Chapter 174 - Damn Reincarnation

Riu Dragonic

Hairen, the central district of the capital, Seyris.

It was an affluent neighborhood populated by high-ranking nobles with long and distinguished traditions, and capitalists whose wealth had accumulated over generations. It was the most developed part of Seyris, close to the imperial palace.

The Lionheart main family's estate stood on the outskirts of the capital, but the Dragonic estate occupied the very heart of Hairen.

Three hundred years ago, Vermouth the Great, founder of the Lionheart family, had become a naturalized citizen of the Kiel Empire and served as a grand duke. Straut I, Kiel's emperor at the time, had fervently hoped the hero would become his escort knight and reside near the imperial palace... but Vermouth refused the emperor's entreaties and spent most of his life in a castle on Mount Uklas, at Kiel's southernmost edge.

Then, in his final years, he relinquished his title of grand duke and settled in the forest estate where the Lionheart main family now lived. There, he closed his eyes for the last time.

Oryx Dragonic was different. Even at the height of the all-out war against the Demon Kings, he never departed for Helmuth. From the moment he arrived in Kiel, he remained at Straut I's side and served as commander of the White Dragon Knights.

For the three hundred years that followed, the Dragonic family had maintained its standing as a renowned noble and knightly house in Kiel. Not every family head had become the emperor's escort knight, but their bloodline had produced some of the finest knights on the continent. A particularly outstanding few had enjoyed the honor of protecting the empire's sovereign at his very side.

The current family head, Alchester Dragonic, was hailed as a genius born with talent rivaling that of their founder, Oryx Dragonic. The empire's foremost knight. There was no exaggeration in that reputation. Alchester had manifested sword force before turning twenty, and he had reportedly been just twenty-one when he won the Imperial Martial Tournament, which drew accomplished fighters from all over the continent.

His prowess earned him immediate admission to the White Dragon Knights, and he rose to commander at thirty. Then the newly crowned Straut II selected him to serve as his escort knight as well. That was Alchester Dragonic, the current head of the Dragonic family.

'Though apparently, when he was five, he picked his nose and ate the boogers.'

It wasn't a story Eugene particularly wanted to know, but what could he do now that he had heard it? He stepped down from the carriage and gazed at the Dragonic family's front gates.

They were large. And tall. In terms of grounds alone, the Lionheart main family's estate, which occupied an entire forest, was far more expansive. But even in this affluent neighborhood with its exorbitant land prices, the Dragonic mansion was overwhelmingly grand and beautiful.

"It is modest compared to the Lionheart estate, of course."

"I think it's a splendid mansion."

The Dragonic knight who had accompanied Eugene approached the gates ahead of him.

RUMBLE!

The gates began to swing wide open.

It was an excessive welcome for only two people. Eugene looked at the knights lined up beyond the gates. They had sworn allegiance to the Dragonic family, but their numbers were nowhere near Lionheart's.

'Only thirty?'

That was because the two families had different traditions. For the Dragonic family, whose members had held high office and served the empire loyally for generations, the size of their knightly order was not particularly important. The empire belonged to the emperor, after all, and the knightly orders maintained by nobles were regarded as reserve forces that could be summoned by imperial command whenever needed.

Lionheart was the only noble house exempt from that rule. The orders belonging to its collateral branches were another matter, but neither the main family's White Lion Knights nor the Black Lion Knights could be conscripted, even by imperial command. That was the agreement Vermouth the Great had made with Kiel's emperor three hundred years ago.

Lionheart would not leave Kiel.

Lionheart would not betray Kiel.

Kiel would respect Lionheart.

Kiel would acknowledge Lionheart's freedom.

... Three hundred years had passed under that agreement. Now, in an age when the end of that long, long peace shimmered on the horizon, the emperor regarded Lionheart with both unease and greed: a noble house of his empire, yet one with a degree of freedom from his commands. Its recent internal reforms and expansion of the main family's knightly order made it all the more irritating to him.

'Those are some sharp looks.'

