Chapter 131 - Damn Reincarnation

< Lightning Flame >

One month.

A letter arrived from the Holy Empire. Its sender was Rohanna Selis, the friend who had spent her childhood in the convent with Kristina.

There was little of substance in it. After months of hardship wandering Samar, being back home and resting was peaceful and relaxing... Eugene skimmed the letter, then took Akasha in hand.

"Looks like she hasn't forgotten."

The sequence of hastily written letters formed a magical formula. Any organization of mages was bound to have a cipher spell or two, and the Red Tower was no exception.

The particular cipher spell Eugene had taught Kristina was one he had learned directly from Lovellian. Even within the Red Tower, only Lovellian's confidants, including Hera, could use it.

It wasn't that he distrusted Rohanna Selis. But they couldn't ignore the possibility of something going wrong, and Kristina had said that her outgoing letters might be monitored.

That was why he had taught her the cipher spell. At first glance, it looked simple. It actually was simple. But traps were scattered throughout its interwoven formula.

Triggering a trap didn't change the cipher spell. One way or another, the cipher would still take effect.

That was precisely what allowed the recipient to notice the "trap." Eugene infused mana according to the cipher spell's formula and decoded it.

The sentences on the paper disappeared, replaced by entirely different contents.

She couldn't directly question the Pope and the cardinal. Confronting them head-on to gauge their reactions carried too much risk. If they had ordered the attack, they were bound to be wary of Kristina's return alive. That was what she was watching for.

'True. If she questioned them about the attack, the Pope and the cardinal would have no choice but to take action befitting their positions.'

It was no ordinary person who had been attacked, but the "saint," and her attacker had been a "demon" from Helmuth. Although the attempt had failed, if word got out, relations between the Holy Empire and Helmuth would deteriorate to their worst.

Naturally, they would have to.

'The Demon King of Incarceration is a pacifist, at least on the surface.'

That fact was undeniable.

There was an organization called the Demon-Subjugating Alliance, an international coalition of the small northern nations led by the Holy Empire. For a very long time, they had stationed troops along Helmuth's border and staged shows of force. They hadn't directly attacked the border cities, but they regularly blocked trade routes and conducted military exercises near the city gates.

The Demon King of Incarceration tolerated it. He could wipe them out whenever he wished, yet the demons merely voiced their displeasure at the shows of force without engaging in clashes.

A demon had tried to kill the Holy Empire's saint. This wasn't something that could be resolved simply by cutting loose a disposable underling. If it became public, it could easily grow into the spark of a war.

... It was still too early for war.

'That's all for now.'

She would try to investigate. Eugene set Kristina's letter aside.

There was another letter, this one from Aroth rather than the Holy Empire. Lovellian had sent information about Raizakia and Barang.

Dragon Demon Castle, the domain of the Black Dragon Raizakia.

It was an unusual castle even by Helmuth's standards.

Dragon Demon Castle stood not on the ground, but in the sky. A flying castle dozens of times larger than Aroth's famous floating stations, it roamed the skies above Raizakia's territory.

Raizakia loathed humans. Though Helmuth was friendly toward humanity, not a single human lived in his territory. Its inhabitants consisted solely of demons, demonic beasts, and demihumans.

Population meant military strength. Considering the size of his territory, Raizakia's forces were overwhelmingly meager compared with those of the other dukes. Humans naturalized in Helmuth weren't strong enough to serve as troops, but the vital essence they paid in taxes increased the demons' strength.

Raizakia's hatred of humans made him reject even that. Among the many kinds of demons, dragons were special, and even among dragons, Raizakia was uniquely arrogant.

'... I see.'

Eugene narrowed his eyes as he read through the thick stack of pages.

'It isn't him.'

One race accounted for an unusually large proportion of Raizakia's population compared with other territories.

Dwarves.

Dragons were obsessed with jewels and finely crafted objects. Since they considered themselves a magnificent race, they believed they ought to possess things worthy of their dignity.

Thus, dragons had put dwarves to work since ancient times, and Raizakia was no different. He had commanded countless dwarves even before his corruption. After demonic energy corrupted him, rather than freeing or slaughtering them, he had taken every last one of them and flown to Helmuth.

Now, three hundred years later, those dwarves' descendants still hadn't escaped Raizakia's grasp.

There were enormous mines in his territory. The dwarves were forbidden to leave the mining district and toiled in the mines from birth to death. Everything they mined, hammered, and crafted went into Raizakia's treasure vaults.

