Repeat Vice - The Villainous Noble Doesn't Want to Die, So He Swore to Not Die As One of The Four Heavenly Kings

Chapter 104: The Battle Begins

Night at the Ice Snow Mountain Range.

A land of extreme cold where powder snow dances.

As far as the eye can see, a world of pure white silver.

“Aaaah! It’s so damn cold here, as usual!”

Breath turning white in the frigid air, an elderly man in black clothing with white hair—Rinus—shouted.

Beside him stood Carlos, dressed in warm clothing, looking exasperated.

“…Well, that’s to be expected.”

Rinus was dressed in the loose loungewear he always wore at the mansion.

Its cold protection was remarkably poor.

“Carlos, lend me that scarf!”

“No. I told you before we left. The Steria territory is especially cold this time of year…”

They were in the northern kingdom, in Steria territory.

Their mode of transportation was long-distance teleportation by Rinus.

Long-distance teleportation, except in emergencies, is strictly prohibited by kingdom law.

Therefore, this teleportation was done secretly.

“…By the way, Carlos. How long are you going to be so formal? Isn’t it fine now? Given our relationship.”

“No, it isn’t. If I become lax, it sets a bad example for the subordinates.”

“Subordinates? You’re still so uptight… Anyway, you’re being a nuisance. You should go back now.”

Rinus turned back in annoyance and waved his hand dismissively.

Behind Rinus and Carlos was another man.

Rinus activated a teleportation magic circle at the feet of the man standing behind them to send him back to the Lightless territory.

However, it was effortlessly resisted, and the teleportation magic failed.

“…Please, spare me, former master. This is an order from the master.”

The one who spoke with a wry smile, without a helmet and with cherry-colored hair, was a dark knight.

The second seat of the Dark Knights, Grestronom-Huesenbarn Noa Crast—commonly known as Gres.

A skilled individual second only to the chief dark knight, Alba.

“You think you’re our watchdog? You’ve risen in rank too.”

“Not just thinking, I am indeed your watchdog. And it’s not for you two. Precisely, Carlos and I are the watchdogs for you, former master.”

“What!? You’re on their side too, Carlos!?”

Carlos shrugged at Rinus, who was yelling as if he were the victim of a great betrayal.

“Of course. You always cause trouble if left unattended.”

“Am I really that untrustworthy?”

Rinus felt a bit shocked by Carlos’s blunt statement.

“Why do I have to travel with three men anyway? Ah, if only there were a cute girl around. Hey Gres, why don’t you go get the black-haired beauty Yusrika to replace you?”

“That’s impossible. And if anything happens to Yurika, the young master will kill me.”

“Oh, are they like that? So, Ro-boy is like me, liking black-haired beauties. Blood can’t be denied.”

Rinus said wistfully, and Carlos frowned.

“Lord Rofus is very gentlemanly towards women, unlike you who makes advances on everyone. Please don’t equate Lord Rofus with yourself.”

“Hey, Carlos, aren’t you being too harsh on me?”

Talking like this while walking through the snow, the three arrived at a certain mansion.

A white-painted mansion in the middle of the Ice Snow Mountain Range—more like a fortress.

Surrounded by stone walls with a massive gate towering over it.

“We’re here. That idiot lives in such a remote place.”

Rinus raised his mouth in a battle-ready grin and sent a high-density magical wave toward the fortress-like mansion.

“Hey—”

“…Sigh.”

Gres was speechless at Rinus’s sudden act of provocation, and Carlos sighed as if resigning himself to the situation.

Bathing the place in high-density magical waves was a clear act of provocation.

Especially since this was not Lightless territory.

It could easily be seen as a declaration of war.

After a brief silence, the heavy gate lifted.

“Rinus—it’s you, as expected. Can’t you knock normally, damn you…”

Waiting on the other side of the raised gate was a strong, elderly man.

His platinum-blond hair mixed with white was tied at the back, and he had a neatly trimmed beard on his chin.

His sharp blue-green eyes pierced through the three.

“Long time no see, Ivan. You’ve aged a lot. You’re an old man now.”

“You’re one to talk.”

Ivan, the elderly man, retorted in exasperation, grinning at Rinus.

Though Rinus had an unusually fit body for his age, Ivan’s physique was even more impressive.

Even through his winter clothes, his muscular build was evident, and his height made him reminiscent of a grizzly bear.

Ivan Idea Steria.

