Reincarnated User Manual

Chapter 253: The Battle Situation (1)

A large room illuminated by three candlesticks.

Glen didn’t know what to say or how to act in the current situation he was facing.

At least, he had finally met his brother. But what should he do next? The fact that they barely knew if each other was alive made the relationship feel much more stifling than Glen had anticipated…

Glen suddenly stood up from his seat.

“I need to go to the restroom.”

“Didn’t you just go earlier?”

“It’s because of the coffee. Every time I drink tea, this happens. It’s always such a bother.”

“You’ve already gone five times…”

Hugo crossed his arms and frowned.

“…Yes? Well, that’s true.”

“Broccoli, tomatoes, and bell peppers are good for the prostate. Drinking water regularly also helps.”

“…”

“I heard from Yuma that you eat dried jerky and monster meat whenever you cross the mountain range. You should eat some dried vegetables too.”

“…Yes.”

Glen couldn’t quite grasp what Hugo was advising, but he decided to nod his head anyway.

Prostate? Picky eating? He roughly understood the latter as something said to break the silence, but he couldn’t figure out the context for the former.

However, Glen felt that the atmosphere had lightened considerably.

‘…My brother is worried about me.’

The last time Glen saw Hugo was on the day Shiron was born. Although it was a joyous occasion, Hugo didn’t want to cause unnecessary friction with Glen, but the atmosphere between them was so cold that a warm conversation seemed unimaginable.

This was truly a remarkable improvement.

‘Has time dulled the anger, or is there another reason…’

Glen looked down at the girl sitting quietly on Hugo’s lap.

Latera, a place teeming with people who eat sword-and-sorcery for breakfast, made Glen wonder why such a child was here. But during his stay in the annex, he realized she was no ordinary child.

She introduced herself as the Guardian Angel, a symbol of a hero. She had neither the halo that symbolized saints nor the wings of the heavenly path described in the scriptures, but the overwhelming divinity felt from the tiny girl was proof enough.

“Hugo, what is a prostate?”

“Child, you don’t need to know.”

The way she perched her petite bottom on his broad lap didn’t quite match the title of a messenger of God, but Glen nodded as he observed not Latera’s presence, but Hugo, who had become a kind-hearted grandfather.

‘If such a cute child is beside him, it’s only natural that the atmosphere would soften.’

Thinking this, Glen pondered over what topic to discuss next.

Talking about the vision of his death might weigh down the atmosphere that had just lightened. Telling the truth about abandoning the duties of the Prient family and the reason behind it would betray his loyalty to Lucia, and who knew what chaos might ensue afterward.

‘This isn’t easy…’

Conversations are really difficult. Glen finally decided to keep his mouth shut until someone spoke to him.

“Ahem.”

Although in different degrees, Hugo was also feeling the awkwardness. The brotherly relationship that had been strained for 40 years couldn’t suddenly become friendly overnight.

But Hugo was certainly better than Glen at one thing: breaking the silence in awkward situations. And that was…

“So, Latera. What brings you here? I’m sorry, but I didn’t prepare any snacks because I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Well, you see.”

Latera looked up at Hugo with an appropriately childlike gaze.

“I was told to stay with you for a while, and I’ll be back soon.”

“…By who?”

“By Shiron.”

“…I see. Got it.”

Hugo twitched his mouth and started to sweat coldly. Then, just as Latera said, Shiron made his appearance.

Hugo sighed at the arrival of his nephew, and Glen’s expression brightened as he thought the silence would finally be broken, but… he soon became flustered.

It was because of the awkward gait of Siriel, who followed Shiron. The way she walked, with her toes pointing inward as if her groin was aching, was something she tried hard to hide, but Glen couldn’t miss it.

Clang-

Only after confirming Siriel’s entrance did Shiron close the door.

“I’m sorry. It took longer than I expected.”

“…What brings you here? I thought you were returning in a month.”

Hugo turned his eyes away from his blushing daughter and spoke. It was obvious she had done something embarrassing, but no matter how much, he felt more comfortable talking to Shiron than to Glen.

“I had some time before I arrived, so didn’t you hear anything?”

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

Glen shamelessly pointed to the seat beside him as he deflected Shiron’s glare. Finding himself sandwiched between Glen and Siriel, Shiron sighed at the intense stares.

“Did something happen?”

“A problem?”

