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 7 – Part 2
I didn’t know why this was happening, but now I knew that that first time wasn’t a precognitive dream. I’d really gone back to the past back then, and now I had again.
Although I was stupefied, time didn’t stop. Sitting around on the floor was meaningless and I hated the thought of showing my father and the others my pathetic figure and making them worry. Which was why I desperately pushed down the panic and made my way to the audience chamber.
Even if I was shaken and didn’t make a move of my own, those around me moved so that the story would progress, and this time as well, I set out on a journey with Noel.
Probably noticing that something was strange about me, she’d cast me a worried glance from time to time, and as I kept flashing her smiles, pretending that nothing was wrong, we headed towards the 1st city.
Then, on January 7th, I was on high alert as we travelled up a snowy mountain path, because last time, and the time before that, this was where the Ivy had appeared and grabbed Noel.
Physical ability is determined by the amount of time and the way you train, while mana is determined by natural disposition, as well as the amount of time spent training and the number of magic beings defeated. This was why whenever I went back to the past, my strength and mana always reverted to what they were at that time.
On the other hand, combat skills and mana manipulation were skills that were based on experience.
If I were to sharpen my senses and search for the Ivy’s presence… There. Found it.
There was one a couple of metres ahead of us and one right next to us. I guessed the one at the front was the one that stretched its tendrils towards me, while the one on the side was the one that grabbed Noel.
“Lightning!” First off, I unsheathed my swords and used a spell on the one hiding beside us.
Though my power had returned to what it was a year ago, its accuracy had not diminished and the Ivy fell down with a plop. Then, immediately after I was able to confirm it had a hole through its body, it dissipated, leaving behind materials.
“Good job noticing that, Luca. That was amazing!”
“I could feel its presence. Also, there’s another one. Lightning!”
I attacked the one in the front as well and recovered the materials.
Noel, who in past times had clung to me, suffering from the effects of the aphrodisiac, had kept her sanity this time around. So, naturally, we continued onwards without me embracing her.
Why was I going back to the past?
Without knowing the reason, it was unclear how I should go about investigating it, which made my irritability grow. If possible, I wanted to hole myself up in a library and look for any precedents or solutions, however, it wasn’t like I could just ignore an imperial order, so in the end, like before, I proceeded into the 1st dungeon. There we met Miranda again and, after defeating the boss, the still-alive Zagan entered the room.
Last time, I really agonised about him. My wish to save him, to keep him alive, left me conflicted time and time again; however, he looked at me, daring me, as if to say he didn’t need anyone’s pity… that my concern was needless.
Once again, I was struck by the discomfort of having gone back to the past, but I still gave it my all against Zagan. Because I didn’t want it to be like the first time when he looked at me with scorn. No matter the circumstances, I wanted to be acknowledged by the person I admired.
So, when I desperately tried to fight against him, he once again showed me favour. I had been so troubled by the question of his life and death that I had mixed feelings, but I was honestly happy he was alive and, as expected, happy that he had acknowledged me.
By the end of January, we’d befriended Nina, and on our way to the 2nd city, both she and Miranda invited me to spend the night with them. When I refused, Noel came to my tent.
Up until there, it was the same as in my memories, but this time, Noel was still a virgin at this point. Perhaps that was why she was still wearing her armour. She didn’t come inside either, just stated her business then and there.
“From the earlier conversation I have come to realise that despite being Luca’s guard, my attention to detail has been lacking. My apologies. If you are in bad condition and find it hard to take a civilian partner, I could play the role instead… what do you think?”
Unlike the previous two times, her invitation was very businesslike. She was being considerate towards me, but it was out of fondness for a childhood friend and a sense of responsibility. And since she didn’t actually want to have sex with me, she was very nervous.
I smiled at her.
“I’m happy for your concern, but there’s no need. Enhancing my body, using spells, and even sensing presences, consumes mana, so I don’t really have that kind of urge.”
“Ah, is that so? Certainly, your fighting ability has grown tremendously since receiving the imperial order. So one of the reasons for that was because you were consuming a large amount of mana? I must work hard too, not to lose to you,” Noel agreed spiritedly, looking visibly relieved.
It was common sense learned during magic studies that when your mana was low so were your sexual urges. However, if the amount of mana got too low, you’d get sleepy, and when depleted, it was even possible to lose consciousness, so one had to be careful.
“Let’s both do our best without overdoing it.”
“Yes. Apologies for disturbing you when you were tired.”
“Don’t worry about it. Night, Noel.”
“Good night, Luca.”
Once Noel had left and I was alone, I immediately went inside the covers of my bed and extinguished the lights that were floating around the tent.
What I had told Noel was true. However, in addition to that… I had another reason for turning her down, regardless of the fact that I loved her.
I mean, she’d forgotten about it. That she’d clung to me despite considering me just a childhood friend, and the mixture of excitement and confusion. That, though at first I’d felt somewhat guilty, I had grown to love her little by little. How desperately I’d protected her from Zagan and how I’d comforted her when she grieved. She’d forgotten everything.
