Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Reincarnator's User Manual
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By the time Lucia finally arrived back at the gates of Dawn Castle, the sun was already beginning its slow descent behind the jagged peaks.
She found herself wondering when exactly her footsteps had become so incredibly heavy and slow.
For some inexplicable reason, her pace was even more sluggish than when she had been advancing alongside Shiron, slaying beasts through the night.
Dealing with endless waves of monsters should have slowed her down more than this, yet here she was, dragging her feet as if they were made of lead.
Even she had to admit that the situation was remarkably strange, even if she was walking a bit slower on purpose to sort through her thoughts.
Lucia raised her empty hand to rub her tired face, the weight of the night's events finally starting to settle into her bones.
Shiron had taken back not only the longsword he had prepared, but also the elegant weapon she had snatched from Berta during their encounter.
It suddenly hit her, with a jarring sense of reality, that her legs were significantly shorter than they had been in her previous life.
Lucia was currently only nine years old, possessing the exact build and physical limitations of a young girl that age.
Every now and then, she would catch herself realizing just how vastly different her current situation was from her days as a legendary hero.
Nine years had passed since her reincarnation, yet she still could not entirely shake the ingrained physical sensations and instincts of her past life.
Short arms and legs, soft hands without a single callus, and an inner energy circulation that was pathetically tiny and feeble by comparison.
'To think that I actually managed to pull off all those feats with a fragile, underdeveloped body like this.'
Looking back now, she realized just how incredibly reckless she had been throughout the entire night.
Slaying those bandits to enter the cave was understandable enough, but subduing someone like Berta was clearly reaching beyond her current capabilities.
'I suppose I just got caught up in the heat of the moment for nothing...'
If she had known from the start that Shiron’s goal was to obtain the Holy Sword, she should have beaten some sense into him and dragged him home.
But for some reason, she hadn't stopped him, and even now, she couldn't fully explain why she had allowed herself to be led along.
Was it possible that she had been bewitched by his confidence, thinking that if she just followed his lead, things would somehow work out?
The situation reminded her of fragmented, hazy memories from her past, a recurring theme in her existence.
She had always been the type of person who only acted when told what to do—passive and reactive, to put it in the kindest terms.
Still, with her old comrades by her side, she had never felt used or manipulated; they had always pooled their strengths for the greater good.
"......"
But that was all in a past that no longer existed, a world that had moved on without her.
Whether it was "the stars told me so" or some grim prophecy about the end of the world, she was done letting herself be swept along by the whims of others.
Lucia squeezed her eyes shut tightly and then opened them again, desperate to shake off the relentless, looping thoughts.
Before she realized it, she had arrived near the massive main gate of Dawn Castle.
"Welcome back, Young Lady," a voice called out, pulling her back to the present.
"Yeah, I'm back," she replied simply.
A single maid was waiting there to greet her, the same black-haired woman with slightly upturned eyes who had once assisted with Shiron’s training.
Her name was Dorothy, if her memory of the household staff served her correctly.
Dorothy lifted the hem of her skirt slightly and offered a polite, graceful bow to Lucia.
"You look quite fatigued from your journey, if you don't mind me saying."
"......Do I really look that bad?" Lucia asked, feeling a bit self-conscious.
Dorothy nodded in confirmation, having kept a watchful and protective eye on Lucia since the girl had first arrived at the castle.
She easily noticed the subtle, tired shift in her demeanor, and her physical appearance certainly wasn't helping matters.
"First off, your complexion is quite poor; the skin under your eyes is dark and dusky, as if you haven't slept in days."
"And more than that, you haven't looked straight ahead once since you came into view."
"It really looked that pathetic, huh?" Lucia let out a hollow, self-deprecating laugh as she imagined her own bedraggled appearance.
Chasing after a boy who was charging far ahead, without the strength or the will to keep up—she must have looked utterly miserable.
Lucia clutched the hem of her coat tightly and looked up at the maid, her expression softening slightly.
"By the way, where is Shiron right now? What is he up to?"
There was a hurried, anxious edge to her voice as she asked after her brother’s well-being, a detail Dorothy didn't miss.
"The Young Master should be in bed by now; he skipped dinner entirely, which is quite unlike his usual self."
"He must have been every bit as exhausted as you are, Young Lady," Dorothy added with a faint, knowing smile.
"I see. So that's how it is. He made it back safely then."
Dorothy assumed the question stemmed from familial concern and offered Lucia a gentle, encouraging smile.
"Shall we start with a hot dinner? Or perhaps a warm bath first?"
"But in my personal opinion, you should probably just wash up and go straight to bed."
"Yeah, I'll do that. Putting anything in my stomach right now would probably just result in a stomachache anyway."
A little before sunrise the next morning, Shiron rose from his bed and gazed out the window at the breaking light.
He marveled at how thoroughly ingrained his biological rhythm had become since his possession of this body.
Despite skipping meals and collapsing into a deep sleep the night before, he had woken up precisely on time, down to the minute.
'Without any magical doping to help me, I am truly and utterly wrecked,' he thought, feeling the ache in his muscles.
He counted himself lucky that he hadn't actually drowned or dozed off while sitting in the bath the previous night.
Still, he couldn't afford to put off today's tasks; the moment his eyes opened, his destination was the training grounds.
The previous night had taught him a valuable lesson: unlike simple bandits, the "named" monsters from the game could appear anywhere.
To face those threats, he needed power—at the very least, the ability to protect his own life in a sudden ambush.
Even with the important succession ceremony looming tomorrow, he refused to skip his routine dawn training session.
"Shiron."
But today felt different; Lucia, who had been avoiding the training grounds lately in favor of the library, was waiting for him at the entrance.
Had some genuine affection grown between them overnight? Shiron felt unexpectedly glad to see her and offered a warm greeting.
