The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns-Chapter 375

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Chapter 375

An emperor naturally carries an enormous amount of attention, even without intending to.

Especially in the case of Boscal—his empire is not a nation that maintains a particularly friendly relationship with the Central Continent.

They aren’t hostile, but it would also be wrong to say their relationship is amicable.

More precisely, even if disputes break out between the Central and Western Continents, Boscal shows no real interest.

If he had mediated, the West and Central continents might have harmonized far more stably, but that simply wasn’t a field he cared about.

Such a man suddenly came here.

Not to the Western Continent, but to the Central Continent.

And not even to an empire—he came to a small country like Bata.

Setting aside raw military power, the Kingdom of Bata isn't strong in terms of economy or average military capability.

Naturally, there should be no reason for the emperor of Boscal—a dominant power of the Western Continent—to personally visit such a place.

“Hah… now even trouble is rolling into Cascadia. My head hurts…”

Melissa scrunched her brow, clearly in pain.

She’d been in the middle of developing a romantic moment too.

What a shame, really.

“No but… can’t he just send subordinates for things like this? Why is the emperor personally coming?”

Along with the news of the emperor’s arrival, an artifact message arrived through the hotline from the royal family of Bata.

They didn’t know what exactly had happened, but the request was simple.

Treat the emperor with utmost hospitality.

The Bata royal family also seemed flustered to hear that the emperor of a great empire had suddenly arrived.

Melissa sighed and asked,

“So what are you going to do about this?”

“What else? Did you swallow your manners with your rice? Who barges in without an appointment? Reject everything. Show him a duke’s dignity.”

“Are you insane? There are already high-ranking nobles we refused, and now you want me to reject the emperor of an empire? Ugh, because of you, my breakfast is coming back up.”

“I know. And didn’t the royal family tell you to host him?”

“You know that, yet you say things like this?”

“Yep.”

Melissa let out a frustrated sigh and tapped her chest as though clearing her heartburn.

Then she summoned a servant.

“For now, we can’t just leave the carriage outside. Bring it to the inner grounds and prepare to receive them. I will personally greet the emperor of Boscal.”

“Y-Yes! Understood!”

It wasn't surprising that the servants and maids looked tense—after all, this was the emperor of an empire.

It’s no different from soldiers frantically polishing the barracks when the division commander shows up.

An emperor coming not to a royal palace but directly to a duke’s house… truly unbelievable.

On the other hand, it also made one wonder just how desperate he must be to come personally.

The nobles who had been making noise around Cascadia also closed their mouths—apparently, none dared complain about the arrival of an emperor.

That was a small blessing.

At least none of the nobles that had come so far carried the same level of influence as an emperor.

The servants and maids repeatedly told the emperor’s entourage that an immediate meeting was difficult and asked them to wait at designated quarters before visiting again.

And now—

I was standing beside Melissa, facing the great figure who had come to Cascadia, the emperor of the Boscal Empire.

Beside the emperor were two knights who appeared to be royal guards.

Even at a glance, both were clearly beyond the level of Sword Master—living strategic weapons.

And though unseen among those who had followed, there was a mage of at least Sixth Circle disguised among the servants and maids.

He hid his presence among them, but… there’s no hiding that from me.

If one is to guard the emperor, this is what is expected.

From the opulent carriage, a man of stern bearing stepped down.

Normally, emperors do not appear directly like this, but this man seemed fond of throwing fastballs.

Seeing him, Melissa gave a short bow.

“Welcome. Sun of Boscal. Cascadia truly welcomes your visit.”

“Good to meet you. I am the Sun of the Boscal Empire—Credos El Boscal.”

He looked to be in his mid- to late forties.

He seemed young for an emperor, but I had heard stories about him.

Born as an illegitimate prince of Boscal, he was far down the line of succession.

One day, by order of the previous emperor—his father—he was expelled from the palace and forced into a wretched life.

They said his siblings played a part in manipulating the situation, but even the late emperor himself never liked Credos to begin with.

