The Villain's Reincarnation – Tired of Working Hard, I'm Slacking Off! The Peacefully Oblivious Slacker Avoids Ruin! - Chapter 33

“Today… was supposed to be peaceful… and free…”

Late at night, I stared up at the star-filled sky, drowning in sorrow like someone whose dreams had just been crushed.

Even though the Knight Commander had kindly agreed to supervise the maid, I ended up getting neither the sleep-in-until-noon luxury I wanted nor the slow, relaxing day I had envisioned.

Yes, it all started with breakfast.

Of course, I hadn’t asked the Knight Commander to deliver it—that would only have confused the maid, and besides, the Commander had morning duties to attend to. So I hadn’t arranged anything.

I had been so excited, believing I could finally sleep in, that I even made a “things-to-do-tomorrow” list full of leisurely activities. But then it hit me.

Naturally, that list had to be scrapped and overhauled in record time. And thanks to that, I ended up having breakfast with the maid while running on barely any sleep.

Originally, I’d only planned to deliver her breakfast.

But then… she invited me to stay.

I did briefly consider turning her down, but when I saw her anxious expression, I realized she was trying her best in her own way. I didn’t want to crush her first step forward—so I sat down and ate with her.

I was a little surprised at myself for zoning out while trying to respond, but hey, she’s still a kid. It’s natural for her to be overwhelmed and unsure in times of change.

She must’ve been barely keeping it together.

“Working hard for your dreams, huh…”

Watching her push herself—struggling and worrying all the while—reminded me of who I used to be in my previous life.

(What do I want now?)

These days, I live to avoid stress, slack off as much as possible, and enjoy a peaceful early retirement.

But that’s not a positive ambition.

It’s a goal born out of fear of destruction—of the bitterness I carried over from my past life.

In short, it’s a defensive desire.

Of course, I don’t want to be ruined. I don’t want to deal with the mess of politics and relationships that come with high status.

That’s why I’m moving forward with a decent amount of effort.

But I lack the absolute, burning determination I once had—or that she has now.

That’s why I cut corners. That’s why I think things like, worst case, I’ll just overpower it all somehow.

If I truly, deeply wanted to achieve something, what happened today would never have occurred.

Back in my old life, I would have identified every risk in advance and worked out how to reach my goal—without ever considering failure.

(Though I guess… thinking about it now won’t change anything.)

Not that I think there’s anything wrong with the way things are.

I’ve been doing exactly what I want. Avoiding what I hate. Living how I like.

I’m not overwhelmingly happy, but I’m pretty satisfied.

(This whole situation was just a bit of mental support. It wasn’t some unbearable burden.)

Honestly, I even managed to do some nice things while still slacking off, thanks to my genius-level scheming.

When the time comes, I fully intend to cash in those favors.

I’m not the type to suffer for nothing!

“…But seriously, why am I never allowed to relax?”

The breakfast incident? Whatever. I could’ve just napped afterward.

But no—there was something else I had to do.

Not punishing that fast-footed apprentice reporter, but delivering a warning.

Because of her request, I’d agreed to patrol that location at night until the inspection ended.

Naturally, I didn’t want to be pestered every single night, so I needed to set some boundaries.

I thought about putting it off, but once I switch into “rest mode,” I lose all motivation. So I decided to take care of it right after breakfast.

Of course, the guy was gone. Thanks to his elite-level evasion skills and danger instincts, he wasn’t at work.

And so began… a hellish game of tag.

Alongside his boss—the buff old man who hired him—I chased that rabbit-footed nuisance all over the place.

We’ve never once managed to catch him through a normal chase.

I mean… in a way, it’s kind of impressive.

Which is why, once again defeated, we resorted to the ace up our sleeve.

Honestly, it’s such an absurd trick that I hate using it… but desperate times, right?

Using illusion magic, I made the buff old man look like a beautiful woman.

And lo and behold—within about an hour, we had him.

“You’re despicable, Lord Kaito! Is it fun to toy with a man’s pure heart!?”

“Come on, learn your lesson already…”

After watching the old man drag the guy away by the scruff of his neck, I was just about to relax when—

“Children! They’ve gone into the monster-infested forest to play!”

“…What?”

“Hold on—I’ll contact the Vice Commander right now!”

“……”

Seriously… why do I always walk into these kinds of situations?

Of course, I couldn’t just pretend I hadn’t heard it.

So I went to help.

Once inside the forest, finding the kids would be nearly impossible without my clairvoyance.

So I slipped away quietly to avoid attracting attention.

