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

Chapter 76: Dear

The deck of the airship.

When Riruka opened the door, she saw Rofus leaning against the railing, facing the night breeze, with Iz next to him.

After recovering from her illness, Iz had been working on rehabilitating her body, which had weakened over the past few years.

Her once pale skin was now a healthy tan, and her previously thin frame had gained some weight.

When Iz noticed Riruka’s arrival, she smiled in slight surprise.

“Oh, you really came. As expected of Rofus. He knows everything about you, Riruka.”

Iz smirked, and Rofus replied wearily.

“Enough with the chatter, hurry up and go.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll leave you two alone then. Take your time, Riruka.”

With a cheerful tone, Iz returned inside the ship, passing by Riruka.

Riruka watched her leave with a frown and then turned to face Rofus.

“What were you talking about with Iz?”

“Nothing important. She thanked me for the treatment, mentioned how you haven’t been yourself since we broke up and asked me to get back together with you—just trivial talk.”

“What the… W…”

“Don’t say unnecessary things,” Riruka shivered with anger, and Rofus sighed, impressed.

“But you always have such detailed performances.”

“Huh?”

“If you said that the world had been reset, you could’ve just said our relationship was an act. Or did you have this conversation a bit after we broke up?”

“Well, maybe.”

Riruka averted her eyes, wondering if Rofus thought her sadness after the breakup was an act too.

Unlike when he was with Abel, Rofus spoke to Riruka normally.

She had expected him to be angry, prepared for complaints, but he seemed not in a bad mood.

“I thought you’d be angrier.”

“Me? About what?”

“Well, I dragged you here against your will, and you seemed so grumpy earlier, leaving by yourself.”

Rofus shrugged at Riruka’s downcast words.

“I said before, the information sharing could’ve been handled by you and him alone. My presence there was just a hindrance.”

“So you left because of that? I thought you were mad…”

“Of course, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t angry. It’s impossible to have a friendly chat with that man.”

“But you talk to me just fine.”

“You’re different from him in every way.”

“I see.”

What Riruka felt was relief and comfort.

Her tension eased, and her expression softened as Rofus stared at her.

“So?”

“Huh?”

“Why did you come to see me? You left the conversation with him to come here. You must have something to say.”

“Well… uh…”

Riruka glanced around, unsure of what to say.

In truth, Abel had encouraged her to come here.

She wasn’t sure if she liked Rofus or not.

But she enjoyed talking to him, and seeing him with other women unexpectedly irritated her.

Thinking back, she realized she had been avoiding acknowledging her feelings.

Maybe she liked Rofus more than she thought—

“Well, anyway, it was the right choice to leave that place.”

Rofus sighed as Riruka remained silent.

But there was something off about his words.

“Right choice? What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you notice how strange Abel was? It was like his personality had changed. I had my suspicions, but now I’m certain. Something else has taken over him. It’s not complete possession, as his original personality remains, but…”

“What… what?”

Rofus spoke as if he had seen the interaction between Riruka and Abel.

Riruka’s face contorted in shock.

“Were you listening? How…”

Rofus had definitely left the room, and had been talking to Iz until Riruka arrived on the deck.

Then Riruka realized something and looked at her own shadow.

Rofus’s familiar was lurking in her shadow.

“No way. You were listening through the familiar… all this time…?”

That meant he heard everything, including her outburst about liking him.

Riruka’s face turned bright red.

Rofus, unaware, continued talking.

“It seems he was completely fooled by your act. I didn’t expect him to suggest leaving the room. His change was unexpected. It was fortunate you left.”

Rofus began discussing how to extract information from Abel.

Riruka felt a mix of relief and an overwhelming void.

At the same time, she felt a surge of anger towards Rofus, who dismissed her feelings as an act.

“…”

Before she realized it, Riruka had grabbed Rofus’s coat.

She opened her mouth.

Her rational mind screamed to stop, but her emotions overflowed.

“It wasn’t an act.”

“What…?”

“It wasn’t an act.”

With her head down, Riruka spoke.

Rofus was silent for a moment.

After what felt like an eternity to Riruka, he spoke.

“If it wasn’t an act, then that means… Riruka, you like me.”

“Yes, I like you.”

Riruka answered briefly, her lips trembling.

Unable to look at Rofus, she kept her head down.

She hadn’t wanted to say it, knew she shouldn’t have.

But she couldn’t stop the words from coming out.

“When did it start?”

