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

Chapter 87: Re: Epilogue – Skyfield

A few days after Rofus and Fol officially got engaged.

At night.

The airship Ifrit, made invisible by a stealth barrier, was anchored in the sky above the royal capital.

On the deck, Rofus and Riruka stood side by side, gazing at the moon in the night sky.

“…The moon is beautiful.”

“Indeed. It’s a shame it’s not a crescent moon.”

“A crescent moon…? Do you like them?”

“Not particularly, but it’s the emblem of the Lightless family.”

“Oh, right, it is.”

Their conversation was casual, but there was a noticeable awkwardness between them.

“…”

After a moment of silence, Rofus spoke, as if making a decision.

“I got engaged to Fol recently.”

“…Yeah, I know. That’s good for you.”

Riruka’s response was indifferent.

Rofus frowned.

“…So you did see it. The exchange at the clock tower.”

“Ah… well, yeah.”

Riruka looked away uncomfortably.

Rofus had sensed multiple presences at the clock tower. There was no reaction to magic detection, so it was purely a sensory perception, and he hadn’t felt any hostility, so he had ignored it.

“If you heard, then you must know…”

“Stop.”

Riruka cut him off with a tense expression.

“Is this your response to my confession?”

“Uh… yes, it is.”

Riruka quickly put distance between herself and Rofus.

“…Hey?”

“Don’t say it. I told you I didn’t want to hear it.”

“I can’t do that. I want to be honest with the feelings directed at me.”

“That’s so unlike you. It’s fine to be dishonest. Just stay the way you are. If I’m okay with it, it should be fine.”

“No, at least let me—”

“I don’t want to hear it!”

Riruka covered her ears and ran, vaulting over the railing and jumping off the deck.

“Hey, Riruka!?”

Rofus leaned over the railing in surprise, looking down.

Riruka was using wind magic as a foothold, running through the air at high speed, distancing herself from the airship.

Relieved to see she was safe, Rofus watched with interest as Riruka ran through the air.

Rofus had no technique for moving quickly through the air. Technically, he had several methods for floating, but none for high-speed flight. He could use demonic transformation or Despia, but those weren’t casual options.

Seeing Riruka run through the air, Rofus reconsidered, thinking he might have been too rigid.

In retrospect, the Elf King had also used a similar method to move quickly through the air, and Valm had stood in the air using lightning magic as a foothold.

By abandoning the fixation on floating with propulsion and adopting the running method, the achievable speed depended on the proficiency of body reinforcement.

“Creating magical footholds… deploying them at arbitrary coordinates…”

Muttering to himself for a moment, Rofus quickly devised a spell.

If the timing of creating footholds was even slightly off, he would fall. But Rofus had seen Riruka’s magic firsthand.

“No problem.”

Without any practice, Rofus, a prodigy in magic, wouldn’t fail.

He jumped off the deck to follow Riruka.

＊

Impulsively jumping off the airship, Riruka kept running through the air to escape from Rofus.

Soon, she detected a huge magical reaction through her magic detection—it was Rofus.

Realizing he was chasing her, Riruka sped up.

But Rofus matched her pace, speeding up as well.

“—Ugh! Leave me alone! Why are you following me!?”

“Because you ran away.”

“It’s your fault! I said I didn’t want to hear it!”

Riruka accelerated to her maximum speed, trying to lose Rofus.

Riruka’s wind attribute was naturally suited for acceleration and flight. No matter how much darkness magic Rofus used to replicate it, he couldn’t mimic its superior properties.

Besides, unlike the experienced Riruka, this was Rofus’s first attempt. The speed difference was obvious.

When Rofus was no longer visible, Riruka used magic to block her magical and visual presence, turning invisible, and slowly descended into the city.

She entered a half-ruined, uninhabited house still under reconstruction and hid herself.

She decided to stay there for the night and return to the airship at dawn.

After some time, Rofus might—

But as she thought, Riruka shook her head.

It was unlikely that Rofus would give up. She couldn’t keep running forever and would have to face him eventually.

But now wasn’t the time. She hadn’t sorted out her feelings yet.

