Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 2

2. Heading to Lamer City

1

Luke instructed the administrators to gather all documents detailing the territory’s assets and expenditures. He frowned deeply as he reviewed each one.

“This is a disaster; we’re practically bankrupt!”

The ledgers recording the territory’s income and expenses were in such disarray that they could easily be described as a mess. They had been borrowing and repaying money repeatedly, and it was a wonder they had managed to survive this long without collapsing.

“We’re supposed to be the family of a hero who defeated the evil Demon King, so shouldn’t we have some legendary weapons or treasures hidden away?”

But even after a thorough search, not a single trace of the hero’s belongings could be found. The only remaining funds were for the upkeep of the lord’s manor and the minimum expenses to maintain his dignity as a lord, which amounted to less than one-hundredth of the 30,000 pesos.

“Is this what they call the family of a legendary hero? A passing goblin would laugh at us.”

As he learned from the family records, Lakan had been granted the title of Marquis and a vast territory in the southern part of the Livia Kingdom after defeating the Demon King. Considering that he was originally a commoner’s illegitimate son, it was an extraordinary rise in status.

However, that glory did not last long. The ambitious Duke Baroque had launched a rebellion. Lakan, who could not tolerate treason and injustice, fought against it, but he was powerless and defeated because he was suffering from an incurable disease at the time.

Baroque could not easily execute Lakan, who was highly respected among the knights of the continent at the time. So, he demoted Lakan’s title to Viscount and stripped him of all the prime territories and cities, except for the remote territory where the Demon King’s castle was located.

It is said that Lakan, who was driven out like this, had been sick and died a year later. Therefore, people in later generations whispered that Lakan had been cursed by the Demon King.

‘Is this what you wanted, listening to those bastards and killing me?’

Luke turned his gaze out the window and glared at Lakan’s statue standing proudly in the middle of the garden. The golden statue of Lakan, in a dignified pose, did not respond. That flashy statue was a monument erected by the previous lord’s grandfather 50 years ago.

He and Lakan’s other descendants had struggled to revive the family. However, not only the heads of the family but also most of the descendants suffered from illness and died young or were killed in wars. As a result, the family not only failed to prosper but barely managed to preserve its lineage, and the territory’s finances continued to deteriorate. The negative impact was most severe in Luke’s generation.

With the sense of crisis that the territory would wither away if things continued like this, the seventeen-year-old Luke tried his best to develop the territory and revive the family. He searched through numerous books to find ways to develop the territory, and despite his frail health, he practiced swordsmanship to show the appearance of a head of a martial arts family. Not long ago, he had tried to control a Gigant [a large, humanoid war machine] and suffered a core engine runaway accident. He was diagnosed with brain death due to the backflow of mana [magical energy], but miraculously regained consciousness after fifteen days.

‘No, that guy died. That’s why my soul was able to enter.’

Seimon sighed as he recalled the family records and the stories the servants had been gossiping about. He felt sorry for Luke. Lakan was the target of his resentment, but he couldn’t shift that resentment onto his descendant, Luke. Luke, too, could have lived more easily, but he was just a pitiful boy burdened by his ancestor’s faded glory and heavy sense of responsibility. Nevertheless, instead of resenting his fate, he was a diligent fellow who tried to fulfill his responsibilities as the temporary head of the family.

‘And somehow, he doesn’t feel like a stranger. He’s an orphan, he’s had a hard time since he was young, and he even has the same name as I did when I was young.’

Seimon’s original name was Luke. However, his teacher, who taught him magic, said that it was not a name suitable for a wizard and gave him a new name after an ancient sage.

“Anyway, does this house really not have any hidden treasures or money?”

There are hardly any nobles who don’t have some secrets. Even while complaining about the difficult financial situation of their territories and the heavy taxes and tributes they have to pay to the king, they are the kind of people who exploit the territory’s residents to enrich themselves. However, the Lakan family was one of the very few virtuous nobles. If righteous knights heard this, they would praise them, saying, ‘Indeed, they are the family of a hero!’ but Luke could say this to them.

“Virtuous my foot! Even so, you should have enough money to take care of your own family!”

What was even more infuriating was that Lakan had squandered all of his treasures and military funds that he had kept in the Demon King’s castle. He said he used it to stop the ambition of the traitor, but Luke was not impressed at all. If that had remained, he wouldn’t have had to worry so much.

