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

Chapter 66: Welcome Camp I

This was a dream.

An illusion that no longer exists.

Or perhaps, someone’s memory—

“Asteria… who’s he? You two seem pretty close. Do you know him?”

After the entrance ceremony, Raymond saw Asteria and Abel talking amicably and decided to cut in.

Asteria looked away slightly, appearing a bit uncomfortable.

“Oh, Raymond, greetings. This is Abel. He helped me out during a recent expedition to an area with heavy monster activity.”

“…I see.”

Raymond scrutinized Abel, sizing him up. Behind Raymond, Rofus noticed the absence of the golden lines on Abel’s collar, a symbol of nobility, and let out a mocking snort.

“So, he’s a commoner. As expected of royalty, to treat even the lowly without distinction. Such magnanimity is beyond me.”

Asteria’s brow furrowed at Rofus’s remark.

Recently, Asteria had led a subjugation team to a village reported to have heavy monster damage and was saved by Abel’s assistance when they encountered an unexpectedly strong monster.

Abel was, in a sense, Asteria’s benefactor.

Being unfairly insulted about such a benefactor, Asteria glared at Rofus in displeasure.

“Lowly, huh? That’s quite a statement. I know you. You’re Rofus Ray Lightless, right? I’ve heard the rumors. The magic prodigy of the Lightless family… but your strong elitism is a bit of a flaw, isn’t it?”

“What did you say…?”

A vein bulged on Rofus’s forehead.

Asteria looked at Raymond.

“Raymond, this is just a piece of advice, but you should choose your company more wisely.”

“…Rofus is a dear friend. Not even you have the right to interfere with my relationships.”

Raymond narrowed his eyes, clearly offended, while Asteria glared back without backing down.

“Is that so? Then, the same goes for you. Don’t interfere with my relationship with Abel.”

“…Fine. If that’s what you want, I have nothing more to say.”

A tense standoff ensued.

An air of hostility lingered between them until Raymond finally turned his gaze to Abel, gave him a withering look, and turned his back.

It was the moment when a rift formed between Raymond and Asteria, who were once engaged.

“…Don’t play dumb, commoner. You’re the cause of this. You won’t get away with—”

“Clearly, you’re the cause of this.”

As Rofus glared at Abel and began to speak, Annegelt jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow, her eyes half-closed in irritation.

“…Ngh. Annegelt, are you siding with him?”

“What nonsense are you spouting? This all started because of you—”

As Annegelt and Rofus seemed about to start arguing, August intervened, exasperated.

“Hey, cut the lover’s quarrel. Raymond’s already gone.”

“‘Lover’s quarrel’!?”

Rofus and Annegelt retorted in perfect unison.

August shrugged and pointed at Raymond, who was already walking ahead.

Vallum, indifferent, followed behind Raymond.

Clicking his tongue, Rofus muttered, “Tch, remember this,” like a second-rate villain, and chased after Raymond.

August and Annegelt sighed and followed.

Left behind, Asteria exhaled, looking tired.

“…Are you okay?”

Abel’s concerned words brought a relieved smile to Asteria’s face.

“Sorry about that. It ended up dragging you into this…”

“No, it’s fine…”

“I’d like a change of pace. Oh, I know a place in town that has great pastries. Let’s go, my treat this time.”

Asteria’s beautiful smile.

Abel, captivated by her smile, nodded and then his vision went dark.

＊

He opened his eyes.

What he saw was the brand-new ceiling of the student dormitory.

Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he sat up.

“Another dream, huh.”

The interactions with Asteria and Raymond after the entrance ceremony… Abel’s memories.

They felt so real, unlike the graphics seen on the game screen.

Lately, he’d been having dreams like this, which seemed to be Abel’s memories.

As if they were filling in the gaps of the knowledge he only knew from the game.

Was it the Six Gods who reincarnated him into Abel’s body showing him these memories, or was it that he was intermittently receiving Abel’s memories because they were sharing one body?

“Rofus… he turned out to be quite a comical guy.”