The knights stood in formation. The reason was obvious. A week ago, the White Dragon Knights and White Lion Knights had held their competition... and Eugene's participation had contributed enormously to the White Dragon Knights' defeat.

'Things ended on a reasonably good note, though. We wrapped it up neatly and even thanked each other for our efforts.'

Of course, as originally agreed, the White Dragon Knights had offered an unconditional apology and paid compensation for their dispute with Lionheart.

Whether that compensation had come from the imperial treasury, been deducted from the White Dragon Knights' budget, or been paid out of their commander Alchester's own pocket, Eugene didn't know. But the compensation delivered in dozens of carriages had put a broad smile on the face of Anisilla, the lady of the house.

'... If this isn't about the competition... Hmm. Is that it?'

An outsider.

A Lionheart who had humiliated their family head just a few days ago.

And a mere twenty-year-old whelp at that. Were they unhappy that the education of their young master, the next family head, was being entrusted to him?

Eugene gave a faint chuckle as he walked between the knights. Their stares stung, but the intimidating presence they subtly projected put no pressure on him whatsoever. Instead, he surveyed the mansion's spacious, beautiful gardens with an utterly relaxed expression.

"... The family head is waiting inside the mansion."

He was shown inside. ... Along the way, Eugene did his utmost to suppress his laughter. A towering statue of Oryx stood at the center of the garden. Another stood in the hall immediately beyond the front doors, and a portrait hung on the wall.

'... They've painted him much better-looking than he really was. Did that bastard Oryx actually think of Vermouth as his rival?'

He could hardly think otherwise. The composition of Oryx's portrait was identical to the portraits of Vermouth found in every Lionheart mansion.

"I would have liked to come outside to welcome you myself."

The study on the mansion's top floor.

The moment Eugene entered, Alchester rose from his seat with a broad smile.

"But everyone was so determined to dissuade me. The head butler, my knights, even my wife... I thought nothing of it, but apparently they didn't think it would look proper for me, as family head, to come out and meet you."

"That explains the rather prickly looks the knights were giving me."

Eugene made the remark lightly and sat where Alchester indicated. Unlike Carmen's office, which had been excessive in every conceivable way, Alchester's study was so neat and uncluttered that it could almost be called modest.

"If that was how you felt... then we have been terribly discourteous to you as a guest of the Dragonic family. Allow me to apologize personally, and please don't take offense."

"Take offense? The thought never crossed my mind."

Still wearing his welcoming smile, Alchester poured Eugene's tea himself. Even to Eugene, that smile looked natural and happy, without any ulterior motive.

"... I never imagined you would make a request like this."

He could hardly help being happy.

Four days ago, two letters had arrived from Lionheart.

One was from Gilead Lionheart, the family head. He had extended a hand, proposing that they put both the competition's outcome and the dispute that had caused it behind them, and foster close relations not merely between their knightly orders, but between their two families.

The other was from Carmen Lionheart. Referring to the time she had spent with the Dragonic family long ago, she had asked whether Eugene Lionheart might now train with them.

That wasn't all. Her letter also contained a proposal that complemented Gilead's.

"... I have a son who turned ten this year."

"Yes. I've heard about him."

Riu Dragonic.

"My son... Riu is quite a talented child, and I don't say that simply because he's mine. He began training in mana four years ago, and he can already use a little sword aura."

Alchester spoke without being able to hide his pride. Then he remembered that the young man before him possessed the greatest talent in Lionheart's entire history, and his expression turned sheepish.

"Please understand. I had my child rather late in life... and I find my little boy so adorable that I can hardly help myself."

"Yees..."

"Eugene. I witnessed your ability with my own eyes only a week ago. There are many excellent knights in the Dragonic family, but... I believe I owe who I am today to the instruction Lady Carmen gave me decades ago."

Alchester raised his teacup to his lips and closed his eyes. For a moment, he crossed those decades and returned to his childhood, when he had been five.

"... I was five at the time... but I still remember those childhood days clearly. ... Lady Carmen was seventeen when she came to teach me, but she wasn't very different from how she is now."

