Ranker’s Return

“There are quite a few wagons... They’re all from Phinis, right? It is said you’re transporting them carefully like they’re fragile items?” Greed appeared in the emperor’s eyes.

He knew for certain that alcohol from the East Continent was moved to Lebron’s mansion. Even if it weren’t Hyeonu, there were many guilds that also brought things back from the East Continent. However, they couldn’t obtain the alcohol Hyeonu could. He could easily go to Buncheonru and bring back alcohol. If he felt really sorry to just take it, he would pay a lot of money once in a while.

Meanwhile, others couldn’t get it even if they wanted to pay for it. The alcohol wasn’t sold at all. In addition, the NPCs didn’t even know that the emperor liked alcohol because information about him was still veiled.

“Bah, do you think I will give that to you? I have been patient for a long time. Do you think I don’t know how many bottles of alcohol this guy gave to the imperial palace?” Lebron scoffed when he heard the emperor’s words.

The emperor rose from his throne, and the two people approached each other. It was like they were going to hit each other at any moment. This was a very rare scene. Yet Hyeonu felt a sense of deja vu from seeing it.

‘I think I have seen this scene before...’ He remembered the first time he followed Lebron to the imperial palace. It also happened back then. ‘Should I stop it?’

Hyeonu’s specs were in a different state from that time. Even so, he could only watch the two of them without doing anything. Then it happened at this moment. A black light burst from between Lebron and the emperor. Hyeonu quickly closed his eyes tightly due to the light that hit his eyes.

‘It’s gone?’

The light soon faded. It had just flashed for a while like lightning. He slowly opened his eyes and found a strange sight before him. “What... is this?” 

Hyeonu blinked several times like he couldn’t believe it, but the scene in front of him didn’t change. The emperor had extended his right hand. It was holding the neck of a muscular black-haired man. The man was choking, and his face was red as he coughed and gasped repeatedly.

“What is your name?” The emperor asked the man. The man couldn’t answer though. That was because the emperor was gripping the man’s neck like he was going to rip it off. The only thing the man could do was wriggle and struggle.

‘Completely crazy.’ Hyeonu shook his head when he saw this scene. The emperor was obviously furious, or maybe he wasn’t thinking at all. The man’s neck was being held so hard. How could he possibly speak?

“Your Majesty, I think he can only speak if you let go of your hand. He is a person. Of course, he needs his throat to speak,” Hyeonu pointed out.

Lebron added, “Your standards of the world are too high. 9,999 out of 10,000 people use their necks to make sounds...”

It was only then that the emperor released his grip. Then he asked again, “What is your name?”

The man could finally place his feet down on the ground. He touched his neck a few times before opening his mouth to say, “I am Carpe—an earl of the Seventh demon king, Rubolle.”

The words were spoken with a voice full of dignity. Perhaps he had forgotten about the humiliation just now, but he couldn’t have a prouder attitude.

‘I was just careless,’ Carpe remarked inwardly. It was understandable. Carpe thought he had been humiliated due to being summoned to the middle world. His position as an earl of the demon world wasn’t a light one. There were only nine demon kings in the demon world. Under their command, there were one or two demons who could be called dukes. A marquis was similar to a duke. Additionally, there were three or four earls.

In other words, there were fewer than 100 demons in the vast demon world that could be ranked above Carpe. The earl rank was worthy of such a high level of confidence, and Carpe was fully qualified for it. That was… only if the two people in front of him weren’t Lebron and the emperor.

“So? Why have you appeared here? You are clearly a demon,” Lebron said.

He was totally unsurprised by Carpe’s words. The demons were definitely a frightening existence for ordinary people, knights, and magicians. However, Lebron was a superior person who could understand his opponent’s skills, and his senses told him that the demon before him wasn’t stronger than him. This was why he stepped forward in this way.

“What? Clearly a demon? Is this human crazy? I will kill you first to celebrate the invasion of the middle world.” Carpe raised his fist with a vicious smile.

Just then, there was the sound of a watermelon popping. Hyeonu frowned at the cruel scene that unfolded before his eyes. Only the body under the neck remained of the demon, whose blood and flesh were scattered around his corpse.Hyeonu didn’t realize it when he was hunting, but once he saw it from the sidelines, he couldn’t help but frown.

‘It is dirty.’

Apart from that, he was amazed by the emperor’s strength. An earl of the demon world could not have been weak. Hyeonu had sensed a strength from Carpe that would defeat the few boss monsters in the Balder Mountains with one hand. It wasn’t visible, but Hyeonu’s senses honed from long hours of gameplay told him so. Yet such a demon earl had been unable to respond to the emperor’s fist and ended up flying away.

“I’m in a bad mood. Talking about an invasion when he can’t even stop a single fist...” The emperor’s expression was distorted.

It was a very rare sight. The emperor always had an expressionless face. It was only his eyes that expressed his emotions. He did smile occasionally, but it was the first time Hyeonu had seen a frown like this.

‘He must really be in a bad mood.’

Hyeonu was thinking he should be careful when Lebron spoke similar words to the emperor.

“Demon world... It is a place I wanted to go to once. If that type of person is an earl... It won’t be much fun. I’d rather go and do some more training.” The joy from before couldn’t be seen on Lebron’s face.

Then the emperor asked Lebron, “Duke Lebron, do you know how to get to the demon world? I’m in a bad mood.” 

