Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 1

1. The Young Master of the Lakan Barony

1

Neither sky nor earth was visible. There was only an endless expanse of pitch-black darkness, and someone wandered within it.

That someone was none other than the black mage, Seimon.

‘Is this purgatory?’ he wondered.

Purgatory, the place where souls supposedly linger briefly before moving on to the afterlife.

The thought flickered through Seimon’s mind.

Darkness was familiar to him, a constant companion in his mastery of black magic. Yet, familiarity didn’t equate to fondness. More than anything, the idea of entering the afterlife without having achieved his revenge sent a wave of frustration crashing over him.

‘Damn it! It’s all because of that damned Lakan!’

How could he face her in the afterlife without having avenged her?

‘If only I had taken revenge for her, I would have willingly offered my neck….’

A deep sigh escaped him, unbidden.

His true nature was good. Throughout his quest for revenge, he had avoided unnecessary killing. He hadn’t harmed the powerless commoners. Even though he had mastered black magic, it was merely a means to an end—revenge.

Even in learning black magic, he adhered to his own principles. Typically, black mages would sell their souls or offer living sacrifices, begging for power from summoned demons. But Seimon was different. He summoned demons with his own blood, then fought them, taking their demonic energy and abilities to grow stronger.

Thus, unlike ordinary black mages, his mind remained uncorrupted, his soul untouched by demons. Furthermore, like discovering new constellations in the night sky, he had also awakened to new truths in the darkness and chaos.

But a sin is a sin. Even though he tried to minimize it, the sin of harming people for revenge could not be erased. He believed it was right to pay the price….

‘Let’s say I couldn’t achieve revenge because of the weight of my sins. Then why are those hypocrites still alive!’

The elders and meisters of the magic tower who had cast him out, and the high-ranking noble who had driven her to death. They were not only alive but had not paid any price. The only ones who died and were hurt were those who had been deceived by their lies that framed him.

The thought of those greedy pigs and vile jackals rejoicing at the news of his death at the hands of Lakan made his blood boil.

‘Those cursed beasts! That damn Lakan!’

The resentment and anger did not easily subside. Fueled by these fiery emotions, Seimon’s obsession with life only grew stronger.

‘If I am reborn, I will never forgive them!’

From the intense emotions, a desire for revival arose. And finally, the emotions that Seimon had burned ignited a ray of light in this place of darkness.

‘That is…!’

A light that sparkled like a star in the night sky. Seimon moved towards that small, bright, and warm light. The stronger his obsession became, the further his feet moved, and the light at the end of the pitch-black world grew stronger.

Finally, what greeted him at the end was a door enveloped in bright light. Without hesitation, Seimon opened the door. Without a moment’s hesitation, he stepped into the world beyond.

And….

* * *

‘Ugh!’

The intense sunlight pierced his eyes. Seimon, who reflexively raised his hand, slowly took in the surrounding scenery. A window where warm sunlight poured in. Small birds chirping as they flitted about the window. Elegant furniture decorating the room and an elegant chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

It wasn’t just what he could see. He felt a soft and warm blanket at his fingertips, and the cool morning air was seeping through his breath.

‘Am I not dead?’

No, he had clearly died at the hands of Lakan. The feeling of the bastard’s sword piercing his heart and cutting his neck was still vivid. After death, he had wandered in pitch-black darkness, found a door of light, and escaped the world of darkness by opening that door.

‘Wasn’t the other side of the door of light supposed to be the afterlife?’

His lost senses, such as sight, hearing, and smell, had returned. The returned senses told him that he was alive. The Black Circle, the culmination of the 9th circle black magic in his heart, was not detected, but it was understandable if he thought of it as an aftereffect of being stabbed by the holy sword.

However, if there was one thing he was curious about….

‘Who saved me? Did a survivor from the Darkness Magic Tower save me?’

Clang!

Just as he was about to throw off the blanket, wondering, a sharp sound was heard. Turning his head, he saw a freckled girl who had just opened the door. The girl, who looked to be in her mid-teens, had dropped a vase, causing the sound. Judging by her attire, she seemed to be a maid. Anyway, it was the moment Seimon was trying to come to his senses.

The girl, who had been blankly frozen, suddenly screamed.

“Kyaaak! The young lord has woken up—!”

‘Ugh!’

