What If the Strongest Villain from the Original Story Became the Protagonist's Ally?

I removed my mask and entered the village chief’s house.

Then the village chief’s wife said:

“Oh my my! The face inside the mask was so well-featured!”

She let out an exclamation of admiration.

“It’s not that special.”

“Only his face is decent though…”

Huh, Iris-kun? That’s kind of a harsh way to say it

“Come, please sit here. I’m afraid we can only offer tea…”

“No no, please don’t worry about it. We only came to hear your story.”

“Then, right away…”

After confirming we’d taken our seats, the village chief began speaking.

“This time, Iris-sama came because of the monsters that have been appearing near the village, correct?”

“Yes. Though it’s a request delivered to the Adventurer’s Guild, regular patrols are a knight’s duty. I’m also a knight, so I have a responsibility to fulfill that job.”

“Thank you very much. With Iris-sama here, we have the strength of a hundred people.”

The village chief bowed deeply to Iris. Then:

“However… I wonder if it’s really worthy of Iris-sama’s participation.”

“Please don’t worry about that. I don’t think it’s just a request to defeat a few monsters either.”

“What do you mean?”

“Yuu-san, please.”

The continuation was left to me.

Since I knew the circumstances… or rather, since I was the one who told Iris, I was the right person for this.

Ahem, I cleared my throat and spoke in place of Iris.

“I’ll explain from here.”

“Y-Yuu-san is using polite language…”

Hey, don’t make fun of me, Iris.

“First, I consider this matter important.”

“I-important?”

“Probably… there’s a possibility that a dungeon was born near this village.”

“A dungeon!? T-that’s… surely some mistake.”

“It’s not confirmed yet. But the knights who came on patrol also encountered medium-sized monsters, so the possibility isn’t low.”

Actually, it was almost confirmed in my mind.

In the original story too, there should have been a line about individuals that shouldn’t normally appear near the village.

Compared with that, this incident was definitely the original story’s event.

It was about two years earlier than expected, but there was a high possibility the scenario had changed due to my disappearance.

That’s exactly why I had an obligation to resolve this.

“Such a thing… a dungeon near the village…”

“It’s not confirmed yet. Besides, here we have Iris-sama, the Kingdom’s treasure and called a Child of God. If she cooperates, we can easily crush one or two dungeons.”

“Oh… oh!”

The village chief turned hopeful eyes toward Iris. Iris also met the village chief’s gaze and smiled warmly.

“Leave it to me, village chief. I will definitely bring peace to this village.”

“For that purpose, we’d like to begin an investigation, but I have a request for you, village chief.”

“A-a request?”

“It’s about this village’s defense.”

“Defense…”

The village chief didn’t quite get it.

Well, that made sense. He’d probably lived a fairly peaceful daily life until now. He’d be confused if suddenly told about defense.

“If a dungeon has formed as I predict, monsters might come out of the dungeon and surge toward this village. If that happens… in a village with no proper defensive capabilities…”

“It-it’s dangerous!?”

The village chief understood immediately. I nodded.

“That’s right. It’s very dangerous. So please quickly gather the villagers and set up walls and fences around this village. There are things that look like them, but those are unreliable. Please reinforce them properly.”

“U-understood!”

“Thank you very much. In the meantime, I’ll explore the village outskirts and aim to discover the dungeon.”

“P-please do! This village… please…!”

“Of course. I will definitely… protect it.”

I smiled at the anxious village chief and stood up. I immediately began investigating the dungeon.

As for Iris…

“I’m coming with you.”

“No good.”

“Why not?”

“There are hardly any people in this village who can properly fight monsters. In such a state, if monsters came surging while I’m not here, it would be troublesome, right?”

“You couldn’t mean… you want me to stay and protect it?”

“The villagers would feel more at ease with Iris here too. Please, I’m counting on you.”

“………..”

Iris looked extremely dissatisfied, but understanding her role, she suppressed her feelings.

She gripped my hand and:

“Safely…”

“Hm?”

“Please come back safely, okay? Don’t go anywhere. If you run away from me… I’ll kill you.”

“That’s scary.”

Iris’s eyes were serious.

Since our last date, her affection(?) had become incredibly blatant… wasn’t she possibly entering yandere territory at this rate?

To her anxious expression, however, I smiled and squeezed her soft hand back.