TGL Volume 2, Chapter 14 (1)
Whew! I feel so refreshed after consuming the giantest bone of focus ever! Hmm? Giantest isn’t a word? Nonsense! Big, bigger, biggest. Giant, gianter, giantest! After all, the only adjective one can use to describe the bone of a giant is giant. It only makes sense. But now that I know I feel refreshed, where am I? What happened last? I carved the rune of focus, absorbed the bone, then I fell from the sky. Logically, I should be on the ground outside of the city, but I’m not. I’m surrounded by corpses and cripples. What the heck happened? Well, for once, these people weren’t injured because of me, so it’s not my problem! Now, there is one thing that may be an issue, and that’s the purple-robed person in the sky radiating a massive amount of qi. Who did he think he was? Flying’s not allowed in the imperial city; Softie told me that! As a law-abiding citizen, I have to take the law into my own hands! “Hey! You stupid nitwit! Flying isn’t allowed in the imperial city!” I’ll hit him with a Breaking Blade and…. Right. Mini-DalDal’s gone, and I didn’t find a new sword to replace it!? What the heck have I been doing!? And all the swords Durandal used for his tribulation turned into piles of molten crap…, except for this one. Isn’t this just a normal sword? I guess it is.
“Are you talking to me?”
F***! How did he get so close!? Right, teleportation. At least he’s on the ground. “Hey! Mister! Teleporting isn’t allowed either!” I quickly ran to his side and wrapped my arm around his shoulder and placed my lips close to his ear. I whispered, “Listen, I’m telling you this because you’re clearly not from around here. Flying, teleporting, or doing anything that shows you’re an earth-realm expert isn’t allowed in this city! According to my friend, if you’re caught doing those things, the royal family will take you out behind a shed, tell you to close your eyes, and bam! You’re dead.”
“Is that so?”
What was that look on his face? It’s like he’s looking at an idiot! I’m smart when I’m focused! I raised my hand and smacked his forehead with a satisfying thwack! But why was he wearing a crown? What an odd sense of fashion. “Right. That’s exactly so! Well, I think it is, but I haven’t actually been here myself. It’s just what I’ve heard. And I only remember important details! Since I’ve remembered those rules, it’s definitely true! I’m telling you this for your own good!”
The purple-robed, crowned fellow seemed to be in a daze. Did I hit him too hard? He rubbed the bump on his forehead and scowled at me before asking, “By any chance, do you know who I am?”
Shit! I really did hit him too hard! “Gah! Sorry! I hit you so hard that I gave you amnesia!” What do I do? Ilya! She knows the answer to everything! I’ll take him to her. Gosh, why am I so quick-witted? “But don’t you worry! I have a friend who can patch up your memory in no time! You’ll even remember the screams of your mother on the day you were born.”
The young man tried to say something, but I looped my arm around his waist and … right. I didn’t know where I was. But that’s not an issue! I’ll teleport up into the sky, look around and figure out where I am, and then teleport back down before anyone notices me! Here we go! Up. Oh, there’s the boat! It’s a good thing there’s fancy markings on it. And I’ll teleport there instantly! Bam, done. I dropped the young man in my arms onto the ground. “Whew, no one saw me, right?”
“Didn’t you say teleporting and flying wasn’t allowed?” the young man asked and raised an eyebrow.
“It’s okay! I was only up there for a second. It’s impossible for those scary nobles to have noticed.” Right. Even I wouldn’t notice someone flying over my territory back at home if they were only up there for a second. And if I can’t do it, then no one else can. Mhm. It’s as simple as that. “Look, there’s my friend. Ilya! I hit this person on the head too hard and he lost his memories. Can you fix him?”
“E-Emperor Yi!” the sect leader, who was standing by Ilya, shouted. He bowed his head and cupped his hands at the young man.
…Emperor? I stared at the person in purple. Then I pointed at him while looking at the sect leader. “This dude’s the emperor?”
“L-Lucia. Err, pointing at the emperor is a serious crime. Hurry up and apologize!”
…Well, it looks like the sect leader’s finally gone senile. It’s about time too. I heard he was over a hundred years old. I laughed and patted the purple-robed man on the back repeatedly, causing him to stumble forward. “Don’t listen to this dotard. There’s no way you’re the emperor! You look like you’re sixteen-years-old! The emperor has thousands of concubines and thousands of children! There’s no way someone with your looks could possibly attract so many women.”
“…Am I not attractive?”
“Nope!” Everyone, when compared to Durandal, is unattractive. Well, men, at least. Softie’s attractive, but she’s a woman. I’m not jealous! “Besides, you look even younger than that prince that shot an arrow into my heart!”
The man in purple coughed, and I thought I saw blood leaking out of the corner of his mouth, but his hand wiped it away before I could confirm. It certainly smelled like blood. Was he injured? He glared at me. “Thirtieth Prince Yi? What happened to him after he shot you?”
“He died. Unfortunate accident, really. It’s a shame.” I shrugged. It wasn’t my fault! I only wanted to tear off his limbs, but one of the beasts inside of my Tides of Blood tore his head off instead. Bad, dragon! Bad! “Anyways. Ilya, hurry up and cure him before he really thinks he’s the emperor.”
Ilya stared at me, unresponsive. Softie had a frightened expression like a deer being stabbed by my sword. And the sect leader’s face was cramped. “What’s wrong with you three? Don’t tell me you have food poisoning.” But we all ate the same thing. Oh! It’s because I cultivate the Immortal Poison Body, huh? Have the aurochsen in my interspacial ring gone bad? That’s impossible!
The man in purple rubbed his chin before smiling at me. “I came out to find the expert who retrieved the great wall, but I found a much more interesting toy instead. Little girl, what’s your name?”
Little girl? Was he talking to me? I don’t want to be called little girl by someone who can’t even grow out facial hair! “I’m Lucia Fluffytail, chosen of the Shadow Devil Sect. But you have to call me Lucia. If you call me little girl again, you’ll regret it!”
“Oh? What will you do, little girl?”
This bastard. He’s only as old as Ilya, but he’s so much cockier than her! I’ll give him a noogie. Oh? He’s trying to push me away with his qi? Footsteps of the Giant! Neither of us are going anywhere until I’m done!
“R-release this emperor at once!”
Tsk. Why did the sect leader have to go around planting false memories into people? It’ll be troublesome if the real emperor heard. Supposedly, he’s a sky-realm expert. I wonder how strong they are.