Emperor Has Returned

Juan was kicked out of the guild building by the female attendant.

A guild rank was not something that could be attained by beating down someone else with that particular rank. Only through a combination of reputation, credibility and skill could it be earned.

Attaining a silver rank seemed out of the picture since Juan’s name wasn’t exactly a name with a credible reputation among mercenaries nor did he have time to accomplish some deeds to boost his fame.

“………Much pickier than how I remembered them.”

Mercenaries in Juan’s memory were simple beings that were crazy for only money, women and booze.

Back then, it was a frequent sight, seeing ex mercenaries enlist in Juan’s army. They had been a naive systemless bunch, but it seemed many things had changed.

‘Anyways that’s that. How do I get to Drugal.’

The only thing Juan found out about Drugal was that it was a countryside town hiding somewhere in the Manas mountains.

An infamous rumor followed the town’s name.

In the past, a group that had been preparing to revolt against the empire were butchered after falling into a trap.

But soon following came a piece of news, that the remnants had a sizable treasure stashed somewhere underground. This story had mercenaries eagerly searching for the location of the treasure.

Considering that the indeterminate polyhydron was believed to have been found there, rumours of the treasure seemed credible.

The rumours ended there. For Juan, Drugal was a place he’d never heard of. He presumed that it was a land that didn’t exist during his reign or it had been so insignificant that he’d never heard of it.

Time was of the essence and he couldn’t waste it on finding a village deep in the mountains.

“Hey you, black haired young master.”

He heard a voice from over his head.

From the second story of the guild building, a slender looking silver haired woman with a bobbed cut was smiling down at him from above.

On her back was a giant crossbow that seemed to be made from the horns of something.

“Why are you looking for Drugal?”

“You know where it is?”

“If you’re looking to go there for fame or fortune then forget it. There’s nothing like that there.”

“Sounds like you know the place well.”

“Maybe?”

The woman lifted her hair. Underneath her hair was what looked to be what was left of her ear which had been severed. The women giggled then continued talking.

“I got more that’s worse underneath my clothes, but I won’t show you that in the middle of the day. I was lucky that the bastard who sneaked up on me was an asshole with an ear obsession.”

“You got those wounds from Drugal?”

“Yeah. I’m one of the few that have returned from there not long ago.”

“Certainly looks like a dangerous place.”

“Dangerous? Hehe. You really don’t know much, do you. The one who took my ear was someone that I was confident in putting my back against.”

“What? Then why?”

“Don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I also want to know. All I can say is that land is cursed. From the several that departed with me, I was the only one who managed to return alive. I can’t help but feel that I don’t want to go back to that place. I couldn’t care less about some treasure when your life’s on the line. I’d say less than 1 out of 20 come back with some gold and riches upon going there.”

“It’s surprisingly more than I’d expected.”

“And about four out of five that return with gold, find themselves lured back to that place. All in all, only around 1 out of 100 truly free themselves from the clutches of Drugal. There’s a reason why the guild has put a silver rank restriction for Drugal travel.”

The woman jumped down from the terrace. Seeing her swift movements and quiet landing, Juan then noticed that he was talking to an elf.

Because she was dressed in human attire and her ears cut, he’d been slow to realise. The fact Juan had been slow to see through the cover up made him think that it was enough to fool most people.

The elf woman circled around Juan and grinned.

“So? Why are you trying to get there?”

“What’s it to you?”

“Depending on your answer, I’ll guide you there. Personally.”

Juan’s eyebrows twitched. He didn’t really like the fact that he’d have to explain everything to her but something about a ‘crazy elf woman’ occupied a soft place in his heart.

And plus it was going to be difficult trying to navigate his way to a hidden countryside village on a mountain range.

“I’m trying to kill someone there.”

The elf woman’s mouth turned into a ‘O’ shape as she clapped.

“Well, it’s the perfect place for something like that. I won’t ask ‘who’ as it sounds personal.”

“So you’re willing to guide me there?”

“Yup. If you pay the right price, sure. I am a mercenary afterall.”

Juan crossed his arm and sighed. He didn’t care about having to pay but there was something about talking to this woman that made him tire.

“How much do you want?

“10,000 gold leaves.”

The female elf was full of smiles as she answered. Then she quickly jumped two steps back away from Juan.

Juan had his hand on top of his dagger.

The female elf was still smiling brightly as ever as she shook her head.

“Oooh, trying to cut my throat so suddenly!. Well, if you don’t have 10,000 gold leaves then your head would be enough. Aren’t I right, Mr 10,000 gold leaves? I know you’re the one that the church is so desperately looking for.”

Juan bleakly smiled.

“I’m not exactly trying to hide. Although it was strange to hear that they were still looking for a young boy………How did you know?”

“Lets just say…that I’ve got my connections that keep me up to date.”

The female elf giggled as she continued to speak.

“Especially in Hiveden as there’s lots of work over there. I heard a very interesting story from a friend. Though I don’t know how a thirteen year old could have possibly grown into an eighteen year old, I know from my experiences at Drugal that there are things best left undiscussed.”

“If you’re wanting my head, you’re free to try. I won’t try and persuade you otherwise.”

“Ah, no no.”

The elf shook her head.

“I don’t want to fight, Mr 10,000 gold leaves. How could I possibly be a match for a 10,000 gold leaf suspect.”

“So then?”

“I’ll be so kind to guide you to Drugal regardless if you don’t have the money now. If you die, I’ll make sure to escape after I cut your head off, just like my ear. I’ll put it on the tab.”