'... Things made by the dwarves are being smuggled out.'

They weren't official exports. The goods passed through dozens of brokers before being quietly released onto the black market.

Dragons never "sold" their possessions. Then was someone deceiving Raizakia and smuggling the goods out? No, that was impossible.

Several high-ranking demons in Raizakia's territory served him and had even entered into contracts with him. Although the terms of those contracts were unknown, there was no way they could violate them to smuggle goods out.

'The dwarves wouldn't do it either.'

That alone was enough to raise suspicions about Raizakia, but there were several more grounds for doubt.

Raizakia hadn't added to his vassals in the last two hundred years.

Helmuth had only three dukes.

One of them, Noir Giabella, the queen of the dream demons, already possessed such a powerful army that she had no need to acquire more vassals.

Then there was Incarceration's Sword, Gavid Lindman. His title was effectively honorary. He had been the Demon King of Incarceration's foremost confidant since three hundred years ago. Rather than becoming the master of contracts himself and acquiring vassals, he commanded the Demon King of Incarceration's other vassals.

Raizakia's forces were vastly smaller than those of the other dukes. Black mages weren't the only ones who contracted with demons in pursuit of power and glory. Demons, too, contracted with high-ranking demons for those same reasons.

In other words, there were bound to be quite a few demons seeking a place among Raizakia's vassals. Immediately after the war three hundred years ago, Raizakia had carefully selected and contracted with some of the demons who came seeking to serve him, increasing his vassals a little. But for the last two hundred years, he hadn't added a single one...

'... And what's this? Count Karad?'

He was one of Helmuth's rising nobles. Three hundred years ago, he had been a nobody, but he had built up his power during the age of peace. An ambitious young demon, he now aspired to enter Helmuth's "center."

Count Karad's territory lay right beside Dragon Demon Castle's domain. That in itself wasn't worth worrying about, but apparently, since the start of this year, he had been gradually encroaching on its borders.

'That settles it. The Raizakia in Dragon Demon Castle right now isn't the real one. It doesn't seem to be a duplicate either... '

A hatchling.

'Only a few hundred years old... Then everything fits.'

Dragons were powerful from the moment they were born, but it was their overwhelmingly long lifespans that made their strength unapproachable.

The longer a dragon lived, the stronger it became.

'Raizakia himself contracted with the vassals and took command of the dwarves. A hatchling can't become the master of those contracts.'

If Raizakia had died, the contracts would have broken, and his vassals might have rebelled. Yet Dragon Demon Castle continued to exist, however shakily.

'The contracts seem to remain intact... So they're outwardly loyal to their master's brat. But even that seems to be reaching its limit.'

Next was Barang.

Just as he had introduced himself, he was indeed Yagon's sworn brother. But apparently, there was none of the brotherly affection normally associated with that relationship.

Yagon had bitten Oboron to death. Afterward, under the pretext of "clearing out the old guard," he had killed all the elders who had been Oboron's confidants as well. The current pillars of the beastfolk were relatively young members of Yagon's own generation.

But Yagon hadn't forged close bonds even with his peers. He kept the beastfolk suppressed through his immense strength. Only outstanding fighters who could withstand that oppressive might were allowed to stand beside him.

Barang, his supposed sworn brother, hadn't been able to stand at Yagon's side.

'... Well, he was pretty weak compared with all his boasting.'

Balzac had told Eugene that the beastfolk under Yagon wandered as mercenaries to grow stronger.

According to Lovellian's letter, Barang had also wandered as a mercenary. He had participated in dozens of territorial wars and apparently had something of a reputation among Helmuth's mercenaries.

However, the letter didn't say whose commission had brought Barang out of Helmuth. At the end, Lovellian had written that he would investigate as thoroughly as possible, but honestly, Eugene wasn't expecting much.

He had been a mercenary in his previous life. With low-ranking mercenaries, betrayal or disclosure of a commission's details could happen at any time. But the higher a mercenary's "standing," the less such things happened.

Unlike the days when "money" alone came first, they developed a sense of "honor" as mercenaries. And honor bred trust. For high-ranking mercenaries, money was no longer an attractive enough reason. The interest of a commission, trust with the guild, things like that mattered instead.

'There are Mercenaries' Guilds all over the continent, but Helmuth's is special.'

