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!
Luca POV 14 – Loving You (Part 1)1
I somehow made it to the audience chamber and, after receiving the imperial decree from Father, who stood a bit apart from the Lumiere, the ministers joined us and we talked about what was going to happen from then on. After, while I was busy preparing everything for the trip, evening came and it was time for my birthday celebration to start.
During the party, as always, Noel came up to me. She congratulated me on my birthday and then our conversation naturally led to the imperial order I’d gotten. There were, however, some differences in the conversation.
“Please rest assured, Your Highness. I shall become the perfect escort in Nii-sama’s stead. And in his stead, I will drive away anything that threatens this kingdom!” Her declaration was incredibly bright and positive.
My childhood friend had changed drastically thanks to Zagan.
I gave her my usual understanding smile.
On the 3rd, after we’d finished our preparations, I left the capital alongside Noel. After a few days, we found ourselves on a snow-covered mountain path. It wouldn’t be long before the Ivy appeared, right?
It would be annoying if Noel got attacked so, as our horses trotted onwards, I searched for the Ivy’s presence.
After a while, I noticed a presence in front of us that seemed to be it. Just a bit closer and it would be in range of my magic. Which was why I gripped the hilt of my sword and was about to draw it when—
“Luca! There’s a monster ahead of us! Beauty of the Four Seasons!”
Before I could draw my sword, Noel, who’d been behind me, urged her horse forward, firing off a sword technique. Her thin, but sharp sword slashed at the Ivy, cutting off its tendrils before being thrust into the monster’s body. The Ivy dispersed into particles.
Uh…?
“There too! The Holy Moon!” She stopped her horse and fired off another technique.
A large slash flew through the air, striking the second Ivy that was approaching from the side.
What…?
“It’s over, Luca.”
“Uh, yeah, yes. Thanks, Noel.”
“As your guard, it’s only a matter of course. For an opponent of that level, there is no need for you to raise your hand.”
Internally, I was extremely flustered, but I just nodded and smiled, so she probably didn’t notice my surprise.
I knew that the Noel of this loop was different, but I never thought that she’d be stronger too. Was it because she’d been motivated not by hatred, but by aspiration? After all, Zagan in Noel’s eyes was the strongest, most perfect human… it was somewhat similar to the way Zagan looked in my eyes.
Anyway, maybe because so much had changed or the probability that this world wasn’t fiction had become higher, my revulsion towards Noel had all but disappeared.
Instead of disgust, I felt guilt. If she was indeed a human and not a doll, then my one-sided repulsion must have seemed unreasonable from her point of view.
“Noel… I’m sorry.”
“Hm? Did you say something?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
There were times when I loathed her and let her die. Times when I was emotional and rejected her. And there were times when I loved her. All of these pasts existed in my mind alone, and all of them made me feel more guilty.
I’m sorry, Noel. Because of my own mistaken notions, my affection towards you had turned into disgust, and I hated you for a very long time.
I’m sorry, Noel, that you used to love me once. I will never have any romantic feelings towards you again and, honestly, I prefer the way you are now. I mean, the you now, who loves Zagan, tells me all these stories about him after all…
Every time Noel would mention “Nii-sama”, memories of Zagan would pop up, and as I was busy reminiscing, it had become the 9th and we’d reached the 1st city.
The city’s lord gave us a place to stay, and the following day I registered at the Adventurer’s Guild.
As I was curious, I tried asking the guild about Zagan, but I was told they couldn’t answer due to confidentiality reasons. I wished I could at least know if he was in the same city, but since it was one of the guild’s rules, there was nothing that could be done about it.
From the 11th onwards, we went into the dungeon, and since Noel was more reliable than before, we moved through it at a rapid pace. I even thought we might not encounter Miranda this time around, but in the end, we did meet her just on a different floor than usual, fending off different monsters.
Was it because the Akashic record dictated she should be one of my comrades? After all, it was a force so strong that the World made me loop so many times with little to no change.
That would mean that there was also a chance that I’d get to see Zagan. As the probability of that grew higher, my heart started beating faster in anticipation.
I had memories of being surrounded by monsters and dying in this dungeon, so as we walked around, I was paying proper attention, but while we rested, my head was full of thoughts about Zagan.
By the way, Miranda was the same as always. It was only a matter of course that she had no connection to me, but it seemed she had no sort of connection to Zagan either, despite him being a fellow adventurer.
