The Emperor’s first impression was… a bit ambiguous.
To be blunt, I couldn’t help but wonder how Arnold was born from that appearance; he was really quite ugly.
No, ugly might not be the right word… maybe, frighteningly ugly? Hmm, that’s still ambiguous.
Of course, as the child of the Emperor, he must have inherited those sharp eyes reminiscent of a tiger and that bright purple hair…
If Arnold is just a tiger, then the Emperor is a fat, old, wrinkled tiger.
And while he might be referred to as a tiger, it was only in looks; his aura didn’t resemble one at all.
I couldn’t tell if it was because he was old or if there was a reason he was so subservient.
He just lacked any dignity.
Well, to be fair, he was probably younger than me.
“Hmm…”
I frowned at the thought of my age.
Am I actually older than that wrinkled grandpa? Ridiculous.
Anyway, that’s not important.
“Ahem.”
Clearing my throat, I opened my mouth to the somewhat awkward-looking Emperor.
“So, what’s the gist of your words?”
Naturally, my tone was quite disrespectful.
After all, I was older, and since I wasn’t a citizen of the Empire, there was no need for me to use honorifics to serve the Emperor, right?
The Emperor merely frowned briefly at my tone.
“Be respectful…”
“Done.”
I cut him off as he seemed about to say something, continuing.
“…I’ve said this until now, but let me say it again.”
The Emperor went on to say:
“Do you have something you want? It doesn’t have to be material.”
He’s asking if I want a reward for rescuing Arnold and defeating the King of the Dead who attacked the Academy.
And then there was:
“By the way, how old are you? Where are you from? If you’re a commoner, do you not care for titles? Are you married?”
He was blatantly asking about my personal information.
I sighed and shook my head at the Emperor’s straightforward questions.
So many irrelevant side questions.
I suppose the main point was how he wanted to gather information about me.
Tsk, I clicked my tongue softly and looked away.
What I saw was Nameless, frowning in apparent anger.
Hmm… why does Nameless look so displeased?
Oh, I shouldn’t be worrying about Nameless right now.
Squinting my eyes to gauge the Emperor’s intentions, I figured that when he mentioned “non-material rewards,” he must be referring to something like a title.
Beyond that, nothing really came to mind.
It sounds ridiculous, but if I had to think about it, maybe he wants to connect Nameless with a possible princess.
I smirked at such a ludicrous thought and continued pondering.
Why does the Emperor want to keep me tied to the Empire so badly?
The Empire has powerful individuals like Camilla, and there are masters in other fields who’ve reached a masterful level like spearmanship or magic, right?
I couldn’t figure out why the Emperor, who only heard about my strength, wanted so desperately to tie me to the Empire.
Well, being an Emperor, he might just be greedy…
Or there might be some other reasons beyond just my strength that he wants to tie me down to his Empire.
In any case, he was persistently questioning me, no matter if I tried to avoid or ignore his words.
It was beyond mere greed at this point.
“Hmm.”
Well, then I had something to say.
I made a ring shape with my finger, shook it a bit, and spoke.
“I’d prefer something like money.”
That really was the simplest way.
The Emperor would be happy to clear debts cheaply, and I would prefer money over being tied to the Empire.
That would leave him without a proper excuse to refuse my offer.
Most importantly, if there’s enough money, I can buy whatever I want, right?
Lately, Nameless has been avoiding giving me strawberries, claiming they’re out of stock, so I could totally counter that.
A truly sophisticated plan! I was grinning as I awaited the Emperor’s reply.
After a brief silence, the Emperor squinted his eyes and spoke in disbelief.
“…Are you really saying money is all you want?”
“Of course.”
In fact, I’d rather not ask for anything beyond that.
I grinned as I nodded, and the Emperor frowned as if dissatisfied and fell silent.
It seemed he was deep in thought, and I poked Nameless in the side, who was shrugging his shoulders.
“What’s up with you?”
I whispered, knowing we weren’t alone.
Nameless glanced at the Emperor, then whispered back.
“That man, his gaze toward you isn’t respectful.”
“…Huh?”
I tilted my head at Nameless’s somewhat out-of-context remark.
Not respectful? Is he asking if the Emperor is being disrespectful?
No, wait; did he just call the Emperor “that man”?
I mean, I’m Nameless’s master, but…
Isn’t he a citizen of the Empire, unlike me?
Blinking in disbelief, I gazed at Nameless, but he just continued to pout.
…What should I do with him?
I’ve taught Nameless about the bond between master and disciple, but I never mentioned that a king is below a master…
But I didn’t plan on scolding Nameless just for this.
After all, if he prefers me over the Emperor, who could complain?
As I was smiling at Nameless’s cuteness,
“Cheon Ha-rang Professor.”
The Emperor, seemingly finished with his thoughts, spoke with a smile.
“Then how about this?”
With that, the Emperor placed a small box on the desk.
…What is that?
I tilted my head slightly and opened the box.
Inside were two rings adorned with jewels, but they weren’t just simple rings; a strange energy emanated from them.
…Is it similar to the necklace Elia used when crossing the world’s end?
What was that called again… an artifact?
I pondered for a moment before picking up one of the rings to inspect it.
…It’s pretty.
The band is silver, and the groove of the ring is adorned with a black, shining gemstone like obsidian.
But it looks a bit too big for me.
Yet…
What does he mean by showing me this?
Since I asked for money, I hoped it wouldn’t be some hassle about exchanging luxury goods.
I glanced at the Emperor, puzzled by his intentions, and he smiled widely as if he was pleased that I was finally interested.
“It’s an artifact that changes to fit the wearer’s size; would you like to try it on?”
“Hmm.”
Should I?
I typically don’t like dressing up, but…
And while I absolutely loathe anything cumbersome when wielding a sword…
This should be alright, right?
It’s just a ring, after all; it’s pretty too.
Just as I was about to smile and try on the ring,
“Master.”
“What! Give it here!”
Nameless snatched the ring from my hand and looked at me.
“Usually, it’s the disciple who puts it on the master.”
“…?”
What kind of strange tradition is this?
This was the first time I’d heard anything like it in both this life and my past life…
Do disciples put rings on their masters?
Isn’t that kind of risky to be seen doing that?
But considering I had lived in a hut all my life, I wouldn’t know the common sense here.
Nameless’s words must be right, given he spent a bit more time in the outside world than I did…
Ugh, this is so ambiguous…
But I didn’t want to ask him to repeat it, as he’d think my grasp on common sense was lacking, right?
I want to maintain the appearance of a respected master.
“…Ah, right, I must have momentarily forgotten.”
I smiled awkwardly and nodded at Nameless’s comment.
Nameless smirked at my response, revealing a somewhat eerie smile, and slowly took the ring.
“I will put it on.”
“…Sure.”
Just as the ring was about to come onto my hand,
“…Wait, hold up.”
The Emperor, who had been rubbing his forehead since earlier, couldn’t hold it back any longer.
“I must ask, are you two promised to be married—”
But he was immediately cut off by Nameless.
“Master.”
The Emperor seemed to be about to say something quite alarming…
But as I tilted my head in disbelief at the Emperor who, seemingly exasperated, was chuckling lightly.
“Master, you are right-handed, so it should go on your left hand, correct?”
Nameless grabbed my left hand and stared into my eyes as he spoke.
…What’s up with him today?
It felt strange, but I couldn’t disregard his words, so I nodded.
“Hmm, right.”
The ring fit perfectly on my left ring finger.
There seemed to be some significance to this finger, but…
I couldn’t quite remember, so I just smiled brightly.
“It’s pretty.”
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