I Reincarnated as the Villain in an Eroge, But Before I Realized, I Became a Capture Target
Translator: Reo
Editor: PalenMisha
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 83 (Part 1)
Lune? What’s wrong!?
I asked, but no answer came.
The armour around me hadn’t vanished so she should still be alive.
Was all this because of the sun? Did she faint after being exposed to its rays?
More importantly, the only reason I could fly was because the goddess was consciously making it happen. If she was unconscious, I had no choice but to fall.
I needed to call to Luca for help… No. It’s useless. At the speed he was coming towards me he would have launched his attack before my voice could reach him. I had no choice but to take the blow.
The flow of mana coming from Lune had stopped. Still, I could block the attack. With my own strength. Definitely.
Still falling, I returned my staff to its thigh holster, gripped the dagger with both hands, and infused it with as much mana as I could. I pushed my body to its limits and put my whole heart and soul into it.
“Haahh!”
“Zagan!”
I swung my dagger down towards Luca who was charging up through the sunlight, and the swords, each surrounded by a colossal amount of mana, clashed.
“Gh…!”
The shock of the blow was enough to break both of my arms. The pain almost made me lose consciousness. Still, I didn’t let go of my dagger, nor did I let myself relax. The moment I let my guard down, even if just a little, would be the moment Luca’s sword sliced down my front. I would never allow myself to get hurt like that. I didn’t want to make Luca sad.
Gravity should have been pulling me down, but it was gradually pushing me up. At this rate, I was going to lose; I was going to fall. But I had no intention of calling for help and interrupting this duel. I couldn’t leave it like this, not while the victor was still unclear, not while I could feel the intense emotions behind Luca’s blue eyes. I will never let you go – they said.
I would never let Luca go either. I love you, Luca. Luca…
“Zagan…? Zagan!?”
That was dangerous – I almost lost consciousness. Luca’s voice brought me back, but… I seem to have lost the strength in my arms and Luca was above me now.
He pushed my body away and it crumpled, back to the ground. And, like that, I fell.
“Zagan!!”
I fell at an incredible speed. In order to slow myself down and cause air resistance, I kept my back parallel to the ground, but it hurt too much to spread my arms. Plus, I had to hold the dagger to my chest so that I wouldn’t drop it. It was an item that I should never lose.
Luca was… oh, I’m glad he was coming after me. It was too bright though, so I couldn’t see his face.
I was going to spread my tentacles out towards him as well, but perhaps I’d run out of mana because they wouldn’t come out. I kept using mana all night long after all, and I had lost the supply of mana coming from Lune. Ah, damn it, my consciousness was fading again.
Through my hazy vision I could see Luca getting steadily closer. Many light tentacles reached out towards me. Also, Luca’s two hands…
There was something soft. The gentle sensation of lips touching my own. I was being kissed.
When the tip of my tongue touched those lips, something flowed into my mouth. That taste… It was Camilla’s special MP potion.
I drank it obediently and my mana recovered, the warmth returning to my fingers.
Then I felt my hand being held. I wrapped my fingers around the hand holding mine and Luca pulled away from the kiss.
“Zagan? Zagan, are you awake?”
I opened my eyes at his question and saw his face looking down at me. He looked worried, but that soon changed to relief.
“I’m glad. You woke up right away this time. It’s probably thanks to this MP potion.”
『What about Lune!? What happened to her?! Why isn’t she answering me??』
Soleil, who’d turned back into a wolf, was also there. He shoved his snout towards me. It wasn’t actually that close though, he was just so big that it felt like it was. And when I jerked my head back because it felt like he was going to bite, Luca, who was holding me, patted me on the back to reassure me.
『It’s ok.』Soleil added.
I knew that. I knew that Soleil was a very kind god. A god who held all lives precious. But the sound of his grudge inside the demonic essence, endlessly repeating “kill kill kill,” and the madness he had displayed when we first saw him had left a huge impression and I was subconsciously scared even though, when I took a closer look at him, he looked like he was about to cry out of worry for Lune.
Lune? Can you hear me? Soleil’s calling for you. He’s crying because he’s worried something happened to you. I said, exaggerating a bit.
