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

Episode 334: Only the Tail Wins

“Alright, let’s begin the duel between Lewis Valentine, ranked eleventh in Year 1 Class S, and the Hero Shudo, ranked seventh in Year 1 Class S! Are you both ready?”

“Yes!!”

“Uh, yes…”

“Then, let the duel begin!”

As Lime’s voice echoed through the training grounds, Shudo, who was holding an ordinary sword, kicked off the ground, and thus our duel began.

The situation that led up to this moment happened just a few minutes earlier.

When Shudo demanded I lift the brainwashing on Fiera and the others, my mind briefly gave up on logic, and I started to entertain the idea of just bringing home a bunch of cats and snuggling with them indefinitely.

“I challenge you to a duel to release Fiera and the others from their brainwashing!!”

“……………………Huh?”

I had completely lost track of what he was saying.

I was aware that ever since the incident between Fiera and Shudo, rumors were spreading around the academy that Fiera and the others were brainwashed.

However, if I traced it back to its origin, it was this guy’s statement that started it all. Moreover, it’s him who brainwashed and manipulated people, and I have no intention or any reason to do such a thing.

So, even if he told me to un-brainwash what doesn’t exist, there’s nothing I could do, and there was no value in agreeing to a duel over it.

“Ah, Iris. Where should I start correcting this?”

“I’m sorry, Lord Lewis. It’s such an absurd story that I’m struggling to keep up.”

“Right? Ugh, this is so annoying.”

Of course, I wasn’t brainwashing anyone, but I tried to get take some advice from Iris, who seemed to be under the impression that she was brainwashed, and it appeared that even she, the second smartest person here, couldn’t follow along, apologizing as she replied.

“Is it fun to talk with someone you’ve brainwashed, only receiving the answers you want? I won’t allow such a cruel act!”

“Ugh… wait, what?!”

“Calm down.”

“El, pulling my tail hurts!”

“Sorry about that. But you were about to hit me, so it couldn’t be helped. Also, Sonia and Shuvina, calm down. Don’t use magic. Don’t grip your arrows.”

“But seriously, that statement was infuriating.”

“I want you to stop making a fool of us. I’ll kill him right here!”

Fiera, clearly upset by Shudo’s words, readied to punch him while enveloping her new gauntlet in flames, but before she could act, I yanked on her tail, causing her to whimper like a puppy and glare at me with teary eyes.

I also stopped Sonia, who was about to cast magic, and Shuvina, who was oddly gripping an arrow, but I received looks filled with murderous intent and dissent from both.

Speaking of Shuvina…

Are you really planning to stab that arrow into me with such determination?

“Listen, if we’re going to do this, I’ll handle it. You all stay out of it.”

“If that’s what El says, I wish I could kill him but fine.”

“If Lewis says so, I guess that’s how it will be. But if you do this, do it perfectly.”

“How unfortunate that I wanted to kill him myself. Well, if I could revive him afterward and kill him again, that might be acceptable.”

“Everyone, let’s calm down. We should follow Lord Lewis’s words for now. We can think about what comes next later.”

In the end, Iris miraculously managed to gather everyone, and reluctantly, the other three seemed to agree.

Honestly, dealing with this guy was getting tedious, draining, and I wanted to just eliminate him, but if he turned out to be the trigger for my death rewind, then killing him now would take me back to the past, which meant, according to Aureans, I might never be able to die again. So, I couldn’t afford to kill him carelessly.

Plus, it would have been nice if someone had told me that if I die, I would never gain eternal death again, so they could have also let me know if it was okay to kill this guy too.

“Hey! Are you even listening to me!!!”

“Ah, yeah, yeah. I’m listening. So? What was that again?”

“You… you really weren’t listening, were you?!”

Since the conversation was so absurd and had no significant reference for me, I simply asked for clarification on what he was talking about, which apparently upset Ride, who decided to yell.

“Shut up already! Anyway, what was it? Oh, right. You were saying I brainwashed Fiera and the others and challenged me to a duel because of that.”

“Exactly! If I win, you’ll lift the brainwashing on Fiera and the others!!”

“No.”

“What?!”

Unbelievably, he was shocked by my refusal. His stupid face was a sight to behold, but honestly, I was more surprised at his reaction.

“First off, I’m not brainwashing anyone, so if I lose, all that happens is that I lose. It holds no meaning. And even if I were really brainwashing them, why would I accept a duel to lift the spells? No way. Are you an idiot? You’ve read too many stories.”

It’s true that in fictional stories, the villain often kidnaps the heroine or forces a marriage and uses brainwashing, only for the protagonist to swoop in and save the heroines in the end. That’s a common trope.

However—

When you think about it realistically, the villain has no reason to fight the protagonist honestly, and especially wouldn’t accept a duel based on such a baseless accusation.

That kind of scenario is merely there to escalate the story and make things entertaining for the reader.

