Chapter 359

Chapter 359

Reincarnated User Manual.

Episode 359: With The Gods (1)

“Mm…”

A quiet street in the capital. Have you ever felt a sense of déjà vu while walking along the paved blocks?

Like when the atmosphere of the street suddenly turns eerie, the expressions of people around you darken, or there seems to be an increase in vagrants.

That was why Yura felt an inexplicable sense of unease. If Lucia, confidently leading the way, had bolted, Yura would have run without looking back.

“Uh… Are you sure this is the place?”

“Yeah. Maeve told me that if you keep walking straight along the 14th street of the commercial district, there’s no way you’d miss it.”

Yura was already familiar with who Maeve was.

Maeve Butterfield. A friend Lucia made at the academy, currently working as an apprentice at the most prestigious law firm in the empire.

When Yura first heard that, she couldn’t help but be baffled.

‘Isn’t this a fantasy world? I thought nobles just declared themselves innocent and defended themselves however they pleased?’

Of course, she didn’t say that out loud.

She still couldn’t believe there was a secret method to be with one’s beloved, but since Maeve was Lucia’s academy friend and a lawyer officially endorsed by the emperor, there seemed to be no reason for excessive doubt.

“Here we are!”

At Lucia’s sudden halt, Yura’s gaze lifted.

[Adult Department Store]

‘…What is this?’

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you coming in?”

“Huh?”

“Come in quickly. People are staring at us.”

At those words, Yura glanced back.

The passersby were looking at them with strange expressions.

A man in overalls. A woman carrying a bundle on her head. A gentleman in a suit. Even a beggar holding a tin can—every one of them was looking their way. When she made eye contact, they quickly averted their gaze!

‘What the hell is this?!’

Could this place be dealing with illegal goods? Lucia might be carrying a sword, but she looked like an ordinary girl. There was no reason for people to feel intimidated or nervous…

‘Still, since Maeve is a lawyer, it shouldn’t be a shady place.’

That was what she thought, but the suspiciousness of this store was the problem.

There were windows, but they were covered with curtains, so she couldn’t see what was on display. Just as a bad premonition crept up her spine, a rough hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside.

—————

The Imperial capital, Rien, was mostly flat terrain, but if you went to the outskirts, you’d find small hills and a river surrounding it.

Wasn’t there a saying about land backed by mountains and facing water being ideal? It was a good location.

Since the land was fertile, not only could crops grow well, but even herbs that consumed a lot of nutrients could be cultivated. There was also a vast forest nearby, perfect for acting freely without prying eyes.

“The emperor must really like the kid. Just handed over such a great piece of land like this.”

It took two hours by carriage to reach the capital, but that wasn’t a problem at all.

With teleportation available, and considering nobles often despised mingling too much with others, it was actually strange that Hugo’s estate consisted of just a mansion without any surrounding lands.

“And Shiron just accepted it?”

“Well, maybe the kid was being considerate in his own way.”

Seira sipped her tea leisurely as she spoke.

“Not that I don’t understand. The emperor has been through a lot. Suddenly revealing she’s actually a woman, on top of that, carrying a child from God-knows-who. Even if it were Franz the Iron-Blooded instead of Victor, he wouldn’t have been able to escape the ministers’ attacks.”

“So, did she receive a title?”

“She couldn’t refuse. You know that pioneer village in Mount Makal?”

“Yeah.”

“They decided to name that region ‘Prohan’ and appoint Shiron as its Viscount of the Borderlands.”

“…Is that a good thing? I thought they’d make him a duke since that’s the highest rank.”

“Wasn’t a Borderland Viscount a title given to people demoted to remote areas?”

Lucia started counting noble titles on her fingers. In history and etiquette lessons, she had learned that a duke was the highest-ranking noble.

It wasn’t a title given lightly. Since ancient times, dukes and marquises were almost always direct relatives of the sovereign.

Victor and even Louise had children with Shiron, so why was he only given the rank of Borderland Viscount?

“There’s no need to rush. In the end, the emperor’s only heir is Shiron’s child. What was the kid’s name again? Ubix?”

“Oh! I saw them too, they’re adorable. The other child was named Fiore.”

At Yura’s response, Lucia clapped her hands excitedly. Seira, however, glared at them with sharp eyes.

“But why did you two come here? Don’t tell me you’re here to lend a hand?”

Seira turned her head, pointing at the construction site behind them.

It had only been a day since the land was granted, so not much progress had been made. But the golems she had summoned had already cleared an entire stretch of forest before the ground even had time to cool.

They were cutting trees, digging wells, breaking, and removing massive rocks.

Lucia almost nodded at the thought that this place might become a newlywed home, but she barely managed to shake her head.

“We came here because we needed to talk about something that only you could understand.”

“…Is this about the past?”

Seira’s expression turned serious as she looked at Yura, who had been hesitating for a while now.

It had only been fifteen days since they returned from the Demon Realm. Even so, they hadn’t had the chance to share the deep conversation they had planned.

Seira had been busy trailing Shiron everywhere, and Yura and Lucia… Well, they had their own responsibilities keeping them occupied.

“Now that I think about it, we couldn’t really talk at the mansion because of Siriel and Madam. Maybe the emperor granting this land was a good opportunity.”

“…What do you mean?”

“We still have so much we haven’t talked about. Why Yura is still alive, how the Prient family came to be, what connection Yura has with the kid… Weren’t we going to discuss all that?”

“No?”

Lucia stared at Seira as if she was spouting nonsense.

Seira’s brows furrowed. If not that, then what on earth was so important that they had called her out?