It had to be. The commissions in Helmuth were of an exceptionally high caliber. Escort and extermination jobs could be found anywhere on the continent, but Helmuth's commissions were on a different level. Moreover, its belligerent demons constantly waged territorial wars, so mercenaries received vastly better treatment there than in other nations.

'So there's no way the details would be leaked. It probably wasn't even a commission accepted through the guild in the first place.'

The assassination of a Lionheart and the saint. That wasn't the sort of commission the Mercenaries' Guild would arrange.

Eugene gathered the letters, burned them, and stood up.

"You're going again today, aren't you?"

Mer sat on the plush sofa, licking a piece of candy. It wasn't ordinary candy. Among the many chefs recently hired by the main family, a famous pastry chef had painstakingly made it for her.

It was somewhere between ice cream and candy. Each lick coated her tongue generously, yet it hardly shrank. Despite being so soft, it crunched when bitten. Mer must have loved it, because every time Eugene looked at her, she had one in her hand.

"... Lady Anisilla really does go overboard."

"She's beautiful and kind."

"She never gave me candy like that when I was little. She never hired dozens of chefs for me either."

"Don't tell me... Are you jealous of me, Sir Eugene? I'm smaller and cuter than you."

"I was small and cute once too. About seven years ago."

"But you weren't as good as me, or as close to Lady Anisilla. She's told me about your childhood a few times. You were quite something even then, Sir Eugene!"

Grinning, Mer hopped down from the sofa.

"You beat up Lady Anisilla's son on your very first day. And even after you were adopted, you bullied him whenever you had the chance, didn't you?"

"... Well... Lady Anisilla's exaggerating because he's her son. I didn't beat him up, I only hit him once, and it was a fair, honorable duel. Bullying? I was the one being bullied! You wouldn't know, but do you have any idea how much those twins bothered me?"

"I'm not going to believe you, Sir Eugene. You never give me candy, cookies, or cake."

"That's so unfair I could die. Have you already forgotten how many dessert shops I took you to in Aroth?"

"Lady Anisilla has taken me to even more shops than you did."

"Fine. If you like Lady Anisilla so much, go ask her to be your mother. Change your name to Mer Lionheart—no, Mer Caines—and become her daughter."

"Don't sulk, Sir Eugene. You benefit from my cuteness in all sorts of ways too, don't you?"

Mer giggled as she followed him. ... He couldn't deny it. Every chef Anisilla had newly hired was exceptionally skilled, and the quality of Eugene's meals had improved dramatically as a result.

"Mer!"

As they descended from the upper floor toward the annex's hall, a loud voice came from below. Its booming volume made all the attendants cleaning the first floor turn toward them.

"Where are you going? Must you go? If you have no particular plans today, how about coming into the city with me?"

It was Gerhard. Eugene's face crumpled at the sight of his father approaching with a beaming smile.

"You went yesterday."

"Where does it say I can't go today just because I went yesterday?"

"Weren't you supposed to have swordsmanship training with Raman today?"

"... I postponed it. When I said I wanted to, Raman was very pleased too."

Indeed, Raman was nowhere to be seen. It was obvious where he had gone.

'He must have joined the main family's knights for training.'

It was good that Raman was training himself. Eugene didn't consider him a confidant, as Raman believed, but he did appreciate having someone loyal to him personally rather than to Lionheart.

'There's Siknard too, but he's over in the forest.'

Raman, however, spent all day at the annex. If someone attacked the main estate, they would target the sparsely populated annex first. Raman would be quite capable of protecting Gerhard and Nina until reinforcements arrived from the main family's knights.

He had become the emir's bodyguard without political maneuvering, so objectively speaking, Raman's skills weren't bad. He was certainly nowhere near the level of a White Lion Knights captain, but with that much ability, he would be treated well in any territory.

Lately, rather than resting on those skills, he had actively mingled with the main family's knights and joined their training.

"Mer is coming with me today."

"... I'm sure Mer would prefer touring the city's delicious eateries with me to joining your training."

"Don't you care about all the weight you worked so hard to lose?"

"It comes off quickly if I take the medicine."

"Father! I told you not to take that medicine!"

"... Viscount Sterod gave it to me personally. How could I refuse such kindness?"

"Viscount Sterod wouldn't want his gift used as a weight-loss supplement either. He must have given it to you so you'd take it, exercise hard, and grow stronger."

"Ahem... I suppose so... But I don't want to become as big and burly as Viscount Sterod..."

