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!

Chapter 71 (Part 1) 

“I started thinking that I want to turn this adventure into a book. A book with Prince Luca-kun as the main character. I’d like to write about his love affair with Zagan-kun while also pointing out the existing discrimination against dark attribute users. And I also want to write down Soleil and Lune’s story – the truth of the Soleil Kingdom that was concealed a thousand years ago.”

So something like a travelogue? If Luca was the main character, then I’m sure there’d be a lot of people who would want to read it.

But if Cindy wanted to write about love in the face of discrimination, then why not just write about her own love affair with a dark attribute user?

Honestly, it’s super embarrassing to have someone else put my own love life into words.

“That sounds wonderful. Leave the sponsorship to me.”

Ah, was Luca interested? I see…

Unconsciously my eyes glazed over and Cindy let out an ‘ufufu’.

“Don’t worry, Zagan-kun. I have a firm grasp on those secret things I shouldn’t write about. Like the details of your sex life or the fact that Zagan-kun and Noel-chan are siblings. Instead, I plan on publishing all the other things that are ok to write down. Like a lot of stuff about Miranda-chan who’s sitting over there, drinking like she has nothing to do with this.”

“Eh!? Y-you are?”

“Of course~ We’ve travelled together so far and become such great friends.”

Miranda reacted shyly but happily to those words. I also wanted to read about the girls’ friendship as seen from Cindy’s point of view, so I nodded my head and for some reason, Luca called me cute and rubbed his cheek on my head. 

What part of this did you find cute? I really don’t get it.

“I think books are amazing things. I found out the reality behind Soleil and Lune’s relationship from the numerous books from the Terre kingdom that Zagan-kun gave me. On the other hand, in Soleil, they had destroyed all the books that mentioned the goddess Lune, so no human would have been able to find out the truth about what happened a thousand years ago.”

“That’s right. If some record of Lune had been left, then the humans might have found out the truth a lot sooner.”

“But… the books you have might not be telling the whole truth.”

In reality, the picture book that Father bought me did feature a moon goddess, but not everything inside the book was factual. Reading it, nobody would have been able to tell that the ‘Evil God’ and the ‘Moon Goddess’ were the same entity.

The things written in books were, until the end, only things that the author saw or thought, expressed in their own words. Also, the way the subject matter is perceived also depends on the author.

“Mm, that’s why I’ve read a lot of books and gathered information. If the same thing is written in several books, it could be taken as the truth, no? Zagan-kun bought over five hundred books from Terre and the truth is revealed in them. You’re amazing, Zagan-kun.”

I bought astronomy books that documented the moon, books on Terre’s history, and many others on all kinds of different subjects. 

Knowledge is a weapon. That is something I had learned in my previous life. Still, I didn’t end up reading those books about subjects that I wasn’t interested in, so I gave them to Cindy and the books that had been collecting dust inside my magic bag finally found a use.

“Books are the products of thoughts and knowledge. When writing a biography, the author uses their own knowledge to record their or somebody else’s life for future generations. Of course, works of fiction like picture books and novels are also packed with the author’s thoughts and knowledge. That’s why I want to tell the world – the things I have learned over the course of this journey, my own truths, the miracle of being able to meet irreplaceable friends, and my own feelings…”

Cindy’s eyes were closed and she’d placed both of her hands on her chest. Her figure, which looked like she was praying, was very beautiful, however, it was tinged with some pain and melancholy.

I see… the reason Cindy isn’t writing about her own love story was because of the possibility of it having a sad ending.

When the Dark Organization resurrects the Evil God, it is unclear if glasses guy will survive. I had Camilla make them MP potions and also gave them the magic barrier I’d modified – I did my best so the people of the Dark Organization wouldn’t die. Still, I couldn’t say for sure that it’ll be alright.

As I was about to react to the anxiety that she showed, I heard the sound of someone sniffling. At some point, Miranda started crying.

“U, uuu… sob, uu, sniff…”

And a lot of tears were falling down her cheeks. Seeing that, Luca took a box of tissues out of his magic bag and Cindy stroked Miranda’s head.

“Our Miranda-chan’s a weepy drunk. Come now, let’s wipe away those tears, hm?”

“Uuuu… Cindy, I-I also think… that you guys are irreplaceable. That’s why it’s so sad that we won’t be together anymore!”

“Ara ara. There there.”

Miranda glomped onto Cindy and buried her face in her chest. Noel also did the same thing when she cried before. I wonder if that place has some sort of healing power.

“Sob…Everyone… They’ve already decided what they want to do after this is over. And they all have a proper dream, goal, or job they want to do, so it’s not like I can invite them to be an adventurer, right? Am I the one who has to quit if I want to be with everyone? But who’d want to do something so lame?”

“That’s right. I also think it would be lame to break your own beliefs like that.” (Zagan)

Miranda took pride in being an adventurer, to the point that she was jealous of me for being an S-rank. She wanted to grow stronger. That’s why she continued being an adventurer even after her former fiancé died and even took on the challenge of collecting the star fragments in the dungeons by herself. That was how she’d first met Luca and Noel.

For a tank like Miranda, meeting precious friends, worthy of staking her life for, truly was a “miracle.” That wasn’t an emotion a solo adventurer like me could understand, so I was a bit jealous.

“Me too… if, when this is over, I had to leave Luca, I’d also be crying.”

“That’s never going to happen!! I’m never going to let Zagan go, ok!?”

It was only an example, but Luca vehemently denied it and squeezed me tight. The conversation wasn’t going anywhere so I just left him like that for now.

“It’s hard to part with the people you hold dear, but if our parting is inevitable, I’d like to at least cherish every moment that we have together so that I won’t regret it later on… though I can only imagine what it will feel like to be in that situation.”

There was nothing persuasive about a person trying to comfort someone who’s sad about leaving their friends while being hugged by their lover. I’d even go so far as to say it was annoying instead. Miranda, however, gave me a big nod.

“You’re right. No matter how much I stall, time’s not going to stop. He won’t come back either… I already regretted it once. I’m not going to make the same mistake again,” Miranda declared between sobs.

I nodded at her resolution.

People meet and people say goodbye. And when one door closes surely another one will open. Though, of course, I can’t say for sure whether the person you meet behind the new door would be better than the last.

Still, for now, I’d like to spend my time with the bawling Bennet who appeared next to me at some point, and with Noel and the others who were looking at us in concern. I want to cherish this miracle that allowed me to meet these precious friends.