Chapter 356

Chapter 356

Reincarnated User Manual.

Episode 356: Return (2)

“Alright, let’s hurry up and depart.”

Clang!

A staff embedded with amethyst struck the stone floor. Countless magic circles appeared in midair and on the ground, and Shiron recognized them immediately.

Teleportation.

The coordinates connected from the Demon Realm to the imperial mansion were visible, but something felt different from before.

“What the? Why is this so big now?”

“There are more people going, aren’t there? Since six of us are traveling, the magic has to be grander and larger.”

“Wasn’t four the limit not too long ago? It’s barely been any time, and now it’s doubled…”

“Hmph. That’s because I’m here.”

Yura confidently pounded her chest.

“Remember the blessing I cast? I applied it to Seira.”

“What did you cast? Wrath and Indomitable… was there something else?”

“Great Sage’s Wisdom and Hyper Focus. With this, mana consumption doubles, but casting speed increases by 30%, and her core capacity expands by 1.5 times.”

“That so…”

Shiron narrowed his eyes at Yura. It wasn’t that he was particularly annoyed.

Yura showing off wasn’t anything new.

Back in their student days, he might have reacted and grumbled at every little thing. But he had already received an apology. There was no reason to bicker like a child over something so trivial. However—

The problem was that the person speaking was Yura.

‘Why do I feel so off about this?’

For the past fifteen years, the one who had accompanied Shiron on his adventures and aided him was Latera.

A long time if long, and a short time if short. But to Shiron, the duration didn’t matter.

If not for Latera, talentless Shiron would have never made it this far. She was his greatest benefactor, and his feelings for her were immense.

Even if Latera was actually Yura, he still felt her absence.

‘Yeah, if Latera were the one doing this, it would’ve been cuter.’

—Hero! Look at this! Aren’t the flowers in the garden so pretty?

—Hero! I’ve cast a blessing on you! You’re a bit stronger now. Even if you have strong regeneration, it still pains me when you get hurt, you know?

—Hero! Hang in there!

—Hero!!

As he became aware of her absence, her sweet, childlike voice echoed in his mind.

Of course, he was happy to reunite with Yura, whom he had thought to be dead.

But that didn’t mean he didn’t feel the loss of Latera.

‘It would’ve been better if Latera were the daughter and Yura were the mother.’

“Sniff.”

“Why are you suddenly sniffling? Is it because my status window is too amazing again?”

Yura patted Shiron’s back as he rubbed his eyes.

“I told you not to worry. You earned those points, and if you just say the word, you can use them anytime.”

“No, it’s not that.”

“…Then what is it?”

Yura tilted her head at his cryptic response, and Shiron let out a deep sigh.

“Latera… No, never mind.”

“What about Latera?”

“It’s nothing. No point in talking about it.”

“What? You’re making me curious for nothing…”

Yura pouted at his indifference. Then, after a moment—

“Aha!”

Her eyes widened as if she had realized something. She jabbed Shiron’s side with her elbow, making him squint.

“What’s with you now?”

“Don’t try to hide it. You miss Latera, don’t you?”

“…That’s not true. You are Latera. Latera was just you with lost memories. So what’s there to miss?”

“Come on, be honest.”

Yura chuckled, amused by his forced indifference.

Though she wouldn’t say it out loud, she had always thought that she was rather adorable as Latera.

The mansion’s elders adored her, and everyone she met had looked at her favorably, so her belief wasn’t unfounded.

“Don’t worry. You’ll meet Latera again soon.”

“Really?!”

“O-Of course!”

Shiron excitedly grabbed Yura’s shoulders. Seeing his honest reaction, Yura couldn’t help but smile, though her face reddened at what she was about to say next.

“I’ve already picked out a baby’s name.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“You, you and my baby will be Latera!”

“…Hah.”

‘Can we just leave already instead of indulging in this nonsense?’

Seira tapped the ground as she watched the two bicker.

While Shiron was talking with Aisha, she had been observing Yura, who had been staring at him all along.

