Chapter 197: Ancestral Blessing, I

An suffocating silence stretched on for a long while.

Those atop the castle walls held their breaths, gazing intently at the returning figure.

Thousands of pairs of eyes were fixed on the being bringing back the head of the Orc Lord.

Unlike when Louis first left the safety of the wall, he now approached with the setting sun at his back. It was as if the world was illuminated by the radiance of his presence alone.

Thump.

In the quiet of his return, Louis effortlessly leapt onto the castle wall.

With the refreshing demeanor of one who had enjoyed a leisurely stroll, Louis presented the Orc Lord’s head to the Emperor.

Thud.

The severed head was as large as an adult’s torso. The sight was eerie, with the eyes wide open as if frozen in a moment of bewilderment—forever unanswered why they had perished.

The emperor grew pale, while the head of the guard subtly stepped forward, hand resting on his sword hilt.

The Master Guard glared at Louis with apprehensive eyes.

If he decides to target our lord… Could I possibly stop him?

No matter how many times he ran through the scenario in his mind, the outcome remained the same: his body torn apart in a single blow. There was no strategy that would work against this opponent.

As the Master Guard, he had never experienced such helplessness before, but even so, he couldn’t retreat. If the priest were to attack the emperor, he would sacrifice himself to buy even a fraction of a second for his emperor.

Of course, the worst-case scenario didn’t come true.

Louis dusted off his hands and took a slight step back as he spoke, “I’ve handled the monster army according to our contract. You’ve checked, right?”

”…Yes.” The emperor nodded.

The Master Guard had inspected the situation so thoroughly, there was nothing left to say.

How could they deny something witnessed vividly by not just one, but thousands at the same time?

The Emperor’s answer made Louis’s grin even wider.

“Then it’s time for Your Majesty to fulfill his promise.”

“The down payment for the contract is…”

“Oh, you can pay that later. What I want right now is…” Louis’s eyes glinted. “The return of the sacred relic you took.”

“…I’ll have it brought to you soon.”

“No, I need it right now. And if anything has happened to it…”

Louis left the rest unsaid, and that was what frightened the emperor.

If something has happened to the relic, who knows what might occur…?

The emperor sighed, interpreting it as a warning to leave the rest up to his imagination. And yet, he felt relieved.

Thank goodness I didn’t kill Samuel.

The emperor thought about how fortunate he was to have kept Duke Samuel alive. He’d devised his eternal youth scheme personally, making him the perfect scapegoat should any issues arise with the mystical gem.

The emperor shook his head at the mere thought of Samuel languishing in the underground prison.

“This will take time,” Louis said to his guards. “Please wait here for me.”

With a gesture from the emperor, the guards understood and left the castle walls.

Exactly 30 minutes later, the guards returned with a lavish box and carefully presented it to Louis.

Upon seeing this, Louis spoke up:

“Take it. This time… I must apologize once more.”

“I accept your apology, but if there’s a problem with the mystical gem… you’ll be responsible for that.”

“O-of course…”

The emperor nodded, inwardly praying:

Please, let that damn Samuel not have done anything foolish with the elixir.

Louis took the box and cracked it open slightly.

Click.

A blast of cold air gushed out from the narrow opening. Within, he could faintly discern a fruit resembling a pure white bone. Its radiant form sent Louis’s eyes sparkling with excitement.

Finally… finally!

He had waited long for this day—250 years, to be precise. After enduring centuries, he believed he would finally be able to claim the ripened fruit of wisdom when…

What happened next? His precious treasure was stolen by those insufferable brats. But after many twists and turns, it’s finally within his grasp now.

Just eating this will allow me to grow rapidly, isn’t that right?

Louis swallowed hard and began scrutinizing the Grow Fruit minutely.

He checked for any flaws or damage.

As a specialist with hundreds of years of experience dealing with elixirs, his appraisal was meticulous.

After a few minutes passed,

a look of relief flashed across Louis’s face.

It seems fine.

Thankfully, the elixir appeared to be in good condition.

Although it seemed like the Empire had tinkered with it here and there, there were no major signs of degradation.

Had the impairment been severe enough to affect its potency, the Islet would likely have been vaporized on the spot.

The Emperor, watching Louis examine the contents of the box, asked nervously,

“Well? How is it?”

“Well, there don’t seem to be any problems.”

“Ohhh…”

Had there ever been a moment when the words “no problems” sounded so sweet to the Emperor’s ears?

Deeply relieved, he nearly collapsed as the tension drained from his body.

Had he not been an superhuman, the Emperor would have crumpled to the ground.

Click.

