My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! Volume 14 (Light Novel) (eBook)

Satoru Yamaguchi (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025
250 Seiten
J-Novel Heart (Verlag)
978-1-7183-3226-3 (ISBN)

Infos

Just as Katarina Claes celebrated avoiding another one of the Catastrophic Bad Ends reserved for villainesses, a new threat appears on the horizon. Only days after escaping a gang of Dark Magic users-and losing control over her own magic in the process-she learns that she has been selected by the Magical Ministry to help investigate unrest in the borderlands between Sorcié and Xiarmah. Though she can't help but worry about how similar this sounds to a previous perilous assignment, her trepidation is overcome by temptation at the thought of getting to eat Xiarmah cuisine, which is identical to the Japanese cuisine she remembers from her past life. Since the fall harvest has just arrived, she might even get to eat fresh rice! However, she will be traveling with Maria, the main target of the recent gang attack, and Cyrus, who has a crush on Maria-a fact only Katarina knows. Will romance bloom between them? And what of Cyrus's beautiful childhood friend, who hails from Xiarmah?

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Just as Katarina Claes celebrated avoiding another one of the Catastrophic Bad Ends reserved for villainesses, a new threat appears on the horizon. Only days after escaping a gang of Dark Magic users-and losing control over her own magic in the process-she learns that she has been selected by the Magical Ministry to help investigate unrest in the borderlands between Sorcie and Xiarmah. Though she can't help but worry about how similar this sounds to a previous perilous assignment, her trepidation is overcome by temptation at the thought of getting to eat Xiarmah cuisine, which is identical to the Japanese cuisine she remembers from her past life. Since the fall harvest has just arrived, she might even get to eat fresh rice! However, she will be traveling with Maria, the main target of the recent gang attack, and Cyrus, who has a crush on Maria-a fact only Katarina knows. Will romance bloom between them? And what of Cyrus's beautiful childhood friend, who hails from Xiarmah?

Textauszug

“Really, Cyrus...? Ah, let me see. You haven’t overcome your aversion to women—in fact, it’s gotten worse. And now you’re saying you don’t mind being single? Hmm, what can we do about that?” said Ryou with a vexed expression.

Hold on, did Cyrus just say what I think he said? You’re giving up already?! What about your feelings for Maria? Cyrus, are you really telling you can’t succeed in love without the help of a villainess who’s supposed to get in your way?! I chided Cyrus in my head in the style of a straight man in a comedy duo. But then I heard another voice suddenly chime in from another direction.

“Umm, Cyrus, do you remember me?”

It was Haru who said this as she approached Cyrus.

As she slowly stepped closer to him, her pretty black eyes misted over, I couldn’t help but remember a term I used to hear used in Japan to describe an idealized beauty—Yamato nadeshiko, a term which was also used to refer to a kind of dianthus flower.

But of course, with a misty-eyed beauty suddenly approaching him, Cyrus was starting to look flustered.

If Ryou hadn’t been holding on to his shoulders, he definitely would have backed away slowly, then fled.

“U-Umm, I don’t believe I’ve ever been acquainted with a woman matching your description,” said Cyrus.

“Cyrus, it’s me, Haru. When we were children, I often used to play with you and my brother,” said Haru.

Cyrus’s eyes widened.

“Haru... Wasn’t Ryou’s little brother called Haru? Wait, you’re that Haru?”

“Yes. My hair was short back then, and I always used to wear boys’ clothes, since they were easier to move around in. I had an inkling that you might have mistaken me for a boy back then, but actually, I’m a woman.”

It seemed that Haru had had a more boyish appearance when she was a child, leading to Cyrus being mistaken about her gender. He had once told me that, when he was a kid, there were no girls his age around in his hometown, but it sounded like he was incorrect. Cyrus, you’re so dense.

“I-I see. You weren’t his little brother, but his little sister...” replied Cyrus. He continued to look flustered.

Well, I guess anyone would be a little flustered if it turned out someone they’d thought was a boy turned out to be a girl, and grew up into a beauty like this. And Cyrus has a hard time dealing with young women.

“Well, it really has been a long time. You’re even more handsome now than you were then,” said Haru with a big grin.

Cyrus managed a slight smile in return.

“Oh, thank you. Well, you’ve changed a fair bit yourself, Haru.”

“Indeed. My family was starting to get angry with me for not wearing women’s clothes, saying it was about time for me to start dressing properly. I still tend to wear men’s clothes back at home, but I’m sure to be on my best behavior at formal events.”

“I see. That’s, uh, very admirable.” Cyrus’s speech faltered slightly, and he seemed to be switching into professional mode.

Apart from that, I was surprised to hear that Haru still wore men’s clothes back at home. As someone who wore work clothes while tending my vegetable patch, I felt we shared some common ground there.

“Excuse me, Cyrus, but do you have a fiancée at the moment?” asked Haru nervously. She must not have heard Cyrus’s furtive conversation with her own brother. So she couldn’t have known he had an aversion to young women.

“Ah, no, not at the moment,” he replied.

“Is that so? Do you have feelings for anyone?” asked Haru, leaning forward.

