Reincarnated User Manual

Chapter 284: Silleya (2)

“Your people might all die.”

Was it a threat? Or perhaps a persuasion? Yoru stared at Shiron with her mouth shut for a moment.

Of course, Shiron didn’t flinch under her gaze.

Rather, he was in the position of ‘A’, while Yoru was in the position of ‘B’.

Understanding that staring was the only thing she could do, Shiron slightly opened his mouth.

“What you should be doing is not stare but start spilling information quickly.”

“…Die? What kind of nonsense is that?”

“Do I have any reason to lie to you at this point?”

“Showing up out of nowhere, the first thing you say is a threat, so yes.”

“From what you’re saying about information and all, it seems you want to know where my people are, but that’s not happening. I’ll handle my own affairs.”

“You’re acting more like a domesticated dog than handling anything.”

“…I said if anyone dies, it’s by my hand. Hey! You say something too!”

Yoru shouted at Lucia. She thought Lucia might contribute something to the conversation, but Lucia had remained silent, holding her breath since earlier.

“Lucia, have you made some kind of pact with this guy?”

Shiron gazed at Lucia with a serious face.

“N-no! We haven’t made any deals! Hey! Why are you dragging me into this?! Now it sounds like I’m some kind of traitor!”

“I’m the one moving, and you’re the one monitoring me to make sure I don’t do anything stupid. We reached that kind of agreement. There’s a sort of understanding between us.”

“……”

Shiron barely swallowed the sigh that was about to escape.

As he feared, the identity of the [Savage Slayer] he had been searching for all this time was Lucia and Yoru.

‘If only they had informed me earlier…’

His head throbbed, and irritation surged within him, but Shiron shook off his cloudy thoughts.

Earlier, Yoru had mentioned the time when Shiron got shot in the past, which made him think keeping Lucia and Yoru close was probably a bad idea.

The outcome hadn’t been good, but in her own way, she had tried to be considerate of Shiron. Sorting out right from wrong would come later. For now, it was time to focus on Yoru.

“So, are you refusing to answer?”

“…Didn’t you hear me? The matter of whether my people live or die is my responsibility.”

Yoru turned her gaze toward the window. The scenery outside had already shifted from the city to the outskirts.

“Hold the leash however you want. Beat me if you like. But I won’t yield on this.”

“You’re quite unaware of your position.”

“…Hmph!”

“Fine. Do as you please.”

Shiron said as if he were backing off. Yoru let out a cheer, but her face stiffened at his next words.

“I’ll lock you up in solitary and treat you like a dog for the rest of your life.”

“…What?”

“Yes, maybe I should even take you in as a sex slave, where you can spout all kinds of curses.”

Shiron sneered as he stared at Yoru. Her body recoiled at his blatant gaze.

“What are you talking about?! People will die, I’m telling you! If you don’t cooperate with me, many people could die!”

“Why do I care? Whether people die or not.”

Both Yoru and Lucia looked at Shiron in shock.

‘What is he even saying? That he doesn’t care if people die?’

[Hero, what are you saying?! Are you really going to abandon the people?!]

Even Latera, who had been watching silently, burst out.

Wasn’t Shiron trying to walk the path of a hero, clearing away his past sins? His words now were in stark contrast to his actions up to this point.

“……Bastard.”

Yoru’s voice trembled. She had thought that despite what he said about all her people dying, he was a good person who valued life.

Twice he had spared her life, telling her to live a good life, so she had believed he was a great person.

Yoru’s soul, as she looked at Shiron, was filled with shock and disappointment.

“Bastard? No, the bastard here is you.”

Shiron sneered contemptuously at Yoru.

“What?”

“A dog that bares its teeth at its master without knowing its place, isn’t that what you are?”

“First, I’m treated like a savage, now like a dog—”

“No. You’re worse than a dog. An insignificant creature that doesn’t even know who’s in charge, trying to negotiate when your life is already in my hands.”

Tsk—

The sharp sound echoed in Yoru’s ears. Her tightly clenched fist was wet.

In the carriage, silence reigned.

Neither Yoru nor Shiron, nor even Lucia, could open their mouths.