Seimon frowned, covering both ears. The freckled girl’s scream was tremendous. It was believable that it was a sonic attack magic. But, the important thing was not the scream.

‘…Young lord? Me?’

The girl was clearly looking at him. Also, the scream was directed at him. Seimon tried to organize his thoughts to grasp the situation. But before that, another incident occurred.

Thud!

Two people burst in, throwing open the bedroom door. An old man dressed as a butler and a middle-aged priest. When they saw the awakened Seimon, they burst into shouts of joy.

“Young lord!”

“You’ve really woken up!”

Seimon quickly raised his hand to stop them as they rushed towards him.

“Wait! Are you survivors from the Darkness Magic Tower?”

Seimon wanted to confirm first. If the Darkness Magic Tower was still intact, he could consider various possibilities. However, the answer that came back was unexpected, no, beyond common sense.

“Huh? The Darkness Magic Tower? Young lord, do you not know who I am?”

“I don’t. And you saved me without knowing about the Darkness Magic Tower? Who are you?”

While the old man was bewildered, the middle-aged priest whispered in his ear.

“It seems that the young lord’s memory has been affected by the shock of the accident.”

“Oh, no…!”

The old man wore a distressed expression. Although it was rare, there were cases where people suffered from aftereffects such as losing part or all of their memory or having delusions after suffering a severe head injury. The old man, who could understand Seimon from the priest’s words, began to explain calmly.

“I am Hans, the butler of the Lakan Barony, and this is Maron, the chief priest of the territory. And you, young lord, are the one who will become the lord of this place, so we call you young lord.”

“W-wait a minute! What barony?”

Seimon doubted his ears. The names of the butler or the priest didn’t even register in his ears. What captured Seimon’s attention were just two words. The very name he could not forget even just before dying and after waking up!

“The Lakan Barony of the Baroque Empire.”

“…Lakan?!”

“Yes, young lord! Do you remember? You, young lord, are Luke de Lakan, the heir and acting lord of the Lakan Barony! You lost consciousness in an unfortunate accident fifteen days ago, but I have always believed that you would wake up! And today, finally….”

Butler Hans’s explanation continued, but only a few words lingered in Seimon’s mind. Baroque… Lakan… Barony.

‘No way… could it be?’

The name of that damned holy knight was Lakan. And the one who instigated him to attack him was Duke Baroque, one of his mortal enemies. That ‘Baroque’ and that ‘Lakan’?

As far as Seimon knew, the only empire on the Rodisia continent was the Holy Artenia. And there was no place called the Lakan Barony in any kingdom. Seimon inwardly shook his head.

‘They must be trying to deceive and use me. There’s no way they’d call someone over 40 a young lord…!’

Seimon, who was turning his head absentmindedly due to fatigue, stopped thinking. His eyes trembled. Because there was a table mirror where he turned his head. The mirror next to the bed was clearly reflecting a boy in his late teens, not the appearance of a dignified middle-aged mage.

‘This is ridiculous…?’

Seimon stroked his head. The boy in the mirror stroked his head in the same way. Confused, he pinched his cheek, wondering if it was a dream. The boy in the mirror also pinched his cheek like him.

‘Oh my, this can’t be….’

His mind was blank, as if he was trying to escape reality. In an instant, Seimon was able to clarify something he had not known until now. Platinum blonde wavy hair grown out like a girl’s, blue eyes in stubborn-looking eyes. A wide forehead, masculine thick eyebrows, a sharp nose, and firmly closed lips, etc. Although he looked somewhat pretty and sickly, he was quite similar to the appearance of that damned bastard he knew well.

After a while, that bastard’s name popped out of his mouth.

“…La, Lakan!”

“You remember! Young lord, you are the sole heir of the Lakan family.”

“You are the descendant of the great hero Lakan.”

As the young lord seemed to be regaining his memory, Hans and Maron quickly added explanations. But it was like throwing gunpowder into a burning house.

“Kuaaaaak!!”

A cry of rage and shock, erupting like a volcano, echoed not only in the room but throughout the mansion.

“Y-young lord! Are you alright?”

“Are you perhaps in pain somewhere?”

As Seimon’s face turned crimson and he trembled, the two were startled and flustered. Regardless of their fuss, Seimon ground his teeth and asked in a murderous voice.

“What day is it in the Holy Calendar?”

