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

Chapter 69.1: Suspicion

The school, on the rooftop plaza of the main building.

A pure white round table and benches placed on the terrace.

Sitting there, sipping pitch-black coffee, was a black-haired boy—Rofus Ray Lightless.

Rofus propped his chin on his hand, tilting his head in a troubled manner.

Rofus thought of the face of the red-haired boy—Abel Carrot, who could be considered his arch-enemy who had once killed him.

What was that, he wondered.

On the day of the entrance ceremony, Rofus and Abel had a brief encounter and exchanged a few words.

The impression Rofus had at that time was, “Who is this guy?”

Abel seemed quite different from the Abel in the story Rofus had seen in his dreams.

However, just facing Abel made Rofus feel an intense sense of déjà vu and irritation.

Could it be that Abel had been replaced by someone else entirely?

Such an absurd suspicion arose, but even if that were the case, he couldn’t recall who might have replaced him.

But Rofus’s instincts told him that it wasn’t someone completely unknown.

…However, just the other day.

During the new student orientation camp, which upper-class noble students including Raymond and the Four Heavenly Kings decided to skip.

This was a crucial event in the story where Abel and Asteria were supposed to deepen their bond.

There, the events unfolded slightly differently from the story.

The floor boss of the dungeon, which started rampaging earlier than expected, was effortlessly defeated by Abel.

Rofus had observed the whole scene through a shadow familiar he had sent to the Forest of the Hungry Wolves beforehand.

At that moment, Rofus was certain that the Abel Carrot he saw was undoubtedly Abel himself.

This realization only further confused Rofus.

Another issue troubling Rofus was Abel’s strength.

As per the information from Demon King Rath, Abel’s strength couldn’t be explained merely by retained memories.

For example, Riruka Skyfield, who retained her second-cycle memories, was excellent in magic techniques but had many things she couldn’t do due to her immature body.

Riruka originally fought using a combination of magic and physical techniques.

Since she couldn’t fight in her original style and lacked the power boost from the blessings of the Six Gods, her abilities were less than half of her peak.

But Abel was different.

Although already an adult, hence not too immature, he still handled fire attribute magic as easily as using his limbs, even without any blessings.

Enhancing his physical abilities drastically by enveloping his body in flames, and casting intermediate-level fire attribute magic without chanting.

To Rofus’s eyes, it was terrifically abnormal.

“No matter how high his affinity with the attribute is… is he really human?”

Rofus tilted his head and muttered.

Riruka’s spell construction speed was unusually fast.

So much so that even Redcap, the blood-stained hat who could directly see magic power, was astonished.

However, Abel’s speed was on a different level entirely.

It wasn’t just fast—it was truly no-time casting.

Just as people breathe and move their limbs naturally, Abel manipulated the fire attribute magic.

“…like a spirit.”

Spirits can literally manipulate their corresponding attribute as if it were their own limbs.

They can only handle attribute magic, but their affinity with the attribute is incomparable to humans.

From Rofus’s perspective, Abel’s affinity with the attribute was on par with that of a spirit.

Rofus had thought that Abel had a high affinity with the attribute from the moment he saw the future dream—the story.

But that was still within the realm of human capability.

Without the blessings of the Six Gods, the current Abel was, to put it plainly, an anomaly.

“Or maybe, has he already received the blessings of the Six Gods…?”

As an apostle, Abel would likely have contact with the Six Gods, and the possibility was there.

However, Rofus shook his head in denial.

“No, that’s not it. If he had the blessings, he wouldn’t be this weak…”

In Rofus’s assessment, Abel was, at best, comparable to a high-ranking spirit.

Not weak by any means, but not strong enough to pose a threat to Rofus’s life.

He was stronger when he had the blessings of the Six Gods during the second chapter of the story in the battle against the Four Heavenly Kings.

“Did the Demon King exaggerate?”

According to Demon King Rath, Abel had the power of his peak at the final stage of the story.

But judging from the battle with the great wolf Gevaudan, that didn’t seem to be the case at all.

Of course, Abel wouldn’t go all out against a floor boss, but Rofus’s observation of magic had become more refined over the past three years, and he could now roughly assess the skill of a caster just by watching their magic.

Or perhaps Abel had some kind of hidden ace.

Rofus pondered and shrugged.

