The Villainess Wants To Be A Sidekick

Chapter 4: Are You My Saviour? It Can’t Be, Right?

On our way to the public dormitory, I noticed that the central tower was surrounded by something akin to a fog made of green and purple light. Lumins opened the door, which had a fine pattern reminiscent of the old cathedral carved into it, and we entered the corridor connecting the tower to another building. Magic lanterns lit up on both sides of the corridor since it was already dark out. I hadn’t had enough time to look around before since I was preoccupied with other matters, but the scenery was really quite amazing. It was truly fitting of a fantasy game, after all.

While we approached the public dormitory that was used to house residents of the Magic Research Institute, Lumins remained silent. I couldn’t blame him for being quiet since he and Senephin were not even close friends.

Let’s take a good look at his backside, I thought to myself. Thank you, God, for allowing me to experience him in 4D and high-definition without any pixelation.

“Miss Senephin.”

“Yes?”

“I know what I’m saying might sound rude, but I know that Miss Senephin doesn’t like Velkina.”

Ah…

I see. The game hadn’t described the extent of Lumins’ knowledge of Senephin before, but he must have known that Velkina was being bullied even before the slap event occurred.

Well, Lumins’ background is that he was the very first friend Velkina made the moment she entered the Magic Research Institute. She never confessed to him that she was being bullied, so he must have guessed it from rumours or the whispering of people around him.

No wonder Lumins made such a timely entrance during the slap event, and he even prevented Senephin from actually striking Velkina. He must have stopped the slap because he knew all about Velkina being bullied.

He is truly a person who cares so much about his friends! Big sis is so proud of you, Lumins!

I decided to hide the secret about this all being part of the game’s setting and instead turned to my own thinking that this was just Lumins’ pride as a friend. As he continued to talk, I was busy getting lost in my daydreams about him.

“Of course, I get that you might not like Velkina, who was allowed to enter the Institute without taking the formal Magic Researcher Test, but could you be at least more lenient on her?”

He showed me a bitter smile that nonetheless looked so handsome from every angle. His distracting smile nearly caused me to reply to him with another “Yes, I will…♡”, but I knew I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t afford to look suspicious in front of him!

“I understand that you’re worried,” I said. “I also realize that I was clouded with jealousy, so I was planning to apologize to Velkina earlier.”

“Apologize?”

“Yes… I ended up crying in front of you two today without saying anything. For that, I’m sorry. I will apologize to Lady Velkina again with a clear mind tomorrow.”

Though, I’ll probably wake up from my dream and won’t get the chance to apologize to her. If that’s the case, then oh well.

Lumins stared at me with his eyes wide open, shocked. Lumins’ surprised face is also cute, I noted, but I didn’t have time to admire it right now.

“Thank you for escorting me!” I beamed. “I’m so sorry to bother you with all that happened today.”

“Wai-“

I ended the conversation just like that and quickly ran towards the women’s dormitory without looking back at all.

If Lumins continued to stand in front of me, I feared I wouldn’t be able to control my love for him. Yet, no matter how dreamy the situation, I refused to be caught as an offender who bullies Lumins’ precious friends!

***

After watching Senephin’s backside hurry down the hall without looking back for some time, Lumins turned his attention down to his hand. He had reached out to call after her before he stopped himself, leaving his hand hanging awkwardly in the air.

He clenched his fingers into a fist as he pulled his hand away.

“… Don’t tell me?”

He glanced at the other side of the corridor where Senephin had disappeared. As he hesitated and took a few steps to follow her, he shook his head.

It can’t be true. What was he trying to confirm even though he already knew the truth?

Heaving a short sigh, Lumins turned to head back to his own room. His disappointment at the expectation that had come to his mind for a just moment fell heavily on the shoulders. Desperate to lie down on his dormitory bed, Lumins hastened his steps.

“Lumins!”

He looked up at the familiar voice and saw a young woman running urgently towards him. Her long, blonde hair was frazzled and scattered by the wind.

“Velkina, what’s wrong?”

“What happened to Miss Senephin? Did she go back first?”

Velkina poked her head to peek behind him, but her expression soon fell grim. She became crestfallen when she realized the face she was looking for wasn’t there.

“You have a lot of work to do in the lab. Why are you here?”

Velkina pouted at Lumins’ grumpy tone.

“I wanted to talk to her more, and then you took her away from me and talked with her alone. How mean!”

“Got a problem with that? I’d rather you say thank you because I was taking care of the bully for you.”

When Lumins pointed out that he knew the true nature of her interactions with Senephin, Velkina backed away from him. She flushed with embarrassment because she had tried so hard to hide it from him. The reason she worked to conceal the truth from him was because she didn’t want him to worry.

Velkina then tilted her head in confusion. Her eyes were full of questions as she gazed up at him.

“How did you know? I didn’t tell you anything.”

“Somehow…” Lumins replied. “I knew. Anyway, she is a bad person for you. She doesn’t leave any good impressions, either.”