“Anyway, that stupid Lakan… Haa, no. Let’s calm down. Good ideas come when you’re calm.”

Even he thought he was too agitated right now. How else could he be acting so temperamental and uttering such harsh words, something he hadn’t done even in his hot-blooded youth or during his ambitious days as the Demon King? It was an understandable situation to be agitated, but getting annoyed like this wouldn’t change the reality he was facing, nor would it solve anything.

“Anyway, I need something to get me started…”

The amount of money currently on paper was far too insufficient to be the seed money to grow the huge sum of 30,000 pesos. “I could try to sell one of the Gigants without the Knight Commander knowing… Ah!”

Luke, who was thinking about selling the Gigant, jumped up from his seat. An item that could be used as seed money came to his mind. Luke quickly turned his gaze ‘that way’ and grinned slyly. “Yes, I can use that!”

2

The next day, after finishing morning prayers, Priest Maron came to Hans with a worried face and asked, “The young lord said he would take care of it… but what method could he possibly have?”

Butler Hans sighed deeply and shook his head. “How would I know?”

“Could it be that there is some secret slush fund passed down in the family?”

“If there was, we would have already found it and used it.”

The Lakan Viscountcy was a very remote territory. Most of it was wasteland, so farming was not good, and it was located on the outskirts of the empire, and transportation was inconvenient, so commerce did not develop. There were no mines or special products either. The only thing they could do was attract tourists to the Demon King’s castle, so they barely made a living from tourism and lodging. As a result, the Lakan Viscountcy was always short of money. They had reduced the training of soldiers and left the lord’s manor, which was cracked and peeling, neglected for decades.

“Then, does that mean we won’t be able to repay the debt?”

The Alon Merchant Guild was famous for its high-interest loans. If the repayment of the principal and interest was even slightly delayed, they would immediately seize the assets. There were many people who had suffered greatly and lost their fortunes because of them. Nevertheless, the reason they borrowed money from the Alon Merchant Guild was that there was no other place that would lend money to the Lakan Viscountcy, which had been on a downward spiral for 500 years.

“How about we just act tough and say we don’t have the money to repay?”

Hans shook his head with a dark face at Maron’s unpriestly words. “It is said that the great magic tower of the capital is backing the Alon Merchant Guild. If we offend them, the territory could disappear altogether.”

The great magic tower had power beyond that of a large lord, including its own mercenary corps, in addition to its financial power. If they were to become enemies with them, they would not last even a year before going bankrupt.

“Haa, it’s difficult, we can’t sell the Gigant either. Why did they even try to develop the mine…”

“Did they want to fail? It must have been because they didn’t have the right connections.”

It was when Hans was taking the side of the vassals who had advocated for the mine development. Suddenly, the door burst open and a servant rushed in. “Something terrible has happened, Butler!”

“What is it?”

“The statue of our founder that was in the garden has disappeared!”

“What?!”

Hans was startled and jumped up from his seat. The two-meter-tall statue, depicting the figure of the founder Lakan when he defeated the Demon King, was like the symbol of the family. That symbol had disappeared!

Hans, upon receiving the report, hurriedly called the servants and soldiers to find the whereabouts of the statue. He was determined to not let whoever stole it get away with it. However, the report that came in a little later made him dumbfounded and frustrated.

“It is said that the young lord took it away on a cart with the escort knight Philip early this morning.”

“What on earth is he trying to do… !”

In the past, he knew that about 1 ton of bronze and some gold were used to make the statue. But even if he sold it, it would be far from enough to repay the 30,000 pesos. The statue was not made by a famous artist, so it had no value, nor was it an old antique.

‘Why on earth did he take the statue!’

Hans, who could not understand the young lord, shook his head to clear his mind and then gave orders to his subordinates. “Immediately send people out to find the young lord!”

Whatever the reason, they had to find the statue, which was like the symbol of the family. And they could not leave the young lord’s actions, who had not been long out of bed and whose memory was not even intact, unchecked.

‘Hmm, is someone talking about me?’

Luke, who was driving the cart, scratched his itchy ear and chuckled. The escort knight Philip, who was sitting next to him, sighed at the sight. “Young lord, how can you be laughing right now?”

“Why, are you worried?”

“Of course, I’m worried! Stealing the statue of our founder, which is like the symbol of the family… aren’t you afraid of the consequences?”

“Do you think they’ll kill me? If I die, the Lakan family will be destroyed.”

