Reincarnated User Manual

“What’s up? Why is everyone so quiet?”

Shiron frowned. As he poked his head out to survey the surroundings, not a single person, despite him finally breaking through the ice, offered a word of congratulations.

‘It’s a bit… disappointing.’

While he wasn’t exactly hoping for a raucous celebration, seeing everyone staring him down with such serious faces made the situation somewhat awkward for him.

Given the stern expressions of Lucia and Hugo, that was understandable. But why even Encia, who usually didn’t bother with subtleties and was playful, had such a hard expression was beyond him.

The maid that Shiron knew would’ve probably come running, offered him a beaming smile and perhaps even a cup of cocoa.

“Sigh, you guys really know how to kill the mood.”

Ignoring their gazes, Shiron began to pull himself onto the ice. The ritual wouldn’t be complete until he reached the ground.

He had initially worried that the ice might collapse as he departed, but fortunately, nothing of that sort occurred. Nothing happened until he reached the sandy shore.

However, his body felt incredibly uncomfortable. Every movement caused grains of sand to prickle between his damp clothes and skin. He just wanted to dip himself in warm water as soon as possible.

Finally, he crossed the lake and reached the shore.

Considering no one had raised any objections, it seemed he hadn’t been caught cheating.

“Shiron. Are you alright?”

Just as Shiron was basking in his accomplished feeling, Lucia approached him.

He had expected some kind of commotion due to the murmurs. Still, he couldn’t figure out why Lucia had separated herself from the group. Maybe she was worried because of the bond they shared.

Shiron looked down at Lucia and replied,

“What kind of answer are you expecting when you ask if I’m okay? I feel like I might freeze to death.”

“…No. Not that. Your hand.”

Lucia gestured towards Shiron’s hand with her eyes, and following her gaze, Shiron looked down.

“My hand…? What the heck is this?!”

At the end of his gaze, there was a mangled hand.

Bloodied and slashed, as if cut by something sharp, the fingers and the back of his hand were in such a wretched state it was astonishing he hadn’t noticed earlier.

‘Why is my hand like this?’

Was it because he was now conscious of the injury? The numbness was slowly giving way to a burning sensation. This pain was not just from being immersed in cold water for an extended period.

The backlash from breaking the ice, which was as fragile as finely crushed glass. In hindsight, it was obvious. The strength of ice, which wouldn’t even scratch when hit hard with a fist, had to be more than that of glass.

Swallowing hard, Shiron stared at his wound.

His frail body, which still lacked endurance and hadn’t mastered self-defense, seemed to plead for mercy, sending intense signals to his brain.

Gritting his teeth, Shiron averted his eyes from the injury. The pain traveling up his arm felt so intense that he thought he might lose consciousness.

“Shiron. Does it hurt a lot?”

“Don’t… talk to me.”

Was his pain not evident from his contorted face? Shiron looked at Lucia with resentful eyes.

---

“Everyone has passed. Good job.”

The ritual was over.

Yuma looked at the three children and said,

“But for some reason, none of you seem pleased. It’s okay to show a genuinely happy face, you know.”

Deep down, Yuma knew the reason but decided to comment anyway.

“Enough. Can we just go home? I’m not in the mood for long conversations.”

With his hand tightly wrapped in bandages, Shiron responded irritably.

At the moment, she wasn’t Head Maid Yuma but Guardian of the Sanctuary Yuma. However, Shiron had no mind to bother with such trivial distinctions. His hand felt as if it was scorched, and cold sweat dripped constantly from his body.

Shiron felt he had been patient enough waiting for Yuma to arrive. He felt he was now at his limit, and his demeanor had naturally turned grumpy.

For that reason, Siriel, standing next to Shiron, couldn’t show genuine joy as she was busy observing his mood.

“I want to rest soon, too!”

“Right. Please treat oppa quickly.”

Lucia and Siriel both appealed to Yuma in succession.

Actually, Siriel wanted to run around playfully, hugging her cousins. But, even though she was overwhelmed with emotions, she didn’t act on it. The bloodied fist that had broken through the ice remained vivid in her mind.

“I’ve already treated him. Look closely. I applied ointment and wrapped a bandage, didn’t I? If you’ve qualified enough to pass the inheritance ritual, your recovery rate is different from that of ordinary people. A few days of rest should heal him quickly.”

“… That’s true.”

