”

Consciousness rushed back fast. The feeling in my lost body and my thoughts became sharp again.

It got clearer and clearer, and before I knew it I was standing up.

Then, with all those overflowing emotions, I shouted.

“Don’t mess with me! That guy isn’t a ramen shop worker!”