Because of that, he was briefly tempted to commit suicide. That way, he could properly retaliate against Lakan, who had ruined his revenge. However, suicide was a pointless act. Moreover, he had to repay the debt somehow to protect the castle where his cherished memories were.

“Of course, you’ll only get scolded, young lord. But what about me? I might get beaten to death by the former commander for not stopping you!”

Philip, who was 26 years old this year, was a distant relative of the Knight Commander Rogers and a graduate of the military academy in the capital. He was quite skilled for his young age and became the young lord’s personal escort knight, but he never imagined that he would get caught up in such a major incident.

“It’s okay, I’ll take responsibility and make sure you don’t get beaten to death.”

“Hah, I’d rather believe that you can make cheese out of beans than believe that.”

‘He’s quite the smart aleck.’

Still, Luke liked Philip. If it were other knights, they would have gone to report to the vassals right away, let alone help with this matter.

“Anyway, if we sell that statue, we can definitely raise 30,000 pesos, right?”

“Yes, so trust me.”

“Then please explain it more specifically so that I can trust you more!”

He didn’t know how the young lord would raise 30,000 pesos with the money from selling the statue, but he had heard the rumors. That if they couldn’t repay the 30,000 pesos they borrowed from the Alon Merchant Guild, they might have to sell the Gigant. ‘If we sell the Gigant, the power to protect the territory will disappear, and there will be no reason to maintain the knight order. In the worst case, I might become unemployed or a wandering mercenary.’ There was a reason why Philip had agreed to Luke’s outrageous act.

“Specifically… I’m thinking of gambling with the money from selling the statue.”

“Gambling? Where are you going to invest?”

“It’s not an investment, it’s literally gambling. There’s a lot of money going around in gambling dens, isn’t there?”

‘Aaaah! Lord Elcasel!’

Philip inwardly cried out and clutched his head. He had believed in the young lord because his speech and actions had become more mature than before, but he never thought he would try to do something so reckless! It seemed that he had seriously injured his head in that accident.

“Um, how about we stop now?”

“The die has already been cast, and we’re riding on the back of a dragon.”

‘Then, could you at least let me get off?’

Philip didn’t want to get involved in the young lord’s crazy antics, but he couldn’t bring himself to say those words. If he left the young lord here, he would be neglecting his duty as an escort knight.

3

The two arrived at the port and boarded a regular ship. After three days on the regular ship, they were able to reach Lamer, a port city at the lower reaches of the Neir River, at dusk. Lamer, a commercial city with a population of 200,000, was the second most prosperous city in the southern part of the empire and was ruled by Count Monarch, a collateral relative of the imperial family.

‘Amazing. How could a small, fishy fishing village have changed like this?’

Luke, who felt a sense of time passing as he looked at the developed Lamer, first went to the nearest blacksmith. “You want to sell that statue?” The blacksmith, who had been called out from his work, asked with a frown. “That’s right.”

At Luke’s answer, the blacksmith examined the statue in detail and then held up two fingers. “Aren’t you trying to get it too cheap?”

Luke had not been idle during the three days of the boat trip. He had shown his meticulousness by talking with Philip and the merchants on the regular ship to roughly grasp the prices and market rates of the empire.

“The price of bronze has fallen a lot these days. And it costs money to melt down and recycle the statue.”

“But isn’t the outside gold-plated?”

“That’s why it’s 2,000 pesos. If it wasn’t gold-plated, it wouldn’t even be 1,000 pesos.”

“I see. Then I’ll have to go somewhere else.”

As Luke was about to leave the blacksmith’s shop, the blacksmith grabbed his arm. “Do you think you’ll get more somewhere else? Alright, I’ll give you 50 more pesos.”

“I’ll give you the cart and horses too, so let’s make it 2,500 pesos.”

“Geez! How much do a few horses and a cart cost…”

After arguing with the blacksmith, Luke finally managed to get 300 more pesos. And it was when he was about to go to his next destination. Grumble!

A loud noise came from Philip’s stomach behind him. Philip scratched his head with an awkward expression. “Ahaha, it seems the jerky I had for lunch wasn’t enough.” Come to think of it, they had left the mansion in such a hurry that they hadn’t packed enough food.

They settled for a meal of jerky and hardtack, which wasn’t quite enough for a robust knight like Philip.

