Chapter 239
Chapter 239
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 239
Chapter Title: Reincarnated as the Plum Blossom Swordmaster in a Count's Family
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After the intercourse between Arhen and Yura, we kept walking. Other scenes appeared besides Arhen, but most of what we saw was related to him.
"It's strange."
Priscilla suddenly spoke up.
"Pardon? Strange how?"
"You and I are the central figures in this dream world. In this realm where everything is fake, only our bodies are real. Yet everything this world shows is from my memories. Why doesn't it reflect your memories?"
"N-Now that you mention it, you're right. Why is that?"
"......"
Priscilla stared at me intently.
But even under that gaze, I had no idea. Maybe it's because this world moves according to my imagination.
"Maybe it's because I'm human? You've lived dozens of times longer than me, Lady Priscilla... The sheer volume of memories is different. Mine barely amount to less than twenty years."
I blurted out an excuse to cover my unease. Fortunately, Priscilla seemed convinced.
"That's quite plausible."
"But... do you think we'll find the exit just by wandering around? We've been walking a lot, but the scenes just keep changing."
"What other choice do we have besides moving? Do you have another idea?"
"......What if we stay put without moving?"
"If we stay still, nothing changes. Remember, our bodies are real."
Our bodies are real.
In a few hours, we'll get hungry and tired. Everything in the dream world is fake. Eating fruit might give a brief sense of fullness, but no real nutrition.
The risky one is me. I'm human, but Priscilla is a dragon. No matter her physical limits, she's far stronger than a human like me. If we starve, I'll die first.
"Uh... what about actively intervening?"
"Do you think that would help?"
"......Probably not."
In the end, it's just a dream that vanishes if poked. And if we intervene and our real bodies get hurt, we could die. Better avoid rash actions.
'Thinking about it, the dream demon's power is seriously dangerous. If my imagination didn't affect this dream world, I could've gotten killed by some passing monster by mistake. Can't use mana here either.'
The thought made me dizzy.
???
"What is that?"
Priscilla narrowed her eyes at an airplane flying in the sky. It was something I had imagined into existence.
"Ah. That's an airplane."
"...Airplane?"
"A machine that flies in the sky."
"A machine... you mean engineering technology? Even so, that's not in my knowledge."
I pretended to hesitate for a moment before telling her.
"......Lady Priscilla. The truth is, I died in another world and reincarnated here. That airplane is a machine from my previous life."
"I see."
Priscilla's reaction was straightforward, just like in the original story.
"......You're not surprised."
"I'm already aware of beings from other dimensions. I know they're too far to reach by normal means. The exception would be the demon realm. It's another dimension but close enough to the middle realm to form gates."
"Ah."
"Still, it's surprising you're a reincarnator. How did you end up reincarnated here?"
"I don't really know. I just opened my eyes and was reborn in this world as a newborn baby."
"...Your soul must have drifted through a dimensional rift by chance."
In this world, when people die, their souls leave the body and scatter. No concept of reincarnation.
"Since it wasn't the proper process, it makes sense you'd retain your past life's memories fully. ...Hmph. Boring."
Priscilla muttered softly and resumed walking after pausing.
I followed behind, eyeing her swaying hips.
???
A battle unfolded before us. Arhen fighting dozens of masked assassins.
Arhen methodically took them down using sword and magic.
His combat was beautiful. A harmony of flashy magic and concise swordplay. Anyone would be captivated.
'I can feel it. Arhen's emotions and combat sense...'
I couldn't tear my eyes from Arhen. His battle sense was incomparable to mine.
Mana drained from my body. Arhen was casting magic.
'It's not just drawing out mana. Arranging the drawn mana into a magic circle...? Damn, I don't understand magic at all.'
I could feel it, but not comprehend. No way I could replicate it in reality.
'Focus on combat sense excluding magic. Even in battle, Arhen spreads his energy sense.'
Focus on energy sense, not eyes or ears. That's why assassins' ambushes failed against him. They could hide their form, but not their presence.
Arhen cloaked his sword in aura. Red aura blazed like flames.
'That sensation just now... of using aura?'
I swallowed hard.
My right hand held nothing. Yet it felt like gripping a sword.
'Aura isn't pulling mana from the body into the sword.'
I realized through Arhen's sense.
Perceive the sword as part of your body. Let mana flow naturally into it.
Not scooping water from a river with a bucket, but carving a path to let the river flow naturally.
'...That's it! That's what it was!'
Satisfaction made my body tremble.
The wall blocking me shattered. A cool breeze on a stuffy mind.
'Now I can create aura! If I don't forget this sensation! ......What was the sensation again?'
