Damn Reincarnation

ow did you imagine your son to be like, Father?” asked Eugene with genuine curiosity.

“Someone like a yahoo.
Well, mostly from when you were young,” said Gerhard before rising to his feet.
“Since there are so many people to worry about you, I’ll get going.
I’m sure that the family head might want a companion to talk to while he’s bedbound.”

“I’ll come as well,” said Ciel, quickly standing up from her seat.
She then grabbed hold of Gerhard’s hands while glancing sideways at Kristina.
Kristina’s eyebrows twitched in annoyance at the provocative gaze.

“Fa-ther,” said Ciel.

“…Eh? W-what?” asked the confused Gerhard.

“Let’s go, fa-ther,” Ciel said once more.
Gerhard had never heard Ciel call him father.
So far, she had only ever referred to him as Sir Gerhard.

Cyan glanced at the ridiculous sight of his sister dragging Gerhard away, then said to Eugene with a deep sigh, “You look fine, so I’ll get going too.”

“Are you sure about that? Aren’t you curious how I ended up like this?” Eugene asked with a mischievous smile.
Cyan knew the meaning behind Eugene’s smile all too well, so he glared at Eugene with a frown.

“I’ll admit that I’m curious, but I’m not going to ask.
I will reach the Sixth Star of the White Flame Formula like you and then see with my own eyes what you experienced,” responded Cyan.

“Hitting six Stars by forty sounds plausible,” retorted Eugene.

“Bastard, you just wait.
Once I’m thirty years old….
No! I’ll attain six Stars when… I’m… twenty-five years old,” shouted Cyan.

“Good luck,” said Eugene, raising his fist, and Cyan responded by lifting his middle finger.
Once Cyan, Ciel, and Gerhard left the room, Mer jumped up on Eugene’s bed.

“Why did you leave me behind?” she asked.

Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

“It’s not a place I can take you to,” Eugene answered simply.

“You’re not lying, are you?”

“Why would I lie to you?”

After hearing Eugene’s answer, Mer took her place next to him with a pout.
Kristina looked at Mer with a strange gaze, then grabbed Ciel’s wet towel before throwing it behind her.

“What did you go through?” asked Kristina curiously.

“I’m more worried about what the others experienced rather than what I went through.
Are they all right?” asked Eugene.

“Well, they didn’t fare too badly,” responded Kristina.

Last night, Gilead, Gion, and Carmen had knocked on Kristina’s door while covered in blood.
They had multiple broken bones, torn skin, and damaged organs.
None of their wounds were light enough to be brushed apart.

“But oddly, your injuries weren’t very severe when you arrived on their back, Sir Eugene,” Kristina stated.

“Considering that, I feel really stiff,” Eugene commented.

“Since you ran wild, it’s entirely possible that your muscles were contused, right? I was going to treat all four of you to the fullest, but Lady Anise convinced me otherwise,” responded Kristina.

“Why?” Eugene asked, perplexed.

“According to Lady Anise, if I started treating all your small wounds, you would get spoiled.”

Spoiled? What kind of nonsense was she spouting? Eugene grumbled while massaging his stiff shoulders, then he began explaining the events of the Dark Room.

“So, doesn’t that mean you failed the test in the end, Sir Eugene?” asked Kristina.

“That’s right.”

“Then won’t the same thing happen again next time?”

“If that really happens again, Lady Ancilla will definitely try to poison you, Sir Eugene,” Mer said while recalling how Ancilla had sobbed her eyes out when she saw Gilead all bandaged up.

Eugene felt uneasy and uncomfortable as well.
Even if it had been unintentional and inevitable, he did not want to hurt Carmen, Gion, and Gilead.

“Do you know where everyone is?” Eugene asked.

“Sir Gilead and Sir Gion are resting in their rooms.
Lady Carmen is….”

“She’s taking a walk in the garden.”

“A walk?” asked Eugene in confusion.

Why would she be taking a stroll out of the blue? At least, that’s what he thought at first, but he came to an understanding after seeing her in person.
Carmen had her arms wrapped in a bandage with a strap across her shoulder and held a crutch with her other hand.
She even had a large bandage plastered across her cheek.

It was hard to describe exactly what she looked like, but… it was very close to an ostentatious realization of a pubescent, fifteen-year-old teenager’s secret aspiration.
In fact, Carmen had not suffered a leg injury that warranted a crutch nor a wound that required her arm to be wrapped and fixated by a strap.
Moreover, she was not injured enough to have a large bandage on her cheek.
Instead, her leg had been scuffed, her wrist sprained, and her cheek lightly scratched.
But Carmen insisted on her look as she walked through the Lionheart’s garden with a rebellious expression that screamed, ‘I have a story to tell!’

“You’re awake,” said Carmen, looking back at Eugene.
She leaned on her crutch, and Eugene stared at her dumbfounded for a moment before bowing his head.
He couldn’t think of any words to say.

“Uh….
Well….
I’m sorry,” Eugene finally said after a while.

“What’s there to apologize for?” asked Carmen.
She was completely serious.
“You resisted a bit stronger than expected, but it was a pleasant experience.
A nasty, close battle allows me to experience what living and breathing as a warrior means.”

“Yes….”