‘Shiron is going to abandon the people of the Empire? That can’t be true, right?’

It was a confusing situation. Though it seemed like a pointless battle of wills with Yoru, if you listened closely, Yoru’s heart was pounding, while Shiron’s heartbeat remained calm and steady.

It wasn’t a lie, nor was he tense.

Shiron genuinely didn’t care how many people died.

But even so, Lucia remained silent.

Normally, she would have burst out in frustration, but unlike Yoru, Lucia had the sense to understand her situation.

Lucia knew that no matter what she said, nothing would change.

[Hero.]

Latera broke the silence.

[Do you really not care how many people from the Empire die? What about your achievements?]

Clatter—

[If it continues like this, the Cardinal and the Emperor will be disappointed.]

‘…We’re here.’

The carriage came to a stop. Shiron adjusted the leash and stepped out.

“Cardinal, as you may have heard, we’ll have to handle this ourselves.”

“No, no. This is the duty of the knights and the Bureau of Public Safety. Please don’t burden yourself.”

Deviale clicked his tongue in frustration. But he respected Shiron’s choice. The hero’s duty was to save the world, but inevitably, small things had to be sacrificed along the way.

The higher your position, the less you could tend to the complaints of those below. As a cardinal, Deviale understood Shiron’s reasoning.

With the leash in hand, Shiron walked into the mansion grounds. After a short walk, they reached a secluded storage-like space.

Next to it stood the elf mage they had seen earlier.

“This is where you’ll be staying. Don’t even think about escaping.”

“…Do you really not need my cooperation? There are going to be more terrorist attacks. There are many infiltrators in the Empire, and my father is—”

“If you don’t want to stay here for life, you can bite your tongue and end it yourself.”

Shiron opened the door to the storage room. A dizzying magic circle unfolded around them, and a torrent of mana poured out.

Yoru’s face filled with despair. This man truly intended to imprison her here for life.

Thud- Thud- Thud- Thud-

‘Three, two, one…’

Shiron counted Yoru’s heartbeat and gestured.

“Go inside.”

“I-I’ll talk!”

Yoru shouted, squeezing out her voice. Lucia flinched in surprise, while Shiron tilted his head.

“What are you going to say?”

“I’ll tell you everything! Everything I know. Where my people are, where my father is, everything!”

“If you were going to give in so easily, you shouldn’t have resisted in the first place.”

Shiron lightly tapped Yoru’s tearful face. Yoru blushed with a massive sense of shame.

“Lucia.”

“Y-yes?”

“She stinks. I’ve left the annex vacant, so take her there and get her cleaned up.”

“…Ah, okay.”

Lucia took hold of Yoru’s leash and headed for the annex.

Lucia tossed Yoru’s dirty, blackened clothes into the laundry basket.

Drreureuk-

The bathroom door opened, and thick steam billowed out.

As expected, the bathtub was already filled with hot water.

‘Did he foresee this or something?’

Feeling an increasing sense of trust, Lucia turned around.

“Hey.”

There stood Yoru, naked, with a vacant expression. It felt a bit awkward to have a conversation in such a state, but her expression was that of someone who had seen the end of the world, like an old person who had lived through everything.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

“Was the emotional shock too much for her?”

Even Lucia, who had built a significant bond with Shiron, was surprised. So it wasn’t unexpected that Yoru, who had been hostile to him, would be in such a state.

No matter how hard one struggled, the reality was that they were still in someone else’s grasp.

Relentless mockery and contempt continued.

She was dragged somewhere without warning, pressured to speak up about what she hadn’t revealed, and threatened, as if her circumstances didn’t matter at all.

Even her strength was useless.

Even her defiant bravado, close to a tantrum, didn’t work.

“…Hey.”

Lucia now felt sorry for Yoru.

“Don’t let your pride get too hurt.”

“……”

Yoru gritted her teeth and turned her head.

“Shiron’s smart, strong, and handsome. Apart from his slightly strange personality, it’s hard to find someone that perfect, right?”

“What are you trying to say…”

Though her voice wavered with tears, Lucia ignored it.

