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 40 : Everyday life...
In the end, the “Gathering of Rebels” was placed under the control of the royal knights’ order, including the remnants.
It seems that the cult members were wanted many times in the past, and a full-fledged investigation was now underway.
One of the reasons for this is likely the death of their leader, Yoru.
Yoru’s strength was unquestionable, surpassing most knights and mages in the area. It’s probably because of Yoru’s leadership that they were difficult to catch.
That’s why when it was reported that Yoru had been defeated and was eventually dead, it was greatly celebrated and praised.
Of course, Alba, who didn’t want to stand out, didn’t mention that he had defeated Yoru, and all the credit went to Yuris.
Yuris, who knew the circumstances, was praised and had a wry smile on his face, and that image was still fresh in his memories.
And so, amidst all this, Alba and his friends who had been in the midst of the incident were given about two days of rest from school and returned to the academy once again…
“Alba-kun, open up~!”
Several classes had ended, and the current timing was around lunch break.
Despite everything that had happened, Alba had made his way to the quiet rooftop as usual, in the midst of a resounding chorus which signaled him to open the door leading to the rooftop.
“Opening up is all well and good, but I just wanted some alone time.”
While eating his homemade bento, Alba began to complain.
“Is that so?”
“That’s right. I don’t want to stand out. I have a motto, you know—aim for a solitary life…”
“Open up~!”
“Listen to me first!”
‘Ah, this is delicious. Truly the product of honing my culinary skills as a hermit.’
The exquisite sweetness of the tamagoyaki spreading in his mouth brought happiness to his taste buds… No, wait, that’s not it.
“Why are the main characters here once again, huh?”
Alba glared at them.
Ahead of his gaze were Alice, who was enjoying her bento, Yuris, who was wiping his mouth, and Ireina, who was sharpening her sword.
And of course, Sheria had secured her usual spot beside Alba, ready to eat with chopsticks in hand.
“I wanted to have lunch with Alba-kun, that’s why!”
“You’re so honest; where did your hundred friends go?”
“I was bored with them.”
“You can sharpen your sword somewhere else. Give me a special reason for doing it here.”
“I just wanted to be friends with Alba-kun.”
“Oh my, that’s straightforward too. Be sure to reconsider your friendship; the person you’re trying to be friends with is quite troublesome.”
“I came to get some of Alba’s leftovers from his bento!”
“Shut up, you have your own bento right there; look at that glutton.”
Three heroines were targeting the villainous character.
Perhaps because they all carried the weight of being the flagship characters in the story, their faces were noticeably more attractive than the others.
They also held positions of power and influence. The fact that such people had gathered around Alba inevitably drew attention. Just walking down the hallway made Alba the center of attention… Alba quietly remembered and shed tears, but Sheria wiped them away.
“It’s fine, really. It’s not like it’s diminishing.”
“Yeah, if anything, my ‘Worry Meter’ is increasing. Thanks for that.”
Although he had intended to avoid the heroines and the main character, more than half of them had gathered around him. Alba wondered where he had gone wrong in his choices and began to reflect on past events with a distant look in his eyes.
At that moment…
“Um, excuse me…”
Slowly, the rooftop door opened.
Stepping out from there was Mina, who was peeking at them with a fearful expression.
“What’s wrong? Why did you sneak out like that? Are you playing hide and seek with your delightful friends or something?”
“Oh, um… not exactly.”
“All right! I want to play hide and seek!”
“Great, then Yuris is the person with the first turn to find you. After counting to fifty thousand, he’ll come looking for you, okay?”
“But won’t it be dark by then?!”
With a timid demeanor, Mina couldn’t bring herself to step out while the others were trading playful remarks.
At that moment, Sheria got up, walked over to Mina, and gently took her hand.
“Let’s have lunch together, Mina-san!”
“Ah!”
Perhaps unprepared for this, Mina appeared in front of everyone with a surprised expression. And as Sheria returned to her usual spot, Mina was left standing alone.