“There’s too little information. I need to investigate further.”

He needed to hear more details from Demon King Rath about the circumstances when Ambre was repelled.

With that in mind, Rofus connected his consciousness to a familiar lurking in the shadow of Demon King Rath.

＊

Rofus’s view shifted, revealing the chic, black-themed room of Demon King Rath.

Several bottles filled with amber-colored liquid were lined up on the table, and Rath was scooping them up with a spoon and tasting them one by one.

In a rather relaxed manner, Rath, humming happily, wrote “83 points” on the label of one of the bottles.

“Hmm, not bad. The sweetness is strong, but it lacks depth. A bit more flavor, and it could stand out significantly from other products. But what to do… The honey collection is perfect. Should I start over with bee breeding… or maybe mix the honey with grape syrup? No, that would be falsifying the quality…”

“Hey.”

“Whaaa!?”

Unable to wait any longer for Rath to finish her analysis, Rofus finally spoke up, startling Rath.

“…Don’t shout, it’s ringing in my ears.”

“Ro-Rofus!? What’s with the sudden appearance, you scared me…”

As Rath sat down weakly, the black swordfish familiar connected to Rofus crawled closer using its fins.

“…Is that honey? What are you doing?”

“What do you think? It’s a honey tasting. I’m in charge of the Lightless Apiary after all.”

“Oh, that’s right…”

Demon King Rath had been staying as a guest at Rofus’s residence—the Lightless family’s annex—since visiting Rofus.

Of course, to ensure she didn’t do anything suspicious, Rofus personally supervised her.

However, at that time, Rofus was about to enter the magic academy and couldn’t keep her around indefinitely.

So, Rofus decided to give Rath a suitable position and make her work hard like a draft horse.

The idea was to keep her so busy that she wouldn’t have time to think of any nefarious schemes.

Back then, Rofus had embarked on several ventures.

Aside from the vineyard she had originally established, she started a distillery and an apiary.

However, none of these ventures were as successful as the vineyard and were struggling with continuous deficits.

Rofus decided to entrust—more like dump—the management and operation of the failing apiary onto Rath.

Revive the near-defunct apiary, he left it all to Rath.

Of course, with an absolute surveillance system in place where a familiar in the shadows would relay all of Rath’s actions to Rofus.

Initially, Rath was suspected by the staff because of her child-like appearance.

However, even without magic, Rath proved to be competent.

Rath skillfully praised, flattered, and coaxed the employees, sometimes using her innocent appearance to charm them, and quickly won their hearts. On top of that, every step of Rath’ business revival plan succeeded… almost eerily so.

The vineyard established to revive the economy of the Lightless territory also included a beekeeping operation as a secondary venture, and now the honey produced there was becoming a renowned product, second only to the grapes. What began as a nearly bankrupt beekeeping farm with just one rundown shed was revitalized in less than six months. Rath earned the trust of the employees and became a highly capable manager.

Rath’ current focus at the beekeeping farm is improving the quality of the honey. The farm had been producing reasonably good honey, selling it cheaply and in large quantities to commercial associations. Targeting the lower-income population, or commoners, they had made enormous profits. Rath then shifted his focus to the high-income market—nobles and merchants. By increasing the quality of the honey and branding it as a luxury product, Rath aimed for further business expansion and success.

From Rofus’ perspective, the current achievements were more than sufficient, but Rath was not satisfied. Rofus once asked Rath what her ultimate goal was with this business expansion. Rath replied with a smile:

“To what extent? Well, I want to make the Lightless family’s economy so reliant on me that you can’t get rid of me. That way, you’ll never abandon me. —Hey, don’t get angry. I just want an insurance policy that ensures I won’t be left behind.”

Rofus, initially annoyed, reconsidered. If Rath was earnest about expanding the business, it was acceptable, so he decided to continue monitoring Rath while leaving her to her own devices. After enrolling in the academy, Rofus had not been in contact, but it seemed Rath was still diligently improving the quality of the honey. Rofus sighed.

“He’s quite meticulous. Is he really trying to control the economy of the Lightless territory through a mere beekeeping farm?”

“Of course. I’m always anxious about when you might discard me. I have to constantly prove my usefulness to someone as rational as you.”

“And what do you think I am?”

