Chapter 426
Chapter 426: Return of the King
Time flew as they talked in the room, and before they knew it, the afternoon had passed.
As hunger began to set in, Arthur gathered the map that had been spread out and left the room. Immediately, Samuel scurried after him.
Arthur let out a sigh at the sight.
"You're not a duckling. How long do you plan on following me around?"
"What choice do I have? I need to stick close to survive."
"I told you, it's fine now."
"You don’t understand witches. They're the kind of beings who rip out your heart while smiling."
"So tomorrow you'll say she eats people alive."
Having been chased around by Lily, Samuel seemed to have developed trauma, holding a terrifying fantasy about witches.
Since three days ago, he'd been following Arthur everywhere, seemingly realizing that the safest place on the ship was by Arthur’s side.
Even Lily had become a gentle lamb in front of Arthur, after all.
"Aren’t you hungry?"
"Hah, let’s go."
Shaking his head, Arthur took the lead, and Samuel quietly followed behind.
After a simple meal, the two headed to the room where Karl was staying.
A ghost stood guard at the door.
Upon Arthur’s arrival, the ghost lowered its head and stepped aside from the door.
Before entering, Arthur glanced over the ghost’s appearance and clicked his tongue briefly.
It looked ragged, as if it had rolled around on the floor.
"Are you alright?"
"Ah, I was rotated in during training, so it’s nothing to worry about."
"I heard the ghosts have been taking turns sparring with Sir Lochter."
"It’s been very helpful in real combat. Sir Lochter fills in the areas we're lacking."
"Is Lily still bothering you all?"
“Ahaha…”
At the mention of Lily, the ghost let out an awkward laugh.
The ghost’s specialty was stealth.
While aboard the ship, he had ended up playing hide-and-seek with her unintentionally, and surprisingly, it had turned into a tight match.
However, the ghosts who got caught by her were subjected to mischievous pranks, and recalling that, the ghost trembled.
Samuel stopped in front of the ghost and patted his shoulder.
"Hang in there. I will too."
"...?"
As Samuel left with a determined look in his eyes, the ghost tilted his head, thinking what a strange person he was.
Karl’s condition had improved significantly. Most of his wounds had healed, and his irregular breathing had stabilized.
From the outside, he looked like he could open his eyes at any moment without issue, but he was still unconscious.
"I thought he'd jump up by now, shouting he got even better-looking."
"No matter how you look at it, he’s still ugly."
"That’s not what I meant."
"What can you do? He’s unconscious."
"Could something have gone wrong in his mind?"
"He lost consciousness after arriving, so it’s probably not his mind. There are no signs of a curse either. Most likely just exhaustion."
"If it was exhaustion, he should've regained consciousness by now. It’s strange."
"Could it be..."
"What, did something come to mind?"
"Is this guy pretending to be unconscious?"
Ignoring Samuel whispering into Karl’s ear, Arthur furrowed his brows.
He was starting to worry about Karl’s condition.
What could be the reason?
As he began to ponder, he heard Reto’s voice.
[Touch the host’s body.]
"Touch? Don’t tell me something’s wrong?"
[There’s something I need to confirm.]
After a brief moment of hesitation, Arthur placed his hand on Karl’s chest.
At that moment—
Wriggle—
As if reacting to Arthur’s hand, a pale presence stirred above Karl’s chest.
It was a spirit residing within Karl’s body.
The spirit responded violently to Reto’s presence and forcefully pushed away Arthur’s hand.
Rebounding from the force, Arthur let out a grunt and stepped back.
As he held his numbed hand and looked at Karl, Reto spoke again, having assessed the situation.
[It’s nothing serious. The spirit is temporarily suppressing the host’s consciousness to enhance his recovery.]
"So the spirit is preventing Karl from waking up?"
[It considers this a safe place and is trying to restore the host to full health. He’ll awaken on his own when the time is right.]
Relieved that Karl wasn’t in any serious danger, Arthur was nevertheless curious about Karl’s spirit.
The spirit was acting on its own?
Reto was an absolute being, so his case was special. Normally, spirits didn’t possess rational thought.
Karl’s spirit had once been a regular one trapped in the Ordor Forest.
It should only react to the host’s will, and nothing more. Yet the one before him was actively helping its host recover, making independent judgments.
There had to be a reason for the change in the spirit.
[It may be due to unification.]
"Unification?"
[When a host and spirit achieve unification, the spirit experiences embodiment through the host’s senses. If its level rose as a result, it could exhibit responses like this.]
Arthur stared at the wriggling presence on Karl’s chest.
He recalled that Karl had once achieved unification through Lily’s moonlight in the Frozen Desert.
That could explain the change.
But then, a question arose.
"Then... would there be changes for Reto as well?"
[Changes?]
"I mean, if we achieve unification."
[If synchronization reaches 100%, you might learn the answer.]
"So, you don’t know right now?"
[Perfect unification has never been achieved, not even once throughout countless ages.]
Arthur nodded gravely.
