I Didn’t Even Want to Live, But God Forced Me to Reincarnate!

I woke up easily the next morning, but I didn’t really feel rested.
If I were to guess, it might be because of the adrenaline. Currently, I have been under a high level of pressure, where I had to stay vigilant. My body finally adapted to my current needs–I won’t be tired even if I didn’t get a good rest. Still, I bet I’d have my revenge sleep later on.
Not surprisingly, Maiara had already woken up and looked fresh.
Surprisingly, Carbuncle was already awake and didn’t seem to be groggy, although she was rolling aimlessly on her bed.
Meanwhile, Clavis was covering his (real) ears using his hands, seemingly not wanting to wake up but the noises seemed to disturb his sleep.
On the other hand, Ein was still sleeping soundly.
Yes, all of us shared a room together.
It seemed that the temple had several rooms akin to a crowded dormitory. There were 6 beds in this room, and if I were to be more precise, there were 3 rows with 2 columns–in other words, there were 3 bunk beds here.
I was sleeping on the middle top bed with Maiara below me (but she’s already not in her bed so I can see her), Carbuncle was on the left top bed. Clavis was on the right top bed, and Ein was below Clavis.
Though it was early in the morning, the temple seemed to be bustling with life. The walls weren’t soundproof, so we could hear some birds chirping merrily in the morning, people’s noisy activities, the temple’s announcement–and most importantly, Maiara’s movements and also Carbuncle’s movements…
The combination of all the noises woke me up.
“Wow… How can he sleep so soundly like that…,” I reflexively said my thought out loud when I looked below and found that Ein seemed to be sleeping so peacefully, not even a frown, not even a movement… He was lying face up with even breathing.
“I’m already awake, Escha.”
“Eeepp?!”
Ein’s calm and clear voice resounded, still with his eyes closed.
“I start my routine with meditation. It helps keep your mind clear,” Ein explained, as if he knew what I was wondering.
“Now then,” Ein said as he sat down on the bed and said, “Let’s get going, shall we?”
Then, he proceeded to climb up the stairs on his bunk bed and started to wake Clavis up.
“Ralph, wake up,” Ein said.
“Nnn… I can’t really sleep since this morning when the activities start, it’s so noisy,” Clavis grumbled as he sat on his bed and started to rub his eyes.
“Your hearing must be really sensitive, huh?” Maiara asked in an amused tone.
My body froze when I heard Maiara’s question.
I mean, of course Clavis’ hearing will be sooo good and sensitive, he’s a beastman, a werewolf, even!
“Yes, and a light sleeper,” Ein didn’t bat an eye and casually commented as he climbed down the stairs after seeing that Clavis had woken up.
“Kuu, it’s so rare to see you awake so early like this. Were you also awake due to the noises?” I asked.
“Mm? Ah, yeah…,” Carbuncle said nonchalantly as she also got out of her bed.
Though she confirmed my guess, I felt like that explanation didn’t sit well with how things should be.
But I felt like it wouldn’t be wise to ask questions in front of Maiara, and we had to start our day now rather than focusing on questioning her.
Afterwards, we went to survey some notable locations and questioned people who we thought would have any clue. Another day had passed by in a flash with us continuing our investigation. Despite that, we still found nothing notable that hadn’t been mentioned in the records about Eneida that the royal investigative division had made.
On a more positive side, it meant that the elves from the royal investigative division were all professional and honest since they didn’t seem to purposely hide any details from their report… But on the negative side, it means that we’re all truly stuck here…
The village itself didn’t have too many elves inhabiting it and too many places we could investigate, so within just two days and two nights, we had finished investigating in the ways that we could.
Of course, we didn’t revisit the hidden chamber inside the temple, lest the challenge become more difficult, the people of the temple were to discover the fact that we knew, or worse, if we could never go outside again… The danger was too much, and the three of us (Ein, Maiara, and I) had made sure that we had finished investigating and exploring that hidden chamber anyway.
That brought us to this moment now, where we had bid the villagers a goodbye and were walking back, away from other people.
“Phew… I’m glad they didn’t seem to realize we found a hidden chamber and things like that,” I sighed in relief.
“Either they don’t know that there’s a hidden chamber or they haven’t checked the hidden chamber to realize we’ve been there yet,” Ein said.
