The Villainess Wants To Be A Sidekick

[– My Favorite Character is a Weak Fish –]

 

The surroundings became quiet, and the sound of me swallowing my snot while crying filled the hall.

Ah, I’m screwed.

No matter how much this is a dream, what kind of disgrace have I shown, overwhelmed by the emotion of meeting my favorite? How should I handle this disastrous situation?

If my tears were to stop just like this, it would be even stranger. To buy some time, I forced myself to cry loudly.

“Ah-hic, uhuu….. hic-uuhuhu….. hic!

As I was crying as if I had lost my country, I heard the young man’s voice.

“……Um, Velkina. What on earth did you do to Lady Senephin to make her cry like this?”

“Huh!? No, Lumins. We weren’t talking about anything that would suddenly make her cry.”

“Really? You weren’t secretly poking her and bullying her?”

“Geez, Lumins, come on.”

Is it because this is a dating game? Even in this short moment, I’m impressed by their close friendship…… no, this is not the time to be impressed. How am I going to handle this?

While forcing out non-existent tears, I tried to think as much as I could. The clothes Velkina is wearing right now are the apprentice magician’s outfit of the magic research institute. That means this is the early stage of the game.

Since this is a dream, the timeline might not be exact, but still, since it’s a dream coming from my head that played the game, wouldn’t it roughly match?

 

In the early stages of the game, Velkina, who is an orphan, is discovered to have a special talent for magic and is scouted to join the kingdom’s magic research institute as an apprentice magician.

From a general perspective, she could be considered a parachute appointment, and there were those who saw her as a thorn in their side. One such person was none other than Senephin Cromwell, the owner of this body.

But for Velkina to call Senephin “Senephin-nim”…… was this after the event where she was bullied into calling her with the honorific?

“Senephin-nim, how about calming down and returning to your quarters first? Please use this to wipe your tears…….”

Velkina looked worried as she held out a white handkerchief. Seeing how she could respond so kindly to the person who bullied her, it could be said that she truly has a heart as vast as the sea.

Anyway, considering that Velkina mentioned, “Senephin-nim called me to talk” and Lumins does not yet look at me with extreme disgust…….

It seems that this is before the event where she calls Velkina, slaps her, and tells her to leave the magic research institute.

I sighed in relief inwardly. If it were after that event, Lumins would have looked at me with contempt, right? Phew, Lumins. I didn’t do anything wrong, you know?

After organizing the situation in my head, I came up with a rough excuse. I wiped my tears with the handkerchief Velkina handed me and spoke slowly.

 

“My sweet Velkina……. Thank you so much. How can you be so kind-hearted?”

“S-Senephin-nim……?”

“Please don’t call me that. I am a worthless person. From now on, just call me Senepin. You don’t have to use honorifics…….”

Velkina had a flustered look on her face. Of course she would. If I were in her shoes and the person who had been bullying me suddenly started acting kind and crying, I’d wonder if they had eaten something strange.

But there’s no merit in continuing my villainous ways in this dream! Besides, how could I do that in front of Lumins?

So, I decided to just go with the setting that I had a sudden change of heart overnight, and first, I thought I’d apologize to Velkina first.

“I know it’s shameless of me, but I have been…….”

“Velkina.”

Before I could finish my apology, the young man’s voice cut me off.

Without realizing it, I forgot to wipe my tears and looked up, and there was Lumins looking at me with a bright smile. Velkina blinked and looked up at him too.

“It seems like Senephin is very tired, so I’ll escort her to her quarters. You have urgent work to finish by today, right? Don’t worry about this and go ahead.”

“But…….”

“If Senephin has anything else to say, wouldn’t it be better to discuss it another time?”

His tone wasn’t so much asking for my agreement as it was insisting that I comply.

Of course, could I exist as someone who could say NO to my favorite character speaking with a smile? No, I could not.

“Yes……♡”

I put a heart at the end of my sentence without realizing it. Thinking that I needed to hold on to my sanity, I parted ways with Velkina and headed back to the dorm with Lumins.

 

It was a dark night, and magical lanterns floated along the corridor, illuminating our path. Earlier, I was too preoccupied to take in my surroundings, but now I found the scenery, made possible by the fantasy setting, quite fascinating.

As we silently made our way to the dormitory used by the members of the magic research institute, Lumins remained silent. Of course, we weren’t particularly close colleagues. I took the opportunity to fully appreciate his back view. Thank you for this 4D experience with my favorite character.

“Lady Senephin.”

“Yes!?”

I was startled by the sudden call of my name and answered in a flustered voice. Lumins continued, unfazed by my reaction.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I know that Miss Senefin doesn’t like Velkina.”

Ah…….

I see, even though it wasn’t depicted in the game, Lumins must have known that Velkina was being bullied even before the slap event.