Without saying a word, she seemed to convey her timid feelings. In front of everyone’s gaze, Mina mustered up her courage and lowered her head.
“I’m really sorry!”
Everyone understood what she meant. The recent incident had allowed Mina to safely rescue her sister. She had been seen as a victim by the knights in the capital, and now she was back to her daily life with her only family, her sister.
Everything had been resolved—or so everyone thought. But it seemed that wasn’t the case for Mina.
“I’ve done terrible things to all of you… I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I’ll accept any punishment… I don’t know if I’ll ever feel at ease, but…”
Everything has been resolved. However, nothing that Mina did has changed.
During the off-campus training, she released magical beasts as instructed, injured Ireina, kidnapped Sheria to kill her, and even raised her fist against Alba, who reached out to help her.
While things have now come to a good conclusion, even a slight change in the process could have led to irreversible consequences.
That’s why Mina seeks punishment. When she lowered her head, she bit her lip and closed her eyes as if to endure it.
However…
“It’s okay.”
“Huh?”
“Everything has ended well. There’s no one here who holds a grudge against what you did, Mina.”
Alba continued eating without any concern, taking the rice bowl Sheria handed him.
When Mina raised her head, the others were also eating their lunch without any signs of concern.
“Mina-san.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Is your little sister doing well?”
“Yeah… her health has improved, and she’s doing fine.”
“In that case, I have nothing more to say.”
It was unexpected. Mina had considered various scenarios before coming up to the rooftop. She had prepared herself to be scolded, punched, yelled at, or even worse, to be killed with resentment.
But the eyes that were looking at her now were filled with relief and warmth.
“In that case, I have nothing more to say either.”
“I feel the same way.”
“I barely did anything, so don’t worry about me!”
‘Why…?’ Mina thought, as tears welled up in her eyes. The overwhelming warmth made her sob uncontrollably.
‘This is strange, this is so strange…’
At that moment, a gentle touch was placed on her head.
“It’s okay; no one here is holding any grudges, Mina.”
“But I…”
“We don’t have any interest in cursing you. There’s a wonderful phrase called ‘everything turned out okay,’ and you should take comfort in it.”
“Don’t cry,” Alba said reassuringly. He gently lifted Mina’s face and, with a smile, wiped away the tears from her eyes.
“I helped you because I wanted to help. So, just smile and say thank you like a good girl. Mina looks cuter when she’s smiling.”
**Thump** **Thump**
Mina’s heart began to beat rapidly. Her pulse gradually quickened, and her face felt warm. It seemed like her breathing had become irregular, and she couldn’t take her eyes off Alba.
Why? She didn’t need to ask herself that; she knew the answer.
‘Ah… Alba-kun really is…’
My hero. Mina shed even more tears from her eyes.
“…Alba is seducing girls again. This is something to punish him for later.”
“I see, so Sheria has also fallen for him now. I wonder where he honed that skill.”
“Hey, do I give off that kind of vibe too!?”
The onlookers were so noisy. Alba twitched his cheek muscles, unable to hear Sheria and the others clearly.
Then, Mina gently touched Alba’s face.
Or should we say, she placed her hand on his cheek? What was happening, Alba looked at Mina.
And then…
“Thank you, Alba-kun…”
Her expressions were similar to that of a girl lost in love.
Not too long ago, her expression had been so painful that it seemed like it might break at any moment.
But now, her eyes were filled with relief and happiness, to the point that Alba couldn’t look away.
The change in her expressions was too strange for Alba.
Alba was overcome with a strange feeling of euphoria, her enchanting expression luring him in.
“Hey, Alba-kun, I made a bento as an apology.”
“I was just getting hungry, so thanks.”
“But Alba, you just finished eating…”
“What bento?”
“Ah! You shouldn’t throw the bento box like that!”
“Just pick it up later.”
“Hehe~, after we finish eating, shall we go look for it together?”
“I want to try Mina-chan’s bento too!”
“Fufu~, there’s plenty, so please help yourselves.”
☆☆☆☆☆☆
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.
TL : Zenon#4120