Chapter 2. The Emperor worth two silver leaves(1)

To no one’s surprise, shouting did not bring forth the perpetrator.

Juan looks up to the sky and lets out a sigh as the vast sky swallows his deafening shout.

A clear blue sky.

Slowly he stands up and inspects his state.

Thin skeleton alike limbs and attached a small white hand.

“Roughly 9 years old huh”

For a moment Juan thought he came back to his past.

“No. I was never this fragile at this age”

His body structure reconfigured to match the proportion of mana in him internally.

Most of his strength from when he was an emperor has vanished and all that was left was a bit of mana just enough to keep his new puny body running.

He was given a body with physical capabilities true to his age.

Juan pondered about any magic that he could use.

The base of his strength during his ascension as an emperor lied in his magic proficiency.

Magic with capabilities that could nourish the entire world, look into different dimensions, even creating something out of nothing, his previous magical knowledge still remained in his head.

Precisely a master of all kinds of magic, but with no mana he couldn’t use it to his benefit.

But as an emperor he was born to protect his people. Not only magic but swordsmanship, strategy, somatic art, Juan mastered everything necessary for a battle.

Going beyond common sense, pioneering new dimensions. His skills in strengthening fellow humans so they could retaliate against the gods. He still had all of this knowledge.

Juan with this strength unified the continent and commanded humanity to battle gods and demons into submission.

God of war was beheaded under his sword, God of magic’s heart was ripped apart with his magic, and their corpses were Juan’s trophies of war.

With more time, he would have strengthened humanity so they would never fall apart.

But now his power all but disappeared, trickling away like sand.

There’s nothing left.

With this weak body, he wouldn’t be able to display even 1/1000th of that power he once had.

“Well. Whatever….”

Juan laid back down on the ground.

The sound of crackling ashes drifted away, as they turned into dust.

A clear blue sky.

A good day to resurrect. Also to die.

An unwanted resurrection.

He simply did not care in the slightest, which year it was, where he was.

“Let’s die again.”

I died without any lingering regrets.

Seeing unnecessary things will only bring about more remorse.

If we know what events take place after we die, what exact circumstances caused my death, we don’t know how we will react to it.

If I set my mind to it, there are thousands of ways to recover my powers. If recovered, I could set ablaze the empire, the continent and even the whole world on fire.

‘There‘s nothing stopping me from doing this’

A silent whisper can be heard from somewhere deep inside Juan. Juan pushed back his inner thoughts. His consciousness slowly drifted back to sleep.

What woke him was a voice.

“Oi.”

Someone was tapping his leg.

An emperor from the moment he was born, Juan found amusement in such carefree treatment being directed at him. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

A man wearing a turban with a colorless face was looking down at him.

“Who are you, were you running away from the great fire?

Behind him stood a carriage, carrying many slaves with gaunt expressions.

Their hands and feet were shackled with metal chains.

“A slave trader…..”

While he was emperor, Juan strictly banned slavery.

Likewise, Juan did not give permission to stab him in the back.

In spite of one’s effort, he knew in some places banning something wouldn’t stop it from occurring.“Don’t bother me”

As Juan turned his back on him, the slave trader had an absurd look on his face.

Once more, he kicked Juan’s thighs with force.

“Where’s your parents? You alone?”

“My parents’ well being is none of your concern. Rather, think about taking care of your own parents first.”

“Well, aren’t you an arrogant shit.”

After listening to Juan’s answer, the slave trader judged that Juan was abandoned due to his strangeness.

Otherwise, why would a child in no clothing be lying down on a field of ash.

The great fire, its origin unknown, lasted several days. It swept across the great plains and caused many tribes to lose their homes.

To reduce the number of mouths to feed, one or two children were abandoned.

Slave trader dragged the struggling Juan to the back of the carriage and loaded him on.

In the carriage, dirty feets bound in metal cuffs could be seen. Many curious glances were sent his way.

Now with no one to interfere, Juan’s consciousness drifted away in a deep slumber.

**********

Southern Empire – Tantil

Similar to a desert like colour, a yellow fortress stood in the middle of a crowded market.

In the market, spice, pottery and rugs, commonly found things in the southern district were exchanged. But above all that, slavery was sought after the most.

Settlement located in the far corner of the empire, it sheltered many half-humans who had been forced out by humans and in search of a new home.

A few half-humans rose high within the social ladder of the empire, but they were still looked down upon. Many who were found outside the borders were captured and sold into slaves.

And Tantil’s Colosseum was the place, where most slaves were sold.

“How many in total?”

The slave inspector asks as he checks the condition of each slave.

“Eight in total. Uh…”

“Does that include the +1 here? What is this?”

“ Ah, I was going to explain. On the way back, I found him and decided to add one more to the list.”

With a frown, the inspector looks at the slaves. Confusion and despair in their eyes. But among them, he found a boy with clear blue eyes that gave a sense of endless depth like an ocean.

The inspector lifts the boy’s chin with the bottom end of his pen.

A thin scrawny figure. Outer shape outlined by his bones. Hollow eyes.

Bits of black ash stained on his body reinforced the story that he had been found on the way here.

“He looks close to death.”

“Hehe, inspector. Look at his hair. Black haired people are famous for their stubbornness to not die. His teeth are also well grown and shaped. Upon examining there is hardly a scar on him. His appearance isn’t great, but he will be worthwhile.”

Irritated with his remarks, the inspector stares at the slave trader.Trader awkwardly returns his stare with a smile.

