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

Chapter 271: Sometimes Days Like This Happen

It had been about an hour since the dinner party with Rick and the others began.

Everyone was enjoying the delicious food and wine, and as they got a bit tipsy, the atmosphere grew lively.

At first, there was a noticeable distance between Iris and Rick due to their social status differences, but now, thanks to the alcohol, they were happily conversing.

“Come on! Fall, drink more!”

“Drink up!!”

“Uh, um…”

“Ugh. Why do I always tend to come off a bit harsh? On the way here, a guy said I looked cold or something. Do I seem unfriendly?”

“S-Sonia, it’s okay! You’re cute and beautiful!”

“Aah. Thank you, God, for blessing me with this drink. I’m truly grateful!”

“Haha! Sephiria, you’re hilarious!”

“…………”

“Oh, Iris. Maybe you should stop drinking soon. At least slow down…”

“Eir, mu….”

“It’s definitely chaotic.”

No, let’s correct that.

It’s fun, but right now, this place was a total mess.

First, Shuvina, who was already buzzed after her first drink, started hitting on Fall, pouring more and more wine with Dōna, whom she summoned. When Fall tried to stop them, they protested that he couldn’t drink their poured wine, and resigned, he quietly drank at the pace they set.

Then there was Sonia, who suddenly started crying after about thirty minutes, complaining about this and that, being comforted by the kind-hearted Mail.

As for Sephiria, for some reason, she was thanking God every time she took a sip of wine or food, which made Sonya laugh amusingly at her overly serious demeanor.

But the one who was in the worst state was Iris. With every drink, her words faded, but her pace of drinking increased as if in compensation. Even though Rick tried several times to stop her, he couldn’t muster the courage with the intense gaze Iris was fixing on me and Fiera.

Lastly, there was Fiera, who had downed about ten cups of the strongest liquor before succumbing to sleep, using my knee as her pillow.

“Hah. I knew it would come to this. Good thing I had the rooms separated.”

I sighed at the expected outcome while stroking Fiera’s head, happily dozing off with it resting on my leg.

Back at the welcome party Olga and the others threw, simply smelling the alcohol had sent them into a terrible state, so I had anticipated that actually consuming it would lead to utter chaos.

Because of that, I opted for private rooms this time to avoid showing any embarrassing behavior, at least among people I knew.

“Hey~ El~”

“Hmm? What’s up, Sonya?”

As I watched the chaotic scene while drinking, Sonya approached me in a cutesy voice.

“You’re quite the ladies’ man, aren’t you?”

“Well, who knows?”

“Haha! That doesn’t fly in this situation!”

She was probably referring to Fiera and Iris, and just a little while ago, the girls were gossiping about romance among themselves.

“Actually, El, who do you like?”

“Huh?”

At Sonya’s question, not only did I react, but Shuvina, who was drunk, Sonia, who was crying, Sephiria, who kept thanking God, and even Fiera, who should have been asleep, all turned to look at me.

“El, who do you like?”

“You weren’t sleeping?”

“I just woke up.”

“That’s awfully convenient.”

Though their timing felt a bit too convenient, knowing their feelings made this just a natural reaction.

“Well, regarding who I like…”

“Is it Fiera, who sticks to you? Or your fiancée, Iris? Or is it that pig-out party animal, Shuvina? Maybe the adorable and anxious Sonia? Or the refined and elegant Sephiria?”

Sonya said this with a grin, and the lively atmosphere that had filled the room suddenly stilled, as even Rick and the others now watched me with keen interest.

“Hmm. As for who I like… I guess there’s no one.”

“Huh? So you’re saying there’s someone you’re interested in?”

“Well, there’s someone I’m curious about, but she doesn’t think of those things. I really don’t have any romantic feelings.”

When asked about someone I was curious about, one particular person came to mind, but my feelings toward her had nothing to do with romance.

“Then what’s your ideal type of woman?”

“My ideal?”

I’d never thought about what my ideal woman would be. Still, considering the time I had feelings for Iris in the past, there was something that came to mind.

“Well, if I had to say, someone who’s committed. A person who absolutely wouldn’t betray me might be nice.”

