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

Mina, who was invited to the house right away, was feeling a bit nervous.

She was seated at a table with delicious-looking dishes lined up in front of her and found herself in an unfamiliar space.

Across from her was the daughter of the duke’s family, reminiscent of Takane no Hana whom she had seen a few times at parties where nobles gathered or at tea parties, the major pursuits of other noble ladies.

For someone from the baron’s family who had turned from a merchant into a nobleman recently, seeing Ireina of the duke’s family, a pure-blooded aristocrat, up close like this was almost too overwhelming.

“Um… Al-kun.”

“Hmm? What’s wrong? Oh, could it be that you don’t like the food…?”

“No, it’s not that! Just, well…”

Furthermore—

“Why is the saintess sitting on Al-kun’s lap…?”

The symbol of the global religion, a person who almost everyone in this world revered and wouldn’t dare approach recklessly.

And yet, that girl was sitting on the lap of the boy she had somehow become friendly with right from the start.

‘Isn’t it awkward to eat like that?’ With such a question in her mind, she was bewildered by this unexpected beginning.

“No, well… She just seems to like sitting and eating on my lap today.”

Unaware of Mina’s confusion, Alba was gently patting Sheria’s head in a familiar manner which made her purr like a cat.

On the other hand, the cause of the confusion, the girl who was sitting on Alba’s lap, placed a hand on her chest and smiled softly.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Sheria. Since you are Al-kun’s friend, I’d be happy if we could get along.”

“Um… Nice to meet you too! I look forward to getting along!”

Mina, bowed quickly in panic as she didn’t know how to reply properly in this case.

There was even a little restraint behind “Nice to meet you” which she said in a hurry.

And, Alba, who was being favorably looked upon, didn’t realize it either. The only one who did realize was—

‘Hmm… The Saintess has a really strong desire to monopolize him.’

Mina sighed internally, thinking that dealing with this in front of such prominent figures would be quite challenging.

But she also had a thought that this might have been for the best. If she could distance herself from Alba on this occasion, she might be able to forget everything that happened up to now.

‘…No, I’m pretty much done for the moment I stepped into this house.’

Meanwhile Ireina held complex emotions.

Noticing her demeanor, Mina had a slightly awkward expression.

‘Maybe Alba-kun and Ireina-san aren’t on good terms after all…?’

Despite being from the baron’s family, she knew about Alba and Ireina’s relationship to some extent.

She also knew some of the background behind it as a rumor, and seeing them sitting side by side in the same space like this was something she couldn’t initially believe.

“Hey, Ireina-chan ♪ Why the gloomy face?~”

“It must be your fault?”

“Ouch, maybe you’re right… Hey, that really hurts.”

The situation of having his temples squeezed forcefully was also hard to believe.

“Oh, sorry about that. I think we’ve probably crossed paths before.”

“Y-Yes! My name is Mina! Thank you very much for setting up this gathering!”

“Don’t be so formal. I don’t really like being treated too respectfully.”

“I’m the same! I don’t like things being too formal either. I’d be happy if you could interact with me casually!”

“Sure… I’ll do my best.”

Mina, seeing that the conversation was progressing quite smoothly, couldn’t help but think that it was really easy to get along with them. Normally, nobles with higher ranks would ignore or belittle lower ranking nobles, but that did not seem to be the case with Ireina.

“Is it really okay for you to hurt him, he looks really in pain.”

“It’s alright, he is already used to this treatment.”

“Why am I the one who has to suffer every time, milady.”

“Hmm? Do you want me to increase the pressure on it?”

“I never said that!!”

Alba’s painful screams echoed in the house along with the girl’s cheerful laugh.

Seeing this, Mina, who was on the verge of feeling excluded, thought.

‘Still…’

Mina didn’t touch the food and instead sipped the tea that had been served.

‘…Is this girl the saint?’

Her gaze was slightly drawn to the girl in front of her.

Perhaps sensing that, Sheria, who was sitting on her lap, tilted her head slightly.

“Um, is there something wrong?”

“N-No! It’s nothing!”

“I see… I thought maybe you were eager to eat the food.”

“R-Right. I mean, with such delicious-looking dishes in front of me, I might get hungry.”

All the dishes lined up in front of her looked incredibly delicious.

They were much better than the bento she had brought, and just looking at them made her mouth water.

Although it was a spur-of-the-moment response, it wasn’t exactly a lie.

“Very well… Hearing you say that makes it worth it.”

Finally freed from Ireina’s grip, Alba showed a slightly pleased expression.

“Huh?! Alba-kun, did you make these?”

“Yeah! It was a necessary skill for me, being forced to live on my own at this age!”

“By the way, I can’t cook!”

“That’s right! Even though we were supposed to live together, somehow I ended up being in charge of cooking every day!”

“Hehe~, that’s true!”

“Hey, you! It’s my role to take credit, but thanks for the feast!”

Alba, looked down and saw that Sheria was cutely puffing out her chest. It had a certain meaning behind his words. Perhaps, if you were a teenage boy, you might understand what the word ‘feast’ means.

“Anyway, go ahead and eat up. I made this specially for Mina today.”

“What about me?”

“Argh… Stop! It really hurts…”

“Itadakimasu!”

“Atleast, listen to me.”

Ignoring Alba’s interjection, Ireina started eating. Her surprised expression after taking the first bite likely came from how delicious Alba’s cooking was. Sheria, as if being lured in, took a fork in her hand while still sitting on Alba’s lap and began to eat with relish. It was a bit surprising when she started saying things like “Aaah~” while eating, but Mina didn’t show that surprise on her face.

‘The saint and Alba-kun are even closer than I thought.’

Mina thought this without showing her surprise on her face and continued to eat the dishes.

‘…What a dilemma.’

She really wanted to hear the answers to her question, but she refrained from doing that.

It was a matter of course, but it’s impossible for anyone in the world to read the unspoken thoughts of others.

“Mmm, it’s delicious!”

“Haha, I’m glad to hear that.”

And so, the corner of Alba’s mouth loosened involuntarily as he saw Mina’s eyes shining with pleasure at the delicious taste of the food he cooked.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

Thank you for reading! Feel free to comment your opinions below!

Also, if you enjoyed my translation, support me by donating a cup of Coffee through Ko-Fi.
The button is available on the top of the page.

Found any errors or typos? Feel free to contact me on Discord.