Emperor Has Returned

“Juan!”

Upon opening his eyes, he saw Anya’s tearful eyes looking down at him. Before he could ask what was wrong, Anya pulled him in closer and embraced him.

Wearing a face demanding answers he looked around his surroundings. Oppert was looking at him with a worried expression.

Contrary to the room he was at when he began his spirit transfer, he was now inside a different room that was full of sunlight. It seemed that a lot of time had passed since he’d ended his connection with Eve.

“How long was I out for?”

“You were unconscious for two days since your last spirit transfer. At the end of your connection, your hair was turning white so I contemplated whether to forcefully wake you but knowing that it’s dangerous to forcefully stop the connection…..”

Juan studied the current state of his hair. His hair had turned into a whitish gray colour. It was the result of mana depletion and spiritual shock. But Juan wasn’t too worried. He would recover back to normal with enough rest.

“Good work. I didn’t expect it would be this bad……. The saintress was in danger so I needed to make sure she would be safe. Although I can’t be too sure that she will be fine…… Anyways, I got to enter the palace.”

Oppert made a surprised face.

“You, you mean, you were able to pass the veil of benevolence? A place where only royal lineage or selected imperial guards have access to? Is that possible in your spiritual transfer state? And what was the state of the emperor’s body?”

Oppert couldn’t stop himself from letting out a bloat of questions.

In truth, any citizen of the empire would have the desire to see the emperor’s body. It was even rare for a priest of the church to have the opportunity to see the emperor’s body.

And while his reasons were different, the emperor’s body was a target of Oppert’s curiosity as it was the pilot of an enormous amount of power and yet it wasn’t alive nor dead but staying on the brink of somewhere in between.

“No chance. I didn’t even get to see my body. The more I got closer, I felt as if my power was being drained. As if I would die being sucked into a vortex. I decided to return, guessing that my soul wouldn’t remain if I stayed any longer.”

“Ah……of course. Sounds like you didn’t have much choice. I heard it’s easier to return back than initially connecting to the person. If you really are the emperor…..then it’s the expected result.”

Oppert nodded while replying. Anya made a face at hearing ‘If you really are the emperor’, but Oppert couldn’t help himself.

He was already 99% sure, but as a scholar it was in his demeanor not to confine things as certainty. Especially if it was something related to the emperor.

At hearing Oppert’s reply, Juan looked at his palm.

Back at the palace, Juan had been a boat on a sea. The sea current was something that Juan had no hope in controlling.

If he’d spiritually connect once again, then he was sure that he’d be absorbed by the immense power residing beyond the iron door. At this point, Juan was relieved that he was connecting to the saintress as she required him to end the connection faster.

‘If I am to grab initiative, I’ll need to at least amass enough power so that I won’t be swept aside the moment I enter.’

He needed to form a current inside him that’s strong enough to withstand the emperor’s power.

And there was only one way of attaining such strength.

Around the empire were traces of gods that he’d left behind. Traces of god where he’d either sealed or killed. They would become useful tools for him.

But there was one thing he needed to do first.

“Oppert, can you get Anya off my body?”

*****

Fighting a war with Paladins while outnumbered one to a hundred, having led the empire close to death, fighting a battle with a god and almost having his soul completely absorbed, what was the next step?

There were many options, but right now Juan simply laid in bed.

“Juan! How’s your body? Is it getting easier to move?”

She of course wasn’t his doctor. Anya was simply acting like one.

“My body has been fine for days now. Can you let this go?”

Juan muttered at Anya who’d bursted into the room.

Anya, who’d seen Juan’s hair turn gray, made a fuss and strongly insisted that he’d recuperate.

Even right now, Juan wanted to find the remains of a god in order to recover his strength, but he wasn’t given the choice.

Anya examined Juan’s hair.

“It still hasn’t turned into that pretty black colour. There’s too much gray.”

