The Knight King Who Returned with Gods : Chapter 3
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 3 King Lionheart
The name for phone call
changed to Han Hari.
Kim Jin-soo, head of the
Korea Hunter Association.
He had returned with a
huge accomplishment, closing the Black Grade Gate, only to be met with
unwelcome scrutiny and long meetings.
"Hari, how is it
going?"
In the lobby outside of
the interrogation room, Han Hari's exhaustion was evident.
"They don't seem to
believe me."
"Of course they
don't."
The Black Gate was cleared
by a small raid team that was half expected to be killed.
Moreover, the gate was a
notorious Daemon Gate, and an Archdemon made an appearance? They were not
supposed to be half expected to be dead, they were supposed to be wiped out.
Chief Kim's superiors
thought to themselves:
-Are these assholes
working in cahoots now?
But when all the hunters
in the initial raid team said the same thing, their eyes naturally turned to a
man.
"What is your
name?"
A brilliant looking blonde
man can be seen through the enchanted glass. The one who had defeated the
Archdemon in a single blow and killed all the other demons.
Measured as an S-class
Hunter at the very least, his identity was.......
"A survivor...
right?"
"Yes, a survivor from
another world."
There were occasionally.
Survivors from beyond the gate.
Over the course of 30
years, gates popping up all over the world had one thing in common.
They all had one theme: a
world that had fallen, or was in the process of falling.
Governments around the
world speculated that the gates were either a link to a ruined world or a
post-ruined world, and in rare instances, survivors would cross over.
Not just humans, but
elves, dwarves, and other fantasy races.
Those who crossed over
from the otherworld. People started calling them 'survivors'.
"But it was a Black
Grade Gate, is it possible for a person to survive there?"
"Indeed, one is right
in front of you, you know."
Given his extraordinary
strength, it doesn't seem impossible.
It was also odd that the
question was about common sense instead of non-common sense. The world has been
a world of non-common sense for 30 years.
A catastrophe has
occurred, with monsters bursting from cracks you've never seen before.
More than half of humanity
died, the land was poisoned, and cities were decimated.
Luckily, those blessed
with the power of magic, commonly referred to as the Awakened... Hunters,
appeared and so humanity survived, but there were still so many unknowns about
the Gate.
"Survivor......."
Survivors.
Unlike the awakened
Hunters, these beings were innate mana users, and having survived their fallen
world, many were as strong or stronger than the human hunters.
However, they also had a
high regard for themselves, and their culture and lifestyle were vastly
different, making it difficult for them to integrate into the modern world.
The people of the XXth
Empire, the Sages of the Forest, and the Masters of the Underground Dungeons
would have lived lives completely alien to modern civilization.
Therefore, the government
made a policy of treating the survivors with the utmost respect and
accommodating their wishes.
"We have to bring him
in, he's... he's a very powerful man."
"Yes... absolutely,
absolutely."
Even an A-class hunter would have to risk
their lives against a high-level demon.
What is an Archdemon?
Archdemon is mankind's
nightmare.
Excluding Monarch-class
Demons, they are the strongest monsters..
Leon was the first to
defeat such a demon in a single blow. There have been hunters who have repelled
them, but none who have overwhelmed them.
Even the survivors, whose
strength seemed to be built into their defaults, were intimidated by the
demons. None were able to overwhelm them like Leon.
Regardless of their
strength, survivors have emerged from all over the world, many with cultures
completely different from Earth's.
Judging by how he referred
to himself as a king, he seems to be royalty at the very least. The investigators
would have to proceed with caution.
"I think we might be
able to communicate with him."
"You have
proof?"
"Because I could hear
it in his voice. He seems... nice."
Hari hadn't forgotten the
warm tone in the man's voice as he encouraged her to her feet.
The man who gazes upon the brave with praise
and benevolence...how can he not be good──
"You lowly being, how
dare you dishonor the glorious name of Lionheart!"
Boom!
The desk crumbled with a
single punch. The shockwave shattered the reinforced glass that blocked even
monster attacks.
Beyond the shattered magic-enhanced
glass, a radiant blond man bellowed at the investigator.
"I thought you said
something about ...... him being nice?"
"Uh, cultural
differences?"
Hari defended, her eyes
twitching.
* * * *
Leon felt a sense of strangeness when he
returned to Earth after 300 years.
He had been a poor orphan
who had died of overwork in his twenties.
After his reincarnation,
he had been a knight and king of a kingdom for more than 100 years, and he had
hunted demons for 200 years after the demons invaded the world.
That was over 300 years
ago, so he was lucky to have even a faint memory of those days.
The problem was, even with
that faint memory, the current Earth is a very different place.
"Hello, Sir Leon
Dragonia... Lionheart?"
"Hmm......."
They called him a
survivor, which meant there were others like him.
'It wouldn't do me any good to reveal that I'm
from Earth.'
Even though it would make
for an unusual backstory, there was no benefit to revealing that he was from
Earth.
After all, wouldn't you rather have a
300-year-old knight-king from another world than an overworked 20-year-old?