An idea flashed through his mind. Soul Change. It was a black magic that forcibly took over another person’s body through soul exchange. It was possible that among the black mages who followed him, they might have used that Soul Change on Lakan’s descendant to revive him. Under that hypothesis, there was only one thing Seimon desired.

‘If only I can get revenge….’

To do so, both Baroque and Lakan had to be alive. Therefore, Seimon desperately hoped that a long time had not passed. But….

“Today is March 23rd, 1532 in the Holy Calendar?”

“F-fifteen hundred and thirty-two?”

“That’s right. It’s the year that marks exactly five hundred years since our founder, Baron Lakan, passed away.”

Seimon momentarily wore a blank expression. The year he died was 1021 in the Holy Calendar. So, 511 years had passed since his death. In that time, his enemies would have died and returned to the soil long ago. Their bloodline or their family might remain. However, if the very people who held the grudge were all dead, what would be the point of crushing their descendants?

“Heh, heh, heh!”

Seimon, who was letting out a hollow laugh, spoke in short bursts.

“Get out.”

“Huh? What did you just say?”

“I said get out of my sight right now!”

Clang!

Seimon, who was frowning, threw the mirror on the floor. Startled, Hans and Maron hurriedly left the bedroom. Even so, Seimon, who was not relieved of his anger, threw the furniture he could grab and raged.

“Ughhh! How… how could this happen!”

Seimon, the 9th circle black mage called the Black Sage. Tragically, after more than five hundred years, he was resurrected in the body of Luke de Lakan, the descendant of the Sword Emperor who had harmed him.

2

“I can’t believe it until I see it with my own eyes!”

Seimon, who could not believe the whole situation based on the words of the two, urged the servants to go to the lord’s private study. Usually, there would be a family history, including a genealogy, as well as general history books. Arriving at the study, Seimon found two books on a bookshelf that filled one side of the wall. The genealogy of the Lakan Barony. The history of the Rodisia continent.

Flip, flip!

First, he picked up the thick genealogy, which recorded the family tree and the achievements of the previous lords, and began to read through it at lightning speed. Even when he saw the illustration of Lakan’s face on the first page, his eyes were blazing, but when the illustration of a platinum blonde curly-haired boy appeared on the last page, he could not deny it. That his body was that of Lakan’s 18th descendant.

“Damn it!”

Gritting his teeth, he then opened and read the history book. About five hundred years ago. Duke Baroque was merely a high-ranking noble of the Kingdom of Lybia, located in the western part of the continent at the time. However, after gathering the nobles who followed him, he usurped the throne and changed the name of the country to the ‘Baroque Kingdom.’ This was ten years after Seimon’s death. That damned bastard who started a new dynasty and his descendants launched wars of conquest and swallowed up several surrounding countries. After generations of war, another empire was born on the Rodisia continent, rivaling the Holy Artenia Empire, and that was the Baroque Empire of today.

“Is it because the Veritas Magic Tower, which first developed the humanoid bipedal weapon called Gigant, helped the Baroque Kingdom rise to become an empire?”

Seimon, while reading the Rodisia Continent Chronicles, tilted his head. The unfamiliar word ‘Gigant’ caught his attention.

‘If it’s a humanoid walking weapon, is it a type of golem? Well, I can look into the details later.’

The important thing is that the Veritas Magic Tower has been as successful as the Baroque family over the years.

Currently, they stand tall as the prestigious family behind the new weapon called Gigant, and one of the two major magic towers that rival the Imperial Magic Tower of the Artenia Empire.

“Tch, those guys who couldn’t even make it into the top 10 magic towers on the continent before… Did they discover some ancient dungeon or something?”

If they were developing a new weapon called Gigant, there was no way Seimon, who was from that magic tower, wouldn’t know about it.

Perhaps they discovered an ancient dungeon after he died and found blueprints or actual models there.

‘No, that’s!’

After finishing his business and leaving the study, Seimon was walking down the hallway when he happened to turn his head to look out the window, and his eyes widened.

It was because he saw a large castle visible beyond the window.

A very familiar giant castle built of black stone.

Seimon asked the servant, just in case.

“Hey, what is that castle?”

“That castle is the lair of the Demon King that our ancestor defeated in the past. Young Master, you’ve been there often, haven’t you?”

“Demon King?”

“The Demon King Seimon that the ancestor defeated. By defeating the dark army of the demon world led by him, our ancestor was later praised as a hero.”

