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

Chapter 298: The Powers of the Seven Sins

“Companions?”

“That’s right. The fact that you can talk to me like this means you know where that power comes from, right? So, you must have anticipated this would happen?”

“Well, yeah.”

As Bagira said, I had somewhat expected the conversation to go this way before arriving here, and one of the topics was undoubtedly being invited to join his group.

“When I learned that the power I possess is connected to that Demon King, I figured you’d say that.”

“Then this should be quick. So? What’s your answer?”

“I refuse.”

“Ha ha ha. As expected.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, I rejected Bagira’s offer, but he smiled, clearly pleased that my response was what he anticipated.

“Did you know how I would answer?”

“Well, kinda. If I had to summarize the stories I’ve heard from Wilhelm and my impressions of you in person, I’d say you’re the perfected version of a human being.”

“Perfected version?”

“Yeah. Someone who doesn’t need to group up with anyone, doesn’t open their heart to anyone, and can live entirely on their own. A being that is complete just with their own power and knowledge. That’s the impression I got of Lewis Valentine.”

“That’s quite the assessment.”

“Ha ha. But it’s not entirely wrong, is it? Even if you were the only one left in this world, you’d still find a way to accomplish your goals.”

“Maybe.”

It’s the first time anyone’s called me a perfected version of a human, but I recognized that if I were the last person left in this world, I would likely do whatever it takes to achieve my wishes, just as Bagira said.

“So, when someone like you is asked to be a companion, I figured you’d never nod.”

“Is that so? Then what are you going to do? Kill me here?”

“Ha ha! No way! If I intended to kill you from the start, I would have done it ages ago.”

“That’s a fair point.”

I still didn’t know the extent of Bagira’s strength or his limits, but if he genuinely intended to kill me from the beginning, it would have been easier to do so when I was weakened.

“Then what are you planning to do? I have no intention of joining your group.”

“I know that. So, here’s another proposal. How about being a collaborator instead of a companion?”

“Collaborator? What’s the difference?”

“Simply put, I’ll need your power when the time arises, and all you have to do is cooperate a little then. I won’t ask for anything more than that, and outside of those times, you’re free to move as you wish.”

“Hmm. What if I refuse that too?”

“Nothing will happen. Since nothing happens, I won’t have anything more to say to you, and we won’t meet again.”

On the surface, Bagira’s proposal seemed like there were no drawbacks to turning it down, but his words about not having anything more to discuss carried an implied threat of withholding the information I wanted about the Demon King.

“Sigh. Fine. I’ll cooperate.”

“Ha ha. Good judgment. Well, I was going to talk about the Demon King and our abilities from the start, but since you’ve agreed to cooperate, you should be thankful.”

“Tch. I fell for it.”

“Don’t say that. You already disrupted my plan once. Though, you gave over the Saramāju folks to us, so that cleared things up.”

“What was the plan?”

“Oh, that? It’s to use the king of the Magic Kingdom as a puppet to gather magic power and resurrect the Demon King.”

It was only then that I vaguely remembered that the king of the Magic Kingdom was indeed colluding with the Demon Race in the background, conducting human experiments using the villages, and that the king had been aiming to destroy Sonia’s family.

“So, you were conducting human experiments in a village near that kingdom?”

“Ah, no, that’s different. My plan was to use the king of the Magic Kingdom to create chaos in the nation and have many corpses of magicians to gather magic power. You see, to resurrect the Demon King, a lot of magic power is necessary, and the Magic Kingdom was the best place to gather that power. That’s why I intended to incite a rebellion to kill a lot of people and collect magic power.”

“Then who was conducting the experiments?”

“That was done by other Demon Races. It seems that king was quite greedy and was making deals with Demons other than us. Well, it didn’t harm us, so we left them alone, but ultimately, you messed everything up.”

“Hmm.”

“Oh, and just so you know, it was the king who first tried to kill your woman. Sure, we also thought to eliminate the descendant of the first sage since they were a nuisance. But that king had already been planning to kill your woman and her family before we made contact. So, stop blaming me for that, alright?”

“Huh? Ah, I don’t really feel any particular way about that. And stop calling her ‘my woman.’ We’re not in that kind of relationship.”

I denied my relationship with Sonia like that, but it seemed like Bagira still didn’t believe me as he grinned like a mischievous older brother enjoying his younger sibling’s love life.

However, while I hadn’t intentionally ruined Bagira’s plan, it seemed that fate truly exists, as our meeting—me, who unknowingly wrecked Bagira’s scheme to destroy the Magic Kingdom—could be called a strange twist of fate.

