For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 94

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 94

Snip. Thud. Snap.

“….”

Snip. Thud. Snap.
With each cut of Raina Hart’s shears, a fig tumbled from its stem.
It then passed through her waiting hand below and settled gently into the basket.
The figs accumulated in the basket with pristine, unblemished surfaces.
Paul and Vivian’s Friend Shana, watching from the side, whispered in amazement at Vivian’s flawless technique.

“She works like a master craftsman who’s been picking figs for fifteen years. Vivian might actually be the daughter of a fig farm. Should we groom her as our farm’s successor?”
“That sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? Fig picking might be her true calling. Vivian visited our ranch yesterday….”

Shana trailed off.
She nearly mentioned how yesterday, Vivian’s experience milking cows had turned into a search for a runaway cow, and caught herself.
It wasn’t exactly a flattering anecdote to bring up.

“Vivian does well at some things, but she’s hopeless at others.”

Her fluctuations were more extreme than most people’s. As if she became an entirely different person.

‘Vivian really is peculiar. Before we became close, I thought she was just a beautiful woman.’

Shana recalled the day Vivian first arrived in the Village.
The entire settlement had stirred at the sight of her beauty as she walked home with the Officer.
A striking, captivating beauty.
She had thought Vivian could never fit in with the villagers like herself, but that was her own prejudice.
Vivian’s bright sociability had enchanted the entire Village within a week.
She was an odd friend. But that’s what made her wonderful.

“But Shana, you don’t think Vivian actually believes there are orcs on our farm, do you?”

Then Paul whispered to Shana, who had fallen silent.
It was understandable.
Vivian’s eyes, as she sat in a low chair plucking figs, were intensely wary of her surroundings.
A wooden practice sword lay at her feet, its handle positioned toward her body so she could seize it at any moment.

“….”

In fact, I was keeping my senses extraordinarily sharp.
Though a headache had begun to form, this was no time to be bothered by it.

‘There’s definitely something.’

I moved the shears, which had become like an extension of my body, and recalled what had happened earlier.
My current location was Paul’s Farm in the mountains.
When I had entered the mountain, I had deliberately dropped my gloves on the way up as if by accident.
But those gloves.

“Huh? Vivian, these—aren’t they yours?”

They had appeared right before I arrived at Paul’s Farm.
As if someone had picked them up and brought them there.

「It seems there’s a being in the mountains that grants wishes.」

But around the time Vivian had written that message, Shana had also lost her handkerchief in the mountains, and hadn’t she said she still hadn’t found it?
A being that grants wishes only for Vivian.

‘It’s suspicious, so I should find out who it is and let her know.’

This was a sinister world.
For me, who had already lost faith in the original story, an unknown someone lurking about had a high probability of being a shadowy conspirator capable of stabbing me in the back.

‘If I know the identity of whoever is circling around, I’ll be able to respond to any contingency.’

I regretted that Tiernan Fargan wasn’t by Vivian’s side.
If I had known it would come to this, I should have taught him how to see through the illusory magic and reach Tunchar.
That was a joke.
If I had done that, Vivian would have truly suspected I was behind it all.
Then my hands, which had been moving mechanically, froze in mid-air.

“….”

There were no more figs left to pick from the tree.
I’d harvested them all.
I glanced to my side.
The large, spacious basket that Paul had given me in admiration of my efficiency was now brimming full.

“…Should I move them now?”

I’d picked the fruit as instructed, but I knew nothing of actual farming work.
Looking around, all I could see were rows of sturdy fig trees stretching into the distance.
Shana and Paul had stepped away for a moment.

“I can manage on my own.”

It was a basket I’d been dragging around by myself each time I moved locations.
I spread my arms wide, grasped both handles of the expansive basket, and lifted it with a sudden heave.

“…!”

But dragging it along the ground and fully lifting it using Vivian’s own strength were entirely different matters.
The fact that four more trees’ worth of fruit had been added since the last time I’d carried it certainly didn’t help.

‘So heavy…!’

