Regressing as the Reincarnated Bastard of the Sword Clan

Translator: FenrirTL

Editor: Eyes, Doodle

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Chapter 156: The Keeper of the Mausoleum (1)

The underground mausoleum where Theo fought fiercely against Troyban and the Sacred Demon Church.

At the center of the ruins, Upsurging Dragon was stacking a small cairn of stones.

“You hopeless friend. If you had so many complaints, you could’ve at least given me a heads-up.”

Beneath the cairn lay Ode.

By the rules of the Ragnar family, a traitor's corpse was not to be preserved intact but desecrated as a matter of course.

Yet Upsurging Dragon had specially asked Theo to prepare a place where Ode could rest undisturbed.

Although the sins Ode committed were severe, his service as the mausoleum's keeper across generations was equally monumental.

Now that the lineage had been completely severed, Upsurging Dragon believed that a final gesture of respect was warranted.

“You lived your life with so much resentment in your heart, yet at the very end, you were smiling. Even after all this time, I still don’t understand you.”

Upsurging Dragon had long shared a bond with Ode.

He had been close friends with Ode's grandfather, the former keeper of the mausoleum.

To bury his friend’s granddaughter with his own hands evoked a complicated feeling.

The memory of closing those lifeless eyes lingered in his mind.

“At least on your final journey, it seems you’ve found peace. That’s a relief. Farewell.”

Slowly, Upsurging Dragon rose and clasped his hands behind his back.

As he began to walk away, his figure faded into the void.

In his place, a lone tulip swayed gently in the breeze beside the stone mound.

* * *

After the possession by the Sorceress Empress ended, the fever that had tormented Cassandra also subsided rapidly.

Yet Cassandra remained bedridden, suffering from severe fatigue, unable to regain consciousness for several days.

- It’s because the Upper Dantian was forcibly kept open for too long due to the possession. Her body needs time to adjust.

It was a side effect of the possession.

Moreover, constructing a Mental Domain of the Sorceress Empress in her young body was a feat so overwhelming that it was remarkable her Upper Dantian wasn’t irreparably damaged.

Even so, the deputy commander was confident she would recover soon.

After all, it was hard to believe that a magician of the Sorceress Empress’s caliber hadn’t left behind some sort of safeguard in her former body.

- Rather, this ordeal may even serve as a turning point for this child’s abilities. Her magical talents could blossom immensely, perhaps even surpassing those of a genius.

Yet Theo found it heartbreaking to see the young girl drenched in cold sweat every day, struggling.

As he pondered how to ease her suffering, his thoughts drifted to the shop window.

‘There it is.’

---

[Highly Diluted Elixir]

An elixir containing a small amount of the universal cure-all. When consumed, it provides immediate recovery.

- Type: Medicine

- Effect: Instantly restores 30% health

---

Completing quests had earned Theo quite a few rewards, and disposing of just a few of them quickly allowed him to accumulate coins.

Thanks to that, Cassandra showed rapid signs of recovery.

-Hoo. Is that also part of the Chosen One’s abilities? The captain never showed anything like this before.

The deputy commander refused to leave Theo's side.

In truth, it wasn’t just this particular ghost.

-Ah, so when I swung my sword like this, the Deluded God’s arm went schaaak!

-Hey, you! What kind of exaggeration is that? I was there too.

-Hmm? You? But back then, weren’t you the one who put a hole clean through the Deluded God’s chest? No wonder you don’t remember.

-Ah, was that what happened? Ahem! Now that you mention it, it does sound familiar.

-Of course! If we’d had a little more time back then, we’d have completely obliterated that guy…!

Everywhere he turned, there were animated tales of valor being exchanged.

It was like a bustling market stall, with ghosts boasting about their exploits, each one claiming to be greater than the last.

Judging by their accounts, each one of them had been a peerless master.

It seemed the battle against the Nameless Sovereign had been an exhilarating experience for them.

However, from Theo’s perspective, having 299 ghosts trailing him for several days was exhausting.

It was becoming more than a little annoying.

‘No, more than that—how did they manage to follow me all this way from the underground mausoleum? It’s quite far. Is that even possible?’

They didn’t seem to be earthbound spirits.

