TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 8
The room where Olivia and I were left alone after Hanna departed.
I stroked Olivia’s sleeping head as evening approached.
There were a lot of things that happened today.
I even fought with Ruin.
Hanna came over, kept Olivia company for a while, and then left.
Overall, it seemed like a tiring day.
I was exhausted and weary.
Yet, it was fun.
“Was it fun?”
I said as I stroked Olivia’s sleeping head.
“Hmmnya… Hmmnya… Mikhail…”
I wanted to lightly flick her forehead for calling Mikhail in her sleep like a pushover, but just for today, I could understand. She must have been tired and enjoyed herself as well.
I got to see quite a variety of Olivia’s expressions.
Especially, Hanna’s expression was priceless.
-During the Class Battle, when Senior Mikhail used Body Strengthening Magic to instantly move behind Senior Ruin and swung his sword with a “shwing” sound.
-Oh…!
-It was so cool; I almost fell for him.
-Oh… Ohhh…!
-Ah… What am I even doing?
As she talked about Mikhail, she got more excited and passionate, but when the story ended, she muttered “Ah…” as if realizing reality. It was amusing to watch.
The only thing I was worried about was Olivia.
Normally, she couldn’t get enough of stories about Mikhail, but today, she listened to Hanna’s story with a somewhat ambiguous expression. As if she were eating mint chocolate, unsure whether it was tasty or not.
[Desmond Olivia Lv. 0.5]
[Occupation: Unemployed]
[Favorability: 50]
[Favorite Conversation Topics: Mikhail/Academy]
[Disliked Conversation Topics: Mikhail]
Fortunately, there was no change in her favorability.
But something seemed off.
I stared at her favorability and sank into thought.
‘The Academy… huh.’
The purpose of those guys coming today was for re-enrollment. Not for the Young Lady, but for me.
I don’t know why.
The Young Lady has far more talent than I do.
If someone asked me whether I wanted to re-enroll, of course, I’d say yes.
I wanted to re-enroll to witness the Heroine and Hero flirting and also because, thinking of the future, graduating from the Academy would benefit my life greatly.
There’s so much to learn.
And I could build connections.
Overall, there were plenty of advantages.
“Snore… Hooonk… Hoooorrrk…”
But I couldn’t imagine leaving the Villainess, who couldn’t do anything without me, behind and going anywhere.
I couldn’t imagine entrusting Olivia to anyone, and honestly, I believed there was no one but me to take care of her.
Sometimes, she gets mad.
Sometimes, she cries out of frustration.
Sometimes, she laughs out of exasperation.
She’s not a bad person, but her excessive honesty is the problem, which makes more people view her negatively than positively.
I gently pinched the nose of the peacefully sleeping Lady Villainess.
“Hweeeek… Gahhh… Air Raid Alarm…!”
“Pffft…!”
The Lady Villainess furrowed her brows.
She’s so cute, it’s driving me crazy.
How did I end up getting entangled with Olivia?
She was the one Villainess I wanted to avoid.
In the novel, she’s the Villainess who faces the most miserable downfall and has the worst introduction. I don’t know why I ended up like this.
Maybe it was because of our first meeting.
Looking at the Young Lady’s scowling face reminds me of the days I lived in the slum.
The day I foolishly acted out right after possessing this body.
I got beaten up a lot.
By the Delinquents who came to collect tribute money.
By the Bakery Mister.
By the Nobles.
I got beaten by the Delinquents for not having enough tribute money. I got caught stealing bread due to my lack of technique and got beaten by the Bakery Mister.
If I was unlucky, I even got beaten by Nobles for no reason.
The first time I got beaten without any reason, I was dumbfounded.
Maybe it was because I came from a world where democracy was the norm, but my unyielding sense of freedom ended up ruining my personality.
I got beaten up every day.
And I beat others up every day.
Three times more than I got beaten.
It might seem excessive, but what could I do? I was angry.
-Damn. Life sucks!
While I was shouting at the world’s unfairness, I met Olivia. When the Noble Lady in a Fancy Dress briskly walked up to me, I was so scared. I wonder if Olivia knows that.
-Shut up! Hey, Beggar!
-Kiddo, who are you?
Of course, back then, I had no fear. The Young Lady also had no fear.
-Kid? Did you just call me Kid?
-Who else would I call that, Kiddo?
-Eeeek!!!
The victory was mine.
The experience I gained from surviving in the slum and the dogfight skills honed in my previous life gave me the upper hand. Of course, fighting against the Young Lady, who had pulled out countless strands of hair in high society, wasn’t easy, but I won.
The Young Lady glared.
With a face full of indignation.
What’s funny is that she didn’t cry.
-You, I’m going to kill you.
-Pfft. Go drink some more Mother’s Milk first.
-You drink it instead!
-I… I don’t have a Mother.
-Oh… Th-then! I’ll give you money, so buy some!
That’s how I started building a relationship with the Young Lady.
It wasn’t a normal meeting.
Becoming friends after fighting is so foolish, but that’s how Olivia and I became close through such foolish means.
-You’re here again?
-Yeah! Today, I’m going to beat you up so bad.
-Pfft.
The Lady Villainess who visited me every day.
And me, who didn’t hold back and beat up the Noble Lady.
-You damn brat!
