The Emperor Has Returned

Chapter 30 – Templar (1)

“Ugh, what the hell is this? Man, it’s fucking pouring…,” said a man who seemed to be a merchant.

He stepped into the tavern with his wet clothes dripping rainwater. The tavern owner let out a chuckle while instinctively receiving the drenched items from the man. There were already people gathered around the fireplace to dry their wet clothes in the relatively small hall. They were all victims to the continuous downpour outside.

“It’s not even the monsoon yet… why is it raining so heavily?” someone grumbled.

“Haven’t you heard the rumors? Apparently, there’s a huge mess in the south,” the tavern owner responded.

“A mess?” Someone asked.

“Seems like a demon appeared in Tantil, murdering a huge number of people there, and even brought down the Ash Tower. Everyone’s saying that it’s a sign that something ominous will happen, which includes this downpour. There are even people saying that the gods are coming back,” the tavern owner answered.

“His Majesty is still clearly in the capital, so that’s bullshit,” the merchant shot back, but he fidgeted with his rosary as if he was bothered by what he had heard.

Juan and Anya watched the entire interaction play out from a corner table. This village was on a major route going through the Laus Mountains; thus, there were many eyes and mouths. It was the perfect spot for gathering information. No one would take notice of the woman and small child.

“It looks like those bastards are not around here yet,” Anya remarked.

“They would be pretty loud if they were,” Juan replied as he spooned soup into his mouth. It had been a long while since he had eaten cooked meat. The warm feeling in his stomach felt good.

‘There is one person that bothers me, though,’ Juan thought.

While looking through the traces left in the villages, he had found tracks of someone who seemed to be a lot heavier than others; however, it did not seem like he was abnormally huge. It was impossible for a normal human to function with such a heavy load, but the tracks seemed to indicate that whoever it was, they did not struggle.

“Do you know of anyone who can move like a normal person even with heavy armor on?” asked Juan.

“Huh? Maybe the Templars?” replied Anya.

“Templars?” questioned Juan. Although he had heard about them from Sina, he had yet to meet one.

“A normal soldier is just a normal person with training, while a knight is an elite with special training. However, Templars are said to be chosen by the empire as His Majesty’s spears. The sharpest and most threatening ones. Therefore, there are only twelve Orders with Templars in the empire, and each one has only thirty Templars,” Anya explained.

“Why is that?” asked Juan.

“His Majesty’s Grace can’t be handed out to just anyone. Every piece of Templar equipment is bestowed His Majesty’s Grace, even their belt and shoes. For a person other than the Templars to possess even one of those items is a grave crime worthy of execution. That also includes damaging Templar equipment. Although if a Templar’s equipment is lost, it’s highly likely that the Templar is sentenced to death.”

“...They’d kill such a talented and trained individual just for losing equipment?”

“It isn’t just about losing equipment; they are also losing His Majesty’s Grace. Apparently, it’s a complicated and long process to make those pieces of equipment, and there are rumors that it’s impossible nowadays.”

In short, the templars were the elite of the elites among those under the empire’s rule.

Juan tried to imagine what the templars were like as he recalled the battles with the knights of the Order of the Blue Rose, but it proved difficult. In the first place, he had only seen Sina use the Grace.

“What do you think your chances would be if you fought a Templar?” Juan asked.

“I would never fight one in public,” Anya replied.

“Because they’re that strong?” Juan questioned.

“That’s one reason, but the other reason is that fighting a Templar in itself is a felony. You would have a bounty on your head if you so much as put a scratch on their equipment. Plus, the Templars will do anything and everything to protect their equipment. They’d rather die with their enemy than get their equipment taken from them. If that happens, their Order will definitely seek revenge. That’s why I try not to put myself in a situation where I’d have to fight one,” explained Anya.

That was just how troublesome of an opponent they were, both in battle and post-battle.

“But you’re already an enemy of the empire,” commented Juan.

“My master also told me to avoid fighting them if possible. He said that it’d get troublesome if one of us fought them and they got onto our trail because of it. It’s already difficult enough because of them,” replied Anya.

Juan was more interested in the fact Anya had a master. He had allowed Anya to follow him without saying anything because he had thought that at least she wasn’t going to be a burden. Anya was lacking in several ways, but she was quick at understanding when taught; hence, Juan was curious about this ‘master’ of hers.

“What kind of person is your master?” Juan inquired.

