Chapter 25 - Damn Reincarnation

Mana Training

Eugene opened his eyes in the bed he had been using for the past few days. Nina, who had been keeping watch beside him, gave a startled squeal, but he immediately raised a hand to stop her.

"Quiet."

"I-I'll go get someone."

"No, don't. Just stay put."

"Pardon?"

"Stay put. Don't say anything."

With that, Eugene clutched his head. His memories weren't muddled. He clearly remembered what had happened just before he collapsed and what he had discussed with Tempest.

A prickling headache lingered. His body felt sore and hollow inside. It was unfamiliar to thirteen-year-old Eugene, but not to Hamel. Mana depletion. Every last bit of his meager mana had been wrung out of him.

'... Tempest did manifest in person.'

Merely opening the door to the spirit realm had sucked away all his mana. On top of that, Tempest had used his own power to manifest, however briefly.

That placed a considerable burden on Tempest himself. Spirits possessed tremendous power, but they couldn't open the door to the spirit realm by their own strength alone. Only someone on the level of a Spirit King could shoulder the burden of opening it.

'I guess he was pretty shaken, too.'

He had taken that burden upon himself, forced the door open, and manifested to confirm the truth. Eugene's—Hamel's—reincarnation was strange enough to make even Tempest, the Wind Spirit King, go that far.

'... Being reincarnated with all my previous life's memories would be surprising enough, but being reborn as Vermouth's descendant must have been a shock, too.'

Spirits remembered beings by their souls. Tempest had recognized Eugene, wielding Wynnyd, as Hamel...

That realization made Eugene chuckle.

Even after accepting his reincarnation, he had never quite managed to shake a faint, unpleasant doubt.

Was he really Hamel? The very same Hamel from three hundred years ago, just as he remembered from his previous life?

Perhaps... he hadn't reincarnated at all. Perhaps he was merely someone who had been given Hamel's memories.

'Even if that's true, the memories are real.'

So what did it matter? That was how he had consoled himself. He hadn't wanted to assign any great significance to the essence of his existence. He was himself. He had thought that was enough.

'Tempest called me Hamel.'

Those words had wiped away the unpleasant doubt completely. Eugene shook his head, snickering.

"... Master Eugene, are you all right?"

"I'm fine. How long was I unconscious?"

"About half a day..."

"I've made you worry."

"The family head and Master Gion are here at the annex."

"They didn't need to come all this way."

Eugene turned toward the closed door. Accumulating mana had sharpened his physical senses. He could sense someone pacing outside.

"Open the door for them. They must be really worried about me."

They had every reason to be. They had made all sorts of accommodations for him, adopted him, and given him Wynnyd. They had even passed down the White Flame Formula, which only the main family's direct line of descent could learn, and opened the spirit vein to him.

Then he had collapsed on the very day he began mana training. It was enough to send Gilead and Gion rushing over in alarm.

Gilead and Gion entered as soon as Nina opened the door. Seeing Eugene sitting up in bed, Gilead sighed with relief and approached.

"Are you feeling all right?"

"Yes."

Eugene answered with a bright smile. He hadn't had a chance to look in a mirror, but his face was deathly pale. Gilead and Gion studied him, then briefly exchanged glances.

"What happened?"

Gion was the first to broach the subject. Eugene had been perfectly fine on the journey from the spirit vein to the annex. Yet apparently he had collapsed shortly after returning.

Naturally, Gion couldn't help worrying about several possibilities. He was the one who had taught Eugene the White Flame Formula and guided his mana. What if he had made a mistake during that process and harmed Eugene's body? He trusted his own abilities, but couldn't shake the fear that something might have gone wrong.

"I've already heard what happened," Gilead continued.

"They say a great... wind blew when you took hold of Wynnyd. Did you summon a spirit?"

It was an obvious question, but Eugene hesitated rather than answering immediately. How should he explain this? Should he come up with some flimsy lie?

"The Wind Spirit King manifested."

He didn't intend to tell them everything. But he did need to tell them something. Too many people had witnessed Tempest's manifestation. An ordinary spirit couldn't possibly have stirred up a storm that powerful merely by appearing.

"... What?"

"He said it had been a long time since anyone called him, and he wanted to see who I was."

"What on earth...!"