Well, Lumins is characterized as Velkina’s first friend at the magic research institute. Even if Velkina didn’t directly confess that she was being bullied, he could have guessed from rumors or the surrounding circumstances.

No wonder Lumins appeared just in time to stop the slap event. He knew about it and intervened.

My dear Lumins, who cares so much about his friend, I’m so proud of you!

As I shifted my thoughts from the hidden game settings to my pride in Lumins, he continued speaking.

“Of course, I understand that you might not be happy with Velkina since she didn’t officially take the entrance exam for the magic research institute. But could you try to be more lenient with her?”

With a bitter smile tinged with sadness, I almost responded absentmindedly with, “Yes, I will…♡” I couldn’t become a suspicious person in front of my favorite character!

“I understand your concern, Lumins. In fact, I’ve shown an ugly side out of jealousy. I’ve reflected a lot and was actually trying to apologize to Velkina earlier…….”

“Apologize?”

“Yes……. Though I unintentionally burst into tears and caused a scene today, I’ll apologize to Velkina properly tomorrow with a clear mind for all the wrongs I’ve done to her.”

Well, I’ll wake up from this dream today, so there won’t be any opportunity to apologize.

“Thank you for escorting me this far! I’m really sorry for causing you concern earlier.”

“Wait a mome—”

I said this in a rush and then quickly ran towards the girls’ dormitory without looking back.

Is it because this is a dream? Even though it’s someone else’s body, the knowledge of this world and Senephin’s memories come naturally to me. I knew exactly where Senephin’s room was.

I closed the door and took a deep breath. I opened and closed my hands.

 

“……Ah~ Dreams are the best~”

After struggling to keep my composure in front of Lumins, I finally relaxed. The fact that I didn’t throw myself at him and say, “Our Lumins, you smell so nice!” shows just how strong my rationality is.

Without even washing up, I buried myself in the soft bed and clumsily took out the pocket watch. It was past 9 PM. It was still early to sleep, but since it’s a dream, who cares? I tossed my clothes aside and closed my eyes.

Tomorrow, I’ll finish watching the true hero ending of the game, and then I’ll revisit Lumins’ route again………….

……was the dream I hoped to have.

“……OMG, I hope I’m not too late!”

I ran aimlessly. Although the game didn’t specify the exact time, that event definitely happened in the morning. So, I shouldn’t be late……!

Oh, by the way, I am currently running to crush one of the flags of Velkina’s potential capture candidates.

If we turn back time a bit, I woke up in the morning and did a dry wash of my face, realizing that I still hadn’t woken up from the dream.

……No, to be honest, I might have had a bit of a premonition yesterday. The kind of nonsensical premonition that maybe this isn’t a dream and that I’ve actually been transported into a game or novel…….

“…… It’s not a dream…….”

Pinching my cheek hurts, and it’s still a reality that my body is Senephin Cromwell.

Even looking in the mirror, nothing has changed. Staring back at me is a Western young lady with brown hair and brown eyes, looking like she’s about to pick a fight with anyone.

Maybe it’s because I’m frowning due to the current situation, so I tried forcing a smile by relaxing my brows, but no matter how you look at it, it’s still an evil grin that seems like I’m about to threaten the protagonist.

“Whatever, my expression doesn’t matter……. Is this because of that wish I made yesterday?”

I can’t think of anything else. After hearing that my wish would be granted, I ignored the choices presented in the game and screamed, “Save my Lumins!! Make my Lumins happy!!!!”

I have no regrets since my favorite character greeted me yesterday and talked to me alone. A handshake would have been even better, but that’s just being greedy.

The problem is, there’s no guarantee that my Lumins will stay alive and happy until the end.

As I confirmed yesterday, this is currently the very beginning of the game. Apart from Lumins, who appears early because he is Velkina’s male friend, and the mysterious young man Alf, who scouted Velkina to the magic research institute, none of the main male characters have appeared yet.

“……My Lumin is like a weakfish…….”

If Velkina’s heart goes to another man, it means that Lumins’ life is in danger.

My heart starts pounding. Lumins, who greeted me, talked to me alone, and whose voice I heard yesterday, might die.

“No, I have to stop that…….”

Among the various routes in the game, the only way Lumins can survive is if he ends up with the female protagonist.

To save Lumins, I have to make sure he ends up with Velkina no matter what……!

And I have to prevent any progress in relationships with other men who might catch Velkina’s interest……!

God said that my wish has been accepted.

If I’m in this world because of that wish, then my mission must be to ensure my favorite character’s safety and create a happy future for him, even if it means giving my all!!

“……Wait, considering it’s the day after the event where Senephin slaps her…….”

Gasp. I looked up. If we’re following the game’s sequence, today is the day Velkina meets Jin, the capture character who’s more like a noble wolf…… actually, he is a werewolf.