Emperor Has Returned

Chapter 72 Beloved has appeared(2)

Translator: BaeBae Editor: BaeBae

Upon finishing her prophecy, Eve collapsed to the ground looking drowsy.

No one in the chamber helped her from falling over. Everyone was still stunned from the spectacle that just happened before. Helmut was frozen in his spot, unable to move.

No one could understand what had exactly happened.

The prophecy that the saintress had declared was short and concise. As it was about past events and not the future, it was hard to call this a prophecy. In short, the emperor proclaimed that ‘he had personally repelled the evil forces that appeared in Hiveden’. To this point, it was information that was already known by most, so it didn’t matter. But the saintress declared a few more words at the Pope afterwards.

‘I’ll be watching’.

The emperor declared that he will be watching the Pope. This sparked confusion for all.

After a hush of silence, a wave of whispering swept across the chamber.

Then out of nowhere, a loud clap rang out. One of the nobles started clapping with a look of admiration on his face. The sound of clapping multiplied until it filled the hall.

“Saintress!”

“Glory to the emperor!”

With a dumbfounded look, Helmut stared around the hall. He soon then understood what thoughts were likely running through their minds.

They were thinking that this performance was just another part of the ceremony.

A proclamation that the emperor personally repelled the evil god, and that he would be watching his agent’s moves. Even if they were overreacting, the nobles had diffused the situation by clapping their hands, believing that this was part of the show.

But not all nobles were clapping.

Those that had actually received the emperor’s power, thought differently.

Exchanging shocked faces between his priests and commanders, Helmut knew that they also understood the truth of the matter.

More than anyone else, this was an awakening for Helmut.

The saintress had proclaimed a ‘real message from the emperor’.

Of course, this wasn’t the first time a ‘real message’ had been made by a saintress.

But unlike the previous messages, where meanings were blurred underneath ambiguous words and sentences, for the first time the meaning behind the message was clear.

Helmut’s heart was beating uncontrollably.

‘Is this really happening…….Is the emperor really going to return?’

Eve who had briefly fainted woke up from the sound of clapping. Seeing admiration and awe on the faces of those in front of her, she panicked. Everyone was congratulating the birth of a new saintress. Helmut could only bite his lip as he watched on.

*****

As Juan cut the link connecting him to the saintress, he spurted out blood.

Blood sprayed over the various items that he’d gathered to help with the spiritual transfer.

“Juan!”

Anya quickly supported him and helped him spit out the rest of the blood inside his mouth. It was discoloured in black.

After taking his time resting, Juan finally stabilized. His complexion looked unwell, but his expression looked fine.

“Are you alright? Your condition didn’t look good all throughout the ritual.”

“It’s not as easy as I thought it was going to be.”

He had only ventured into a saintress’s body let alone his old self, but it still put him in this condition.

Having grown almost to an adult’s body, he’d thought it would be enough but it seemed like he would need to wait until he got used to his new body.

However, he did confirm that he could in fact connect spiritually with another being so it had been time well used.

“Anyways, we should be happy with this. I did get to proclaim through the saintress’s mouth that it was the emperor that repelled the evil god at Hiveden.”

“All this………still doesn’t feel real to me. Do you think the people will believe it?”

“Whether the church does or not, they’ll need to act like they do. At the very least, they won’t be sending an army down here to ‘investigate’. Doing so will be contradictory to their belief.”

“Amazing! As expected of Juan!”

Anya seemingly ignoring the blood covering everywhere on her, tightly hugged Juan.

Juan pushed Anya away and met Oppert gaze who was still supporting him with the spiritual connection.

Unlike Anya who’d only learnt the practical side of magic, Oppert who was basically a scholar, knew exactly what kind of magic Juan had performed. The way he handled and delicately manipulated mana, recited spells and held the various magical items, was a textbook guideline of how magicians acted.

Oppert recalled an old story.

The god of magic was Mananen Maclir, the god of mana, and his remains were buried underneath the tower of magic. He’d also heard that the emperor had absorbed Mananen Maclir’s heart.

If this was so, wasn’t it true to say that the emperor was the god of magic…

‘Are you really the emperor, Juan……’

Seeing the way Juan performed magic, Oppert couldn’t help but get to this conclusion.

Through spiritual transfer, not only could Juan make the other side move, he was freely controlling them at will.

Oppert shivered. If Juan could use spiritual transfer more practically……..

“Oppert.”

“Huh? Yes!”

Juan wiped the blood off his lips and stood up.

“There’s something I need to discuss privately. It’s something that I’ve yet to experience before. Can you help?”

Juan stretched out his hand and Oppert blankly stared at it.

‘A person that’s virtually the god of magic is needing my help?’

Oppert quickly erased his concerns about Juan’s power.

So what if he used his power for the wrong reasons. This was an opportunity to help the empire restore the knowledge and power that was lost when the emperor had died.

“‘I’ll gladly help!”

“You seem so eager all of a sudden. Anyways, I tried transferring onto my old body but strangely I was connected to a saintress body instead. It was as if I was caught midway through. I’ve never heard of this happening, what do you think?”

