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

Chapter 280: Dōna is Excellent!

“Is this the lake they mentioned?”

In front of us, having finally reached deep into the forest we aimed for, was a stunningly beautiful lake illuminated by the dazzling sunlight—an utterly dreamlike place.

“It’s so beautiful here!”

“Yeah.”

Shuvina seemed mesmerized by the sheer beauty, but even during that moment, I was using detection magic to assess our surroundings.

“Dōna. This lake that the other spirits mentioned, it has to be this place, right?”

“Yeah. After all, it seems there’s no other lake in this forest, so it’s definitely the one.”

“I see.”

“Lewis, did you figure anything out?”

Noticing my lackluster reaction, Shuvina asked with a worried tone.

“Well, a few things. First, this lake contains magic power.”

“Magic power?”

“Yeah. I think the water filling this lake was created by the spirits.”

“Now that you mention it, it does feel like it. This water has the same aura as Dōna.”

“Also, because of that magic power, I can’t investigate the lake’s interior.”

“No way. Even with your magic detection, it’s impossible?”

“To be precise, the magic is too concentrated, making it impossible to detect any foreign objects within. The special leaves we’re searching for in the forest are excellently camouflaged. I might figure it out if I touch them directly, though.”

I tried to sense the magic within the lake, but it was so densely packed it felt like a mass of magic energy.

“But if this is a lake related to spirits, shouldn’t the spirit be able to handle it?”

“There might be some reason they can’t do that.”

“That is…”

“Ah! Look over there!”

With that, Dōna pointed to the center of the lake, where a water-formed female deer stood, and at her feet, a fawn curled up with its head resting on the surface of the water.

Then, as if to protect the fawn, the female deer took a step forward and glared at us with a fierce gaze.

“Dianir, huh?”

“Dianir is one of the spirits that governs water. She’s an advanced spirit, right?”

Dianir is one of the spirits that manages water, primarily known as a guardian spirit of lakes and their surroundings.

Her rank is quite high among spirits, unlike Dōna, who evolved into an advanced spirit. Dianir was born as an advanced spirit, akin to a high noble among humans.

“What do you want, human? Have you come to defile our forest again?”

“She spoke…”

“No, an advanced spirit would definitely speak. Dōna speaks too, doesn’t she?”

“Ehehe!”

Shuvina seemed surprised by Dianir’s ability to talk, but when I mentioned Dōna, she puffed out her chest proudly.

“Hmm? Wait, is that child a spirit? Then, is that girl an elf?”

“Ah, yes. She is.”

“Dōna is a plant spirit dryad!”

“A dryad, huh? And it seems she has evolved into an advanced spirit.”

“Fufu! Dōna is excellent!”

It seemed that seeing Shuvina, an elf, and her contracted spirit Dōna diminished Dianir’s wariness somewhat, as the aura of hostility she had been emanating waned.

“As you can see, I’m on good terms with a spirit that protects nature, just like you. Would you listen to me for a bit?”

“A human on good terms with a spirit?”

“Lewis is super nice! He shares his magic power and gives us snacks! Plus, he doesn’t recklessly destroy the forest like other humans!”

“Oh? For a nature-hating dryad to say such things? I understand. I’ll listen to you a little.”

Thanks to Dōna’s persuasion, Dianir finally seemed willing to hear me out, albeit with the fawn still hidden behind her.

“Hmmm. Before anything, you and that fawn look quite unwell. Is something wrong with your magic power?”

“That’s…”

“I think it’d be better if you spoke openly about it. I might be able to help solve the problem.”

Though it sounded a bit threatening, judging by the fawn’s condition, its magic power was in such turmoil that it wouldn’t be surprising if it vanished at any moment. Immediate action seemed necessary to avoid an irreversible situation.

“Understood. I’m sorry, but please first look at my child. As you can see, this child is about at its limit.”

“Got it.”

I said this and gathered magic power in my feet to walk across the water’s surface, crouching down to gently touch the fawn.

“It’s alright. I’ll heal you now.”

The fawn flinched at the sudden touch, but as I spoke, it quickly regained its composure.

Then, just like when I poured my magic power into Dōna, I channeled magic power into the fawn, purifying the impure magic mixing within its body and restoring the flow of magic that constituted its form.

“There, all done.”

After a moment, the fawn’s body, which had been fading, turned a clear blue, and it stood firmly, rubbing its head against me.

“I can’t believe you could really heal it. Thank you. It seems this child is grateful as well.”

“Really? That’s good.”

I didn’t act with the expectation of receiving gratitude, but I managed to heal the fawn, and through that, I was able to grasp the general situation.

“So? Can you explain what happened?”

“Of course. That was the agreement. But first, let’s change locations. Your companions seem eager to hear the story too.”

At Dianir’s suggestion, I glanced toward the shore and met the anxious looks of Shuvina and the others, worried about the fawn.

“Understood.”

When I returned to Shuvina and the others, I created small water cushions for me, Shuvina, and Dōna to sit on, and immediately began to listen to Dianir’s account.

“So? What happened in this forest? The magic mingled with that fawn was magic from the demon race.”

“You can distinguish magic power, huh? Well then, let me explain from the beginning. Though, I must admit, I can’t provide a comprehensive explanation.”

Dianir said this and sat down before us with the fawn, slowly beginning to recount the events that unfolded in the forest.

“About a month ago, a suspicious figure cloaked in a hood visited this forest. That figure threw something into this lake, resulting in the magic power of this lake—our very foundation—being tainted by evil magic.”

