Damn Reincarnation

to dress up, you look like you have.
What should we do if that insidious Saintess forms a strange misunderstanding after seeing your current appearance? Lady Sienna, Lady Sienna, what should I do?” Mer called out in a panic.

“What kind of misunderstanding are you talking about?”

Fortunately, Eugene didn’t have to keep responding to Mer’s whining.
The voice coming from behind him felt like salvation to Eugene.
With a grateful sigh, he turned around to look behind him.

He saw Kristina standing there wearing a white robe.
It was Anise’s robe that they had retrieved from the Vatican’s Special Relics Vault.
Kristina pulled the hood of her robe down over her face as she looked at Eugene and Mer.

“…Ugh…,” Mer couldn’t help but feel slightly intimidated by Kristina’s appearance.

—Please close your eyes.

Mer could still clearly recall that voice and her blue eyes.

“Have I kept you waiting for long?”

“No, not really.”

It was almost noon in the Plaza of the Sun.

Right when they had promised to meet after parting ways a few days ago.
There was still a little bit of time left before it fully turned noon, but the sun that was already high in the sky was warm and bright.
Beneath the vibrant sun, the statue of Anise appeared to be flying with its wings spread wide open.

Today was the Thirteenth of April, Anise’s birthday.
Yuras’ list of Saints, Saintesses, and Anniversaries was as long as its storied history.
Still, the festival of Anise’s birthday was celebrated just as grandly as the Anniversary of the Empire’s founding or any of the other festivals dedicated to things like the harvest that were celebrated in Yuras.

Although celebrations for the festival were taking place all over Yuras, the most crowded location was the capital, Yurasia.
During the week-long festival that started from this day, the Sunnyside Anise Train would be free to ride until late into the night, and any city carriage fees, as well as the prices of restaurants and most of the stores in the city, would be tax and tithe-free.
On top of that, a parade would begin to march the streets of the city, and fireworks would be set off at night.

The center of the festival was right here, in the Plaza of the Sun.
Even now, the plaza was full of people waving their hands up towards the statue of Anise that was floating in the sky and offering up their prayers.

However, even though there were so many people, the space around Eugene was quite vacant.
Also, no one else in the Plaza seemed to dare to draw closer to Eugene.
This was because of the mana that Eugene intentionally allowed to leak, as well as a complex suggestion spell.
As such, while most of the people there recognized Eugene, none of them had attempted to approach him.

“Ahem,” Kristina quietly cleared her throat and lifted her head.

The Icon of Anise was symbolic of the Plaza of the Sun.
It was considered one of the best among the various statues, ruins, and religious iconography that could be found throughout Yuras.
In the past, whenever she saw the statue, Kristina would also feel her emotions stir deep within her heart and get the urge to offer up a prayer.

[They screwed up their historical research.
There’s no way that my wings were so shabby.
Also, they made the face of my statue too benevolent and caring, like a mother who’s given birth to a child, but my actual face had a slightly sharper feeling to it.]

From now on, Kristina wouldn’t be able to feel the same heightened emotions she had in the past.
While ignoring Anise grumbling away inside of her head, Kristina reached into her cloak.
Her eyes were focused on Mer, who was clinging to Eugene’s chest like a cicada.

“Lady Mer,” Kristina called out to her.

Mer stammered, “Wh-wh-what… is it?”

As she was replying, Mer grew so nervous that she couldn’t help but lower her gaze.
How humiliating…!

While recalling Sienna, who Mer had last seen so long ago, the corners of her mouth drooped down.
Mer had never missed Sienna, her master and creator, as much as she did now….

Kristina continued in a friendly tone, “Do you know? This square is huge.”

“I guess so,” Mer reluctantly mumbled.

“Once you exit this plaza, the surrounding squares and streets are all called the Gourmet Streets,” Kristina informed her.

Mer’s eyes shook.

“Being able to survive the strict management and all of the competition, the delicacies found in the Gourmet Streets are so delicious that it’s hard to believe they’re just food stalls… especially during a festival like this when both local and foreign businesses are allowed to open stalls as long as they apply for a permit in advance.
Do you get what I’m trying to say?” Kristina asked.

“I… I don’t know,” Mer resolutely shook her head.

“This is a chance to enjoy flavors from all across the continent,” Kristina explained as she pulled out a wooden rosary that could be worn on the wrist from inside her pocket.
“This rosary is only issued to high-ranking priests above the rank of a bishop.
In a place like Yuras, the welfare shown to priests is quite exceptional.
Especially in Yurasia, where you can receive the best service provided in any store just by wearing this bracelet on your wrist.”

Mer silently stared at the rosary.

“That goes for the stalls as well,” Kristina added.
“No matter how long the lines are, if you show them this bracelet, you can place the next order immediately without having to line up.
And of course, with this bracelet, you won’t need to pay for it.”

Mer’s eyes wavered in temptation.

Kristina continued to tempt her, “It’s not just the stalls.
You can use this bracelet in any of the restaurants or stores.
While ordinary people would have a hard time even getting into just ten of the stores during this whole week-long festival, with this bracelet… if you wear it, you can partake in all of the stalls and shops in just half a day, assuming that your stomach allows for it.”

As long as her stomach allows for it? Mer didn’t even have a stomach to ask for its permission.
These festival street stalls, could they really be as exciting as Kristina was making them sound?

“However, it’s a pity,” Kristina sighed.
“Even though I’ll be staying in the plaza all day because I don’t have any appetite, I won’t be able to visit any of the street stalls or restaurants.”

Mer stammered in outrage, “Th-that’s…!”

