Reincarnated User Manual

Meanwhile, at the Prient mansion where Lucia was staying.

The weather happened to be lovely. Lucia was wandering around the sunlit estate.

The outside was teeming with beasts, and she worried they might invade the mansion, but fortunately, no such misfortune occurred.

Indeed, like the saying “even a rat’s hole gets sunlight eventually,” there was a way to survive in a ruined world.

‘…Am I using this phrase wrong?’

Anyway! Whether it was some method to repel the beasts or not, the sprawling estate was operating with a surprisingly minimal workforce.

Fifty knights tasked with regularly eliminating beasts.

Ten servants who took refuge in the mansion and acted as household staff.

Compared to Hugo’s mansion, which housed over a hundred knights and hundreds of servants, this was ridiculously small in number.

Perhaps land prices plummeted because the world collapsed? Lost in such idle thoughts, Lucia continued sparring without a clear grasp of reality.

This mansion had an unreasonably large training ground. Was it because Hugo and Eldrina weren’t here? Maintaining a garden in a ruined world seemed like a luxury.

Next to the training ground was a farm where vegetables were grown. Apparently, they handled everything from planting to harvesting themselves. The fresh vegetables served daily were of such high quality that they reminded Lucia of the flavors of her childhood home.

Compared to the nauseating meat from beasts, this was a rare delicacy in the world.

‘…Is this how people become vegetarians?’

Although Seira, an elf, had no qualms about eating meat, most elves were strict vegetarians. Five hundred years ago, Lucia couldn’t understand why they were so particular, but now, she was beginning to see their perspective.

‘If you can’t raise livestock, the only meat available is from beasts. If the first meat you tasted was disgusting, it’s natural to turn vegetarian.’

“…Hmm.”

Deep in thought, Lucia abruptly stopped walking.

‘But then, how long am I supposed to stay here?’

After escaping the fog and immediately fighting her future self, a week had passed since then.

Shiron still hadn’t come to find Lucia.

Not that they had agreed on a time to meet, but as far as Lucia knew, Shiron was always thorough in his preparations. Hence, she thought that staying somewhere safe would naturally lead Shiron to her. However…

A week later, she was starting to feel a bit uneasy.

‘…When will Shiron arrive? Is he still fighting?’

“Ah~ I wish I could fight alongside Shiron~”

Lucia spoke aloud to no one in particular. Though there was no one around to hear, talking to herself seemed to ease the emptiness in her heart.

“Well, it couldn’t be helped. I had to face my future self…!”

Whether she realized she was talking to herself, she exaggerated her tone to sound more confident.

“Thanks to me, Shiron survived.”

‘I did my part. Yeah, if Shiron comes to find me… I deserve to ask for a reward. After all, if I hadn’t stepped up, who would have stopped my future self? Seira is a mage, so she couldn’t, and that newbie Black Lion lacks experience. Only my perfect self could do it.’

Still, no matter how much she tried to remain cheerful, the loneliness wouldn’t fade.

Wasn’t Lucia someone whose spirit contrasted sharply with her steel-like body?

Her body was steel, but her heart was glass.

Before she knew it, a bead of cold sweat trickled down her cheek. This place was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

The future she arrived at after passing through the strange fog.

Would returning through the fog bring her back to reality?

As such thoughts ran through her mind, Lucia’s legs began to move again. Walking alone in a deserted clearing despite feeling so lonely seemed insane, even to her.

Searching for Shiron would be ideal, but if they missed each other along the way, it would be a disaster. Therefore, Lucia decided to head somewhere she could find someone to talk to right away.

“…Huff, huff.”

Catching her breath, Lucia looked up at the mansion.

She wasn’t looking for a servant. Although the future Siriel had gone on patrol, the future Lucia was still here.

She had an instinctive sense that only her future self could be trusted amidst the mysterious enemy apostles lurking somewhere.

Because she was the strongest.

If the strongest teamed up with the strongest, apostles and demons would be no problem.

Gulp-

“…It should be fine, right?”

Lucia nervously opened the mansion’s door. Was it because of her loneliness? Her actions were unusually cautious this time.