Butler Hans, judging that the young master’s memory was abnormal, chose a servant who was tight-lipped and loyal to follow him and repeatedly instructed him in many ways.

Therefore, the servant readily gave a detailed explanation.

‘Me, they’re calling me the Demon King? And, what? The dark army of the demon world?’

Seimon is a pure human. And he has always beaten and plundered the power of demons he summoned, never using them as subordinates.

But to distort him like this!

As Seimon was dumbfounded, the servant’s words continued.

“After the Demon King Seimon died, the Demon King’s Castle became a tourist attraction to commemorate our ancestor’s heroism. Every year, young people who dream of becoming knights visit, and the money they spend has become an important source of income for our Lakan territory.”

While fighting for revenge, Seimon’s forces included not only the golem army he created but also quite a few subordinates.

Black mages who admired him for becoming a dark master in a unique way, knights whose families were destroyed or expelled by high-ranking nobles, leaders of different races oppressed by humans, and so on.

That ‘sanctuary of the black sage,’ where their dreams of a changed world and memories with their loved ones were buried, had become a mere tourist attraction!

With boiling anger, his eyes welled up.

‘How did this absurd situation happen…’

Seimon, clenching his fists and trembling, barely calmed himself and told the servant.

“Go get me some alcohol. Something strong, if possible.”

“Yes? Did you say alcohol?” the servant asked, his eyes wide.

“That’s right.”

“You’ve just gotten out of bed, and if you drink alcohol, it’s not good for your health…”

“Just bring it if I tell you to, why are you talking so much!”

When Seimon shouted, the servant ran away in a hurry. And after a while, he returned with a bottle of strong wine.

Seimon took the wine and moved to the terrace where he could see the giant castle at a glance.

He felt like he would go crazy if he didn’t drink some alcohol while feeling the fresh breeze.

‘It’s good that I came back to life without dying, but why did it have to be as a descendant of Lakan!’

Seimon sighed deeply and tried to open the cork of the wine.

But no matter how many times he struggled and twisted, the cork wouldn’t budge.

It was because his body was too weak.

“Shall I open it for you?”

“I don’t need it.”

Humans are wise and foolish beings.

Seimon, who refused the servant’s help, smashed the bottleneck on the balcony and poured the wine to drink.

‘Tsk, tsk, a descendant of a hero is so weak.’

Seimon, who was grumbling, soon shut his mouth.

It was because he felt a strange wave from the body of Lakan’s descendant, who was praised as a hero in later generations.

‘This is, a curse wave of black magic?’

The wave was as thin as a thread, and its presence was so faint that it was barely felt.

However, Seimon, who was a 9th circle black mage, could sense it.

Although the black circle had disappeared, only the spirituality engraved in his soul remained intact.

‘It’s subtle, but it’s a very tenacious and dangerous curse. Is that why Lakan’s descendants have been so weak?’

According to the genealogy he saw in the study, Lakan died young at the age of 33, and the lifespan of his descendants was not very long either.

Despite the fact that Lakan was a Sword Emperor, his descendants could not even become Sword Masters, and they were often plagued by illness or unfortunate accidents.

‘Could it be because of me?’

He recalled the curse he had hurled at Lakan before he died.

Whether it’s a black mage or a white mage, a word from a great mage carries a strong spirituality. Therefore, the curse he cast at the time of his death may have actually come true.

‘No, my black circle was broken at that time. Then how could I have cast a curse!’

Although he succeeded in deploying the magic circle, it was just something he made up to make Lakan have nightmares for the rest of his life.

Moreover, Seimon didn’t know any black magic related to curses. No, he didn’t even learn it in the first place.

Because it was a dangerous technique that corrupted the human soul.

‘Could it be the work of another black mage?’

There were more than one or two black mages who died at the hands of Lakan.

Among them were black mages from the Darkness Magic Tower who followed him, and those who pretended to be the Demon King’s subordinates and wreaked havoc on the world.

Perhaps they cursed Lakan.

‘I understand, but… why does it have to be so twisted!’

Clang!

Annoyed, Seimon threw down the half-drunk bottle of wine.

It was infuriating enough to be resurrected as a descendant of Lakan, but to have a cursed body on top of that!

He had no idea how he should live from now on.

Should he just live as Luke de Lakan?