“Well, you know. Like a glitch in the operation or a unit being wiped out.”

Shiron decided to start by talking about the group he met while on his way to the great plains. He planned to spend more time on Glen’s prophecy story later. After all, it wasn’t something to rush into, and he thought it would be better if Glen reconciled on his own.

Shiron pulled out the breastplate he had prepared beforehand from his chest and handed it over.

“I ran into some suspicious people on the way, so I killed them, and this is what came out.”

“This is…”

Hugo pulled out a magnifying glass from his chest pocket and inspected the breastplate.

“It’s the crest of the Viscount. Where did you find this?”

“Along the Amur River… Do you have any idea what it might be?”

“Of course.”

Hugo responded with a deliberately serious expression. It was clear that what he was about to say was going to be quite heavy, even without him having to state it explicitly…

“A few days ago, an entire knight order was annihilated.”

“So, it’s related to that knight order.”

“Yes, it was directly under the Empress. They were all highly skilled individuals.”

“The Empress, you mean…?”

“The woman you just exchanged greetings with.”

“Sigh…”

Shiron let out a sigh as he recalled the ragtag group of guards he had met earlier.

‘Indeed, I thought it was odd for the Emperor’s wife to lead such a disorganized group of knights, and now I see why.’

It was understandable that Shiron didn’t like the Empress, whose first impression wasn’t good, but the annihilation of the knight order was certainly unfortunate. Shiron, with a sense of genuine sympathy, spoke up.

“Then, who were the people wearing these armors?”

Shiron continued speaking as he piled up the rest of the relics.

“They used words that were too refined to be mere bandits or barbarians. Although it wasn’t difficult to kill them all, they all emitted sword energy, attacked in perfect unison, and committed suicide when interrogated.”

“I don’t really know either.”

Hugo scratched his head, feigning difficulty.

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s true that there was only one knight order that disappeared entirely, but we know about it because there was a witness. However, it’s not confirmed whether the people you encountered were barbarians or operatives from an enemy nation.”

“Then, can I meet that one witness? At the very least, I’d like to know why the knight order was annihilated.”

“Hmm…”

Hugo’s expression became troubled as he listened to Shiron’s request.

Louise Visconti. It was only natural that she was the owner of the knight order that was annihilated, wasn’t it? Hugo wondered if Shiron was pretending not to know, but he soon changed his mind.

‘Well, it’s absurd enough that someone of the Empress’s status is stirring up a battlefield.’

Finally, Hugo spoke candidly.

“It’s the Empress.”

“…Is that woman perhaps lacking in intelligence or does she have an inferior mind?”

“…Let’s just pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“She managed to return alive despite experiencing such a major event where the entire knight order was wiped out.”

Siriel grabbed Shiron’s hand, looking incredulous.

“The deputy was the one leading at the front, and she was watching from a distance. That must be it.”

“Victor almost ended up bringing in a new woman.”

Shiron rubbed his face as he thought of his friend.

Unlike most powerful men, Victor strictly adhered to monogamy.

For someone who looked like a pretty boy, Victor had surprisingly little interest in women, and Shiron rather liked Victor’s upright nature of focusing solely on his fiancée. So, the thought of Victor grieving over the loss of his partner naturally didn’t sit well with Shiron.

“In that case, this isn’t the time to be sitting around. I need to meet the Empress right away.”

“Brother.”

Siriel spoke with a serious expression.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to meet the Empress. This time, I’ll go.”

“Why? Is there some kind of restriction like the Empress’s residence being off-limits to men?”

“Uh… no, it’s not that.”

“Then what?”

Siriel averted her gaze as Shiron pressed her.

“Well… uh… She’s in a very weakened state due to the shock she suffered. I’d say she’s mentally somewhat unhinged.”

It wasn’t a lie, considering the Empress had been bad-mouthing her fiancé right in front of her and sniffling all day.

“Weakened? Then I should be the one to go. Believe it or not, I’m really good with healing spells. I can reattach a severed arm in a snap with a flick of my hand.”

“…It’s not a physical issue; it’s her mental state that’s severe.”

“If it’s mental, then Seira is an expert in that field. If healing spells don’t work, we can just wait until she arrives.”

Shiron chuckled and stood up.

“Then let’s go together. I’ll show you.”

Siriel didn’t stand in Shiron’s way. She only hoped… that the Empress wouldn’t upset her brother.