Became the Villainess’s Guardian

The cool evening air filled my lungs.
Unlike the previous heavy pressure on my chest, I finally felt alive.

No, looking closely, that oppressive sensation remained. There was a hand firmly pressing down on the area where I had been shot.

Without further thought, I opened my eyes.

“This is… unavoidable……”

The first thing I saw was Freugne’s face filling my vision.

“Heh……”

“……”

And before my mind could fully grasp the situation, Freugne then proceeded to kiss me.

Had it ended there, I might have suspected Freugne of being mentally unsound, but she continued trying to pry my mouth open.

Had I remained passive, there was no telling what she might do next. So I pushed her insistent face away and spoke.

“…Freugne?”

“Eeh?!”

While the protagonist’s resurrection took three days in humanity’s greatest bestseller from a previous life,
it seems I, favored by the game system even though lacking an inventory, did not require such a delay in this unforeseen corner.

I awoke properly at the location of my final memory, with only Freugne as a witness.
To be precise, there were a few people bustling around as well, but that was when I sat up, coughing dryly as if on the verge of death.

Though my wounds had healed, Freugne buried her face in my blood-soaked chest and burst into tears.

“Hic, I thought, I thought you were dead……”

“I’ve never experienced death before.”

While I said those reassuring words, the experience just prior did seem somewhat akin to death.
I had undoubtedly used one of my three chances this time.

With a wry smile, I asked:

“Did you feed me something?”

“Ah, no! Nothing yet!”

Since she said so, it was clear that I had revived on my own.
Not only the chest wound that should have been fatal but even the injury to my shoulder had vanished without a trace.

“Kyaaahh! Blood, blood!!”

“Ah, don’t worry. I’m perfectly fi-”

“Kyaaaaahh!!”

“No.”

As I tried to calm the people who had rushed over and were screaming at the sight of the puddle of blood, only to see me miraculously alive and drenched in it, a voice called out.

“Stop, everyone stop!”

“This is the police! This is a crime scene, so no fooling around!”

“There’s a casualty here! Is there a doctor, a doctor?!”

“I’m, I’m alright, so start securing the scene first. Immediately!”

This commotion only ended when Chief Inspector Baldur, who had hastily bandaged his arm, called in the police to control the traffic.

After being taken to a nearby hospital, examined, and told I seemed to have merely rolled around in blood, I was given a change of clothes and assigned a bed, just in case my condition worsened.

“Haa… huu……”

“Rest well.”

After wiping away the tears from the sleeping Freugne, who had cried herself to exhaustion by my side, I laid her on the bed and covered her with a blanket.
Whether from the severe shock or my miraculous revival, she did not seem to be in any state to sleep peacefully.

Sitting in a chair beside her, I slowly reflected on the recent events.

I felt a sense of déjà vu.
From the way the madman’s wavering eyes had turned an unnaturally crimson hue, as if emitting light, when he turned the gun barrel towards me.

‘…Ah, that’s right.’

Recalling where I had seen those red eyes before, they belonged to the mobs in [Londinium Survival Log].
Specifically, the appearance of humans who had their minds corrupted by the Demonic Tribe.

It was only natural that I could not immediately recall it. I had tucked that memory away in a corner, thinking I would only witness it when the Demonic Tribe eventually invaded and the kingdom fell.

I could roughly surmise why a human tampered with by the Demonic Tribe was present in Londinium.

No matter how much humanity and the Demonic Tribe wished to tear each other apart, there would undoubtedly have been some form of preliminary skirmish preceding the supposed inter-species war event. This kingdom had likely remained oblivious to reality until the very end, only to meet its downfall.

And on the Demonic Tribe’s side, they must have taken various measures.
Scenarios such as disguising the deaths of promising police officers as accidents, for instance.

However, all of this was mere conjecture, and I might have simply hallucinated it in my agony.
Moreover, I did not even know the true identity of the one who had shot me. At the very least, I had no intention of labeling him a member of the Demonic Tribe solely for being an albino.

But whether this was true or not, I would soon be able to confirm it.

The one who had shot me was a former businessman named Philip.
The metropolitan police, who had taken him into custody due to his Maia Reaction, meticulously investigated his activities over the past day.

And after grilling him again in Londinium’s underground cells over cups of black tea, this was the reconstructed story:

Philip, imprisoned on various charges including embezzlement, tax evasion, and more, had taken advantage of a security lapse to escape somehow.
Choosing revenge over fleeing, he went to the fairgrounds and pulled the trigger on Chief Inspector Baldur, the one who had arrested him.

It seemed he had fired the first shot at the chief inspector, then spontaneously switched targets to Freugne and me, who happened to be there. I had been the unlucky recipient of that bullet.

After being taken to the hospital and certified as unharmed, the metropolitan police, who had visited me the next day without being summoned, provided this explanation.

Omitting the details of how he had escaped, there seemed to be no questionable aspects regarding his motive, actions, or outcome.

“Are you Mr. Edan?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“It must be distressing, and you’re still recovering from your injury, but I apologize for calling you in. My direct superior, Chief Inspector Baldur, is also still hospitalized.”