Arhen's aura manifestation was instantaneous. Too brief to memorize. Hard with just once.
His sword held aura, but generating and maintaining felt different.
'Wish he'd use aura again...'
Once more..., no, several times if possible. Then I could remember clearly.
Arhen's battle ended. All assassins dead.
'Honestly... a bit disappointing. Yuria seems several times stronger than Arhen.'
Arhen sighed deeply at the assassins' corpses.
"They probably didn't want to die either... They must have thought they'd succeed... Why do something so foolish..."
I felt Arhen's sadness.
But I didn't feel sad. Just, oh, this guy's feeling sad. That was it.
I couldn't empathize with Arhen's emotions.
'Why pity assassins trying to kill you? Is he an idiot?'
I couldn't understand. I'd have captured and interrogated one to find the sender.
"Lady Priscilla. Why was Arhen attacked?"
"......At this point, rumors spread that Cobalt's founding king was ill. Princes began fighting over the throne. Arhen sided with the second prince, so nobles sent assassins targeting him, the prince's close aide. He faced over fifty assassins monthly on average."
The scene changed.
An old noble knelt before Arhen, surrounded by soldiers' and knights' corpses.
Arhen had aged into his thirties.
"S-Spare me! I swear loyalty to His Majesty the King! Just once! Have mercy just once!"
"......The king you now serve no longer believes your words."
Arhen raised his sword. Red aura flared on the bloodied blade.
"And neither do I."
The sword severed the noble's head.
I spoke up watching it.
"Arhen's changed."
"Humans change more easily than you'd think."
After the purge, Arhen received the duke title from the king. The second king owed his throne to Arhen's strength and wisdom, rewarding him thus.
Then war broke out. The purge weakened Cobalt Kingdom, and neighbors seized the chance.
Arhen headed to the battlefield without time to tend his family.
Arhen shone there too. His sword terrified enemies; his magic secured victories.
By his mid-forties, Arhen transcended to aura master and archmage, a true magic swordsman.
The war, lasting over eight years, ended in Cobalt's victory. Commoners praised him; nobles feared him.
Soon, demons appeared across Cobalt. Feeling overwhelmed, Arhen sought his master Priscilla.
"Master! Help us! Demons are ravaging the kingdom! If unchecked, not just the kingdom but the whole world is at risk!"
"The situation is dire. We must eradicate all demons invading the middle realm."
Priscilla and Arhen hunted demons together. Not just Cobalt, but the entire continent. For the middle realm's sake.
'What is this? Traveling the continent for three years under the pretext of demon hunting?'
No wonder emotions don't form.
Every time Arhen saw Priscilla, I felt his love too. One day, Arhen confessed.
"Master. I can no longer hide my feelings. I love you. What do you... think of me?"
"......I'm a dragon, you're human. Pretend I didn't hear that."
"Master! I still love you! What's so important about different races?!"
"Arhen. I don't love you."
"......!"
From that day, things grew awkward between Arhen and Priscilla.
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Wrong approach. Observing closely, Priscilla clearly cared for Arhen.
'Dragons are so arrogant... No way she'd accept a human confession. I'd have skipped confession, built physical intimacy gradually, and made it a done deal.'
Dragons have low breeding urges, but can reproduce.
Even polymorphed into human form, they can get pregnant. But pregnancy locks them in human form until birth.
"Heh heh heh."
A demon appeared before them.
A 1-meter black cylindrical body. Five mouths, seventeen eyes. Four tentacles.
The madness demon, Jujuri.
The highest-grade demon Jujuri could manipulate emotions and minds.
Arhen and Priscilla slew it together, but Arhen fell to Jujuri's final struggle, driven mad.
"...My mistake. If I'd gauged and countered Jujuri's power, you wouldn't be like this... I swear on my name and heart: I'll restore your mind."
Priscilla used dragon words and magic over a year to heal Arhen's mind. In the process, she learned his memories and emotions.
"Thank you, Master."
"Thanks to you, I killed the most troublesome demon, Jujuri. I merely did what was necessary."
"I know another dragon would have abandoned me. Master, thank you. We may never meet again... but I'll always remember you."
They parted after final farewells. Arhen returned to his family.
After that, Arhen no longer appeared. Because the Arhen in her memories was gone.
"Lady Priscilla. What happened to Arhen?"
"Isn't it in the history books?"
"History books aren't reliable. When I researched Arhen, there was no info on you."
Arhen left no records of Priscilla. Partly because "dragon" isn't a light title, partly consideration for her.
"......Arhen lived to a ripe old age and died. That's it."
"I see."
Watching Arhen's life, I felt satisfied.
Arhen fought countless battles, and observing and feeling them taught me much.