Reincarnated User Manual

Chapter 246: Guests From The Dawn Castle

Tak, tadak-

Shiron, feeling a brief sense of floating, shook his head and looked at the familiar scenery. The end point of the teleport was, of course, the garden of the detached house in the capital.

“Huh?”

As he was savoring the feeling of being back, Latera, who had gone ahead, tilted her head. Soon, she came back and tugged at his collar.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s no one in the house.”

“…What?”

Impossible. Shiron, briefly denying it, approached the detached house. Even though he often left the house empty, this place was always staffed by a few people to attend to Latera, aside from Encia and Ophilia.

Didn’t he confirm right before his eyes that Eldrina’s order to always provide the best treatment had been fulfilled?

Just as Latera had said, there was no sign of life in the detached house.

The demon maids were the same. While not as sensitive as Latera, Shiron could sense faint demonic energy, confirming the absence of Encia and Ophilia without needing to search every corner.

‘What is this? They’re not the type to leave without a word…’

Although he wasn’t a child who needed constant protection, he had given permission for them to go out if they wanted, and even Encia, who craved freedom more than anyone, had always reported when she went out.

“Hero.”

As he was pondering various thoughts, Latera tugged at his collar again.

“I smell a demon from over there.”

Latera pointed in the direction of the main building.

“Why are those two there? Did Lady Eldrina summon them?”

“…It’s not just those two. There’s one more. A very strong demon.”

“…”

As far as Shiron knew, the only demons remaining in this world were those in the Dawn Castle. And among them, there was only one who could come here.

The One-Horned Yuma.

‘Why is Yuma here?’

Although Yuma wasn’t weaker than Encia or Dorothy, Shiron was certain that the demon who had come to the main building was Yuma.

“Young Master. Just in time. The lady is waiting for you.”

It was the old butler who greeted Shiron upon his arrival.

Although they hadn’t met many times and hadn’t spoken much, he recognized Shiron at a glance and guided him inside.

“Is it because of the guest?”

“Yes, they came looking for you, knocking on the door and mentioning your name while looking disheveled, so the lady is dealing with them for now.”

“…Has Siriel returned?”

“Are you referring to the young lady?”

When Shiron nodded, the old butler looked at him with a subtle smile.

“The young lady hasn’t returned from the expedition yet. Nor has the master.”

“I see.”

“Is it someone Siriel shouldn’t meet?”

“What are you talking about? I’ll go alone now, so continue with your work.”

Shiron passed by the butler with a displeased look.

That subtle gaze… It seemed to suggest that Shiron had been ‘playing around’ outside, but he couldn’t firmly deny it as he had indeed ‘played around’ last night.

However, Shiron wasn’t ashamed. He believed that Siriel, being a good child, would tolerate a few concubines and that she would find it cute that he occasionally had some fun for the sake of peace.

[Hero, are you a piece of trash?]

‘Hey, don’t say such bad things.’

[Ah. I spoke without thinking…]

Latera covered her mouth, trailing off, but she couldn’t completely cut off the conversation. Shiron’s recent thoughts were too outrageous for her to overlook.

[But your recent thoughts were so trashy that it just slipped out. Asking your fiancée to find your infidelity cute… It’s so twisted it’s terrifying.]

‘Uh, shouldn’t you keep that to yourself?’

[…Why?]

‘Because I figured out that you and Seira conspired to leave me alone with Lucia? If I’m trash…’

[If I were your fiancée, I might find your infidelity cute?]

Heh. Latera laughed awkwardly at Shiron’s sharp retort. But even so, she wanted to convey a word of advice to him.

[But still. No matter how much Siriel is infatuated with you, Hero… she is possessive enough to show jealousy even towards a kid like me.]

‘Hmm…’

[You admit it yourself. That’s why you got flustered when you heard that promiscuous demon had come.]

‘Are you going to keep saying bad things?’

Shiron waved his hand in the air as if scattering smoke.

‘I just want the people around me to be happy. It’s not like I lost control of my libido and had an affair.’

[Really?]

‘Yes, if you think about it, Siriel, Lucia, and even Yuma have become happier after getting involved with me. Don’t you think? All three were so happy they seemed about to die from joy.’

[…This logic is completely unexpected. I can’t argue with it!]

‘Right? If you compare the amount of happiness during our relationships, the other person became happier, so I’m actually at a loss. I’m sacrificing myself to make others happy. Isn’t that the most heroic thing to do?’