Gilead and Gion could only gape in shock. Three hundred years had passed since their ancestor, Vermouth the Great. Many ancestors of the main family had wielded Wynnyd, the Storm Sword, in that time. Naturally, most of them had used Wynnyd's assistance to summon wind spirits.

But Tempest, the Wind Spirit King, had standards as lofty as his position. Not a single ancestor since Vermouth had managed to make him manifest.

"Is that really true...?"

Gion swallowed as he asked. Eugene had no reason to tell such a lie, but it was so astonishing that he couldn't help asking again.

"Yes. The Wind Spirit King... um..."

Eugene scrunched up his face, making a blatant show of struggling to remember. Tapping his aching head with his fingers, he continued.

"... He said I was still far too weak. Next time... when I'm strong enough. He said he looked forward to meeting me again someday, then returned to the spirit realm."

"... Ha, ha...!"

Gilead, who had been listening in a daze, burst out laughing. Shaking his head, he sank into the chair beside the bed.

"... Eugene. You truly are... an extraordinary child."

Eugene merely grinned without answering. Gilead gazed at him for a moment, then reached inside his clothes.

"Gion told me what happened at the spirit vein. You sensed mana in less than an hour and formed a core with the White Flame Formula. That alone is astonishing... but to attract the Wind Spirit King's attention as well."

It was unprecedented. But wasn't everything about Eugene unprecedented? A child of a collateral branch winning the Bloodline Succession Ceremony, being adopted, becoming Wynnyd's master, and inheriting the White Flame Formula at the spirit vein—none of it had ever happened before.

'He sensed mana and accumulated it in his body in a single day. That, too... is unprecedented.'

Gilead felt pure delight at that fact. The Wind Spirit King had taken an interest in this young child and even manifested in person. It was a blessing for the Lionheart family.

"Drink this."

He had taken out a small potion.

"It will replenish your depleted mana. But promise me you'll stay in bed for the next few days and not overexert yourself."

"I'm feeling fine."

"Promise me anyway. If you push yourself needlessly and damage your body, you'll regret it later."

"Yes."

Eugene nodded without arguing further. Mana-restoring potions were as valuable as they were useful. He gulped down the entire bottle before Gilead and Gion.

Mana flowed into his empty body. Without a moment's fluster, Eugene immediately circulated the White Flame Formula and channeled it into his core. It wasn't enough to refill the depleted core. The nature of mana meant that a potion couldn't hold very much of it. Still, emptying the bottle considerably eased his headache and soreness.

"After you've rested for a few days, Gion will take charge of your instruction."

Gilead rose.

"We had originally intended to set off on another training journey after the Bloodline Succession Ceremony... but we simply can't do that now."

"Because of me?"

"Yes. I think nurturing your talent must take precedence over our own training."

"I don't want to take up your time, or Master Gion's."

"Don't think of it that way. I want to teach you myself."

Gion took over, patting Eugene's shoulder with a grin.

"Oh, of course, I'll be teaching Cyan and Ciel alongside you. The family head will help, too."

Eugene was special. But that didn't mean they should show him excessive favoritism. Eward, the eldest son, had left the main family for Aroth, but Cyan and Ciel remained. They needed to receive instruction equally.

'I hope they take this as positive motivation.'

Upon hearing that Eugene had returned from the spirit vein in less than half a day, Cyan and Ciel had immediately headed to the training grounds to begin practicing. Gilead had high hopes for them as well.

"Nina."

After Gilead and Gion left, Eugene called to her.

"I'll get your meal ready."

"No, before that."

Eugene climbed out of bed and took hold of Wynnyd.

"Whatever happens now is a secret between you and me."

"... Pardon?"

"Even if I collapse, don't tell anyone."

"... Must you do this right now?"

"I probably won't collapse, but there's something I need to check."

Having given her that warning, Eugene infused Wynnyd with mana. Nothing like the earlier incident occurred. He narrowed his eyes in mild dissatisfaction.

A palm-sized spirit circled him. A sylph, a lesser wind spirit. It was a mass of wind that hadn't even taken on a proper shape. With the amount of mana Eugene possessed, summoning only a sylph was normal.

'Have you heard anything from your king?'

Eugene tried speaking to the sylph, just in case. But no answer came. Lesser spirits weren't intelligent enough to converse. Smacking his lips, he extended Wynnyd.

