Chapter 354: Adulthood (3)
At the edge of the tower, Shiron felt his chest, which had healed without a trace.
“This is seriously broken.”
It was a smooth resurrection.
With Kyrie’s precedent and having already faced countless absurd situations, he had no hesitation in accepting death and reviving. However, the complete lack of aftereffects made him instinctively exclaim in amazement.
At the same time, his face twisted in frustration.
“Why the hell don’t I get a broken skill like this? Damn, this is so unfair it makes me wanna cry.”
Sniff—
Rubbing his tingling nose, Shiron got up.
All the hardships he had endured.
His wretched childhood. The times he got beaten up by Lucia because he was weak. The times he racked his brain to avoid her beatings. The times he restlessly wandered in search of some miraculous encounter—memories flashed through his mind like a kaleidoscope, sending a rush of blood to his head.What pissed him off the most was when he first went to Night Rail to kill an Apostle.
“I even raised my resistance stats to the limit, I had Seira, and even a holy sword, but I almost died.”
“Gaaah!”
“What’s wrong, kid? Something go wrong?”
“Shin Yura, you bastard!”
“What the hell? Why are you suddenly swearing at me?!”
At Shiron’s sudden outburst of profanity, Yura’s expression twisted. She had just saved him, but instead of gratitude, he was yelling insults.
“…The status window’s performance is just more impressive than I expected.”
Sigh. Letting out a deep breath, Shiron dusted himself off and stood up. Then, he took a look around and quickly grasped the situation.
“You revived me right away, huh? I thought you’d at least clean up something while I was gone.”
There were a lot of unresolved matters. Siriel, who had suddenly appeared. Yoru, dressed as a maid. Aisha, just standing idly.
It was only natural that there were things that could only be handled in his absence.
“…I don’t have anything to feel guilty about, so why would I?”
However, Yura didn’t even pretend to be relaxed. She was irritated by how Siriel had appeared out of nowhere and taken control of the atmosphere, but she wasn’t the kind of person to value her pride over her lover’s life.
He saw why.
Shiron closed his eyes in understanding, then approached the woman who had been waiting for an opportunity to speak.
“Thanks for waiting.”
The burden of being the tower’s master had safely passed on. The plan had gone awry from the start, but in the end, no one had died. Even though an entire year had passed, Aisha had waited for him without a single complaint.
“What are you apologizing for? What you should receive isn’t an apology but gratitude.”
“Still, I kept delaying it.”
“If I had done it alone, it might have taken several more years. Thanks to your help, it only took a year. Don’t dwell on it too much.”
Aisha smiled brightly and took Shiron’s hand. Her sincere gratitude was conveyed just as it was, and Shiron responded with a natural smile.
“Then, we’ll be on our way now.”
“…I heard there’s someone you haven’t even met yet. I’d love to hold a banquet, but it’s a shame the situation won’t allow it.”
As she said that, Aisha pulled out a parchment from her bosom. It reeked of dark energy, making Shiron feel uneasy, but he suppressed the nausea and took it.
“What does it say?”
“I transferred the assets under my personal name to you.”
“…Assets?”
“Yes. Didn’t you register your name on the first floor? Those who climb the tower receive a unique ID and an account. I deposited them there.”
Unique ID? Account?
Shiron tilted his head at Aisha’s words. He vaguely recalled writing something on a piece of paper back then, but Aisha had been handling all the payments since the 77th floor, so he had completely forgotten about it.
“I appreciate it, but isn’t that money only usable inside the tower?”
“…Now that you mention it, that’s true. Then I’ll convert everything into physical assets and send them to your mansion. Precious metals? Mana stones? Grains?”
“Hmm. Rather than something boring like that, I’d like something more valuable.”
Shiron grinned as he pondered.
From humility to confidence.
“Something more valuable? After refusing so much, was that just a formality?”
“I prefer not to waste opportunities when they come my way.”
“Well, fine. But don’t refuse the physical assets being sent to your mansion. That’s purely out of my goodwill.”
“…Aren’t you being a bit too generous?”
Seira, who had been listening, interjected, but Aisha just smiled.
“Even if I add more, it wouldn’t make a difference. In fact, I’m more interested in something more valuable than mere wealth.”
“I appreciate the sentiment.”
Shiron nodded as he clasped hands with her. The master of the tower had access to every event that occurred within it. To her, wealth was nothing but a trivial thing.
Knowing that, he had taken the gamble, and it had worked in his favor.
Some might see it as her giving away something worthless to her as compensation, but Shiron was no cynic like Lucia.
“It’s just a fleeting connection. Showing excessive generosity would make me look like a fool.”
And Aisha was certainly no fool.
She, too, wanted to maintain a lasting relationship with Shiron.
“Shall we arrange a meeting later, or should I come find you?”
“…I’ll send someone to you.”
“Are there many people besides you who can come here?”
“We demons have our ways. And if nothing else, we can use teleportation.”
…She sure got better at talking while I wasn’t looking.