“My master? Hmm... He doesn’t really talk about himself... But my master once worked for His Majesty, before His Majesty was assassinated and sat atop the throne as a corpse the way he is now.”

“Hm,” Juan mused.

“I’m not very knowledgeable about things that happened so long ago. I can’t even begin to imagine it. I can’t even believe that just a hundred years ago, the gods were alive and coexisted with divine beasts and demonic beasts. But to think that my master was alive then and even saw His Majesty... He might sound like an old man from what I said, but he actually has a pretty young face,” Anya rattled on.

“That’s not what I asked. Didn’t he say anything about what he did during the time he served the emperor?” asked Juan.

“That’s not something I can say, even if it’s you. I can tell you if you join us, though!” Anya said as she winked.

“How foolish.” Juan clicked his tongue. “How are you guys enemies of the empire when your master worked under the emperor?”

“The empire now is no longer the empire that His Majesty left behind. It’s Barth Baltic’s, or maybe the Church’s. You must have faced a lot of trouble in the empire because of your black hair, right? I don’t think that’s what His Majesty would’ve ever wanted,” Anya retorted.

“How would you know? You’ve never even seen him,” Juan shot back.

“My master has!” argued Anya.

“Barth Baltic has seen him too, though,” Juan refuted.

“Ah, you’re right. I didn’t even think of that.”

‘This conversation’s going nowhere…’

Juan realized that arguing with Anya on such a topic was meaningless. If Sina’s beliefs were unbending like steel, Anya’s beliefs were transparent; others’ colors could easily be reflected onto her beliefs. On the other hand, somewhere within the emptiness in her heart, there was a lighthouse so stable that it could not be shaken.

“But you still want to bring down the empire,” Juan said.

“Yes, since that’s what my master has decided. It’d be nice if you’d help us too,” Anya responded.

“Well, it’s always been like this. Killing to resolve a problem when there’s one. The gods were like that, and it would seem like you and I are too. I don’t think it’ll change in the future,” Juan snapped as he smiled coldly.

“But I’m good at it. Is it wrong to solve a problem using a method you’re good at?” Anya asked with her head tilted in confusion. “Aren’t you good at it too? His Majesty is the best at killing. After all, he killed all of those who ruled over the old era and opened a new one.”

“...” Juan remained silent.

“I’ve seen the weapon that His Majesty used to wield. I thought it was a great weapon for killing. I was amazed… His Majesty was knowledgeable on problem-solving methods fit for someone of the highest authority such as himself. I think my master is pretty good as well, probably because he used to be well-acquainted with His Majesty. He even has stuff that His Majesty used to use.”

“That’s enough.”

Juan was used to flattery, considering he had once been the emperor, but this kind of praise was foreign to him. People preferred to compliment him in a roundabout way, using terms like ‘heroic achievements’ and ‘legendary achievements’ rather than directly mentioning his killings. By comparison, Anya was rather blunt

There was something about what Anya said that bothered him. She had said that her master had ‘stuff that His Majesty used to use.’ Not knowing exactly what that entailed, Juan was curious.

‘It’d be nice if those were weapons.’

Juan recalled the various weapons he had back when he was the emperor. Like Anya said, all the weapons were specialized for battle, so it was difficult to know what her master had.

‘The spear is the best,’ he thought. Juan used to have all kinds of weapons, but his favorites were a spear and a sword with the names Telgramm and Sutra respectively.

Telgramm meant lightning, and Sutra, the shame of gods. Telgramm was most suited for battle against an army, while Sutra was suited for fighting just one opponent. Since there were no beings now as strong as those in the past, Juan felt that just Telgramm would suffice.

‘I should figure out which ones they have.’

He decided to find out more about Anya’s organization.

Just at that moment, the door of the tavern flung wide open. Yet another person soaked in rain walked in as he mumbled curses. The people in the hall smiled bitterly as they welcomed the newcomer. On the other hand, Juan’s eyebrow twitched when he caught the scent of blood.

The smiling tavern owner went to take the man’s coat but flinched when he saw the person’s face. “What, did you see a ghost or something?”

“U-ugh. D-damn it,” the man muttered as he collapsed to the ground, causing a commotion in the tavern. The people in the tavern’s hall were merchants that traveled through dangerous places, so they hurried to help the man.