The former head of the Steria Marquis family, the father of the current head Adler, and the grandfather of the sword saint Eric.

During the war with the empire half a century ago, he was a notable figure who protected the kingdom at the frontline of the border.

Carlos bowed his head before such a man.

“It’s been a long time—brother.”

“Carlos… Indeed, my brother with little love for his homeland.”

They addressed each other as brothers, but their words were somewhat formal.

Ivan shifted his gaze from Carlos to the cherry-haired knight—Gres.

“A dark knight, huh? You’re strong. Are you a named one?”

“Yes. My name is Gres. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“Dark knight Gres… Ah, the one known as ‘Blood Mist.’ I’ve heard the rumors. You are indeed the second in command of the dark knights.”

Ivan squinted, and Gres responded with a friendly smile.

“Very well… Come in. I’ll prepare some fire wine. I have a lot to say to you Lightless people.”

The three were invited inside, and the massive gate was closed.

The mountain winds grew fierce, turning into a snowstorm.

＊

Surrounded by the walls, staring at the snowy sky, Rinus soaked in the hot spring.

“Ah, this feels good.”

Rinus enjoyed the outdoor hot spring in Ivan’s courtyard, drinking fire wine.

“The warrior once feared as the ‘Dark Reaper’ by the empire… has become quite the old fool.”

Ivan murmured, unable to hide his mixed feelings as he watched Rinus, who didn’t bother to conceal his old age and rather flaunted his elderly demeanor.

“We’ve both gotten old.”

“Indeed. You’ve aged the most, Carlos. What happened to your fiery red hair? You could have returned home if you were struggling so much instead of staying with Lightless.”

The elderly brothers, soaking in the hot spring, resumed their long-overdue conversation, interrupted by Rinus.

“Hey Ivan, don’t try to steal my subordinate.”

“You took Carlos from us in the first place. I sent him with you into enemy territory because you asked for a skilled warrior, and then you took him back as your subordinate after the war.”

“Ah, bringing up something from fifty years ago… that’s so petty.”

“Petty, you say!? Carlos! Why did you follow this guy!?”

Ivan’s platinum blond hair bristled as he roared in anger.

Carlos stared intently at Rinus and tilted his head.

“…Yeah, really, why did I follow him?”

“You’re not holding back, are you? What happened to setting an example for the subordinates?”

Rinus frowned, his cheeks flushed from the alcohol.

By the way, Gres was invited to bathe but refused and waited fully armed in the dressing room.

In the dressing room, two knights in white armor—the White Phoenix Knights, Steria’s unique force—stood facing Gres.

Some upper-class nobles are permitted by the royal family to have their own unique forces separate from the royal army.

Just as the Lightless family has the independent Dark Knights, the Steria family has the White Phoenix Knights.

They are, in essence, private soldiers sanctioned by the royal family.

In contrast to the black-armored Gres, the White Phoenix Knights were clad in pure white armor.

The two knights stood motionless, sharp gazes from their helmets directed at Gres.

They did not hide their vigilance against Gres, who remained armed.

Gres, though he inwardly scoffed, kept his hand always close to his sword.

This was Steria territory—right in the middle of another territory. Though Steria wasn’t exactly an enemy, they couldn’t be considered outright allies either.

Currently, the heads of the Steria and Lightless families are old acquaintances, more accurately, like cats and dogs.

If Rinus were to cause trouble in Steria territory, Gres was instructed to restrain and bring him back with Carlos’s help, if necessary. If the Steria forces tried to subdue them by force, he was to subdue them and return. If Carlos sided with Steria, he was also to be subdued and brought back.

These were the orders Gres received from Rudens.

“Don’t be unreasonable,” thought Gres.

Basically, it meant to subdue any trouble by force and bring Rinus and Carlos back, but their opponents included a pure warrior known as the “Reaper,” a former Sword Saint, and the current “Crimson Sword Saint” on the Steria side.

Moreover, Ivan, the previous head of the Steria family, was also here.

He, too, appeared to be a monster, to say the least.

They spoke lightly of subduing, but against such opponents, it would be a life-or-death struggle—even for Gres, the second-in-command of the Dark Knights, he lacked the confidence to handle it without casualties.

Feeling he had drawn the short straw, Gres sighed heavily.

“Well, the head knight wouldn’t be suitable for this kind of mission… He tends to kill without hesitation.”

Though half-heartedly lamenting, Gres remained vigilant.

