Repeat Vice - The Villainous Noble Doesn't Want to Die, So He Swore to Not Die As One of The Four Heavenly Kings - Chapter 67: Welcome Camp II

Chapter 67: Welcome Camp II

“Seriously? Are you a loner too?”

“…”

The large freshman averted his eyes.

Even Mira awkwardly looked away.

A heavy silence filled the air.

Huh? What’s this atmosphere? Feels like a funeral.

Why is there this awkward tension between these two?

This guy’s a freshman from a knight family, right? Do they know each other?

“Ah. You’re that noble’s lackey, aren’t you?”

“…”

The large freshman turned his face away conspicuously.

I see, that’s the connection.

I’m starting to get it.

It’s not just that one time in the alley; those nobles have been bullying Mira regularly.

Considering they were violent even outside of school, this large freshman must have been there too.

If so, it makes sense they’d know each other and why Mira-senpai is reacting this way.

I stared intently at the large freshman.

“I’m Abel. What’s your name?”

“…Gold. Knight family, Gold Lao Garm.”

Still looking away, the large freshman—Gold—introduced himself.

I gently placed a hand on Gold’s shoulder.

“Alright, Gold. Nice to meet you. So, did you mess with Mira?”

“Hey, Abel!?”

Mira raised her voice in surprise.

Ignoring her, I continued to stare at Gold.

Gold was silent for a moment before he spoke.

“…I did not. As a knight, I swear I do not harm women or children.”

“Is that so?”

I then backhanded Gold across the cheek.

But Gold was unscathed.

For some reason, it was my hand that throbbed painfully.

Damn, he’s hard… like concrete.

“What are you doing, Abel-kun!”

Only Mira-senpai was making a fuss.

Gold, who had been hit, didn’t glare at me; he just lowered his eyes.

I said to him.

“Idiot. Even if you didn’t do anything, you’re guilty by association. Why didn’t you stop those stupid nobles? Aren’t they your acquaintances?”

“…”

“You bastard…”

I grabbed Gold by the collar, raising my fist to strike again.

But Mira restrained me.

“Stop the violence! It’s enough already!”

“But…”

“Just stop! This way, you’re no different from them!”

“Seriously?”

I let go of Gold’s collar.

I definitely don’t want to be compared to those stupid nobles.

“…You won’t hit anymore?”

“I won’t, I won’t. So let go, Mira.”

“…You seem insincere. It sounds like a lie.”

“I’m not lying.”

Mira released me.

Then, Gold, who had been silent, bowed his head to Mira.

“I’m not asking for forgiveness, but I apologize.”

“There’s nothing to forgive, you didn’t hit me…”

Mira looked away, her expression complicated, but soon turned back to Gold.

“But I accept your apology. And thank you, Abel, for getting angry for me…”

Mira said, blushing slightly.

Wait… is this a flag?

With that incident behind us, the three of us—me, Gold, and Mira—were officially registered as a team and proceeded into the Forest of the Hungry Wolves.

As the name suggests, this forest is infested with wolf-like monsters.

The reason is that there’s a dungeon deep in the forest.

The dungeon deep in the forest—The Great Wolf Citadel.

A fortress-type dungeon where wolf-like monsters emerge.

The monsters originating from that dungeon roam the forest, hence the name Forest of the Starving Wolves.

Frankly, if we could clear the dungeon, the forest would be peaceful, but… this dungeon and the forest are under the academy’s control, and entering the dungeon is prohibited.

—That’s the setup, but in the original game, Rofus of the Shadow Wolves disregarded this and hunted the monsters, making them his minions.

If we secretly clear the dungeon, wouldn’t it weaken Rofus’ forces?

I proposed this to Abel, but he immediately shot it down.

‘Even if we destroy this place, he’ll just replenish his forces from another dungeon. Besides, Rofus controlled many black monsters besides wolves. Destroying one dungeon won’t make much of a difference.’

Apparently, that’s how it is.

I thought it was a good idea, but it seems it’s pointless.

If we exterminated all the wolf-type monsters, what would happen to Rofus’ title?

