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

Episode 279: Summon More!

“Phew. Time to take a little break.”

“Yeah. We’ve defeated quite a number of monsters, so let’s rest a bit.”

Having come to the forest region with a lake that Rai told me about, we spent a few hours dealing with the monsters that kept showing up and finally decided to take a break.

“Still, the monsters here are definitely a bit odd.”

“Right? Their strength is above that of the same types in other areas, and their ferocity has increased too. What’s especially strange is that even normally docile types are aggressive and attack us mercilessly when they spot us.”

Now that I think about it, this forest has been strange ever since we entered. Even the low-rank, timid monsters attacked us as if they had been spurred on by something.

“There are probably two possibilities. The first is that a strong monster has taken up residence deep in this forest, scaring the weaker monsters living here to flee to shallower areas.”

“But that doesn’t explain the increase in their original strength. Plus, the weaker monsters near the entrance haven’t decreased in number or shown signs of being scared.”

“True. In that case, the second possibility is that someone used magic, magical tools, or potions to enhance the monsters. I think this is the most likely scenario.”

“I think so too.”

It seems Shuvina shared the same thought as she nodded seriously.

“Well then. We need to consider what kind of magic, magical tools, or potions were used, but it’s probably either magic or magical tools.”

“Why’s that?”

“If it were potions, it’d be difficult to ensure that every monster received that effect. If you were to use potions across the entire forest, a powdered form would spread the fastest and cover the most area, but even then, there are risks like monsters having resistance or the powder not reaching them due to the wind or weather conditions.”

“I see. But every monster we’ve encountered in the past few hours has turned aggressive regardless of species or number.”

“That’s right. So, we can pretty much eliminate the possibility of potions being involved this time. Now, regarding magic, it’s more about the possibility of a magic circle being used in this case.”

“A magic circle?”

“With ordinary magic, it’s nearly impossible to provide a permanent effect. Especially on a large scale like a whole forest, even if you cast hypnosis or enhancement magic, a few hours would be the limit. However, according to Rai, the strange occurrences in this forest started about a month ago. If someone continuously applied magic over such a long period, setting up a magic circle would be more efficient.”

A magic circle is crafted from intricate magical characters and special symbols. Unlike using one’s own magic power to cause phenomena, it can activate magic by mediating natural magical power, making it quite effective.

However, in modern times, it’s impossible to reproduce the magical characters and symbols that form a magic circle, so the only way is to use those inscribed on scrolls obtained from dungeons.

“Got it. So, finding a scroll with a magic circle inscribed on it or some suspicious magical tool will solve our problem.”

“That seems to be the case. However, I checked the whole forest with my magic detection, but I couldn’t find any responses that seemed relevant. They must be cleverly hidden.”

When we first entered the forest, I had used detection magic and magic sensing to investigate the state of the forest, but while I could gauge the number of monsters, I didn’t find any suspicious magical power responses.

“If even Lewis can’t find them, then they must have been hidden by someone with remarkable skill or concealed in a hard-to-find place.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.”

“Okay then. I’ll try to do something about it. Dōna, lend me your strength.”

“Panpakapān! It’s Dōna-chan!!”

As Shuvina called Dōna, she appeared with a cheerful voice.

“Lewis~! Long time no see~!!”

“Good to see you again, Dōna.”

“Yup~!!”

Dōna seemed thrilled to be summoned again, rubbing her cheeks against my face, so I went ahead and channeled some of my magic power to her.

“Dōna. I’ve always wondered, why do you always go straight to Lewis first?”

“Because Shuvina only calls me when she needs me! I want to see more of the outside world!”

“But I have my limits on magic power too…”

“Hmph! Even so, I know you can summon me at least once every two days! And you could at least summon me for a little while! The last time I was summoned was a whole week ago!”

“Ugh. I’m sorry. I’ll try to summon you a bit more often from now on.”

The argument that suddenly started between Shuvina and Dōna ended abruptly with Shuvina’s watery-eyed defeat thanks to Dōna’s valid points.

“Ahh. For now, you two can discuss the future later. Dōna, I actually need to ask you for something right now.”

“Okay. I get it. Shuvina sent her intentions when she summoned me, so it’s all good. I’ll ask the other spirits in this forest.”

“Please.”

“Don’t worry about it. I just received some magic power from Lewis, so Dōna has to do her part too.”

As Dōna said that, she released her magic power, and it seemed like all the spirits of water, earth, and plants gathered around her as if drawn to her.

“Something seems off with their condition.”

“Yeah. They seem weak or drained of life energy.”

However, all the summoned spirits had painful expressions on their faces.

After waiting a while, Dōna’s demeanor shifted after talking to the other spirits, and as her magic power overflowed, I heard the grinding sound of her clenching her teeth in anger.

“I won’t forgive this. How can there be someone who does such a thing in our forest…”

“Calm down, Dōna. So, what did the spirits say?”

Dōna’s change in speech style indicated she must have heard something shocking, but I tried to soothe her.

“Phew. Sorry. Um, according to the spirits in this forest, about a month ago, a suspicious figure wearing a hood came into this forest and threw something into the lake. After that, the monsters suddenly became aggressive, and the spirits in this forest also started to feel unwell.”

“A suspicious person, huh? Any details about them?”

“They didn’t know anything. They couldn’t feel any magic power, and due to the hood, they couldn’t tell their race or gender either.”

“I see.”

The fact that they couldn’t detect any magic power means that this suspicious person was either very skilled or had exceptional magical tools.

“For now, let’s head deeper into the forest.”

“Right. We might find something at the lake.”

“Yeah.”

Thinking that just pondering here wouldn’t solve anything, we decided to move deeper into the forest, heading toward the lake the spirits mentioned.

“Still, this was supposed to be a break and a date with Lewis. How did we end up caught up in such troublesome matters?”

“Don’t ask me.”

“You’re probably favored by some god of calamity or something. Or maybe you’re under some curse.”

“There’s no way that’s true. Even this time, I came here based on what I heard from Rai. Also, if anyone is favored by a god, it should be someone more suitable than me, right?”

“Stop it. I came here to release stress from that. If I hear about that, it defeats the purpose.”

“Ah, my bad.”

It seemed Shuvina really disliked Shudo, as she spat out her annoyance just from mentioning his name and hurried off toward the lake with Dōna in tow.

“Sigh. Things sure are different from the past.”

With the academy, Shudo’s character and abilities, and Rai following a similar trajectory as before, on the contrary, the actual events and relationships with Iris and the others were changing.

“Well, it’s partly because I’ve changed things, but their relations with Shudo are in a completely different situation from the past.”

With Shuvina saving the Kingdom of God Tree and Sonia’s family, preventing the events that were supposed to happen, it seemed one of the biggest reasons was their enhanced abilities.

“The fact that they can fend off Shudo’s magic is huge. From here on, things should get even more interesting.”

While some parts remained the same as before, others ended up with entirely different outcomes. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of future this would lead to.

Just imagining it seemed exciting, but for now, it seemed best to focus on what lay before us.

“Lewis! Let’s hurry up!”

“Yeah.”

As Shuvina turned back and noticed I hadn’t moved much from my previous spot, she called out loudly to hurry me along.

 

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