The Villain’s Ending

Chapter 102

Afterimage (13)

Unexpectedly, Kyle didn't get angry or rush at me.

I was actually quite scared, thinking he might at least throw a punch.

Instead, he seemed calm.

I thought he would have already grabbed me by the collar and punched me, or strangled me, or at least lowered his voice and threatened me.

"Why are you saying such terrible things!"

The female knight next to me shouted and approached as if to lunge.

Not the ill-mannered Kyle, but the female knight.

Instead, Kyle grabbed her arm and held her back.

She struggled to pull her arm free, but Kyle's grip was firm.I glared at the female knight, then bit down on the cigarette Estelle had gifted me.

I conjured a small flame at my fingertip and lit it.

After inhaling deeply, I exhaled a long stream of smoke towards the female knight's face.

The hazy smoke enveloped her face.

She coughed, twisting her body to get free from Kyle, and as soon as she broke loose, she tried to approach me.

I kicked her shins, who was slightly off-balance from twisting free.

She lost her balance and tumbled forward.

I almost kicked her head, but then I decided to hold back, thinking I'd be beaten to death if she grabbed my ankle.

It wasn't Kyle in front of me who was the problem; I couldn't even beat that one female knight.

Still, I felt strangely odd.

After seeing hallucinations of Estelle, Seraphina, and Levina dying, and then entering and exiting the forest where Lineta was performing a rather barbaric-looking ritual, my body felt like it was moving as I intended.

Kyle was helping the fallen female knight up from the ground and comforting her.

I looked down at them and said,

"Since you're from the same village, it seems you knew something."

If I consider Lineta's appearance back then, the Lineta I know and the Lineta who, despite being a commoner, rudely spoke informally, tried to kill Edelgard Young Head, and dreamed of revolution as a heretic, must be different people.

Even if she wasn't, I want to believe she was a different person.

Lineta, who refused when I asked her to leave with me.

And Lineta, who hanged herself upon learning that all the villagers had died.

Lineta, who said we couldn't go anywhere.

Which one was her?

All three, or perhaps none of them.

What state was Lineta in when I first met her?

I don't even know that. After all, I never visited the village at night.

I want to ask, but her head is already so thoroughly crushed that there's no trace left; even if I picked up a corpse and revived it, she wouldn't be able to answer, so it would be meaningless.

Only a sigh escaped me.

It felt as if every person I met just piled more and more problems upon me.

Should that great person in front of me diligently Collect the Ending, or should I diligently die repeatedly to find the ending?

I haven't even properly received any rewards, and now it's busy showing me only bizarre hallucinations.

I'm not even sure if this insect-like commoner is the protagonist.

Can a protagonist usually die instantly from an attack from behind, no matter how much of a surprise attack it was?

If it was a game, what was its name?

No, was it a novel?

Seraphina, Estelle, and Levina were so clearly etched in my memory, but the protagonist's childhood friend never even came to mind in my memories of the original work.

So, who was I originally?

Laptops, piles of plastic coffee cups, and books stacked on the desk, and hats hung all over a coat rack on the door.

These things come to mind so easily.

My thoughts kept trying to jump off in random directions.

"A commoner who didn't know his place, whose origins were utterly humble. Now, rather than humble, you'll become famous in various ways."

I said to Kyle.

I don't want to be with him.

I don't want to talk to him either.

He should just go and save the world and defeat the enemies on his own.

I didn't like that insect-like commoner hero who crawled in on the day of my wedding with Estelle.

As for supplies, he should just eat Demon meat or roast and eat the corpses there to solve it himself; I don't even know why he specifically came to find me.

If that were the case, I would have spent even one more day with an Estelle who remembered me, not an Estelle who didn't.

"Kyle. Do you eat people too?"

In truth, I hadn't seen Lineta eat people, nor did I know what she actually did, but since she was a heretic and associated with Demons, she must have done something.

"You're from the same village as Lineta. Do you also light fires and eat people?"

Kyle didn't answer, wearing a blank expression.

"Because of that insect-like commoner, the Edelgard Young Head almost died, what?

Because you heard that I was the one who pointed out she was a heretic? Are you kidding me?

Hey, I'm asking if you eat people too.

This bug who doesn't know its place can't open its mouth when it should, and yet the answer is..."