“I don’t know… I just realized it now.”

“What? Oh, I see.”

Their short exchange continued without them looking at each other.

After a brief silence, Rofus spoke.

“Sorry.”

Rofus’s words of apology filled Riruka’s eyes with tears.

She wiped them away, but they kept flowing.

She knew it.

Rofus had a promise with Faratiana.

He couldn’t respond to her feelings.

Riruka never wanted to come between them.

She had said she would support Faratiana.

Without glancing at the quietly crying Riruka, Rofus continued, troubled.

“I’m really sorry for calling it an act. Raymond… what does he know about women’s hearts? His eyes are truly blind.”

“Huh?”

Riruka looked at Rofus, who was holding his head in his hands.

“I’m sorry, that kind of sorry?”

“Yes, I was too insensitive. I might have shown behavior that could be taken that way, but you were always somewhat suggestive… no, that’s just an excuse.”

Muttering in self-loathing, Rofus looked dark and mumbled.

Seeing Rofus like this, Riruka’s eyes widened slightly, and then she began to laugh.

She burst out laughing, and Rofus looked at her in surprise.

“What are you laughing at… and why are you crying!?”

Rofus raised his voice in even more surprise at the crying Riruka.

Finding Rofus’s reaction amusing, Riruka laughed harder.

As she laughed, Rofus’s eyes gradually grew colder.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself. Were you mocking me?”

As Riruka continued to laugh, Rofus’s forehead vein popped in anger.

When she finally calmed down, Riruka leaned against Rofus’s shoulder.

“Sorry, sorry, I really do like you, Ro-kun. But seeing you so flustered when you usually have a frown was just too funny.”

“You’re rude.”

“Ro-kun, you usually act so mature. It’s surprising to see you react like a typical boy your age.”

“…”

Rofus finally fell silent and turned away sulkily.

Riruka laughed again and patted Rofus’s back soothingly.

“…Sorry for saying something weird all of a sudden.”

“It’s not weird at all.”

“Just so you know, I won’t ask for a response. Actually, I don’t want to hear it. I didn’t say it expecting an answer.”

At Riruka’s words, Rofus furrowed his brow and pressed his temples as if he had a headache.

“You’re such a selfish person.”

“Yeah, you know I’m selfish.”

Resting her head on Rofus’s shoulder, Riruka smiled with satisfaction, as if a burden had been lifted.

“So, let’s keep things as they are. Let’s talk and laugh together, and sometimes be close like this—I’ll be happy with just that… I won’t ask for anything more.”

Rofus fell silent at Riruka’s words, giving no reply.

＊

Leaving Rofus on the deck, Riruka returned to Abel.

That day, Abel never reverted to his original personality, and their conversation was conducted by the alternate persona.

As planned, they shared the information they had.

Riruka shared her own information and what she had learned from Rofus.

Of course, with Rofus’s permission.

This included the incident with the whale in Rogbelt, the events in Steria, and the sky city.

Abel shared information about the defeat of the Leopard King Ambre, collecting magical items from dungeons, and the fact that the principal was an apostle.

“It was you who was raiding the dungeons!”

Riruka pointed and shouted as if she had found the culprit.

Despite the commotion, the information exchange went smoothly.

At the end, Riruka bowed her head slightly to Abel’s alternate persona.

“I was stubborn about not saying thank you, but I feel bad if I don’t—so, thanks for earlier.”

Abel’s alternate persona smiled gently at Riruka’s awkward gratitude.

“Sorry about everything our Abel did. I’ll make sure he understands later. He didn’t mean any harm, so please don’t hate him.”

His apologetic demeanor was like an older brother apologizing on behalf of a troublesome younger sibling.

No, more like—

“What, you’re like his mom now.”

Riruka couldn’t help but laugh at Abel’s alternate persona.

Initially wary, Riruka now felt that this other personality was not a bad person.

＊

Late at night, after the apostles’ meeting.

After the meeting ended, Abel returned to the student dormitory.

He hadn’t seen Rofus since then.

The information Abel shared would be conveyed to Rofus by Riruka.

This was anticipated by Abel’s alternate persona.

Thus, the details of the magical items that could be trump cards were deliberately withheld.

Considering Riruka hadn’t mentioned them, Abel’s alternate persona wondered if the items were not as important in reality.

“In the game, there were many powerful items, and they were very useful.”

Muttering to himself while taking a shower, Abel’s alternate persona frowned and glared at the floating fireball Abel.

