I Reincarnated as a Villainous Noble, Nothing More Than the Hero’s Foil: Since the Hero Can Only Bring Misery to My Favorite Heroine, I’ll Use My Game Knowledge and Over-the-Top Effort to Rewrite the Scenario and Make Her Happy. - Chapter 16

It has been about 90 days since I regained the memories of my previous life.

In that time, my surroundings have changed significantly.

One notable change is that when I go for an early morning run around the estate, the young maids cheer for me enthusiastically.

This was something that would have been unthinkable before.

“Kyaaa! It’s Lord Cain!”
“Lord Cain, you look so cool sweating it out! He looked this way, oh my gosh!”
“How wonderful! Please look this way again!”

This is bad… Honestly, it makes me so happy that I can’t help but grin.

In both this life and my previous one, I’ve always been a virgin and never popular with girls, so this kind of attention is overwhelming.

“Brother Cain, your face is grinning too much,” Selvia, who was running alongside me, said with a frown.

“Oh, no! How could I, someone devoted solely to Selvia, let this happen!?”

Panicking, I slapped my cheeks to refocus.

Selvia had been joining me on these early morning runs every day, saying she wanted to train alongside me.

Being able to spend time sweating it out with my favorite heroine… is there any greater happiness?

“Still, it’s wonderful that everyone has come to see how amazing you are, Brother Cain! You’re now the guardian deity of the Schwarz County!”

“Isn’t that nickname a bit over the top?”

“Not at all! Brother Cain, you truly are a god! A GOD!” Selvia said, puffing out her chest proudly.

My reputation had skyrocketed after I defeated an A-rank magical beast that had been troubling the people in the territory.

Since then, I’ve been exterminating high-level monsters that the Adventurers’ Guild couldn’t handle, earning me a reputation as a “guardian deity” among some.

Honestly, it’s a bit embarrassing.

I only fight monsters to level up and pave the way for a happy future with Selvia.

Yet, people treat me like a saint, risking my life to fight monsters for their sake.

“How did this even happen?” I muttered to myself.

Even more puzzling is the sudden increase in appearances of high-ranking monsters, despite the main storyline of the game not even starting yet.

…Could this be a looped playthrough?

In subsequent playthroughs, the difficulty increases, and rare monsters become more common.

If that’s the case, it’s possible that the hero Abel is at max level, 99, in this looped playthrough.

A chill ran down my spine.

My level has risen to 23, but at this rate, there’s no way I’ll stand a chance.

I need to be at least level 70 within the next nine months, or I won’t even see a path to victory…

My mind began racing.

The best way to level up is to hunt high-level monsters.

I’ll have to use a trick to respawn boss monsters and grind them repeatedly.

To do that, I’ll need necromancy magic to resurrect corpses…

“Kyaa! Lord Cain, keep it up!”

“Whoa!?”

The maids cheered loudly as I passed by, interrupting my train of thought.

“Hey, don’t bother Lord Cain while he’s running! Lord Cain is a knight among knights, braving a thorny path for love!”

“Yessir, Lord Lancelot!”

Lancelot’s reprimand made the maids swoon, nodding with hearts in their eyes.

…A knight braving a thorny path for love? What does that even mean?

I seem to have earned a strange level of admiration from Lancelot as well.

“Lord Cain! To think that you started a medicinal business to organize a private militia for the people’s protection… This Lancelot is deeply moved!”

Lancelot rushed up to me with an overzealous expression.

“Whoa!? Lancelot!?”

Lately, everything I do seems to elicit cries of, “This Lancelot is deeply moved!” from him, which is honestly a bit much.

To be fair, I appreciate his pride in his student’s achievements, but he’s kind of a distraction during runs.

When I reported the Bl00d Bear extermination to the Adventurers’ Guild, Lancelot had accompanied me, showering me with praise in front of the other adventurers, making me incredibly uncomfortable.

“Well, whatever. Selvia, let’s take a break,” I said, stopping and wiping off sweat.

One other significant change lately is the success of the medicinal business.

Ash and Lil, siblings who are skilled apothecaries, have been using rare plant materials summoned by Selvia to create top-quality medicines.

We sell these through a merchant acquaintance of my father in the Atlas Empire.

Selling them within the kingdom could raise questions about the rare materials’ origins, but selling them to the empire minimizes that risk.

With the profits, I’ve started organizing a private militia.

“Lancelot. The supplies I requested are arriving today, correct?”

“Yes, sir!” Lancelot replied, bowing deeply.

“To think that you’re only fifteen and already making such plans… Lord Cain, you’re truly extraordinary.”

“Am I?”

I’m just using the game’s strategies, but I guess they’re uncommon in this world.

“Such modesty! Even if someone came up with the idea, they wouldn’t be able to execute it. To reform military structures… your vision is unparalleled!”

In Apocalypse, the game this world mirrors, managing territories, waging wars, and organizing private militias were all part of the gameplay.

The key was figuring out how to create the strongest militia.

The consensus among players was to use an expensive item available later in the game, so I placed a large order for it with Lancelot.

“Lancelot, I want to organize the strongest militia. Will you help me?”

“To dedicate your fortune for the people’s safety… what a noble goal! This Lancelot will devote himself fully to aiding you!”

“A militia for the people? As expected of Brother Cain! Truly, the guardian deity of Schwarz County!”

“For the people…? No, this is for Selvia…”

“Thank you, Brother Cain! You make me so happy!”

“The people’s happiness is your happiness? How noble! Oh, this Lancelot is deeply moved!”

“Ugh, stop that!”

I tried to correct their misunderstanding, but it was no use.

The rumors about me, now further embellished, were bound to spread again.

“That’s not it! I’m doing this for my own reasons!”

“Deeply moved, I say!”

It was hopeless. They weren’t listening.

“Oh, Brother Cain, by the way, today Sister Elise is taking me to town to shop for clothes. She said it’d be fun to explore the town instead of just summoning merchants to the estate.”

“I’m glad you and Sister Elise are getting along. I can’t join you today, though; I have things to handle here.”

“I understand. I hope we can go together next time!”

“Of course!”

As Selvia smiled like a blooming flower, my heart raced uncontrollably.