Repeat Vice - The Villainous Noble Doesn't Want to Die, So He Swore to Not Die As One of The Four Heavenly Kings - Chapter 23: Encounter
Chapter 23: Encounter
Returning from the Galeon Territory to the Lightless Territory, several days had passed.
It had taken about 12 days round trip, almost half a month.
It took quite some time, but it was an invitation from a Duke’s family, so we couldn’t just refuse it.
Thanks to that, the administrative affairs of the Lightless Territory had been greatly delayed, but that was the duty of the officials dispatched to various places for that purpose.
Well, this time it was those officials who caused the aforementioned scandal.
Now, I was summoned to my father’s study.
The usefulness of the train I took in the capital couldn’t be forgotten, so I submitted a petition to my father to have it installed in our Lightless Territory.
Since returning to the Lightless Territory, I had submitted many petitions every day.
My father’s response came through Carlos.
“Come and tell me directly what you want,” he said.
So, that’s why I came today.
“The request is as written in the petition. Please install a train in our territory.”
My father furrowed his brow and glared at me.
“Just when I thought you came, you came straight to the point without even greeting me?”
“Small talk is unnecessary. I assume you’re busy too, Father.”
When I said that with a composed expression, my father sighed.
“Installing a train… It’s easy to say, but do you realize how much it will cost?”
“Please consider it carefully. The mobility it offers is worth the cost. Connecting our major cities in the territory and transporting goods by train alone will boost commerce, enriching our territory’s economy. It will also significantly reduce travel time. There’s no reason not to not install such a thing.”
My father, upon hearing my words, seemed even more troubled.
“Are you speaking about economics?”
“I am. Right now, urgent economic recovery is necessary. Especially in the regions that Clinton administered.”
“Clinton, huh…”
My father made a face like he had bitten into a bitter bug.
“It might be a sign of economic recovery for the villages and towns impoverished by Clinton’s illegal heavy taxation.”
According to the reports from the officials, it seemed almost impossible for impoverished villages and towns to recover economically on their own.
If they couldn’t do it on their own, they had to bring it in from outside.
They needed to create new markets.
“…Talking about Rougvelt?”
“It’s not limited to that.”
My father put his hand on his chin and pondered.
“…Let’s consider it.”
“I’d appreciate a quick decision if possible.”
“The installation of a train also requires permission from the royal palace. The cost is not negligible. And if we’re going to operate a train, we need to secure a source of coal supply. It’s not a decision that can be made quickly.”
“Very well, I understand.”
Certainly, our territory had few coal mines.
The immediate task was to secure a stable source of coal, essential for operating the train.
Laying tracks over long distances would also require a large amount of iron.
I’ll ask the members of the commercial association about it next time.
“Now that the request is settled…”
As I turned to leave the study, my father stopped me.
“Wait.”
“…What is it?”
“We’re having lunch with the family later. You should join us.”
“That’s fine. I just finished lunch.”
Naturally, it was a lie.
It was only 10 o’clock, I couldn’t have had lunch yet.
Perhaps because it was such an obvious lie, my father looked at me with a very stern expression.
“Rofus…!”
“Well then.”
Ignoring my father’s anger, as I tried to leave this time, the loud cry of a hawk echoed from outside the window.
When I looked, a dark hawk was flying outside the window.
Countless eyes glimmered on its dark feathers.
That was undoubtedly a familiar of the “Shadow Eater,” created using the “Shadow Devouring” ability.
Probably my father’s.
Hearing the hawk’s cry, my father frowned.
“…What is it…?”
“Is something wrong?”
My father sighed quietly and looked at me.
“Somebody has intruded into the ‘First Ancestor’s Tomb.'”
“…Huh?”
My father’s unexpected words made me gasp.
The “First Ancestor’s Tomb” was, as the name suggests, the tomb where the first ancestor of the Lightless family slept.
Located in the mountains just outside the capital of Lightless, there was an entrance to an underground tomb.
The existence of the “First Ancestor’s Tomb” should have been known only to a very few within the Lightless family, but for some reason, intruders seemed to have appeared and invaded it.
Where did the information leak from?
I had been ordered by my father to come and see the situation at the tomb with him.
“Really, Father, you’re so rough with people.”
Well, the “First Ancestor’s Tomb” was a highly secretive place even within the Lightless family. Currently, besides me, there should be no one else who could enter.
It was much better than sitting around the dining table with the family.
—————————————————————————————————-
I traversed the unfamiliar mountain path with strengthened leg strength through magic, running forcefully.
I had never heard of intruders in the tomb before.
Well, it was probably just some fool who stumbled in unknowingly.
In any case, it was necessary to visit the tomb sooner or later.
