Chapter 61 - Damn Reincarnation

@Desert

Raman's men had no choice but to return, however much they disliked it. They agreed among themselves on their story.

While they were secretly following Eugene Lionheart, he had tried to enter the Kazani Desert, leaving them no choice but to step forward and stop him. But neither persuasion nor force could break the young Lionheart master's stubborn resolve.

Thus their captain, Raman, had decided to accompany Eugene alone. They had agreed to enter Kazani first, then turn back together if anything dangerous or troublesome happened.

None of them could be certain that Tairi Al-Madani, the emir of Kajitan, would believe that story.

The injuries Eugene had inflicted could somehow be healed with potions or healing magic... but their master's orders had been to prevent Eugene from entering Kazani, not to escort him inside.

As a result, Raman spent the entire night awake and troubled. He felt deeply ashamed of himself for failing to endure the fear and pain, screaming his lungs out and divulging the name. Along with loyalty to one's master, discretion was a warrior's virtue.

Had Raman kept his mouth shut and acted like a warrior, his lieutenant would never have spoken either.

Raman had betrayed his master. His tongue, which should have remained guarded, had wagged freely. He was also worried about what would happen to the men who had been forced to return...

But this had been the best choice. Dying at Eugene's hands was frightening, but what Raman feared even more was the disgrace of his own honor and his master's.

He tried to console himself with that thought, but it brought him no peace. Besides, the cuts Eugene had left and the bruises from his beating—especially his face, which had been slammed repeatedly into the sand—hurt too much for him to sleep.

Eugene, on the other hand, slept well. While Raman passed the night in physical and mental agony, Eugene enjoyed a blissful sleep a short distance away, wrapped snugly in the Cloak of Darkness.

Raman could only marvel at him. Defeated though he was, his limbs still worked. His hands and feet weren't bound, nor had his weapon been taken away. He could attack Eugene whenever he pleased.

'Far too bold... No, that's not it.'

Eugene neither tossed and turned nor snored. His face was peaceful, his breathing soft and steady as he slept deeply. Yet Raman couldn't approach him. The violence carved into his body in that brief span had broken his spirit.

And there was still no opening.

Eugene was undoubtedly asleep. His breathing, his pulse, everything confirmed it. Pretending to sleep? What reason would he have? Raman's defeat had been no accident. He had lost to that nineteen-year-old Lionheart boy. It was the inevitable result of an overwhelming difference in ability, not chance.

'... Is he used to this?'

He was used to resting when danger of any kind could strike at any moment. His mind was asleep, but his body remained prepared for danger. Should Raman test him? What right did he have? With a hollow laugh, Raman wrapped bandages around himself. Even calling it a test was ridiculous.

If he approached for no reason, he would lose his head.

"Shall we get going?"

Morning came early in the desert. Eugene rose the moment dawn began spreading across the far horizon. Though he had only just woken, his eyes were astonishingly alert.

"... Yes."

In the end, Raman hadn't slept a wink. Still, he showed no fatigue. He, too, was accustomed to harsh conditions, and a warrior skilled at handling mana could recover from a lack of sleep with a mere handful of it.

"You're not offended that I'm speaking so casually to you, are you?"

"No."

"Then are you offended because I trampled on your honor?"

"... No."

"Your first answer was quick, but that one took a little longer. Oh, it's fine. I said those things to offend you, and I beat you to offend you too."

Eugene walked forward, brushing the sand off his cloak.

"But that was yesterday. Dawn's passed, the sun's up, and it's morning now. Let's start a new day with a fresh outlook."

Raman had no idea what the bastard was getting at.

"Are there sandcasters in the Kazani Desert?"

Before Raman could shake off his confusion, a question came out of nowhere. Unable to answer immediately, he stared at the back of Eugene's head.

"Don't pretend you don't know."

"I-I really don't know."

"Want to spend another horrible stretch of time with me?"

"No...! I really, truly don't know. I can swear it on everything I have."

He meant it. Sandcasters in Kazani? Why would sandcasters, who served only the royal family, be in the Kazani Desert, so far from the capital?

"What's your rank?"

"... Pardon?"

"You said your master's the emir of Kajitan. You've got men under you, so you must hold some sort of rank."

"I... command the Second Division of the Red Sand Warriors, my master's personal guard."

A personal guard. No different from a knightly order serving a noble. Commanding its Second Division meant he held a fairly high position. Judging by his skill yesterday, he deserved the post.

Eugene turned and stared hard at Raman's face. Confusion and fear. He sensed no deceit. He understood why Raman, despite being a captain, had been sent on this mission.

Raman was steadfast and loyal. But loyalty could never be absolute. Ignorance, however, was absolute. No amount of intimidation, threats, or torture could make someone divulge what they didn't know. In that respect, Raman was perfect.

"Are you a fucking idiot, old man?"

"... Pardon...?"

