Volume 8, 5 – The Truth Behind the Reincarnation

Volume 8, Chapter 5 – The Truth Behind the Reincarnation

“Belle? Belle!”

“Belle-sama!?”

We called her name for how many times, and yet, we still found no response.

Belle suddenly collapsed, and it was right after I opened the sealed door.

“What happened to Belle-san? Is she alright, onii-sama?”

“I still don’t know. Her heart is still okay, but she’s not responding. Do you know anything, Carol?”

“Yes. Up until now, Belle-sama is acting a little bit tired. I thought it was from having sex together with you three yesterday, so I didn’t pay much attention. Now that I think of it, she usually regains her energy right away, but now……”

“For now, let’s take her to her room right away to administer treatment. I think she needs a little rest.”

And so, we carried and laid her body down to the bed inside her room, postponing the exploration of the new floor in the process.

After a while, she regained her consciousness.

“Ugh……Gilles?”

“Belle! You’re awake!”

“Where am I? Am I dead? Is this hell? Wait, why are you here too!? Did you also die?”

What the hell are you talking about? We’re still alive, you dumbass!”

WHACK

“Ow! My head! Wait, it’s not hurting anymore? Wait, it still hurts, but it’s not hurting anymore!”

“Gilles-sama, you hit her head with too much force!”

“Crap! I’m sorry, Belle! But don’t worry! Even if you turn dumber, I still love you!”

“No! That’s not what I mean! Gilles, you idiot!”

“I’m the idiot now? Why?”

“Wait, if I’m not dead, then……gasp”

“What happened, are you hurt anywhere? Just tell me, I’ll heal you right away!”

“Senpai, can you please calm down? Belle-san is not a child anymore.”

“You’re the one to talk.”

WHAM

“Ouch! What is it now? Why me!?”

“Sigh. You deserve that, Gilles-kun.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Agreed”

“Not you three too.”

“Actually, it’s four, onii-sama.”

“E tu, Elisa?”

In an instant, I was subjected to a full betrayal by my comrades.

“Belle, Carol, please help me out here. Belle?”

“――I remember. I finally remembered everything, Gilles!”

Belle hugged me all of a sudden.

“Remember? You finally regained your lost memories?”

“Yes! I regained them all! From the time I was transported here, everything! You see, back then, I was………”

She then told us her tale, on how she was transported, how she was separated from her best friend, and how she became the Demon Lord.

“――releasing me from the seal. Then, Gilles found me after that, and now, we are here.”

Afterward, Belle, who had finished her storytelling, smiled in satisfaction.

“I somehow get it, yet I didn’t.”

No, there isn’t a problem with my comprehensive ability. It’s just that, I couldn’t believe it from her actions, which is a big contrast for someone who had been through a rough past. Just look how happy-go-lucky she is, totally unbelievable, right?

I mean, she’s so dumb enough to fall on the trap she created herself!

“……sniff……you’ve got it rough, Belle-chan.”

However, all my women say otherwise. In contrast to me, they were already bawling their eyes out, the easy-going Evelyn included, sympathizing with Belle’s sad past.

Elsie even hugged Belle while still weeping.

“Ah, ahahahah, well, it’s okay now. It’s all in the past. I have already gone over it. Besides, thanks to Giles, my everyday life has become the happiest as it can be.”

Still, she didn’t expect that her friends would react in such a way to her harsh history.

Even now, Belle is still a little confused.

However, her story was still lacking parts, especially the part when she met that other existence.

The one that still accompanies her up to this day.

“Thank you for sharing your story, Belle. But you see, there is still one little thing you missed.”

Yes, it was Carol.

“When did you met Carol? Why did she become your maid?”

In my question, all the eyes turned into the scantily-dressed maid.

“Ufufufu, what is it? You want to know the past of this onee-san so much?”

Is there something that we didn’t know yet? Carol teased us like a villain who was about to do a grand plot twist.

“Ah, that one? Well, before the time I was sealed, Cecily said that she wants me to have someone to keep me company, or else I would be lonely again. After all, it was because I was isolated and all alone that my soul became unstable, and it led to such a catastrophe, and so, she brought her.”

