Chapter 79 - Damn Reincarnation

Genos Lionheart

For a while, the elders seated around the round table could not say a word. They stared in bewilderment at the statue and memorial stone Eugene had brought out.

Then someone rose from his seat: a middle-aged man with nearly white, ash-gray hair swept back. The Immortal Lionheart. It was Doynes, head of the Council of Elders. With his hands clasped behind his back, he slowly approached the statue and memorial stone.

"... Hmm..."

Doynes looked up at the statue, which stood intact, without any damage. Its workmanship was so exquisite that it was hard to believe it was a statue at all. After studying it—even its scars had been faithfully reproduced—he lowered his gaze to the memorial stone beneath it.

"... Hamel Dynas."

"Hamel the Stupid?"

The elders murmured among themselves. Gilead rose without realizing it and approached Hamel's statue. His eyes full of astonishment, he looked back and forth between its face and the inscription on the memorial stone.

"... Where... how did you find this statue?"

Doynes turned to Eugene.

That damned fairy tale had smeared Hamel as a fool with every sort of slander and fabrication. But now that Eugene had produced this memorial stone, Hamel's honor, which the book had dragged through the gutter, was sure to be restored.

So Eugene had been watching the murmuring elders and their eyes fixed on the memorial stone with pleasure. Then he heard Doynes's question and recited the answer he had prepared.

"As you elders know, I spent the past two years studying magic in Aroth."

The excuse Eugene had devised went like this.

While absorbed in studying magic in the Hall of Senya the Wise at Akron, Aroth's royal library, he had learned of Hamel's tomb through Witch Craft.

"How?"

"I was the first Lionheart to encounter Witch Craft. I suspect Lady Senya may have arranged it."

On that point, he offered only speculation, not certainty.

In any case, having learned about Hamel's tomb that way, he had set out for Nahama to find it.

"Sir Hamel was our ancestor's longtime friend. Unlike the others, he never returned from Helmuth. He nobly sacrificed himself for his companions..."

A noble sacrifice. Eugene felt embarrassed saying that about himself, but his tongue kept moving smoothly regardless.

"I wandered Nahama's desert in search of the tomb and finally found it. Of course, it wasn't easy. Nahama's assassins and sandcasters were encamped at the entrance to Sir Hamel's tomb."

"... Hmm..."

"You're all aware of it, aren't you? Nahama has been using sandstorms to eat away at Turas's territory. The underground dungeon containing Sir Hamel's tomb was one of the sandcasters' many bases in the desert!"

From that point on, there was no need to mix in any lies. It was all true, after all.

"I fought through the sandcasters' attacks and the assassins' ambushes and made my way into Sir Hamel's tomb. And there... I found this statue and memorial stone."

As he spoke, Eugene raised a tightly clenched fist.

"Someone had severely desecrated the tomb. This statue and memorial stone were the only things left intact..."

To explain what had happened there, he also had to mention Hamel's corpse and the death knight. Eugene calmly related the events with a sorrowful expression, but the elders' reactions were fierce.

"After barely managing to defeat the death knight, I recovered the statue and memorial stone. Then... I encountered the infamous dungeon master of the desert... Amelia Merwin."

"Ah!"

An elder trained in magic sprang to his feet.

"You encountered Death Answer? Then... then how did you make it back alive?"

"That was... because the Demon King of Incarceration intervened."

Eugene surveyed the elders' reactions as he spoke. Once he mentioned the Demon King of Incarceration, no one remained seated. The elders stood with rigid expressions, staring at him.

"... The Demon King of Incarceration?"

"The ruler of Helmuth personally manifested there?"

"Yes. He stopped Amelia Merwin from killing me and let me go, speaking of a promise and his goodwill. And... he told me to deliver a warning."

"A warning?"

"He said freedom without responsibility is merely license. He warned that his goodwill and Helmuth's silence would not last forever."

This warning had to be passed on. Eugene did not know what Vermouth's promise actually entailed. But the Demon King of Incarceration had warned him in terms that suggested peace would not last forever.

Having heard that warning, they had to prepare for the end of peace.

"... Hah..."

Doynes shook his head with a long sigh.

"... I never imagined you would bring us a story like this."

They had summoned Eugene to interrogate him about his activities. Now, however, that interrogation had become a trivial concern.