He remembered Rofus’s and Annegelt’s exchange as they left.

He hadn’t known such a comedic interaction took place in that scene.

At least, it wasn’t in the game.

It was natural that there would be discrepancies and differences in recognition between Abel’s memories and his knowledge of the original story.

His knowledge of the original story had many gaps.

And—

“I really didn’t need to see the bad guys having such human moments…”

He’d have to eventually defeat them, but seeing their humanity made it harder.

The villains, too, had families and friends, even if the game didn’t focus on that.

Realizing this was a pure reality, not just a game.

If they stood before him as villains in the future, could he make the cold decision to stop them, even if it meant killing them?

Could he make the same decision the original Abel and his comrades did?

＊

The Welcome Camp.

In short, it was an event planned to welcome new students.

The event involved camping for two days and one night in the coniferous forest owned by the academy—the “Forest of the Hungry Wolves.”

Incidentally, in the original story, a defeat event occurred at the end of this welcome camp, but that was if things proceeded according to the original flow.

However, unlike the prologue, this event had no connection to the Four Demon Beasts, so unless something drastic happened, the flow wouldn’t change.

This Welcome Camp event was a crucial moment to deepen his relationship with Asteria.

However, he needed to start from the beginning with Asteria.

He had to get serious.

“Listen, Abel. I’m sure you understand, but the Welcome Camp is an important event to deepen your relationship with Asteria. However, you didn’t get to meet her in the prologue or go on a café date after the entrance ceremony. It’s like meeting her for the first time. The difficulty level is very hard. But I believe you can do it, Abel. Try to at least promise to have a meal together during the camp.”

‘Wait, what are you saying… wooing Asteria? Me?’

I scolded the flustered Fireball Abel.

“Of course! Why would I handle the love events with Asteria? It has to be you, Abel!”

‘Love events…? I don’t quite understand, but why are you so fixated on my relationship with Asteria?’

“Huh? I said I’m aiming for a harem end with all the heroines. Naturally, that includes Asteria and Faratiana, who went as far as marriage. And the other heroines—Riruka, Fran, Meilin… and Tatiana.”

‘…I think you’re misunderstanding something, but I didn’t have that kind of relationship with the other companions.’

I shrugged at the perplexed Fireball Abel.

“Ah, the dense harem protagonist… always the same.”

‘Harem… dense? I don’t understand, but it doesn’t sound like a compliment.’

It’s definitely not a compliment.

It’s a tease.

“Anyway, you probably didn’t make progress with the other heroines because you didn’t pick up enough flags. Poor Riruka, she definitely liked you, Abel.”

‘That’s not… Riruka wasn’t…’

“With all that affection coming your way, you can’t just brush it off, Abel. But never mind that for now. The meeting with her is still in the future. First, focus on Asteria.”

‘Listen to me.’

Despite the back-and-forth with Abel, academy life continued smoothly.

＊

During academy life, I found the magic classes, which were mostly cut in the game, quite enjoyable.

Naturally, it wasn’t like in the game where you cast spells with a single command consuming MP.

Magic required many elements to activate, such as spell incantations and constructing magic formulas, so there was a lot to learn.

And I understood Abel’s abnormality, being able to cast spells almost instinctively without proper understanding of the formulas.

This protagonist could use magic based on feeling alone without understanding the formulas, something he had been able to do since before he could remember.

There wasn’t much detail about this in the game, but seeing it in reality makes it clear that Abel is definitely strange.

He seems to have a higher total magical power than most aristocratic children. Maybe he’s actually a real genius?

However, it seems his intellect isn’t that impressive.

When it comes to studying, especially in magic, I understand it better than Abel, even though this should be his second time learning it.

Even so, I still can’t manage to cast magic properly, while Abel does it effortlessly.

It’s frustrating.

Anyway, as we mix in some classroom scenes, it’s finally time for the eagerly awaited freshman Welcome Camp.

The location is the coniferous forest known as “Forest of the Hungry Wolves.”