As expected of this Demon Lord, who can’t even read the mood, the suspense disappeared as quickly as it entered.

Really, what a dense woman. Still, that’s why I love her.

“With me, the target of their subjugation suddenly vanishing into thin air, the enemies that I have made along the way will surely switch on to the surviving members of my clan. Because of that, it would be safe if they were sealed with me. However, all that Cecily managed to find was her. The others? Maybe already dead or in hiding. As for me, I don’t care about them anymore.”

With the simple explanation of Belle, everyone was now convinced, except one, obviously.

“Aaahn, Belle-sama, please don’t reveal a woman’s past so easily~.”

Carol twisted her body more coquettishly, as if wanting everyone to glance at her more.

“Hm, so Carol isn’t exactly Belle’s subordinate?”

I, who had learned from Belle, also ignored the attention-seeking slut of a maid and continued with a question.

“To be honest, I really don’t know. To be precise, Cecily Bain was the one who saved her, so it’s more like she’s a benefactor of the Bain House, and was taking care of me according to her promise.”

“……, I see.”

To think they had such an odd hierarchy despite acting like a perfect master-servant pair, these two sure deceived us all.

“Now that we know Belle’s true feelings, how about Carol? You must have felt angry at some point, right? Did it ever cross your mind to avenge your clan? The perpetrator who destroyed your fellow demons was right beside you, you know?”

As expected of the second airhead, Berengaria threw a straight pitch without even reading the atmosphere.

Still, I was glad that she asked, for it was what everyone was thinking right now, yet, they didn’t dare to speak it out, afraid that it will cause them to crumble the status quo…

“Hmmm, how indeed?”

The atmosphere suddenly became tense as Carol answered in her usual teasing manner. Still, this time, instead of feeling annoyed by it, we felt dread.

Was she really intending to get revenge, and is just waiting for the perfect timing?

Even I suddenly got nervous.

“I guess I had no choice but to reveal myself now. However, are you prepared on what’s going to happen next?”

Everybody gulped at her words.

“Just kidding~. Ufufufu, just look at your nervous faces! To be honest with you all, I don’t really care. I was an outcast, you see, so I was already living outside of the clan when Belle-sama started her rampage. If not for the fact that Belle-sama told us her story, I wouldn’t have known what happened in the clan, and how they were all wiped out.

It never crossed my mind that my ‘relocation’ will turn out to be a blessing in disguise, rather than bathing in sorrow, I was really grateful back then. If I was there when it happened, I wouldn’t be able to meet Cecily-sama, and Belle-sama would have to live all alone again.”

That was surprising. I never thought that such a decent answer would come back from a nasty maid, although she got us all in the first half, not gonna lie.

No, seriously, though. Carol’s got all the reasons to aim at Belle’s life in any way she wants. I even imagined the speech she’ll do! Like, Ufufufu~ so you have discovered my plans, now it’s time for you to die! Well, it didn’t happen, thankfully.

Perhaps, everyone also thought of the same way, as they all looked relieved upon discovering it was all a prank. Then, a peaceful atmosphere flowed in the place once more.

“Still, this whole stuff about reincarnation and the like, no matter how I look at it, don’t you feel strange? I don’t know about you guys, but something really tickles the back of my head every time I think about it.”

“……why would we be? Can you care to elaborate?”

Felicia asked, looking confused at my question.

“Just what was that Oracle Magic made of? I mean, of all the people involved in your lives, I was chosen among all others as the reincarnated person. Also, we were almost at the same age back then, and yet we were born in almost a millennium apart! It’s as if some fate has forced me to be in here, and is also making me stay here, but I couldn’t know why.”

“……now that you mention it, it was really odd. Do you have any ideas, Belle-san?”

“For that matter, I want to apologize to Gilles beforehand.”

Belle looked at me as if she’s a child that had done something terrible and is embarrassed to tell about it.

“Apologize? Why?”

I asked, unable to take the hint.

“Do you remember when you told me how you were reincarnated? That before you died, the truck made a weird turn and suddenly headed towards you?”

That’s true. It occurred when I was waiting for the stoplight to change lights while getting all excited on my first sex service, or should be.

