Reincarnated User Manual

Chapter 281: Captured The Barbarians! (2)

Silence filled the spacious room.

There was no need to check whether the room was soundproof. Lucia trusted Seira’s skills, and she had her own work to do.

Lucia stared at Yoru, who was glaring at her with a fierce look.

‘As I thought, they do look alike.’

They had always met in dark places, so it had been hard to recognize, but now it was different. The hotel room was bright with chandeliers, and although chaos had ensued, Yoru was tied up in chains.

The Barbarian Princess, Yoru. She was prettier than the image on the wanted poster. Her large chest peeked through her blouse, and her long, white legs were slender enough to make even Lucia feel a sense of coolness.

Her raised eyes exuded a fierce aura, but her gaze was strangely seductive. Her predatory eyes were charming, and even though she wore no makeup, her bright red lips kept drawing Lucia’s attention.

‘…I used to look like that too.’

“Sigh…”

Lucia sighed deeply as she stared at Yoru. It might have seemed strange, but as she lowered her gaze to her own body, a deep sense of regret washed over her.

Her short, stubby frame. Her fierce eyes were the same as in her past life, but she was too short to project any real authority. No matter how much she tried to look intimidating, it felt like a small child trying not to be underestimated.

This had caused her endless trouble at the academy. Siriel, who was also a Prient and a noble lady, never faced such trouble, but when she thought about why she had to deal with such nonsense, the only answer was her height.

‘If only I were taller, even just 15 more centimeters…!’

The most important issue was the height difference between her and Shiron.

For the past 20 years, she’d had no real complaint about her short stature. If someone picked a fight, she could beat them up, and being short didn’t make her any weaker.

But now, Lucia’s short stature was creating an insurmountable problem.

When it came to kissing or… other intimate matters.

To kiss, Shiron had to bend down, and as a result, she couldn’t even take the lead in kissing.

And what about when they were being intimate? Due to the height difference, kissing during was impossible, and more often than not, she ended up flailing like a skewer stuck in the air.

‘It’s ridiculous.’

Dangling up and down.

‘If it were me from my past life, I could have done so much better with Shiron.’

Lucia blushed in embarrassment.

‘What’s with this girl? Blushing all of a sudden like that?’

Bound tightly, Yoru looked at Lucia in disbelief.

“What’s the matter? Got a spell on you?”

“…Ahem.”

At Seira’s call, Lucia cleared her throat.

“I was just lost in thought for a moment.”

Lucia shook her head and muttered. Now was not the time for idle thoughts.

The person before her was a terrorist threatening the empire’s security, and given that she held the title of princess, she probably had a wealth of information.

“You know what magic is, right?”

Lucia said, trying to set the mood.

“No matter how much of a fuss you make, it’s best if you behave, even if I take off the gag.”

“…”

Once she confirmed that Yoru wasn’t struggling, Lucia removed the gag. Yoru’s jaws were so strong that they had left bite marks on the black iron bit.

“Who the hell are you? Kidnapping me out of nowhere!”

Now able to speak, Yoru shouted angrily.

“And who the hell is this Kyrie you keep mentioning? Is it some secret group raised by the empire?!”

“I told you shouting wouldn’t help.”

“So what?! You expect me not to be mad after being treated like this?!”

“Really… You’ve got quite the temper.”

Lucia clicked her tongue and shook her head.

Was this how the Allied Forces felt 500 years ago when they saw Kyrie? Even though Yoru was tightly bound in chains, her aggression remained undiminished.

An overwhelming belligerence. Even though her life was in Lucia’s hands, Yoru didn’t seem to care at all.

“Is she just stupid, or is she really a barbarian with no manners?”

Lucia crossed her arms, resting one leg lazily, and gave Yoru a condescending look.

“Do you even realize you’re a terrorist? You should be grateful I didn’t cut off your limbs along with everything else.”

“…Threats won’t work on me.”

“Is that so?”

Lucia coated her hand with strong energy. Yoru clicked her tongue and furrowed her brow.

‘This kid is more dangerous than she looks.’

Lucia was a different kind of person from the people Yoru had encountered before. She would throw a punch hard enough to burst someone’s head and change the atmosphere in an instant, like flipping a switch.

‘…Strong too.’

As much as Yoru hated to admit it, seeing the long streaks of energy extending from Lucia’s fingertips left her no choice. Yoru prided herself on being the most talented among her peers, but this little girl, who seemed ten years younger, was effortlessly producing energy that put her to shame.

Feeling defeated, Yoru softened her stance.

“…If you were going to cut me, you would have done it already.”

“Hmph!”

Lucia exhaled sharply, withdrawing her energy. Now wasn’t the time to waste with a power struggle. The hierarchy had already been established, and by now, someone must have discovered the bodies.

“I need to know why you killed your own comrades.”

“That’s…”

‘Live righteously.’

The phrase suddenly echoed in Yoru’s mind. She quickly shook her head.

“…Do I really have to say it?”

“You were so eager to talk earlier.”

Lucia stared at Yoru, mocking her.

“What was it you said? Something about preventing a massacre, about stopping the ones who followed your father… Wasn’t that it?”

