Chapter 4 - Damn Reincarnation

Lionheart

“Who was Gerhard again?”

“You know. That relative who lives in some corner of the Gidol region.”

“Where’s the Gidol region?”

“At the western edge of the Empire... Oh, who cares? It’s some backwater we’ll never visit in our lives.”

Mockery underlay their quiet conversation.

Cyan and Ciel were fraternal twins, a boy and a girl.

They were born to a concubine, but it was hardly a secret that the head of the main family favored his second wife over his first, the principal wife. That fact had sent the two thirteen-year-olds’ arrogance soaring sky-high.

“That bastard’s name was...”

“Eugene, apparently. He’s our age.”

“Come on, being the same age doesn’t make us friends.”

Cyan lounged about with a lazy smirk. Looking toward the distant annex, he continued.

“I hear the bumpkin’s never even been to the capital before. Gordon told me earlier that he couldn’t take his eyes off the window the whole carriage ride.”

“Makes sense. He’s from that Gidol region, wherever it’s buried, right? Isn’t that place nothing but forests and fields?”

“I’ve never been either, so I don’t know. But it’s the countryside, so probably. Did he get sick going through the warp gates?”

“He did say he looked like he was going to throw up.”

“So he didn’t actually puke. Aw, that’s a shame. If he had, we could’ve made him clean the carriage.”

Ciel spoke with a mischievous smile. Cyan clicked his tongue at his sister, younger than him by only a few seconds, and wagged a finger.

“You idiot. He doesn’t have to puke for us to make him clean it.”

“What do you mean?”

“That bastard came from the sticks, so he must reek of cow shit. I bet he’s held a pitchfork more often than a wooden sword in his life.”

“Oh!”

“He spent days in the carriage, so that cow-shit stink soaked into his body must’ve soaked into the carriage too.”

“Ugh, gross.”

Ciel stuck out her tongue and made a disgusted face. It was only an act, though; her eyes brimmed with mischievous delight.

“The carriage he rode in belongs to the main family. Relative or not, if he dirtied it, he has to take responsibility. Right?”

“Yep, that’s right.”

“And I heard earlier that as soon as that bastard got to the annex, he went to the training ground and started swinging a wooden sword.”

“What a poser.”

Ciel burst into laughter. Born on the same day, the twins had always been a perfect pair.

“They said it’s his first time in the capital and his first time at the main family estate. That’s why he’s making such a fuss.”

“‘Making a fuss,’ Cyan? Just call him a poser.”

Ciel slapped her brother’s arm repeatedly, laughing. Cyan, however, clasped his hands behind his back and put on what he considered a solemn expression.

“Our stupid relative seems to have come here with high hopes for the Bloodline Succession Ceremony. His father clearly didn’t teach him properly.”

“Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.”

“He’s pretending to train so the adults will notice him, but he’s just left the carriage he stank up alone. That really gets on my nerves.”

“We need to teach him a lesson.”

“Aw, that’s going a bit far. We should just warn him that he can’t do that. Right? So the adults won’t scold him later.”

“You’re too kind, Cyan.”

Ciel grinned and played along, fully aware of her brother’s intentions. These young twins had long since learned that being slyly nasty was more fun than doing it openly.

“Let’s go!”

Cyan shouted energetically and led the way. Trotting after him, Ciel turned her head when she sensed someone watching from a distance. Having trained in mana since early childhood, both twins could sense even an intangible gaze.

A boy stood at a third-floor window of the grand, lavish mansion. When his eyes met Ciel’s, he quietly stepped back and drew the curtains. Ciel smiled sweetly at the sight and stuck out her tongue.

* * *

Children of the collateral branches were not allowed to wield edged weapons before undergoing the Bloodline Succession Ceremony.

Eugene had no desire whatsoever to respect that absurd tradition, but his father, Gerhard, could not disregard the Lionheart family’s customs. There were far too many watching eyes in their mansion to keep it a secret between father and son.

‘Too light.’

Eugene grimaced and looked down at the wooden sword. He had been swinging iron-cored wooden swords since he was seven, and from the age of twelve onward, he had used a lump of iron that could no longer reasonably be called a wooden training sword. It merely had a rough covering of wood; the weapon he had swung for over a year was heavy enough to shatter bones with even a casual blow.

But it wasn’t an edged weapon, was it? Even if he added more iron to increase its weight and enlarged it beyond what his muscles could handle, it was still, technically, a wooden sword.

Eugene had trained every day since he had gained full control of his body. He had not slacked off for a single day.

It wasn’t because he thought he ought to make the most of his life after going to the trouble of reincarnating...

He had always been this way. Even while traveling with Vermouth and the others, he had never neglected his training unless circumstances left him no choice.

‘And that fucking bastard still lectured me about effort.’

Vermouth, that insufferable bastard. Eugene ground his teeth as he recalled the man’s bleak eyes.

He knew he was pushing his body harder than he had in his previous life. The problem was that the body enduring all that punishment performed far beyond anything he had imagined. Vermouth. He still didn’t know whether this body, born as that bastard’s descendant, was superior to Vermouth’s own.

But it was certainly far superior to the body of “Hamel the Fool.” To think he could swing that heavy lump of iron with physical strength alone, without even beginning mana training... in the still-growing body of a thirteen-year-old.

“Isn’t there a heavier wooden sword than this? I don’t mind if it’s a little bigger.”

He felt as though he had already swung it hundreds of times, yet he had barely broken a sweat. Eugene frowned and looked behind him.

“And I told you to stay in the shade over there. Why are you standing in the blazing sun?”

“I-I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. Look how much you’re sweating. Don’t be stubborn for no reason. Go sit in the shade. No, wait. Do you have another wooden sword?”

