I Was the Heroine, and in the Sequel, Even Though I’m a Mob, All of My Stats Are Maxed Out - CH 23.1

Pitiful Forest Keeper

“Hah? You’re really noisy, my familiar escaped to this forest. You didn’t see it?”

“I haven’t seen it…. Anyway, please stay away from here.”

“Why? This hut came out of nowhere when the barrier was broken, but why are we not allowed to approach it?”

“…. I’ve never seen this hut before.”

I immediately panicked when I saw Lara approaching the knights from the window and Dirk staring at the hut.

For the time being, I cast transformation magic, but due to my lack of practice, I could only transform into my usual form. Dirk was already staring at the hut, so I decided to escape through the back door with Cheryl.

As soon as I opened the door, I locked eyes with Dirk, who was standing right in front of the door. Apparently, he and Lara had split up. As expected, his movement was too fast.

At the same time, Dirk’s eyes widened in surprise.

“…. Why are you here?”

“U-Uh….”

From the front door, I could hear Lara’s voice saying, “Who’s there?”.

“You’re Catherine, the one who was at Mt. Hyulia the other day, right?”

“Ah, yes, that’s right.”

He seemed to have remembered the random name that I myself had forgotten. Frankly, I was extremely embarrassed.

“What are you doing here?”

“Um, I’m the caretaker of this forest….”

Soon after, Lara, who had come in through the front door, came over. Her shiny purple hair fluttered in the wind, and she seemed more beautiful and alluring than she had two years ago.

With large eyes framed by long lashes, she gazed at me as if she were sizing me up from head to toe, and I felt uncomfortable.

I quickly tried to make an excuse, but neither of them seemed to be convinced. A woman living in a large house surrounded by knights with multiple layers of wards was too suspicious.

“She is the one I met the other day at Mt. Hyulia.”

“Oh, the one you said looked like Nina.”

“….!?”

After all, Dirk’s eyes, who had spent the most time with me, couldn’t be fooled. I frantically tried to think about what to do next.

Lara, who was looking around with a dubious face, eventually muttered, “Oh?” and stopped her gaze at one spot.

“…. Isn’t this Alvin’s jacket?”

“It’s the one he was wearing yesterday.”

Apparently, they found Alvin-sama’s jacket that he had forgotten yesterday. Lara then looked convinced.

“You must be Alvin’s girl! I knew he was getting married, but I was wondering who the other party was.”

“Eh?”

“I wonder if Alvin made her behave like Nina, or if he will change her face soon.”

“Eh….”

Somehow, I felt like I was told something unbelievably frightening. What kind of person was Alvin-sama in Lara’s eyes?

“You’re marrying Alvin, aren’t you? I wondered what kind of person you would be, but I didn’t expect you to be so plain.”

“What?”

The plain comment aside, what do you mean by marriage? I had never heard of Alvin-sama getting married.

“Um, marriage…that…”

“The castle is talking about it all the time. Isn’t it you they’re talking about?”

“N-No, I don’t think so.”

I wasn’t sure, but Dirk didn’t deny it, so the marriage story was probably true. Alvin-sama was getting married.

He said he liked me, and by the looks of it, he didn’t seem to be lying. Still, if he was so excited about his marriage, it meant that he liked another woman besides me.

Was it possible, even though he had such a look on his face when he said that I was the only one? I had a feeling that Alvin-sama wasn’t that kind of person.

Nevertheless, if the marriage was true, it would be disrespectful and dishonest to the other person if I stayed with him. I had to talk properly with him.