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 368: Gratitude

So, with Hamiru guiding us, we arrived at the door of the principal’s office, but once we reached it, Hamiru said he had classes to attend and left us to enter alone.

“Alright then, I’ll open it.”

Since she was the principal’s disciple, Sonia was entrusted with opening the door, and she said this as she turned the knob.

“Hoh-hoh. Finally, you’ve come.”

Then, a warm, familiar voice came from inside, and there sat the principal, unchanged from two years ago, smiling at us from his chair.

“It’s been a while, Sonia.”

“It has been a while, Master.”

“Hoh-hoh-hoh. You’ve grown quite a bit during our time apart.”

“Yes, I think I’ve gotten a little taller.”

“Is that so? Well, first, come in. Standing and chatting isn’t proper; please have a seat.”

Following the principal’s invitation, we stepped into the room and separated to sit on the large sofa in the center.

“Hmm. Is there not enough seating? Then I shall just sit here and talk.”

“I’m sorry, Master. We came in such a large group…”

“Don’t worry about it. Rather, it makes me happy to see you make so many friends that I have to give up my seat. You used to look so lonely without any friends.”

“W-What?! That’s not true!”

“Hoh-hoh-hoh. Is that so?”

Realizing there might be some truth in the principal’s words, Sonia blushed and hurried to deny it. The principal seemed to enjoy her pure reaction and laughed in amusement.

“Now then. While it’s nice to talk to my disciple after a long time, it wouldn’t do to keep the others waiting. Besides, it’s not just Sonia I haven’t seen in a while.”

As the principal said this and turned his gaze toward us, I straightened my posture and bowed my head respectfully.

“Good to see you again, Principal.”

“Yes. It’s been a long time for all of you too. You look well.”

“Yes. It’s good to see you’re as healthy as ever, Principal.”

“Indeed. Good to see you again.”

“It’s an honor to meet you once more.”

Following my greetings, Fiera and Shuvina also took turns to greet him, and seeing us, the principal nodded in satisfaction.

“You all seem to have grown quite a bit, haven’t you?”

“Thanks to your guidance.”

“Hoh-hoh. What a funny joke. I did nothing for you. During your time at this academy, you all learned on your own and grew solely by your own efforts. If anything, it was we who caused you trouble.”

“No, it was that freedom that allowed us to reach where we are now. Had we faced any restrictions back then, we might not have become this strong.”

“Hmm. You truly are interesting. You’ve already gained overwhelming strength, yet you remain humble and continue to seek more. I’m curious about where you’ll end up.”

“Then, please watch till the end.”

“Hoh-hoh. That’s right. While joining you in battle may be difficult, I can at least witness your journey.”

“Yes. If you’re interested, I’d be grateful for your observation.”

I said this with a smile, and he reciprocated with his own, then changed the subject.

“I’d like to chat a bit more with you, but let’s save that for later. First, I need to greet the others as well. Since half of them are new faces, let’s start with introductions. I am Olgumas Sardury, the principal of this magic academy and the master of your friend, Sonia. Nice to meet you.”

“Olgumas-sama. It’s an honor to meet you. Your achievements and papers on magic are famous even in the empire I reside in, and I have referenced them numerous times. I’m Iris, a student at the same academy as Eir. Pleased to meet you.”

“I am Sephiria Ishtalika, the current Saintess of the Holy Country Ishtarika. It is a great honor to meet such a magnificent magician who has built an entire era.”

“My name is Miria. Although I am a commoner, I have heard tales of you, Olgumas-sama. It is a great honor to finally meet you.”

“I’m Lavienne! Nice to meet you!”

“Hoh-hoh-hoh. How delightful that you know such an old man. And, Miss Lavienne, have we perhaps met before? I feel I’ve sensed a similar aura somewhere.”

“Well, who knows? I’ve been to many places, so it might have been during one of those times.”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

The principal, Olgumas, said так as he stroked his beard, narrowing his eyes while looking at Lavienne, who simply smiled back without any concern, creating a brief silence between them.

By the way, it was the first time Olgumas formally introduced himself to us. Since my time at the magic academy, we hadn’t interacted that much, so I had never heard his name from him.

“I just found out the principal’s name for the first time.”

“Yeah. I only met him a couple of times while at the academy, so I had no idea what his name was.”

As a result, both Fiera and Shuvina seemed surprised to hear the principal’s name for the first time after two years, as they perked their ears and stared at Olgumas.