“You tried to kill me repeatedly when we first met. I’m always on edge, wondering when that murderous intent might be directed at me again.”

“…”

Rofus couldn’t entirely deny that. Rath tilted her head.

“By the way, it’s rare for you to contact me. Did something happen?”

“No… I had some questions, but I’ve lost the will to ask. I’ll contact you again tonight, so keep some time free.”

“Sure, through telepathy? Oh, through a familiar, right?”

“Of course. I’m at the academy in the capital. I’d have to use long-distance teleportation to meet in person.”

“I see, that’s a shame. I wanted to see your face after a long time.”

“Don’t say such creepy things.”

“You’re mean.”

Rath chuckled, seemingly enjoying the banter.

“Tonight, then. I also wanted to discuss this season’s sales.”

“I don’t need to hear about it. It’s just going to be a brag about your rising success. The conversation is over; I’m cutting the connection.”

“Alright, see you tonight.”

As Rofus prepared to cut the connection with a sigh, he glanced at Rath.

“…Rath.”

“What is it?”

“The other day, there was a welcome camp. Did you… do anything?”

“Welcome camp…? I don’t recall doing anything. Did something unusual happen?”

“…Never mind.”

Unable to shake off his doubts, Rofus decided to put them aside for now. Under the constant surveillance of the familiar, there had been no suspicious activity or magic from Rath. Moreover, with Rath having little to no magic power, it was unlikely she could have done anything significant. Rofus concluded this and disconnected his consciousness from the familiar.

The floor boss, the giant wolf Gevaudan, had started rampaging at an unusual time due to changes in the students’ movements. Was it just a coincidence? Gevaudan seemed to target Asteria persistently. Was that also a coincidence?

Rofus, his consciousness back in his own body, opened his eyes with lingering doubts. Someone was sitting next to him.

“Hey, Rofus. Taking a nap?”

“…Raymond.”

Raymond, smiling as he peered over, held a cup of coffee that he had presumably borrowed from Rofus’ pot.

“How long have you been asleep? This coffee is already cold.”

“…There’s no milk or sugar.”

“That’s fine. I feel like drinking something bitter right now.”

Raymond gulped down the pitch-black coffee in one go and slightly furrowed his brow.

“…Asteria has been acting strange since the welcome camp.”

Rofus, having a hunch about the cause, listened quietly.

“You probably already know, but during the camp, the dungeon’s floor boss went berserk, and Asteria got caught up in it. Thankfully, with the teachers’ help, she only suffered minor injuries.”

“…I see. So, what’s strange about her?”

“Well… Asteria claims that a commoner student named Abel defeated the floor boss. She says he is her savior, not the teachers. However, Abel himself says that the teachers saved him.”

“Interesting.”

“Asteria asked me to help Abel if the academy is trying to cover up the truth by threatening him. I don’t mind being relied on, but Asteria talks about Abel as if she’s a maiden in love. —Rofus, I understand your feelings, but don’t make such a troublesome face.”

Raymond shrugged as Rofus made an overtly annoyed expression.

“Why are you discussing this with me? Surely, there’s someone more suitable for this.”

“Rofus, you are well-versed in matters of love. I don’t know anyone more suitable than you.”

“Wait a minute. Who said I’m well-versed in love? Where did you get that idea?”

Glaring at Raymond, Rofus felt it was an absurd rumor. Raymond tilted his head, puzzled.

“No, it’s not a rumor. It’s my observation. The black-haired maid at your house… you seem close to her. And Valm’s sister. Recently, you seem to have a good relationship with Anne too…”

“…Stop it.”

Rofus, with a bitter expression, interrupted Raymond’s words.

“Your misunderstanding is profound. It seems you lack the ability to judge people.”

“Oh, really? I was quite confident in my observational skills.”

“Well, your eyes must be made of glass then.”

Muttering to himself about the absurdity of being linked to Sarah and Anne, Rofus gulped down the now-cold coffee. Then a question occurred to him.

“…Hmm? This consultation is about your fiancée Asteria, right? Why are we talking about love? Wasn’t your engagement a political arrangement between families?”

“Is that a problem?”

Raymond looked at Rofus with a serious expression.

“Is it wrong for me to have feelings for my fiancée… for Asteria?”

Raymond’s straightforward words left Rofus dropping his mug in surprise.