Reincarnated User Manual - Chapter 202: Siriel (1)

Unlike the battle that took nearly two months, it took only a few days to clean up the ravaged land.

Wasn’t creating something much harder than breaking it?

By the principle of opposites, Shiron and his party turned the ruined colosseum back into dirt, and the uprooted trees were trimmed and gathered in one corner of the site.

The reason for processing the wood instead of replanting the trees was because of Hugo’s mansion.

“Sss…”

Shiron gazed bitterly at the mansion that once ‘boasted’ a splendid appearance.

Cracked stone walls.

Windows that completely vanished without a trace.

It seemed Eldrina had already taken action, as there wasn’t a single piece of broken glass left in the window frames, but unavoidable glass shards still lay scattered on the ground.

“Do we need to fix the windows too?”

“I, I don’t know. You told me to take down the barrier.”

Even Seira, who played a significant role in the restoration work, seemed to surrender, feeling that this task was beyond her. Though magic to create transparent ice like crystal existed, there was no magic in the world yet to create glass suitable for windows.

Seira could easily create crystals from thin air, but the mansion withstanding the expected shocks was already a miracle. Since the mansion had thousands of windows, it was not efficient for Seira to restore them all by herself.

“No one asked you to pay for it. First, let’s roughly clear away the glass shards and quickly call the artisans for repairs.”

“Shouldn’t we do it today? I feel an intense aura of anger from the top floor…”

Although Lucia didn’t look inside the mansion, she was sure the source of the anger was Eldrina and crouched down, hoping not to incur her wrath.

Of course, Eldrina didn’t have the power to instill fear in Lucia through strength, but having lived in the annex for years under Eldrina’s grace, Lucia felt she had to perform her duties as a child, not just nominally, but somewhat sincerely.

“Why is everyone like this? It’s just a minor thing that happened while saving the world. Don’t you think you’re all too scared? Stand proud and hold your heads high.”

“R-really?”

“Yes, really.”

Shiron patted the shoulders of the crumpled Seira and Lucia, continuing with a calm expression.

“And do you really think Eldrina is that narrow-minded?”

“I didn’t say that exactly, but…”

“Anyway, she might be a bit extreme when it comes to matters related to my uncle. Even if that’s the case, she won’t say anything. Besides, we have the spoils, so what’s there to worry about?”

Spoils.

This referred to the armor and hammer left behind by Korax.

A tiger left its skin when it died, and Korax left behind a massive golden armor.

The armor alone was easily three meters tall, and his hammer was also intact.

If sold at a good price, it would not only cover the mansion repairs but also repay Shiron’s debts with plenty left over.

‘…The golden giant should have remained.’

Unlike the remains left by Korax, the corpse of the fifth golden giant that attacked disappeared without leaving a speck of dust. If it had remained intact, they could have built a palace, not just repaired the mansion. Shiron was deeply regretful.

For an ordinary person, the demonic aura left behind would cause them to faint just by approaching, but it wasn’t a big problem for Shiron, who emitted holy power like a fountain.

“By the way, shouldn’t Lucia be preparing for school? Siriel’s graduation semester is approaching, and I’m not sure about her attendance.”

Shiron thought of Siriel, who had been called out by Hugo early in the morning.

Even though Siriel had declared that she would help Shiron, Siriel had her own duties and was busy, so Shiron sent Siriel to Hugo.

“…It’ll be fine.”

A resigned answer. Lucia sighed deeply and lowered her head.

“And it’s okay even if she doesn’t graduate, just completes the course. It’s not like she’s looking for a job in some government office. What’s the point of a degree?”

“Are you really okay with that? Didn’t you want to go to graduate school?”

“No, I’m not going. I’ve lost all interest after this incident.”

“Interest?”

“Yeah… Just like you said, I think wielding a sword suits me better.”

During the cleanup of the ruined land, Lucia had a lot of time to think.

The reason she got involved in this incident was the accident of Professor Reynold, who had given her a good offer, but it seemed like an inescapable fate, eventually getting entangled with the apostle, a minion of the Demon God.

As soon as Korax died, Verian turned to dust and scattered. His true identity was not a living being but a sort of doppelganger created by the apostle.

It wasn’t something that was completely unexpected. Lucia had felt a vague sense of discomfort from him, but since he was said to be an elf with severed meridians, she didn’t feel the need to delve further.

‘What use is a degree in my fate?’

Feeling the weight of her harsh destiny, Lucia sighed deeply.

This was why she hadn’t wanted to wield the holy sword. Though the influence of wielding it 500 years ago couldn’t possibly reach her now, it was a strange matter.

‘…Could it be because of Shiron?’

-“With great power comes great responsibility. If you don’t wield the sword, you might end up in hell!”

Gazing at Shiron with half-open eyes, an old memory suddenly resurfaced.

A long time ago, when she traveled alone with Yura. Back then, Kyrie was still a complete child mentally and would occasionally throw tantrums at Yura. Whenever that happened, Yura, like a mother, would tell him a fun story before bed.

-“H-hell?”

-“Yeah! That’s not all. People will be torn apart by demons and monsters, and there will be many war orphans like you.”

-“T-that would be my fault…”

-“Even if it’s not your fault, people will blame you in hell! Why didn’t you wield the holy sword? It’s your fault I’m dead! Waaah! Screeeech!”