Since Rofus chose Faratiana, he wouldn’t choose her anymore. She knew that.

But emotionally, she couldn’t accept it.

Riruka sat against the crumbling wall.

Was this the end with Rofus?

She didn’t want that, not at all.

That’s why she had said to stay as they were.

No progress, no retreat. Stagnation, maintaining the status quo.

Riruka knew this wasn’t good for either of them.

Still—

“If I hadn’t realized my feelings… it wouldn’t hurt so much…”

If she hadn’t realized, she wouldn’t be in such pain. She could have stayed friends with Rofus.

Why did she have to realize?

It was because of the other personality residing in Abel’s body, who had provoked her.

If it weren’t for that—because of him…

At that thought, Riruka shook her head violently and looked down.

“I’m the worst…”

Riruka fell into self-loathing and started to tear up.

At that moment, the shadow at Riruka’s feet rippled.

“—!?”

She tried to leap away, but a hand emerged from the shadow and grabbed her arm.

“Ah!?”

“—Finally caught you, Riruka.”

The one who emerged from the shadow was none other than Rofus.

Riruka tried to escape his grip by hitting him with her other hand.

“I can’t believe it! Why did you follow me here!?”

“Because you ran away.”

“I’ll keep running! I said I didn’t want to hear it!”

Despite her words, Riruka kept hitting Rofus.

It was a light hit without any magic. It didn’t hurt Rofus, but finally, he grabbed her raised hand out of frustration.

“Riruka.”

Rofus called out quietly, looking straight at Riruka.

Riruka, with her hands restrained, turned away with tear-filled eyes.

“…Rofus, do you really want to end our relationship that badly?”

“If you mean our current relationship, then maybe.”

“…Do you hate me that much?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Isn’t that what it means? Why can’t things stay the same? Why—”

Riruka started to struggle again, and Rofus narrowed his eyes in annoyance and spoke.

“Do you want to be my wife?”

Riruka froze at Rofus’s words.

She looked up at Rofus timidly.

“Um… sorry, I didn’t hear you well.”

“…I asked if you want to be my wife.”

“…Huh?”

Riruka tilted her head, not understanding.

“Wait, aren’t you going to marry Far?”

“We plan to register our marriage upon graduating from the academy. Until then, we’re engaged.”

“Um…? So, both Far and I would be your wives?”

“That depends on you, Riruka.”

“Ah… wait a minute, I don’t get it.”

“Why not?”

Rofus retorted, perplexed.

Riruka frowned.

“Well, does Far agree to this?”

“It was Fol’s suggestion. Didn’t you hear the conversation at the clock tower?”

“No… I only watched from a distance. I didn’t hear the conversation. But, you two kissed, so I figured it went well.”

“You…”

Rofus looked exasperated, and Riruka narrowed her eyes slightly.

“…So, what? You came here because Far told you to. I’m just the second choice, right?”

With a sharp glint in her eyes, Riruka glared at Rofus.

Feeling slightly pressured by her unusually hostile demeanor, Rofus shook his head to deny it.

“No, that’s not it.”

“Then what? You wouldn’t have come if Fa hadn’t told you to.”

“It’s true that Fol suggested making you a candidate for marriage. And it’s also true that I asked if you’d be my wife because of that. But… I never intended to leave your feelings unresolved.”

“…You said you wanted to be honest with our feelings. So, if another girl said she liked you, you’d respond to her too? Isn’t that dishonest to us?”

“…Riruka. You’re more troublesome than I thought.”

“Troublesome!? Seriously!?”

Riruka turned red with indignation at Rofus’s muttered words.

Rofus sighed, let go of one of Riruka’s hands, and pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her waist.

“Wha… Rofus…!?”

Pulled so close she could feel his body heat, Riruka blushed for another reason and averted her eyes out of embarrassment.

“Why are you doing this all of a sudden…? Don’t think you can distract me—”

“—I am a noble.”

“…Huh?”

Riruka tilted her head at Rofus’s sudden declaration.

Rofus continued.

“I am the heir to the Marquis of Lightless.”

“Y-Yeah, I know.”

“As the heir, I have the duty and responsibility to leave an heir. And if necessary, I might enter into political marriages for the prosperity of the Lightless family.”