“Well… We can talk about that later. There’s something more important right now.”

“And what is that?”

“Yura’s love life?”

Lucia flinched at Seira’s eyes, now filled with disdain. Blushing, she hurriedly hid behind Yura.

“N-no! If we talk about Yura’s love life, the past will naturally come up too!”

“You seriously…”

Seira took a deep breath, suppressing whatever she was about to say.

“Alright, then just tell me already.”

“…Can I really talk about it?”

“I’ve been curious about what’s really going on between Yura and the kid, so let’s get this settled now.”

“Uh, uh…”

As soon as Seira gave her approval, Lucia pulled out a purple bottle from her coat. At that moment, Seira’s eyes widened.

A lavishly decorated purple bottle. The liquid swishing inside was…

“Aphrodisiac.”

“As expected of you, Seira. You recognized it instantly.”

“What are you planning to do with this?”

“What else? We put Shiron and Yura in a room together, serve them some porridge laced with this, and wait until they have se—”

“Are you out of your mind?!”

Bang!

A fist filled with anger slammed against the table. Lucia flinched, startled, while Yura cast her a doubtful look.

“What? Why are you suddenly so mad?”

“Think before you speak! If you make someone take this… that’s r—rape!”

“…What are you even saying, Seira? Rape?”

Lucia tilted her head. Then, she scoffed and shrugged.

That insufferable smirk was a bonus.

“Yura and Shiron love each other.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“Sometimes you seem smart, but other times you’re just plain stupid.”

Lucia spoke with an annoyingly smug expression.

“Seira, has Shiron ever done something like rape?”

“He has.”

“He has? When?”

Yura’s eyes widened. Shiron? Committing rape? When?

In every intimate situation that guy had, Latera was present…

“Without my consent, the demon in my head…”

[Hey! Who are you calling a demon?!]

“Then what about a week ago?”

Just as Seira was bickering with her other self, Lucia clicked her tongue and waved a finger.

“A week ago. The sounds of your moans and the creaking bed springs from the annex are still vivid in my memory.”

“That was…”

“What, do you think I’m lying?”

“…”

“Seira, after rolling around like that, calling it rape is such an obvious lie. If you keep lying like that, you’ll start growing hair on your butt. Oh, wait, maybe you already have plenty.”

“You’re looking for a fight, aren’t you?”

Seira began drawing mana from her core. Meanwhile, Lucia couldn’t do the same—because Yura had pinched her side.

Silence.

Seira pressed her throbbing temples. Just how long was this pointless argument going to continue?

‘What am I even doing? Come to think of it, the kid used an aphrodisiac too.’

Of course, considering it was done for the future of the empire, it might be justifiable…

In the end, Seira conceded.

“Then let me just ask one thing. You already have the aphrodisiac, so why did you come to me?”

“Can we use it?”

“Do as you please. As long as it’s clear that they have feelings for each other.”

“…Ahem.”

Finally, Yura cleared her throat.

“This might be an inappropriate question. But you guys are the only ones I can ask about this.”

“What is it?”

“When you and Shiron did it… what did you wear?”

“…The clothes you gave me.”

Seira answered, avoiding eye contact.

Right now, she was wearing a slightly loose one-piece dress. Since the curse had weakened, she could use magic well again, but wearing such an outfit still felt a bit embarrassing.

“What, you didn’t wear any sexy lingerie?”

“…The clothes you gave me were already so insane that I didn’t need anything extra.”

“I see.”

Yura pulled out a notebook from inside her coat and jotted something down.

Seira’s gaze shifted toward Yura’s attire.

A coat that covered her entire body.

It was a warm spring day, so why was she wearing a coat? Just then, a bit of her skin became visible.

‘…What’s this about?’

“You didn’t use any… tools?”

“Tools?”

“You know, things that make it more… exciting?”

“My hands and feet were tied, though.”

“I see.”

Rustle—

‘What the hell is that sound?’

Seira started getting suspicious of the coat Yura was wearing.

—————

After entrusting the management of the granted land to Seira, Shiron headed to his next destination—Dawn Castle.

His reason was simple: he had to explain the remnants of the Demon God to Yuma and check on her well-being.

Naturally, a banquet was held for the young lord’s long-awaited visit.

Since the demons harbored a deep hatred for the Demon God, Shiron had worried about how they would react. But fortunately, they didn’t attack the remnants outright.

“This woman… Ah, so she’s the original form of the polymorph.”

The only one who reacted noticeably was Demodras, who had just awakened from slumber.

The execution of the Demon God had been postponed, but the subjugation was complete, so he no longer needed to remain dormant.

“Was the Demon God the second most trusted person to you?”

“Not exactly.”

“You have a complicated expression.”

“I’ll explain when I get the chance. I still haven’t sorted it all out myself.”

With that, Shiron returned to his quarters.

At the end of the Dawn Castle corridor—

The very room where he had passed out after being beaten by Lucia when he was possessed.

It seemed Yuma had been using the space as she pleased for a while, but now that Shiron was back, there were no traces of her left.

Yuma wasn’t so oblivious as to ignore the fact that he wanted to be alone.

“…”

Instead, there was another woman in the room.

A woman who looked exactly like a friend he had a love-hate relationship with in his past life.

The remnants of the Demon God.

She quietly approached and tugged at Shiron’s clothes.

More specifically—his waistband.

“Geez. Say something, will you? You’re making this awkward for me.”

“…Words. Not enough strength.”

“You can talk just fine.”

“…Hold me.”

“Do as you like.”

Letting out a deep sigh, Shiron didn’t push her away as she buried herself in his arms.

‘How did it come to this?’