How to Redeem a Trashy Side Villain

Chapter 107: Fanboy

I couldn't help but notice that not one person mentioned Arthurr's name. Earlier, when I was scrolling social media, his name had also been missing.

But when I saw him walking in the hallway and no one batted an eye, I realised that all of the credit went to me.

Everyone had assumed that I took on the demon by myself.

I… I wasn't expecting this. I thought the two of us would share the glory. And maybe I would have a little more of it since I defeated it. But… It's all me. Bell. Bell. Bell. That's all I hear.

Arriving at the agriculture class taught by Ms. Morgan, the looks hadn't stopped.

Sliding into the seat that I had sat in on the first day of the semester, I looked to my left, and there was Ichiko.

"I still can't believe your entire schedule is identical to mine," I said.

"I know, right. Isn't that quite romantic?"

I wish she hadn't used that word. The moment she did, all the boys in class who were looking at me with admiration now looked like they wanted to kill me.

That's all it takes?! That?! Now I'm back to being public enemy number one?!

Letting out a sigh that was so quiet that no one else could hear, I began to compare these stares to the one I was getting the first day I had arrived at this academy after coming to this world.

It was similar in the way that everyone was staring at me but back then, they were staring at me while cursing my name and hoping that I would die. This time, they were staring at me because of my heroics.

A few of the "friends" that I've made came up to me, and we chatted for a bit.

I had already responded to their texts the day I woke up in the hospital, and except for the look in their eyes that screamed of admiration, none of them had been overbearing with their praising and worship.

Once everything settled, it was a few more minutes before class started.

Just when I thought that everything was over, chairs scraped around me.

Looking over from Ichiko who I had been in the middle of talking to, I saw three girls. Grace, Zuri, and Persephone. Three female protagonists who belonged to Arthurr's harem.

Grace and Persephone were sitting in chairs that were facing me, while Zuri was seated on top of a desk.

Grace Hartley, a future paladin who would go on to wield a greatsword as large as her body. Even though she had holy magic and was told to become a healer, she instead used the magic to heal herself while rushing as deep into the enemy lines as she could.

Zuri Foster had no elemental magic, but she had a unique ability that allowed her to fuse with her tamed magical beasts. For example, if she fused with a phoenix, her hair would become fire and wings of flames would sprout on her back.

She was also about an inch or two taller than me.

Persephone was the person I mentioned a while ago about being able to use gun arts. She also had poison magic and combining that with her arsenal of firepower, she would mow down large numbers of enemies from a distance.

One thing about these three girls was that they all landed in a different spot in the spectrum of bluntness and having tact.

Zuri was extremely blunt. She wouldn't bother to beat around the bush and would often make jokes that would make you uncomfortable.

Persephone, despite her tendencies to embody the United States of America, she always thought things over at least ten times before finding the right words to say so that she wouldn't hurt your feelings.

Grace landed right in the middle.

Even though she was seated on the desk diagonal from me, with one simple lean, Zuri's eyes were practically to my face. I had to gesture with an open palm to prevent Ichiko's killing intent from rising any higher.

Zuri's eyes were sparkling with curiosity.

"How did you do it?" she asked. "I've always wanted to kill one of those demons, but I'd need the help of others. How in the world did you do it alone?"

In the corner of my eye, I saw Arthurr sitting there in the seat where he was supposed to be surrounded by these same three girls that was currently surrounding me.

I was about to clarify that I didn't do it alone when I saw him motion for me not to expose the truth.

…Huh?

I was a bit confused, and my lips remained parted while no words exited.

Why didn't he want me to tell? What's going on? Although Arthurr in the novel wasn't a fame-hungry protagonist, he wasn't one to shy away from having his name spread. As a matter of fact, he even encouraged it later because he wanted to grab the attention of all the powerful enemies and make them come for him.

"By the way, what's your new curse? What kind of messed-up thing will it be doing to you from now on?" Zuri asked new questions.

Grace used the back of her hand to tap on her friend's stomach.

"That's very personal, Zuri. We can't ask him that. You're going to make things awkward."

"Oh! Yeah. My bad. Sorry," she said, sticking out a tongue.

Persephone was there with her arms crossed, her gaze observing while merely nodding, agreeing with what Grace had said.

❖ ❖ ❖

[Athurr]

Two weeks have passed since the day that demons suddenly attacked the academy.

My first day out of my village, and I was greeted with a warm hello from the world.