Then I heard a faint sound.
『Nn… Soleil…?』
『Lune!?』
As soon as her name was called, Lune, who had wrapped herself around me like armour, turned into particles and detached herself from me. And then, next to Soleil who’d taken a couple of steps back, she turned into a cat.
『Ah, Lune, I’m so glad you’re ok. I was so worried – I called you so many times but you didn’t answer.』
『It’s been so long since I was exposed to the sun… I was just caught off guard. So it doesn’t mean I lost to you. It’s not like I’m disappointed or anything.』
Like he did to me, Soleil tried to nudge Lune with his snout, but she twitched her whiskers and turned her face away.
Say, Luca, wasn’t Lune the one who should be called a tsundere?
She was being tsuntsun no matter how you looked at it.
Soleil, whose eyes she refused to meet, truly looked like he was about to cry.
As I looked at the two anxiously, Soleil flopped down on the ground with tears in his eyes. He put his snout near the goddess’s front paws.
『I’m sorry. Because I acted rashly, I’ve made you suffer and made you sad. Please, could you somehow forgive me?』Soleil apologised.
He was apologising even though I lost. I see… It finally reached him – Lune’s feelings and her love for him.
Since he apologised, Lune finally turned to look at him. Then she brought her nose down to the prostrating wolf’s forehead.
『I’m sorry as well. I should have told you beforehand that the humans were thinking of killing me. If I had, you would have been able to deal with any situation that occurred calmly. You wouldn’t have been overcome by anger either.』Lune licked away his tears.
『Lune…』
Soliel timidly lifted his head up and the two looked into each other’s eyes… but Lune quickly cast her gaze downwards.
『Say, Soleil. When you got angry… had I not protected the humans, would the destruction have stopped with them? If I hadn’t tried to stop you, would you have not laid waste to the whole country? I-』
『No! I’m the one at fault. You said so yourself – that I ignored your words, that if I truly loved you, you should have been my only priority… it’s exactly as you said and I’m regretting it now.』Soleil hurriedly tried to stop Lune’s increasingly trembling voice. His own voice was stern but gentle.
That voice that seemed to seep into your heart probably made her feel assured.
『I… I was so sad, and alone. But half of it was my fault.』She said softly, regretfully, tears falling to the ground one by one.
『I don’t need a Soleil who doesn’t even try to look at me.』Lune had said with a somewhat complicated heart.
She was frustrated that he thought of her as someone who would be defeated by a measly attack by some humans. She was sad he ignored her words. That’s why she wanted to punch him at least once. She wanted him to stop justifying the loss of that many lives with the excuse that he was overcome by hatred. She wanted him to turn around and properly look at her.
Because I too am sad. I too am in pain. I too took many lives…
That’s what the goddess’s heart said.
She wanted Soleil, who had finally returned to his senses, to take away the loneliness and sadness that she felt. But with the anger of being abandoned by him for the past thousand years, she couldn’t be honest. Which was why she chose to fight him again. She took her anger out on Soleil who sought her out, while also casually coaxing him.
Truly, I didn’t know if Luca and my thoughts had any effect on Soleil. Even if he were to admit he was in the wrong, it wouldn’t bring back all the lives that were lost. Though, Lune’s heart had managed to reach him.
『Sorry. I’m sorry, Lune… I’m so sorry.』He apologised again and again, gently licking Lune’s face.
Lune accepted his affection meekly but avoided his tongue since it tickled her. However, she didn’t run away, instead pressing her face into Soleil’s forelegs. Soleil lapped at her back and she rubbed her body against his affectionately.
The way the two gods were acting was exactly like a cat and a dog. It was heartwarming. They were huge though, compared to a regular cat and dog, and I was somewhat worried we’d get crushed if they continued rolling around next to us.
Since the two of them had finally made up, I thought it would be best to leave them alone. I looked up at Luca who was hugging me. Noticing my gaze, he gave me a soft smile. He sparkled, standing there, bathed in sunlight, but–
“Luca!? You’re still hurt?”
