Chapter 89 - Damn Reincarnation

Leaving the Castle

Perhaps because it was being held at Black Lion Castle for once, the Lionheart coming-of-age ceremony was exceptionally grand.

But it was nothing special, nor did it take long. The elders’ words of advice varied slightly in wording, but their substance was identical. Do nothing to disgrace Lionheart. Take responsibility for your actions...

Cyan represented the three of them. Eward was unable to attend, and Cyan was the one closest to succeeding as family head.

Making no attempt to hide his emotion, Cyan placed a hand over his heart and recited the oath. Eugene and Ciel stood a step behind him and repeated it after him.

And with that, the coming-of-age ceremony ended.

“We still have a few months before we actually come of age, but now that we’ve had the ceremony, we can call ourselves adults.”

On their way back to the keep, Cyan swaggered up and placed a hand on Eugene’s shoulder.

“So, brother. Shall we have a drink?”

“You’re really making an ass of yourself.”

Eugene laughed incredulously and knocked Cyan’s hand away. Cyan immediately abandoned his earlier expression, scrunching up his face and sticking out his lower lip.

“What’s wrong with that? Don’t tell me you’ve never had a drink?”

“I have.”

“What... did you say? When?”

“When I was in Aroth.”

Cyan’s eyes quivered at that nonchalant answer. Back when he was going through puberty, he had thought misbehavior was cool, as so many boys did.

At fifteen, Cyan had idolized the wandering knights in tales of valor. Men who defended the weak and showed their enemies no mercy. Badasses who wore shabby old cloaks, enjoyed drinking and smoking, and loved many women even as they brooded over their solitude...

But the only women at the main estate were attendants, and to Cyan, they were the family’s employees before they were women. They were not potential lovers. So he gave up on loving women and pestered the attendants into getting him cigarettes and liquor.

If he smoked and drank in his room, his terrifying mother would inevitably catch him and give him hell.

The family’s knights and attendants sometimes smoked behind the storehouse, so he thought there was little risk of being caught at the training-ground storehouse. Amid the drifting dust, he would lean against the old wall and take a drag on a cigarette... Then gulp down fiercely strong whiskey straight from the bottle, without bothering with a glass.

Just before he could put that plan into action, Eugene kicked open the storehouse door. Cyan was beaten black and blue until his lit cigarette had burned all the way down. And that vicious bastard hadn’t stopped at beating him. He had grabbed Cyan by the ear and dragged him to Anisilla, who had given him hell too.

“Y-you... You yelled at me and said... I had to wait until I was an adult to do that...! And then you went drinking in Aroth?!”

“It wasn’t because I wanted to.”

“You son of a bitch!”

Unable to contain his anger, Cyan trembled, his shoulders shaking.

“About Auxiliary Bishop Kristina,” Ciel began. “Something’s suspicious.”

“What are you going on about all of a sudden?”

“During your spar with Sir Genos yesterday, and at today’s coming-of-age ceremony too. She keeps looking at you strangely.”

“Maybe she was looking at me, not Eugene.”

Cyan, who had been furious a moment earlier, broke into a broad grin at the mention of Kristina.

“I was the star of today’s ceremony, after all. You two were... well... supporting characters there to make me shine. Weren’t you? I was the one reciting the oath, and I was the one standing at the front.”

“Would you shut up for a minute?”

Ciel frowned deeply and shot him a glare, but Cyan’s smile remained intact. Patting the chest of his smart ceremonial outfit, he continued.

“I thought so when we first met, but Auxiliary Bishop Kristina really is beautiful... Maybe it’s because she’s a candidate for sainthood, but she radiates a holiness that’s hard to put into words...”

Kristina had not told the others that she was now officially a saint. Nor had she revealed that Eugene was the Hero, or that the two of them would be leaving for the Great Forest of Samar together.

Neither Gilead nor Doynes had announced those facts either. Given the nature of the matter, they felt that as few people as possible should know.

“You must have noticed it too. Auxiliary Bishop Kristina is paying so much attention to you that it’s strange.”

Ciel glanced at Eugene’s fist. Just two days earlier, it had been streaming blood. Now not a single wound remained. She recalled the menacing air he had exuded that night.

