Reincarnated User Manual

Chapter 283: Silleya (1)

Chapter 283: Silleya (1)

“Did you keep it just for me?”

A cold gaze swept over Yoru. Lucia hid her trembling hands behind her back and glanced at Shiron.

“Y-Yes, I told you.”

“Really?”

“…Yes.”

Lucia answered late. It wasn’t just because she wasn’t good at lying, but because she was aware she wasn’t doing something honorable.

What wasn’t honorable was the way Yoru looked right now, which Shiron was carefully observing.

Maybe it was because their eyes met. Yoru shot a murderous glare at Shiron.

“What are you looking at?”

“…What are you looking at, huh?!”

Shiron ignored the empty bravado, knowing it wouldn’t amount to anything.

‘What’s she going to do if I stare, really?’

Yoru was undoubtedly one of the strongest in the world. Even though Shiron had received a dragon heart transplant and learned magic, he couldn’t guarantee victory at this distance.

However, Lucia, who was definitely stronger than Yoru, was standing by his side.

While their physical abilities might be similar, Yoru was just in her early twenties. On the other hand, Lucia had lived through countless battlefields and had even slain a demon in her past life.

“Blackie! You can’t do that!”

“Keugh…!”

She might have been acting carefully now, tugging on Yoru’s leash, but who was she, really?

Lucia Prient.

The reincarnation of the hero, Kyrie.

Despite this, Shiron’s mouth tasted bitter.

“Keugh…! What the hell are you doing, you crazy bitch!”

“Blackie! Didn’t I tell you to use nice words! Huh! You were doing fine just a moment ago!”

‘…Isn’t she being a bit too rough?’

Lucia treated Yoru so roughly that Shiron couldn’t help but wonder.

She yanked the leash until Yoru’s face turned red and slapped—no, smacked—her behind hard.

When Yoru finally rebelled, Lucia twisted her arm behind her and slammed her face into the ground.

“Aagh! You crazy bitch!”

Yoru cursed as her face kissed the cold ground. Even though she often suffered this kind of treatment, her humiliation peaked.

‘Of all people, in front of that guy…!’

Not exactly a sworn enemy… They had exchanged life debts twice now, but Yoru didn’t want to show such a disgraceful sight to Shiron.

It might sound absurd, but it was like this:

Heroes, to seek revenge, once slept on piles of firewood, and every time their resolve weakened, they would drive a knife into their thigh where a scar was etched.

Of course, she couldn’t sleep well, and the pain in her thigh didn’t last long, so her self-harming phase ended quickly. But she lived alone in a forest filled with monsters, constantly pushing herself to grow stronger.

‘Live virtuously.’

“Keugh!”

…At the very least, Yoru wanted to meet Shiron again next time with a more mature appearance.

In the end, with tears streaming down her face, Yoru shouted with resentment.

“Kill me! Just kill me!!”

“Hey! If you keep that up, no dinner for you!”

“…Hmph!”

Whack! Lucia, sitting on top of Yoru, lightly hit her head.

“Answer!”

“You think I’d bow to such pathetic threats!”

Whack!

“I won’t even bow to” smack! “your violence…”

Whack! Smack!

“S-Silleya’s warrior…”

Whack whack whack! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Agh! Stop hitting me, you crazy bitch!”

“Didn’t I tell you to use nice words!”

“…”

Shiron sighed at the scene, which was closer to a brawl than a fight.

‘This is ridiculous.’

It was both pathetic and baffling.

Even if you pitted two children from the neighborhood against each other, a better fight would result.

In terms of strength, these women ranked among the top, but their fight looked so trivial.

However, the reason for Shiron’s frustration wasn’t just their skirmish.

‘Where’s the camaraderie between kindred spirits?’

Shiron stared at Lucia with a stern expression.

Lucia was the reincarnation of Kyrie, who belonged to the northern ethnic group known as Silleya. Although generations separated them, Yoru and Lucia shared the same roots.

As a result, even in the original story, Lucia felt a strong sense of kinship with Yoru, and if the right conditions were met, they could quickly become allies despite their antagonistic relationship.

But what was this now?

Setting aside the fact that she was beating her like a dog on a hot summer day, Yoru’s appearance, despite her tough act, could not hide her misery.

Her blouse, stained with dark grime, was so battered that the sleeves were torn, and the stockings covering her legs were full of holes.

And what about the dog bowl lying carelessly on the floor?

[Blackie]

“…Ha.”

Shiron massaged his temples and bit his lip.

There was no denying it—a clear case of human rights abuse.

‘Didn’t she have a past where she was discriminated against as a barbarian?’

‘Or does she think it’s okay because she was a barbarian too?’

Of course, Yoru had no knowledge of Lucia’s past life.

Whether she was Kyrie or not, what was happening in front of them was a superior imperial citizen treating an inferior barbarian like a beast.

“Stop.”

“Huh, what?”

Lucia was pulled away from Yoru by the scruff of her neck.

“Shiron, what are you doing?! I haven’t gotten a surrender declaration yet!”

Lucia, who was forced to end her ‘lesson’ prematurely, looked back at Shiron with a face full of frustration.

“I told you, you have to discipline them properly the first time! Let me go! I’ll make sure he never tries to act up again!”

“It’s fine, stop.”

