NOVEL NEXT chapter 5
5. Scoundrel: Huh? I have to sit at the same table as the victim? Why?
This dilapidated temple was where Noah awoke in this world, suspected to be a hidden map from the original story, once a temple dedicated to the dark god.
Because the temple is located in a different space, it is absolutely impossible for anyone to come here, unless Noah, the temple master, actively draws this temple closer.
In other words, Noah can freely monitor Valentines’ every move without worrying about being discovered.
To be honest, in some ways, it’s not much different from when he controlled Valentines, the female protagonist, in a computer game.
At most, Valentines won’t act on his orders now, but that’s good, because in the original story, Valentines can never achieve a perfect ending in Noah’s eyes.
It’s not like she’ll become a cannon fodder or an antagonist; theoretically, Noah is very free in this world, and he can do whatever he wants as long as he can accept the consequences.
But the problem is that he wants Valentines, the female protagonist created by the author with malicious intentions, to break free from the original tragic ending.
It’s just like those readers who cannot accept the original BAD END.
Noah just can’t bear the thought of Valentines becoming a toy for men, even if she becomes a demon, at least she should become a queen who plays with men.
For this reason, he has decided not to let Valentines be deceived by the yellow-haired man again.
However, he has no intention of imprisoning and training Valentines like a pet, because Valentines is not yet as unreasonable as a spoiled child.
As long as he makes her realize that she can only rely on herself and not on the men around her who have ulterior motives, Noah’s goal will be achieved.
Standing in front of the protagonist, cultivating Valentines into a femme fatale who plays with men, this is basically Noah’s plan.
As for whether he will become the demon queen’s nemesis in the end, he will pretend to be defeated by her opponent.
And of course, Noah knows that letting Valentines go is a certainty.
“…Ah, Mr. Allen, what do you think of dragons?”
After seeing the silver-haired princess hesitate and eventually ask this question.
Noah, who was broken and standing in the temple, couldn’t help but smile.
Look, the show is about to start.
“Dragons? I don’t have any special thoughts about them. Although dragons look impressive, they are just inferior creatures, greedy and lustful, with no shame in pursuing their desires, and they are basically a failed creation of the goddess. No, they might not even be created by the goddess, but by some other god or demon.”
Allen didn’t know why the princess who loved hero stories suddenly asked this question, but he still gave his own answer.
In his opinion, it’s only natural for Valentines, who admires dragon slayers, to like hearing a negative answer about dragons.
As for his true thoughts, they are slightly different.
He doesn’t look down on dragons; he looks down on everyone except himself, especially women, including princesses. They’re just toys he plays with.
“Ah… that’s true, sorry for asking a strange question.”
But Valentines didn’t show the reaction Allen imagined after hearing this answer, instead, she seemed to feel guilty for no reason.
This left Allen, who thought he completely understood Valentines’ psychology, stunned.
What? How did this happen? His answer should be perfect, but why is the reaction so subtle?
It’s not his fault, really. After all, the previous Valentines was standing on the human side, while the current one has been forced to stand on the dragon’s side.
It’s only natural that she would want to hear a different answer now.
Noah, who has read every detail of the story, knows that Valentines, who is uneasy, will definitely go to ask Allen, who she trusts, for an answer, and he knows that Allen will give an answer like this.
Their actions had been completely anticipated by Noah, who was very familiar with them.
Valentina had originally sought comfort, but Allen’s smile, as warm as a spring breeze, provided the most correct answer, splashing cold water on Valentina and pulling her back from her desperate need for others’ approval to a state of calm.
What was she even doing? Mr. Allen would definitely respond this way; she knew that all too well.
But… she still wanted to hear a different answer…
However, this made Valentina realize that she absolutely could not disclose what was happening to her to the man before her.
This was for her own good, and for his as well.
“Hmm? Tina, you seem a bit strange. Did something happen?”
It was no surprise that Allen, the most theatrical of blondes, immediately noticed that Valentina was acting differently than usual, and he became somewhat alert, his gaze turning a bit unfriendly.
What was going on? Had that weak little guy instilled some peculiar thoughts in the princess?
“Ah, it’s nothing really. I just met a strange passerby last night who said that dragons are noble beings and that we humans are the inferior ones. Haha, isn’t that odd?”
Realizing she couldn’t discuss her abnormality with Allen, Valentina became alert herself and immediately began to act.
She casually fabricated a plausible lie, pretending that her question stemmed from the influence of that strange passerby.
“…I see. That must be a fanatical cultist who reveres dragons. Tina, you mustn’t be deceived! Those guys are the dangerous elements of this world, abducting young boys and girls to throw them into dragon nests—that’s their so-called good deeds. We humans are the most perfect beings; dragons are merely inferior creatures who can’t control their emotions and feelings. Otherwise, wouldn’t the dragon-slaying heroes be the real villains?”
Since Valentina’s response was reasonable, Allen didn’t think much of it at the moment. He subtly relaxed his slightly furrowed brow, withdrew the wariness from his gaze, and continued to play the role of a supportive tutor.
He even placed his hand on Valentina’s shoulder, seizing the opportunity to build rapport and further establish the image of the perfect man in her mind, hoping to win her over from the unfortunate Clyde in the future.
“…Yes, you’re right, Mr. Allen. How could the dragon-slaying heroes possibly be villains?”
But this time, Allen was destined to fail in winning her over; in fact, it was quite fortunate that he didn’t lose any ground.
Though Valentina wore a smile that seemed to indicate she had come to terms with things, the loneliness and unease hidden deep within her, the sorrow of seeking approval from the person before her but knowing she could never attain it, went completely unnoticed by the self-satisfied Allen.
“Ha, didn’t expect that, did you? Your story has turned the unfortunate Clyde into a blonde, and now you’re in this situation!”
Noah, who was watching the drama unfold from the dilapidated temple, couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Noah decided to prepare a red ball for the most theatrical blonde, Mr. Allen, and see when he would realize that the girl before him was no longer the one he was familiar with, at which point he would put a nose on him!
Let him understand that this blonde was just a clown!
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