Maybe I was feeling the effects of alcohol, or the atmosphere had gotten to me, but I felt like I had said something I usually wouldn’t. However, there was no turning back now, so I downed my words along with my drink.

“Oh ho, sounds like all the girls here just got a chance!”

Sonya said this while glancing at Fiera and the others, who all responded with fiery gazes, as if to say they wouldn’t lose in their feelings.

“A chance, huh? Well, fundamentally, it seems impossible since I don’t have any romantic feelings to begin with.”

If there are things gained from past experiences, there are probably also things lost.

And applying that to myself, what I gained is the conclusion that I don’t need romance in my life, and what I lost is the emotional baggage of romantic feelings that aren’t necessary for me.

“Well, enough about me. Why don’t you all share more about yourselves? Where did you guys travel to after that?”

“Oh, right. After we parted with Eir and the others, we traveled many places. Well, it was all within the Empire, but I think we’ve explored about half of the territories there.”

“Wow, that sounds impressive! Did anything particularly stand out?”

“Well, we had all sorts of encounters and a lot of experiences, but I think the one that stands out the most is probably this: the story of an all-female A-ranked party conquering the A-ranked dungeon, Underwater Dwelling, in Minerva.”

“Huh? An all-female party?”

“Oh! That! I was shocked when I first heard that! In the adventurer’s world where there are more men, an all-woman party conquered an A-ranked dungeon! As a fellow woman, hearing that sent chills down my spine!”

“Right? I felt I couldn’t fall behind.”

“Yes, I too felt admiration for the first time toward someone other than Eir and his team.”

As Rick and the others reminisced about their experiences, they appeared to enjoy it, and I was also quite intrigued by this story, just like Fiera seemed to be.

“El.”

“Oh, I probably know.”

Upon hearing Underwater Dwelling and all-female A-ranked party, the only ones who came to mind were them.

“I see. So they managed to clear it.”

“Yep. I’m glad.”

“Eir, is something the matter?”

“No, it’s nothing. More importantly, when did this happen?”

“Well, it’s about the time we went to check out Underwater Dwelling after parting from Eir and the others, so I’d say it was a little over half a year ago.”

“I see.”

It seemed they had worked hard after we had parted ways.

I thought about how impressive they were while also sensing how small the world truly was.

“Speaking of which, didn’t you guys ever consider challenging it?”

“Yeah. At that time, we didn’t have enough rank. Now we have an A rank, but back then, we were only C-ranked. So, we just went to have a look for experience.”

“I get it.”

“But we do plan to challenge it someday. Thanks to that party, we know the dungeon boss’s abilities, so we’ll prepare properly before taking it on.”

“You guys should be able to clear it.”

“Haha. We’ll do our best.”

Time sped by as we chatted about the places we had visited and the experiences we had, making for a delightful time.

And as we stepped out of the tavern, we faced each other for our final conversation.

“We’re leaving here in three days, right?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan. We need to get back to work soon.”

“I see. It’s a pity, but we’ll have classes, so we can’t see you off. Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not like it’s the last farewell of our lives. We’ll meet again someday. Besides, not having a send-off adds to the excitement for the next time we reunite, right?”

“Haha. True. Oh, and do come play at Valentine Duchy next time. If you come to the mansion, you’ll always be welcome.”

“That’s a bit of a hesitant invitation, but if it’s from you, El, I’ll gladly go.”

“Well then, see you sometime.”

“Yeah. Let’s both keep up the good work.”

“Everyone! Let’s meet again!”

“Yes, see you later.”

With those parting words, Rick and the others turned their backs and headed back to the inn without looking back.

“Shall we head back as well?”

“Yeah.”

“Right.”

“Let’s go home!!”

“Ugh. I feel sick.”

“Are you okay, Sonia?”

Shuvina was bouncing around, full of energy like when we first met, while Sonia looked pale, with Iris and Sephiria nearby, caring for the two of them.

Well, days like this aren’t so bad, I thought, as I looked at them and took Fiera, who was happily snuggling against my arm, as we all returned to the academy together.

 

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