Chapter 3 - Damn Reincarnation

Lionheart

The storybook illustrations and legends always emphasized Vermouth and the Holy Sword, but in Eugene’s memory, the sword was nowhere near as impressive as the stories made it out to be.

‘It did flash a lot.’

It had helped them in all sorts of ways inside the pitch-black Demon King’s castle, but that was about it. The Holy Sword was a ceremonial blade that merely looked splendid in the first place, so even Vermouth hadn’t particularly favored it. He had only brought it out occasionally to kill a stubbornly resilient demon.

God of War. All-Master.

True to those titles, Vermouth knew how to wield a great many weapons. Whenever the need arose, he would pull a different weapon out of his extradimensional space.

‘And he was good at magic, too.’

Eugene.

In his former life as Hamel, he had never learned magic.

‘If I’d really put my mind to it, I think I could have been as good as anyone else.’

He probably could have, but back then, he hadn’t given magic a second glance. In his childhood, when he had mistakenly believed himself a genius... perhaps he would have tried to learn it.

‘If only I hadn’t met Vermouth.’

Meeting him had changed so much for Hamel.

There were people in this world called geniuses who were good at everything. Young Hamel had believed he was one of them, but meeting a real genius had shattered that childish delusion.

He was not a genius.

‘What about now?’

Eugene smacked his lips and tilted his head.

‘I have my memories from my past life. If I just follow them, I’ll become as strong as I used to be.’

He was certain of that. But he didn’t want to settle for that level. He had gone so far as to reincarnate... What was the point if he ended up no better than he had been in his past life? Especially when he had been reborn as a descendant of Vermouth, of all people.

‘Vermouth.’

Eugene kneaded his firm arm as he thought.

‘I suppose your blood really is something.’

How much muscle could a child’s body possibly develop? Yet regardless of the size of its muscles, this body was ideal. Eugene had no choice but to acknowledge that much.

It wasn’t bulky, but it was supple and springy. Its muscle density was impossible to believe for a child’s body. The same went for his bones. No matter how brutally he pushed himself, he never suffered lasting damage, and most wounds healed in no time.

‘My old body was good enough to make me think I was a genius. But this... there’s no comparison. It’s enough to make me understand how you were that strong.’

The body’s capabilities were different from the outset. That realization brought Eugene exhilaration, along with bitterness. If only he had possessed a body like this in his past life...

‘... What a pathetic thought.’

Eugene shook his head, casting aside the idle thought. His past life was just that—his past life. He had been reincarnated; what reason was there to wallow in old regrets?

With that thought, he shook off those feelings. But he couldn’t rid himself of every regret. After all, the only thing left of Hamel now was that shitty nickname, “Hamel the Fool.”

What about the others?

Vermouth the Great. He had served as a duke in his homeland, the Kiel Empire, before relinquishing his title. To the very end, he had been lauded as the Hero. The Kiel Empire had given Vermouth a state funeral and still commemorated the anniversary of his death.

Senya the Wise. That irritating girl had been invited to the magical kingdom of Aroth and become the youngest tower master in history. Aroth had five magic towers, and apparently, two of their present-day masters had been Senya’s pupils.

Anise the Faithful. That woman with her rotten heart was known as a saint in the Holy Empire of Yuras. There was even a separate scripture recording her teachings.

Moron the Brave. Eugene simply couldn’t believe what he had done. That dumbass Moron had founded a kingdom! He had rallied refugees from the regions ravaged by the Demon King’s army and founded a kingdom named after his own surname?

‘This is what makes the least sense.’

Eugene’s face twisted. Whenever these thoughts came to him, the same point always made his anger flare.

‘So they all lived perfectly well until they died. Then why are there still Demon Kings in this world?’

Helmuth, the demon realm.

In his past life, Hamel had roamed Helmuth with his companions. Leading the punitive forces sent by various nations, they had killed three of the five Demon Kings.

The fourth Demon King’s castle.

Hamel the Fool had died there.

He remembered the moment of his death clearly. He had believed Vermouth and his companions would kill every last one of the remaining Demon Kings.

But what had actually happened? The world had certainly become peaceful. Apparently, the Demon Kings no longer sought to conquer it. All because Vermouth the Great had made a “promise” with a Demon King.

‘Why did you make a fucking promise like that? Weren’t we going to kill them all?’

He didn’t know the reason. In any case, the war against the Demon Kings had ended, and the world had become peaceful. That peace had lasted for three hundred years, right up to the present.

“... Aren’t you a little too nervous?”

Eugene looked up at the voice. Inside the luxurious carriage, a stern-faced middle-aged man sat across from him.

“... It’s my first time in the capital.”

Eugene murmured as he glanced out the window. He had left the estate in the rural backwater and spent an entire day in a carriage to reach a city. After that, he had passed through several warp gates before finally setting foot in the capital.

“I understand.”

The man’s name was Gordon. He was a knight sworn to the Lionheart main family and had come to escort Eugene.

“Master Eugene. May I offer you a word of advice?”

“Yes.”

“If you’re already feeling nervous, every day with the main family will be very painful for you.”

There wasn’t a trace of humor on Gordon’s face. He had purported to offer advice, yet his words held no hint of concern either. Sensing this, Eugene smiled.

“Thank you for the advice, Sir Gordon.”

