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

Chapter 220: The Disorderly State of Saramāju

Bouncing around in the carriage for about two weeks…

As I finally thought I was arriving at my destination, the disorderly nation of Saramāju, I leaned back against the carriage’s backrest and let out a big sigh.

“Ugh. That was really long.”

“Are you all right? Luna-san.”

“I’m fine. It’s just that I’ve never been in a carriage for this long, so I’m a bit worn out.”

The disorderly state of Saramāju is located even further north than the Valentine Duchy, and since we have to cross several mountains, traveling takes quite a bit of time.

Even so, normally, it would take more than a month to reach the center of Saramāju by carriage, but this time we used a special carriage endowed with magic and since I can use recovery magic myself, I only allowed the horses minimal rest during our journey.

Thanks to that, we managed to arrive in half the usual time, but still, for me who basically traveled on foot, two weeks in a carriage was nothing but stress.

“You guys, we’re about to enter Saramāju, so fix your relaxed attitudes and put on a desperate look. Where do you see captured slaves being this relaxed?”

“Yesss.”

When Naguraia, who had taken on a guardian-like role for us during these two weeks, said that, I released the water cushion I’d been using to alleviate my fatigue and recast the disguise magic.

“As expected of Luna. In an instant, we look just like worn-out slaves.”

“That’s right. As long as we act well, nobody will raise any suspicions about us.”

The recognition-inhibiting magic I used created an image that made me and the others look filthy and disheveled as if we were slaves, so unless someone was a superior magician, no one would question our appearance.

Moreover, even if our appearances were exquisite, we also had bracelets imbued with presence-dampening magic, so there shouldn’t be anyone willing to butt in.

“Now then. We’re entering the enemy’s stronghold, but there’s nothing particularly to be cautious about. Just remember, this is the disorderly state of Saramāju, where crime is a daily occurrence. Murder, theft, fraud, drugs—everything exists here. Don’t let your guard down.”

“Yeah. But when I hear it again, it sounds pretty severe. With all crimes existing here, if we’re not careful, we could get killed in no time.”

“Exactly. So if someone tries to do something to us, feel free to kill them without mercy. A moment of carelessness, a tiny bit of sympathy, and a little hesitation could cost us our lives. Besides, it’s fine to kill here; this nation was founded by criminals gathering together, so no one is going to say a thing if we are attacked and kill someone. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. So don’t hesitate to take them out.”

“I understand. I had no intention of letting anyone other than Luna-san touch this body, so I’ll deal with them ruthlessly.”

“I don’t like justifying killing people, but it’s my life on the line here. So I get it.”

“I won’t let a single strand of hair touch Luna-san. If someone tries, I’ll take care of them immediately.”

I felt like those two were saying some strange things, but touching on that would only tire me out, so I decided to let them do as they pleased and closed the conversation there.

Then, our carriage slowly made its way along the road leading to the city of Saramāju, and we were finally entering the disorderly nation of Saramāju.

“Is this really something you can call a country?”

“It’s terrible. There are corpses lying around everywhere. And even though it’s supposed to be the center of the city, there are so many people looking like they might drop dead at any moment.”

“There’s a child’s corpse too. And over there must be the slave market. Looks like there’s a big line of people.”

We entered Saramāju without being caught at any checkpoints along the way, as there wasn’t even anything that could be called a gate, making our entry quite easy.

The scenery outside the carriage was horrendous: buildings were in shambles, and not only was trash strewn about, but also corpses lay crumpled on the roads, with countless traces of dark red blood splattered across the ground and buildings.

On the sides of the road, merchant-like people appeared to be selling adults and children chained as slaves, but were they criminal slaves or illegal ones?

At least with a child present, it’s likely these aren’t just criminals; they probably snatched up these children from somewhere to sell.

(At this point, it’s rather refreshing. I could totally wipe them all out without hesitation.)

Originally, I had no intention of showing mercy, but just by looking around, it became evident that this country was not functioning as a proper nation with no laws or order, so when it comes time to clean up, I could do so without any reservations.

“Dieeee!!”

“Guh?! You… you bastard, h-how… that time’s…”

“It’s all your fault! All your fault, all your fault!!”

Then, I heard a spirited voice and a weakening voice from somewhere in the city, and when I turned my gaze in that direction, there was a man lying on the ground, bleeding out, and a crazed woman repeatedly stabbing another already dead man with a dagger.

“Murder… huh?”

“It looks like there’s a reason behind it, but even so, to kill someone so brazenly in the middle of the street…”

“Though, that seems to be a commonplace occurrence around here. The fact that nobody around cares enough to stop and look is proof of that.”

What we witnessed was undoubtedly murder, and regardless of the reason, normalcy dictates that knights would rush in to stop it, or people would cause a commotion.

However, given that this city is a place where these kinds of things occur regularly, not a single person stopped to intervene; they simply walked by as if it was perfectly normal.

“But it does seem like some are paying attention. Look over there.”

When I pointed, Iris and the others turned their heads to where I was indicating, and there were children hiding in the shadows of a building, watching the murder scene. Once the woman left, satisfied, the children gathered around the corpse, rummaging through the dead man’s belongings to take what they could, before scattering away, leaving just the barely clothed corpse behind.

“This country is truly a horrific place. The very children who should be protected must scavenge through corpses to survive.”

“Well, it can’t be helped. This is what Saramāju is all about, and such scenes aren’t unique to this place. If we broaden our view, there are countless children like that. If we cared about every single one of them, we’d be the ones mentally breaking down.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

In this world, the value of life is fundamentally low.

Some people kill easily, and wars can break out in an instant due to selfish rulers driven by greed.

There are those who pick through corpses in war-torn areas, securing swords and armor to sell and live off, and in the worst cases, some people even resort to eating corpses to keep alive.

While it’s understood that it is cruel and tragic, if one were to worry about every single circumstance, the lords and kings would risk their sanity and become tyrants or wrecks.

A ruler sometimes has to make the coldest and most brutal decisions beyond anyone else.

Yet, there are still those who fail to understand this.

These people genuinely believe that the world will become peaceful if evil is eliminated or that they can save everyone from their unfounded confidence.

I told Sharueina to maintain a broad perspective, and this will be something crucial for her in the future. We still don’t know if that past event will occur, but if it does, her future will surely become far more difficult.

(The choices thereafter need to be hers, but since I’ve involved her in my request this time, this advice should be fine.)

I don’t yet know what choices she’ll make or what future she might reach, so offering such advice in return for her assistance isn’t a bad idea.

“We’re about to arrive at the place I’m leaving you all, so keep quiet.”

As we continued to watch the city of Saramāju, the carriage carried on, and right when Naguraia said that, a large building came into view.

 

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