Cyrus glanced at Maria. He seemed to think for a moment.

“N-No one,” he said after some reflection, clearly too embarrassed to admit the object of his affection was in the room with them.

Haru’s face lit up when she heard this.

“I see! In that case, would you be willing to get engaged to me?” she said, leaning even further forward.

“Huh?!” cried Cyrus, standing there frozen with his eyes wide open.

“I would like you to make me your bride,” added Haru, her eyes sparkling.

Everyone present was taken aback, completely at a loss for words. Maria, by the way, was no exception; she seemed thoroughly surprised.

Despite having admitted his love for Maria to himself, Cyrus continued to progress more slowly than an elementary school boy.

I had a feeling that I was about to be caught up in a very difficult situation.

After that, Haru repeated her request to Cyrus to make her his bride. Cyrus was unable to rally from his confusion and could only manage the noises like ah and uh in response. It was chaos. While I was wondering what to do, Ryou helpfully spoke up.

“Hey, Haru. Cyrus is clearly confused, since you chose to spring this on him so suddenly. You’ve let him know how you feel, so let’s save further discussion for another day,” he said, doing his best to calm Haru down.

The look on Haru’s face showed she was obviously dissatisfied.

“We’ll discuss it another day,” Ryou repeated, raising his eyebrows. “Okay?”

With this, Haru reluctantly agreed.

“Cyrus, I’m sorry my sister brought this up all of a sudden. We’ll probably end up seeing you again to discuss this. I hope you don’t mind. I would also like to take this opportunity to apologize to your subordinates and their friends for the commotion.” Then Ryou left, almost dragging Haru behind him.

Even after they had left, however, Cyrus hadn’t recovered from his state of confusion.

“Mr. Cyrus,” I called out firmly. He flinched, then slowly turned his head to face me.

“I thought she was my childhood friend’s little brother...” he said, almost like he was talking to himself.

“So I just heard. But in fact you were mistaken, and she was actually his sister.”

“I can’t believe it... Haru was a woman all along? And after growing up to be such a beauty, she just...reappeared.”

Mmm, yep, Haru really is very pretty, isn’t she? Just as pretty as the legion of beautiful women we have here.

“And she said she...wants us to get engaged...” continued Cyrus.

“Why, aren’t you used to women proposing to you, Mr. Cyrus?”

I could see why he might have been shocked, given that he was under the false impression that Haru was a boy, but surely someone like Cyrus was used to women saying, “I want you to make me your fiancée.”

Putting to one side the fact that he had an aversion to young women, Cyrus was just as handsome as one would expect a romanceable character to be. He was known to be good at his job as the head of the Magic and Magical Powers Research Department, and to top it off, he was physically strong and possessed powerful magic. He was someone the women of the world shouldn’t be able to leave alone.

In fact, just within the Magical Ministry I’d overheard a number of single women saying things to the effect of, “Mr. Cyrus is so handsome. I want to marry him.”

What I couldn’t understand was why someone as popular as him would be so flustered by one little proposal.

“I’ve been sounded out about engagements before, and I’ve had women flirt with me, but I’ve never had someone ask me to get engaged to them so straightforwardly, and right to my face as well. The fact that I knew her from my childhood made it all the more bewildering,” said Cyrus with a troubled expression.

So that’s why. Cyrus had the appearance of a capable and intellectual man, and most people probably assumed he was very used to dealing with women. So though some less direct attempts might have been made to entice him, no woman had ever professed their feelings right to his face. With those looks and his other attributes, no one would guess he was so scared of young women that he can’t even look them in the eye.

“Ryou said they’d come and see me another day. What should I do...?” muttered Cyrus, looking like he was about to descend into confusion again.

“Excuse me, Mr. Cyrus.” At that moment, Maria, the protagonist of our story, spoke to Cyrus somewhat nervously, but with apparent concern.

When he saw Maria’s face, Cyrus—who had been frowning heavily up to that point—gasped and then assumed a more dignified expression.

“I’m sorry, Maria. I lost my composure, and while I was supposed to be serving as your bodyguard and escort,” he said with a face befitting a boss.

When he remembered he was supposed to be escorting and guarding Maria, he must have snapped back into professional mode, or else he just didn’t want to look ridiculous in front of the woman he loved. Whichever it was, I was just glad to see him doing his job again.

“Well, that proposal was clearly sudden, so I don’t think anyone can blame you for getting flustered. Please don’t feel bad about that. More importantly, don’t you think you should go after her?” said Maria. She must have been concerned about Haru, who had continued to complain as her brother dragged her away.

Haru was clearly dissatisfied, wasn’t she? And though Ryou said that they’d talk about it another day, one would have...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 4.6.2025
• Reihe/Serie: My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!
• Illustrationen: Nami Hidaka
• Übersetzer: Joshua Douglass-Molloy
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• Schlagworte: Fantasy • Humor • Isekai • Light Novel • Otome Game • reverse Harem • Romantic Comedy
• ISBN-10: 1-7183-3226-2 / 1718332262
• ISBN-13: 978-1-7183-3226-3 / 9781718332263