I Will Not Fall For the Villain’s Flirtations - Chapter 4 Part 2

After a long time since entering the temple, I raised my head at the title I hadn’t heard in a while.

Then, the face of the knight I had looked into yesterday came into view.

“Are you…”

“Ah, I’m Karel. Karel Oski.”

“Nice to meet you, Karel. By the way, how do you know my name…”

Blushing, he hesitated to answer.

“Well, last time… when you came to see Sir Peidos at the East Building. I overheard it. I should have asked you first. I apologize.”

“Oh, no. I didn’t mean to be rude, I just thought maybe we had met before.”

It seemed that he was among the group of knights when I went to deliver the basket to Sir Peidos. Even so, it was impressive for him to remember my name.

“I remembered Miss Duna because… you left an impression.”

“Huh? Oh… thank you.”

It was the kind of crush you’d be a fool not to recognize. Without even making eye contact, Karel pointed to the place he had just assured me was safe.

Being human, I was both embarrassed and pleased to receive such a compliment after a long time. With so many remarkable main characters around recently, my confidence had dropped a little, but now I felt a bit more confident.

But it was equally overwhelming. Although the cute, flirtatious young man seemed like a nice enough guy, it felt too early to have any specific emotions towards him.

But then, out of nowhere, a sudden cold wind blew from the front.

“There, the formation keeps falling apart.”

“I’ll fix it!”

Karel, who responded like an automatic voice system, turned to me and bowed deeply. While looking at him returning to his original position, I stared at the person who had given him a jab.

“…….”

When Peidos and I made eye contact, he slowly shifted his gaze. Somehow, an awkwardness seeped into his series of actions.

An indescribable, fuzzy feeling filled my chest, making me feel uncomfortable. I desperately turned my head, pretending to be engrossed in the subsequent purification.

Surely, it was intentional… right?

That imaginary thought brought a sense of joy. Since no one would know anyway, I decided to enjoy it a little bit more, blushing with inner happiness.

“You do know, don’t you?”

A familiar yet uninviting voice struck my ear.

When I turned to the side, Prim was silently staring at me. I furrowed my brow again in response to her tactless remark.

“What?”

“That Peidos Carmel is an important person.”

“…Are there people who don’t know that?”

He is the leader of the Gabriel Knights. As a prominent knight of the Holy Kingdom, he boasted considerable influence within the temple.

If he were to go astray here and now, the purification process would come to a halt. Not knowing him was no different from not knowing the Pope or the archbishops.

“Not about that…”

She took a deep breath in frustration. Her observing gaze, persistently searching as if trying to unearth something, was oddly tenacious.

“You keep trying to get closer to Peidos Carmel. Aren’t you doing it for your own good?”

“…Are you suggesting that I’m purposely trying to get close to Peidos Carmel just because he’s a big shot?”

I couldn’t understand why she couldn’t stop prying into my relationship with Peidos since the other day. I wonder if she subconsciously realized he was her future husband.

“Well, I think he’s impressive, but I never went out of my way.”

“…Are you really unaware?”

“What have I been unaware of? Should we play a game of 20 questions?”

I couldn’t resist snapping back, frustrated. Suddenly, a loud noise shook the ground.

Kwaaaah.

Vibrations seemed to have originated from nowhere, and the trees began to fall. The surrounding area instantly turned into a wasteland.

The priests panicked and screamed in terror since they were in the middle of the forest and didn’t know where to go.

“Maintain formation! Evacuate the purification priests!”

The knights on horseback moved quickly and issued commands. Being familiar with military exhibitions, they were the first to regain their composure and took charge of guiding the somewhat disoriented formation.

There were also some of the training officials who experienced this situation for the first time and were overcome by panic. I wasn’t as bad as them, but I was quite surprised, so I looked around and tried to assess the situation.

Unfortunately, the earthquake was just the beginning.

Krrrung.

Along with the ominous sounds of beasts, unknown black creatures began to reveal themselves.

Something like a combination of wolves and bears appeared in front of me and Prim. I could tell from their blood-red eyes and indescribable presence.

These creatures were demonic monsters.

“Aaack!”

I heard a scream from one of my classmates nearby. But I didn’t have the time to check on her condition. I held onto Prim and slowly stepped back, saying,

“Calm down and walk slowly…”

But Prim replied coldly,

“You should calm down.”

Then she released her power towards the demons.

No, she hasn’t even learned any attack magic, and yet she…

But as if to show that she wasn’t without reason as the protagonist, the attack hit its mark. Her holy power itself seemed to clash with dark magic, so it had some effect.

But there was a problem.

“Why are they coming after me!”

After receiving one attack and preparing to dodge the next, a demon with large horns charged at me.

No, I didn’t attack you, she did!

But there’s no way the mute creature could understand what I was saying. All I could do was run away like a coward.

