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

Episode 307: Isn’t This a Bit Rude?

“So? What is Lewis planning by looking for someone with abilities like mine?”

She had said this during the previous gathering as well, and it seemed that she really had heard from Wilhelm that I was looking for a demon with the ability to amplify human desires, immediately coming to inquire about my plans.

“Before that, I want to ask you. How much has Wilhelm told you?”

“Well, you see, he has an acquaintance who is looking for a demon with the ability to amplify human desires, and because that desire makes people absolutely want to obtain what they wish for, he wanted to introduce me. Also, in a little while, that person will be coming to this country, so he asked me to decide whether or not to cooperate based on my judgment.”

“I see.”

It seems that Wilhelm hadn’t disclosed important operational details to her since she belonged to the conqueror faction; instead, he only communicated that I hoped to get assistance from a demon like her and wanted her to decide what to do when she came to the demon domain.

“Then, first, we should talk about what we are trying to do. Simply put, we plan to instigate a civil war in the Ruzenia Empire.”

“The Ruzenia Empire, huh? That’s the oldest and largest country among humans, isn’t it? Do you have some grudge against it, Lewis?”

“I don’t have any grudges at this point. Besides, that country is also where I was born, so I don’t think I would want to act out of that kind of emotion.”

“Oh, so it’s your hometown? Then, I don’t understand even more; why would you want to incite a civil war in your own hometown?”

Now, this is the problem.

Even if I were to say I wanted to cooperate with the Dragon Kin to revive the Dragon Emperor, I wouldn’t know if she would actually help me, and on the contrary, if I told even a small lie, considering her information-gathering skills, if she cooperated with this matter, in time, this lie would eventually get exposed.

So, this is where I should weave in some truth while mixing in lies, subtly guiding the conversation to arrive at the idea that it ultimately leads to the revival of the Dragon Emperor.

“In truth, there’s a factional struggle taking place in the Empire that’s different from what’s going on here; it’s about the succession to the throne between the First Prince and the Third Prince. The Third Prince’s side is planning to rebel, kill the other royal family members, and then take over the country by making the Third Prince the Emperor. I want to deliberately instigate this rebellion to clean up the trash within the Empire.”

“I see. But here’s my question: if what you’re saying is true, wouldn’t a civil war happen on its own even without someone like me?”

“Ordinarily, that wouldn’t be a problem. However, this rebellion actually has a backstory; there’s a man named Rogurando from the Kingdom of Saramāju, a former royal, who made a pact with a demon and allied with his fellow nobles inside the Empire. His real plan was to get rid of the Third Prince after he became Emperor and put himself in that position instead. Unfortunately for him, we’ve killed Rogurando.”

“Ah, now I see where this is going. So, because that mastermind Rogurando is dead, there’s a chance that the rebellion itself may not happen.”

“That’s right.”

After hearing this explanation, Soware thoughtfully puffed smoke from her pipe, falling silent as she considered something.

“…I think I understand the general situation. However, there’s one thing that bothers me.”

“What is it?”

“In the short time I’ve seen you, Lewis, you don’t strike me as someone who would stir up a civil war just out of a sense of justice for the country and try to exterminate evil. Yet, from what I heard, you didn’t sound like you were lying either; it feels like you’ve skillfully hidden the truth.”

As expected, Soware appears to have a keen intuition; she seems to have realized that I haven’t mentioned the ultimate goal of reviving the Dragon Emperor.

To be honest, is it a little rude of her to conclude that I have no sense of justice after such a brief time spent together?

“I would appreciate it if you could understand that. Look, we haven’t known each other long, right? I think it’s a bit foolish to reveal everything right away as a merchant.”

“That’s true.”

It seems Soware accepted my words, and she didn’t press further.

“So, about the main topic. If I stimulate the desires of the nobles planning the rebellion that I mentioned earlier, would that lead to a civil war as planned?”

“Exactly.”

“Hmm. So? What would I gain by helping you, Lewis?”

Now we are getting into the negotiation part as she uncrosses her legs, resting her chin on the armrest of the sofa, her eyes half-squinted as she studies me.

“Is there anything you desire, Soware?”

“Well, I really like money. Also, I’m fond of rare items.”

“Hmm. Anything else?”

“I also enjoy sweet foods. This country doesn’t have much knowledge of such things, so I have a longing for sweets from the human realm.”

“I see.”

After that, she continued to talk about what she likes and what interests her, subtly hinting that she was interested in our country and meant that I should allow her to trade there as compensation.

“Got it. I’ll cooperate as much as I can.”

“Really? I’m so happy! I’ve longed to be in the human realm. I feel like my dream might come true now!”

Soware smiled in satisfaction, pouring herself a drink from a nearby glass and swallowing it down.