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They took his coat off of him, wrapped him in new towels, and sat him by the fireplace. Meanwhile, the tavern owner returned with warm wine for the man to drink. He calmed down after a while.

“What happened? Were you in an accident? Or did you meet a demon? It doesn’t look like you were injured,” questioned the tavern owner.

“I-it would’ve been better if I had…” the man shivered.

“Then did you come across a monster? What about your companions?” the tavern owner asked.

“I-I’m alone. It wasn’t a monster... I met a Templar,” replied the man.

The hall buzzed with whispers as the tavern owner's expression stiffened.

“A Templar? Did he have a white crow banner? If it’s the White Crow Templar Order, they patrol this area sometimes... It sure would be frightening to see them in the middle of the night,” said the tavern owner.

“T-they weren’t on patrol. T-there’s a village I visit often… there were...” the man trailed off.

The hall’s atmosphere went cold.

Even though the man had not finished his thought, everyone knew what he wanted to say. There were occasional rumors about the actions of the Church, but not many people had actually witnessed them.

“If it’s because of the heretic bastards then they’re doing the right thing to get rid of them all!” yelled out one of the merchants after he cleared his throat.

“The Templars are working hard even in this nasty weather! All the slash-and-burn farmers are heretics! Heretics!” the merchant stopped talking at the glares of others. No one criticized him since everyone knew why he said those words.

“They’re finally nearby,” said Juan as he got up.

“Should we get out of here quickly?” asked Anya.

“Well,” Juan replied as he reached out for the Talter’s short sword at his waist, “you said the Templars’ equipment is great, right?”

***

Templar Arwain was following the route to the village that the merchant had escaped to.

The merchant had run off after he witnessed the purification. It wasn’t a problem for someone to witness the purification, but the merchant running away was a problem. There was no reason for a model citizen of the empire to run at the sight of a Templar. He needed to interrogate the merchant.

“You guys wait here,” Arwain ordered.

The soldiers were positioned outside of the village. They let out a sigh of relief; they had been anxious that another terrible massacre was afoot.

“Will it be okay? Shouldn’t we carry out a search operation?” The captain asked, trying to stop the Templar with words he did not mean. Other soldiers glared at the captain for his offer, but fortunately for them, Arwain shook his head.

“That village is exemplary. They pay their taxes on time and hold prayer services for His Majesty often. It might scare them if troops suddenly barge in on them in the middle of the night,” replied Arwain.

The captain was at a loss for words at Arwain’s thoughtful attitude. He wondered if this was the same person who had just crushed people with a hammer. He nodded silently in response.

Arwain walked toward the village in the rain.

He was the youngest of a high noble family in the empire’s capital. His father had arranged for him to join a Templar Order because of his talent in combat, in an attempt to make a connection with the Church, the center of the empire’s power. It cost a tremendous amount of money, but anyone who was trained in swordsmanship and held respect for His Majesty would be interested in joining a Templar Order.

Arwain gladly accepted the honor, but his happiness did not last long. Life in the Templar Order was tedious and boring. There were no opportunities to utilize the Grace and the equipment with the Grace of His Majesty that he went through so much to earn. Naturally, this caused Arwain’s attention to be turned to the position of Inquisitor.

A small decorative doll or even a trivial folk religion were a symbol of heresy to Arwain. When he plundered through mountain villages, he always found some signs of these things. Everyone shook in fear when he was dressed in equipment bestowed with His Majesty’s Grace. Arwain was severe in his punishments toward heretics. On the nights after a massacre, Arwain always dreamed that he had become the emperor. A nice dream where everyone in the world knelt before his imperial authority.

Seeing Arwain approach from afar, the soldiers guarding the village hurriedly opened the gates. Everyone in the area recognized the symbol of the white crow.

“A merchant should’ve come by here,” Arwain said to one of the soldiers.

“Ah, y-yes. There’s only one tavern here. He must have gone there,” replied the soldier.

Arwain nodded and started to walk, every step he took echoing throughout the village.

People scrambled to close their windows and doors as they stole fearful glances at the white crow templar. Arwain suddenly stopped while he was headed toward the tavern.

“... I thought this was an exemplary village. I didn’t think I’d find you in a place like this,” Arwain muttered in lamentation.

“Seeing your armor, you must be the person I’m looking for,” Juan responded.

A small boy stood in the center of the village square in the heavy rain, black-haired, as per Kato’s description.

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