Hero's Arrival 2
"Who are you?"
The hero looked at Ferdinand and asked.
Ferdinand, who had never before received such treatment from anyone since becoming emperor, felt a surge of emotion despite it being only for a moment. Just as he had looked down on Ja-hyun as a lowly creature, he also thought that no matter how great an ancient hero might have been, he was still nothing but a lowly being.
For now, he was showing courtesy, but the discomfort in his heart was easy enough to see upon closer inspection. However, even as he felt that discomfort, Ferdinand knew it was the time to flatter the hero, so he endured his pride, lowered his head, and spoke.
"Though my abilities are lacking, I am Emperor Ferdinand von Habsburg, ruler of the Habsburg Empire. I committed the offense of calling upon you after reading your records from eight thousand years ago, hoping that you would come and rescue this world from the hands of the evil Demon King."
Ferdinand politely introduced himself and explained the purpose of summoning him, and immediately after, Griffith gave his own greeting.
"I am Duke Griffith Ricardo of the Habsburg Empire."
Once Griffith had finished his greeting, the hero’s gaze turned toward the Dragon Lord.
"Then you must be the Dragon Lord. Do you know any names such as Laoras, Luraos, or Elaias?"
The hero greeted the Dragon Lord politely, completely ignoring the emperor and the duke. This made Emperor Ferdinand’s hands tremble violently with anger.
'How dare a lowly creature...!'
The hero didn’t even know the hero’s name or what kind of status he held in the other world, but Ferdinand thought that even if the hero was a king or emperor over there, he was still just a lowly creature in this world.
Ferdinand had gone beyond looking down on Ja-hyun and the ancient hero, and now he treated the very place called Earth as far inferior to the world he lived in.
'These summoned beings never learn magic or martial arts. Truly an inferior place.'
Whether it was martial arts or magic, the talents that allowed them to learn so quickly were surprising, but that was all it amounted to. Rather, it seemed laughable that someone who possessed such talents had not bothered to learn them.
However, Ferdinand was not foolish, so he did not show that contempt. Despite being ignored, instead of upholding his pride, he chose practicality.
If he showed pride here and the hero and he parted ways, he would not be able to stop Ja-hyun’s invasion. No, it was impossible.
And since ignoring the emperor and duke was only natural among humans, the Dragon Lord ignored the matter and answered the hero’s question.
"I do. And those people have all already returned to the womb of mana thousands of years ago and fallen into eternal sleep. Hero. More than eight thousand years have passed since you appeared in this world."
"So eight thousand years have passed in this world’s timeline. Hmm, what a problem. I wanted to check if my descendants were doing well, but eight thousand years is a long time; a lot must have changed."
The hero spoke with a somewhat bitter smile. Even eight thousand years was a long time for a dragon. And while only five years had passed in his world, the world that had summoned him again was one where eight thousand years had flowed from among countless timelines.
"So the Premigenus Empire no longer exists, I suppose."
The Dragon Lord nodded as he muttered the name of the strongest nation on the continent that had existed eight thousand years ago.
"Yes. That empire collapsed into civil war eight hundred years after you left."
Having lived more than eight thousand years, the Dragon Lord had known the details of the history of the continent after the hero departed, since he had survived that era when the hero had been present.
"I see. Ah, excuse me. My name is Yu Ji-ho."
With a bitter smile, the hero, Yu Ji-ho, apologized for the rudeness toward the Dragon Lord and revealed his own name.
"I am Eocaris, the Dragon Lord."
However, the Dragon Lord did not particularly mind. For him, it was far more important that the hero, who had been summoned as a hero, had come to save the world.
"It seems the Demon King has appeared."
"Yes. It is a Demon King possessing power far greater than any Demon King that has appeared until now. The Demon King Carcus you defeated would not even reach the level of the current Demon King’s subordinates."
"The gap became that large after eight thousand years. It seems the gap really is vast."
Yu Ji-ho and the Dragon Lord spoke to each other as if openly ignoring Ferdinand and Griffith, who were not present.
"Ahem."
Ferdinand cleared his throat and tried to draw their attention, but Yu Ji-ho and the Dragon Lord continued to ignore him and spoke only among themselves.
"First, I’d like to try out the Holy Sword again after a long time. Where is the Holy Sword?"
As a hero summoned again, Yu Ji-ho first sought his own weapon, the Holy Sword. If he had the Holy Sword, fighting the Demon King would be much easier.
"The Demon King has the Holy Sword."
And the Dragon Lord honestly told Yu Ji-ho where the Holy Sword was.
"...Did I hear that wrong?"
Even though he had heard it clearly, Yu Ji-ho doubted his own ears. The Demon King had the Holy Sword? What kind of nonsense was this... No, this was simply absurd!
"I heard it clearly. The current Demon King is a human who came from a place called Earth like you, named Kim Jae-hyun, and originally a hero."
"...A hero becoming a human Demon King. I can’t believe it. What happened?"
Before Yu Ji-ho could explain, Ferdinand hurriedly interjected.
"I will explain that."
Since the Dragon Lord could not lie, he would reveal all the facts. So Ferdinand quickly stepped in to begin explaining to Yu Ji-ho.
