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

Chapter 158: Before the Promotion Exam

It had finally been two weeks since Olga invited me to join the clan, and we were headed to the Adventurers’ Guild.

“I knew Fiera and Shuvina would come, but I never expected Iris and the others to show up too.”

“I’m sorry, Lewis-sama. But I wanted to introduce myself because I wish to join the clan.”

“I was also interested in the Adventurers’ Guild, so I thought it would be good to check it out for study. I won’t be a bother, so please allow me.”

Currently, in addition to the two of them, Sonia, Iris, Sephiria, and Miria had joined us, making quite a large group.

“It’s fine that you’re tagging along, but at this rate, we’ll stand out too much.”

With six girls and one guy, the gazes from those around us felt intense, some even had a hint of murderous intent.

“This is a bit of a hassle.”

“Don’t worry. If they mess with us, we’ll deal with it.”

“What if they mess with me?”

“I’ll protect you.”

Fiera clenched her fists in front of her chest as if declaring she had it under control, nodding earnestly.

“Well, I don’t want to deal with troublesome people, so I’ll leave it to you.”

Since I found it a bother to deal with anyone trying to mess with us, I decided to trust Fiera given her determination.

However, it seems that when beautiful women gather, men tend to shy away; thus, nobody bothered us until we arrived at the Adventurers’ Guild without any incidents.

As we pushed through the door and entered, Olga and Rai were already there, sitting and waiting for us.

“Oh, Eir. You finally made it.”

“Olga, it’s been a while.”

“Yeah. Sorry for making you wait two weeks. More importantly, you brought quite a crowd today. And all girls, no less.”

“About that, I’ll explain later. First, let me introduce this person. Fiera.”

“Um. Fiera. I’m in a party with El.”

“So, this girl is Eir’s companion. I see, she’s worthy of being with Eir.”

Olga seemed to understand Fiera’s strength with just a glance, nodding in approval.

“I’m Olga, the Clan Master of the Black Lion’s Judgement. This here is one of the executives, Rai, who will be overseeing Fiera’s promotion exam.”

“I’m Rai. Nice to meet you.”

Rai was still deep in his black robe, and I couldn’t see his face, but Fiera seemed intrigued by his mysterious calmness.

“I’ve been looking forward to fighting you.”

“It’s an honor. I’ll do my best to meet your expectations.”

“Haha! It’s been a while since I’ve seen Rai looking so excited!”

I couldn’t tell the difference in Rai’s vibe, but Olga seemed to notice and laughed joyfully.

“That said, I gotta admit, it’s impressive when I see it again.”

“What do you mean?”

“These girls surrounding Eir. They’re all beauties! Aren’t you scared you might get stabbed in the back? Or maybe you already have?”

“Hah! If there’s someone brave enough to stab me, I’d love to meet them. Well, only if they exist, though.”

“Hahaha! If someone like that was around, there would be murder cases all over the town!”

Olga’s loud laughter echoed through the guild for a moment before Rai tried to steer the conversation back on track.

“Ah, right. Let’s move to a better place to talk. We’re using the same room as before.”

“Got it.”

We followed Olga as he led us to the lounge where we had chatted before.

“It’s a bit cramped. I didn’t think so many would come, so I only rented a small room.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s our fault for coming with so many people.”

The room only had two two-seater sofas and two single chairs, making it impossible for everyone to sit.

So, I snapped my fingers and created water cushions to place in suitable spots for those without chairs.

“Those who couldn’t sit, take the water cushions.”

“Understood.”

Shuvina immediately sat on the water cushion, followed by Sonia and Miria.

“I’ll sit next to El.”

Fiera showed no intention of giving up my side and sat right next to me, while Iris and Sephiria took the single chairs.

“Can you use magic too?”

“Yeah. Anyway, let’s get to the main topic. First off, Iris.”

“Yes. Nice to meet you, Olga-sama. I’m Iris, a friend of Eir-san, and I attend the same academy.”

I had preemptively explained to Iris not to mention I was her fiancé to Olga and the others, so she was speaking as a friend this time.

“How polite of you! So, what’s the business, Miss Iris?”

“Recently, I heard from my friend Sonia that I could be invited to your clan, Olga-sama. Therefore, I was wondering if I could join as well?”