“Hoh-hoh. So that’s how it was. I’d be glad if you both remember my name now.”

“Got it.”

“Yes. I’ve properly remembered it.”

The two nodded, and Olgumas smiled at them as if looking at long-lost grandchildren.

Olgumas Sardury was a descendant of one of the students of the first sage, Igar Scarlet, and he was regarded as one of the greatest magicians in history.

His magical prowess was unrivaled, and his knowledge of magic was so profound that it was said that thanks to him, the magic technology of the Magic Kingdom advanced several generations.

Therefore, many in the streets referred to him as the reincarnation of a sage, but he himself was uninterested in power and promptly handed over the positions of family head and chairman of the Magician’s Association to his son, becoming the principal of the magic academy instead.

Still, even he couldn’t measure up to the magical genius known as Mejina Markuri, the principal of the Suzette Imperial Academy. However, she was rumored to be disinterested in societal contributions, hence not publishing her research, leading many in the current generation to view her simply as a lazy magician.

“That said, what an impressive lineup. Why is it that you’re surrounded only by girls?”

“That’s what Hamiru-sensei said too. But it’s not like I asked for this, you know? It just ended up like this.”

“Well, they say heroes have a fondness for beauty, and it’s only natural that people gather around such individuals, regardless of their intentions. This must be your fate as well.”

“If this is fate, I’d like to be excused from the hassle.”

“Hoh-hoh. What a wish that other boys would envy upon hearing.”

Olgumas laughed at my words for some reason, then changed the subject again without pursuing that topic further.

The conversation shifted to Sonia’s experiences at school and Iris’s stories, allowing time to pass peacefully, with Sonia getting flustered or embarrassed, until we realized it had turned to evening outside.

“Phew. Talking with the young ones is truly enjoyable. Plus, it was nice to hear the stories of Sonia at the other academy. I’m glad to see Sonia finally made the friends she always wanted.”

“I-I hope you stop bringing that up, Master! But I must say, I’m having a wonderful time too.”

“Hoh-hoh-hoh. Is that so? I’m glad.”

Seeing Sonia happy to have finally made those longed-for friends and indulging in her beloved magic, Olgumas wore the warmest smile he had shown all day, like a grandfather looking at his precious granddaughter.

“Now then. It’s about time to wrap this up. I should let the others go soon. However, Eir-kun, I’d like to have a word with you, so could you stay a bit longer?”

“Understood. Then, Fiera and the others can either explore the academy or wait in the room that Hamiru-sensei showed us first. I’ll contact you with a magical tool when I’m finished.”

“Okay. Got it.”

With that, once Fiera and the others left the room, only Olgumas and I remained.

“So, Principal. What did you want to discuss?”

“Hmm. You’re as impatient as ever. Well, it wouldn’t be good to keep her waiting too long, so I’ll get right to the point.”

Olgumas said this as he stood up from his chair, slowly walked toward me, stopped, and suddenly bowed his head.

“Principal?”

“Eir-kun. I want to thank you. Two years ago, when you had no relation to this kingdom, you eliminated the royalty that had been a bane to this country and even saved Sonia. Not only that, but you also showed this country a new way during its chaos with the king absent, guiding it forward. Thanks to you, this nation can now tread down that new path. I truly appreciate it.”

It seems that the reason Olgumas called Sonia and us here today wasn’t just to see Sonia, who he adored as a disciple and granddaughter, but also to convey his thanks for what happened back then.

“Please raise your head, Principal. While it’s true I helped Sonia and proposed new systems, it was undeniably you who shaped them into their current form. I merely provided options; you were the one who made them a reality. So, there’s really no need for any further gratitude.”

“Hoh-hoh. You still aren’t concerned about such matters. But if that’s how you feel, then receiving any more gratitude would indeed be disrespectful.”

Olgumas laughed, seemingly unbothered by my words, and sat back down on the opposite sofa.

“Even so, my gratitude to you is sincere. You resolved the issues I had been turning a blind eye to and provided the impetus for this country to be reborn. Well, there are still issues with discrimination against beastmen and the oppression of those with low magic power, but that’s something we must address. As long as I have breath, I’ll do my best to ensure that the younger generations can pass down proper values without such biases.”

“That’s true. Changing those who’ve imbued with those prejudices will be challenging, but if we can change the younger generations, and they then pass it on to the next generation, it may lead to a better outcome.”