Despite the sweat trickling down her, Nina looked troubled. He was a thirteen-year-old boy from a collateral branch, but that did not mean even a young servant of the main family could disregard him. Temporary though the assignment might be, she was his personal attendant. Resting in the shade while her master trained was out of the question.

“The wooden swords... All we have are the ones in this training ground’s storeroom. There should be others at the main family’s training ground...”

“Can’t you go get one?”

“That... Um... That isn’t for me to decide. If you wish, I could go and ask...”

“Never mind, then.”

Eugene shook his head without dwelling on it. He had learned earlier that Nina was only sixteen. She had only just finished her apprenticeship, and he didn’t want to put her in an awkward position with unreasonable demands.

‘They’re not even trying to hide it.’

Suppressing a sneer, Eugene put down the wooden sword. Why assign him a maid fresh out of her apprenticeship as his personal attendant? Wasn’t it obvious? If the inexperienced servant made some mistake or gave offense, and he mistreated her over it, they intended to turn it around and find fault with him instead.

‘I don’t know which bastard came up with this, but it’s downright vile.’

Swinging the wooden sword any longer wouldn’t even count as a warm-up. Eugene ambled toward the storeroom, and Nina hurried after him.

“Master Eugene, please tell me if you need anything.”

“Whatever else you might do, I need to choose my own training equipment. What if I send you and don’t like what you bring back? Why bother doing the same job two or three times? If I choose it myself, it’s done in one go.”

The seldom-used storeroom was thick with dust. As it billowed into the air, Nina broke into a cold sweat. She had actually intended to clean it several days earlier, but the head servant overseeing the annex had rebuked her, saying there was no need. That was why it had been left in this state.

“I... I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

Eugene paid no attention to Nina bowing her head behind him. He rummaged through the dust, searching for what he needed. Sandbags to strap to his body. He also found something fairly useful on a shelf.

A dusty suit of chain mail that hadn’t even been properly oiled. It was far too large for his frame, but when he slipped on just the vest, he liked its substantial weight. Then he pulled out a spear taller than he was.

“... Um... Is there anything I can help you with...?”

“Stand on this for a moment.”

After leaving the storeroom, Eugene pointed at the spear he had laid on the ground. Nina stepped on it as instructed. With it held in place, he began fastening sandbags to the shaft.

Nina watched it all with appalled eyes. Eugene was wearing an oversized chain-mail vest, with sandbags strapped to both arms. On top of that, he was attaching several more sandbags to the spear.

‘This is impossible.’

Even by her rough estimate, the weight looked to be twice her own body weight. Eugene, however, looked satisfied as he waved her aside.

“Move now.”

“Y-yes.”

Bending only his knees, Eugene took hold of the spear with both hands and lifted it. Its staggering weight made him clench his teeth for a moment, but he enjoyed the sensation of his muscles stretching taut and his bones trembling.

“Back... No, farther. I told you to go to the shade over there!”

“Y-yes!”

Startled, Nina backed away. Only after making sure she was clear did Eugene swing the spear in a wide arc.

WHOOSH!

The spear weighed more than he did. Even so, the added weight on his body kept it from dragging him along. He had another purpose in wearing the vest and strapping on the sandbags.

Eugene swung the spear furiously as he moved with heavy steps. Each swing tugged at his arms as though they would be torn from their sockets, and his waist screamed as he added a twist. Nina clapped a hand over her mouth at the sight. One wrong move seemed certain to cause a catastrophe that young body could never withstand.

But though Eugene looked about to collapse, he never did. Instead, every time his body staggered, the spear moved faster. He forcibly arrested its spinning motion, then immediately shifted into a thrust.

CRACK!

He felt the calluses on both palms tear. That pain! By deliberately going without gloves, he could feel it in full.

Eugene kept swinging the spear with a chuckle, using nothing but the strength of his grip to keep his blood-soaked hands from slipping along the shaft. The strain turned his eyes bloodshot, and his breathing grew labored.

“Hey.”

Nina had been watching in a daze when the voice beside her made her jump.

“What’s that bastard doing?”

Cyan and Ciel. The troublemaking twins who had soaked countless apprentice maids’ pillowcases with tears. They had come right up beside her, their eyes gleaming.

“Y-young master, young lady. What brings you here...?”

“I asked what that bastard’s doing.”

Cyan spat the words out with a fierce scowl. He disliked the way some servant whose name he didn’t even know had failed to answer his question immediately. Ordinarily, he would have punished her enough to ensure she never did it again. Right now, though, what that bumpkin was doing bothered him more.

“Can’t you tell by looking?”

It wasn’t Nina who answered. Eugene let out the breath he had been holding in a great rush and put down the spear.

“Do you know what this is?”

He nudged the spear with his foot as he asked. What was this bastard playing at? Cyan narrowed his eyes without answering immediately, while Ciel grinned beside him.

“It’s a spear, you idiot. Don’t you even know that?”

“Right, it’s a spear.”

“So what?”

“You know this is a spear, but you don’t know what swinging a spear is?”

“I do, actually.”

“Then why ask what I’m doing?”

“I didn’t ask. My brother did.”

“Then tell him for me. Your stupid brother, I mean. Tell him, ‘That bastard is swinging a spear.’”

Ciel’s eyes widened at his taunting words.

Cyan’s, on the other hand, narrowed.

“Stupid? Me?”

“Well, if you can look straight at it and still not know, you don’t seem very smart.”

“Cyan. That bumpkin’s calling you stupid.”

Ciel giggled and poked her brother in the ribs. Rather than getting angry along with him, she instinctively knew that stoking his anger like this would make things more entertaining.

“How dare you!”

Provoked by his sister, younger by only a few seconds, Cyan shouted.