“She must like me.”

Eugene answered as though it were nothing. Cyan scoffed at the absurdity of it, but Ciel could not laugh along. She tilted her head and stared at Eugene.

“Have you been sneaking off for secret trysts?”

“Do you have to take a joke so seriously?”

“You’re going back to the main estate tomorrow, right? Is there a reason you have to go back so soon? Cyan says he’s staying at Black Lion Castle for the rest of the year. Why don’t you stay with him and do some of that training you’re so obsessed with?”

To his credit, Cyan had decided to remain at Black Lion Castle. Eugene’s spar with Genos had inspired the decision. The main family’s knights were excellent, but it was true that they fell short of the Black Lion Knights’ captains.

He had therefore decided to stay at the castle for the next few months and receive instruction from the captains. Gilead wholeheartedly supported his son’s wishes, and not only the captains but even the elders had agreed to instruct Cyan, a candidate to become the next family head.

To Ciel, those conditions left Eugene with no reason not to stay.

Hadn’t he been crazy about training ever since his days at the main estate? The Black Lion Knights even had high-ranking mages among their members, as well as captains proficient in all sorts of weapons and techniques.

Yet Eugene said he would not stay. Only her brother, who had been with her since birth, would remain at the castle. Ciel was deeply unhappy about that.

“And Auxiliary Bishop Kristina is leaving on the same day as you.”

“We’re both leaving anyway, so we might as well leave together. If we left separately, they’d have to activate the warp gate twice.”

“Since when have you cared about that?”

“Why are you so suspicious today? Especially about things that don’t even warrant suspicion.”

“... You said you’d go traveling after you got back to the main estate, right? Where are you going?”

“I haven’t decided. I just want to see the world.”

“With Auxiliary Bishop Kristina?”

Ciel had always been perceptive, even as a child. Staring hard at Eugene, she continued.

“Father and the head of the Council of Elders looked troubled after returning from the mausoleum. So did... you.”

“I don’t see how that connects to me traveling with Auxiliary Bishop Kristina.”

“Exactly. Lady Kristina isn’t someone with time on her hands. Why would she go traveling with him?”

Cyan agreed with Eugene and gave Ciel a sidelong look.

“Little sister, just be honest. You want Eugene to stay at the castle with me, don’t you?”

“Stop stating the obvious.”

“She’s asking you this much... Why not just stay with us? You can go traveling later.”

That was what it came down to. Cyan wanted Eugene to stay at Black Lion Castle with him too. He had diligently read and memorized the book Eugene had given him, but he still did not fully understand its meaning.

So he wanted to learn more from Eugene. The stern, elderly elders. The rough captains who had weathered every kind of hardship. Receiving their instruction would be a valuable experience, but given the choice, he wanted more guidance from his brother Eugene.

‘He’s barely been back, and he’s leaving again?’

There were hurt feelings too. Eugene had returned after three years, only to leave the main estate again. His twin sister Ciel had gone to Black Lion Castle as well, leaving Cyan alone at home.

He had plenty of siblings, yet he had lived alone in that enormous estate. Of course, his days had been so busy and fulfilling that he had hardly had a moment to feel lonely, but he would have preferred to spend them with his siblings.

“You adorable little bastard.”

Ciel was good at hiding her feelings. Her twin brother Cyan was not. Eugene chuckled and gave him a light pat on the shoulder.

“All right. Shall we have a drink as brothers?”

“I’m drinking with you too.”

“What about your training?”

“I don’t have any scheduled today, so it’s fine.”

Ciel stuck out her lower lip as she spoke.

“... So you really are leaving?”

“Yeah.”

Once he made a decision, he rarely changed his mind. That had been true in his previous life, and it was true now. Spending a few months at the castle would be quite enjoyable, but he had a reason to go to Samar. A reason that took precedence over everything else. He had to find the elven village said to lie somewhere in the great forest.

Whether Senya was really there... he did not know. Perhaps. Perhaps she had died long ago. That was all the more reason to find the elven village. Once there, he could learn exactly what had become of her.

He did not know where Anise had disappeared to. The same went for Moron. That idiot had apparently still been making appearances a hundred years ago, but then he had abruptly declared his retirement into seclusion and vanished.