-“Aaaah!”

‘…Is it the fate of those with great power?’

Even while deep in thought, Lucia never stopped sweeping the glass shards.

That night.

Seira and Lucia lay their tired bodies on the bed, but Shiron had to move at Eldrina’s call. He had preemptively asked Latera to watch over Lucia, as he could predict what Eldrina would talk about.

Fortunately, his prediction was right.

‘…Was I this handsome?’

Shiron looked at himself in the large mirror, inspecting his appearance from different angles.

‘I thought makeup was only for clowns, but it’s quite something.’

Instead of the tunic and casual pants he usually wore, the stylish tuxedo and makeup brought out an astonishing improvement in his appearance. He looked almost identical to his past life, which was fascinating. Moreover, even though he didn’t personally visit the tailor, the clothes fit him perfectly, making Shiron utter exclamations despite knowing it was a rustic reaction.

It wasn’t just Shiron who thought his dressed-up appearance looked good.

“You look splendid.”

Eldrina sincerely praised Shiron, not out of formality. Around her were the mansion’s servants, who had all struggled for hours to dress up Shiron.

“When did you prepare all this?”

“…I needed something to distract myself. If I didn’t get engrossed in this, it would be hard to stay sane after witnessing the mansion being destroyed.”

“Hmm… My deepest condolences.”

Shiron glanced at the gaping window. The cold wind had been blowing in since he changed clothes, making it hard to ignore the dismal state.

Eldrina, conscious of the wrinkles that had formed around her mouth in the past few days, tried to maintain her composure by covering her mouth with a fan.

“Is it really over now?”

“Of course.”

Shiron answered without hesitation. Although the strange clouds in the sky had disappeared, Eldrina’s hand, holding the fan, still trembled slightly with anxiety.

“Is everything cleaned up?”

“Of course.”

“Then, just to confirm, did you remove that hideous colosseum?”

“Yes.”

“Have you leveled the overturned and messy ground?”

“Of course.”

“My flower garden. Can you restore the flower garden that I lovingly tended for years?”

Confident answers followed. Eldrina’s face brightened more and more, but Shiron couldn’t give her the answer she wanted for the last question.

“…Saving the world requires sacrifices.”

Snap!

What was that sound? It wasn’t the sound of Eldrina’s nerves snapping. Eldrina threw the fan, now broken in two, behind her.

“…It’s a miracle no one died. The mansion almost collapsed… Anyway.”

“This too is thanks to your grace in allowing the battle in the mansion, Eldrina.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Thanks to your ocean-like magnanimity, humanity was able to maintain peace.”

Shiron bowed his head, giving all the credit to Eldrina.

Wasn’t there a saying that even whales dance when praised? If a few flattering words could calm Eldrina’s anger, Shiron could talk for hours. Whether his flattery worked or not, Eldrina waved her hand instead of using the fan.

“Ahem… It’s impossible to save everyone… Ahem… You’re not a god after all.”

“Thank you for understanding, Eldrina.”

“Yes, looking back, it’s silly to be so obsessed with a mere patch of grass.”

Eldrina’s smile wasn’t just in words. She walked over to Shiron, who was bowing his head, and gently hugged him.

“I’m so glad our son-in-law is safe.”

“…Eldrina?”

“Why are you calling me that? You should call me mother-in-law. Or mother is fine too.”

“…Can I keep calling you Eldrina?”

“Oh my, are you shy?”

Eldrina felt a nostalgic emotion at the sight of the bashful young man. Her husband, Hugo, had also been awkward with women and showed a similarly innocent side in his youth. Eldrina thought Shiron resembled Hugo in his younger days.

“It’s okay. What’s the problem when you’re going to get engaged anyway? Consider it a rehearsal. Right, dear?”

Eldrina turned to look at the middle-aged man sitting cross-legged in a corner.

“…No.”

Hugo answered with his eyes tightly shut. Shiron wasn’t the only one waiting for him at the mansion; Eldrina was there too.

“I’m… against the marriage.”

“Oh, not again.”

“You said there was something surprising, so I came. If I had known it was this, I would have taken Siriel on an expedition instead.”

Hugo sat on the floor, glaring at the two betrayers.

He felt ridiculous for acting so childish at his age, but Hugo had no time to prepare mentally and felt wronged. If he had been told in advance, he wouldn’t have shown such an unseemly side. What was all this about?

“Honey, don’t be like that.”

Shiron tried to avoid Hugo’s piercing gaze, his whole body tense, but Eldrina approached Hugo with light steps, acting as if nothing was wrong.

“It’s not a marriage, just an engagement. Siriel isn’t going far.”

“…That’s not the issue at all, dear. I feel deeply betrayed. How could you decide without even telling me?”

“I was going to tell my uncle too, but as you know, the apostle…”

“Shiron.”

Hugo uncrossed his legs and stood up suddenly. A gust of wind blew in from the window. The red hairs on his increasingly bald head fluttered.

“It seems you are the one destined to lead the Sky Knights. Come with me to the Demon Realm. Glenn would probably want to see you too.”

“In my prophecy, Siriel is the one destined to lead the Sky Knights.”

“Shiron…”

“And I think I’m destined to marry Siriel.”

Leaving only those words, Shiron jumped out the window. It seemed ridiculous to do so in a tuxedo, but with Hugo blocking the door, he had no other choice.