“Hmm. A clan, huh…”

Olga crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Iris as if assessing her abilities, adding a hint of pressure.

“Ugh…”

Iris showed a flicker of surprise at the sudden pressure but quickly glared back at Olga, maintaining her gaze.

“Hmph. Fine. Is Iris registered as an adventurer?”

“Yes. Currently, I’m a C Rank.”

“Really? With your strength, you seem to have A Rank potential.”

“I haven’t been raising my rank much due to certain circumstances.”

“I see. Well, you can work on that going forward. We’ll welcome you to the clan.”

“Thank you, Olga-sama.”

“Don’t mention it. And you don’t need to call me with honorifics. I’m not living any grand life.”

“Then I’ll call you Olga.”

“Call me however you like, as long as it’s not with honorifics.”

It seems Iris’s abilities were sufficient to convince Olga, who was satisfied to admit her into the clan.

“So, Eir. Just to clarify, how should we handle these girls?”

“The only party members I’m officially with are Fiera and that elf Shuvina over there. The one in the nun outfit isn’t joining the clan, so the rest, please consult with them about it.”

“Got it. So, we’ll form a party with these three and add two more. Now, let’s move on to our discussion.”

After we wrapped up our talk, it was Olga’s turn to speak, and he shifted into a leader-like demeanor as he began to explain about the SS rank promotion exam.

“First off, the SS Rank promotion exam will start with Rai and Fiera. Then, it’ll be my turn with Eir. Once the combat ends, you’ll have an interview with the Guild Master on the same day. I’ve already spoken to him, so don’t worry. After that, the higher-ups will discuss the results, so expect to hear back in about three days.”

“Understood.”

“And, I apologize for the late notice, but some of our clan members will be watching this time. When I told them we’d be welcoming you as an executive, there was quite a backlash. I’m sorry, but please show them what you can do.”

“That’s within my expectations, so it’s no problem. In fact, it’s much better than being harassed after joining.”

“Haha, true enough! Given your current situation, you’d definitely get some unwanted attention.”

“I’d prefer not to deal with that. So, what are the specific rules?”

“Rules aren’t too complicated. You just have to fight us, the examiners, and prove you possess the strength worthy of SS Rank.

However, killing is obviously not allowed. Also, once your opponent surrenders, you can’t attack them anymore. If you do that, you’d be deemed a problem in personality and would never get promoted.

Anything else is allowed. Even if injuries occur, we’ve got skilled healers who’ll fix you up in no time.”

(I see.)

Listening to Olga’s explanation, I understood the general requirements for this exam.

What was sought in this exam was not only power but also judgment under combat conditions, character, and whether one could maintain composure regardless of the injuries.

By the time you reach SS Rank, the quests are likely to be high-class and, therefore, closer to death.

To survive in such cases would require keen observational skills and the courage to make calm decisions in any situation.

Since SS Rank adventurers are few and precious, the guild surely wouldn’t want to lose skilled adventurers so easily.

This is probably why the basic rule during exams allows just about anything except for killing.

“Got it.”

“Glad to hear it. So we’ll head to the training grounds first. Come when you’re ready.”

Once we confirmed agreement on the exam’s conditions, Olga and Rai stood, opened the door, and left.

“Iris and the others, please head to the spectator seats. Fiera and I will follow behind Olga.”

“Understood. Good luck!”

“Yeah.”

As Iris and the others wished us luck and left, only Fiera and I remained in the room.

“Alright, Fiera. We’re about to head into a fun, exciting battle. How are you feeling?”

“I’m going to win.”

“Ahaha! That’s the spirit! After all, you have to go into a fight intending to win. I’ll also be going for a win, but without killing.”

Killing is easy. A swift decapitation or striking the heart, or turning someone to ash with magic would be that.

But this time, it’s different. It’s just a contest without killing.

Winning by holding back is simply not possible unless there’s a significant gap in skill.

(If we’re aiming to win, it seems I’ll need to sacrifice something.)

Whether that’s an arm, a leg, or even losing an eye, I’m not yet sure, but losing something won’t matter as I can heal it anyway.

“Then, I guess all we can do now is enjoy what’s coming to the fullest!”

With that said, feeling overly excited just to face Olga, I headed toward the training grounds humming a little tune.

 

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