Moron’s descendants, Ruhar’s royal family, respected their former king’s seclusion. Even a Lionheart could not simply show up and expect them to reveal where he lived.

The path to Senya had begun in Akron.

Hamel’s tomb. The leaf of the World Tree.

The elven village, somewhere in the Great Forest of Samar.

“... Nothing we can do, then.”

Ciel sensed that Eugene would never change his mind. She let out a deep sigh and scratched the back of her head.

“... This is our first time drinking together. You’re leaving tomorrow, and we should celebrate finishing our coming-of-age ceremony too. If we’re going to drink, it should be something really good.”

“Something good?”

Cyan’s eyes lit up at those words.

“Lady Carmen has some incredibly expensive liquor in her display cabinet. According to the Third Division’s knights, it’s not just expensive—it’s incredibly hard to get.”

“She’d never give us something that precious.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll sneak it out.”

“Little sister... Are you sure that’s all right?”

“It’s fine. Lady Carmen never drinks a drop. Sometimes she puts it on the table, but she only fills her glass with black tea that’s the same color.”

“She certainly is consistent.”

Eugene muttered with an incredulous laugh.

“As long as I replace what’s in the bottle with some other liquor, there won’t be a problem.”

And so the three of them gathered in Eugene’s room that night. Ciel regaled them with the heroic tale of how she had infiltrated Carmen’s room and stolen the liquor. Cyan admired his sister’s courage and eagerly anticipated his first-ever drink.

But reality rarely lived up to expectations. Nineteen-year-old Cyan found warm milk much more enjoyable than bitter liquor.

“Fine liquor...”

Still, Cyan put on airs. Seeing Ciel grimace after a sip, he promptly addressed her.

“What’s with that face?”

“Why do people drink something this bitter?”

“I think it tastes better than soft drinks... Ciel, you can’t appreciate liquor because you’ve had an easy life without any hardships.”

What was he talking about? They were twins who had grown up together. Ciel found her brother’s posturing pathetic, but she hid it and filled his glass to the brim.

“You really are amazing.”

After several more drinks, Cyan collapsed facedown on the floor. Having sunk him, Ciel turned her sights on Eugene.

Unlike Cyan, however, Eugene could hold his liquor. Her plan to get him drunk and interrogate him about various things failed. Even after they had finished everything she had brought, Eugene was perfectly fine.

“... Why aren’t you drunk?”

“I might be a little drunk.”

“Where are you going with Auxiliary Bishop Kristina?”

“I told you we’re not going together. Why do you keep asking the same thing?”

Eugene tossed the sprawled-out Cyan onto the bed, then escorted Ciel outside the keep.

“I’ll come see you off tomorrow.”

But Ciel could not come to see him off. Carmen had noticed the break-in and dragged her off for one-on-one training early that morning.

Kristina was already waiting by the warp gate and greeted Eugene with a faint smile. Gilead was discussing something with Doynes.

“I’m sorry to put you to so much trouble on my account.”

“Don’t think of it that way. As family head, I have to accompany you to open the Treasury anyway. And... I want to see you draw the Holy Sword for myself.”

Gilead meant it. No one had earned the Holy Sword’s recognition since Vermouth the Great. Though they shared no blood, Gilead considered Eugene his son.

That made his feelings all the more complicated. Because of Eward. He did not want to dwell on it, but the contrast between his eldest son Eward and his adopted son Eugene was far too stark.

The child who weighed painfully on his heart.

Gilead did not show Eugene his sorrow for his eldest son. After sending Eugene off, he would have to return to Black Lion Castle.

The few months Cyan spent at Black Lion Castle would also serve as a test of his fitness to become family head. The Council of Elders intended to give no opportunities at all to Eward, who had damaged the family’s prestige.

Gilead had decided... to spend those months persistently trying to persuade the council. Not about the succession, but about allowing Eward to return to the main estate.

Afterward, he wanted to go to the Bosar domain and meet Eward and Theonis. Even if he failed to persuade the council, he wanted to see his wife and son and resolve the feelings that had long festered between them.

They passed through the warp gate and returned to the Lionheart main estate. Thanks to the notice sent ahead, only the personnel needed to operate the magic were stationed in front of its warp gate.

