The Empire, which shared a border with the Kingdom of Luhan, had been its ally since ancient times.
But that began to change when the Second Empress, Octana, gained the Emperor’s favor.
Later, though everyone who needed to know already knew, the Second Empress was actually a witch. What was more, she was the infamous Grand Witch of Lies, who had sown chaos across the continent since ancient times.
She possessed the ability to break even a Mana Oath.
The Grand Witch of Lies, Octana, transformed herself into a beautiful woman, became the Second Empress, and made a mockery of the imperial family. She corrupted the Empire.
The Second Empress—Octana, the evil Grand Witch of Lies—eventually gave birth to a son, the Black Crown Prince.
Then she killed the First Empress, the young First Imperial Prince, and the First Imperial Princess, all of whom stood in her way.
No one suspected the deaths of the three. Their corpses had hung at the entrance of the Imperial Palace for an entire year.
Countless loyalists besides them were also killed or ruined by Octana.
The Emperor merely sat on the golden throne like a man in a vegetative state.
The Maha Empire, which had once ruled over the continent, became a Dark Empire ruled by an evil Grand Witch.
Resistance against it rose all across the continent.
Countless members of the imperial family fled the Empire to escape the Second Empress Octana’s purges.
Thanks to their bloodline, imperial royals were all skilled in swordsmanship, magic, or scholarship. Thus, various kingdoms accepted them. They did so despite their reservations. In times like these, every talented individual with exceptional ability mattered.
The circumstances under which an exiled imperial royal named Roan came all the way to Luhan were similar.
***
Tae Gwang-hwi, a man who was also the First Imperial Prince Solacius in this other world, knelt before a stream.
SPLASH.
Then he began washing his face.
SPLASH, SPLASH.
After washing his face, he eventually threw off his armor and shirt.
Then he immersed his body in the cold stream.
SPLASH, SPLASH. As he waded through the current to the middle of the stream, the cold water reached his collarbones.
‘It’s hot.’
Yet the heat did not fade.
Perhaps because of the Sun Sword skill he had just used, intense heat rose from his body.
Although he had used it only briefly and weakly, the side effect was excessive.
SPLASH, SPLASH.
To forget the heat, he repeatedly soaked even the crown of his head. Only when the blood and grime from the earlier battle had completely washed from his face did he calm down.
Only after his mind and body settled did Tae Gwang-hwi look into the stream reflecting his face.
‘Was I summoned, or did I possess someone?’
A faint tremor still remained in his eyes reflected in the stream.
He absentmindedly touched his face. He could feel stubble on his chin.
He hurriedly began shaving with the dagger at his waist.
After neatly shaving, he observed his face in the stream again.
Blond hair, golden eyes. A rather handsome face with a harmonious blend of Eastern and Western features.
An appearance that had become even younger after Awakening.
It was Tae Gwang-hwi’s own face from Earth.
‘The game character Solacius did look like me.’
The character illustration, which had looked as though it had been drawn with himself as a model, came to mind.
He then examined his body as well.
‘It’s here……?’
A deep scar ran down the center of his solar plexus.
It was an injury he had suffered in the past while fighting a lich on Earth.
The wound had carried a deep curse, so that scar alone had remained, like a tattoo.
The scar on his solar plexus was still there.
‘Then what are these memories?’
This was unmistakably the body he had possessed on Earth. Yet his mind was filled with countless unfamiliar memories.
Memories of an Imperial Palace he had never seen or heard of.
Memories of fleeing to the Fairy Forest to escape the pursuit of the Second Empress Octana.
Memories of losing his younger sister, Lunacirne, in the process.
Memories of burying his mother in the Fairy Forest and growing up there until recently.
The memories of Solacius, the First Imperial Prince of the Empire, had mixed with those of Tae Gwang-hwi, the EX-Rank Hunter from Earth.
A rosary glowed faintly over the scar on Tae Gwang-hwi’s solar plexus. The necklace rosary was also a token symbolizing Solacius’s rightful succession.
Tae Gwang-hwi from Earth + Solacius, a character from the game.
Tae Gwang-hwi’s personality was stronger, but Solacius’s personality and memories were hardly faint.
‘This is the Demon King’s curse?’
It was an utterly absurd curse. He could not understand why the bastard had placed such a curse on him.
“…….”
Tae Gwang-hwi stood blankly for a while, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke.
“……Status Window, Status Window!”
He quietly called for the Status Window.
But nothing happened.
‘It really is a curse.’
Being summoned into another world and possessing someone without a Status Window. It could not be anything other than a thoroughly nasty Demon King curse.
As he stood in the stream blankly, muttering about the Status Window—
“Um…… Should I call you Sir Roan? I did not hear your family name…….”
