---

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

Chapter 169: Really Fatigued

I came to a halt in front of the trembling thieves, grinning as I stabbed Ignid into the ground.

“So, you guys are definitely the buddies of those thieves in the cave, right?”

“Y-yeah. Who the hell are you?!”

“That question is a bit odd, don’t you think? You’re the ones who called us here.”

“No way… did you really take down the bosses?!”

“Yep. If you were friends with those in the cave, they’ve long since gone to the afterlife.”

“N-no way…”

Maybe they had an absurd amount of trust in this guy called the boss, because upon hearing he was dead, the thieves’ faces morphed into expressions of despair.

“Now, here’s what I want to know: where were you planning to sell the villagers as slaves?”

“Like I’d tell you that!”

“I see. Then what would make you spill the beans?”

“Well, if you promise to help us, I might consider it, yeah?”

“Hmm. So you want to negotiate with me, huh?”

As I pretended to think it over, the men’s expressions shifted from panic to a little more calm, a sleazy grin creeping onto their faces.

“Alright…”

“Good. Then first, this vine…”

“You can die.”

“Huh…?”

I swiftly beheaded the man who had his mouth agape, Ignid burning the cut clean, and his body and head rolled to the ground without spilling blood.

“What… happened…?”

“Heh, looks like he’s still conscious since there’s no blood. Well, enjoy your slow death.”

“Ahhh! W-why?!”

The man whose head was severed didn’t bleed out and remained conscious, and seeing this, the other thieves contorted their faces in terror, writhing as they screamed while trying to escape.

“Why, you ask? It’s because you don’t understand your situation! Your lives are in my hands. And yet, you think you can negotiate with me?”

“Th-that doesn’t mean you have to kill us!”

“Not really. In fact, there’s no need to keep any of you alive. I just need one person to answer my question quickly—otherwise, someone else might beat you to it.”

As I grinned saying that, the men gulped and looked at each other, and one by one, they began spilling their plans about where they intended to sell the villagers.

“We put the slaves up for sale four days ago!”

“The location is the lawless nation of Saramāju! They requested slaves to buy there!”

“Who made the request?”

“I don’t know! The only ones who met the requester were the boss and the higher-ups! We’ve never met them!”

“I see, the lawless nation of Saramāju.”

Saramāju is a small country located even further north than the Valentine Duchy, a hellhole where ruffians gather with no order or law.

In that country, all sorts of crimes, including murder, drugs, and slave trading, are permitted, and it’s said that those who commit crimes in other countries and flee often end up there.

“Thanks for the intel.”

“S-so then!!”

“Ah. Unlike that earlier guy, I’ll let you die painlessly.”

I swung Ignid once more, and the heads of three men rolled onto the ground, their deaths instant and without suffering.

(The lawless nation of Saramāju… to think they were already gathering people at this time.)

During my eighth life, this continent entered an era of warfare. Several small nations that surrounded the Ruzenia Empire formed an alliance to invade our empire.

I also returned from the academy to the duchy to fight and defend my territory, but we were overwhelmed by the enemy’s powerful magical tools and sheer numbers, and the Valentine Duchy fell.

I was killed in that fight, so I don’t know what happened afterward, but from what I heard during the battle, the hero and his party managed to stop the invasion from other countries, and it seemed the only remaining task was the defense of the Valentine Duchy.

And the leading nation behind that invasion was the lawless nation of Saramāju, which destroyed my territory and killed my people.

(I’ve heard that most of those soldiers were slaves gathered from other countries. In other words, this is likely the same case for the abduction of the villagers.)

“Eir. You okay?”

“Yeah. Just seems like things are going to get a bit troublesome.”

“Troublesome?”

“I’ll explain it when we get back. For now, let’s go hear from the villagers.”

“Got it.”

“Dōna, lead us to where the villagers are gathering.”

“Okay~!”

After finishing off the man who was missing his limbs and unconscious, I followed Dōna, who cheerfully led us to the gathering place where the villagers were.

“Excuse us.”

Inside the building Dōna guided us into, around fifteen elderly men had gathered, and upon seeing us, they showed signs of fright.

“W-who might you be?”

“We’re adventurers hired to take down the thieves this time. And we’re also companions of the spirit who helped you.”

“Hey there~! Thanks for waiting!”

“S-spirit! So it’s true!!”

The moment they saw Dōna, they immediately bowed their heads and welcomed us, inviting us to sit down as they said, “It’s not much, but.”