“Do you truly intend to say nothing to Gerhard?”

“If I tell Father I’m going to Samar, he’ll cling to me and beg me not to go, with tears and snot streaming down his face.”

“Yes, I’m sure he would.”

Gilead nodded with a gentle smile.

“Isn’t it only natural for a father to worry about his son?”

“Are you worried about me too, sir?”

“... Of course... I’m worried too. But my faith in you outweighs my worry.”

“I’ll try not to get caught up in anything too dangerous. I’m not going alone, after all.”

Eugene glanced back. Following them with a faint smile, Kristina gave a small nod when she met his gaze.

“I too will do everything I can to keep your journey safe, Sir Eugene.”

“Though I’m not sure how useful turning cookies into bread will be in a dangerous situation.”

“The savages of Samar might like bread, might they not?”

Kristina’s smile twisted. Eugene shrugged at her reply and turned back around.

Before long, they arrived at the Treasury. It had been six years since Eugene last came here. Stroking the necklace he had worn all that time, he stared at the Treasury’s doors.

“... By the way. Is Lady Kristina allowed to come inside with us?”

“In principle, no, but...”

“Wouldn’t it be absurd for the saint not to be present when the Holy Sword is drawn?”

Kristina had no intention of backing down. Slowly making the sign of the cross, she continued.

“The Holy Sword has recognized no one for three hundred years. But if you earn its recognition today, Sir Eugene... the God of Light may bless your journey and grant a revelation concerning it.”

“I’m genuinely curious. Is a priest allowed to invoke God so casually to make excuses?”

“Sir Eugene. What on earth are you saying? I swear that I have never once spoken God’s name lightly.”

In the end, Kristina would enter the Treasury with them. Just as he had six years earlier, Gilead brushed the door handle with a finger beaded with blood.

CREAK.

The engravings adorning the doors writhed.

The Treasury’s doors opened.

The first thing they saw was the same as six years ago. An ornate golden sword planted in the center. A sword that shone with its own light, independent of the lamps illuminating the Treasury.

The Holy Sword.

“Ah... That is... Altair, the Holy Sword of Light...”

Kristina clasped her hands with an exclamation of wonder. It had been a long time since Eugene had heard the Holy Sword’s name too.

“Sir Eugene, please...”

“Later.”

As he spoke, Eugene looked at Gilead. Though he had already obtained permission, would it not be rude to roam the Treasury as he pleased?

“Don’t worry about me.”

Gilead smiled wryly. Only then did Eugene grin and stride through the Treasury. Carbos, the Dragon Spear; Pernoa, the Lightning Bow; and Asphel, the Devouring Sword. All three weapons lay exactly where they had been six years ago.

‘Use even one of these properly, and you could conquer a country.’

That was no exaggeration. When Vermouth swung Wynnyd, storms arose. When he thrust Carbos, mountains vanished. When he fired Pernoa, the ground collapsed. Asphel did not produce phenomena on such a grand scale, but it displayed its power by cleaving the demons’ large-scale spells in two.

‘Vermouth, you greedy bastard. Keeping weapons like these all to yourself.’

Apart from the Holy Sword, most of the weapons had been acquired during their journey. Back then, Hamel had possessed far less mana than anyone else in the party, so he could not wield those mana-guzzling weapons.

That was still true now. The Dragon Spear and the Lightning Bow devoured far too much mana.

‘Well, my mana will keep increasing. And now that I’ve learned magic, I won’t have any trouble using Asphel.’

Grinning, Eugene stowed the weapons inside his cloak.

Then he approached the Holy Sword. He had failed to draw it six years ago... Before reaching out, he looked at Kristina and asked,

“What if it won’t come out?”

“That will not happen. Since God has granted His revelation, you will be able to draw the Holy Sword.”

He would rather it refused to come out.

Eugene sincerely wished for that. He still did not believe in the divine revelation, and he did not want to become the Hero.

But when he grasped the Holy Sword...

‘Fuck.’

He had not even begun to pull, yet he knew instinctively.

Six years ago, the Holy Sword had not budged no matter how much strength he used.

Now, however, it felt as though it would slide out effortlessly.