"..."

Was that meant as a compliment?

Eugene gave the question serious thought.

"... Lady Carmen's instruction was strict... and very... unusual. There was something eccentric about it. But her teachings truly did become my foundation. I hope you can be that sort of mentor to Riu."

"I'll do my best."

"Of course, I shall also do everything I can to teach you at least something more. ... Though I do wonder whether there's anything new I can teach you as you are now."

Alchester genuinely believed that. He recalled Eugene's performance at the competition a week earlier. Ebolt, one of the White Dragon Knights' captains, had been toyed with like a child. Even if it hadn't been a duel fought with the intent to kill, that match had shown him more than enough of Eugene's skill.

Fully mature—no, complete. Even examining each aspect individually, it was difficult to find anything lacking. Nothing he could see fell short. Technique and instinct. The body that housed them and the will that drove it. Basic mana manipulation, advanced control, and fine adjustment. Every one of those qualities was extraordinary beyond belief for a young man of twenty.

'... And he must already be approaching mastery in magic as well. A true genius... a talent bestowed by heaven.'

... With a halfhearted approach, he would have nothing to teach him. To instruct that absurdly gifted genius, Alchester would have to reveal everything he had.

He was more than willing to do so. The emperor seemed dissatisfied with both the Lionheart family and Eugene, who was attracting so much attention. But as a fellow knight and a senior, Alchester wanted to instruct Eugene and exchange knowledge with him. And he wanted his only son to admire that young man and grow to resemble him.

"... It's a relief that we've confirmed the Rakshasa Princess has left the country," Alchester murmured, setting down his teacup.

"Though I never imagined she would travel by moving from the back of one freight wagon to another."

No one would have. This was a legend who had lived for three hundred years. Fury's adopted daughter. The original dark elf, the only being in the world with the power to corrupt elves. Iris, the Rakshasa Princess.

... Who could have imagined that a being of her stature would travel hidden in the back of a shabby freight wagon that wasn't even hers...?

"... In terms of catching everyone off guard... yes..."

Eugene had been just as bewildered upon hearing about Iris. He had expected her to seize a city's warp gate... or employ some more plausible method, with the dignity and stature befitting her fearsome reputation. Instead, she had hidden in the backs of wagons to travel along the roads, then been caught during a cargo inspection while trying to sneak aboard a merchant ship in a port city.

"... Still, she succeeded in the end, didn't she? She seized an entire ship and sailed away."

He didn't know why Iris had set sail.

But he had heard what had happened in Helmuth. Before Kiel could even raise the issue of Iris's disturbance in the capital, Seyris, Helmuth had informed them that she had lost a territorial war and been expelled.

'... I don't know whether she really was expelled, but they don't want to take responsibility for anything involving Iris.'

Noir Giabella, queen of the dream demons. Eugene thought of that damned succubus. Just as Iris had grown stronger over three hundred years, Noir Giabella would have grown stronger too.

Eugene was rapidly closing the distance to the pinnacle he had reached in his previous life. Knowing that would not be enough, he had supplemented his abilities with things he had never acquired back then. So he did not doubt himself. The seeds he had sown were already bearing fruit. When they blossomed fully,

Eugene was certain he would surpass Hamel.

* * *

He had come to the Dragonic family to try to contact the dragon with whom Carmen had apparently formed a connection decades ago. He didn't know which dragon it was, but dragons were such advanced beings that they were called the progenitors of magic.

Their Word magic could even "create" magic that had never existed in the world, something impossible for humans. With Word magic, the moment the words were spoken, they became phenomena. It followed no ordinary magical system and required no spell formula. Only dragons could wield it.

... Did that mean a mage who wasn't a dragon could never surpass them? No. Eugene knew a human mage who had surpassed dragons.

Senya Merdein. Even with her body dying, she had banished the Black Dragon Raizakia into a dimensional rift.

'... Exploring a dimensional rift is beyond my level of magic.'

Storming Dragon Demon Castle in Helmuth to search for traces of Raizakia was far too dangerous.

