Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 12

Reunion

1

The morning after the Veritas Magic Tower branch was plundered, Luke, having stayed up all night poring over the magic books he’d swiped from the inner library, went down to the inn’s restaurant for a combined breakfast and lunch. There, he overheard an interesting conversation.

“So, something’s up with the Veritas Magic Tower branch?”

“Yeah, a strange fire broke out there in the middle of the night. I went to see my friend who works there, but they wouldn’t even let me in, just chased me away from the entrance.”

Two men who looked like mercenaries were chatting at the table across from him. Since it was related to what he had done, Luke pretended to be uninterested while listening intently.

“If there was a fire, did something happen?”

“That’s what I thought, but the branch said it was just a magic experiment.”

The mercenary who had said he couldn’t meet his acquaintance earlier glanced around and whispered, “But no matter how I think about it, something big must have happened. Mages and mercenaries are all running around like crazy looking for someone.”

“Then, could it be arson?”

“Maybe. How many magic towers and schools haven’t been wronged by Veritas? The branch manager must have told them to say it was a magic experiment to save the tower’s pride.”

“Heh heh heh, it seems they’re in an uproar.”

Luke chuckled inwardly at their story. Well, they would be in a panic since magic books above the 5th circle [a high level of magic], which could be considered secrets, and important documents were stolen, and the library was completely burned down. On top of that, even the blueprints for the Gigant [a large, powerful magical construct], which seemed very important, were stolen!

‘Should I go take a look later? After all, the culprit always returns to the scene of the crime.’ As Luke was chuckling, Rogers and Philip came down from their rooms. Rogers, noticing Luke’s cheerful demeanor, spoke up, “Young Lord, did something good happen?”

“No, it’s just that I feel good after getting a little revenge.”

“A little revenge?”

“It’s nothing much, just let it pass. More importantly, are you two feeling okay?” They had drunk more than three Oak barrels of alcohol yesterday. Perhaps because it was a rare occasion to drink, and for free, they had guzzled down not only beer but also strong whiskey. If it had stopped there, it would have been fine, but the two had also created and drunk something called a ‘bomb shot,’ a mix of beer and whiskey. Luke had tried a glass out of curiosity, but he couldn’t understand why they would do such a crazy thing.

“My head feels like it’s about to explode anyway.” It seemed Philip was still hungover, as he immediately buried his head on the table as soon as he sat down. Rogers clicked his tongue at the sight.

“A knight should be fine even after drinking ten barrels, not just three. How can you use your strength like that?”

“That’s because you’re a monster, Commander. I’m perfectly normal!”

“Normal, my foot! When we get back, I’ll make you start physical training again.”

Philip was startled by Rogers’ declaration and raised his head. “Gasp! Why would you say such a terrible thing! Young Lord, please stop the Commander!”

“Hmph, you’re going to hide behind the Young Lord? Do you think I’ll let you off the hook?”

“Oh no! Please…”

While Luke was watching their banter, the meal arrived. It was a simple meal of millet bread, sausages, and bacon, and there was also a hangover soup made with mushrooms and vegetable sprouts, boiled and seasoned with spicy pepper, perhaps out of consideration for Philip. After finishing their combined breakfast and lunch, they left the inn.

“Alright, let’s head back to the territory.” Having achieved all he wanted, Luke was eager to return and study the magic books. He started the trailer that was parked at the Hollis Magic Tower and set off for the Rakan County. As they were crossing through the city of Brenden and passing in front of the lord’s castle, he spotted a familiar-looking woman in the plaza in front of the castle gate.

“Princess Reina?” She was kneeling and praying in black mourning clothes, but Luke recognized her at a glance. As they got closer, Philip also recognized her and spoke up, “Huh? Isn’t that Princess Reina? Why is she here instead of in Lamer?”

“I don’t know? What is she doing in this scorching sun…” Worried, Luke stopped the trailer without realizing it and approached Princess Reina. She was so engrossed in prayer that she didn’t even notice Luke approaching.

“Great Lord Elcasel, I, the young and foolish daughter of the Earth Mother Beliz, beseech you…”

“Princess Reina.”

Reina stopped praying with a start at Luke’s words and turned her head with a puzzled expression. “Young Lord Luke?”

