Chapter 83 - Damn Reincarnation

Kristina Rogeris

The Holy Empire of Yuras maintained a diocese in Alcarte, on the fringes of Helmuth. Established through a concession from the Demon King, it served as a bridge between Yuras and Helmuth.

Could demons be reformed through faith?

As far as Eugene was concerned, that was absolutely impossible. Forcing faith upon demons, whose very nature opposed divine power, was foolish and futile.

But demons were not the only inhabitants of Helmuth. Even excluding black mages and demihumans, quite a few humans lived there. Not because of contracts with demons or worship of the Demon Kings, but for thoroughly practical, rational reasons.

Helmuth was a human-friendly country.

Its citizens were guaranteed a basic standard of living even without working. The countless demonic beasts serving the Demon King performed their labor for them.

And not just demonic beasts. There were ancient undead raised by high-ranking demons and black mages. Inhuman monsters did the work humans would otherwise have to do. Even with few humans working in agriculture, Helmuth's vast lands turned golden regardless of the season.

Helmuth's citizens did not pay taxes in money. Instead, each month they surrendered a manageable amount of their vital essence as tax. If they wished, they could also mortgage their souls to enjoy a life of luxury in Helmuth. By paying an equivalent price before they died, they could even reclaim those mortgaged souls.

And if they failed to reclaim them? They paid for the freedom they had enjoyed in life after death. In other words, they became undead laborers.

But the world was crawling with idiots who wanted to enjoy wealth and glory while alive, even if it meant becoming undead laborers afterward. Helmuth did not turn those idiots away.

Ten years.

The term of posthumous labor the Demon King of Incarceration stipulated for his citizens was a mere ten years. Decades of happy living in Helmuth, followed by ten years of work after death. Immigration was fairly expensive, but not so expensive that someone determined enough could not afford it.

The Alcarte diocese was a place for reforming the humans who had settled in Helmuth, not demons.

Though they had sold their souls to the Demon King and his demons, if they held fast to their faith, they could still enter heaven once their posthumous labor was over...

The Alcarte diocese sold the reassurance sought by idiots who had traded labor after death for wealth and glory in life.

The Auxiliary Bishop assisted the bishop responsible for that diocese.

Kristina Rogeris.

She was the adopted daughter of one of Yuras's three cardinals, and a candidate for sainthood who carried on Anise's lineage.

She was not called a saint yet, but as she was the only candidate Yuras had put forward, she would formally inherit the title within a few years.

'... Something... '

Standing some distance away, Eugene narrowed his eyes.

Eugene and Cyan had fallen from the sky, but Black Lion Castle did have a warp gate. Eugene was now standing before it with Cyan and Ciel.

They were not the only ones there to greet the visitor. All the castle's knights were present, as were the elders and the family head, who had remained at the round table since the previous day.

That alone showed how extraordinary this unexpected visit was. A glance revealed that even the elders looked unsettled. Eugene looked briefly at them, then returned his gaze to the warp gate.

'... She looks like her.'

Just moments earlier, Auxiliary Bishop Kristina had stepped through the warp gate. Accompanied by three escort knights, she glanced around before lifting her skirt slightly.

"Thank you for such a magnificent welcome."

A tiara secured her pure white veil, but it did little to obscure her face. Eugene continued to study her with narrowed eyes.

Anise Slywood.

In Kristina, Eugene saw his companion from three hundred years ago. He did not know whether their personalities were alike, but her face resembled Anise's so closely that he wondered whether she might be her descendant.

"... I certainly hadn't expected you to come in person."

"Naturally, I must answer a summons when I am needed."

As Doynes approached and spoke, Kristina smiled softly and bowed her head. Eugene's attention went to the short wand hanging at her waist. A cross, the symbol of the God of Light, adorned the end of the gleaming golden wand. Even at a glance, it was clearly no ordinary object.

"... When you are needed? Are you saying there is a reason you had to come yourself?"

"Of course. This is hardly the place for that discussion, so please lead the way."

The elders, led by Doynes, turned away with Gilead. Kristina followed them with her holy knights, but for some reason, she suddenly stopped and turned her head.