"That's enough. If you say one more word, I'll make you regret it."

The female knight bristled, gnashed her teeth, and said, almost growling.

I approached her.

And whispered softly.

"I don't know what family you're from, or what you do.

And I think I should know now.

I thought that an idiotic woman who doesn't even know that my expulsion from the family was just a show should be 'handled' by her family."

The female knight gritted her teeth, then looked up, and our eyes met.

Her eyes trembled slightly, then she quickly lowered her gaze and looked down again.

"There's no way your parents would cheer on and want to help a woman do something like being a knight, yet you live without watching your words.

And a high-ranking person making talk of rudeness or punishment, especially linking it to heretics... I wonder what your parents would say if I told them.

Though, they might just leave you as is, being an uneducated, idiotic family themselves."

As soon as I finished speaking, the female knight began to choke back sobs.

I didn't know if she was crying or suppressing her anger.

Her shoulders shook, and she seemed to glare at me silently.

Though it looked like a few tears had escaped.

As our eyes met, she seemed particularly young.

When I saw her crying, my mood to say anything further vanished.

In the end, as no answer came, I didn't bother provoking her further.

I had planned to get beaten like a dog by Kyle or the female knight, then run to Estelle or Levina, wail loudly, and whine for them to scold those bastards for hitting me.

Even though it was a bit shameful, I couldn't 'deal with' Kyle or the female knight.

Not only my reputation, but I didn't even have the skill to do so in the first place.

I moved a little closer to Kyle and said in a low voice,

"Lineta was a heretic.

And you, since you're here, you should kill the heretic.

She's not just some ignorant kid living in that small village, but a insect-like commoner who doesn't know her place and causes trouble."

"Lineta too... a heretic......"

[Collect the Ending. 4/?]

[Currently collected rewards: Lingering Trace, Afterimage, Traces]

[Reward: ???, Love]

At least this time, I won't particularly interfere, so he'll do fine on his own.

He'll probably last a few more years, just as Levina said.

Though Estelle will be by my side.

****

Today, too, Seraphina and I went to a suitable cafe for a normal date.

Warm sunlight poured in from outside the window, and the cafe was filled with the subtle aroma of coffee and the sweet scent of bread.

Everything was peaceful.

The streets overflowed with people, the bustling downtown was lively, and there were several happy-looking couples and groups.

It felt as if that night had been a dream.

"La, Lavin, did you... get taller recently?"

Seraphina said, setting down her teacup.

"I got taller?"

"Ah, um. M-maybe it's just my imagination."

Seraphina smiled and lightly wet her lips with coffee.

Her cheeks were faintly flushed.

"It's, it's a bit strange to say, but I-I always thought of you as my age whenever I saw you... s-so I felt like you were my age... b-but now, umm, you seem like an adult."

"It's just your imagination. Nothing has changed."

I said with a smile.

"N-no, really!"

Seraphina pouted.

I smiled, took a cream bun from her plate, and crammed it into my mouth.

I stuffed the bun into my mouth until my cheeks seemed about to burst, and chewed.

Then I washed down the bun with some lukewarm coffee that had cooled to a moderate temperature, and took a long breath.

"I don't look much like an adult now, do I?"

At my words, Seraphina let out a little laugh.

After that, Seraphina and I walked through the park.

We held hands.

Her hand was soft and warm.

The heretic village, Levina, and Lineta, whom I personally crushed to death.

The feeling of stepping on a neck to kill someone, the sensation of smashing a head with a stone.

The sticky and unpleasant texture, the sound of bones crushing, the feeling of hot blood splattering.

All those sensations felt as if they faded slightly when I held Seraphina's hand.

The warmth conveyed through her fingertips covered the sensation of stone.

Her laughter erased the guttural roars of the beast-like villagers and the sound of breaking bones.

Of course, they didn't disappear completely.

They merely faded, as if a thin film had been placed over them.

Nevertheless, for this moment, it was alright.

Because she was by my side.

However, Seraphina didn't look quite alright.

The small room used by the servants I had rescued.

In front of that room, Count Beluze was waiting.

He stood with his arms crossed, looking down at us with cold eyes.

Seraphina's face turned pale.

Difficulty, guilt, and a faint hint of rebellion intertwined and flickered across her face.

She gripped my hand even tighter.

As if she couldn't let go.