Repeat Vice - The Villainous Noble Doesn't Want to Die, So He Swore to Not Die As One of The Four Heavenly Kings - Chapter 42: Part 2 Epilogue - Steria

Chapter 42: Part 2 Epilogue – Steria

After the battle between Rofus and Vallum, the Steria region was in a state of near panic.

When the Ice and Snow Mountains were suddenly shrouded in a malevolent darkness followed by an enormous lightning storm, the nearby residents were thrown into an uproar, fearing it was a divine wrath or a natural disaster. 

The situation escalated as the kingdom’s knights, led by Sword Saint Eric, and the Lightless group, including Ludens who had received information about the incident, rushed to the scene.

Rofus and Vallum were apprehended — or rather, restrained — on the spot, and they complied without resistance. Rofus was severely reprimanded by Rudens, and Vallum received a stern scolding from Eric. Without having a chance to speak to each other, the two were separated and taken away.

An emergency meeting between the heads of the families was promptly convened to discuss the incident. Considering the repeated use of grand magic that altered the terrain but did not cause damage to the human settlements, it was decided that Rofus and Vallum would not be punished. However, the claim for compensation for the transfer of Gillan was partially waived. This was suggested by Rudens, who felt somewhat guilty towards Steria, having caused repeated disturbances that affected their side.

As a result of the discussions, the return of the Lightless group to their territory was postponed.

Three days had passed since the battle between Rofus and Vallum.

*

At the site of their battle, at the foot of the mountain range, Vallum stood beside the lifeless body of Frugel, as he had done before the fight three days ago.

Rofus approached from behind.

“How is your side wound?” 

Surprised by Rofus’s voice, Vallum turned around.

“Rofus… You’re here. You always show up without warning. Is it teleportation again?”

“Yeah,” Rofus replied briefly, with a smile from Vallum.

Behind Rofus stood Alba, the head of the Dark Knights. At Rofus’s request, Yurika had been serving him, but due to repeated escapes by Rofus, she was replaced by Alba. Although it was Rofus who kept escaping, and thus Yurika was not really to blame, she was still dismissed as she had not been able to fulfill her duty as a Dark Knight.

Rofus was reluctant to have Alba, but Rudens had reprimanded him and forcibly assigned Alba to him. Given Rofus’s repeated issues, this was an understandable decision.

Alba frowned at the sight of Rofus and Vallum, who was merely a knight-in-training, talking as equals. However, sensing that raising this issue would severely irritate Rofus, he kept silent.

Rofus looked at the resting Frugel.

“A promise, wasn’t it?”

“Rofus, about that…”

Vallum looked at Frugel for a moment and then turned to Rofus, her expression resolute.

“Please, release Frugel.”

Vallum spoke as if he were forcing the words out, trying to remain composed. Yet, to Rofus, it seemed as if Vallum was on the verge of tears.

“You, who wanted to keep her alive so much, why the change of heart?”

Vallum lowered his gaze.

“I had a dream. The night after our battle…”

“A dream?”

“I dreamt that Frugel was scolding me. It sounds strange, doesn’t it? A flying dragon like Frugel shouldn’t be able to talk.”

Rofus listened quietly.

“Frugel said she was satisfied with saving me back then… that I should stop clinging to her memory…”

Vallum covered his face with his hands, his voice trembling toward the end.

“As long as you’re like this, I can never rest peacefully, she said…”

Vallum’s voice was barely a whisper. Rofus quietly responded with, “I see.”

“Are you sure about lifting the spell?”

Vallum nodded.

“…Please.”

“Got it.”

Rofus extended his hand toward the slumbering Frugel. The darkness that had been entwining Fryugel’s remaining wing dispersed like mist.

Frugel’s body, which had been tinted with life, withered like a dead tree, returning to its state before being revived by the Shadow Eater. No trace of magic remained, a clear sign of death to anyone who saw it.

Vallum collapsed to the ground, weeping uncontrollably. Rofus stood by, silently observing him without moving away.

After a while, Vallum wiped his tears and stood up, once again wearing the composed face of a warrior.

“…Sorry for showing such a pathetic side.”

“Indeed.”

“At least lie and deny it.”

Vallum let out a bitter laugh at Rofus’s affirmation.

“Rofus, I need to thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to fly through the skies one last time with Frugel. I’m grateful.”