'A blade.'

First, he tried focusing on that idea. Shapeless wind wrapped around the sword's blade. Eugene glanced at the faintly vibrating blade, then swung Wynnyd.

SWISH.

Nina shuddered at the chilling sound. After swinging Wynnyd a few more times, Eugene sent the sylph back to the spirit realm.

'Tell Tempest this. If he's bullshitting me, he's fucking dead.'

The sylph still didn't answer. But it seemed to understand that its king had been insulted: before returning to the spirit realm, it sent a gust that tossed Eugene's hair.

'... Not that Tempest would tell a lie like that.'

He simply couldn't accept it himself. With a jumble of emotions stirring inside him, Eugene sank onto the bed.

'... Think rationally.'

Without letting needless emotions get in the way.

Three hundred years ago.

Hamel had died. Vermouth, Senya, Anise, Moron. His companions, who had ascended the Demon King of Incarceration's castle.

It had been a grueling journey. The second-ranked Demon King of Incarceration was incomparably stronger than the Demon Kings of Carnage, Cruelty, and Fury. Merely climbing through his castle had been as difficult as killing the other Demon Kings.

'... My death... '

Looking at it objectively, Hamel had been strong. Not as strong as Vermouth, but second only to him. With Hamel dead, the remaining four couldn't possibly have handled the remaining Demon Kings.

They had exhausted themselves ascending the Demon King of Incarceration's castle, and then Hamel had died. It was doubtful they could even defeat the Demon King of Incarceration in that state. In that case... they should have retreated and waited for another opportunity.

'... It all ended there?'

Only Hamel had died. The other four, including Vermouth, had returned alive from the demon lands of Helmuth. An unknown promise. Only Vermouth and the Demon King of Incarceration had made it.

'A promise?'

That bothered him immensely. Why on earth had the Demon Kings, who had rampaged with the intent of trampling the world, changed their minds and made a promise? Who had proposed it first? And what had they promised?

'... Helmuth.'

Thinking about it alone wouldn't give him an answer. His memories of his previous life ended with his death in the Demon King of Incarceration's castle three hundred years ago. Most of what he knew after that... came from the fairy tales he had read as young Eugene.

'I'll have to visit Helmuth someday.'

Three hundred years ago, Helmuth had been a terrible place. Monsters whose only instincts were to kill and devour humans roamed the land, while demons occupied territories throughout Helmuth and marched to invade human lands. Corrupted mages—black mages—hunted humans to curry favor with the Demon Kings they served. They longed to become demons and thereby glimpse the truth of the magical arts.

It had been a hell where terrible, ugly desires intertwined.

But not anymore. Helmuth had begun accepting humans two hundred years ago, and the Demon Kings and demons had shown them kindness as though painting over their past brutality.

People no longer thought of Helmuth as hell. They saw it as a tourist destination where they could indulge in unique, romantic, decadent pleasures unavailable in any other country.

The demons who had led the invasions now performed volunteer work in neighboring countries, calling it war reparations. The black mages who had fawned over the Demon Kings had milked people's sympathies by claiming they were victims too, and eventually established the Black Tower in Aroth.

As far as Eugene was concerned, it was all complete fucking bullshit.

Demons doing volunteer work? They were undoubtedly smuggling souls out through back channels. The Black Tower? That place had to be a hotbed of corruption. If those magic-obsessed lunatics had accepted black mages, the reason was obvious. He didn't know the truth, but all manner of vile things must be happening inside the Black Tower...

'Helmuth, Aroth, Yuras, Ruhar... '

Eugene clicked his tongue, recalling the places where traces of his former companions remained.

Of course, he couldn't go right away. Traveling to distant foreign lands in this young body was impossible.

'Someday.'

Eugene let out a deep sigh and rubbed his stomach.

His hungry belly growled.

* * *

What should he say?

Cyan had spent the night agonizing over that question. He had finally managed to fall asleep, only to have a damned dream. In it, he had dueled Eugene and lost yet again.

In the dream, Cyan had been the minotaur.

He had experienced firsthand the scene he had witnessed at the Bloodline Succession Ceremony. As a minotaur unable to produce sword aura, he had been taken apart by Eugene.

Taken apart.

