The Emperor Has Returned

The emperor had returned. The moment I spotted the people hiding in the harbor pit, I moved. I had no intention of revealing my identity if I could help it, but I wasn’t heartless enough to ignore people in danger. If I could save them, I would. So I ordered the three artillery batteries to keep bombarding Mulgrave Fortress while directing the main Revolutionary Army force to charge the harbor.

Empowered by Field Charisma, the Revolutionary Army swept through the Royalist coalition and surged into the harbor in an instant.

“Europeans.”

The people huddled in the pit were Europeans. Since Toulon Port was in France, they had to be French Hunters. It felt surreal to encounter people who had entered a gate on the opposite side of the world from my shop in Yeoksam-dong, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Seoul. Among them, the woman who seemed to be their leader looked strangely familiar, though I couldn’t place her.

“May I treat them?”

“If Jeanne wants to, then do it.”

While Jeanne tended to the Hunters, I took on the Royalist monsters. Bang—! When I blew the head off the officer leading the group, dozens of clustered monsters collapsed. I hadn’t known that shooting the officer would make the rest vanish. It just felt like the right thing to do, and it worked. Another ability of Napoleon’s Rifle, no doubt—the power to identify a monster’s “core.”

Bang—! Bang—! I pulled the trigger only when Napoleon’s Rifle told me to. Each time, an officer’s head disappeared without fail.

“Whoa, this thing is ridiculously accurate.”

Hitting every shot felt satisfying. At this rate, I could probably fire with my eyes closed. Of course, it wasn’t because I was some sharpshooting genius.

It was all thanks to the gun. Once the officers started dropping, the harbor that had been swarming with monsters emptied in moments.

“Clean up the rest.”

[Oh!]

The Revolutionary Army officer saluted and led his men to finish off the remaining Royalist stragglers. Thanks to the Field Charisma buff, the Royalist monsters couldn’t put up much resistance. Leaving the cleanup to them, I turned to the French Hunters. Those who had been injured were now fully recovered thanks to Jeanne’s treatment. Their leader introduced herself.

“Rachel Bonaparte.”

“Her name is Rachel Bonaparte. She says she is the current head of the Bonaparte family.”

“Ah, so that’s who she is……”

At Jeanne’s translation, I looked at the woman with fresh eyes. No wonder she looked familiar. Rachel Bonaparte was an S-rank Hunter frequently seen on television—the famous direct descendant of Napoleon. Up close, her features strongly resembled his. Though her hair was silver, her straight gaze and refined features brought Napoleon to mind.

Then Rachel suddenly handed me a small brooch.

“Present.”

“Thank you.”

At the English word for “gift,” I accepted the brooch she offered. It was a cross-shaped gem surrounded by a laurel wreath.

“Looks like a medal.”

I appraised it.

Though the grade and abilities hadn’t appeared at first, I could tell it was a relic of Napoleon. Startled, I looked at Rachel. She mimed pinning the medal to her chest.

“She wants you to wear it.”

“She’s giving this to me?”

“Yes. She says it’s in thanks for saving them.”

Surprised by the unexpected windfall, I pinned the medal to my chest as Rachel instructed. Yet the relic remained inert, like an ordinary brooch.

“Guess it doesn’t resonate with me.”

Sometimes relics required a matching soul wavelength or chose their own masters. Excalibur was the classic example—only Arthur could draw it from the stone. Mjolnir was the same; only Thor could lift it. By that logic, the brooch had rejected me.

But then—

Napoleon’s Rifle hummed, and the medal’s full information appeared.

“So that’s how it works.”

Just like Yi Sun-sin’s helmet had synced with the Twin Dragon Sword, Napoleon’s Medal did the same. Because I had been acknowledged by the original owners of existing relics, the others naturally linked with them as well.

Meanwhile, Rachel, who had given Choi Seojun the medal, was trembling. She had wanted to confirm whether he was Napoleon’s reincarnation, which was why she had offered the medal. Only Napoleon himself could fully awaken a relic he had once worn. Being recognized by Napoleon in person was impossible—no one on Earth could meet a figure from centuries ago. Yet the medal had reacted. That meant Choi Seojun was Napoleon’s reincarnation. It was strange that it had reacted after a delay, but perhaps it simply took time for the relic to recognize its reborn master.

“Ancestor……”

Rachel’s eyes shook as she looked at Choi Seojun. She finally understood why the Revolutionary Army followed him. Napoleon had been the commander at Toulon! It was only natural for the Revolutionary Army to obey the rightful owner of the relics.

“Even the tactic of pressuring the fortress with artillery matches the records in the family archives.”

Overwhelmed by the realization that her ancestor had returned, Rachel’s legs trembled.

*

“Why is she acting like that?”

