Chapter 232 - Damn Reincarnation

Lehein

“... Hmm.”

Eugene stared ahead with a distinctly uncomfortable expression. He was now inside the castle of Lehein Fortress.

“His Majesty is waiting in the bath.”

The knight of Ruhar’s White Fangs who had escorted him here bowed. Eugene nodded without relaxing his expression.

Ruhar’s knights, led by the Beast King, had arrived in Lehein during the night.

Eugene had no interest whatsoever in the relative standing of the continent’s nations that determined their assigned floors in the castle. But now that he was here, he had no choice but to learn, whether he wanted to or not.

Snow fell beyond the window. The spire opposite housed Kiel’s emperor and the personal guards drawn from the White Dragon Knights to protect him at close quarters. The nearer spire housed Yuras’s Pope, his escort knights, and the archbishops. Down in the palace below were the kings and escort orders of those nations that had not been given towers of their own.

Ruhar was not an empire, but this fortress belonged to Ruhar. Naturally, the highest tower had become the Beast King’s lodging. This very tower, on its topmost floor. Eugene clicked his tongue and resumed walking.

‘Why the hell does it have to be a bath?’

Late that night, the Beast King had abruptly sent a messenger to the Lionheart mansion.

[“I wish to continue the conversation I had with Eugene Lionheart in Hamelon.”]

When the king of a nation asked for him specifically, he could hardly refuse. Not that he had any reason to. Eugene had wanted a conversation with the Beast King too.

Except, except... the conversation Eugene had wanted involved tearing into meat and drinking together at a lavish table, not stripping naked and getting into a hot bath with a hulking mass of bulging muscles....

‘Besides, I already bathed this afternoon.’

And even that bath had been alone with the bulging muscles of Gargis.... Eugene trudged down the corridor, heaving sigh after sigh.

“This way, please.”

A door along the corridor suddenly opened. The gentle voice belonged to a maid wearing a swimsuit. At the sight of her, Eugene involuntarily flinched and froze.

“Pardon?”

“The bath is through here.”

The maid smiled. Eugene recovered from his surprise and stepped through the door she held open.

It was only natural, when he thought about it. This was a king taking a bath, after all. Of course he would have attendants to help him.

“... Oh, boy.”

Even so, this seemed excessive.

The room beyond the door was full of maids. They greeted Eugene in swimsuits of assorted colors. He already knew from their previous encounter that the Beast King was enormous, but he was still just one man taking a bath. Why did he need this many attendants?

“Allow us to assist you.”

“Assist me with what?”

“We will help you undress.”

“No, that’s quite all right. I can just take my clothes off myself. What would I need help for?”

Grumbling, Eugene removed his cloak. ... Inside it, he could see Mer glaring with wide eyes. He cleared his throat and waved away the approaching maids.

“Even at the main family’s estate, I undressed myself, bathed myself, and dressed myself. I don’t want to start doing things differently just because I’m here, so please leave me be.”

“Understood.”

“But, er, are you all going to keep watching? I don’t particularly enjoy undressing in front of other people. If you respect me, could you all turn your heads... no, turn around entirely?”

“But Lord Eugene, His Majesty instructed us to attend to your every need.”

“What kind of attending do I need to take my clothes off and bathe? Where is His Majesty? Just up ahead, right? I’ll find my own way. The robe—just give me the robe for now.”

Eugene was not particularly accustomed to situations like this. It wasn’t that he had no experience with women, but he had never bathed with swimsuit-clad maids on either side of him. Nor did he want to.

He all but snatched the robe from the maid holding it, waited until every last one of them had turned around, then hurriedly stripped and put it on.

An enormous terrace.

The entire thing was a bath. Hot spring water had been pumped from far below to the top of this lofty tower, filling an open-air bath designed to offer an unobstructed view from this height. In fact, the immense bath was better described as a swimming pool.

“You’re awfully shy for a young man!”

Aman Ruhar laughed heartily, soaking in the hot spring with both arms resting on the railing. Behind him stretched Leheinyar, veiled in swirling snow.

“You enjoy luxury more than your appearance would suggest.”

“What’s luxurious about a mere bath?”

“Don’t you have rather a lot of attendants?”

“Do I? I wouldn’t know. Kiel’s emperor brought several dozen attendants with him. Compared to that, isn’t my retinue positively modest? Or do you find it offensive that I should compare myself to Kiel’s emperor?”

