Chapter 8 - Damn Reincarnation

Ciel

Nothing happened.

"..."

Absolutely nothing happened. Eugene had expected some sort of punishment for leaving Cyan, a child of the main family, in that state... Yet the annex remained peaceful, as though the duel with Cyan had never taken place.

Strictly speaking, nothing noteworthy had happened; that did not mean nothing had changed. After the duel, the annex servants began looking at Eugene differently. They watched his behavior warily and were reluctant to come near him.

They probably did not want to get caught in the fallout.

"Are you all right with this?"

Eugene stared at Nina as he asked. It was the morning after his first night in the annex. Only Eugene and Nina were in the dining room on the ground floor, though an assortment of dishes still covered the large table.

"What do you mean, sir?"

"Following me around."

Eugene spoke indifferently as he cut his meat. It was an enormous portion for breakfast. Of all the food on the table, meat was the only thing he had specifically requested. With all the strenuous exercise he did, inadequate meals would cost him not only stamina but muscle strength as well.

"... Hmm..."

Nina could not answer readily. While she hesitated, Eugene stuffed his mouth with the meat he had sliced.

"... I do worry about what people think... but it can't be helped. While you're staying with the main family, I'm your personal attendant, Master Eugene."

"You don't need to be loyal to someone who'll leave in a month at most. You'll still be working here after I'm gone."

"... It isn't only about loyalty. The main family's head servant ordered me to attend you, and the person who gave that order was probably the second lady."

Nina shook her head with a bitter smile.

"If I neglect my duties because I'm worried about how others might react, I'd be disregarding the second lady's orders. That's all the more reason I must attend you, even if it makes me uneasy."

"That's a good attitude."

Eugene chuckled and pushed his empty plate aside. Then he picked up a leg of lamb as large as his forearm with his bare hand.

"You said it isn't only about loyalty. That means you do feel at least a little loyalty toward me, right?"

"... You are my master, even if only temporarily."

"Then I'll have to act like one. If you get into trouble because of me, don't keep it to yourself and fret. Tell me straightaway."

"... Pardon?"

"What do you mean, 'pardon'? You had the bad luck to become my personal attendant, and I just happened to be assigned you. So let's get along without any hard feelings."

"B-but..."

"Enough. From now on, follow my orders without questioning them. Understood?"

"... Yes, sir."

"Then go get me a damp towel."

Instead of saying anything more, Eugene opened his mouth wide and tore into the lamb. Nina stared, momentarily stupefied, before bowing and stepping back.

"... I don't think a damp towel will be enough. I'll bring a basin of water instead."

"I like that initiative."

Eugene grinned as he chewed the meat.

"Oh, and while you're in the kitchen, tell the chef to serve more meat at lunch than at breakfast. No need for elaborate dishes. Just focus on lean meat."

"Yes, sir."

Nina withdrew politely, stealing a glance at the table. Could he really eat all that by himself?

Of course, Eugene ate it all. Even in his previous life, he had never been picky and had eaten all sorts of things.

'I've eaten monsters and demonic creatures, too.'

After picking the meat out from between his teeth, Eugene washed his hands in the basin. Then he left the table, rubbing his full stomach. Nina hurried after him with quick little steps.

"Have you heard whether anyone's coming today?"

"I haven't been told anything."

"Then go find out. I'll be at the training ground."

"Yes, sir. But, um... you've only just finished eating. Your stomach will hurt if you exercise right away..."

"Thanks for worrying, but there's no need. My stomach doesn't hurt even if I run right after eating."

With her ordinary body, Nina could not begin to understand that. Still, she withdrew quietly without asking any more questions.

It was no lie. This body had never suffered even a minor illness since childhood. Even the palms he had torn open while swinging his spear yesterday had healed without a trace.

'This body is downright unfair.'

Come to think of it, Vermouth had rarely needed healing magic or potions in Eugene's previous life. The bastard seldom got injured, but even on the rare occasions he did, his body would recover on its own.

As a result, Anise's and Senya's healing magic had practically been reserved for Moron and Hamel.

["You're always getting hurt because you charge ahead like an idiot!"]

["Hey, that dumb fuck Moron charged out first!"]

["He does it because he's a dumb fuck. Why do you follow him? Are you a dumb fuck, too?"]

["Then what the fuck am I supposed to do, leave him to get the shit beaten out of him by monsters? Why are you bitching at me?"]

["Ugh, forget it. Look at Vermouth. Can't you fight cleanly, without getting hurt, like he does?"]

["If we're forgetting it, why are you still saying even shittier things?"]

