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 98: Expulsion

~Side Demon Race Male~

A male demon was desperately running through the forest, unable to believe the scene he had just witnessed, urging himself to flee with all his might.

(No way! Why can that human wield such power? That power is…)

The man continued to sprint through the dark woods, determined to inform his master of this fact as quickly as possible.

(That power was the same as that of my masters. I don’t know why that human possessed it, but it seems the seat that has been unfilled for so long is finally getting occupied.)

The last seat that had long been vacant. The thought of it finally being filled made the man smile with joy, unable to contain himself.

(However, I never expected a human to obtain such power. It’s a bit troublesome, but it seems that human has no interest in those of his own kind. If that’s the case, it should be easy to draw him to our side—all for the revival of the Demon King!)

The demon man kept running without resting, heading back to the Demon Domain where his master awaited.

~Side Lewis~

It has already been a week since I returned from the King’s place. That day, the streets were noisy with chatter from morning, as everyone gathered in front of the Royal Castle.

There, just as he looked a week ago, the King with his hollow eyes appeared, starting to speak to the gathered crowd.

“I thank you all for gathering here on such short notice. The reason for your assembly today is that I must apologize to everyone.”

As the people exchanged murmurs upon hearing the King’s unexpected apology, a wave of unease spread among them.

“I, as King and as a human, have committed an unforgivable sin.

I allied with the Demon Race, taking orphaned children, and handed over an entire village as their experiment site.

This sin cannot be atoned for, and no apology can ever make it right.

Therefore, I shall abdicate today and retire to the Northern Tower.

Furthermore, my entire lineage shall renounce any claim to the throne, and the next King shall be entrusted to another family that bears the blood of the First Sage’s disciple.

Lastly, I sincerely apologize to all of you.”

With those words, the King bowed his head, and silence enveloped the area.

The Northern Tower is a place where those who have committed great sins are imprisoned, one where no freedoms are allowed.

Once entered, that individual will never again see the outside world and will be buried in the dark graveyard within the tower, with no name left behind.

While alive in the tower, they become tools for draining magical power, used only for charging artificial magic stones or during experiments using magic.

It is a place so dreadful that one might think it better to die, entirely fitting for someone who has committed such a grave sin.

“How outrageous!”

“You’re the worst!”

“Die, you traitor!”

“Traitor of the Human Race!”

As if the sorrow of their King had finally reached their minds, the previously silent mob erupted with ruthless words, hurling abuse at him one after another.

Yet, the King continued to listen to it all with his vacant gaze. Finally, he bowed his head one last time before leaving.

“Hmm. Well, that’s… fine. If I had to nitpick, it would have been nice to see him suffer with a little more self-awareness, but he still can’t control his power. At least he followed orders.”

From a roof a bit further away, I watched the scene unfold, contemplating the challenges that lay ahead before leaping down to join Fiera and the others waiting below.

“What’s next?”

“We’re going to the academy. If we’re getting expelled, we need to say our goodbyes properly.”

“You really have some weird sense of duty, don’t you?”

Shuvina followed us as we headed toward the academy, looking somewhat exasperated.

“By the way, are you guys okay with this? You were friends with Sonia, right? Fiera, fine, but Shuvina, don’t you have an option to stay?”

“That’s true. While I did become friends with Sonia, compared to continuing adventuring with Eir and the others, this is more important to me.

Besides, I feel like I could learn a lot more by following you than by attending that academy.”

When I glanced at Shuvina, I didn’t sense any insincerity or false emotions in her words.

“I see. Well, I don’t plan on teaching you or anything.”

“I’m not expecting you to teach me from scratch. I’ll learn just by watching you, so don’t worry about it.”

With that, we continued walking in silence toward the academy.

Arriving around noon, we headed to the room assigned by the teachers and called out to our homeroom teacher, Hamiru.

“Mr. Hamiru, do you have a moment?”

“Hmm? Oh, it’s you guys. I didn’t think you’d come today. What’s going on at this hour?”

“Well, we’ve decided to get expelled today, and we brought our expulsion requests.”

“I see, expulsion, huh? Got it. Just a moment… Expulsion?!”

Hamiru stood up, clearly taken aback, exclaiming loudly at our announcement.

“Calm down!”

“S-sorry! But why are you suddenly expelling yourselves…?”

“Simply put, there wasn’t much for us to learn here.”

“Wooow. You really shouldn’t say that to a teacher’s face, you know? Didn’t you have something like ‘it wasn’t what I expected’ or ‘I have other things I want to do’? Well, to be fair, there probably isn’t much for you to learn at this academy with your levels.”

After hearing my reason for expulsion, Hamiru sighed in exasperation.

“Well, since that’s the case, we’ll be leaving. Here’s our expulsion request. Please take care of it.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll handle the paperwork. Seriously, just when things got busy due to the King, more troublesome stuff pops up… Oh, and Eir?”

“Yes?”

“The academy head asked me to tell you that you can come by anytime.”

“Understood.”

I didn’t know what the head of the academy wanted, but I had to go since I was already called, and I had originally intended to stop by for a final goodbye anyway, so the head’s invitation was perfect.

After leaving Hamiru’s room, I asked if Fiera and the others would accompany me, but they declined as they wanted to meet Sonia.

