Reincarnated User Manual

Chapter 260: Resistance (3)

Meanwhile, Hugo was clutching his head, trying to make sense of the immediate crisis.

The death of several knights and the disappearance of the empress.

And the whereabouts of a nephew who vanished, leaving only one leg behind.

“To think we have to withdraw the army during the expedition because of him.”

“Thank you for agreeing to such an absurd request.”

Hugo bowed deeply to the woman in front of him.

Margaret Versailles. A general who had been active on the front lines even before Hugo’s arrival to the empire. Her pointed ears were visible as she swept back her ash-colored hair.

“What.”

Margaret smirked, biting on a cigar.

The position in the great plains wasn’t just where Hugo was; thousands of troops were widely dispersed, each group with a leader, and convincing them all to retreat would have been impossible without an imperial edict.

But with Margaret’s help, Hugo’s argument gained substantial power.

Both Margaret, who had served as a core of the imperial army for a hundred years, and Hugo, who had been the empire’s greatest swordsman and a model for knights for twenty years, were able to push for a withdrawal during the expedition.

“However, you’ll have to bear the consequences.”

Margaret exhaled a thick smoke as she stared at Hugo. After all, the situation was serious.

The most esteemed swordsman of the Prient family had not taken any follow-up action even though the empress was missing.

This could easily be seen as a major incident, potentially construed as treason.

“If the empress doesn’t return, the relationship with Viscount Biscont and His Majesty will deteriorate, and your Prient could be seen as a traitor. Rumors will follow His Majesty for neglecting royal security… What else was there?”

“If it were Franz, he would behead the guards who were on duty to assign blame. And, he wouldn’t weed out but unleash monsters across the continent.”

“Yes, if it were the former emperor, that’s what he would do.”

Haha. Despite the grave situation, Margaret burst into cheerful laughter.

Speaking ill of the emperor’s father as a subject was a dishonorable and disloyal act, but Margaret was a veteran who had been defending the empire since the emperor’s grandfather was a baby.

That’s why she wanted to say this.

“But what if the empress dies?”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“No, having ordered the retreat, you and I are in the same boat. We must prepare for the worst.”

“…”

“Besides, wasn’t your nephew taken along? Shiron Prient, that tiny kid has grown up and is now greatly favored by the emperor.”

Margaret drew deeply on her cigar, creating a long trail of smoke.

“Your daughter is also betrothed and currently on the front lines.”

“I’d rather not talk about it now. Thanks for today.”

Hugo stood up with an uneasy expression.

“Hugo Prient. You might not realize it, given your capabilities, but not everything goes as planned in this world.”

As Hugo moved to leave the tent, Margaret spoke nonchalantly.

“A misstep could split the empire. Just some advice from someone who’s lived a bit longer.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

As Hugo left the tent, the pungent smoke followed him out. Outside, Glen stood like a statue with a sword in hand.

After dealing with Margaret, there was Glen. Hugo sighed deeply and approached Glen.

“Glen, I’ve told you many times that you need to be a strength for the children, why are you here?”

“I’m more worried about you, brother.”

“Still that talk…!”

Hugo clicked his tongue and turned his back on Glen. Unlike when dealing with others, Hugo’s voice involuntarily raised when facing Glen.

Walking the long procession, Hugo headed towards a wagon where he had organized his belongings earlier. Glen closely followed behind him.

“Glen.”

Hugo stopped and turned around. The wind of the plains swept through his now hairless head.

“I’m over fifty now. It wouldn’t be strange to hear ‘grandfather.’”

The Hugo that Glen faced looked the weakest he had ever seen.

“I could die soon without any regrets. But do you really think it’s right to value me more than the children?”

Hugo knew why Glen was acting this way.

Glen hadn’t said it out loud yet, but surely he had seen ‘a certain’ future because of it.

‘Surely it must be my death.’

If it were a future where Glen dies, he would isolate himself in the wilderness to avoid causing trouble, and if the children were to die, he would rush to the battlefield immediately.

That was Glen.

Hugo didn’t like Glen’s attitude, but he acknowledged his noble spirit.

So, Hugo couldn’t be harsh to Glen like in their childhood days.

But even if Hugo were to become violent, Glen had no intention of backing down.

“Then, brother, it’s better if you don’t get on the wagon now.”

This apostle could manifest powers even from afar. Now, when foresight wasn’t functioning…

‘I at least want to choose where I die.’

“Do as you wish.”

Hugo let the waiting wagon go and then sat down on a discarded box like trash.

His resolve was not something Hugo could stop.

Then, here, he would wait for his brother and the children to arrive.

In just a moment, as Siriel was about to blink, the air around her changed. Siriel slowly opened her eyes.

‘Where is this?’

Sticky and humid, filthy air.

“Not a cave…”

It was dark around, and though hard to see, Siriel guessed that this place was not a cave but somewhere more dangerous.

The magic in the air pricked her nostrils and made her body hair stand on end. Siriel quickly conjured a sphere of light into the air.

Whoosh-

The bright light that illuminated the darkness revealed a space that did not resemble a cave at all.

Above, below, the walls.

The walls, meticulously finished with purple tiles, evoked a labyrinth straight out of a story.

“Where is Lady Seira? And Lucia…”

Chak!

A sword drawn at incredible speed sliced through something. It was a spider-like monster that had rushed at her from beyond the reach of the light.

Crunch!

