Damn Reincarnation

the ground.

Grooooan!

A newly created earthen rampart now surrounded Eugene and Jeneric.

“If it’s like this, no one will be able to see us.
Since I’m making such a concession, it should be fine now, right?” Eugene pressed Jeneric.

“…Gk… Grrr…!” After staring blankly at his new surroundings, Jeneric clenched his fists and squeezed out a smile as he growled, “You want me… to thank you…! You… do you really… want to push me this far…!”

“Is even this not enough?” Eugene’s smile fell from his face.
“Green Tower Master.
I’ve won our duel.
You, the Green Tower Master, are the one who placed that restriction on yourself, you’re also the one who decided not to place any restrictions on me.
Could it be that you really thought there was no way you could lose?”

Jeneric’s silence was as good as a confession.

“If that's the case, then it seems that the Green Tower Master has really underestimated me,” Eugene said with a frown.
“So much so that it’s even insulting.
I am a Lionheart, as well as the Red Tower Master, Lovellian Sophis’s disciple, and I’ve even been recognized as the successor to the Wise Sienna.”

With better regret, Jeneric protested, “…If it wasn’t… for the restriction…!”

Eugene snorted and said, “Isn’t that obvious? I’m aware of that as well.
If the Green Tower Master had just set the limit at the Seventh Circle instead of the Sixth Circle, I wouldn’t have been able to win as ‘easily’ as I have now.”

“…What?” Jeneric barked, his eyes narrowing as he glared at Eugene.
“Easily? You’re saying that you won easily? Against me?”

“If not, does it look like it was a difficult victory for me? Green Tower Master, from the start of our duel to the end, all your movements were made according to my will,” Eugene revealed.

Jeneric was unable to muster up a rebuttal.

Eugene gave some advice, “You should just admit the truth, Green Tower Master.
You overestimated your own strength.
If you had gone into the duel without placing any restrictions on yourself, would I have been able to win? Haha! If that was the case, then I might as well become the Green Tower Master, no?”

Jeneric was unable to say anything to this.
Everything that Eugene had said was the truth, and trying to argue against it would only lead to Jeneric making even more of a fool of himself.

“…I’ll bend…”

He couldn’t take back his words.
Nor could he do anything about the fact that he had become drunk on his own arrogance and overconfidence in his own abilities, thus leading him to be falsely certain of his own victory.

“…my knees…”

He had looked down on his opponent and ignored what cards Eugene could be keeping hidden.
Jeneric had been so sure of his lead in the fight and had been so certain that he was the one in control of his opponent…

“…and apologize.”

…so what honor was there in arguing against that now?

“…You… no, esteemed creation of the Wise Sienna.
I called you a mere familiar, looked down on your existence, and my father even dissected you for the purposes of experimentation,” Jeneric confessed.

Honestly speaking, he really didn’t want to say these words.
He also didn’t want to bow his head and he definitely didn’t want to bend his knees.
As for this apology? He really wanted to ask why he was being forced to do something like this,

However, Jeneric still had to do it.
No matter what excuses he might come up with, he couldn’t change the outcome of the duel.
After all, wasn’t being beaten by a boy much younger than himself already shameful enough? Instead of arguing against it, it was better to admit defeat and use the restriction as an excuse to alleviate some of the shame from this duel.
If there hadn’t been any restrictions, then of course he would have won.

In order to protect his remaining honor, Jeneric just needed to accept the results and keep to the words he had said in haste.

“…I apologize for all of those,” Jeneric concluded his apology.

“Got it,” Mer replied with a smile.

She walked out of Eugene’s cloak fully and stood in front of the kneeling Jeneric.

“I, Mer Merdein, have received the Green Tower Master’s apology,” Mer formally declared, puffing out her chest, placing her hands on her hips, and glaring down at Jeneric.

From here, she had a very good look at the top of Jeneric’s deeply bowed head.
Seeing this, she couldn’t help but feel refreshed inside.
Mer snorted proudly a few more times before turning and going back to Eugene.

“Sir Eugene, we did it!” Mer cheered.

Eugene nodded and agreed.
“That’s right, we did it.”

Eugene opened his cloak slightly, but Mer didn’t duck inside.
Instead, she came closer and hung onto one of Eugene’s arms with a giggle.
It might be because her body had been relieved of all its tension, but she found it difficult to walk and was dragging her feet.

In the end, Eugene picked Mer up and sat her on his shoulder.
Mer let out a startled sound, but immediately corrected her posture to sit securely on Eugene’s shoulder.

“This is more uncomfortable than staying inside the cloak,” Mer commented.

“Of course it would be uncomfortable,” Eugene acknowledged.

“It seems that I’ll need to prepare a cushion for times like these.
Or else, hmmm, Sir Eugene, this cloak can change its appearance, right? This prickly fur, can’t you swap it for a fluffy cushion instead?” Mer requested.

Eugene admitted, “I can change it, but I don’t want to.
Why should I? What kind of madman goes around wearing a cushion on the shoulder of his cloak?”

