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

Chapter 165: Right Away

As we approached the entrance to the village, the adventurers participating in this request noticed us and turned their attention our way.

(Seven men and three women, huh?)

There were a total of ten participants, the youngest being Shudo, while the oldest-looking man appeared to be about 25 years old.

“I heard there would be ten of us, but what about those guys?”

“Who knows? Maybe they just decided to join suddenly, or they’re beginners passing through?”

The men seemed curious about us, talking among themselves, but none of them believed that we were the supervisors for this mission.

“It looks like everyone is here.”

“Are you participants too? The adventurer supervisors haven’t arrived yet, so we’re not all here.”

The oldest man stepped forward and said this, and the other adventurers looked at us with suspicion.

“Well, the supervisors are right in front of you! We are the supervisors for this mission: Eir, Fiera, and Shuvina.”

“You guys are the supervisors? Come on, you’re younger than us! Stop joking.”

“I’m not joking, see?”

I showed them the request document handed to me by Sheila, and their expressions shifted to confusion.

“This is a real request document. So, you guys are…”

“That’s right! Finally got it?”

“Ugh. No way. Trusting our lives to kids like you is ridiculous. If you value your lives, you should just go home. What was the Adventurer’s Guild thinking, picking kids like you as supervisors? Don’t underestimate us!”

The man, feeling uneasy about our age and the upcoming bandit extermination mission, began to rally the others to leave.

“Leaving is your choice, but if you do, you won’t be able to participate in future bandit extermination requests.”

“What?”

“For this request, I hold full authority as the supervisor. That means, when the request is achieved and reported, if you abandon the mission without following my directions, I’ll report to the Guild that you forfeited the request, and you won’t receive any future bandit extermination requests.”

Bandit extermination requests are essential for low-rank adventurers to earn money and level up.

If they defeat bandits and retrieve treasures, the spoils gained are owned by the adventurers who took on the request, and one of the conditions for moving from D Rank to C Rank is being capable of killing.

Therefore, it is customary for D Rank adventurers to take on at least one bandit extermination request, and that is why they are here to meet that condition.

“Are you threatening us?”

“A threat? Not at all. I’m just stating the facts.”

“Then show us your skills. Prove that we can trust our lives to you.”

“…Ugh, this is a hassle.”

The man seemed to particularly dislike me or perhaps he wanted to confirm if I had the ability to save him in case he was about to die. He drew his sword and assumed a stance.

However, I wasn’t about to handle this honestly. I tripped him, causing him to stumble and fall, then delivered a stomp to his back.

“Guah!”

He clumsily found himself pinned to the ground by my foot, and perhaps due to the force, a small crack formed in the ground beneath him.

“Is that good enough?”

“Ugh.”

“What? Is that still not enough? Then…”

“Guaaaaaah!”

The man glared at me, perhaps due to his pride, but when I applied a bit more pressure to the foot pinning him down, he let out a painful sound and began to squirm.

“Please stop!”

“…And you are?”

“I’m Shudo, a D Rank adventurer! I understand you’re strong, so please stop! That guy is suffering too!!”

As I continued to pin the man down, just as I expected, Shudo stepped in and came closer, glaring at me.

“Ugh. Fine.”

Since I was currently disguised with magic, they didn’t seem to recognize me as Lewis, but it’d be troublesome if they found out, so I released the man.

“Ugh.”

“Are you okay!!”

“Y-yeah. Thanks for that.”

(Overdramatic, isn’t he? He shouldn’t have broken any bones.)

Even though I hadn’t exerted that much force, the man looked totally exhausted, as if he had just come close to death.

“Dammit. Who the hell are you…?”

“I told you earlier. Were you not listening? I am Eir. An SS Rank adventurer.”

“SS Rank?!”

The moment he heard my rank, the expressions of the other adventurers transformed into shock, and it seemed they were so bemused that none of them spoke.

“I’ve shared my rank and shown my skills. There’s no point in wasting any more time, so let’s continue. From now on, you’re going to kill bandits; however, capturing them alive is off the table. If they beg for their lives, you must kill them. If hostages are taken, we will handle that; you must not intervene.”

“Why is that? If they’re begging for their lives, we should save them! There’s no need to kill unnecessarily!”

“You said your name was Shudo, right? About your question: there are two reasons. First, your request is to exterminate bandits, not to capture them. Furthermore, this request is meant to assess whether you can kill without hesitation. If you can’t, then there’s no point.

Second, you don’t have the luxury of capturing them alive. Even if they beg for their lives, there’s a chance they could be lying. But you don’t have the ability to see through that or to deal with it, right? So, killing is your only option.”

“But—!”

“If you have complaints, you can leave. As I said before, if you choose not to take this request, you’ll be the ones losing out. If you don’t want to level up, feel free to go home.”

“…”

Shudo appeared to understand the importance of taking this request, remaining silent and just biting his lip in frustration.

“Alright. Looks like no one else has any complaints. Then let’s set off right away.”

Since I had already demonstrated my strength, no one else voiced objections, and we finally headed toward the cave where the bandits were.

In a forest away from the village, deeper inside lay the cave that the bandits had made their hideout. We were crouched behind some bushes near the cave, making our final preparations.

“From here on, we’ll be hunting the bandits, but the primary role will be yours. We’ll follow from behind and observe your actions, judgments, and whether you can effectively kill. We’ll step in to help if the situation gets dangerous, so don’t worry. Any questions?”

As I asked if there were questions, a woman wearing large round glasses, resembling a magician, raised her hand.

“What about the distribution of treasure we find inside?”

“The treasure will belong to whoever finds it, of course. However, don’t die in some silly way like being blinded by treasure. Assess whether it’s safe to take the treasure and whether you really need it. Any other questions? …Looks like not. Lastly, think of this group as a temporary party. Each of you will play your roles and finish off the bandits. Now, let’s go.”

Once I said that, the adventurers arranged themselves as if they had pre-discussed. They positioned one scout in front, followed by a swordsman and shield bearer, with the magic users and archers bringing up the rear as they entered the cave.

“Fiera, Shuvina.”

“Yes?”

“What’s up?”

“I’ll also keep an eye on the cave using detection magic, but you both should remain vigilant with your own powers. The absence of a lookout at the entrance is already suspicious. There might be something out of the ordinary.”

“Got it.”

“Understood.”

After explaining to Fiera and the others to stay alert, we followed the adventurers and stepped into the cave.

With that, as everyone entered the cave, one event was finally about to kick off.

 

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