“The roots have already turned black. If the newly grown hair is black, it means I’m fully well now. If I was still depleted of mana, I would still be growing gray hair.”

“Hmm, I can’t hear you~ . Anyways, you should rest more. You’ve been constantly on the move till now. Isn’t it fine to rest a bit more, and eat some things nice. Hmm?”

Anya laid a plate of food beside his bed that she’d brought over. Juan didn’t have to consume food if he had access to adequate mana.

But the smell of something nice, grabbed his attention. Juan for once showed a bit of curiosity.

“What’s that?”

“This? Ah, there’s a festival going on outside so I thought of bringing you some. The line is a nightmare.”

What Anya brought was a piece of chicken fried in oil then smeared in honey seasoning before being tucked between a soft white bread.

The meat was top grade, but the smell radiating from it was the best. It was food that he hadn’t seen before in his days as emperor.

“Festival?”

Anya nodded while biting into the bread.

“Ah, is that why it’s so noisy outside? I thought it was construction being started. Now that I think about it, it’s been a while since I’ve gone outside. But to hold a festival when the city has just gone through a war…..I would’ve thought there wasn’t any money to throw around.”

Right after a war, conditions were so dear for some that rationing was needed for some to survive. But to hold a festival instead……

“It seems Juan isn’t aware? Many people are flocking to Hiveden. And not just the poor, but many rich people with wealth and food as well.”

“Huh? Why?”

At Juan’s puzzlement, Anya grinned.

“All because of the emperor’s virtue.”

According to Anya, from the capital, word had spread of “The emperor’s grace showering down upon Hiveden’, and this resulted in pilgrims from around the empire to congregate into the city ever since.

And Pilgrims looking for the holy land didn’t come with empty hands.

From those with carts filled with rice to those with only a single bag of rice, an endless number of people were arriving in the city.

Due to this, the residents of Hiveden have long forgotten their title of being the ‘lawless city’ and are now proud of their newly given name of being the capital of holy ground.

“It’s surprisingly enjoyable listening to the stories coming out of their mouth. Mobs saying things like ‘Having your sins purified in the emperor’s light as it shined down upon you, while those evil were eradicated on the spot….’ or something along those lines. Everyone’s saying the same story and yet as soon as someone begins talking, a crowd emerges out of nowhere….”

Juan could only bitterly smile. He had been attempting to get rid of the mythology and the divination aspect that surrounded his name but it seemed these stories were having the opposite effect.

But if it was helping Anya then he decided to just let it be.

“And thanks to that, Opperts screaming out of joy. Already, enough donations have come through to rebuild the city. The city residents aren’t complaining either. Having witnessed the sacred emperor’s light, I’d guess that they’ll reconsider before committing any crime. Anyways, that’s the mood of the city right now, so I guess they wanted to hold a festival in response.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“It’s not just good, but dramatically unexpectedly good. I had never expected this to have happened even when Juan had successfully connected with the saintress.”

Juan thought the same. Maybe he underestimated how much influence the saintress’d word had at the capital.

“Okay, but this means the inflow of many outsiders. Is this alright? Followers of the emperor will be highly sensitive towards the Hugin knights.”

“Well, the Hugin knights aren’t exactly showing themselves out in public, and Sunbaes who would be recognised on the spot are all but gone. Out of those remaining, it would only be Dilmond kyung’s face that’s well known, but Dilmond kyung is recuperating out of sight so…..”

“Still, if there are many outsiders suddenly flocking to Hiveden, sooner or later unpredictable incidents will occur. Make sure that the others also get the memo.”

“Hmm.”

Anya sharply stared at Juan. The stare bothered Juan.

“What.”

“How can you be so worried about everything. Even things that haven’t happened yet. Juan, the more I get to know you, I’m positive that you’ve never actually got to truly rest or play, right?”

“What nonsense are you talking about now…..”