A voice called out to Solacius from behind.
“My name is Roan Shalut.”
At the call, he added the surname from the elven name he had received in the Fairy Forest and answered.
“Ha ha…… Sir Roan Shalut.”
The merchant treated him with extreme caution.
“The meal is ready, Sir.”
A savory scent of food wafted from behind the merchant, who kept bowing to him.
***
The bandits who had attacked the caravan were wiped out by Tae Gwang-hwi—Solacius’s—martial might.
The mercenaries escorting the caravan had all fled, and the only person capable of fighting properly was the wandering knight seated at the head of the gathering.
Yet for some reason, the merchants huddled around a campfire and eating stew did not feel anxious.
The merchant Dominic kept stealing glances at the knight in front of him as he ate his stew.
Judging from his expression, it was fortunately edible.
Of course, it was stew filled with snowfield potatoes and pure-white beans, which grew only in the north. On top of that, to show their gratitude to the knight, they had generously added salt and precious pepper. It could not possibly taste bad.
‘He must be an exiled imperial royal from the Empire!’
Watching Roan eat the stew with elegance, Dominic became certain.
It was not because of the blond hair and golden eyes that symbolized the imperial family. Even those who were not royals could rarely have blond hair and golden eyes.
The real proof was the air Knight Roan exuded.
‘From our first meeting, I felt he was no ordinary man.’
As a merchant, he had occasionally met proper knights. On rare occasions, he had even spoken with nobles of baronial rank.
But the knight before him radiated a charisma and aura on an entirely different level from the nobles and knights he had encountered until now.
‘But Aura! The power Sir Knight displayed then was definitely Aura!’
The man had already been extraordinary, but after that battle, he radiated even greater intimidation.
‘At the very least, he’s a peak Expert, perhaps even a Sword Master. Aura at such a young age! Could Luhan produce its second Sword Master after MarquessMoonlight?’
What his sword had released was unmistakably Aura. Even in Luhan, knights who could wield Aura were few enough to count on one hand.
‘And that way of speaking. I have heard it only a few times, but it is undoubtedly the accent used by high-ranking nobles!’
Furthermore, the brief conversations they occasionally exchanged with the knight before them further proved his noble status.
Knight Roan and the merchants of the caravan, who were commoners, all used the continental Common Tongue.
But Knight Roan’s accent was heavily infused with High Imperial, an accent that could never be concealed even when speaking the Common Tongue.
The High Imperial accent used only by high-ranking nobles proved that he was no ordinary noble.
‘Everyone is captivated by that knight from the Empire. Even though we are people of Luhan.’
Looking around, Dominic saw that everyone in the caravan was stealing glances at the knight before them just as he was.
“Um…… Did you come from the Empire, Sir?”
At that moment, a fellow merchant beside him could no longer contain his curiosity and asked Roan.
To ask a question of such a great noble, who might even be a high-ranking imperial royal. Dominic and the other merchants were alarmed inwardly, but they also wanted to hear the story of the wonderful knight before them, so they remained silent.
“Yes, I came from the Empire.”
Fortunately, the knight seemed to possess a gentle nature befitting his looks and demeanor.
“Could you perhaps be an exiled imperial royal as well, Sir……?”
When Knight Roan answered so readily, the merchant gathered his courage and continued.
Everyone swallowed hard at the question. Depending on who received it, a person from Luhan asking that question could be seen as rude.
“……I am a distant collateral relative.”
Roan was silent for a moment before answering shortly.
‘According to these memories, I have only just set out from the Fairy Forest.’
He did not want to explain. It seemed better to fit their common sense. It was easier to explain and accept that he was a fallen imperial royal exiled from the Empire than a fallen imperial royal who had emerged from the Fairy Forest.
“It is an honor to meet one so exalted.”
“We have been rude to one so noble.”
A small commotion arose when he formally acknowledged that he was a royal.
“Please forgive our rudeness!”
The Empire had gone mad, and the imperial family’s reputation had especially fallen to rock bottom in Luhan. Still, royals were royals.
“It is all right. I am merely a wandering knight with neither land nor wealth.”
Roan Shalut—whose true name was Solacius—answered the merchants who had suddenly fallen to their knees in a gentle tone.
His voice, a marvelous mixture of High Imperial intonation and elven speech, sounded like the song of the wind even though he spoke as though merely conversing.
Though he himself did not truly realize it.
‘I want to hear more of the knight’s voice.’
‘What a truly sweet voice. It feels like listening to a song.’
‘Even words casually tossed out by him are sweeter than those of most bards.’
‘If there were a woman here, she would be entranced into serving him that night.’
