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 338: Favorite Parts

“Haah. I’m tired. Finally done.”

“El. Welcome… back…”

“Ah, I’m home… What’s wrong?”

Right after finishing my duel with Shudo, not wanting to stay with him, I joined Fiera and the others who had been cheering from the opposite side.

However, when Fiera greeted me, her words gradually became more hesitant until, in the end, she just froze and stared at me, a situation mirrored by Iris who was nearby.

“El.”

“What is it?”

“What’s with that outfit?”

“This outfit? Ah, my uniform got burnt in that guy’s attack. So I just threw on a spare uniform jacket for the time being. What’s wrong with that?”

“It’s really seductive…”

“Huh?”

What does she mean by seductive?

To put it simply, I couldn’t even wear a shirt because my arms hadn’t regained their senses, so I just draped the spare uniform jacket over my shoulders, meaning I was in a weird state of half-naked with just the jacket on.

That look shouldn’t be anything resembling seductive; rather, it’s quite strange, isn’t it? I wonder if Fiera is seeing something different.

“That’s Lord Lewis’s body. Such overwhelming beauty of form! It’s as beautiful as a sculpture. Especially that lovely collarbone line!”

“Lewis really looks good in that way. Those chest muscles and abs are truly divine! And those obliques are perfectly defined. I want to touch them!”

“I’ve seen him a few times during our travels, but he’s even more impressive now. By the way, my favorite part is his back!”

“I love those toned arms without a bit of unnecessary fat, with veins bulging out!”

“Hey, what are you all even saying?”

What has suddenly made them freeze like this? Apparently, they were staring at my body and each of them were commenting on their favorite parts without taking their eyes off me for even a moment.

“Why does this make me feel more terrified than embarrassed?”

“Hm. That’s just in your head. More importantly, why are you dressed like that?”

“Well, after Shudo’s last attack, I planned to put on my clothes, but my arms weren’t responding, so I couldn’t fasten the front. Plus, I can’t use storage magic, so I ended up only being able to throw on the uniform I retrieved from my ring.”

“Hm. I understand the situation. Iris, get El a shirt.”

“Got it.”

“Sonia. Make sure nobody can see El’s state.”

“Understood.”

“Shuvina, prepare something for El to drink and a light snack. I think he’s pretty exhausted.”

“Okay!”

“I’ll help El change clothes.”

I don’t really get what’s going on, but Fiera took the lead and assigned roles. Iris handed a spare shirt over to Fiera, went behind me, and without hesitation removed the jacket I’d draped over myself.

Then, Fiera made me put on the shirt Iris had handed her, fastening the buttons starting from the top, and in no time at all, I was all fixed up.

“Done!”

“Ah, thank you!”

Everyone acted like it was perfectly natural from start to finish, and I didn’t feel like saying anything about it.

Still, there’s one thing I want to know.

“Iris, why do you have my shirt?”

Right. What I really want to know is that, and I can ignore the fact that I was seen naked or that I was dressed up, but I can’t overlook the fact that Iris has a shirt that fits me.

“It was handed over by Miria-san. She asked me to have it just in case something happened while I wasn’t around.”

“Oh, I see.”

Now that Miria’s name came up, I could understand why Iris had my shirt, but… it’s kind of strange how just mentioning Miria makes me accept this situation.

It seems like my sense of reality has gotten pretty warped.

After that, we seated ourselves on a nearby step to talk for a bit, downing the drink Shuvina had given me in one go before taking a breather.

By the way, it seems Shudo and the others have already returned to the classroom since they’re not in the training area, leaving just Lime, who’s a bit apart from us, repairing the training grounds with a melancholy air.

“Haah. I’m tired.”

“Mm. Good job.”

“I’m really tired. That guy was way too persistent. How brainwashed do you have to be to really believe all that?”

“That’s true. To begin with, the rumors were based on what he said, so it’s odd to use that as evidence in the first place.”

“Exactly! So why do I have to suffer through all of this?”

“You’re having a tough time, huh? But I’m a bit happy about it too. While you weren’t really up for fighting, in a way, it was a battle to uphold our will. So I’m genuinely happy.”