"The Kazani Desert. It used to belong to the Kingdom of Turas."

"How far back are you going...? It has been more than a hundred years since that land belonged to Turas."

"Right. Sudden sandstorms turned perfectly good land and forests into desert. Even the border became desert, so Turas had no choice but to cede the territory to Nahama."

They called it cession, but it was theft. Nahama's Sultan declared that the desert's spread was ordained by heaven, then stationed his warriors there and began military exercises. The weak kingdom of Turas had no hope of standing against Nahama, and nowhere on the continent was there a nation righteous enough to make sacrifices of its own out of sympathy for a weaker country's plight.

"The desert's still spreading little by little, isn't it? You can't pull that kind of bullshit on the Kiel Empire, so you're working over Turas, the easy target."

"... Please don't say such absurd things."

"You're a lot more naive than you look, old man. Or are you just pretending?"

"Even if what you say is true, young master... my master would never be involved in anything so despicable—"

"And ordering you to hide your identity and trail some brat isn't despicable?"

"Th-that was... out of concern that you might be endangered in this harsh desert..."

"You really don't seem to know a thing. Whatever. It doesn't matter whether you know or not."

Eugene turned away with that sneer.

"Just understand this. I haven't come all the way to another country to get dragged into trouble I can't handle, either. I can more or less guess why your master doesn't want me going there. A foreigner entering a sandcaster base—especially a young master of the Lionheart main family—would cause all kinds of headaches, wouldn't it?"

Most people could simply be buried without a second thought. A traveler vanishing in this vast desert was no ordinary thing.

But the disappearance of a young Lionheart master carried a different weight. If Eugene vanished in the desert, Gilead, the family head, would never let it pass.

"... I understand what you mean."

Raman answered with his gaze lowered.

"If... there are sandcasters there, as you say... I will step forward and protect you before they can harm you. Even sandcasters serving the Sultan directly will show at least some respect for my master, the emir of Kajitan."

"Let's hope so."

"... But, young master... why do you wish to enter the Kazani Desert? There truly is nothing there..."

"I'll see for myself and decide."

Hamel's tomb might be there. It was only a guess. Perhaps there would be nothing at all.

Even so, he had to check. Without another word, Eugene began running across the desert.

'He's fast.'

Raman immediately followed him. He had taken a severe beating the night before, but fortunately none of his bones were broken. Having spent the night circulating mana instead of sleeping, he had no particular difficulty running.

Or he shouldn't have. Yet keeping up was hard. Eugene didn't even seem to be making a serious effort, but every stride carried him a long way forward.

'... Were those sandstorms... really the work of sandcasters?'

Invading another country.

As a warrior, Raman didn't consider it evil. What was wrong with the strong taking from the weak? Survival of the fittest governed not only this desert, but everything in the world.

Was an invasion carried out through sandstorms... evil? Raman believed that if they were going to wage war, a "real" war, one that spilled warriors' blood, was right. But if the great Sultan cherished his warriors' blood and wished to spare it—if he intended to wage a great war of conquest someday with the blood thus preserved—Raman would gladly and gratefully prepare for war.

That was his wish as a warrior.

But Raman Shulhob, the man rather than the warrior, felt an irreverent sentiment stirring deep within his chest.

He did his best to ignore it.

* * *

"... An oasis...?"

A day had passed since Eugene began traveling with Raman, and they had entered the Kazani Desert. Just as Raman and his lieutenant had said, the desert was barren and empty. No life could survive here. But that was all; in the half day since entering, they had encountered no particular danger.

Then, suddenly, they saw an oasis. Raman stared at it in the distance with disbelieving eyes.

There were no oases in Kazani. That was why no one could live here. Raman knew that all too well. Yet here was an oasis. Had those terrible sandstorms overturned the earth and released groundwater trapped in the bedrock? Or had rain fallen unseen and pooled on the ground? Either way, the distant oasis felt like a miracle of the desert.

"It's fake."

While Raman gazed at the oasis in rapture, Eugene spoke coldly.

"... Pardon?"

"I said it's fake."

"You mean it's a mirage?"

"If a mirage showed us an oasis, there would be a real oasis somewhere far away. But that's not what this is. It's illusion magic."

Eugene was certain. He could feel that the density of mana changed there. Raman, however, hadn't recognized the illusion as Eugene had. His ability to sense mana was vastly inferior to Eugene's, and his understanding of magic wasn't nearly as deep.

"So that's how they're doing it."

Eugene nodded with a sneer.

"Showing people a mirage to send them off in the wrong direction and keep them from approaching? That only makes it more suspicious."

"That's magic...? Impossible."

"Hey, Raman. Keep your denial inside your own head. Don't say it out loud and piss me off."

"..."

"It's fine that you're loyal to your master and all. But is your master my master? No, right?"

"... Please don't insult my master."

"When did I call your master a son of a bitch? What insult? Why is everyone these days so sensitive? Always crying insult over nothing."