The ill feelings every person of Luhan held toward the Empire and its imperial family did not apply to the knight before them.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
But unlike their inner thoughts, a heavy awkwardness descended over the meal.
A noble—and not just any noble, but one of the highest rank.
A lofty being whose shadow they would not have dared glimpse even ten years ago.
Regardless of their favorable feelings, the atmosphere he exuded and the gap in their status froze everyone in place.
“You are injured.”
Surprisingly, it was the noble knight who broke the awkward atmosphere.
“Gravely, too.”
He suddenly pointed at a merchant with a bandage around his arm.
“Y-Yes! It is a fairly deep cut, but I will be fine. Ha ha…… As soon as we reach the city, I intend to find a healer.”
The merchant suddenly singled out by the knight answered in a fluster. His face showed confusion, fear, and honor.
‘The wound is deep, and the bandage is filthy. At this rate, it will fester before he reaches the city, and they will have to cut it off.’
Tae Gwang-hwi frowned as he looked at the merchant.
“Ha ha ha…….”
When the merchant saw the knight frown at him, he felt an unwarranted sense of guilt despite having done nothing wrong.
“Grind Ivy Grass, Elk Flower, and Dwarf Root in a ratio of two to five to three, then cover the wound with it. Replace the bandage with clean cloth as well.”
A memory related to treatment surfaced in Tae Gwang-hwi’s mind. It was the knowledge of Solacius, who had merged with him—the elven knowledge of herbalism he had learned while growing up in the Fairy Forest.
“Th-Thank you!”
At the unexpected words, the merchant repeatedly thanked him with a moved expression.
Though he was a fallen royal, someone so exalted had shared his knowledge.
‘A treatment method I have never heard before?’
‘It is a treatment method used by the imperial family!’
‘For someone so exalted to share knowledge with us. You truly see all kinds of things if you live long enough.’
The eyes of the surrounding merchants shone at the herbal knowledge Tae Gwang-hwi had shared.
Nobles usually hid their own knowledge and information thoroughly, no matter how trivial it was.
‘He drove away the bandits, shared knowledge, and is not demanding anything in return……. He seems less like a wandering knight and more like a priest.’
‘Are all royals like that? Not even the saints of the Holy Kingdom would give so generously…….’
‘It is good that he is helping us like this, but I am worried he will demand something enormous later. I only hope it is something we can afford…….’
Thus, the conduct of the knight before them was utterly extraordinary. So extraordinary that it worried them.
‘Still, Ivy Grass is practically a weed. Elk Flower is a common flower, too. Dwarf Root is a bit rare, but it is obtainable if you look for it.’
‘I thought royals ate only medicinal herbs as rare as perennial snow. This is unexpected.’
They were mildly puzzled by the more ordinary-than-expected ingredients, but that puzzlement did not last long.
“The wound appears critical, so carry it out at once.”
“Yes!”
It was the knight’s command. How could they refuse? The merchant with the injured arm hurriedly looked around.
They quickly found Ivy Grass and Elk Flower. The problem was Dwarf Root.
But as merchants, they had Dwarf Root among their goods.
With everyone watching curiously, the merchant with the injured arm began treatment as the knight had instructed, with another merchant’s help.
Everyone watched the process while swallowing hard. Knowledge that was trivial to the exalted could be exceedingly precious to the lowborn.
‘Once we reach the city, I must buy up as much Dwarf Root as possible.’
‘We should gather Ivy Grass and Elk Flower along the way!’
As merchants, their thoughts naturally went in that direction.
Even so, they continued stealing glances at the fallen imperial royal who had shared such precious knowledge.
It was truly a bleak and harsh world.
A world where a knight traveling down the road would be praised simply for helping residents threatened by bandits without asking for anything in return.
A world where that tale would be sung by bards for generations.
In such a world, a knight had appeared who defeated bandits single-handedly and demanded no particular reward.
He had even shared a valuable treatment method, telling an injured person how to treat his wound.
A gentle brilliance seemed to flow from the blond, golden-eyed wandering knight before them. He carried an air as though he did not belong to this world.
The noble wandering knight named Roan Shalut gazed up at the darkening night sky with melancholy in his eyes.
The sight was so noble and great that they lowered their heads without realizing it.
‘Look at that troubled, melancholy expression! What could he be thinking about?’
‘He must be worried about the future of the continent.’
‘Perhaps he is devising a strategy to defeat the Grand Witch Octana and the Dark Grand Duke?’
‘If the Emperor of the Empire had been like him, the Empire would never have fallen into corruption.’
The merchants looked at the knight’s melancholy face with reverence, each wondering what thoughts occupied him.
Receiving all their gazes, Tae Gwang-hwi—Solacius, summoned into another world—thought,
‘Sigh…… How am I supposed to get home?’