The White Phoenix Knights, sensing Gres’s apparent but nonexistent openings, heightened their alertness.

Carlos, sensing the tense atmosphere in the changing room, traced his neatly trimmed mustache.

“It seems rather tense over there.”

“…It’s disgraceful to intimidate knights from another house. Perhaps they are poorly educated?”

Ivan sighed and glanced at someone.

In addition to Rinus, Carlos, and Ivan, there was one other person in the hot spring.

With long crimson hair tied at the back and a well-built body soaking in the cloudy water, was the current Sword Saint and the head of the White Phoenix Knights—Eric Idea Steria.

Receiving a reproachful look from his grandfather, Ivan, Eric shrugged his shoulders.

“I apologize. Our White Phoenix Knights are quite conscious of the Lightless Dark Knights. It’s not outright hostility, but… it seems they haven’t forgotten the trouble at the Giran mansion two years ago.”

When Rofus attacked the “Great Merchant” Giran two years ago, Steria family head Adler led the White Phoenix Knights to suppress the situation.

However, the Lightless family head Rudens and two Dark Knights appeared and ended up subduing them instead.

Since that incident, the White Phoenix Knights have harbored ill feelings towards the Lightless family—especially the Dark Knights.

Eric was present because he had been informed by the White Phoenix Knights.

The Lightless family was attacking the former head—was what they had said.

But upon rushing over, he found them peacefully drinking and soaking in the hot spring together.

Moreover, the Lightless family members were the former head, Rinus, and the former Sword Saint and Eric’s uncle, Carlos.

Although the current heads of the two families are sworn enemies, the former heads fought side by side as comrades during the war with the empire half a century ago.

The extreme deterioration in the relationship between the Lightless and Steria families only happened in the current heads’ generation.

Incidentally, as soon as Eric arrived and made eye contact with Ivan, he was forcefully stripped of his armor and made to join in the hot spring.

“Honestly, the White Phoenix Knights were ‘sloppy’ back then, so it was a good lesson. There’s no need for you to bow your head, Carlos.”

Eric consoled Carlos, who was bowing apologetically, and gestured for him to stop.

“Indeed. I have a lot to say to you Lightless folks about that Giran incident, Rinus.”

Drinking fire wine and glaring at Rinus with bloodshot eyes, Ivan growled.

Rinus grinned.

“Giran…? Oh, that idiot merchant who picked a fight with Lightless. I read the report; he was thoroughly beaten by Rowe. It was hilarious.”

“It’s no laughing matter. Do you know how much damage we suffered from that incident…?”

“They say he blew up the supposedly escape-proof prison tower.”

“You seem to find this very amusing. Do you know how much it cost to rebuild…? Damn, my beloved daughter married into your family. I hope she’s safe.”

“Oh, Karen? Don’t worry, she’s getting along well with Rudens… Oh, wait, she was crying a while ago, wasn’t she?”

“What!? She was crying!?”

Ivan’s anger flared, and responding to his emotions, a light magic aura burst from his body.

The ribbon tying his hair at the back snapped, and his long platinum blond hair stood on end.

“What did you mean by making Karen cry!? Was it your son’s infidelity? You better not say it was violence!”

Ivan’s anger was palpable, but Rinus and Carlos remained calm, giving indifferent responses.

“Why was she crying again?”

“It was because Lord Rofus got injured…”

“Oh, the incident at the Sea of Demons.”

Hearing that it was about Rofus’s injury, Ivan calmed his heightened magic.

“Hmm… Rofus’s injury, huh. I heard he lost his left arm. Why hasn’t it been treated?”

Ivan frowned, and Carlos responded.

“It seems he received a ‘curse’ and cannot regenerate. He is currently using a prosthetic arm.”

“A prosthetic, that’s unusual. I couldn’t meet him during the Giran incident two years ago. I’d like to see how he’s grown…”

Ivan sighed deeply.

“What? You haven’t seen Rowe since he was a baby. Do you have any affection for him?”

“Of course I do! Rofus is my grandson by blood!”

Ivan shouted indignantly.

Ivan and Rofus are blood relatives—grandfather and grandson.

And Rudens’ wife, Rofus’ mother, Karen Idea Lightless, is Ivan Idea Steria’s daughter—although this fact is not publicly known.

Even Rofus and his mother Karen are unaware of this blood relationship.

Karen was Ivan’s illegitimate child, raised as a commoner with magic power. When her mother died of illness before she became an adult, she was taken in as an adopted daughter by a count’s family related to the Steria family.

