I’m Telling You, I’m Not The Villain! – Chapter 7

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Lord Fourth
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Honestly, life here was more than comfortable.

“Oh, Master Arnold?! A-Are you going for a walk…?”

Living as a nobleman felt like living in paradise.

He spent his time doing whatever he pleased,

“Young Master… How is your meal today?”

Enjoying meals prepared by a top-class chef to his heart’s content,

“Yawn~ I think I’ll sleep now. I’ve read enough for today…”

And after that, he’d spend his free time leisurely, going to sleep whenever he wanted after sunset.

Compared to his previous life, where he was worn down by the struggles of society, this was truly the dream life he had always yearned for.

However, not everything was perfect.

If there was one thing he wanted to complain about,

“Hey.”

“Y-Yes…! Master Arnold, what is it?!!”

It was the way people looked at him, as he had mentioned before.

“……….”

People were terrified of Arnold, to the point that they showed fear even being in the same space as him, let alone speaking to him.

Judging by their expressions, they worried they would be punished for no reason at a single word.

“Excuse me -”

“What can I do for you?!!”

But what was truly frustrating was that Arnold wasn’t a bad person.

Therefore, the reality of not even having a chance to defend himself was terrifying.

“Wait, you dropped your handkerchief.”

Even now, he was just trying to pick up a handkerchief that a housekeeper had dropped.

“I-I apologize, Master Arnold!”

But the housekeeper, with a terrified expression, offered an apology instead of gratitude.

“No, it’s alright… -”

He just wanted to say it was okay.

“Ugh…!! I must have displeased you?! I apologize for blocking your way, Master Arnold, and wasting your time by dropping my handkerchief!!”

It was as if she was on the verge of death, desperately pleading her case as if it were her last words.

“Jace, how could you…!!”

“If you’ve offended Master Arnold, there’s nothing we can do. Even if we don’t see you tomorrow, we’ll just have to accept it…”

What was even more shocking was that other people seemed to understand and accept this behavior as reasonable…

“……….”

How long would he have to live with this perception?

The perception of Arnold = irredeemable demon was so deeply rooted in people’s minds that it was difficult to change.

“Have you eaten, Master?”

Except for Eilly, most people still seemed to be uncomfortable around him.

“Yes, and now that I’m full, I thought I’d move my body a bit.”

“I see! If you need anything, please tell this Eilly!”

Speaking of Eilly,

“I will follow any order from my ‘Master’!”

After the incident in the forest… she started calling me Master.

It was correct to call an employer master, but she uniquely used the title for him, even though he wasn’t her employer.

“…….”
It was a little bothersome, but it didn’t seem to be a problem, so he decided to let it go.

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A clear sky with pure white clouds, not a speck of dust in sight. The weather was beautiful, with warm sunshine and a cool breeze.

“Oof~”
Those were perfect conditions for outdoor training.

Arnold was currently stretching and warming up in a large open space behind the mansion.
This was the place where the mansion guards often used as a training ground.

Perhaps because of that, he could see practice wooden swords and training dummies.

“Huu….”
As an aside, he was using this vast space all by himself.

Originally, the guards had been here first, but when he said he wanted to train, they all fled, sweating profusely… He was enjoying this unintended tranquility.

Still… while training with someone was good, he also preferred practicing alone in peace… as long as rumors like ‘Arnold tried to use the guards as punching bags’ didn’t spread.

“Should I start with the stances?”

He had digressed. Anyway, back to the main topic.

He picked up a random wooden sword and started with the basics.

He had decided to practice swordsmanship today, not magic.

He had tested his magic abilities to some extent, but he didn’t know the extent of his talent with the sword yet.

Still, looking at Arnold in the game, he was proficient with both magic and the sword, so he might have talent in this area as well.

More than anything, he had a feeling after recalling the incident in the forest. It was difficult to explain it now.

“Haa -”
First, he took a stance and practiced the most basic attack, a downward strike.

