Repeat Vice - The Villainous Noble Doesn't Want to Die, So He Swore to Not Die As One of The Four Heavenly Kings - Chapter 77: At the End, At the Beginning

Chapter 77: At the End, At the Beginning

The grade-level tournament ended without incident.

Incidentally, the champion of the freshman division was Vallum.

Apparently, even in the final match, Vallum seemed absent-minded and didn’t appear to be giving it his all.

A few days after the grade-level tournament ended, Asteria soon requested Rofus to arrange a meeting with Raymond to discuss matters.

Rofus thought she should tell Raymond directly, but it was he who had suggested to Asteria that they should talk things over.

Rofus stood between Raymond and Asteria, arranged the time and place, and set up a tea party for the meeting.

Asteria requested that Rofus also be present at the discussion if possible, but he politely declined.

He said that an outsider should not interfere in the discussion between fiancés.

Of course, this was just an excuse; the real reason was that he couldn’t deal with other people’s romantic issues anymore.

Additionally, at that time, Rofus was in no emotional state to deal with other people’s love affairs.

Asteria and Raymond spoke openly about their feelings and thoughts, and the tea party lasted for half a day.

In the end, Asteria apologized, and Raymond accepted, bringing the discussion to a close.

Even Rofus, who had arranged the meeting, did not know the details of their conversation; it remained strictly between Raymond and Asteria.

However, later, Raymond mentioned to Rofus that Asteria had tearfully apologized to him.

She admitted that she had fallen for another person while being engaged, and she was prepared to accept the consequences and responsibility that came with it.

It was Raymond who proposed breaking off the engagement.

However, the engagement was arranged between the royal family and the House of Duke Galleon, so Asteria informed the royal family and Raymond informed the Galleon family of their intention to break the engagement. From then on, the families would negotiate without the individuals involved.

Therefore, the formal annulment of the engagement was still a matter for the future.

The problem was not resolved; rather, various issues would now fall upon Asteria and Raymond.

Nevertheless, this discussion marked a significant turning point for both of them.

After the conversation, Raymond was left alone at the tea party, sipping coffee.

It was pitch-black coffee, without milk or honey, the kind Rofus usually drank.

When Asteria told him she had someone she loved, he felt as if his world was collapsing, but now, after speaking honestly with each other and expressing his feelings for Asteria, he felt unexpectedly relieved.

Despite the heartbreak, he didn’t feel too bad.

Raymond had heard that coffee had a calming effect, and he shrugged, wondering if that was the reason.

As he sat there, the door opened without a knock, and an intruder entered unceremoniously.

It was Rofus, clad in a dark cloak.

Rofus grabbed the pot beside Raymond, poured himself some coffee without permission, and took a gulp.

Then, he plopped down in the chair across from Raymond, where Asteria had been sitting.

Rofus spoke a single sentence to the wide-eyed Raymond.

“So, what will you do?”

“…What do you mean?”

Tilting his head in confusion, Raymond listened as Rofus continued.

“You were unjustly dumped. You have the right to retaliate. You can hold the royal family accountable for this incident or target the commoner Asteria is in love with.”

Rofus listed the options for revenge calmly.

Raymond’s eyes widened in surprise—and then he burst out laughing.

“Rofus, you’re the same as ever… heh heh.”

“…What’s so funny?”

“No, thank you. You’re angry for my sake, aren’t you?”

“W-What?”

Rofus frowned at Raymond’s unexpected response.

Raymond smiled gently.

“But I’m fine. Despite the heartbreak, I feel surprisingly okay. There’s not much of a sense of loss. Besides, it was me who suggested breaking the engagement.”

“…I see.”

Rofus let out a sigh of slight relief.

He had considered the possibility that Raymond might go on a rampage, just like in the story.

He worried that the separation from his beloved might break something inside Raymond.

Rofus had come prepared to stop him by force if necessary.

But Raymond seemed no different from usual.

There was the same calm Raymond as always.

Thinking his fears were unfounded, Rofus shrugged.

Just then, the door burst open again.

Entering were August, Annegelt, and Vallum.

“Raymond! I heard you were talking with Asteria-sama. Are you okay?”

Annegelt, looking worried, was the first to speak.

“Oh, Rofus is here too.”

August’s eyes widened as he looked at Rofus.

“…So, is it true about the engagement being broken?”

“Vallum! You should choose your words more carefully!”

Annegelt scolded Vallum for his blunt question and tried to slap him, but Vallum dodged her hand.

Annegelt glared at Vallum and quickly turned to Raymond.

“That’s not it, Raymond… There’s been a rumor recently that Asteria-sama is courting a commoner named Abel, and…”

As Annegelt rambled on making excuses, Rofus sighed in exasperation.