"Is Helmuth preparing for war with Nahama at the vanguard?"

"It is too soon to jump to conclusions. If the Demon King truly wished to break the peace, he would hardly have bothered to warn us."

Doynes turned to the murmuring elders and continued.

"Freedom without responsibility is merely license... Do you remember exactly what the Demon King of Incarceration said?"

"I came face-to-face with a being of that magnitude and spoke with him directly. I will never forget that moment as long as I live."

He could never forget it. Eugene's lips twisted as he recalled the murderous intent and anger he had felt then.

["I believe I have shown Vermouth's descendants sufficient goodwill and respect."]

["I accepted their refusal to show me goodwill or respect as their freedom. But it would be troublesome if they mistook my continued goodwill for a right. I am the one who reigns over countless demonic beasts and demons, and I am the king of Helmuth."]

["Freedom must come with responsibility. Freedom without responsibility is merely license. Descendant of Vermouth, tell the Lionhearts. Tell everyone. Do not encroach upon the goodwill I extend to you. If you will not honor me, I will no longer respect you either."]

["Your ancestor made a promise in exchange for freedom, and now its end approaches. The time will come when the wheels that have stood still begin to turn again."]

"I see. It is certainly a warning."

Shaking his head, Doynes returned to the round table. He sank into his seat and spent a moment lost in thought.

"However, the Demon King of Incarceration clearly left us some latitude. So long as we do not encroach upon his goodwill, the horrors of three hundred years ago will not be repeated."

"Now that he has issued a warning, the peace will break someday."

Gilead glared at Doynes, his expression stern.

"Nahama has already been invading Turas for centuries. Who can be certain that Helmuth isn't behind their atrocities, or that the Demon King of Incarceration hasn't encouraged them?"

"Then will you, as family head, visit the Demon King of Incarceration and ask him?"

Doynes turned to Gilead with a bitter smile.

"It has been a full three hundred years. After our ancestor made that promise and returned, the Demon Kings of Incarceration and Destruction ceased threatening the world and insisted on peace. Family head, I have lived a very long life... and I find the peace we enjoy now beautiful and splendid."

"..."

"Of course, it would be no surprise if this peace broke at any moment. The two strongest Demon Kings remain alive and well, and the demons and black mages serving them are spread throughout the continent. Yet peace continues."

"Council Head."

"Even Vermouth the Great could not defeat the Demon Kings of Incarceration and Destruction. Who among the Lionhearts here could possibly kill a Demon King? An old man like me? My grandson? Will you do it, family head?"

Passion crept into Doynes's voice. He continued, glaring at Gilead.

"Even if we gathered all of Lionheart's forces, could we claim to be stronger and more capable than our ancestor and his companions three hundred years ago? I do not believe we ever could. With only four companions, our ancestor defeated the Demon Kings of Carnage, Cruelty, and Fury. Who in the world today do you think could accomplish such a feat?"

"... This is not a threat to Lionheart alone. The Demon King of Incarceration's warning was directed at the entire world."

"Yes, that is true. But we are descendants of Vermouth the Great. If we confront Helmuth, we must stand at the vanguard. Family head, do you believe we are ready for that?"

Eugene stood silently, looking on. He had expected this sort of debate the moment he decided to deliver the warning.

And it was none of his concern. No matter how much they argued in the abstract, what Eugene had resolved to do would not change.

Eugene was Hamel's reincarnation. He did not know why Vermouth had reincarnated Hamel or what Vermouth had been thinking.

But Hamel had resolved to kill every Demon King. Senya, Moron, and Anise, who had fought alongside him then, had shared that resolve.

"... That warning. It is neither Lionheart nor Kiel that is encroaching upon the Demon King's goodwill. It is the Holy Empire and the nations of the Demon-Subjugating Alliance. They still have troops stationed along Helmuth's borders."

"Those rabid Demon King haters will raise an army and try to invade Helmuth the moment we deliver the warning."

Klein spoke, sweating profusely. Doynes, however, snorted and shook his head.

"If they were that zealous, they would have put those troops to use long ago. The Holy Empire and the Demon-Subjugating Alliance do not intend to confront Helmuth head-on. It is nothing more than a blatant show. Once they recognize the gravity of the situation, they will withdraw their troops immediately."

