Damn Reincarnation

places Eugene remembered.

“I made a good choice bringing them here,” Eugene suddenly murmured.

“What are you talking about?” Signard asked back.

“To imagine that you guys are going to live happily in this forest after going through all those fucking hardships, my heart is deeply touched.” 

Eugene made up excuses.
His excuses touched the hearts of Signard and the elves.

Eugene stirred up the wind and hastily cleared the uneven land.
After that, he dug a hole in the spot Tempest designated and planted the seedlings and branches of the World Tree.

‘…Nothing is happening…’ 

Eugene was about to bring this up, but he was shocked by an abrupt change.
He bent down and stroked the ground with his hands.

He could feel a faint warmth in this dry, cold land. There was also a slight tremor.
The roots of the seedlings spread far and deep into the earth, while their branches energetically stretched wide.
Their leaves became more alive.
The branches from the World Tree itself lightly wavered too.

“Ah…!”

Elves exclaimed to the sight.
They heard the forest’s joyous voice.
Along with Signard, the elves born in the sanctuary saw the grand World Tree in the small seedlings and branches.
Some elves shed tears as they couldn’t hold back their thrill anymore. 

“…Indeed.” Kristina expressed her admiration in a low voice and brought her hands in front of the chest. “These things are the true miracles.”

“These miracles weren’t done by your god.”

“Yes, I am aware of that. However, a revelation of God led us here… Not all miracles are done by the God of Light himself, but every miracle holds light.”

Glaring at the smiling Kristina, Eugene shook his head.

‘The mana doesn’t seem to be increasing right away.’

[After some time passes, the leyline will also begin to change.]

‘It’s meaningless if it takes too long.’

[You don’t have to worry about such stuff.
You won’t be able to feel this, but the primal spirit in this land is answering to the World Tree…]

‘Does it mean there will be more of the World Tree’s spirit?’

[Yes, this forest in the estate will soon turn into the most beautiful and lively forest on this continent.
Elves will live on in this forest and look after everything in this forest — the earth, the trees, the forest.
They will also harmonize with the World Tree’s spirit, and that way, the number of fairy trees will increase.
As they grow, the entire forest will turn into a leyline.]

‘….’

[Yes, the forest will turn into a leyline.
The Lionheart’s leyline will bear far more vast mana than before.]

‘I guess I won’t have to hire any more forest keepers or landscapers.’

[…What?]

‘You said so yourself.
The elves will tend to the forest.
I am a human, so I thought it was a bit too much to ask them to earn their keep… Well, if they do the landscaping, then that sorts out the problem.’ 

[…Hamel…]

‘What? I’m right, do you have any idea how wide this forest is? I can’t just let the forest be, it needs to be pruned and grafted each season.
Anyhow, there are a lot of things to be done.
If the elves do those on their own…’

Tempest shut his mouth.

“Here, listen up.”

Eugene gathered the thrilled elves in one place.

“We got permission from Lady Ancilla and planted the trees.”

He talked casually to Signard, but he couldn’t do that to the other elves.

“I may not have to even say these things, but you are not allowed to leave the estate.
If you really wish to, then inform the Lionheart servants beforehand.
I won’t say you can never go out, but wouldn’t it be tiring for all of us if you get into a quarrel outside?”

Hunting elves was illegal, and the capital, Ceres, was pretty safe.
Still, there was always that ‘if.’

“I will tell the Lionheart knights to accompany you when you wish to go out of the estate, and the servants will provide the necessities. Please show your hands if you don’t want to live here and want to seek freedom otherwise.”

No elves raised their hands

“Yeah, of course, you do.
I don’t care what you do in the forest, but do you see the cabin over there? Don’t go there, ever,” Eugene emphasized, pointing at the leyline.

“If you go there, I will get angry.
And another thing, you will come across the knights, servants, and other workers of Lionhearts as you stay in this forest.
Don’t look down on them or pick a fight.”

“Do you need to mention it?” Signard asked, glaring at Eugene. “It’s not like before….”

Eugene glared back.
Signard cleared his throat and continued. “…Hmm. Elven elitism was a given 300 years ago, but not now, the elves are in a difficult position.”

“Not all elves are like that, aren’t they?” Eugene asked. 

“…But the elves here fear humans, so they won’t look down on them.”

“Hmm… You have a point.
Then to the next matter… Probably starting tomorrow, people will come and build a village for you guys.
Where do you guys wish to stay before it’s completed?”

Signard took the lead and gathered the elves’ opinions.