Whenever Hamel returned covered in wounds, Senya would nag him relentlessly. Thirteen years had passed since his reincarnation... but every memory of his previous life remained vivid, without the slightest fading.

'... They say Vermouth died and even had a funeral. But I don't know whether the other three are dead or alive.'

Senya the Wise. Having served as a tower master longer than anyone else in the history of the magical kingdom of Aroth, she had suddenly gone into seclusion about two hundred years ago. Nothing was known of her whereabouts after that.

Anise the Faithful. Revered as a saint in the Holy Empire of Yuras, she had also withdrawn from the central temple in her later years to become a lone pilgrim. Apparently, not even the Holy Empire's pope at the time had been told where she intended to make her pilgrimage.

Moron the Dumbass. The first king of the northern kingdom of Ruhar. At least that bastard had been alive relatively recently—though "recently" still meant a hundred years ago... After abdicating, he had lived at leisure, then supposedly appeared at the kingdom's founding anniversary a hundred years ago.

'No matter how I look at it, I can't imagine those three dying...'

It was a pointless thought.

Even Vermouth, who had seemed the least likely to die, had died two hundred years ago.

Eugene shook his head, a bitter taste filling his mouth.

The training ground where Cyan had vomited yesterday was spotless. Nina had done the cleaning, of course.

"What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you."

Ciel stood in the training ground. She waved at Eugene with a bright smile.

"You just ate, didn't you? You smell like meat."

"I brushed my teeth."

"What good does cleaning your mouth do? Your body smells."

"Don't I smell like cow shit?"

"My brother said that. I never said you smelled like cow shit. Besides, I don't know what cow shit smells like."

"It smells like shit. What else? If you really don't know, take a sniff after you take a shit."

"Gross."

"Why were you waiting for me?"

Nothing had happened yesterday. Had she waited a day before coming to give him shit? Eugene narrowed his eyes at Ciel.

"To train with you," Ciel answered with a giggle. "Look, I even put on my training clothes."

"Nice."

Giving her a perfunctory reply, Eugene examined her outfit. A lion embroidered over the left side of her chest proclaimed her main-family blood.

'The clothes they gave me didn't have a lion.'

"Where did you leave your brother? Why are you here alone?"

"He's training with Hezar. You know what? Mother was furious yesterday because of you. My brother got slapped more than ten times."

"He got slapped?"

"Yes."

Eugene blinked. He had assumed the boy had grown up receiving nothing but affection and indulgence.

"Then why isn't she hitting me?"

"Why would Mother hit you?"

"You said she beat your brother because she was angry over me."

"Hmm... that's true. But Mother was angry because he lost his duel with you."

"No, that's what I'm saying... when you get down to it, she was angry because of me."

"That's true."

No matter how bright they were, children were still children. Eugene was reminded of that all too painfully.

"... Does your mother know you're here?"

"She does. She told me to be friends with you."

She was angry enough over me to slap her son around, and now she's telling you to be friends with me? What kind of bullshit is that? Eugene barely swallowed the shout rising in his throat. How could this little girl possibly grasp all the schemes of the main family's second lady?

"... Right."

"You said yesterday that we're friends because we're the same age."

"Your brother said being the same age doesn't make us friends."

"That's what he said. I don't think that. So, aren't you going to be my friend?"

"... Fine. My friend, I'm going to train. Could you go play over there instead of bothering me?"

"Are you going to play with me?"

"No, I'm going to train."

"Then I'll train, too."

Just stop engaging with her. He should have done that from the start. Clicking his tongue, Eugene headed for the storeroom in the corner of the training ground.

"You swung a spear yesterday. Are you using a spear today, too?"

"No."

"Then what? A sword?"

"First, I'm going to work up a sweat."

Eugene flung open the storeroom door. The room, which had been thick with dust only yesterday, had been cleaned spotless overnight. It was obvious who had done it. Nina must have spent the night cleaning.

"I like it."

Muttering to himself, Eugene stepped inside. Not only had the dust been cleared away, everything was neatly arranged. The sandbags in particular had smooth surfaces and felt heavier than yesterday. She seemed to have cleaned the leather and even filled them with fresh sand.

'... Still, there's so little here to begin with that nothing really appeals to me.'

For some reason, he felt like swinging an axe today. But there wasn't even an axe. In the end, Eugene left the storeroom carrying only an armful of sandbags.

"What about a weapon?"

"I'm doing bodyweight exercises."

Eugene sat down on the ground and strapped sandbags to his arms and legs. After watching him, Ciel went into the storeroom and brought out sandbags of her own.

"I'll join you."

"What for?"

"Just watching is boring."

"Suit yourself."

