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The Villainous Noble Who Kept Rewinding After Death: The Story Somehow Changed When I Committed Suicide

Chapter 166: Betrayal

Following the adventurers, we entered the cave, slowly trailing behind them while observing how they would tackle this place.

“There’s a trap here. I’ll disarm it, so please wait a moment.”

It seems that among the thieves, there were those who used to be hunters since various traps were set up, and the two scouts at the front managed to deal with them.

(These scouts are doing alright. Maybe it’s because there are two of them, but they’re properly spotting and resolving the traps. This should be fine for now.)

So far, the two scouts were fulfilling their roles, so there was no problem, but what concerned me was that none of the thieves had shown themselves up to this point.

“El. Something feels off.”

“I agree with Fiera. It’s strange not to have any lookouts around and to find no one here until this point.”

“Yeah. Let’s investigate a bit…”

Since I had some doubts about the situation, I expanded the range of my detection magic to spread my magic power throughout the cave, and I sensed the presence of about 30 individuals at the deepest part.

“There they are. But, there are more than we were told.”

“How many?”

“About 30. Plus, there are around eight magicians. We won’t be able to handle these guys. Moreover, seeing that they are gathered in one place, they must know we’re coming today.”

According to the reports, the number of thieves was around 15, making it seem manageable with high-ranked adventurers accompanying us.

However, the actual number was double at 30, and they were also aware of our movements.

“The report differs quite a bit from reality. Furthermore, if they know we’re here, this complicates things.”

“Yeah. At this scale, it’s the level where multiple B-rank adventurer parties would need to work together.”

“What should we do?”

“Hmm, well…”

I reassessed our strength against that of the enemy and pondered how we should proceed.

“No, let’s keep going. There are a lot of them, but aside from the leader, the rest are nothing special. If we handle them well, we should be fine. Let’s adjust so we’re in a good balance.”

“Understood.”

“Are you going to tell them about this?”

“No, I won’t. I want to see how they respond in a pinch, and there might be allies among the thieves. This time, we’ll take them out all at once.”

“Got it.”

I don’t know if there are allies among those 10, but there’s one thing I do know.

“Shuvina, I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

“I want you to send Dōna to the village and have her surround the village with tree roots to create a cage.”

“Why the village?”

“There are no hostages in this cave. Plus, the thieves are filled with energy. In other words…”

“The village is the thieves’ base, right?”

“Exactly. Most likely, they’re capturing people who come to the village and selling them into slavery. The village is just camouflage; the real target is here.”

“Understood. Dōna!”

“Yay!”

As Shuvina gathered magic power in her palm, Dōna appeared with a cheerful voice.

“Lewis~!”

“Hey! Dōna!”

“It’s been a while, Dōna!”

Dōna immediately flew towards me and hugged my arm, rubbing her cheek against me.

“Yup! It’s been a while! So, you need something from me this time, right?”

“Yeah. I want you to go to the village near this forest and surround it with tree roots so no one can escape.”

“Got it! So no one gets away, right?”

“Exactly. Also, can you differentiate between the bad guys and the good guys?”

“No problem! If I ask the spirits near the village, I think I’ll figure it out right away!”

“Great! Then, capture the bad guys and keep them locked up somewhere. The good ones can be left alone.”

“Understood! But after it’s done, give me a reward!”

“Sure. I’ll give you as much magic power as you want.”

“Yay!! Then, I’m off!”

With that, Dōna disappeared from the scene, and Shuvina let out a sigh, looking exasperated.

“Ahh. Dōna… How did she end up like that?”

“I think it’s cute, so it’s fine.”

“Yeah. Plus, it’s probably fun for her since she’s only summoned occasionally.”

“I get it. Maybe I should summon her a little more often in the future.”

“Well then, we’re about to arrive. Let’s wrap up our talk here.”

As I followed behind the adventurers, we finally reached the depths of the cave, where the thieves were lying in wait.

“What the?!”

Upon arriving at the innermost part, the adventurers found around 30 armed thieves lying in wait, and a man, presumably their leader, stepped forward with a lewd grin.

“Hehehe. You finally made it. I’ve been waiting for you.”

“What in the world is going on?! Why are the thieves lying in wait?!”

The eldest adventurer exclaimed in confusion as the scout who had been leading the way slowly walked toward the thieves.

“Boss. I’ve brought the prey.”

“Good work, Koda.”

“No, it was by your orders, boss.”

It seems the traitor was the scout. He stood next to the thief leader, grinning wickedly.

“What’s going on?! Explain!”

“Explain, huh? Do we still need that after seeing this situation? Well, if you don’t get it, I’ll tell you. This guy is my subordinate, and you guys are the prey. The request this time was a trap to lure you adventurers out so we can sell you into slavery.”

“Slavery?! That should be prohibited in this country!”

“Are you stupid? Who said we’d sell them in this country? In other countries, there are plenty of folks looking for slaves. We’re selling them to those guys to make money.”

“You scum.”

Indeed, the thieves’ method was unforgivable, but more importantly, we had to figure out what to do in this situation.

“Well then, shall we sell you guys off quickly?”

“Boss, there’s a problem…”

“What is it, Koda?”

“The supervisor for this mission seems to be an SS-rank adventurer, and I think we can’t handle them even if we combine our strengths.”

“SS-rank? Who are they?”

“The guy in the back with the dark navy hair.”

“That guy?”

When the thief leader looked at me, he observed me for a while before bursting into mockery-filled laughter.

