Chapter 78 - Damn Reincarnation

Black Lion Castle

A dry greeting. Eugene couldn't return it. Even though he blocked her foot with his sword, Carmen's kick was tremendously heavy, sending him plunging downward.

'As expected.'

He wasn't flustered. Carmen Lionheart, captain of the Black Lion Knights' Third Division. She was Gilead's aunt and the oldest knight Eugene knew. Having come from the main family, she would have learned the White Flame Formula as well. He would have been disappointed if she weren't this strong.

BOOM!

The wind wrapped around Eugene spread outward. He recovered his stance on the ground and glanced at his aching arms.

'I'm nowhere near her in strength.'

Even a stone she had simply thrown had nearly pierced the Cloak of Darkness. The death knight he had seen in Nahama hadn't been stronger than Carmen, either.

That fact subtly wounded Eugene's pride. Of course, that death knight had been a shoddy piece of work. It had been incomparably cruder than the death knights he'd seen in his previous life—especially those commanded by Belial, Incarceration's Staff.

'To think the death knight made from my corpse was such a fucking pushover... '

Naturally, having his corpse turned into a death knight was enough to make him tremble with rage, but that death knight being so pathetically weak was plenty of reason to be furious as well. He'd tried his best not to think about it. Now that this situation had brought it to mind, his teeth ground together.

"... Was my greeting too rough?"

Descending slowly, Carmen asked the question when she saw Eugene's contorted face. She straightened her fluttering coat and watched him.

"You look quite angry."

"I'm not angry because of you, Lady Carmen."

Eugene answered while calming his agitated breathing. Wyvern-mounted knights were gathering overhead. And not just in the sky—the knights scattered throughout the forest were converging here too.

"Aren't you showing me a little too much favoritism?"

"That's because you're far more capable than expected. Cyan still hasn't overcome his own fears."

Carmen answered with an indifferent expression. She waved the approaching knights away, then took a pocket watch from inside her coat.

"Don't take it too badly. It means you're getting that much attention. And now that I've stepped in personally, the test will be over quickly."

"What do you mean?"

"Three minutes."

CLICK.

Carmen opened the pocket watch.

"If you withstand my attacks for three minutes, I'll take you straight to Black Lion Castle."

"... Three whole miiinutes...?"

"If you can do that, there's no reason to continue the test. Why? Not confident? If you think that's too long, I'll reduce it to one minute."

"... Ha ha..."

Her confidence was perfectly natural. He could understand that. Still, Eugene couldn't help letting out a hollow laugh. He'd never imagined hearing something like that...

'Well, sure... I suppose that makes sense. To that old granny, I'm just a grandnephew generations beneath her.'

He understood, but without realizing it, Eugene was already calling Carmen an "old granny."

"I'm young and full of energy, so I'll be fine. But at your age, Great-Aunt, wouldn't moving around for three whole minutes be too strenuous?"

He didn't stop at thinking it. Eugene asked her outright, and Carmen's hand twitched around the pocket watch. The surrounding knights stared at him, their faces pale. The air froze. Carmen tossed the open pocket watch to her deputy commander, Nation.

"One minute."

Carmen stepped forward as she spoke.

"I believe that will be enough."

As if to prove her words, pure white flames enveloped her. The White Flame Formula. Without any excess, the flames of mana clung to Carmen's body, sparks streaming like a lion's mane.

'Oh... '

Eugene genuinely admired Carmen's control of her mana. Since she wasn't deliberately pouring it out, he couldn't gauge her reserves, but the power of that compressed mana was tremendous.

Carmen didn't yield the first move. She vanished before Eugene's eyes. That was how it looked, at least, but he didn't lose track of her movements.

CLANG!

Eugene lurched sideways. Carmen's boot pushed Wynnyd's blade aside. Rather than steady his staggering body, Eugene spun around completely. His sword slid off her boot and drove toward her waist. A leather-gloved hand followed its trajectory. Carmen deflected the sword strike with one hand and struck at Eugene with the other.

"Oh?"

Her anger at his unforgivable remark faded into surprise. Eugene had deflected her fist with a sword he'd drawn before she knew it, and was retreating several steps.

'I meant to break at least one rib.'

She'd thrown that punch with precisely that intention, yet she hadn't even managed to land it properly. Carmen's stern expression gave way to a smile.

Her offensive grew fiercer. As Eugene had already observed, Carmen didn't use weapons. She was unusual even among the Lionhearts. From childhood, she'd trained in unarmed combat without picking up a weapon.

