Damn Reincarnation

recover their health.
The commoners living in such rural areas saw more use in horses and carriages or trains.

‘This country is obviously brainwashing its subjects.
Don’t indulge in the comfort of magic and don’t go too far from home, so if they are free, then they have no choice but to go down to their local church.
But even while creating such an environment for their subjects, the high-ranking priests will probably use a hidden set of warp-gates, right?’ Mer remarked cynically.

‘Do such plots come up in the novels you’ve been reading these past few days?’ Eugene asked.

‘How did you know? Even though Yuras’s name isn’t specifically mentioned, anyone would be reminded of Yuras when they read about a theocracy like it.
In that novel, the high priest is shown to revel in the depths of their city’s underworld,’ Mer chattered in an excited tone that had Eugene tapping his fingers thoughtfully.
‘I’m sure the high-ranking priests of Yuras must do the same thing.
How can a person live so stoically when they have a large amount of money and power? While pretending to be ascetic on the surface, they must surely be indulging in pleasures when on their own and living a comfortable life.’

‘Mm… it feels like it would be better if you didn’t say such things to Kristina,’ Eugene reminded Mer.

‘I’m also tactful enough not to do something like that, you know? But Sir Eugene, isn’t it quite strange?’

‘What is?’

‘I resemble Lady Sienna because she made me into a familiar based on her childhood appearance, but Lady Anise wasn’t a wizard, right?’ Mer asked doubtfully.

‘Kristina isn’t a familiar,’ Eugene corrected her.
‘She’s probably a distant descendant of Anise.’

Kristina probably wasn’t just an ordinary descendant.
Eugene recalled how Anise had risen from Kristina’s back while unfolding her eight wings.
The Blessing of Light that was bestowed upon the Saint Candidates… perhaps it had some connection to Anise, allowing her to dwell within the body of her descendants.

‘…Hm… is that so?’ Mer muttered as she tilted her head to the side.

Even so, Mer still felt like there was something indescribable about Kristina.

“How long does it take to reach Tressia Parish by train?” Eugene asked, breaking the silence.

“Unless an accident occurs mid-journey, we should arrive there by midnight,” Kristina replied.

Tressia Parish was the home of Cardinal Rogeris.
Although Eugene felt like it would only be natural for the parish of a high-ranking priest at the level of a Cardinal to have a warp-gate, neither Cardinal Rogeris nor any other Cardinal had installed warp-gates within their parish.

It wasn’t just the cardinals, either.
Among the many ancient holy sites and other historical sites within Yuras, it was actually rare to find any with a warp-gate installed nearby.

“It is because the meaning of a pilgrimage will only be lightened if one can easily come and go through a warp-gate,” Kristina replied softly as she assuaged Eugene’s complaints.
“A pilgrimage, as a rule, requires a certain amount of hardship.
It’s only natural for a person to not want to do difficult and cumbersome things, especially when their bodies are tired.
Overcoming such hardships, pilgrims will continue to wander and visit other holy sites for a long time.
It is only when they manage to overcome their desires with their faith like this that it can be called a true pilgrimage.

“So when you insisted on wearing your priestly robes in that sweltering, muddy jungle, it was something like a pilgrimage for you?” Eugene asked thoughtfully.

“Aaah, so you’ve finally realized!” Kristina celebrated excitedly.

“But you didn’t really manage to overcome your desires, did you?” Eugene continued asking.
“You washed your clothes as soon as they got dirty.
You also ate a lot.”

“Meals have nothing to do with a pilgrimage.
And what does wanting to keep your priestly robes clean have anything to do with my desires?” Refusing to turn around and look at Eugene, Kristina continued speaking, “I’m also aware of how convenient warp-gates are.
However, when you pursue the comfort of the body, the mind becomes lazy.
Especially in Tressia Parish, or the other parishes governed by the Cardinals, which are regularly visited by the faithful of other parishes who come to offer their prayers.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, that is indeed the case.
Once a month, the Cardinals will personally appear in their churches and preside over a service.
On such a day, the train stations will be full of believers from other parishes who want to attend their service, and if they get there too late they won’t even be able to purchase a ticket.
Do you know what that means?”

