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: Bonus SS 1: The Cherry-Haired Knight

Chapter 77: Bonus SS 1: The Cherry-Haired Knight

This happened a little after Fol and her group finished exploring the perilous sea area.

Carla—the dark knight Kaldera—did not return despite having completed her mission.

Despite repeated recall orders, she ignored them all.

Several dark knights were sent to retrieve her, but they were defeated.

“…What is that mad dog doing?”

A dark knight with distinctive cherry-colored hair sighed.

Kaldera, a named knight, had continued to ignore recall orders, prompting Alba, the head of the dark knights, to order her forced return.

The dispatched dark knights were defeated, and the cleanup fell to this knight.

Spare me.

The cherry-haired knight earnestly thought.

Why does it have to be me?

He thought Alba should go himself instead of ordering others.

However, if he dared to say such a thing, that power-harassing young white-haired man would silently unleash dark magic.

Alba, though pretending to be poker-faced, was the type to get irrationally irritated when things didn’t go his way.

That said, fetching Kaldera was a dangerous mission, one that could cost several lives.

The granddaughter of a former sword saint, with sword skills on par with her former superior Carlos, who was also a former sword saint.

Dealing with such a monster was no joke.

However, this was a mission.

A non-negotiable mission directly ordered by the head.

“This is an order. For the honor of the dark knights, bring that girl back.”

“…Understood.”

Suppressing the urge to respond with a full-blown “no,” the cherry-haired knight set off for Rogbelt.

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“And so, hurry up and return. The head is really angry.”

“No. I’ve decided to quit being a dark knight and become Fol-sama’s attendant.”

In Rougvelt, the cherry-haired knight attempted to persuade her, but failed spectacularly.

Kaldera spouted some nonsense, and the knight was exasperated.

“That’s not your decision to make. I understand your intention, but you need to discuss it with your master. So, let’s go back for now, okay?”

“No. I don’t want to be apart from Fol-sama.”

“Are you a child…?”

With Kaldera refusing to budge, the cherry-haired knight held his head in his hands.

Being called a child, Kaldera narrowed her eyes and placed her hand on the hilt of her new sword.

“So? Will you retreat or not?”

“If I could retreat, it wouldn’t be an issue…”

The cherry-haired knight considered a career change, even if just for a moment, as he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Despite being a dark knight, the cherry-haired knight did not wear a helmet.

This was a rare exemption from the anonymity requirement for named knights.

Kaldera, recognizing the knight’s stance and knowing his sword was just a bluff, was wary.

A tense stare-down ensued, both knowing each other’s abilities to some extent.

Their concentration heightened to an extreme level, the confrontation felt eternal yet lasted only a moment.

The standoff was broken by an intruder.

“Carla? What are you doing here?”

Fol appeared on the scene.

“Fol-sama…!?”

Kaldera’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden appearance of Fol.

The cherry-haired knight didn’t miss this slight opening.

Immediately, white smoke enveloped Kaldera.

Responding quickly, the smoke was sliced in half, revealing Kaldera.

Kaldera was being choked from behind by the cherry-haired knight.

In an instant, Kaldera’s invisible sword strikes assaulted the cherry-haired knight.

But the knight’s body turned into mist, and the attacks passed through, leaving cuts on the ground and surrounding areas.

After struggling briefly, Kaldera lost consciousness, supported by the cherry-haired knight.

Thus, Kaldera was subdued, caught off guard for just a moment by the cherry-haired knight.

Wiping the blood from a cut on his right cheek, the cherry-haired knight sighed with cold sweat.

“Got cut even though I turned into mist…? Seriously, how does that even work…?”

Muttering to himself, the cherry-haired knight carried the unconscious Kaldera.

Fol glared at him suspiciously.

“Hey, what are you doing? Let go of Carla right now.”

Drawing her sword and pointing it at the cherry-haired knight, Fol was ready to act.

Although she couldn’t do anything in that moment, she couldn’t stand by and watch Carla be taken away.

The cherry-haired knight glanced at Fol and widened his eyes in surprise.

“——Ah. Could you be Faratiana-sama? The one Carlos-sama is pushing to be the young master’s wife?”

“Huh?”

Fol’s eyes widened as she was addressed by name.

Then, she noticed the family crest of the Lightless house—the crescent moon devouring the sun—on the black armor worn by the cherry-haired knight.

She remembered this armor from when the dark knights of Lightless occupied Rogbelt.

So, the knight in front of her was one of Rufus’s men.

Fol blushed.

“W-Wife… Me?”

Feeling embarrassed, Fol fidgeted, and the cherry-haired knight bowed his head while carrying Kaldera.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Glesterenom Huesenburn Noah Crust of the dark knights. Pleased to meet you.”

“Glesterenom… What?”

“Quite a long name, isn’t it? Originally from a foreign land, so it might seem unusual. The young master himself can’t remember my name. Please feel free to call me Gless.”

With an absurdly long name, Gless answered with a wry smile to the bewildered Fol.

“Don’t worry about Kaldera. I won’t harm her. Well… she might be put under house arrest for ignoring recall orders and defeating the knights sent to fetch her.”

“Recall orders? I didn’t know… She defeated them!?”

Fol, who seemed to be unaware, looked at Kaldera with a mix of exasperation and concern.

“Yes, quite thoroughly.”

“That’s… not good.”

Fol looked at the unconscious Kaldera with an exasperated gaze.

“Oh, and Farahiana-sama, I have a message from Carlos-sama. ‘We are arranging a meeting with the head of the Lightless family soon. Preparations are being made to send an escort, so please be ready.'”

“…! I see… The head, that means Rufus’s father…”

“Indeed. But don’t worry too much.”

Offering some words of comfort, Gless turned to leave.

“Well then, I will take my leave. I look forward to meeting you again.”

With those parting words, Gless, carrying Kaldera, disappeared like smoke.

The cherry-haired knight—Glesterenom Huesenburn Noah Crust.

Second in command of the dark knights.

A skilled warrior, second only to the head, Alba.