Reincarnated User Manual - Chapter 192: Marking (2)

Could it be that she had secretly followed him? The moment Shiron caught Lucia’s eyes, as she clutched her red hair, he momentarily entertained that thought.

“Could you move aside?”

It was merely a misconception. As if she had arranged it with Dexter beforehand, Lucia bowed slightly and passed by Shiron, heading inside.

Inside the hospital room, Lucia placed a tightly held bouquet of chrysanthemums by the patient’s bedside. Gently and meticulously, her touch was that of someone well-practiced, leading Shiron to suspect there was something between Lucia and the patient.

‘Aren’t white chrysanthemums used at funerals?’

Suppressing the urge to object, Shiron followed Lucia. Despite seeing the patient’s terrible wounds, Lucia appeared unshaken.

Lucia sighed deeply and turned towards Shiron.

“I had no idea you were the one treating the professor.”

“…Professor?”

“That one. Remember? I told you last time about the professor who offered me a research position.”

Shiron recalled the conversation from a few weeks ago.

Because of Shiron’s engagement to Siriel, his relationship with Lucia had grown distant. Lucia usually returned home late, and Shiron, always too busy, never had a chance to tell her to come home early.

He had to practice magic and pay off a debt worth tens of millions of shillings. Another important task was custom-ordering a ring to gift Siriel. Thus, even though they lived under the same roof, their encounters became rare.

“That professor was the one who tempted you to go to graduate school?”

“…Yes.”

“I wondered where you had been, and it turns out you were visiting a professor.”

Lucia awkwardly admitted to Shiron’s questioning.

A Varian Teaching Assistant and an unknown sponsor. Lucia, who had boldly confronted the Varian Teaching Assistant about digging into that relationship, found herself at a dead end with Professor Reynold, as it turned out there was no sign of the sponsor waking up from a coma.

Idiot, fool, moron. Overwhelmed by self-loathing, Lucia gripped her head as if she were tearing her hair out. She felt suffocated, frustrated by her lack of progress despite the days that had passed.

“Why are you harming yourself?”

Shiron showed a gentle smile to the girl who looked as if she were about to die.

“It seems like you have some big worries. Why don’t you share them?”

“Aren’t you busy?”

Lucia tidied her hair and stared at Shiron.

“You’re always busy, always at the training ground beneath the arena, never showing your face.”

“Why are you prying into someone who’s offering to listen?”

“…Anyway. I’m not shameless enough to ask something from someone who’s busy.”

“Are you upset?”

“…This time, I’ll handle it myself. If you end up marrying Siriel, I’ll be left all alone. I need to find my own way. Maybe I’ll follow my father into the demon realm…”

“Ah, you are upset.”

Shiron poked her sullen face with his finger. Lucia’s face flushed as if provoked.

“Ah, come on! Why are you doing this?”

“Tell me properly, why do you keep pushing me away? Are you that upset that I’m engaged to Siriel?”

[Hero? It might be best to stop now.]

“So I even suggested we go out to have fun to cheer you up. But you refused, getting angry over nothing, didn’t you?”

Ignoring Latera’s warning, Shiron kept poking Lucia’s cheeks. Latera watched Lucia trembling and was appalled.

[Hero, please stop! It’s not just the two of us here, there are other people around! Aren’t you embarrassed?]

‘Just be quiet. If I poke her a bit more, I have a feeling things might get easier.’

Shiron turned to the quivering Lucia with clenched fists.

“Your Eminence, I will contact you soon with good news.”

“…Thank you.”

Cardinal Deviale bowed slightly to Shiron as he carried the red-haired girl out.

An unexpectedly childish scuffle. Cardinal Deviale felt momentarily disconcerted by the antics in front of a critically ill patient, but he knew that he was the only believer who knew Shiron was a hero.

A hero executed the will of the gods. It was rude enough for Deviale to come unannounced and to ask for help so abruptly. But with his sleeves rolled up ready to assist, Deviale couldn’t ask for more.

“Mr. Dexter, don’t be too disheartened. I will do my best to ensure your son recovers quickly.”

“Thank you.”

Additionally, Shiron was also looking after Dexter, who couldn’t hide the shadows on his face.

