WeTried Translations

Translator: Goku

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Became a Villain Perfect for Leveling Up

Chapter 028

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28. Stained in the Shadows (2)

In the quiet forest, a gentle breeze blew.

Eirene's embrace, ironically, was incredibly warm.

It felt like years had passed since I last felt such warmth.

“Dean.”

“....”

“I can’t breathe….”

It was a somewhat embarrassing moment when Eirene was the first to speak, unsure of how long we had been embracing.

“…If it’s Dean, I’ll embrace you all you want. So let’s move for now.”

As I lowered the hand that was resting on her shoulder, she, now free, gently grasped my hand and set out on the forest path.

Her bluish hair fluttered, creating a subtle afterimage.

Hypnotized, I was naturally pulled along, and looked back.

The Holy City Aquilian.

Could I ever return?

If I were to meet the end of a story where I had no idea what the end was, then….

“Dean?”

“…No. Let’s move.”

I mumbled evasively to Eirene, who looked at me as I gradually slowed down, and quietly matched her pace again.

Perhaps due to my sprained ankle, I began to stumble more frequently after not going far.

As I toyed with Freud’s Fang, which I had tucked into my waistband, thinking I should commit suicide, she, realizing I was plotting something, draped my arm over her shoulder and began to support me.

Even without words, I could feel that it was an action to prevent my death.

Because if she held one arm, she could easily block me even if I tried to move the other.

Unfortunately, even with her supporting me, being a head shorter than me, my walking didn’t become any easier.

Instead, my waist was awkwardly tilted, increasing the burden on my legs.

“....”

Eirene, whose pace had also become uncomfortable due to my awkward walking, made no sign of discomfort and quietly continued on.

Thinking I might never be able to use my sprained left foot again at this rate, I tried to pull away the hand gripping her shoulder, but.

“No.”

My hand was strongly gripped, and a resolute refusal was heard.

While pondering how to escape, a good method came to mind that didn’t require pulling my arm away, and I immediately put it into action.

“…Dean?”

“You wouldn’t let go even if I told you to, would you?”

“....”

I bent my waist and lowered the hand draped over Eirene’s shoulder even further, fully entrusting my body’s weight to her.

A posture of embracing a woman with one arm.

As we reached a precarious distance where each other's scents mingled, I could almost hear Eirene’s heartbeat.

Her face turned bright red, and she diligently regulated her breathing, trying not to be noticed.

A single rose blooming among lilies creates an unforgettable afterglow.

The shy scent of her skin, which she exuded, soon.

“…Stop!”

Overflowed, becoming an intoxicating chill.

“…!!”

Eirene, whose emotions had surged, pushing me down with both arms, was surprised by her own instinctive action and rushed over.

“……Sorry, I’m sorry…! I didn’t mean to do that!”

Why was it?

…I felt a little annoyed by her.

“Aah…!”

I grabbed the hand she extended to help me up, and pulled.

And embraced her as she fell.

“....”

“You started it first, Eirene.”

After softly whispering into her ear, now smaller than anyone, I lay spread-eagled on the dirt floor.

My sprained leg throbbed too much; I couldn't even think about walking anymore.

Although it wasn't even evening yet, thinking I needed to rest a bit to recover, I gazed blankly at the sky and caught my breath.

“What… You’re not doing anything…?”

In the cool breezy forest, Eirene, using me as a blanket, spoke with a pout.

As before, she was on top of me, placing her hand on my face.

I flinched and my shoulder trembled at that action, but my eyes weren't pierced.

“....”

Eirene, momentarily recalling the past, also put away her playfulness and caressed my eyelids.

“…I’m sorry. I know no apology is enough….”

Eirene, quietly catching her breath, seemed to have no intention of repeating her past mistakes.

She didn't point a knife at me, and I could feel her taking care not to direct her power, the chill, towards me.

I grabbed her hand, which was caressing my eyelids.

“Don’t apologize. I have no intention of accepting it.”

“…Even so.”

“It’s an uncomfortable memory for both of us, isn’t it?”

“....”

At my voice, devoid of any emotion, Eirene bit her lower lip.

On her strongly bitten lip, a vivid red droplet of blood formed.

Just before the droplet precariously fell, a bluish afterimage surged forth like a wave.

Soon, an intoxicating aftertaste lingered on my lips.

“…What did you do.”

“A vow that I will no longer harm Dean.”

As I tried to wipe away the blood I had received on my lips, Eirene shook her head and sent me an earnest gaze.

“And my first kiss.”

The wind blew.

As if representing a ticklish heart.

Is it right to feel such emotions for someone I've been killed by dozens of times?

In a state of confusion where right and wrong, good and evil, were no longer discernible, Eirene smiled shyly.

Twisted affection. A gaze filled with love-hate flowed into me, becoming deeply stained love.

The feeling that seemed to defile my heart became an undeniable scar.

“Don’t leave me, Dean.”

“....”

Eirene, who chose to approach even if pricked by thorns, caressed my shoulder with her alluring fingers.