“I’m not that devoted to His Imperial Majesty.”

Eugene answered indifferently. It wasn’t a particularly amusing reply, but Aman clapped his hands and burst out laughing.

“Hahaha! I see. But Eugene, how long do you intend to stand there?”

“I realize this is a little late to mention it, but I already enjoyed the hot springs this afternoon.”

“What harm can another bath do? Don’t embarrass me when I’ve already stripped and gotten in.”

“Good grief.”

With a deep sigh, Eugene took off his robe and waded into the hot spring, splashing as he went. ... The view was admittedly rather good.

“Is there anything you need? Food, perhaps, or drink? Ask for as much as you like. That is what the attendants are for.”

“I’m fine.”

“Do you know why I summoned you?”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to finish the conversation we couldn’t have in Hamelon?”

Eugene did not immediately ask about Moron. Aman had recommended visiting Great Hammer Canyon in Leheinyar, but Eugene was unsure whether he actually knew Moron was there.

“That would be an enjoyable conversation too, but what do you think?”

“Pardon?”

“Of this Knight March.”

What kind of answer was he looking for? Eugene narrowed his eyes at Aman. Meeting his gaze, Aman chuckled and shook his head.

“It’s just a casual question.”

“I don’t understand why you would ask me that.”

“Because I have judged you to be the true power in Lionheart. Don’t bother denying it. I have eyes and ears of my own. You may not be a son of the main bloodline, but the next generation of Lionheart will inevitably revolve around you. That is why I consider you the family’s true power even now.”

“The family head is still in excellent health. So are Lady Carmen and the head of the Council of Elders.”

“Of course they are. But I don’t think that matters much, Eugene Lionheart. You are the true power in Lionheart because you are overwhelmingly younger than they are, yet already stand shoulder to shoulder with the family’s elders. And is that all? Your connections are quite extraordinary as well.”

Laughing heartily, Aman sprang to his feet. Eugene watched uneasily as he strode toward him through the hot spring.

That enormous, muscular body would have been intimidating enough approaching him fully clothed... but with absolutely nothing on, it made him instinctively want to back away.

“You have inherited Lord Hamel’s true legacy, and you are Lady Senya’s successor as well. You are a pupil of Aroth’s Red Tower Master, and Aroth’s crown prince regards you favorably. Alchester Dragonic, commander of Kiel’s White Dragon Knights, also holds you in very high regard. His son even received instruction from you, however briefly.”

“...”

“You are close to the Holy Empire’s sole candidate for sainthood as well. I would judge that relationship to be more than mere closeness, but it would be ridiculous for me to prattle on about affairs between men and women, so I’ll say no more.”

“You’ve already said everything.”

“Hahaha! So I have. Shall we discuss something else? Ruhar and I may be at the northern end of the continent, but that doesn’t mean I’m blind and deaf to its affairs. You are the guardian of the elves, and you have also forged a connection with the next chief of Zoran, one of Samar’s great tribes.”

“What answer are you looking for from me?”

“Your honest impression of this Knight March. Nothing has begun yet, but surely you’ve heard how it is to proceed?”

“I hear we’re going to summon monsters and play at hunting them.”

“Precisely!”

SPLASH!

Aman sat down right beside Eugene. As his massive body dropped forcefully into the bath, the hot spring water surged in waves.

“As you know, this Knight March needn’t actually accomplish anything in particular. The continent’s foremost knightly orders and mercenary companies are gathering in one place. No force of this magnitude has assembled in three hundred years, so the gathering alone has meaning. But! With this much strength gathered together, wouldn’t it be ridiculous to do nothing?”

“Well, yes.”

“I want combat. Strength and honor, chivalry, conviction! A battle that pits all those things against one another. Of course, combat cannot be gentle, so many will die or be injured. But what of it? Victory in battle would bring tremendous honor. Can someone who frets about dying or being injured because they are weaker than their opponent truly be called a warrior?”

Aman’s voice grew impassioned.

“Of course! I have tried to understand the emperor and the other kings. If the continent has enemies, they are Helmuth and the Demon Kings. Shedding one another’s blood before we even face them is absurd. Still, I believe we must shed blood if necessary.”

“... Hmm... I understand the purpose of the Knight March, but excessive bloodshed in training is...”