Siriel smiled awkwardly at Yuma’s answer. She felt piercing glances from the side. As if questioning why she made the conversation longer with her unnecessary remark. She regretted having spoken at all.

But whether Shiron gave any of his cousins a hard time or not was none of Yuma’s concern. Yuma just looked at her cherished children with pride.

Completing the succession ritual without a single dropout was a rarity, happening only a few times in the past 500 years.

“Well, the carriage is ready. Come this way.”

“It’s convenient. Is a carriage always provided like this?”

“No. It’s an exception since we unexpectedly have an injured participant. Ah. Maybe because of the precedent set by Master Shiron, in the future, some might get hurt on purpose to return comfortably.”

Yuma smiled at Shiron, but Shiron didn’t smile back and simply replied,

“This is the last succession ritual.”

“… I’ll remember that deeply.”

“Just knowing is enough.”

Shiron passed by Yuma, who was smiling and placing her hand on her chest.

In the carriage, Lucia and Siriel were already seated. They were sitting facing the same direction, and in the opposite direction, there were three cushions laid out for Shiron.

Shiron smirked at their thoughtfulness.

“When did you two start being so attentive? If you want to do something, do it differently. Lucia, lift the cushions.”

“…Why? Want me to remove them?”

Was he not accepting the care they provided? Lucia pouted but pulled the cushions close.

Shiron sat down heavily and raised both his arms.

“Place the cushions here.”

“Understood.”

Having bandages wrapped tightly around his hand, he couldn’t fold his arms or place them down casually. To this end, Shiron intended to use a cushion as makeshift support under his armpit. Lucia quickly grasped Shiron’s intentions.

‘He must be in pain. Such a considerate guy.’

Despite the carriage’s jerky movement making him slightly nauseous, Shiron was able to give Lucia a contented smile.

Seeing her face, it was evident she was filled with worry. Although the pain had not yet subsided, there was something inexplicably pleasing about seeing her so helpless.

“…Are you feeling better now?”

Perhaps because Shiron’s expression had eased a bit, Lucia finally found the strength to speak. All the while, she couldn’t take her eyes off Shiron’s hand.

“No, it’s not okay. It hurts so much I feel like I’m going to pass out.”

“Is it that painful?”

“Yes. I’ve never been in this much pain before.”

“Then why are you smiling?”

Having observed their conversation, Siriel posed the question. Shiron suddenly realized that he had been smiling.

“…Ahem, we’ve passed the succession ceremony. After enduring all that, of course, I should smile.”

While biting his tongue, Shiron erased the smirk from his face. He couldn’t tell Lucia that he found her current state amusing, so he made up a reason.

“Listen.”

Relieved by Shiron’s relaxed expression, Siriel leaned forward with sparkling eyes.

“Can I ask just one thing? I’ve always been curious.”

“…What is it?”

Shiron glanced at Siriel warily.

‘Is she going to ask how I escaped through the ice?’

Of course, he was ready with an answer. Shiron braced himself for her question.

“Are the two of you siblings?”

However, an entirely unexpected question came from Siriel’s mouth.

“…Why do you think that?”

“No reason.”

Siriel, who was wearing her rings, alternated her gaze between Lucia and Shiron.

“The two of you don’t have any resemblance. Look, Lucia has red hair, while Brother Shiron has black hair. Even the eye colors are completely different: black and gold.”

“Well, that’s because…”

Lucia interjected in a flustered manner.

The conversation had taken a serious turn. It was certainly a topic an innocent child might question, but the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

As far as Lucia knew, Shiron’s mother passed away when he was very young. She didn’t want to dampen the mood by bringing up the topic of Shiron’s deceased mother, especially when the atmosphere was just starting to lighten up.

“Lucia and I have different mothers.”

But before she could think of a response, Shiron answered first.

“Ah! So that’s why you don’t call her ‘sister’!”

“…”

“I knew it was strange! Since the wives of both sides are competitors. Ah, that makes sense!”

Siriel nodded in understanding and smiled. However, she had no idea that both of their mothers were no longer in this world.

Lucia wished to silence Siriel, wanting to prevent any words that might hurt Shiron. She was anxious about Shiron’s reaction, worried he might be hurt.

As expected, Shiron narrowed his eyes, glaring at Siriel.

“You, what are you thinking? My mother is dead.”

Unable to hold back, Lucia also spoke to Siriel.

“My mother is dead too!”