I switched thinking when the truck went past me at that time, remembering the protagonists of light novels nowadays becoming victims of that damn truck, only for it to make an unexpected comeback and ram at me.

That moment, I thought that fate was playing pranks on me.

Though the most unexpected thing of all is that I started over as a baby. I was reincarnated in the most real sense.

“You may find this a bit absurd, but all I could think of is one reason. You see, whenever I use Oracle Magic, somehow, our thoughts resonate with one another, and from there, we may have thought of you subconsciously. After all, my best friend often dreamed of you when she relieves herself, influencing me too in the process. Maybe because of that desire to meet you once more, as well as our strong magical powers, it might have caused a ripple effect that may have affected you across dimensions.”

“Heee~, so that’s what it is. ――EEEEH!?”

Her explanation was too absurd that it took me a moment to notice the most shocking thing she had said.

“Therefore, I’m sorry!”

Belle jumped off the bed then immediately put her hands together in apology.

“In other words, while I was in Japan, I was forced to be killed and reincarnated by the power of Belle and the other’s feelings?”

“……That’s what I thought. And I also think it’s very likely the only reason.”

Unbelievable. Seriously? Talk about love that can pass through dimensions. Nah, let me rephrase that. It’s more like Love that can kill your lover through aspects and drag his soul towards yours.

It feels great to be loved, but this is a whole new level.

“……ha, ahaha.”

“I’m really, really sorry.”

Belle apologized again to my dry laughter.

The peaceful atmosphere was gone, and all became tensed once again.

My companions were watching us while holding their breaths.

“No need to get tense, Belle. You did well! In fact, I’m even happier than I was in my previous life! And for that, I thank you!”

“What can I do for you to forgive m―― eh, EEEH!?”

Now it’s her turn to get shocked. Really though, you really didn’t expect me to forgive you? Just how much of a bad guy do you expect me to be?

After all, when I was in Japan, I was only a virgin nerd of an ordinary household whose only interaction with the opposite sex is in games.

Here, I am a handsome and talented person with my family’s prestige second only to the royal family. Above all of that, I am free to embrace any woman whenever and wherever I like!

It’s a blasphemy not to thank her for this!

“……You’re not angry?”

Was she expecting me to make a fuss of it? Belle asked me once again with an anxious face.

“Don’t make such a sad face. I am grateful, really. Compared to my life in Japan, this is heaven. After all, there are so many beautiful women here that like me.”

I said so, and looked around.

“Thank goodness. I was so nervous that Gilles might hate me for what I did to you.”

Belle said so, then clung to me while shedding big drops of tears in my clothes.

“Aah, this is the happiest moment of my life, thank you, Gilles, Thank youuu!”

Are their tear ducts connected now? All the other girls were also in tears once again.

◆

Sometime later, when Belle finally calmed down.

Out of curiosity, Dahlia, through a simple question at Belle.

“By the way, how did Cecily seal you? You were strangers at that time, right? So, you did lose to her in the fight? Do you remember anything about it?”

The atmosphere that had softened with so much effort took another dangerous topic once again.

……Why did you guys do that! Now you have given her another reason to worry!

“No. I didn’t lose. Rather, I didn’t fight, as far as my memories told me. “

“How, and Why?”

Belle spoke without any hint of agitation at all, which is odd even for the usual Belle.

“Isn’t Cecily a woman of the Bain House? As far as what our girl told me, her alter-ego, Kara, was from the Bain family. Maybe because of that, I saw the resemblance of our child in her? Also, I expect that Kara would do something like keeping records and the like about my reincarnation and such. She’s an intelligent girl, after all.”

“Kara Bain……Kara Bain……”

Wait a minute. I think I read it in our family history somewhere……

“Kara Bain, the child of Belle-san and Belle-san’s dear friend, I think her name is……”

Maybe because she came up with the same idea as me, Elisa’s face turned deep blue.

“Anya Bain. Yes, that was what she was called here, and she’s my best friend who was sealed in this tower.”

―- Anya Bain.

The moment I heard that name, the sleeping memories of my past revived as if an electric current had surged throughout my brain.