Ever since that day that I fought with Bell, he's been on my mind. I had seen firsthand just how powerful he is. My teacher told me that I was the strongest person my age, but I would have to respectfully disagree.

Never in my life would I ever be able to handle that demon without his help.

And defeating it?

No no no. That was a dream and a half.

And yet — the demon Selgaath lost. He died at the hands of a student like me. He died to Bell Agnus.

"Teacher, you told me that when you brought me into the city, my horizon would expand. I think… I think it has."

Learning more about how to use this thing called… a mobile phone, I began learning more about Bell. Reading articles about how he defeated a corrupt Baron, digging deeper into the details, the demon curse that caused him to attack the person he loved, and other bits and pieces of news here and there, the figure of Bell that existed in my head grew more and more.

We are friends. I still remember that handshake we shared during my first day here.

He's also a comrade with whom I shared a battlefield.

Teacher thought that it was strange when I asked him to buy me some unofficial posters that were listed online with Bell's face on them, but he bought them.

Decorating the walls of my room with them, my bedroom was starting to feel more like home now.

After all, weren't kids my age supposed to hang up posters of their heroes and their celebrity crushes?

Isn't that what I'm doing?

My first reaction when I stepped onto campus was that I was shocked to see how fast the destroyed building and the other damaged parts of the academy had been repaired.

Not just repaired, but the building that had been toppled entirely by Bell actually looked like it had been improved.

I heard that Bell's parents were the ones who donated the money the academy needed to finish the repairs as soon as possible.

As I listened to the crowd of people who were standing by the entrance to the main building, I was overhearing their conversations.

All of them were discussing the demon and Bell. My name was never mentioned once.

And yet, that made me feel nice. My name doesn't deserve to be mentioned. All praises go to Bell, the real hero. I was just a sidekick who aided him a little bit. I don't deserve to be given credit for Selgaath's defeat.

I just hope that in the future, Bell will take me along in his battles. I want to continue fighting by his side. I want to watch him grow. I want to chase after his massive back.

Someday, I'll overtake him. At least — I hope so, but I don't think so. He's such a cool person. And strong. And cool. And strong. Did I mention that he's cool?

When the noises around me grew stronger, I knew that Bell must've arrived.

Looking at him—

"Oh my gosh, he's sooo freaking cool," I muttered, shaking my head at how good he looked. Licking my hands, I played with my hair until it matched his. Then I looked at my reflection on my phone screen and decided it was an insult to Bell, so I returned it to normal.

As he walked through the crowd that split down the middle for him, I followed.

That sword attached to his bag, that's the one he used that day!

The day that I became a fan.

He has two earrings. Should I get earrings? He has a bracelet too. My childhood friend gave me a bracelet. I'll wear it tomorrow. Oh wait! We're matching! We both have two hair colours!

Later, when we were in the classroom waiting for our first class of the day to start, my three seatmates had walked over to him.

As I saw them surround him, I nodded my head.

Three beautiful girls. Look at that picture. It's like a king with his many wives.

It was a masterpiece, and I was tempted to take a picture of the moment with my phone.

When he glanced at me and looked like he was about to reveal my participation in the battle against Selgaath, I shook my head and made a cutting motion on my neck.

Don't tell them! I don't deserve it!

❖ ❖ ❖

[Bell]

Questions kept firing from the three girls, or rather, Zuri and Grace. Persephone only chimed in a few times.

I barely had time to breathe and process what was going on.

Arthurr! Take back your harem members! Take them!

Trying to communicate these thoughts to him with my eyes, every time I looked in his direction, for some reason, it felt like something was off about him.

Not to be weird but I know that man like the back of my hand.

I know every little thing about him.

I've read thousands of chapters and have criticised him, praised him, and berated the author for him on numerous occasions.

The look he was giving me, it did not match any description that I have of him from the novel.

What…? What's that look in your eyes? What…? What does it mean? What does it mean?!

It was bad enough that his three harem members had all of their attention on me, beside me was Ichiko, who was staring a hole into the side of my head.

If looks could kill, those three girls might be dead.

Only when Ms. Morgan arrived in the classroom did the three girls return to their seats.

Once they were gone, a finger poked at my side. Once. Twice.

I looked over and Ichiko was pouting.

"You're awfully popular," she said, her lips curled downwards.

A few minutes later when class started, I could've sworn I heard her muttering in the quietest voice that she was going to kill those three later.

I must be hearing things.