The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns-Chapter 378

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Chapter 378

There was only one reason the mandragora suddenly grew gigantic.

It had absorbed the power of Falling Blossom far too well—that was the problem.

In fact, when I first used Falling Blossom, this very thing had failed to regulate its intake and caused a single tree to grow as massive as a World Tree.

Naturally, that had a disastrous effect on the surrounding ecosystem, so I had reverted it to its original state.

That was why, this time, I negotiated with it beforehand when using Falling Blossom.

“This time, moderately. Got it?”

“Acknowledged.”

We hadn’t actually exchanged words like that.

But the intent was clearly conveyed, and I thought that even this contrarian, disobedient spirit sword had understood—at least to some extent.

And yet.

After just one day, the mandragora—previously no bigger than a forearm—had grown into a massive form nearly three meters tall.

Half-buried in the ground, it looked as though it were enjoying a half-body bath, propping its arm-like parts against the earth.

The sight was utterly absurd.

As a result, the other mandragoras planted nearby had all been dug up, left sprawled around with emaciated bodies, as if their vital energy had been completely drained.

Luna recovered them afterward, but the conclusion was that to properly extract their medicinal effects, they would need to be fed the earth’s energy over a long period of time.

So what should we do with this baobab-tree-like bastard that had monopolized even its friends’ vitality?

The thing writhed, as if showing off its bulging, muscle-like form, then turned the part assumed to be its eyes toward me.

Mandragoras don’t actually have eyes, but from the contours alone, you could clearly tell which part was supposed to be the “eye area.”

It tilted leisurely, as if asking, “Can you feel the difference in our strength?”

However.

That trivial rebellion was instantly suppressed by Luna, who had been watching from behind.

“Are you out of your mind and trying to die?”

The moment the mandragora noticed her approaching, it moved quickly, trying to coil around her—but Luna stopped its motion with one hand and twisted it as if wringing out cloth.

—Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiik!!!

As its shriek echoed, Luna grabbed a fallen tree nearby and shoved it straight into the mouth from which the scream was coming.

—Ghk! Ghk!

Perhaps realizing that no matter how big it got, it had chosen the wrong opponent.

The mandragora hastily pulled itself out of the ground, smashed through the wall, and attempted to escape.

The garden that Luna and Melissa had cultivated as a hobby was reduced to complete chaos in an instant.

The runaway mandragora was soon knocked unconscious by a chestnut-sized flick to the forehead from Griby.

“Young Master Leon… what is this…?”

“A mandragora.”

“A… man… dra… gora? The mandragora I know is not nearly this large.”

“Ah. The mandragoras in our household are a bit… robust. Don’t worry. The sturdier they are, the more reliable their medicinal effects.”

The emperor stared blankly as I grabbed what would correspond to the mandragora’s leg—its root—and dragged it back into the garden.

That was when—

—Kiiiik! Kiiiik!!

The mandragora seemed to regain consciousness, scraping against the ground as it struggled desperately.

But even the strength coming from its massive body couldn’t stop me.

Like a victim being dragged into the darkness, only the mandragora’s mournful screams echoed through the air.

* * *

It was two days later when the emperor brought back the Ardra flower petals.

Honestly, I hadn’t expected him to obtain them so quickly.

I was genuinely impressed by his capabilities.

Of course, the Ardra petals were needed for mass production, not for making the medicine the emperor himself required.

“Here they are.”

“…So this is the medicine.”

“Yes. You don’t ingest it—apply it directly. Just dip a finger in and spread it over the area, like you’re coating it.”

“How long until the effects appear?”

“Hmm… Given how robust Your Majesty’s body is, it will take some time for the medicine to circulate. So, if it’s not a problem, I recommend you stay here for about a week while we observe the progress.”

At this point, plans to use the emperor as advertising material had already emerged.

‘A medicine that cured the emperor’s baldness.’

That would sell for quite a sum. This plan was Melissa’s idea.

She already made plenty of money, yet she still squeezed out every possible source of profit like a miser.

At this rate, she’d never starve to death.

Well, no wonder Aurora said she could smell money on her.

In any case, the solid plan of using the emperor as a clinical test subject was working perfectly.

The emperor gazed at the medicine with a strangely expectant look, then said he’d apply it first and departed.

After all, what mattered most to him right now was reviving his dead hair follicle cells.

His body was exceptionally sturdy, so it would take time for the effects to manifest—but that was only an estimate. How fast the results appeared would depend on him.

* * *

It seemed the effects were starting to show.

Emperor Credos was paying far more attention to the strange, ticklish sensation on his scalp than to Leon’s true identity or anything else.

Which was only natural.

What had been his purpose in coming here in the first place?

The one blemish that had plagued the emperor.

Baldness.

The feeling was good—no, he’d never felt anything like this before!

For the first time in years, the emperor felt as though he had returned to the innocent excitement of childhood.

And then, sooner than expected, the results appeared.

“Ah… ahh.”

“Congratulations, Your Majesty!”

“Congratulations!”

Those attending him all dropped to their knees, bowing their heads in celebration.

Ignoring who might be watching, the emperor stared at his reflection in a large mirror.

There was no lush, thick head of hair yet.

But if you looked closely, or placed your hand on his scalp, you could tell.

Something was definitely there.

After just one day since applying the medicine?!

The emperor forcibly suppressed the smile that threatened to spread across his face.

“Truly remarkable. Enough to make one covet it.”

At that point, his evaluation of Leon Cascadia skyrocketed.

Strong in combat, decent personality—and possessing talent of this caliber?