“Saintress you say…….Hmm. Though I’m not too familiar with spiritual transfer, I’m going to guess that it’s something to do with the church. The existence of the ‘saintress’ only came to be after the emperor’s eternal sleep…… If this is the Pope’s doing, then it’d be…….”

Oppert stopped moving.

“………something like a filter.”

“Filter?”

“Yes. Think of the saintress as a filter net that catches anything that’s not power coming in and out of the emperor’s corpse. Looking at it from both sides, it can be good as it stops the emperor’s body from being entered by an evil spirit, but the bad side……”

Oppert’s gaze turned towards Juan.

“There may have been intent to stop the emperor’s spirit from returning.”

“Quite possible.”

Juan recalled the scene that he saw with Eve’s eyes.

Numerous nobles and priests silently waiting for the saintress to enter.

If the Pope was using the saintress as a way to block him, then he guessed that her role inside the church would have great importance.

And what would happen if this saintress frees the shackles put on her by the Pope.

“Hmm. What do you think if I try to force myself through the filter.”

“The burden would be too big. You could even die. And the bigger problem is that I’m not sure whether killing the saintress will allow you to pass through to the corpse. Worst case, the slim connection may even possibly cut loose.”

“Alright, then what?”

“If possible…..maintain the connection for now. Why don’t Juan nim first get familiar with doing the transfer with people? If you get better at doing the spiritual transfer, we might find a way then.”

“Okay, we’ll do that then.”

*****

After washing his wash Helmut released some aroma into a tray.

His body loosened as the smell travelled into his body. It was a smell that he had gotten used to when he was young.

Many priests were skeptical about using this aroma as it could create an addiction, but still it was better than having to wash your face every 30 minutes.

The compulsive disorder that had been pestering him recently, started to flare back up again.

He still couldn’t forget the saintress’s voice that echoed through the hall that day.

It wasn’t a woman’s voice. Though it sounded young, it had definitely been a male.

‘But it didn’t seem like the emperor’s voice.’

Helmut had personally met the emperor before.

He could still remember the emperor’s voice, his demeanor, his accent that rang deep on the battlefield. But he wasn’t entirely sure.

The voice that came out of Eve’s mouth sounded like the emperor, but somehow it didn’t at the same time.

This made Helmut more irritated.

“Hey, you.”

“Yes your highness.”

A new female apprentice nervously straightened her back as she answered.

“Bring me the saintress.”

“……..At this hour, your highness?”

It was still dark, as the sun still hadn’t risen. The saintress was likely still asleep as it was too early even for a morning prayer.

Helmut didn’t say things twice. He grabbed his wash sink and threw it right at the apprentice.

The wash sink, barely missed, breaking into pieces from hitting the wall by her side. The apprentice quickly ran out of the room.

Helmut bit on his nails as he waited for Eve to come.

He didn’t know what to do.

Already, word was widely spreading about Eve in the holy city of Torra. To add on top of that, the nobles were taking a keen interest in her.

A saintress that gave the occasion for them to hear the emperor’s voice. Not to mention on her first day.

Not everybody was believing it, but she was receiving too much attention for Helmut’s liking.

To further create headaches, this incident was spreading fast amongst the members of the church.

Helmut tried to keep things under wrap but the priests and paladins were clearly agitated about the incident.

Even the commander of the White Lotus Paladin order who always displayed an ignorant stance towards the previous saintresses showed the utmost respect since that day.

“Damn it……”

Helmut found himself in a situation where he couldn’t do anything.

A siantress that gained the attention and respect of the people simultaneously…..This wasn’t what he had in mind for a doll he wanted to have full control over.

Then came a knock on the door.

“Come in!”

The door slightly opened and Eve carefully entered the room wearing a scared expression.

She was wearing a gown suggesting that she had just been woken up before coming here.

Helmut was about to go insane. The reaction the saintress was showing now, was exactly what he wanted from her.

But that exact saintress suddenly turned into a dangerous bomb that could explode at him at any moment.

Helmut waived at her to come closer. Noticing Helmut’s furious eyes, Eve felt intimidated as she walked on over very slowly.

Hlemut repressed the anger boiling inside him and stretched out his hand.

“……..Sit, and relax. How are you feeling these days?”

“I’, I’m still adjusting, your highness.”

“Don’t be so nervous. You’re going through a big change. The position of the saintress is an honorable one. A position where normally someone like you shouldn’t even imagine coveting.”

At Helmut’s forcefulness, Eve had no choice but to sit down on the sofa and listen.

Eve reluctantly answered Helmut’s never ending questions.

“I can definitely feel a change in attitude around me after becoming the saintress. Friends, fellow priests and even Paladins that I don’t know are now bowing and showing respect. Feels a bit strange……”

Helmut gritted his teeth. Eve who didn’t notice this kept on talking.

“Ah, and uh………it’s getting more frequent……….blank memories, your highness. Just like what happened during the ceremony. I’m curious if the previous saintress experienced the same thing?”