Damn Reincarnation

tunately I am not in a position where I can become greatly involved in the affairs of the world—”

“What are you talking about?” Eugene interjected.
“How could you expect me to join forces with a dragon who’s only a little over two hundred years old to defeat the Demon Kings?”

“…If so, just what in the world have you come looking for?” Ariartelle demanded.

“I need your draconic magic,” Eugene revealed.

Ariartelle’s brow furrowed as she tilted her head to the other side and asked, “…Just what exactly is it that you want?”

“I need a spell that searches for a gap between dimensions,” Eugene explained as he dragged over a nearby chair without asking for permission and sat down in front of Ariartelle.
“I don’t know the exact coordinates of the gap, and I don’t even know which dimension it’s next to.
What I do know is that it can’t be in a dimension too far from our own.
I’m also a wizard, so speaking from my perspective, I feel that the gap is probably somewhere that straddles our own dimension.”

“…”

Ariartelle was speechless.

“The spell, a Forced Expulsion to an Outer Dimension, was cast in an incomplete form, so the subject was only thrown into a gap between the dimensions,” Eugene informed her.
“Even so, their link to this world has not been severed.
It seems that their contract with their subordinates is still being supported in a limited fashion—”

“Hold on… just hold on a moment,” Ariartelle raised her hands and interrupted Eugene, unable to hide how flustered she was.
“A Forced Expulsion to an Outer Dimension? So it’s a spell meant to banish a target to an outer dimension through magic?”

“Uh-huh,” Eugene confirmed.

“That’s absurd.
There’s no way that such a spell exists.
Forcibly banishing an existence is impossible, even with a draconic incantation spell.
Just who in the world would—”

“Sienna Merdein.”

The name that Eugene spat out caused Mer to prick up her ears.
If she had her way, she would have shrugged in disdain and even puffed her chest a little to show off, but Mer was still in a state of fear because of the Dragon Fear that Ariartelle had emitted.

“The Wise Sienna…” Ariartelle muttered in realization.

“Whether or not such a spell actually exists is none of my business.
Sienna cast it, and what I said did happen,” Eugene stated confidently.

“Just what in the world… would be able to survive going through a dimensional rift?” Ariartelle asked in shock.

“The Black Dragon Raizakia,” Eugene finally revealed.

The moment that name passed his lips, Ariartelle shot up out of her seat.
Her red hair shook like a wave of flames, and her eyes were filled with strong murderous intent.
She even began to ruthlessly emit her Dragon Fear. 

While hugging the trembling Mer with an even tighter grip, Eugene glared at Ariartelle.
He cursed, “Fuck, I told you not to do that!”

Ariartelle roared, “Raizakia…! The Black Dragon! You’re talking about the Dragon Demon Castle’s Raizakia?! Stupid Hamel! Are you actually trying to save Raizakia from a gap between dimensions?!”

Did she have to keep using that foolish name and call him the Stupid Hamel? There was no way that she could possibly think that calling him by that title was showing off her draconic dignity, was there?

Eugene snorted, “Why would I want to save him? I want to find him to finish him off, but it would be a bit difficult to find him with just my abilities.
That’s why I need your help—”

“You want to kill that Raizakia with your own hands?! Stupid Hamel, I know you were a hero in the past, but you can’t kill Raizakia with your current strength!” Ariartelle chastised.

“I’ll take care of that on my own, so… for now, calm down, retract your Dragon Fear, and take a seat,” Eugene calmly instructed.
“And stop calling me stupid.”

“I… I will help you.
Raizakia is a traitor to all dragons.
His misdeeds must end at the hands of us dragons….
Wait, no…,” Ariartelle trailed off, her eyes widening hugely.
She covered her head with both hands, groaned, then sat down with a sigh.
“Do I really… no, there’s no way.
I already have a different mission….”

“No, stop.
I’ve never even asked you to fight alongside me, so why are you making a fuss all by yourself? I just need you to tell me the method to find the gap between dimensions where Raizakia is trapped,” Eugene reminded her.

“Such a spell doesn’t exist,” Ariartelle said thoughtfully as she tapped her temple.
“A dimensional gap… if the contract between the master and his subordinates is still intact… that means that his connection with the world hasn’t been fully severed.
However, if such a contract is under the full control of the master, and the contractors cannot go against it or even interfere with it… then….”

Ariartelle muttered to herself for quite some time.
Eugene left Ariartelle alone while she was occupied with this and turned to look around the room.

Eugene still didn’t know where this place was exactly.
He first decided to approach a window and look outside, only to see the scenery of a secluded rural village.

‘This place seems to be in Kiehl… but where exactly?’ Eugene thought curiously.

For now, all he knew was that this house wasn’t a mansion for nobles or wealthy merchants.
It was just a small, ordinary house that you could find in any village.
And apart from Ariartelle, it didn’t seem like anyone else was living here.

“Strengthening a tracking spell… to be able to find its targets beyond this space and in another dimension….
No….
Once you leave the spatial area and go into the gap between dimensions, things like boundaries and coordinates are meaningless….
If we just want to get a rough heading… that’s right,” Ariartelle muttered to herself for quite some time before lifting her head.
“…Let’s cooperate.”

“How would you like to do that?” Eugene asked.

“I’ll place the draconic magic needed to track down Raizakia in an artifact.
However, it’s impossible to find Raizakia with just this.
We need something connected to Raizakia,” Ariartelle informed him.

“Connected?” Eugene repeated.

“Something like an item that Raizakia has carried with him for a long time.
The longer an item has been carried with him, the more of his spiritual energy it should have absorbed, and such spiritual energy is bound to have the disposition of its owner engraved in it,” Ariartelle explained.

“An item, you say… what about blood?” Eugene asked, his eyes brightening.