Would it change from Shadow Wolves?

As I pondered this while walking through the forest, we set up a tent in a riverside clearing.

Tonight’s dinner is BBQ.

By the way, Gold handled most of the tent setup.

To be precise, I tried to help, but Gold’s skills were too good, and I couldn’t keep up.

“Wow. You’re really good at this.”

“Though I’m just an apprentice, I am a knight. I’m used to camping.”

“Impressive. A guy who can survive in the wild is popular, you know?”

While watching Gold work, Mira called out to me.

“Abel, if you’re free, gather some firewood!”

“Oh, sure.”

I went to gather firewood, while Mira-senpai was in charge of foraging for food.

Seriously, this helps a lot.

Who was it that said they’d go solo?

If I were alone, I’d be dead in no time.

As I collected dry branches, the forest suddenly shook violently.

Wolves howled everywhere in the forest.

Trees rustled and many birds took flight at once.

＊

“…What’s that?”

‘That howl… Could it be… it’s already here!?’

The fireball Abel, who had been silent, spoke in a panicked tone.

“Already here? The Great Wolf Gevaudan?”

The Great Wolf Gevaudan—a very powerful giant wolf monster and the first unbeatable event in the game.

In the game, it appears on the second morning of the welcome camp, at the end of the camp. For some reason, it had escaped from the dungeon and was roaming around as a floor boss.

Naturally, it’s not an opponent Abel can defeat at this early stage. After fighting for a while, the Great Wolf would unleash a powerful area attack, forcing a scripted defeat.

In a moment of desperation, the teachers appeared and rescued them.

Incidentally, this Great Wolf Gévaudan is later absorbed by Rofus, making a spectacular return in the second part of the game as a black giant wolf monster that stands in the way of Abel and his friends.

However, as previously explained, the appearance of the Great Wolf Gévaudan is supposed to appear on the second day of the camp. Right now, it’s only the afternoon of the first day. This is far too early, no matter how you look at it.

‘Do you know why Gévaudan, the floor boss of the dungeon, appeared then?’

“That’s because a lower-ranking noble…”

The Great Wolf Gévaudan appeared because a lower-ranking noble, eager to show off to Princess Asteria, had ventured into the forbidden depths of the Forest of the Hungry Wolves, near the Great Wolf Fortress, and hunted and disturbed the monsters there. 

“But this early? Why…?”

‘I don’t know, but maybe because I’m not in Asteria’s team this time, the students’ actions might have changed!’

“Changes in their actions… Things really aren’t following the original story, are they? But is this really Gévaudan?”

‘I don’t know, but switch with me right now! If anything happens to Asteria…!’

For once, the fireball Abel sounded terribly anxious.

I understand the concern, but considering that things aren’t following the original story, it’s not certain that Asteria’s team will be attacked just like in the game. 

Of course, I’m worried about Asteria too, but Mira and Gold, who are in my team, are also in danger. It’s also unclear if this anomaly is truly caused by the appearance of Gévaudan.

…However, it’s best to prepare for the worst.

The worst-case scenario here would be Asteria dying at this stage. That would be a far cry from the harem, or rather, the happy ending I aim for.

Our tent is at the beginning of Forest of the Hungry Wolves. In the game, Gévaudan rampages in the depths of the forest, near the restricted area.

For now, I should prioritize Asteria.

“…Switching is fine, but do you know where Asteria is?”

‘No, but I’ll run around and find her.’

…What?

In this vast forest?

Abel’s physical abilities, enhanced by magic, are insanely high. If he runs at full speed, he can easily break the sound barrier. But this isn’t an open plain; it’s a forest with poor visibility.

This seems quite difficult.

Abel has the protagonist’s plot armor, so he might find her, but this isn’t a game or a manga; it’s reality.

Abel doesn’t have any exploration skills like Rilka, Fran, or Meilin.

…I’m glad I gathered items in the dungeon.

I took out a certain magical item I had stored in the Wind God’s Pouch.

It was a black bird feather.

