Reincarnated Hero System - Chapter 1209 - 1209: Wine and Recollections

“Seriously, just where did he get that kind of behaviour from?”

Those words slipped from the silver-haired young man’s lips along with a soft sigh as he took a sip of his wine, a look of satisfaction appearing on his face at the taste.

He, Arthur Vaughn, the Progenitor of godslayers, set his glass down on the table right after, then lifted his gaze to meet the hazel-brown eyes of the woman sitting across from him.

The EOTD hadn’t lied to Evan.

Arthur really had been in the middle of a conversation with Beatrix at the time, and he had sensed EOTD pointing and told him to stop.

What Evan had seen wasn’t a lie or an illusion, even though Arthur didn’t look much different from the last time they’d seen one another, despite the 10,000-year gap.

Of course, even though Arthur still looked like he hadn’t aged a day past 18, Evan knew that was only because the godslayer had halted his ageing on his 18th birthday.

In terms of age, he was even older than Artemisia and Beatrix, even though they had originally been a few months older than him back when they were teenagers.

His travels outside Valmone to places with differing time speeds had caused his total lived time to surpass the 10,000 years that had passed in Valmone since that fateful year when their group had met themselves on Planet Aramis.

Arthur glanced around the room, a nostalgic look passing through his eyes.

This was the Noble Baron Hotel, the very place where he’d first encountered Artemisia and Beatrix, and where he’d spent the majority of his time on Aramis in Year 1054.

He, Evan, Artemisia, and Beatrix had many memories made within these walls, and he made it a point to visit whenever he came to Valmone.

That was also why he’d chosen it as the setting for his conversation with Beatrix, having whisked her from Gozon immediately after she’d expanded the dimensional rift created by World Magic: Spell Number 7 that Deram Hester had cast on Aidos.

Beatrix hadn’t been pleased by his forceful summons, though she didn’t voice much complaint since she’d already reached the limit of what she could do without exposing her presence on Gozon.

The Gozonians still had no idea that one of the ‘Supreme’ god Queens was controlling their world from behind the scenes, after all.

Arthur hadn’t spoken after summoning Beatrix, instead leaning back and watching the battle of Tarse unfold.

A look of recognition had crossed his eyes when he saw Eliza healing wounded soldiers, and he remembered when he’d arrived in Valmone a few months earlier and had gone straight to Aidos, where he’d encountered the young woman among the ruins of Kreah.

Indeed.

Contrary to what Eliza and Evan believed, the one who’d arranged things so Eliza would appear at Evan’s location after his return from the past wasn’t EOTD, but Arthur.

“Whenever I think about how Alvey and McEnda chose to preserve this place because of the memories tied to it, I always end up feeling surprised.

McEnda, I could understand, but I never took Alvey for the sentimental type back then.”

Arthur said this suddenly, pulling Beatrix’s gaze away from Earth V’s direction and toward him.

“But I suppose it was good that he did. The memories are fun to look back on,” Arthur continued, a small smile appearing on his lips. “I still remember how scared you were when you first walked past me in this hotel’s lobby.”

Beatrix, who’d remained silent until then, faintly frowned at his words.

“I wasn’t scared,” she said.

“Ah, right. You weren’t. You just flinched and had the instinctive urge to run the fuck away,” Arthur replied mockingly, chuckling right after.

“This was the exact suite I stayed in back then,” he added, his tone still filled with reminiscence.

Looking out the window, he went on, “But compared to the pitiful excuse of a Prime World it used to be, it actually deserves that title now.”

Arthur picked up his glass again, taking a sip of his wine before he asked,

“Hey, Beatrix. You knew sending Evan to the past would strengthen him and interfere with your…goals. So, why’d you still do it?”

He set his glass down and fell silent, waiting for her response.

“It was necessary,” Beatrix finally said. “If I hadn’t done it, then this universe would’ve been finished by now.”

Her words referred to the fate of the Valmone universe, which had been altered with the defeat of Bewússtsein at the end of the Cruotis Prime’s Apocalypse incident.

As far as Beatrix knew, if even one member of their group hadn’t been present, they would’ve failed to stop Bewússtsein, and by the time the Race Kings and Queens became aware of his existence, it would’ve already been too late.

Because of that, she’d had to ensure every member of that group was present, completing the paradox by sending Evan to the past.

Of course, the fact that he’d drawn the gaze of EOSR, which led to her gaining greater spatiotemporal power, had also played a significant part in her decision.

“That’s the real reason you did it, isn’t it?” Arthur asked, a knowing look on his face as he stared at Beatrix. “So you could get Ranus’ wish, which was what let you catch up to Artemisia.

There’s only so much you could do to keep pace with the ridiculous growth speed of an Ancient-Breed goddess, after all.”

Arthur’s words implied that Beatrix would have fallen behind in power when compared to Artemisia if she hadn’t obtained whatever she received from Ranus, and although Beatrix narrowed her eyes slightly at what he said, she didn’t deny it, since part of her believed it was true.

She turned her gaze away from Arthur, looking down at the drops of wine sliding along the inside of his glass, and just before she could speak, Arthur suddenly muttered,

“You really still think she’s responsible, huh?”

His words lacked context, but Beatrix understood what he meant, and her mood soured instantly.

She looked back at him, her eyes dead cold as she spoke.

“Don’t bother trying. It didn’t work last time, and it’s not going to work now. Mallory is going to pay for what she did with her life.”

As Beatrix said those words and rose to her feet, Arthur spoke while uncorking the wine bottle.

“Mallory, huh?”

There was something in his tone that made Beatrix freeze for a moment, but she didn’t say anything and simply vanished from the room, leaving Arthur behind as he shook his head.

“I took my eyes off Valmone for a short while, and when I came back, I was met with a scene that left me deeply shocked.

Sigesi was attacked, McEnda went missing while trying to save her, Alvey died at the hands of a Celestial King, and Beatrix is now trying to kill Artemisia because she believes Artemisia murdered her family.

All of this happening within the same decade? The whole situation reeks of a third hand.”

Arthur filled his glass as he spoke, set the bottle back on the table, then picked up the refilled glass as he rose from his seat.

Walking toward the open window, he glanced down at the bustling street below, then lifted his gaze to the horizon with a sigh.

“Alas, this is Evan’s story. I suppose I’ll have to refrain from intervening.”

The sound of his words was swallowed by the noise and constant bustle of the street below.