Chapter 369

Chapter 369

Reincarnated User Manual.

Episode 369: Hora Mo Zenzen (8)

Early dawn at Dawn Castle.

Lucia rubbed her sleepy eyes and got out of bed.

She stretched and was about to jump straight onto the floor… but changed her mind and carefully crawled down from the mattress instead.

This was an act of caution for the sake of her life.

Yesterday, Yura suddenly announced her pregnancy. Yura was her close friend and irreplaceable companion, but at that moment, Lucia couldn’t help but feel a bit envious.

— How the hell does she even lay eggs? I mean, I have a separate hole for pooping, a different one for peeing, and another one where dicks go in and out. I don’t have a cloaca!

Of course, Yura herself looked utterly confused about the situation, but regardless, Lucia envied how Yura had gotten pregnant in just one try.

It was a simple, earnest wish—just the desire of a woman wanting to conceive. And she also hoped that her child and Siriel’s child, Elise, and Viktor and Louise’s children, Ubix and Fiore, would be close in age so they could all grow up as friends.

‘Yuma’s due date is approaching soon. Seira and Yoru haven’t announced anything yet, but if possible, wouldn’t it be nice if we all had kids around the same time?’

Well… in any case, that would be at least five years from now. For now, Lucia had to focus on the first step—getting pregnant. And so, she made her way toward the farthest room on the third floor where Shiron was staying.

Squelch! Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!

As she descended the frost-covered stairs and walked down the quiet hallway, a familiar sound that had been echoing for days filled the air.

— “Young Master… I’m going to die…!”

— “Hiiiik…! Hiiiiiiiik!”

— “Next.”

— “Kyaaa! Young Master, you’re so powerful!”

— “Water. I’m thirsty.”

— “Young Master, I’ll bring you water!”

— “You crazy bitch! I’M bringing him water!”

— “Encia! Go stand on your hands somewhere!”

— “Young Master! Please replenish your fluids with my breasts!”

— “Yuma, that’s not fair!”

— “I need to use the bathroom…”

— “I… I’ll be your toilet! Please go on my face!”

— “Get lost, you freak! That’s not a toilet, that’s just public urination!”

— “Young Master! You can go directly inside my ass!”

“…No hope today either.”

Lucia, pressing her ear against the thick door, pouted her lips.

It seemed she wasn’t the only one in Dawn Castle who wanted to have a baby.

As a result, Shiron was spending almost every day entangled with the maids, to the point where even basic bodily functions were taken care of in the room.

‘Yuma aside… is he seriously planning to impregnate all thirty of them?’

It wasn’t a room where you couldn’t leave without having sex—it was a room where you couldn’t leave unless you got pregnant…

Feeling a bit intimidated, Lucia turned around.

‘Well, it’s not like today is my only chance.’

She could have barged into that flesh jungle and cut in line, but she didn’t particularly feel like it. She had a bit of sympathy for the maids.

They couldn’t freely walk around the outside world, but Lucia could stick to Shiron like a leech for the rest of her life.

Since Shiron was now living as a person, not a hero, he’d be spending more time in society than before.

The maids were aware of that, so they were determined to wring him dry while they had the chance.

Having turned away, Lucia instead headed toward the castle’s library.

She almost instinctively walked toward the training grounds, but as mentioned earlier, she was actively trying to conceive.

And for the sake of the baby that might already be inside her, she decided to engage in prenatal education instead.

Creeeak—

She carefully opened the door, and the scent of old books wafted through the air.

She suddenly recalled the first time she met Shiron.

Back then, Shiron had been a mischievous ten-year-old. Now, he had grown into the most handsome man in the world, but looking back, even that little Shiron had been quite cute.

Granted, Lucia had mercilessly beaten that kid up at the time… but in any case, she had matured enough to shower him with affection now.

“This place is just the same.”

Even after over a decade, the library hadn’t changed.

The maid in charge of managing the books was currently too busy gasping and clinging to Shiron’s waist to do her job, but the placement of the books, the arrangement of the tables, and the rustic, elegant atmosphere remained untouched.

Feeling a wave of warm nostalgia, Lucia picked up a truly amazing book from the towering shelves.

Prenatal education was said to be about directing the mother’s energy in a beneficial way for the child.

If that was the case, then reading an amazing book that brought exhilarating joy would surely be the ultimate prenatal education tool.

Especially if she read it somewhere warm, basking in the sunlight—it would be perfect.

Humming happily, Lucia made her way to a special spot in the library, one that hadn’t changed even after a decade.

“Huh?”

Someone was already sitting there.

Who could it be? Was there really a maid in this castle who didn’t want to pant and sweat with Shiron?

“Trash?”

“…Trash? Are you referring to me?”

Lucia’s eyes met those of a young girl with neatly tied black hair.

She looked exactly like that trash, but unlike the scatterbrained fool she resembled, this girl had an air of elegance about her.

That meant she was someone else.

“…Ah, I apologize. I mistook you for someone else.”

Lucia quickly bowed her head.

The girl, Demodras, easily accepted the apology.

“I assume you were referring to the remnants of the Demon God.”

“Yes, that’s right. But you really do look just like them.”

“It seems I wasn’t the only one who inadvertently mimicked the ‘original.’ Our appearances must have overlapped.”