Eugene stood up with the sandbags strapped to him and immediately began running around the training ground.

'... They're heavy.'

Ciel staggered as she rose. The mana accumulated inside her spread throughout her body, bolstering her strength. Only then could she support herself.

'How can he run like that on physical strength alone?'

She watched Eugene in disbelief. He had only just set off, yet he was already completing his first lap, breathing hard. Ciel waited where she was for a moment, then fell into step beside him when he came back around.

"You really haven't trained mana?"

"I told you I haven't. Don't talk to me."

"That's amazing... How can you run with these strapped to you when you haven't even trained mana?"

"Don't. Talk. To me."

Eugene glared and snapped at her. Ciel briefly stuck out her tongue, then closed her mouth.

* * *

Nina had gone to the main house to carry out Eugene's orders. She had braced herself for harsh words, but to her surprise, the servants there did not give her a hard time.

["Master Eugene sent you, didn't he?"]

["Yes."]

["All right. Today, after noon..."]

They seemed wary, but readily answered her questions. Puzzled by that, Nina returned to the annex's training ground.

"... Lady Ciel?"

Nina's mouth fell open at the sight before her.

"Hello, servant."

"Her name is Nina."

"Hello, Nina."

Ciel smiled as she steadied herself. She was sitting on Eugene's back with an armful of sandbags.

"H-hello..."

Nina belatedly bowed. Even as she did, she glanced up at Eugene. Sweat dripped from him as he concentrated on his push-ups.

"... What number are you on?"

"Ninety-eight."

"Ninety-nine."

"One hundred."

"Get off."

THUD!

Ciel tossed the sandbags aside and climbed off Eugene's back. Eugene sprawled on the ground, panting heavily.

"... Did you find out?"

"Yes, sir!" Nina answered, nodding. "Sh-should I get you some water first?"

"No. Tell me first."

"Master Decon, Master Hansen, and Master Jules are scheduled to arrive at noon today," Nina replied quickly. "And Master Gargis and Lady Dezra are scheduled to arrive by warp gate around evening."

"So that's what you were asking about."

Ciel giggled and poked Eugene's back.

"You could have just asked me. Why didn't you?"

"I'd already sent Nina to find out. If I heard it from you first, her trip would have been a waste."

"What does that matter?"

"And I was training."

He had also not wanted to deal with her. Eugene pushed himself up from his sprawl and sat down.

"So three are coming by carriage, and two by warp gate?"

"Yes, sir."

Even the treatment they received was different. Eugene knew why. Gargis and Dezra were children of families with considerable standing among the collateral branches.

"You don't know who Gargis and Dezra are, do you?" Ciel asked.

"I know their names. I've never met them."

"Those two are powerful even among the collateral branches."

"I know their families are powerful. What about the other three?"

"I don't even know where they're coming from. They're like you. Oh, though you're probably much stronger."

In other words, they came from weaker collateral families.

"... Have you met Gargis and Dezra?"

"They came to my brother's and my tenth birthday party."

"What are they like?"

"Gargis is boring. He's a year older than me... Dezra is younger than me, but she was boring, too."

Did her definition of fun depend on whether she could tease them? Eugene gathered his thoughts.

'Three from the main family. Six from the collateral branches, including me.'

He had been told everyone would arrive within four days at the latest. They were gathering sooner than he had expected.

"Do you know when the Bloodline Succession Ceremony will be held?"

"They said once everyone's here... so today?"

"Probably tomorrow. Surely they won't start immediately today. Anyway, what form is this ceremony going to take?"

"I don't know."

Ciel shook her head.

"Don't lie."

"I really don't know. Traditionally, the family head decides how the Bloodline Succession Ceremony is held. But Father isn't here right now... Hmm... Mother said he'll be back soon. Anyway, I really don't know."

Eugene could not quite believe her. Surely, as a child of the main family, she must have received at least a hint.

'... Father said twelve of them competed in a tournament in his day. Last time, they made them wander through a forest for more than ten days.'

The format changed every time, but its essence did not. The Bloodline Succession Ceremony assessed the aptitude of the next generation to bear the Lionheart name. It sounded impressive, but it was not fair. In the end, the ones who distinguished themselves were the main family's children, who had trained mana from an early age.

Ever since he first heard about the Bloodline Succession Ceremony, Eugene had considered it an obnoxious tradition.

And so he had vowed to personally screw over the main family at the ceremony.

'Vermouth. Don't hold it against me for screwing over your descendants.'

Rising on aching limbs, Eugene addressed Vermouth, who was probably in heaven.

'It's not as if I chose to be reincarnated as your descendant.'