At the training grounds, Cyan shuddered, shaking off the lingering images of his dream. But his frown wouldn't fade. He bit his lip and rubbed the eye socket that had been pierced over and over in the dream.

"What's wrong with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You look miserable. And you barely ate breakfast."

"This is how I always look. I ate just as much as usual, too."

"Liar."

Ciel stuck out her tongue and smiled.

"I know exactly what's going on. It's because of Eugene, isn't it?"

"What does he have to do with anything?"

"We're starting lessons with Eugene today. I know that's got you all worked up."

"I said it hasn't!"

"See? You're getting angry faster than usual, too. Why take your anger at Eugene out on me?"

"... I'm not angry."

"But you are bothered?"

"Well..."

Cyan glared at his infuriating younger sister and clenched his fists.

"... Honestly, I am a little bothered."

"Mother told us to get along with him."

"You think it's that easy?"

"It was for me. Want me to talk to Eugene for you?"

"... About what?"

"Ask him to be friends with you."

Cyan's shoulders trembled at that. His mother was one thing, but there was no way he could make such a humiliating request of a sister only a few seconds younger than him...

"I'll handle it myself."

Having snapped that out, Cyan clamped his mouth shut.

He spotted Eugene walking over from the distant annex. His eyes widened. Even from this far away, Wynnyd was clearly visible at Eugene's waist.

"They say he's reached one star in the White Flame Formula."

"I know."

"It took us ages to reach one star."

"Not ages. They said doing it in a month made us some of the fastest in the main family's history."

"Eugene reached one star in less than a day. That makes him the fastest, right?"

"Be quiet."

"Uncle Gion told me Eugene sensed mana as soon as he entered the spirit vein. It took us more than four days, didn't it?"

"So what?"

Cyan answered sharply, glaring at his sister. Ciel giggled, enjoying his reaction.

"Hi!"

Instead of teasing her brother further, Ciel waved to Eugene as he approached.

"Why are you still staying in the annex? Wouldn't it be nicer to live with us in the main mansion?"

"I wouldn't like that."

Cyan immediately jumped in. Eugene gave him a displeased look and nodded.

"Neither would I."

"I'd like it."

Ciel smiled sweetly and pointed to Wynnyd.

"I heard you summoned the Wind Spirit King from Wynnyd?"

"That's a lie."

Once again, Cyan answered. His heart was gradually warming to Eugene, but he simply couldn't bring himself to act accordingly. Young Cyan was still unfamiliar with awe, and even more unfamiliar with the affection it inspired.

"Apart from Vermouth the Great, not a single ancestor has ever summoned the Wind Spirit King from Wynnyd."

Eugene snorted and drew Wynnyd. Cyan flinched and stepped back.

"Wh... what's that for?"

Without answering, Eugene infused Wynnyd with mana. The wind gathered into a sylph. Inwardly relieved, Cyan sneered.

"That's the Wind Spirit King?"

"No."

Eugene held Wynnyd up for him to see. The sylph wrapped around its blade. Cyan's mouth fell half-open at the sight of the blade formed from wind.

"S-sword aura?"

"Does this look like sword aura to you?"

Cyan's face flushed bright red at the sneer returned to him. Eugene swung Wynnyd a few times in demonstration, watching Cyan.

"Want to spar?"

"... H-huh?"

"You use sword aura. I'll use this."

"..."

"Let's just do it for fun. Or should we make a bet? If you win..."

"N-no."

Cyan immediately shook his head and backed away.

"I... today... I came here for lessons from U-Uncle Gion. I didn't come to spar with you."

"Scared?"

"... I'm not scared."

As he answered, Cyan desperately signaled Ciel with his eyes, hoping his sister would somehow smooth things over. But Ciel ignored him and merely kept smiling brightly.

'You nasty little girl.'

Fortunately, Eugene backed off before Cyan could start making excuses.

"Don't pick fights for no reason."

"..."

"We're brothers now, after all. Let's get along."

With a broad smile, Eugene offered Cyan his hand. Cyan looked back and forth between the hand and Eugene's face for a moment.

"Never heard of a handshake?"

"... Huh?"

"Let's get along. As brothers."

"... Y-yeah..."

At last, Cyan nodded and took Eugene's hand.

"Shake my hand, too."