Reincarnated User Manual

Inside the room across.

Lucia sighed softly at the sight of Latera’s sullen expression.

“I don’t like that little kid.”

“The little kid… are you talking about Siriel?”

“Yes! That kid whose head hasn’t even filled with blood yet!”

Who’s calling whom a little kid? Lucia felt troubled looking at the girl who was a whole head shorter than herself.

‘I didn’t expect their relationship to be good…’

The discord between Siriel and Latera.

It was clear to Lucia that Siriel wouldn’t just stand by when Latera clung to Shiron like a leech.

Latera has been waiting for the next great hero for hundreds of years, so she naturally sought some kind of closeness. Siriel, on the other hand, found it disagreeable that a girl she’s never seen before was clinging to her brother, whom she would not hesitate to break her body to protect.

‘It’s right for me to settle matters with Latera.’

Thinking of Shiron, who would be dealing with Siriel, Lucia took out a box of snacks from her bag and opened the lid, offering it to the still sullen Latera.

“Want some snacks?”

“…Are you treating me like a child now?”

“It’s not like that. It’s delicious. Just try it.”

“No thanks. I’m not in the mood.”

“Ah, no need to be so fussy.”

The moment Latera turned her head away, Lucia, with a grin, grabbed Latera’s chin. Unable to resist, Latera’s chin slowly opened, and a sweet cookie slipped right in.

“Gulp…! Gulp! Mmph!”

“See, you eat well. What a good child.”

Worried that Latera might choke, Lucia brought her some water and patted her back as she coughed. After hurriedly drinking the water, Latera looked at Lucia with teary eyes.

“What are you doing right now?”

“Just eat it and cool down, okay?”

“I’m not a child, you know. And I wasn’t even angry.”

“You were angry, what are you talking about…”

Lucia clicked her tongue and stuffed a snack into her mouth. The sweet and slightly painful texture spread throughout her mouth. Lucia felt a small happiness and her mind calmly settled down.

“Eat a lot while you can. You won’t be able to enjoy such things once you return to Rien.”

“You’re changing the subject too abruptly.”

“…Well, you were trapped alone in an alternate space for 500 years, weren’t you? Then, you couldn’t even enjoy such snacks, let alone anything you wanted?”

“…That’s true.”

“Right? So, I think it’s better not to waste your emotions and just enjoy the snacks. I had regrets about not indulging in my previous life, you know?”

“…”

“After reincarnating in this body and first arriving in Rien, that’s when I truly realized how many delicious things there are in the world.”

Lucia chuckled, recalling her dark past. Latera felt her previously heated head cool down.

A soul tinged with a gloomy and murky color.

Although Lucia was laughing, her soul was not. Then, Latera stopped being sulky and instead, clasped her hands modestly. Lucia patted Latera’s head.

“When I was a child, not now, Shiron would often feed me sweet snacks when I got angry or flustered. So, I gave you snacks as a way to tell you to cool down.”

“…”

“And you know? Siriel is quite a good kid. She crosses the line sometimes when it comes to Shiron, but she really did play an active role without sparing her own body this time.”

“Why that little kid again…”

“Please, understand as an adult who’s 500 years older. Despite how she looks, Siriel is still 16. She’s young.”

“I told you I wasn’t angry.”

“Then, that’s good.”

Lucia casually ignored Latera’s gaze and popped another snack into her mouth. Then, for a moment, the corners of Lucia’s mouth began to twitch slightly.

‘Did I just… sound a bit preachy?’

Although she didn’t play a major role in the battle with the guardians, she felt proud that she had maintained harmony among her colleagues through maturity rather than fistfights.

Lucia giggled, savoring the sweetness of the snacks.

A soul starting to shine brightly.

Latera blinked at the sight of Lucia’s brightening soul.

‘She’s suddenly happy?’

From bearing a soul that seemed like it would perish from hardship to now being as joyful as a child with a new toy, Latera was baffled by the sudden shift in emotions. A thought suddenly struck her.

“So, is Miss Kyrie going to lead a leisurely new life just like this?”

“Huh…? What do you mean?”

“It’s just, it seems to somewhat match the reason Miss Kyrie hasn’t revealed her identity.”

Latera moved closer to Lucia and tilted her head, looking curious.

“I’ve been thinking a bit. Maybe Miss Kyrie, because of the hardships in the past, doesn’t want to take on the hero’s duty in this reincarnation?”

“Hmm… Then, doesn’t it seem like I’m forcing Shiron to do something I don’t want to do?”

Lucia scratched the back of her head, feeling awkward.

“I’m assisting Shiron by his side right now. It’s not quite right to say I’ve completely pushed it onto him, is it?”

