Returned to the Past, the Hero is Protected by the Villain?

Chapter 8: A Deal with the Devil

A few weeks into Hiiro's training, A certain black-haired man had a fixated glare that could chill any atmosphere while sitting at a table in a nearby cafe. However, his beautiful appearance also made the people around him stare from afar. Just the act of him scrolling through his phone while sitting back on the chair drew the eyes of the people in the cafe. The only one that was averting their eyes was the man sitting across from him, nervously drinking a cup of coffee.

As Hiiro felt the daggers that were directed toward him, he slowly began to regret his life choices. However, this was something important and he had to put his foot down!

Luckily, he was able to get Deus to agree to go out to a cafe where there were a lot of people. Even if he is a shameless villain, he wouldn't do anything drastic in public, right?

"Could you repeat what you just said?"

Deus looked up at him, giving off a threatening aura. Hiiro swallowed the scream that was trapped in his throat, his face growing pale, just from the pressure the former let out. There truly was a huge gap between the two of them when it came to strength.

However, despite this, he was still able to let out his request, with a quivering voice.

"I-I should really go back to my dorm room..."

Correct. Hiiro was still a 20-year-old college student.

For the past few weeks, he had technically been skipping class, but he was luckily able to use the ordeal with the gate to give himself leave. However, he couldn't keep feigning sickness for long. Especially since he wasn't planning to become a Closer like the original Hiiro, he needed a backup plan for his future.

Even so, he knew that this man would not likely let him out, as he's kept a watchful eye on him the past few weeks for some reason! What type of butterfly effect would cause this to happen?! Without any actual strength and his cowardice, how in the world was he supposed to escape!?

The only way he could was to reason with him!

"B-before you answer, I'll just let you know that this is technically kidnapping, o-okay!"

However, as soon as he finished, he regretted even blurting that out, as the air around them chilled to new lows.

'It was truly a short life... Mother. Father. thank you for raising me. I hope to be reincarnated into a peaceful life next time..."

As Hiiro slowly thought his last words, the man at the other side of the table smiled. It was arrogant and domineering, and it looked like the image of a proud ruler.

"Alright."

"Please have mer— eh?"

With a blank face, he looked at him in surprise. Did he really just agree!? If not for his surprise at this unexpected outcome, he would've started dancing with joy right then and there!

"D-Do you really mean that!?"

"Of course."

He had a non-menacing smile on his face, which relieved Hiiro, but something felt off. Even so, why be bothered by it when he finally got a victory!

"Though, I expect you to follow through with some plans I have in mind for the future."

"Eh."

His victory was short-lived, however, as it seems there were some conditions for Deus conceding.

"Wait. Wait. Aren't you just threatening me!? This is still kidnapping!"

"Who said you could report me?"