The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 30

“Uh… If you’re looking for the tulip garden, head out that way and follow the path to the right.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

Unless it’s a problem within the Cascadia County, whatever happens in the royal capital isn’t my concern.

If I had any intention of meddling, I would’ve started by solving the king’s issues.

Still, letting someone act unpleasantly without addressing it isn’t something I can just ignore.

Crunch...

I slyly slipped some of my necromantic mana into his magic circle.

Like jamming a foreign object between cogs.

If he doesn’t notice it, there’s no way he’ll ever achieve a fifth-circle spell.

* * *

At least she seems to have some sense left, refraining from making a spectacle in front of others.

“Urgh... Blegh... I feel like I’m gonna die.”

Standing in an isolated area, Melissa was retching uncontrollably. I patted her back and clicked my tongue.

As the new Countess, she had made an effort to expand her influence by reaching out to nobles who hadn’t aligned themselves with Tyvel Cascadia.

After chatting with dozens of people and clinking glasses non-stop, this was the result.

“Alright, take a deep breath. This might sting.”

“Eek!”

After she finished vomiting, I stimulated her detoxifying ability by applying aura to her pressure points.

She groaned and stumbled in response.

“Ugh... Stop that!”

“No can do. You’re a countess now. Do you want to embarrass yourself by throwing up everywhere? Rumors will spread, and you’ll never get married. Come on, hold still. This’ll sting again.”

“Hnnngh!”

She tried to escape, but I firmly held her in place and infused her with more aura.

“Urp... Blegh...”

Despite her resistance, she eventually clamped her hand over her mouth before vomiting again.

“Phew... This is really the worst.”

“Spare me your dramatics.”

“Eek!”

Smack!

I smacked her on the back and asked,

“Are you done now?”

“Yes. Let’s go back to the lodging so I can rest. I’m heading back to the county tomorrow morning. I’m exhausted.”

Judging by her unsteady gait, she seemed to have gained something from her efforts.

“Leon, you didn’t cause any trouble while I was gone, did you?”

“If anyone’s causing trouble, it’s you. Quit saying nonsense and hop on.”

“Are you out of your mind? Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?”

Before she could resist, I hoisted her onto my back.

Though she struggled at first, her exhaustion eventually got the better of her, and she stopped.

“You’ve got quite a sturdy build, huh?”

“Do I?”

“Yeah. I thought you used to be all scrawny...”

To her, I was someone she’d constantly bicker and fight with.

But she didn’t know, did she?

To me, Melissa was more than just a pesky little sister to tease.

She was my last anchor, someone I had to protect no matter what.

I gazed up at the sky.

The night sky in this world was nothing like the one from my past life.

The stars were so densely packed they practically lit up the night.

And there was an enormous celestial body floating in the sky, its rings glowing mysteriously—defying all physical laws.

It was like seeing Saturn in Earth’s night sky but even more surreal.

Despite all this, tides, gravity, and the size of life forms—animals and humans alike—remained almost identical to my previous world.

Gravity’s rules seemed completely disregarded, yet this continent maintained an environment astonishingly similar to Earth’s.

Melissa, now sound asleep on my back, had grown heavier.

As I strolled through the quiet night, a shadow wolf, Muyeong, emerged from my own shadow.

Though a spectral creature born of darkness, its antics resembled those of a playful puppy showing off to its master.

Knowing it would remain unseen to others, I didn’t bother stopping it.

“Should we wander a bit longer?”

Though I’d planned to return to the carriage and head straight to the lodging, the beautiful night sky left me contemplative.

-Woof! Woof woof!

Just then, Muyeong darted out of the garden’s woods with something in its mouth.

“What now? I told you not to pick up random stuff.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

This wasn’t the first time it had brought me strange things—like Farrell’s soul, for instance.

Muyeong stopped in front of me, presenting a black stone-like object clenched in its jaws.

“What’s this? An artifact?”

Could it really have snatched one of the royal castle’s protective artifacts?

“Drop it! Spit it out! Now!”

At my command, it obediently spat out the object.

If this was a royal artifact, I could be accused of plotting an assassination.

Absolutely unacceptable.

“Take it back to where you found it... Wait a second.”

Seeing that the castle’s barrier was still intact, I concluded that returning it to its place wouldn’t cause too much trouble.

But just as I was about to order Muyeong to return it, something strange caught my eye.

[Hostile mana detected.]

“Oh... That’s what it is.”

This wasn’t a protective artifact.

[It appears to be a cursed tool.]

Anyone familiar with necromancy would recognize it instantly.

Its structure was identical to the mediums used in curse magic.

Without hesitation, I let Melissa slip from my back.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Caught off guard, she shrieked and rubbed her sore bottom.