Eugene knew his position well. The reality of belonging to a collateral branch was that he couldn’t presume to speak down even to a knight who had merely been invested, rather than someone of the main family’s blood. And wasn’t Eugene’s own family looked down upon even among the collateral branches?

‘I’m still a Lionheart, though. And all they sent to fetch me was one knight... Father wasn’t even allowed to come with me.’

Without letting his smile fade, Eugene glared out the window.

‘This goes beyond blatant. It’s a cheap attempt to keep us in our place. Going to crush the little brats’ spirits right from the start, are you? Fucking losers. Vermouth, this is all because you went around spraying your seed everywhere.’

Eugene imagined what lay ahead. If they were already trying to intimidate him, the attempts to keep him in check would become even more blatant the moment he reached the main family’s estate.

‘Maybe they’ll gather every knight for a so-called welcome and loudly announce just how pathetic the background of each new arrival is.’

No, even that would be reserved for someone worth acknowledging. Since they had sent only a single knight to escort him, they probably wouldn’t bother with a welcoming ceremony at all.

“... How many people are taking part in this Bloodline Succession Ceremony?”

“Six from the collateral branches, including you, Master Eugene. Three from the main family.”

“As many as three from the main family?”

Eugene sounded surprised, but he already knew who would be attending the Bloodline Succession Ceremony. Gerhard had made a particular point of cautioning him about them.

Three from the main family. One was the principal wife’s son, and the other two were twins born to a concubine.

Five others from the collateral branches. The ones he needed to watch were the two from families that wielded considerable influence despite being collateral branches.

‘He said the oldest was fifteen. Some are younger than me, too...’

Eugene was thirteen. Reminded anew of his age, he couldn’t hold back a sigh. In other words, he was being told to compete in skill with ten-year-old brats.

[“Eugene. Never try to compete with the main family’s children. However talented you may be, you won’t be a match for them. So...”]

Eugene recalled Gerhard’s gloomy expression. He had been unable to hide his worry that his son would fall into despair after confronting the main family’s children.

‘... Still. I am looking forward to seeing just how impressive Vermouth’s descendants are.’

Eugene looked away from the window. The capital’s splendid sights had passed them long ago, and the carriage was now outside the city, traveling through a forest.

“From here onward, we are on Lionheart’s private land.”

A forest enclosed by towering walls.

“Oh, there’s no need to prepare to get out just yet. We still have quite a way to go.”

He hadn’t been preparing to get out. Gordon spoke with a smile, as if teasing him.

‘Must be nice to have so much land, asshole. It’s not even yours, so why are you acting so proud?’

“Wow. This whole huge forest belongs to the main family?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t it inconvenient, having such a large estate?”

“There are warp gates installed throughout the grounds.”

Really? Then why am I riding in a carriage right now? Because you haven’t been granted permission to use the warp gates, Master Eugene. Eugene stared out the window, carrying on both sides of the conversation in his head.

Just as Gordon had said, the carriage traveled for quite some time before stopping. Gordon opened the opposite door and stepped out, then came around to open the door on Eugene’s side.

“Welcome to the Lionheart main family’s estate,” he said, bowing politely.

The main gates stood wide open, revealing a grand mansion beyond. As Eugene had expected, not a single person had come out to welcome him.

‘Lionheart.’

Eugene slowly raised his gaze. White flags lined the way from the entrance to the main gate, each bearing a valiant lion at its center.

‘Vermouth’s Lionheart.’

Eugene looked down at his chest. His clothes bore no crest. Only the direct descendants of Lionheart were permitted to wear the lion crest over their left breast.

‘Maybe I should have left some descendants, too.’

In his former life, Hamel had never married or fathered any children.

‘No. It’s a good thing I didn’t. That would only have left me with attachments.’

Even so, seeing those family flags lined up made him feel a pang of regret about his past life.

“Have the other relatives not arrived yet?”

“You are the first, Master Eugene.”

‘Well, isn’t that lovely.’

Eugene accepted it with a nod.

* * *

Eugene was shown to an annex separate from the main mansion.

All the way there, he hadn’t caught so much as a glimpse of a main-family relative with a lion on their left breast. Why were they acting so precious? A thirteen-year-old relative had arrived. Wouldn’t they come to see him out of curiosity, if nothing else?

“My name is Nina.”

Still, their hospitality wasn’t entirely cold. As soon as he reached the annex, he was assigned a personal attendant. She was only a young girl who didn’t look much older than Eugene, but he had no particular complaints about that.

“Please ring this bell if you need anything.”

She was in her late teens at most. Nina bowed and handed Eugene a small bell.

“You don’t mind if I speak casually, do you?”

“Of course not, sir.”

“Do I have this entire annex to myself?”

Eugene looked around the spacious annex as he spoke. He was only asking to confirm what he already knew: surely that wouldn’t be the case. Nina was too young to oversee an entire annex.

“No, but you won’t experience any inconvenience during your stay.”

“So I’ll be staying with the other relatives.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know when they’ll arrive?”

“They should all be here within four days at the latest.”

Eugene chuckled at the answer. In other words, he was supposed to stay cooped up here for four days.

“Is the training ground out back?”

“... Pardon? Yes...”

“Do I need the main family’s permission even to swing a wooden sword?”

“Well... um...”

“Surely not.”

Smiling, Eugene headed for the training ground.

Nina followed him, at a loss for what to do.