The Villainous Noble Tried His Hardest to Break the Original Storyline, and Now the Heroines Are Acting Weird - 32-33

Chapter 32

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

“…Can you really heal me?”

“Probably, yeah. It worked with Sasha… So I wanted to give it a try.”

“Why would you go that far for me?”

“…Aifi, you saved people from the demons. You’re someone I admire. I don’t want to accept that something so tragic happened to someone like you, someone that I look up to and more than anything, I just don’t want to see that look of sorrow on your face anymore.”

I couldn’t exactly say “Give me experience points!” so I mixed in a few half-truths like usual, and made it clear that this treatment was purely my own decision and desire.

Please nod! Give me that experience!

“…May I ask you to do it right now?”

Yes—got it!

Aifi looked at me with a serious gaze. I gave a slow nod and held out one hand toward her. Then, I activated my healing magic. The healing magic I had strengthened over the past month flowed toward Aifi’s legs. Just like when I treated Sasha, a black mist began to seep out.

You could say it was a mark left by the demons. To drive away that curse-like black mist, I poured in more MP. Once wasn’t enough. I cast healing magic repeatedly—almost to the point of excess—to dispel the mist.

A brilliant light burst forth, and in the very next moment, it shone with a dazzling glow. The black mist vanished from Aifi’s body. An intense shockwave tried to throw me back, but I wasn’t the same as I had been a month ago.

I held firm and checked on Aifi’s condition. I could feel power welling up from within me. It was clear that I had leveled up. And that meant—

But before I could say anything, Aifi reacted first. Looking both nervous and hesitant, she slowly pushed herself up using the wheelchair for support. Then, standing on both legs, her previously mature expression twisted into one of overwhelming emotion, and tears welled up in her eyes.

At that moment, it seemed her strength gave out, and as her body tilted, I rushed forward to catch her.

“You haven’t used those muscles in years. I doubt you’ll be able to walk like before just yet… Are you okay?”

“…Y-Yes… They’re moving. My legs… My legs are really moving!”

At those words, the tears she had been holding back began to fall. Gripping the front of my shirt tightly, she began to cry like a child. Golsh-san came running over and gently embraced her.

I left Aifi in Golsh-san’s care and stepped back. This was their moment. Tears welled up in both of Golsh-san’s eyes too, and slowly streamed down his cheeks. They were both carrying so many emotions.

Still, neither of them had spoken those feelings aloud—probably because there were no words that could make it better. I think now, all those pent-up emotions were finally overflowing.

Sasha and I watched quietly, not saying a word. Once they had calmed down, we were guided to the guest room. Golsh-san, in high spirits, seemed absolutely overjoyed.

“You’re like a son to me now! If there’s anything you want, just say the word!”

“…Please don’t worry about it.”

I’d already received the thing I wanted most and that was experience points. As promised, I asked Aifi to continue living as she had until now, and told her not to make the treatment more public than necessary.

After Golsh-san and the others left, Sasha and I rested in separate rooms. Apparently, Golsh-san planned to look for other people in need of healing, so I could look forward to gaining more experience that way.

For now, the initial goal of treating Aifi was complete. All that was left was to gather magic stones from a nearby dungeon and craft Sasha’s weapon.

Since monsters were more active around the city of Boldright, it would be a good place for experience farming, too. I figured I could make that our base for a while and heal people as needed. 

As I was thinking about all that, there was a knock at the door. When I looked over, I saw Aifi. She was still in her wheelchair. It seemed she was intent on keeping her promise.

It might be inconvenient for her, but it was important that she stick to it.

“I haven’t properly thanked you yet, so… Thank you very much.”

Aifi bowed deeply to me. She didn’t have to go that far. After all, I’d already received my reward—experience points.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Chapter 33

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

That said, I couldn’t say it out loud, so I simply accepted her thanks.

“Ah, you’re welcome.”

Still… I didn’t expect both Aifi and Golsh-san to be this grateful. They really were that happy about the situation. Of course, it wasn’t a lie that I wanted to help them. It wasn’t a lie, but… My top priority had been to get experience points, so I felt a little embarrassed about it.

Aifi raised her head and spoke cheerfully.

“I… I’ve been trying not to feel sad about getting injured.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. I didn’t want to worry my father, or my mother—though she’s already passed away.”

“…I see.”

That was the kind of character Aifi was. She was the type who would act recklessly to carry out a plan and that was exactly why she ended up losing her life in the original story. She was actually one of my favorite characters in the game, often acting as a mentor figure to the protagonist, so I was glad I could save her.

“But… When I’m alone, I can’t help but think about it.”

“…Think about what?”

“…Whether what I did back then was really the right thing to do.”

Back then.

She was probably referring to the actions that led to her losing her leg. The move Aifi made to protect the townspeople… It had ended in failure.

“My father always used to say that a lord must act to protect her people. …So I made a proposal to the demons, hoping to reduce the number of people being attacked. And this… This is the result.”

As she spoke, Aifi looked down at herself in her wheelchair.

“…I always end up wondering if this was really the right thing to do. …If only I hadn’t done that, I could still move freely… And then I start thinking only about protecting myself. …Even though I’m the daughter of a lord.”

She was opening up, showing a side of herself she hadn’t been able to tell anyone else. She looked so pained that I let out a quiet sigh.

This world really does force such heavy burdens onto even kids like her…

“You’re only human… Isn’t that normal? Putting yourself first… Anyone would do the same.”

Of course you’d want to protect yourself. That was only natural. It was in human nature to do something else just because it was convenient for them. People did stuff because it felt good emotionally or because not doing it wouldn’t hurt them anyway. 

“Are… Are you like that too?”

“Of course I am.”

I wasn’t helping people out of pure goodwill. It was because I could earn experience points. I wasn’t aiming for world peace out of some noble ideal. I just wanted to make sure my little sister, the future Hero, could live a happy life.

Everyone’s like that, aren’t they?

“…Hehe, I suppose that’s true.”

“Aifi… Don’t you tend to put others first a lot?”

“…Eh? Do I? …I don’t really think so.”

No, you definitely do.

That injury was proof of it and she was like that in the original storyline too. 

“Try thinking more about yourself and if something comes up, talk to me.”

…If she started crafting plans like in the original story without me knowing anything, that would be bad. Unlike me, people in this world had limits to what they could do on their own.

“…Talk to you, you say?”

“Yeah. There’s only so much a person can do alone. That’s why I’ll always be willing to listen. If it’s too much for you, try to rely on me.”

…That way, she wouldn’t end up dying like in the original story. Even in the original storyline, Aifi was prepared to die for the sake of the Hero and her party. She knew how dangerous the battle was, and she still devoted herself to supporting them and that did turn the tide of the battle. But in exchange, she died.

“Don’t try to carry everything alone. If you’re in trouble, I want to help you.”

There might be problems I could help solve, but I could only help her if she got me involved in it. That was why I wanted her to come to me. After all, she was someone who held an important position in the original story.

When I said that while looking straight into Aifi’s eyes, she averted her gaze slightly and mumbled softly.

“…Wh-Why are you going so far to help me?”

“Because you’re important to me.”

“…Eh?”

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー