When the Villain Joined the Knights to Avoid Doom Flags, but Somehow the Heroines Started Approaching Him - Chapter 45 & 46 (Epilogues)

Chapter 45: Epilogue ①

In the end, with the help of a neighboring country, the noble who had placed a bounty on Fia was apprehended.

As expected, his motive was as deranged as the investigation suggested: he had fallen madly in love with Fia and wanted to possess her, even as a corpse.

With the client gone, the funds for the bounty had also dried up.

This meant the dark guild had no reason to pursue Fia any further.

However, this incident resulted in many members of the dark guild being captured.

Not just the low-level grunts, but even three executives, including Haku, were taken into custody.

This could potentially lead to a larger crackdown on the dark guild in the future.

In short, the bounty drama surrounding the princess had come to a proper conclusion.

Finally, Yulis and the others returned to their regular duties as knights—

“Hah, hah… It feels like I’ve joined a high school sports club or something. Waking up, eating breakfast, and then having exercise lined up right after… it’s oddly nostalgic… hah, hah…”

After returning from the villa to the knight’s headquarters in the royal capital, several days had passed.

Now, as part of post-meal training, Yulis was running laps in the training grounds.

It had been a while since he last did something like this.

The physical training reminded him of the days just after his reincarnation when he used to run endlessly.

Feeling a strange sense of nostalgia, Yulis kept running, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

“Well, it finally feels like proper knight life, doesn’t it? Recently, it’s been so hectic, like we were popular comedians or something.”
“Ugh… I hate being bored, but being this busy is just as bad… Wait! I finally get it—the mindset of a corporate drone during work hours!”
“Corporate drones, huh? No matter where they go, they’re always a universally disliked species, aren’t they?”
“Hah, hah… What nonsense are you two spouting…?”

Running alongside him were Iris and Lieselotte.

Both let out small sighs, though for entirely different reasons.

Behind them—

“I swear… These new recruits sure have a lot to say while running.”

Celia, who wasn’t even slightly out of breath, trailed them as their overseer.

To emphasize her point, she was holding solid copper weights in both hands as she ran.

“Here, have a present.”

“”Fugh!!??””

Without breaking her stride, Celia placed one of the weights on the backs of the two chattering runners.

The sound they made was enough to give a clear idea of just how heavy the weights were.

Still, thanks to their training so far, it wasn’t so heavy that they couldn’t keep running.

Which, of course, meant the cheeky juniors still had enough energy to quietly grumble about their strict senior.

“(Hey, did you know? That senior who acts all high and mighty actually loves flashy dramatics. I heard she completely destroyed a villa recently, ignoring all the damage it caused.)”

“(Even though I tried to be considerate and played outside, she just couldn’t hold back? Heh, it’s kind of funny how childish she can be.)”

Unfortunately for them, their whispered complaints reached their target’s ears loud and clear—

“Oh? It seems you two still have plenty of energy. Here, let your childish senior reward you with three more plates of spirit-boosting motivation.”

“”Ughhh!!??””

Three more weights were added.

The pair nearly collapsed backward from the sheer force.

“W-Why can she carry ten more of those and still keep running…?!”

“We’re experiencing firsthand just how amazing our senior really is…!”

“…Quit whining and focus on running already, you two.”

Lieselotte sighed heavily at the antics of the mischievous pair.

Still, in a way, she found this enjoyable.

Running endlessly on her own would have been dull, but with their playful banter, the experience became far less tedious.

(So this is what it’s like to have peers…)

Lieselotte felt a small, unexpected sense of happiness—a feeling she’d never experienced back at home.

“So, hey! I just thought of something… There’s gotta be a proper reward for completing this mission, right?”

“Ah, don’t worry about that. The Royal Capital’s knight order is known for its pay. A high base salary, plus bonuses, should be coming your way.”

“Does that mean I can buy a new knife!?”

“With your base pay alone, you could probably buy hundreds of knives, but… sure, spend it however you like.”

And then—while still running—Celia spoke with a grin.

“To celebrate my cute juniors completing their first mission, let’s go out for drinks tonight.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yes! Let’s drink until her wallet’s completely empty!”

“If you pass out, leave it to me! This maid will personally carry you all the way to the bath!”

“Hold on, that’s not fair. Even if she doesn’t pass out, I’ll be the one to take her to the bath.”

“Let’s show some mercy to our senior’s wallet, yeah? Let’s drink just enough and have a good time!”

Not in the restroom, not in a bed…

What exactly did they plan to do, carrying someone to the bath after they passed out?

