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

Chapter 255: Equality

“Louis Valentine”

“Uh? Oh, it’s you.”

As I was walking down the hallway to return to the classroom after my discussion with Lime, a young man approached me and called out.

“Hey, could you stop casually calling my name? I never gave you permission to do that.”

“This academy values equality, regardless of status! It shouldn’t matter how I call you!”

“Heh, looks like you don’t understand the meaning of equality.”

Sure, Suzette Imperial Academy claims to uphold meritocracy and equality beyond status, but that’s just a form of equality.

Equality means providing the same treatment and rules for everyone, regardless of status or gender, differing from fairness, which sets appropriate treatment and rules based on status or gender.

In other words, here, equality means everyone receives the same treatment and is bound by the same rules without regard for status or gender, not that everyone should get along just because we ignore these things.

“You should probably study the meaning of equality again. Oh, by the way, I remember you’re not good at academics.”

“What did you…?”

“Don’t sweat it. By the way, you say it doesn’t matter how I call you, but that’s wrong. This academy is like a microcosm of the world. Here, not just from the Ruzenia Empire, but excellent nobles and commoners from other countries gather.”

“I know that! That’s why! If we get along regardless of status…”

“Shut it. Quit screaming.”

“Ugh!!”

When I glared at him with a bit of magic power and killing intent, he seemed intimidated and took a step back.

“I told you, you’re misunderstanding the meaning of equality. Equality is about setting the same rules for everyone, regardless of their position. It doesn’t mean we should all get along. If it did, the academy would require even noble students to attend the welcome event in uniform, and they wouldn’t allow such clear distinctions between commoners and nobles.”

“That’s…”

“Don’t deny it when you have no retort. So here’s the deal. The equality meant by this academy is providing everyone an equal opportunity to learn the skills necessary to succeed after graduation. Commoners learn how to interact well with nobles, while nobles learn how to engage with nobles from other countries or higher-ranked nobles. That’s the essence of this academy, a microcosm of the world.”

“Tch…”

There are those who think that equality means everything is permissible, but that’s incorrect.

If a form of equality existed where everything was allowed, then a class society wouldn’t exist in the first place, and disparities in poverty and living standards wouldn’t arise.

“So don’t casually call my name like we’re friends. It makes my skin crawl.”

After throwing that last remark, I tried to walk past Shudo, but then I remembered something I forgot to say and placed my hand on his right shoulder.

“Good for you. Your arm seems healed. But it looks like you couldn’t restore your magical organ; well, don’t worry about it too much. It should heal soon enough.”

All the teachers at this academy have outstanding skills, so of course, there are teachers who excel in healing magic.

Because of that, Shudo’s arm, which I had cut off, was completely healed, but it seems they couldn’t restore the magical organ, as I sensed no magic from him at all.

“You!!”

“Haha. Why are you so mad? I just heard from a teacher that you were found with your arm chopped off and your magical organ damaged; I was just worried.”

“That was you, wasn’t it!!”

“Quit spouting nonsense. I went back to Valentine Duchy right after the holiday started, so I haven’t seen you at all. Therefore, I’m completely in the dark about your arm.”

“Don’t lie!”

“Haha. Then bring proof or witnesses. You can’t, right? Feel free to fantasize, but stop treating me like a criminal based on your fantasy. Because of that, teachers and students are suspicious of me, and it’s been a hassle since this morning.”

“Which mouth says that…”

“If you’re frustrated, then gain enough power to kill me. With your current self, you’re too weak to do that. Hurry up and become the real deal instead of a fake. See ya.”

“Wait!!”

As I said that last part, I turned my back on Shudo, who called out to me, and finally returned to the classroom.

A week had passed since my reunion with Shudo, and now we stood in front of the academy’s dungeon.

“This is the academy’s dungeon…”

“Yeah. Quite an impressive door.”

The dungeon “Morning Star” had countless magical inscriptions etched on its large door, and the size and solemnity of it gave off an air as if it sealed something away.

(Well, in reality, it does seal the holy sword after all.)

The true purpose of this dungeon lies in selecting and nurturing potential heroes.

Those who step into the dungeon are selected based on their suitability, and once the appropriate person is chosen, it transforms into a place for their growth.

Because of such purposes, this dungeon is constructed with varying difficulty levels across its floors, existing as a location to cultivate heroes.

Ugh, it’s really disgusting.

“El.”

“Hm?”

“Are you okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“…Nothing.”

I didn’t know what she was worried about, but after looking at me for a bit, Fiera said that and faced forward again.

“Alright everyone! Now let’s split into groups and line up!”

“I’ll be back.”

“Sure thing.”

Once Lime instructed us to split into groups, Fiera headed toward her own group to join the classmates we had previously decided on.

“Lord Louis. Shuvina. Pleased to meet you.”

“Yeah.”

“Nice to meet you, Iris.”

Iris approached us in exchange for Fiera and would be joining our group this time, taking over for Fiera.

As for Fiera, she was in a group with Sonia, Sephiria, and another female student named Silfa, with Sephiria as the leader.

The reason for this grouping was that we initially planned to form a group of the three of us who had traveled together, but it turned out the compatibility with Iris, Sonia, Sephiria, and the other students was terrible.

The thing is, Iris’s group mostly consisted of backline fighters, and while Sonia had recently been training in close combat, she still lacked the scouting abilities like tracking and sensing, leading to this grouping arrangement.

“Fiera, I’m glad you’re following directions.”

“Well, I guess she was obedient for her.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

A few days before this grouping decision, when Fiera and Shuvina invited me to their group, I nodded since I didn’t have any particular preference.

However, after I heard how Iris’s group had four backline fighters, I was appalled and decided to swap Fiera with Iris.

Naturally, Fiera objected during that time…

“No way. I want to be with El.”

“If Sonia works hard, it should be fine. Also, Sephiria can handle healing while fighting, or so they say. I hear there’s a saying about cutting meat to save the bone, so just try hard.”

“And anyway, according to Lime, it seems we won’t delve too deep, so Iris’s magic should take care of things without needing me.”

Although she had some slightly outrageous remarks, I could relate a bit since I often sacrifice parts of my body in battle.

Plus, as Fiera said, if it were a shallow level, Iris’s magic alone would suffice, so it didn’t need too much concern. But this time, it was different.

“Today’s dungeon exercise is unlike any we’ve had so far.”

I muttered that while glancing behind me and saw a youth glaring at me with his hostility bared, like a blazing flame.

“Something wrong?”

“Nothing.”

I answered Shuvina, who looked curious, before shifting my gaze forward again.

In the end, Fiera, who hadn’t quite accepted it until the end, responded lightly with a low voice when I whispered a request near her ear; she quickly acquiesced, her ears and tail drooping cutely.

“Alright! Everyone’s divided into groups now! Next, I’ll introduce you to the adventurers who will guide us through this dungeon exercise!”

With Lime’s words as a cue, adventurers lined up in front of us, and their introductions began.

 

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