Damn Reincarnation

d followed this path leading to Sienna.
From Hamel’s grave to the leaves of the World Tree.
Now he needed to find the Elven Village, somewhere in the Samar Rainforest.

“…It can’t be helped,” Ciel conceded, sensing that she definitely wouldn’t be able to change Eugene’s mind.
She let out a long sigh and scratched her head in frustration, then she changed the subject.
“…This is the first time we’ll be drinking together.
Since you’re leaving tomorrow, let’s also commemorate the end of our Coming-of-Age Ceremony.
So if we’re going to drink, then we should at least drink something good.”

“Something good?” Cyan repeated, his eyes widening at these words.

“Lady Carmen has an extremely expensive wine stored in her display case.
According to the knights of the Third Division, not only is the wine’s price high, but it’s also extremely difficult to obtain,” Ciel explained.

“There’s no way that Lady Carmen would give us such an expensive wine,” protested Cyan.

“Don’t worry about it.
Because I’m going to stealthily sneak it out,” Ciel assured him.

“Sis… is that really okay?” Cyan asked uncertainly.

“It’s fine,” Ciel insisted.
“Because Lady Carmen doesn’t even drink a single drop of wine.
She occasionally places it on the dining table, but she just pours some black tea that’s the same color as the alcohol into her glass.”

“It seems like she’s quite the consistent person,” Eugene muttered with an amused snort.
“In that case, there shouldn’t be any problem as long as you replace the contents of the bottle with that of another wine.”

After everything was done, the three of them gathered in Eugene’s room in the middle of the night.
Ciel recounted the saga of how she had broken into Carmen’s room in order to steal the wine, while Cyan admired his sister’s courage and gave off a sense of anticipation for the first drink in his life.

However, the reality of something was often worse than what you had been anticipating.
The nineteen-year-old Cyan found that he actually preferred the taste of warm milk over this bitter wine.

“This really is a good wine…,” Cyan squeezed out, putting on a facade.
He then looked at Ciel, who was frowning as she took a sip, and scornfully said, “What’s with that expression?”

“Why do people even like drinking something as bitter as this?” Ciel asked.

“But I feel like this is tastier than other refreshments….
Ciel, you’re not able to enjoy the taste of this wine because you grew up so smoothly, without any difficulties,” Cyan pretentiously declared.

Since they were born as twins and they had grown up together, Cyan’s words obviously didn’t make any sense.
Ciel was annoyed by her brother’s bravado, but she didn’t show any of it and instead just filled Cyan’s cup to the brim.

“As expected, brother really is amazing.” She made sure to flatter him.

Like this, Cyan drank one cup after another until he finally fell over onto his side.
Ciel, who had downed Cyan, now turned to Eugene as her next target.

However, unlike Cyan, Eugene was pretty good at drinking.
Her plan to get him drunk and dig up all sorts of blackmail was a failure.
Even though the wine that she had brought had finally bottomed out, Eugene was still perfectly fine.

“…Why aren’t you drunk?” Ciel finally asked.

“I do feel a little drunk,” Eugene admitted.

Ciel pounced on her chance.
“Are you going somewhere with that Auxiliary Bishop Kristina?”

“I already said that we're not going anywhere together, so why do you keep asking me the same question over and over?” Eugene asked exasperatedly as he threw the sprawled-out Cyan onto a bed and escorted Ciel out of the keep.

Before she left, Ciel said, “I’ll see you off tomorrow.”

However, Ciel wasn’t able to come out to see him off.
This was because Carmen, who had detected her intrusion, caught her and dragged her to do some one-on-one training starting early in the morning.

 

Kristina, who had arrived in front of the warp gate earlier than Eugene, looked at him with a faint smile as he approached.
Gilead was talking about something with Doynes.

“Sorry to trouble you like this.” Eugene apologized for keeping everyone.

“Don’t think of it like that.
As the Patriarch, I would have to be there in any case to open up the treasure vault.
Also… I want to be there to see it in person when you draw the Holy Sword,” Gilead siad, his voice sincere.
Following the Great Vermouth, no one had managed to gain the Holy Sword’s recognition.

While they were not directly related by blood, Gilead still considered Eugene to be his son.
As such, he couldn’t help but feel complicated.
This was all because of Eward.
Although he didn’t really want to think about it, Gilead had to admit that the contrast between his eldest son Eward and his adopted son Eugene was far too strong.

That sore finger[1] of his was both Gilead’s soft spot and his greatest shame.

Gilead tried not to show any of the pity that he was feeling towards his eldest son in front of Eugene.
After letting Eugene go off on his journey, Gilead intended to return to the Black Lion Castle.

The few months that Cyan would be staying in the Black Lion Castle would also serve as a test to see if he was worthy of his position as the clan’s next Patriarch.
The Council of Elders had no intention of giving Eward, who had tarnished the family’s prestige, any such chance.

As such, Gilead decided that… during these next few months, he would persistently try to persuade the Council of Elders.
He wouldn’t be asking them to do anything in regards to the Patriarchal succession, of course.
Gilead was just hoping that they would allow Eward to return to the main family.

After that, Gilead wanted to go to the Bossar fief in order to meet with Eward and Tanis.
Even if he failed to convince the Council of Elders, he at least wanted to meet with his wife and son in order to find a release for these suffocating feelings.

After passing through the warp gate, they arrived back at the Lionheart clan’s main estate.
Thanks to having passed on the word in advance, only the minimum number of servants needed for activating the magic of the warp gate were waiting ahead of them.

“Are you really not going to tell Gerhard anything?” Gilead asked Eugene.

“If I told him that I was going to Samar, my father would grab on to me and beg me not to go while drowning me with tears and snot,” Eugene explained.