"He was clearly a hero and defeated the Demon King Laylana. But he suddenly moved to the Demon World, and a while later returned as the Demon King. He showed ambition to conquer the Intermediate World. He also coveted the Empire’s Empress Irene, the continent’s greatest beauty, attacked the imperial palace, forcibly kidnapped her, and even killed the imperial princess, your daughter. He is a greedy, shameless, and vile man. That evil Demon King corrupted the entire Holy Kingdom of Astraea through cunning means, turning the holy nation that worships the goddess Astraea into the Dark Empire, and dirtied countless women, even defiling the Emperor’s Empress—truly the Demon King of Demons. Ancient hero, please strike down that evil Demon King and bring peace to the Intermediate World."
This was Ferdinand’s distorted speech, thoroughly condemning Ja-hyun while hiding and twisting the deeds they had committed. But he could not tell the ancient hero from the same homeland the truth about what they had done.
Anyone would know that telling him the truth would make him unlikely to side with them.
And Yu Ji-ho stared at Ferdinand in disbelief after hearing his words.
"What a great Demon King. How did he manage to corrupt the entire Holy Kingdom of Astraea?"
Of course, Ferdinand could not answer that question. According to what he had heard from the dragons, he had cleverly hidden the fact that he was the Demon King while declaring himself the hero who had appeared, hiding his true identity as the Demon King. Because of that, people clung to him as the hero, and the shameless betrayal ten years ago was decisive.
Those who turned their backs on the betrayal of the traitors and the cruel massacre committed by the saintess became loyal to the hero who could stop the war with the Demon King, thinking they needed a powerful hero. And that hero happened to be the first Demon King to wield holy power and possess the Holy Sword among all the Demon Kings, causing the entire Holy Kingdom of Astraea to fall under his control.
If he revealed that fact, it would expose not only the saintess’s massacre but also the shameless betrayal of the hero Kim Jae-hyun who had saved the world he led.
"I don’t know about that either."
So he simply pretended not to know with a lie.
"...Well, I need to find something. Please wait a moment."
The world Yu Ji-ho had come to after so long was so different that he felt a strange sensation. But since he had come to this world, he began working on what needed to be done.
"Find what?"
"My descendants. I wonder how far they have spread in this world."
Ferdinand felt unpleasantness in his heart at Yu Ji-ho’s answer.
'Why is this lowly creature looking for his descendants? Hmm, even if he has descendants carrying his lowly blood, how many could there possibly be.'
While thinking that, Ferdinand looked at Yu Ji-ho as he chanted something. A moment later, Yu Ji-ho gave an odd expression while looking at him and Griffith.
"No way... this happened."
Yu Ji-ho’s expression was hard to describe. He seemed dazed by the unexpected situation, as if it were both joyful and bitter.
"What is it? Did your descendants not exist?"
Ferdinand had hoped that the bloodline of the lowly creature would cut off, but Yu Ji-ho shook his head.
"No way I could not recognize both of my descendants in front of me. Eight thousand years is a long time. Well, that means nearly four hundred generations have passed, so my blood must have been greatly diluted."
Ferdinand was bewildered by Yu Ji-ho’s words that he had two descendants in front of him. Only he and Griffith were present here.
"W-what?"
Ferdinand wanted to deny it. Could his blood be that of a lowly creature? Could his ancestor be that lowly creature?
Griffith also looked shocked, but less so than Ferdinand. He had always lived with the pride that his blood was the most noble in this world that inherited noble blood.
And when he heard that his very distant ancestor was an otherworlder, a lowly creature, and that without that otherworlder he would not even exist, he could not believe it.
'Of course, that lowly creature must be lying!'
The emperor of the Habsburg Empire, whose arrogance was like a lump of ice, denied reality and rationalized it. Logically, there was no reason to believe such a creature’s words, and no basis for it.
"Hmm, indeed both are the hero’s descendants. If I hadn’t confirmed with magic, I might have missed it."
However, his rationalization was shattered in less than a minute. The Dragon Lord, who could never lie, had said that both were indeed the hero’s descendants.
At this point, rationalization was impossible.
And Yu Ji-ho looked at Ferdinand and Griffith with eyes filled with affection as he spoke.
"I am your ancestor. I am sorry I could not recognize you, my descendants."
'No! No way!!! Impossible! This is a lie! I can’t be carrying the blood of a lowly creature! I can’t believe it! I can’t believe this!'
Even as Ferdinand struggled with mental confusion, he desperately denied reality again and again.
'Haha, my ancestor was really the ancient hero! No, how could this happen!'
Griffith was also mentally confused, but luckily he was a 10th Circle archmage and maintained his calm.
Of course, even if Yu Ji-ho was his ancestor, he was from eight thousand years ago. Having traced so many generations, his blood was almost gone.
But it was clear that he was his ancestor, and without him they could not have existed. And the Dragon Lord spoke to Yu Ji-ho.
"No matter what, I think it is dangerous for you, without the Holy Sword, to fight the Demon King who possesses both the Holy Sword and the Demonic Sword."
"Ah, it might be, but don’t worry. I have thought of one way."
Yu Ji-ho smiled while saying that, looking at Ferdinand. After confirming that his descendant had become emperor, he felt a strangely pleasant mood.
It had been easy to tell that he was hiding the truth and lying, but Yu Ji-ho was happy to see his descendants and the fact that his descendants were truly spread across the entire continent.