“Hmm!”
He raised the hilt of the sword, gripped with both hands, above his head and swung it down swiftly and precisely.

Whoosh –
A faint breeze accompanied by the sound of wind splitting.

As if to prove it wasn’t just his imagination, the surrounding sand scattered, creating dust.

“…….”
He had only tried it once, but… he could already feel something unusual.

It might be premature, but… did he have a talent for the sword after all?

“Hmm! Hmm! Hmm!”

Recalling the correct posture he had seen in the book, he spent several hours practicing various ways of holding the sword, stances, and how to properly exert force.

“Master Arnold, what are you doing here?”

While swinging his sword at the empty air, someone addressed him in a calm and solemn voice.

“… You are.”

“You may not remember, but I am ‘Martin’.”

A large build, muscular arms, skin tanned dark from long hours under the sun, and a stern, expressionless face that contrasted with his rugged appearance.

“Martin?”

A man twice his size spoke to him.

“Wait, you’re…”

Something about the name sounded familiar, so he slowly searched his memory. Soon, he remembered who he was.

“Are you, by any chance, the knight from…?”

He was a character who had appeared several times in the game, a knight belonging to the Stenman family.

“That is correct.”

His strength had been demonstrated several times, and he overwhelmed his opponents with tremendous power and swordsmanship befitting his appearance.

In a way, he was the first character from the game that Arnold had encountered.

He was at a level where he could easily take down the Dire Wolves Arnold had wiped out, even if they attacked in a pack.

According to the game’s lore, he could even cleave giant rocks and cliffs.

“It is an honor that you remember me.”

As befitting someone with great strength and a massive physique, he was one of the few characters who could speak calmly in front of Arnold.

“Hmm… Right.”

Now that he thought about it… he recalled the character ‘Martin’.

To be honest, he had almost forgotten about him because he didn’t appear often in the original story and hadn’t encountered him here either.

“I’m practicing with the sword. I’ve recently taken an interest in it.”

“I see. Then, may I offer my assistance?”

He treated Arnold with utmost respect and courtesy, even though Arnold was much younger and smaller than him.

“Hmm, if you don’t mind, could you be my sparring partner?”

After pondering his offer of assistance, a good idea came to mind.

“Sparring, you say? It is possible, but… if I may be so bold to affirm that I am, unfortunatly clumsy with the sword, even if I try to hold back due to the significant difference in our abilities. Issues may arise.”

“That is why even the guards avoid sparring with me…. However, if Master Arnold is alright with it, I will gladly be your opponent.”

Every word he spoke was filled with utmost humility and courtesy.

“Alright, let’s do it.”

Martin would be the perfect sparring partner, but his concern was… whether Arnold would be crushed by the overwhelming difference in their physical size.

“Yes, I will do my best to control my strength.”

Albeit it seemed he wasn’t going to hold back completely, Arnold decided to trust him.

“Master Arnold, are you ready?”

Martin picked up a random wooden sword lying around in the open space, briefly checked its condition, did some light warm-up exercises, and waited for Arnold’s signal.

“… I’m ready.”

Arnold calmed his mind, nodded with a slightly heightened sense of tension.

“Here I come…!”
With a swift preparatory movement, Martin charged fiercely.

“……!”
Contrary to his size, his speed was incredible. The knight’s speed was far faster and sharper than a wolf’s fangs.

“Hah!”
Even if he held back a little, Arnold felt like he wouldn’t stand a chance if he took a direct hit.

“Ha-”
“No…?!”
However.

“…….”
A fast and powerful attack was meaningless if it didn’t connect.

“Excellent.”
He dodged Martin’s attack with an almost bizarre fast reaction speed.

This was not the first time he thought he might have a talent for the sword.

He had first felt it when he faced the pack of Dire Wolves. Arnold’s physical abilities were abnormally high for his age and experience.

Especially his dynamic vision, or whatever it was called…

“…!”
“You dodged that too?!”
Arnold’s reaction speed was incredibly sharp and far beyond imagination.

