I Became the Villain of a Romance Fantasy

61 – The prince has no friends (8)

The shooting range where Noel leaves and only two men remain.

There was only one less person, but there was silence between me and Orcus. In this space where only the two of them are left, only the sound of arrows shot by Orcus cutting through the air can be heard.

How much did you get a sense of? I could see with my own eyes that his arrow was getting closer and closer to the center.

Wasn’t it a lie to inherit the divinity of the main god? Orcus’ overall musculature was close to that of a well-trained warrior. He didn’t train as steadily as Noel, but he had a body that was so perfect that it wouldn’t be strange to say that he was a skilled warrior rather than a wizard.

Of course, the body and the senses of battle were in a slightly different area, but looking at his archery skills, he seems to be at least ashamed of hunting competitions as much as Orcus is worried about. Even if he didn’t have a great talent for weapons, the improvement in his skills was obvious as much as he trained.

When the tenth arrow hit the target, I paused him for a moment and moved back thirty paces from the target. Orcus hesitated for a moment at the sight of the target moving away, and then, without hesitation, drew a string, as if he had re-measured the distance.

Tung

It wasn’t center, but the arrow didn’t miss the target. Orcus smiled as if he was satisfied that the arrow had hit the target.

Orcus’ hand, which had gained such confidence, was picking up speed little by little unlike the first time. I would have pointed out something if he had simply shot at a high speed, but I watched his shooting without saying anything because the accuracy increased along with the speed.

At last, his arrow lodged right in the center of the target.

A total of thirty-six arrows have been consumed so far.

It was the first success after 36 bows.

At this point, it deserves cheers, but Orcus’s mouth was still silent. However, it seems that the hand that held the arrow was clearly happy.

Orcus’s eyes, which slightly turned to me, were not as bright as Noel’s, but they were definitely shining blue like hers. Are they still siblings? I thought the only thing they looked alike was their hair color and eye color.

I nodded at his eyes and said:

“Then let’s take another 30 steps back.”

Then, Orcus’s eyes begin to squint.

why? Didn’t you want this?

I ignored Orcus’ stinging gaze, ignoring it. ‘Wouldn’t it be better to reduce the amount a little?’ It seemed like he was protesting silently, but I had no intention of listening to his demands.

Piles of arrows at Orcus’ feet.

Unlike her, I gave Noel a lot of arrows as homework. The amount of arrows was so great that Orcus, who did not easily show his emotions, showed a slightly frightened face.

Well, since I brought all the arrows I brought to the shooting range as stockpiles, there must be a lot of them.

Apparently, since we hit the center, I think we want to reduce the quota a bit. In the first place, I had no intention of asking him to shoot all these arrows.

If I were to use all the arrows I brought with me now, it would no longer be training, but torture in the guise of training.

The reason why I brought so many arrows to him as a quota was to let Orcus know that I was the one who decided what amount of training he was thinking of at first.

Perhaps, Orcus himself knew that I would adjust if his training had some success. So, even if I initially set the amount of training beyond common sense, I did not dispute it. So, it could be said that Orcus’ actions now had some reason.

However, he must not have thought of the difference between the performance he thought and the performance I thought.

Orcus is a guy whose development is evident the more he moves his body. But can I be satisfied with just hitting the center once? Even otherwise, hunting competitions in the south were very different from hunting other common animals.

With mediocre skills, it would be difficult to even catch a rabbit in that demonic realm, so you should be able to hit the desired target freely within at least 200 steps.

There’s a long way to go, but you can’t relax already.

Just as I was about to leave the spot to move the target again, Orcus sighed deeply and suddenly spoke to me.

“How did you feel?”

“What are you talking about? If you were just talking about arrows, you did a really good job. So let’s drive this momentum and take 30 more steps.”

“No, not that. Noel. Noel.”

Noel?

Why are you suddenly bringing up her story?

At the subject of an unexpected conversation, I paused the steps I was about to move. I listened to Orcus’s words because it wasn’t that he didn’t have a problem with his words.

Orcus, noticing that I didn’t leave, took a moment to look around. Are you checking to see if Noel is still here?

Since it was a shooting range built in such an open area, if she was nearby, you would know right away. There were no structures around, so there was no place to hide, so Orcus confirmed that Noel was not around and continued.

“Don’t you think Noel’s behavior today is somehow strange?”

“I got the impression that you’re not paying attention to the conversation. Is there something wrong with you?”

“I see. The mood has changed a bit since yesterday.”

After saying that, Orcus looked at me quietly. Hopefully, this guy. Do you think that I am the cause of Noel’s actions?

it was yesterday

I took a moment to reminisce.

The meeting at the banquet yesterday. Was it from then that I felt something unusual?

To the point where I thought it was strange, she kept blending into my and Elena’s gaze. He looks at us over and over again and suddenly blushes, then when he sees Elena again, he suddenly has a downcast face. It was a series of truly inconsistent actions.

Wasn’t she immersed in other thoughts during practice just before, until Orcus spoke to her uncharacteristically? Given the circumstances, it doesn’t seem strange that he attributes the cause to me. If you think about it that way, Elena is included.

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Maybe it was because it was something that kept bothering me.

At some point, I fell seriously into the topic raised by Orcus. Well, even if I thought about it, there was no way I could get an answer about how much I knew about her. All I could do was stimulate my lack of imagination and write a story close to a novel.

In the midst of that, a word from Orcus suddenly thrown hit me in the head.

“Somehow I think Noel likes you.”

“what?”

To Orcus’s words, I inadvertently replied in plain language, not honorific. Realizing that fact belatedly, I tried to make excuses for Orcus’ reprimand, but all I heard was his laughter.