Thus, I arrived alone at the room of the academy head, knocked, and waited for a response.

“Come in.”

“Excuse me.”

Upon entering the room, I found the head of the academy, busy with work while seated, and it had been since the day of the entrance exam since we last met.

“Thanks for coming. Have a seat over there.”

“Yes.”

I walked into the room and sat on the sofa in the center, as tea floated through the air and landed on the table thanks to magic.

“Go ahead and drink that while you wait. I’ll be done shortly.”

“Understood.”

After waiting for a bit, the academy head finally sat down on the sofa across from me after finishing his paperwork.

“Ugh, this paperwork is tough on an old body.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Hoho, thank you.”

The head poured himself some tea, took a sip, sighed, and finally transitioned into the main topic of conversation.

“Ah, but you really did something, didn’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about the King. You were the one who did that to him, weren’t you?”

“Who knows what you’re talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb. A week ago, I felt your magic from the castle, even if just a little. The next day, the King started acting strange. I’ll ask you again—was it you?”

The academy head, who had been radiating a friendly aura, suddenly changed, releasing his magic power to intimidate me while asking.

“Yeah, it was me.”

“I knew it. What was your goal?”

“Nothing much. If I had to say, I was just curious about the Demon Race the King allied with. Along the way, I also rectified the sins that your ancestor could not.”

“You don’t mean to say…”

“It’s just a hypothesis. But you must have learned about the actions of that royal family due to some trigger, right?

And at the same time, you figured out why your ancestors established the Mage Association.

Your ancestor probably couldn’t stop one of the apprentices from sealing the First Sage’s magic who allied with the demons.

Regretting that event, your ancestor formed the Mage Association to establish a status not inferior to the royal family, so such a mistake wouldn’t happen again.

As a result, the Mage Association steadily gained power and eventually earned the right to put a stop to the royal family’s tyrannical acts forcefully.”

“…You truly are terrifying.”

As I explained my hypothesis based on what I had heard from Sonia in the past, the academy head looked at me with genuine surprise.

“I could see that you were particularly concerned about Sonia. I also sensed a hint of regret in your gaze.”

“You’re right. I once found a hidden room within the mansion. There was a notebook that I believe my ancestor left behind, which contained all the truth.

I have pondered over what to do, but ultimately, I couldn’t do anything.

By the time I learned the truth, I had already stepped down from the position of the head of the Mage Association, and I couldn’t find any evidence that they were still allied with the demons.”

“And that’s when you found Sonia?”

“Yes. I came across her alone in the woods, with extraordinary magical power yet unable to use any magic at all, still resolutely practicing.

I noticed the magic seal placed on her too, and I thought I had to protect her in place of my ancestor.

So I tried to watch over her whenever I could, waiting for the chance to help her, but you’ve solved everything.”

The academy head chuckled lightly, then drained his cold tea in one go.

“Now I can do nothing more for that girl.”

“No, you still have something to do.”

“What is it?”

“That would be to become Sonia’s magic teacher.”

“Me? Not you?”

“The reason I came here today was to get expelled and leave this country. So, I can’t look after her any longer. Not that I did much to begin with.”

“Are you not taking her with you?”

“To be honest, taking her with me now would be quite a hassle for various reasons. From her abilities to her values, she fundamentally doesn’t align with me. If we stay together, we’ll inevitably clash somewhere down the line. That kind of hassle isn’t appealing.”

“You’re ruthless, aren’t you? But, I too am busy because of what happened to the King.”

“Don’t worry about that. I have an idea concerning the country now that the King is gone.”

I explained the plan I had in mind for the country without a king.

“It’s not bad, but… will it really work?”

“It should be fine. Right now, the populace is likely anxious about having a singular person at the top. If that’s the case, using the power of the public would mean the descendants of the other apprentices have no choice but to accept this plan.

Moreover, if it doesn’t work out, can’t we use the Mage Association’s power to resolve it?”

“…Sigh. My peaceful retirement life seems to be slipping away.”

“Haha. It’s still too early for you to retire.”

“You’re devilish, you know… Well, I understand. I’ll proceed as you say.”

“Great. Best of luck.”

With that, I stood up from the sofa and began walking toward the door.

“Are you leaving already?”

“I don’t have time. I need to get stronger.”

“I see. But don’t rush. Otherwise, you might end up getting yourself killed.”

“Thanks for the advice. But dying isn’t something I’m particularly concerned about, so you can relax.”

“…You.”

“Well then…”

As I placed my hand on the door, I left the room without looking back.

After Lewis exited, the academy head leaned back on the sofa and let out a deep sigh.

“That kid is dangerous. I’ve never seen someone so uninterested in their own death before.”

The image of Lewis lingered in the head’s mind, and he understood the dangers present in the way Lewis thought.

“I don’t know what that kid has been through, but being around him will be a thorny road… Sigh. What will become of that girl Sonia? If she decides to chase after him, would I be able to stop her properly?”

Having been secretly watching over Sonia, the academy head had come to think of her as if she were his own grandchild.

When the time came for her to follow the same path as Lewis, he pondered what he should do.

At that moment, yet another worry settled into the academy head’s heart.