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 15 : Mina...

When Alba was eating alone on the rooftop, a lone girl approached him.

The girl had a familiar face, the same one he had seen before. A few days after arriving in the capital city, he had encountered his brother and saved her that time—she was the girl he had helped when the horse tied to a carriage was let loose and was about to injure her.

“Um… What can I do for you?”

As memories resurfaced, Alba displayed a hint of wariness.

Currently, there were hardly any students trying to befriend Alba.

Throughout the academy, rumors spread about “Al, the apprentice holy knight, the worthless son of the duke!” On the other hand, there was no commotion in the town. Perhaps the notorious daughter-adorer, the pope, was covering up various matters.

This was a tangent, but because of the current widespread knowledge that he was a worthless son, nobody approached Alba. Those of his age group knew his past personality well. Furthermore, he had gained power beyond anyone’s control.

The students who couldn’t yet act solely on the merit of befriending a powerful figure weren’t willing to involve themselves out of personal affection.

That’s why Alba felt surprised and wary when someone approached him without any remorse.

Even though he had helped her before, the bad reputation should have deterred her. Moreover, this girl wasn’t related to the story as a capture target—she was an unfamiliar, ordinary NPC.

[T/N : Lmao, that’s quite an unique way to refer someone]

“Umm… I’m really sorry for suddenly bothering you! I am Mina from the Baron’s house of Lupica.”

Perhaps because she had sensed that Alba was wary of her, she introduced herself with a nervous demeanor.

Her glossy silver hair that hung down caught his eye for a moment, but her name was still unfamiliar.

“Oh, I see. You don’t have to worry about it.”

“Not at all! I’ve been taught to properly express gratitude and thank them by my mother!”

“You are a a good child.”

She was someone who had a personality that was quite rare to see among nobles who are arrogant and filled with pride

Her demeanor and expressions somehow reminded him of Sheria.

“In that case, I’ll accept your gratitude. Thank you.”

“No, no, I should be the one thanking you…”

She was truly kind and generous of others’ fellings

Despite her low noble rank, he hadn’t encountered someone this composed in Japan or anywhere else.

For now, Alba spreaded a handkerchief on the ground and gestured, “Would you like to sit here?”

In response, Mina the girl who approached to thank him, timidly took a seat across.

“Um… excuse me.”

Alba hadn’t often been treated deferentially like this. With this display of respect, a strange unease crept in.

“Hey, if it’s okay with you, could you drop the formal language? Or I could be the one to use it, and you can be at ease…”

“But—”

“No, I’m not a noble anymore. And I’m the one who should be showing respect to a noble, not the other way around.”

Alba was no longer from the Duke’s household; he was now just a commoner.

Regardless of their bond as benefactor and beneficiary, Alba should be the one showing respect.

In retrospect, he started to regret thinking, “I displayed a disrespectful attitude.”

“Okay, then I’ll drop it… Alba-kun, please just be yourself. I also don’t really like being treated too formally.”

“Mmm~… understood.”

Once Alba confirmed she had taken a seat, he resumed devouring his meal.

At that moment, for some reason, Mina’s expression seemed a bit downcast.

“Is something wrong?”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing! It’s just that I brought a little bento as thanks…”

—Nom! Nom! Nom! [SXF for munching sounds]

“Thank… you for the food. I just realized that I had forgotten to bring my lunch.”

“Um, the bento box is in your hand, though?”

“Woah! It was never there.” He threw the bento box quickly using his lightning element.

“Ehh—?! But you just threw it?!”

Now there was no proof that he had brought a bento but she had already caught him eating earlier.

“Man… I was felling really hungry, so this helps. Thanks a lot.”

“Well, I feel like you just threw it away… but, is it fine?”

Mina was taken aback by the sudden bento box toss, but she quickly broke into a smile, as if bursting with laughter.

“Hehe~, you were considerate. Thank you.”

“No, no, I really did forget my lunch. Please believe me.”

“I believe you, Alba-kun. So, as a token of thanks, I made this… Will you eat it?”

“Of course.”

With a joyful expression, Alba gladly accepted the bento box handed to him by Mina. Except for Sheria, this was the first time someone had made something specifically for him.

Thus, Alba, happy, opened the bento box and took a bite while humming a tune.

“Mmm~! It’s delicious!”

“I’m glad. It was worth practicing.”

“Huh? You actually practiced for this?”

“Yeah, Alba-kun… Oh, wait, is it just ‘Al’ now? I practiced because I wanted to treat you. This is about all the thanks I can give.”

It was truly endearing.

Certainly, many nobles didn’t cook for themselves, leaving that task to their servants or cooks. It was understandable that many of them lacked cooking skills.

In that context, she didn’t entrust it to a servant and instead practiced specially for his sake… There was nothing more heartwarming for a man than this.

‘Huh, what’s this… tears?’

Even though she was an NPC who did not appear in the main story, in this game world, Alba felt like he was receiving ordinary treatment from an ordinary girl for the first time since being reincarnated.

Tears started to well up faintly in Alba’s eyes.

“Actually, I wanted to thank you when the duel incident happened, but I didn’t know if a bento would be enought, and I wasn’t immediately good at making it… Sorry?”

“No, no need to apologize at all! I’m truly happy!”

This was an unequivocal heartfelt response.

At that time, he had been whisked away by Ireina before he could even talk, so he thought he wouldn’t meet her again.

Well, he hadn’t originally helped her with the expectation of receiving gratitude, so whether they met again or not didn’t really bother him. But it just so happened that she attended the same academy, and she came to thank him despite knowing about his bad reputation.

Words other than “happy” were hard to find for the current situation.

‘Delicious… This is truly delicious.’

He felt like he had touched the warmth of a person.

Sheria was a capture target. She had share the warmth he needed, but the story always loomed in the background making him unable to reciprocate her feelings for him.

[T/N : Many were saying that the MC is dense and spineless coward, like we see in other JP Novels, but in this case despite noticing the feelings Sheria carried for him, he didn’t reciprocated them, because that would supposedly raise a ‘death flag’ and Alba wanted to avoid dying at any costs, if that means that their relationship would remain as friends, he would wholeheartedly accept that situation and cheer for her well being. This is what my opinions on this story are so far.]

As a result, it was the first time he had received warmth from an ordinary person without any worries, purely and without a second thought, since he had been reincarnated in this world.

With tears in his eyes, Alba continued to eat with a satisfied expression despite his full stomach.

“Fufu~, eat as much as you like.”

Watching him in that state, Mina observed with a beautiful smile on his face.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

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TL : Zenon#4120