The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns

Chapter 53

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Chapter 53

If we successfully develop the mines and sell the Queen’s Twilight as planned, Melissa and I won’t have to worry about money for the rest of our lives.

Even though the Cascadia Count’s household is spending a significant amount on military expenses, the royal support funds will now be received in full.

The territory will regain its former vitality, and more people will be assigned to monitor the demonic territory under our jurisdiction.

This will also ease the financial burden of investigating the accident involving my father, mother, and youngest sister, Arsha.

The affected area is vast, the danger level is high, and the duration of the investigation is long, which must have been a considerable burden on Melissa.

For this journey, it was just Luna, me, and a coachman to handle the horses.

Originally, we planned to disguise ourselves as small merchants to avoid drawing attention.

But as Melissa and I were finalizing our plans, Luna Basilin solemnly declared with her eyes closed:

"We must take a private carriage."

A private carriage—unlike a cargo wagon—is a luxurious vehicle used by nobles.

The Cascadia Count’s household owns several such carriages, but to avoid unnecessary attention, we intended to use a plain cargo wagon instead.

"What are you talking about? It’s already decided. We’ll disguise ourselves as merchants to avoid suspicion—"

"Private carriage!"

She was more stubborn than I expected.

She must have wanted the private carriage so she could enjoy snacks, ice cream, and other preserved foods at a cool temperature thanks to its artifact storage.

Her intentions were obvious.

Even now, she couldn't put down the coffee cookies I had made.

Melissa and I had accepted her as a long-term guest of the household, but did she really think throwing a tantrum would change our minds?

"Stop talking nonsense and just eat your cookies. The decision is final. We still haven’t heard any news from the necromancers who attacked the capital."

As Melissa grumbled and narrowed her eyes, Luna pulled something from her pocket and raised it high for everyone to see.

A brilliant light!

A transparent gleam!

Oh… My god.

"Private carriage!!!"

What she revealed was a massive gemstone radiating a dazzling glow.

"Leon, what are you waiting for? Prepare the finest carriage at once."

Melissa’s change of stance was as fast as light.

As a result, our plan was quickly revised, and we were now heading to Mielephon territory in a carriage that my father had secretly purchased—only to be scolded by my mother for it.

It was a luxurious carriage with excellent suspension and magical artifacts for storing tea and desserts.

Thinking about it now, I couldn't help but laugh.

Speaking of my father, something came to mind.

"Luna."

"Go ahead."

"Have you ever been to the Netherworld?"

A necromancer of Deathlord caliber would naturally recognize the Netherworld’s existence.

Rather than a world, it was more like a vast system—a river-like flow within the world.

It was where souls of the dead traveled and where reincarnation took place.

In my past life, I must have died, undergone reincarnation, and been reborn here as Leon Cascadia.

Luna savored her vanilla ice cream Mk-8, then shook her head.

"The Netherworld is not a place one can go to."

"What do you mean?"

"It exists but does not exist. The Netherworld is everywhere in this world, yet nowhere can it be directly accessed."

So, it wasn’t a tangible location?

Like the back of a coin—no matter how much you turn the front side, you can never see the back.

"Even angels perceive it the same way. Leon, you should already understand this."

"I know what I perceive, but I don’t know how it differs from the truth."

Calmly, she put down her empty ice cream cup and held out her hand.

"More, please."

"Seeing you enjoy it makes it all worthwhile."

I had prepared plenty in advance.

After all, she was my ultimate sleeping pillow and the biggest financial supporter of the Cascadia household.

She was undeniably beautiful, but trusting her looks alone was a mistake—her eccentric behaviors could catch anyone off guard.

In the grand scheme of things, making ice cream wasn’t that difficult, and considering the value of the gemstone she casually handed over, I could serve her ice cream for a lifetime without feeling shortchanged.

A sudden thought crossed my mind.

If this world truly had the technological level and ideologies of medieval Earth, wouldn’t life here be absolute hell for me?

Especially since I remember modern Earth from my past life.

The filth on the streets, the horrifying lack of human rights, and the endless small-scale wars.

The romanticism of fantasy and medieval Earth were galaxies apart.

In that sense, while this world resembled the Middle Ages, magic had largely replaced science.

The tangible blessings of actual gods had also significantly improved human rights awareness.

But what I appreciated most was probably the hygiene.

"Eat like that, and you’ll become a pig."

"……."

She was unfazed by my muttering.

"I’m fine with that."