“Well, no need to rush. How about we have a proper dinner before we go? We’ve got some money, let’s eat something fancy,” Luke suggested.

Considering their mission, Luke decided it was alright to spend a few hundred pesos. They headed to the shopping district, which was bustling with restaurants.

They found a rather upscale, four-star restaurant in the heart of the district.

‘Let’s see how much the food culture has changed in 500 years,’ Luke mused.

Time had passed, so the food must have improved significantly.

Luke, seated by the window, looked over the menu presented by a pretty waitress and ordered a variety of delicious-looking dishes.

Philip was ecstatic.

Even as a knight, his salary had its limits, so he was overjoyed to be eating such high-end food that he rarely got to taste. His mouth was practically agape.

“…And what would be good for a drink?” Luke asked.

“Young Lord, the 1500-year-old Bordeaux wine is a good value for the price,” Philip suggested.

“Then let’s go with that.”

Following Philip’s advice, they ordered their drinks.

Soon after, the dishes they ordered began to arrive one after another.

First, there was soup and salad, followed by grilled fish in sauce, foie gras with truffles, rare steak, and all sorts of delicacies.

Philip, with a knight’s hearty appetite, devoured everything that came out. Luke, wanting to sample more dishes, only took a bite or two of each.

However, there was one dish he made an exception for and finished completely.

It was the chocolate cake that came for dessert.

“This is delicious. I feel like I’m getting a surge of energy,” Luke said, savoring the taste.

“Chocolate was originally used as a tonic in the Southern Continent. The raw material, cacao seeds, were also used as currency,” Philip explained.

‘The Southern Continent… Has navigation technology advanced enough to buy goods from that far away?’ Luke wondered.

The ocean south of the Lodesia Continent was so treacherous that it was called the ‘Sea of Storms.’

It was also teeming with giant sea monsters like Serpents and Krakens, so in the past, they didn’t dare to cross it.

It was only thanks to the voyages of a few brave sailors that the existence of a continent across the sea was discovered.

However, with the development of magic engineering over the past 500 years, humans developed larger ships and superior weapons, actively pioneering sea routes.

Thanks to that, the Southern Ocean route was opened, and goods from the Southern Continent could be brought to the Lodesia Continent.

That’s also why Lamer, a small fishing village, developed into a large port city.

“Whew, that was a good meal,” Luke said, satisfied.

“Thanks to you, Young Lord, I had a feast for the first time in a while,” Philip added.

It was indeed delicious, as expensive as it was.

Compared to the food from 500 years ago, the ingredients had become more diverse, and the cooking methods had also improved significantly.

In particular, the development of sauces was remarkable, and Luke decided he would come here often.

After enjoying their feast, Luke and Philip left the restaurant.

Then, beggar children who had been loitering nearby swarmed around them like bees.

“Please, just one coin!” one cried.

“I’m hungry, just enough for a piece of bread…” another pleaded.

“You guys, can’t you just go away?” Philip said, pushing the children back and scolding them.

However, Luke scolded Philip instead.

“Don’t be so rough. What if the kids get hurt?” Luke said.

“But, Young Lord…” Philip started to protest.

“Here, here, I’ll give you this, so go get something to eat,” Luke said, handing out the change he had left over from paying at the restaurant to the clinging children, remembering his own miserable days as an orphan long ago.

The children bowed their heads repeatedly, thanking him.

“Thank you!”

“May you be blessed!”

‘Hehe, cute kids,’ Luke thought, smiling inwardly as he turned away.

Whistle—!

Suddenly, a sharp whistle sounded, and then, security soldiers in blue uniforms appeared on the street.

“Those dirty rats! Sweep them away right now!” the captain ordered.

As the captain’s order was given, the security soldiers rushed at the children, mercilessly swinging their clubs and kicking them.

“You bastards! I told you not to loiter in the downtown area!” one soldier yelled.

“Agh! I’m sorry, please save me!” a child cried.

“Because of you, the Count is getting annoyed with us!” another soldier shouted.

The scene was instantly filled with the soldiers’ curses and the screams of the bleeding children.

Luke shuddered.

Philip’s actions of pushing the children away earlier were nothing compared to the security forces’ brutality.

‘Those cruel bastards!’ Luke thought, his blood boiling.

“Y-Young Lord!” Philip exclaimed, trying to stop him.

Before Philip could react, Luke rushed forward, drew his sword, and pointed it at the captain’s neck, who was beating one of the beggar children.