“…Still noisy as ever.”

Despite it not being long since the discussion with Asteria ended, the four friends arrived one after another at Raymond’s place.

They were comrades who once dreamed of eradicating the world’s injustices together.

Feeling a warm heat in his heart, Raymond naturally smiled.

He looked at the four and spoke.

“Annegelt, August, Vallum, and Rofus.”

At the sound of their names, the four looked at Raymond.

Raymond continued with a smile.

“Actually, I just got my heart broken. I’m going to drink alcohol for the first time in my life tonight. You guys are coming with me—everyone.”

That night, the five of them ventured into the downtown area of the royal capital.

＊

The story goes back a little.

The main city of the Lightless territory.

On the platform, a girl was waiting for the train, absentmindedly staring at the timetable.

She wore a dark coat embroidered with the Lightless family crest—a crescent moon devouring the sun—on her collar, and her translucent blonde hair fluttered in the wind.

Faratiana Rougvelt.

Faratiana, also known as Fol, was about to embark on a journey to the royal capital.

Since the railway tracks did not extend outside the Lightless territory, the train could only take her part of the way.

From there, she would either accompany a merchant’s wagon heading towards the kingdom or arrange for her own horse or carriage.

Behind Fol, the old butler Carlos, who had come to see her off, spoke anxiously.

“Faratiana-sama, are you really going alone? Even now, we can arrange for the Lightless family’s carriage…”

“No. This is my first time leaving the Lightless territory. I want to take my time and see various things.”

“But…”

Carlos still looked uneasy.

And it was no wonder.

Fol’s purpose in going to the royal capital was to participate in the final stage of becoming a noble—the investiture ceremony where she would be granted a title by the king.

Normally, the king himself would not directly confer a title.

But this was an exception.

First, because of Fol’s significant achievements.

She had defeated several disaster-class monsters and presented their magic stones to the kingdom.

On top of that, she had pioneered a dangerous sea area that had remained unexplored for the past three hundred years.

Those feats alone would not suffice for the lowest title of baronet.

In this investiture ceremony, Fol was guaranteed at least the title of baron.

Furthermore, the Marquis of Lightless, a great noble family with significant influence in noble society since the founding of the kingdom, would be her guardian. This motivated the king to take action.

It seems that the king himself, interested in the existence of Fol, decided to directly confer the title at this investiture ceremony.

Rudens, as the head of the Lightless family who recommended Fol, had already gone ahead to the royal capital to attend.

Originally, Fol was supposed to travel to the capital with Rudens by carriage, but she had expressed a desire to “see various things,” so they decided to travel separately.

However, Carlos was uneasy about letting her go without a single guard. More importantly, if Fol encountered trouble on the way and missed the ceremony, the title conferment itself could be canceled.

That had to be avoided at all costs.

“Faratiana-sama, at least take a guard with you. If necessary, I can call back Kaldera.”

“Carla, huh…”

Fol pictured the smiling red-haired girl in her mind.

During the exploration of the perilous sea area, Carla mostly focused on drawing maps and did not participate in any battles.

However, over the long period of exploration, Fol had gradually noticed Carla’s strength due to her significant improvement in combat skills.

Even after the exploration was completed, Carla found various excuses to stay near Fol in Rougvelt.

She ignored the recall orders sent to her and eventually, several dark knights came to fetch her.

But Carla resisted and defeated them. Finally, a knight with cherry-blossom-colored hair appeared, subdued the rampaging Carla, and took her back almost by force.

Currently, Carla was under house arrest for disobeying orders, but Carlos was suggesting lifting this to bring her back.

Fol thought for a moment and then nodded.

“Well, Carla would be fine. Tell her to catch up with me.”

In the distance, the sound of a whistle echoed.

It was a signal that the train would arrive soon.

Looking ahead, the black-painted train with billowing black smoke was approaching.

“W-Wait! Let’s go together!”

“Huh? It’s fine, the train is already here.”

Fol turned her back, indicating she had no intention of waiting.

Carlos, giving up, sighed and took out a package.

“…Understood. I will have Kaldera follow you. Also, please take this with you.”

“Hmm? What’s this?”

Fol slightly unwrapped the package handed to her and peeked inside.

Then, with a bewildered expression, she looked at Carlos.

“What do you expect me to do with this… I mean, where did you even get this?”

“It’s a genuine product acquired from reliable sources. Please use it if you happen to visit the academy.”

“What? No, really?”

Fol looked at Carlos with an expression that was a mix of understanding and skepticism.

Carlos smiled and gave a thumbs-up.