Because I had failed to control the familiar passed down to me by the Lightless family at the altar.
That useless lower spirit, possessed by Clinton and destroyed along with the Dark Whale.
That thing was truly useless.
I wanted to complain to the altar that they shouldn’t give me incompetent things.
“Huh?”
Suddenly, near the entrance of the tomb, I felt a strange sensation.
A type of unnatural magical residue that I hadn’t felt much before.
Although magical detection showed no reaction, upon careful observation, I found a rift in space where magical residue was present.
I touched it with my hand imbued with magic, forcibly tearing off the rift.
The rift, once torn off, dispersed like cracks in space, revealing what was hidden inside.
“This is…”
What appeared was a giant red ship.
It was what in stories was called a flying ship.
It seemed that quite advanced spells such as invisibility, magical obstruction, and concealment were woven into the barrier.
A flying ship was a ship that flew using magic as its power source, a lost technology from ancient times.
In the story, there was only one flying ship.
And this ship was exactly that one.
“The Ship of the Crimson Wind…?”
The Crimson Wind… They were a group of treasure hunters who traveled around various ruins and dungeons on flying ships.
Commonly known as sky pirates.
They illegally entered various ruins and dungeons, selling the treasures, treasures, magical items, etc., they obtained there to make a living.
They were called treasure hunters, but what they were doing was essentially the same as grave robbing.
Although they didn’t engage in looting against civilians like thieves, they were essentially a group of outlaws.
But why were they here?
The members of the Crimson Wind were quite powerful, as they had entered many ruins and dungeons, but even so, if they entered the “First Ancestor’s Tomb,” they would undoubtedly not return alive so why?
But they appeared in the story, even though it was three years from now.
So, would something happen here that wouldn’t lead to their deaths?
Or was this a development different from the flow of the story, like the appearance of the Dark Whale, because of my presence?
“Hmm…”
There was too little information about events before the start of the story to predict the development.
But in any case, if intruders entered the tomb of our Lightless family’s ancestors, we couldn’t leave them alone.
Especially if the depths of the “First Ancestor’s Tomb” were disturbed, we didn’t know what actions the shadow familiars of the first ancestor would take.
The shadow familiars of the first ancestor were still servants of the first ancestor, not under the control of the Lightless family.
If by any chance the shadow familiars of the first ancestor came out into the town and caused trouble, the damage would be enormous.
Because they were immortal monsters that could regenerate endlessly.
It was the duty of the successive heads of the Lightless family to guard against outsiders who might inadvertently stimulate them and maintain the tomb.
And among the Crimson Wind, there was someone.
One of the heroines who would eventually join the main protagonist’s party.
“What a hassle…”
I sighed with a sense of melancholy as I stepped into the “First Ancestor’s Tomb”.
——————————————————————————————————
The “First Ancestor’s Tomb” was a sprawling underground tomb with multiple levels below.
As one descended through the levels, the concentration of magical elements in the air increased, along with the strength of the shadow familiars.
A member of the sky pirates “Crimson Wind” and currently an apprentice, a petite 12-year-old girl, crouched alone in the darkened corridor.
She had pale chestnut hair tied short behind her and a small wing-shaped earring on her left ear.
Riruka Skyfield.
In the story, she was one of the heroines who joined the protagonist’s faction.
However, Riruka was currently in a dire situation.
The companions she entered the tomb with, other members of the “Crimson Wind,” were nowhere to be found.
A teleportation trap.
A rare trap occasionally found in ancient ruins or high-level dungeons.
Riruka had fallen into it, becoming separated from the other members of the “Crimson Wind.”
Most likely, this wasn’t the same level they were on moments ago.
The lurking dark creatures on this level were clearly on a different level than those on the previous one.
The dark creatures on this level emitted an overwhelming sense of intimidation, making it even daunting to challenge them individually.
Riruka hid and managed to survive by sneaking past the creatures.
But there was something strange about the creatures in this tomb.
Even the creatures on the first level possessed powers comparable to those found in high-level dungeons.
Moreover, they had the cheeky ability to regenerate instantly even after being injured.
The other members of the “Crimson Wind” had decided to retreat immediately when they realized they couldn’t win, but in the constantly advancing darkness of the unlit corridor, they were unable to escape the relentless onslaught of the dark creatures.
And on top of that, a teleportation trap.
“Haha… Looks like this is it.”
She laughed, but Riruka’s eyes were filled with despair.
Falling into a teleportation trap alone in a dungeon meant certain death.
The survival rate when one was alone in a dungeon was extremely low.
And considering the lurking creatures in this tomb, it was probably a lower level than before.
Surely the other members of the “Crimson Wind” would search for Riruka, but the chances of them meeting up were low.
Moreover, even if they did meet up, there was no guarantee they could escape alive.
