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

Episode 284: Go Ahead and Leave

One week after Mejina left for the southeastern village, that night.

After having dinner in the dining hall, I returned to my room and found a letter placed on the desk.

“Oh. Finally arrived, huh?”

At first glance, the letter appeared to be simply sitting on the desk, but in reality, it was concealed with illusion magic, cleverly hidden to the point that ordinary skill couldn’t uncover it.

“It seems Miria didn’t notice this letter either.”

Although Miria’s magical skills had significantly improved compared to before, her original magical talent wasn’t particularly high, so even she likely couldn’t notice it.

“Let’s see…”

I picked up the letter, broke the seal, and quickly skimmed through the contents.

“Hmm. ‘Come alone to the Demon Nation Imperial in two months,’ huh?”

The letter began with a proper greeting, followed by reports and expressions of gratitude regarding Saramāju, and after skimming it all festively, only toward the end did it finally get to the main point in about two lines.

“Only two lines for the most important part? Are they underestimating me? Ugh, I really hate how reckless demons can be!”

Demons, of course, possess intelligence, but they lack the manners and common sense that humans have, driven only by the instinct to obey the strong and follow their own desires.

“Sigh. Whatever. What’s really troubling is this. Ah, alone, huh? What should I do about those guys?”

Yes. What troubled me the most was the part of the letter that said to come alone, raising anxiety over whether about six people would actually listen to me.

“No, Iris should be fine if I send her home this time. That leaves five people. Ugh, this is seriously more troublesome than just heading to the Demon Domain.”

I spent quite a while agonizing over how to convince Fiera and the others about this utterly trivial matter.

The next day.

As someone who loved to sleep, I had spent so much time thinking that I ended up feeling too lazy to think at all. I quickly gathered Fiera and the others in the S-Class exclusive garden just to convey the message.

Of course, I also made sure to use the disconnected world to avoid the bothersome guys barging in, even if it consumed lots of magic power.

“So, the reason I gathered you all here—before that, I want to confirm. Why is Sharueina here?”

“Huh? Me?”

What caught my attention was Sharueina, who seemed to sit there as if it were only natural for her to be part of this group. She looked at me with an expression that seemed to say, “What’s the big deal?”

“Right. I called Fiera and the others because they understand how they feel about me, but Sharueina definitely doesn’t have those feelings, right? So, I don’t think you need to be here.”

“Haha. Is that so? It’s true that I don’t have the same feelings as Fiera and the others right now. However, I’ve been granted permission from your mother to take responsibility in case of an emergency, and we haven’t seen each other much lately, have we? So I think I have more than enough reason to join this time.”

“No, that was just a joke your mother made.”

“A joke? You know more than anyone that Lady Elize doesn’t joke around regarding this kind of stuff.”

“…Sigh. Fine. Whatever.”

“Haha. Thanks.”

Bringing up my mother here felt a bit sneaky, but it was true that Sharueina was right; my mother hardly ever lied about matters relating to love, and when it came to someone she views like a daughter as she did with Sharueina, jokes or lies were impossible.

“So, Lewis. Why did you gather us?”

“Hmm. I’m curious about the reason.”

“Ah, that’s…”

It wasn’t going the way I wanted right from the start, and as I hesitated thinking about whether I could continue, it actually made things worse as their gazes turned sharply towards me in an instant.

“El. Are you hiding something?”

“Or is it something we shouldn’t know?”

“Oh my. That’s something I’m curious about too. Of course, you’ll tell us everything, right?”

“Lord Lewis, I believe everyone has their secrets, but is it something so serious you can’t even talk about it?”

“I have the Eyes of Truth, you know. Don’t forget that even if you lie, it will be revealed immediately.”

“I’m ready to hear any story.”

Maybe I should call them too perceptive; standing in front of them, who could hit the nail on the head with just a slight reaction, made me feel as if I were somehow being scolded for nothing.

Maybe because of that, everything started to feel cumbersome, and I decided to stop being roundabout, choosing to speak directly in my own style.

“I’ve decided to leave the academy for a while. Also, I won’t be bringing anyone along this time. No objections or counterarguments accepted. This is a done deal, so just deal with it.”

『…………』

A moment of silence.

I didn’t know what this silence was about, but nobody spoke, and only a quiet time passed by.

“Fiera?”

Amongst that, the first to act was indeed Fiera, who stood up and suddenly pulled out food, drinks, and even a plush toy that looked remarkably like Fiera herself—from a wristband imbued with storage magic.

“What are you doing?”

“Take this with you.”

“Huh?”

Following Fiera, Iris and the others also stood up and began pulling out various travel necessities from their magical tools, even showing me plush toys that looked like themselves for some reason.