“…”

Riruka fell silent, and Rofus looked at her intently.

“But it’s not just anyone who can be my partner.”

Riruka glanced at Rofus hesitantly.

“Does that mean you think I’m suitable?”

“Yes.”

“…What am I to you, Rofus?”

“You’re someone I care about. Enough to want to respond to your feelings honestly.”

“…I-I see. But I don’t want to be second. Far is your number one, right?”

“I’ve never ranked women, and I don’t intend to. You are you.”

“…I see.”

In Rofus’s arms, Riruka’s face turned as red as a boiled octopus, and she squirmed.

“Th-Then show it through your actions.”

“Actions…?”

Rofus was puzzled, having already embraced and conveyed his feelings.

Riruka pouted and looked away.

“…Why don’t you understand? You did it for Far—”

Rofus silenced Riruka’s muttering by pressing his lips to hers.

It was a brief touch.

“…Sorry. This is all I could think of right now.”

Rofus apologized, and Riruka looked at him in surprise.

She stared at him intently before opening her mouth to speak.

“Um, sorry. It was so sudden that I didn’t understand at all… Can you say it again?”

Riruka spoke with a serious expression.

Rofus sighed in exasperation, thinking there was no sense of atmosphere.

＊

The next morning.

Rofus and Riruka returned to the airship.

The members of “Crimson Wind” noticed the two returning in the morning but chose not to comment.

Standing on the deck, Rofus and Riruka watched the sunrise.

Sigil and Hawk approached, leaving behind a can of imperial soup for breakfast as if to be considerate.

The soup was turtle soup.

Rofus looked exasperated, while Riruka burst out laughing, saying, “Well, I guess it can’t be helped.”

Amid this interaction, Rofus glanced at Riruka.

“By the way, I haven’t heard your answer yet.”

“Answer?”

“Will you be my wife?”

Riruka smiled and answered in a single word.

“No.”

“…What?”

Rofus was taken aback by her unexpected refusal.

He looked at Riruka, wondering if he had misheard.

“You mean marrying you, Rofus? No, I won’t.”

“…”

Rofus froze, not understanding.

“…You won’t?”

“No, I won’t.”

“Am I mistaken? I thought we had mutual feelings for each other.”

“Yes, I like you a lot, Rofus. Last night, I was happy to be with you.”

Riruka spoke with a blush and a grin.

Rofus tilted his head, still not understanding.

“…Even though we like each other, you won’t marry me?”

“Yeah. Being a noble’s wife seems troublesome. There’s a lot of responsibility, and while the lifestyle might be good, it seems restrictive.”

“…I see.”

Rofus was deeply confused.

For someone who had lived as a noble, Rofus couldn’t comprehend this perspective.

As he tried to understand, Riruka approached and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“So, I’ll be your… mistress? Far will be your number one wife, and I’ll be your number one mistress.”

Riruka pointed to herself with a smile, and Rofus shrugged in exasperation.

“Number one, huh… You really care about rank, don’t you?”

“Well, normally, you’d want to be the most important to the one you love. Far is okay just being by the side of the one she loves, but I’m different.”

“…So, you’ll be the number one mistress?”

“Yes! Or, Rofus, would you quit being a noble and join ‘Crimson Wind’? Traveling the world and conquering dungeons together could be fun. I’d marry you then.”

“That doesn’t sound bad, but I can’t. I have to inherit the Lightless family.”

“Right? So, this is the best for both of us.”

Riruka stood on tiptoe and kissed Rofus on the cheek.

Rofus thought that might be acceptable.

Making Riruka, who didn’t hold a title, his official wife would create a disparity issue with the Marquis of Lightless, a high-ranking noble family.

Even if Rofus didn’t care, those around him would not approve.

In a kingdom rooted in a class society, the idea of romance between different social statuses was often rejected.

Thus, the position of mistress that Riruka chose was, in a sense, the least problematic option.

Unlike Fol, Riruka didn’t have to go through the impossible task of becoming a noble.

At this point, Riruka suddenly looked at Rofus.

“By the way, Rofus.”

“What is it?”