Chapter 20: The Villainous Aristocrat Talks with His Countryman about Many Things

There were other reincarnated individuals besides me.

This fact hit me with a shock greater than when I realized I had been reborn as the villain.

I treated my fellow countryman, the maid, and the barely alive escorts, and then placed them in the magical armored vehicle.

The fellow countryman sat in the passenger seat, while the maid occupied the back seat.

Perhaps she had been too nervous; the maid seemed to have relaxed and fallen into a deep sleep, her breathing steady and calm.

The guards, who had barely survived, were accommodated on an improvised carriage made from modifying the original one.

There wasn’t enough space, so if you were a man, you had to endure it.

Oh, by the way, all the thieves are still alive. They got seriously injured when I ran them over, but it’s not life-threatening.

Currently, everyone is tied up with ropes and seated at the back of the towing vehicle.

When I threatened to drag them around if they resisted, they nodded obediently.

I made sure to thoroughly intimidate them by mentioning the magical armored vehicle and warning them that I would find them and drag them if they caused trouble. So, they should be fine.

Well, putting that aside…

“I can’t believe something like this really happened!! I never thought there’d be another reincarnated person besides me!! I’m getting so excited!!”

“Ouch, ouch. Stop hitting my back, you’ll cause an accident!!”

“Oh, sorry about that.”

A young girl with a bluish tinge to her white hair, speaking in a Kansai dialect, cleared her throat.

“Well then, let me introduce myself again. I’m Maria Liese Dragfalco. Just call me Maria. I don’t remember my previous name, but I was a high schooler, you know?”

“I’m Kunou Von Dorana. I was a 25-year-old working adult. I still remember my old name, but I’d rather not say it.”

“Why not?”

“…It’s one of those overly flashy names.”

“Oh, my condolences. Toxic parents, huh?”

“Nah, my parents were pretty good, I think. They supported me for a whole year even after I failed my university entrance exams, and we used to go on normal family trips during holidays. They just had a hopelessly bad sense when it came to naming me.”

It’s nostalgic.

I can’t recall their faces, but my father and mother were respectable individuals.

…Well, now I’m Kunou Dorana.

My father was a slovenly man, and my mother was strict yet kind in her own way.

The past is the past; I try to focus on the present as much as possible.

“Thank you so much, Kunou-san. Thanks to you, both I and Refana were saved.”

“Don’t mention it. In the end, I’m glad I could meet someone from my homeland.”

“Hehe, fellow countryman, huh? Oh dear, just speaking in Japanese is making me tear up.”

Maria wiped her tears in the passenger seat.

I wasn’t that emotional, but from what I heard, Maria was a girl in her previous life as well.

It must have been especially tough for a young girl like her.

Even I might not have survived the stress of a primitive lifestyle without my enchantment magic and shaping magic.

“Was it really that difficult?”

“It wasn’t just difficult, it was beyond that!! My second life, even talking about it brings tears, listening to it brings tears!!”

“O-Oh? What happened?”

I couldn’t help but ask.

In response, as if she had been wanting to vent to someone for a long time, Maria began speaking rapidly, like a machine gun.

“Actually, you see, Dragfalco was a reasonably influential duke’s family. But the eldest son—basically, my current older brother—screwed up big time.”

“What did he do?”

“Kidnapping! Kidnapping, I tell you!! He’s a total scumbag!! He tried to kidnap a princess or something, and he got killed by someone passing by. It serves him right; it’s honestly laughable!!”

I instinctively slammed on the brakes.

“Whoa!? That was close, damn it! …What’s the matter? Why are you making that weird face?”

“Oh, um, it’s just… Can I ask for Maria’s brother’s name?”

“Huh? His name? Oh, it’s Kerbeck. He was arrogant and bullied my mom, who was a concubine, and me. I really wanted to punch him at least once. —— Huh? What’s wrong? Why the sudden deep breaths?”

“Inhale… exhale…”

Should I say it…? 

…Yeah, I probably should. We might not have been close, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m her brother’s avenger.

This is entirely my fault; I accidentally ran over the kidnapper.”

“Probably, it was me. I accidentally ran him over with my motorcycle.”