I briefly imagined a chubby angel.

Sweating profusely while rolling around like a ball.

Or struggling to fly, unable to lift off due to her weight.

…Yeah, let’s pretend I never pictured that.

I turned my attention to the documents Melissa had prepared—containing vital information about the Empire.

Basic geography, culture, etiquette, details on the Mielephon household, and information about our ultimate destination—Black Friday.

"Leon."

Luna, licking her ice cream, turned her closed eyes toward me.

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"What?"

"What are the chances our territory gets attacked while we’re away?"

The necromancer cult, suspected to be behind the recent chaos in the capital, had been eerily quiet.

Given their nature, it would have been unsurprising if they had acted already, but their silence only made things more unsettling.

I wasn’t particularly worried for myself, but I couldn’t help but think about Melissa, who was left behind in the territory.

"Of course, I’m worried. I’ve taken precautions, but it still feels uncertain."

I could defend myself, but Melissa?

Even though I had stationed a Death Knight in her shadow for protection, my anxiety didn’t subside.

So, without telling her, I had inscribed protective magic on her.

"By the way, how many?"

"Around forty-three."

"You're definitely crazy."

I couldn't help but worry whether she was getting into trouble somewhere.

While I hoped that any hostility would be directed toward me instead, I was also torn between wanting to keep the fact that we were carrying the Queen’s Twilight a secret.

At the very least, until we handed over the item on Black Friday, it was best to keep everything concealed.

We arrived at Bechtel, a neighboring territory of Cascadia, and used the teleportation device there to travel to the Mielephon family’s estate.

The journey itself wasn’t particularly difficult.

The road we took wasn’t one where bandits were known to appear, and there was no chance of monsters suddenly jumping out at us.

The Empire had developed far beyond what the small Bata Kingdom could compare to.

It was to the point where even a satellite city of the Pascalia Empire was more advanced than the capital of the Bata Kingdom.

Quality of life, atmosphere, security—every aspect of daily living subtly highlighted these differences.

Mielephon’s territory was one such satellite city.

Of course, while it was called a satellite city, it was still a massive domain where many nobles resided.

One of the Empire’s greatest noble houses.

One of the Thirteen Great Houses of the continent.

It wasn’t surprising that such an influential house controlled a satellite city instead of the capital.

The fact that the Mielephon family alone dominated an entire satellite city was proof of their overwhelming power.

Thanks to this, the number of merchants and noble carriages traveling through the city far exceeded my expectations.

At this point, no one would question us for arriving in a private carriage.

"Welcome, Young Master Leon."

Moreover, although security checks were strict, they did not apply to me.

Because Melissa had sent word to the Mielephon estate in advance, we were met by their attendants and maids upon arrival.

"I am Misha, the head maid of the annex."

Misha?

A maid with that level of skill?

"Are you a knight?"

"I am a maid."

Hmm… Ah.

"Oh, were you a knight before?"

"No, I have always been a maid."

That can't be right.

Ah!

"Oh, you aspired to be a knight?"

"No. I was a maid from the very beginning."

I see.

That’s the concept we’re going with.

Let’s leave it at that.

"We have been expecting you, Young Master. Please follow me."

She spoke in a calm, emotionless tone and turned to lead the way, and I followed along.

Perhaps because this was a noble district, the main road was rather quiet.

As we continued, an astonishingly large mansion came into view.

"It’s bigger than I expected."

At least in the Bata Kingdom, I had never seen a noble estate this large.

However, we did not enter through the main gate but through a side entrance.

For someone of my status, entering through a side gate would normally be a great insult to the Mielephon family’s honor.

But since they had agreed to my request to keep our visit discreet, this arrangement made sense.

"The Sword Saint is expecting you."

I supposed it made sense that he would personally welcome me, given how long we had been acquainted.

After stepping down from the carriage with Luna, I followed Head Maid Misha.

Most of the other attendants and maids seemed like ordinary people.

I had thought that becoming a Mielephon servant required immense skill, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

Eventually, we arrived at a large reception room, where Misha quietly knocked on the door.

"Master, Young Master Leon has arrived."

"Oh-ho! Come in!"

A familiar voice boomed from inside, and Misha opened the door, bowing slightly toward me.

"Please, go ahead."

Inside the reception room stood a man I had met before—Sword Saint Osberg Mielephon—and his attendant, Bagmut Mielephon.

"Haha. I never expected my future grandson-in-law to visit."

At his joke, I narrowed my eyes.

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