As someone from the same Silleya background, as a fellow fool, she knew what it felt like to face an unfair situation when lacking knowledge.

She wanted to comfort Yoru like a senior in life, but Shiron was waiting outside, so there wasn’t time to hesitate.

“I’m saying let’s just get through this smoothly.”

Lucia grabbed the shower hose and soap.

“Here, this is called soap. When you rub it, it makes foam, and when you apply it to your body, it gets rid of dirt.”

“…”

“And this is a shower valve. Turn it to the left for hot water, and to the right for cold water…”

“We have those in our village too! Do you really think I’m some kind of savage?!”

“…Then wash yourself.”

‘Well, 500 years have passed, so it’s about time for modern technology to reach them.’

Lucia soaked herself in the warm water. Yoru, without even wetting her body, just stepped into the bathtub.

“Hey, darkie.”

“…What.”

“Do you want to die?”

“……”

“Get out of there now, while I’m still being nice.”

Splash—

Biting her lip, Yoru got out of the tub and wet her body again.

“Good, that’s better.”

Lucia soaped up Yoru’s body, cleaning her thoroughly.

Late Evening, A Room in the Annex.

Shiron carefully examined the letters written on the paper.

The handwriting wasn’t neat, but it was barely legible.

It contained information about the infiltrators within the Empire, written by Yoru.

“Two hundred seventy… that’s a damn lot.”

Shiron glanced at Yoru, who was sitting across from him. She no longer looked dirty, and instead of her tattered blouse, she was now dressed in light pajamas.

“How many of them have you killed so far?”

“…Thirty.”

“And how many have you saved?”

“Around… a hundred…”

Yoru obediently responded.

“So you’ve only dealt with half of them so far.”

“…There was no other way. It’s easier to deal with the ones who blend into the outskirts first.”

“…”

“If they’re hiding in banks or government offices, that’s one thing, but the ones mixed in with the knights or the cops, they know how to look out for themselves, so there’s no need to rush.”

“They’ve really hidden themselves in every nook and cranny.”

Shiron let out a deep sigh.

With so many spies hiding in the Empire, it was a wonder no major incident had occurred yet.

It was hard to tell if this was due to sheer luck or if the Empire’s security was so tight that even infiltrators couldn’t act openly.

Yoru cautiously glanced at Shiron, whose face looked grim.

“But what’s written there is only part of it. Even now, trained infiltrators are still crossing the border.”

“This much is enough.”

“…Enough? What do you mean?”

“You don’t need to know.”

Shiron cracked his neck a few times and headed toward the door.

“Get some sleep. I’ll wake you when I need you.”

Bang— The door shut loudly, and the lights went out.

“…Jerk.”

Yoru threw herself onto the bed and pulled the blanket over her head.

Special Affairs Office of the Bureau of Public Safety.

Berta alternated her gaze between the letter that had just arrived and her junior colleague sipping coffee.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a letter that arrived for you this morning, senior. It’s from someone at the Sky Knights. They had urgent business, so they just dropped it off and left.”

“Sky Knights?”

Normally, the knights and the police belonged to different groups and operated in separate domains, so there were few points of contact between them. However, Berta sensed something unusual.

After all, the Sky Knights were managed by the family of that fearsome young lord.

It wasn’t common for a grand noble to personally contact someone as low-ranking as a police superintendent. Berta cautiously broke the seal of the letter.

As Berta skimmed the contents of the letter, her expression darkened.

“…?”

“What does it say?”

Her junior colleague approached Berta with a friendly smile. But suddenly, Berta began crumpling the letter in her hands.

“Senior?”

“…Miley.”

“Yes, senior?”

“That… never mind.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

The blonde woman, her hair braided to the side, asked playfully, but Berta pushed her face aside, ‘as usual.’

“Forget it. It’s 11:30. What’s on the menu today?”

“…Ugh, eel jelly and… some rye juice… Shouldn’t we go on strike for this?”

Berta, who had been frowning, put the crumpled letter into her pocket.

Meanwhile, her junior colleague, jokingly reciting the menu…

‘Why does it have to be…!’

“…Let’s eat out.”

She wasn’t from Rien.