Decades of such training had made her punches faster than spears and her sweeping kicks sharper than swords. Facing her, Eugene felt genuine admiration for her skill. With ability like this, she could easily have made a name for herself even in the horrors of three hundred years ago.

That made it all the more regrettable.

'I'd like to fight her properly.'

He wanted to fight without holding back enough to avoid killing her, without worrying about the consequences. But however much he wanted to, he couldn't actually do it. Neither of them had any reason to go that far.

'And I'd probably lose as I am now.'

Even with Ignition, he wouldn't be able to win. Eugene still couldn't fully display the ability he'd possessed in his previous life. Of course, he wouldn't know for certain without trying, but he felt no particular need to put it to the test.

'In sheer intimidation, she's on par with Amelia Merwin... No, I can't jump to conclusions. Amelia Merwin was genuinely trying to kill me.'

His fight with Carmen gave him a rough idea of the Black Lion Knights' strength.

If all six captains were roughly as strong as Carmen, it would be no exaggeration to call the Black Lion Knights the strongest knightly order Eugene knew. At least, in his memories of three hundred years ago, no order had possessed such a concentration of powerful fighters.

'If we'd had an order like this three hundred years ago, things would've been a little less exhausting for us.'

He also had to account for how much time had passed. Anything was bound to advance over that many years. Wasn't magic the same? The mages of three hundred years ago had been excellent, but those of the present studied magic far more advanced than in those old days.

Combat techniques might progress spectacularly during war, but that didn't mean they would have regressed or stood still through three hundred peaceful years.

'Still, what a relief.'

Attacks rained down on him. Feeling aches throughout his body, Eugene concentrated.

'That I'm not some washed-up has-been.'

Indeed, Eugene's "technique" was working even against Carmen. It didn't feel particularly clean to him, but he deflected every one of her attacks while searching for an opening.

Yet he couldn't find any opening to exploit. With enough strength, he could force one open, and if he mixed in bolder feints, he could draw one out. But Eugene didn't bother.

"Three minutes."

CLATTER!

Eugene deflected Carmen's fist and stepped back. Wynnyd was fine, but the sword in his left hand was no longer usable, its blade chipped and riddled with spreading cracks.

"They've passed, haven't they?"

Eugene asked as he put the ruined sword inside his cloak. Carmen merely stared at him with furrowed brows, no longer attacking.

'I didn't land a single clean hit.'

Carmen glanced at both her hands. The leather of her gloves was scuffed, with several tiny cuts visible. Even if she'd been holding back... she hadn't managed to overwhelm a boy so young.

"... Isn't there still a minute left?"

"Left? The time was up ages ago."

"Impossible."

"I was counting in my head."

"You were counting while fighting me?"

"Well, that's thanks to you going easy on me, Lady Carmen."

It was true, and Eugene no longer wanted to provoke Carmen.

He'd spotted someone who demanded even more of his attention than she did.

His uninjured body seemed to ache and crumble. Feeling phantom pain that wasn't real, Eugene turned his head. No overtly ominous aura was spilling out, but his keen senses unmistakably detected that "power."

'... Jigollas, the Crushing Hammer.'

Among the knights watching his fight with Carmen stood an exceptionally tall man. Though this was his first time seeing him in person, Eugene knew who he was immediately.

The wielder of Jigollas, the Crushing Hammer. Dominic Lionheart, captain of the First Division. Meeting Eugene's eyes, he blinked for a moment, then gave a faint smile.

"Excellent."

Dominic spoke as he made his way through the knights and approached Eugene and Carmen.

"Those were movements I could hardly believe belonged to a nineteen-year-old. Eugene Lionheart. I've heard so much about your talent that I'm sick of hearing it... Honestly, I'd assumed the rumors must be exaggerated. But seeing you in person, it seems they didn't do you justice."

"... You're too kind."

Eugene bowed his head, then raised it. The hammer hanging at Dominic's waist had an ink-black handle, knotted as though veins bulged along it. Even its shape was far removed from an ordinary hammer.

"Lady Carmen. Is further testing necessary?"

"... No."

Carmen relaxed her narrowed eyes and shook her head.

"I don't believe we need to test him further. Though I don't know what you think."

"There's no need for me to step in and test him too. Though I don't know what the others think."

Dominic looked around as he spoke.

"If there are no objections, let's go straight to the castle."