“I didn’t really intend for that, though.”

“But you did manage to land a surprise strike on Shudo’s face while taking revenge for Fiera, didn’t you? I felt a bit relieved seeing that. If I could wish for more, I’d have wanted you to shave off a bit of his arm or his hair from the top of his head.”

“Ah ha ha. What would that even look like? If that had actually happened, he would’ve ended up with quite a hilarious hairstyle!”

Imagining Shudo with only the front and sides of his hair left after having the top shaved off was too ridiculous, making me chuckle a little.

“El. So cute!”

“Lord Lewis, you whine and laugh adorably when you’re tired, don’t you? It makes my heart flutter.”

“Is this what they call a gap, like I read in a book before? It’s certainly nice.”

“I like the usual cool Lewis, but this vulnerable and childish side of you is nice too. My heart feels so tight right now; I simply adore you! Is this what they call maternal instinct?”

“Ah, right, right.”

The fact that they would say such things upon seeing me like this is probably something only they would do.

Remembering that I actually wanted to ask Fiera something, I changed the subject.

“By the way, Fiera…”

“Hm?”

“At the end there, you told me to pull myself together. Why did you think I was acting strange?”

That’s about when I was fighting Shudo, and I was about to be swallowed by that dark, murky something rising from deep within my chest.

But thanks to Fiera telling me to pull it together, I was able to regain my sanity.

“Mm. El’s fighting style was weird today.”

“Weird style?”

“Mm. Usually, El only taunts by pointing out weaknesses or things that the opponent might be concerned about. But today, it felt like you were directing them, teaching them the effects and methods of their magic. That’s not how you fight, El. So I thought that was strange.”

“I see. That makes sense.”

As Fiera pointed out, normally I wouldn’t fight like that without a reason, especially not against someone like Shudo, making it even more unthinkable.

Yet, I had acted in that unbelievable way, believing that it was just the right course of action.

As if it was the correct behavior and the way it should be.

(At that time, I thought that acting like that was fitting for a villain. But why did I think that?)

Looking back now, while I had behaved villainously in the past, most of those instances happened in front of Shudo.

For example, my first life went without saying, my fourth was where I got taken over and became a villain.

In my fifth life, I tried to assassinate Shudo, and in the seventh one, after my parents were killed, I became the perfect villain.

When I think about it like this, my turn to villainy always seemed to happen when facing Shudo, and even in this life, when I faced Saramāju, I had taunted him, playing the part of a villain.

And in this case, I had been trying to act villainously under some influence, but that sensation back then felt just like…

(The same feeling as when I lost consciousness in my fourth life.)

Yes. That sensation of being controlled was the same as the time I lost consciousness in my fourth life and unknowingly hurt Miria, leaving me with an uncomfortable feeling as if Lewis Valentine should be a certain way.

“Correction power… huh?”

Correction power refers to that mysterious force trying to revert something that veered off track back to its original form, and since it feels like it’s trying to correct something wrong into the right shape, that’s what I call it.

In this life, when we first entered the academy, Shudo was supposed to awaken for the first time during the elevation exam when we’d be attacked by thieves. However, since we were the ones leading him, everything went smoothly and he didn’t awaken that day.

But come tournament time, just like in the past, Shudo had already completed his first awakening, and afterward, he became a Hero just like before.

From that, I began to think that there might be something like correction power, and it appears I was right.

“And this time, I was the target of that, huh? Haah, what a pain.”

“El. What’s wrong?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

“Hm. That tickles.”

Saying that, I touched Fiera’s soft ears to soothe my fatigued mind. The fluffy fur and slightly cool texture felt perfectly comforting and calming.

Even so, I really need to think seriously about this correction power for the future, but fundamentally, it seems it’s not something I can defend against like Shudo’s brainwashing, making me ponder on what to do even more.

“For now, let’s return to the classroom. If we stay any longer, I feel like that person will start telling us to help out.”

“Mm. Understood.”

However, with my head not working well due to exhaustion, I postponed thinking for now, and we aimed to escape from Lime, who’d been silently watching us, as we headed back to the classroom.

By the way, watching Lime grumble to herself while repairing the training ground was somewhat entertaining.