“Aaack!”

I couldn’t stop and concentrate my power. Well, even if I did, I would die if it charged at me! Unless I had the ability to deliver an extremely powerful blow.

Prim, who was much better at manipulating power than I was, could only let out a slight whimper. Now was not the time to play games, but to save my life.

But there’s no way a human could overcome the speed of a monster. In the end, I couldn’t run far and was caught.

Kruwaaah!

The demon roared loudly and swung its foreleg at me. I rolled sideways, making a move that made me wonder if I had ever been this agile in my life.

But I couldn’t avoid being scratched. I clenched my bleeding left arm and tried to run again, but my leg got tangled, and I stumbled, falling down.

“Aah.”

Now there seemed to be no way to escape. I sighed quietly as I looked at the demon right in front of me.

It wasn’t as bad as the original, but this is how it ends.

I muttered to myself internally, feeling a bit disappointed with the anticlimactic ending.

“Duna!”

With that familiar voice, the demon went berserk. Peidos, who had disemboweled the demon’s waist in the blink of an eye, asked me.

“Are you okay?”

“……Ah.”

I thought he was some kind of crown prince on a white horse. And in reality, he was indeed riding a horse of that color.

It wasn’t until Peidos lifted me up that I regained a sense of reality. For a moment, I wondered if I had died and was experiencing a hallucination, but it seemed the main thread of the original story was still intact.

Taking a quick look around the chaos, Peidos mumbled softly.

“The location of the surprise attack and the arrangement of the demons are quite highly organized. There must be someone controlling them.”

“What? Then…”

He said through gritted teeth, not hiding his disdain.

“It must be the Magic Tower.”

“……”

The Magic Tower’s doing? But Keene is certainly…

[Don’t get hurt. That’s my condition.]

So, was that all just for show?

I felt a cold chill running down my spine. I looked at the priests who were evacuating and the other priests fighting the demons to support them.

If it weren’t for Sir Peidos’s help, I would have died helplessly.

I felt foolish for being so complacent. I also felt a deep sense of betrayal towards the man who had been giggling and flirting with me.

How could he casually send away the demons after saying such things? Or did he assume that I would get hurt, so he told me not to?

Either way, it was disappointing. It’s ridiculous to feel disappointed in someone whom I shouldn’t have expectations for.

“I’ll take you to the evacuation area. I have to finish things here.”

“……Thank you.”

Even in the midst of great danger, having the strongest knight of the kingdom by my side made me feel somewhat secure. It was like having an impenetrable shield.

By the way, where did the female lead go…

“Just a moment. I had a classmate with me…”

Although the monster came towards me instead of Prim earlier, there was no guarantee that she would be safe.

Looking around anxiously, I quickly spotted her because of her eye-catching hair color.

Prim was using her power to repel the monsters and was heading towards the gathering place for the evacuation.

Her skills are certainly exceptional, as expected of a main character. I wonder who I was worried about.

“No, she seems fine.”

“Come on.”

I nodded and tried to follow his guidance to get on the horse. Suddenly, my vision became blurry.

“…Huh?”

Why does Peidos look so small from up here?

It was only after he quickly got on the horse that he realized it. No, he had no choice but to acknowledge the reality he wanted to deny.

I am flying.

Of course, it’s not by choice. I looked at the monster bird flapping above me. Its sharp claws had pierced through my clothes.

The monster bird, which is the size of three people combined, roared loudly and flew even higher. If I hesitated any longer, I would become the monster’s meal, so I gathered power in my hands, following Prim.

Chirp! Chirp!

Despite its peculiar appearance, the cry of the monster bird was strangely intimidating. When the altitude lowered slightly, I found an opportunity and decisively grabbed its foot with my hand, which was charged with holy power.

Teeheeek!

The burned monster let out a painful scream and dropped me. It didn’t seem very high from my perspective, but the time it took to fall felt like an eternity.

Please, let nothing be broken.

As I prayed earnestly, familiar hair came into view just below.

“Huh?”

I knew I was near Prim. But I didn’t expect us to overlap like this…

“Kyaaaah!”

Unfortunately, I slightly brushed against her and fell. It was just a brief touch, but we both felt the impact due to the height.

But perhaps because of that, we were lucky to escape with minor injuries. I called out to Prim, who had rolled away in order to check on her condition after screaming in pain.

“S, sorry! Are you okay?”

“What the heck, you!”

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to be seriously injured either, although I had fallen on her. I approached her with relief.

Chirp!

The damn monster never gave up, and this time it took Prim away with it.

“Ah, no!”

Startled, I grabbed hold of her leg and hung on. And we were dragged along together.

“Hey! Let go!”

“But…”

Prim glared at the monster with a painful groan. Perhaps because she was in a hurry, she displayed unprecedented, mighty strength.

Boooom!