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

Episode 325: Nostalgia

An hour had passed since we engaged with the swarm of wyverns.

Having found a cave, we entered and took turns resting while assessing our current situation.

“Still, moving while constantly on guard is exhausting. Is it normal for a dungeon with no information to be this mentally taxing?”

“Yeah. Seeing everyone else looking pretty worn out, they might be feeling more fatigued than you.”

It’s only natural, but it’s my first time in this dungeon, and there’s not a scrap of information.

What kinds of monsters will appear? How spacious is it? Are there traps? How many floors are there, anyway?

Having to be wary of all these uncertainties and navigate these murky paths can really take a toll on the mind. Even Olga, tough as he is, shows signs of fatigue on his face, so members weaker than him must be struggling quite a bit.

“That’s quite a formal way to put it. Aren’t you feeling mentally drained?”

“Not really. You and I are fundamentally different, so I don’t get mentally fatigued over stuff like this.”

“Oh, I see. You are that type of guy.”

Olga and I certainly get along and can chat easily, but unfortunately, we differ at a fundamental level.

Olga values his comrades dearly and would stake his life to protect them, but he’s not someone who craves death.

In contrast, I don’t risk my life for anyone.

I always stake my life solely for myself, and honestly, I’ve never thought my life was particularly precious.

So even though I’m somewhat cautious, I really don’t care if I’m attacked by monsters or fall into some trap; it doesn’t mentally exhaust me as much as it does for them.

“And besides, in Olga’s case, he’s responsible for the lives of his teammates. That probably adds to his fatigue.”

“If you’re saying that, what about you with Fiera and her girls?”

“Well, sure, they’re here, but I’ve never held their lives in my hands. They chose to follow us of their own will, so their lives are theirs. Therefore, I don’t get worried and fatigued like you do.”

“I get it now.”

As Olga said, while Fiera and the others are indeed here as my comrades, I don’t carry the burden of their lives.

Each one of them acts with a fixed resolve to face death, and if they die, that’s on them, recognizing their own lack of ability.

Moreover, just because it’s an unknown dungeon doesn’t mean they’re weak enough to be easily taken out, so I don’t think about them much.

“Looks like you trust them.”

“Trust… Well, I acknowledge their skills.”

As I replied to Olga, I turned my gaze outside the cave and spotted Fiera and the others happily playing with Dōna.

“Heh. I see.”

With a slight smile, Olga looked at me and then sat up to start the next topic.

“Alright then. Let’s check the current situation.”

“Sounds good.”

“First off, it’s been about an hour and a half since we entered the dungeon, but the monsters are tough, so we haven’t progressed as much as we’d hoped. We’re heading straight from the entrance, but we still haven’t found a wall to mark the end.”

As Olga said, the pace of our dungeon exploration wasn’t very good; only time, stamina, and mental strength were being depleted.

That’s because all the monsters that appeared were of higher rank. Starting with the wyvern, there were others like the mutated red ogres, classified as B-rank, and A-rank flaming wyverns, all powerful monsters.

“With that, I think we need to change plans a bit and split into two groups, even if it’s early.”

“Weren’t we initially planning for three groups?”

“That was the intention, but the monsters’ levels are higher than expected. I’m not worried about you guys, but my teammates are uncertain.”

“I see. I don’t mind, but won’t that further slow down our exploration pace?”

“Yeah. That’s where I need a favor from you.”

“What is it?”

“Ugh. It’s really pitiful to say, but I want Air and the others to roam freely and explore as much of the first floor as possible.”

“Is that really okay? That basically means you’re asking us to clear this floor for you.”

“It’s fine. You guys are part of my clan, so contract-wise, there’s no problem. Besides, no life can be weighed against them. In that aspect, I acknowledge your skills, and I believe you’ll handle it just fine.”

“Got it.”

Olga likely wanted to take the lead in exploring this floor. However, for someone who cares about his teammates, their lives seem to matter more than his pride, and he decided to let us handle most of the exploration this time.

“Understood. Then we’ll investigate this floor thoroughly while you continue exploring with caution just as before.”

“Sorry for asking such a pathetic favor.”

“Don’t worry about it. I know you care for your teammates, and it’s easier for me this way too. Just make sure not to let your precious comrades die. Fiera and the others seem to like the members of the Black Lion’s Judgment too, so they’d be really sad if even one of them left us.”

“Thank you.”

Afterward, we confirmed our routes while trying to minimize overlapping exploration areas, finally deciding to meet back at this spot as we split into two groups.

“Will Olga and the others be alright?”

“They should be fine. If anything happens, they can use teleport magic to move quickly, and they’ve got senses to keep tabs on their location. More importantly, the next wave is coming.”

“Got it.”

Once we parted ways with Olga and the others, now free from restrictions, we used body enhancement to run as we deftly explored the dungeon with my detection magic launched for efficient searching.

“GYUAAAH!!!”

“Shut up!”

Before us stood a red wyvern preparing to unleash its fire breath with its racial magic. But before it could, Fiera jumped, kicked its lower jaw upwards, causing the breath to explode inside its mouth, and the headless body fell, transforming into a magic stone.

“Shuvi, recover the magic stones.”

“Ugh. I’m not Fiera’s errand girl, you know?”

Shuvina grumbled as she used wind magic to retrieve the magic stone that was about to fall into lava, storing it in her magic bag.

“Air, I’m done over here!”

“When fighting ogres, I recall the time Air saved me long ago. I was surprised that Fiera was with us back then.”

“I’ve collected all the magic stones, so no worries.”

“Dōna also helped!”

“Thanks!”

Returning alongside Sonia’s group, who had been engaged with a red ogre from the other side.

“Still, this dungeon really feels quite expansive. Plus, the monsters are way stronger compared to regular dungeons. So, this really is a gate-type dungeon.”

“True. Although it’s spacious, even when you were chased to near death by that cow-type monster in the ‘Endless Land,’ there were still walls. This place must have some walls too.”

“You have a nice way of putting things.”

“Nostalgia.”

When I spoke of the time I first met Shuvina, she glared at me, a bit pouty, while Fiera reminisced about that time along with Dōna, who also knew what knew about it.

“Don’t pout like that. In the end, we’ve grown stronger like this, so it’s all good. And besides, it’s fun with all these strong monsters around.”

I looked toward the direction where the sense detection picked up movement, finding dozens of birds enveloped in flames flying straight toward us.

I reached out my right hand toward the birds, slowly opening it as if to grasp something tightly.

“Space Manipulation.”

The moment I completely clenched my fist, the flying birds vanished as if they’d never existed, with only the magic stones falling to the ground.

“Shuvina, recover.”

“Sigh. Even you think I’m just an errand girl now?”

Shuvina groused but collected the magic stones just like with Fiera, putting them in her magic bag.

“Stop complaining. You can fight next time if you want.”

“That’s fine. I’m not that keen on fighting anyway, and it seems you’ve been holding back as well. Go ahead and fight as you wish.”

“I see. Then I’ll take you up on that.”

Since Shuvina encouraged us to fight freely, Fiera and I decided to leave all the magic stone recoveries to her afterward, letting loose as we rampaged on.

 

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