Rachel was staring at me with an intense gaze. Her legs were faintly shaking; she looked as though she hadn’t fully recovered from her injuries. Thinking she wanted the medal back, I reluctantly unpinned it from my chest. Of course, no one would simply give away a relic like that.

“This is far too valuable for me to accept.”

Yet even after I tried to return it, Rachel firmly refused to take it back.

“She says you are worthy of it.”

“Me?”

“Yes. That’s what she said.”

When I looked at Rachel, she smiled softly and nodded. Then she climbed out of the pit and took the lead.

“She wants to lead the assault.”

“She still looks like she hasn’t recovered……”

I was worried about Rachel’s condition, but it was hard to stop someone who insisted on going first. Secretly, I was also curious to see just how strong an S-rank Hunter’s abilities were. If things looked dangerous, I could always step in then.

“She’s incredibly kind.”

Rachel, resolutely taking the lead, truly lived up to being Napoleon’s descendant.

*

Rachel had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only struggled because she had entered the gate without any prior information. Her true strength, when she wasn’t caught off guard, was impressive enough to make anyone say “S-rank” without hesitation.

Swish—! Every time the golden sword swung, the monsters blocking her path were sliced apart. The sword with Jupiter’s head carved into its hilt was the Golden Sword Sabre Napoleon had reportedly used at the Battle of Marengo. But Rachel’s real power didn’t come from the relic—it came from her own awakened ability as a Hunter.

Whoosh…… A small whirlwind spun around her. Armor of the Wind King—the S-rank wind-attribute ability that defined her—was a devastating weapon that destroyed everything in its path. The golden sword wrapped in wind gained absurd cutting power and could even fire compressed blasts of air. That wasn’t all.

Flutter— flutter—. Jeanne’s banner waved, boosting Rachel’s overall stats. Combined with the soaring morale from Field Charisma—

Slash— The Royalist general guarding the path to the fortress had his head cleanly severed by Rachel, empowered by the powerful double buff.

[Ohhh!]

With the obstacle gone, the Revolutionary Army charged into the ruined fortress. Even though I hadn’t done anything, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠raid was progressing on its own.

“This bus is ridiculously comfortable.”

So this was what auto-hunting felt like.

*

With General O’Hara’s head—the commander of Mulgrave Fortress—sent flying by Rachel’s sword, the Toulon Gate raid was complete. Once the gate was cleared, Jeanne and I were automatically returned to the general store.

“You worked hard, Seojun.”

“I didn’t do anything worth mentioning. You and Rachel did all the real work.”

It wasn’t empty courtesy—I meant it. All I had done was pull the trigger from the back. Once Rachel joined, even that became unnecessary. An S-rank Hunter buffed by the Saintess was a monster that refused to die. Wounds closed the instant they appeared; it was hard to tell who the real monster was. Jeanne had poured out her holy power, so hearing “good work” directed at me felt awkward.

That aside—

“A Summon Reset Ticket, huh.”

The ticket obtained as a gate-clear reward reset the cooldowns of relics and Jeanne’s summon timer. It had looked mediocre at first glance, but it seemed useful in emergencies. Thanks to this raid, the mana capacity of the Snow Flower Stone had also increased dramatically. I no longer needed to ration my mana as strictly as before when using relics. While it didn’t reduce cooldowns, the increased amount of holy power Jeanne could use was a welcome gain.

Now that I had summoned her, a question occurred to me.

“Jeanne, where do you go when your manifestation time ends?”

“I’m not sure. It feels like I’m asleep.”

“Does it feel uncomfortable?”

“No, it’s fine. You don’t have to worry.”

Jeanne smiled softly and said she was all right, but it couldn’t be that simple. I resolved to increase my mana capacity as quickly as possible or collect more reset tickets.

“Jeanne, want to wash up and have some samgyeopsal?”

“Sounds good.”

Jeanne beamed.

*

My general store had a living space attached to the back. A house with one bedroom and a living room. It was more convenient for me than constantly going back and forth between the shop and elsewhere.

“Still, I should probably move soon.”

I hadn’t noticed when I was alone, but with Jeanne around, the place felt cramped in many ways. She wasn’t with me all day, but when she was, I wanted her to be comfortable. The money from selling An Hui’s ring was still plentiful, so finances weren’t an issue. I made a mental note to look for a suitable house soon, then sat on the living-room sofa and turned on the TV.

— Hunter Rachel! How was the Toulon Gate raid?

— We heard the other Hunters who accompanied you suffered heavy casualties. How were you able to clear the gate without injuries?

On the screen, Rachel was giving a live interview in front of reporters. The world was in an uproar over the clearing of the Toulon Gate. Rachel answered the barrage of questions with her thoughts on the raid.

— My ancestor…… helped me.

“……?”