“No… I can’t really say for sure,” Eugene admitted.

“It means they won’t be able to participate in the service without moving faster than the others.
Yet even so, some ardent believers will refuse to take the train and walk there on foot.
It is faith that allows them to choose to perform such self-mortification,” Kristina declared passionately.

Starting in his previous life, Eugene had never had much time for faith.
As such, he couldn’t understand why they would put their bodies under such torment for a pilgrimage that would only lead them to pray at a different location.

Kristina tried to explain, “You also sweat a lot while training, so you must also feel pain during that practice, right?”

“That’s right,” Eugene hesitantly agreed.

“Just like how the blood and sweat you have shed has made you stronger, the hardships of the pilgrimage makes the believer’s faith stronger than before,” Kristina argued.

“Hm… alright…,” Eugene slowly agreed.

Eugene had felt a sense of incongruity coming from Kristina’s expression, but he hadn’t felt anything during their conversation just now.
Although her logic seemed to be based on her individual arbitrary beliefs, Eugene felt happy seeing Kristina express herself.

Kristina changed the subject, “Sir Eugene, have you ever ridden a train before?”

“Nope,” came the short reply.

“Once you ride it, I’m sure you’ll love it.
Unlike a warp-gate that’s over in a few steps or a shaking carriage, trains are both comfortable and tasteful,” Kristin said as she came to a halt.
She slowly raised one hand and pointed at the stopped train, “That is Yuras’s Pilgrimage Train.
Also known as the Sunnyside Anise Train.”

“What?” Eugene made a confused sound.

“It’s the Sunnyside Anise Train,” Kristina repeated.

Eugene turned his wavering eyes to the front of the train.
Like the figurehead at the bow of a ship, the face of the locomotive at the front of the train was adorned with the figure of an angel praying with her eyes closed.

Upon closer inspection, the decoration was a miniature version of the statue of Anise that they had seen in the Plaza of the Sun.

“Why is Lady Anise’s name included in the name of the train?” Eugene eventually asked.

“It isn’t just Lady Anise,” Kristina explained.
“All other pilgrimage trains that travel from parish to parish bear the names of the Saints.”

Couldn’t that be called a type of blasphemy? Eugene considered this question seriously.
Although he hadn’t left any descendants… if he had had, and those descendants went on to build a train and name it the Sunnyside Hamel Train, then he felt like he would definitely leap out of his grave and grab his descendants by the throat.

“…Ha!” Mer, who was sticking her head out of the cloak for a better view, let out a laugh.

She couldn’t keep a straight face.
Mer wasn’t laughing because she thought the Sunnyside Anise Train was funny.
Instead, it was all because of what Kristina had said earlier.
In fact, Eugene would have felt the same as Mer, had he not been distracted by the name.

Even though Kristina had said so much on the subject of not installing warp-gates to not get intoxicated by the comforts of magic and to not tarnish the meaning of the pilgrimage, the train in front of them was the crystallization of magic engineering with all kinds of magic incorporated into its construction.

The train was fueled by a large number of mana batteries that had been created through alchemy.
Judging by the amount of output Eugene could sense, there was no doubt that the batteries were state-of-the-art.
All sorts of magic had been incorporated into its design to reduce the train’s weight, increase its speed, suppress vibrations, and secure its stability.

“Our tickets have already been prepared for us, so let’s board now,” Kristina proposed as she took the lead and headed up into the train.

“Well… it certainly looks spacious and comfortable.
But it would be hundreds of times easier just to use a warp-gate than to try and compromise like this,” Mer critiqued, her head still stuck outside of the cloak and bobbing here and there as she examined the inside of the train.

The seats reserved for them were in the special-class.
Muttered prayers and hymns flowed over from the general-class seats in the carriages behind the special-class, but once they opened the door and went inside, such miscellaneous noises could no longer be heard.

“The train has a different charm to it than the warp-gates, little Miss Familiar,” Kristina said with a smile.
While striding through the secluded and luxurious interior to approach their assigned seats, she continued, “It’s especially peaceful and enjoyable to sit by the window and watch the scenery pass by so swiftly.”