“Why are you praying here…!” Luke was about to ask what was going on but was shocked. Reina’s eyes closed, and her body fell backward.

“Ah! Princess!” Luke quickly lunged forward and supported Reina. He hadn’t noticed from afar, but up close, her complexion was extremely pale from fatigue and hunger. What had happened to her?

“Your Highness!” Two old men who were fetching water from the other side of the plaza screamed in surprise and rushed over. Victor, who was about to get angry at the sight of a man holding the princess, recognized Luke’s face and was surprised. “Aren’t you Young Lord Luke? What brings you here…?”

“We can talk about the details later. Let’s get the princess taken care of first.” Luke, having lifted Reina in his arms, quickly ran to the clinic near the plaza.

2

“We have a patient! Call a doctor!” Arriving at the clinic, Luke called for a doctor while laying Reina on a bed in an empty room. A doctor appeared shortly after, carefully checked her pulse, and said, “She’s exhausted. She also has symptoms of heatstroke, but she’ll recover quickly if she rests in the shade and gets fluids and nutrients.” At those words, Luke and the old retainers breathed a sigh of relief. After the doctor gave her water mixed with potion, Reina regained consciousness after a while.

“Wh-where am I?”

“This is a clinic near the plaza. Young Lord Luke brought you here… Ah! No, Princess. You need to rest now!” Pavel tried to stop Reina as she struggled to get out of bed, though weakly.

“I can’t. I have to meet Marquis Myers quickly and ask for help…”

“Whether you meet the Marquis or pray, you need to take care of yourself first. You can’t do anything properly in that condition.” Luke cut her off and said firmly. At his stern advice, Reina gave up and lay back down.

“Sir Philip, hurry and get something for the princess to eat. Something that won’t be too heavy on her stomach.”

“Yes, Young Lord!” At Luke’s command, Philip quickly ran outside. Soon after, Philip returned with a soup made with ground mushrooms and meat from a nearby restaurant. While Pavel was feeding Reina the soup, Luke went outside the clinic with Victor and asked what had happened.

“What exactly happened? Why was the princess kneeling in front of Marquis Myers’ manor? And like she was being punished!” As Luke asked, somewhat agitated, Victor let out a long sigh. “Hah! The truth is…” Victor told him everything that had happened since the duel at the Gigant Arena. Starting with Count Monarch doubling the taxes only for the Volga refugees to pressure the princess, to the fire suspected to be arson in the slums that killed many refugees, and finally to coming here to ask for help from the noble faction.

“But the cowardly Marquis Myers refused to meet the princess. Even though the princess repeatedly pleaded, he wouldn’t even open the castle gate.” Victor gritted his teeth as if he was furious.

“He probably didn’t want to meet her because it would be a hassle.” Luke could understand Marquis Myers’ intentions. Although Reina was famous as the saintess of Lamer, she was a princess of a fallen kingdom and not politically helpful. Meeting her would only worsen his relationship with Count Monarch. Moreover, if he clashed with Monarch, a distant relative of the imperial family, there was a high chance that Emperor Rudolf would jump at the opportunity. Luke’s guess was not entirely accurate, but it was a close analysis of the situation. Marquis Myers also found the Volga Kingdom refugees, who were wandering around the empire, to be a nuisance. Furthermore, as one of the three leaders of the noble faction, he had to make a cold-hearted decision. The noble faction’s power was currently insufficient to fight against the emperor’s faction, and the internal situation was so chaotic that neighboring countries were trying to take advantage of the confusion to attack the empire. In this situation, creating a reason for conflict would lead to an irreversible situation. That was why he had not allowed Reina into the lord’s castle at all.

“The princess insisted on waiting in front of the castle gate and praying until the Marquis met her. She didn’t drink a drop of water for three days.”

“I see.”

“Really… I hate this old body that can’t do anything!” Victor pounded his chest as if frustrated. Luke understood the old knight’s feelings of resentment. He, too, had experienced the pain of not being able to do anything for someone precious in the past.

“By the way, what brings you here, Young Lord?” Victor looked at him with an intrigued expression and asked. Luke didn’t have any big secrets, so he told the truth. “I came to buy a Gigant and am on my way back.”

“Ah! Then the thing in the trailer outside…?”