[Hero…!]

Leaving Latera, who was moved by his miraculous logic, Shiron walked down the hallway following the increasingly intense demonic energy.

-Knock knock.

-Come in.

After knocking a few times, Shiron opened the door as soon as he received permission.

“Young Master.”

It was Eldrina who greeted him as he opened the parlor door, but the voice came from the opposite side. The One-Horned Yuma. Not only was she there, but Encia and Ophilia were also present.

However, Shiron did not respond to Yuma right away. Yuma was a guest, and the mistress of the house was Eldrina. He greeted the elder of the household first.

Eldrina smiled pleasantly at his courteous manners.

“I was going to send someone, but you arrived just in time.”

“I was coming back from some outside work, and there was no one to welcome me at the detached house.”

“Oh dear, were you very upset?”

“How could I be? There’s no way Lady Eldrina would make me feel left out.”

“There’s no misunderstanding, and I appreciate the quick conversation.”

Eldrina gave Shiron a sweet smile. She stood up from her seat and opened her arms toward him.

“You must have worked hard outside.”

“Oh, it was nothing. I’m practically a loafer.”

“I’ve seen many loafers, including my big brother, but I’ve never seen someone as capable as you.”

After patting Shiron’s back, Eldrina turned her gaze to Yuma.

“Well then, I hope you have a pleasant time. Madame.”

“…”

“Next time, call me mother.”

With that, Eldrina left the parlor.

Was it a subtle check on the unfamiliar woman in place of her daughter?

Shiron felt a bit awkward and sat down where Eldrina had been sitting.

“Has it been two years?”

“Have you been well, Young Master?”

Yuma stood up from her chair and held her clothes as she bowed. Encia and Ophilia were standing still like statues behind her, and it was natural for Shiron’s gaze to linger on them.

“What brings you here? Why are they here?”

“I’m sorry. I thought some training was necessary and took the liberty of stepping in.”

“Training?”

“Yes, even though their contract has transferred from me to you, they were being too disrespectful…”

‘What on earth happened?’

Shiron glared at Encia and Ophilia. Encia’s playful nature was understandable, but even the model student Ophilia standing up to Yuma was baffling.

“Young Master! We are wronged! Please don’t look at us like that!”

“Believe us, Young Master! Lady Yuma treated us like a mother-in-law!”

“A mother-in-law?”

“…Ahem.”

Yuma blushed and cleared her throat. Something must have happened between the three, but Shiron didn’t want to delve any deeper and changed the topic.

“Never mind them. What brings you here? What about the Dawn Castle? Shouldn’t you be assisting the head?”

“In fact, I came because of the head.”

“The head?”

“Yes.”

Yuma nodded, trying to calm the atmosphere. She seemed to be about to discuss something heavy as she took a breath and finally looked at Shiron with a sad expression.

“The head has gone missing.”

“…”

A shocking statement. Shiron couldn’t believe his ears. He asked again, as if he had heard something incomprehensible.

“What do you mean, the head has gone missing?”

“Yes… It’s hard to believe, but they left the castle without a word and haven’t returned for months, so everyone at Dawn Castle concluded that they ran away.”

“No matter how old they are, how could they run away?”

Shiron closed his eyes tightly and shook his head. Despite the situation, he couldn’t help but think about someone who was behaving inappropriately for their age.

‘It’s just like Lucia. Seeing their actions, they are unmistakably related.’

Lucia, who had left to find herself with memories of a past life.

Glen, who had two children and was at the age of fifty, but still ran away.

Shiron couldn’t think of them as unrelated.

“Is it possible they are lost or in trouble during a battle?”

“If that were the case, the gravekeeper or the ranger would have contacted us.”

“Then, did you come to ask me to find the head?”

“Well…”

Yuma trailed off. Shiron narrowed his eyes, puzzled by her words.

“There is something I need to ask, but I know where the head is.”

“…”

“We are still connected through the bond with Prient.”

At the same time, in the Imperial Palace.

Victor was meeting with a shabby-looking man in private. The officials insisted that it was dangerous to be alone with such a suspicious person, but the moment she heard his name, she used her authority to clear the audience room.

“You said you are Shiron’s father?”

Anyway, no matter how many were present, they couldn’t deal with this man.

“Yes. And I am also Hugo Prient’s younger brother.”

Glen looked up at the throne with a calm face.

“So if you make me a knight, you won’t regret it.”