"... The Demon King of Incarceration is not Helmuth's only Demon King."

Gilead shook his head with a sigh.

"The Demon King of Destruction may not share his intentions."

"At least the Demon King of Incarceration warned us about the promise ending. He also left us an opening. If the world respects him, the Demon King of Incarceration... may make another promise."

"A promise whose terms we don't even know?"

"Of course, the Demon Kings may run rampant as they did three hundred years ago. But they aren't doing so right now, are they?"

"May I take these back?"

Eugene had no desire to listen to any more of this interminable discussion. He asked, but without waiting for an answer, he put the statue and memorial stone back inside his cloak.

"... You recovered them, so you may take them back. What do you intend to do with them?"

"I intend to place them in our ancestor's mausoleum."

"... There?"

"Sir Hamel's tomb has already collapsed. Look at this memorial stone."

Hamel Dynas.

Son of a bitch, fool, dipshit, idiot, trash.

"... Not the insults. Below them."

Yet brave, faithful, wise, and great.

In memory of foolish you, who sacrificed yourself for us all and departed before us.

"Our ancestor sincerely mourned Sir Hamel's death. Some rotten bastard desecrated that tomb, and now it has completely collapsed. For Sir Hamel, who died so long ago... and for our ancestor as well, I believe it is only right to enshrine this statue and memorial stone in our ancestor's mausoleum."

"Hmm..."

Doynes and the other elders could not answer immediately. They had to consider it. Eugene took advantage of their thoughtful silence to add more.

"I never learned from Lady Senya directly, but I encountered the masterpiece she left behind, Witch Craft, and understood a little of it. My teacher, Lord Lovellian, carries on Lady Senya's lineage, so as his student, I could also be considered her student."

To think the day would come when he called himself Senya's student.

"In other words, I am both Lady Senya's student and our ancestor's descendant. I am also the last person to have paid respects at Sir Hamel's memorial stone."

"..."

"Therefore, I believe I should personally take this memorial stone and statue to our ancestor's mausoleum."

"... I understand what you mean," Doynes said.

"But as you know, our ancestor's mausoleum is not a place one may enter freely. This is not something I can readily permit..."

He paused and looked around the room.

"... If it is Sir Hamel's memorial stone, I believe it belongs in our ancestor's mausoleum."

Gilead lent his support to Eugene's request. Carmen nodded, and the other elders reacted similarly.

"... Then we have no choice but to make an exception and open the path to the mausoleum."

Eugene inwardly rejoiced. Now he would no longer need to search for Vermouth's tomb while avoiding their scrutiny.

'I won't be able to open the coffin, but what matters is learning its exact location.'

Even if he could not check it now, he could return later and open the coffin. By then, he would have no need to worry about the Black Lion Knights or the Council of Elders. If they blocked him, calling it an outrage, he could simply beat them up and force his way through.

"It will take time to open the path, so keep them in your custody for now."

"Yes, sir."

It would take time? Was it sealed with magic or something? Eugene wanted to ask outright, but he refrained from further questions and obediently nodded.

"Then... Genos. Take Eugene to his room. Family head, you will have to postpone catching up with your adopted son a little longer. We still have much to discuss."

"Yes, sir."

Genos dipped his head and approached Eugene. After bowing to the elders and family head, Eugene turned and left the room with him.

'Judging by that, there's no chance they'll declare war on Helmuth.'

They would deliver the Demon King's warning to the emperor of Kiel, and the leaders of each nation would gather to discuss what to do next. Eugene doubted they would come up with any meaningful measures, but merely getting them to discuss the matter was reason enough to have passed on the warning.

"... Kid."

As they walked along the corridor together, Genos suddenly spoke.

"Once we get down there... show me that statue and memorial stone again."

"That's easy enough. But why are you asking?"

"I want to offer flowers."

Flowers? Where had that come from? Bewildered, Eugene turned to Genos—and froze with a start.

Genos's eyes were brimming with tears.

"Uh... why are you... crying all of a sudden?"

"I'm not crying."

Genos opened his eyes wide and looked up at the ceiling.

"... I have conjunctivitis, so sometimes... my eyes water like this, regardless of how I feel."

Was this guy crazy?