“Then, it’s a deal. I’ll prepare the contract later, so please check it and sign.”

“Understood. By the way, how do you plan to trade in the Empire? There’s quite a distance from here, so it would take too long.”

“That’s where I want you to help me. I’ve heard you can use spatial magic, right? I happen to have a scroll for teleportation magic, and I want you to create a teleportation magic circle with it.”

“You want me to decipher the magic circle drawn on the scroll and create it for you?”

“You catch on quickly. It was you who said you’d help me first, so I trust you’ll keep your promise. You can make it after I finish my task with you, okay?”

“Are you serious?”

Creating magic circles is a field that many brilliant magicians have researched, yet no one has ever succeeded.

There are several reasons for this, but the biggest is that no one has been able to decipher the magical characters inscribed on the magic circle. Even if there were reference materials, they vanished along with the collapse of ancient civilizations, leaving no clues to their meaning.

Some might think it’s the researchers’ job to study this, but in a modern context where there’s not a single piece of documentation and the scroll itself is rare, researching a magic circle from scratch is as hard as conjuring something out of nothing, which has led to the decline of research on magical circles.

Yet, Soware seems to be asking me to do what everyone else has given up on, making me slightly annoyed at how this transaction feels like I’m the one getting the short end of the stick.

“Then, I’d also like to ask one more thing.”

“Another request?”

“As you probably know, no one has ever succeeded in researching magic circles; asking me to do that is quite the request. So shouldn’t you listen to at least one more request?”

“Hmm, that may be true. But isn’t it a bit ridiculous? You’re the one asking me for help, so I have the right to decide on the compensation. It seems a bit selfish to ask for extra requests simply because of perceived unfairness.”

Indeed, she has a point; I am the one making the request, and of course, she has the right to decide on the compensation as the one receiving it.

However, if I back down here, I’ll obviously end up with a contract that puts me at a disadvantage, so I must insist on making an additional request under the same conditions.

“That’s true. However, regarding this contract, you will also benefit from it, Soware. If you refuse this contract, you’ll miss out on the opportunity to acquire immense wealth!”

“What do you mean by that…?”

“Have you ever been to the human realm?”

“Unfortunately, no. I was born and raised here, so I’ve only heard about the human realm from my grandmother.”

“Then you wouldn’t know. The materials and herbs of the monsters that are sold normally in this district are traded at prices several times, if not tens of times higher, in the human realm.”

“Eh?”

As I thought, Soware, who earlier spoke of her longing for the human realm, has never visited, and her knowledge of the market seems to be lacking.

“Since Soware has only ever been in the demon domain, it seems you don’t know, but in our country, it’s not easy to obtain the same strong monster materials or rare herbs as easily as here. For example, the red eye of the Cyclops that is readily sold in this town is something we can find only once every few decades in our country, and its worth is incomparable.”

“Is that really true?”

“Yup. So if you say you really like money and want to get it, selling goods in the human realm would be extremely profitable for you. However, if you reject the contract here and don’t get the teleportation magic circle, then selling goods in the human realm will become difficult for you, and you’ll be passing up this opportunity.”

It seems she had contemplated trading in the human realm before, but as it would be a loss of time and money to go back and forth carrying goods with a journey that takes me nearly two months one way, she likely gave up on it and didn’t particularly investigate the market conditions.

However, with me, who can use spatial magic, appearing before her, she might be thinking that she could execute an abandoned idea, which is likely why she requested the formation of the magic circle as compensation, but it seems she knew nothing about the crucial market value in the human realm.

And this ignorance became an opening for me to exploit, making me wonder what kind of response she would have.

“Tch. You blundered. Were you dazzled by the sudden opportunity? I still have a long way to go, it seems.”

“If you’ll accept an additional request under the same conditions, I’ll help you earn in the human realm. If necessary, I’ll provide information about the market as well as a building for your trading company. Additionally, I will assign someone knowledgeable about the market as an aide. What do you think?”

After hearing my additional proposal, Soware appeared to think for a while, and upon reaching a decision, she smiled with a somewhat resigned expression.

“Ha. I concede, then. I’ll accept that proposal. And I’ll also take on the request.”

“Thank you.”

This time, I was able to tilt the situation in my favor, but it seems that her quick-wittedness means that if I show even a bit of negligence, she’ll immediately try to exploit that to create a more advantageous situation for herself.

Still, it seems she is fundamentally a merchant driven by a desire for money; as long as I clearly explain the benefits she can gain, she is relatively easy to make an ally.

In fact, compared to someone like Bagira, who acts on emotion, having someone collaborate based on mutual benefit is much easier, as long as I continue to provide her with advantages.

So, I decided to ask Soware for one more task: the search for the Moon Spirit.

“So? What is this additional request of yours?”