It seemed he wanted to go to the demon world and get revenge.

“Why are you asking me about this? You should call Duke Suped and ask him. Isn’t he a professional in this area?”

The emperor glanced at Lebron a few times and nodded. This was obviously his mistake. He had someone else to ask, so why did he ask Lebron? “This is my mistake. I shouldn’t have asked you... Then Earl Hyeonu, do you know a method to travel to the demon world?” 

The fire suddenly shifted to Hyeonu. Hyeonu stared blankly at the two people before looking surprised. Then he shook his head, seeming as if he had no idea at all.

“Your Majesty, I don’t know how to get to the demon world. I’m not interested in that yet...” Hyeonu lied to the emperor. He did know a way.

‘Leon Meyer of Bung Bung Island.’

This person came to his mind the moment he heard that the dead Carpe was an earl of the demon world. Hyeonu had seen the demonic creature, the romelon, and the dragon, Leon Meyer, in a cave on Bung Bung Island. It was definitely a cave connected to the demon world, but he didn’t want to tell the emperor about it. Once the emperor heard about this, he would take Hyeonu to Bung Bung Island. After that, he would find Leon Meyer and go to the demon world, where he would then beat up everyone there.

‘The demon world is my hunting ground... I can’t just watch the emperor smash it...’

The demon world was a place Hyeonu would monopolize. Big quests, first rewards, and various boss monsters—he didn’t want to give any of these things away. It was obvious that he would suffer great losses if the emperor went there, and they would surpass the profits. Thus, he pretended not to know.

“Really? Indeed... It would be strange if you knew. Then I should call Duke Suped and ask him. The two of you can go.” The emperor waved to Lebron and Hyeonu as he headed back to the throne. Hearing the emperor’s order, the two men left the great hall with relaxed steps.

***

Hyeonu separated from Lebron as soon as they exited from the imperial palace. To be precise, Lebron left Hyeonu and headed for his mansion after simply telling Hyeonu to go back on his own. So Hyeonu just sent Lebron off. He had nothing to say and nothing to do. There was no reason for him to stop Lebron from leaving. Moreover, Hyeonu also had something to do. He was going to Bung Bung Island to meet Leon Meyer and travel to the demon world, where he would experience a new field.

‘I will go to Bung Bung Island again.’

It wasn’t that long ago when he’d gone to Bung Bung Island with Tang-E.

‘I haven’t said anything about it.’

After leaving to give Tang-E a gift, he hadn’t returned to Bung Bung Island. Of course, Tang-E would’ve mentioned the bracelet himself.

‘But I still have to talk to both of them.’

This would make Hyeonu’s image better with Hugo and Manong.

‘Tang-E will like it.’

He was going to keep it a secret from Tang-E. His visit would be a surprise gift. The scene of Tang-E staring at him with surprise on Bung Bung Island had already appeared in his mind. A smile appeared on Hyeonu’s face.

***

“Master dude! How can you come without saying anything?!” Tang-E saw Hyeonu walking in the distance and ran over quickly.

He ran well with his short legs.

“Oh, my. Did you miss me?” Hyeonu hugged Tang-E, who ran roughly into his arms.

Then he moved forward and greeted Hugo and Manong, “Hello. I came again, Hugo, Manong.” 

Hugo and Manong welcomed Hyeonu.

“I saw the bracelet that you gave to Tang-E.”

“It is a very valuable item. Thank you so much for giving it generously.”

The two of them expressed their gratitude to Hyeonu. They admired him for being willing to hand over the sacred relic of the giants to Tang-E. This was because the sacred relic of the giants had the same value as the sacred relic of the Marionette Bears. It was such a valuable gift.

“I was originally looking for it to give as a gift, so it’s natural to give it to him,” Hyeonu replied in a humble manner. He had a desire to hide the sacred relic and give something else, but this was Hyeonu’s secret.

“Today I came to go to the cave,” Hyeonu said.

“The... cave? Why there? You can’t get anything if you go there,” Hugo questioned it with a baffled expression. Nothing could be gained from going to the cave. There were only monsters inside it.

“I’m going to meet a person there. There is a dragon,” Hyeonu answered with a smile.

Upon hearing there was actually something to do there, Hugo didn’t try stopping Hyeonu any longer. It was because he couldn’t intervene if Leon Meyer was involved.

“Then I pray that only good things will happen,” Hugo said.

***

There was a handsome dark-haired man in Bung Bung Island’s central cave, where a gloomy energy was leaking into. Leon Meyer—the keeper protecting the cave connected to the demon world—looked very shocked when he heard the news from a human. He questioned in a very agitated tone, “A demon earl appeared? Where? Where is it? Huh?” 

“He appeared in the capital,” Hyeonu answered. In contrast, Hyeonu was peaceful. His heart was full of peace like how the capital had been peaceful for decades.

“The capital? Then it’s fine. It must’ve been handled well.” Leon Meyer’s expression calmed dramatically when he heard the location of the demon’s appearance. The capital was the safest place in the continent. It was home to the strongest monster in the world. 

“His Majesty the Emperor defeated him. Like this.” Hyeonu pretended to throw a gentle punch.

Leon Meyer saw it and nodded. “Then I’m glad. In that case, why have you come here today?”

“I want to go to the demon world,” Hyeonu stated.

Leon Meyer’s expression changed rapidly again.