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

Episode 253: Summoning

Two days had passed since my duel with Sharueina, and the day had finally come for us to return to the academy.

“Everyone, be careful on your way back!”

“Feel free to come visit anytime!”

“Understood.”

Currently, we were being sent off in grand style by our father, King, and mother, along with the servants, and it was Fiera who responded first to their words.

“We packed a lot of food and sweets prepared by the chef for you, Luis, so eat whenever you’re hungry. We’ve also ensured that Shuvina has plenty to eat, so no need to hold back!”

“Ah, thank you very much.”

Mother had likely said that thinking of Shuvina, but to Shuvina, who was recognized as a big eater, it seemed embarrassing, as her long ears turned red.

“And, Luis—”

“Yes?”

For these two days, mother had been ignoring me, clearly displeased that I had gotten hurt in front of her. The food she mentioned was purportedly delivered to her as instructed by the chef.

“Sigh. Don’t make such an awkward face.”

“Huh?”

“It shows all over your face. If you’re that worried, it makes me seem at fault.”

“N-no, that’s not—”

Having died and returned to life countless times, my emotions were supposed to be mostly dead outside of combat, yet she looked at me with a slightly apologetic expression and gently placed her hand on my cheek.

“You seem to be showing more emotion on your face.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind that. More importantly, don’t dwell on that incident anymore. It’s true my attitude was bad, and my worry was not a lie, but I have no intention of denying your way of life. Still, as a mother, just don’t forget that I’m worried about you.”

“Understood.”

I know my father and mother care and worry about me.

Even so, I have no intention of changing my goals or the way I live now.

(From now on, I’ll have to be careful not to get hurt in front of my mother.)

After that, we got into the carriage while being seen off by our parents and set off to return to the academy, wrapping up the long summer break that felt both long and short.

A few days had passed since we left Valentine Duchy, and while we entered Suzette Imperial Academy, we stretched our stiff bodies.

“Feels like it’s been a while.”

“Yeah. It really does.”

“After all, we’re back after about two months. The feeling isn’t wrong, right?”

“That’s part of it, but the experiences from our travels were so intense that it might feel like it’s been a while because of that.”

As Sharueina said, half of our summer vacation was spent sneaking into another country due to the war and pushing that nation to ruin, so it’s no wonder the academy feels familiar yet distant.

“Will you be heading back to your room right away, Lord Luis?”

“Yeah. Classes start in earnest tomorrow, and today I plan to rest in my room while tidying up my things.”

“Understood. Then we’ll also head back to our room.”

“Got it. If you need help with your luggage, feel free to use our carriage driver.”

“Thank you, but we’re fine. Thanks to you extending the storage magic on the rings, we managed to fit most of our things inside. We can carry the rest ourselves.”

“I see.”

During the summer vacation, since I had nothing particular to do, I took the opportunity to practice spatial magic and recharged the storage magic on the rings I had given to Iris and the others, increasing their storage capacity.

As a result, I was able to double the original capacity, including all the clothes they had received as gifts from my mother.

“El. Can I come visit you after you’re done tidying up?”

“No, you really can’t. Do you even know why the dorms are separated?”

“But I wanna see you!”

“You can see me tomorrow, so hold on until then. Shuvina, make sure to play your role as a guardian.”

“Who’s playing guardian? Well, whatever. If it becomes an issue, that’ll be a hassle. Come on, Fiera. Let’s hurry.”

“……… Okay.”

Fiera seemed reluctant until the end, but she was pulled along by Shuvina and Sonia, heading toward the dorms with Iris and the others.

“Should we head out too?”

“Yeah.”

Since my personal maid, Miria, had her room close to mine, the two of us returned to the boys’ dorm.

The next day after returning to the academy.

As if it were natural, I was heading to class with Fiera and the others, who were waiting for me in front of the boys’ dorm, but even now, while walking down the hallway after leaving the dorm, we were being looked at for some reason.

“It’s like everyone’s staring at us.”

“El. Did you do something?”