“Right. That’s precisely why I intend to keep striving as the principal of this academy.”

Olgumas, who said this with a smile, seemed like a natural educator, his expression filled with vigor that hardly showed his age, and he appeared genuinely joyful.

“Besides, I’m also grateful to you regarding the royalty issue and Sonia. When I heard she suddenly followed you to the Ruzenia Empire about a year ago, I was surprised, but it seems that it has led to good results. When I saw her again, she had grown tremendously stronger compared to before. I’m sure it’s thanks to you and the others.”

“I didn’t do anything special. She became stronger because she desired to and worked hard for it.”

“Yes. However, one cannot manage everything alone. One of those things is having objectives. Without a goal, one gradually loses sight of their position. But she found you as an objective and gained friends to compete with. Thanks to that, she was able to break through the wall she had been facing in a country where her rivals were non-existent.”

Olgumas had a valid point; without goals, people lose their way and gradually become unclear about where they are and what they aspire to.

In fact, I live with death as my goal. But if I didn’t have that objective, I probably wouldn’t have been able to handle things and would have lost my sanity in the past, arriving at this moment.

“Let’s wrap this up since we’ve talked quite a bit. It wouldn’t be good to keep the children waiting.”

“Yes.”

With that, our discussion came to a close. As I stood up to leave the room, placing my hand on the door, Olgumas called out to me as if recalling something.

“Oh, right! I almost forgot. It seems you’ve managed to seriously motivate the Immortal Witch. When she came here the other day, all she did was talk about you. That one is quite difficult, having lived for too long, so it might be a handful, but do your best.”

“Huh? What do you mean by…”

“Hoh-hoh! That’s the end of our conversation. We shall meet again sometime.”

“Wait, hold on…”

Olgumas ignored my words, deftly opened the door with wind magic, pushed me out, and then closed it again with magic.

“Seriously, don’t go adding more trouble at the last minute.”

The “Immortal Witch” he mentioned refers to Mejina, a name she’s known by.

And the implication that she’s difficult to deal with likely indicates just that.

“Sigh. More problems to tackle.”

Considering that even Lavienne has been getting involved lately, the idea of adding Mejina to the mix makes me feel like retreating to some other dimension just imagining it.

“Well, whatever. I’ll think about those troubles later. First, let’s go home.”

That said, since she hadn’t directly said anything to me yet, it’s still possible that it might differ from what I imagine, so I decided to handle whatever Olgumas mentioned when the time came.

Later, as I regrouped with Fiera and the others who were exploring the academy, I also took a little time to check out the academy before finishing up my farewells with Hamiru and leaving the magic academy.

Watching from his room as Lewis and the others returned from the magic academy, Olgumas smiled as he saw Sonia engaging in cheerful conversation with Iris.

“Hoh-hoh-hoh. I’m really glad to see you happy, Sonia.”

As Olgumas spoke, watching Lewis and the others head back, he turned his gaze back to his now quiet room, which felt even more silent than usual after the earlier commotion, making him feel a twinge of loneliness.

“Hmm. I really am getting old.”

Unconsciously muttering this, Olgumas closed his eyes for a moment, recalling the lively atmosphere of the room just moments ago, before his thoughts drifted to his recent conversation with Lewis.

“That child’s atmosphere seems a bit different now. It feels like he has gained a sense of composure.”

Two years ago, when Olgumas had come to inform Lewis of his expulsion, he felt a sense of precariousness.

Perhaps due to his life experience, he sensed that Lewis had become indifferent to living, almost wishing for his own death, which made it seem like he was keeping Fiera and the others nearby but held no interest or concern for them.

However, the Lewis who reunited after two years, while his core qualities seemed unchanged, appeared to genuinely care a bit more for Fiera and the others than before.

“I hope this turns out for the better for him. Anyway, I ought to focus on what I can do. They say heroes enjoy beauty, but challenges come with being a hero as well.”

During their earlier conversation, even though Lewis told Olgumas that there was no need for further gratitude, Olgumas intended to take his words seriously.

No matter how much Lewis insisted that no thanks were necessary, Olgumas felt compelled to repay the debt he owed for shaping this nation right, accomplishing what he could not, and saving his now-disciple Sonia.

That’s why, with resolve, he quietly set forth.

When Lewis inevitably called for help someday, he intended to be able to assist him without hesitation.

And so, Olgumas returned to the busy days he had thought were behind him, contrary to his desire for a peaceful retirement.