Then, at her touch unbuttoning my shirt one by one.

“Stop it.”

I gave her a voice and gaze that seemed to burn with guilt.

Even if we took one more step like this.

Even if our bodies entwined, only wounds would remain.

“Don’t do this, Eirene.”

When I grabbed Eirene’s hand and asked her to stop, my blocking hand was easily brushed aside.

“…Shut up, Dean.”

Her white eye-glow shimmered calmly.

My shirt front, now beyond return, was roughly undone.

As my upper body was revealed, her hesitant, moving hands stopped.

“If we go all the way like this…. What do you think, Dean?”

A gentle yet chilling voice constricted my entire body.

Like the law of nature where a female mantis devours a male mantis after mating.

It felt utterly serene, yet also as if a colossal whirlpool could arrive at any moment.

Eirene gently traced my lips, which remained silent under what wasn't quite a threat, but was still coercive.

Her expression seemed to be weeping, yet also shyly smiling.

As I gazed with an awkward look at Eirene, who carried a delicate aura as if she would offer her body at any moment if only I consented.

“…Wimp.”

Perhaps frustrated that I wouldn't take what was offered, I heard an insulting curse that pierced my heart.

The sound of cloth rustling was heard, and Eirene, who had been on top of me, got off onto the ground.

She crushed stones she picked up, revealing her displeasure.

At the sight of her displaying monstrous strength that defied common sense, a foolish thought crossed my mind, wondering if I should consent even now, but that too was brief.

Eirene lay down, using my outstretched arm as a pillow, and closed her eyes, only then allowing me to breathe a sigh of relief.

The sky was still blue, and my lifeline was still intact.

As I lay still and rested, the throbbing pain in my left ankle had also subsided significantly.

Every time someone was by my side, I had to endure torture instead of rest, so this moment felt new.

“…Mmm.”

I was about to close my eyes to take a nap, but Eirene suddenly let out an embarrassing moan and moved her shoulder.

Worried that I had done something to displease her, I cautiously turned my head.

“....”

There, was the figure of a beautiful woman, quietly closing her eyes and already asleep.

Her tranquil breathing gently met my cheek like a soft breeze.

Eirene, wandering in her dreams, looked…. so fragile.

Dark circles settled under her eyes, which I hadn't noticed because I hadn't paid attention.

The pristine white St. Liberta Academy uniform visible through her robe was stained with countless smudges.

As I looked at the traces that clearly showed her journey and hardships so far, my heart felt like it was seething.

I averted my gaze and shut my eyes tightly.

There was no reason to care.

And I didn’t want to care.

I consciously tried to compose my mental state, which had begun to twist, fearing that revenge might have somehow been sidelined.

I had died almost forty times at Eirene’s hands. She had raised her level by staining her hands with that much blood.

But… now I felt like forgiving her.

I took Freud’s Fang from my waistband and gripped it in my hand.

“....”

I aimed the tip of the dagger at her neck, where she was breathing softly, oblivious to everything.

If I just stabbed her like this.

If I just killed her….

My confusion would also end.

‘Stab her.’

It was then.

Someone spoke to me in my head.

Someone who had been sitting as an audience member within my mind. Stood up from their seat, applauding, and shouting for an encore.

‘Even if you deny it, you killed countless people in the 2nd Playthrough, didn’t you? Isn’t that right?’

The audience member's words were not wrong.

Starting from the underground prison, I had personally taken dozens of lives with my own hands.

Even if they were evil, the weight of a life was not much different.

‘Eirene is the same, isn’t she?’

Though the blood on her hands was entirely her own, she had climbed a mountain of corpses.

“....”

I had gripped it so hard that I could hear the bones twisting in the hand holding Freud’s Fang.

“Dean…?”

Even though it was a small sound, it was enough to fill the silent forest's background.

At the presence, Eirene opened her eyes.

“Are you… going to kill me?”

‘Kill her.’

Her eyes didn't tremble.

Nor were they the eyes of someone seeing a murderer.

She merely… smiled, accepting her fate.

“Alright. If Dean wishes it…. You may take my life.”

‘Yes. Eirene wants it too, doesn’t she?’

The inner audience member had grown colossal, becoming the protagonist of the play and shouting at me.

“…Ugh.”

My teeth ground.

The primal urge to stab and kill her right now, and the goodwill that didn't want to kill her, clashed.

‘It'll be over if you just close your eyes once. What's so precious about the life of a mere NPC?’

The audience member spoke one last time.

“Mm.”

Eirene caressed my cheek and closed her eyes to accept her fate.

The faintly flowing breeze tickled her bluish hair.

The brass-colored blade left a menacing afterimage.

The commotion of small birds in the forest, startled, hurriedly flying into the sky, passed.

Freud’s Fang was plunged into the ground beside Eirene’s ear, at a dangerously close distance.

Because of this, the festering wound rotted beyond repair.

But for the man whose heart had collapsed, the woman who had faced all truths and finally decided to believe him remained by his side.

Eirene willingly embraced me to her chest, gently stroking my hair like a benevolent mother.

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