The decision to set the basket down—hovering a couple of hand-widths above the ground—came urgently, but
my right foot, driven by enthusiasm, had already lifted into the air to take another step.
My center of balance and the basket’s weight were too much for my left foot alone to support.
Vivian’s body began to pitch forward.

“Ah…!”

I was falling. This time, truly falling.
I could already see my future—tumbling across the dirt ground, scattering among the fruit.

“Vivian!”

Shana, who had been returning with a drink Paul had given her, saw Vivian falling and cried out in alarm, rushing forward.

“Eek!”

But a sudden gust of wind blew from behind, and I stopped in my tracks, squeezing my eyes shut.

“…”

The wind lasted about three seconds.
When Shana opened her eyelids, worried that Vivian might have fallen, what she saw was—
Vivian standing there perfectly fine.
The basket she had been holding was placed on the ground.
Shana rushed over and spoke to her.

“Are you okay, Vivian?! Goodness, you scared me. Thank goodness you didn’t fall.”
“Oh, yeah. Thanks for worrying about me.”

Her voice came out bewildered.
Not only had she not fallen, but even the basket that should have already slipped from her hands and rolled away remained perfectly intact.
The fig fruits that had been falling were all still nestled inside it.
The gust from days ago. And today.
Such an impossible coincidence could not happen twice.

“…”
“Vivian, are you sure you’re not overexerting yourself? Want to rest at the farm? Or should we head home?”

I worried that Vivian might collapse like last time.
Though Shana asked out of concern, I shook my head.

“Later, Shana.”
“Huh?”
“There are still figs left to pick.”

***

“I think I need to go help with the ranch work now.”

Unlike the initial enthusiasm she had felt, it was Shana who raised the white flag first.
She had suggested they strip Paul’s fig tree bare, but she never expected Vivian would actually try to do it.
For some reason, today she hadn’t collapsed from exhaustion either.
Could harvesting figs truly be Vivian’s calling?

“…Yes.”

Vivian, who had been sitting in the chair trimming figs, nodded.
Her face was hidden beneath the straw hat, but her voice sounded fine enough.

“Then I’ll head down first. Don’t overexert yourself. As for the other figs….”

I was about to say I’d carry them down myself.
Shana paused as she looked at the figs Vivian had picked—four baskets, each the size of the one Vivian had been struggling with earlier.
The ranch owner’s second daughter made a quick decision.
The Ranch’s second daughter made a quick decision.

“I’m… fine with it.”
“I’m… okay too.”

When Raina Hart agreed, Shana quickly left her seat, saying she would take Vivian’s share home as well.

“….”

Paul happened to be walking over to check the quantity of figs he’d harvested.
He wanted to compare the wages Shana had proposed with the actual workload.
No matter how well Vivian had worked, four days’ pay was—.
No matter how well Vivian did the work, three days worth—.

“Sir, I think I need to go too.”

She had been continuing to work in a state where she looked ready to collapse at any moment.
How could I begrudge a child so genuinely devoted to her fig trees a mere four days’ wages?
I wouldn’t begrudge a few days’ wages to a child who cares so genuinely about my fig tree.

“…? Thank you.”
“…? Thank you.”

Since he was offering money, there was no reason to refuse, so I nodded.
Then I left the farm.
Then he came out of the farm.

I got it for sure.

While picking figs, I organized my thoughts.
Occasionally, I muttered things I needed, and each time I received a response—confirming that whoever was hiding was nearby.
They must have used magic to hear my voice from a distance.

“….”

To the right lay the downward path leading to the Village. To the left, an upward path that ventured deeper into the Mountains.
Gripping the wooden sword in my hand, I turned left and climbed upward.
If that person is who I think they are.

‘They won’t kill Vivian Asperada.’

My expression turned cold.

***

“Huh? She’s heading up the mountain?”

The Demon Grimoire spoke, watching the direction Vivian Asperada was going.
I thought she’d be heading home.

“Isn’t she onto us?”

Zikhard chuckled as if it were a joke.

“….”

The Emperor, hidden in the trees above, watched Vivian Asperada’s retreating figure from a distance.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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