-Damn brat~
-Stop imitating me!
-Stop imitating me~
-Snrk… Hahaha…!
-Don’t cry. I’m sorry.
Thinking back now, I was a crazy bastard back then. A Noble Lady and a Commoner fighting itself was enough to warrant immediate execution. Yet, the Young Lady forgave it all.
The Young Lady told the Bodyguard Knights who came to stop us, “Don’t touch this bastard! If you touch him, I’ll kill you!” Because of that, neither the Bodyguard Knight nor her Maid could stop our fight.
Everyone knew the Young Lady’s personality.
Maybe that’s why, even after the fight was over, the Bodyguard Knight didn’t bother me separately. Instead, he slipped me some bribe money and asked me to go easy on her.
Anyway, that’s how we became close.
And then.
When I almost died for real.
-You… Just come live at my house.
The Young Lady saved me.
The Young Lady is both my friend and my benefactor. Maybe that’s why I care so much about her and why I can’t abandon her.
“Snore…”
The Young Lady slept soundly.
She’s been sleeping too well since she was young, to the point it’s a problem.
Maybe it’s true that Beauties need a lot of sleep.
‘She’s sleeping quite well.’
I looked at her Favorability again.
The list of her favorite conversation topics had grown.
‘The Academy, huh.’
The words Olivia had mumbled earlier crossed my mind.
-Do you want to re-enroll?
-Uh… Uh? No?
The flustered expression she had.
She’s always been bad at lying, both then and now.
I could tell. She missed the Academy. After serving her for 13 years, it would be strange if I couldn’t understand her feelings.
But I had no choice but to ignore it.
Because there’s nothing I can do.
She’s already been expelled from the Academy.
And with her reputation already at rock bottom, returning to the Academy wouldn’t be a great choice.
The Young Lady isn’t foolish enough not to know that.
She could be ostracized.
She could live a life worse than not attending at all, and she probably knows that too.
Still, it seems she wants to go to the Academy.
-Uh…
The regretful tone of her voice still lingered in my ears.
I looked again at the peacefully sleeping Young Lady.
Even pinching her cheek didn’t wake her up.
“Uh-he…”
She only let out a foolish sound.
I pinched her cheek and asked.
“Do you want to go to the Academy?”
“Mmh… Yeah.”
The Young Lady answered her true feelings in her sleep.
Pisik. A chuckle escaped me.
It felt like I had been worrying over something too obvious. As if impossibilities didn’t exist for a Possessor.
‘I should do something about it.’
I pulled out a Small Paper I had kept in my pocket.
-Histania Hanna.
It was the business card she, from the Histania Family, had given me.
She had said that if I needed a small side job, I could come to the Small Knights Order run by the Divine Healer Household, where I could earn a decent amount by working temporarily.
I stroked the Young Lady’s hair and stood up.
***
Preparations were done by 9 a.m.
I secretly stole the sword the Young Lady had prepared as a gift for Mikhail and strapped a Small Dagger to my belt.
I set aside my usual Butler Suit for a while and wore Active Wear. Looking at myself in the mirror, I admired my reflection.
‘Wow… Even I think I look handsome.’
The Young Lady, with a blank stare, asked me.
“Where are you going?”
“To earn some money.”
“Money?”
The Young Lady, her head filled with countless Question Marks, listened as I kindly explained the financial situation of Our Mansion.
“Don’t you want to eat meat?”
“I do.”
“Then we need to make money, don’t we?”
“We’re broke?”
“We’re beggars.”
Only then did the Young Lady, saying ‘Aha,’ understand the pitiful state of our finances. Nodding her head vigorously, she asked another question.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to hunt some Monsters.”
“Monsters?”
The Lady Villainess fell into deep thought.
She pointed her finger at the desk.
“Give me that.”
I picked up the Paper and pen from the desk.
“This?”
“Yeah.”
The Young Lady quickly started writing.
As expected of a Noble who once stood out, her Elegant Handwriting was a work of art.
I could never write like that even if I tried. My handwriting was so bad that no one could imitate it—in a bad way, of course.
While I was admiring her penmanship, the Young Lady’s work was already complete.
She confidently handed me the Paper.
“Here.”
A Paper handed over with a face full of Anticipation.
I felt a lump in my throat.
Thinking it was a talisman for the Dangerous Job Butler, I accepted the Paper, holding back my tears of emotion.
And then, I let out an ‘Eh?’ in a dumbfounded reaction.
[Things I Want to Eat]
Meat.
Ice Cream.
Apples.
Chocolate.
That spicy rice cake dish you made before.
It was a Paper containing the Young Lady’s Eating Wishlist.
As expected.
The Young Lady’s unpredictable actions never failed to amaze me.
Still, I liked the cute handwriting, so I tucked the errand list into my Chest Pocket.
“I’ll skip the chocolate.”
“Ah.”
The broken expression on Olivia’s face at my cold rejection.
Seeing that, I smiled brightly.
“Instead. I’ll buy you some Candy.”
Olivia’s eyes widened.
I turned away from her and opened the door.
“Uh…”
“Yes?”
“Come back safely.”
Olivia waved her hand.
***
Left alone, Olivia sat blankly on the Bed.
[You have gained the Authority to view the Side Story.]
Goosebumps rose on Olivia’s shoulders.