“Don’t know?”
Eugene was dumbfounded by the Emperor’s response.
Suddenly calling a busy man to the palace only to say that he wants to give him some mysterious thing and have him do a favor in return?
“Are you joking?”
Perhaps anticipating this reaction, the Emperor hurriedly asked him to calm down.
“Please listen a little longer, Eugene.”
“Hmph.”
How long could a seventy-year-old kid’s tongue be? Having known him for seventy years, Eugene gave him a chance to explain. If it turned out to be nonsense, he would punish him without mercy.
“Well then, speak.”
Given the opportunity, the old man fixed his gaze on the dagger.
“First, this dagger was recently discovered by the relic excavation team dispatched to the Demon Realm.”
Judging by the dagger’s condition, it made sense. Having traveled the world for over a hundred years and seen many artifacts, there was no other style of dagger like this one, which did not correspond to any known civilization.
‘Subterranea.’
Many unidentified relics are still excavated beneath the continent’s surface.
These relics produce magical energy on their own and possess unique functions,
and the older the relic, the less its principles can be explained by conventional magic.
‘In other words, the closer the relic is to ancient times, the more it operates on unfathomable principles and holds mysterious powers.’
Such relics are especially abundant in the Demon Realm.
The Demon King and his kind, the Demons, have an innate affinity for magic,
and their civilization, dating back to ancient times, mastered magic and produced rare relics.
‘That’s why the Empire dispatches relic excavation teams.’
Even a single relic from the Demon Realm has immense research value.
‘Especially in terms of technological ripple effects.’
The Empire’s rapid transformation from an era of horse-drawn travel to trains within a hundred years was largely due to access to the Demon Realm after the Hero’s conquest of the Demon King. They applied research results extracted from Demon Realm relics to industry.
“So, it’s a relic, but what of it?”
However, to an immortal, relics are things that are nice to have but not essential. Moreover, having seen and used various relics for over a century, no matter how precious, most relics were just common tools by now.
“You do realize the price for wasting my time by detaining me, right?”
“Of course.”
Either guessing or expecting his disinterest in relics, the Emperor’s eyes still brimmed with confidence, unwavering in their gaze. This only made Eugene more curious about the source of that confidence. Surely the Emperor was counting on this very curiosity.
‘Getting old only makes one more cunning.’
Chuckling at the wisdom that only age could bring, Eugene pressed for an answer.
“Give me the reason you’re so confident.”
“The experts on the excavation team dated this dagger, and do you know what age they found?”
“Answer quickly before my patience runs out.”
Was he going to play twenty questions with a thief who was over 120 years old? If he were younger, Eugene might have already banged his head on the desk and left,
but now he was just annoyed at such nonsense.
Snap!
The Emperor hastily spread four fingers. When asked to answer, showing the number four for no reason—Eugene could guess what he meant, but he wasn’t in the mood to play along with this seventy-year-old kid.
“You want me to break four of your fingers?”
“N-no, that’s too much of a joke!”
The Emperor quickly retracted his fingers as if to say never mind. Having known him for nearly seventy years, Eugene knew the Emperor was the type to do what he says. Perhaps deciding not to provoke him any further, the Emperor finally revealed the answer.
“Four thousand years ago.”
“What?”
A relic dated four thousand years? That meant it was one of the rarest ever found. Among relics of comparable age, still in existence, there was only one:
“Wasn’t the fragment of the Lucia Goddess’s sacred vestment about 3,800 years old?”
The most sacred relic of the Holy Empire, one of the continent’s two powers alongside the Empire, a piece of the goddess of debt and supreme deity Lucia’s holy clothing, dated to that era. If this dagger’s age surpassed that, it meant only one thing:
“It’s an artifact from the Age of Myth.”
“Impressive knowledge of history.”
“It’s common sense.”
The Age of Myth is generally accepted to be between three and four thousand years ago. Elf history books record the gods walking the continent, and their earliest records roughly correspond to this period.
‘An artifact from the Age of Myth.’
If the dagger truly was four thousand years old, as the Emperor said, it should possess power similar to the sacred vestment fragment of Lucia. Though he had never seen it himself, the fragment was said to heal all ailments simply by touch,
‘Even bring the dead back to life.’
If artifacts from the time when gods roamed the land wielded such power, then the dagger’s power might hold a similar miraculous ability. It could even be a holy relic infused with divine power.
‘If it’s the power of a holy relic…’
Breaking his silence, the Emperor hinted at something.
“Could it also be the reason behind Eugene’s wish?”
‘How presumptuous.’
