I Like Villains, so I Reincarnated as One
Astesia draws her sword from my waist and gazes at me with eyes as cold as ice. I desperately try to move my body, but it genuinely won’t listen—this must be what games refer to as a paralysis state.
“I adjusted the potion so only your mouth can move—you should be able to speak. So… why did you curse me like this? And how exactly can this curse on me be lifted?”
“…It’s not like that… I’m not a follower of Hades… I was trying to save you…”
“Oh, what a pity. I’m not really into torture, but… well, don’t worry, as long as you don’t die, I can fix you.”
Oh crap, this is bad!! I’m not reassured at all!! But getting stabbed by my beloved cool and dark fallen saint girl is kind of thrilling. Still, this is Weiss’ body—I don’t want to hurt her if I can help it.
Just when I thought I was in a hopeless situation, an unexpected presence came to my rescue.
“Kyuu!! Kyu? Kyuuuuu!!”
“White…?”
“Eh? Could it be… the Divine Beast-sama?”
From the gap in the door, my beloved White appeared. Spotting me in this crisis, she hurriedly spread her small body to shield me, standing firmly in front of Astesia.
What a devoted little partner… but I can’t let her get hurt. Astesia despises divine beasts in the game, often targeting those under their protection. White’s life is in danger.
“White… run away… and bring Rosalia here…”
“Kyuuuuu!!”
Contrary to my plea, White refused to leave. As I agonized over what to do, Astesia placed her sword down and bowed her head as if she had met a god.
With a trembling voice, she spoke as if seeing something unbelievable.
“Why is the Divine Beast-sama here… Could it be, are you the contracted partner of the Divine Beast-sama? That’s why… my curse didn’t work on you…?”
“Yeah… that’s right. If possible, I’d like you to do something about this poison…”
“I see, I’m sorry!! Grace of the gods, purify this person’s body!”
As Astesia’s panicked voice echoed, my body was enveloped in light, and just like that, the paralysis disappeared completely. Is this what healing magic feels like? It’s incredible!
“Kyu kyu♪”
“Oh, thank you!! You saved me, White.”
As I marveled at the fantasy element of healing magic, White happily perched on my shoulder, rubbing her cheek against mine. Her fluffy fur felt incredibly soothing.
I owe my life to this little guy… Divine Beasts are revered as messengers of God within the church—they’re sacred. And it seems she respects them properly now, unlike in the game. This might mean she’ll listen to reason.
“I’m truly sorry… There’s no way a contract holder of the Divine Beast could be a follower of an evil cult… I shouldn’t have doubted you without knowing. I’ll make it up to you, anything you want.”
Astesia’s demeanor changed drastically, now full of regret. Thanks to White, the misunderstanding seemed to have been resolved. But wait, “anything”? Does she really mean *anything*!? She’s practically throwing out yaoi manga lines.
“Hahaha, alright then. How about you say, ‘I’m sorry, I was a foolish woman to doubt you, Lord Weiss,’ and bow down to me?”
“Alright, fine. I…”
“No, sorry, I was just joking!! You don’t need to bow your head like that!! Given the situation, even I looked suspicious, so it’s understandable. Don’t worry about it.”
I hurriedly stopped Astesia, who was about to press her forehead to the ground. Honestly, given the circumstances, I did seem suspicious. Especially since she knew about the curse placed on her.
“But if you knew about your own curse, why did you choose to live among people anyway? That must have been painful…”
“Yes, it was… But I saw it as a trial. God always watches over us and bestows His blessings. If I can overcome this trial of the evil cult’s curse, I believe I’ll truly earn God’s grace… That’s what I thought. The children haven’t changed much, but Father has become a bit gentler…”
She spoke with a hint of pride. Even though she must have gone through immense suffering, she accepted it as a trial from God…? Unfortunately, being an atheist Japanese in my past life, my concept of God differs vastly. But for her, where divine blessings grant magical abilities, God is a tangible presence worth believing in despite the hardships.
But… God will never save her. And someone with such strong faith—if she were to switch allegiance to the followers of Hades, it would take unimaginable pain. My desire to protect her from such a fate grows stronger.
To do that, we first need to lift her curse…
“Astesia… I’m not asking for compensation for your earlier apology, but can I hold your hand for a moment?”
“Yes… I suppose that’s fine…”
Is that really okay? Confused, I took her hand and checked her status.
———————————————————————————————
**Astesia**
– **Strength**: 30
– **Magic Power**: 80
– **Skill**: 80
**Skills**
– Holy Magic LV3
– Staff Combat LV1
– Pharmacology LV2
**Occupation**: Priest
**Loyalty to God**: 98
**Unique Skills**
– Blessing of Zeus
A skill granted to those blessed by Zeus. Increases effectiveness and success rate of holy magic. Boosts stats when fighting against affiliates of other gods.