“Overwhelmingly less than would be shed in a war between nations.”

“Pardon?”

“This is how I see it. The knightly orders here may not constitute the full military might of their nations, but they do symbolize them. If we pit them against one another—could that not be called a small war?”

Surely not.

“In my view, what we need most to face our great enemy, Helmuth—is unity. The continent is vast, with many nations. Many kings, too! That is why we cannot agree. Everyone is concerned only with their own interests. What do you think?”

“Er... why do you keep asking for my opinion?”

“I consider the opinions of the young important.”

“... Your Majesty spoke of unity, but does that mean, uh... that you want to unify the continent?”

“Hahaha! Unifying the continent without an actual war would be impossible. Nor do Ruhar and I possess the military strength to accomplish such a feat.”

Aman laughed heartily and slapped Eugene on the shoulder.

“However. If we have the knightly orders brought to the Knight March clash in earnest—and gain the upper hand, we would earn considerable honor. We could also diminish the orders of rival nations. To take it a little further, we could even threaten the kings who have come here.”

That was hardly the sort of thing to say while soaking naked in a hot spring. Eugene stared at Aman in disbelief. He now understood why the man was called the Beast King.

“Ah, don’t misunderstand. I am only speaking of what might be possible, not something I actually intend to do. It’s just... hmm, I wonder whether forced unity might be possible. That is my thinking. At the very least, if we begin with a unified command, wouldn’t we work together more smoothly against our great enemy?”

“Good lord...”

Eugene shook his head with a disbelieving laugh.

“Your Majesty’s words are so extreme and unexpected that I don’t know how to respond. But Your Majesty, you speak of Helmuth as a great enemy... yet weren’t you the one who opened Ruhar’s borders and allowed Helmuth’s demons to enter?”

“Ruhar was the only nation on the continent that still kept its borders closed to Helmuth. I consider Helmuth an enemy, but I also consider the civilization they have built remarkable. So I opened Ruhar’s borders to allow exchanges.”

Aman grinned and stared into Eugene’s face.

“Surely you didn’t think I opened Ruhar’s—Ruhar’s borders at Helmuth’s secret instigation?”

“I did think it might be possible. You have consistently refused invitations to join the Demon-Subjugating Alliance.”

“The Demon-Subjugating Alliance! Hahaha! You mean that pack of rabbits who cannot even manage to be foxes? What am I lacking, what am I so desperate for, that I should join their little pack? They would puff out their chests with pride at having formed an alliance with me, but I would gain nothing from an alliance with those pathetic rabbits except shame! How could I, a descendant of the Brave King, join hands with Helmuth and play leader to a bunch of rabbits?”

Laughing heartily, Aman patted Eugene’s shoulder again. His laughter continued for a while before finally subsiding.

“You are cautious.”

His smiling lips parted. Slowly, he turned his head toward Leheinyar beyond the swirling snow.

“I suspect there is something else you wish to ask me. Yet you haven’t said a single word about it.”

“I’m not sure what you mean, Your Majesty.”

“Did you meet His Majesty the Brave King?”

The question came without warning. Aman’s eyes, curved like the smile on his lips, grew calm and still.

“Leheinyar. Great Hammer Canyon. I received a report that you went there. Eugene Lionheart. Did you meet His Majesty the Brave King there?”

“Why would you think that?”

“Because I hoped you would meet him.”

“...”

“Don’t agonize over your answer.”

“Why did you hope for that?”

“They call you the second coming of Vermouth the Great, but you do not resemble that great hero.”

Aman chuckled and turned back to Eugene.

“But I believed His Majesty would surely recognize the talent of a young Lionheart. And beside you was Kristina Rogeris, the candidate for sainthood who looks just like Lady Anise the Faithful. If those two went to Great Hammer Canyon, might His Majesty emerge out of curiosity, if nothing else? That was what I hoped.”

“... The Knight March being held here in Lehein... Perhaps I was jumping to conclusions, but I thought this entire gathering was intended to draw His Majesty the Brave King out of seclusion.”

“That isn’t the whole reason, but it is one of them.”

“What exactly is His Majesty doing in Great Hammer Canyon?”

“Just what the rumors say.”

“That canyon was no place to live in peaceful seclusion.”

“So you saw something besides His Majesty.”

“Yes.”