“Can’t you even do that much when I’m so tired?” Mer pouted.

“Yep, I really can’t.
If it’s uncomfortable and you can’t stand it, just go back inside of the cloak,” Eugene told her.

“You’re the one who put me up here, Sir Eugene!”

“Because that was easier than carrying you around in my arms.”

Eugene persisted in refusing to transform his cloak’s appearance, leading Mer to pout her lips in disappointment.

The earthen rampart that had been recently raised was lowered.
At the same time, Jeneric stood up and neatly brushed the dust off of his knees.
However, he couldn’t completely hide his twisted expression.
After glaring at Eugene, who was standing with his back to Jeneric, the latter cast Blink and left the square as soon as the barrier disappeared.

“Why did you hide it?” Melkith fussed as she approached.
“After all, I also wanted to see that bastard, the Green Tower Master, get down on his knees and cry like a baby!”

“He did get down on his knees, but he didn’t cry,” Eugene informed her.

“That’s why there’s a problem with your method.
It’s said that an apology is only complete when there are tears as well.
If I had been there with you, I’d have made both tears and snot run down the face of the Green Tower Master, that shameless old man,” Melkith said as she let out deep sighs of sincere regret.

Lovellian was watching Eugene from the side.

It was the first time Eugene had seen Lovellian with such an expression on his face, and the eyes with which he was looking at Eugene were also different from normal.
The Patheon that Lovellian had summoned had yet to disappear and was still standing tall behind Lovellian’s back.

“…Um… that’s….” Eugene tried to smile brightly as he tilted his head to the side and asked, “Did I make you mad?”

“Yes,” Lovellian answered without any hesitation.
“I am mad.
Just what in the world did you think you were doing? Eugene, do you know where I went today and why I went there?”

Eugene hesitated.
“…Uuum… oh yes.
You’ve just been to Abram, right?”

“That’s right.
I’ve just returned from Abram.
Eugene, I hate going to Abram.
I truly detest it.
Unless they’re a member of the Court Wizards, no wizard would enjoy going to Abram[1].
Because going there leaves a wizard feeling powerless,” Lovellian admitted as he waved his hand with a deep sigh.

At this gesture, the door of Pantheon that had been standing there imposingly vanished into mist.

Lovellian explained, “With the hearing over and done with, Aroth’s royal family has acknowledged that Akasha is under your ownership, Eugene.
However, the king of Aroth wasn’t present at the hearing, so someone needed to report to him in detail and guarantee both your worth and your continued good relations with Aroth.”

That was why Lovellian had been called.
He was the master of the Red Tower, an institution of Aroth, and an Archwizard who had held a position of authority in Aroth for dozens of years.

“The conversation with His Majesty was quite enjoyable.
His Majesty also accepted the situation.
However, having such a long conversation in Abram left me feeling very uncomfortable.
Even so, for the sake of my disciple, I did my best to endure it,” Lovellian guilted Eugene.

Eugene stammered.
“Um… that’s… I’m sor—”

“Don’t apologize,” Lovellian said without allowing Eugene to finish what he was saying.

“…But you said that you were angry?” Eugene meekly pointed out.

“I am angry! I am angry at you, Eugene, because you were reckless enough to accept such a duel! Since the Green Tower Master was the one to challenge you to duel, he wouldn’t have been able to refuse even if you asked to postpone it.
You should have made sure to discuss with me first about whether the conditions of the duel were ‘fair’ before you agreed to a duel with the Green Tower Master!” Lovellian chastised.

“Hey now, Red Tower Master,” Melkith cut in.
“I was there as well.
I think that the conditions were pretty fair—”

Lovellian demanded, “Please be quiet, White Tower Master.
You aren’t Eugene’s master.”

Her intervention proving useless, Melkith grumbled and shook her head.

“…Um… so you’re saying that you’re angry because I acted on my own?” Eugene confirmed.

“It’s because you weren’t being careful enough,” Lovellian corrected.

Eugene argued, “However, I won.”

“That’s why I said that you don’t need to apologize.
Even if you were too reckless in getting into such a duel, Eugene… you won your duel with Jeneric Osman, Archwizard and Green Tower Master,” Lovellian said proudly, his mood no longer angry.
“You were amazing.”

“It’s all thanks to me,” Mer, who was still sitting on Eugene’s shoulder, haughtily cut in.

“Yes,” Lovellian agreed.
“Lady Mer was also truly impressive.”

“…Um… that’s, if I hadn’t made sure to block it off properly, most of the crowd would have been burned to death,” Melkith, who had been listening silently, thrust herself back into the conversation.

Lovellian turned to look at Melkith with a hesitant expression, before saying, “How… amazing?”

“Ahem… I was just doing what I should,” Melkith replied with some embarrassment and tried to avoid his gaze.

1.
For those who have forgotten, Abram is the royal palace of Aroth.
Sienna installed a special seal over the island the palace is built on, it prevents everyone except for those permitted by the Royal Family from using their magic. ☜