I Became the Villain of a Romance Fantasy

175 – Rival (4)

“Are you okay?”

“It’s okay… I thought my liver was going to fall off.”

Richard answers Reinhardt’s question with a hollow laugh. It seemed as if he still felt regretful about losing, but Richard smiled and grabbed Reinhardt’s hand. Even so, the strength with which he held his hand was felt, indicating that he was disappointed that he had lost the match.

It was an emotion that he would not have noticed before. Reinhardt was originally bad at reading other people’s emotions, but now he can read things like this.

Since I have become more aware of other people’s emotions than before, I think I have become more emotionally rich. I think I can empathize with other people now, something I couldn’t do before.

“At least I didn’t faint like Orcus did.”

As Richard smiled and said that, Reinhard realized once again the change that had happened to them. In the past, they would not have been able to speak that name so easily because they were conscious of their status, but now neither Richard nor Reinhard were concerned about treating Orcus comfortably.

I know that it is possible because that is what friendship is and friendship has developed, but now that I think about it, I know that such a thing itself was not that close to him. Before coming here, he had never been interested or interested in anyone other than his relatives.

If it were normal, he would never have reached out to Richard, the loser.

“…..”

“…Hey, your hand hurts now. Can you let go slowly since I won’t use any strength next time?”

Until now, his interest was only in martial arts and strength.

When I think back, there was no one as simple and boring as this guy. Now I can understand why the other guys had a hard time with him and couldn’t get close to him. It was natural because he acted without any principles of action other than nothing.

It was because they were family and because he was unmanned that he was understood, but if he had come from an ordinary family, he would have been a loner even within that family.

“Kuaaah… I really surrender!”

So Reinhardt liked himself the way he was now.

I feel like I’ve finally become more human.

If that were the case, it would mean that he had not been human before, but it was true. The desire for nothing and the interest in power still remained. It was inevitable, as it was the basic element that made up this Reinhardt human. However, he was sure that he was no longer engrossed in it.

Reinhardt saw Richard’s hand turning redder and redder, and only then did he relax his grip and let Richard go.

“Ewww….”

“No kidding. Your hands are too weak. You need some training, Richard.”

“I’m not joking! And this, this isn’t lack of strength, it’s just a loss of strength… I’m going down first…”

After sending Richard away, who was looking dazed and exhausted, he turned his head toward the audience.

There was a reason for his change. He saw his friends sitting and looking at him. At first, he was attracted to their power, but as he spent more time with them, such goals became meaningless when it came to hanging out with them.

To be exact, the reason and goal for staying by their side seem to have coincided at some point. It wasn’t that someone wanted it to happen, but it just happened naturally as they stayed by their side at some point.

He wondered what his life would have been like if those kids hadn’t existed. He probably wouldn’t have been the kid who knows how to play pranks on his friends like he is now.

‘What are you doing there?’

Damien’s eyes met mine, as if he sensed my gaze. His eyes contained the question of why he was still standing there. Although I hadn’t received the transmission, I could still hear the voice in my head just from looking at his eyes. This was proof that I had become better at reading the other person’s thoughts.

‘It’s only they who can do that…’

Reinhardt looked at him with a small smile as his friend’s voice naturally rang in his head.

I was already planning to go down, but when I was asked this question, a strange sense of playfulness came over me and I looked at Damien with force in my eyes.

This was also a provocation, knowing that he was the next opponent. Damian did not back down and glared at him, and since neither of them closed their eyes to avoid each other’s gaze, it naturally turned into a staring contest.

The snowball fight that had been going on for a while was stopped when Damien raised his hand.

Was it because I had been standing alone in the empty hall for too long? It was like Damien’s order to hurry up and get down. Even though I knew I had to get down, I felt like I could have won if I had just done a little more, so I felt childish, but somehow I didn’t feel bad.

Anyway, this was something I could resolve when I got back on the chairmanship with the guy.

***

Reinhardt smiled slightly at my answer and turned his head. He was a guy who always seemed serious, but knew how to take a joke as a joke. I waved my hand behind Reinhardt as he left the meeting, urging him to walk faster.

“I thought things were finally getting easier…”

As Reinhardt left the meeting, I leaned back in my chair as if my strength had completely drained. I couldn’t say I was relaxed, because I had never been tense in the first place. I was just really tired.

I said this, but I didn’t feel bad. I guess it was a pleasant fatigue. Who doesn’t like being recognized by others? But I wasn’t one of them. Being recognized as a rival by Reinhard, who can be called a genius among geniuses, is something to brag about to others, not something to think about.

“That guy… seems completely comfortable now.”

He plays pranks on Richard, and even starts a snowball fight with me. These are all actions that would have been unimaginable if he had been the old Reinhard. In the original, Reinhard was a cold guy like midwinter to others all year round, but he seems to have melted a lot while spending time with us. That made me feel at ease.

I already knew that Reinhardt was really looking forward to a duel with me. No, there must be some among my friends who don’t know this. Even before the Holy Spirit Festival began, we had sparred with each other a lot, and I never hid that I wanted to fight with all my might, so I couldn’t help but know this.

That’s why I thought the guy would be burning with competitive desire to beat me, but now that I look back, it seems that wasn’t the case.

It just seemed fun. Pure joy at the thought that the next opponent would be me. Like a child enjoying a game. Even though the desire to win is a basic instinct, I was embarrassed by the pure heart.

Should I call it a game? They say that a genius can’t beat someone who works hard, and that the one who beats that person is someone who enjoys it. The current Reinhardt seems like someone who enjoys it.

I also said that from now on, I would celebrate the Holy Spirit Festival as a festival and a game, but I did not have the confidence to go into the duel with the mindset of purely enjoying it like that guy. That was because I had made a promise in advance.

‘I can’t help but feel motivated like this.’

Taking a few deep breaths, he regained strength in his sagging body. He already had enough motivation to win because of his promise to Elena, but seeing him like that made him feel like a fire was burning inside his chest as if a log had been put in it.

It was Reinhard who always motivated me, but this time it was the opposite.

“Oh! Damien! There’s so much power in your eyes!!”

As I, who had been lying down, adjusted my posture, Noel, who was watching from the side, spoke with a face full of anticipation. I wasn’t going to go out and fight myself, but I was excited at the thought of Reinhardt and I fighting.

It was clear that I won the duel with Noel, but looking at her current overflowing energy, Noel seemed more like the winner. Noel still seemed so energetic that she could go out and fight in my stead. Perhaps her childlike side also had that tireless stamina. I never felt that I was lacking in stamina, but seeing Noel like this made me wonder if maybe I was lacking in training.

Well, it might be because Noel’s divine power contains the power of recovery, separate from training.

Wasn’t it Noel who was the reason I had no stamina right now? Although I felt good about winning the duel, I still felt strange seeing Noel running around so energetically right before my eyes.

“Ugh. Why are you looking at me like that, Damian?”

“No, Noel always seems so energetic. Hmm. It’s nice to see you.”

When I looked at him with envious eyes, Noel tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.