I Became the Villain’s Childhood Friend

Because of that, Father sighed whenever he saw me.

But it was unavoidable.

The age at the time of entering the Academy was never explicitly mentioned in the original story.

The age of adulthood in the empire was 16, and the age at which one could enter the Academy was also after adulthood, so it must have been around that time.

Over the course of 4 years, Reynold and I have changed a lot.

Honestly, I would be lying if I said I hadn’t become close with Reynold in the meantime.

…And I really didn’t want to admit it even if I died, but there were a lot of things in which Reynold and I got along well.

Sometimes, when we were together, I felt more comfortable with Reynold than with Serik.

Again, this was really outrageous.

Knowing my future, I couldn’t figure out why I felt more comfortable with Reynold.

Danae in the original story and I were different people anyway, so I thought that there would be many things that Reynold and I didn’t get along with, unlike Danae, who was a perfect match for Reynold.

Paul told us that we might have been an elderly couple in our previous life, and Edin even said that the two of us were getting married.

That’s how I stayed with Reynold and learned a few more things about him.

Reynold was far more clever than I thought, and he was very good at lying.

As I watched Reynold lie without spitting, Reynold made a promise to me.

[I won’t lie to you.]

No one can believe that.

He’s so good at lying, how can I tell if that statement is a lie or not?

However, Reynold, who was opaque to others, seemed transparent to me.

It was very strange.

Before, I couldn’t even tell whether he was lying or not, yet now it was mostly a distinction.

So, to some extent, I understood the intention behind his actions.

I didn’t want to know about Reynold this far.

Anyway, I thought I was getting along very reasonably well with Reynold and all I had to do was avoid going to the Academy. However, lately, I’ve come across a very minor problem.

“Aaaakhㅡ!”

Serik, who was looking at me and Reynold, frowned at once.

F*ck! It touched my hand! It touched me!

I squealed as I saw a centipede wriggling on my book.

In the midst of the commotion, Serik slowly got up from his seat, took my book, and approached the window.

Then he threw the centipede outside…

After finishing the situation, Serik brought the book back to me.

As soon as I received the book, I took it to the fireplace and threw the book.

From behind, Serik asked if I had to go that far, but I couldn’t help it.

The centipede was very big.

So, the problem now was that the number of times Reynold gently touched me had increased significantly.

A normal 12-year-old wouldn’t have paid much attention to it, but I had no choice but to be sensitive because it was a matter of life and death.

I even have a thought like, does that guy even hate me?

Of course, I knew that Reynold wasn’t touching me with malicious intent.

But even so, it was a procedure that couldn’t be helped.

I went behind Reynold, who casually threw a centipede at me while reading a book, and struck him in the back of the head.

There was a loud noise like a watermelon breaking in his head.

“Are you really crazy?”

When I asked Reynold seriously, he replied, as if the blow to his head didn’t hurt.

“Your reaction is funny.”

There was no response even when he was hit in the head, so only my hand felt more painful.

It felt like my stomach was boiling, but I managed to contain my anger.

Then Reynold smiled lightly like he had won and left the room.

XX, to think that he brings that up to make fun of me. Isn’t he crazy?

My whole body was drained of energy, so I sat down next to Serik. Then I rested my head roughly on Serik’s shoulder.

Serik’s navy blue hair swayed slightly as the wind blew outside the window.

I looked at his swaying hair and blinked for a moment.

Yeah, never mind Reynold.

We used to play like this when I was young.

In fact… There were bigger problems than Reynold.

Even for a long time of 4 years, I couldn’t even get a clue to return home.

As I got older, the free time given to me increased, and I used that time to search through all the data I could find to see if there was anyone like me.

Yet there was no one like that.

So I headed to the temple dedicated to God.

Because God must be watching all of this.

[So the Princess’s soul came from another world…?]

[Yes, yes, now I want to go back to the world I lived in. So please tell me how to get back.]

[But that’s theoretically impossible.]

[Even if it’s theoretically impossible, I’m the living witness, right?]

[Even if the Princess’ words are true, the soul that enters the body can never be separated from the body. Because only death guides the soul, and the body without the soul immediately begins to rot.]

However, the temple also dismissed my words as nonsense.

I prayed for a hundred days to Harchen, the damn god of this world, to return home, hoping that prayer would work, yet nothing changed.

I eventually found fortune tellers who don’t have a good reputation in the Empire.

[You bought a grudge!]