A Raven’s Tail Feather — a magical item that guides you to the location of what you’re searching for. In the game, it was mainly used to locate specific monsters or animals.

It was also useful for lost item search quests.

I had never used it for finding people, but it should work since living beings are included in its scope.

I threw the Raven’s Tail Feather high into the air and said the name of what I was searching for.

“—Target…First Princess of the Kingdom, Asteria Roa Sinterio.”

The Raven’s Tail Feather turned blue, became a bird of light, and started flying towards the “target.”

Good, it worked.

I immediately transferred my body to Abel.

“What are you…!?”

Abel looked surprised at my sudden action.

‘Idiot, follow it, protagonist.’

As a blue fireball, I scolded Abel.

“…! I owe you!”

Don’t worry about it.

After all, I’m the knowledge specialist.

Abel cloaked himself in flames and followed the Raven’s Tail Feather flying towards Asteria.

＊

Asteria Roa Sinterio, the First Princess of the Kingdom.

She had a strong sense of responsibility as a royal.

She would often listen to the voices of the people, sometimes even stepping in to solve problems herself.

If there were reports of monsters causing harm nearby, she would proactively lead a subjugation team to suppress them, and sometimes even mediate conflicts among the citizens.

This earned her overwhelming support from the populace, but at the same time, she was often regarded as a wild horse by the royal family and some nobles.

She participated in this orientation camp, which required an overnight stay, even though many upper-class nobles’ children chose not to join, considering it part of the academy’s curriculum and her duty as a student.

Most of the new students participating in this camp were commoners and lower-ranking nobles, as almost no upper-class noble children participated.

In her school life, Asteria was mostly surrounded by upper-class nobles, making it difficult for lower-ranking nobles to approach her.

Thus, for these lower-ranking nobles, this orientation camp was a golden opportunity to get close to Asteria.

Having connections with royalty was very useful in noble society.

The title of being the first princess’s friend was a tremendous status in itself.

Many lower-ranking nobles were eager to show their usefulness, even if they couldn’t be in the same group as Asteria.

In the original story, one of the lower-ranking noble students in the same group as Abel and Asteria had rushed into the forbidden area, driven by such ambition.

And this time—

＊

“Damn it, a forest isn’t a place for us nobles…”

“Seriously, there are too many insects. Especially the bees; their buzzing is annoying.”

Some lower-ranking noble freshmen were complaining as they ventured deep into the Hungry Wolf Forest.

They were a group of three lower-ranking nobles who hadn’t managed to be in the same group as Asteria.

They were already near the entrance of the dungeon, in the deepest part of the Hungry Wolf Forest.

Naturally, the encounter rate with monsters was very high, but the nobles used their magic to fend them off and continued onward.

“Hey! How far are you planning to go? We’ve already entered the forbidden area!”

One of the students, sounding irritated, called out to the one leading them.

“Calm down. We rarely get a chance to get close to royalty. If we hunt a big monster, we might catch Princess Asteria’s eye.”

Saying that, the leading student kept moving deeper as if driven by something.

“A big monster? Is there really such a thing here?”

“Yeah. In the depths of this forest, there’s a huge wolf monster.”

“Oh? Can we really take it down… And how do you know about that?”

“Well, that’s because—”

Their conversation was interrupted by a wolf monster leaping out of the bushes with its mouth wide open.

The students behind were too shocked to move, only widening their eyes in fear.

The leading student sighed and wordlessly cast a spell, blowing the wolf monster away.

“Phew, that was close…!”

“You’re amazing! That reaction speed isn’t normal!”

One student was relieved, and another praised the leader.

Then, one of them noticed something strange.

“Wait, that spell… there was no incantation? You didn’t even say the spell name. Was that chantless magic…?”

He looked at the leader, who gave a suspicious smile.

“Just a makeover. But are you okay with this being your last words…?”

Immediately, the students were devoured by a giant wolf that appeared from the depths of the forest with tremendous speed.

And the giant wolf—Great Wolf Gévaudan—after its eyes turned jade green, let out a howl that shook the entire forest.