Reincarnation (1)

Ten years had passed since I took the children under my wing. In that time, I hadn't succeeded in any assassinations—and naturally, I hadn't died either. I was simply savoring the peaceful days spent in this house with the kids.

"Elfin unnie! You wore my clothes again!"

"Your clothes are my clothes, and my clothes are mine, aren't they, Liwin?"

"I-I'm serious... Don't do it next time!"

"How pathetic, Liwin. You need to snap back sharply in moments like these. If you stay so nice all the time, you'll surely get hurt someday."

"Ugh... I'm the one who got done wrong, but Yustina's only picking on me..."

"And yet you call Elfin 'unnie' every time, but refuse to call this Yustina-sama 'unnie' even on pain of death?!"

As always, a boisterous morning. Living with three girls was endlessly chaotic for a man like me. I took a bite of bread slathered with the jam Liwin had made and chided the noisy kids in a scolding tone.

"Enough fighting, you three."

"You three...? Come to think of it, this is all your fault, isn't it, Deneb?! Because you show this Yustina-sama no respect, these young ones..."

"Oh, your dress strap came loose."

"Eek?! Hurry and tie it for me!"

I tied Yustina's flailing dress strap with bread still in my mouth, then deftly separated the squabbling Liwin and Elfin and plopped them into their chairs.

"Gahhh... Master, let go!"

"Kyaa, eek! Don't touch there...!"

"Yeah, yeah, as you all know, I'm a vile assassin. So let's just sit and eat breakfast, okay?"

Elfin was sturdy anyway, so I grabbed her by the scruff and dragged her over. For Liwin, I gently scooped her up by the thighs. Maybe because ten years had passed, I could feel she'd gained some weight compared to when she was five, but I didn't mention it.

"S-Sorry, Uncle. Was I heavy?"

"I told you to exercise with unnie and lose some weight, Liwin. Master thinks you're heavy. Mages are all like that—no exercise."

"No way! Yustina's slim! Well, not slim so much as..."

"She hasn't grown at all."

"Is that it?"

"What did you two bitches just say?!"

Ten years on, Elfin was twenty-two and Liwin sixteen. It was only natural their bodies had matured over that span. Unlike Elfin and Liwin, who had blossomed into fine young ladies, Yustina remained exactly as the little girl I'd first met.

"I mean, she's a dragon over a hundred years old—another decade wouldn't change much, right? But not growing even an inch seems kinda extreme, doesn't it?"

"This Yustina-sama... surely mentioned this before..."

"Huh, really? Must've slipped my mind. Tell me again?"

Yustina withdrew her mana-swirling fist with effort and glared at me. For some reason, though, even with her dragon-slit pupils fixed on me, I felt no fear. Maybe because I'd spent the last ten years watching her up close. No matter how I looked, she resembled an annoyed cat more than a dragon.

"'Tis polymorph magic, as I said! This Yustina-sama simply prefers this form and maintains it—I could shift to a mature woman's body anytime!"

"Oh, that setting?"

Meanwhile, Elfin had slyly slipped behind Liwin and shouted at the screeching Yustina as if to rub it in.

"Heh heh, yes. This is how a woman should grow. Liwin here's a perfect example, right? Those breasts are just..."

"Kyaa, eek?! Stop it, unnie! Uncle's right here!"

"What's Master got to do with it? No shame among family."

At a loss for words, I silently downed some cold water.

"Ahem..."

Liwin's chest jiggled dramatically, and while I knew little else, it was certainly impressive. Yustina aside, Elfin was six years older than Liwin, yet Liwin dominated in size. Considering she was just entering her mid-teens, her genes must be something else.

"Ugh, but it's embarrassing..."

Liwin, however, had a complex about her body. With Elfin and Yustina flat-chested while hers ballooned out, she felt different—unsettled, probably amplified by puberty.

I was in no position to comment, so I kept quiet as always.

Still, that's a blessing for puberty.

A few years back, Elfin's puberty had swept through our home like a ferocious storm—the memory was still vivid. I'd worried how Liwin would handle it, but thankfully, she wasn't that intense. If she'd been like Elfin, I might not have survived.

Or maybe I would have. Family and all.