“Yes. It’s a new Gigant from the Hollis Magic Tower.” At those words, Victor’s eyes widened in surprise. “I heard that Rakan County was poor, but is that not the case?” It was a well-known fact that the family of the hero Rakan lived a noble and frugal life. However, such literary expressions were just a way for those who pitied the reality of the Rakan family to put it mildly. As far as Victor knew, Rakan County was struggling to even repair the Gigants they had, let alone buy a new one. But they bought a new Gigant, and a new model at that?

“Has the county’s finances improved? Or is there something we don’t know about?” In any case, Luke was already the person who had saved Reina twice. When everyone else just pitied her and did not offer any help, he had readily extended his hand. ‘Perhaps this young man is the only savior.’ After careful consideration, Victor knelt down in front of Luke.

“Young Lord, this old man has a request.”

“No, why are you suddenly doing this?” Luke was surprised and tried to help him up, but Victor shouted while banging his head on the floor, “Please, accept our poor princess and the refugees! If things continue like this, the princess will become the concubine of the old and greedy Count Monarch! So please…!” Luke couldn’t hide his troubled expression. He understood his sincerity, but frankly, considering the size of his territory, it would be more trouble than it was worth. Moreover, would Count Monarch just sit back and watch the princess and the refugees leave? It could lead to a war.

“I’ll deal with Count Monarch someday, but not right now. Rakan County’s capabilities are too weak to fight a territorial war right now.” That was certainly the rational thing to do. However, Luke, or rather, Simon, was shouting inwardly, ‘Are you going to repeat what happened back then again!’ The tragedy of losing a beloved woman at the hands of a powerful man. How could he repeat that, something he could never forget! However…

‘She’s not Katarina.’ She just looked similar, but she was a different person. He couldn’t ruin his revenge for her sake. ‘It’s unfortunate, but I have no choice but to turn a blind eye.’ Just as Luke, having suppressed his emotions with reason, was about to refuse, Reina’s voice came from behind.

“Don’t worry about me.”

“Y-Your Highness!” Reina, supported by Pavel, walked over and knelt in front of Luke. “I’m fine, so it doesn’t matter what happens to me, please accept our poor people! Even if it’s a thousand, no, even a hundred, please… please save them!” Tears streamed down her cheeks.

3

That day, Luke’s group could not leave the city of Brenden. Having booked a room at the inn where Princess Reina’s group was staying, Luke pondered over Reina’s desperate plea several times. ‘She doesn’t care about herself, just asking to save her people?’ Luke looked out the inn window at the city’s central plaza. The statue of the saint who had come to him 500 years ago and said similar words to Reina was shining beautifully under the magic lamps. Seeing Luke looking quite troubled, Rogers and Philip tried hard to persuade him.

“Young Lord, with all due respect, you must refuse this.”

“That’s right. Princess Reina is pitiful, but in the worst case, we might have to fight a territorial war with that perverted pig Count.”

The two also felt sympathy for Princess Reina and the Volga Kingdom refugees’ plight. However, they could not fight a war with Count Monarch for their sake. They also had people to protect and defend.

“Fight a territorial war?”

“Yes, Young Lord. Please make a wise decision.” Luke finally made a decision. The look in his eyes as he turned around was filled with an unwavering determination.

“I will accept the princess and the refugees.”

“Good heavens!”

“No, Young Lord!” At Luke’s declaration, Philip and Rogers tried their best to change his mind. However, Luke’s mind did not change. Was it because Reina reminded him of Katarina? To be honest, that was part of it, but there was a bigger reason. Five hundred years ago, the saint Brenden knelt before him and begged him to save his people and drive back the army of darkness. Although the person himself had forgotten, Luke remembered him, the one who had saved him when his magic circle was broken. After finishing his treatment, he had stood in front of the mercenaries of the Veritas Magic Tower who had come to finish him off, and he could never forget that moment.

‘Hey, priest. If you don’t want to fight us, get lost.’

‘I will fight, so come at me as much as you want.’

‘What? Is this guy crazy!’

‘This person asked me to save him. And I saved this person. Since I saved him, I will save him until the end!’

Brenden didn’t preach grand divine teachings or human morality.

He said that there was no need for a reason to save a person.

Luke didn’t understand his stubborn belief.