What did he mean by "everyone these days"? Raman slumped his shoulders and lowered his eyes.

"... What does it matter if it's illusion magic? Going elsewhere might be dangerous... perhaps they're using magic like that to turn travelers back—"

"We'll have to see."

With a grin, Eugene walked toward the distant oasis.

"You just said it was illusion magic. Why are we heading toward it?"

"To find out whether they're trying to turn us back and send us somewhere safe."

"... Pardon?"

"An oasis is incredibly valuable to desert travelers. Once they spot one, they'll want to stop by at least once."

"... Surely you don't think there's an ambush there?"

"Probably, don't you think? That's what I'd do. Rather than quietly ushering out an intruder who might run off in any direction, it's far easier and more efficient to lure them over and cut their throat."

Raman looked at Eugene with trembling eyes. The logic was sound, but he struggled to believe that such a judgment had come from a nineteen-year-old boy.

"... If that's truly the case... why take the risk unnecessarily...?"

"It's better to make sure."

Eugene took a map from his cloak as he answered. To reach his hometown from three hundred years ago in a straight line, he had to pass through that oasis. Avoiding it because it might be dangerous was one option.

But that would mean leaving an unknown trap intact.

Three hundred years ago, Hamel had been the sort to go in and investigate for himself even when he knew something was a trap. He hadn't considered that reckless. He only did it because he could handle it. What if it was a trap? He could smash it. What if it wasn't? He could move on with greater peace of mind.

Eugene hoped the oasis was a trap. He hoped someone was lying in ambush there. That would make it a little easier to judge the situation ahead.

The existence of a tomb somewhere in this desert was only a suspicion.

So was the presence of Nahama's sandcasters.

The oasis ahead was an illusion. That fact tilted Eugene's suspicions toward certainty.

If it was a trap intended not to guide travelers to safety, but to bury them in the desert...

'Then I'll have no choice but to be certain.'

He would have to make another decision then. Should he search alone for a tomb that might not even exist, or seek proper permission?

'The emir of Kajitan. Raman Shulhob, captain of the guard's Second Division. I've got a little insurance... and if that doesn't work, I can use the Lionheart name as insurance too.'

If all of that was ignored, it meant there was something beyond that oasis worth making an enemy of Lionheart over.

'What could that be?'

War.

'Is that entirely Nahama's decision?'

Amelia Merwin was in Nahama. A black mage directly contracted to the Demon King of Incarceration. It was well known that she accounted for a substantial portion of Nahama's military strength. If Nahama truly intended to wage war... was that Helmuth's will? Or was Nahama nurturing its greed behind Helmuth's back?

There was no way to know.

But Eugene couldn't ignore the possibility that a Demon King and Helmuth might be involved.

He must not ignore it.

"Fuck, finding a tomb is a goddamn pain."

"... A tomb? Have you come to Kazani to visit a grave?"

"Yeah."

"I had no idea... Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"What would you have done if you knew?"

"Kazani has a separate cemetery. I can take you there right—"

"It's not in the cemetery. The tomb I'm looking for is somewhere else."

"I don't know whose tomb you're seeking, but there are hundreds, thousands of bodies buried in this vast desert."

"I'm sure there are. You're from Kazani, aren't you?"

Eugene spoke without looking back at Raman. Unable to answer, Raman opened and closed his mouth.

"The way your eyes trembled when you saw that oasis earlier. The way you flinch at an ordinary gust of sand. And your whole demeanor changed when I brought up the sandcasters."

"... That's..."

"Were you a settler? You got lucky and survived a sandstorm, somehow made it to Kajitan... and your master took you in? So you don't want to connect your master to the sandstorms, but the doubts keep creeping in..."

"..."

"Hey, Raman. Let me give you some advice. In this world, most things you desperately want to believe aren't true turn out to be true. Especially the really fucked-up suspicions. Those are almost always facts."

Raman clenched his teeth.

"I'm sure your master did you a kindness, but I'll bet he also knows where those sandstorms come from. What Tairi Al-Madani didn't account for was that I'd be strong enough to beat the shit out of you and your men with ease. And he didn't know I'd be stubborn enough to ignore threats and warnings and enter Kazani anyway."

"... That cannot be true."

"Didn't I tell you to keep your denial inside your head? Whatever. Do as you like. What you believe is up to you."

Sneering, Eugene took another step forward. At that instant, Raman's expression changed. He kicked off the ground and lunged at Eugene's back.

"Look out!"

He wasn't attacking. Horrified, Raman thrust his hands out to shove Eugene as a pitch-black blade shot up from the sand beneath Eugene's feet.

His hands never reached Eugene's back. Eugene leaped lightly into the air and spun.

"If even you noticed, you think I wouldn't?"

Grumbling, Eugene summoned a wind spirit.

WHOOSH!

A violent wind blasted the sand off the ground.