As Elfin had just said, we were family. Different races, different ages, but Yustina, Elfin, and Liwin were sisters and best friends. I was just the guardian who'd somehow ended up raising them. A dad, if you had to label it... but I had no desire to claim the title.

Ten years.

The weight of time suddenly hit me. For a dragon like Yustina or an elf like Elfin, ten years was a mere fragment of their lives. But for half-blood Liwin with her century lifespan, or for me, it held real meaning.

...Especially for me.

I'd thought I wouldn't live past thirty. When I first took them in at twenty-five, I was already planning to throw my life away assassinating the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kingdom's key figures.

Yet an unexpected turn kept me with these kids—whom I'd figured I'd see for a few months at most—for a full decade.

People's lives are unpredictable, as that old saying goes...

Can't put it off any longer.

I hadn't forgotten my goal. Not for a single moment in ten years. I pulled out the dagger I always carried close and fiddled with its hilt.

"Kids."

"Yeah?"

"Yes?"

"Sudden talk, but hear me out."

"What's with the mood?"

Elfin and Liwin were old enough to live independently now. They wouldn't have issues without me. And if I aged further, my physical prowess would decline, my skills rust—assassination would falter.

"Nothing big. I need to head out for a while. You girls will ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be fine, right?"

I'd leave a letter too, so this vague notice should suffice. I didn't crave tearful goodbyes anyway—they'd just breed regrets. A quiet parting suited me best.

"Of course! Be safe!"

"Bring souvenirs, got it?"

"...Return in one piece."

I flashed my usual cheerful ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grin. Death held no terror for me, not once.

"I'll be back."

"Seize him—! The traitor who assassinated His Majesty the King—!"

"Capture the black-robed assassin—!"

To cut to the chase: the plan succeeded.

I took the king's life, and without mercy, the heads of numerous other key figures. Every royal with succession potential, every high-ranking noble—I'd researched them all in advance. Every name on my list was crossed out.

By all rights, it was time to meet my end.

Still not caught?

But something unforeseen happened. Per my calculations, after the final target, my stamina should have hit rock bottom, leaving me easy prey for capture.

Yet here I was, not. Covered in grievous wounds, life hanging by a thread, but still able to run. Shaking off soldiers via secret passages wasn't impossible.

How is this possible?

Before grasping external factors, I needed to understand myself fully. Know your enemy and yourself, and victory is assured—but I'd apparently underestimated myself.

Can't blame me.

Ten years ago, I brimmed with confidence and arrogance. The continent's top assassin, I believed—no comrades needed, I could do it alone.

But ten years passed. I'd shared a roof with a dragon girl of superhuman caliber. Gifted her daily precious memories, the time mage who could shatter reality's rules. Trained relentlessly with the necromancer elf who'd have been the greatest hero if born a millennium earlier.

Yustina, Liwin, Elfin...!

Living among such monstrous geniuses for a decade, I'd grown amid them without realizing my own strength.

But... should I run?

The problem was this sudden chance at survival left me directionless. I'd resolved to die here—should I bolt now that survival seemed possible?

Shouldn't I squeeze out one more kill, fight to the absolute last since time allowed? Escape didn't guarantee life; it just cracked the door open.

...No idea.

I'd never feared death. But the emotion gnawing at me now was undeniable terror.

So what exactly frightened me?

Liwin.

The girl who'd already lost her parents to death's severance. I'd inflict that parental loss on her again.

Elfin.

Abandoned by kin and clan over some prophecy. My greater cause would make her feel discarded once more.

Yustina.

The girl steadily chasing her dreams at last. One less person to watch over her.

"...Ah."

A mana arrow pierced my heart, and in that instant, I understood.

It wasn't death I feared. Not blades, spears, or ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠arrows.

Even as vision blurred, senses faded, limbs numbed—I knew this for certain.

I shouldn't have said I'd return. I should have ended it cleanly, decisively with them.

"Should've said goodbye properly."

Only then did I grasp the terror's core. Simply, unbearably, the thought of never seeing those kids again.

...That was it. Nothing more.

"What the hell?"

Dane—no, Deneb Lehinar—hurled the book away.