“Um, I want to ask many things, but first, what’s with that plush toy?”

“Embarrassingly, it’s a plush toy I made. Originally, I was making a plush toy of Lord Lewis, but I changed things up and made one of all of you instead, which was very well received.”

“Oh, I see.”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t fully understand what Miria was saying from start to finish, but I felt that I shouldn’t pry any further.

“So, what about that food and magic tools?”

“I don’t know how far you’ll go, but if you’re in a hurry, you probably won’t have time to stop by towns or villages. So, fill up your storage magic with a lot of food. It’s fine; I’ve set aside some for myself.”

“No, I’m not worried about that…”

I’m not starving like Shuvina, so I only packed the bare minimum in storage, but it seemed like she wanted to share her precious supplies with me, knowing my nature.

“I’m not as desperate as you, but I made some magic tools too. Mainly focused on dark magic, though they’re all things that hide your presence or disguise you. Make sure to use them and rest whenever you can. I’ll have the birds summoned by my summoning magic keep an eye on you to make sure you’re resting properly.”

“That sounds pretty creepy…”

Indeed, as Sonia said, the tools would be incredibly useful for conserving magic while camping out or hiding from monsters, but the last sentence made me feel unnervingly anxious.

“I’ll give you healing potions. They not only cure injuries but also alleviate fatigue and mental stress. Just keep in mind that overconsumption can lead to addiction.”

“Ah, understood.”

Sefiria’s healing potions were indeed helpful; considering the long hours of travel ahead, I was grateful for the healing potions, but honestly, the side effects of a saintess’s brew were scary.

“I will give you a full set of poison. Paralysis, skin irritation, hallucinations, phantom pain, lethal poison, slow-acting poison, and even a truth serum; I’ve prepared a full range of poisons for you.”

“Uh-huh.”

I received a full set of poisons from Miria, but I couldn’t help but wonder if it was even safe to use them normally.

Anxiety had overwhelmed me.

“I don’t particularly have anything to offer, so here’s a royal insignia. With this, you should be able to pass through the Empire without hassle. Well, you don’t have to use it if you don’t want to stand out.”

“Got it.”

The royal insignia handed over by Sharueina would certainly be quite useful to pass through several checkpoints ahead.

This is genuinely helpful.

“I don’t have anything new to offer, so instead, I’ll return this.”

“The Cloak of the Misty Hermit. Come to think of it, I never got it back.”

The item handed to me by Iris was the Cloak of the Misty Hermit I had lent her on the way to Saramāju, allowing me to hide if someone were targeting me.

“El. We may not know what you’re going to do, and we’re curious about it, but we won’t ask. You have your reasons, El, and that hasn’t changed since we first met. So, we won’t interfere with what you choose to do. Of course, it’s sad that you won’t share, and it’s heartbreaking to be left behind. But more than that, we hope you can achieve your desires, no matter what they are.”

“Fiera…”

“And, remember, there’s no guarantee of the future. We have no clue what will happen to you and us, or whether we’ll be next to you then, but if you can end up satisfied and smiling at the end, then we’ll surely be happy too. So, go do what you want. I’ll always be by your side.”

Right.

Fiera had always respected my thoughts, cherishing my feelings.

Therefore, it was absurd to stop and worry about them now because I didn’t need to care if someone might be in a bad mood.

It seemed I had gotten just a bit too accustomed to having people around me in this world, inadvertently developing a tendency to worry about them.

“Yeah. You’re right, Fiera. You always understand me better than I do.”

“Hehe. Of course.”

I am me.

Having died many times, rewound time again and again, and lived again as the person I am, what I desired was simply eternal death.

In that final destination, even if no one was at my side, if I could die, then I would reach out and grasp it.

I had been hoping for that future all along.

So, I couldn’t stop now, and there was no need for pointless worries.

“Thank you. I’ll make sure to use everything you gave me effectively.”

With that, I grinned, and seeing me do so, Fiera and the others smiled back with satisfaction.

“Yep. That’s so you.”

“Sigh. Finally, you’re back to being the usual Lewis.”

“That’s true. That smile is just so cool, it gets me every time.”

“I feel you. It’s like seeing that mischievous smile of yours makes things more fun.”

“Hehe. Please proceed as you wish.”

“Lord Lewis, I’ll always be waiting for your return.”

“Seriously, Is, you’re loved by everyone.”

Finally, when Sharueina said that with an exasperated yet envious expression, the discussions in this gathering came to an end.

Well, in the end, I ended up being presented with plush toys resembling me from everyone, making for quite an unsatisfying conclusion, but considering all the support without questions, I thought it wouldn’t be so bad to accept these.

 

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