Louis shut the box, stowed it in his coat, and said with a smile, “I’ve accepted the items. Let’s meet again next month for the repayment of the principal.”

“R-right…”

“We’ll take our leave.”

Louis waved his hand and teleported away with his companions.

And just like that, they were all gone.

Thud.

“Y-Your Majesty!”

The Emperor collapsed to the ground, and those around him rushed to his aid.

Assisted to his feet, the Emperor spoke with a pale face, ”…I want to rest.”

“I shall escort you…”

That day, the Emperor reflected on what had just transpired.

It had lasted less than ten minutes, but it would surely go down as the most nerve-wracking moment of his life.

Of course, as someone who couldn’t see into the future, it was an error in hindsight.

Upon returning to the Order’s lodgings, Louis’s travel party split into two factions:

Pablo, the Twins, and Fin—who remained unperturbed no matter what Louis did—and those of the opposite disposition. The Flame siblings and Lavina belonged exactly to the latter group.

Kendrick and Tania stood frozen, their pupils dilated and gazes glued to Louis.

Clap! Louis clapped his hands lightly to snap them out of their daze.

“Oh…”

“Huh?”

As the Flame siblings finally regained focus and blinked, Louis smiled. “Did you get a good look?”

They stiffened at the question.

“Well… We… saw it, but… it’s just…”

“Honestly, what we witnessed was so overwhelming… We can’t make sense of any of it.”

“How on earth did he…split the sun apart? I mean, how…?”

Seeing the bewildered faces of the Flame siblings, Louis’s lips twitched.

Splitting the sun? As if I had any magical powers to do such a thing.

Even for someone as powerful as Louis, it was impossible to cut through the sun itself. However, by accelerating time, he had been able to slice through the fabric of space. This resulted in the apparent separation of space and time, making the sun appear split.

Well, it wasn’t exactly easy, mind you.

Despite knowing the method, Louis had no intention of revealing it. What would be the point of giving them the answer outright when he’d gone through all the trouble of demonstrating it himself? His role was merely to pose the problem; they were supposed to find their own solutions—each in their unique way.

Louis laughed heartily. “So? If you don’t know, then so what?”

Louis’s eyes asked a question.

Will you give up because you don’t know the answer?

I didn’t teach you that.

Under his silent admonishment, the eyes of the flame siblings, which had been filled with confusion, grew clear.

“No, if we don’t know… we must find out.”

“You’ve already shown us the answer, teacher… We will definitely figure it out! How can we reach that place!”

The realm Louis had demonstrated was undoubtedly far, excruciatingly far away. How much training would they need? How ruthlessly would they have to push themselves? It was utterly beyond their grasp. Yet, unlike before, the path ahead was no longer obscured by fog. They could now see a clear direction amidst the haze.

‘The place where our teacher is… too far away, but…’

If we take our time and proceed step by step, I think we can definitely reach that place. No, let’s try to at least match our teacher’s skill level!

Seeing the milestone Louis had erected pointing in a single direction reignited the passion in the Flame siblings, which had been dwindling for some time. Louis’ smile widened as he observed their eyes shining with determination.

A genius truly is a genius.

For an ordinary person—even someone with considerable talent—the demonstration Louis had just shown would have been an insurmountable barrier, leaving them dejected and defeated. But the Flame siblings were different. These two prodigiously gifted children, talents unmatched in history, saw the towering wall before them not as an obstacle, but as a challenge that stoked their competitive spirit.

The Flame siblings enthusiastically cried out, “We’re off to train!”

“Something…is itching me to get up and moving.”

“Let’s spar, bro!”

“Sure, let’s! I won’t hold back today!”

“I won’t hold back either!”

“…I’ll give you a little leeway, just a bit.”

“Come on, let’s go!”

“W-wait a moment…”

Tania, brimming with enthusiasm, dragged Kendrick out of their lodgings.

Meanwhile, Livina stood rooted to the spot, a pale saliva mark etched around her mouth. In her astonishment, she had unknowingly dropped her jaw so wide that drool pooled by her lips. Even after a significant passage of time, she remained trapped in her shock, stealing furtive glances at Louis again and again.

A monster…

The sheer magnitude of his prowess—obliterating tens of thousands of monsters with a single strike—was unlike anything Livina had ever witnessed, leaving her utterly dumbfounded.

No, how many beings with such power could have existed throughout the continent’s history?

Is it really okay for me to be here…?

Lavina had felt compelled to stay because she couldn’t bear to part with Nabi, but now she began to wonder if that had been the right choice. After all, if this monster decided it didn’t like what it saw, there was no guarantee that she wouldn’t end up being torn apart just as easily.