“And neither Gilead nor Gion have had any active combat in recent years either, so this should have been a good experience for them.
Kid, don’t tell me you feel guilty about hurting us, do you?”

“A little bit,” answered Eugene.

“A useless thought.
We were injured because we were inadequate.
To tell the truth, if I had decided to kill you instead of subduing you, I wouldn’t have gotten injured at all,” Carmen said smugly.
She was a proud warrior.

She looked up and down at Eugene with a relaxed smile.
“So, kid.
How do you feel after experiencing the Dark Room?” she asked.

“It was an interesting place,” Eugene answered honestly.

“I guess you weren’t thrown into despair by defeat,” commented Carmen.

“I want to enjoy it as much as possible.
But I don’t know if you or any of the others will enjoy it as much as I do…,” muttered Eugene.

“…What are you talking about?” asked Carmen with narrowed eyes.

The Dark Room was special, and Eugene couldn’t think of an immediate solution to defeat the phantom.
Therefore, he wanted to take this as an opportunity to train and improve himself while challenging the phantom a few more times.
However, in that case, Eugene would need someone to restrain him every time the phantom possessed him, and naturally, Carmen, Gilead, and Gion would need to step up to the task.

“If anyone is reluctant because it would be difficult, then I will not rechallenge the Dark Room until I am fully confident,” said Eugene, intentionally mixing in some provocation.

“Do not underestimate the Silver Lion of the Lionhearts.” Fortunately, Carmen immediately fell for it.
No… rather than falling for the provocation, her pride as a warrior had been ignited.
“If you challenge the Dark Room repeatedly, it will be a good, rare opportunity to train for Gilead, Gion, and me.
Although the three of us worked together to overpower you, we were immature due to our inexperience in fighting together.
However, it will be less difficult next time since we will be used to working together.
Once I get used to it, I alone will suffice.”

“As expected of Lady Carmen,” said Eugene, clapping appreciatively.
He stole a glance at Kristina.
Misunderstanding his intention, she imitated Eugene and started clapping as well.

“…Why are you clapping, Auxiliary Bishop Kristina?” Carmen asked, bewildered.

“I’m not sure either,” Kristina answered truthfully.

“What?”

Eugene hastily intervened.
“No, well….
I just thought that maybe you could also wait in the Dark Room alongside Lady Carmen and the others and assist with divine magic.”

“Ah.
Oh, ah… I see.” Kristina nodded in understanding.

“Although I’m not sure if you would be allowed….” Eugene trailed off while glancing at Carmen.

Instead of giving an answer right away, Carmen sank into thought.
The Dark Room could be considered a top secret within the Lionheart family.
However, Carmen understood that Kristina was special, so she had not hesitated to talk about the Dark Room in front of her.

“The Saintess of Yuras has maintained a close relationship with the Lionhearts for three hundred years.
In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the Saintess is a member of the Lionheart family,” said Carmen.
Though Eugene thought that it was slightly far-fetched.
“Traditionally, outsiders are prohibited from entering the Dark Room, but the Lionheart clan has been striving to break away from fed-up, useless traditions of the past.
So, the Saintess, who could be said to be a member of the Lionheart family….”

“I’m still a candidate,” Kristina interjected.

“…I think it would be fine for the Saint Candidate to enter the Dark Room.
I won’t need treatment, but it would be troublesome if you end up injured because I couldn’t hold myself back adequately.
In that case, it would be for the good of the family to have the Saint Candidate on standby to treat you,” Carmen addressed Eugene as if there hadn’t been any interruption.

“As expected of Lady Carmen,” said Eugene.

“Leave it to me to convince Gilead and Gion,” said Carmen, flicking her hair to the side with her bandaged hand.

“By the way, Lady Carmen.
I have a question about the vision you see before the phantom appears,” Eugene asked suddenly.

“Is that the term you decided to use? Isn’t it cooler to call it the event horizon?” she responded.

“Would you also see things like your past life there?” Eugene asked, trying to ignore Carmen’s comment with a straight face.

Carmen’s expression changed the moment she heard the words past life.
“Eugene Lionheart.
Do you believe in past lives?”

“Well, I don’t think it’s impossible….”

“You’re still young.
I don’t believe in things like past lives.
The only thing that’s real for me is me, living and breathing here and now.
My existence alone is proof for me,” Carmen said.
Hearing Carmen deny his previous life and calling him young felt rather insulting.
“I thought you were precocious, but it seems you are still an unawakened boy.”

Eugene decided to stay quiet in the face of these insults.

“I don’t know what you want to say, but I have never seen anything like a past life in the Dark Room.
I haven’t heard such a thing from Gilead, Gion, or even the late Sir Doynes.”

Carmen approached Eugene while clicking her tongue, then patted his shoulder.

“So, Eugene.
Don’t be disappointed that you didn’t catch a glimpse of your past life in the Dark Room.
I understand how you must feel since your belief in a past life was denied, but it’s something that doesn’t exist in the first place.”

Eugene barely managed to contain his anger.
Simultaneously, he recalled the previous life he saw in the Dark Room.
Something had followed after the images of Hamel’s life.

‘What was it…?’ Eugene tried to recollect the scene.

It had been an obscured battlefield of blood.

There had been a man and a mountain of corpses.

The man had been sitting on the hill.

Eugene grabbed his necklace.