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

Chapter 168: Not Just Cute

~Side Dōna~

When Lewis and the others began their battle with the bandits, Dōna was at a nearby village under Lewis’s orders, pondering what to do while gazing at the small village from above.

“Hmm. Should I surround the village first or capture the enemy? Ugh…? Wait! Let’s capture the enemy first! It’d be a hassle if they surrounded us and took hostages! That’s settled then, everyone! Gather up!”

Having decided to capture the bandits hiding in the village first, Dōna called out to her surroundings in a cute voice, and soon, lower water spirits and lower plant spirits gathered around her.

“Listen up, everyone! Dōna wants to catch those bad people in the village! You’ve been watching this village closely, right? So tell Dōna who the bad people and who the good people are!”

The lower spirits had a will of their own but couldn’t speak, so they directed their intentions toward Dōna to convey information.

“I see. There are 20 people in the village, and among them, 5 are on watch. The young ones were taken four days ago, so only the old folks are left, and there are few watchers. Got it! Dōna will catch those people, so can you all head toward the bad guys?”

Following Dōna’s instructions, the lower spirits each descended into the village to signal Dōna from among the bandits’ allies.

“Okay! Those five, right!”

Confirming the signal, Dōna unleashed her pale green magic power, and responding to her magic, thick vines emerged from the feet of the five men, mercilessly binding them.

“W-What?!”

“Suddenly, plants’ vines?!”

“I-I can’t move!!”

The men, surprised by the vines suddenly stretching from beneath them, were easily restrained and tumbled to the ground like caterpillars.

“Alright! Caught the bad guys! Next!”

After confirming all the bandits were tied up, Dōna summoned giant tree roots to encircle the entire village, creating a perfect cage where no one could escape.

“W-What is this?”

“Are those… tree roots?”

“T-This is… divine wrath…”

The old villagers left in the village misunderstood the sight before them as divine wrath, some praying and others prostrating with their heads to the ground.

“Uh-huh! Looks like this will do! Now, I have to give everyone instructions!”

Having confirmed the bandits were restrained and the village encircled as per Lewis’s instructions, Dōna slowly descended before the bandits to finish up.

“What’s with this little one?”

“Hey! Did you do this to us?!”

“Quickly release us!”

Seeing Dōna, the bandits shouted in anger to have their restraints removed, their faces flushed as they barked like dogs.

“Is that a god?”

“How adorable.”

“Oh, dear god…”

In response, the villagers misinterpreted Dōna’s otherworldly magic and cuteness as divine, and they all prostrated themselves.

“Ahaha! Dōna’s a god? Humans are funny! But too bad! Dōna isn’t a god, okay?”

“W-Wait… what are you?”

“I’m Dōna, the Dryad Spirit!”

“Spirit?!”

“Yep! Ideally, I wouldn’t want to help humans who destroy nature, and I’d prefer if you all just died on your own, but this time someone asked me nicely. So I guess I’ll help you.”

For Dōna, who governed plants, humans who destroyed nature and ruined the environment were enemies. However, since it was a request from Lewis, she grudgingly helped the villagers.

“Now then! You garbage! It’s your end. Just accept it and wait for them to come!”

“End? Just release us already!”

“Haha! You’re the one who’ll end when the boss gets here! If you surrender now, I might let you off easy!”

“Just hurry up!”

Despite not understanding their situation, the bandits continued to demand their restraints be removed with an arrogant attitude, but Dōna’s next words took the wind out of their sails.

“The boss? You mean he’s already been defeated?”

“Huh?”

“Because among the adventurers who came to defeat you is an SS Rank. No matter how strong your boss is, he can’t beat him. He’s probably dead by now!”

“E-SS Rank?”

“I heard the boss is about A Rank or so.”

“So really…”

“Calm down.”

Tension spread among the bandits, but one man, perhaps the leader of the five, spoke in a calm voice.