His current synchronization rate with Reto was 90%.
Not far from 100%.
If he reached full synchronization, would Reto undergo a major transformation?
‘And what about me?’
A deep curiosity arose, but he set it aside for now.
The answer would come eventually.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
A loud ship horn echoed around them.
The captain was signaling everyone.
"Boss, looks like we’ve arrived."
Samuel looked out the window with an eager expression.
The maritime city, Clayton.
It seemed they had arrived.
Once called the “City of Vagrants,” it had drawn countless wanderers as their final refuge.
Outside the outer walls, shantytowns made of rotting wood and rags once sprawled, creating a gloomy atmosphere that made the upper class shun the place, and the city failed to develop.
A city with the reputation of being the dirtiest in the world.
But now, standing on deck, Arthur looked over a completely transformed cityscape.
"The shantytowns are gone."
Across the Kenline River, a vast city wall stretched out in the breeze.
The shantytowns that once covered the outer city had been torn down, and in their place, groups of merchants and travelers bustled, hoping to enter the city.
Even from here, the lively, bustling atmosphere could be felt.
As he admired the drastically changed scenery, Samuel looked around and asked,
"Where did all those vagrants go?"
"They were probably moved inside the walls."
The first thing Arthur did after acquiring the vagrants’ city was abolish the expensive tolls and allow the vagrants into the city.
Massive unrest nearly broke out due to the sudden influx of vagrants, but once Notura, also a former vagrant, became the city’s overseer, the chaos quickly subsided.
‘I didn’t expect to become this involved with Notura.’
When he first came to this city, the old vagrant he hired as a guide had become someone indispensable to the Allied Forces.
Notura was a talented merchant and knew how to manage people.
With Arthur’s generous financial support, he gained overwhelming support from the vagrants and had been running the city smoothly ever since.
"There must have been hundreds of thousands of vagrants. You took in all of them?"
"Most things can be solved with money."
"You really went all out. Just completely blew your money."
Samuel clicked his tongue and shook his head.
Though he called it a waste, the money spent on the vagrants was nothing compared to the resources required for the upcoming festival and the Great Wall connecting to the World Tree.
If he knew how much Arthur had spent recently, what kind of face would he make?
"What are you staring at? Got something to say to me?"
"I’m just curious about what a pier built from a money-blowout would look like."
Shortly after, as they crossed the winding river through the mountains, Clayton’s pier appeared before Arthur.
It had long been used as the final docking point for magic ships, so it was already built on a larger scale than most other cities.
But after gaining the name Clayton, the newly transformed pier far exceeded Arthur’s expectations.
Arthur looked around and let out a dry laugh.
"So this is what they meant by a maritime city..."
New docks had been added on both sides of the original one, which now only formed part of the expanded harbor.
Pier 1.
Pier 2.
Pier 3.
If it weren’t for the vast Kenline River, the size would have been impossible.
The number of piers had increased from one to three, and each was tightly packed with large and small ships lined up in rows.
There were well over hundreds of ships docked.
"...Whoa."
Samuel also looked stunned.
This was an unbelievable transformation, enough to call it a complete rebirth.
However, his surprised expression wasn’t just because of the docks.
"Boss, I guess your money really did something this time."
At Samuel’s comment, Arthur gave a bitter smile.
This... he hadn’t expected.
At that moment—
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!
A thunderous cheer erupted, loud enough to shake the sky.
It was such a wild roar that Samuel flinched and covered his ears.
The docks, packed with crowds, were waving their hands toward them.
At a glance, it was obvious the crowd had gathered to welcome Arthur.
Arthur hurriedly turned to the captain.
"What’s going on?"
"Ah, well… Lord Notura asked me to be sure to inform him before your arrival..."
It seemed to be a surprise event prepared by Notura.
Sure enough, Notura stood at the very front of the pier connected to the central district, waving vigorously at Arthur.
Arthur sighed and waved back.
Behind Notura, familiar faces appeared.
The Lord of Tobaron and King of the Dwarves, Dorneth Gader.
The commander of the Tobaron army, Heinz Bell.
Nella, the spiritual pillar of the non-human races.
Elder Medeia, the Witch’s Grand Elder, and Natasha of Ortain.
And among them, Italus, master of the Lenon Workshop and a major merchant, stood at the center with other high-ranking merchants to welcome Arthur.
As Ship Gridment drew closer, the cheers only grew louder.
Arthur shook his head at the heated welcome.
"A grand return ceremony."
When he had left this place in the past, he had been a guest of Aintrier.
But now, Arthur had become the de facto ruler of not only the city of Clayton but also Aintrier.
And the one being welcomed by all those prominent figures.
Now, in terms of status, not even anyone in Hell Grime could look down on Arthur.
With the festival just around the corner—
With Arthur’s arrival, all the preparations were now complete.
Amid the deafening cheers, Arthur stepped onto the pier.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!
The roar spread throughout the entire city.
Samuel quietly watched the scene and thought:
It truly felt like the return of the king.