“Hey, how’s that hidden chamber anyway?” Clavis asked in curiosity.
“Dusty, dark, smells bad, a bit moldy… and the labyrinth’s dangerous,” I genuinely don’t have any good memories of the hidden chamber to want to visit it again…
“Is that so…”
Though Clavis said those words, his eyes betrayed his words. His eyes were that of longing and curiosity.
My line of sight accidentally hovered on Clavis’ side where there was Carbuncle, who didn’t even make any comment or ask questions about the hidden chamber anymore.
“Kuu-chan, aren’t you curious about the hidden underground anymore?” I asked.
“Hmm? Ah… I was. But why should I be curious about it now?” Carbuncle answered.
“Eh? Why…? Well, I mean… Isn’t it natural?” I was at a loss for words. I didn’t expect her to answer like that!
“Nah, I’ve satisfied my curiosity, so it’s all good,” Carbuncle cheerfully said.
“I see… So your curiosity has been satisfied…,” I nodded while still trying to understand what Carbuncle said, but then I stopped walking and turned to look at Carbuncle, who continued to walk.
“Huhhhh???” My mind thought of something ridiculous that could explain why Carbuncle was the way she was now. I meant, knowing her, who wouldn’t let anything rest until she had gotten what she wanted…
Everyone finally noticed that I stopped.
“What’s the matter?” Maiara asked me.
“K-Kuu-chan…,” I pointed my index finger towards Carbuncle as my hand trembled.
“Hmm? Me?” Carbuncle finally stopped because I called her out. She tilted her head in wonder.
“Did you… already see the hidden underground for yourself?” I asked, though my mind thought that it should be impossible since we had been together and even when we parted ways, there was someone with Carbuncle, so…
She couldn’t have possibly entered the hidden dungeon though????
If she had, when was it?!
“Aah? Yup! Look, look! I brought myself some souvenirs from the dungeon, hahahaha!!” Carbuncle laughed happily as she took out something from her magical pouch.
More like, several things…
She casually threw out an old, heavy, and dusty book, an ancient sandglass, some old natural stones that weren’t even shiny anymore, and…
“Mold?” I couldn’t believe it when Carbuncle casually showed us the mold.
“Yep, this is a mold, alright,” Carbuncle just answered with the mold still in her hand.
“Ah, it accidentally entered your pouch when you put the other stuff, huh? Throw that away, it’s not hygienic at all,” I commented.
“What? No! This is one of my souvenirs!” Carbuncle quickly refuted and looked at me as if I had said something nonsensical and close to offensive.
“Uhm… But it’s mold?” I asked in disbelief.
“Well, yeah, it’s still something that I can bring home because–”
Before Carbuncle even finished her sentence, I had already marched my way to her side and quickly said in a loud voice that overpowered Carbuncle’s.
“Ohh, you’re right! It’s an ancient mold, after all!”
““Eh? I’m only saying that I have never seen mold in the dragon’s–”
“You want to bring it home to someone who can take a look and research it, who knows if it’s different from common molds nowadays, right?!”
I continued to talk over Carbuncle and signaled to her that we couldn’t have this kind of talk right here and right now because Maiara is here…
Luckily, she caught my signal and stopped… grumpily, as she whispered that only she and I could hear, “This is stupid. I am proud of being a dragon and I need to cover it? Hmph… Grr…”
“That’s odd… But I know that there are weird people and hobbies out there, so…,” Maiara awkwardly cleared her throat and said.
“What? Weird?!”
I shut Carbuncle’s mouth and said, “Thank you for your understanding, Maiara-san!”
“How did you manage to get out, though?” Maiara asked Carbuncle.
“Ah, well, the challenge is far too easy…,” Carbuncle said with her hands held up behind her back, showing that she was so nonchalant about it and that it was true that she thought of it as nothing.
“You figured out how to clear the last challenge?” Maiara asked with one of her eyebrows raised.
“Mhm. I mean, when I messed that weird monster silly, it simply recovered quickly to fight me again, so I figured that it’s like a mirage and puzzle that we need to solve, not something that can be defeated.”
“You talk as if you’re not surprised by this kind of mechanism,” Maiara seemed amused.
“I mean, this is just common in puzzles and riddles,” Carbuncle casually said.