Yulis couldn’t help but feel a little nervous, deciding it’d be best to enjoy the celebration in moderation.

At that moment—

“Oh? Isn’t that the princess over there?”

Iris suddenly noticed a figure standing by the entrance.

A stunning girl with flowing, glossy long hair was looking straight at them for some reason.

Yulis and the others stopped in their tracks and turned toward Fia, wondering if she needed something.

“Lady Fia, is something the matter?”

Lieselotte, having reached Fia first without the weights, asked her directly.

Fia responded with a graceful smile—

“Fufu, I thought I’d come to thank everyone. Also, as the one currently overseeing the Royal Capital’s knight order, I wanted to take the opportunity to visit and inspect the grounds.”

“I see… You really didn’t need to go out of your way.”

Still, it would be strange to say much more to a princess who had made the effort to come here.

Lieselotte stepped back, taking her place alongside the others as they arrived.

And then, for some reason—

Fia stepped forward, stopping directly in front of Yulis, her elegant smile aimed squarely at him.

“W-What is it…?”

The memory of what had happened earlier flashed through Yulis’s mind.

“A secret,” she had said, along with something no one could easily do.

Her strikingly beautiful face and soft, cherry-colored lips gave him a sense of unease.

But Fia didn’t seem to mind at all. Without hesitation, she took Yulis’s hand—

“Sir Yulis, would you like to have a meal with me sometime?”

“W-What!?”

A direct invitation—far too straightforward.

Iris couldn’t help but let out a surprised sound.

But she wasn’t the only one. Even Lieselotte and Celia wore expressions of shock.

In the midst of this, Yulis, who wanted to avoid getting too involved with the heroines, quickly averted his gaze and—

“Y-Yes! That sounds great! Though, with missions likely continuing, we’d have to figure out schedules and, uh, it might be, like, super difficult to align, but if we do, absolutely, sure! Hahaha… ahahaha…”

He didn’t want to get involved, but rejecting the princess’s invitation outright wasn’t an option.

Thus, his reply was a rambling mess, accompanied by a nervous, glazed-over stare.

But for some reason, Fia smiled brightly, as if she found his reaction amusing.

Leaning close to his ear, she whispered—

“I’m quite forward, you know… so be prepared, my hero.”

“!!”

Her sweet, alluring voice reached his ear, making Yulis instinctively step back, putting some distance between them.

But to Fia, even this seemed endearing, as she turned away with a playful smile.

“Well then, I’ll take my leave here. I’ll be sure to thank you all properly another time.”

The princess, who had suddenly appeared and thoroughly disrupted the mood, began walking away, her figure gradually fading into the distance.

Once she was out of sight, everyone left in the unsettled atmosphere turned their gazes toward Yulis at the same time.

“So, junior… did you end up advancing even further with her after that?”

“Yulis…”

“…Master, you idiot!”

Piercing stares from the beautiful girls surrounded him.

Unable to handle the pressure, Yulis instinctively looked up to the sky.

(…I feel like crying.)

He had reincarnated and joined the knight order specifically to avoid ruinous flags.

And yet, for some reason, the heroines kept approaching him on their own.

Would he ever be able to live a life completely free from the scenario’s grasp?

Yulis’s hectic days were far from over.

Chapter 46: Epilogue ②

“So, guess what! The other day, my dad let me handle a new business deal!”

Later that evening.

While the girls were at the bath, Yulis sat alone in the living room, listening to the cheerful voice of a young girl.

It came from a magical communication device he’d received recently.

Hearing the voice of the girl who had given it to him, Yulis couldn’t help but smile.

“Wow, that’s amazing. Getting trusted with business deals at our age? I really respect that.”

“Ehehe… Hearing you say that makes me so happy, Yulis!”

When he received the communication tool, it came with the promise that she’d share stories from the academy.

Though things had been hectic with the recent bounty-related chaos, they’d finally started having regular conversations.

By now, they’d talked enough that their topics had expanded beyond just academy life.

For instance, Yulis, who wasn’t fond of overly formal speech, had once said, “You don’t have to use honorifics with me.”

To which Luna hesitated with a, “But…,” before gradually becoming more casual and friendly in their conversations.

In fact, they’d grown close enough that Luna could now speak to him comfortably.

And Yulis himself? He had grown surprisingly at ease talking to her, despite her being one of the heroines.

Most likely, it was because Luna’s willingness to cooperate with him made her feel like an ally he could trust.