Yura said she would explain later, but Seira didn’t need an explanation—she could already tell.

‘No way… So the lover she left behind in her hometown was just a little kid?’

An absurd thought.

It was far more plausible that Yura and Shiron had developed feelings for each other after surviving countless life-threatening battles.

However, Seira just couldn’t believe it.

Their interactions, their behavior—it was far too natural, too familiar. Even if they had been through hell together, that level of closeness wasn’t something that could form in just a year.

And considering time travel was involved, her suspicions only grew stronger.

But beyond that—

“Are you okay with this?”

There was something else that bothered her.

Seira turned to meet Siriel’s gaze.

“With what?”

She was smiling.

Normally, if another woman got close to Shiron, Siriel would become restless and agitated.

But now, she was simply watching the situation unfold with her hands clasped behind her back.

“It’s not really my place to say, but… are you seriously fine with this?”

“What, should I butt in and cause a scene?”

[Isn’t that what you usually do?]

The words almost left Seira’s mouth, but she held them back with sheer willpower.

Siriel let out a soft sigh as she observed her.

“Professor, do you still see me as a child?”

“Hmm… You do seem calmer than before.”

“Think of it as me having prepared for this for a long time.”

“Prepared?”

“More importantly, professor.”

“Hm?”

“…Between Yura and me, who are you siding with?”

Siriel smiled sweetly as she whispered.

Watching from the side, Yoru felt a chill run down his spine.

“…Siding? I’m not that petty.”

“So, you’re neutral?”

“Well, I suppose… No, I don’t want to get involved in this in the first place!”

“Of course. After all, Professor Seira said back then that she would never, ever develop any sort of relationship with my brother.”

“…”

“I still remember it. In the mana training room, when I was being immature and saying reckless things, you reassured me. You said he was only a protector, that there were no romantic feelings at all… Was that how you put it?”

“O-Of course!”

[Yeah, right. You enjoyed it just as much as he did…]

Future Seira scoffed.

Maybe she had just gone with the flow, but she had let him do whatever he wanted.

And just three months ago, she had even let her student rest against her bare chest for comfort.

Now she was pretending none of it had happened? Ridiculous.

“More importantly, Professor, shouldn’t we get going?”

“Huh?”

“The magic circle is starting to collapse.”

Siriel pointed at the flickering mana at the tip of her staff.

If they hesitated any longer, the spell would unravel, wasting all the mana that had been spent.

“Move it! We’re leaving now, so get over here!”

Seira called out to the still-bickering duo.

—————

Meanwhile, Glen and Eldrina were spending a delightful time with their granddaughter in the imperial palace.

“Oh, my… Sister-in-law, look at this!”

Elise would be turning one in just three months.

She had started walking.

Eldrina had watched her own daughter, Siriel, grow up, but experiencing it with her granddaughter felt even more special.

“Come here, my dear! Come to grandma…!”

“Gra… Grandma!”

Though she had always felt resistance to calling herself grandmother, in this emotional moment, it didn’t bother her much.

The sight of Elise toddling forward was so precious that both Eldrina and Glen were in a state of excitement.

They didn’t even have time to regret that Shiron and Siriel weren’t here to witness it. Instead, they were too moved by how Elise, even when she stumbled and fell, didn’t cry but merely teared up bravely.

“Who does she take after to be this adorable?”

“…Brother would have loved to see this moment too.”

Glen was just as touched as Eldrina.

Unlike Hugo, he was still a handsome middle-aged man and wasn’t yet used to being called a grandfather.

But seeing Elise’s soft baby hair beginning to grow, he couldn’t help but recall someone dear.

Those pure, untainted eyes.

That jet-black hair, unmistakably from Shiron.

The black-haired, black-eyed woman who had passed them down—

Glen could vividly picture what Elise might look like as she grew.

Irina Prient.

A frail woman who had spent her days confined to her bed, unable to leave, and who had passed away before Shiron was even old enough to remember her.

It wasn’t that Glen feared Elise would share Irina’s fate.