“You! What are you doing to these poor children!” Luke demanded.

“What? Which bastard is…!” the captain started, annoyed, then stopped when he saw Luke.

If the opponent had been a commoner, he would have immediately killed him for interfering with the execution of his duties.

However, the boy glaring at him was undoubtedly a noble, judging by his attire and tone.

‘Damn it, why did a noble have to interfere…’ the security captain, who was from a local gentry family, thought, inwardly troubled. Fighting with a noble here would only make things worse.

So, he decided to try and persuade the boy and send him away. He was about to speak when it happened.

A sharp and dignified shout came from behind the crowd.

“Everyone, stop it!” a woman’s voice commanded.

The security forces’ actions stopped instantly at the beautiful yet sharp voice.

A girl approached the hesitant security forces with a very bold cry.

She had an angry face that didn’t match her elegant dress.

Luke was startled when he saw her.

It wasn’t because of her shimmering, brilliant silver hair, nor was it because of her beautiful and sacred appearance that made him admire her.

‘Katarina?!’ Luke thought, his heart skipping a beat.

She was very familiar to Luke.

500 years ago, when Luke was at the Veritas Magic Tower.

There, he met a woman.

Her name was Katarina Angelotti.

She was a 2nd Circle mage who had just shed her apprentice mage status.

Born as the illegitimate child of a noble, she fell deeply in love with Luke not long after they met.

The two took a vacation together and traveled, and in the process, they discovered a black magic book in an ancient ruin on the border.

However, the two resealed the black magic book. What was important to them was the journey itself, not a forbidden black magic book.

The two had a simple dream.

To get married someday, leave the magic tower, open a magic shop in a small town, and live happily together. It was a small but earnest wish.

But…

‘Greedy beasts didn’t leave her alone,’ Luke thought, his heart aching.

Katarina’s beauty was so stunning that it was out of place for her humble status.

Because of this, there were many who wanted to possess her by force.

The Duke Baroque, a powerful figure in the Kingdom of Lybia at the time, visited the magic tower, set his eyes on her, and Meister Arsen, who was ambitious and eager to succeed, offered Katarina to the Duke as a concubine.

Katarina, who was sold to Duke Baroque against her will, eventually hanged herself the day before her wedding.

Luke, who was away in a remote province on an errand ordered by the magic tower elder, completely lost his reason when he heard the tragic news.

‘And I…’ Luke thought, his mind clouded with grief.

While Luke was lost in his past thoughts, her voice was heard again.

“What are you doing to these powerless children? Aren’t you ashamed as adults?” she demanded.

“That’s… we were just following orders…” the captain stammered.

The captain was flustered in front of the girl who resembled Katarina. Even if she was a noble, she was being a bit excessive.

“Aren’t these children the Count’s people? A lord should be helping the hungry and poor!” she exclaimed.

“Th-that is…” the captain stuttered.

While Luke stepped back for a moment due to the girl’s appearance, Philip whistled from behind.

“She’s a knockout in person, isn’t she?” Philip said, impressed.

“Do you know that woman?” Luke asked, turning his head.

“Are you interested in her too, Young Lord? Well, with a beauty like that, it’s hard for a man not to be interested,” Philip chuckled.

Philip explained about the girl.

“This is the first time I’ve seen her in person, but I’ve heard rumors. They say there’s a beautiful saint living in Lamer City.”

“Saint?” Luke asked, surprised.

“She’s not a real saint, they just call her that,” Philip clarified.

‘That’s a relief,’ Luke thought, not knowing why he felt that way.

“Anyway, her name is Reina Petrovna Kirillov. She looks noble at first glance, but she’s not just any noble. She’s a princess of a country,” Philip explained.

“A princess? Why is such a noble person here without any attendants?” Luke asked, confused.

“Well, because her country has fallen,” Philip said, matter-of-factly.

Princess Reina was the only daughter of Pyotr II, the last king of the Volga Kingdom, which is now the Volga Republic.

Fifteen years ago, a republican revolution broke out in the Volga Kingdom.

Pyotr II, who was on the throne at the time, fled to the neighboring Baroque Empire with some of his retainers.

“There are many refugees from Volga who have fled the chaos of the revolution in Lamer City, as well as in other parts of the Empire. As is usual for the people of a fallen nation, most of them are barely making a living by doing manual labor or day jobs,” Philip explained.