“And if I don’t die?”

Juan wasn’t intending to die anytime soon, so he asked by pure curiosity. With a meaningful smile, the elf looked back.

“Then I suppose I’d have to be content with that. So, are you willing to take me up on my offer?”

The female elf smiled wide as she held out her hand. Juan noticed the madness and chaos revolving inside her eyes.

For some reason, he was often being acquainted with crazy elves. But he didn’t think this was a bad offer. Juan could never imagine himself dying in some place he hadn’t heard of before.

“Alright.”

Juan nodded his head but refrained from shaking her hand. The elf awkwardly pulled back her hand and laughed.

“My name’s Swallen. Let’s try to be courteous on our way there, shall we? Mr 10,000 gold leaf.”

*****

Contrary to her loose way of speaking and weird behavior, Swallen was a gold rank mercenary, one rank higher than silver.

However, Juan wasn’t surprised at all. He already knew at first glance that she was far more skilled than the person that he’d pummeled back at the guild building.

But one thing he found unexpected was the attitude directed towards Swallen.

Juan, who was not of silver rank, was allowed onto a carriage heading for Drugal without any questioning, and his horse had been sold for more than the market price. Furthermore, the carriage’s departure time had been scheduled forward.

Any favours that were to surely cause problems were glossed over after a murmur ‘well it’s Mrs Swallen’s favor so…..’

“What exactly are you?”

“A competent mercenary. Do I seem qualified to be with Mr 10,000 gold leaves?”

Swallen replied coolly then nudged Juan into the carriage. He suddenly found himself inside.

And so, Juan began his journey towards Drugal.

The wheels made a monotonous clattering sound. The view of the red wasteland steadily passed by.

Resting against the carriage window, Swallen was sleeping as if she was in her own bed.

The other mercenaries in the carriage were also sleeping. Mercenaries who often found themselves on the move, used a shared carriage to get to places. But Juan was disappointed with how fast they were moving.

He lightly kicked Swallen, waking her up.

“It’s too slow. Why aren’t we going by horses?”

“This is the right way to go. Mr 10,000 gold leaves.”

Swallen stretched her arms as she yawned.

“It’s crazy to try to get to Drugal with just two people. The road’s complicated. You’re more safe going there in a group on a carriage. So even Mr 10,000 gold leaves should better get used to a bumpy carriage ride.”

Upon hearing his guide Swallen retort in that manner, Juan had no reply.

‘Then I’ll use this time to check my current state.’

Juan lightly checked the state of his mana heart.

When Juan had his body reconfigured back in Hiveden, the newly attained mana was acting separately. But now it was almost completely done fusing.

Inside was his original mana, Taltere’s blood, Grunvalde’s grey cloak, and Nigrato’s mana as well.

For now, his physical body wasn’t capable of holding everything. And though he was limited in how much he could hold, there were signs of improvement.

The mana that had been depleted during his spiritual transfers had largely recovered.

‘Problem now is that my mana aura has changed.’

The convergence of these varying powers and his original mana had made his aura vastly different from how it was.

For example, Juan could now no longer use Taltere’s blood. That blood had been completely fused.

But if he wanted to, it was still possible to overdrive into the power albeit in a somewhat weaker state than before. This was the same for Grunvalde’s grey cloak as well as Nigrato’s power.

It was fundamentally different to magic. And though limited, he now had access to those god’s unique domains.

But it was a different direction to the power he had as the emperor. Juan didn’t know whether this was a good thing or not.

And of course Juan wasn’t going to let himself lose initiative either.

These were beings that had lost their identity.

What Juan felt was simply a mi-nute concern. That if his mana continued to converge with different powers, then it would eventually change into something different to his original state.

‘And to add to that, I’m not sure what side effects it may bring.’

As the nature of his mana had changed, Juan didn’t know whether this would cause reaction down the line when he’d eventually reclaim his corpse

Thinking that it’d be better to just keep monitoring his body for the time being, Juan kept a tight lid on his mana in order to handle it more proficiently.

*****

Two days had passed since their journey began to Drugal.

The carriage was overflowing with boredom as the surrounding scenery consisted only of dust and red wasteland.

The mercenaries earnestly waited for the carriage to stop so they may stretch their tired bodies.

Whenever the horses needed rest, everyone inside the carriage hurriedly made their way out for a breath and stretch.

But excluding Juan.

“Um, Miss Swallen.”

While everyone was loosening their cramped muscles, one of the mercenaries called out to Swallen.

“Huh, what?’

“So uh. Who exactly is that fellow traveller?”

“Why? Is he getting on your nerves? I thought he’d been rather quiet till now.”

“No I mean, he’s been quiet……but isn’t he too disturbingly quiet? He’s been sitting still with his eyes closed for two whole days. Except when he’d drink some water.”

Swallen flashed a grin.

“And the fact his hair is black?”

“……..I can’t say that hasn’t caught my eye. Yes. The others are also feeling a bit uneasy at seeing how he’s been acting.”

“He won’t cause harm so just ignore him.”

The mercenary turned around with a dissatisfied look. Swallen turned her head and looked at Juan who was still calmly sitting inside the carriage.

Though his expression looked peaceful, she couldn’t grasp what on earth was going through his head.

It was only natural to think that others would feel discomfort. Unless you went up close to him, it was hard to even tell whether he was breathing or not.

Swallen continued to stare at Juan’s face and then stretched her hand out towards his nose. Her finger tips had been about touch when Juan suddenly opened his eyes.

“Someone’s approaching.”