As Vallum bowed his head, Rofus turned his eyes away.

“Stop it. The victor should not bow.”

“Winning in close combat against a mage is nothing to be proud of. I lost in the magical battle.”

“The result is all that matters. The process is irrelevant.”

“That’s so like you.”

Vallum smiled.

“Rofus, ever since we met, you’ve been seeing someone else in me, haven’t you? Someone other than me. From your words, I gather that person must have been incredibly strong. So strong that defeat was unthinkable.”

“…”

Rofus responded with silence, neither affirming nor denying Vallum’s statement.

Talking about future events or stories would likely be dismissed as mere nonsense.

Unless you were someone like Rilka who actually knows the future, it’s not a believable tale.

Vallum continued, staring at Rofus.

“I don’t know this person, but… I’m sure they thought of you as—reliable.”

In that moment, Rofus saw in Vallum’s expression a resemblance to the Vallum from the story, the Four Heavenly Kings’ “Dragon Rider.”

“…What?”

Seeing Rofus frown in confusion, Vallum hastily covered his mouth.

“Oh, no… that’s not what I meant… it just slipped out.”

“Reliable? That’s pretty presumptuous.”

“I meant to say something else… but forget it, it wasn’t that important.”

“Have you cried so much that your tongue is slipping now?”

Rofus laughed.

And then, suddenly, tears began to flow from Rofus’s eyes.

“W-What’s wrong, Rofus?”

“Young Master…?”

Vallum looked at him with wide eyes, and Alba was speechless, frozen in place.

“What is this…?”

Rofus was perplexed by the sudden tears.

The tears were against Rofus’s will. Yet, from deep within him, emotions surged up, overflowing as tears.

These were the emotions ingrained and accumulated within Rofus as the “Shadow Wolf.”

As one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Rofus had harbored a strong inferiority complex towards Vallum, who was considered the strongest among them.

Hearing unexpected words from Vallum, a torrent of conflicting emotions welled up in the “Shadow Wolf,” and they overflowed as tears.

From Rofus’s current perspective, it was extremely bothersome.

He clicked his tongue and wiped away the tears.

“Let’s go. Something got in my eye. The air here must be bad.”

Rofus tried to cover it up, flapping his cloak and turning on his heel.

Vallum and Alba followed him.

—Thank you, Rofus.

Suddenly, Rofus thought he heard such words from behind.

It was a clear, girlish voice.

Rofus instinctively looked back, but naturally, no one was there.

He only saw a scene as if sparkling white lights were rising to the sky, mixed with the snow blown by the wind from Frugel’s remaining body.

Was it an illusion or a trick of the mind?

“Young Master?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Alba peered at him with concern, but Rofus clicked his tongue in irritation and started walking again.

On the way back to the village, Vallum, perhaps feeling awkward in the silence, started talking to himself.

“By the way, I just remembered something. When I was less than ten years old, I once fell off Frugel and injured my leg. For the three months it took for my leg to heal, I couldn’t participate in combat or riding training and was very depressed…”

It was a trivial old story.

Neither Rofus nor Alba interrupted, so Vallum continued talking.

“During that time, I met an unusual girl. She wasn’t a face I recognized in the village, so she was probably the daughter of a traveling merchant or a wanderer. I didn’t have any playmates my age because I was always training, so I naturally started playing with her.”

Vallum smiled nostalgically.

“That girl, at first, would show up naked without any clothes, and I scolded her every time to put something on… Looking back, I wonder if she was being abused. She didn’t seem to mind at all, though.”

Rofus suddenly recalled a casual conversation he had with Yunnel before.

—Clothes are constricting. But if I’m naked, Vallum gets mad.

When they infiltrated the prison tower, Yunnel had said something like that.

Rofus closed his eyes quietly.

Vallum continued talking about his memories with the girl until they reached the village.

Stories of picking flowers together, walking to the hills, and how the girl always waited for him as it took time for him to move due to his injured leg.

As the village came into view, Vallum exhaled softly after finishing his stories.

“After my leg healed, I went back to my daily training and couldn’t see her anymore. In the end, she never told me her name… I wonder if that girl is doing well now.”

Vallum murmured sadly.

Rofus could only respond with, “Who knows.”

At that moment, Rofus felt a twinge of melancholy.