“Just what kind of puzzles and riddles are you playing?” Maiara thought that it was odd.
“Well, it’s common in my home–”
“It’s just what us children are used to do to relieve boredom,” Ein quickly covered Carbuncle’s words with his explanation.
“I see. That’s interesting. I guess different places and generations have different ways of relieving boredom,” Maiara said.
Our journey back to Cielle kingdom’s royal castle was smooth without a hitch, other than the one issue with Carbuncle…
Surprisingly, we were taken straight to the audience room to report the results of our investigation. I was thinking that we would just part ways with Maiara being the only one to report to the king.
Yet, here we are, in the audience room, facing the two most prominent figures in Cielle kingdom.
Yes, King Deus was right in front of us right now.
The person who couldn’t accept his sister’s ideal and did something bad to her and even tore apart his sister’s family, and then took the throne for himself…
To put it softly, I don’t have any good impression of this king. To put it bluntly, I hate him.
There was only one redeeming factor from this king: the fact that he had good children, at least based on my interaction with his son.
Actually, make it two. He also didn’t aggressively wage war with the Oni. Though I felt like it was a matter of time…
“I have heard about you from Manasye. You’re Escha, Kuu, Ralph, and Reynald, right?” King Deus said with a gentle tone that I didn’t really expect.
“Y-yes, your Majesty,” I knelt and said respectfully.
“Rise,” King Deus said, so all we could do was to obey.
“My son is timid and he doesn’t really have lots of friends around his age. I am thankful that you are willing to be his good friends and are even willing to help him with his request.”
“Uhm, it’s our pleasure instead…,” I stuttered.
“I will raise your ranks among the maids so you’re not the lowest anymore. That way, you can spend more time with Manasye. And the two boys there, are you also willing to work in the castle? The main job is being Manasye’s friends, though,” Queen Tabitha spoke.
It alarmed all of us at once as we tried to refuse that.
First, it felt too good to be true. What’s their intention behind it? Are they suspicious of us and want to monitor us closer?
Second, if it’s true, then we don’t want to be seen as approaching Manasye with the hopes of gaining special rewards like this! It’d spell trouble!
“No buts. I heard from Manasye how you are treating him well and sincerely, and not even wanting to fawn or ask for benefits. So, I have to give the benefits to you!” Queen Tabitha said in a domineering yet adorable manner.
“T-then… We humbly accept.”
We could only say that and not refuse.
For now, we could just accept and try to be positive. In a more positive light, we could do more with this access granted on us.
After exchanging a few words about the results of our investigation, we were told to go with Maiara to where Manasye was at.
“He’s in the magick room,” King Deus said, and Maiara quickly understood.
As we left the audience room, I felt confused.
Based on our short conversation, the king and the queen didn’t seem to be the kind of person that could backstab their own family members, but I guess we couldn’t judge someone by their appearances.
As we walked without uttering any words, Maiara suddenly said.
“There aren’t many noble children around Prince Manasye’s age, and those close to his age tend to be interested in befriending Princess Phoebe only. Commoners his age tend to want to approach him for his status. Add that Prince Manasye isn’t really confident because he’s timid, so he doesn’t really have any friends close to his age. Eneida can be considered his first genuine friend.”
I was surprised when Maiara went to such lengths to explain about it. I guess she really cared about Prince Manasye…
And then I realized that for some reason, races with longer life expectancy than humans had a harder time in reproducing.
Is it the way the world works, I wonder?
For that reason, small animals with very short life expectancy can reproduce quickly and have many offspring at once, huh?
“I see… We won’t treat him badly,” Ein quickly said.
The realization made me feel all the more guilty.
“What’s magick room?” Carbuncle didn’t find our current topic amusing and proceeded to shift the topic to something else that she deemed more interesting, much to my delight this time.
“It’s a room that contains all magical entertainment,” Maiara answered.
“I wanna see it!” Carbuncle was even more interested now.
We finally stopped in front of a door that Maiara knocked and opened after announcing who we were.
I wanted to see the magick room and talk with Manasye, but what I saw after Maiara opened the door froze me in an instant.
How could I not, when the one beside Manasye was actually Celeste?!
My mind was quickly overcome with thoughts about Celeste.