I’m Telling You, I’m Not The Villain! – Chapter 31

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Lord Fourth
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Melina Ferdinand, the second heroine of the original story. She was the princess of the elven kingdom of Yggdrasil, and a character cursed by the Demon King from birth, destined to live a short life.

The curse was that she was born with a evil spirit sealed within her. On her twentieth birthday, it would emerge from her body and kill her.

Twenty years.

Even from a human perspective, it was an incredibly short lifespan. But for an elf, it was even more so.

For a long-lived race with a life expectancy of around a thousand years, twenty years was far too short.

However, there was a solution.

The royal family of Yggdrasil could receive a prophecy through an oracle, though with great difficulty.

The prophecy stated that if she entered the academy in the year of her twentieth birthday, she might meet a “destined savior” who could lift the curse.

And, of course, that destined savior was Varis. He was the man who would become the hero in the future and had the potential to defeat the evil spirit sealed within her.

“Lates!”

Lates was the white cat that always stayed by her side. As befitting an elf, a race attuned to nature, she could easily tame animals, and Lates was the cat she had tamed after entering the academy.

“You can’t cling to him like that…! He’s uncomfortable.”

Lates was known for being unafraid of humans and possessing exceptionally sharp animal instincts.

“Meow~ Meow~!”

But why was this cat clinging to him so persistently? He was a complete stranger… It wasn’t just unafraid of him; it seemed to be showing affection.

“Seriously, let go!”

Melina pulled at Lates, but the cat clung to his leg, refusing to let go.

“Meow~!”

It clung to him tenaciously, as if refusing to be separated.

“Phew, finally.”

Melina finally managed to detach the white cat and held it in one arm, wiping her forehead with the other hand.

“I’m sorry…! Lates is my cat, and it’s usually not like this. I wonder why it’s acting this way today…”

She apologized to him. Her beautiful blonde hair swayed slightly in the breeze. Her sapphire blue eyes were filled with apology.

“No, it’s alright. It wasn’t a bother. Don’t worry about it.”

To be honest, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t bothered at all. The white cat, Lates, had clung to him with its claws out stinging his legs lightly.

“Really? You’re kind. My name is Melina Ferdinand. Just call me Melina.”

She introduced herself, placing her hand on her chest.

“Arnold Stenman. Call me Arnold.”

They exchanged names. The white cat in her arms continued to struggle, as if wanting to cling to him again.

“Arnold, huh? It’s nice to meet you. If we meet again, let’s acknowledge each other, okay?”

She smiled brightly. As expected of a race known for their beauty, she had a stunningly beautiful face.

“If you don’t mind.”

He replied, rubbing the back of his neck. She smiled faintly, seemingly satisfied with his answer.

“Yes~ If we’re meant to be, we’ll meet again!”

She hugged the cat tightly and ran off. Since she was from the elven kingdom, she didn’t seem to have any prejudice against the Stenman family. Usually, people would make a disgusted face by just hearing the name.

“I’m jealous, I wanted to pet that cat…”

While Professor Adria spoke in hushed tones, Melina’s figure gradually grew smaller and then disappeared.

His first encounter with the second heroine ended just like that.

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“Meow~!”

Melina, running off after parting with Arnold, held Lates tightly in her arms.

“Meow!”

But the white cat seemed to be fixated on Arnold, its gaze still lingering in the direction he had gone.

“Why are you crying? Did you like that man that much?”

Melina was puzzled by Lates’s behavior but gently stroked its head.

“Meow…”

But the cat still seemed to be fixated on Arnold.

“I wonder if I’ll be able to find my destined savior… I’m starting to get worried…”

“Meow…”

While she yearned for her savior to be found, Lates continued to stare in the direction where it had parted with Arnold.

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“Hmm.”

There wasn’t much he could do to help with Melina’s events. Only Varis could defeat the evil spirit in the end.

He would slowly build a relationship with her through various small events, and in the final event, after Varis defeated the evil spirit, Melina would realize he was her destined savior and fall in love with him.

