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

Chapter 64.8: Academia

Something’s off.

A red-haired boy, Abel Carrot, tilted his head in confusion.

The setting was a certain rural village on the way to the capital.

Although the academy’s entrance was approaching, Abel had delayed his departure from this village.

Around the perplexed Abel floated several fireballs, as if trying to convey something.

“Hmm? You’re telling me to hurry to the capital? Yeah, I know that, but the prologue hasn’t started yet, right?”

Abel was conversing with the fireballs.

He was waiting for the prologue that was supposed to happen in this village.

In the original story, Abel, who had stopped by this village on his way to enroll in the academy, encountered a monster attack.

The movements of the monsters in the nearby forest had become active, resulting in damage to crops and livestock.

The first princess of the kingdom, Asteria, came with soldiers to investigate this situation.

During this time, a large tiger-like monster appeared and attacked Asteria’s group.

Abel happened to be there and helped repel the giant tiger monster.

This was the first meeting between Abel and the main heroine of the original story, Princess Asteria.

It was supposed to be the beginning of the story.

However, the village was peaceful as Abel waited for the prologue to occur.

There was no sign of Asteria coming, and there seemed to be no monster attacks either.

“Wait, if this keeps up, the original story won’t start. What the heck is going on?”

With his hand on his chin, Abel stared thoughtfully towards the forest where the monsters were supposed to appear.

Just as he began to think of heading there himself, one of the fireballs lightly bonked him on the head.

“Have you forgotten? The Leopard King Ambre, one of the Four Demon Beasts, has already been defeated. It’s no wonder there are no monster attacks!”

These were words that only Abel could hear, spoken by the fireball.

Hearing this, Abel furrowed his brows.

“Seriously? Was the prologue related to the Four Demon Beasts too?”

“The cause of the large-scale monster outbreaks across the kingdom traces back to the appearance of the Four Demon Beasts. How do you not know this? You said you were in charge of knowledge.”

“No, no, that wasn’t explained in the game! Thinking back, it makes sense and might be true, but from my perspective, what’s with this hidden backstory?”

“Game? Hidden backstory? You sometimes say incomprehensible things.”

“So, does this mean Asteria isn’t coming? Man, this is deviating from the original story right off the bat. I suspected something was off when Ambre attacked me right after my reincarnation, but… oh crap! If I don’t hurry, I won’t make it to the academy entrance ceremony!”

“I’ve been telling you that repeatedly!”

“Damn it!”

Urged by the fireball, Abel began packing his belongings.

“Ah, seriously. Not meeting Asteria… My harem end plan is already off to a bad start.”

The fireball seemed to express exasperation.

“Are you still talking about that?”

“In the original story, he didn’t marry all the heroines, right? The main wife was Asteria, and the concubine was Faratiana… if I remember correctly.”

“Please stop listing people’s spouses.”

“He only married two in the end? That’s absurd… Do you know how many heroines there are in this game!?”

Abel’s eyes were bloodshot with anger.

The fireball backed off slightly, seemingly unnerved.

“Why are you so irrationally angry…?”

“The game’s ending was not a happy one. No matter what the players say, I refuse to accept it. At best, it was a true… no, if the world ended afterward, it was a bad end disguised as a true end. That’s unacceptable. This time, I’m aiming for a perfect happy ending by any means necessary.”

Seeing Abel’s unusually serious eyes, the fireball wavered as if tilting its head.

“Aiming for a happy ending is fine and is something I also desire, but what does that have to do with a harem?”

“What? A happy ending means a harem ending. Making all the heroines happy is what a man should strive do.”

“Um, well… having the motivation is good. But please don’t do anything strange with my body…”

“Our body, right? Don’t worry, I’ll handle it well. I’ll be counting on you, partner.”

To hurry to the capital, Abel strapped on his luggage and gave a perfect thumbs up.

As he was about to take a step forward, he looked at the fireball awkwardly.

“Uh… hey…”

“…?”

“Could you handle the running? I’m still not good at delicate mana control. Honestly, I can’t run properly.”

“…”

The fireball, despite having no facial expressions, conveyed an air of exasperation.

“…It’s going to be a tough journey.”

Simultaneously with the fireball’s murmur, Abel’s eyes turned crimson.

Abel cloaked himself in fiery mana and dashed off.

His speed easily reached supersonic levels as he sped towards the capital.

＊

The capital.

The capital of the kingdom, one of the continent’s foremost magical nations, was modern compared to rural areas.