"What's up? It's been a while since I've seen you actually come out to the training grounds."
"......Watch your words. I used to be the first one out here not long ago; I've just been busy with other things lately."
Lucia shot him a displeased glare before pulling open the heavy doors to the training grounds.
She had come early just to wait for him, and here he was, immediately starting to needle her as if it were a game.
With that thought, Lucia dashed toward the weapon storage shed ahead of him, her movements quick and agile.
Moments later, when Shiron finally reached the shed, Lucia boldly met his gaze and thrust a wooden practice sword toward him.
"Here! Take this!"
Shiron widened his eyes in surprise and took the weapon, wondering what had brought on this sudden change of heart.
"What's this all about? This is a bit out of nowhere, isn't it?"
"You said yesterday that if the night's events bothered me, I should just hit you once and get it over with."
"......You don't seriously mean you're up for a spar, do you?" Shiron asked, his face stiffening as he imagined the pain.
Did this girl actually plan to beat him senseless with a wooden sword just because he had made a flippant comment?
"Hey, I didn't say you should beat me with a wooden sword! That's just cruel."
"What do you take me for? Even I wouldn't hit a family member with a wooden sword for no reason."
"Then why are you handing me this?"
"Watching you fight those wolves yesterday made me realize that you desperately need to learn some proper sword swings."
"......"
"And I am going to teach you how to swing a sword the right way... so... um..."
Lucia turned her head away from him, scratching her cheek in a rare display of awkwardness.
"I was wondering if you'd mind if we trained together... for a bit?"
"Nah, I don't mind at all. If you're offering to teach me, I'm all for it," Shiron replied with a wry sigh of relief.
He wondered what shift in her mind had occurred during their brief separation to make her so willing to cooperate with him.
'I wasn't even hoping for this much cooperation from her so soon; this is a massive win for me.'
It was all for the better; having the protagonist as a personal tutor would save him a massive amount of effort in the long run.
"By the way," Lucia said, breaking the silence in the middle of their intense, sweat-soaked training session.
"I don't see those maids who are always hovering around you today. Where did they all go?"
"Oh, that," Shiron answered, not pausing his rhythmic swings for even a second.
"Tomorrow is the succession ceremony. They only helped me when they had free time, so when things get busy like this, I handle it myself."
"But still, is it really okay for you to be training so leisurely like this when guests are arriving?"
Lucia halted her own swing and glanced toward the distant horizon beyond the mansion walls.
"It feels like someone is approaching. A lot of people, actually; the aura is quite unmistakable."
"Yeah? Are they here already?" Shiron asked, wiping the streaming sweat from his brow with a towel.
He looked up at the sky and realized that the sun was already high in the midday heavens; time had flown by during their session.
He had become completely absorbed in Lucia’s guidance; she was an unexpectedly patient and thorough teacher.
"Let's go check it out then. We can't have them arriving without anyone to greet them."
Shiron tossed his wooden sword onto a pile and handed his damp towel to Lucia, who hesitated before using it to wipe her own face.
The two children hurried toward the main gate of Dawn Castle, finding the mansion's servants already lined up in a formal formation.
"Welcome home, Young Master," Yuma said, standing at the center of the staff as the castle's overseer.
"Greetings to you both," Berta added, bowing deeply with a grace that was a far cry from her disheveled state in the tomb.
Berta looked remarkably human now, having applied makeup and a hint of perfume to mask the lingering scent of the forest.
She was clearly preparing to greet the figure approaching from the distance with the utmost professionalism.
Soon, the massive gates of Dawn Castle swung fully open, a rare sight that signaled the arrival of someone of great importance.
The aura emanating from the approaching group was tremendous, heavy enough to make the air itself feel thick with power.
A massive man in gleaming armor strode toward their position, his every step echoing with a quiet authority.
He had fiery red hair just like Lucia’s, and a thick, rugged beard covered his powerful jaw.
'Hugo Prien,' Shiron thought, recognizing the legendary figure from the game’s lore.
He was the Captain of the Soaring Heaven Knights and the older brother to Glenn Prien, the current head of the family.
Shiron gaped at the man, who was considered one of the world's top powerhouses; his sheer size and presence were overwhelming up close.
"It has been quite a while, hasn't it, nephew?"
"......Greetings, Uncle Hugo," Shiron replied, trying to maintain his composure.
"Haha! Look at you, kid! You've grown so much in just a few years; it seems like only yesterday you were calling me 'Uncle' while toddling about."
The man's rugged features broke into a broad, genuine grin at the sight of Shiron, and he scooped both children up into a massive, rib-crushing hug.
Lucia, despite her internal shock, wasn't so socially stunted that she would reject the affection; she knew well enough how to maintain appearances.
"And this little one is...?" Hugo asked, looking down at Lucia with curiosity.
"This is Young Lady Lucia, recently taken into the family by the Family Head," Yuma explained softly.
"......Greetings. My name is Lucia."
"I see. It is a pleasure to meet you, little niece. I am your father's older brother."
Hugo chuckled heartily at her introduction and then turned his focus toward Yuma.
"Yuma, I swear you haven't aged a single day since the last time I saw you. It's almost unfair."
"......Unfortunately, time is not so kind to everyone," she replied with a graceful nod.
"So? Is this all there is for my welcome? Where is the main attraction?"
Hugo scanned the faces beyond his own retinue, his eyes searching for the one person who absolutely had to be present for a succession ceremony.
"Glenn... where the hell is Glenn hiding?"
"The Family Head is currently......" Yuma began, her voice trailing off as she searched for the right words.
"I asked you a question! Where the hell is that bastard Glenn?"
Hugo's face twisted with a sudden, goblin-like fury that seemed to shake the very foundations of the courtyard.