Naturally, with the evil spirit defeated, the curse would also be lifted. So, it seemed like he didn’t need to intervene this time.

He should just step back and hope that things worked out between Varis and Melina…

“Master? What are you thinking so hard about?”

Just as he was thinking that, Eilly spoke to him. Had he been spacing out too much?

“You’ve been holding your fork without moving for a while… I was worried you were feeling unwell.”

Her eyes were filled with concern. He twirled some spaghetti and put it in his mouth to reassure her.

“I’m fine, I just had something on my mind.”

It was lunchtime. He, Eilly, Varis, and Elisha were eating together.

“The academy food is always delicious!”

Varis devoured his food as if he were a human vacuum cleaner. He didn’t think it was that good, but the academy cafeteria food was definitely of high quality.

Since students from all social classes, from commoners to nobles, attended the academy, the food seemed designed to cater to a wide range of tastes.

“Hmm…”

Elisha, unlike Varis, was calmly cutting her hamburger steak and eating it one bite at a time.

The four of them had ordered different dishes. He had spaghetti, Eilly had vegetable soup, Varis had a ham platter, and Elisha had hamburger steak.

“Arnold.”

Elisha called his name. He turned his head and saw a piece of hamburger, covered in sweet sauce, held out to him.

“Ah~♡”

She was trying to feed him with a flirtatious smile. Why was she suddenly…?

“…?”

He was flustered. It was his first time being fed by a girl… and he was self-conscious about the fork she had been using.

“It’s fine between future spouses, right?”

She smiled faintly, looking at him with amusement.

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

Eilly glared at Elisha, as if to say that such shameless acts were inappropriate in public.

“I won’t lose! Master…! Please have some of my soup!”

But then… she grabbed her own spoon and tried to imitate Elisha.

“What?!”

“You started it!”

They glared at each other, the previously lighthearted atmosphere turning heavy.

“Here, have some!”

“Please try my food!”

They both held out their food to him. He couldn’t do anything like this.

“Hmm? Arnold!”

Just then, another voice interrupted them. It was an elf with long blonde hair and a pretty face.

“Melina?”

He muttered her name. Melina was holding a tray of food, her face bright and cheerful.

“It really is Arnold! We meet again sooner than I expected. Are you having lunch with your friends?”

She joined them naturally. She seemed to have just gotten her food; steam was rising from her soup.

“Do you mind if I join you? It’s always better to eat together.”

She took a sip of her soup. She said something like, “Mmm~ It’s warm!” and rubbed her cheek with her left hand, a satisfied smile on her face.

“Master?”

“Arnold?”

He suddenly felt a chilling glare. He snapped back to reality and saw Elisha and Eilly staring at him with cold eyes.

“Who is she?! Who else have you befriended?!”

“Yes! When, where, and how did you meet her?!”

They interrogated him about Melina, as if ready to pounce. He had only exchanged greetings with her; it was their first meeting…

Melina’s friendly personality aside, their reactions were too extreme, and he didn’t know how to respond.

“Meow~”

Just then, he heard a meow and felt a small weight on his lap.

“Lates?”

The white cat, Lates, had climbed onto his lap.

“Huh? I told you to wait outside…! You’re not supposed to follow me inside.”

Melina’s happy expression faltered as she saw Lates’s sudden appearance.

“Meow~”

But Lates ignored her and rubbed against him. He didn’t know what it liked about him, but it was a bit clingy.

“Hmm? I like cats too. Can I pet it?”

Varis, distracted by Lates, reached out to pet it.

“Hiss -!”

But for some reason, Lates hissed at Varis, arching its back and raising its tail.

“Ugh? Does it not like me…? It’s being biased, going to Arnold so readily.”

Why did this cat, which he had just met today, liked him so much?

“Meow~”

He pondered the question as the white cat rubbed against him again after Varis withdrew his hand.

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Hi Lord Fourth here!
I’m new to translating so if you find some mistakes or inconsistencies let me know about it on the dedicated channel on discord.