“...Aren’t you going to pass on?”

-What? Pass on?

-Look at this kid! Now that he’s gotten what he wanted from us, he’s telling us to shove off!

-If he wasn’t a Ragnar, you’d never know it! Such remarkable respect for his elders!

-Oh my, oh my. What’s the point of devoting your entire life to serving the family? The descendants treat you like some washed-up old relic!

-When you’re old, you’re supposed to die. What else is there to do?

-Exactly! Back in my day, respecting the elderly was considered a virtue!

For the record, all of you are already deceased.

Theo barely managed to swallow the retort rising to his throat.

“When the Sword Legacy is restored, you all said you’d leave without any lingering attachments... didn’t you, elders?”

-Well, of course! But now you’re just trying to shoo us off!

-This is the true Ragnar way—squeeze every drop of usefulness out of us, and then cast us aside!

Theo had grown sick and tired of hearing the word “Ragnar” thrown around.

He turned his head away, deciding it wasn’t worth engaging with them any further.

-Oh-ho! Look at him! Now he won’t even deign to speak with us!

Of course, such antics didn’t faze these incorrigible elders in the slightest.

‘Seriously, why do they keep lingering here?’

At this point, Theo couldn’t comprehend what the ghosts were thinking.

It was clear they had some purpose involving him, but he had no idea what it could be.

Hmph.

「Heh heh, it seems these insolent old fools are continuing to bother my companion.」

At that moment, Lodbrok, now transformed into her human form, slowly approached Theo.

Her once blurry figure had become much clearer.

Contrary to her earlier remarks about inefficiency, the Nameless Sovereign’s eye seemed to have been quite an effective elixir.

A sense of presence was now starting to emanate from her.

- Gasp!

- Ahem.

- Cough!

The ghosts all clamped their lips shut and averted their gazes.

If there was one thing that could be called their natural enemy, it was Lodbrok.

「They say people become childlike as they grow old. That phrase fits them perfectly.」

Lodbrok chuckled lightly and winked at Theo as if sharing a private joke.

“It seems your heart is becoming much more whole.”

「Well, the Deluded God’s eye turned out to be reasonably useful. If I could get two or three more items like it, I’d likely regain a significant level of freedom.」

Lodbrok ran her fingers over the significantly reduced hole in her heart and grinned.

The look clearly urged Theo to bring more potent elixirs.

“Please wait just a little longer. I believe I’ll soon be able to take you to an appropriate place.”

「Oh? You’ve found quite a promising location, haven’t you?」

Theo nodded.

The secret vault of the emperors from ages past, a place the Demon Empress had revealed to him.

It would undoubtedly contain elixirs capable of helping Lodbrok further.

「It seems I won’t even need to wait three years. Excellent. It also means we’ll have more time to converse.」

Lodbrok sidled closer to Theo, examining the markings he was scratching onto the ground with a wooden stick.

「A magical formula, I see. You’ve analyzed the etheric structure based on the Four Direction Array and converted absolute concepts into relative ones to demonstrate the spacetime peculiarities caused by gravity. Fascinating theory.」

Theo’s eyes lit up.

“You understand what this is?”

「Roughly. There are many theoretical differences between the magic of my dragonkin and human magic, so full comprehension isn’t easy... but I’m quite different from ordinary dragons.」

The magic system of ancient dragons was extraordinarily simple.

Their will alone manifested phenomena—a realm of pure conceptual magic.

By contrast, human magic, created as an imitation of the dragons’ magic, had to rely heavily on research and theoretical frameworks to function.

Fortunately, Lodbrok, as the guardian dragon of Ragnar, had spent a long time interacting with the human world and possessed a deep understanding of human magic systems.

「If I follow this reasoning... I see. Is this a theory on the special relativity of spacetime?」

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Theo had managed to vaguely “grasp” the magic system left behind by the Sorceress Empress while handling the chronograph,

Although most of the knowledge had been lost, he had retained its core essence, allowing him to revisit and review it like this.

However, the issue was that this knowledge was merely theoretical.

After all knowledge only becomes true by one’s own through understanding, and no matter how hard Theo tried, he found it difficult to comprehend.

Even the foundational knowledge he had studied up until now seemed like trivial components when compared to this.