Eventually, when the concubine-turned-empress still living in the palace was assassinated, Credos snapped, trained his strength, entered the palace alone, butchered his brothers and sisters, and finally plunged a sword into the heart of the emperor.

What he said then became famous:

"Your Majesty, your son has come. You should tremble in fear."

A well-known tale.

Now, Emperor Credos is a man who wields truly overwhelming authority.

But even a man like that could not save his own hair, it seems.

It’s obvious why he came.

“I have long heard of you, Duke of Cascadia. That you possess the aura of a Sword Master at such a young age. Truly impressive. If you were not already a duke, I would offer naturalization into the empire immediately.”

“I appreciate the high praise, Your Majesty. Please, come inside. I will guide you to the guest room.”

“I gratefully accept the duke’s hospitality.”

Melissa slightly bowed her head, and the emperor looked at her with clear approval.

Then he turned his gaze to me.

He seemed puzzled.

Why the confusion?

Do I look different from rumor?

Even Sword Saint Osberg couldn't correctly read my level.

Having reached Grandmaster and stepped into the realm of nature, I leak nothing.

To others, I appear like an ordinary person.

He harbored some doubt but did not show it for long.

After entering the reception room, the emperor immediately stated his purpose.

“You can guess why I have come this far.”

“I humbly say, Your Majesty, that I can to some extent.”

“Then this will be quick. Look at this.”

He boldly grabbed his own hair and pulled.

A fake wig slid off.

A wig.

Oh dear.

It was obvious at a glance that his hair loss was severe.

To me, he actually looked stronger bald, but if he is attached to hair, I have no grounds to object.

More importantly, I needed to roughly examine his condition.

I had to know whether this was fixable.

As I narrowed my eyes and studied him, the knights behind him grew visibly tense and placed their hands on their sword hilts.

“What do you think you’re doing? Even if he is a duke, for some lowly young master to scrutinize the emperor—how disrespectful.”

But the first to react was the emperor himself.

“Your Majesty!”

“I am speaking right now. Are you drawing your sword without my order?”

His voice was quiet and slow, yet the pressure within it was enough to crush even Sword Masters.

“We apologize.”

“You apologize not to me. To the young master.”

“…Forgive my rudeness, young master.”

“It is fine. It was necessary, but it is true that I was rude to the Sun of Boscal.”

Even seasoned Sword Masters were rendered powerless at a single statement from the emperor.

As expected of a man who started a coup alone and won…

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It really made me wonder—

Does such a man even need guards? 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Rumors circulated among the curious that he should be the one called “Star,” the title of the strongest.

But such titles are granted by kings and emperors.

An emperor crowning himself would be ridiculous.

“I heard that the House of Cascadia developed a medicine capable of resolving this matter.”

He didn’t come on a hunch—he came after confirming it thoroughly.

He looked straight at Melissa.

“I need it.”

“The medicine is currently being improved, Your Majesty. We fear that some harm might come to your noble body.”

Melissa carefully answered, maintaining ducal dignity.

Her meaning was simple.

It’s still a prototype and may have side effects.

Yet Emperor Credos did not back down.

“I am already aware. And yet… it is also true that some have received the treatment. I am not so frail that I would be undone by mere side effects.”

“The Sun of Boscal may indeed withstand any effect. However, if it becomes known that the proper process was bypassed, Cascadia may face trouble.”

It wasn’t hard to give it to him—but if even one thing went wrong, this would become a monumental disaster.

I had repeatedly warned Melissa.

The prototype still has uncontrolled side effects.

Test subjects receive thorough checkups from me every few days.

We couldn’t tell an emperor to stay at Cascadia for days, nor did we want him to.

Thus, Melissa politely refused.

“Your Majesty, the improvement of the medicine is progressing steadily. Once the process is complete, we will send the medicine to the Boscal Empire…”

“My hair has long tormented my temper. Waiting a few days is nothing. Whatever support is needed, the Boscal Empire will provide.”

