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

Chapter 173: Preparation

“Good morning, everyone! Oh my? There’s someone unusual here today!!”

The moment Lime walked into the classroom and spotted me, she erupted into cheerful laughter as if she’d found some rare animal.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you! You haven’t been attending class much lately, so I’m really glad you came today! But…being so close to so many girls from the morning might not be a good idea, huh?”

Lime, who had been smiling just a moment ago, narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at us, then quickly returned to her usual cheerful demeanor and started speaking.

“Alright then! Since everyone is here, I’ll explain the martial arts tournament happening in a month!!”

With that, Lime turned around and wrote “About the Martial Arts Tournament” on the blackboard before beginning her explanation.

“The martial arts tournament is one of the school events that’s open to all grades! It’ll take place about a month from now and lasts for five days! On this day, the townspeople can also come to the academy, and there will be stalls and all sorts of fun activities! It’s basically a mini-festival! And guess what! The leaders of the Imperial Knight Order and the court magicians will also be coming, so if you perform well, you might get scouted!”

The Imperial Knight Order has a powerful swordsman referred to as the Marshal, under whom there are three knight factions.

These three are the Celestial Sword Knights who protect the royal family, the Earth Dance Knights who secure and guard the entire Imperial Capital, and the Dark Butterfly Knights who fight against monsters and invaders at the borders of the empire.

The strongest among them is always the Dark Butterfly Knights fighting at the frontlines, followed by the Celestial Sword Knights protecting the royal family, and lastly, the Earth Dance Knights guarding the Imperial Capital.

Now, regarding the court magicians, they are divided into two main organizations.

One is the Green Shade Magician Order, which conducts research on magic and casts protective barriers over the Imperial Capital, while the second is the Red Phantasm Magician Order that fights alongside the Dark Butterfly Knights at the forefront.

In capabilities, the Red Phantasm Magician Order is indeed stronger, but since both have different roles, it’s hard to compare them outright.

Hearing that the leaders of these representative factions of the nation would be coming, the students in the class listened to Lime’s explanation with expressions filled with hope and envy.

“The tournament is voluntary, but most students participate every year, so those who want to test their skills or pave the way for their futures should actively sign up! Even if you match against upperclassmen, just showing your capabilities can lead to opportunities in the future, so don’t give up!”

In the martial arts tournament, opponents are decided by lottery regardless of whether they use weapons or magic, showcasing combat techniques and strategies.

At first glance, it may seem that magicians have the advantage, but a skilled swordsman can cut through magic or block it with a shield, meaning if they close the distance, the magician could find themselves at a disadvantage.

The general audience eagerly awaits such thrilling battles, and the faction leaders come to assess how to deal with potential recruits.

“Especially you S-class students are highly anticipated by everyone, so you’re in a prime position to be scouted after graduation, so I’d be really happy if everyone participated!”

As Lime said this, she smiled and kept glancing at me, clearly wanting me to join in this time.

In response, I simply smiled back without saying anything, which seemed to ease her tension a bit.

“Are you going to participate?”

“Of course not. Why would I do something so bothersome?”

Fiera, who had been watching me closely, whispered her question, but I silently communicated that I wasn’t participating.

“Are you all going to participate?”

“I won’t this time. I have no interest in either the knight faction or the court magicians.”

“I won’t participate either. If I join that, I won’t have time to be with you all.”

“I see.”

It seemed that Fiera and the others also had no intention of participating this time, and I could easily imagine Lime being in tears later, which made me chuckle just a little.

So instead of participating in the martial arts tournament, we went on with our busy days, and before we knew it, we found ourselves on the eve of the tournament.

“Once the martial arts tournament is over, summer break will start right away. Then, we can finally put our plan into action.”

During this past month, I had been so busy preparing for the plan, discussing with Shara, and gathering information about Saramāju and the clan that I barely got any rest.

“Thank you for your hard work, Lord Lewis.”

“Ah, thanks.”

After sipping the tea Miria prepared for me to clear my head, I turned back to the documents laid out on the desk.

“It seems the folks from Saramāju are mainly kidnapping people from the northern part of the empire.”

“That appears to be the case. The clan seems to be gathering from the western side, which might make sense considering travel distance and visibility.”

“Right. It’s way too risky to abduct people from the far edges, given the longer travel times and the higher chance of being spotted. Plus, what’s worse is that they’re targeting small villages. They probably don’t even have the funds to request help from the Adventurers’ Guild, and even if they did want to, the distance makes it too difficult.”

“Yes. Additionally, it seems they’re employing those thieves you dealt with before, so it’s quite a tricky situation for us to trace them.”

“That’s true.”

As Miria had said, it seemed they were employing other thugs similar to the ones we dealt with before, and these guys were luring adventurers with requests, capturing them, and then transporting them as slaves to Saramāju or the clan.

“Adventurers basically don’t interfere with others’ requests. Even if they don’t come back, they worry, but they won’t go check or help.”

“Yes. They seem to be well aware of this and are using it to their advantage.”

“Got it. Then, it’s probably best if we let ourselves get captured. That way they’ll let their guard down, and dealing with those who were stupid enough to charge in the front would just be a hassle.”

“Understood.”

Honestly, voluntarily allowing ourselves to get captured feels a bit uncharacteristic and dull for me, but considering it involves inter-nation issues, we can’t risk destroying a country without any evidence, so I just have to endure for now.

“Next, I just need to create the necessary items and hand them out to everyone. It looks like I’ll be busy for a while longer.”

“I will accompany you until the end.”

“Thanks. I can’t wait to wrap this up and relax peacefully in the Duke’s territory.”

Then, we worked on creating items until dawn, and finally, the day of the martial arts tournament, which we wouldn’t be participating in, arrived.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Today, I posted a new work!!

The title is “The Former Hero Becomes the Demon Emperor and Devotes the World!”

https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330663836544021

This time, it’s my first piece featuring a game protagonist, so I think it might have its flaws, but I’d be really happy if you give it a read.

As for the synopsis, it’s a story about a protagonist with self-awareness aiming to become the Demon Emperor in the world of a game that has ended services.

This new protagonist is a bit broken, but in a different way than Lewis, and turns out to be a great character, so if you’re interested, please check it out!

Also, since I’m serializing two works at the same time, there might be a decrease in update frequency, but I promise to complete both stories, so don’t worry about that!

Well then, I hope for your continued support for both this work and the new one!!

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