"Then stop relying on medicine and get some healthy exercise. Swing your sword a few more times. If you keep this up, I'll supervise your training myself."

Despair washed over Gerhard's face at that threat. He knew very well how strict and merciless his son was about training. Being father and son would count for nothing there.

"I agree that he needs training. He asked me to keep it secret from you, Sir Eugene, but Master Gerhard recently ordered new formal clothes in a larger size."

Nina, who stood behind Gerhard, promptly spoke up. He hastily turned his head.

"Ahem!"

"Narissa, who helps in the kitchen, tells me that Master Gerhard secretly orders late-night snacks in the early hours every morning."

"..."

"Clearing those plates is one of Levera's principal duties. Master Gerhard apparently thought the apprentice attendants were beyond the other attendants' scrutiny and mine, but his overeating is always reported to me."

"... After how well I've treated them... To be betrayed like this...!"

"Everyone is doing it for your health, Master Gerhard."

Eugene heaved a sigh and shook his head.

"Father. Come with me and let's start with just ten laps—no, twenty."

"Running that much will wreck my knees!"

"Human knees aren't wrecked that easily. Your increasing weight is much more likely to wreck them. Come on, no complaints. You're coming outside with me right now. Come to think of it, you haven't run with me since I was eight, have you?"

"... There's a good reason I don't run..."

Gerhard remembered that occasion clearly too. Proud of his son for devoting himself to training from such a young age, he had once run across the fields with Eugene.

... They hadn't been competing, but Gerhard had felt utterly defeated. Even at a full sprint, he couldn't catch an eight-year-old child far smaller than himself. More than a blow to his dignity as an adult, it was such a humiliation as a father that he could never bring himself to run again.

"If you run, Master Gerhard, I'll run with you."

Mer spoke with the stick from her finished candy between her teeth.

"Young lady, keeping that in your mouth will affect the alignment of your teeth."

Nina quietly approached and took the candy stick from Mer's mouth.

In honor of his late wife, Gerhard had vowed never to remarry. But sometimes he found himself wishing for the daughter he had never had.

His memories of running with his son held only misery, making him reluctant, but with Mer along, it felt as though he might create a beautiful memory. After a moment's consideration, Gerhard nodded.

And so they began running.

But they didn't make the beautiful memory he had imagined.

Eugene didn't hurry, matching Gerhard's stride, while Mer ran diligently beside them.

The problem was Gerhard's stamina. Thanks to Viscount Sterod, it had improved considerably, but running in this cold weather tired him out quickly.

As a familiar, Mer didn't get tired.

Eugene wouldn't tire after two hundred laps, let alone twenty.

After ten laps, Gerhard could run no farther and sank to the ground. Eugene, who had been following at a leisurely pace, paused beside him.

"Let's add one lap each day."

Instead of answering, Gerhard flopped onto his back and merely waved a hand. Eugene forced him to his feet, then brushed the dirt and dust off his clothes.

"Let's go."

"Yes."

Mer answered as though she had been waiting for this and approached Eugene. He opened his cloak to let her inside, then stood in place and took several deep breaths.

"It's Lightning Flash."

"Sir Eugene is using Lightning Flash!"

The annex's attendants whispered among themselves. Eugene could see the elves among them, with their sensitive hearing, covering their ears. He tried to appear composed, but deep in his heart he felt an intense desire to kill White Tower Master Melkith El-Hayah. Lightning Flash. The name had existed only in his head until he told Melkith, and she had blabbed about it at the main family's party that evening.

["Lionheart's future is so bright. Have you heard, my lady? About that boy Eugene's new technique! He calls it Lightning Flash, and it's every bit as magnificent and dazzling as its name. Why, he actually turns into lightning and shoots off with a whoosh!"]

... Everyone's eyes on him made Eugene uncomfortable. But backing out now seemed even more embarrassing.

CRACKLE

Lightning filled the mana circulated through the White Flame Formula. A week had passed since his demonstration for Melkith. Fully controlling Lightning Flash was still beyond him, but he had at least progressed past being unable to brake and crashing into trees.

He took a step forward.

He was about to shoot off, but abruptly brought his body to a halt.

"... What?"

He saw someone walking out of the forest he had chosen as his destination.

"When did you arrive?"

Carmen Lionheart and Ciel Lionheart.

The two of them, who should have been at Black Lion Castle, were approaching him.