Eugene's eyes met Kristina's. She studied him for a moment, then gave him a faint smile. The way her eyes curved—even that resembled Anise. For a moment, Eugene stood motionless, staring at her.

"... Have you met her before?"

As Kristina walked away, Ciel poked Eugene in the side and asked quietly.

"No."

"Then why did she smile at you like that?"

"How should I know?"

"Maybe she was smiling at me."

Cyan muttered under his breath. For no particular reason, he sniffed at himself, then whispered with an anxious expression.

"Do I smell?"

"Yeah. Like a rain-soaked mutt."

"Was she looking at me because of the smell...?"

"Why would she smile at you if that was it?"

"Maybe she smiled because she couldn't bring herself to frown."

Eugene did not bother answering that mutter.

That evening, Eugene left the soundly sleeping Cyan alone and finished dinner by himself.

"Young master."

As he sipped the tea served after his meal, an attendant approached cautiously.

"You have a visitor."

"Who? Sir Genos?"

Eugene set down his cup and tilted his head. He could not think of anyone besides Genos who would visit unannounced. But the attendant shook his head, his expression stiff.

"No. Auxiliary Bishop Kristina."

"... What?"

Remembering the saint who had smiled at him, Eugene rose from his seat.

"My name is Kristina Rogeris."

Kristina was already inside the keep's hall. Eugene gazed at her faintly smiling face, then inclined his head slightly.

"Eugene Lionheart. What brings you here so unexpectedly?"

Kristina was alone, without her escort knights. But Eugene could sense their conspicuous presence outside the keep. The holy knights of Yuras. Unlike ordinary knights, they wielded both mana and divine power.

'They must be quite skilled to have been chosen to escort a candidate for sainthood.'

Normally, he would have taken an interest in the holy knights, but he could not spare them any attention now. He met Kristina's steady gaze.

He had noticed it even from a distance, but Kristina's face resembled Anise's far too closely.

'She might be Anise's descendant.'

As far as the world knew, Anise had left no descendants. That was partly because she was known as a saint, but the Anise Eugene knew was not someone who blindly followed doctrine. She had guzzled alcohol while calling it holy water, so it was possible she had secretly had children, too.

"... What have you come for?"

Still, he could hardly ask Kristina about her ancestors out of the blue when they had only just met. For the time being, he asked that instead.

"Excuse me a moment."

Eugene had been polite because this was their first meeting, but Kristina showed no such restraint. She abruptly reached out and seized his wrist.

'What's she doing?'

Eugene could not help feeling a little bewildered. He had seen her movement coming, but he had no idea why she was acting this way.

Soon, a tingling current ran through the wrist she held. Eugene narrowed his eyes but did not shake off her hand. Kristina was still looking at him with a bright smile.

"... Are you finished?"

A short while later, the tingling in his wrist stopped. Even so, Kristina continued holding it. She felt his wrist, then boldly ran her hand along his forearm.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Your forearm is very firm."

"I doubt you touched it just to find that out."

"I heard that you encountered the Demon King of Incarceration."

Kristina nodded and released his wrist.

"When you face a Demon King directly, there is a danger of your mind and soul being tainted by demonic energy."

"So, have my mind and soul been tainted by the Demon King?"

"No. You are completely clean, without a trace of contamination."

Eugene snorted. At the time, the Demon King of Incarceration had used the death knight's body as a vessel. Things might have been different had the Demon King made a deliberate effort, but Eugene's soul was not weak enough to be tainted by that encounter alone.

"Did you come because you were worried about me?"

"That was part of it, but I was also curious about you."

"It seems rumors about me have reached the Holy Empire."

"There are the rumors, yes. But I received a revelation."

As she said that, Kristina stared intently at Eugene's face.

"... A revelation?"

"Yes."

"What kind of revelation?"

"It would be difficult to disclose that to you, Eugene, since you have not embraced our faith."

"Why pique my curiosity if you aren't going to tell me?"

"To let you know that God ordained this meeting."

God? Eugene's face twisted. Well, if any being could grant a revelation to a saint, it would be the God of Light worshipped by Yuras.