Anyway, what was important was that he was alive thanks to that belief. And…

‘If people valued each other enough to think there was no need for a reason to save someone, there would be no discrimination, no one would be killed.’

But this world wasn’t like that.

That’s why Luke was discriminated against, and Katarina chose death to protect her chastity.

Luke tried to destroy such an unjust world.

He vowed to wipe out all the beasts who didn’t see people as people, even if it meant falling into darkness and his soul never being saved.

‘So, I was at war against the world of beasts… I had forgotten that.’

After being unjustly killed by Holy Knight Rakan and wandering in purgatory for over five hundred years, he had forgotten his ideals and only remembered his resentment.

Consumed by resentment, he had forgotten what was precious and what he should have done.

‘Thank you, Brenden. Thanks to meeting you again, I can clearly remember the path I must take.’

Luke expressed his gratitude to the saint who had passed away long ago.

Meanwhile, the two knights continued to try and persuade him.

“Young Lord, please think about the future!”

“The Commander is right. If you really want to fight, you should build up your strength for a few years…”

Luke looked at his two retainers and roared.

“Enough! You are the swords that protect the Rakan Barony. How can you try to run away without even fighting!”

“But, the objective difference in power…”

“Shut up! Since when have the descendants of the hero Rakan compared power before fighting! If it’s for justice, you should jump into boiling water, even into a dragon’s mouth!”

“Still…”

“There is no need for a reason to save a person! If we succumb to beasts, can we call ourselves knights, can we call ourselves human!”

Rogers was shocked, as if he had been struck by a hammer, at Luke’s rebuke.

He had been reminded of the most fundamental belief of chivalry that he had long forgotten.

Rogers, stopping Philip from trying to persuade him again, looked directly into Luke’s eyes and formally saluted.

“I, your vassal, will do my best to follow your orders, Young Lord.”

“Commander!”

Philip jumped up, but Rogers smiled and said.

“The territory war isn’t even confirmed yet. And we knights live with one foot on the edge of death. If that’s our lord’s will, we have no choice but to fight and win.”

“Ugh, even the Commander…”

Although he looked like he was going crazy, Philip eventually accepted Luke’s decision.

No matter what, he didn’t like the lecherous Count who was oppressing Princess Reina and the poor refugees.

Luke went to Reina’s group and told them his intentions.

“Young Lord, thank you so much.”

“I will never forget this favor, even in death.”

“It’s alright. More importantly, do you have a plan to bring tens of thousands of refugees to our territory?”

It was highly likely that Count Monarch would not stand idly by.

And even if he did, many things would be needed for so many refugees to move. Food, carts to carry luggage, and so on.

“Well, that’s…”

Victor and Pavel scratched their cheeks, looking embarrassed.

They had asked for help out of desperation, but they didn’t have a proper plan for what to do after that.

However, unlike them, Reina seemed to have a plan in mind.

She asked for a piece of paper and showed them the rough details she had written down.

“First, we plan to relocate the people who are in the most difficult situations. We will disperse and move the sick and elderly to the nearby riverside, and then put them on rafts that we have prepared in advance. Currently, we cannot use regular ships due to the drought, but we should be able to float rafts.”

Her explanation was that if they connected the rafts with people on them and pulled them with horses or trailers on land, they could go up the river to the Rakan Barony.

“Hmm, that’s good. Then what about the rest of the people?”

If many people left at once, the Count wouldn’t be able to miss it.

But sending them little by little would take too much time.

So, the method they came up with was a night escape.

“We also considered getting pilgrim passes from the Elcasel Order, but if the Count is determined to interfere, it won’t work. So, we plan to leave all at once.”

The good thing was that the slums where the refugees lived were outside the city walls surrounding Lamer.

They just had to go to the meeting place at night.

The Count wouldn’t be able to chase them once they got on the rafts.

Luke nodded, finding Reina’s plan quite plausible.

And on the other hand, he saw a major flaw in this plan.

“It seems like you’ll need a lot of money to make rafts or get horses and trailers?”

“That’s… about the money…”

She was going to ask Marquis Myers for help and also request funds.

But with things turning out this way, everything had been canceled.

“I still have the money left over from buying the Gigant [a large, powerful mechanical construct]. Let’s use this money to make rafts first.”