‘Hero…!’

What did it matter if some actions were hard to understand? To Deviale, Shiron was the very image of a caring and just hero. Deviale held his aching nose and bowed.

Dexter, with a face overflowing with emotion, stared at Shiron.

“Once my son fully recovers… I’ll grant whatever you wish for within my power. I’ll never forget this kindness. And Lucia, thank you as well.”

“Me, really?”

Lucia, stuck to his side like baggage, was startled and lifted her head.

“I didn’t say I would do anything. I never wanted to be involved with him in the first place…”

“It’s not like that. How could I shamelessly cause trouble to someone else’s precious child?”

Dexter sadly took Lucia’s hand.

“You’re the only student who has visited my son. Oh, I am so envious of Hugo. How did he end up with such a lovely niece?”

“Just trust me. I’ll catch the bastard who did this to the professor and make them pay.”

Lucia’s eyes widened with determination. It was rare to see a middle-aged man with a deeply lined face showing tears in front of others.

As a girl going through a sensitive period, Lucia found it impossible to say anything harsh in front of Dexter, who was shedding tears.

The unhealing scars left by the Seventh Apostle originally belonged in the demon realm. The day after Lucia was offered the research position, there was news of a patient being attacked, indicating that the Seventh Apostle’s whereabouts were somewhere in this empire.

‘Has the original storyline disappeared altogether?’

Recalling the Seventh Apostle, who never left the demon realm in the original work, Shiron walked through a sparsely populated alley.

He wasn’t alone. Walking in front of him were Lucia, with a blank expression, and Seira, excited about a night walk after a long time.

“What kind of research requires hundreds of years of fruitless effort?”

“I don’t know. The professor seemed very interested in teleportation. But then, it sounds like he has other motives.”

“Oh, my, my! What kind of guy is that? That sponsor sounds suspicious. I’m getting a strong intuition from the great sorcerer!”

“Ah, yes…”

“And if the research is so dangerous, why drag someone else’s precious child into it? There’s absolutely no shame!”

“I told you earlier. That elf has a severe magical disability. Must be a sorcerer crazy about his research.”

“Sorry, but no one calls a person who can’t perform magic a sorcerer.”

“Get ready. We’re almost there.”

Seira, chattering away, was silenced by Shiron, who looked up at the tall wall. It was the lime wall surrounding the academy, which, according to Lucia, had protective magic to prevent outsiders without access cards from approaching.

“Now, it’s your turn.”

Shiron slapped Seira’s back. Recognizing the signal, Seira frowned and attempted to breach the gate leading to the Magenta East wing.

“I’m not sure who created it, but the spell is quite sophisticated.”

“So, you’re saying you can’t do it?”

“But you’ve picked the wrong opponent. Just wait a bit. It’ll be soon.”

‘…Is this right?’

Lucia looked bewildered at the pair, who seemed as if they were plotting a bank heist. Shiron had always been odd, but Seira was becoming strange too. 500 years ago, she definitely wasn’t like this. She was so proud of her magic that she would flatly refuse to engage in anything she considered beneath her…

“Who do you think I am? I’m the great sorcerer Seira. No barrier can stand before the mightiest wizard…”

“Well done. You’re not just a hero’s companion for nothing.”

“Right? I’m pretty great, aren’t I?”

Seira, basking in the shower of praises, soon created a gate leading to Magenta East.

‘Is it because she’s aged? She’s completely changed.’

Lucia, with her eyes tightly shut, turned away from her grotesquely altered friend.

‘I never had such issues when I was with Yura.’

Feeling particularly nostalgic for a long-gone friend, Lucia silently followed Shiron through the gate.

The events after passing through the gate were executed swiftly. Avoiding the patrolling guards and successfully infiltrating the building that housed Professor Reynold’s laboratory, Shiron pulled out a holy sword and a slimy, wet rope from his belongings.

“There are too many people; I can’t tell.”

“Ah, see that third window? The person wearing glasses in there is an elf called Varian.”

Even late at night, most of the laboratories were bustling. Among them, Lucia pointed out one particular window and identified Varian.

“I’ll be right back.”

Shiron chuckled as he gripped the rope firmly.