Carmen started walking, and the knights of her Third Division immediately followed. Eugene looked around at the knights and tilted his head.

"... Is Sir Gion not here?"

"He's currently serving as deputy commander of the Fifth Division," Dominic answered.

"His skill alone would more than qualify him to be a captain. But the Fifth Division's captain will be retiring soon, so he transferred there to ensure a smooth handover."

Dominic patted Eugene's shoulder as he passed him.

"Young Master Cyan's test isn't over yet, so you won't be able to see him immediately. But you should meet him at Black Lion Castle in three days at the latest."

Three days.

Eugene laughed despite himself. In other words, they had planned for this sudden test to take up to three days. Eugene's strong resistance to mental attacks had kept him from wandering the forest, but Cyan would spend the next few days lost among the trees, struggling against illusions and monsters.

'And after that, he'll have to break through the Black Lion Knights' encirclement.'

Offering his condolences to Cyan, who would be screaming somewhere in the forest, Eugene followed the knights.

"You bastard!"

As he was about to leave, a shrill shout rang out. It was Ciel. Perched on the back of her wyvern with its smashed jaw, she huffed and waved her fists.

"How could you just leave me there?!"

"You found your way here just fine. Your wyvern's pretty clever, finding its owner all on its own."

This was perfect timing. He needed to fly on a wyvern to reach Black Lion Castle at the summit. Surely riding with Ciel was much better than sharing a wyvern with some unknown knight.

"... You want to ride together?"

"Why? Don't want to?"

"... I don't mind. Wouldn't it be better if you sat in front?"

"It's your wyvern. Why would I sit in front? Stop complaining and move forward so I can sit behind you."

"There's enough room already. What are you waiting for? Sit behind me."

Grinning as though she'd never been angry, Ciel patted the space behind her.

"Get closer. You might fall out of the sky."

"I won't die even if I fall."

"But it bothers me. A little closer... Where are you putting your hands? Don't grab Draggy's scales. You're hurting him."

"If grabbing a few scales hurts him, he's not a wyvern. He's a pathetic little fucking lizard."

"Draggy's a wyvern, but he's sensitive."

The other knights had already flown off on their wyverns, but Ciel and Eugene were still on the ground, bickering. Unable to overcome her stubbornness, Eugene placed both hands on her waist.

"Why are you holding on so awkwardly? Just wrap your arms around me."

"Sure."

What a nuisance. Grumbling, Eugene clamped both arms tightly around Ciel's waist.

"Guh!"

This wasn't what she'd imagined. It felt as though her guts were about to burst out of her throat. Ciel gasped and twisted.

"A-a little gentler..."

"What if I hold on gently and fall?"

"Just... hold my waist. That should be enou—"

Little minx. With a faint laugh, Eugene relaxed his arms and rested both hands lightly on her waist. Only then could Ciel pant for breath and glare at him. But she couldn't think of anything to snap back, so she finally closed her mouth and took to the sky.

Despite their flight, Black Lion Castle at the summit scarcely seemed to draw any closer. Ciel's wyvern was flying notably slower than the others. And rather than heading straight for the castle, she kept veering slightly off course.

"What are you doing?"

"Since we're flying anyway, wouldn't a little stroll before we get there be refreshing?"

"I think going to the castle, eating, and taking a bath would be a lot more refreshing than a stroll."

"I'm telling you, you won't hear anything nice when you get there."

Ciel pouted and looked back at Eugene.

"Have I committed some crime? I've got nothing to hide. So don't go out of your way for me. Just hurry up and get there."

"... You haven't a care in the world."

And here she'd gone to the trouble of being considerate. Grumbling, Ciel turned forward again. Seeing her puffed-out cheeks, Eugene pinched her side.

"Thanks."

"... Don't pinch me."

"There's hardly anything to pinch."

"You're pinching my skin."

She complained, but her cheeks were no longer puffed out.

* * *

Black Lion Castle.

He hadn't expected one, but there was no welcome. As soon as Eugene arrived, he headed with Carmen to the tallest tower in the castle.

"The Black Lion Knights are short on manpower."

On their way to the tower, Carmen suddenly spoke.

"The great Lionheart family has three hundred years of history. For an order protecting it, our numbers are far too small. Don't you agree?"

Despite the abrupt question, Eugene wasn't flustered. Recalling the knights he'd encountered in the forest, he shrugged.