“…That’s right.”

Yoru admitted, feeling defeated. It wasn’t because of the threats; it was because she was running out of time.

“Father… The Great Elder is planning a massacre against the citizens of the Empire. I acted first to stop him.”

Lucia quietly listened to Yoru’s words, tilting her head as if hearing something absurd.

“That’s strange.”

“What is?”

“Isn’t terrorism just another form of massacre? You also killed citizens of the Empire, which is why you’re on the wanted list.”

“Aren’t they just having a faction war? She probably has her own faction and is trying to prevent her father’s faction from claiming more achievements.”

Seira shrugged, chiming in to support Lucia’s point.

“I… I didn’t commit a massacre.”

“What nonsense are you spouting? Don’t you remember shooting at Shiron?”

“That man was acting on the Emperor’s orders. What I’m talking about are outsiders. In other words, I don’t indiscriminately kill civilians.”

Yoru met Lucia’s gaze, unfazed by guilt. She was fully aware that she was telling the truth.

“You even destroyed an entire hotel recently. The people inside weren’t civilians?”

“I can say for sure. Those people were not civilians. They were influential figures who had come to curry favor with the new emperor.”

“Then what about the hotel staff? They were just workers earning their wages.”

“Do you not understand the concept of minimizing casualties?”

Yoru glared at Lucia in frustration.

“Then let me ask you this. Influential people like them have many subordinates and are obviously well-guarded. Could you really just pick one person to kill? Besides, the entire hotel was rented for the coronation, according to the intel.”

“What an excellent self-defense.”

“Elf, stay out of this. Don’t meddle in human affairs.”

“…Such arrogance from a young brat.”

Seira massaged her forehead. It had been a while since she heard someone talk like that. Even though elves had been revealed to be a subspecies of humans for centuries, Yoru’s barbarian roots showed in her attitude.

“This is no different from war.”

Yoru addressed Lucia, who seemed to be considering her words.

“For decades, the Imperial knights have killed our people. Are you going to blame them for that?”

“…Are you trying to justify murder?”

“I’m not justifying it; I’m explaining our position.”

“…”

“There’s a difference between massacring civilians to flaunt our existence and killing the leaders of forces that oppose us to convey our intent.”

Initially, everyone shared Yoru’s perspective, but as more unseen hands began to manipulate events, more people adopted extreme views. Even Yoru’s father, [Great Elder Gaijin], was no exception. The events on the Great Plains had ignited his fury like a lit fuse.

Yoru clenched her teeth and continued.

“If it were just about killing, I wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble to come to the capital. I could have easily slaughtered civilians along the borders. Why would I bother coming all the way here?”

“…That sounds like plausible nonsense. Almost convincing.”

“Think about it. If I intended to massacre civilians, why would I have killed my own people?”

“Because you’re a crazy murderer?”

“Sigh… Just let me go.”

Yoru sighed in exasperation, a puff of mist escaping her lips as her frustration reached its peak.

“How ridiculous. Now you’re just flat-out asking to be let go.”

“I’m telling you, warriors are coming as we speak. If you care about the Empire, you should let me go.”

“You keep asking to be released, but no matter how many times you say it, I won’t let you go.”

“Then come with me! If you don’t trust me, keep me by your side and watch me!”

Lucia turned her gaze from Yoru to Seira.

“Is there a spell to extract memories?”

“Hey!”

“Hmm…”

Seira pondered for a moment before tapping Yoru’s head with her staff.

Dozens of magic circles appeared in the air, and with a sound like a drum being struck, the spell shattered.

“Her magic resistance is too high. Mental interference won’t work.”

“…Should we kill her then?”

“I do know a curse that makes a very durable dog collar. How about that?”

Seira glanced warily at the flustered barbarian.

---

Late at night, in an alley.

A yellow tape blocked citizens’ access to an alley near Central Station. Uniformed officers bustled around, while onlookers gathered to watch the commotion.

“What’s going on?”

“I heard there was a stabbing at an inn.”

“It’s scary to even go out at night.”

“Sigh.”

Click.

Berta sighed and closed the window. She then glanced at the paper handed to her by her subordinate as she listened to the report.

“…Third floor, 222-3 Central Avenue. Three bodies were found, all stripped naked, with two stab wounds to the chest, and one had its head severed.”

“I can see that.”

“But we can’t identify them. Their fingerprints aren’t registered, and the IDs they had were all forged.”

“Of course.”

Berta rolled the papers into a bundle and tapped her head with it.

If it were a simple murder case, she wouldn’t have been dispatched from the Special Task Force.

After the coronation, the higher-ups had become sensitive about illegal immigrants, and they didn’t consider it an overreaction for someone with Berta’s rank as Chief Superintendent to be dispatched.

And their concern wasn’t misplaced. Berta was convinced that whoever killed these people was far stronger than herself.

‘…Maybe I should’ve quit a long time ago.’

Holding her aching stomach, Berta thought of the man who had visited her office.

Although Shiron had grown much taller, the strong impression he had left as a child made it easy for her to recall his younger appearance.