“Oh. Yeah. Replenishing your mana was more important. And this dagger as well. It looked like you were going to drop it, so I kept it. Can’t have you losing something that’s precious to you.”
Smiling gently at me, he held out the dagger with his tentacle.
Come to think of it, this was the third time I lost consciousness due to mana deficiency. And the last time it happened I was on the verge of life and death, so he must have been extremely worried. And he truly was a wonderful person to even prioritise the things that were precious to me.
“Thank you, Luca. You, quickly drink a potio-”
The moment I went to grab the dagger, paint shot down my arm and my words came to a sudden halt.
Speaking of which, like Luca, I’d also overdone it. This will probably make him worry again.
“Zagan? What’s wrong?”
Damn, he noticed. As expected.
I had to gloss over it somehow.
Keeping my mouth shut, I decided to just hold it in and take the dagger even if it hurt. And just as I was about to do it, a warm light enveloped me. And not just me, but Luca as well. The pain in my arms went away and the injuries all over Luca’s body also healed. It was Lune’s recovery magic.
When I turned to look at her, Lune, who was being spoiled by Soleil just moments before, had stopped moving and was looking at Luca and me.
Soleil was too.
Sorry. We ended up getting in the way of your alone time.
『You didn’t. And I wasn’t being spoiled by him.』
Is it ok to deny it so adamantly…? Look how sad Soleil looks. He’s even letting out whines.
But when he came and rubbed his face against her back, Lune just accepted it wordlessly, her tail tapping against the ground. I see – was this cold attitude of hers part of the way the two of them communicated?
Giving the two gods who got along well a sidelong glance, I thanked Lune for healing us and returned the dagger to its scabbard. It was a dagger I had to return to Orobas some day so I was glad I didn’t lose it.
『That’s right, descendant of Soleil.』We were just about to stand up when Lune called to Luca.
“Yes?” He replied.
『It’s ok now.』
…? What was? Ah, was she talking about his nightmares?
Lune knew almost everything inside my head, so she probably also knew about my promise to Luca. It was embarrassing that she even knew about my love life, but she’d been alive for hundreds of millions of years and watched as various life forms evolved, so there was no point in me worrying about it.
Anyway, we received Lune’s affirmation, so I was happy. Luca too must be overjoyed. Thinking that, I turned to look back at him, but for some reason, tears were streaming down his face. Wordlessly the tears dropped one by one.
“Lu-luca? what’s wrong?” I asked him, startled, and he pulled me in by my waist, squeezing me tight.
“U…uuwa…uu… Zagan. Zagan…” Luca burst out into sobs.
He’s crying because he’s so happy the nightmare’s over, right?
But he was crying so much there had to be some other reason.
Right, now that I thought about it, it was decided that Lune and I would leave the kingdom if I won. Though it was unclear who the winner was, maybe the goddess saying it was ok reassured him that the two of us wouldn’t be separated.
Even if he was crying for a different reason, I had to properly apologise to him for saying those harsh words.
“Luca, I’m sorry. Though those words were meant to incite you, I said some stuff that went back on our promise. Even though I said I’d always stay by your side.
“Hng… Zagaan… Uuu… u, wuu.”
“Even if it’s a lie, I’ll never say something like that ever again. I’ll be right there next to you. Always… right there next to you, Luca.”
“Yesh, yes… Always. Together. The future from now on, together with you…”
Though it seemed that I managed to console him, Luca started sobbing even harder. It hurt my heart to see him cry. So much so that I thought I would start crying as well. I wanted to stop his tears somehow so I stroked his back and murmured – “Luca, Luca, it’s ok. I’m here. I’m here with you.”
As I soothed him I suddenly saw a light out of the corner of my eye. It looked like a small flower or maybe a butterfly. Was that golden, glowing thing a spirit?
And just when I thought there was only one of them, two of them, no three, no, more and more came into view.
Out of nowhere, a large number of spirits popped up.
They didn’t seem like they were going to attack us. They fluttered around Luca and me as if to surround us.
“Luca, look at all these small spirits flying around. They are very beautiful.” I tried to distract him from crying.