"Isn't that unavoidable? Unlike the main family's White Lion Knights, the Black Lion Knights are made up entirely of Lionhearts."

The Lionhearts strictly kept only the direct line of descent in the main family. All siblings who failed to become family head established separate households, continually increasing the collateral branches.

As a result, the Lionheart family had spread far and wide, but it was impossible for all of them to become outstanding fighters. A manpower shortage was a natural consequence for the Black Lion Knights, an order bound by blood.

"That can't be helped. The Black Lion Knights have to clean up even the Lionhearts' dirty problems."

Muttering, Carmen glanced back at Eugene.

"Besides the matter of your brother, Eward, the Black Lion Knights intervene in various family problems. Most concern the family's prestige."

There were too many collateral branches. Those were seeds sown by Vermouth and the family's traditions.

"Their blood grew thin long ago. Some shouldn't even call themselves Lionhearts anymore. Yet they are Lionhearts all the same. The problem is... they use that diluted blood as an excuse to drag the family's name through the mud."

Eugene understood easily enough. The Black Lion Knights actively intervened in family matters. If someone disgraced the family's name, the order itself administered the appropriate punishment.

"We can't involve outsiders in resolving such matters."

"What are you getting at?"

"What I've said before."

The towering structure had an elevator, just like Akron. Carmen continued as she stepped through its wide-open doors.

"Join the Black Lion Knights."

"I already turned that offer down."

"Back then, I hadn't properly seen your abilities. Today, I have. The position of squire to the Second Division's captain is still vacant."

"What has he been doing for two years without finding a squire?"

"He did find some, but his temper is so rough that none of them lasted."

"Why should I take such a difficult position?"

"Your technique resembles that of Genos, the Second Division's captain."

Carmen stared directly at Eugene.

"Enough that I might think you were his disciple."

"Today was the first time I've ever seen him."

"If you became his squire, you and Genos would get along well. Besides, the Black Lion Knights offer a chance to contribute to the family's glory."

"The family's glory is all well and good, but I'd like to put my own glory first for now."

There really were so many places asking him to join.

'I'd rather go to Aroth than become a squire.'

Aroth's crown prince had promised Eugene the position of commander of the court mage corps. Although the Black Lion Knights interested him, however he considered it, he couldn't imagine serving as both a Black Lion and Aroth's commander of the court mage corps.

If he weighed the two, his heart naturally leaned toward Aroth.

"... More importantly, why summon me straight to a place like this after I've come so far?"

"Why do you think?"

"I doubt it's to tell me I've done well."

"Promise to join the Black Lion Knights, and I'll tell you."

"I'll find out soon enough even if you don't tell me, Lady Carmen."

"Your movements," Carmen said, taking a cigar case from inside her coat.

"Why you went to Nahama. What happened to you there."

"Surely you don't think I'm plotting something with Nahama's sandcasters?"

"It's extremely unlikely, but we do have to consider it. Who could have imagined that Eward Lionheart would attempt to take up black magic?"

Carmen glanced at Eugene.

"You're particularly well placed to receive all kinds of offers. Exceptional skill, but a bloodline that limits you because you're from a collateral branch. What if someone guaranteed you the family headship and offered to help you secure it?"

"I don't want to become the family head."

"Then consider it another way. Anyone with your skill would attract recruitment offers wherever they went. Did Nahama's Sultan promise you wealth and honor?"

"I've never even met the Sultan. Are you interrogating me?"

"Yes."

Carmen answered honestly, and Eugene smiled as though he'd expected it.

"Then I shouldn't give you my answers, Lady Carmen."

The elevator doors opened. Passing Carmen, Eugene headed for the room at the end of the corridor.

"Even if I answered now, I'd have to say the same thing to the elders in there anyway, wouldn't I?"

The door opened before Eugene could reach for it.

Inside the room, Eugene looked at the elders seated around a round table. Gilead, the family head, was seated there as well. Behind the elders stood Dominic Lionheart, who had gone ahead, and a sharp-featured man. Apparently, he was Genos Lionheart, the captain of the Second Division.

"Good day."

Eugene bowed as he entered the room.

"This is rather sudden, but..."

Raising his head, Eugene spread his cloak. Though the action was abrupt, the elders didn't stop him. They were all more than capable of protecting themselves, and they sensed not a trace of hostility in his actions.

"Please take a look at this."

Without hesitation, Eugene pulled the objects out of his cloak.

A large statue and a memorial stone stood before him.