During my time as a corporate slave before my reincarnation, I was so preoccupied with my own concerns that I was uninterested in helping others, but in this other world, I was somehow overcome by a strange sense of justice.
Before I knew it, I was running.
Rogue followed behind me, calling out, "Wait up!"
When I entered the back alley, I found a young woman being harassed by several men.
She was still a girl. Judging from her appearance, she was around 15 or 16 years old.
She had long golden hair tied in twin tails, large brown eyes that were slightly slant, and a small, cute face.
She was wearing a refined-looking red dress with ruffles.
...Hmm?
I wonder; I feel like I've seen this girl somewhere before.
"Let go! You guys are being rude!"
"Don't make such a fuss, sis. Come play with us."
"Okay, it'll be fun. We'll make you feel good."
"Hahaha! Let's just kidnap her like this! Right?"
The men looked like adventurers. They were all intimidating and muscular.
And they were saying some scary things to pick up girls.
"Hey! What are you guys doing? She's not going to like it!"
I approached the men, unashamed and proud.
This would never have happened in my previous life. But maybe because I'd already hunted powerful monsters and demons, I wasn't scared at all.
Perhaps the spirit of the original Alfred was in him.
He was a stupid piece of trash, but he was always full of confidence.
Even after his decline and downfall, he desperately tried to climb back up, and in an attempt to surpass the monster that was Rogue, he defected to the Demon King's army and even went so far as to turn to darkness to fight.
However, no matter how hard he struggled, he was no match for Rogue, who had the protagonist's bonus, and was defeated, losing everything.
In the end, he was executed and displayed in the castle while making a pathetic plea for his life.
Readers have written about him as a cathartic way to cleanse their hearts, saying things like "Serves you right, Alfred," "He's finally dead, lol," and "I feel so good, scum."
But somehow, I was envious of the way he lived.
Unlike me, who lives a life of misery as a corporate slave, I felt that he was giving it his all and enjoying life to the fullest, even if he was a scum...
"What do you mean, you brat?"
"It's got nothing to do with you; get over there!"
"I'll kill you, damn it!"
The men's expressions changed as I said this, and one of them attacked me.
But it was too late. There was no need to use skills.
He dodged it easily and, at the same time, grabbed the man's wrist, tripped him, and threw him with all his momentum.
The man spun around and was slammed to the ground without any chance of recovery.
His eyes were rolled back, but he still seemed to be alive.
"You!"
One of his comrades drew his sword without hesitation.
"Stop it; the moment I have a weapon in hand, I won't be able to go easy on you either (and I'm not doing that now). You'll die."
The men's expressions changed upon hearing my words, and one of them came charging at me.
But it was too late. There was no need to use a skill.
I easily dodged it and, at the same time, grabbed the wrist of the man who had thrown me off balance, hooked my foot, and threw him with all my might.
The man spun around and was thrown to the ground without any chance of recovery.
His eyes were rolled back, but he seemed to be alive.
"You!"
One of my comrades drew his sword without hesitation.
"Stop it. The moment I had a weapon in hand, I wouldn't be able to go easy on you either (or I'm not even now). You'll die."
I intimidated not only the man pointing his sword at me but the others as well.
The men were overwhelmed, gritting their teeth and refusing to move, saying, "Guh..."
"Alfred, you're fast...but isn't this a battle? It's finally time to strengthen you with my Ability Loan Grant, yay!!!"
Rogue, who arrived late, saw the scene and turned into a skill junkie.
But his words made the men raise their voices, "What did you say?!"
"Ah, Alfred? Are you the leader of the [heroes' holy sword]?!"
"Isn't he a first-class adventurer who killed a senior member of the Demon King's army in an instant?"
"No way! That's bad! No wonder he's so strong! There's no way we can win!"
They seem extremely shaken after learning my name.
Maybe I should have told them my name from the beginning... No, they won't believe me unless I show them a painful lesson like this.
"If you don't want to fight, I'll let you go. Take this guy and get lost! Don't do anything bad again!"
"I get it!"
"Sorry, sorry!"
"Ahhh, I'm so sorry!"
The men apologized profusely, carried their unconscious comrade, and disappeared.
"Phew, what a pain... Thanks to Rogue, we didn't have to fight in vain. Thanks."
"Alfred, that's too much!"
"Huh?"
"Why aren't you fighting!? I was going to give you a buff, but...!"
Rogue was raging, his eyes bloodshot.
"N-no... I don't think a weakling like that needs a buff anyway, yeah."
I was so dumbfounded I couldn't say anything.
Damn Tanaka Daichi... you made a terrible junkie into the main character.
I mean, it's been made into an anime... seriously?
"Um, um!"
The girl I saved called out to me.
The moment I saw her face up close, an electric current ran through my body.
Just so you know, it wasn't love at first sight or anything.
I know her...just like in the comics!
--Tifa von Rumirio.
The first princess of the Rumirio Kingdom in other words, the princess of this country.
And quite the rebellious princess, too. She's about 15 years old now.
I remember now!
Before Rogue was banished, Tifa had escaped the castle alone and been harassed by thugs like she is now.
By chance, Alfred, who was on his way back from the brothel, and Rogue, who was carrying his luggage, happened to be at the scene.
While Alfred ignored them, saying "Leave her alone," Rogue waved his sense of justice and said, "I can't leave her alone!" and instead of using force, he got down on the ground and begged the men, "Please let her go!"
In the end, the men beat Tifa mercilessly, but Rogue managed to calm the situation by apologizing profusely.
The thugs left, half amused.
Alfred yelled, "You're an idiot trying so hard to protect a filthy little girl, how pathetic!" but Rogue still gently looked after her and asked, "Are you okay?" as he left the scene.
After Rogue is banished and awakened, Tifa appears before him as a princess and thanks him, saying, "Thank you for all that time," and then falls in love with the protagonist and supports him as his strongest patron.
Meanwhile, a decadent Alfred meets Tifa again at an event and is confronted by her, who says, "You called me a dirty little girl then, didn't you? Get ready!"
As a result, Alfred falls further into despair and hits rock bottom, in a spectacular turn of events that serves him right.
That's why I refused the title of hero and tried not to get involved with royalty.
Having read the original and knowing the outcome, I have a traumatic aversion to them.
"Thank you for saving me when I was in danger!"
Tifa bows politely and shows him that.
Damn, I don't want to get involved... my instincts are telling me that.
My intuition is telling me that something bad will happen to me.
"No, I was only doing the obvious thing. It's not good for a weak girl to walk alone in a place like this. So--"
I grabbed Rogue's arm as if to run away and got away from her.
Tifa's cheeks were red for some reason, and she just stared blankly at me.
So, she had her eye on Rogue after all... Damn, I didn't break the flag!
"--Lord Alfred! I remember your name!"
"Eeek! What's going on?! I didn't do anything! I didn't do anything rude, did I, Rogue?"
"No, Alfred made a serious mistake he didn't let me use the Enhanced!"
Shut up, skill junkie!
You're so lucky! You're just going to get flattered anyway because of the hero bonus!
I don't want this anymore!
So, I quickly left trembling.
Meanwhile,
"Lord Alfred, you are such a beautiful man... I think I may have fallen in love with you."
Unbeknownst to me, another move was underway.