“Huu, that damn Lakan…”

Seimon, who let out a long sigh of lamentation, left the place.

He decided to rest well first and then think about what to do.

3

The next day, Seimon, or rather Luke, couldn’t shake off his frustration.

So he was taking a walk in the garden to clear his head when he encountered a group of people.

On one side were the vassals of the Lakan barony, including Butler Hans, and on the other side was an arrogant-looking chubby young man and his guards.

They were in a standoff, arguing over something.

“I told you it’s not possible! The young master is still recovering!”

“Stop trying to avoid the meeting. I can’t believe it unless I see it with my own eyes… Ah, there he is.”

The young man found Luke, and his eyes sparkled. It was like the eyes of a beast that had found its prey.

The young man, pushing aside the troubled vassals, waddled towards Luke and slightly bowed his head.

“Greetings, Young Master?”

“What is it?” Luke asked with an annoyed expression. The young man, who had slightly frowned as if displeased, introduced himself.

“Don’t you remember me? I’m Derin, the branch manager of the Alon Merchant Guild.”

“Merchant Guild? Should I care about such a thing?” Luke looked at Butler Hans with indifferent eyes, signaling him to take care of it.

But Derin was persistent.

“Of course, you should care. Didn’t you borrow 30,000 pesos last year to develop a mine? The due date is less than a month away.”

Derin held out a piece of paper as if to show off.

It was a loan certificate.

However, Luke’s blunt expression did not change at all.

He didn’t know how much of a fortune 30,000 pesos was in the current era, and he didn’t care about what happened to this family in the first place.

“I heard that the territory’s situation is not good these days. If it’s difficult for you to repay the debt to us, we should take some other collateral, shouldn’t we?”

“I don’t know. Ask the vassals.”

He passed it on because he was annoyed, but Luke’s decision was wise.

Since the young master’s parents had passed away early, the vassals had been in charge of all the big and small matters of the territory.

“The young master said so, what do you think? Can you repay the debt within 20 days?” Derin asked, looking at Hans and the other vassals.

“W-well, that’s a bit…”

Sweat dripped down the bald head of Dixon, the finance officer in charge of the territory’s funds.

Derin, with his beady eyes, raised his voice slightly.

“Then I’ll take the collateral instead. It’s used, so it won’t be worth much, but I’m willing to accept a Gigant.”

“Well, if that’s what we have to do…”

“That’s not possible!” A middle-aged man with a strong impression, wearing a breastplate over his uniform, stepped forward to object.

He was Rogers, the commander of the Lakan barony’s knight order.

“There are only three Gigants in the territory, and if we sell even those, how will we protect the territory? Will we humbly bow our heads to neighboring territories?”

In today’s world, five hundred years after Seimon’s death, the territory’s military power was represented by the knight order and the Gigants.

The number and output of Gigants they possessed, and the number of expert-level knights, determined their power.

As such, Gigants were not an option but a necessity for the safety of the territory.

“If you want to hand over the Gigants, you’ll have to kill me first!” Dixon quickly waved his hand at Rogers’ strong opposition.

“Ah, I understand. We won’t sell the Gigants, so calm down.”

Then another vassal made a suggestion as a solution.

“How about collecting additional taxes?”

“Do you not know how the residents are living? What if even the remaining residents run away?”

The Lakan barony was a territory located on the outskirts of the empire.

Although the land was vast, most of it was wasteland and rocky mountains, so the population was small, and the tax revenue was low.

“Then we should sell the Gigants after all…”

“I told you, it’s not possible!” Luke, who was sitting on a nearby bench, stared blankly at the scene of the vassals arguing.

‘Hmph, the family is in a fine mess.’

Luke was inwardly pleased to see the family of Lakan, who had killed him, falling apart.

Then Derin stepped forward, stopping the vassals who were arguing.

“Everyone, if neither of these options works, how about this?”

“What?”

“I would like to seize the Gigants or the mansion if I could. But I don’t want to be pointed at for oppressing the family of a great hero.”

Even though they were ruined, Lakan’s reputation still had a great influence on knights and aspiring knights.

Most knights grew up dreaming while listening to the legend of the brave hero who defeated the evil black mages and the Demon King.

“So how about giving that?”

“That?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to the direction Derin’s chubby fingertip was pointing.

A giant castle standing tall on a hill not far from the mansion.

