The Strongest Villain, Who Had Secluded Himself Deep in the Mountains To Avoid the Destruction Flag, Is Forced Onto the Main Stage by the Heroine He Helped - Chapter 12 : Duel!

‘How did things end up like this?’ Alba couldn’t help but wonder.

“Finally, the time has come for this.”

Inside the spacious training grounds within the school campus.

Not only were there classmates from the same class, but also students from different classes could be seen around, filling the field of vision like a gallery.

However, there were no advanced students or teachers in sight.

That’s probably because the entrance ceremony had just ended.

While the new students like Alba would disperse after the entrance ceremony, the advanced students and teachers were about to begin the opening ceremony.

Now, why was Alba standing in the center of the training ground, being watched by the crowd?

The reason was simple. He had been challenged to a duel.

It was a tradition among the nobles, and sacred actions began with the throwing of a white glove.

If someone wanted to challenge another, they would throw a white glove. If the other person picked it up, the duel would be accepted, and it could only proceed if both parties agreed.

The manner of the duel could be decided between the two parties, but once accepted, it couldn’t be revoked.

So, Alba had picked up the glove that the man had thrown.

In other words, what was about to happen was something both parties had agreed upon. Well, whether Alba actually wanted this or not was another matter.

‘…Come to think of it, that was mentioned briefly in the on-screen text.’

Rather than looking at the man in front of him, Alba gazed at the sky with tears in his eyes.

Until recently, he had been a Japanese boy, completely unaware of the intricacies of nobility. He would never have known about dueling if it weren’t for Ireina’s explanation during their exchange.

Originally, he wouldn’t have wanted to be here and would’ve insisted, “Who cares about a duel?” However, fleeing from a duel would be a lifelong disgrace, so he had no choice.

At least Alba could bear the situation, but Sheria and the others who were with him would be heavily criticized.

The doting Pope wouldn’t allow such criticisms to go unpunished.

If he escaped now, Alba’s punishment from the Pope would be inevitable.

“I’ve been eagerly waiting for this moment. Finally, I can bring divine punishment upon the trash son! And impress Ireina-sama!”

The man in front of Alba seemed to be quite enthusiastic about this.

The people around them were also getting excited, shouting and cheering him.

Of course, there were occasional voices saying in favor of Alba as it looked like he was cornered and forced to participate in this duel.

And then—

“Alba! Make sure to punish this clueless guy properly!”

“It’s not a bad thing to see your strength after such a long time here. I won’t go easy on you if you lose!”

He could hear voices of acquaintances, who were in high spirits, but Alba’s tears didn’t stop.

‘Why did it come to this… Wasn’t staying inconspicuous part of my lifestyle?’

This wasn’t being inconspicuous; it was almost as if he was securing a spot in the idol lineup.

He hadn’t wished for this situation, and he couldn’t hide his tears.

However, as the tears streaked down his cheeks, Alba noticed something.

‘Ha! Come to think of it, this kind of event wasn’t part of any route!’

He didn’t remember all the details of the game, but he couldn’t forget the beginning.

The current situation arose because Alba’s setting was that of someone who had died.

Therefore, the event about to happen didn’t belong to any route.

In other words—

‘No matter the outcome, I won’t have any involvement with the heroines!!’

If that’s the case, then does anything even matter? Well, no. I know it would be better to lose. But wouldn’t losing just make him feel miserable? Even though he had nothing to do with this, why is the hate directed at him? Why is he being dragged into a duel, and then they’re all acting like losers?

First of all, he was the one trying to stop this. He didn’t do anything, he didn’t say anything.

Just thinking about it… was making him angry. He wanted to punch that jealous guy. He knew that he could lose, but for some reason, he wanted to win. He doesn’t want to think about what comes after winning.

‘Heh… Now that it’s decided, I’ll let out my pent-up frustration! Everything since I was reincarnated!’

Alba turned back sharply and directed his gaze towards Sheria, who was watching from the VIP seats.

“Sheria!”

“What is it?”

“Prepare for healing! Your power will definitely be needed!”

“Understood! I’ll give it my all!”

“No, you don’t have to go that far!”

Even Alba, as determined as he was, hadn’t actually wanted to vent his frustration to the extent of depleting someone’s whole energy.

“Hmph! What can you do, you piece of trash?”

The man slowly assumed a stance. Likely a magician, he had both hands pointed towards Alba.

And then, slowly — a coin appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

‘The opponent is the incompetent son of a noble. I have been practicing my magic daily, he shouldn’t stand a chance against me!’

Indeed, Alba had been leading a careless life and wasn’t a threat in the story.

However, it was clearly stated that he was more talented than anyone else in this world.

—And the man who challenged Alba didn’t know about it.

He didn’t know that Alba had been desperately honing his skills no matter what happened, ever since he was reincarnated.

—Thud. 

The coin hit the ground which was the signal of the start of the duel, and the man began his incantation.

“Crimson purgatory! Interfere with the world’s order, my hindrance—”

But in the midst of it…. The man’s incantation halted.

“…Huh?”

A question mark appeared on his head and he was left completely baffled—because Alba had appeared right in front of him in a blink.

“W-What…?!”

Magic had various attributes, and one of them was “lightning”.

A phenomenon that occurred in the world as natural lightning. Magic based on this attribute could deliver electric shock of high voltages to its target.

Sometimes, the light emitted by lightning surpassed the speed of sound barriers.

“Don’t waste your time with incantations. If you do that, you’ll be in danger and get killed before you know it.”

What if, instead of sending lightning at the opponent, Alba became the lightning himself?

If he was granted that kind of speed that was even more than the sound barrier?

‘…Something every Japanese boy in their adolescence has probably dreamed of at least once.’

Power is speed and weight.

He lifted his foot at the speed that was comparable to the speed of light and struck the man’s solar plexus and the man was not able to react at all to the attack.

And then—a spell of the highest firepower was completed, blowing the man’s body away.

“Gahhh—??!!!”

His opponent’s body crashed into the gallery dragging the surrounding students along with him, the man was blown away in a cloud of dust.

Seeing that sight, Alba’s cheeks twitched.

“…Damn, Alba-kun’s talent is too strong.”

Maybe having exceptional body strength isn’t entirely a mistake either.

Amidst the astonished silence of those around, Alba quickly made eye contact with Sheria and smiled.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

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TL : Zenon#4120