But Eugene could not possibly take her words favorably. Even Anise had never once received anything called a divine revelation. She had joined Vermouth's journey solely at the Holy Empire's behest, not God's.

"... Does that conclude your business here?"

"No."

Kristina shook her head. She reached out again and took Eugene's wrist.

"The round-table meeting has ended. The head of the Council of Elders has decided to open the mausoleum, so come with me."

"... You are going as well, Auxiliary Bishop Kristina?"

"Yes. That is why I came in person."

"Is that also because of the revelation?"

"Yes."

Kristina answered with a bright smile. Eugene could not begin to fathom her intentions, and once again, she reminded him of Anise.

"... May I ask you something?"

Since Kristina had been the first to act rudely, Eugene decided there was no need to be particularly courteous, either. Following her out of the hall, he spoke.

"I heard you are the only current candidate for sainthood, Auxiliary Bishop Kristina. Is that lineage of saints passed down through blood?"

"That is a rather unexpected question."

"I studied magic in Akron for two years. You may not know this, Auxiliary Bishop Kristina, but images of Lady Senya's companions from three hundred years ago remain in her hall there."

At those words, Kristina briefly stopped walking. She looked back at Eugene, her eyes narrowing in a faint smile. He grinned back as though returning it.

"I saw my ancestor, Vermouth the Great, of course, as well as Moron the Brave, Hamel the... Stupid, and Lady Anise the Faithful."

"What a blessing."

"I saw Lady Anise there. I don't know how you will take this, but you resemble her, Auxiliary Bishop Kristina."

"That is truly astonishing, and I am grateful to hear it."

Kristina released Eugene's hand and bowed her head.

"To think that you saw the likeness of that saint of old in a humble servant such as myself, still no more than a candidate... Perhaps this, too, is a miracle of God."

"Can a miracle even make your faces alike?"

"Perhaps Lady Anise is my ancestor. If so, that would be truly wonderful."

"I heard that Lady Anise left no descendants."

"That is what the world believes, but beyond being a saint, Lady Anise was also a human being. She may have wished to have children. Do you know anything about me, Eugene?"

"... I know that you are Cardinal Rogeris's adopted daughter."

"Yes. My birth parents abandoned me as an infant. Whoever they were, they placed me in a basket and left me at a monastery's door, hoping that the God of Light would look after me."

Kristina reached out again and took Eugene's wrist.

"That is why I know nothing of my bloodline or ancestors. But since you say you see Lady Anise the Faithful in me, it makes me think that she might be my ancestor."

Kristina chuckled as she spoke.

"If so, it would be a wonderful blessing, but also something regrettable. If I really am Lady Anise's descendant, as you suggest... wouldn't that mean my parents failed to care for their own child despite being descendants of a saint?"

Eugene shrugged without answering. He had not missed Kristina's reaction. When he told her she resembled Anise, she had not seemed particularly surprised.

As though she had heard it many times before.

Thinking about it, there was no way the Holy Empire would have no images of Anise. Just as Eugene had seen the resemblance, the Holy Empire's priests would have seen Anise in Kristina, too.

How many children were abandoned at monasteries each year? If one of those abandoned children had caught a cardinal's eye, there must have been a reason.

Eugene decided not to ask any more about Anise. Perhaps that snake of a woman had secretly started a family while living as a saint. Or perhaps she had done so during her wandering pilgrimage.

That was Anise's choice to make. What was certain was that being questioned about an unconfirmed ancestor could not possibly be pleasant for Kristina.

"... The night air is cold."

Murmuring those words, Eugene took a thick robe out of the Cloak of Darkness and offered it to Kristina.

However cold the night air might be, there was no chance that Kristina had come unprepared for it.

Eugene knew that, too, but regardless of her preparations, the gesture of goodwill itself mattered.

"Thank you."

With a faint smile, Kristina accepted the robe and wrapped it around herself. She did not reject his kindness.

"Are we going to the round-table tower?"

"No."

When they opened the closed door, the holy knights bowed their heads to Kristina. Then they raised their heads and looked at Eugene. That was all. They did not follow Eugene and Kristina.

"We're going behind the castle."

Kristina pulled up the robe's hood and led the way.