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

“…We’re finally here.”

A towering gate stood in front of them, behind it was a massive school building which looked like it was of medieval age . Many people were passing by from their vicinity, and the sight of numerous young individuals could be seen scattered about. Undoubtedly, seeing it in person was far more impressive than seeing it in a game.

While a dedicated gamer might have been excited to see a fantastical academy building up close, Alba was by no means a gamer. The thought that there were many flags here that could potentially lead to his demise made him feel not excitement, but a strong urge to turn around and flee.

“Wow… It’s amazing, Al-kun! It’s huge!”

On the other hand, Sheria was excited, disregarding Alba’s concerns. She looked incredibly adorable, jumping up and down, causing her Wimple and lustrous platinum hair ornaments to sway. As the central figure of a worldwide religion, she might have seen buildings this big before. Still, it seemed that she was genuinely delighted about the academy building specifically.

“How many people do you think it would take to stack up to reach the top?”

Depending on the interpretation, her remark could be seen as a rather morbid thought, and it was indeed evidence of that.

“Young miss, you seem to be having fun.”

“Yes, I am having fun!”

“Is that so?”

Today wasn’t the first day of their enrollment. They had come beforehand just to pick up the academy’s designated uniforms. If they were nobles, they would have left it to their servants, but unfortunately, Sheria had no knight guards like holy knights, and Alba was considered deceased from the former Duke’s family.

As a result, they had to come and pick up the uniforms themselves. Well, Sheria seemed to find it enjoyable rather than troublesome, so there shouldn’t be any problem.

The real problem was Alba’s mental state…

“Hey, isn’t that the Saintess over there?”

“Oh, yeah, you’re right. The rumor about the Saintess attending the academy was true.”

“Wait, the man she’s with… I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before.”

Whispers of young people passing by reached Alba’s ears. Some of them were probably students, carrying large paper bags. Alba felt uneasy, as he was unintentionally standing out from the very beginning.

“…Young-lady, if you’re not aiming to become the center of an idol unit, let’s go get the uniforms quickly. Otherwise, a new stage might begin.”

“Huh? Oh, yes, you’re right. I don’t mind.”

Prompted by Alba, Sheria headed towards the excited school gate. Strangely, Alba quickly stuck close to her back, as if trying to hide her from the others.

“Um… Al-kun?”

“Protect me from the masses, O Lord…!”

“It’s not such a dangerous place, you know!?”

For Alba, this school was more dangerous than anywhere else in the world. Being exposed would directly lead to a life-threatening situation, so he wished Sheria would close her eyes and pray to the goddess she didn’t believe in just for a moment.

And at that moment…

“Huh? Alba…?”

Suddenly, a voice called out from behind.

Startled, Alba jumped, but without turning around, he buried his face in Sheria’s back.

“A-Al-kun… What’s happening?”

“Sheria, can you just keep walking straight ahead? Or maybe just glance back occasionally?”

“Un, sure… but why?”

Sheria whispered to Alba, and she turned her gaze towards the back.

There, she saw the figure of a girl with crimson-colored long hair and a long sword hanging at her waist.

Although they should be around the same age, she exuded a somewhat mature aura. If Sheria radiated cuteness, this girl seemed to exude beauty.

However, for some reason, her scarlet-colored eyes seemed to be observing something unbelievable.

“Do you know her, Al-kun?”

“W-Well… probably?”

“What do you mean, probably?”

Maybe it would be best to just ignore her and keep walking.

Normally, Sheria would feel resistant to ignoring someone, being inherently kind-hearted, but in this situation, they couldn’t afford to reveal Alba’s true identity. Sheria didn’t want her own identity to be exposed either. They needed to make a quick getaway.

So, the two continued walking as if nothing happened…

“Wait!”

…But just as they did so, Alba was firmly grasped on his shoulders.

“P-Please, Sheria-sama, help! For some reason, I feel like I am going to die here right now…”

“Uh, um… Let’s stop and talk properly now! We can change your hair color to avoid suspicion!”

They couldn’t escape with Alba being held by the shoulder.

They should probably turn around and try to deceive her calmly.

At Sheria’s suggestion, Alba made a thumbs-up sign and slowly… but confidently turned around.

“How can I help you, young lady?”

“You are… Alba, right?”

When Alba turned around, he recognized the person who called them out instantly.

The girl with her distinct red hair—there was no doubt about it; she was one of the capture targets.

Ireina Persia, the only daughter of the Duke Persia. Born into a family of knights, she possessed remarkable talent and was Alba’s childhood friend and fiancée.

Though Alba maintained a composed demeanor, he was crying on the inside.

‘Haah… the world is truly harsh on me,’ he thought.

“No, isn’t there a mistake? My name is Al, a holy knight apprentice.”

“Didn’t you just remove the ‘ba’ from the end of your name.”

That was indeed the truth.

“No, no, there must be some misunderstanding—right, Sheria?”

Ireina looked at them with doubtful eyes.

There’s a limit to how much they can deceive her.

They can’t handle this situation alone; they need to work together in order to deceive Ireina.

With hopeful eyes, Alba appealed to Sheria.

As if feeling the passion in his eyes, Sheria nodded vigorously and stood between Alba and Ireina.

And then…

“Al-kun is just Al-kun! He’s not the duke’s son Alba, and he’s not the awkward Alba who ran away from home! We’re definitely not trying to deceive anyone we know! It’s completely different!”

—Sigh…

And everything is over…

“Well… um, you’re the Saint, right? Why are you with this guy?”

“Th-That’s not it! Alba is not Alba; he didn’t ran away from the Duke’s house long ag—”

“Stop right there, Sheria! This is not the time to dig our own graves!”

Judging from her appearance and personality, Sheria seems to be bad at lying.

She has already slipped and called him Alba right at the start.

“Hey, what have you been doing after changing your hair color? Do you know how I felt when I heard that you died?”

“I-I… I was just… Wait, this is getting confusing! It’s getting hard to tell which side is the villain!”

“And you think you can deceive me just by changing your hair color? How many years do you think we spent together?”

“Wh-Why are you so resentful towards me, please?!”

“Ugh! You are too annoying!!”

In a fit of anger, Ireina tightened her grip on his hair.

Though worried about the longevity of his hair roots, Alba’s eyes instantly turned teary.

That’s when he knew he had to stop her—grabbing Ireina’s wrist, he bent it to make her release him.

“Huh?!”

Taking advantage of the momentary hesitation, Alba embraced Sheria and lifted in the air, then placed her on his shoulders like a sack of potato and started running away from Ireina.

“Kyaa!”

“Strategic retreat! The situation is not looking good for us, both tactically and follically!”

In that instant, a pale blue light surrounded Alba.

Then, a gust of wind blew, and—before Ireina’s eyes, Alba vanished.

“H-Hey!”

Left behind, Ireina stood frozen in place.

As soon as he disappeared, whether it was the perfect timing or just bad luck, one of the escorts who came with her approached her.

“Sorry for the wait! The carriage is ready… but what happened here?”

“Hmm?… What do you mean?”

“Well, um, it looks like… you are just about to cry.”

The knight offered a handkerchief to Ireina.

Accepting it and wiping her teary eyes, Ireina realized that she was crying.