“Do you know about the Moon Spirit?”

“The Moon Spirit? That’s said to be the first spirit, referred to as the primal spirit, and is believed to have existed alongside the beginning of this world. You’re not suggesting…?”

“That’s right. I want you to find it.”

“Ha. Now that’s a troublesome request, isn’t it?”

The moment Soware learned that my additional request was to search for the Moon Spirit, her expression suddenly turned clearly troubled, and she let out a heavy sigh.

“Is it that troublesome for you?”

“Of course it is! You see, the reason people talk about the existence of ancient civilizations is that artifacts and scrolls that cannot be replicated in the modern day have been discovered.”

“That’s true.”

“In other words, because such artifacts have been found, it is believed that a civilization with superior technology existed in the past. Conversely, if those items hadn’t been uncovered, no one would have even thought that ancient civilizations existed! And as for the primal spirits that supposedly existed even before ancient civilizations…”

“I see. So what you’re saying is that due to the lack of information about the Moon Spirit, which is believed to have existed even before ancient civilizations, searching for it is virtually impossible.”

“That’s exactly it.”

I thought maybe Soware, with her information prowess, would have some insight, but indeed, it seems she only knows of the Moon Spirit’s existence due to the almost complete lack of information regarding it.

“Is there anything else you know about it?”

“Hmm, well, there’s that a hero has recently been born in our country, and I felt the power of the Sun Spirit in the sacred sword he possesses.”

“A hero was born? That’s quite the information. Is it alright if I hear more about that?”

“I don’t mind. After all, this information will eventually reach here anyway, and more importantly, once you start trading in the human realm, you’ll definitely hear about it.”

“That’s right. So, where was that sacred sword found?”

“Inside a dungeon.”

“A dungeon…hmm…”

After saying this, Soware thought for a while, and once she had gathered her thoughts, she looked up and began sharing her hypothesis.

“It seems likely, but perhaps the Moon Spirit is sealed in a dungeon or somewhere nearby.”

“A dungeon or somewhere close, is it?”

“I’ve heard that the Sun Spirit and Moon Spirit are counterparts. So, if one is sealed within a dungeon with the sacred sword, it wouldn’t be surprising if the other one is in a similar situation.”

“I see. That is a plausible possibility.”

As Bernzeal had mentioned, if the sacred sword holding the power of the Sun Spirit was found in the human realm, then something related to the Moon Spirit likely exists somewhere in the demon realm.

And if that sacred sword was sealed in a dungeon, then similarly, something regarding the Moon Spirit might also be sealed within a dungeon.

“It would be better to form some sort of prediction and search rather than blindly searching around.”

“Then, I’ll focus on checking the dungeons and caves in the demon domain.”

“Thanks. If you find anything, please contact a guy named Fon in the Sixth District.”

“Understood.”

For now, that concluded everything I wanted to discuss with her. Once we wrapped up the details for the contract, I remembered one last thing I wanted to ask and decided to pose the question.

“By the way, Soware, why are you in the same conqueror faction as Arrogance? I don’t feel any desire for power or control from you in our conversations, and I’d like to know the reason behind that.”

“Oh, is that what you’re curious about? There’s really no big reason. I just thought it would be a way to make money.”

“Money?”

“I think you probably already know, but in a war, the ones who benefit the most are merchants. Goods like weapons, food, and healing potions can be sold for much higher prices than usual. While Arrogance doesn’t have the concept of money, they possess many rare items and ores.”

“So, you’re cooperating with Arrogance to obtain those rare items and ores in exchange for providing supplies.”

“That’s the gist of it.”

Indeed, she’s correct; the ones who benefit the most from a war aren’t necessarily those who win it but the merchants cooperating within it.

War requires enormous sums of money to manage the land acquired as spoils, and it’s necessary to provide food and weapons to maintain the morale of the soldiers throughout the war.

Since Arrogance’s aim isn’t to resurrect the Demon King but to become the Demon King and rule the world, as Bagira mentioned, Soware seemed to see a business opportunity in that and was likely thinking to make a profit.

“Really, your obsession with money and rare items is something else.”

“Hehe. That’s what we call greed. An insatiable desire for possessions. Whatever I target must absolutely be obtained, and whatever I want will be taken by any means necessary. That’s just who I am.”

“Then I suppose I’ll do my best to ensure this contract isn’t breached.”

“Yes. Please, make sure to keep me firmly tied down so I don’t stray.”

People like her might betray me if they feel it would give them no benefit, but conversely, as long as I keep providing her with those benefits, she could turn out to be a valuable ally, making it much easier to deal with than having emotional ties that can be vague.

After that, I stayed overnight in a lodging room in the gambling hall at Soware’s suggestion and planned to bid her farewell the next day as I aimed for the next district.

 

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