Yura crossed her arms and listened in on the conversation.
Cha Hyeon-jun, who had possessed Shiron Prient… Yura had memories of what kind of person he was when he was with Latera.
However, now that Shin Yura’s memories had returned, she felt an odd sense of incongruity.
Unlike Yura, who had always struggled with words, Hyeon-jun had been naturally sociable. But she never expected him to converse so effortlessly with demons—beings entirely different from humans.
Still, that wasn’t the real issue.
The Cha Hyeon-jun Yura remembered was a 19-year-old boy.
Seven years had passed since their separation—more than enough time for him to become a fully grown adult.
“An adult, huh…”
Yura let out a deep sigh.
An adult.
She had never seriously thought about what that meant before.
Even right after regaining her memories, it didn’t really hit her.
But as time passed, she felt it more and more.
He stepped forward without hesitation to take care of things, always seeking the best possible outcome.
He felt paternal affection for a child he hadn’t even met, just because they shared blood.
…Was she viewing him too positively? Maybe.
But what mattered was what Yura had done in her past life.
Even after seven years had passed, she still grumbled and kicked her blanket at night.
At work, she created a villain character modeled after her childhood friend, just to torment him. (Ironically, the internal response was that he was a charismatic and well-developed character.)
Once, while drunk, she had outright lied to Kyrie and her other colleagues, claiming that Hyeon-jun was the lover she left behind in her hometown.
Every single one of her actions was legendary.
Of course, Hyeon-jun—who had barely managed to bury his unpleasant memories—had cursed constantly while playing Reincarnation of the Sword Saint.
But Yura didn’t know that.
All she felt was distance from her childhood friend, who had grown into an adult.
“Something feels weird.”
Yura sighed, feeling like the breath would never end.
Maybe she looked lonely—Lucia reached out and took Yura’s wandering hand.
“What feels weird?”
Lucia looked up at her with a curious expression. Whether she meant to or not, Yura found the sight adorable.
“I feel maternal instincts too, you know.”
“Mmm, it’s nothing.”
“…It’s obviously something. It’s written all over your face.”
Lucia puffed out her cheeks in a pout, making a pfft sound.
It was a childish act that didn’t suit her age, but Yura, who had played the role of Lucia’s guardian since childhood, responded without thinking.
After all, there had been many adults who had protected Lucia.
Her mother from her past life.
Her mother from this life.
Eldrina, who was like a mother.
Her adoptive father Glen.
Hugo, the pillar of the household…
But there was no one who had shared a bond with her as long as Yura had.
Clap.
And so, Lucia was able to say these words.
“Yura. In this life, I’ll be the one to protect you.”
“…”
“Now that the Demon God is dealt with, it’s finally the peaceful era you wanted so much. My dream in my past life was to grow old and die happily with you. But when you make that face, I start worrying that my dream might not come true.”
Lucia spoke with more seriousness than ever before.
Maybe even more determination than when Shiron had fought Orion.
Back when they first met, things had been too chaotic to process anything.
But now that she could focus entirely on Yura, the weight of her words felt different.
“I’ll always be on your side. In our past lives, in this life, and even if I reincarnate again, I’m sure I’ll be on your side!”
“Lucia…”
Tears welled up in Yura’s eyes.
Was this what it felt like to see your child return home all grown up?
Drip. Drip.
Tears fell as Yura wrapped her arms around Lucia’s small but unwavering frame.
Lucia gently patted her back.
“You already cried so much earlier, and now you’re crying again?”
“…I don’t know. Maybe I just find you too precious. Maybe I’m finally crying for all the times I couldn’t before…”
Sniff—
“This is the first time I’ve seen Yura cry like this.”
Lucia widened her eyes as she patted Yura’s back, then smiled warmly.
“Well, when Seira found out my secret, I cried a lot too.”
In her past life, Yura had always been strong.
She was the type of person who seemed like she wouldn’t shed a single drop of blood even if you stabbed her.
That’s why seeing her like this felt so strange.
Like seeing a parent cry for the first time…
But Lucia chose not to dwell too deeply on what this feeling meant.
She had sworn to protect Yura from now on.
So she decided to think more firmly and resolutely.
Like a deeply rooted tree that would not fall no matter what hardships came.
“Hey, Yura.”
“Hm?”
“You can call me Kyrie if you want.”
“…Aren’t the memories of when you were Kyrie too heavy?”
“I’m still Lucia, but I’m not going to hide anymore.”
After saying that, Lucia looked toward Shiron,
toward Siriel, who was gazing at him with infatuated eyes,
and toward Yoru, dressed in a maid outfit.
If she was declaring herself an adult, then she would take responsibility for it.
Hiding the fact that she was a reincarnator had been a form of cowardice.
It wasn’t something she had to do, but…
Right now, Lucia was just an unemployed graduate of the academy.
She had no reputation to lose.
If she didn’t act now, the risks would only increase later.
…
While strengthening her resolve, she locked eyes with Siriel.
Siriel smiled.