Siriel irritably stomped on the sprawled corpse.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

“Again, again! AGAIN!!!”

The bodies became as thin as sheets of paper, and the floor, unable to withstand the stomping, cracked and irritably spewed fragments.

She was once again unable to participate in a real battle.

“Are you doing this on purpose?”

Though there was no contact with Seira and Lucia, Siriel naturally thought that they were dealing with the apostle.

Exclusion.

Even the apostle had banished Siriel to the background of the story.

Thinking so ignited a fire in her chest and boiled the blood in her head.

But what was even more infuriating were the monsters, chak-! thoughtlessly hastening their own end.

She needed to find her brother as quickly as possible, but it was infuriating that she had to spend time escaping this place.

“…?”

Just then, a familiar scent wafted to her nose.

Not the tingling magic, not the damp, disgusting smell of mold…

A warm and strangely tickling scent.

“…Brother?”

Siriel’s eyes widened at a scent that couldn’t possibly be in this place.

She had thought about her brother, which might have caused her disoriented mind to hallucinate, but Siriel was convinced that the source of the scent carried on the breeze was Shiron.

Clutching her pounding heart, Siriel ran through the labyrinth.

For days, the labyrinth had no sun rising or setting, making it impossible to tell how many days had passed.

Thud-

Because of that, Louise was awakened not by a dazzling light but by an annoying sound. Around her, the corpses of monsters that she had slain exuded a potent magic, apparently dealt with by Shiron while she had slept.

As if confirming her guess, a one-legged young man stood before her.

Louise smirked.

Over time, her perception of the man inside her changed.

Initially a world-class troublemaker, when they first came to the labyrinth, he seemed like a bad person who deliberately acted grumpy.

And now, Louise felt that Shiron was quite a decent person.

Though harsh when she woke, pushing her to fight off monsters, when Louise could no longer move and fell, he would stay by her side without sleeping.

It was unbelievable.

It seemed like days since they had entered the labyrinth, and during the numerous times Louise closed her eyes, she had never seen Shiron sleep.

“Aren’t you going to say something when you wake up?”

Shiron said without turning around. He dusted off his buttocks and, as usual, picked up the coat covering Louise.

“Aren’t you sleeping?”

Louise felt a slight regret as she dusted off her buttocks.

“Ugh! Where is that stench coming from?”

Shiron backed away, making a fuss. Days without washing and covered in filth, Louise’s body was emitting a musty smell.

“You smell too!!”

Louise made a sad face at his blunt expression. A turmoil of emotions—regret, gratitude, and affection—exploded in her heart.

“And, come on! I’m worried about you, can’t you respond a bit?! You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? Deliberately being prickly!! Huh!!”

“Don’t shout, you’re spitting, and your spit smells. And get ready for battle. It looks like we need to start soon.”

“What are you talking about!! I definitely brushed my teeth yesterday…”

“Shh!”

“…”

“Get ready for battle.”

Shiron turned his back sternly.

Louise swallowed as she saw the cold sweat on the man’s neck.

She had never seen Shiron this tense before.

“…”

Shiron, with his sacred sword drawn, held his breath as he watched for a giant presence approaching.

And then, in an instant,

The darkness flashed with murderous intent.

“Dodge!”

“…!”

Shiron pulled Louise to the ground, embracing her. Louise clearly saw the terrifying bombardment pass over his back.

“Eek!”

She was shaken by the realization that she might have actually died.

Warmth spread from her lower body.

Normally, she would have just sighed in relief at having survived a near-death experience, but her body, pushed to its limits, had lost control of her mind.

“Get up!”

Shiron yelled at Louise, whose legs had given out, trying to get up himself.

Just as he felt the next flash of light, he supported himself on his knees.

Wobble—

Shiron’s body lost balance. His prosthetic leg below the knee had burnt black and crumbled.

[Hero!!]

“I know!”

Shiron pulled out Hesed’s Shield from his belongings, a magical equipment that nullified long-range attacks at the cost of the user’s mana.

Shiron extended the shield towards the incoming light.

Boom!

Despite nullifying it, an unimaginable shock transmitted through his fingertips. But more threatening than that was the sensation of a chunk of mana disappearing from his dantian.

Usually, he diligently increased his mana capacity to use Hesed’s Shield, but the power of the black pillar raining down on him was menacing.

‘Blocking isn’t the best strategy.’

They needed to get out of here quickly. Shiron, holding the shield, grabbed Louise’s collar with his other hand.

Even now, mana was being rapidly depleted. He needed to leap to the side or back quickly…

Crackle!

Suddenly, sparks flew around where Shiron was standing.

Rumble!

The ground he was on thumped and sank. But amidst that, Shiron caught a faint voice.

“I thought so.”

The voice that emerged from the dusty haze was familiar. As soon as he heard the identity of that voice, Shiron felt all strength drain from his body.

“Thank goodness.”

A tearful Siriel burrowed into Shiron’s embrace.

“Sshh…”

The scent was several times more concentrated than usual. The overwhelming smell of sweat was dizzying.

“Ah.”

Siriel exhaled with a blissful expression. Though he should be filthy from not washing for days, Siriel seemed to enjoy the fragrance, drawing even deeper breaths…

In an instant, confusion crossed Siriel’s face as she looked up.

“Oh, brother?”

Siriel’s voice was the same. As if she had encountered something absolutely impossible, her pupils trembled violently.

“Did you pee?”