[Yes? Did I enter someone else’s body because I bought a grudge?]

[Aren’t the people around you sick? There must have been a family feud because of health problems.]

[What? Everyone’s healthy, though?]

[They’re going to get sick soon! I’ll give you an amulet, so take it.]

Really, really nobody believed me. Only a lot of money went out to keep their mouths shut, but I didn’t get anything.

Of course, this is unbelievable from common sense, but since even those who worship God didn’t believe me, I started to have a very reasonable suspicion that I might be crazy.

If it’s not that, then I’m really possessed by the devil.

Whether it was really true that there was a separate world in which I lived, now I am confused even about that.

I wondered if this would make me doubt my existence.

Serik glanced at me leaning on my shoulder and opened his mouth quietly.

“Is it because of Reynold?”

“…”

“He’s really…, not normal.”

I paused for a moment at Serik’s words.

When I looked up at Serik without realizing it, he smiled broadly at me as if something had happened.

***

Did Serik suddenly hit puberty?

I thought he got along well with Reynold.

As I was thinking about what happened yesterday, I came to my senses when I heard Madam Collin’s voice next to me.

“You’re so pretty, Danae.”

Madam Collin tied my hair with an ecstatic look on her face.

The girl’s reflection in the mirror was like a doll.

“Ah, I heard Danae is preparing for the examination of the Department of Magical Engineering.”

“Yes.”

“I wish you could go to the Academy with Reynold. You two look so lovely together.”

“…sure.”

There were several departments in the Academy, but among them, the department with the highest competition rate was the Department of Magical Engineering.

The competition rate was almost a few hundred to one. With such a competitive rate, it wouldn’t be strange if I failed, that’s why I chose the Department of Magical Engineering as a vanity goal.

“Tada, how is it?”

She put my golden hair in a high ponytail and gave me a proud look.

To her question, I answered in a monotonous voice that I was very pretty.

Then, as if she was satisfied with my answer, she lightly kissed my forehead.

I glanced in the mirror and saw that Madam Collin’s red lipstick had smeared on my forehead.

She said she was sorry and wiped the lipstick off my forehead with a handkerchief.

“It would be great if I had a daughter like you. Actually, Reynold isn’t that friendly of a person, is he? How could you be so much alike?”

Saying that, the Madam who was hugging me said that it was okay to leave after a while, then I was able to get away from her.

I was used to having her treat me as a doll, so I didn’t even think about it anymore.

Well, rather than treating me as a doll, it seems to be her own expression of affection.

Today’s class was in Reynold’s room.

Since I visited Collin’s mansion as often as I eat meals, it was possible to find Reynold’s room even with my eyes closed.

That’s how I arrived at Reynold’s room, which felt like my room. Only snacks were prepared in the room, and he was nowhere to be seen.

In fact, it didn’t matter as it was a room where I could come and go without the owner.

I put the book for today’s class on the table and sat down.

Thanks to the sunlight coming through the window, my body quickly became drowsy. I was having fun bruising myself.

“Danae.”

Then, at Reynold’s voice calling me, I inadvertently turned my head.

His outstretched finger pricked my cheek.

…How long is he going to play such childish pranks?

As I looked at Reynold with a swollen face with his finger poked in the cheek, Reynold asked me with a pleasant laugh.

“No fun?”

“…Mm.”

It’s no fun, I think it’s rather making me angry.

Reynold then made an expression of regret.

“Still, just smile.”

At his words, I smiled brightly, showing my teeth. Then Reynold sighed and waved his hand.

“Just quit.”

“Why, I’m pretty when I smile, you know.”

Danae’s expressionless expression was prettier than a wide smile.

If I show my teeth and smile broadly… It’s like a devil of all time’s face.

Still, if I just smile casually, I’m quite pretty, though.

While I was thinking about that, Reynold threw out a word, as if he had the same thoughts as me.

“You look pretty when you smile naturally.”

Oh, so he knows that I’m pretty when I smile.

“I’m glad you know that.”

He, once again, sat next to me.

Reynold, who glanced at me while sitting next to me, asked me.

“What are you up to these days?”

“…Nothing special, though?”

At my words, Reynold’s gaze returned to me.

His gaze, carefully examining me with his eyes narrowed, was quite disturbing.

I wondered if I had something on my face, so I raised my hand and touched my face.

Then I made an excuse.

“There’s really nothing special.”

“… ”

Yet Reynold’s eyes didn’t believe me at all.