“There are over 30 subordinates with the boss. And they also have low-rank adventurers. No matter how strong an SS Rank is, it’s impossible to fight while helping a burden.”

“T-That’s true.”

“Right?”

“I’m sorry. I got agitated there.”

The man seemed highly trusted by his companions, as his words brought the other bandits back to their senses.

“Hmm, you seem trusted by your buddies, huh?”

“Who knows? But I do value my comrades.”

“I see! So you’re the emotional support for your comrades here! Let’s give someone like you… a taste of despair!”

“Wha-? Ahhh!!!”

Dōna used her plants to lift the man, momentarily releasing his binds before reapplying them, spreading his arms and legs.

The bandit was bewildered by what was happening, but the next moment, one of his legs was forcibly torn off with the vines, and he let out a scream filled with agony.

“Oh dear, if things go on like this, he’s going to bleed out. Let’s stop that!”

“Gwaaaaah!!!”

To stop the blood that kept flowing, Dōna inserted plant vines into the wound to suck the blood out, drying out the rest of his leg and forcefully closing off the blood vessels to stop the flow.

“Fufu. What a nice scream. Dōna gets such a thrill. Alright, let’s move on to the next one?”

“N-No… aahhh!!!”

After that, the man had his arms and legs torn off one by one before he lost consciousness, foaming at the mouth.

“Fufu. Now you understand, right? You’ve lost! So just wait quietly with Dōna until that person comes?”

Dōna sat on the unconscious man, crossing her little legs with a smile, silencing the other bandits and villagers.

“I wonder when Lewis will come back. I want him to praise me!”

Confirming that the bandits and villagers had quieted in fear, Dōna eagerly awaited Lewis, imagining what it would be like when he praised her.

~Side Lewis~

“Oh wow, this is amazing!”

Returning to the village, the place that had seemed normal before heading to the cave was now unrecognizable, as if it was buried under a giant tree.

“Shuvina. Let Dōna know we’ve arrived.”

“Understood.”

After a moment of waiting for Shuvina to send Dōna a message, a gap opened in the surrounding trees allowing us entry into the village.

“Eir~!!”

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Dōna.”

As we walked a bit towards the center of the village, Dōna spotted us and flew over at an incredible speed, ignoring Shuvina and leaping into my arms.

“Uuh, I’m fine!”

“I see. So? What happened with the bandits?”

“Captured all of them! Look quickly!”

Led by the little Dōna, we arrived at a place where a man lay unconscious without any arms or legs, alongside four men visibly fearful.

“Are these the bandits who were in the village? What about the villagers?”

“Yep! I asked the other spirits too, so there’s no mistaking it! The villagers were relocated to a different spot just now! They’d just get in the way if they stayed!”

“Good job.”

“Mufu~! Praise me more!”

Gently petting the joyful Dōna with my fingertip, I approached the frightened bandits, but just then, Shudo stepped in between us.

“Eir-san. What’s going on here?”

“What do you mean?”

“Aren’t these people supposed to be the villagers? Why are they like this?”

“Oh right, I haven’t explained yet.”

Remembering I hadn’t explained how we came to the village and who these men were, I decided to do so despite feeling it was a hassle.

“These men were the bandits you were just fighting.”

“Huh?”

“When I checked inside that cave with detection magic, there were no hostages. Plus, as you noticed during the fight, they were full of spirit and vitality. They’ve been well-fed.”

“…So, if the food was regularly supplied from the village and there were no hostages, does that mean there were watchers in the village too?”

“Exactly. And those watchers are the ones standing behind you.”

“No way…”

Shudo looked back with a look of disbelief, but the men stood pale, indicating everything was true, trembling in fear.

“Then step aside. You’re in the way.”

“Ugh…”

Forcing the stunned Shudo out of the way, I slowly pulled out the Ignido I had at my waist, stabbing it into the ground as I locked eyes with the men looking up at me.

“Now then, let’s have a little chat.”

As I said this, I grinned down at the men who were trembling uncontrollably from fear.

 

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