To die alone or die together with everyone else.
Or, although Riruka didn’t want to consider it, there was no guarantee that the others were safe.
It was her own mistake to fall into the teleportation trap.
She wanted to abandon thoughts of herself and just hope the other members survived.
But the members of the “Crimson Wind” would surely, no, definitely not abandon Riruka.
The bonds between the members of the “Crimson Wind” were very strong.
Although not connected by blood, Riruka was family to them.
Entering this tomb was originally because they had obtained information about valuable magical artifacts sleeping within.
But the underlying reason was for one of the members of the “Crimson Wind,” whom Riruka admired like an older sister.
“Sorry, Iz-nee…”
Iz-nee— Iz was the sub-leader of the “Crimson Wind” and had been suffering from a serious illness for two years.
The illness was a very rare endemic disease found in a certain region, where the body was invaded by a special magical element, causing weird symptoms to appear.
The symptoms involved black bruises spreading across the body over time, with increasing pain as the bruises multiplied.
In the end, the patient would succumb to the pain of the bruises, resulting in certain death once the disease manifested, unless treated.
The specific remedy for the illness was expensive, and up until now, they had been using painkillers as a temporary measure, but recently, the illness had progressed rapidly, causing Iz to spend most of her days in bed in agony.
Iz’s condition was severe, and the members of the “Crimson Wind,” including Riruka, had decided to purchase the specific remedy, even if it meant taking risks and exploring high-level dungeons or ancient ruins in search of rare items.
Iz had naturally tried to stop them, but the leader and the other members didn’t stop.
Although they had faced danger many times before, the strong bond between the members had helped them overcome it.
They had gathered information on high-level dungeons, and this time, they had chosen the “First Ancestor’s Tomb” for exploration.
Compared to other ancient ruins or dungeons, there was significantly less information available about this tomb.
They had positively interpreted the lack of information, thinking that no one else had explored it yet and that rare items might still be untouched, but it was a huge mistake.
The “Crimson Wind” had explored several high-level dungeons and ancient ruins before, but all of them had been picked clean of items, leaving them without any gains.
There was background to their decision, but even considering that, it was still reckless.
Riruka took a deep breath.
“…Alright, enough moping around.”
She slapped her cheeks to shake off her anxiety and steeled herself.
Sitting around here would only lead to death.
Above all, giving up here would be a betrayal to her comrades who would surely search for her.
Riruka began to act.
At least, she needed to get closer to the exit, to the upper levels if possible.
While paying attention to any signs of monsters around her, Riruka advanced through the corridors.
The corridors were labyrinthine and shrouded in darkness due to the lack of light.
Riruka didn’t have torches, but she had acquired night vision skills for exploring dungeons.
This darkness was as clear as day to her.
Dungeons and ancient ruins often lacked light and were dark.
Using torches or lanterns in such places would expose one’s position, sometimes leading to a full-scale attack from the monsters.
Anything that illuminated one’s location in the darkness.
Therefore, night vision was an essential skill for exploring dungeons.
It was one of the first skills Riruka had learned upon joining the exploration team.
“Huh…?”
And it was because she had night vision that she noticed something odd.
The shadow at Riruka’s feet.
Normally, it would be there even in the darkness she was familiar with, but it was still there unchanged in the darkness.
A feeling of discomfort.
Could a shadow even be created in such darkness where light didn’t penetrate?
As she pondered the question while looking at her own shadow, suddenly—
—Countless eyes opened on the shadow, all glaring at Riruka at once.
“Ugh!”
An inaudible scream.
She instinctively jumped back, but the shadow stuck to her feet and chased after her with its countless eyes swirling.
And from the shadow, countless tendrils emerged and wound around Riruka’s body.
“No… No way!?”
With tendrils entwining her entire body, leaving her unable to resist, Riruka’s body was slowly dragged into the shadow.
“Please, someone…!”
Even her last resort of calling for help was blocked by the tendrils, and Riruka could do nothing but cry.
Even her last remaining field of vision was blocked by the tendrils—when suddenly, they were all severed at once.
“Huh…?”
Her body, which had been suddenly restrained, regained its freedom, and Riruka, dumbfounded, let out a foolish-sounding voice.
Her body half-submerged in the shadow was grabbed by the scruff of her neck and lifted up.
Riruka slumped, lifting her head.
There stood not her companions, but a young boy shrouded in black, glaring disdainfully at Riruka.
The boy in black—Rofus Ray Lightless—muttered in annoyance while staring at Riruka with hostile eyes.
“…So it’s you after all. Riruka Skyfield.”
“Huh? How did you know my name?”
What came out of Riruka’s mouth was not words of gratitude or relief but rather a dumbfounded question.