The Villainous Noble Who Kept Rewinding After Death: The Story Somehow Changed When I Committed Suicide

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The Villainous Noble Who Kept Rewinding After Death: The Story Somehow Changed When I Committed Suicide

Chapter 297: Getting a Pawn

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The next time I woke up, I saw Mei trying to wake me, and upon making eye contact, she was startled and quickly created some distance.

“I-I’m sorry. It seems I woke you up.”

“No, you intended to wake me up from the start, right? So there’s no need to apologize.”

“Y-Yeah, that’s true, but, um… I’m sorry.”

It seems that the events from that day left quite a trauma; she was trembling lightly, keeping her head down, looking like she might just drop to her knees and rub her forehead against the ground in submission.

“Sigh. Am I that scary?”

“N-No, that’s not it…”

“Seriously. It was you guys who started the fight that day, and I was just responding. So why am I the one getting that look?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Sigh. This is pointless.”

She seemed to have lost all courage to rebel against me, merely bowing her head and apologizing endlessly. Judging that further conversation was impossible, I got up from the bed and retrieved clothes from my storage magic.

“Anyway, Wilhelm’s supposed to come pick me up soon, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Then get out so I can change.”

“Understood.”

Mei said that and obediently left the room, but staying alone in the room, I felt an odd sensation as if I had become a villain bullying the weak.

“Isn’t it ironic? I was the one almost trapped and killed. Even if it was an attempt, I’m the aggressor getting shaken in fear. It’s like I truly am the villain bullying her.”

Grumbling about that, I finished changing and headed out to the dining hall with Mei, where a slightly more luxurious spread was laid out than usual.

“Good morning.”

“Ah.”

I replied to Rei’s greeting, who had arrived earlier to prepare the meal, and took my seat, staring at the dishes before me.

“Don’t worry. There’s no poison in it.”

“Easy for you to say when you were the one who poisoned me last time.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Well, it’s fine. It won’t work on me anyway.”

“Thank you.”

As I said that while confirming with identification magic that there was no poison, I picked up my utensils and started eating whatever looked good.

Normally, I wouldn’t hold a grudge against past events like this, but this time, making sure those two didn’t forget their guilt and fear was my goal; hence, I was deliberately saying provocative things.

After all, moving forward, I intended for these two to act as my pawns even after I left the Demon Domain, entrusting them with the search for the Moon Spirit.

To achieve that, I needed to avoid giving them any false hopes and make them believe I was a persistent and vengeful man.

In doing so, I could bind them with fear and guilt they couldn’t escape from, turning them into more obedient and manageable pawns.

“Thanks for the meal. So? When is Wilhelm coming?”

“He should be here any moment.”

“I see. In that case, I’ll wait here; just order me something to drink.”

“Understood.”

After that, I relaxed while drinking the tea Mei had prepared, and soon the dining hall door opened, and Wilhelm entered.

“Good morning.”

“Ah, good morning.”

“Have I kept you waiting?”

“No, it was just the right amount of time to rest after breakfast.”

“That’s good to hear. Now, let’s head out.”

“Got it. By the way, are you taking the two with us?”

When I asked if Rei and Mei were coming, Wilhelm glanced at the two for just a moment before shaking his head.

“No, this time I’ll have them stay here. Only you are formally invited, so they cannot enter the castle where the lord is.”

“I see. Well then, let’s go.”

Saying that, I followed Wilhelm out of the mansion, walking straight through the town toward the place where Bagira was said to be.

“We’ve arrived.”

“This looks more like a mansion than a castle?”

The place Wilhelm guided me to was a large one-story mansion made of wood, resembling the inn I had seen in the Underwater Dwelling.

“This building was quite common in Bagira’s hometown. He had it built soon after he became the leader of this district while reminiscing about his homeland.”

“I thought you called it a castle, so I had imagined something more like the buildings I used to live in.”

“In reality, there are two buildings in this district owned by Bagira: one is the castle passed down through generations of the district’s representatives, and the other is this private mansion created by Bagira and the ogres back in the day.”

“I see.”

According to Wilhelm, only a select few know of this place, meaning that whatever was discussed here was likely something that needed to be kept under wraps.

“Now, let’s proceed.”

Following Wilhelm into the mansion, I was greeted by an interior featuring beautifully natural wood grain floors and ceilings, with wooden pillars displaying lovely growth rings—all contributing to a beauty unlike anything I had ever seen.

Moreover, the soft, natural scent of wood offered an indescribable warmth that felt soothing to the heart.

“This has a different charm than elves.”

“I thought the same when I saw it for the first time.”

While it wasn’t overly flashy, the softness and kindness evoked by this wooden mansion made it a place one could easily want as a vacation home.

“This way, please.”

As Wilhelm opened the door, I saw Bagira looking out the window while drinking, and as soon as he noticed my arrival, he downed the rest of his drink.

“Hey. How’s your recovery?”

“Ah, thanks to you, it still hurts a bit where I was cut.”

“Haha. If you can joke around like that, you must be okay. Come on in and have a seat.”

I followed his lead into the room and sat down on a cushion laid out there, as Wilhelm quietly left the scene, and Bagira moved from the window to sit across from me.

“Alright then. Let me introduce myself. I’m Bagira, the leader of this Fourth District. I’m from the ogre tribe, nice to meet you.”

“I’m Luis Valentine. Since I’m sure you’ve heard most of it from Wilhelm, I’ll skip the details.”

“Haha. That’s perfectly fine. As you say, I’ve heard about Luis Valentine from Wilhelm’s reports.”

If Wilhelm’s master was Bagira, then it made sense he had ordered him to monitor me and had him lead me to Suzette Imperial Academy. He probably knew most of the information since I enrolled.

“So? What was that explanation you were about to give me before I passed out? Hurry up and tell me.”

“Well, don’t rush me. The night is still young.”

“Uh, isn’t it perpetually night here? That’s beyond long.”

“Ha ha. You have a point there… Are you in as well?”

Bagira grinned, showing me a bottle of alcohol, but I shook my head in response.

“I think I’ll pass this time.”

“Well, that’s to be expected. Even if it didn’t work, you had quite the incident.”

It appeared that Bagira was aware of Rei and Mei’s actions and didn’t push me further on drinking.

“You’re taking too long for the preamble. Get to the point.”

“Sigh. Seriously? Impatient men are disliked, you know? Though, it seems you don’t fall into that category since there are always women nearby you.”

“Those girls just follow me around on their own.”

“Oh really? Well, whatever. Let me cut to the chase.”

Seeming finally ready to get to the main topic, Bagira changed to a slightly serious expression and proposed something I had half-expected.

“Luis. How about joining us as our comrade?”