Ch.5Reincarnator

Recently, Seo-rin had been very uncomfortable. It was because of a civilized person who had invaded her territory. He was strong. Strong enough to deal with someone like her at any time. With such a person lurking around her territory, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

She couldn’t understand his purpose. He didn’t seem to be waiting for an opportunity to take her life.

He would just sit at the paths Seo-rin frequently traveled and strike up a conversation whenever he sensed her presence.

Just like now.

“Hey! Stop for a moment!”

Seo-rin wasn’t one to stop just because someone told her to. Growling, she ignored Deidram and leaped between the trees.

Their strange encounters continued afterward. Even when Seo-rin changed her routes, Deidram would find those places as if by magic.

The reason Deidram was pursuing Seo-rin was none other than money. Seo-rin, who knew how to handle mana from a young age, was an extremely valuable resource.

Her background didn’t matter. Deidram just needed to hand talented children over to the Empire and receive payment in return.

As a hunter who frequently traveled to various places, Deidram earned pocket money this way.

Deidram’s pursuit was persistent.

Eventually, Seo-rin decided to have a conversation with Deidram. The place she chose for their talk was up in a tree. It was to maintain a high vantage point and be able to escape at any time.

“Finally decided to talk?”

“Tell me your purpose.”

“My name is Deidram. And yours?”

“Seo-rin…”

“A good name. Seo-rin. Are you alone now?”

Seo-rin didn’t answer. She couldn’t know for certain whether she was truly alone, or if her sister’s soul still resided in this body.

Deidram nodded as if it was fine not to answer and asked another question.

“Seems you’ve left your tribe. Do you plan to cross the mountains again?”

At that question, Seo-rin looked at the massive mountain range stretching beyond the forest. The snow-covered mountains served as the boundary between the lands of the civilized and the barbarians.

“Not right now.”

Seo-rin shook her head.

Deidram continued to ask questions afterward. Sometimes he asked about the barbarians, and other times he asked Seo-rin what she thought about civilized society.

All of this was groundwork to gain Seo-rin’s favor.

Of course, Seo-rin didn’t answer all the questions. She only answered what she could, and among those, only what she wanted to answer.

Then suddenly, Seo-rin had a question of her own. From their conversation, it was clear that the man before her knew the civilized world in detail.

If so, he might know about the man who had slaughtered her tribe, the White Frost Tribe.

Seo-rin opened her mouth.

“I have something to ask.”

“By all means.”

“I’m looking for a man. He wore long black clothes and used a slightly curved sword as his weapon. His build was similar to yours… and his eyes were somewhat fierce.”

Deidram frowned. There were too many swordsmen who matched the characteristics Seo-rin described. If anything was distinctive, it was the “curved sword.”

“Hmm…”

With a doubtful feeling, Deidram began drawing in the dirt. He etched the shape of a curved sword he knew into the ground.

“Is this the shape of the sword you saw?”

Seo-rin shook her head.

“Similar, but the blade was a bit longer.”

‘So it’s not a scimitar.’

Deidram erased the drawing and drew a new one.

“How about this?”

“That’s not it either. It’s similar, but the handle was longer and there was no decoration to protect the fingers.”

‘Not a sabre either. Then…’

Deidram drew once more, capturing the characteristics Seo-rin had described.

“How about this time?”

“…”

This time there was no answer. Instead, Seo-rin, who had been sitting in the tree, came down to the ground and approached closer. As if she wanted to examine the drawing more carefully.

After examining the drawing, Seo-rin nodded and spoke.

“It’s similar… almost identical. Do you know about the person who uses this sword?”

Deidram observed Seo-rin’s appearance as he organized his thoughts. Her neck was tense, her hands were trembling, and her breathing had become a bit rough. It was clear she had suffered at the hands of someone who used this sword.

“That sword is called a katana. It’s a type of sword that didn’t exist in this world.”

The barbarian girl was likely looking for a reincarnator who had crossed over from another world. As far as Deidram knew, only they could freely wield such a sword.

“I’d like you to explain in more detail.”

“The man you’re looking for is most likely a reincarnator. That is, if he wasn’t just carrying this sword as a mere decoration…”

“It wasn’t just decoration. He definitely used it as a weapon. He would draw the sword, swing it, and then put it back in its sheath. Despite such unnecessary movements, his sword was incredibly fast.”

