Ch.172Chapter 172 – Suffering from the Same Problem Here and There

With arms spread wide, the Emperor’s hair could be summed up in one word.

‘Bald.’

He was truly a perfect bald man without a single strand of hair visible.

His head genuinely gleamed with a slick shine.

To explain just how shiny it was, the indoor lighting of the imperial palace reflected off his head.

So the headrest of the throne where he sat was softly glowing due to his head reflecting the surrounding light.

‘Wow, that’s pretty severe. That’s not hair loss, that’s just plain baldness, isn’t it?’

To be honest, the moment I saw that, the phrase “I’m screwed” kept repeating in my mind.

I mean, if there were even a single strand of hair left, it would be different, but that was just completely smooth and slick.

If a fly were to land on that head, it would surely slip and tumble to the floor.

“For you who has come from the Western Continent, I shall personally tell you about my past. I, until just a few years ago, had very abundant hair. Just as the Liu Empire flourished and prospered brilliantly, my hair boasted a matching abundance.”

Hmm, listening to a patient’s story is usually a doctor’s job, but treating hair loss could also be considered a kind of medical practice, I suppose.

“But a few years ago, strange things began happening to my head. My hair started getting thinner, and at some point, I would wake up to find clumps of hair scattered on my pillow.”

Hmm, that must have been truly painful days.

If one never had hair to begin with, it might be different, but losing what you once had is extremely uncomfortable for the human psyche.

“And from a year ago, after all my hair fell out, it stopped growing altogether. It was truly lamentable, but I could not fall into despair. Because if I were to despair, I would neglect state affairs, which would not benefit my people.”

I’d heard that the Emperor of the Liu Empire was merely a puppet, but hearing him say he endured his sadness over losing his hair because it wouldn’t help his people makes me respect him.

Isn’t he saying that he prioritized the responsibilities of his position over his personal sorrow?

I’ve read in books that prioritizing public matters over private ones is an essential virtue for a monarch in this era.

In that sense, the current Emperor seems suitable to be the ruler of the Liu Empire.

“I truly feel Your Majesty’s pain.”

“You think so too? That is most fortunate.”

I sympathized with the Emperor’s pain, and he showed great joy when he realized I empathized with his wound.

“Then, I heard about you, far away in the Western Continent. A tale of a man with the mysterious ability to fix anything with just three hammer strikes.”

Hmm, I’m not sure when this story is from, but it seems to be after I enrolled in the Glesius Academy.

“Honestly, I couldn’t believe it at first. A person who can fix anything with three hammer strikes? Isn’t that utterly preposterous? However, after hearing reports from my officials dispatched to the Western Continent, I thought the stories about you might not be mere rumors.”

“Why did you think so, Your Majesty?”

“I know Emperor Decatro IV of the Gelebrio Empire very well. Unlike me, he is a monarch with absolute power. A monarch with absolute power despises baseless rumors circulating. This is because verifying such rumors alone wastes national resources.”

Hmm. Listening to the Emperor’s words, it seemed he had a fairly rational reason.

“Moreover, Decatro IV was also troubled by hair loss, just like me. But at some point, didn’t his hair become more flowing, glossy, and abundant than before? Seeing that, I realized there must be someone in the Gelebrio Empire with the ability to cure hair loss.”

I thought the Liu Empire might have quite a few informants in the Gelebrio Empire, but to know what happened to the Emperor and that it was resolved…

‘Isn’t this extremely dangerous?’

“Ho ho ho ho. It’s alright. It was slightly annoying that Decatro IV provoked me by escaping from hair loss. But at the same time, I also gained hope.”

Hmm, so what’s the conclusion?

“Count Patos Severio, servant of Decatro IV, ruler of the Gelebrio Empire. Can you fix this vexing problem of mine with your ability? If you resolve my concern, I promise a substantial reward. However, even if you cannot fix it, I will not harm you.”

The Emperor took a breath and said, “If even your ability cannot solve it, then it must be a burden that I must bear as my own burden.”

His wordplay with “burden” made it seem like he was joking, but at least his eyes were speaking the truth.

“I can try, but I would need to touch Your Majesty’s body during the process. Would that be acceptable?”

“It matters not. Rather, if you had claimed you could fix it without touching my body, I would have become angry and driven you out. Because your ability activates only when you touch the body.”

The Emperor surprisingly knew exactly how my ability worked.

Could it be that the Liu Empire’s informants reported the activation method of my ability to the Emperor?

‘Well, I have shown myself fixing things with a hammer quite often.’

The Liu Empire’s informants aren’t fools; they would know how I use my ability…

‘Am I the fool here?’

Well, now is not the time to worry about that.

The issue I need to focus on now is fixing the hair loss of the Liu Empire’s ruler, the Emperor.

“I understand. I request permission to touch Your Majesty’s body.”

“I grant permission for you to touch my body, Count Patos Severio of the Gelebrio Empire.”

With the Emperor’s permission, I rose from my seat.

The head of the Liu Empire’s ruler, the Emperor, was shining firmly like his firm resolve.

“Please do not be surprised by whatever happens from now on.”

I transformed the Infinite Shadow into a hammer.

The Emperor showed interest as the bracelet on my wrist changed into a hammer.

“Oh, your tool is truly wondrous. It seems well-matched with the skill that can cure incurable diseases.”

“Your Majesty, I will now strike your body three times with this hammer. And the area will be your head, which could be called the affected part. Is that still acceptable?”

“It matters not. If this troublesome concern of mine disappears completely, I can offer my head as much as needed.”

Um… what if I were an assassin?

I was taken aback by the Emperor’s response, who said he would offer his head freely despite my sudden declaration to strike it.

But this was possible because the Emperor trusted me that much.

Or perhaps, even if I were an assassin, he had the power to deal with it.

‘Even our Emperor is a Swordmaster…’

Perhaps the Liu Empire’s Emperor before me is also at least an Expert-level practitioner?

Even if not, there’s a possibility that secret forces guarding the Emperor are hidden in this place.

After all, a nation’s leader always has secret guards accompanying them.

Anyway, I slowly moved forward to approach the Emperor.

As I approached, he quietly closed his eyes, perhaps anticipating what was about to happen.

I gripped the hammer with both hands and slowly raised it.

Though the hammer should feel as light as a feather with no weight at all, the hammer in my hand now felt heavier than ever before.

But having come this far, there’s no turning back.

Even if I were lucky enough to get a chance to retreat here, there might come a situation where I would have to face the Emperor again someday.

So it would be beneficial to fix the Emperor’s severe hair loss when the opportunity arises.

After a quick calculation of opportunity costs, I swung the hammer toward the Emperor’s head.

“This might hurt a little!”

“It’s fine! I am a person who has trained in martial arts!”

“Hyah!”

I put in a lot of spirit to avoid the atmosphere being too flat when using my ability, and swung the hammer toward the Emperor’s head.

—Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

As the Emperor said he had trained in martial arts, hitting his head felt like striking a piece of metal.

However, regardless of the impact sensation, my ability was definitely working.

After three hammer strikes to the Emperor’s head, his already shining head began to shine even more brightly.

This was because a bright halo of light, evidence that my ability was working, was covering the Emperor’s head.

‘It’s growing, the Emperor’s hair!’

And from the crown of the Emperor’s head, black marks spread out as hair began to grow.

The Emperor, feeling the fluffiness at his crown, reached out to touch it and…

“…”

He shed tears without saying a word.

But one thing was certain: those tears were definitely not tears of sadness.