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

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

Chapter 135: Value of Use

After parting ways with Fiera and the others, I stroll alone through a nearby square.

“There’s too many people, it’s annoying.”

The square is filled with examinees, bustling due to the lunch break, and just taking a few steps makes it seem like I might bump into someone, making visibility poor.

“With this many people around, it’s impossible to find them normally. Guess I’ll just use magic.”

Getting tired of searching the usual way, I spread my magic detection across the whole square, looking for Sephiria’s magical wavelength among the multiple magical responses.

“…Found her.”

It seems Sephiria is alone in a corner of the square, so I make my way towards her while avoiding the crowd.

“Can I sit next to you?”

“Ah, yes. Please… take a seat, Louis-sama?”

She’s sitting on a bench alone, a basket on her lap, with a sandwich in one hand while having lunch.

After greeting her, I sit down at a slight distance on the bench.

“Wh-why is Louis-sama here…?”

“That’s my line. Why are you here when you’re supposed to take the exam next year?”

“Well, that’s…”

“Don’t worry about the surroundings. When I came here, I used soundproofing and recognition-inhibiting magic. Just speak freely.”

“…Understood.”

Sephiria glances around, unsure if it’s okay to continue talking, so I press for an answer to my question.

“The reason I came here a year early was selfishly thinking I might be able to help you, Louis-sama.”

“Help me? Not the Hero?”

“Yes. A year ago, on the day I met you, I apologized for my past actions. I wanted to ease my guilt by having you forgive me and escape from my mistakes.

However, you saw through my shallow thinking and did not forgive me… No, you were truly able to treat the past as just that—a past. That’s why you didn’t accept my apology.

When you told me that apologies shouldn’t be demanded, it struck me dearly, and after that, I felt ashamed of my actions.”

Sephiria speaks as if in confession, taking a big breath afterward.

“At that time, I was merely a puppet doing as God commanded, never thinking for myself or acting on my own. I followed the Pope’s orders, the divine will, and the voices of the believers, believing those actions were the correct ones.

But when I looked at past events from a distance, I felt like I was just a mindless doll.

The result of that was blindly following the divine will without question, which led to the outcome of killing you and what you hold dear.”

“And now? Have you changed?”

“Well, I’m not sure. Rather than having changed, I want to change. However, when I tried to think and act for myself, I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do or what I should do. I realized again that I had truly been a mindless doll until now.”

Sephiria says this with a self-deprecating laugh that seems to convey a bit of self-loathing.

“I see. Well, it doesn’t matter to me how you feel about yourself. So? What does your story have to do with coming to the academy a year early?”

“Yes. After I met you, I returned to the kingdom and asked many people about their aspirations and future dreams.

Some kindly shared their thoughts, while others seemed ambitious or outright lied, but those who spoke of their future with someone they love or shared happiness with their family shone so brightly.

Hearing everyone’s stories made me think I also wanted to be of help to someone of my own will, and that’s when you came to mind, Louis-sama. Of course, I don’t have ulterior motives or romantic feelings; I genuinely just want you to be happy and want to help you.”

“I understand your reasoning. But don’t you think your actions are exceedingly selfish? Isn’t it just because you wanted to apologize and felt overwhelmed by your guilt that you think this way? First of all, isn’t it strange for you, who once ruined my happiness, to wish for my happiness now?”

This isn’t me blaming her or getting emotional over the past.

I simply want to understand what she’s thinking and feeling, as there are many differences between this life and the last.

“You’re right. In the end, my desire to be of help to you, Louis-sama, is selfish and can be seen as just self-satisfaction.

Moreover, it is true that I once destroyed your happiness. But this feeling is one I have been able to form on my own for the first time. I don’t want to follow anyone else anymore; I want to follow my own feelings.

So this time, I intend to dedicate my whole life and even my life to being of help to you.”

“If I were to tell you to die right here, would you do it without hesitation?”

“Yes. If that is what you desire, I would gladly die here.”

(I see. She seems serious about this.)

There’s an unwavering resolve in Sephiria’s eyes as she declares she would die, and I can tell she’s genuinely serious without needing to ask anything more.

“I understand you’re serious. But no need to die just yet.”

“Why not?”

“I know firsthand how powerful your holy magic is. It would be a waste to throw it away here. Plus, we need someone to keep an eye on the Hero.”

“So, are you saying there’s still some value in me?”

“Something like that.”

“But there’s also a possibility I might interfere with what you hold dear again, isn’t there?”

“In that case, just kill me. It’s a simple matter, isn’t it?”

It’s not a complicated conversation. If Sephiria tries to kill me again, or if she were to be possessed and turn against me, I could simply kill her then.

“I thought for sure I was disliked.”

“I dislike you. You’re the second most disliked person in this world.”

“Fufu. Is that so?”

“Alright, I’m off to the next exam venue, so don’t you be late either.”

“Yes.”

With that, I stand up from the bench, cancel the magic I had spread around, and head toward the next exam venue at the training ground.

After a while at the training ground where people gathered, a woman dressed as a magician, a man with a sword at his waist, a man in a white robe who looked like a researcher, and a sister entered the training ground.

The training ground is quite spacious, with four stages measuring about 25m each and spectator seats arranged in steps around them.

“Everyone. Thank you for your hard work during the written exam this morning. Did you get a good rest for lunch?”

The male teacher with a sword at his waist speaking on behalf of the four pauses before scanning the examinees.

“You will now take the practical exam. For the practical exam, choose your area of expertise from martial arts, magic, enhancement, or healing and show us your skills. It should be easy enough, right?”

The exam format is quite simple. As explained, you choose one from the four areas and take the exam with the teacher specialized in that field.

The reason for conducting exams this way is a policy of the academy to avoid missing out on talented individuals, as it wouldn’t make sense to have someone bad at magic take a magical exam.

“Now, please split up and line up at your desired examiners.

I will be handling the martial arts exam, the woman next to me will handle magic, the man to the left will handle enhancement, and the sister at the far left will handle healing.

The content of the martial arts exam will be a sparring match with me, while the magic exam will be hitting a target using magic.

For enhancement, you’ll perform enhancement on the weapons we’ve prepared, and for healing, you’ll heal the injured animals we have prepared as well.

Detailed explanations will be given after you split up and reach each examiner.”

Once the overview for the exam was over, the examinees around me started scattering towards their respective examiners, leaving me alone.

(What should I do now?)

Having taken every examiner’s exam in my previous life, I’m fine with any choice.

“Guess I’ll stick with magic.”

If it’s the magic exam, I’ve taken a similar one at the Magic Academy, and besides, I don’t have to move around much, which is convenient.

“Knowing that, I’ll go towards the magic section then.”

With my exam decided, I stifle a yawn while holding back my sleepiness, walking toward the side with the female magic examiner.