“‘Seems’?”

“To be honest, I haven’t seen that figure with my own eyes. I’ve only listened to the accounts of this child and other spirits and grasped the rough situation based on the tainted magic mingled in the lake.”

“What were you doing during that time?”

“I was patrolling the forest. As the guardian of this forest, I have a duty to patrol it and maintain order.”

“Do you patrol at the same time every day?”

“Yeah. Since I also take care of this child, there isn’t much variation in the timing.”

“Hmmm.”

From what I gathered from Dianir’s story, the one who caused the disturbance in this forest was of the demon race, and it seemed to be a planned action taking into account Dianir’s active hours.

What the objective behind it was remains unclear, but it might be an assault using monsters by the demon race.

(It seems there are factions even among the demon races.)

The demon I previously encountered, Wilhelm, must have specifically instructed them not to mess with the empire in exchange for handing over Saramāju, so this incident was undoubtedly the scheme of another faction among the demon races.

Well, there’s always a possibility that Wilhelm was lying, but if that were the case, I could just kill him, so it’s not particularly a problem.

“I understand the situation. But why didn’t you seal or purify the magic power of the demon race? Couldn’t you have done that?”

“Your question is totally valid. We water spirits excel at purification, but this time, it was different.”

“What do you mean?”

“Our magic power and the magic power of the demon race blended too perfectly. If the compatibility had been bad enough to repel each other, it would’ve been possible to seal it, but once it perfectly mingles, the magic power that forms us becomes tainted. Once that happens, we can no longer purify it with our own powers.”

“I see.”

In simple terms, Dianir’s explanation is akin to the difference between water and paint and oil.

Since water and oil repel each other, it would be easy to separate and isolate them, but if paint is mixed in the water, it changes color.

And once the water is discolored, it can’t return to its original transparent state by its own power, requiring someone to replace it with new water to restore its clarity.

“Then, is it true that the monsters became violent because the lake was tainted?”

“You catch on quickly. This forest is centered around the lake, and the lake’s magic power spreads through the ground and roots of plants to every entrance of the forest. The tainting of that magic power caused the monsters to become hostile and weakened the spirits.”

“So that’s what happened.”

“Human. I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Sure.”

“I haven’t said anything yet.”

“It’s probably about restoring the lake, right? That shouldn’t be a problem.”

Given the flow of the story so far, I assumed that Dianir would request the purification of the lake, and sure enough, she nodded.

“Then let’s finish this quickly.”

With that, I stood up from the water cushion and reached into the lake, deciphering the wavelengths of spirit magic and demon magic.

Then, as I attracted the foreign object that was overflowing with demon magic using my magic, a small statue-like object settled into my palm.

“This must be the cause.”

“Is that a magical tool?”

“Most likely. I can sense the demon’s magic coming from this statue. Though I can’t tell what kind of demon it is.”

With this, I was now certain that demons were involved, and I stored the statue as evidence.

“Well then. I’ve dealt with the cause of the abnormalities in the forest, so I suppose it’s time to head back.”

“Yeah. The time is nearing, so let’s go back.”

“I’m sleepy…”

Looks like Dōna got overly excited upon her first summoning in a while, as she rubbed her eyes sleepily, climbed onto Shuvina’s head, and dozed off.

“I’m sorry. I haven’t repaid you for the help I received.”

“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t do it expecting a reward. Honestly, Dōna was the one who was angry, so I just lent a hand because of that.”

“I see. But doing nothing for someone who helped you is unbecoming of a spirit. If anything arises, just call me. I’ll rush over immediately.”

Dianir said this and nudged her nose against my left hand, which was suddenly adorned with a water-blue crest.

“This is a spirit mark. Though it’s just a one-time thing, if you channel magic into the mark, you can summon me. When that time comes, I’ll lend you my strength, no matter what.”

A spirit mark is akin to a badge of honor given by spirits, a special seal pledging to lend one’s power just once as a token of gratitude, allowing even humans to summon spirits.

“This is a nice gift. I’m not sure when I’ll use it, but let’s meet again when the time comes.”

“Sure.”

With our brief farewells exchanged, we exited the forest, heading back to the imperial capital to fulfill our last objective.

◇◇◇

At the same time Lewis left the forest.

In a pitch-black room devoid of anything, four suspicious figures cloaked in hoods gathered, sitting in a circle facing one another.

“Hmm? The response from the trap I set has disappeared.”

“What? Is that really true?”

“Yeah. Just a moment ago, it was definitely responding, but now it’s like there’s nothing at all.”

“Did it get destroyed? Hey, isn’t there an advanced spirit over there?”

“No way. If that magical tool got destroyed, there would be a reaction like a burst of magic power, wouldn’t it? And there’s been none of that. Plus, for some reason, tracking is impossible—it’s like it vanished into another space.”

“Speaking of another space, could it be a demon?”

“No, no. The demons wouldn’t interfere with our plans. Besides, demons and spirits don’t get along. Even if they kill a spirit, they wouldn’t do anything to help it.”

The four continued to exchange their opinions, all of which were mere unconfirmed speculations, and in the end, they decided to check the forest again.

“Haah. Even if we go check, that magical tool is gone, so we can’t do anything.”

“Haah. We’ll get scolded by that person.”

“Haah. That person is scary when they’re angry. It’s already troublesome normally.”

“Haah. We’ve really gotten ourselves into a troublesome situation.”

Taking advantage of their master’s absence, the four couldn’t help but vent their grievances before quietly fading away to fulfill their assigned roles.

 

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