Juan quickly snapped back, but thinking back, her words were the truth. During his reign he often held gatherings to consume alcohol with his children and subordinates. But since resurrecting, he had constantly been on edge. Nevermind festivals, he hadn’t gotten a proper rest once.

“The emperor I know is a person that likes to fight but also enjoys smaller things. You’ll quickly tire if you stay sensitive like this Juan. A sword that’s sharp tends to break more easily. It’s something that you said, right?”

Juan didn’t have a reply. It was true that he’d said that to be underlings in his reign.

“Okay! Then how about this. We can go out right now and enjoy the festival. Commander Lars nim also said that one should eat plenty of meat and drink booze the following day after killing many people. He said you don’t get depressed that way.”

Juan couldn’t imagine Lars saying such words but Anya didn’t wait for his response. She snatched his hand into hers.

“Alright, lets go!”

****

Sitting down on Hiveden’s fallen wall, Juan sipped his beer glass.

He couldn’t remember what had happened after being dragged out by Anya. After eating some mysterious grilled skewers, they bought some strange smelling beer, before dancing along around a campfire.

Juan was hesitant to have called it a dance. It was certainly different to the dance that he had with Heretia.

Only when the beer in his hand had half emptied, he had been able to escape from Anya’s clutches.

The night had turned dusk, and yet people were still dancing and singing songs that he had no idea where it originated from.

Anya was still dancing. He suspected that maybe she was mistaking the nine year old girl she was dancing with as him.

All this felt like a dream. Juan wasn’t drunk but he felt slightly numb. It didn’t feel bad.

‘I guess nights like this are a welcome once every often.’

After dancing for a bit more, Anya finally returned. Her face was bright red and was covered in sweat. It seemed as if she had quite the enjoyable night.

“Juan! Why did you leave? I was looking for you.”

“I didn’t take you as a festival enjoyer.”

In truth, to him Anya’s image was of a silent killer. But if he considered her age, it was only right to think she’d enjoy festivals. But still, it was still an unexpected surprise for Juan.

“Huh? I don’t particularly like it. But today Juan was with me so…”

“And why does me being there change things?”

“I wanted to see Juan in an awkward situation and dance weirdly.”

At this point, Juan didn’t know what face he was wearing. But it seemed to have satisfied Anya.

She laughed out cheerfully as she repeatedly smacked Juan’s back.

“Don’t be so uptight. Ever since our first meeting, Juan felt like a tightly strung up bow. Not knowing whether the string would break first or the arrow would fire first. It really felt like Juan would either get to his destination or would snap in half before reaching.”

Anya took the beer glass with only foam left and placed it on her lips.

“What I’m getting at is, try to relax a bit from now on….. Please? Don’t act like you need to fight the world on your own. You aren’t alone anymore.”

From the campfire, a new song suddenly started playing. It was a song that had a much faster beat than the previous song. Upon hearing the song, Anya abruptly stood up.

“Ah, I know this song! One more dance Juan? I saw you dancing quite well that day.”

“……..At Hannbon’s mansion, I uh……”

“I’ll wait for you there!”

Before hearing Juan’s answer Anya skipped towards the fire. Juan shook his head.

It felt as if she was acting more carefree around him than he’d been when he had a child’s body. Maybe the change of appearance had something to do with it.

Upon getting up to see Anya’s dancing closer, he discovered something strange.

In the midst of the numerous outsiders that’d entered the city, he sensed something or someone alien. Due to the crowd it was hard to pinpoint the culprit.

Like a piece of sharp glass hiding on a sandy beach.

While he felt untroubled before, the whole beach now felt dangerous after he discovered the threat.

‘Come out.’

Juan converged his attention to one spot that felt more sharper.

There were still too many grains of sand. His target was small and silent.

Juan went over each grain of sand and narrowed down the suspects. And then, he found someone pushing their head deeper into their hood and turning their back.

It was the sharp piece of glass.

Juan’s body reflexively shot towards the target.