“For now, I understand the story about the Magic Kingdom. But that’s all in the past, right? More importantly, let’s talk quickly about the connection between the Demon King and this ability of mine.”

“Geez. You’re really impatient. Alright then, let’s start by confirming: how much do you know about your own ability?”

“Not much. I know it’s related to the Demon King, and that I was told to resurrect him.”

“Tsk, you really haven’t heard much at all, have you?”

“I was also told to ask you.”

Though I had been spoken to about the moon spirit and the future, there was no need for us to discuss such personal matters since Bagira and I weren’t that close.

“Seems the one inside you is quite a laid-back character.”

“Maybe.”

“Well, it can’t be helped. Let me start from the beginning.”

“Ah, please do.”

“Okay, let’s start with a tale from ancient times. First, you know that the Fantastical Races, including the Demon King, were not just legends but actual beings, right?”

“They were? From the past tense, I take it they must be sealed somewhere.”

“That’s correct. By the way, just to confirm, when do humans believe the Fantastical Races existed?”

“In the era of ancient civilizations.”

Ancient civilization refers to the long-gone civilization believed to have existed about 15,000 years ago, boasting superior magical technologies and magical tool skills compared to the present day. Even now, artifacts and scrolls from that era can’t be deciphered or restored due to their advanced technology.

However, no books or records explain why such a golden age came to an end, leading it to be considered an unknown period that remains unresolved.

“Just like us. Among the Demon Race, it’s said that the Fantastical Races, including the Demon King, existed during the era of ancient civilization.”

“Then why were they sealed?”

“Sadly, I don’t know that either. I asked my ability about it once, but it seems the memories before the current Demon Domain was created are mostly forgotten.”

“Hmm. So? What’s the connection between the Demon King and our abilities?”

“To put it simply, the ability we have originally belonged to the Demon King as a certain magic. It’s called ‘Original Sin Magic.'”

“Original Sin Magic…”

“I don’t know much about that ability, but it seems the Demon King merged part of his soul with that magic to create the power known as the ‘Powers of the Seven Sins,’ which includes Pride, Wrath, Greed, Lust, Sloth, Envy, and your Gluttony. He then bestowed this power to the seven members who were his companions at that time, directly engraving this power into their souls. By the way, my ability is ‘Power of Wrath.'”

Hearing about something like Original Sin Magic was completely new to me, so I had no idea what kind of magic it was; however, thanks to Bagira’s explanation, I could grasp the general connection between my Gluttony power and the Demon King.

“And the powers marked in the souls remain tied to that soul, so even if they’re reincarnated, the abilities won’t disappear, regardless of how their appearance changes.”

“So, you’re saying I was a Demon in my past life and a companion of the Demon King?”

“That’s probably the case.”

I had considered the possibility that my past life was related to the Demon King after speaking with Berunzel in the spiritual world, but I never thought it would become nearly certain like this.

“Also, it seems that every owner of those powers… meaning the ones from our past lives, were all definitely Demons.”

“All were definitely Demons? But I’m a human now! Even if my past life was a Demon, why am I not one now?”

“I can’t say. But one thing is for sure: in the approximately 1,800 years since the current Demon Domain was created, no being with the Power of Gluttony has ever shown up here.”

“Huh? What does that even mean?”

“You heard from Wilhelm, right? This country has seven districts, but not a single representative has shown themselves from a specific district since the founding of the country, so there’s one district no one has held.”

“You’re not saying that’s…”

“Exactly. That’s the Sixth District, where the owner of the Power of Gluttony is supposed to be… in other words, it’s you.”

I am the master of the Sixth District and the owner of the Power of Gluttony, who has never shown themselves.

That means I have no records from the past, like Bagira and the others, and I have no idea where I was, what I was doing, or what my race or name was, let alone my personality.

“You might have noticed, but the Powers of the Seven Sins, since they were originally one, have a tendency to attract each other, and there’s an unconscious sense of belonging to the place where the former self lived. In fact, even though my origin is from another continent across the sea, I somehow crossed the ocean and ended up in this country. Also, some of the others were originally from this country, while some like me came from elsewhere. But you are the only one who’s different. The being with the Power of Gluttony has never shown up or left any trace behind. What were you doing, and where were you in the past?”

“……..”

I couldn’t answer Bagira’s question.

Of course, it’s only natural I lack memories from a life before being Lewis Valentine, but more than that, I felt like I was overlooking something significant.

 

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