For some reason, I felt relieved about that.
We reached the boss floor on January 21st.
We reached it much earlier than in previous loops, but I hesitated to open the door. Because, I mean, if we rushed in and defeated the boss now, wouldn’t we miss Zagan? Would it be better to wait a couple of days in the safe room next to the door?
“Luca, what happened?”
“No… it’s nothing. Seems like the boss is beyond this door, so I just thought I should brace myself. Everyone’s in good condition, right?”
“Yes, perfect condition. Let’s go in!” (Noel)
“I’ve got your back, so rest easy!” (Miranda)
I really didn’t want to go in, but I couldn’t think of a reason not to. Swept away by the two girls’ enthusiasm, I ended up opening the door. However, the boss wasn’t there.
The boss had already been defeated and in its stead stood a person at the altar.
The star fragment too was missing from its pedestal.
“Huh? Looks like someone beat us to it.” My words slipped out at the unexpected sight.
“To think there’d be someone who got here faster than us. And all by themselves too. Amazing.” Noel was also impressed.
This was the first time that something like this had happened, so I stepped closer to the altar to see who that person was. They just continued to stare down at us from above.
Though I could feel their gaze on me, their eyes were hidden by the shadow of their hood and I couldn’t quite make them out. However, that person had a peaceful aura. And a very nostalgic one at that.
Eh? Could it be…? Zagan?
“We thought we were going to be the first. You, just who are you?” Miranda called out to them while I was still flustered.
And the answer…?
“My name is Zagan…”
Aah – Zagan. Finally, we meet again. I’m so, so happy!
“Zagan, you say? Zagan of the Dark Abyss who just became an S-rank a few years back? Looks like we ran into quite the bigshot. Luca, Noel, this guy’s a dark attribute user – if we don’t take the star fragment away from him it could be dangerous.”
“Eh? But isn’t that person an adventurer? And an S-ranked one at that.” (Noel)
“Do you not know just how dangerous dark attribute users are, ojou-chan!?”
“I know, but…”
These past twenty years when I couldn’t see you, Zagan, I was so lonely. I was so worried about how you were doing. But now you’re here. And that alone makes me so happy my chest could burst with joy.
There was so much I wanted to talk about.
Do you have memories of the previous loop? Why did you become an adventurer? What kind of life have you been living so far?
However, Miranda, who resented dark attribute users, was getting worked up, so I took a step forward to try to diffuse the situation.
“You said your name was Zagan, right? I am Luca Soleil. It isn’t your fault, but dark attribute users are indeed considered dangerous. Perhaps you could let me hold onto the star fragment you’ve obtained until we reach the castle. I will, of course, report to the king that it was you who found it. What do you think?”
The current Zagan, an adventurer, should have no use for the star fragment, so it would be nice if he could give it to me. Though maybe he couldn’t trust us.
If Zagan was looping too, then he should know me; however, there was a chance that he wouldn’t recognize the full-grown Noel – she was only four the last time he saw her. On top of that, Miranda was showing hostility towards him.
Zagan tilted his head slightly, acting somewhat hesitant before glancing my way again.
“You people think you’re allowed to do whatever you want because your opponent is a dark attribute user, don’t you? In that case, you could just kill me and take the fragment. After all, even if you did, people like you wouldn’t suffer any repercussions.”
Yeah… Zagan had that kind of voice.
His tone was much more respectful than I remembered, but those provocative words were very much like him.
I’m so glad I got to see you again… got to hear your voice.
While I was busy being emotional, an enraged Miranda attacked him.
With a light flick of his dagger, Zagan deflected the flames flying his way. As always, he had superb mana manipulation skills.
Miranda clicked her tongue, strengthened her body, and launched herself at the altar, firing an attack mid-leap.
“Blazing Strike!” Her axe, engulfed in flames, swung down towards Zagan.
Using such force in an attack against a human, there was no doubt she meant to kill him.
But Zagan wasn’t a killer this time around. If Miranda killed him, she would be the criminal. How stupid of her to let her anger take over and attack him like that.
Zagan, however, easily stopped the axe from striking at him from above, even disarming her. As always, his strength was formidable. And, on top of that, he kicked Miranda in her wide-open torso.
“Gah!” With a cry of pain, Miranda flew over our heads, landing behind us with an audible thud.
Zagan slowly descended the stairs, as if following after her.
