I Was the Heroine, and in the Sequel, Even Though I’m a Mob, All of My Stats Are Maxed Out

Before the Storm 1

It had been a week since I confessed my feelings to Alvin-sama.

“Hey Nina, do you like me?”

“I-I like you.”

“Thank you, I like you too. How much do you like me?”

“W-Well, let’s see….”

I was at a loss for words when he gave me a dazzling smile and caressed my cheek.

Ever since we confessed our mutual feelings, Alvin-sama’s sweetness and affection had gone beyond the limit. He always seemed happy, which was a joy to see, but….

“Hey! That’s enough!!”

In the midst of all this, Lara slammed the table hard and yelled at Alvin-sama. Dirk, sitting next to her, quickly grabbed his glass that was tilted by the impact.

“It’s annoying just to listen to you asking Nina all the time. You’re really a piece of work, you know that?”

“I don’t know how you don’t lose your temper, Nina. If it were me, I’d have second thoughts.”

Theo nodded deeply in agreement with Lara’s words.

That’s right, we were in the middle of dinner with everyone. I was so embarrassed right now that I wanted to run away and hide.

Although I vowed to cement the fact that I love him from now on, I was baffled that he kept asking me that question every day all the time.

“Nina is different from you guys…. right?”

He looked at me fondly, and I nodded hurriedly.

In fact, a few days ago, when I was shy and muddled in response to his question, Alvin-sama immediately looked sad and anxious.

I was weak against Alvin-sama’s face, and since then I had tried to give him an immediate answer, but I might have spoiled him too much.

“And now you’re definitely showing off! Hey Nina, you like me a lot too, don’t you?”

“O-Of course! I like Lara, too.”

“But I’m still her number one.”

“What? Just keep your mouth shut, you obsessive bastard.”

“Hey, Nina, you like me too, right?”

Lara and Theo had always been like this, but Alvin-sama seemed to have gotten a little childish recently. It was unthinkable in the past that he would argue with people like this.

While I was glad to see that this was evidence that he had opened up to me and everyone else, it might be a problem if all of them were too noisy during the meal. 

“Well, let’s just close our eyes at their display of affection this time. This might be the only time.”

“What?”

“I’m sure of it. If it’s like this, Nina will probably leave you sooner or later.”

“Do you want me to fight you?”

Alvin-sama was clearly irritated by Owen and Lara’s words. Such exchanges were nothing new.

While everyone was arguing, I peacefully chatted with Dirk across from me about other things.

“This potato soup is delicious.”

“Yeah. This jam also goes well with this bread.”

“Really? I’ll give it a try.”

As I reached for the jam, my hand suddenly overlapped with Alvin-sama’s.

“Nina, I’ll spread it on for you.”

“Eh?”

“Hey! We haven’t finished talking yet!”

“I’m willing to do anything for Nina.”

“Don’t ignore me!”

“Ah, sorry. I ate the last piece of that bread.”

“….”

Although I felt that it was too lively, they say that the more they fight, the better they get along, and I hoped that such peaceful time would continue.

◇◇◇

“──All right, I did it. It’s perfect!”

After finishing lunch, I was making a potion in the kitchen of the mansion behind the royal castle, and I put the spatula I was holding on the sink.

I held up the beautiful clear liquid to the light and exhaled.

Recently, in my spare time, I had been creating advanced potions like this. Although Alvin-sama had told me I didn’t have to do anything, there were only a limited number of people who could make advanced potions, and there was nothing wrong with stocking them.

Now that I was no longer teaching Erica, I was completely unemployed, so I had to do something in my free time. In the first place, it would be a waste not to use the rare medicinal herbs in the field in front of the mansion.

“…. I miss the days when I used to say I wanted to live a slow life alone in the countryside.”

I called out to Cheryl, who was watching over me nearby and stroked her fluffy fur. I couldn’t imagine spending time away from everyone anymore.

I poured the finished advanced potion into a small bottle and put it in a woven wooden basket.

“Cheryl, can you run an errand for me and take this to Owen?”

Cheryl gave a small nod, put the basket in her mouth, and immediately headed for the magic tower.

Lately, she had been running errands in my place, because I still couldn’t go out in public, and she had been a great help.

“Nina, I see you’ve been making potions again. I just passed by Cheryl there.”

“Welcome back, Alvin-sama.”

I was cleaning up in the kitchen when Alvin-sama arrived and came closer to me.

“As soon as I’m done cleaning up, I’ll make you some tea──”

“You can do that later.”

He suddenly hugged me from behind, and I almost dropped the pot I was holding in my hand. I managed to put it down on the counter, thinking that I was lucky that it was empty.　

“It’s been two days since we’ve been alone together. It was really painful.”

“You’re overreacting. We see each other every day.”

“That’s not the same thing.”

Alvin-sama then put his face to my neck. His soft blonde hair touched and tickled me.

“Nina, look at me.”

“I-I don’t want to.”

“You’re terrible. I really miss you.”

It was because I had been reminded over the past week what would happen if I turned to face Alvin-sama.

“You like me, don’t you?”

“I-I do, but…”

“Then please listen to my request.”

Once again, my heart wavered. It was really unfair because he knew that if he acted weakly like this, I would eventually give in.

“I-I understand──Eumph.”

The moment I turned around, my lips were sealed as if he was going to bite me.

I could see that Alvin-sama, who hugged my waist as I was trembling and lost my balance, smiled a little.

He was now completely unreserved, and whenever we were alone, he spent all of his time like this. It was hard to believe that he was the same person who regretted that night.

While I was happy to think that he could tell that I liked him that much, I was still not used to it.

“…. I-It hurts.”

“Even the clumsy Nina is cute.”

Desperately pushing his chest due to the lack of oxygen, I was finally released. Alvin-sama must have been new to this kind of thing like me, but he was terribly relaxed and skillful. I was frustrated because he was so good at it.

“It’s because I’m not used to it yet.”

“Yes. So, that’s why you need to practice more.”

“Eh? W-Wait a minute──….”

As Alvin-sama’s face approached me again, I felt that my heart wouldn’t be able to take it if these overly affectionate days continued.