What If the Strongest Villain from the Original Story Became the Protagonist's Ally? - Chapter 36 - End, and Good Work

The pale purple light that covered the world.

That light gradually lost its brilliance. As the world regained its sunset colors, in the completely orange-tinted forest, I grinned after blowing everything away.

“There we go. Case closed.”

The enemy had been destroyed.

I’d gotten carried away and killed the researcher old man too, but I’d have to accept that as an unavoidable sacrifice.

That geezer probably had suicide magic or items prepared anyway. I turned on my heel and returned to Iris, who was sitting and watching me.

I waved and called out.

“Hey, Iris~. Everything’s finished~”

As I sheathed my sword and approached cheerfully, Iris—

“Wh-wh-what are you doing, Yuu-san!”

“Guh!”

—delivered a powerful drop kick.

It hit directly and I was blown backward. After rolling on the ground and stopping, I asked her with a dirty face.

“I-Iris, what are you… doing to me…”

“I’m angry because Yuu-san destroyed the forest completely! Look at that, look!”

In the direction Iris pointed, the wasteland I’d created by blowing everything away spread out.

Hmm, it was pretty. The trees had vanished beautifully.

“Now there’s no need for logging.”

“Logging is also done to harvest wood!!”

“Well, but the opponent was strong…”

“Couldn’t Yuu-san have won more smartly? In the first place, there was no need to bring it to me…”

“Heh. You make a good point, Iris. That’s exactly right.”

Punch☆

Iris’s fist fell on my head as I lay there.

It didn’t hurt physically, but my heart was hurt.

“Really… Yuu-san is too flashy in everything.”

“Sorry, sorry. I got a little carried away to defeat it for sure.”

It was partly because I was in front of Iris, but the excessiveness was undeniable.

I stood up and apologized to her.

“If you’re going to apologize, apologize to the villagers, not me. …But I’m glad.”

Iris took one step, then another step closer to me. A moment later, I was embraced by her soft arms.

“I-Iris?”

I was a little surprised since it was so sudden.

But Iris hugged my body even more tightly. She buried her face in my chest and smiled happily.

“I’m really glad… I thought Yuu-san would surely return unharmed, but I couldn’t feel at ease until I could see your face and touch you like this.”

“Eh? Did Iris unusually worry about me? I’m the strongest, you know.”

“It’s not unusual. Besides, even the strongest can die when they die.”

“…I know.”

I know that very well. Probably, I know that better than Iris. Because I’m originally fated to be killed by you.

“But how cute. Iris worrying about me and being lonely, so she impulsively hugs me.”

“I’ll break something.”

“What!?”

Creak creak, the force put into Iris’s arms increased.

Th-this girl… isn’t she seriously trying to break my spine!? The kind of arm strength that would guarantee a shrimp bend for an ordinary person was being applied.

Naturally, it didn’t work on the strongest, cheat-level me, but it did make unpleasant sounds.

“Really…! Yuu-san, you idiot!”

Iris finally separated from my body. Since my heart had been pounding the whole time, she might have noticed from the sound.

That made my heart beat even faster. It was what you’d call awkward. But Iris didn’t seem to mind and continued staring at me.

“What’s wrong, Iris?”

“Nothing. I’m just looking at Yuu-san.”

“What’s that about? It’s not even interesting.”

“Hehe. That’s not true~”

Iris chuckled and turned on her heel in good spirits. In her line of sight was the village we’d saved. I also looked in the same direction as her and—

“For now… we succeeded in saving the village.”

—muttered.

Iris said—

“Thanks to Yuu-san, we were able to protect it. Let me thank you.”

—but that was wrong.

“That’s not right, Iris.”

“Eh?”

To the surprised Iris, I grinned and answered.

“Thanks to me and Iris, we were able to save it. I couldn’t have done it alone. It’s a result we achieved because we were together.”

“Yuu-san…”

Strong, strong emotion spread in Iris’s eyes.

It seemed she realized for the first time that she had saved the villagers.

Far too late.

This time I approached her and patted her head.

“You did really well, Iris. You were strong. You were amazing. You were admirable. As expected—you’re the Iris I know and love.”

“~~~~!”

Pop! Iris’s face turned bright red.

I left her steaming from her head and returned to the village first. From behind, I could hear a loud voice. It was the voice of a woman I knew well.

“Y-Yuu-san! I’m not a child, you know!”