Kristina reeled her in, “But Lady Mer, if you really wish, I can lend you this rosary just for today, but….”

At these words, Mer couldn’t help but fall into a long silence as she pondered her choice.
Even as Mer kept her mouth shut, she could feel that time continued to pass.

Dong, dong, dong….

From a clocktower nearby, Mer heard the sound of a bell tolling noon.

“Ooooh!”

Gasps erupted from the crowd as a gimmick that was built into Anise’s statue and only revealed at noon on holidays was activated.
A sophisticated mechanical device that borrowed the power of magitech sprung into motion and changed the posture of the statue.

Anise’s statue, which had been flying in the sky while looking down at the ground, knelt down while still floating in the air and took on a praying posture.
After that, her outspread wings flapped once, and feathers of light were scattered into the sky.

Mer silently gazed up at this scene.
The sunlight hit the wings of the statue at just the right time, creating a dazzling array of beautiful colors.

At this sight, Mer put her hands together and offered up a prayer, ‘…I’m sorry, Lady Sienna.’

Shouldn’t it be okay if it was just a day or so? Since this was also the birthday of her comrade from three hundred years ago, and if it was to commemorate her….

In no way was Mer being blinded by the allure of the festival stalls.

Come to think of it, she had promised Ancilla and Gerhard that she would buy souvenirs for them before she returned from Yuras.
Since she had received such love and care from them thus far, Mer felt she should at least buy them some souvenirs.

Mer thought to herself, ‘There’s no way Sir Eugene will take the time to go and buy souvenirs.
So apart from today, there won’t be any better opportunity for me to buy some.’

As such, Mer decided that it couldn’t be helped.

‘Lady Sienna did tell me that if someone did me a favor, I should always repay it,’ Mer convinced herself.

In other words, this wasn’t Mer succumbing to the temptation of food, but instead just practicing Lady Sienna’s teachings.
She might get something to eat if she got hungry along the way, but her primary purpose today was to go and buy souvenirs.
Mer calmly let go of Eugene’s chest and walked out of the cloak.

No further conversation was necessary.
Kristina tied the rosary bracelet around Mer’s wrist with a benevolent smile.
Once she received this bracelet, Mer slowly turned to leave.

Mer shot a glance at Eugene.

She took a step forward, then stopped and looked back.

“Can I just ask you something?” Mer requested.

Kristina agreed, “Yes, whatever you like.”

“…Right now, are you… Lady Kristina or Lady Anise?” Mer asked hesitantly.

At these words, Kristina just smiled and tilted her head to the side.

“Which one could it be?” Kristina teased.

Mer didn’t really want to think up a reply to this question.
However, if possible, she hoped that this was currently Anise.
If that was the case, then it meant this really couldn’t be helped.

After Mer bowed her head, she turned around once more.

Eugene finally spoke up, “Be careful.
Don’t follow any strange people, and even if they tell you they’re going to give you candy, just ignore them….”

Instead of replying, Mer just raised a fist with the rosary dangling from it to remind Eugene.

Theft is never good, try looking at [ pawread dot com ].

“Let’s go as well,” Kristina said as she walked over, pulling her hood down over her face a little more securely.

The plaza today was the most crowded that it would be all year, and Anise’s statue was right above them.
As such, Kristina didn’t dare to reveal her face, which so closely resembled Anise’s.

“But where are we going?” Eugene asked.

“I haven ’t quite decided that yet, but… since I finally have the opportunity to come out like this, wouldn’t it be fun to just stroll around the festival together?” Kristina replied as she took the lead and walked forward for a few steps.
Then she suddenly recalled something and turned to look at Eugene, “Hamel, do you recognize who I am?”

Eugene snorted, “Have you decided that you’re going to call me Hamel as well?”

Kristina just blinked for a few moments at this question before breaking into a smile.

“I thought that my acting was pretty good, but it seems that I failed to act like Lady Anise,” Kristina said with some relief.

“Do you really need to keep acting?” Eugene muttered as he lifted a finger.

He knew why Kristina was wearing a hood.
He could also understand her reasons for doing so.

However, Eugene didn’t really like the fact that she was.

A gentle breeze blew Kristina’s hood back.
Kristina was startled and tried to grab her hood, but the cheeky breeze kept forcing her hood back even as her hair was sent flying.

“Kristina Rogeris,” Eugene addressed her by her full name.
“Since you’re not guilty of any crime, why do you keep hiding your face?”

“But… someone might recognize me…,” Kristina weakly protested.

“So what? Do you think that something troublesome will occur if someone does recognize you? It might.
But you still shouldn’t hide your face.
You are you, and Anise is Anise.
If someone sees your face and tries to act all pushy, I’ll tell them to get lost,” Eugene grumbled in promise as he walked past Kristina.
“It’s almost noon, and I’m feeling hungry, so I’d like to get something to eat.
But is that still possible? You gave your bracelet to Mer, after all.”

“…Haha,” Kristina, who had been just standing there blankly, let out a short laugh and walked over to Eugene.
“I have more than one rosary, so please don’t worry about it.”

Having her face exposed felt unfamiliar to her for some reason.
Kristina needlessly rubbed her own cheeks as she followed behind Eugene.

[Kristina,] Anise called out to her.

‘Yes, Sister,’ Kristina meekly responded.

[Do you understand my feelings now?] Anise whispered fondly.
[I really liked how Hamel was so nonchalantly considerate.]

What if those words somehow leaked out of her own mouth?

Afraid and embarrassed by the mere possibility, Kristina slapped her hands over her two lips.