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 17 (Part 1)
The afternoon of the following day, after shovelling snow in the morning and doing some training, we all headed out to buy armour, accessories, items, and food – everything that we might need for the next dungeon.
The day after that, I went to the Adventurer’s Guild again, and since I didn’t see Zagan around, I went to the front desk to ask about him.
They told me that he’d taken on several subjugation requests yesterday and still hadn’t returned. Based on the number of requests taken, the clerk thought that he probably wouldn’t show up until the next day at the earliest.
Since I already heard from Zagan himself that when he took a request he only returned to the guild on the afternoon of the following day, I was a bit bummed but knew that there was nothing that could be done about it. I went back to the mansion instead and did some training with Noel and the others.
The following day was February 10th, and as Valentine’s Day was just around the corner, the streets were decorated with cutesy pink and red decorations and a sweet atmosphere was all around. The display windows, too, boasted sweets in pretty wrapping paper and large bouquets.
Valentine’s Day was when you gave those who were precious to you flowers or candy. Which was why every year my parents prepared a cake for us and we’d all eat it together. My grandparents would give me a small, colourful bouquet, too, and I’d display it in my room. However, when I turned sixteen and started attending the Royal Academy, my desk would always be buried in chocolate.
Since I wouldn’t accept any gifts given to me in person, they’d taken to leaving the chocolates on my desk, and I always wished they would stop. Well, I guess the butler who escorted me to the academy would clear all the chocolate away for me and it wasn’t like I had to get all of them return gifts. Rather, if I gave them anything back it would be like I was accepting their confession, so I avoided doing so at all costs.
For those who didn’t have a partner, Valentine’s Day was also a day to give chocolate to the people they were interested in. It was actually quite common to give a bouquet of red roses to your lover, though of course I’d never given or received one before.
While looping through time, I tried every little thing, hoping to escape the endless cycle, so in every rendition, I’d accept chocolate from one of the girls. But I couldn’t help thinking of it as part of their likability gauge and would always have to fight the urge to vomit when they gave it to me.
Unlike what I saw in the Akashic record, never once was I given chocolates by all of the girls at once. I knew what I should do to make that happen, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
By the way, for this loop, they turned down training and spent the morning baking cookies together. And, when I came back to the living room after my solo training session, they handed me some nicely wrapped cookies, saying it was from all of them.
Cookies on Valentine’s Day were a sign of friendship. It was the first time the girls had given me such a gift, so I was surprised. And apparently, they were all going to have a cookie party after, saying that they should enjoy themselves while they could because after entering the dungeon they wouldn’t be able to.
The fact that they’d all gotten so close also took me aback.
The only one of them who had changed was Noel, so she must be the reason.1 And the one who changed Noel was Zagan. Ah, I missed him. If possible, I wanted to give him chocolate, but he wasn’t aware of my feelings yet so giving him some might make things awkward.
Which was why I’d planned on at least giving him some cookies and why I stopped by a confectionary shop on my way to the Adventurer’s Guild.
As the exterior of the store was mostly glass, I could clearly see inside.
The store was crowded. Perhaps because Valentine’s Day was fast approaching. If I were to step in, the store might turn to chaos. Or maybe the people inside would just perk their ears and an unintentional rumor that the prince was buying chocolates would start.
It was a shame, but I guess I just had to give up on my plans. Standing in line to buy something would also take up time and I didn’t want to miss my chance of seeing Zagan…
…Is what I was thinking, about to step away when a voice called out to me from behind.
“Luca?”
I turned around only to find Zagan. This timing – could it be fate?
I didn’t even notice he was there, so he could have walked right past me, and yet he went out of his way to call out to me. That made me happy.
I quickly made my way over to him. His head was tilted, looking at the store I’d been standing in front of.
“Did you want to go inside?” He asked me.
“Uh, no. I was just thinking that it’s Valentine’s Day soon, huh?”
“Luca… did you want some chocolate?”
“I-I do! I want some from you!”
He didn’t ask me who I wanted it from, but I didn’t want chocolate from anyone other than Zagan, so I enthusiastically gave my preference.
“I see. I have a bar of chocolate with me. We can eat it together.”
What? Really!? And we’re going to eat it together!? To think he’d make such a suggestion so lightly… No, wait. Was it possible that Zagan wasn’t aware of the meaning behind Valentine’s chocolate?
When given to someone you’re interested in, the underlying meaning was of course romantic. Getting a gift back a month later on White Day meant entering into a mutual relationship, so one should never give chocolates to someone they didn’t see in that way… But looking at him, Zagan didn’t seem to know that. I couldn’t feel any of that sweet air around him.
That’s right, Zagan was a dark attribute user who’d been living in isolation. Though he might be aware that it was nearly Valentine’s Day by looking around the decorated city, he might not have fully grasped the various symbolisms behind it. Even though he did it unintentionally, I was still happy just to be with him and didn’t mention what the chocolate symbolized.
We walked for a couple minutes, heading into a park, and Zagan sat down on an empty bench. I unclipped my sword from my belt and sat down next to him. I couldn’t control my desire, so I sat down close enough that our arms were touching.
Most people would have said something or silently distanced themselves. I would have been sad if Zagan had done so, but he didn’t seem to care and just nonchalantly took his gloves off.
I’d wondered this before, but what exactly did Zagan consider his personal space? Did he not find it weird that I was sitting so close despite there being plenty of space on the bench?
The chocolate bar that Zagan took out of his magic bag was labelled “bitter.” Zagan opened it and broke one piece off.
“For you.”
“T-thanks.”
To think he’d personally hand it to me. My heart pounded as I went to take the chocolate from his hand and when our fingers brushed against each other, I almost accidentally dropped it.
Aaaa, it was just a second but our hands touched!
Zagan broke off another piece and popped it into his own mouth. After chewing it, he brought his finger to his mouth and licked off the excess chocolate.
Fuck, his tongue. His tongue.
“Luca? It’s going to melt if you don’t eat it soon. Or are you not a fan of bitter chocolate?”
“N-n-n-no, of course not. Yeah, mm, wow it’s good!” I stuffed the chocolate into my mouth and replied with a smile. I used life magic to clean up the melted residue on my fingers. I felt like if I’d licked it off too, I’d only get more heated and the situation down below would have been bad.
Still, Zagan was looking at me questioningly so I blurted something out to divert his attention.
“By the way, did you buy this chocolate yourself? Do you like chocolate, Zagan?”
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