‘I will be able to complete the quest only by fully understanding this ’

But as it turned out, an extraordinary teacher was right next to him.

「Shall I help you?」

Lodbrok, catching Theo’s gaze, smirked.

Theo eagerly nodded.

“Yes, I’d like to learn.”

「Spacetime is, by nature, the union of time and space. Among these, time is a concept defined solely by humans, who perceive and comprehend it uniquely. To truly understand it will not be easy.」

“That’s fine. If anything, haven’t I myself reversed time through regression? That makes me more eager to understand the concept of time.”

The Sorceress Empress had reversed time to possess her younger self in the past.

Through this, she changed a future doomed to end in catastrophe with her own hands.

Manipulating time was inherently paradoxical, but it was also a crucial step toward a greater domain.

Theo believed that understanding the circular nature of time, as represented by the , would serve as the most important stepping stone for his growth.

「The more I observe you, the more fascinating you become.」

“What do you mean by that…?”

「The scions of Ragnar have been muscle-headed martial artists ever since Sigurd’s time, their minds entirely packed with muscles. They used to despise anything that required thinking. So how did someone like you end up in this lineage?」

Theo scratched his cheek, realizing that no matter what he said, it would only sound like an insult to his ancestors.

「Still, if my companion is so driven to grow, I have no reason to hold you back. However, there is a condition.」

“Yes, please tell me.”

Theo tensed up, his focus sharpening.

Lodbrok’s tone was more serious than at any other time.

As the sole remaining ancient dragon in this world and the Dragon King, Lodbrok’s wish was bound to be something unimaginably difficult to fulfill.

However—

「Mint chocolate ice cream. One.」

“…?”

「During Sigurd’s time, when he still roamed the world, I once ate ice cream in the human realm. I don’t recall the city, but Sigurd recommended it, so I tried this thing called ice cream... Never before or since have I experienced food so divine and moving.」

“…”

「It was at once sweet and sharp, with a unique texture that tickled the tongue and a fragrance that teased the senses. It was truly remarkable.」

By this point, Theo was utterly at a loss for how to respond.

「I ate a dozen or so servings right then and there, leaving Sigurd quite shocked. He seemed deeply impressed. I’ve never forgotten that flavor since and have replayed the memory countless times. To me, it’s a food filled with nostalgia.」

Lodbrok’s gaze softened, as if recalling those distant days.

‘Sigurd wasn’t impressed; he was probably just stunned…’

Theo bit back the urge to voice his thoughts, recalling Sigurd likely panicking after failing to tease Lodbrok.

The ghosts chimed in awkwardly:

-Ahem! Mint chocolate, huh.

-What? Surely not that demonic food— Mmph!

-The taste is... unique, to say the least. Unforgettable once you try it. Hmph!

While the ghosts, like Theo, averted their gazes, Lodbrok’s focus returned from her reverie. Her calm eyes fixed on Theo.

「Why? Is it difficult? Or is there no place in this era that still sells mint chocolate?」

“No, it’s not that…”

「Then?」

“…It’s nothing. Luckily, there’s a large city nearby where I should be able to find some.”

「Oh! Excellent. Then, our contract is sealed.」

Awkwardly smiling, Theo shook Lodbrok’s outstretched hand.

Meanwhile, his mind buzzed with the thought of how to handle a companion who had completely fallen down this strange path.

It was then that another voice cut through the moment.

“Theo, do you have a moment?”

Lodbrok’s spectral form vanished in an instant, and Upsurging Dragon appeared, hands clasped behind his back as he slowly approached.

“Yes, of course.”

“I’d like to discuss something. Care to join me for a walk?”

The garden path was filled with the rich scent of tulips.

However, Theo had no time to appreciate the fragrance as he was caught off guard by Upsurging Dragon’s sudden proposal.

“What? Me? Are you referring to me?”

A face full of surprise.

The ghosts, who had been stealthily trailing behind, were equally taken aback.

-Huh?

-Just like that? Out of nowhere?

But Upsurging Dragon’s demeanor was more serious than ever.

“Yes, you. Would you take on the role of the next head of the Tulip Floral Arts Guild… in other words, become the keeper of the mausoleum?”