Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Reincarnator's User Manual
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"Listen, kid; isn't that mouth of yours a bit too foul for someone your age? Do you make it a habit to eat rags with every meal or something?"
The slender man didn't seem to take offense at Shiron's blunt curses; instead, he merely shrugged his shoulders as if the entire situation were beneath his anger.
"Hmph."
Shiron remained silent, using his sleeve to wipe away the dark splatters of blood that had stained his youthful face during the struggle.
His suspicions were confirmed: the corpse he had discovered outside the cave bore no visible wounds, a hallmark of the bizarre techniques used by the 'woman' standing before him.
'Why the hell is that bastard currently dressed in the guise of a man?'
For some inexplicable reason, the woman before him was cross-dressing, a disguise that might have fooled many, but not Shiron's sharp, meta-knowledge eyes.
He didn't particularly care for the reasons behind her masquerade; what mattered most was that her true identity was now just another card held firmly in his hand.
Shiron adjusted his grip on the longsword, shifting it into a reverse position as the initial adrenaline of the battle began to ebb into a cold, focused irritation.
He found her attempts at intimidation to be utterly loathsome, especially coming from someone who clearly didn't realize how much he already knew about her.
"You truly are a pathetic creature, trying so desperately to intimidate me without even understanding your own place in this world."
"My place? You call me pathetic?"
The man—no, the woman—frowned deeply, the playful smile vanishing from her face as the sting of being looked down upon by a mere child finally began to take hold.
"Listen, kid; we are practically complete strangers, so what exactly gives you the right to spout such arrogant, condescending nonsense? I'm genuinely curious."
"I know what I know," Shiron replied simply, his voice devoid of any bluff or boastful exaggeration.
He knew exactly who she was; her lithe build, her distinctive, fluttering speech patterns, and the unmistakable shape of the beloved sword at her waist gave her away.
"Berta of the Security Special Forces; if I'm not mistaken, your rank should be... what, Superintendent by now?"
Unlike the nameless bandit crew he had just slaughtered, she was a character who featured prominently in the game, though her presence here was a startling anomaly.
This location, the bonus stage known as the [Brothers' Tomb], was never supposed to house any NPCs, let alone someone of her stature.
"...Berta? My name is Alain, and I have no idea what you're talking about with this 'Security' business," she stammered, her voice trembling slightly despite her denial.
"Don't bother trying to deny it; do you truly believe I would fall for such a shoddy, transparent disguise?"
"...I see. Then I suppose there is no longer any point in maintaining this farce."
Berta reached up to her face and began to peel away the sophisticated human-skin mask, revealing the striking features of a beautiful woman in her prime.
Her glossy black hair, cut to a sharp shoulder-length, fell free as she discarded the mask and allowed her naturally smooth voice to return.
"I must admit, no one has ever managed to see through my disguises before, let alone a child I've never met."
"And for the record, it isn't Superintendent; I was actually promoted to the rank of Inspector just recently," Berta added with a wry, bitter smile.
As a special forces operative, her very life depended on her anonymity, and the fact that a child knew her face and rank was deeply unsettling to her.
"So, tell me: who exactly are you? I find it hard to believe you are just some ordinary brat who happens to know my name and history."
"Tch. You truly are a scaredy-cat, aren't you?" Shiron mocked, finding her sudden tension to be quite entertaining.
In the original timeline of the game, she wouldn't appear for another decade, and even then, she would still be stuck at the rank of Inspector.
"I don't care why a high-ranking officer like you is shacking up with common bandits, but isn't a government leech like you being a bit reckless with her life?"
"Reckless with my life? What are you—"
In that sudden instant, Berta felt the weight of her own scabbard lighten as a cold blade was pressed firmly against her throat.
Clink—
"Don't move a single muscle, or I will kill you where you stand."
"......"
Berta froze, her eyes widening as she realized that her own beloved sword was now being held against her by someone she hadn't even sensed approaching.
'Not just one, but two of them...' she thought, swallowing hard as she felt the prickling killing intent radiating from the second child behind her.
She realized she had been played; Shiron had deliberately distracted her with his knowledge of her identity just to create an opening for an ambush.
"...I never once acted as if I were relaxed," Berta muttered, her voice tight with a mixture of fear and growing bile.
"Is that so? Then it must simply be because you are significantly weaker than the person standing behind you; you should train harder if you wish to survive."
Berta felt a warm trickle of blood running down her neck as Lucia pressed the blade mercilessly against her skin, ready to take her head at any second.
"Don't even think about twitching a finger; you reek of alcohol, so just breathe slowly and keep your hands where I can see them."
"Understood. Lucia, what should we do with her next?" Shiron asked, his tone as casual as if they were discussing the weather.
"That woman knows magic as well, so make sure to watch her lips for any signs of incantations," Lucia warned, her voice cold and sharp.
Berta broke out in a cold sweat, her instincts screaming at her that the girl behind her was a far greater threat than the boy standing in front of her.
'What kind of goddamn monsters are these children?' she wondered, realizing she needed to negotiate if she wanted to see the next morning.
"Boy... Shiron, was it? Let's try to resolve this situation peacefully; surely there has been some grave misunderstanding between us."
"Watch your tone when you speak to me," Shiron commanded.
"...Shall we have a proper talk then?" Berta asked, forcing a servile smile onto her face to hide her desperation.
"You were threatening to end my life only moments ago, and now you want to talk? You truly are a riot, Berta."