Steria family head Adler and Karen are half-siblings.

Few people know this fact.

Eric himself only recently learned of this, and he still finds it hard to believe that he is related to Rofus by blood.

Incidentally, this was news to Gres, who widened his eyes in surprise.

“Ah, this is classified information, by the way. Personally, I don’t care, but if this gets out, it would cause significant trouble for the noble factions. I don’t know why. So if it leaks, I’ll take your heads.”

Rinus made a gesture of slitting his throat with his thumb, threatening the three in the changing room with a lighthearted tone.

Gres exhaled with lifeless eyes, causing the two White Phoenix Knights to shudder.

Ivan glanced at Rinus.

“Don’t threaten my men too much. Rest assured, only trustworthy people are here. Although, I don’t know much about that ‘Blood Mist’ over there.”

“You don’t need to worry about our Dark Knights either. Even if they have their limbs cut off or are killed, they won’t spill any secrets.”

Rinus laughed heartily, while Gres, thinking “I’d rather not have my limbs cut off or be killed,” stared off into the distance.

If it was such important information, he didn’t want to know or hear about it. Why would you casually discuss such serious matters over drinks? Gres glanced half-heartedly at the old men soaking in the hot spring.

“So, what is this ‘curse’ that Rofus received? Is it related to the ‘Sea of Demons’—the subjugation of the ‘Ship Eater’? …Could it be the ‘Witch of the Shore’?”

Ivan asked seriously, and Rinus shook his head in denial.

“No, it’s a different matter.”

Carlos frowned.

“The ‘Witch of the Shore’…? What are you talking about?”

“Huh? Carlos, you don’t know? That sea area is the territory of a dangerous being called the ‘Witch of the Shore.’ The ‘Ship Eater’ is her pet.”

“The ‘Ship Eater’—that giant Kraken is a pet…? Then, that whale…”

“Who knows? According to legend, a divine beast called ‘Matra,’ a whale, was once worshipped in that sea… Maybe that’s it.”

“A divine whale…!? Then Lord Rofus’s ‘curse’ is from the divine beast…”

“I don’t know. The legend is quite old.”

Rinus said reminiscently, and Carlos squinted.

“…You seem to know a lot. It’s the first time I’ve heard that you’re well-versed in folklore, Rinus. Who told you about it?”

“Oh, that. A long time ago, I had a run-in with a pirate who claimed that sea as her territory. I heard about it from a female pirate I hit it off with—on the bed.”

Rinus wore a lewd smile that suited the term “dirty old man,” and Carlos sighed.

“That must have been around forty years ago when you married your wife.”

Carlos said exasperatedly, and Rinus laughed, sticking out his tongue.

“Yeah, somehow she found out. She nearly killed me. But she was a good woman, loyal and jealous.”

“You’re the worst kind of cheater. I’m glad Lord Rudens seems to have inherited his mother’s loyalty.”

Rinus and Carlos laughed and clinked their glasses, drinking.

Ivan approached with a puzzled look.

“Hey, what’s this about a whale? Is it related to Rofus’s injury?”

“Oh, that is—”

Rinus began to explain proudly, with Carlos passionately adding details about Rofus’s bravery.

While the elderly men talked excitedly, Eric enjoyed the hot spring alone.

Watching this scene from the changing room, Gres thought, “Is this a class reunion?”

Yesterday, Rinus suddenly insisted on going to Steria territory.

Of course, Rudens tried to stop him, but Rinus wouldn’t listen, saying he’d go alone and teleport there, so Carlos and Gres were assigned as chaperones.

Gres thought it must be an important matter, but it turned out to be just a drinking party.

Old men from a bygone era were simply reminiscing.

Feeling silly for being so tense, Gres relaxed a bit.

At that moment, Ivan suddenly tilted his head in thought.

“By the way, Rinus, what was the matter mentioned in your letter? Was it just an excuse to drink?”

Yesterday, Ivan had received a magically sent letter from Rinus.

“I’ll come tomorrow night, there’s something to discuss.”

It was a simple letter with just those two sentences.

Rinus had never sent such a letter before.

Ivan himself had been on guard, wondering what it was about, but upon inviting Rinus in, he just drank merrily.

Well, since he was retired and had plenty of free time, sharing drinks with an old friend wasn’t bad.

But when Ivan asked, Rinus’s smile disappeared.