“He definitely would do that,” Gilead nodded with a bright grin.
“But isn’t it only natural for a father to worry about his son.”

“Do I also make you worried, Sir Patriarch?” Eugene asked.

“…Of course… I’m also very worried about you.
However, my faith in you has surpassed all my worries,” Gilead assured him.

“I’ll try my best not to get caught up in anything too risky.
Because I won’t be going alone,” Eugene said as he glanced backward.

Kristina, who was following him with a faint smile, nodded slightly in response to Eugene’s gaze.
“I, too, will do my best to keep Sir Eugene’s journey from becoming too dangerous.”

“I don’t really know how a miracle of turning cookies into bread would help in a dangerous situation,” Eugene noted sarcastically.

“The barbarians of Samar might just happen to like bread,” Kristina said, her smile twisting slightly.

Eugene shrugged at these words and looked forward once more.

Eventually, they arrived in front of the treasure vault.
It had been six years since Eugene had last come here.
Eugene rubbed the necklace that he had been wearing around his neck all this time as he looked at the door of the treasure vault.

“…But anyways, is it okay for Lady Kristina to go in there with us?” Eugene belatedly checked.

Gilead hesitated, “In principle, it’s forbidden, but….”

“Wouldn’t it be strange if a Saint was not present at the site where the Holy Sword is drawn?” Kristina argued, having no intention of backing down.
While placing emphasis on the name of the sword, she continued, “No one has been able to receive the Holy Sword’s recognition for the past three hundred years.
However, if Sir Eugene succeeds in doing so today… that would mean that the God of Light has given his blessings for Eugene’s journey, and he may even deliver another revelation about your journey.”

“I’m asking because I’m really curious, but is it really okay for a priest to so easily sell out their god as an excuse to get what they want?” Eugene inquired.

“Sir Eugene.
Just what exactly do you mean by that? I swear on my word that I have never once taken God’s name in vain,” Kristina vowed.

In the end, it was decided that Kristina would also accompany them into the treasure vault.
Just as he had done six years ago, Gilead stroked the doorknob with his bloodstained fingers.

Creeeak! 

The engravings carved into the door began to writhe.

The treasure vault opened.

The first thing that Eugene saw through the open door looked exactly the same as it had six years ago: the radiant golden sword that was embedded in the center of the room.
Separate from the lighting that illuminated the interior of the treasure vault, the sword emitted its own light.

This was the Holy Sword.

“Aaah… that’s… that’s really the Holy Sword of Light, Altair….” Kristina released a sigh of admiration as she clasped her hands together.

It had been a long time since Eugene had last heard the true name of the Holy Sword.

Kristina called out to him.
“Now then, Sir Eugene—”

“I’ll get to that later,” Eugene said as he turned to Gilead.

He might have already asked for permission in advance, but wouldn’t it be rude of him to just wander around the treasure vault as he willed?

“You don’t need to pay any attention to me,” Gilead said with a wry smile.

It was only then that Eugene grinned and started strolling around the treasure vault.
He saw the Dragon Spear Kharbos, the Thunderbolt Pernoa, and the Devouring Sword Azphel.
These three weapons were in the very same places that they had been six years ago.

‘As long as you’re good at wielding them, any one of these weapons could be used to conquer a country.’ Eugene marveled at the sight.

This wasn’t an exaggeration.
Vermouth had been able to release a storm with a swing of Wynnyd, a mountain disappeared whenever he fired Kharbos[2] , and when he shot something with Pernoa, the ground itself collapsed.
Even though Azphel couldn’t create as huge a spectacle as these other weapons, it had shown off its true power when it had sliced apart the demonfolks’ mega-class spells.

‘Vermouth, I always thought you were a greedy bastard to monopolize weapons like these all on his own,’ Eugene mused.

Except for the Holy Sword, most of these weapons had been found during their journey.
At that time, Hamel had been overwhelmingly lacking in mana, especially when compared to the rest of the party, so he hadn’t been able to handle any of these weapons that consumed a load of mana.

That was still the case even now.
The Dragon Spear and the Thunderbolt both consumed too much mana.

‘Well, my mana will keep increasing from now on in any case.
And since I’ve learned magic on top of that, I shouldn’t have any problems using Azphel.[3]’

With a grin, Eugene stored the weapons inside his cloak.

Then, he walked over to stand in front of the Holy Sword.
It was just six years ago when he had first tried to pull it out and had failed….

Before reaching out to grab it, Eugene turned to Kristina and asked, “What happens if I can’t draw it out?”

“There is no way that will be the case.
Now that God has sent down his revelation authorizing this, Sir Eugene will be able to draw the Holy Sword,” Kristina insisted faithfully.

Eugene sincerely hoped that he wouldn’t be able to draw this sword.
He still couldn’t fully trust the divine revelation, and he didn’t want to become the chosen Hero either.

However, the moment Eugene held the sword in his hand—

‘Ah, fuck.’

Even though he hadn’t put any strength into his grip in order to pull it out, Eugene instinctively knew the truth.

Six years ago, the Holy Sword hadn’t seemed to budge no matter how much strength he put into moving it.

However, now it seemed like it would be all too easy to pull out.

1.
Sore finger is a Korean idiom for a child who causes their parent pain.
It comes from the phrase, ‘Bite any of the ten fingers and it will hurt the same.’ This phrase is meant to show that all children, like all of your fingers, are equally precious to their parents.
And even if one of the fingers causes the hand to feel pain, it is still connected to the hand and irreplaceable.
So while Gilead is proud of Eugene, he still cares a lot about Eward, despite Eward’s mistakes. ☜

2.
The spear is firing a beam ☜

3.
When Azphel first appeared, it was mentioned that it could be used to slice apart spells, but only if the wielder had learned magic and knew the weak points of the spells. ☜