Reincarnated in a Shounen Manga - Chapter 173: Destroyed Dreams

They fell into a tense silence as Kon’s ominous words hung in the air, sending a shiver down Delia’s spine. Kon’s piercing gaze swept across them, devoid of warmth or mercy.

As if satisfied with their silence, Kon turned around and walked back to his cabin nonchalantly, as if daring them to attack. However, Delia knew what would happen if they made the wrong move. Expecting her uncle and father to be furious, Delia was surprised to find her father smiling and her uncle chuckling.

“He would have made a good clan head,” her father mused, the comment stinging Delia.

She clenched her teeth, determined not to show her inner turmoil. Straightening up, Delia deduced that Kon’s words must not have carried harmful intentions, given her father and uncle’s reactions. “Right, with an empty threat like that-”

“Empty?” Her uncle interjected, still smiling.

“He would have definitely struck first if we hadn’t backed off,” her father added, satisfaction etched on his face. “That kid truly lives up to the clan name. I’m almost tempted to abandon our other plans and make him the clan head.”

A sour feeling enveloped Delia upon hearing their praise. She never felt good enough, constantly compared to her cousin and burdened by the clan’s expectations. She clenched her fist, knowing she would never measure up, no matter how hard she tried.

***

The audacity of them—they had come here and tried to intimidate me just after I had buried Bets. I knew my worth to the clan, and if they expected blind obedience, they would be sorely mistaken.

Right now, I preferred them over any other random clan. However, it wasn’t as though I couldn’t afford to lose them, I didn’t rely on the clan as much as they relied on me. Especially after the Kuro Clan incident, where I single-handedly defeated an ultimate-class demon in combat.

Entering the small town, I was confident that my clan wouldn’t harm Bets or desecrate his grave. Nonetheless, I had Carpy on watch, using his heightened senses to cover the entire town and beyond.

Ever since my arrival, I had spent each day exploring different restaurants. By the end of the month, I hoped to discover the best eateries around after sampling them all. As for my training, I limited it to eight hours a day to avoid potential setbacks.

Walking into a ramen shop, I called out to the owner, “Excuse me, can I have a bowl of miso ramen?”

“Coming right up!”

My Ord was increasing at a steady but gradual pace. During the war, danger lurked at every corner, and in gaming terms, I was now “absorbing” that experience after being out of the battle phase. Despite the growth I was achieving, though, I couldn’t help but feel uncertain about the future.

Carpy had devoured three ultimate-class demons, yet he seemed to have reached his limit as a high-class demon. Was this the extent of his talent? With less than a year left until my contract deadline, I couldn’t help but feel anxious about it all.

A part of me sometimes wished I had settled for a two-tailed cat, even if she would have been weaker. By now, she might have reached ultimate rank, and with Perfect Me and fusion abilities, I would have been considerably stronger.

But such thoughts vanished as quickly as they arose because, at the end of the day, this was my choice. I had no regrets about meeting Carpy; he had saved my life countless times, something a weak cat demon wouldn’t have been able to do.

The most painful part of the war was Bets’ sudden death. In my imagination, death was always depicted as something grand and dramatic, like in the manga when Ellen died. But reality proved much different. Death arrived swiftly and unexpectedly, catching us off guard. There was no grand gesture or time for farewells.

Now I understood why Bets gave me a thumbs up as he lay dying. He was too clever for his own good, knowing that my emotions could lead me to foolish actions. Even in his last moments, he tried to make sure I was alright.

In the original story, Bets was alive by the 400th chapter, so his death was a result of my interference. I felt conflicted about that. My meddling had saved countless lives but had cost me my best friend. Essentially, I had killed him.

“Are you alright, young man?” the ramen stall owner asked as he brought me my bowl of ramen. “What’s made you so sad that you’re crying?”

I touched my cheek and wiped away tears that I hadn’t even realized were there. “It’s nothing, old man. Just a bit of dust in my eyes.”

I began eating the ramen while the old man observed me strangely. I couldn’t tell if it was because of the pirate-like eyepatch I wore to conceal my missing eye or because of my tears.

Speaking of my missing eye, I needed to address that issue. Without Carpy or the use of Perfect Me, I was essentially blind on one side, vulnerable to attacks from that direction.

With my newfound status, I had the authority to summon specific people to help for my impaired vision. Initially, I had planned to search for the people who could heal after burying Bets. However, it seemed unnecessary now, and I could recuperate here on the outskirts while managing this place.

Suddenly, another person entered the ramen shop. He was a well-dressed man holding a paper in his hand. As he glanced at me, a bead of sweat rolled down his cheek, revealing that he recognized me. “S-Sir, the governor has instructed me to deliver this document and inform you that the exorcists you requested to be placed under your command will arrive in a couple of days.”

Right, I had almost forgotten about that. Now that I had to govern a territory as an Elite Exorcist, I realized that even with my strength, there was only so much one person could do. It was necessary to have other exorcists as subordinates to assist with management. Usually, this arrangement involved mentorship, with more experienced exorcists training those who were less skilled.

…

Days passed, and I found myself in my simple cabin, engrossed in one-finger handstand push-ups. The furniture was plain, but I preferred it that way. Although one-finger push-ups weren’t particularly effective as a training method, I had recently taken up the challenge and found them surprisingly easy. It felt incredibly cool to accomplish such a feat.

“I really need some sort of gravity training,” I muttered to myself, frustrated. Unfortunately, I didn’t know anyone with the power to increase gravity who would be willing to serve as my training partner.

Suddenly, two soft knocks interrupted my thoughts, causing my sweat to fly off and drain into the toilet. Carpy, who was working on something underground in the town, always kept an eye on me. He was quite the worrier.

“I’m coming,” I called out, quickly throwing on a shirt.

As I opened the door, I was met by a young boy who appeared dwarf-like. His oversized glasses and teary-eyed expression made him seem on the verge of crying. “I-Is t-This Kon, the Elite E-Exorcist-”

“Yes, I’m Kon,” I interrupted, not wanting to wait for him to finish his question. At first glance, he seemed unassuming, but he possessed one of the most powerful healing Special Abilities. His childlike appearance was actually a side effect of his ability.

“Are you Germa?” I asked, although it was merely a formality.

“Y-Yes, sir. I am Senior Exorcist Germa,” he replied, bowing his head. “I was in the same Expert Exam as you, but unfortunately, I failed the first test.”

With the doctor’s evident lack of confidence, I couldn’t help but question his abilities despite his impressive healing power. However, I needed a new eye and was hopeful that my actions hadn’t affected his skills.

“Can you provide me with a new eye? Specifically, a demon eye. I happen to have some stored in my fridge,” I stated, causing the doctor to tremble and tears to well up in his eyes.

“Y-You k-keep eyes in y-your fridge?” He regarded me as if I were the crazy one.

“Not in the same fridge where I store my food, of course,” I reassured him. I certainly didn’t want my food contaminated with unpleasant demon fluids. “But let’s get back to the main question. Can you assist me in implanting a new demon eye?”

I removed my eyepatch, revealing the partially healed hole in my skull, surrounded by raw flesh.

“D-Demon eye? I-I… That’s i-impossible, the demonic energy would be too close to the brain. It would kill you within a day or two at most,” he explained.

Just like that, my aspirations of obtaining a discount Sharingan went out of the window, and that was fucking heartbreaking.