Chapter 10 - Damn Reincarnation

Gilead

His body never gave him trouble, even when he ate meat every morning. Who would have thought he would choke on tea? His throat stung. Eugene coughed, thumping his chest.

Still, he could hardly help being startled.

The magical kingdom of Aroth had five magic towers: Red, Blue, Green, White, and Black.

Three hundred years ago, there had been no Black Tower. But centuries had passed since that mysterious promise between the Hero and the Demon King.

In his previous life, Eugene alone had killed well over a hundred black mages. After the promise between the Hero and the Demon King, however, even black mages had come to receive a measure of respect. They had built up enough influence to establish a magic tower in Aroth.

In any case, the Red Tower had existed three hundred years ago, too.

"Are you all right?"

Lovellian looked at Eugene in surprise.

"Oh, yes. I'm all... Yes, I'm all right."

He had simply spat out his tea in surprise while drinking it. But with everyone staring at him, he felt embarrassed. Clearing his throat, Eugene picked up a damp towel.

Before he could wipe the table, however, Lovellian flicked a finger. The sodden tablecloth became spotless.

Magic.

"You must have been quite surprised."

"Yes..."

Eugene lowered his outstretched hand and smiled awkwardly. Being young came in handy at times like this, too.

'The Red Tower Master... He's Senya's disciple.'

Strictly speaking, he wasn't her direct disciple. If Eugene remembered correctly, Lovellian's master's master had probably been Senya's disciple.

Though they were several generations removed from her, both Lovellian, the Red Tower Master, and the Green Tower Master revered Senya the Wise as their grandmaster.

It was understandable. Three hundred years ago, Senya had become the youngest Green Tower Master in Aroth's history.

A companion of the great Vermouth.

An archmage said to be capable of killing even Demon Kings and dragons.

Countless mages had come to the Green Tower hoping to become Senya's disciples.

Senya had accomplished plenty of other great feats as well. She had thoroughly revised and republished all of Aroth's publicly available spellbooks, and she had freely offered advice on magical theory to disciples of other towers—even to her fellow tower masters.

In her later years, mages who had received her teachings had taken the highest seats in the towers. Those teachings had passed down to the present day, and two archmages who called themselves disciples of Senya the Wise had become the masters of the Red and Green Towers.

'His master's master's master...'

However he looked at it, Eugene doubted Lovellian had ever met Senya in person. Still, he had never expected to meet someone connected to an old companion here.

'The Red Tower... It's best known for summoning magic.'

Summoning magic had been one of Senya's specialties, too. Even the house they had slept and eaten in for most of their journey had been one of her summons.

"... You said your name was Eugene, didn't you?"

Gilead spoke. Though he had been singled out without warning, Eugene wasn't particularly startled this time, nor was he drinking tea. He nodded slightly and turned his gaze toward Gilead.

'I was wondering when you'd bring me up.'

He had felt Gilead's discreet glances ever since they met in front of the mansion.

"Theonis told me what happened."

At those words, Cyan bit his lip hard. But Gilead slowly raised a hand and patted Cyan's shoulder.

"My son... insulted you and your parents, I hear."

"Yes. But I bear no grudge."

Eugene sat up straight.

"We held the duel to settle those feelings."

"And you won."

"Even if I had lost, I wouldn't have held a grudge. If I were too weak to defend my honor, the insult would have been mine to endure."

"You're better than my son."

Gilead smiled. He gave Cyan's shoulder another light pat and continued.

"Cyan."

"... Yes."

"I'm not ashamed of your defeat. But I am ashamed to see you ashamed of losing and anxiously watching your father's reaction."

"..."

"I hear the duel began with your insults. And yet, even after losing, you didn't apologize to Eugene."

"Th-that was..."

"Cyan. Your surname is Lionheart. The great Vermouth is your ancestor. If you have inherited his blood, you must know how to respect not only your own honor, but your opponent's as well."

'I don't remember that bastard Vermouth respecting my honor.'

Entertaining that idle thought, Eugene looked at Cyan's face. Given how badly behaved the twins were, he had assumed their father would be a complete asshole, too. But Gilead seemed to have a better head on his shoulders than Eugene had expected.

'He said he'd been away from the main family for three years.'

For a ten-year-old child, three years was a long time—a third of their life.

"... I'm sorry."

Cyan's nose twitched, and his eyes reddened. He wasn't crying because he was sorry, but because he felt wronged. Eugene recognized that immediately, but he had never expected a heartfelt apology in the first place.

Gilead sensed his son's resentment, too. But pointing it out here would only drag the conversation out.

"... I'm reluctant to say this, Eugene, but I don't know your father."

"I imagine you wouldn't. Even I think my family lives in the middle of nowhere."

"Did you learn your skills from your father?"

"He taught me the basics, but I did most of my training alone."

"What sort of training?"

"I used wooden swords, spears... training weapons that aren't forbidden by the Bloodline Succession Ceremony's rules."

"So you had no other instructor."

"We had a few knights in our household, but none were skilled enough for me to seek their instruction."

"I see."

Gilead fell into thought for a moment. Cyan chewed his lip in humiliation, while Ciel's eyes shone with amusement.

Eward stared blankly at Eugene.

'... He fought Cyan in a duel and won?'

'Who is Gerhard?'

Gargis and Dezra stole astonished glances at Eugene. The other collateral-branch children were staring at him in shock as well.

"... This Bloodline Succession Ceremony should be enjoyable."

"I agree."

Gilead spoke with a smile. Lovellian, who had been listening with interest, nodded, smiling as well.

The food began to arrive. But everyone watched Gilead, leaving the dishes untouched.

"I hope the food is to your liking."

With that opening remark, Gilead began eating. Only then did the children pick up their utensils. Eugene cut into a large piece of meat as though he had been waiting for this moment.