“What do you mean fine?! Do you not remember who this bastard is? This damn punk shot a bullet at us from the gutter!”

Lucia was practically fuming, her breath turning white. Initially, she only intended to give Yoru a light scolding, but recalling what she did to Shiron made her blood boil.

“You were in so much pain because of that! You may act like it’s no big deal, but I couldn’t even eat properly…”

“Were you planning to give her to me?”

Gasp!

Lucia quickly covered her mouth in shock. Shiron put Lucia, who was dangling in the air, back on the ground. However, she was still fuming, unable to fully calm down.

“I thought if I disciplined her well, she’d be fine. You always say it, right? That everyone has the potential to improve.”

“I told you to stop.”

“…How did you know to come here?”

Lucia pouted and kicked the floor. Seeing her temper subside, Shiron got to the point.

“I didn’t come here because someone told me.”

“…Then?”

Lucia dismissed her suspicion about Seira. Only the three of them knew what was happening here. It was a mystery how Shiron had found this exact place.

‘Is it the power of prophecy?’

Shiron spoke in a low voice.

“The hotel received a report. Some women in suspicious outfits have been coming in every morning.”

It was a suspected prostitution report. In Rien, aside from Nightrail, prostitution was banned everywhere. And since an unidentified girl had been paying in large sums of gold coins, it was only natural for the hotel to report it to protect its reputation.

‘Suspicious outfits? Did they think we were terrorists?’

Well, they weren’t wrong.

Impressed by the sharp eye of the informant, Lucia nodded in agreement.

“Anyway,”

Shiron shifted his gaze to Yoru, looking down at her.

“How did you end up with him? There have been reports of unidentified people disappearing or being killed recently. Could it be… his doing?”

“Th-they were people who deserved to die. I was actually doing the Empire a favor by…”

“Shut it. I wasn’t asking you, barbarian.”

Shiron extended his hand toward Lucia. She understood his meaning and handed over the leash she had been holding.

Yoru tensed up. Her body broke into a cold sweat, and the area around her neck began to heat up, anticipating the coming pain.

However, Shiron didn’t pull on the leash. Instead, he continued to listen to Lucia’s explanation with a cold gaze.

“…She’s been cooperating with me without much complaint. She’s even killed her own kind without hesitation.”

“I’m surprised she didn’t try to escape.”

“I keep her chained up with iron when I’m not watching.”

Lucia pointed to the corner.

There lay a thick iron stake, about the width of a wrist, covered in a dark, ominous aura. It was clear that some unusual magic had been cast on the black iron.

“And how about when she sleeps? Or… when she needs to use the bathroom?”

Shiron glanced at Yoru with a brief look of pity.

“Did she really… just go as she was?”

“…”

“Your silence says it all. Barbarian, that’s disgusting.”

“I said shut up!”

Yoru shouted, clearly embarrassed. She squeezed her legs together and blushed like a maiden, clearly feeling ashamed.

“Who cares about holding it in for half a day?! I never went once!”

“…Really? It smells pretty bad to me.”

“It’s because of the dried blood! Give me time to clean up!”

“Tch. You could use magic to do that. This is why you’re a barbarian.”

“I’m telling you, you bastard!”

“Stand up.”

Shiron commanded Yoru, who was fuming. Gritting her teeth, Yoru swallowed her anger and followed the order.

She didn’t resist. Even though she had been caught off guard, Lucia’s punch had knocked her out in one hit.

Now, it was 2-on-1, and Shiron could sense more presences outside. If she tried to resist, her head could easily roll.

With the leash in hand, Shiron opened the closed door. Several uniformed officers stood at attention, saluting with precision.

“Thank you,”

The highest-ranking officer, Berta, spoke politely.

“As expected, it was the Barbarian Princess. We could have had serious casualties.”

“Sorry about that. This fool caused trouble.”

Shiron revealed Lucia, who had been hiding behind him.

“Hey, aren’t you going to apologize?”

“I’m sorry…”

Lucia, shuffling nervously, bowed respectfully. But Berta’s reaction was strange. Her gaze kept lingering on Yoru.

“Is there something you want to say?”

“Excuse me, but…”

“What is it?”

“What do you plan to do with the Barbarian Princess?”

Berta timidly wiped the cold sweat from her brow. Even if she was subdued, capturing the Barbarian Princess Yoru, a monster that could barely be taken down by dozens of knights, was a significant feat.

Having her delivered to Shiron might still cause trouble, and even if they threw her in jail, she was a prisoner too dangerous to handle.

“Didn’t you hear?”

Shiron, understanding her concern, patted Berta on the shoulder.

“Hear what?”

“Tell His Majesty. I’ve captured the Barbarian Princess, so he should keep his promise to make her my slave.”

“Oh… Yes!”

Shiron left the hotel as the officers saluted.

A carriage, big enough to carry six people, was waiting outside the front gate. Shiron gestured for Yoru to get inside.

-Giddy up!

“Barbarian.”

With a command from the Cardinal, the carriage started to move, and Shiron broke the silence.

“Why did you come to the Empire?”

“…Ask the redhead. I’ve already told her everything.”

“There’s something you haven’t told me yet, isn’t there?”

“…”

“Don’t hold back. Depending on your answer, your people might all be killed.”

Goosebumps rose on Yoru’s arms.