“It will surely be a good surprise.”

“Well… I’ll take it, just in case.”

Fol emphasized the “just in case” as she packed the package into her bag.

“Well then. I look forward to seeing you again.”

“Yeah, Carlos. Thank you for everything.”

At Fol’s words of gratitude, Carlos bowed his head.

Fol boarded the now-stopped train.

As the train started moving, it wasn’t a final farewell, but it would be a while before they saw each other again.

Fol had a feeling about that.

＊

Late at night, under the moonlit path.

The gathering to console Raymond’s heartbreak had ended, and they were all heading home.

Rofus was carrying the drunken Annegelt on his back, and Vallum was easily carrying the equally drunk August.

Rofus felt a sense of déjà vu, thinking they had done something similar before, as he carefully carried the groaning Annegelt to prevent her from throwing up.

On the other hand, Vallum’s way of carrying August was rather rough.

Despite having drunk the most, Raymond, with his face slightly flushed, was also a bit unsteady on his feet.

“You two are strong drinkers.”

Raymond said admiringly to Rofus and Vallum, who were walking steadily despite carrying another person.

“Strong? I didn’t drink at all. Vallum, on the other hand, did.”

Rofus replied with a hint of exasperation.

Unlike Rofus, Vallum had been drinking along with Raymond.

Vallum drank the incoming alcohol as if he was bathing in it, which was no exaggeration.

Yet, his cheeks were not flushed, and he walked steadily without any sway.

“I’ve been drinking with my father since I was young. By the way, you often get called a sieve.”

Such casual conversation on the way back felt warm and comforting to Raymond.

At a fork in the road, Rofus, carrying Annegelt, stopped.

“I’ll take her to her place. You go ahead.”

Rofus’s gaze was fixed on the girls’ dormitory.

Raymond smirked.

“Rofus… make sure you have her consent.”

Immediately, a large dark sphere, a dark ball, flew at Raymond.

However, it was blocked by a magical barrier around Raymond.

Though blocked, it was a highly lethal attack spell.

Cold sweat ran down Raymond’s forehead.

“Hey, Rofus…”

“Feeling less drunk now, drunkard?”

Rofus snorted and continued towards the girls’ dormitory with Annegelt on his back.

The remaining three men continued walking and arrived at the boys’ dormitory.

“I’ll stay out a bit longer for some fresh air. Can you take care of August, Vallum?”

Vallum, carrying August, looked at Raymond suspiciously.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay alone?”

“No problem. Thanks to Rofus’s magic, I’m a bit more sober.”

Raymond’s face was still slightly red, but his steps were indeed more stable than before.

“It’s late. Don’t overdo it.”

“Yeah, I won’t.”

After a brief exchange, Raymond parted ways with Vallum and walked alone under the moonlit sky.

The moonlight glittered, and the gentle breeze felt pleasant, cooling the heat of his drunkenness just right.

After walking through the dimly lit streets for a while, he noticed an abandoned park.

The flickering magic stone lights and the illuminated bench caught his eye.

He decided to take a short break there before heading back.

With that thought, Raymond approached the bench.

“…?”

On the side table attached to the bench, there were several items.

There were five mugs.

One of them was steaming, filled with tea.

The other four mugs contained black coffee, milk coffee, tea, and milk.

Who had placed these here and why?

While pondering this question and staring at the five mugs—Raymond was struck by a strong sense of déjà vu.

“…”

He felt he had seen this scene somewhere before.

A memory he shouldn’t forget, but couldn’t recall.

And a strong emotion surfaced in Raymond’s mind.

Don’t forgive Asteria.

Destroy the hateful Abel.

—Such thoughts.

Realizing this, Raymond fell silent for a moment and then laughed.

“…How foolish. I must be more narrow-minded than I thought.”

He shook his head to dispel the thoughts, attributing them to drinking too much, and turned to leave.

As he started walking back towards the student dormitory, he felt a firm grip on his shoulder.

Raymond frowned and looked back.

There was no one there.

However, the sensation of his shoulder being grabbed remained.

“What the hell is…”

Confused, Raymond became alert—at that moment, a voice echoed in his head.

“Hey, hey, Raymond. You shouldn’t waste your hatred. Your role this time is the same as last time, the villain Vice… But you’re as stubborn as ever. I didn’t expect to repeat the same thing again… Well, let’s repeat it to our heart’s content—this tragedy.”

As soon as the voice was heard, Raymond’s consciousness was swallowed by darkness.

An abnormal magical power overflowed from his body, turning his eyes emerald green.

This was the rebirth of the “Second Demon King”—the repeat of the villain Vice.

Thus, the end of the world began anew.