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

Alba has no intention of stepping onto the main stage.

Certainly, he would love to be with the adorable heroine in the story, that much is clear.

But the idea of dying due to a man’s ulterior motives is no laughing matter.

Imagine entering the academy, and some kind of flag ends up being raised, that would result in him dying.

Could he respond nonchalantly to the Patriarch in heaven, “Why did you go to a place where you could die?” and I would reply as “Well, you know, there was this cute girl there,” with a normal mental state?

Apologies to Sheria, but without the threat of the Pope, Alba would have surely declined going to the academy.

However, in his current situation with no other options… there’s no choice. To make a girl cry and die, or to fulfill a girl’s wish and die – given these options, he can only choose the latter.

‘In the first place, if he hadn’t gotten involved with Sheria, he wouldn’t be in this mess…’

—Three days later.

Sitting down in the undergrowth, Alba sighs while casually plucking the grass.

Currently, Alba has come to a mountain a bit away due to a medicinal herb collection request.

Though he lives a relatively self-sufficient life, Alba did join the guild as an adventurer, but he didn’t really take on many requests as it would be quite burdensome for him.

Hence, he’s only able to take on low-ranking, low-pay, low-level tasks like medicinal herb collection.

That’s why he’s currently plucking weed— I mean, medicinal herbs for meager wages.

‘It’s not like Sheria will earn a fortune from the morning she starts working, right? She’s so wrapped up in her heroine role…’

A rather embarrassing scenario where the wife earns more than the husband floated through Alba’s mind.

‘Oh well, whatever… Anyway, Sheria’s bound to fall for the protagonist once she meets him. And when that happens, I can just run away.’

The stage is set at the academy. Both the heroine and the protagonist will attend there.

While it’s uncertain which route the protagonist will take, there’s no way the heroine, Sheria, won’t fall for him.

If she falls in love with the protagonist, Alba can escape.

If even the daughter-obsessed crazy Pope has a new partner for Sheria’s desires, Alba would be inconsequential.

In that case, Alba would finally be able to leave the main stage.

‘Whatever, the original Alba has a reputation for running away. Escaping from this situation should be a breeze.’

Having finished collecting herbs, Alba lifts his basket and continues walking.

The mountain isn’t too far from the capital city, and he hasn’t gone too deep.

After just a few dozen minutes of walking, he’ll be back in the bustling city, with busy streets and unfamiliar sights.

He spent about a year living in the duchy, but this city is decidedly different—this is what a fantasy world city should look like, according to Alba’s impressions.

Still, after three days, he’s started to get used to it to some extent.

‘Let’s go to the guild, make the delivery, get paid for the task, maybe buy some fish. Sheria’s probably in the mood to eat fish by now.’

Thinking about not bumping into people, Alba heads towards the guild.

The guild where adventurers gather is deep within the capital city, a bit of a distance from the entrance near the mountain.

It’s a bit of a hassle, but unlike nobles who can take a carriage, Alba doesn’t have the money to choose an easier option.

Reluctantly, he pulls his hood lower and continues on foot.

‘It’s surprising how my face doesn’t really get recognized…’

He was nervous when walking through the capital city, but it turns out it wasn’t such a big deal.

Perhaps because he’s disliked not only by nobles but also by commoners, his death, even though he was a member of the Duke’s family, hasn’t even become a topic of conversation.

Still, there might be some people who recognize him to some extent. With such thoughts, he was on guard, but even when he lowered his hood to reveal his face, no one said anything.

‘Ireina might have noticed me already because she was my childhood friend and fiancée…’

Nevertheless, it’s better to be cautious.

Without lifting his hood, Alba heads towards the guild.

And then…

“Hey! The horse is starting to go wild!!”

Suddenly, screams and the neighing of horses could be heard from the direction they were walking.

Looking up, there was a clear view of a horse that had broken free from its reins on a carriage and was thrashing about.

It was causing damage to nearby shops and buildings, and people on the street were quickly moving away from the rampaging horse.

However, it was the horse that had been pulling the carriage—

“Wait… help…”

Naturally, the person inside the carriage was nearby.

A girl, who had somehow managed to extricate herself from the carriage’s cargo area, collapsed on the ground.

Judging by her attire, she was probably a noblewoman. Whether due to fear or her legs giving out, she didn’t seem to be attempting to escape from the agitated horse nearby.

‘What the—? Where is the coachman? And the servants who are supposed to guard her?’

No help was in sight. Maybe, just maybe, they sensed the danger and fled for their lives?

Furthermore, no one around seemed inclined to help.

Even so, adventurers or guards should have been called for by now. So if they just left things as they were, capable individuals would likely take care of the situation.

However, by the time they nonchalantly considered this, the girl nearby might not have much time left—

“Sigh… I understand.”

☆☆☆☆☆☆

The girl couldn’t muster a voice.

Her legs wouldn’t move, and neither would her hands.

Why? Because the imminent approach of death was clear to her.

Helpless, she could only watch as the horse continued to rampage without anyone coming to her aid.

Finally, the horse turned its body toward her.

The powerful legs that had been wreaking havoc around them were now descending upon her.

‘No… no way…!’

But just as she was about to meet a tragic end—

“…Huh?”