"You ate all that at lunch, and you're hungry already?"

"I've been moving around ever since lunch. Of course I'm hungry."

The atmosphere relaxed a little once the meal began. Giggling, Ciel transferred vegetables like bell peppers and carrots onto Eugene's plate.

"Then eat mine, too. I'm not hungry."

"You just don't want to eat your vegetables."

"No, I like vegetables."

Ciel checked Gilead's expression and hurriedly added,

"I'm really just not hungry."

Once everyone's plates had been emptied to some extent, Gilead set down his wineglass and spoke.

"As you've probably guessed, I arranged this meal to explain the format of the Bloodline Succession Ceremony."

One by one, the moving utensils stopped.

"I also wanted to get a proper look at the children of our relatives who will be participating."

Gilead's gaze moved around the table, lingering on Gargis, Dezra, and Eugene. The three Eugene had dubbed the "small fry" noticed that, too, but felt no resentment.

Decon, Hansen, and Jules.

All three knew very well that they would be unable to distinguish themselves in the Bloodline Succession Ceremony.

"... The Bloodline Succession Ceremony is held every ten years, and the family head oversees its format. I oversaw the previous ceremony as well. You may have heard about it before coming here, but last time, we had twelve children wander through the heart of a forest."

Gilead shook his head with a wry smile.

"Only collateral-branch children participated in the last ceremony. This time, however... three of my own children will be taking part. It may sound strange coming from me, but I believe the tradition of the Bloodline Succession Ceremony is deeply discriminatory."

Gilead's three children looked surprised.

"The Bloodline Succession Ceremony is a tradition that serves the main family. Until the ceremony, collateral-branch children cannot hold real weapons or train their mana. With those conditions, isn't the outcome obvious? A collateral-branch child can never defeat a child of the main family."

"..."

"But a tradition that has endured so long cannot simply be abolished overnight."

This divide had separated the main family from the collateral branches for hundreds of years.

Gilead's own younger brother, Gilford, had just had a son. Once that child turned five, Gilford, too, would leave the main family and become part of a collateral branch.

Descendants of the great Vermouth.

The Lionheart main family, which proclaimed the legitimacy of its bloodline.

Only the family head's bloodline was recognized as the main family. That was how the Lionheart main family had preserved its lineage.

"Even if you belong to collateral branches, however diluted your blood may have become, don't all of you bear the surname Lionheart? The purpose of the Bloodline Succession Ceremony is to determine whether you have the qualities to claim yourselves descendants of Lionheart—of the great Vermouth. The purity of your blood isn't what matters."

'Vermouth.'

Eugene thought as he chewed his meat.

'I think your descendant is nicer than you.'

"What meaning is there in a competition whose outcome is already decided? I want to assess the potential of all of you who bear the Lionheart name, not just my own children."

Gilead turned his head.

"So, unlike previous ceremonies, I've decided to seek outside assistance for this one."

"And that's why I'm here, children."

Lovellian beamed.

"Your family head's lecture went on rather long, didn't it? I understand if you're feeling sleepy, but please wake up and pay close attention now."

Gilead smiled wryly. Lovellian continued without paying him any mind.

"I'll know more once I get started, but the Bloodline Succession Ceremony will begin within four days at the latest. Here's how it will work: I'm going to summon a maze in the forest."

Lovellian raised both hands. The mana gathering between his palms billowed up, forming a large maze above the table.

"Each of you will enter through a different entrance and explore the maze. There will be all sorts of traps inside... Oh, no, don't worry too much. None of you will be injured in the maze."

"How does that work?"

Ciel asked, tilting her head.

"Because everything inside it will be an illusion created by magic. Whatever happens to you in the maze won't be real. But... it will feel very real."

Lovellian's smile deepened.

"A monster you encounter in the maze might cut off your arm. Your arm won't actually be severed, but while you're inside, you'll believe it really has been."

"Wow..."

"Magic is fascinating, isn't it? If you're interested, come visit Aroth. The great Vermouth was an exceptional mage, too."

That meant he had combined his summoning magic with advanced mind-affecting magic.

'You'd better be able to do that much if you're going to call yourself a tower master.'

Eugene quietly listened to Lovellian's explanation.

"Along with the monsters, I plan to prepare various traps in the maze. Of course, none of them will actually be dangerous."

"Okay."

Ciel was the only one giggling as she listened to Lovellian. The small fry looked frightened.

"What you need to do once you enter the maze is very simple. Reach its center and defeat the boss monster there."

"How do we defeat it?"

"You just defeat it. Has anyone here ever killed a monster?"

"I have."

All three main-family children raised their hands. Among the collateral-branch children, only Gargis, Dezra, and Eugene raised theirs. Eugene had once beaten an orc to death with a wooden sword when he was about ten.

"It will be just like that. The moment one of you nine reaches the center of the maze and defeats the evil boss monster, the Bloodline Succession Ceremony will end."

"Is it all right if we can't get out of the maze?"

"Of course. If you're afraid to go forward, you can stay right where you are. But you won't earn a good score..."

Lovellian answered kindly, looking at Hansen's plump cheeks.

"If we defeat that boss monster..."

Boss monster? Wasn't that a childish name, even if he was talking to ten-year-olds? Eugene turned the matter over in his head.

So, boss or whatever you wanted to call it—did they get anything for killing the bastard?

He wanted to ask that outright...

"... What do we get?"

So he simply asked outright.

"I'll allow you to take any one thing you want from the main family's underground treasury."

It was Gilead who answered.

Eugene nodded with a bright smile.

"Wow."

He even let out a suitably childlike exclamation.

'What should I take? A sword? A spear? A bow?'

The Bloodline Succession Ceremony hadn't even begun, but Eugene was certain he would be the first to conquer the labyrinth.