I Became a Veteran Who Has to Stir Up Trouble to Survive - Chapter 60

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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[060] Reincarnator
Malton’s green eyes widened in shock.
Seeing his reaction, Karen cried out with conviction.
“I knew it! There’s something off about him, isn’t there?”
Elves were known as the sages of the Forest—a race blessed with exceptional insight.
There was no way he could have failed to notice the discord while traveling alongside an Evil Spirit.
Finally finding someone who understood, Karen pressed forward with unbridled enthusiasm.
“Did you hear him rambling about curses earlier? That’s the standard excuse Evil Spirits use to hide their true nature! Look at that shameless face! Trying to deceive us so completely…!”
At Karen’s passionate tirade, Malton’s mouth fell open in astonishment.
His expression grew serious as he clutched his head and cried out.
“Oh, I forgot!”
“So something was wrong! We should hurry to the Temple and report him….”
“I forgot to extinguish the Campfire when I left the Tent this morning!”
“…What?”
Karen stared up at Malton’s vacant expression before suddenly snapping back to attention, her voice rising in exasperation.
“No, that’s not the issue right now! Your companion is an Evil Spirit! Can’t you see that?! A Reincarnator! Those abominable creatures! And I noticed earlier—his hair was black… Excuse me, Elf?”
Only then did Malton regard Karen with a puzzled expression.
“What are you talking about? My companion being an Evil Spirit?”
“Yes, now that we’re finally communicating… wait?”
“Isn’t it obvious that Doran is an Evil Spirit?”
“…Pardon?”
Karen’s thoughts ground to a halt.
What had this Elf just said?
“It’s plain to see. I find it more surprising that you’d think I didn’t know.”
“You… knew? And you still travel with him?!”
“What’s the problem with that? Doran is a dependable companion. He’s an excellent ally who doesn’t hesitate to risk his life when danger strikes.”
Malton shrugged indifferently and strode after Doran with long strides.
Karen stood frozen, watching his retreating figure, then stomped her foot in frustration.
‘Elves truly are a stubborn and inflexible race! I can’t comprehend their way of thinking!
But that innocent-looking beastkin child will surely side with me.
Karen grabbed Radi’s shoulder as she trailed behind Doran and shouted.
“Wait, hold on!! I need to tell you something!”
“….”
Radi stopped walking, clearly annoyed.
“Don’t you find that person suspicious? Did you see how he made excuses about curses earlier? I’ve investigated this, and that’s what Evil Spirits use to hide their identities…!”
“I know.”
Radi answered flatly.
Karen asked “What?” stupidly, but she merely scoffed and regarded her coldly.
“Besides, who do you think came up with that excuse in the first place? I used it long before he did.”
“W-what are you saying?! Then from the start, that excuse about your level dropping due to a curse was all…?”
“Yes. Without an excuse like that, she’d draw suspicion from all directions. That person genuinely can’t tell a lie. It’s stranger that people don’t notice with how obviously she shows it.”
Radi exhaled a long sigh.
She continued, complaining as she kicked at the tiles beneath her feet.
“Honestly… she suddenly becomes serious out of nowhere like she’s received some divine revelation, reads the Dungeon terrain like she’s looking at her own palm. I’ve even hinted at her several times, but her eyes are always glued to the corner checking her status window.”
“W-what?! That’s….”
“Do you have any idea how hard Malton and I have worked to keep the others from finding out? Subtly changing the subject, redirecting attention… Honestly, she’s such a handful. She seems to think she’s perfectly hiding it, but….”
Karen froze as Radi continued her monologue with a soft chuckle.
What in the world was this woman saying?
Shielding Evil Spirits, defending them, and even….
“You… are you in your right mind? That’s an Evil Spirit! Humanity’s enemy! Parasites that steal our bodies!”
“And?”
Radi’s eyes changed.
The childish, complaining demeanor from moments before had vanished entirely.
Her blue eyes, cold as frozen ice, glared down at Karen.
