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

Chapter 225: Good and Evil

The moment Milia mentioned Shudo, my mind went blank, and I entered a state of shock.

“Luna, are you okay?”

“…Ah, yeah.”

Then Sharueina, noticing something was off with me, asked with concern in her voice.

(What does this mean? I’ve never heard of that guy being here at this time in the past world. What could be the cause?)

No matter which past I looked back on, I had never heard of Shudo being in Saramāju at this time; as far as I knew, he was only interacting with Iris and her party or challenging some dungeon as an adventurer.

Thus, I couldn’t figure out the reason for his presence here, but there was one thing I could say…

“How bothersome.”

“Luna, your true self is slipping out.”

“Ah, sorry.”

I tried my best to keep my true feelings in check, but the fact that that man appeared here was just too unexpected, causing my true thoughts to slip out.

“Lily, Mieze, and Narshe. Did you guys feel anything when you saw that man?”

“I didn’t feel anything in particular. I used to have my suspicions, but right now, I don’t feel anything.”

“I don’t particularly feel anything either. Previously, I had a strong feeling of unease and a terrible headache, but I’m fine for now.”

“I don’t feel anything either. I remember he fought Lily in that tournament. His magic was incredible, but his control and fighting skills were still quite immature. That’s all I really remember.”

“I see.”

Just to be sure, I gathered some magic in my eyes to check their magic, but unlike with Milia before, there was no sign of Shudo’s magic entangling with theirs; only their pure, high-grade magic flowed.

(That phenomenon seems to have some kind of rules. Perhaps it only affects those who have come into contact with his magic, or maybe it’s only effective against individuals he targets.)

Another possibility could be that he is weak because he hasn’t obtained the Holy Sword yet, but in any case, it still meant trouble and a headache for me, in a different way from Milia.

“For now, let’s avoid touching that thing. Just hearing about him gives me a headache, and being involved could disrupt the original plan.”

“I agree. Honestly, I don’t want to get involved with that person.”

“I feel the same way. That guy is creepy. Just researching him was almost enough to drive me insane. I don’t want to go anywhere near him.”

“I don’t know why the two of you dislike him so much, but I will follow Luna’s orders. You told us to not forget our original goal, after all.”

It seemed that Iris and Milia in this life naturally disliked Shudo and genuinely didn’t want anything to do with him.

However, unlike those two, Sharueina seemed to have no direct involvement with Shudo for now, so she adopted a stance of following me.

(Please, don’t cause any more trouble than this.)

Given that I already had the unexpected trouble of Rogurando to deal with, the thought of also having to be thrown into chaos by that self-righteous jerk made me want to turn this country into ashes right then and there.

But unfortunately, this world revolves around that guy as the protagonist, so of course, he tried to involve us.

“Excuse me for a moment. You’re the adventurers who came here with those knights, right? If you could, I’d like to hear more details about them from your perspective. I want to know if those people really have dipped their hands into evil.”

(How bothersome, how bothersome, how bothersome, how bothersome, how bothersome…!)

A thought popped into my head that I shouldn’t entertain, but as I bit my tongue hard to refocus, I saw a man with eyes full of righteous conviction glaring at me silently.

“Shut up for a bit.”

“Huh?”

How did it come to this?

It was this morning when I woke up that this guy started listening to the knights and guild members to persuade the other adventurers and villagers about yesterday’s incident.

He might have thought that just getting one side of the story was not sufficient, and it seemed like he also talked to the knights and guild staff. Apparently, during that time, the guild master spoke about us, and he approached us while we were relaxing in a secluded spot.

And to make matters worse, I needed to recover my magic, and I couldn’t use the spells for recognition suppression or soundproofing that I had used until yesterday. As a result, I inadvertently allowed this guy to intrude on the very spot we were in.

“I’m sorry. She’s currently losing her sanity due to excessive use of magic. Let me handle the conversation instead.”

“Y-Yeah.”

I thought I somewhat wrapped my statement in politeness, but it seemed that even that didn’t work, and after giving me a light glare, Sharueina chose to deal with Shudo instead.

