The Villainess Wants To Be A Sidekick

Chapter 11: Picnic Date

“Now we’re ready!”

I placed the finishing touches on three sandwiches that I packed neatly away in individual boxes. The kitchen had been in such a fuss because of my cooking. Well, I couldn’t really call this cooking since I only made sandwiches, but at the very least I hoped they wouldn’t taste too bad?

But just in case they didn’t like the sandwiches, I also made sure to pack some ham, wine, cheese, and fruits that we could munch on instead. The picnic basket I had prepared was now stuffed full of food, mats, a blanket, and a parasol to provide us some shade.

Today was Saturday, one of our days off, and the sun was shining brightly overhead—perfect conditions for a picnic. If a man and a woman, both in their primes, happened to spend some time together under these conditions, their intimacy level would undoubtedly increase 100 times faster!

Well, I wasn’t referencing myself specifically, but I meant to say that this was a great opportunity to build a romantic relationship much quicker than usual.

Cultivating a bond and developing romance was usually the predominant goal aside from story completion for games with a female target audience like <Arlandast Saga>. As such, once the player passed a certain point in the “common” or “shared route”, then the plot would diverge and focus on a specific story route belonging to the “target character” or otherwise known as whoever the player built up the highest intimacy with. Also, if the player, acting as the heroine Velkina, managed to level up her favorability with the target character to an even higher degree, then she could unlock the possibility of romancing him. In this case, the target is our Lumins. However, if the player fails to raise enough intimacy with the target character, then the route will remain locked and nothing further will happen between the heroine and the target character’s relationship.

In other words, all I have to do is push our Lumins to the fullest so Velkina will fall for his charm and enter his romantic route!

 

◇◇◇

Two days ago, I had brought up the idea of having a picnic to Velkina and Lumins as a way to secure the first step toward entering Lumins’ route.

“Picnic? Sounds good! Lumins likes the idea too, right?”

When I had asked whether the three of us should go on a picnic this weekend, Velkina clasped my hands with hers and excitedly accepted my proposal.

I, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you would be this happy…

“I don’t really have any plans that day, either. Where are we going?”

Lumins nodded lightly as he confirmed that he would be happy to join us. All right! Now that both important parties are on board, the plan is set.

“What about the Forest of Delight on the east side of the tower?” I offered. “The scenery must be beautiful since it’s about time for the hyacinths to bloom. Velkina hasn’t been there yet, right?”

“Yes, after entering the Magic Research Institute, all I’ve done is work, so it will be great if we can do this!”

Velkina’s face brimmed with excitement. My heart broke slightly at the sight of seeing her so happy just from receiving an invite to a picnic, and not even a large one at that.

 

In <Arlandast Saga>, Velkina’s past was never discussed in-depth, but there had been some hints indicating that she had been an orphan who lived in the small realm. So ever since she set foot in the Magic Research Institute, everything seemed totally new and exciting to her.

I knew that part well, because…

“Ugh…”

“Senephin?”

Suddenly, my head throbbed in pain as I was beset by a severe headache. Fortunately, the pain subsided quickly after I closed my eyes. I proceeded to breathe deeply for a while. How strange. As far as I knew, I didn’t have a cold nor was I sick. Why was this happening? Did I sleep on the wrong side of the bed last night?

“Ah, also, since I was the one who brought up the picnic,” I said as I tried to shake off thoughts of my headache, “I’ll prepare all the things we need. All you guys need to do is just show up.”

I will work hard to be the best wing woman for you two and make sure you will be able to enjoy a pleasant picnic later.

Trust me, Velkina! And, regarding your choice of a romantic partner, I highly recommend the guy next to you. He is really nice! So you better get him!

◇◇◇

Once Saturday arrived, I gathered the picnic basket I had packed and walked leisurely to our promised meeting place.

The venue for our outing was the Forest of Delight, which was a really special place. I had told them to come a little later so I could arrive ahead of time to prepare everything in advance and make sure the conditions were perfect for our rendezvous. Because Velkina was still new to the institute, she didn’t yet know that the forest was actually filled with magic, so I had arranged for Lumins to escort her. In my opinion, this was really the perfect setting.

“I’ve arrived!”

Since I already prepared the food and everything else required for the picnic in advance, all I needed to do now was survey the surroundings and pick out the best date location. For now, I figured it would be better to choose a place where they could really enjoy the scenery. After a short while, I found a spot I was satisfied with and bent down to begin unfurling the blanket. Afterward, I laid out the food and arranged everything to create the perfect spread.

“Phew…”

I never mentioned this to them, but from the beginning, I never had any plans to shamelessly intrude on Velkina and Lumins’ alone time.

So, when they arrive, I decided I would say that something urgent suddenly came up and then take my leave. By leaving them alone, they’ll finally have some quality time to spend together and flirt—not to mention the setting should really encourage the atmosphere between them.

Today, the weather wasn’t too hot, and the gentle breeze had already dried my sweat from hiking and lugging the basket all the way to this place. All around me, vibrant, yellow hyacinths were also swaying along with the wind, and a pleasant floral scent was carried through the air. Anyone would feel warm and happy while having a conversation in this kind of environment. I really think I did a good job here.

While I was preoccupied with praising myself, I heard something rustling near me.

I started to look around while also thinking to myself that the rustling might just have been a result of the wind. But then, I caught sight of the source of the sound, and my eyes widened in surprise.

A small, gray puppy, about the size of two of my palms cupped together, wobbled weakly toward the picnic blanket. It looked frail and dusty.

“…!”

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How cute! It is so cuutteee! But why is a small puppy living in the forest all by itself? The puppy was likely a different species from the conventional ones I had known before, but it looked just like a fluffy Jindo dog(*The Korean Jindo is a breed of hunting dog that originated on Jindo Island in South Korea). I wanted to run toward it and stroke it right away, but I didn’t think it would be best to appear out of nowhere and surprise the wild puppy. So, I resigned myself to holding my breath and watching the pup from afar.

“Oh?”

The puppy started to approach the picnic basket, and I had been thinking about revealing my presence to chase him out, but then I realized something was wrong with it. Its posture seemed very unstable as it tried to bite the ham that I had laid out along with the other food. Just as its snout was about to touch the food, it abruptly turned its head away as if it realized that it had done something it was not supposed to. Slowly, it shakily turned around to head in a different direction.

However, as he made his way out, the puppy collapsed after taking a few steps.

“Puppy? Puppy…?!”