“With the great fire, many abandoned half-humans have hid to safety. It’s going to be difficult to supply the demand for slaves. Didn’t you say to hoover up as many as i can find rather than look for the worthwhile ones. If you take care of my transportation costs, I’m happy to do business elsewhere.”

Inspector ignores the trader’s words and pulls out his pouch.

Trader rubs his fingers in excitement and spreads out his four fingers. Inspector snorts in response.

“Altogether?”

“Aii go~, even the emperor will be speechless with that amount. I was talking about the boy’s transport cost…..”

“I don’t have any intentions to pay the standard for that extra luggage you brought. One gold leaf for the men, 8 silver leaves for the women and 1 silver would be plenty for the ‘extra’ luggage.”

“Bringing him here cost 5 bronze leaves in tax. Plus consider the cost beared from having to feed him on the long journey back…… I wouldn’t have any return left. You gotta give at least 3 leaves.”

Of course, the trader found him only midday today and didn’t bear any food cost but used this to support his dispute.

However, the inspector flatly rebutted.

“Then take him back. I never recall asking for a boy like him.”

Making a bitter face, the trader thought he might get a better offer at the market instead.

But right now he was exhausted from making the long journey over the plains.

He couldn’t be bothered looking for another place to sell. On his mind he desperately wanted to go to his quarters and rest.

“Alright, then two leaves! I’ll take just his base price! This…..”

“It’s not the first and last time we do business so just this once, I will accept your price.”

The two exchanged the same usual conversation and shook hands.

No one on this day knew that the emperor who conquered the world had his fate sold with two silver leaves.

**********

Juan woke up from the feeling of something entering his mouth.

Juan almost thoughtlessly spat it out but decided to let the porridge-alike something flow down his throat.It was a natural instinct to swallow anything that came into his mouth when one was close to death.

Upon opening his eyes, a young female elf with a haggard face came into his view.

The elf had Juan in her embrace and was gently feeding him porridge into his mouth.

Looking up at the ceiling made from rock, bits of mould had orientated.

“Don’t get sick, sweetie. Sweetie, don’t get sick……”

The elf whispered into his year. She was a strange elf Juan thought.

Next to him a voice asked him a request.

“Kid, I know you’re surprised but could you stay still?”

It was a Faun. Lean, fairly muscled male with mountain goat horns, grown on his head.

“This noona is a little sick but you reminded her of someone.”

Another spoonful of porridge came into Juan’s mouth. Juan swallowed it instinctively.

Having already listened to the male’s request Juan felt rude in refusing to eat. He closed his eyes.

Feeling some sensation of his body being covered, it looked like some kind of ragged clothing had been fitted on.

His lifespan had been extended but this only delayed the inevitable. A slave’s life doesn’t last long.

“Bloody hell, save your sympathy”

A sarcastic voice was heard.

At those words, the Faun stood up with an irritated expression. The bald male who voiced the sarcastic words stood up as well.

“You know having a mouth doesn’t give you the right to say anything you want!”

“What i said is reality! What, you think i said something inappropriate?”

The Faun threw himself at the bald man causing a ruckus.

Slaves inside the cramped room shrunk away to not get caught up in the commotion.

The Faun had a smaller body size than the bald man but the fight seemed neck and neck.

Hearing the commotion a guard rushed over.

Noticing the fight inside the cage, the guard banged on the iron bars with his spear.

Only then, the two men gave distance and separated.

“You little shits. I see that we are all excited to be at the colosseum.”

Using his spear he trusted it inside the cage with almost an intent to strike.

Screaming, the slaves all huddled towards the corner of the cage.

Looking at the fear on their faces, the soldier smirked as he drove the spear’s butt into the ground.

“Now now, I know we are itching to fight each other. But save it for soon as we have another place where you guys can shed blood. On that note, you guys get to go first over everyone else.”

“What do you mean?”

The Faun asked carefully.

“Think about why Tantil Colosseum’s director would buy slaves, including those who are about to die.”

A nervous chatter spread amongst the slaves.

The bald man eventually calmed down and brought his knee together and drooped his head. The female elf tightly squeezed Juan as if to reassure him and repeatedly whispered in a soft voice, ‘Its alright sweetie’.

Meanwhile, Juan’s interest had drifted away to another topic.

Tantil? Colosseum?

The places sounded familiar.

“Hey.”

Juan opened his mouth and the mountain goat horned man looked at him in surprise.

“Is this place Tantil? Is there a Colosseum at Tantil?”

“Your way of speaking is…… Well yeah. Tantil is known for its Colosseum. But don’t worry. There will only be boos when children like you are sent out. You’ll be used more for things like errands. Gladiators always have a need for slaves.”

But Juan wasn’t listening to his words. There was only one thought in his head.

Tantil was the name of the land where Juan made his mark on killing a god for the first time.

The land where the emperor planted the flag of hope for humanity.

During the era when Gods and humans fought, a god by the name Taltere of Madness resided over this land.

Taltere often demanded sacrificial beings from his followers. And his enjoyment included watching sacrificial beings kill each other, staining the floor with blood. The madness and blood from this is where Taltere got his power.

To the day Juan ordered to seal Taltere’s temple, his followers had called the temple a Colosseum.

Once again… a Colosseum was built in Tantil?

Juan felt weird.

He devoted his whole life to killing gods, therefore his heart started to beat softly.

But Juan quickly suppressed his beating heart.

“I’m not the emperor anymore.”

Juan bit his lip.

‘Emperor is dead. Assassinated. By a human. By the hands he trusted most.’