Eugene didn’t respond to that. Now that he knew the dagger was an artifact from the Age of Myth,
a quiet ripple stirred in his previously pitch-black heart.
‘A glimmer of hope.’
In a lifetime sentenced to immortality, he saw a grain of debt that might suggest an end. There had been many similar flickers over more than a century.
‘Exploring the Demon Realm after the Demon King’s defeat, the Eastern Continent… and now,’
This mysterious dagger. An ancient mystery hidden from the surface for four thousand years— if he could unravel its secret, could it grant the wish he had long hoped for?
‘The end of immortality.’
And death as a normal human. Having lost those he loved because of immortality, carrying the inevitable solitude of loss afterward.
‘Unlike long-lived beings like elves or dragons,’
The curse was harsh for humans, whose nature was a short life. Humans are meant to be born, grow, age, and close their eyes—to escape that natural order was a painful fate.
‘Could it finally be severed?’
The Emperor was one of the few who knew Eugene’s wish. To lure the cantankerous thief of over 120 years, he had to offer bait that fulfilled his deepest desire.
‘Maybe the old man has finally grown wiser at seventy.’
With that much sincerity, it was worth humoring the old man’s antics. Without a word, Eugene reached for the treasure chest and slowly pulled it closer.
“Tell me what you want.”
“Thank you.”
The Emperor bowed his head. The sovereign of the Empire, which ruled half the continent, had bared his crown before a man who could not die.
‘This is one of the few things I actually like about him.’
When people gain power and status, they tend to become arrogantly inflated beyond their station. Being the Empire’s ruler could easily intoxicate someone with such arrogance, but ‘he remains humble toward me.’
With that brief thought concluded, Eugene asked Leon II.
“So, what is it you want?”
*****
“But, Sir Hammer, I have a question.”
“What is it?”
Rexilia turned her head to the junior knight while walking. Leaving the Emperor’s side felt uneasy enough—what question did she have now? If it was something trivial, she was ready to throw a punch.
“If Eugene and Sir Hammer fought, who would win?”
“Huh?”
What was this, a childish game? A fully grown man, who was now directly under the Emperor, asking such a question? It was so silly that she clenched her fist, prepared to smack her junior, but then thought,
‘Wait.’
It would be better to establish Eugene’s rank here and now. Since he was now the Emperor’s direct subordinate, she would inevitably learn about Eugene. Better to talk about him now than later.
“How much do you know about Eugene?”
The junior scratched the back of his head.
“Uh… I know he was the Hero’s companion a hundred years ago, and he’s the only immortal alive now.”
“So you don’t know everything.”
There was so much to know about Eugene that she didn’t expect a newly transferred knight to know it all.
Seeing the junior’s childish level, she adjusted her explanation.
“If we rank strength across the Empire, who do you think is the strongest?”
“Huh? Among the Empire’s Seven Blades, that would be…”
The junior hesitated before answering.
“The strongest of the Seven Blades is Sir Sword Saint, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, that old man is strong.”
The titles of the Empire’s Seven Blades range from Seventh Blade to First Blade. Though the titles don’t strictly indicate strength, the First Blade is certainly powerful. But Eugene was talking about strength across the entire Empire.
“What about the Silent Knight?”
“Huh? The Silent Knight?”
The junior laughed incredulously.
“That’s just a rumor.”
“A rumor…”
The junior clearly didn’t know about the Silent Knight yet. To the great clans, the Silent Knight was a figure of legend. A black phantom wearing hundred-year-old armor, wandering the harshest battlefields—
‘The black silhouette that appears on the battlefield is said to reverse even the most disadvantageous battles.’
The most famous battles were the great uprising of the Ahram Desert tribes in the south of the Empire,
and the Green Tide incident when the Greenskin army from the Demon Realm pushed into the Empire.
The junior carefully asked,
“Then why did you mention rumors while talking about Eugene?”
‘Clueless kid.’
Hadn’t she just explained everything? Doubting whether this kid was really a knight with such poor perception. Feeling disdain, she said,
“The Silent Knight is the strongest in the Empire.”
And that man is Eugene himself.
*****
“Do I have to wear armor?”
Eugene asked the ruler. If he was going to be given an artifact from the Age of Myth, surely he would be sent out in armor.
“No.”
But the old Emperor shook his head.
“It’s not a mission for the Silent Knight.”
“Hmm?”
That was unexpected. He thought it would be a mission requiring the Silent Knight, but if it wasn’t such an important matter, what exactly was he asking?
“The truth is…”
The Emperor laid the groundwork and pulled out a sheet of paper from his robes. It was a colorful portrait of a person. It looked like a photograph popular in recent times, with vibrant colors.