“The windows?” Mer immediately showed interest.
She put aside her disinterested expression and claimed a seat by the window for herself with sparkling eyes.
“I’ll sit here.”

“As you like,” Eugene casually agreed.

Since all the luggage he had brought with him could be stored inside his cloak, Eugene had no need to store any luggage separately.

Eugene sat down on the wide, soft seat next to Mer and looked up at Kristina to ask, “Why aren’t you taking a seat?”

“…Ah…,” Kristina responded hesitantly and turned her head away from Eugene.

Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

When she tried to take a different seat a short distance away, Eugene grabbed Kristina’s wrist with a puzzled look.

“Where are you going?” Eugene demanded.

Kristina blurted out, “Huh?”

“You can just sit across from me,” Eugene pointed out exasperatedly.

He didn’t understand why Kristina wanted to sit at a different seat when they had already picked a spot with four seats facing each other.

“Sir Eugene!” Mer exclaimed.
“If you press this button and lean backward, the chair tilts back!”

“Yes, yes,” Eugene replied absently.

“I checked before we came here, but I was told that a sales trolley regularly goes up and down the train.
They sell snacks like sweets and candies, and they even sell lunch boxes.
Would you like to try one as well?” Mer asked.

“Fine, fine,” Eugene responded in a dry tone as he opened a magazine placed next to his chair.

It was no different from a similar one he had seen in Aroth, which had listed all the tourist attractions available in the country, but this magazine focused on the holy sites of Yuras.

They even offered a train pilgrimage package that would take up an entire month….
Churches specializing in educating nonbelievers were also listed separately, and prayers to the Light and scripture verses were written on the back page.

“How enthusiastic,” Eugene muttered as he lifted his gaze to Kristina.

However, their eyes didn’t meet.
Kristina had lowered her eyes slightly, staring down at Eugene’s fingers.

“Do people even buy this pilgrimage package?” Eugene asked skeptically.

“It’s very popular with the elderly from foreign countries,” Kristina informed him.

“Really now….
So it’s meant to attract the kind of people who want to obtain a ticket to heaven at a late age?” Eugene observed.

“While I can’t say that their faith is pure, that doesn’t mean you have the right to think lightly of their faith, Sir Eugene,” Kristina indignantly argued.

“Did I make you mad?”

“Not at all.
I’m not angry in the slightest.
Because I know full well that you are a young master from a noble clan, as well as someone so rude and mischievous that it’s hard to believe that you are the Hero.”

“But you seem like you’re mad.”

“What reason would I have for being angry with you? In the first place, I, as the Saint, can’t rightly do such a thing towards the Hero—”

“Compared to a few months ago, you’ve regressed back to how a Saint is supposed to speak to the Hero,” Eugene pointed out with a smirk as he closed the magazine.
“Could it be that you feel like there’s a need for you to do so?”

“What do you mean by that?” Kristina asked in denial.

“It doesn’t seem like you want to talk like this,” Eugene observed.
“Why don’t you just admit that it feels shitty and stop? Or could it be that it doesn’t feel shitty to you?”

“Please pay attention to your behavior.
Such a demeanor will make a person like you feel low-class,” Kristina warned.

—Hamel, it’s not just your posture that’s bad.
Your demeanor as a whole is just awful.
It’s low-class.

Eugene rejected her request, “I don’t care if I give off that feeling.”

—While correcting your manners is important, as long as you can keep your mouth shut for now, people won’t be able to tell what a filthy rag you have for a tongue.

“Rather than forcing myself to do something that doesn’t really suit me, it’s easier and more comfortable to just do what I want to do,” Eugene said with a grin as he rested his chin on one hand.
“But it seems you don’t know how to do that?”

“I don’t even want to know,” Kristina sniffed.

“So what, until when are you going to keep your eyes lowered like that? What’s the problem?” Eugene inquired.

Kristina stayed silent.

“Are you curious?” Eugene asked.

He was finding it fun to tease her.
It reminded him of the humiliation he had felt in Samar when he was pulled onto Kristina’s back and held up by his hips.

“About this ring, that is.”

Eugene had already felt that her gaze was focused on this ring.