The buildings were made of brick rather than wood, and there were trains running within the capital.

Given the presence of magic, one might think civilization was stuck in the medieval era, but the existence of coal-powered trains suggested an industrial revolution level of development.

“Wait, there are trains?”

I muttered involuntarily.

In the game, the main means of transportation were horse-drawn carriages in the early stages and airships after the battle with Despia, one of the Four Demon Beasts, so maybe there weren’t opportunities to mention trains… but it was unexpected.

I thought the world had a medieval European vibe.

Well, the neighboring empire is a scientifically advanced nation that would surprise the real world, so the overall civilization level of this world is hard to gauge.

“Were there trains in Carrot Village? Are they only in the cities?”

“I’m not an expert on trains, so I don’t know much. I think the cost and time for installation prevent them from reaching rural areas.”

The fireball, Abel (the real one), answered with a troubled look.

Hmm.

Well, it makes sense. The kingdom probably doesn’t have bulldozers or excavators, so construction must be tough, especially with monsters around.

But if they push through, it would be easier in the long run.

Oh? Is this where modern knowledge comes in handy?

So far, I haven’t been able to fully utilize my original knowledge.

I have information about useful items in dungeons and ruins, but Abel himself is doing the actual fighting.

I’ve been practicing, but I’m bad at handling mana and can’t fight properly.

Well, applying modern knowledge will have to wait.

Currently, Abel is just an ordinary commoner about to enroll in the magic academy.

Also, without the prologue, I’ll have to start by meeting Asteria.

What a hassle.

As I walked the path to the academy, I heard a noise from an alley.

I can’t control Abel’s body well.

However, being the protagonist, Abel’s body has high specs.

One of its standout features is his sharpened senses.

Abel’s keen hearing picked up the sound of a frightened girl and rough male voices, which would be easily missed amidst the city’s hustle and bustle.

This… smells like trouble.

However, this kind of light novel cliché didn’t happen in the original story.

“Abel, has this happened before?”

“No…”

“I see.”

This means this event wasn’t omitted but simply something Abel didn’t encounter in the original.

Considering that I’ve been acting differently from the original, it’s natural that unexpected events occur.

Originally, Abel wouldn’t have been in this place at this time.

Honestly, I’ve been thinking that deviating from the original story might not be a good idea.

Even though I’ve been acting on my own accord up till now, altering the main storyline has eliminated the prologue—my encounter with Asteria.

Well, the prologue issue was unavoidable since Ambre attacked and Abel defeated it.

But if more deviations from the original occur, my advantage of having foreknowledge will be useless.

I should pass by without intervening to avoid further disruptions.

“But I’m going to stop it.”

In the alley, several men were surrounding a girl.

One of the men raised his hand towards the frightened girl, but I grabbed it and stopped him.

The man, surprised, glared at me and angrily shook off my hand.

“…Who are you? Do you know whose hand you just grabbed?”

The men, and the girl, were wearing the uniforms of the magic academy.

Looking closely, the frightened girl’s uniform was slightly disheveled.

“Whose hand? A sex offender’s?”

“Who are you calling a sex offender! Look closely, I’m a noble!”

The man pointed to the golden line embroidered on his collar to emphasize his status.

Ah, right, that was a thing in the story.

It seems the collars of noble uniforms have gold lines, while commoners’ do not. This was explained in a scene early in the game where Abel was insulted as a lowlife.

The men had gold lines on their collars, while the frightened girl did not.

“I see. So the nobles were ganging up to use a commoner girl to satisfy their desires?”

“No! You’re mistaken! Lowly commoners aren’t fit for our honorable academy. We were teaching her that. We’re noble. We don’t have the hobby of embracing the lowly!”

“I see.”

Indeed, the girl’s clothes were disheveled, but she didn’t look like she had been stripped or anything. It looked more like she had been dirtied by the ground or something. But still, that doesn’t make it okay.

“So, ganging up on one girl is what nobles do?”

The noble students glared at me. The man stared at my clothes. I wasn’t wearing the academy’s uniform but hand-me-downs from Abel’s father. The man sneered at my clothes.

“You… with that appearance, you’re a commoner. A country bumpkin who doesn’t know how to speak to nobles, huh — Dark Sphere!”

The man chanted a spell and produced a dark sphere in his hand. The other men whistled, and the girl let out a short scream.