“It’s alright. I’ve fully recovered now.”

And after being summoned again by the metropolitan police for further investigation following my discharge, I was able to gain confidence in the hypothesis I had formulated.

“Allow me to get straight to the point. May I request your silence regarding the incident at the fairgrounds a few days ago?”

“I beg your pardon? Why is that?”

“Well, it’s rather embarrassing for us to admit our lack of control, but since it was an international event of sorts, it might cause some trouble if word spreads through the media, not only abroad but even domestically.”

While he said as much, given that numerous others had belatedly arrived at the scene, it felt more like a forced cover-up.

He did not resort to cheap provocations like asking what would happen if I refused.
I had no desire to risk another hole in my chest and waste a precious respawn chance here.

“Would it be possible to know what became of Philip, the one who shot me?”

“He has been transferred to a more secure facility. His life is not in danger, but he will likely face a sentence for attempted murder.”

“As a victim, would it be possible for me to meet him directly?”

“I’m afraid that is no longer within my jurisdiction.”

And even as a concerned party, any attempt to meet him would be swiftly shut down.
While I harbored reasonable doubts, if it did not involve openly clashing with the police, it was best to leave it at that. I would be entering the Royal Academy soon enough, anyway.

After further attempts at indirect probing ultimately led to abandonment, having gained the desired confirmation even if I could not uncover more about Philip himself, I nodded and shook hands with the inspector who had played along with my twenty questions.

“I understand the implication.”

“Thank you for your understanding.”

“Ordinarily, this would warrant presenting you with a brave civilian award or something, but I deeply regret that it has come to this instead. In exchange, if anything comes up in the future, I’ll let it slide.”

There are various unspoken agreements in this world.

For instance, one must not mention parents to an orphan like myself.
Or taboos like not putting rice in the back pocket, lest the crown prince who was there first eats it.

The matter of the Demonic Tribe was no different.
Simply bringing up stories related to it would be enough to raise sensitivities. That was why, despite having no evidence, I could not go around shouting like the boy who cried wolf about the Demonic Tribe’s impending invasion.

And they had apprehended Philip, had they not? If they conducted a proper investigation, the metropolitan police could not be unaware either.

“I understand.”

“Thank you for your cooperation. Ah, right. This is a trivial matter, but since you likely haven’t had a chance to eat, why don’t you take care of that before you leave?”

“Oh, you really don’t have to go to such lengths-”

“Of course, I’m not suggesting you dine here, but since you’ve spared your valuable time, I should at least treat you to a decent restaurant nearby, shouldn’t I?”

And so, without any underhanded means,
I reached an agreement where, in exchange for my silence, they would let any future misdemeanors slide, such as passing out drunk in the middle of the street, brushing a carpet on the road, or ringing a neighbor’s doorbell as a prank, and so on.

Creak

“Dad’s home.”

“Mr. Edan!”

Finally released, I could return home.
Despite being told I would return first, the still anxious Freugne immediately rushed over upon seeing me enter through the door.

Waking up in the middle of the night, Freugne realized she was somehow in a bed.

And feeling a breath beside her, she turned to find Edan there.

Though he had changed into fresh clothes and bore no injuries,
Freugne was still haunted by the vivid memory of him being shot.

“…Mr. Edan, are you awake?”

“……”

Instead of waking him, Freugne silently snuggled into his embrace.

She did not ask why he had protected her.
The obvious answer would be that as her guardian, he had naturally shielded his adoptive daughter. It was simply his nature.

She had undoubtedly been complacent.
The mere fact of witnessing his survival in the future did not mean she could rest assured in the present.

What if Edan had been unable to regenerate from such an injury?
Or if the initial bullet had strayed slightly and struck her instead?

And while they had both ultimately emerged unscathed, what of the suffering Edan had endured in the process?
It was her own negligence for failing to realize that her safety in that future was thanks to him.

And her troubling thoughts did not end there.

“While the investigation is still ongoing, there does seem to be some connection to the Demonic Tribe.”

This was the first thing Baldur, his face slightly contorted with each movement of his arm, said to her a few days later upon his discharge from the hospital.

He had originally intended to only let his voice be heard, bringing Ulr along, but had taken this opportunity to reveal his face as well.
After all, being one of the original members, she had already heard his voice up close and seen everything there was to see, so concealing it would have been pointless.

“…Why would the Demonic Tribe be in Londinium?”

“I myself am uncertain. It could be due to the border guards failing to do their duty properly, deliberately turning a blind eye, or someone higher up leaving the gates wide open. For now, even I am in the dark.”

“So in the end, I’ll need to rise higher to uncover the truth.”

It worked out conveniently, in a sense.

“In any case, start making preparations.”

“Preparations, you mean…?”

“Of course, there can only be one interpretation.”

For soon, this kingdom would face an upheaval.

“Promotion.”

Indeed, this was the correct path.

She was still unable to discern events even a day in advance.
Therefore, she had to bring every single variable under her control, without allowing for the slightest deviation.