Blood? When Ariartelle asked him to elaborate, Eugene informed her about the possibility that the Raizakia who was currently ruling over the Dragon Demon Castle couldn’t be Raizakia himself and might just be his hatchling.

“Unlike with a contractor, such blood ties are of equal restraint to both parties.
If it really is Raizakia’s hatchling, then we might just be able to find Raizakia through him,” Ariartelle confirmed optimistically.

Having heard all this, Eugene pulled Akasha out of a pocket.
Ariartelle’s eyes shook as she saw the red jewel glowing at the tip of the staff.
This was a staff that had been created using a Dragonheart and the branches of the World Tree.
Ariartelle gulped, mesmerized by the power of the staff.

“What are you doing?” Ariartelle asked once she collected her composure.

“Wouldn’t such a draconic spell work well when engraved into Akasha? The effect should be amplified as well,” Eugene guessed.

“That might be the case, but I won’t be able to carve such a spell into it right now,” Ariartelle informed him.

“Then I’ll just leave it with you for now,” Eugene replied to her calmly and handed Akasha over to Ariartelle.
“Can I come back to pick it up in a week’s time?”

“That much time… should be enough,” Ariartelle agreed.

Eugene’s attitude confused Ariartelle.
Even though she was a dragon, this human wasn’t showing her the respect a dragon deserved.
Instead, it felt like he was entrusting this item to her like she was some common blacksmith or a seamstress….

“By the way, you and Lady Carmen… why did you make that Heaven Genocide for her?” Eugene asked curiously.

“What is ‘Heaven Genocide’?” Ariartelle asked in confusion.

Was she just pretending not to know?

With some embarrassment, Eugene explained, “…It’s that thing.
The thing that usually looks like a pocket watch, but if you shout ’form change, ’ it goes through a strange transformation….”

“…Are you talking about the Alchemy Gloves?” Ariartelle murmured.
“It was all because of an accidental meeting.”

Decades ago, Ariartelle had been doing what she did every day, enjoying her leisure time while watching the scenes of the Dragonic mansion play out across her viewing wall.
She was interested in the lady from the Lionheart clan who had arrived at the mansion a few days ago.
Although her personality was a bit bizarre, Ariartelle admired her good looks and martial arts skills.

Alchester had been five years old at the time, but unlike his father, who didn’t have any talent, Alchester was extremely precocious.
If that child were to become the next Patriarch, then the Dragonic family would enjoy greater power than ever before.
Then, what if they managed to arrange a betrothal to the Lady of the Lionheart clan on top of that?

“…A dragon’s daily life is quite boring.
So dragons soothe the boredom of their life through various amusements.
It’s for the same reasons that I watch over the Dragonic family.
Watching these humans live their short lives with such passion and even tracking the progress of a family is quite an immersive pastime, even for a dragon.
It could be said to be similar to how humans watch creative performances such as operas and plays,” Ariartelle explained.

Contrary to what Ariartelle had hoped for, Carmen didn’t feel any affection towards Alchester.
That was the same for Alchester.
In the first place, Carmen was seventeen years old back then, while Alchester was only five.

Although there hadn ’t been any progress in terms of a relationship, Ariartelle never lost interest in watching Carmen Lionheart.
This was because Carmen was more bizarre than any human that Ariartelle had seen thus far.

“…Carmen Lionheart was a fascinating human.
When she was alone in her room, she once drew a strange magic circle on the floor and attempted to cast a spell all on her own.
It was just a scribble without any magical influences, and the spell she cast was…,” Ariartelle hesitated.

Eugene groaned, “I don’t think I really want to know what she said….”

“I don’t really want to say it either,” Ariartelle agreed.

Ariartelle grew sloppy.
She couldn’t help but think of it that way.
Carmen was so much fun to watch that she ended up watching over Carmen far too closely.
No…
more than that, it happened because Ariartelle could have never imagined that Carmen would behave like that.

“One day, after Carmen Lionheart had returned from her training and finished washing up, she became enamored with her reflection in the mirror,” Ariartelle began.

“What?” Eugene barked in confusion.

“Don’t humans sometimes behave like that?” Ariartelle asked.
“With her hair still drenched, her eyes watering, and her rough panting… Carmen Lionheart seemed to really be appreciating her own appearance, only for her to suddenly slam her fist into the mirror.”

“…No… just what?” Eugene asked once more.

“Carmen ended up passing through that mirror and arriving here,” Ariartelle’s expression crumpled as she recalled that moment.

Back then, Ariartelle had actually been punched right in the eye by Carmen’s fist, but she had no desire to allow such an incident to escape her lips.

Ariartelle continued, “…The Alchemy Gloves were something from my mother’s lair, battle artifacts that could change their appearance in response to their owner’s blood.
I gave her those Alchemy Gloves as a reminder to keep our meeting a secret and as a tribute to a human with such outstanding talents.”

Deep down, she had actually hoped that Carmen would develop a good relationship with Alchester after receiving such a gift and knowing that a dragon was behind the Dragonic family.
Carmen made a promise with Ariartelle not to tell anyone, but that didn’t matter as long as Carmen herself knew.
For a family with a dragon watching them from behind the scenes, Ariartelle didn’t think that it would be too unconventional for Carmen to consider marrying a boy twelve years younger than her.

Contrary to her wishes, however, Carmen hadn’t married Alchester in the end.
Alchester himself didn’t have any romantic interest in Carmen.
Ultimately, all that happened was that those precious Alchemy Gloves were reborn as Heaven Genocide in Carmen’s hands.

“…Why did she hit the mirror?” Eugene asked, still confused.

More than a few people would have gotten the feeling that their reflection in the mirror looked quite sexy after having taken a bath.

But why would she then hit the mirror?

More than anything else, Eugene just couldn’t understand this fact.