"I get that quite a lot, Sir," she replied, her pride already beginning to crumble under the weight of her survival instinct.
Shiron grinned slyly, as if he had just been struck by a particularly amusing and cruel idea.
"Fine then. If you want to talk, start by stripping off those clothes."
"...I beg your pardon?" Berta's face went completely blank with shock.
Inside the freezing darkness of the cave, Berta stood shivering in nothing but her underwear, her body tightly bound with coarse ropes.
"I must say, you have a far more impressive physique than I initially expected; quite sexy, actually," Shiron remarked casually.
"...I've always been told that I look much slimmer with my clothes on, Sir," Berta replied, forcing a laugh and playing along with his harassment to stay alive.
"Damn, you managed to hide weapons in every single fold of those garments; why do you government types always fight so dirty?"
"That is strictly a Special Forces tradition, Sir; I assure you that the regular police still value things like honor and fair play."
"Honor is for the dead. Lucia, this equipment looks quite useful; why don't you take whatever you like?"
"...Thank you, Shiron," Lucia replied as she began to inspect the confiscated gear.
"This woman is a literal golden goblin; look at all these treasures. Ah, this particular item is mine," Shiron hummed cheerfully as he rummaged through her things.
Once they had thoroughly looted her, Shiron stretched his back, the blood he had smeared on his face earlier now starting to dry and itch.
'I can't rely on that trick forever; I need to focus on growing stronger as quickly as possible.'
He had used the blood of the bandits to mask his own aura and draw her attention, a move that had worked perfectly to take down the infamous Berta.
Grateful for the success, he used her own shirt to wipe the grime from his face, noting that the expensive material felt remarkably soft against his skin.
"Alright then," Shiron said, turning to face the shivering Inspector.
"Now, why don't you explain to us exactly why a high-ranking officer like you is mingling with common bandit trash?"
"Shiron, she was just babbling about honor a moment ago; why don't we just kill her? She likely won't speak the truth without torture anyway," Lucia suggested coldly.
"It is all a massive misunderstanding, little miss! I will tell you everything you want to know, I swear!" Berta cried out, her eyes darting between the two.
Lucia shot her a look of pure, unadulterated disdain; she couldn't understand how someone so spineless could hold a rank in the Empire's security forces.
'At least this level of incompetence never existed back when I was Kylie,' she thought, her mental walls of prejudice remaining firmly in place.
"An Inspector is nothing special in the grand scheme of things; as you said, Sir, I'm just another employee on a government salary."
"Shut your mouth," Shiron cut her off, having no interest in her self-pitying chatter.
"Clear up the misunderstanding first, and then I will decide whether you leave this cave alive or not."
Berta's fate rested entirely in Shiron's hands, yet he had no real intention of killing her; she would be a valuable ally in the coming political conflicts.
"Well, if you must know," Berta began, hanging her head limply, "the truth is as embarrassing as it is simple: I got hopelessly lost."
"And?"
"I was on the verge of freezing to death when I stumbled upon this hideout; I planned to use these fools for shelter until the winter ended, and then kill them all come spring."
"And those corpses I found outside were your way of setting an example, I assume?"
"Ah, so you saw those? Yes, exactly," she admitted with a weak nod.
Lucia then cut in, her voice sharp. "And your original destination? If you were lost, you must have been heading somewhere specific."
"...I was heading for Devil's Castle," Berta whispered, her voice barely audible.
"Devil's Castle? Speak clearly and tell us the truth, or you'll find out how many fingers you can afford to lose," Lucia threatened, though her eyes were alight with a strange excitement.
"I'm telling the truth! My superiors specifically referred to it as Devil's Castle; check the inner pocket of my coat, there is a document there!"
Shiron reached into the discarded coat and pulled out a sheet of paper, flipping through the detailed charcoal sketches and mission briefs.
The sketch was a top-down view of Dawn Castle, the very home they had just left; to the outsiders, it was known as the Devil's Castle.
"Hah. It seems that things are finally starting to line up in a very interesting way," Shiron chuckled, pressing a hand to his forehead.
"Why are you laughing? Is there something amusing in those papers?" Lucia asked, looking puzzled.
"Yes, quite amusing indeed. Inspector Berta, it seems your mission was to observe the Prien Succession Ceremony and report back to your superiors."
"...Yes, that is correct," Berta admitted, her face draining of color as she realized the boy had guessed her purpose.
"The ceremony is scheduled for the day after tomorrow; surely you were aware of that?"
"...No, I wasn't," she confessed weakly.
"And do you have even the slightest inkling of who I am?"
"No, I—" She stopped, her eyes widening as the pieces of the puzzle finally clicked into place in her mind.
"You are being given the cold shoulder by your own organization, Berta; they never expected you to succeed, they were pushing you toward failure from the start."
Berta's face went even paler as she realized she had nearly killed a VIP of the very family she was supposed to be observing.
Meanwhile, Shiron smiled contentedly, seeing a clear path to making this disgraced Inspector his own personal asset.
"You are an incompetent little pity case, aren't you? How about I make you an offer that you'd be a fool to refuse?"
"...I beg your pardon?"
"From now on, you follow me," Shiron commanded, already turning to leave the cave.
"What are you waiting for? Get moving," Lucia added, prodding Berta's rear with the tip of her knife to urge her along.
'I truly am the unluckiest person in the world,' Berta thought, hot tears of wretchedness welling in her eyes as she stumbled after them.