“To begin with, why do you think I’m brainwashing Fiera and Iris?”

“Because everyone is saying so! And someone like you, who can ruthlessly harm and kill others, couldn’t possibly be around kind-hearted girls like them for no reason!”

Ugh, my head hurts.

What kind of ridiculous reasoning is that, filled with prejudice?

“You said everyone is saying that, but that’s just a rumor you started by claiming Fiera and the others were brainwashed. So, effectively, you’re the reason everyone is talking about it. Plus, your latter reasoning is just your prejudice. How dare you blame me for that?”

“That can’t be! I heard from a student who was actually brainwashed by you! They said they suddenly fell under your spell, and afterward, they didn’t understand what happened but bad rumors about you spread everywhere! With a victim like that, you must have brainwashed Fiera and the others!”

Wow, that’s bad.

I can’t keep up with this conversation at all.

First off, who exactly is that victim and when did that even happen?

I have no recollection of it whatsoever, so where did this so-called victim come from?

A claim that only the person who experienced it knows about isn’t evidence at all, but it seemed Ride and the others had taken Shudo’s story at face value and began to voice their accusations at me.

“Hey! Good morning everyone!! Wait, what’s with this tense atmosphere?”

Just as I was considering whether to teleport everyone to the Underwater Dwelling to avoid the hassle, Lime, our class teacher, cheerfully entered the classroom and immediately sensed the odd atmosphere, turning her gaze toward us.

“What are you all doing? Classes and everything are about to start!”

“Lime-sensei! Please allow me to duel Lewis Valentine!!”

“Huh? What happened all of a sudden? I don’t understand what’s going on at all!”

Well, of course she wouldn’t.

Walking in and immediately demanding her permission for a duel with absolutely no context would leave anyone confused.

No, even I, who had been listening from the start, found the situation difficult to grasp.

“Lime-sensei, allow me to explain. Actually…”

Sefiria, who had been quietly standing behind Shudo until now, began explaining the circumstances, and gradually, Lime’s initially bright expression started to shift to an increasingly annoyed one.

“Ah, I see. So, Shudo thinks Lewis is using brainwashing magic on Fiera, and he challenged him to a duel to free them, but Lewis isn’t even using brainwashing magic to begin with, so he doesn’t want to accept the duel. And that’s where we are now, correct?”

“Exactly!”

“Teacher! Please! As a hero, I must save Fiera!”

“Uh-huh. Give me a moment to think about this, so be quiet.”

In response to Shudo’s appeal, Lime replied in a low voice, crossing her arms and gazing around the room as if pondering something, her attention eventually landing on me.

“Lewis, you’re not using brainwashing magic, right?”

“Of course not. If I were using such spells, you’d notice for sure, wouldn’t you?”

“That’s true. And even if I didn’t catch it, the headmaster would.”

Anyone knowledgeable about magic could easily discern if a person is under brainwashing by simply checking their condition, yet neither I nor Fiera had ever been mentioned as brainwashed by Lime or Mejina.

That serves as clear evidence that I didn’t use brainwashing, but Shudo clearly couldn’t understand that and was shouting something about using undetectable magic or artifacts.

“Ugh. Let’s do this. How about we let the winner’s claim be the truth? Honestly, Shudo’s request is to win and free Fiera from brainwashing, and Lewis is saying he hasn’t brainwashed anyone, so it holds no meaning either way, right?”

“Yes!”

“Well, that works.”

“Then if Shudo wins, he’ll simply have to do as he said and lift the brainwashing, and if he’s not satisfied, he can ask the headmaster to do it after that. And if Lewis wins, Shudo will have to believe Lewis’ claim that he didn’t brainwash anyone and not say anything further about this matter. How does that sound?”

“Understood!! I will absolutely win and save Fiera!”

“Well, if that’s the case, why not just ask the headmaster from the start…”

“The headmaster is out and isn’t here right now. And besides, we can’t just ask the headmaster to deal with this trivial issue from the get-go. First, we have to make an effort to resolve it ourselves.”

“Ugh. I get it now.”

Sure, if Mejina isn’t around, I can’t rely on her, and Lime also makes a valid point about settling something this trivial by ourselves first.

I understand that, but…

“It would’ve been so much easier if we just sought the headmaster from the beginning.”

Knowing the easiest way to settle something and being unable to use it is a pain, and the fact that just dealing with Shudo itself is annoying makes everything seem like too much trouble, making me want to retreat into my territory.

“El. Need a tail?”

“Please.”

Fiera must have looked exhausted, for she placed her tail on my lap, and I gratefully accepted it, healing my mental fatigue with its fluffy, gentle texture.

After that, we moved to the training hall, changing our first class on short notice. Following Lime’s instructions to ensure fairness, both Shudo and I held ordinary swords, and we stood together in the center of the training area.

And then, the scene returned to the beginning, with Lime’s call marking the start of our duel.