The Villainous Noble Tried His Hardest to Break the Original Storyline, and Now the Heroines Are Acting Weird - 21

Chapter 21

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“Rubest. I see you’re working hard again today.”

“Yes. I don’t have time to rest if I want to become stronger.”

All for the sake of my little sister.

My father stroked my head with a satisfied expression at my response. Though honestly, I wish he’d stop treating me like a child.

Comeon, I’m getting too old for that. Wait. Could this be… What they call a rebellious phase?

I didn’t have the luxury to go through something like that in my previous life, so the feeling was a bit new to me. As I was thinking about that, my father’s gaze shifted toward the one-eyed woman.

She looked to be around twenty years old. Despite having only one eye, her gaze was sharp enough to pierce through everything it landed on. When she noticed us, she gave a polite bow.

“She’s Sasha. An acquaintance of mine and an excellent swordswoman. I thought it would be good for you to spar with different kinds of swordsmen, so I asked her to come.”

“My name is Sasha, Rubest-sama.”

Following Father’s introduction, Sasha bowed her head and introduced herself.

Sasha. More than being surprised that she’d been brought here as a sword instructor, I was more shocked to hear that name. She was a character from the original story.

Apparently, she was a half-elf, but her appearance didn’t particularly reflect that. Maybe her well-proportioned features were thanks to her elven blood, but visibly speaking, the only difference was her slightly pointed ears.

She looked at me again and bowed gently.

“My name is Sasha. I look forward to working with you.”

“Likewise. I appreciate you taking the time to spar with me.”

As I responded, my father nodded in satisfaction.

“Well then, why don’t you try fighting Sasha right away? Someone, lend her a wooden sword!”

At my father’s command, a nearby knight handed a wooden sword to Sasha. Sasha accepted it with a respectful bow, held it in her left hand, and gave it a light swing.

Beautiful.

Not just Sasha herself—although she was certainly beautiful—but her swordsmanship was free of any waste. Sasha and I faced each other and exchanged bows. As I checked that the nearby knights were backing away so as not to get caught up in the fight, I recalled Sasha’s role in the original story.

…And the tragic end that awaited her.

Sasha. She was a valuable character who aided the protagonist in this country ruled by the Demon Lord of Wrath. She temporarily joined the party as a guest character and accompanied them until the final battle against the Demon Lord of Wrath.

However, the hero’s party was defeated by the Demon Lord of Wrath. At that point, the protagonist had not yet awakened to the protagonist’s full power as a hero and was unable to seal the regenerative abilities possessed by the Demon Lords.

Cornered by the Demon Lord of Wrath, the party made a move to help the protagonist escape.

At that time, Sasha and one other party member stayed behind to stall the Demon Lord of Wrath. They were defeated… And then grotesquely turned into zombies, reappearing as mid-bosses who attacked the hero’s party—only to be slain by the hero.

That was her role. Honestly, it was a terrible fate. Even just her part in the original story was tragic, but the reason she lost her eye and arm in the first place was equally cruel.

She had once been a famous adventurer in this country, but she was summoned by the Demon Lord’s army. She didn’t want to go, but feared she’d be killed if she refused, so she accepted and went.

But of course, it was a trap. She was given an impossible task and, after failing, was punished. Her dominant right arm and her right eye were destroyed by the Demon Lord of Wrath personally. Naturally, that greatly reduced her abilities as a swordswoman.

Having become “useless,” she was discarded by the Demon Lord’s army, and now, though only with one arm, she continued to work as an adventurer in this city. And of course, Sasha belonged to the anti-Demon Lord faction.

My father, though only a little, also funded that organization, so when he said she was an acquaintance, it was probably through that connection. Why didn’t the Demon Lord of Wrath kill Sasha?

Well, it was to gather negative energy. All the Demon Lords liked negative energy, though each had their own preferred type.

The Demon Lord of Wrath especially loved the energy of anger. That was why the Demon Lord of Wrath took this country and randomly selected people to harm the things most precious to them. Just like how Sasha was spared, the Demon Lord of Wrath deliberately instilled deep hatred and fury onto the humans. 

For example, the Demon Lord of Wrath would choose hurting a child to harm one’s parents and if someone had a lover, the Demon Lord of Wrath would choose to harm—or even killing or enslaving—their loved ones.

The Demon Lord of Wrath was the first Demon Lord the protagonist fought, and the most detestable one. The Demon Lord of Wrath’s cruelty far surpassed that of the others.

That was why, for many players, when asked which Demon Lords left the biggest impression, they’d likely name the Demon Lord of Wrath.

Ah, unless the player is a guy. Then the answer might be the Demon Lord of Lust.  The Demon Lord of Lust stood out among the most due to her very fan-service appearance. She was also friendly  toward the protagonist, cooperative, and cute in general.

Though, she was the weakest among all the Demon Lords.  Maybe that was the reason why she was the most friendly toward humans.

“…Shall we begin?”

Sasha looked at me intently and readied her sword. Maybe she noticed I wasn’t fully focused.

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