Chapter 31

I Like Villains, so I Reincarnated as One

Ultimately, we never crossed paths with Astesia after that. Apparently, she was eating her meals separately from everyone else.

Then, as night fell and everyone had gone to sleep, Rosalia and I were patrolling around the church. Since we’re supposedly adventurers, the priest asked us to do a late-night patrol. Rosalia could have stayed asleep, but she decided to join me for safety’s sake, saying “It’s safer with two people.”

“Sorry about earlier, Weiss-sama… I can’t believe I acted like that towards someone I just met…”

“Don’t worry about it. She has Hades’ curse on her—a curse that makes anyone who isn’t a follower of Hades dislike her. So even if Rosalia dislikes her, it’s understandable. I’m probably fine because of White’s blessing.”

“Hades followers… those who hurt you, Weiss-sama, and caused Aegis-sama so much pain. They’re unforgivable… But how did you know that person was cursed?”

“That’s… thanks to White’s blessing. Ahaha.”

“I see, as expected of Weiss-sama!”

She really seemed impressed by my half-hearted lie, which made me feel incredibly guilty. And then, as if remembering something, she let out a sad sigh.

“I really wanted to bring White-chan along too…”

“She’s too cute, and she’s a divine beast… She might attract unnecessary attention, so I left her with Nial. Still, I miss her. I hope she’s doing well…”

Thinking back to White’s cute little squeaks made me feel a bit lonely too. Once this is over, I’ll definitely spoil her plenty. It was right at that moment…

“Kyaa!”

Suddenly, Rosalia tripped and clung to me, whispering in my ear.

“H-hey… Rosalia…?”

“Please don’t move your face. Look at the top of that building. Someone’s hiding there.”

“What?”

I casually glanced up at the roof as she instructed, but I didn’t see anything unusual, nor could I sense any presence. Guess that’s what sets apart a former adventurer like Rosalia.

Even though I can use magic decently, maybe this is where real combat experience shows…

“This guy seems pretty skilled… I’ll hide myself with magic, so Rosalia, can you lure him this way?”

“But… Weiss-sama, it’s dangerous!”

“You said you’d protect me, right? Then it’s fine. Besides, I’ve gotten stronger too.”

“Ugh… That’s unfair of you to say. But… if it gets dangerous, please run away, okay?”

After splitting up, I used my magic to conceal myself within the shadows. Though I couldn’t move, thankfully I still had visibility, so I wouldn’t miss the timing.

Soon after, ice spears rained down on the spot Rosalia mentioned earlier, and something glinted silver before the ice shattered.

“Hahaha, seriously?! You noticed my presence?! Not bad at all! Meeting such a formidable opponent here must be divine providence!”

“Who are you?! Why were you spying on this church?!”

The figure cloaked in tattered robes deflected Rosalia’s ice spears with twin daggers in each hand. This guy’s no joke… Tension ran through me.

“Forgive me, oh Darkness! Circumstances prevent me from revealing my identity. Beautiful lady.”

“So, you call yourself Darkness?”

“W-what?! How do you know my name?! Don’t tell me you have an appraisal skill?!”

Relax, he’s an idiot… But still, Darkness? What a To LOVE-like name. I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere before, but he wasn’t in the main game. Probably from some supplementary material.

Despite his goofy demeanor, Darkness’s skills are legit. He’s going toe-to-toe with Rosalia and even holding his own…

“Sorry, but I can’t afford to draw more attention here! I’ll retreat for now! Fuhahahaha!”

With a loud laugh, Darkness blocked one of Rosalia’s spear thrusts, using the momentum to leap off the roof.

He even spun around mid-air to show off.

Nice work, Rosalia!

As Darkness landed near where I was hiding, I dispelled my concealment spell and began chanting a new incantation.

“What?! Me not noticing your presence?! But you’re still young! If you value your life, stay put…”

“O tyrant of shadows, seize my foe with your mighty claws!”

“Foolish! An advanced spell?!”

Ignoring Darkness’s words, I completed the chant. My shadow transformed into a massive beast, lunging at him with its claws.

For a brief moment, he gasped in shock under his hood… then laughed gleefully.

“Not bad, but alas! Wind beasts upon my right arm, wind birds upon my left! Wind, wrap around my blades!”

“This guy can use advanced magic too?!”

He infused wind into both swords, deflecting the shadow beast’s claw with one blade while stabbing the other into the ground. Wind swirled violently, launching him rocket-like into the sky with a thunderous roar.

“Fuhahahaha, farewell! Ohh, whaaaat?!”

A last-ditch swipe from my shadow beast’s tail grazed him, throwing off his trajectory. With a pathetic scream, he flew off awkwardly. Could he be one of the Hades followers targeting Astesia? He sure was comical…

“What’s all this commotion?”

“…So sleepy.”

Perhaps due to all the noise (mostly Darkness), Priest Clayes and Astesia showed up. Unsure of what to do, I noticed Rosalia had already moved beside me to explain.

“We were patrolling since we suspected an intruder, but we were attacked by a mysterious man. He may know something about the missing girl. He was quite powerful, so it might be wise to call for reinforcements from another church.”

“So there really was an intruder… Was he the one who took Martha?”

Astesia remained expressionless, but her voice betrayed a hint of frustration. More than that, I was intrigued by Priest Clayes, who seemed to have anticipated everything and muttered, “So they’ve finally appeared…”