‘Looks like a real likeness.’
Artists might soon lose their jobs. Putting aside that trivial thought, Eugene examined the portrait. The person depicted had ginger hair and was a tall, handsome youth.
“Is that your bloodline?”
He was just a little more handsome than Leon II in his teens. The man before him was a balding seventy-year-old child, but even he had been good-looking in his youth. The Emperor cleared his throat and answered quietly.
“Ahem… my grandson.”
“Oh, a grandson?”
No wonder he looked a bit better. Glad he didn’t inherit the paternal side’s traits. Though balding was hereditary, so that was unfortunate.
“So?”
The Emperor wasn’t showing off his grandson’s picture for no reason. He must be asking for a favor involving the grandson. Sure enough, the Emperor finally came to the point.
“My grandson is currently hiding his identity and studying at the Royal Academy.”
“And?”
“He has been selected to spend a year adventuring in the Demon Realm this year.”
Ah, that special program. At the Royal Academy, students of certain grades are sent on adventures to the Demon Realm. The academy’s aim is for students to follow the Hero’s footsteps and grow in the Demon Realm.
“What nonsense.”
What great adventure was it really? Most of it was homelessness, monster hunting, and dungeon looting. Though the Demon King was eventually slain, making the adventure noble in hindsight,
‘In reality, it’s just brutal hardship.’
The Royal Academy was established nearly eighty years ago, and it was laughable for an immortal to give advice on a mortal’s curriculum. Besides, the request to take care of the grandson wasn’t important enough to fuss over here.
“So, you want me to watch over your grandson during his adventure in the Demon Realm?”
“You see right through me.”
“What else could there be in this situation?”
The simple request felt almost anticlimactic. So the Emperor was just an old man looking out for his own blood, coming personally to ask for help to protect his grandson.
“Why not leave it to the Seven Blades or the knights?”
“The Seven Blades are well known, and the knights would be conspicuous.”
“So, I’m inconspicuous and that’s why you chose me?”
He was speaking arrogantly, but in a roundabout way. In other words, thief Eugene was a forgotten figure to the world. Except for a few people, no one in the Empire would recognize him.
‘Such face-saving.’
The Emperor could have openly supported his grandson, but perhaps to maintain the image of raising strong heirs, he compromised between concerns for the heir’s education and family.
‘The result is that such an easy task is entrusted to me.’
The job was easy and the reward satisfactory. That seemed like a fair trade to accept. Giving up any further resistance, Eugene said,
“Fine, prepare whatever is needed for the mission.”
“Thank you, Eugene…!”
The Emperor’s voice was somewhat excited. He hadn’t expected acceptance, knowing Eugene’s usual temperament. Normally, Eugene would have dismissed such nonsense immediately, but
‘Now that I have the relic,’
It was time to revisit the Demon Realm and relive old memories. It had been fifteen years since his last visit. In a rapidly changing world, he should check on the Demon Realm’s current state.
‘Besides…’
If the relic came from the Demon Realm, clues on how to wield its power would also be there. Even without the Emperor’s request, there was reason enough to visit. Among countless relics, the Emperor’s intention behind this dagger must lie here.
“Then, let’s get going.”
With no more business, Eugene stood. The longer he stayed here, the more his originally planned pilgrimage would be delayed. If he went to the market to buy what he needed, it would be evening by then. Just as he was about to leave, the Emperor pointed to the box containing the relic.
“Aren’t you taking the box with you?”
“No, a dagger goes in its sheath.”
Even if it’s a relic, a weapon is a weapon. A weapon’s proper place is not a cumbersome treasure chest. A weapon, no matter how old or shabby, belongs firmly in its sturdy sheath.
‘I only have one sheath,’
he muttered. He drew out his worn dagger and placed it beside the box, then reached toward the relic wrapped in velvet inside the box. The moment his fingers touched the ancient dagger’s hilt—
Thud!
‘Damn!’
Suddenly his heart throbbed as if punched by a fist. From experience, it felt like his heart had stopped for a moment. Surprisingly, the heart attack vanished without even a groan.
‘What was that?’
He quickly glanced at the Emperor. The man looked calm, as if unaware of what had happened. The shock to his heart had been so brief he might have missed it, but
‘Maybe he’s pretending not to know.’
It wouldn’t be surprising if the Emperor had changed his mind about killing an immortal. Whatever the case, Eugene must not show weakness before the Emperor. With that calculation, he calmly wrapped his fingers around the dagger’s hilt, when suddenly—
[Who are you?]
“Hmm?”
An unheard, unseen voice echoed.