Aman did not immediately respond. Resting both arms on the railing, he fell silent in thought for a while.

Then he scooped up hot spring water in both hands and splashed it over his face.

“The Bayar call those monsters Nur.”

“What the hell are they?”

“I don’t know either. What the Nur are... His Majesty the Brave King is the only one who knows precisely.”

“Your Majesty told me Great Hammer Canyon was a place tied to the royal family’s legends.”

“And I also said it was where descendants of the royal family are reborn as warriors. Was any of that untrue? Great Hammer Canyon is His Majesty’s retreat. Ruhar’s founder resides there, so it certainly is a place tied to the royal family’s legends. And royal descendants are reborn as warriors there. Hahaha! That is true as well. To inherit the throne, we must climb that goddamned snowy mountain with nothing but our own bodies and meet His Majesty in Great Hammer Canyon.”

Aman continued, reaching back into the distant past.

“That place... harbors beings so ominous that you would never imagine it to be a hero’s retreat. You must have felt it yourself when you saw the Nur, but the dread those monsters exude... stirs a primal terror that humans struggle to shake off. To become king of Ruhar, you must face that terror and press onward. You must climb the cliff and gain an audience with the Brave King. I met His Majesty twenty years ago. And someday, my son will go to seek an audience with him as well.”

Aman remembered twenty years ago vividly. His youth. A time when he had not doubted for an instant that he was Ruhar’s bravest warrior. His father, the king, had told him to climb Leheinyar, reach Great Hammer Canyon, and prove himself a warrior.

He was permitted no preparations. Not even a weapon. Nothing but his own body. He had to climb that harsh, snowy mountain alone.

Aman had not been afraid. He knew all manner of monsters lurked in Leheinyar, but even then, his young body had possessed the monstrous strength to beat them to death with brute force alone.

He climbed the snowy mountain, catching falling snow in his mouth and chewing the raw flesh of monsters he killed. During the trial, every ranger in the area withdrew. No one guided Aman toward Great Hammer Canyon.

After wandering the snowy mountains for a long time, he had felt, for the first time in his life, a terror he could not resist.

The Nur terrified Aman even though he could not see it. If he fled down the mountain in fear, he would fail the trial. If he succumbed to terror, he could not become Ruhar’s king. He could not call himself a warrior.

For days, Aman endured that terror where he stood, then resumed his ascent. At last he reached Great Hammer Canyon. He saw... a Nur.

“What did the Nur you saw look like?”

“A gigantic horned ape.”

“The one I saw took the form of an enormous snake. Though yours and mine looked different, their essence would have been the same. And I was so terrified that I collapsed before I even laid eyes on that snake. For three or four days, I sat there feeling fear, shame, and rage.”

“...”

“Thinking back on it now, the Nur that first terrified me... probably wasn’t that snake. His Majesty must have killed the Nur that frightened me long before. I was so afraid of a Nur that wasn’t even in front of me, one that had long since died, that I couldn’t move for days. But it seems you didn’t collapse along the way.”

“... No, I didn’t.”

“I think sending you to Great Hammer Canyon was an excellent decision. You are braver than I was in my youth. Perhaps you are braver than I am even now. ... Did His Majesty say anything else to you?”

“He told me to go down.”

“I see...”

Aman nodded with a bitter smile. Once again, he reached out and patted Eugene’s shoulder. His hand did not carry the excessive force it had earlier.

“What was His Majesty like in person? Wasn’t he the very image of a brave great warrior stepped straight out of legends and fairy tales?”

“I suppose he was.”

“Hahaha! A vague answer. But I’ll forgive it. Even if His Majesty made you withdraw, the fact that he appeared before you must mean that he acknowledged you.”

With that, Aman rose to his feet.

“That was an enjoyable conversation.”

“... What will you do about the Knight March?”

“Didn’t I tell you earlier? I was only talking. I have no intention of actually running wild. Think of our conversation here as a mischievous joke on my part.”

“Do you really mean that?”

“Of course.”

Brushing water from his beard, Aman walked out of the hot spring.

“I’ll be leaving first. Feel free to enjoy this bath as long as you wish.”

“I’m leaving too.”

“I realize this is rather late to mention it, but you have a magnificent physique. She is a little older, but what do you think? I have an unmarried female warrior among my relatives...”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

Eugene answered with undisguised horror.