Ah, I’ve seen this before. It’s the move Rofus the “Shadow Wolf” used. But isn’t it… kind of small? It takes him a long time to chant for such a small sphere. Rofus could produce hundreds or thousands of spheres that were ten times larger without chanting. I never thought he was that strong among the Four Heavenly Kings, but seeing this, I realize he was strong among the nobles.

“Ha! Too scared to speak? This is the power allowed only to nobles — magic. Bow down. Lick the ground and apologize, and I might forgive you.”

Seeing such weak magic made me scoff, but the man mistook it and forced me to kneel.

That’s hilarious.

“…Enough. Let me take over.”

A voice, fiery Abel’s, spoke in my ear. By the way, the fiery orb is invisible to anyone but me. Even those with magical power have difficulty sensing its presence. Only someone with keen magical senses, like Meilin, one of the heroines and the head of the magic division, might notice it. The Fire God told me this right after my reincarnation. The half-ghostly fiery Abel looked concerned and suggested switching places.

Sure, I can’t handle magic well, but do you think I’m weaker than this no-name mob noble? Abel, you’re kidding, right?

“Switch quickly. You’ll get hurt.”

“…”

Abel’s voice was unusually serious. Really? Am I that weak now? Really? I see, so I’m weak…

In that case, I’ll execute Plan B.

I lowered my head and spoke in a low voice.

“Foolish.”

“What did you say?”

The men frowned at my sudden change in demeanor.

“Hey, what are you doing! Switch with me!”

Abel’s fiery orb made a fuss, but I ignored it on purpose. Abel, you’re underestimating me too much. I can handle a typical mob noble like this.

“I said foolish. What else do you call someone who doesn’t know the difference in power?”

“You…!”

The man aimed the dark sphere at me, ready to cast the spell. In the next moment, I unleashed flames from my entire body.

“Impossible! What is this magical power…!?”

The men recoiled in shock at the sight of me wrapped in flames.

Haha, how’s that? I look strong, right? This magic that only looks impressive — no, it’s just attribute magic gushing out, not even real magic. Honestly, it just looks flashy, but it doesn’t enhance physical abilities or grant special powers. It just looks like my body is on fire. But it looks strong, and above all, it looks cool.

“I see, dark attribute. I’m fire attribute, so I’m the worst match for you.”

I smiled confidently and approached the men. They backed away in a panic.

“A commoner using magic…!?”

“Remember this!”

The men ran away, shouting typical lines.

“That worked? No way…”

Abel’s fiery orb sounded mixed with surprise and confusion.

See? These kinds of mob villains are often cowards despite their arrogance. A little bluffing, and this is the result.

If they had really attacked, I would have switched with Abel.

“Are you okay?”

I dispersed the flames and rushed to the girl. She watched the fleeing men in a daze and collapsed. Her cheek was slightly swollen as if she had been hit, and her lip was bleeding a little.

“Those guys… should I have punched them once?”

I stood up impulsively, but the girl grabbed my jacket’s hem.

“Wait! I’m fine… really, I’m fine…”

She tried to be strong.

“Thank you for saving me. But please, don’t do something so dangerous again. They’re nobles…”

The girl said softly. She had short, chestnut hair and looked plain but cute. I hadn’t seen her in the game. Even though she’s in such a template situation, she’s not a named character? Being a student of the magic academy means she has magic power despite being a commoner, like Abel. There were no other commoners with magic power besides Abel in the game, but are there more in reality?

I reached into my tool bag and grabbed the “Wind God’s Pouch.” This rare item from an ancient ruin connected to a subspace, boasting vast storage. It’s like an inventory or item box in a game. It was inconvenient until I got it. Normally, you needed to max-expand a pouch to access the Wind God’s ruins, but it was accessible, just like in real life. I followed the original knowledge and got it. I took out a potion from the pouch and handed it to the girl.

“Here.”

“What… is this a potion?”

“Yeah. Take it and heal your wounds.”

“I can’t… I can’t accept this! It’s a valuable magic potion!”

She pushed it back. Indeed, potions are expensive. In the game, they were a source of income. Low-grade ones were easy to find in dungeons, though.

“It’s okay. I have 999 of them. Well, now it’s 998.”

“Nine hundred…!? You’re joking, right?”

No, I’m serious.

“If you don’t want it, you can throw it away.”

I pushed the potion into her hand and turned my back.

The entrance ceremony is tomorrow, so I need to find a place to stay.

“Wait! Your name… what’s your name?”