Lavina shuddered involuntarily as goosebumps spread across her body. She glanced furtively around her surroundings. Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of something moving off to the side—a ball of fur rolling along the ground.

She noticed that it was Nabi, who must have wandered off unnoticed. Lavina slowly approached him, crouching down as she drew closer. Caught by surprise by her sudden appearance, Nabi stopped whatever he was doing and looked up at her.

Lavina leaned in close, whispering so no prying ears could hear:

“Nabi… How long will you stay here?”

Skree?

“You saw it too. That… that divine authority…”

Lavina couldn’t find the words to describe what Louis had manifested, so she simply called it “that thing”. However, the clever Nabi understood immediately and nodded.

Skree!

“And yet you’re still here? Even though that terrifying person… might try to stop you…”

“Shouldn’t you stop filling Nabi with nonsense before I, this terrifying one, chop you into pieces?”

“Eek!”

Lavina flinched and jerked upright in panic. Under Louis’s piercing glare, she began hiccuping uncontrollably.

“I’m… hk… sorry… hk…!”

Lavina, trembling and teary-eyed, scurried behind Kani. Despite the situation, Nabi wagged her tail and continued to chase after the felt ball as if nothing had happened.

It was as if this whole affair had nothing to do with her.

Louis shook his head at the sight. Just then, a large shadow approached him.

“Um… Louis?”

Louis grumbled in response to Pablo’s voice. “What?”

“Are you really only going to charge 10,000,000 gold?”

“…Why are you bringing that up again?”

“No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem like something you’d do.”

“You think I’m some kind of thief? That I should strip them bare?”

“…”

Pablo had much more to say but couldn’t bring himself to say everything. However, silence often spoke louder than words.

Louis’s eyebrow twitched at the silent acquiescence.

“You little…”

“I-I never said a word!”

“That’s what gets me so mad! Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Then you want me to say something?”

“Go ahead. You have two lives, right?”

”…No, I still won’t say anything.”

Fabulous slowly registered the situation and took a few steps back from Louis, determined to protect his own life.

Of course, this wouldn’t guarantee his survival, but fortunately, someone appeared who was willing to save him.

“Seriously, though, why did you only charge one hundred million gold?” Kani prodded, arms crossed.

Khan chimed in, “Right, I would’ve expected someone like you to try and shake the very foundations of the Empire!”

”…What do you think I am, some kind of money-loving monster?”

Kani giggled at Louis’s indignant look.

“Ha ha! So what’s the real reason behind all this? Why did you want one hundred million gold?”

Louis chuckled at Kani’s question.

“Heh heh. Don’t tell me you don’t know?”

“What?”

“The terror of compound interest.”

“Compound interest is scary?”

Well, dragons, who never had to deal with debts, would naturally be unaware of the horrors of compound interest. Louis kindly began his explanation.

“At first, everyone thinks they can easily repay, so they borrow large sums even at high interest rates. But then, as soon as you miss even one payment…”

“Miss even one payment?”

“Your debt snowballs out of control.”

No sooner had Louis spoken than Kani’s eyes sparkled with realization.

“Aha! Could you possibly be… planning some trick against that empire?”

“Bear traps?! Of course… I was planning to set some, but there’s no need now.”

“Why not?”

“Even without my interference, the Empire will trip over its own trap and collapse on its own.”

”…?”

“Just you wait. Before long, this interest will topple the Empire’s pillars. Heh heh heh.”

Louis’s sinister smile prompted Pablo to mutter, “How is that any different from robbery?” A swift strike to the back of his head brought him down.

As Pablo lay crumpled off to the side, Louis continued as if nothing had happened:

“Well, aside from that…”

He subtly extracted his arm from Kani’s grip and slowly began to move.

The twins, Fin, and even Pablo, who was cautiously peeking from his prone position—all of them were left wondering why Louis would suddenly do such a thing.

Louis took out a small box from his breast pocket and held it up.

Click.

The box opened, revealing the grow fruit inside.

For a brief moment, Pablo’s eyes flashed with frustration upon seeing it.

That’s the one… The root of all this chaos!

In just a little over a month, this tiny fruit had set in motion the events that plunged the eastern Winter Continent into turmoil. Thousand of monsters and a Snow King had laid waste to the entire region, all in a bid to recover this single fruit. The Empire had tottered on the brink of collapse.

How much of human and material resources had been wasted on this venture? Even the Empire’s share alone totaled to one hundred million gold. Which meant the value of that small, knuckle-like fruit was at least hundreds of millions of gold.

That small berry had swiftly emerged from the box:

Plop.

In an instant, it vanished into Louis’s mouth.

”…Huh?”

The anticlimactic conclusion left Pablo gaping in incredulity.