Covetous thoughts surged.

He couldn’t help it!

Never in his life had he envied the Bata royal family this much.

“Your Majesty. Though it may be presumptuous, this is nothing short of a miracle.”

The mage Calliostro assessed the situation that way.

“While it is true that dead cells cannot be revived, inducing the body’s structure to generate new cells to replace them could be described as a form of human transmutation.”

Simply put, it was the creation of a massive singularity.

When injured, skin is torn and wounds appear.

But humans stop the bleeding and generate new cells to form fresh skin.

In other words, just as skin regenerates, hair could now continuously regenerate as well.

The implications went far beyond baldness—it had the potential to revolutionize continental magitech, life alchemy, or medicine itself.

“Do not be hasty. We must still observe the progress.”

Though he spoke calmly, Emperor Credos—despite his reputation as a tyrant—was clearly excited, his hands trembling.

After being tormented by his hair for so long, seeing a solution made the world look brighter.

“Even so, the one who has brought me such improvement is Leon Cascadia. As emperor, I must grant him a fitting reward.”

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“Please command us.”

Two Sword Masters and a Grand Mage bowed their heads, awaiting orders.

“Contact the imperial vault. Bring the Phoenix Silkworm.”

“Th—the Phoenix Silkworm, Your Majesty?!”

“Yes. I obtained it personally, so its use is at my discretion.”

“…Understood.”

“Also, send word to the Bata royal family. Tell them we will positively review the agreements discussed long ago.”

That “positively” was practically the same as approval.

“…Understood.”

* * *

I knew the emperor was showing improvement.

Perhaps because of that, the effects began appearing everywhere.

“The royal family contacted us. The Boscal Empire has agreed to accept the agreements it discussed long ago with the Kingdom of Bata. They said thank you and promised to commend you greatly for this.”

“Oh. I see.”

“You really don’t know how big this is, do you? Other kingdoms couldn’t even dream of it. Even Bata had proposed those agreements half-heartedly, just to see what would happen.”

“Yeah. They’ll handle it.” 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Interstate treaties were the royal family’s business, not that of a mere duke’s son.

“And… a servant just informed me. They’re giving you something called the Phoenix Silkworm?”

“The Phoenix Silkworm?!”

Luna, who had been lounging in a rocking chair, sprang up with wide eyes.

“Phoenix Silkworm… ah, that thing?”

[If you properly dry the liquid periodically secreted by a Phoenix Silkworm, you get thread softer and stronger than anything else.]

Wasn’t the Ardra petals alone already more than enough compensation?

And now they were giving such a treasure too?

“He really is generous, being an emperor. And rumors are spreading fast. Seems the Boscal Empire is pulling strings. The emperor-approved hair-loss medicine—its safety is guaranteed. In a few days, letters will be piled high on that desk.”

The world was vast, and interest in hair-loss remedies knew no allegiance.

There was a reason countless people knocked on Cascadia’s gates the moment rumors spread.

Now add the emperor’s official endorsement?

Of course those who smelled money, those anxious as their hair began falling out, and those already irreversibly bald would flock here.

The marketing impact was undeniable.

And after the emperor’s endorsement, something remarkable happened across the continent.

All attention converged here, and conflicts—briefly, at least—almost ceased entirely.

Peace born from a hair-loss cure.

A miracle, perhaps.

It sounded absurd, yet made perfect sense.

When the floating island of R'lyeh appeared, there had been suspicion and conflict—but this time, none of that.

Unlike the floating island, where it was “first come, first served,” here supply could be secured without fighting.

Sometimes, reality felt more fictional than fiction.

Four days passed, along with the new hair sprouting on the emperor’s head.

At last, nobles suffering from baldness realized it was their turn and began flooding back to Cascadia.

But this time, something was different.

Previously, mass production was impossible—but now, with Ardra petals and improved mandragoras, we could sell an effective hair-loss remedy.

Something amusing happened during this process.

Some of the suspicious figures who had been secretly monitoring the emperor showed up pretending nothing was wrong, asking to buy the medicine.

‘Assassination is assassination—but let’s save my hair first.’

I couldn’t help but laugh.

So the emperor’s assassination could wait, but their baldness couldn’t?

Ridiculous—but I didn’t point it out.

I understood how painful hair loss could be.

Thanks to that, assassination attempts temporarily stopped—a rather amusing development.

Meanwhile, the emperor himself seemed eager to stay longer, since something interesting happened in Cascadia every day.

Thus, the Cascadia-made hair-loss medicine would first be sold directly in the Cascadia territory.

From the second batch onward, it would go through Aurora’s Planetaria Trading Company—but contracts and logistics still needed attention.

Even so, usage of Cascadia’s teleport gate exceeded normal levels by over 1800%, and dignitaries from all nations began gathering in droves.

In just a few days, the reaction was explosive.

“Leon. We got a message from the Continental Alliance.”

“What is it?”

“They’re awarding you the title of Great Inventor.”

“…What?”

Apparently, I’d been overwhelmingly elected as a recipient of an honor akin to a Nobel Prize in my past life—granted only to inventors who left their names in Lazarus’s history.

Deciding it this fast was far from normal.

“You know something funny? Eighty percent of the people who decide that award are bald.”

Ah. That explained everything.

“And one more thing. You’ve also been selected for the title Symbol of Peace.”

The one who brought peace to the continent—unanimously chosen.

The reason was simple.

With everyone’s attention focused on hair-loss medicine, conflicts temporarily ceased.

That was it.

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