That castle, which was once Seimon’s residence and Lakan’s battlefield, was called the Demon King’s Castle among the people.

“Hmm, the Demon King’s Castle…”

“Anyway, the number of visitors has decreased recently.”

“Well, it’s a hundred times better than handing over the Gigants, which are the core military power of the territory.”

Except for Hans and some of the vassals, everyone thought that handing over the Demon King’s Castle was the best option.

On top of that, Derin added this tempting remark.

“If you hand over the Demon King’s Castle and the surrounding land to our merchant guild, we will actively develop it to attract tourists and sell related products. Of course, we will pay a portion of the income generated in the process as taxes and revitalize the local economy…”

It was at that moment.

“You scoundrel—!!”

Suddenly, an unexpected person burst in with a loud shout.

The person who grabbed Derin’s collar as if to hit him, with his face flushed red, was the young master Luke.

It was the boy with the soul of Seimon, who had chosen the path of darkness to avenge his lover in the past.

4

“Do you know what that place is that you dare covet! How dare you speak so carelessly about a place you don’t know!”

“Kehek! This is not right…”

“Y-Young Master, please calm down!”

If the vassals had been a little late in stopping him, Derin’s nose would have been flattened by the fist Luke swung.

Luke was extremely agitated.

He didn’t like the situation of being resurrected in the body of Lakan’s descendant, and now they were talking about selling the place where he and his former subordinates had shed their blood and sweat!

No, if it was just a place where blood and sweat were shed, he wouldn’t have been this agitated.

That place held unforgettable memories.

It was when it was not in its current form but a half-ruined castle. At that time, Seimon had explored the Demon King’s Castle alone with her.

How dare those who don’t know anything about such a memorable place mention it so carelessly!

“Let go of me! I will rip open that impudent bastard’s belly, pull out his intestines, and chew them!”

“P-Please calm down, Young Master!”

“We were wrong, so please…”

It was the first time the vassals had seen the young master so agitated. Moreover, he was uttering terrible and gruesome words that a cultured nobleman should not say.

But while they were horrified, they also understood.

Although it was an unpleasant Demon King’s Castle, it was a place where the achievements and spirit of their ancestors were enshrined. If a descendant did not get angry when asked to hand it over, wouldn’t that also be a form of impiety?

Although it was different from Luke’s situation, the vassals, along with their reflection, came to have respect for the spirited young master.

“Tch, how dare you do this to a creditor! Do you want to worsen your relationship with our merchant guild!” Derin’s thick cheeks trembled as he glared, but Luke raised his voice without paying any attention.

“Isn’t it enough to pay it back!”

“Pay it back? Do you even have the ability to do so?” Derin had also investigated before coming.

He knew that the Lakan barony was in dire straits and that they had no ability to repay the debt.

So he was planning to coax them and throw them some scraps and gradually take over the territory, but the young master, who he thought was docile, was ruining his plans!

“Okay, I’ll pay it back. You said 30,000 pesos? I’ll pay you back the principal and interest in full in fifteen days, no, ten days, so get out of my sight right now!”

“Heh! We’ll see if you can do that.”

Although he didn’t back down in words, Derin’s heart was pounding.

The young master’s current appearance was not something to be taken lightly.

Each of his harsh words seemed to pierce his heart like shrapnel, and his eyes were burning as if they would burn his soul.

‘Damn it, I didn’t know he had this side to him.’

Derin, who had unknowingly become intimidated by Luke, took his subordinates and quickly fled the territory.

“You did well, Young Master.” Hans was worried about the future, but he was inwardly pleased that the young master had shown a spirited side.

“But, how are you going to repay the debt?” Dixon, the finance officer, asked cautiously.

There was no money in the territory right now.

There was not much that could be turned into money, and even if they sold everything, it was impossible to raise the huge sum of 30,000 pesos.

30,000 pesos.

It was equivalent to 10,000 bags of 20-kilogram wheat or one new warrior-class Gigant.

It was not money that a boy in a remote rural territory could obtain in ten days, especially since he had suffered a head injury in an accident and his memory was not intact.

“Since there is no suitable collateral, the imperial bank or other merchant guilds won’t lend us money, so what are you going to do…”

“Shut up, I’ll take care of it, so don’t interfere.” Luke left the worried vassals behind.

He vowed to protect the place where he had memories with her, no matter what it took.