Since he valued the authority of the imperial family, my words and actions deserved attention, but he was busy laughing at my reaction. With that laugh, I could tell that his words earlier were a joke thrown at me.

I got cold for a moment

Even though I was well aware that Orcus, who could be said to be the closest person to Noel, said that, it must be nonsense, but I almost thought about his words for a moment. As I stared at him in amazement, Orcus smiled and said to me,

“Hey, you know how to make that kind of face. It’s a new fact that I’m learning this time.”

“Were you kidding?”

“Hmm? Are you sorry?”

“I can’t believe it. I’m just wondering if Her Highness’ actions are a prank designed by Her Highness.”

“It’s not like that. Well, what am I supposed to say? There’s no way that Noel kid could do such a detailed performance.”

That’s right.

Orcus laughed bitterly when I showed him to agree with me.

“then…”

“It is true that Noel has been worried since meeting you yesterday. The only difference from what I just said is that I know the reason.”

In the end, it is said that Elena and I are involved in Noel’s change.

Then, what is Noel’s worry?

For me, my only meeting with her was a brief sparring and conversation, so I didn’t have enough information to figure out what she was worried about. Orcus didn’t ask me any more questions, wondering if he knew about it. He immediately told me what he knew.

“It may be hard to believe, but in fact, it was only yesterday that Noel found out about you and Princess Elena’s engagement. To be precise, I knew it, but I guess you could say it was yesterday that I remembered.”

“What is that again?”

I couldn’t hide my absurdity at Orcus’ words. In the first place, the ostensible purpose of their coming here was to celebrate my engagement to Elena, but one of the people involved didn’t know that. does this make sense

However, I was immediately convinced by Orcus’ words.

“Isn’t Noel very interested in swords? No, not too much. I think that kid is crazy about swords. Anyway, since Noel’s personality is like that, when I conveyed the words, it seems that he only heard that he was going to Sarham. He seemed to have completely forgotten about it until I told him about it on the way back to my room yesterday.”

“under.”

After listening to Orcus, everything begins to connect.

Why did she look back and forth between me and Elena and blush? It explained why I was so anxious about seeing Elena.

I thought it was just because of her bright and pure personality that she was open to me in front of Elena at the gymnasium, but it was because she didn’t know that I was engaged to her. Because of that, I became strangely cautious in my actions after knowing that.

Somehow, he had a tendency to deliberately avoid me. I understand now.

Perhaps the reason she left the shooting range early was to meet Elena. I’m glad it’s not as serious a problem as I thought.

After hearing the answer from Orcus, things that had bothered me so far were relieved, and my heart felt refreshed. But still, doubts remained. I asked him to laugh as he told the story of Noel.

“Then why is Your Highness suddenly talking to me like that?”

Orcus’ laughter stopped at my question. He didn’t laugh out loud anymore, but he spoke to me without a smile on his face.

“To be friends. They say friends are made by talking like this, isn’t it?”

“That’s not it. That’s right. I’m well aware of it.”

Right. It was a more common reason than I thought.

After hearing Orcus’ answer, my curiosity was completely resolved, and I moved to move the target again. Pull out the arrow stuck in the target and retreat 30 steps back once more. When I returned to my seat after finishing my work like that, Orcus looked at me with an absurd look.

I asked him who was staring blankly at me.

“Why is that?”

“Um, no. The reaction was different than I expected. Did you hear me wrong?”

“No. You said you wanted to be friends, didn’t you?”

“Right. Then?”

“What, do you need more?”

“Then, would you like to understand that means that you agree to my words? That’s what I’m asking.”

At Orcus’s words, this time I responded with a smile.

“What kind of consent do you need to be a friend? If Your Highness regards me as a friend, then I am a friend. If you consider me an enemy, then I am an enemy. It is up to you and I to decide how this relationship will continue.”

How can a human relationship set its direction from the moment it is created?

There was no doubt that Orcus, who had been hit by numerous political opponents in the imperial castle, could not have known about it, but the reason why such a stupid question was able to come out was probably because he hadn’t had a chance to make friends with him. Hearing his words, I could understand a little why the emperor had asked them to make friends.

Orcus seemed to think for a moment to see if he knew the meaning of the answer I gave him, then he gave me his hand and said,

“I see. Please take good care of me from now on. Damian.”

I also answered by holding his hand.

“I also wish you well in the future. Orcus.”

I don’t know if he’ll think of me as a friend or just a tool.

Orcus Estelia in the novel was a man with a calculating side. Maybe even at this moment he is calculating the profit and loss from being friends with me, but it was the same for me, so if he treats me as a friend, he will treat me as a friend. I only see it as a tool.

Orcus, who was called by my first name, smiled awkwardly as if it was awkward to hear.

“Oh, yeah. It’s a little awkward to be called by your first name by someone outside of your family. Well, it’s not a bad feeling, Damian. From now on, you can be comfortable in private situations. No, no. I’d better change it first. You can call me comfortably from now on.”

He wasn’t looking down from the position of a prince, but his tone was obviously restrained as usual, but I should say that the atmosphere of the person was different, but it felt like Noel powdered sugar was sprinkled on the chewy bread called Orcus. The same pretentiousness as before has disappeared a little, so it wasn’t a bad side to look at.

“Yes. In that case.”

When Orcus gave me permission, I immediately stopped using honorifics. At this, Orcus once again made a strange expression, but I continued talking. I pulled out an arrow from the pile of arrows at his feet and handed it to him.

“I pushed back 30 steps, so let’s start over.”

“Damn it.”

Where are you going to wander?

There is still a long way to go.