“Then it’s certain. The person you met is a reincarnator.”

“Do, do you know where he is?”

Deidram smiled slightly at Seo-rin’s attitude. Things might work out easily. Of course, Deidram didn’t know where the reincarnator Seo-rin was talking about was. There were many reincarnators running wild in this world.

“I do know. Where he is. I know for certain. If you come with me, I’ll tell you where he is. What do you say?”

He just needed to make money. Deidram smiled as he imagined the money he would receive for handing over this girl.

Seo-rin took a step back and sniffed. Living beings’ scents change subtly depending on their emotions. With her sensitive sense of smell, Seo-rin could detect these changes.

Her sister’s body, sharing the same blood, was the same. Her exceptional sense of smell told her that Deidram was lying.

‘He wasn’t lying when explaining about the reincarnator. It’s what he said afterward that’s a lie.’

He was trying to deceive her without changing his expression. She couldn’t tell what he was trying to gain by deceiving her, but it was hard to believe he had good intentions.

Seo-rin nodded.

“I’ll follow you. But not right now… I have something to take care of.”

“Is it something I can help with?”

“I need to perform a traditional tribal ritual… outside interference is not allowed.”

“Hmm, how long will it take?”

“A day. One day will be enough.”

Seo-rin was also lying. Deidram didn’t even suspect that Seo-rin was lying. He just smiled and nodded.

“I’ll come here when the sun is overhead after I finish the ritual tomorrow.”

“Ah, good. So around this time tomorrow?”

Having secured her promise, Deidram withdrew.

As soon as Seo-rin confirmed that Deidram was gone, she moved. First, she returned to her dwelling and packed her belongings.

Food for the journey, a bag to carry on her back, a few pieces of leather obtained from this place, two daggers, and the chief’s sword to use as a weapon—that was all.

Seo-rin left the forest that evening.

***

About three days had passed since leaving the forest. Seo-rin had been walking without rest during that time.

As time went on, Seo-rin encountered people more frequently. They all looked at her with curiosity.

Seo-rin realized why they were staring at her. Though their appearances were similar, there was a difference in the clothes they wore.

‘No, my face is actually better.’

Technically, it was her sister’s face, but that’s how she saw it.

So late in the evening, Seo-rin sneaked into a small village and stole a set of clothes hanging on a long line. In return for the clothes, she left a squirrel hide she had hunted.

In Seo-rin’s homeland, the freezing tundra, no one would ever harm a child wandering alone. Touching a child from another tribe was tantamount to declaring war.

But this place was different. While wandering alone, Seo-rin experienced several attempted kidnappings. A middle-aged woman who approached kindly suddenly changed her demeanor, and a drunken man tried to pounce on her.

Of course, all attempts failed. They all lost their lives to Seo-rin’s blade.

Seo-rin took all the possessions from the bodies she had dealt with. By the time she reached a fairly large city, her bag was full of items collected from corpses.

Before entering the city, Seo-rin carefully observed the behavior of the soldiers guarding the entrance and the people visiting the city.

People were handing something shiny to the soldiers. It seemed that to enter the city of these civilized people, one had to give something shiny.

Seo-rin rummaged through her bag. She remembered having such things among the items she had taken from those who had tried to attack her.

When it was Seo-rin’s turn, she handed the shiny object to the soldier.

“Hmm… the money’s a bit short?”

“How much more should I give?”

“Give one more.”

Seo-rin followed the soldier’s request. The concept of currency vaguely took shape in the small girl’s mind.

Having shed her barbarian appearance, Seo-rin attracted attention in a different way.

Seo-rin’s mother was the greatest beauty in the tribe. Skin as white as snow, snow-white hair, calm eyes that seemed cold, blue lake-like pupils, and lips as red as tree berries.

Seo-rin’s sister, Sei-ran, had inherited all of these traits.

When Seo-rin, a tribal warrior, inhabited her sister’s body, she exuded a peculiar aura.

Seo-rin frowned at the gazes she felt around her.

‘I know I’m pretty…’

Seo-rin snorted and crossed the city.