The Villain Who Got Pinned Down Until He Ran Out Of Stamina ~ This Time I Raised The Protagonist's Affection Too Much And Everyone Fell For Me~ - Chapter 44: The Villain And The Little Devil Heroine

Riina was talking to me… Talking…?

“Could it be about Hibari?”

Though she had pretended to be calm while seeing Yuito off, was she actually incredibly jealous and trying to get information about Hibari…? No, if that were the case, she would have either detained Yuito or gone with him…

“Hibari? Oh, you mean that beautiful maid.” 

“So even from Riina-san’s perspective, Hibari is classified as beautiful.” 

“What do you mean ‘even from my perspective’? Anyone would consider her beautiful. Her hair is silky. Her skin is smooth. Her nails were beautiful too. You can tell at a glance that she takes proper care of each aspect every day. That kind of meticulousness is something I should learn from as a woman.” 

“That’s high praise.” 

“Kasajima, you live with the maid, right?” 

“That’s right.”

We were essentially living as two people. Every day at home, I was alone with a beautiful maid.

“Do you perhaps learn skincare from the maid?” 

“I use the same toner and cream that Hibari uses. I’ve learned how to apply them from her.” 

“Kasajima, I thought your skin was unusually beautiful for your appearance. So that’s why. Your glaring eyes, wickedness, and dark circles under your eyes are still problematic though.” 

“What do you mean ‘problematic’?!”

But thanks to skincare, my skin didn’t have issues like pimples or roughness. Game characters had beautiful faces without pimples or skin problems, and currently, I was maintaining that.

“By the way, Hibari is also good at cooking. Her taste is restaurant-level quality.” 

“Better than mine?” 

“…I’ve never had your home cooking, Riina-san.” 

“The curry from the school trip.” 

“Wasn’t that a group effort? It was delicious though.” 

“Thank you.” 

“I think it was more delicious because we all made and ate it together. Anyway, we’ve gone off-topic repeatedly, what did you want to talk about, Riina-san?” 

“Oh, right!”

Even Riina seemed to have almost forgotten… So I figured it wasn’t about Yuito.

“It’s about the school trip.” 

“The school trip… Since you’re mentioning it, is this about Tajima’s girlfriend? Has anything happened since then?”

“His girlfriend hasn’t done anything to me. If anything, she’s been quiet at school… She seems to have really learned her lesson. Though the original cause was that guy.” 

“I suppose so.”

From questioning Risa, I could tell how much she’d liked Tajima. If a boyfriend she loved so much told her he wanted to break up because he liked someone else… I could understand her getting angry, though causing harm was going too far. Breaking up was his freedom, but Tajima had somewhat underestimated his girlfriend’s love.

“So, um… I wanted to thank you.” 

“Huh? Thank me? Did I do something that deserves thanks?” 

“About the lost gift money. If suspicion had been cast on me… If that had spread throughout the class, I might have been branded the culprit. Thank you for preventing that. And thank you for speaking clearly to her.”

It made me happy to hear her say “thank you” in words. However, being thanked was…

“I think you understand, Riina-san, that I did that on my own accord, and I don’t think I did anything good enough to deserve thanks.”

Confining a girl in a room, yelling at her… what I did was not praiseworthy but certainly deserving of criticism—actions fitting my appearance. There was no way I could accept thanks for something like that.

As if knowing I would respond this way, Riina said, “Hmm.” 

“What…?”

She looked at me with narrowed eyes.

“Even though such a cute girl is saying she wants to thank you, you won’t accept it~” 

“Listen…” 

“Regardless of what Kasajima thinks, I believe what you did deserves thanks. So you should accept it graciously.”

“But… you know…” 

“Or could it be that you’re nervous being alone with me~? Don’t worry. I don’t see you as a romantic prospect.” 

“I know that better than anyone!”

She was in love with Yuito after all!!

Whether intentionally or not, Riina adopted a teasing tone, a little devil style. This would probably happen each time I’d refuse her thanks.

“…Fine. Then I’ll gratefully accept your thanks or whatever.” 

“That’s more like it. Here you go.” 

“Huh?”

Riina held out her hand with something.

“I see. So you’re collecting payment from me in advance. Wait, my wallet is in my room…” 

“That’s not it! The one giving thanks wouldn’t take money!” 

“I’m joking. So, what is it?”

“Contact information.” 

“Contact information…? Whose?” 

“Yours, of course. I’ll send you the date and details later.” 

“I see.”

In that case, we’d exchange information.

When I scanned the QR code, Riina’s contact icon appeared.

“The exchange is complete. Good. I’ll contact you later.” 

“Okay.” 

“Just to be clear, this is a secret from my sister and Yui-kun.” 

“Understood.”

Having finished her business, Riina left the room.

Alone, I glanced at my contact list. There were Yuito, Mahiro, Riina… the protagonist and heroines’ contact information.

“I’m avoiding the bad ending… right?”

I became worried belatedly.

◆

——At the same time

“You want to talk with me?” 

Her outward expression remained as stoic as ever, but inwardly she wondered, “Why with me…?”

“Yes! With you, Hibari-san. Oh, but before we talk, you should know who I am. I’m Yuji-kun’s friend, Saeki Yuito.” 

“I am aware. I hear about you from Yuji-sama.” 

“From Yuji-kun?!” 

“Yes. He says you are his first friend and a very kind, good person.” 

“Really?! Yuji-kun said that…!”

After watching Yuito’s delighted expression, Hibari also responded.

“Once again, I am Hibari, Yuji-sama’s maid. I primarily take care of Yuji-sama’s personal matters.” 

“Taking care of Yuji-kun’s personal matters… then…” 

“?” 

“Oh, um… P-pleased to meet you.” 

“Pleased to meet you too.”

Hibari reflexively responded in kind, but her questions only multiplied.

(Still, Yuito-sama seems like a very pure-hearted person. I can see how Yuji-sama might occasionally have trouble dealing with that purity.)