Demodras let out a soft chuckle and tapped the table.

In an instant, the black-haired girl’s form crumbled away.

From the rising black smoke emerged a tall, broad-shouldered young man with jet-black hair—Shiron Prient.

“A dragon…!”

Lucia’s eyes widened in shock.

“Oh? You recognize Polymorph magic? I thought humans these days wouldn’t know of such spells… Ah, but as a hero’s companion, I suppose it’s natural for you to be aware.”

“What’s your name?”

“Demodras.”

“…Whoa.”

“You seem quite surprised. Well, of course you would be. After all, I am the great dragon who left a massive mark on the battlefield 500 years ago!”

Now back in the form of a girl, Demodras puffed out her chest proudly.

Her refined aura clashed with her playful demeanor, but it couldn’t be helped.

The hero had slain the Demon God, she had regained her heart just days ago, and was in an excellent mood.

Well… at least she had been.

“Pfft!”

“…Why are you laughing?”

Demodras furrowed her brow.

Rumble—

Even as the Dragon Fear radiated across the surroundings, shaking even nearby humans, Lucia couldn’t stop laughing.

“Pff… Pffft!”

“Wait, you’re Demodras? I was wondering who the hell you were~”

“…Girl. Do you even know what a dragon is?”

“Of course, of course. Just a lizard… I mean, a creature that’s pretty good at magic, right?”

“…”

“And you know this too, don’t you? Taking on a form that the opponent fully trusts, slipping through the cracks in their heart, and striking from within—that’s the essence of Formless Strat—wait, Demodras-wuuung~!”

“…Who are you?”

Thud!

Demodras jumped back from the table.

“This is my chance!”

Thunk—

Lucia, in a relaxed manner, propped her legs up on the table.

“Heh heh… Wanna know?”

Gulp—

A cold sweat ran down Demodras’s cheek.

The sheer pressure radiating from Lucia had already shattered the Dragon Fear, completely taking control of the space.

‘Since when were there monsters like this besides the Hero?’

Standing before a dragon with that level of composure, her steadily growing aura…

Demodras, having a rough idea of her opponent’s identity, muttered under her breath.

“So it really is Blood Yuma. Of course, the Hero would have prepared a substitute.”

“…What the hell is she talking about?”

“I was so distracted by the constant squeak-squeak, ahh-ahh noises that I overlooked this… But of course, her skill in orchestrating sound waves hasn’t gone anywhere—”

“Nope.”

“…No?”

Ugh…

Lucia sighed deeply.

Why did it always turn out like this?

Every time she tried to reveal her true identity in a cool way, it always ended in an anticlimax.

Didn’t Yura call this a gotcha?

Yeah. If there was ever a gotcha moment, this was it.

A joke played by fate itself!

“I’m Kyrie.”

In the end, Lucia revealed her identity in a flat tone, already resigned to whatever reaction came next.

“Kyrie…? If you mean Kyrie, you must be talking about the Hero who defeated the Demon God 500 years ago?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m Kyrie… huh?”

“How is this possible? Kyrie was supposed to have died 500 years ago. Did you transcend time itself and return to this world?”

Wait—never mind.

Demodras’s reaction was exactly what Lucia had been hoping for.

A smug grin spread across her face.

“That’s right. I am the legendary Hero, Kyrie.”

“Oh… My God.”

Demodras grabbed his head as if to keep himself from fainting.

Now that was the kind of response Lucia liked.

“Kyrie. Were you a comrade of Shiron Prient?”

“That’s right.”

“I knew something was off. How could a mere youngling, just past his coming of age, wielding only a holy sword without even a shred of magical ability, have overpowered me in my slumber?”

‘…Ah, so he got absolutely wrecked by Shiron too.’

Even as Lucia thought that, Demodras continued his rant.

“Kyrie! You were Shiron’s swordsmanship teacher, weren’t you? So that’s where his strength comes from!”

“…Ahh. I really didn’t want this to get out.”

Lucia turned away awkwardly.

But beneath that false humility, her ego swelled to enormous proportions.

Shiron had always wielded a pure, honest sword without tricks.

Even when Lucia had tried to teach him more, he had left for Lucerne to study abroad.

In truth, her influence on his strength was minimal—barely even 10%.

But at this point, she was far too deep in her own delusion.

“This is a monumental story! A Hero from 500 years ago transcends time itself to save the world once more…!”

“Oh, wise dragon, second only to the Hero… you flatter me too much~”

Heh. Hehehe.

Her expression had melted into an uncontrollable, foolish grin, utterly failing to look humble.

And so—

She failed to sense the massive presence approaching them.

—————

“Are you ready?”

“I’m ready.”

“I’m ready.”

Siriel adjusted his wide-brimmed hat and pulled his coat tighter around himself.

Yoru, dressed in a cloak made of dragonhide, hefted her enormous sword onto her back.

Tap—

Upon confirming their readiness, Seira straightened the leotard that was starting to cling to her skin and gripped her staff.

[“This is horrible! I haven’t felt a presence this vile since the Demon God!”]

“Please… let them be safe.”

Future Seira furrowed her brow.

The snowstorm raging over Dawn Castle was thick with an overwhelming, foul energy.