It wasn’t because I wanted to keep it a secret—it was to stop my reputation from needlessly increasing.

Using my clairvoyance, I quickly located the children and the monster approaching them.

I dealt with the beast in an instant.

Then, using illusion magic again, I made it look as if the monster had simply vanished, and guided the children back through the woods without them realizing what had really happened.

But the kids were slow. And the knights were fast.

Before the children could even exit the forest, the knights had already begun their search.

(Impressive. Our knights really are excellent… NO, THAT’S NOT THE POINT!! What I want is not to evaluate the knights—I want a peaceful afternoon nap!!)

As I watched the knights’ level of training firsthand, I used spatial magic to drag the approaching monsters into a subspace and vented my stress by turning them into punching bags.

As a form of preventative measure, I eliminated a decent number.

And so, once again, my day was far from restful—I was moving nonstop.

“…What should I do tomorrow?”

There wasn’t much left to inspect, which meant I’d have to spend the whole day dealing with the maid. On top of that, the princess and her group would be inside the mansion tomorrow, and they’d have more free time than today.

The chances of running into them indoors were high. Even the maid had found me at lightning speed. My trust in this mansion as a sanctuary had hit rock bottom.

So I needed to find a way to stay outside.

But that’s tiring.

Wasn’t there some way to avoid it…?

I was deep in thought, plotting my next great evasion strategy, when—

“If you haven’t made plans yet, might I request that you leave that insolent little girl in my care for the day?”

“…Higashiyama?”

The one who appeared was a tall, bespectacled pretty boy—Higashiyama Hisahiko.

In just a few years, he’d climbed to the top of the civil service, becoming the kingdom’s Chief Administrative Officer. He was fiercely loyal to me for some reason, had a venomous tongue, and never hesitated to show it.

“….”

I paused to consider.

Higashiyama was extremely capable. If I left things to him, he’d probably handle them efficiently.

However… he was a strict rationalist, someone who always spoke his mind without sugarcoating anything.

Although he knew about the maid’s circumstances, he had no hesitation in calling her “an insolent little girl.” If someone didn’t meet his standards, he had no qualms about saying exactly what he thought—usually harshly.

For the record, the first time we met, he called me “a waste of talent and a walking trash heap.”

He doesn’t pull punches. And since he’s prideful and honest, his words always hit hard because they’re true.

That’s why I was worried. Would she, still emotionally unstable, be able to withstand him? And more than that, what if he planted strange ideas in her head?

This was the guy who once said, after being attacked by a high-ranking spirit, that it had been a valuable experience because he got to attend an auction where they were sold.

His responses were often excessive, sometimes out of sync with reality. He reminded me of Satsuki and Yuuki in that way.

Because of those unknown factors, I couldn’t answer right away.

“Lord Kaito… may I also ask you to consider it?”

“…Iwaya, too? So you’re in on this plan.”

The one who spoke next was the Knight Commander, Iwaya—a man known for his character and integrity. The fact that he was supporting this idea suggested it wasn’t something warped or dangerous after all.

“Of course. No matter how foolish and utterly discourteous that girl may be, she remains someone important to our lord.”

Higashiyama declared this in his usual calm, matter-of-fact tone.

(He really is competent…)

Sure, his words were harsh, but his reasoning was always based on logic, not emotion.

Even when his methods were aggressive, they were the result of cold calculation and objective analysis.

“All right. I’ll hear your opinion too, Iwaya.”

“Yes. After observing her today, I believe her issues stem from the burden of her own talent. It would take her a very long time to resolve that on her own. If someone like Higashiyama, who has experienced similar things and understands the nature of the problem, guides her—even forcefully—it would likely be the most effective solution, even from your perspective, my lord.”

“I see…”

So their assessment of her matched mine.

To be honest, I didn’t think her problems needed to be solved right now.

My personal goal was just to steer her away from the path of destruction. I wasn’t trying to earn favor or increase her opinion of me.

Guiding someone through the process of overcoming their personal flaws is, naturally, an event that would massively boost their evaluation of you.

That’s why I never intended to lead her directly toward that kind of resolution.

But if a subordinate did it instead, the situation changed.

The credit wouldn’t go to me, it would go to them. That would raise the team’s collective evaluation, and if she grew stronger in the process, that’d give us a bigger advantage later in the story. It would also reduce the need for my involvement going forward.

“Alright. I’ll leave it to you tomorrow. But keep my involvement out of it. How you handle things is entirely up to you.”

“Thank you. I will make sure the results live up to your expectations.”

And so, with a few lingering worries, I secured a precious day of freedom.