At that moment, Lucia’s eyes widened.

“?”

Beyond the heavy door, the servant who always greeted her was nowhere to be found. Expanding her senses to locate anyone nearby, she felt only one presence.

“Where is everyone?”

Even though ten people managed the mansion, had they all vanished, leaving only her future self?

Feeling increasingly uneasy, Lucia headed toward the lone presence she sensed.

The growing unease could have made her proceed cautiously, but Lucia already knew whose presence it was.

Her future self.

They had shared many conversations over the past week. Though the duration was too short to fully trust her, she was still her future “self,” wasn’t she?

As she continued down the corridor, a corner appeared. Lucia turned left without hesitation.

She walked straight, then turned right.

Finally, a staircase leading upward appeared.

Lucia climbed without hesitation again.

But…

The presence didn’t move.

“What’s going on?”

Her future self was a masterful fighter, even by Lucia’s standards.

She would know Lucia was approaching and would also be aware of the missing servants. So why was she staying still?

“Did something happen?”

Click!

Her footsteps quickened.

She had a vague sense that something was wrong. Not only were the servants gone, but her innate talent was sounding alarms, warning her of imminent danger.

This place was dangerous.

She needed to leave quickly.

“Waaah!”

Tears welled up in her eyes as she sprinted.

Even to herself, she looked pathetic, but there was no helping it.

This place was familiar yet strange.

She didn’t know when Shiron would come—or if he would come at all.

Suddenly, the mansion was empty, and her future self was rooted in one spot as though something was wrong.

Damn it. Now there was even a smell of blood in the air.

Lucia unsheathed Sirius and gripped the door to the presence tightly. She was terrified enough to want to collapse on the spot, but she had no choice but to fight…

Thunk!

A dagger flew through the open door, grazing her ear before embedding itself in the wall. A clear sign of hostility. Yet Lucia loosened her grip on Sirius.

“…Good thing it missed.”

Inside the door stood her future self, slumped against the wall.

Her limbs hung limp, devoid of strength.

“What… what happened?!”

Lucia rushed toward her future self.

The room she entered bore clear signs of battle.

Severed limbs, halved bodies, and shattered skulls of servants littered the floor.

The source of the bloody scent was them.

‘Did the servants attack her?’

That thought crossed her mind but was quickly dismissed.

The servants she had seen over the past week had seemed like good people to her.

Even in a ruined world, they hadn’t lost their smiles and had served the Prient family with utmost sincerity.

But that wasn’t the only thing she couldn’t understand.

Limbs hung limp on the floor. Upon closer inspection, there were deep cuts as if made with sharp objects. Their tendons had likely been severed, rendering them unable to move freely.

“…Ensure they don’t die, but render them immobile.”

There’s no way the servants could have inflicted such wounds.

“Suddenly, we were attacked,”

The future Lucia spoke, looking up at the shocked expression on Lucia’s face.

“Attacked? Then you killed the servants?”

“Yeah, I did. But after killing them all, my mind suddenly went blank.”

“Your mind?”

“All of a sudden, I was overwhelmed with rage, unable to control my fury.”

The future Lucia stared into space with unfocused eyes.

“I wanted to vent this anger on someone—anyone. And then you, who’s been hanging around with Shiron Prient, came to mind.”

“…”

“So I quickly immobilized them. But even then, my hands itched, so I ended up throwing a dagger at you. Sorry about that.”

“N-no! You don’t have to apologize!”

Clearly, something had happened. For someone as mentally and physically strong as Lucia to snap like this, something extraordinary must have occurred.

“Anyway, let’s get out of here! Yes, let’s go find Shiron. He’s a high-ranking priest, right? He can heal these wounds and even fix your head!”

With determination, Lucia tried to lift her future self.

“No, don’t carry me. Just leave me here.”

“Why? What’s wrong? Do you not want Shiron to treat you?”

“That’s not it.”

The future Lucia muttered weakly, struggling to keep her rising anger in check even as they spoke.