Last time, things were still unclear so I could earnestly love her, but this time, now that I knew for certain that I was going back to the past, it was difficult to do so.
I mean, this was the third time. And even if she grieved from the bottom of her heart about Zagan’s death, for me it would be the third time experiencing it and I didn’t think I’d be able to truly comfort her. Her sorrow would feel like a cliché to me. I’d be exasperated by it – this is already the third time, you know?
And then there was the chance that after eleven months I’d go back to the past and she’d forget about everything all over again.
No matter how much I loved her, it was hard to see the love that I nurtured go back to nothing again and again. Which was why I had turned her down. As long as I didn’t know for sure I wouldn’t go back this time, I wouldn’t accept Noel’s proposal.
Why was a time loop happening? And why was I the only one going through it? No matter how much I thought about it, I didn’t have an answer and neither did I have any idea on how to break out of this situation.
Still, time went on.
Without me saying a word, we went to the village where Camilla lived, saved Bennett, and commissioned Cindy. Because of Noel and the others, everything progressed about the same.
Meeting Zagan again in the 4th dungeon was also the same. His attitude was the same as during the 2nd time, the cave-in in the middle of our fight, and Noel and I falling together – nothing changed.
However, this time, Noel was conscious and we were just sitting around and chatting while we waited for the others to come down to us.
Inside, I felt relieved to hear her complain about how frustrated she was to have lost to Zagan, a complaint I’d so far only heard after nursing her back to health. This was because, had she passed out, I would have had to make her drink an MP potion mouth-to-mouth and take off her armour to apply the potion. I was glad it ended without me having to do that since I didn’t currently have any kind of physical relationship with Noel.
There was a drastic change between this time and the 2nd time. I realised that towards the end of May.
In the 5th dungeon, after getting our hands on the star fragment, Zagan entered the boss room just like always. I handed the fragment to Bennett, who was next to me, and told Miranda and the others who’d just finished gathering the dropped items to get on the magic circle. And as I climbed down from the altar, I drew my sword.
Zagan too smiled at me cheerfully and drew his blade. And now Noel will –
“…Huh?”
“Ah? What is it?” Zagan asked in puzzlement when I looked behind me in surprise.
From his perspective, it was probably strange for me to look surprised that no one was behind me when I was the one who told the girls to leave first. But honestly, I was shocked – Noel had transferred out of the dungeon together with the others.
Had she judged that it would be ok to leave Zagan to me? Or was it because of the only difference this time around – the fact that we didn’t have a physical relationship?
I was confused, but I couldn’t make Zagan wait.
“Sorry, don’t worry about it. Please allow me to cross swords with you one more time.”
“Hah, this is a fight to the death.”
Subconsciously, laughter spilled out of my lips hearing him say that even though he had no intention of killing me. I’d never say it to his face, but Zagan truly was a tsundere.
Since Zagan hadn’t realised that Noel was his sister, he also didn’t kidnap her after we cleared the 6th dungeon. Noel, who in previous times had anguished over Zagan, was now spending her days smiling happily.
At the end of September, everyone pooled their strength to defeat one of the dragons and face the Dark Organization. With not a single mention of Zagan, two of the dragons that had been summoned were defeated.
That night, I told my friends that there was something in the city that was bothering me and that I was going to go check it out, and left the mansion by myself. Noel wanted to come with me as my guard, but I refused saying I’d just cover myself with a mantle and that it wasn’t a problem. I told her that people would realise that I was the prince if I went out with a guard.
Though the area around the mansion had remained intact, there were buildings destroyed here and there closer to the outer gate. And, despite it being night, there were guardsmen and adventurers out and about, clearing away the rubble. They were probably checking to make sure that no one had gotten trapped underneath.
The main gate was closed during the night, so I had to intrude on the adjacent guardroom.
“The Dark Organization had summoned the dragons outside of the city, right? I’m just going to check that there’s nothing strange in the area.”
“U-understood. If it’s His Highness Luca, I don’t think anything will happen, but please be careful.”
“Thanks. I’ll be back in one or two hours,” I thanked the guardsman who opened the sturdy door for me and headed out. Being a prince was a huge plus in times like this.
I created some light with my magic, strengthened my body, and started to run. This was the third time already, so I knew where I was going.
After a bit, the number of trees around me grew as I entered the forest. There I found him. Zagan, lying on the ground.
I increased the number of lights and dropped to my knees beside him.
“Sorry I’m late, Zagan.”
As I tried to gently touch his cheek, I felt how cold and rigid he’d become, different from how it was before. The edges of his hair too had gone white. It was because, after his death, the mana was draining out of him. Had I left him there much longer, his hair would have turned completely white.
As always, I wet my handkerchief with water from my canteen and wiped the blood from his face. I tidied up his messy hair and then looked at him intently. The fact that he would never open his eyes again still made my chest hurt, still saddened me, but it wasn’t to the point of crying.
How many more times will I witness his death? If I keep seeing it again and again… at some point even this pain in my chest will probably be forgotten.