That was why Eugene needed to see a dragon. Even Lovellian, the Red Tower Master, couldn't explore a dimensional rift. Such magic didn't exist in the first place. But a dragon might be able to find Raizakia within it.

["Will a dragon really cooperate?"]

Mer didn't poke her head out of the cloak. She rather enjoyed walking on her own, but traveling in comfort while watching the outside world through the gaps in the cloak was pleasant too. Idly fiddling with Eugene's finger, she continued.

["Lady Senya never talked much about dragons, but I know quite a bit about them myself. They're greedy and arrogant, aren't they?"]

'Dragons are arrogant because they know they're a great race. If that were all there was to them, they'd just be obnoxious fucking lizards... but the reason people revere dragons as dragons is that they don't shirk the moments when they need to step forward.'

["What do you mean?"]

'Exactly what I said. Do you know what noblesse oblige means?'

["Don't underestimate me. If anything, I'm astonished that you know a phrase like that."]

'What exactly do you take me for?'

Eugene pinched the back of Mer's hand as she fiddled with his finger.

'I got plenty of education growing up, you know. Anyway, dragons usually look down on humans and other races as beneath them, but when the world is about to get fucked, they're always the first to step forward.'

It had been the same three hundred years ago. While people were at a loss in the face of the sudden invasion, the dragons had been the first to fly to Helmuth and begin fighting the Demon Kings.

'... Dragons and Demon Kings... are a terrible matchup.'

Just as elves were corrupted by demonic energy, dragons were adversely affected by it. That was why the dragons had been defeated by the Demon King of Incarceration and slaughtered by the Demon King of Destruction.

'The dragons learned that it was difficult for their race to defeat Demon Kings. That's why they couldn't play the leading role in the war three hundred years ago. But if we ask for help with a problem involving the Demon Kings, they won't refuse.'

["... But... you don't know how to contact one, do you?"]

That was the problem. He knew Carmen had met a dragon at the Dragonic estate, but he hadn't heard how she had met it.

Somewhere within the Dragonic mansion.

A place one couldn't enter without permission.

That was the extent of the information she had been able to give him without violating her promise made through Dragon Speech. She had said it was somewhere an ordinary visitor couldn't enter... Did the Dragonic estate have a special place like Lionheart's spirit vein?

He wasn't lacking confidence in his ability to search. Eugene had Akasha. The staff allowed him to see and understand even concealed magic. If he employed detection magic as well, he should easily be able to locate a hidden place within the mansion.

'... Actually, the simplest way to summon a dragon would be to smash Akasha.'

Akasha was a staff the dragons themselves had crafted using the heart of one of their dead brethren. They had visited the elves' domain and presented it to Senya in person.

If Akasha's dragon heart were shattered, an enraged dragon might come looking for him.

'... But it's too precious to smash just to summon a dragon... There's no guarantee one would come, either, or that it would cooperate if it did.'

"Here we are."

Alchester stopped. Pointing to a closed door, he looked back at Eugene.

"Riu should be inside."

"Aren't you coming in with me?"

"... Riu has grown up with rather a lot of doting from me... If I went in with you, I doubt his lessons would proceed properly."

Looking embarrassed, Alchester took a few steps back.

"So I'll return to my study now."

"Just to make sure, I can scold him if necessary, can't I?"

"Don't worry about that. Riu is such a good boy that there's nothing to scold him for."

"Yees..."

"Still, if by some chance he does need scolding... don't worry about me. Feel free to give him a stern telling-off."

Well, then.

After making sure Alchester had gone some distance away, Eugene knocked on Riu's door.

No response. Silence. But he could sense someone stirring inside. He knocked once more, yet there was still no response. Clicking his tongue, Eugene opened the door.

He entered the room and closed the door behind him. It was large and neatly arranged. He could see a bed far too big for a ten-year-old boy.

From beneath the bed,

a jet of water shot at Eugene.

"What a rotten little shit."

Eugene was quick to form his opinion of Riu Dragonic.