“…Most elves want to stay in the forest, but some say they want to go to the annex.”

“Is that so?”

“Eugene, do you live in that annex?”

“I live there…and my father lives there.”

“There are some elves who used to be servants.
They wish to repay you by serving you.”

“Serve me…?” Eugene said with a sour face.

Ten elves stepped forward.
The one-legged Narissa and the one-eyed Lavera were among them.

“Were you a servant?”

“Some…thing like that,” Narissa answered.

“Do you know how to clean?”

“…I do know how.”

It was a lie.
She had stayed in a mansion when she was a slave, but she had never cleaned anything.
Still, she could do it if she tried.
Feeling the groundless confidence rising up, Narissa clenched her fists.

“What about cooking?”

“I think I can learn.”

Lavera had never cooked anything.

“I am confident when it comes to eating.”

This wasn’t a lie.
In her days of being abused as a slave, Lavera had eaten all sorts of disgusting, terrible things, then vomited and suffered to satisfy her master’s sadistic desires.

“…Hmm….”

They said they wanted to repay Eugene by becoming his servants, so there wasn’t much Eugene could say to that.
Besides, training apprentice servants wasn’t Eugene’s job.

‘Nina will take care of it.’

He didn’t really care either.

* * *

The desert warrior, Laman Schulhov, had been having an identity crisis over the past few months.

The beard was a symbol of power for the desert men.
The lowlifes couldn’t have a beard.
In Nahama, the more power the person had, the more voluminous and cool their beard.
Laman’s former master and emir of Kajitan, Tairi Al-Madani, had a bushy beard.
Laman’s beard was incomparable to his, but it was pretty neat nevertheless.
It was Laman’s small joy in life to brush his beard using scented oil every morning…

His precious beard had been shaved off on his first day in the Lionheart mansion.
Since he had come to Kiehl — no, to the Lionheart clan, he had to follow the Lionhearts’ law. Ironically, his new master, Eugene, hadn’t been the one to enforce the law on Laman.
The one to do it was Nina.

She oversaw the servants in this annex and she didn’t allow Laman to keep his beard.
Her reason was simple: his beard did not match his butler outfit.
Laman argued that he was a warrior, but as far as Nina was concerned, the only ‘warriors’ here were the knights of the main house.

Laman couldn’t become a knight of the main house.
Nina didn’t have the authority to knight him, and Eugene didn’t wish to do it.
In the end, Laman had become a butler.
He trained from time to time, but he spent most of his day in the annex, handling the trivial works given by Nina.

The cause of his identity crisis was that… he unexpectedly enjoyed those works.

The big master, Zehard, was humorous and kind.
Nina was indeed hard on Laman, but she took care of him so he wouldn’t have any problem living in the Lionheart house.
Other servants, who had first been wary of Laman because he was from Nahama, had become friendly after watching Laman working hard.

He had never experienced this kind of life in Nahama.
This place was peaceful and nice.
There were no sandstorms, no warriors checking on him, and no suspicious conspiracy.

However, Laman never let go of his pride as Eugene’s right-hand man. He was working as the butler of the annex right now, but someday, he would return to being a warrior and follow Eugene’s lead.
Eugene never said such things to Laman, but that was what the latter planned.
His master had saved his life not only once, but multiple times.
Laman had to repay him somehow.

“…”

Laman absentmindedly stood and looked at Eugene.
No, he looked at the ten elves standing behind Eugene.
The elves were so beautiful… There were both males and females, and the male elves were as beautiful as the females.

“…You are truly something else, Master Eugene!” Laman stayed silent for a moment, but then he nodded.
“You have an elven harem! Even the harem of my former master, Tairi Al-Madani, only had one elf…”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Eugene said as he kicked Laman’s shin.
Laman yelped and grabbed onto his aching shin.

“These guys will work here, starting today.”

“Par…Pardon?”

Laman lifted his head in shock.

“Then what about me?”

“What about you?”

“If those elves work in this annex, will I become a warrior and follow you?”

“Why do you keep speaking bullshit?”

Dumbstruck, Eugene stared at Laman.

“I brought you here because you said you wanted to tag along.
That’s it.”

“You have saved my life twice, Master Eugene.
As a warrior, I just wish to repay that…”

“You can’t do anything for me right now.
Not with your skills, anyway. So, if you want to repay me, keep working hard here,” Eugene said. 

Laman didn’t feel humiliated by Eugene’s remark.

‘I will try to be of help to Master Eugene.’

Laman was determined not to neglect his training as a warrior, all while faithfully carrying out his tasks as a butler.