– Blessing of Hades
A blessing forcibly imposed by Hades. Grants the ability to use Hades’ power but is currently being suppressed.
**Bad Status**
– Curse of Hades
A curse that causes aversion in everyone except followers of Hades. Only beings blessed by a god can overcome it.
**Notes**
Despite her cool demeanor due to her beauty, she’s actually just socially awkward. Deep down, she’s a bit self-conscious about it.
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As expected from a boss-level character. Her stats are insanely high! And apparently, she’s still developing—makes me shudder to think about her future potential. As for the curse… bingo.
Blessed by a god—that means the Spirit Spring, right? Evidence being that I, contracted with White, have never felt any aversion towards her. My love for my waifu… turns out it wasn’t entirely one-sided, which is a bit disappointing…
But realizing that I can save her—my waifu—fills me with genuine joy.
“What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly silent after holding my hand…? Could it be, do you also feel aversion towards me now? Did touching me strengthen the curse?”
Seeing her face momentarily contort, I hurriedly dispelled her misunderstanding. Having someone you once trusted turn into an enemy must be especially painful…
“No, sorry. It’s not like that. I’ve figured out how to lift your curse.”
“Eh… really?”
Astesia’s eyes widened in disbelief. Then, gripping my hand tightly in excitement, she asked,
Her desperate expression locked onto mine, and I nodded firmly.
“Yes, really. If anyone can… I can free you from your curse.”
“My curse… it can be lifted? No more will strangers look at me like trash? No more will good intentions be returned with malice? People who were once close to me won’t inexplicably hate me anymore? Finally…”
She clutched my hand so painfully tight, her voice breaking as she sobbed. Gone was her earlier stoic mask—she cried uncontrollably. Though I hadn’t noticed during our short time together, it was clear now… she had simply hidden it from everyone. Being hated by strangers and even close friends—it must have been unbearable.
She had fought and endured this unjust curse all this time…
“It’s going to be okay. I promise I’ll free you from this curse.”
“I… I… waaaahhh!!”
Moved by her anguish, I spoke softly to comfort her. Astesia buried her face in my chest, sobbing uncontrollably.
“It was painful, wasn’t it…”
“I was sad… lonely. Everyone left me, and I was so lonely…”
Looking at Astesia, who finally let her pent-up emotions overflow, I reflected.
When I first met her, she wore the same expressionless mask she does in the game—even when subordinates died or cherished orphans were killed. But it doesn’t mean she felt nothing. She simply endured it all, telling herself it was a trial. In her diary entries in the game, it mentioned she acted indifferent because crying or showing emotion made her a target of further disdain.
And even among the followers of Hades, she remained the same. They took pride in dying for Hades, and while Astesia showed no outward emotion when subordinates or cherished orphans died, she hadn’t fully assimilated into their beliefs. She mourned deeply, but masked her pain with that same stoic expression to avoid worrying others.
Ah, my waifu truly is precious… and that’s precisely why I want to protect her.
Holding her tightly, I felt her grip me back with desperate strength—as if clinging to salvation. It broke my heart.
“Loys, there’s trouble! Father Clayes… um, it seems you’re quite popular, but we have urgent matters to discuss. Can we focus?”
Entering without knocking—a rare occurrence—was Rosalia. Her panicked expression shifted to something unreadable.
Wait, why is she looking at me like that…? I quickly assessed the situation: late at night, in a girl’s room, hugging each other… It looked like I was hitting on her.
Astesia and I hastily pulled apart.
“This isn’t what it looks like! Right, Astesia?”
“Yes… please don’t worry. He was just comforting me with kind words.”
“I see… as expected of Loys.”
Astesia’s social awkwardness shone through brilliantly. That explanation was utterly unhelpful and probably made things worse. What’s with that impressed tone? Rosalia’s starting to scare me…
“So, what happened?”
“Can you come with me for a moment?”
Not wanting Astesia to overhear, Rosalia glanced at her briefly before calling me over. Something bad must have happened.
“White, I’m leaving her to you.”
“Kyuuu!!”
“The Divine Beast-sama… so cute…”
As White transferred from my shoulder to Astesia’s hands, she murmured dreamily. With this, I could rest assured—animal therapy, indeed…
Leaving Astesia to White, I followed Rosalia.
“It’s serious. Father Clayes was attacked by someone. Thankfully, he’s alive but injured and resting at the church. The attacker used wind magic, so it’s likely that man…”
“Seriously…?”
Too early for an attack—I couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat. Up until now, they’d just been watching, but perhaps our actions spurred them into action.