Luke handed Princess Reina the 3,000 peso promissory note he had received as change from buying the Gigant. And he promised to send 30,000 more pesos as soon as he returned to the territory.

It was all the money left from the 210,000 pesos he had earned at the last Gigant Arena.

“Thank you, Young Lord. How can I ever repay this favor…”

Tears welled up in Reina’s eyes.

She never expected Luke to help so actively. Moreover, she had already been indebted to him twice.

“Princess, you are the pillar of the refugees. Don’t cry, and lead them with a dignified appearance.”

Luke wiped away her tears and said.

At his actions, Princess Reina blushed and lowered her head.

“I, I will keep that in mind.”

Reina, determined to be strong by Luke’s encouragement, lightly patted her cheeks to cheer herself up. Then, she tied her long hair back with a ribbon for easier movement.

Whooosh—!

‘This feeling is definitely the one I felt back then…!’

Luke was startled as he watched her.

He felt a vast and immense life force, like nature itself, from Reina, who had calmed her mind, just like he had sensed before.

The energy that had overwhelmed Luke for a moment disappeared as if it were a lie, just like before.

He still couldn’t figure out its identity, but he was sure of one thing.

That was…

“I wasn’t mistaken?”

“Yes? What did you just say?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I just thought of something else…”

Luke, who had spoken without realizing it, was flustered by Reina’s question and mumbled his words.

It seemed that this beautiful woman, known as the princess of a fallen nation, had a secret that not only others but even she herself was unaware of.

He didn’t know what it was.

However, if his own spirituality, which had been that of a 9th-circle black mage in the past, was reacting, it was definitely not something ordinary.

‘I can find out what it is later. Right now, getting the princess and the refugees to the territory is the priority.’

It was only natural to deal with the urgent matters first. Luke began to discuss with everyone and create a more detailed relocation plan.

4

Whooosh!

A distorted space seemed to split open, and a person appeared from within.

The mage, wearing a brown robe embroidered with a lily pattern, looked at the Veritas Magic Tower Brenden branch in front of him with a nostalgic expression.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been here.”

He chuckled, remembering that it had been decades since his last visit.

“Who, who are you!”

“How dare you come here… !”

Mages who had sensed a sudden fluctuation of mana rushed to the central garden of the branch with mercenaries.

Thinking that the culprit who had broken into the branch’s library and set it on fire had appeared again, they surrounded the intruder who had just appeared.

Then, they were startled by the intruder’s attire.

“A lily pattern? And seven of them…”

“L, Elder!”

They all hurriedly put down their weapons and knelt down.

The seven lily patterns.

It was a symbol of the seven elders, the authorities in the Veritas Magic Tower who were second only to the Meisters and Vice-Meisters.

“I am Pierre Ortrang, a member of the Elder Council. I have come to see the branch manager, so guide me.”

At the words of the elder, or rather Pierre, the senior mages of the branch were startled and then quickly led him to the magnificent building in the center of the branch.

‘Oh my god, Pierre Ortrang!’

‘We’re dead now!’

Pierre, who was one of the younger elders, was in charge of the Magic Tower’s inspection department.

His specialty was surprise visits and inspections, and no one who had displeased him had ever kept their position.

‘Is it because of the fire? We haven’t reported it to the headquarters yet, how did he know?’

‘Damn it, at a time like this when the branch manager isn’t in his right mind…’

Soon after, when they arrived in front of the branch manager’s residence, the mages bowed and said.

“This is it, Elder.”

Pierre opened the door to the residence. Then, a stench of strong alcohol and a foul odor rushed out.

The moment Pierre pinched his nose, a drunkard’s shout erupted.

“What~ is it, you?”

Branch Manager Jameson, not knowing that the person who had come to see him was an elder from headquarters, frowned and took another drink. No, even if he knew it was Pierre, he would have acted the same way.

After losing the tool to take revenge on Meister Albert and the Veritas Magic Tower, his will to live had fallen to the bottom.

Pierre, who had been quietly watching Jameson, looked around at the mages who were watching his mood and said.

“Step back. Don’t let anyone near.”

“Ah, yes.”

The mages, not wanting to offend the high-ranking person, quickly retreated from the spot.

When only the two of them were left, Pierre locked the door and approached Jameson.

And he said something chilling to Jameson, who was still drinking without a care.

“What happened to the Atlas blueprint?”