Elise was the daughter of the strong and resilient Shiron and Siriel. She was bound to be blessed with immense talent.

Glen could already envision her future as the greatest swordswoman on the continent, and the thought made his nose tingle with emotion.

‘…No, she doesn’t have to be a swordswoman. As long as she’s happy and lives a long life, that’s enough.’

Glen pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes tightly.

The thought of putting a sword in this precious child’s hands made him uncomfortable. He wanted to smack himself for even considering it.

Then, his mind drifted to his son, who had yet to return.

The family’s 500-year-old duty.

He selfishly wished for his son to be the one to finally bring it to an end.

—My lady!

Just then, as they were still admiring Elise’s antics, a frantic voice rang out from the nursery hallway.

Bang!

—“Waaahhh!”

Perhaps startled by the sudden door slam, Elise plopped onto her bottom and burst into tears.

Glen hurriedly scooped her up to soothe her, while Eldrina turned to the servant with a terrifying expression.

“What on earth is so urgent that you barge in like this?”

“Huff… He’s back!”

“Back…?”

“Sir Shiron has returned!”

Eldrina’s eyes widened in shock at the servant’s announcement.

Why now, of all times? And without any prior notice?

Shouldn’t there be a welcome party? They hadn’t prepared anything since they didn’t know when he’d return…

Her mind went blank.

For a moment, she felt the urge to scold him, but then she reminded herself—

This was Shiron they were talking about. A boy who had never cared much for formality.

It was nothing new.

And the more she thought about it, the more she felt sorry for him.

Just how exhausted must he have been to skip all the formalities and return straight home?

“Let’s hurry to the mansion.”

“Sister-in-law, what about Elise…?”

“Of course, Elise is coming too!”

“Huwehh!”

“Oh, grandma is so sorry, my dear!”

“I’ll prepare the carriage immediately!”

Even amidst the chaos, the servant quickly found his role.

Glen and Eldrina, flustered, rushed down the palace corridor—only to run into Louise.

“Mother? Where are you all rushing off to—”

“Shiron has returned!”

“What?! Th-Then I must— I must inform His Majesty!”

Louise barely managed to finish her sentence before dashing back the way she had come.

Naturally, Glen and Eldrina didn’t wait for her.

They boarded the carriage at once and rode straight to the mansion, holding Elise close.

It was their duty to be the first to show their daughter’s grown-up appearance to her father.

When Siriel had been a newborn, Hugo had always been away on expeditions, just like now.

Though he hadn’t been able to watch his daughter grow up in real time, he had confessed that each time he returned—every hundred days or every half-year—he was deeply moved to see how much she had grown.

Eldrina wanted Shiron to experience that same joy.

The joy of seeing Elise take her first steps was palpable.

Siriel had witnessed it after a hundred days, but for Shiron, it would be the first time he ever laid eyes on his child.

That would be an unparalleled moment.

“Ah, come here.”

For someone who had just returned from the Demon Realm, Shiron looked completely unscathed.

His expression suggested that the ordeal with the Demon God had concluded without issue.

“It’s been a while, Mother-in-law. Father, have you been well?”

“…I need to ask you one thing.”

But upon seeing who had returned with him, Eldrina’s expression hardened.

“Of course, go ahead.”

“Why are there more women now? And two of them, at that.”

“Ah, she’s not even human. And it’s complicated. They’re not new…”

“Hello, Mother! I’m Yura, Shiron’s wife! I saved his life, so please think of me kindly!”

Yura took this chance to jump forward.

She knew interrupting conversations was impolite, but war had already begun.

And in war, etiquette was as useless as a rusty sword. She acted without hesitation.

Of course, Eldrina had no way of understanding the situation.

‘Wife? Does that mean he found a new woman while he was away?’

It was clear as day that she was flustered.

Unable to process what was happening, she turned to Siriel.

“…Ah.”

Spit—

Her daughter spat on the ground with a murderous glare.

Eldrina’s vision spun, and before long, Glen had to rush to support her before she collapsed.