“…What?”

“Well, you see, it wasn’t intentional. It was an accident, I just… ran him over.” 

“Hey, seriously!?”

Maria grabbed my collar tightly.

Gulp! She’s definitely angry!!

“Because of you, because of you, do you have any idea how much we struggled because of you, you idiot!!”

“I-I’m sorry!! I’m really sorry!!”

“Apologizing isn’t going to fix this!! Thanks to that asshole Kerbeck’s attempted kidnapping, Dragfalco is on the verge of collapse! Because that idiot died, we can’t even hold him responsible! Now, we’re just a noble family in name! We’ve become so poor it’s laughable!! Come on, laugh, will you?!”

“Hahaha.”

“What the hell are you laughing at!! I’ll hit you, I swear!!”

“This is so unfair!! Well, I mean, it’s my fault, but still!! It’s my fault!! But your brother was the one who tried to kidnap someone!”

“That’s true!”

…But wait, huh? I’m not being blamed as much as I expected for killing someone, am I?

“Um, aren’t you angry about the fact that I killed him? Your brother…”

“Huh? Ah, that’s different. He was scum, he deserved to die. But because that asshole died without taking responsibility, we’re in this dire situation. How’s he going to make up for it, huh?”

Maria had a look that could compete with that of a yakuza.

Despite her intimidating demeanor, she was a beautiful girl not inferior to Wendy or Felsy, which made it even scarier.

However, this was troublesome. What could I possibly do to make amends…?

“Um, how about home appliances?”

“…What?”

“No, I mean, it’s a hereditary magic from my maternal family. It involves bestowal magic and shaping magic, which allows me to recreate various things from my past life. This car is one of them, and I’ve made a washing machine and a refrigerator, too. Oh, I’m currently working on an air conditioner—”

“Kunou-san.”

“W-What is it?”

Maria suddenly approached me.

“We’re already best friends, right?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah?”

“Best friends help each other out, so all of this is for free, right?”

“W-Well, I mean, it’s also an apology, you know.”

“Then I forgive you!! I already hated that scumbag, so you’ve actually done me a favor by getting rid of him!!”

Isn’t the change of topic a bit too abrupt? Seriously, it’s scary!!

But for someone to be so hated, Kerbeck must have been a real scumbag.

“Wow, I never expected to get these kinds of things here!! And for free too!! It’s incredibly helpful for our impoverished noble family!!”

“…If you knew about the scenario, couldn’t you have stopped your brother?”

“Huh? Scenario? What’s that?”

“What?”

“Hey, look!! Ahead!!”

I was so surprised by Maria’s statement that I accidentally glanced away from the road.

“W-Wait a minute. This is ‘Fantasista Stories,’ the world of the game, right?”

“Huh? What’s that? What do you mean, the world of the game?”

It seemed that Maria had no knowledge of the game.

No wonder she couldn’t have stopped Kerbeck’s actions beforehand.

I explained to her that this world was a game world and that Knou was a minor villain character.

Upon hearing this, Maria replied.

“What the heck!! So, does this Knou guy know about future events or not?!”

“Well, kind of?”

“Cheater, cheater!! Let me retry in a game I’ve played before!! I want to experience ‘TSUEEEEEEEE’ (TN: Basically opness) with my original knowledge too!! I like girl games, I like girl games!!”

“But what can I do about it?!”

For Maria, this world was like an unplayed game.

It must have been quite challenging for her.

“Oh, this place… is it, milady?”

At that moment, Maria’s maid woke up in the back seat.

“Ah, Refana!! You’re awake!! I’m so glad, truly glad!!”

Maria leaned out from the passenger seat and hugged Refana in the back seat.

It would probably be safer to stop her, but she was clearly relieved that her important person was okay. I decided to overlook it this time.

…But still. 

It’s quite amusing how her Kansai dialect, which was very colloquial in Japanese, turned into a refined ladylike tone in the language of this world.

“I’m amused.”

“What are you laughing at?”

“Huh?”

Of course, Refana didn’t understand what we were talking about and just tilted her head in confusion.

…Huh? Come to think of it, I feel like I’ve seen this maid, Refana, somewhere before…

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