Wow.

This man is extremely reckless.

When an emperor stays here for several days, who pays the price?

His ancestors?

He killed them himself, so no chance.

Melissa glanced at me.

Then, using the soundless telepathy she learned from me.

‘Hey, what do we do?’

‘What else? Since he’s like this, we use it to our advantage. Think about what we can squeeze out of him.’

‘Then you negotiate. Honestly, I barely know anything about the medicine, and my heart feels like it’s going to explode.’

The silent conversation ended.

“I possess everything. Treasures of gold, vast plains. Countless riches and authority are all in my hands. But this hair is the one thing I have never obtained.”

The man, born handsome, must have suffered greatly from balding.

“No one has resolved this for me. The holy kingdom that serves gods, the shamans who worship spirits, the self-proclaimed geniuses of magic and alchemy—I met them all.”

But none succeeded.

Thus he came here—because we created a medicine that worked on real people.

It showed how earnest he was about fixing his hair.

“Speak. If you help resolve this situation, I shall grant you wealth, authority—anything. I swear it on the name of the Sun of Boscal.”

With an emperor insisting like this, rejecting him becomes difficult.

Just like Emperor Pascalia—an emperor’s presence carries overwhelming weight.

After thinking it over, I finally spoke.

“I require two conditions. If Your Majesty fulfills them, I will create a medicine tailored to you.”

The knights’ eyes flared.

Demanding conditions from an emperor is nearly unheard of—not only in Boscal but everywhere.

But those knights forgot something.

This is Cascadia.

Not Boscal.

As I gazed at them without emotion, they clenched their teeth and withdrew.

They knew that further missteps might earn the emperor’s wrath.

“Speak.”

“First: For three days, once per day, Your Majesty must receive a check-up from me. It is not truly necessary, but we must eliminate all possible risks.”

“That is no difficulty. I am merely a guest, and the owners here are the duke and young master. Thus it is only right that I observe the etiquette of a guest. And the second?”

“To control side effects, I need Ardra petals.”

“Ardra petals?”

One Sword Master leaned forward and whispered to the emperor.

“Your Majesty, Ardra petals are said to be exceedingly rare and difficult to obtain.”

Ardra petals—this was a personal desire of mine.

A key ingredient for mass-producing the anti-hair-loss medicine.

According to Aurora, even money can’t easily get them.

But with the emperor’s name, it should be far easier.

It doesn’t help treat him, but… this is the time to take advantage.

“If Your Majesty fulfills these two conditions, I will present a finished medicine within three days.”

He stared at me quietly, then nodded.

“Under my name, there is nothing impossible. I will have the material obtained within three days.”

The emperor pass is amazing.

I hid my smug grin.

The emperor of the Western Continent.

Two Sword Masters.

A Sixth-Circle-level mage.

A handful of attendants.

We suddenly gained several days’ worth of guests—but that was fine.

Then—

Suddenly the door creaked open, and Grivy entered, with Sur and Serqet perched on her head and shoulders.

“Oh? Mister, your head is shiny!”

The air instantly froze.

The two Sword Masters broke into cold sweat; Melissa covered her mouth.

Out in the hallway, I saw Arsha’s face turn deathly pale.

Grivy’s stamina was endless—Arsha could never keep up with her…

The emperor silently looked down at Grivy.

“Y-Your Majesty. She is but a young child—please be merciful…”

A Sword Master hurriedly spoke in a trembling voice, but the emperor raised his hand to stop him.

He solemnly looked down at Grivy.

“But mister’s head is shiny—my daddy can fix it! Grow-grow hair~!”

Grivy hopped around cheerfully, giggling, and the emperor watched her…

then burst into delighted laughter.

“Is that so? You like this shiny head?”

“Yeah! Grivy likes shiny things! When I play in the dirt, shiny things come out!”

“Is that so? Then shall you touch it once?”

“Okay!!”

The emperor of the West—known as the Bloody Tyrant—apparently liked children far more than expected.

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