The freshmen were gathered in a clearing in front of the forest, where the teachers began to assign groups.

In the original game, Asteria would invite me, but the situation is different this time.

So…

“Abel, go!”

I give a small go-ahead, but Fireball Abel hesitates to take control of the body.

‘…You mean go talk to Asteria now? That’s impossible.’

“Come on, Abel, are you chickening out? Don’t be shy now. She’s your future wife, remember?”

‘…Look at Asteria.’

“Huh?”

Following Fireball Abel’s cue, I look at Asteria.

A lot of people were gathered around her.

It seems she was being asked to join several groups, and Asteria was politely declining with a smile.

The collars of these students had gold lines… unsurprisingly, they were all nobles.

In the game, Asteria approached me first, so I didn’t notice, but she’s very popular.

The competition is too fierce.

‘She’s royalty. If a commoner like me, who she doesn’t know, approaches her, it’ll just make things worse.’

“…I think the first step is to get her to notice you, though. And yes, first impressions are important.”

In the game prologue, their meeting was perfect.

Asteria was saved by Abel when she was in a pinch against a powerful monster… it was a perfect encounter.

Anyone would fall for someone who did that. Even I would.

Women always hope, deep down, for a prince on a white horse to come to their rescue.

Well, Abel wasn’t on a white horse, but still.

And then, a thought occurs to me, and I look at Fireball Abel.

“Hey, Abel.”

‘What?’

“Isn’t it a bit strange? You seem way too passive about Asteria.”

‘…’

Fireball Abel goes silent.

I make decisions about our actions.

This was something the Fire God told me when I was reincarnated into this body.

Abel agreed to this.

So, despite his grumbling, he follows my plan to achieve a harem ending.

But when it comes to Asteria, Abel is oddly passive.

She’s supposed to be his wife, and he was supposed to love her.

Yet Abel seems to accept the lack of their prologue encounter and the absence of their post-entrance ceremony date as if it can’t be helped.

If you truly love someone, wouldn’t you want to be with them again?

“…Do you not like Asteria anymore? You better not say you’re tired of her.”

‘No! I would never…!’

Fireball Abel flares up with emotion.

I look straight at Fireball Abel.

“Then why?”

‘That’s…’

Fireball Abel’s flames weaken, and he falls silent.

At that moment, a voice cuts through our conversation.

“Ah! Hey, you!”

“…?”

I look toward the voice and see a girl with chestnut hair, looking surprised.

Oh, this girl, from that time…

“You’re Abel, right? Wow, I’m surprised. I thought you were an experienced adventurer.”

“Uh… well…”

Caught off guard, I fumble for words, and the girl grins.

“Sorry for the sudden call. I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Mira, a second-year student at the magic academy.”

The chestnut-haired girl, Mira, introduces herself.

“Upperclassman…?”

Come to think of it, those nobles who were with Mira in the back alley were upperclassmen too.

“Why is an upperclassman here at the Welcome Camp?”

“It’s part of the committee. There are other upperclassmen here too. It’s too dangerous for freshmen to enter ‘Forest of the Hungry Wolves’ alone.”

“Really?”

Was it like this in the game?

The welcome camp is an early event, so I don’t remember the details.

Maybe it’s some background lore the game didn’t cover?

“Our job is to supervise the freshmen and make sure they don’t do anything dangerous. Also, to join groups with any students left out. Got it? Lonely Abel.”

Mira smiles, tilting her head.

I look around.

The other freshmen are mostly grouped up.

Oh, man, I got too distracted talking to Fireball Abel and missed my chance.

Am I the only one left alone?

“Anyway, a kind senior will team up with you.”

“Can’t I go solo?”

“Solo? You mean alone? No way, didn’t you hear the teacher?”

I didn’t.

“Jeez. We were told to form groups of at least three to enter the forest.”

“Three…? So we need another person?”

“Yeah… but there doesn’t seem to be any other freshmen left alone. Worst case, it could be just the two of us…”