Moreover, he has lived his
life as a knight and as a king for so long.
"Call me Your
Majesty, commoner."
"Yes? Ah, yes,
yes...! Your Majesty!"
The inquisitor bowed and
complied with Leon's insistence.
Hmm, either this guy is a
gentleman, or the government is taking a cautious approach to survivors.
"The... Black Gate... uh, Your Majesty
made contact with our hunters on Your Majesty's world and destroyed all of... those
demons?"
"Yes."
The demons I'd slain last
night were the last demonic presence I could feel in that world. They had been
marked by Arianna, the Goddess of Light, with the last of her power.
"I forgot."
"Yes?"
"The King has upheld
the honor of knighthood by destroying the demons, and I hereby appoint you as
my temporary scribe to record this honorable event."
"Uh... yes... yes...
yes......."
The investigator, looking
at him like he was half-crazy, muttered to himself, 'Hoo~ cultural differences,
cultural differences,' as he scribbled down Leon's notes.
"By the way, doesn't
this place have any etiquette for serving guests?"
Basically, it's a more
elegant way of saying "serve me food".
"Ah, aah, you're
hungry... no, you must be hungry. I'm sorry, I'll have your meal ready in a
moment!"
The investigator hurried
out the door and ordered a decent meal from his men.
While waiting for the food to arrive, Leon
asked the investigator a question.
"You, commoner. You
shall reveal to me the information of this world. What world is this?"
Leon asked him, even
though he knew about Earth. The information he wanted was not the Earth he
knew, but the Earth after he died.
What the hell happened to
Earth in 21st century?
"Ah, I see, let me
explain."
The cataclysm of thirty
years ago.
The Gate. The dungeon
break.
The Daemon Gate, the
Hunter's Society...
Leon felt that the
catastrophes that had struck Earth were similar to those that had struck the
Lionheart Kingdom and his world.
'Just slightly different.'
In his kingdom, the Daemon
Gates opened immediately. Imperial mages had made a pact with the devil to open
the gates.
Countless species of evil
poured out of them, and one by one, nations fell.
But Earth was different.
Earth was flooded with gates, but Daemon Gates
wasn't so widespread that they caused demonic invasion.
Each gate had a concept,
and when you entered the gate, there was a system window called 'Mission to
Clear'.
As if testing the planet.
As if to strengthen it step by step.
While Earth saw the
existence of the gates as a calamity, Leon saw it as a testing and
strengthening process.
‘And there are other beings like me?'
Survivors.
Other-worlders from beyond
the Gate.
He wondered if they were
from Earth like he was, but he was certain that none of them had identified
themselves as such.
"The meal is ready,
Your Majesty!”
The investigator brought
the food. Leon's eyes widened at the sight of it.
Seolleongtang (Ox bone soup).
White smoky broth,
seasoned with salt and pepper. And kimchi!
For a laborer on Earth,
seolleongtang was like soul food.
The broth was made with
beef bones, salt and pepper added at discretion, perfectly steamed white rice,
and cabbage kimchi!
'N- no...'
But Leon swallowed the
saliva that was pooling in his mouth. He reminded himself of his position, even
though it had been 300 years since he'd had the pleasure of tasting
seolleongtang and kimchi.
Leon Dragonia Lionheart.
A royalty from another
world. The agent of Pantheon, who reveres chivalry. Guardian of the Holy Grail
and wielder of the Holy Sword and Holy Lance.
How could he possibly be
excited about the soul food of the common people?
Sipping soup and slurping
noodles is certainly befitting of royalty!
"What kind of food is this?"
"It's a dish called
sulleongtang, Your Majesty. It can be said to be the soul food of the common
people──"
Leon slammed the desk with
a bang. As if he had been dared, he stood up and shouted,
"You lowly being, how
dare you dishonor the glorious name of Lionheart!"
"Eh? Huh?"
The poor investigator
scratched his head in confusion, trembling at Leon's overbearing presence.
"How could you serve
the food of commoners to royalty! Does your country, the Kingdom of Korea,
treat royalty from other countries like that?"
"Oh, no, no, not like
that......."
Park Jong-pal, a
42-year-old investigator. Having lived his entire life in the free Republic of
Korea, he wouldn't know how to treat royalty.
"Why don't you get
out of here, you insolent lowlife!"
Leon chased the
investigator away with a shout, and read the common knowledge of Earth that he
left behind.
Leon Dragonia Lionheart,
survivor.
The victor of the Three
Hundred Years War, the foe of Chaos Lord Malus, Twenty-Three Archdemons, and
millions of demons.
Demigod.
Guardian of the Grail.
The agent of the Pantheon.
The Lionheart King with
the Lion's Heart.
A living saint, wielder of
the Holy Sword and Holy Lance.
The First Knight of
Arianna, goddess of light and justice.
'Finally, a returnee from the past, who had
returned to Earth after 300 years',
he thought to himself.
'What a mess. This is all because of the lack
of proper faith.'
It was the duty of royalty
to enlighten the foolish commoners.
***
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