“What?! H, how!”

Jameson sobered up in an instant.

In a panic, he tried to get up but fell backward.

Pierre, who had a cold sneer, looked down at him and said.

“Did you think I, who is in charge of the inspection department, wouldn’t know? I’ve known all along that you colluded with some guys to leak the blueprint. I was just watching to see how many bugs there were in the tower.”

And that time of observation was over, and the purge of the bugs was complete.

The only one left was Jameson in the Brenden branch.

“Now, tell me. What did you do with the blueprint?”

“Wh, who are you?”

At Jameson’s sudden question, Pierre flinched.

“What are you talking about?”

“I know Elder Pierre. The wave felt from his magic circle is cold, but it’s not as arrogant and sinister as yours!”

At those words, the man who had taken Pierre’s form gave a bitter smile.

“They said you were once a genius on par with Albert, and it seems they weren’t wrong.”

“Wh, what?”

To call Meister Albert’s name so casually.

Jameson was suspicious of this man’s identity. But, a greater fear froze him.

“Anyway, if you’re not going to tell me, I’ll have to look into it by force.”

“Heeeeeek!”

As Pierre’s appearance disappeared from the man’s face, a skull with blue eyes appeared.

‘A, a lich?!’

Jameson, who was startled and tried to step back, was pulled forward as if by magic the moment the lich stretched out his hand.

He tried to resist by using magic, but he was subdued and forced to kneel down before he could even do so, and his head was grabbed by the lich’s skeletal hand.

‘Kaaaaaak—!’

The moment a black aura flickered from the lich’s hand, Jameson felt a terrible pain he had never experienced before.

He couldn’t even scream and trembled, pissing and shitting himself from the terrible pain as if hundreds and thousands of needles were piercing his head and a sharp knife was tearing through his brain.

Regardless, the lich was searching Jameson’s memories with black magic. Then, he found the incident in the inner archive.

‘No! That’s Dark Bullet!’

The lich recognized the magic that the intruder had fired at Jameson.

Although the color was different, it was definitely a black magic attack type, Dark Bullet.

‘Is the intruder a black mage?’

He wanted to know more, but Jameson’s memory ended there.

After that, there was a scene of the inner archive burning, but the whereabouts of the blueprint were unknown.

The lich was sure that the intruder had taken the blueprint. There was no way he would have left such a precious treasure in the fire.

‘Did the guy send from the Dark Moon of the Volga Republic? Besides me, they are the only black mages…’

The lich knew many secrets that were not known to the world.

The Dark Moon, the magic tower built by black mages in the Volga Republic, was one of them.

Although it was not known to the world, the Dark Moon was a group that was deeply involved in the founding and internal affairs of the republic.

If this fact were made public, not only the Dark Moon but also the Volga Republic would become the enemy of the continent and be destroyed.

However, since the other side had vaguely grasped his existence, and if he started a large-scale purge of black mages, he could get caught up in it later, so it was better not to reveal it.

In addition, the constant disputes and confrontations between the Volga Republic and the Baroque Empire brought many benefits to him and his beloved Veritas Magic Tower.

So, there was no need to ruin the other side, but…

‘It’s not good to let the scales tip to one side. It’s annoying, but I’ll have to go north and retrieve the blueprint.’

After much deliberation, the lich made a decision and released Jameson.

Of course, he didn’t release him completely, but he had injected a worm that had been tamed with black magic into his head.

This way, he could secretly control the host, and he could also find out everything the host saw, heard, and thought.

‘I need to find out which magic tower this guy was trying to contact, and which guys were after our tower’s latest technology, and get rid of them.’

“Ugh… what the hell happened…?”

As Jameson regained consciousness, the lich quickly returned to Pierre’s form.

“Are you awake, Branch Manager?”

“Elder Pierre?”

Unlike a moment ago, Jameson was convinced that the lich was Elder Pierre.

The worm parasitizing his head had made him perceive it that way.

“Is there any need to be so frustrated just because there was a fire in the library? Get yourself together and do your job properly.”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

Having taken care of Jameson, the lich left the Brenden branch and headed north to the Volga Republic.

To retrieve the blueprint for the Veritas Magic Tower’s latest hero-class Gigant.

He had no idea.

That he had made a completely wrong judgment.