“Amazing. Then, I shall increase the intensity.”

Martin’s pressure far surpassed that of the Dire Wolves. A massive physique with matching strength… and terrifying speed.

It seemed that not just anyone could become a knight.

“Hmm!”
Martin’s expression grew sterner, as if he was about to take the sparring more seriously.

Whoosh – Whoosh – Whoosh –
Arnold dodged all of Martin’s consecutive attacks by watching them directly with his eyes.

“……”
He felt a strong gust of wind every time he dodged an attack. Just how powerful were those strikes?

“Ooh…”
He hadn’t allowed a single hit so far, but there was a problem.

He couldn’t win just by dodging.

“Truly remarkable.”
“I have been attacking with all my might, yet… you have seen through every move -”

Whoosh – Whoosh –
However, he couldn’t find an opening to counterattack due to the relentless barrage of attacks.

“……….”
As he continued to dodge the onslaught, wondering if there was any way out,

“……!”
A technique flashed through his mind, offering a breakthrough.

“If I do this -”
Honestly, it was a risky attempt. But if it worked, it would be a solution to overcome the difference in strength.

“Hmm!”
He steadied himself and faced Martin head-on.

“Here I come!”
This time, he met Martin’s attack head-on instead of dodging.

“……….”
Honestly, if they clashed strength against strength, he would be crushed without a doubt.

Clack -!
But if he used that technique, it would be a different story.

“Huh?!”
Martin showed surprise at the next attack. His full-powered attack had been deflected by a boy much weaker than him.

“……….”
Although he had parried the attack, he felt a slight vibration in his hand. Still, considering the difference in strength, it was barely a scratch.

Clack –
“…!”
He perfectly countered Martin’s next attack as well.

Clack, Clack… Clack -!!
The relentless and powerful strikes continued, but

Thud! Clack… Clack! Clack!
He was able to parry them all without difficulty.

“How… how are you doing this?”
The knight’s expression slowly crumbled. He seemed unable to believe that his strength was being deflected by such a small force.

“… Now!”
Clack –
However, he wasn’t just blocking.

“Ugh?!”
He was both defending and attacking simultaneously. With the next parry, Martin’s wooden sword was knocked out of his hand.

“It’s over.”
“Ugh!”
He pointed his sword at Martin’s neck, signaling the end of the match, as Martin was momentarily vulnerable without his weapon.

“I have lost, Master Arnold… To think you have defeated me at such a young age. Your skills are truly promising.”

Martin lowered his head, admitting his defeat with a dejected air.

“… Good work.”
To be honest, it had been a tough fight.

In the end, the swordsmanship he had thought of had saved him. That swordsmanship was the [Parry] skill.

It was one of the skills that appeared in the game.

If you blocked an opponent’s close-range physical attack at the right moment, it would negate most of the damage and deplete the opponent’s stamina.

“Thank you for your time, Master Arnold. Please forgive me if I have been disrespectful during this sparring session.”

It was a skill that received a fairly good evaluation in the original game.

Although it wasn’t all-powerful due to its cooldown time… it seemed like there was no such thing as a cooldown here.

“It’s alright.”

Then, theoretically, he could win against any swordsman just by using this skill, couldn’t he?

“By the way, what do you think?”

Putting that aside, he was once again surprised by Arnold Stenman’s talent.

He had vaguely expected it, but it seemed he had tremendous talent with the sword as well.

Despite having just picked up a sword for the first time in his life, he instinctively and intuitively dodged attacks, used the Parry skill, and even timed it perfectly.

“To be honest… aside from a few movements that seemed a bit unrefined…”

Perhaps if he honed his swordsmanship, he could become an exceptional swordsman?

“Hmm… Then, I have a favor to ask. Could you teach me a bit about swordsmanship whenever I want?”

“Yes? Uh… Yes, if that is what Master Arnold desires…”
That anticipation made his heart pound.

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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.