“Right now, I have this overwhelming urge to kill you. So don’t try to save me.”

“…Still—”

“No stills. If a fight breaks out now… ugh… I won’t be able to stop until I wet myself. And after I kill you, I’d probably drag my piss-soaked self to kill Shiron Prient next.”

No matter how different Shiron might be from the man she once knew, she couldn’t show such disgraceful behavior in front of him.

Taking a deep breath to suppress her fury, the future Lucia tilted her head and gestured toward the corner of the room.

“In the third compartment of the wardrobe, there’s a key. In the fourth compartment on the right, there’s a box. Open it.”

“…Okay.”

Wiping her teary eyes, Lucia walked toward the wardrobe. Instinctively, she felt this was a moment of farewell. It might be their last conversation, so she hastened her actions.

Click—

The box opened easily with the key, just as she had said. As Lucia carefully lifted the lid, she gasped.

It was a box containing rare elixirs.

Dozens of bottles filled the divided compartments, radiating an extraordinary aura. Even consuming just one would likely yield remarkable results.

“These are the elixirs I’ve collected over 20 years. I planned to raise any talented child I might find with these, and hey, I found one right here.”

The future Lucia smiled brightly at her.

“It’s been a pleasure meeting you.”

Her crescent-shaped eyes brimmed with dark energy. A faint, unsettling buzzing sound could be heard.

“And one more thing—this is my final request. Eat those yourself.”

Cough—

“Don’t you dare give them to Shiron…”

Blood trickled from her lips, as though she were barely clinging on.

‘What’s happening?’

Lucia gasped at the sight, unfamiliar and incomprehensible. She wanted to express her gratitude, hear her last words, and stay by her side until the end, but an almost prophetic certainty told her she wouldn’t get the chance.

A strange sensation prickled the air.

Black tears rolled down the future Lucia’s cheeks.

The hairs on Lucia’s body stood on end. She focused on the ominous aura emanating from her future self.

“…Magic.”

The oppressive sensation was painfully familiar—a miasma exuded by unholy beings.

But it was impossible for a human body to radiate such dense magic unless there was only one explanation:

‘An undead!’

Grabbing the elixir box, Lucia dashed toward the window. Glass shattered as she leapt through the air, spinning a few times before landing.

As she raised her head, she saw the sky.

It had turned pitch black.

‘But it was daylight just a moment ago…’

Even the once-vast horizon seemed shrunken. The sprawling estate now appeared to be collapsing into a cliff.

“Ah…”

Lucia let out a mournful sigh.

‘I was planning to give these elixirs to Shiron, but at this rate, I might not even meet him.’

Sensing someone approaching from behind, Lucia turned around.

Her future self, now a death knight exuding foul energy, was staring directly at her.

‘Why isn’t it attacking?’

It was unusual. Undead were irrational beings, prone to berserk attacks, and should’ve charged at her. Yet this death knight simply observed her as though studying her.

“What are you staring at? Why aren’t you attacking?”

“I was distracted by something else,”

The death knight muttered, blinking a few times. It seemed disinterested in Lucia for the moment, which was odd, considering how battles usually began.

“Are you underestimating me?”

Lucia’s brow furrowed in anger.

Her lingering fear and loneliness vanished, replaced by pure rage and contempt.

Rage against the apostle who had created this hell.

Hatred for the apostle who had defied all natural order and desecrated the dead.

“The sword in your hand. It’s not a holy sword.”

The death knight pointed at Sirius.

“…So what?”

“That means I’ll win easily.”

Was it gauging her strength? The death knight smirked. Unbeknownst to her, the blade of Sirius had turned jet black.

“What are you talking about, you bastard?”

At that instant, golden sparks flashed in Lucia’s eyes. She wanted nothing more than to rush forward and rip that wretched being apart.

But there was something she needed to do first.

Lucia removed her cloak, wrapping it around the elixir box.

One hand held Sirius, the other cradled the bundle containing the elixirs.

It wasn’t an ideal form for battle.

Even so—

“I can win with one hand.”

Cry, Sirius.

As she whispered those words, light burst forth.

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