“Who are you to speak carelessly about my Party member?”
A chill ran down my spine.
Goosebumps crawled across my skin.
Here I was, supposedly a Mage of some standing, feeling intimidated by this mere child?
“You, you’re threatening me right now…!”
“Darkness Leap.”
In the blink of an eye, Radi vanished from sight.
At the same moment, the cold touch of metal pressed against my throat.
“…!”
From behind, Radi whispered in a voice dripping with killing intent as potent as a Serpent’s venom.
“Be careful.”
Blood trickled down from where the blade lightly pierced my skin.
The genuine killing intent of one who had taken countless human lives.
Radi whispered, a cruel smile splitting her face like a crescent moon.
“…report my comrade, and you die. You’re the only one who knows.”
Dizzying terror flooded through Karen’s heart like a rushing current.
‘What… what are these people….’
An elf who knew they were Evil Spirits yet accepted them as comrades.
A beastkin child who didn’t hesitate to threaten murder.
And at the center of it all, an audacious Evil Spirit.
This place was a den of lunatics.
“C-crazy bitch….”
Karen laughed shakily, watching Radi’s retreating figure as she sat down in shock.
* * *
「Warning! Radi is currently suffering from [Mental Corruption] status abnormality!」
「Party member Karen has been seized by fear! Strength and Agility each increase by 2!」
“There… Karen?”
As Doran turned back, Karen flinched and shrank away.
“Ah, why… why are you calling me?”
“Did something happen?”
“No, nothing! Nothing happened at all…!”
Karen shook her head vigorously, unable to even meet Doran’s gaze.
｢Karen is gripped by fear! Intelligence increases!｣
｢Karen subtly shifts her gaze to gauge Radi’s reaction! Due to intense fear, Agility increases by 1!｣
“…What did you do?”
As Doran turned and asked, Radi answered with a bright smile.
“Nothing?”
“Really?”
“Of course. Oh, there’s a New Room over there!”
Radi pointed toward a new door beyond the staircase.
Doran raised his eyebrows in puzzlement while gazing in the direction she indicated.
‘This one looks rather crude….’
Unlike the grand doors elsewhere, this one was so small that one would have to stoop to pass through.
Its material was also plain wood, utterly at odds with the antique elegance of the Mansion.
“Wait, I’ll open it just to be safe. We don’t know what rules might apply, so let’s be prepared.”
Doran took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
The next chamber I entered was pitch black.
“Is it a trap?!”
Karen panicked and raised her staff, but Doran gently lowered her hand.
As my eyes adjusted to the Darkness, silhouettes gradually became visible throughout the space.
An attic-like chamber crammed with all manner of miscellaneous items.
Beyond the iron framework and glass ceiling stretched a deep indigo night sky.
“Wow, look at that. We can see right outside the Mansion!”
“Is this… the Astronomy Tower of the Mansion? Quite a romantic place indeed.”
Even Malton couldn’t help but sigh at the exquisite sight.
Brilliant starlight poured through the angular glass like stained glass, breathtakingly beautiful.
The soft glow illuminated books stacked densely throughout the chamber and metallic instruments, while a massive cylindrical apparatus was fixed at the center of the domed space.
A quiet, hushed space—as if waiting for someone to arrive, holding its breath.
Karen murmured softly.
“This is my first time here… I wonder what rules might be hidden….”
“There are no rules here.”
“What?”
Karen looked at me as if questioning my certainty, but I had no capacity to gauge her reaction.
From the moment I saw this chamber, an indescribable sense of déjà vu enveloped my entire being.
As Radi approached the center of the chamber as if entranced, reaching toward the massive brass apparatus, Doran gently stopped her.
“Don’t touch it.”
“Why, why is that…?! Is that also some kind of rule?”
“No. I adjusted it to observe Libra, so it’s annoying if it gets misaligned.”
As I answered dryly and began surveying the room with unhurried steps, Radi and Malton exchanged a quiet glance.
‘This is definitely….’
‘Another habit of a reincarnator showing through.’