“So, by the way, is the villa okay? My senior kind of went wild and left it in a pretty sorry state…”

“Oh, no, it’s fine! That place wasn’t really used much anyway!”

“But still—”

“Besides, this whole incident earned us favor with the royal family. You can’t buy a favor like that with money, so it’s practically a win for our business. Plus, they’re even inviting us to a royal party soon.”

She’d mentioned this before, but as someone who wasn’t a merchant, Yulis couldn’t help but worry and think, “Is that really okay?”

However—

“And anyway, I’d do anything for you, Yulis.”

“!?”

“Oh, if you want, I could even give you a villa next time?”

Hearing that, Yulis’s cheeks grew hot.

“Uh, don’t tease me like that…”

“Fufu, it’s not teasing, but okay, I get it. I wouldn’t want Iris to scold me for teasing you too much, after all.”

As expected of a heroine, her every word and action left Yulis flustered.

Iris, Lieselotte, Fia, Luna—all of them had this effect on him.

And lately, even Celia, who wasn’t a part of the game’s original story, had started to throw his days into chaos.

Realizing this, Yulis let out a small, wry laugh.

But then—

“Master, are you talking with Luna again?”

Squish.

Suddenly, a soft sensation pressed against Yulis’s back from behind.

“…Hey, you there, pretty maid. I won’t turn around, but let me just say this: the feeling against my back is way too soft. Is that… a bathrobe?”

“Yes, correct!♪”

“Damn it, I guessed right… Now I can’t even confirm it with my own eyes…!”

He couldn’t turn around. No—he wanted to turn around.

But if he gave in now, it’d make him look like a man who’d succumbed to temptation.

Especially since he’d already guessed she was in a bathrobe…!

“Wait a second—weren’t you just at the public bath? Where do you get the nerve to walk through all the public areas in the villa with just one piece of cloth on!?”

“That’s simple… it’s my love for you, Master ♡”

“Luna, help! This maid has tossed her sense of modesty and shame either into the gutter or a closet somewhere!”

“Ahaha… Iris is as lively as ever, huh?”

It wasn’t the first time Iris had barged in while Yulis was on a call.

Maybe that’s why Luna, still on the communication device, wasn’t surprised and let out a dry chuckle instead.

“Iris, you shouldn’t trouble Yulis too much with stuff like that, okay? Those things should only happen with mutual consent.”

“Muu… if Luna says so, I’ll go put on at least some underwear.”

“Only underwear?”

“I was hoping for at least one more compromise…”

With a defeated sigh, Iris trudged away, looking a bit dejected as she headed back to her room.

Watching her retreating figure, Yulis let out a long, exasperated sigh.

“Haah… Does she seriously think my self-control is made of steel or something?”

“Hmm, I don’t think so.”

“And why does she listen to you more than her actual master? That’s kind of frustrating.”

“Well, maybe it’s a sense of connection? You know, like we’re both commoners or something?”

Plus, Yulis remembered that he had once told Iris she was “reliable.”

That probably earned him the “good guy” badge in her mind, making her feel closer to Luna as well.

“Oh, speaking of which—”

Suddenly, Luna’s voice took on a tone like she’d just remembered something.

“At the academy, there was a girl who enrolled late the other day…”

“Is it the saintess?”

“Oh? You’ve heard about her, Yulis?”

“Yeah, sort of.”

He hadn’t heard about it directly, but this was part of the scenario.

The saintess, a representative of a global religion and one of the heroines, was meant to enroll at the academy later than the others.

Since she was a heroine, Yulis knew about it even though he had never seen or heard of her personally.

(That said, I’m even less likely to get involved with the saintess than with the other heroines… After all, there’s no way to build a connection if I’m not at the academy.)

If it had been before she joined the academy, there might have been a chance.

Like with Lieselotte or Fia, unintended connections could have lingered and dragged on.

But since the academy events were already underway and he had no ties to her, there was no reason for one to form now.

Confident in this, Yulis replied to Luna’s story with casual, nonchalant responses.

“Ah, so you already know about this too, huh?”

…Maybe it was that assumption that was the problem.

“The saintess is planning to visit the Royal Capital’s knight order for an inspection soon.”

“…Why?”

Just when he thought things had finally settled down.

It seemed the heroine events surrounding the villain were far from over.

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It’s been a while! This is Kouta Kaedehara.

With this, the main story comes to an end!

To all the readers who stuck with me until the very end, thank you so much! 🙇💦

I hope you’ll join me again for my next work! 🙏🙏🙏