“Hahahahaha! Koda. That kid can’t possibly be SS-rank! It’s impossible for someone that age to reach SS rank! Besides, I don’t sense anything from him. He lacks the unique aura a strong person gives off!”

“But boss…”

“Koda. Have you seen that kid’s guild card?”

“N-no. I don’t think I was shown it.”

“Right? In other words, the claim of SS rank is a lie. But if he’s in charge, he probably has at least B-rank skills. That’s nothing for me!”

“That’s right! The boss can fight equally with A-rank adventurers!”

The moment Koda mentioned A-rank, the adventurers’ expressions shifted to despair, and they began to slowly back away as if to flee.

“Are you guys planning to run away?!”

“Of course! There’s no way we can win against those guys! Besides, it’s true we haven’t seen the guild cards! We don’t want to die!”

“Haah. Fine. Fiera and Shuvina, we’ll just need to eliminate 10 of them…”

“Okay!”

“Understood!”

The moment I gave the orders, Fiera vanished from the spot while Shuvina nocked three arrows and shot them.

“Guh!!”

“Gwaah!!!”

“W-what the…?”

In the blink of an eye, cries of men echoed from all directions, and by the time the leader noticed, ten of his men had already breathed their last.

“Now you understand, don’t you? We’re strong. So fight confidently.”

“B-but… we don’t have that kind of strength…”

“Exactly. So I’ll buff you guys. ‘Enhance Physical Ability,’ ‘Increase Magic Power,’ ‘Boost Attack Power,’ ‘Mental Stabilization!’”

As I activated the magic, the bodies of the adventurers began to shine, and when it ended, their expressions changed from fear to calm determination.

“How does it feel? You feel your strength surging, right?”

“Yeah! With this, we can do it!”

“Good. Then go!”

“Yeah!”

The adventurers brandished their weapons and charged towards the thieves, who also readied their weapons, signaling the start of the battle.

“Fiera and Shuvina, manage the numbers. No matter how many buffs we have, the numerical disadvantage is still there. If we get caught off guard, it’s over.”

“Understood.”

“Got it.”

From there, Fiera and Shuvina skillfully restrained the movements of the thieves, while the adventurers steadily defeated their foes.

At first, some of them looked pale, likely because it was their first time taking lives, but thanks to the mental stabilization buff, they managed to endure and began to reduce the number of thieves.

“H-help me!”

“Huh?”

Using wind magic to pick up all the sounds in this area, I focused on a voice calling for help from a corner of the cave.

(Is that Shudo?)

There I saw a thief sitting on the floor begging for mercy and Shudo brandishing his sword.

“P-please. I have a family. I didn’t choose this. I did it all to feed my family. So please! Help me!”

“Tch…”

“If I die, my family will starve to death. You understand, right?! So please!”

The man seemed to sense Shudo’s hesitation and exploited the mention of his family to plead for help.

“…Understood. Just stop all this and get a proper job.”

“Y-yeah! Of course!”

“Now go.”

“Thank you…”

The moment Shudo lowered his sword and turned his back, the man drew a hidden dagger from somewhere and attempted to stab Shudo.

(Sigh. How troublesome.)

Using body enhancement, I quickly approached the man, pulled Ignid from storage, and swiftly severed his arm from below.

Then, with the same momentum, I swung my sword down vertically, and the man was split in two while engulfed in flames.

“Gwaaaah!!!”

“W-what the!!”

Surprised by the sudden turn of events, Shudo whipped around to face me, quickly understanding the situation as he glared at me upon seeing the dead man.

“Why did you kill him?! He said he would change his ways! He claimed he wouldn’t do this anymore! And he said he had a family!”

“Are you stupid?”

“What?! Why must I be told such a thing?!”

“I told you from the start, right? This request is for extermination. In other words, don’t let a single one live. So why were you trying to save him?”

“Because he mentioned he had a family! If he dies, they’ll starve!”

“Where’s your proof in that?”

“…Huh?”

“People easily tell lies to save themselves. This guy claimed to have a family, but we’ve never seen them. Moreover, the moment you turned your back, he tried to kill you with a hidden dagger. Does that sound like something someone desperate to live would do?”

“Uh… well…”

If this guy were to die here, that’d be great, but unfortunately, since I’m here on a request, I can’t permit anyone to die.

Also, even if I don’t help him, since he’s the protagonist of this world, he’ll likely survive somehow through some power.

“You seem to lack understanding.”

“What do you mean?”

“When you team up with someone in the future, that neglected enemy might wipe out your entire team.

And even if you saved this thief, there’s no guarantee he won’t do the same thing again. If another victim arises, how are you planning to take responsibility?”

“……”

“That’s impossible, right? That’s why I’m telling you to kill him. So there will be no further victims. Got it? Now continue.”

“Ugh… understood.”

Grumbling in frustration, Shudo tightly gripped his sword and headed toward where the other adventurers were, intending to finish off the remaining thieves.

“Sigh. This is really annoying.”

While I can’t help but think how much easier it would be if he just died here, I’m currently in the middle of a request, and if he dies here, I wouldn’t know what happens in the future.

“Having him die means I might not make it either. That future would be the worst. For now, I just have to endure.”

I continued watching as the adventurers took down the thieves, but I noticed the mages off to the side starting to chant something, and purple magic began swirling and accumulating around them.

“Ah, damn! More troublesome things coming in!”

With the protagonist here, I had anticipated a certain level of trouble, but I never expected it to escalate to this point.

Just when it seemed we would finish off only a few, including the thief leader, the biggest inconvenience yet was about to occur.

 

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