‘Should I naturally change the subject again this time?’
‘Well… that Mage seems to have already caught on, so there’s no real need.’
Karen was about to protest, but when Radi subtly drew the dagger from his waist, she turned pale and closed her mouth.
While the two of them considerately allowed me to concentrate on my thoughts, I appeared outwardly calm, yet internally I was experiencing extreme confusion.
‘This is strange.’
I have no memory of this place.
Yet this location is far too familiar to me.
As if I had frequented it often long, long ago.
The déjà vu I had been desperately suppressing since entering the Mansion suddenly erupted.
I unconsciously reached toward the shelf beside the entrance.
The moment I pressed the hidden button beneath the pedestal, a click sounded, and a double space concealed behind the shelf sprang open.
Inside lay old research journals scattered haphazardly, covered in dust.
The contents were all unfamiliar to me. The languages were mixed together, making them impossible to decipher.
But the handwriting was unmistakably mine.
‘The habit of writing the loop of ‘a’ rounded like ɑ.’
There was no doubt.
Among the items scattered here, there was another peculiar point.
‘The dates are all different.’
Some texts were so weathered they would crumble at the slightest touch, while others appeared to have been bound relatively recently, less than a century ago.
And even….
‘…some look like they were just written.’
I set down the parchment I had been examining closely onto the desk.
Wiping the ink that had smudged onto my fingertips on my robe.
But the common thread among all these documents was that they were all written in my handwriting.
What is this space?
This Mysterious Mansion where past and present seem intertwined—what could its true nature possibly be?
Flutter—.
A small note fell to the floor from between the pages of a book.
I picked it up and examined it absently. The first sentence was concise and chilling.
[Do not trust the
gods
of this wo■ld.
Earth
]
“…Did you discover something, Doran?”
“No, it’s just… there’s some dust on it.”
I hastily tucked the note into my pocket.
‘…That was close.’
Malton and Radi were born and raised in this world.
Unlike me, born on Earth with shallow faith, they possessed unwavering belief in the gods.
Had they seen this note, they would have raged about blasphemy.
But Malton and Radi were exchanging silent signals as usual.
‘He hid it.’
‘He hid it.’
Doran had clearly discovered something, as always.
Malton casually touched the scale on the table, naturally redirecting Karen’s attention.
“Say, Mage. Would you happen to know how to use this instrument?”
“Hey, could you help us interpret this text here?”
While Malton and Radi coordinated to draw attention away, I secretly finished reading the note’s contents.
[Do not believe in the ■ of this world’s
gods.
Do not believe
in
them.]
[■ are mixed
in
■. ■■■ are
creating
.]
[Evil ■.
A friend
exists ■. You ■ need help.]
[Only
one. Trust
him. Your comrade.]
― Doran ―
‘What on earth does this mean?’
The words were arranged cryptically, like a cipher, making them difficult to decipher.
As if someone were trying to evade surveillance, the language itself was erratic, and to make matters worse, characters were erased throughout the text.
But one thing was certain….
‘I wrote this.’
The handwriting was mine, and even the signature at the bottom matched.
Yet I had no memory of placing this note between the pages of a book.
I had only just arrived in this world for the first time—how could I have left any trace of myself here?
But I was certain I had experienced something similar before.
‘Yes, definitely….’
It was identical to the crystal orb I’d seen when I read fortunes after defeating Radgit in the Cave.
At the time, I’d dismissed it as mere coincidence, but they say when chance repeats itself, it becomes inevitability.
If that were true….
‘No, that can’t be.’
Doran shook his head, rejecting the hypothesis that had just surfaced in his mind.
If this were true, I would need to completely rebuild the very foundation of all common sense I’d accumulated since arriving in this world.
Yet as Doran clutched his throbbing head and methodically examined every possible scenario, he ultimately reached a single conclusion.
A premise I had never once considered until now.
A sinister possibility I desperately wished to avoid.
“Damn it all….”
My arrival in this world might not have been my first.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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