“So, how long are you going to sulk, Abel?”

Finally losing patience, Abel’s alternate persona spoke to the silent fireball Abel.

A resentful voice echoed from the floating fireball Abel.

“…Why did you let Riruka go at that time? Weren’t you aiming for a harem? Wouldn’t it be inconvenient for Riruka to go to Rofus?”

“So, you like Riruka, Abel?”

“Of course, I care about her as a comrade. That’s why I’m worried… The opponent is that Rofus.”

“Yeah, the poor Rofus who was shown dreams of being killed unfairly, even though he hasn’t committed any crimes yet.”

“That was him speaking! How can you be sure it wasn’t a lie!?”

As the fireball Abel heated up, Abel’s alternate persona squinted and splashed water on it.

Of course, since it was not a real flame, it didn’t extinguish, but the intensity seemed to weaken.

“Calm down, partner. People lie as naturally as they breathe… even kids these days know that.”

“Then why…!”

“But actions cannot lie. Rofus saved Riruka. He defeated the four beasts’ Despia and the whale monster that seemed to be a minion of the Dark God.”

“That’s true, but…”

“In my world, stories about villains who change their ways and alter the future with their knowledge of the original work aren’t uncommon.”

“What kind of world is that… So, is the harem plan off?”

Abel’s alternate persona sighed and explained.

“Don’t misunderstand. My goal is a happy ending, with everyone smiling. The harem is just one way to achieve that. If everyone’s happy without it, that’s fine too.”

“I see. Maybe I misjudged you a bit.”

The fireball Abel spoke with slight admiration, and Abel’s alternate persona puffed out his chest with pride.

Then, he continued with a thoughtful expression.

“Rofus isn’t a bad guy. But is he really an apostle of the Six Gods…?”

“What do you mean?”

“The current confirmed apostles are Abel, Riruka, and the principal. They all retained their memories from the original game, like a new game plus. But Rofus is different.”

“If I recall, Riruka said he had dreams from my perspective.”

“Yes, dreams. The process of inheriting memories is different for him alone.”

“So, Rofus is… a servant of the Dark God…?”

“It’s quite possible that it was the Dark God who gave Rofus his memories, not the Six Gods. But he doesn’t seem to be an ally of the Dark God. After all, he defeated the whale monster and Despia.”

“I see…”

Abel’s alternate persona spoke while wrapping himself in a bath towel and leaving the bathroom.

He then poured coffee into a mug, adding lots of milk and honey, and stirred it.

“In the original game, the Shadow Wolf Rofus had a very strong and arrogant personality. He wasn’t the type to obey orders. He might be a pawn of the Dark God, but he could be rebelling against them.”

“So, is he an enemy or an ally?”

“Neither. If my guess is right. But the enemy of my enemy is my friend. If Rofus is at odds with the Dark God, we might be able to bring him to our side.”

“There’s no way I’ll let the Dark God have his way. If the Dark God does anything inconvenient for me, I’ll personally take him down.”

Rofus had said that.

His words conveyed a negative sentiment towards the Dark God.

It was a very Rofus-like statement, and Abel’s alternate persona found it hard to believe it was a lie.

“So…” Abel’s alternate persona grabbed the fireball Abel and brought it close to his face.

“Be a bit more friendly to Rofus. With that much hostility, you won’t be able to talk with him properly.”

“Sorry about that…”

Although apologizing, the fireball Abel still seemed somewhat unconvinced.

Abel’s alternate persona sighed and smiled understandingly.

“I get it. Rofus did unforgivable things to you.”

The Shadow Wolf Rofus in the original game released black monsters throughout the kingdom, killing many soldiers, and disparaged his fellow Four Heavenly Kings—August and Annegelt—who were supposed to be his comrades after they were defeated by Abel’s group.

He didn’t care about the old butler, Carlos, who risked his life to protect him.

He also insulted Asteria.

These were all unforgivable actions for Abel.

Abel’s alternate persona continued.

“But Rofus saved Riruka’s life when they first met.”

“…”

“And we couldn’t save Riruka’s family. That’s also a fact.”

The fireball Abel, now spoken to in a guiding manner, responded with a faint voice.

“That’s true…”

Abel’s alternate persona gently patted the fireball Abel.

“Riruka is an important comrade, like you said. And Rofus is the one who saved her. So, isn’t he also your benefactor?”

“Maybe… I might have been a bit blinded…”