Overpowered Reincarnation Perks! - Chapter 11.1
Why is Senes here?
‘Don’t tell me he fell for the headquarters’ tricks and came here? Is he an idiot?’
I stood still on the bridge, glaring at the opposite side. Due to his striking appearance, many people besides me were glancing at him as they passed by.
Senes, who had been walking leisurely as if sightseeing, suddenly turned his gaze in my direction.
‘Huh?’
His eyes were fixed precisely on me. Our eyes met.
‘Ah. That expression again.’
The strange expression he showed when he first met me.
As if he had seen something that shouldn’t exist…
‘Oh? He’s coming this way?’
Since most people were still gathered in the square, there weren’t many passersby in the western street. Senes approached quickly without any obstacles and picked me up.
“Whoa!”
“Ju-in. Why are you here?”
What?
‘He recognized me?’
I quickly raised my hand to touch my face. I felt the frame of my glasses.
I’m wearing glasses right now. The magic stone glasses, they said that unless someone catches the moment I take them off, even someone who knows my original face wouldn’t be able to associate it with my current appearance.
‘So how did Senes recognize me?’
As I looked at him suspiciously, he tilted his head.
“You’ve forgotten your memories, and now you’ve forgotten how to speak too?”
“Senes. Did you just recognize me?”
“How could I not recognize you?”
Senes adjusted his hold on me with one arm, his face looking as if I’d said something ridiculous. His fingertips brushed my chin very lightly, almost imperceptibly.
“This pathetic appearance.”
“……”
Any happiness I felt at seeing him instantly vanished.
‘Insults as soon as he sees my face, his lack of manners hasn’t changed.’
I narrowed my eyes and glared at Senes. Regardless, he scrutinized my appearance with an expressionless face.
Face, hair, clothes, even my hand resting on his shoulder – he examined everything meticulously, then furrowed his brow as if something displeased him.
‘Is he dissatisfied with my appearance?’
No, more than that, he’s too calm. Shouldn’t he be surprised to see someone who fell from such a deep cliff alive and well?
“Senes doesn’t seem surprised.”
“I was surprised.”
Oh really? It doesn’t show.
“That you’ve become even uglier.”
“……”
For a moment, I was too stunned to react.
I mean, if the glasses don’t suit me, he could just say so. But to say I’ve become uglier, how could he say such a thing?
“Senes, you really haven’t changed at all.”
I shot back, meaning his tactless personality was still the same. Senes slightly softened the corners of his mouth.
Wasn’t that just an insult?
“You haven’t answered my question, Ju-in. Why are you in a place like this?”
The question is a bit strange. Shouldn’t he be more curious about how I came back alive?
“Well, I fell from the cliff and lost consciousness… When I opened my eyes, I was here.”
I conveniently omitted the middle part. It wasn’t exactly a lie, so my conscience was clear.
“You lost your memory and fell on a mountain. This time you fell into a city? You fall quite often. I guess falling from the cliff wasn’t just a coincidence?”
“Oh, come on! What about you, Senes? Why are you here?”
“I came because I didn’t know you were here.”
“What?”
“If I had known you were alive and well in a place like this, would I be crazy enough to set foot in the city?”
“……”
Please, just let me hit him once!
His tactless way of speaking is still the same, but that’s not a proper answer. Saying he came because he didn’t know I was here, what kind of reason is that?
“I heard that the central palace… the headquarters called for monster hunters. Did you come here accepting their request too, Senes?”
“Something like that.”
“I heard Callion wasn’t allowed to enter the city.”
“Yes. That’s why I came alone.”
He doesn’t know Callion is here.
‘Wait. This complicates things.’
Callion secretly entered the city after receiving a request for cooperation from Arvan’s colleague. Under the name 310, hiding his identity.
On the other hand, Senes entered the city on a request from the headquarters. He probably doesn’t know what we’re planning, but being on the opposite side, he’s essentially an enemy to me and Callion.
‘When we first met, he immediately sent a party invitation.’
Now the system window is quiet. It means Senes has no intention of acting with me.
‘It’s probably better not to mention Callion, just in case.’
He might have some affection for his brother, but there’s a non-zero chance he might prioritize other values. It was difficult to think of Senes as unconditionally on our side.
If he’s made a significant deal with the headquarters, he might betray us.
‘What kind of conditions did the city offer to make him come here?’
Judging from the amount of magic stones Senes carries and his attitude during transactions, I roughly know. He’s not really someone who cares much about money.
To begin with, monster hunters often move for reasons other than money, as it’s a well-paying profession due to its dangers.
Given his answer that he ‘wouldn’t be crazy enough to set foot in the city,’ it doesn’t seem like he aims to settle here either.
If he’s perceptive, he must know how much the people in the city reject outsiders. Senes isn’t a fool, so he won’t be deceived by temporary hospitality.
Then I didn’t understand why he accepted such a crazy request and entered the city.
“Maybe… did they offer to introduce you to a woman?”
“Pardon?”
“Without a reward like that, there’s no reason for Senes to come here.”
You wouldn’t have moved out of a sense of duty or morality, right? If you came all the way to the city knowing you’d be cut off after the job is done, and it’s not for money or to settle down, the only thing left is women.
Even Paris ultimately handed the golden apple to Aphrodite. They say it’s male psychology to choose women over power or wisdom.
“I don’t need women.”
Then men?
“One woman like you in my life is enough.”
“…?”
Huh? Wait.
What does that mean just now?
“Senes. Just now.”
“I’d rather work as a magic stone mining slave and get eaten by monsters than think about having another woman like you. It’s terribly horrifying.”
“……”
“If they had made such a proposal to me, I would have burned down the entire city, castle and all.”
Senes frowned and turned his head. He didn’t forget to click his tongue in disapproval.
‘Is this blockhead confessing or picking a fight?’
My central nervous system strongly argues for the latter.
I was a fool to be momentarily swayed.
There’s no way this rude guy would harbor tender feelings for me.
─ [Your ally ‘Callion’ has developed a faint liking for you.]
─ [Your ally ‘Arvan’ has developed a faint liking for you.]
The system window immediately notified me when Callion or Arvan started to like me. But there was no message related to Senes. It means there’s almost no possibility that he likes me.