“Right off the bat, regarding this request, it’s correct that it was the thieves trying to sell the adventurers who put out the request, right?”

“Y-yes. We were all being watched by those guys, so the request was likely made by the thieves.”

“Hmm. So, regarding the payment for the request, are you able to provide anything?”

Since the thieves acted independently when making the request, there was a possibility that the village wouldn’t have the funds to pay. As expected, their answer was they had no money to offer.

“I’m really sorry. All the money we had was used for food by those thieves, so currently, we’re broke.”

“I figured as much. Well, it seems the guild is also partly at fault for not doing enough prior investigation, so they might compensate you for this. I’ll let them know about this too.”

“Th-thank you!”

Upon hearing this, the villagers sighed in relief, but unfortunately, my explanation wasn’t over yet.

“Next, concerning the other villagers who were taken as slaves—”

“Are you really going to help us?”

“I’m fine with helping, but how much can you pay?”

“Huh?”

“This request was to subdue the thieves in the cave. Since we’ve already defeated the thieves that were in the cave, the request itself has been fulfilled. Therefore, helping to rescue the villagers taken is a separate matter.”

“That’s…”

“Eir-san!!”

As I explained this, the villagers’ faces turned to despair, not knowing what to do, and at that moment, a young man suddenly lashed out.

“Fiera, restrain him.”

“Okay.”

“Ugh!”

As Shudo stood up to approach us, Fiera swept his leg, toppling him face-first onto the floor.

Seizing the moment, Fiera pinned Shudo’s back down with her foot, wrenching his arm behind him with a strength that seemed like it could break.

“Ugh! Fiera! Let me go!!”

“No way. This is Eir’s order.”

“E-Eir-san! Why are you trying to take money from these people knowing they don’t have any?! Adventurers are supposed to be the ones who help those in need! If they don’t have the money, we should help them for free!”

“Ugh. Talking to you gives me a headache.”

I was really getting exhausted from this future hero’s sense of justice, and my head was pounding from the fatigue.

“Look, I don’t know what kind of ideal you have for adventurers, but we’re not a charity. We all risk our lives to fight, and we need to receive commensurate compensation for that. Plus, if we accept requests without compensation, it’ll just burden other adventurers.”

“What do you mean!!”

“If we help without compensation, a rumor might spread that adventurers will help for free whenever someone is in trouble. If that happens, other adventurers might start saying they want to take requests without pay too.”

“But like I said, we adventurers risk our lives to take requests. There’s no way we could take those requests. If that happens, it’ll lead to a clash between adventurers and clients. But if adventurers can’t take requests, they’ll find it hard to make ends meet, and in the end, those adventurers will have no choice but to turn into thieves.”

Got it? Your reckless behavior is going to cause problems for all adventurers. So just stop talking.”

“B-but… adventurers are supposed to help those in need… I just…”

“If you want to help those in need that much, then go start your own charity. But if you do that, then you’d better quit being an adventurer. Don’t burden others.”

Shudo had nothing more to say and could only bite his lip in frustration.

“Thanks for waiting.”

“No, your words are quite valid. However, sadly, we really can’t pay.”

“It doesn’t have to be money. Rewards for requests can be discussed separately between adventurers and clients. This village’s specialty is wine, right?”

“Y-you know quite well. Indeed, this village is known for its wine, but…”

“My parents love wine. So how about we have you provide ten bottles as a reward, five bottles to a specified location and five for my personal use?”

“If you would take on the request under those conditions, it would be a great help for us, but is that really okay?”

“Sure. I’d actually be able to let my parents enjoy the wine from this village, so it’s even better.”

“I see… understood. Well then, we will place the request under those conditions.”

“Got it.”

The wine of this village is a rare drink known to those in the know, and only about twenty bottles hit the market each year.

I whispered instructions to have the Valentine Duchy send wine, and the male villager looked surprised for a moment before nodding.

“Alright, the deal is settled. Fiera and Shuvina… I’ll go alone to rescue the villagers. You two take the others back to the guild. I’ll handle the report myself, so just inform them about the return and that I’ve taken on an additional request.”

“Okay. Understood.”

After parting ways with Fiera and the others, I chased after the villagers that had been taken, but fortunately, they hadn’t strayed too far from the village due to their numbers, and I managed to catch up quickly.

After swiftly taking down the thieves nearby, I used earth magic to create a golem that would pull the cart the villagers were in, and we spent three days returning to the village.

 

---