“Ow, ow! What’s wrong with you, you lunatic?!”

“Hey, Melissa.”

She glared up at me, frowning.

“What! Why! I already thought you’d gone crazy, but this...”

“Why is something like this in the royal castle?”

Why is this thing in the royal palace?"

I picked up the juju from the ground and showed it to her.

"What is that?"

"It's a tool for killing people."

And a very sophisticated cursed medium at that.

* * *

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Melissa stood up and stared at the object I held out.

Why are you staring at it like that?

Do you think you’d recognize it if you saw it?

When I gave her a pointed look, she cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Ahem! Ahem! Uh, so... where did you find that?"

"Picked it up."

Her face twisted in disbelief.

"Picked it up?"

"More like I found it."

"And how do you know it’s a tool for killing people?"

"The necromana embedded in it is maliciously structured. How could I not know?"

Necromana is usually divided into two main categories: vitality and malice.

This juju contained only pure malice.

"Wait, how do you even know that—never mind. Forget it."

Melissa had long since given up trying to understand me.

"So, what happens if this thing is left alone?"

"Not sure yet. Jumping to conclusions from limited information is dangerous. I’ll need to investigate, but honestly, it’s kind of a hassle."

"A hassle? Be real. You just don’t want to do it, right?"

"Wow, you caught me."

At my candid reply, she let out an incredulous laugh.

If something like this had been found in the Cascadia estate, I would have turned the place upside down to get to the bottom of it.

But this was the royal palace.

One critical fact couldn’t be ignored.

"You’re saying it’s more than just annoying, huh?"

"Isn’t it weird? Something like this suddenly ends up in my hands right now."

A trap was a real possibility.

"Yeah, you’re right. If this juju really is meant to harm someone, you could end up being framed as an attempted assassin."

"Exactly. Whether it’s already been activated or who the target is, we won’t know until we investigate."

A mere medium like this couldn’t provide all the answers.

I’d need to trace its connections and see the situation for myself.

The problem was the current state of knowledge about necromancy and curses in this world.

I had mastered up to the fifth circle of necromancy, but even that relied on an unconventional method, making it a bit slow.

"Still, we won’t know unless we check. Is it possible to investigate?"

After some deliberation, Melissa decided we should look into it.

If she’d made up her mind, I didn’t see a reason to oppose her.

"It’s not hard."

With that, I tossed the juju into the air and casually waved my hand.

A cluster of purple magic circles materialized in the air, surrounding the juju and suspending it midair.

At the same time, a large, circular magic circle expanded outward from my feet, its runes glowing and radiating as they wove themselves into the structure encasing the juju.

Flash!

Using necromana, I infiltrated the juju and began to resonate with it, gradually seizing control.

It was akin to hacking—a process of penetrating the gaps in a large magical system to steal its control or extract information.

I’d used this method countless times before, even stealing opponents’ spells and turning them against them.

Despite reaching the pinnacle of necromancy, I was still bound to the limitations of a fifth-circle mage.

I knew the necromancy of this world differed from what I had learned, so I approached the process cautiously and deliberately.

But...

"What the hell is this?"

"Is something wrong?"

"No, it’s just... too easy."

"Huh?"

It felt like someone had deliberately left the door wide open, inviting me in.

With a flick of my wrist, I manipulated the magic circles surrounding the juju, reconfiguring them as I pleased.

"Look at this. A slight nudge and it falls apart. It’s like a cookie."

"Leon."

"Be quiet. I’m concentrating."

Her patience thinning, she tried to stay calm and asked,

"When did you even learn magic?"

"Recently."

She narrowed her eyes.

"And what circle are you at?"

"Fifth circle for now."

"You’ve got to be kidding me. You realize fifth-circle mages are just below archmages, right? And now you’re telling me this after already pulling off absurd feats like creating sword auras?"

"I had a lucky encounter."

"What kind of insane ‘lucky encounter’ gets you to that level?!"

From the sixth circle onward, you’d be considered an archmage—a realm equivalent to a swordmaster in swordsmanship.

In terms of difficulty, swordmasters had a harder time advancing further, but magic required innate talent to even begin.

It wasn’t uncommon for someone to struggle for years just to reach the first circle.

Finally, I managed to bring the magic system fully under my control.

I extended the necromana to create a miniature map, displaying its entire structure.

"Got it."

"Wow, that’s amazing. It looks like a spider."

"There are more mediums like this in the palace. They’re all connected, so finding them was easy."

"And this?"

She pointed to a spot where the mediums converged—a central hub resembling the spider’s body.

"That’s probably the curse’s target. Whoever they’re trying to kill must be there. I don’t know who or why, but disabling it should be simple. We won’t even need to find the rest. If I stop it now, this thing will just become an ordinary stone."

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]