“…Isn’t it more like you’re living in seclusion, hiding your identity because you’re worried Shiron might get into serious trouble… secretly helping out and feeling proud of it like a voyeur?”

“…No.”

Lucia firmly denied it.

At the same time, she doubted her ears. Voyeur? What kind of bizarre word is that? The word ‘voyeur’ did not fit at all with enjoying tea and snacks with a distant sentimentality.

“What do you mean by voyeur? Are you describing someone like a pervert?”

“Pervert? It’s just my personal impression, nothing more.”

“The term voyeur is distasteful. How can you use such a vulgar word…”

“But, just as before, the way Miss Kyrie treats Shiron, it looked no other way.”

“No other way as in?”

“Well, even when moving Shiron here, under the pretext of changing his clothes, you were touching him like a pervert, fiddling around…”

“Yikes! Yikes!”

Lucia screamed out loud.

“You kid, what?! Stop talking nonsense! Wh-who ever touched around?”

“Is that so?”

“It’s just… there was so much dust stuck to his body when changing his clothes! Shiron is someone who takes baths morning and evening every day… Anyway, that’s it!”

“Um… I wasn’t really going to say anything. Why are you so startled?”

“Because you’re making baseless speculations and describing someone like they’re a pervert!”

Lucia spat out her defense, feeling the hot blood rush to her neck. Latera sighed, as if letting off steam.

“Let’s leave that aside.”

“…What, you have more to say?”

“The story isn’t over yet, Miss Kyrie.”

Latera fanned herself and crossed her legs.

“Are you going to continue not revealing your identity?”

“…”

Lucia couldn’t answer immediately. The reason Lucia couldn’t reveal her past life as Kyrie was not only because of the enemies still alive from her past but also because of the overwhelming embarrassment.

With her current strength… she was powerful enough to possibly have a good fight one-on-one with Yuma, but that didn’t mean she could forget all the foolish things she had done until now.

Embarrassing memories were being updated in real-time.

Revealing her identity to Shiron was one thing, but Siriel and Seira were another problem. Siriel idolized Kyrie as an impeccable hero, and Seira, well… let’s just say their relationship was complicated enough to be painful to discuss.

It was neither the heroism Lucia wanted nor a happy life.

“Wasn’t Lady Seira a comrade of Miss Kyrie? If there’s no reason not to reveal your identity, wouldn’t it be better to tell her now and have a touching reunion?”

“It’s… because there is a reason I can’t reveal it.”

“What is it?”

Latera stuffed a cookie from the box into her mouth. Crunch, crunch. Maybe because of the blood rushing to her face? The sound of chewing the cookie seemed unusually loud. Lucia quickly racked her brain.

To find the optimal answer that wouldn’t tarnish Kyrie’s honor and wouldn’t break the current relationships.

“!”

At that moment, the perfect answer came to Lucia’s heated brain.

“Just as two suns cannot rise in the sky, the existence of a previous hero dims the current one.”

“…”

“I want to respect Shiron’s choice. He’s conscious of being far behind compared to me and Siriel since he can’t handle mana, and it’s pitiable to see.”

“So… you’re saying it’s ultimately for Shiron, not Kyrie?”

“Yes! That’s why I’m not revealing my identity. I’m sorry to Seira, but it’s okay not to disclose my identity to her. If Shiron knows I’m Kyrie, who knows what he might do.”

“…”

“So, maintaining my position as a comrade and acting as a strong supporter by his side is the right thing to do, don’t you think?”

“Um, if that’s the case…”

Latera nodded, looking at Lucia’s chest. Her soul was radiating strong positivity and happiness.

The next morning.

Shiron and his group observed the ruins of a building from a distance.

The ruined hotel had terrible sludge running down its walls, hardening into marks. Above it, bizarre monsters seemed to be opening the gates of hell, singing a requiem.

-Aaaah!

-Save me!

-Where is the Guardian Squad? Where are they?

Shiron pointed and asked Seira.

“What’s that?”

“Let’s see…”

Seira squinted, trying to interpret the hellish scene unfolding in real-time.

“I’m not sure. Brahham is a holy land with a powerful leyline emitting divine power. I wouldn’t think this possible, but this is the first time I’ve felt so much death…”

“That’s the spontaneous emergence of the undead due to a mass of deaths.”

Latera shrugged her shoulders, providing a clear answer.

“In the past, this phenomenon wouldn’t have occurred, but the source of divine power protecting this city has been destroyed, hence the tragedy.”

Latera glanced back, alternating her gaze between Shiron and Siriel. Shiron showed no particular reaction, but Siriel was sweating coldly, regretting that they should have saved a few more people.