“Fiera, why do you always suspect me first?”

“Well, it’s always Luis who causes trouble, and if I’m gonna suspect someone, it might as well be you!”

Sonia chimed in with Fiera, and Shuvina nodded along while Iris and Sephiria wore wry smiles.

“Joking aside, you really don’t have any idea?”

“Nope.”

Before the break, this atmosphere wasn’t here, and yesterday after parting with Fiera and the others, I was just in my room, so I had no idea what was going on.

“However, it seems like most of the gazes are directed at Lord Luis rather than us.”

“That’s right. We’ve received some attention too, but most of it seems directed at you.”

As Iris and Sephiria pointed out, most of the gazes from the other students were aimed at me, while Fiera and the others only received glances of pity or sympathy here and there.

“Well, I don’t really care. It doesn’t matter to me how others think of me.”

I wasn’t sure why either, but I had experienced this kind of gaze many times in the past, and I didn’t even have the normal senses to be affected by how people looked at me now, so I didn’t mind whatsoever.

While being exposed to these gazes, we entered the classroom, but there were no particularly peculiar reactions from the same class students, and Ride merely glanced at us before turning back around.

“Alright, everyone! Long time no see! And good morning!”

As we settled into our seats, the door at the front of the classroom opened just in time, and with a cheerful voice, Lime entered the classroom.

“Yup, yup. Everyone’s here. I’m glad no one’s late.”

Lime said that with relief, but there was one empty seat in the classroom, and the student who always sat there was missing.

“Ms. Lime. It seems Kamuel is absent.”

Realizing the same thing, Ride raised his hand and inquired about Kamuel.

“Oh, Kamuel is taking some time off for family duties.”

“Time off, you say?”

“Yup. I can’t say what it is, but I heard he doesn’t know when he’ll be back.”

It seems that Kamuel’s absence from this classroom was due to being assigned some kind of mission as an assassin, and he was currently on break from the academy for that reason.

(Mission?)

Ride, who had asked the question, appeared to understand since he knew about Kamuel’s family situation, but I knew the past and felt doubt about that explanation.

(He’s never taken time off during this period; something must have happened.)

In my previous life, Kamuel had never been absent from school during this time. Usually, like us, he came to the academy and was attending dungeon practicals just days later.

However, this time he seemed to be taking a break for some assignment as an assassin, and it was unclear when he would return.

(One possibility might be that he has been sent out for reconnaissance due to that war incident.)

My father had said he already used magical tools to send the evidence we collected to the Emperor, so perhaps, in connection with that, the Albani family was given a mission for reconnaissance in another country.

(Well, I can just ask him about the details when he comes back.)

Though I wanted to get some payback as soon as I saw him, there was nothing I could do without him around, so for now, I decided to wait until Kamuel returned.

Anyway, he would need to come back to fulfill his own goals, so I wouldn’t have to worry about him running away.

“Alright, that wraps up this term’s introduction! As I mentioned earlier, the dungeon practicals will finally start next week, so make sure to form groups of four. There might be one person short, but don’t worry; I’ll handle that!”

While I pondered about Kamuel, it seemed Lime’s talk had ended, and she concluded by mentioning the dungeon practicals.

“Oh, and Luis-kun. I have something to discuss with you, so come with me. Alright! Class dismissed! Everyone, do your best in class!”

Once Lime’s talk ended, I was thinking about what I wanted to do since I had no intention of taking classes this term when, for some reason, I was specifically summoned by Lime.

“El. You really did something, didn’t you?”

“Don’t say I did. I didn’t do anything.”

“But, Ms. Riel’s eyes were more serious than I’ve ever seen. I doubt she’d look at you that way for no reason.”

Fiera and Shuvina kept suspecting me, but I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, and I couldn’t think of a reason for Lime to look at me like that.

“Anyway, I’ll go see what’s up.”

“Alright.”

“Good luck.”

Not understanding anything, I was sent off by Fiera and the others, and I joined Lime, who was waiting near the classroom entrance, as she instructed me to change locations.

 

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