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 30 : Saving Her!

The girl who was lying in the infirmary and was unconscious till now, slowly lifted her eyelids.

Gradually, her field of vision became clear, revealing a wide expanse of white ceiling.

‘Why am I in a place like this?’ With that question in her mind, Ireina slowly raised her body.

In the midst of it, she felt a slight throbbing pain in her head. Through that pain, she came to understand why she had been sleeping till now.

‘Ah, I couldn’t stop her in the end, huh.’

In that case, she immediately came to the conclusion that this must be the infirmary.

Perhaps, someone had found her and brought her here.

Just as she was thinking that…..

“Oh? You finally woke up, Sleeping Beauty.”

Beside the bed where she lay, Alba sat on a small round chair, reading a book, and turned his gaze toward Ireina.

“Alba…”

“Sleeping in the hallway, huh? How brave of you. If possible, you should sleep in the campsite. The one who finds you will feel like the prince who found Snow White.”

Finally understanding the current situation, Alba gave Ireina a teasing smile.

There was no tension, a reaction separate from her own feelings. Nonchalant—she couldn’t find any other words.

However, that too was fleeting.

“So, what happened?”

Immediately, Alba looked seriously into Ireina’s eyes as his playful demeanor broke instantly.

Calmly thinking about it, there was no way nothing had happened when she had collapsed like that in the hallway. Alba was genuinely surprised when he found her collapsed in the hallway. It was impossible not to wonder that it was just because she fainted.

A student from the academy? Maybe she was in a fight with someone? No, he didn’t think a student from the same year, even one known as a genius swordswoman, could beat her in a one-on-one duel.

A sword was placed next to the bed. It was the one she had on her when she had collapsed—it was always with her.

In other words, she had been defeated by someone who had the skill to defeat Ireina with a sword. A teacher? Or an outsider? However, it was difficult to believe that an outsider could enter the well-guarded academy without causing a commotion—

“Mina.”

“Huh?”

“I was beaten by Mina.”

For a moment, Alba’s mind went blank.

‘Mina, that gentle girl? No, that’s impossible. Absolutely impossible. It couldn’t be true. First of all, Mina is an ordinary student, there’s no way she could beat Ireina.’

Treating it as a joke, Alba burst out laughing at Ireina’s incredulous words.

“…..”

But the gaze that was fixed on him didn’t seem to be lying.

Alba let out a deep sigh and held her head gently.

“…What’s the reason? It can’t just be that you got into a fight, right?”

“It seems like her target was the Saintess. And she got me in the process. So, I was defeated.”

Alba’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

There was much to infer from her recent words. Ireina had most likely fought Mina and lost in order to protect Sheria. And Sheria had been abducted after she lost.

Now that he thought about it, Sheria wasn’t visible anywhere till now even though Ireina was collapsed. Unlike Alba, who had been searching for Mina all over the school building, Sheria had no reason to be anywhere other than on the same floor, while waiting for her friend.

‘If what she’s saying is true… But then why Mina? Wait, does this mean that Sheria’s route is going now?’

The route of the Saintess, the target of capture, began with her being abducted by a cult. The protagonist would rush to rescue her, greatly affecting her favorability. If the story was still ongoing, then what was happening now was undoubtedly an event.

The question was whether it made sense for her to be kidnapped so soon after enrolling, and whether this was in fact that route. If it was really soon after her enrollment, Alba wouldn’t have had such a peaceful everyday life. At the very least, he should have had some sense of wariness. Even if he thought he wouldn’t enter the route unknowingly without getting involved.

Or maybe there’s another possibility…

‘Why is Mina on the abducter’s side? She was just a nameless extra until now, right?’

More and more unanswered questions kept popping in his mind.

However, in a place where neither the person herself nor the one responsible for it were present, there was no way to find an answer no matter how much he thought.

Alba let out a deep breath and slowly stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“Huh? Obviously, to rescue Sheria. There’s no time to act all grown-up.”

Just as she thought. Ireina felt tears welling up. She had thought about it when facing Mina… what would Alba do in this situation?

The answer was clear and unwavering — he would rush to help her. Regardless of the fact that the opponent was Mina, that expression made it clear. Even if he were in Ireina’s position, he wouldn’t hesitate to strike Mina down for Sheria’s sake.

‘…Where has the old Alba gone?’

For better or worse, Alba would undoubtedly become Sheria’s hero. But becoming a hero also meant confronting Mina with his bare fists.

‘Did she approach Sheria to get closer to her? Did my actions create enemies? Was that gentle demeanor a bluff to deceive… No, but is it really? If there were lies, Sheria should have noticed, and Mina’s painful attitude also feels off…’

Alba muttered to himself while looking out the window.

At that moment, Ireina reflexively grabbed Alba’s sleeve.

“Huh? What is it, Ireina? It’s not like you’re suddenly telling me to leave it to the adults—”

“Mina too…”

“Hmm?”

Alba tilted his head at being caught.

Facing him, Ireina whispered softly.

“Help Mina too.”

He didn’t say, “What are you talking about?” He looked at Ireina’s current words and her pleading expression and understood various things. So Alba gently smiled and stroked Ireina’s head as she sat up.

A sense of warmth and reassurance, removing an odd warmth and anxiety, passed through his palm.

“Leave it to me. I’ll take responsibility for those I save.”

‘…Truly, how much you’ve changed. The old Alba would never say something like this. He would never wear such a gentle expression, provide comforting hands, or put so much effort into helping someone.’ All of a sudden, tears overflowed from Ireina’s eyes.

‘You should have changed sooner, you fool…’

She clutched the sheets harder as wrinkles formed on it. But that didn’t matter. As long as they served as tools to withstand these emotions it’s all that matters in the end.

At that moment—

“Um, is Al-kun here… Oh, there he is!”

The infirmary door swung open forcefully.

From there emerged Alice, pointing at Alba while she was panting heavily seemingly due to lack of air.

‘What’s going on all of a sudden?’ Alba furrowed his brows, but Alice ignored him and rushed over.

“You know, right now, Yuris-kun is chasing after the Saintess! She was taken away by a magical beast, and Yuris-kun is making sure not to lose sight of her! He told me to find you and convey the message! There’s a communication magical tool here!”

Truly a stroke of luck.

They were trying to search the vast royal capital for Sheria, whose whereabouts were unknown. Alice’s words were more than welcome to them.

‘Does it even matter for the story?’

Death flags were no longer relevant for him.

Whether the villain Alba had to take certain actions or whether it was right for him to get involved in what the protagonist should do, it didn’t matter at all anymore.

If someone dear to him was currently in danger, if they were seeking help, even whether this world was a game or not was immensely unimportant.

If Sheria was currently being held captive.

“Alice.”

So, Alba addressed the heroine of this capture-target route, who stood before him.

“Tell me, where is Sheria right now?”

The villainous hero headed toward the captive heroine for the sake of fulfilling his responsibility toward her and to fulfill the promise to save her in the future as well.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

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TL : Zenon#4120