Meanwhile, Iris and Milia sat beside me like cautious cats wary of an unfamiliar person, refusing to move, glaring at him, and seemingly ready to hiss.

“So, what was this about again?”

“Oh, right! The reason I approached all of you, as I just explained, is that I’d like to know about the people who were brought here with you.”

“The people we came with refer to those knights?”

“Yeah. Other adventurers here said that they collaborated with a clan called the Poisoned Serpent in a town called Carirro to capture our party, and the knights turned a blind eye to it. Also, the guild staff was allegedly leaking information about requests to make it easier for that clan to capture adventurers, as well as introducing adventurers to requests in less populated areas.”

“I see. So, what you want to know from us is whether we also fell victim to the same thing?”

“Exactly. If you also suffered the same fate, it would serve as evidence that they’ve dipped their hands into evil. While we can’t punish them immediately, I’ll make sure to administer punishment after we leave here. I cannot allow evil to persist. So, what’s the verdict?”

In Shudo’s eyes, there was nothing but pure righteousness when he spoke about punishing in our place and how he couldn’t forgive evil.

However, it was still excessive and self-righteous.

(Well, at least he’s trying to listen to others, so it’s better than nothing.)

After he was chosen by the Holy Sword, he would have mercilessly judged those he deemed evil and wouldn’t have hesitated to kill anyone who resisted.

In comparison, merely asking other people for their stories seemed like a relatively better choice.

“Hm. Let’s say that’s true, but why should we rely on you for that? The right to decide should normally belong to us, the victims, right? It shouldn’t be left to you.”

“That’s true. However, I think it’s wrong for victims to take revenge on the aggressors. Revenge is just empty, and more importantly, if you kill someone in revenge, then that person might end up being avenged by someone else. Revenge is a cycle of negativity. That’s why I want to break it. If a third party intervenes, it’ll allow both sides to give up and, more importantly, facilitate an objective resolution.”

“That’s just nonsense.”

“Huh? Nonsense?”

Since Shudo had been talking for so long, I wanted to end this conversation swiftly, so I interrupted his long-winded speech in the midst of our discussion.

“Revenge is empty. Revenge is a cycle of negativity. So what? The ones who decide that are the parties involved, and it’s up to the individuals to determine what happens after the revenge. There’s no need for third-party intervention. Only those who want a judgment based on legalities in a court should seek outside intervention. When they don’t want that and seek their own resolution regardless of the outcome, they take revenge. It’s wrong for a self-righteous good guy like you to forcefully insert yourself into that. A person like you should wait until help is requested. Until then, just stand back and observe.”

Upon hearing my words, Shudo stared at me in silence before taking a deep breath and standing up.

“Looks like I’m not needed here.”

“Yeah. I can solve my own problems just fine. I don’t need your help.”

“Understood. But I want you to remember one thing. You’re right; what you say makes some sense. However, not everyone is as strong as you. There are far more people who are weak and have fragile hearts. I want to be someone who can help those people. For that, I will fight against any evil and destroy all evil that brings harm so that no one will ever have to suffer again.”

“Do as you wish.”

“Then I shall.”

With those parting words full of strong determination, Shudo left us and headed back towards the other adventurers.

(I really don’t mesh with him on a fundamental level. It’s just so unsettling.)

He had his absolute goodness and self-righteousness driving him to eradicate all evil in this world, just like in my past life.

There was no trace of doubt or wavering in that resolve, solid and unyielding like a sword.

But I’m different.

As long as I can achieve my goals, I’ll gladly accept whatever is deemed evil, and I won’t hesitate to bring destruction to this world.

He fights to protect the weak, but I fight solely for myself.

That’s why we fundamentally oppose each other and can never truly understand one another.

(Well, whatever. Seriously, how bothersome. I wish Sephiria could just purify this place.)

Thus, despite my magic steadily recovering, I, who was subjected to mental distress, fell asleep to escape the bothersome reality.

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If you’re interested, please check out my ongoing series, “The Former Hero Becomes a Demon Lord and Devotes Himself to the World!”

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https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330663836544021

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