At first, the exiled royal family released funds to help.

However, that only lasted for a year or two, and as time passed, they also gave up. In the end, the lives of the refugees were becoming more and more impoverished.

“Didn’t the nobles or the Imperial family of the Empire provide any help?” Luke asked.

“Far from helping, they considered them a source of unrest that disturbed the peace. If the Empire hadn’t claimed to be the suzerain state of the Volga Kingdom, they would have been kicked out immediately,” Philip said, shaking his head.

Pyotr II, who couldn’t forget the glory of the past, went to them every time he had the chance and begged them to restore his country.

In response, Emperor Rudolf of the Baroque Empire recommended that the exiled royal family take a vacation and sent them down to Lamer, far from the capital.

“In fact, they were exiled because they were a nuisance,” Philip said.

“Yes, and when the Baroque Empire lost the war against the Volga Republic seven years ago, and even the possibility of restoring the monarchy disappeared, Pyotr II, who was sick with anger, passed away soon after,” Philip continued.

As a result, most of the retainers who had fled with him scattered.

Everyone said that the exiled royal family of Volga would disappear into history.

However, Princess Reina, the last of the Kirillov dynasty, did not give up until the end.

She sold the royal family’s treasures, as well as her own jewelry, to provide food and necessities to the refugees for free, and she also found them jobs and settlements.

And whenever she had time, she visited the refugee camps and volunteered.

“Because she helped not only the Volga refugees but also the poor and sick of the Empire, the people of Lamer call the princess a saint. Thanks to that, rumors have spread beyond the southern part of the Empire to the capital, and she has become a celebrity,” Philip concluded.

‘She’s kind too,’ Luke thought, impressed.

He thought she only resembled Katarina in appearance, but it seemed that her personality was also very similar.

Katarina was also always eager to help anyone who was pitiful.

“Tell the Count. If he wants the true development of Lamer, he should look after the lives of the people, not just superficial development!” Reina declared, her voice ringing with conviction.

While Luke was watching intently, Reina, who had finished her sermon, chased away the security soldiers. And she took care of the injured children.

“Did it hurt a lot?” she asked gently.

“It’s okay. I got hit less thanks to that older brother,” one of the children said, pointing at Luke.

The princess, tearing off the hem of her dress to wrap the wounds, turned her gaze to where the children were pointing.

As she approached, Luke’s heart pounded without him realizing it.

But the moment the princess came in front of him, he took a step back without realizing it.

‘Th-this energy…?’ Luke thought, feeling a strange sensation.

Just as he was about to be overwhelmed by some unknown, enormous power, it disappeared as if it were a lie.

When he came to his senses, what he saw in front of him was Princess Reina politely greeting him.

“Thank you for looking after the children,” she said with a warm smile.

“Ah, no, I didn’t do much,” Luke replied, waving his hand, expressing humility.

At that moment, two old men rushed over from the other side.

“Princess! What are you doing here?” one of them exclaimed.

“You must hurry if you don’t want to be late for your dinner appointment with Andrei!” the other added.

Reina, looking up at the clock tower on one side of the street at the urging of the old retainers, looked surprised.

“Oh my, it’s already this late… I have to go now, so be careful not to get caught by the scary men next time, okay?” she said to the children.

Princess Reina waved her hand at the children and disappeared down the street with the old men.

Luke stood there blankly, watching her until she had completely disappeared.

The image of Reina, who had the same appearance and warm heart as Katarina, was not easily erased from his mind.

And…

‘What was that energy from earlier?’ Luke wondered, tilting his head.

Earlier, when the princess approached him, a strange energy was detected in his spirit.

Luke had experienced a moment of dizziness from that enormous, unfamiliar energy, or rather, the intense life force that was felt from nature.

‘But can a human emit such energy?’ Luke thought, puzzled.

According to the knowledge he had, such a thing was impossible.

So he shook his head.

‘I must have been mistaken. Is it because my body has changed?’ he wondered.

Moreover, energy couldn’t appear and disappear as quickly as that.

‘It’s a shame I didn’t get to examine it in detail if she hadn’t left so quickly,’ Luke thought, a hint of regret in his mind.

“Young Lord, let’s go,” Philip said, bringing him back to the present.

“…Okay,” Luke replied.

Luke, regaining his senses, turned and started walking.

Inwardly, he thought that he had done well to be resurrected in this era for the first time after his revival.