Chapter 28 : The Emperor Has Returned

I moved as soon as I saw the people hiding in the pit of the harbor.

I didn’t plan to reveal my identity if possible, but I wasn’t so heartless as to just walk past people in danger.

If I could save them, I had to.

So, I ordered the three batteries to keep bombarding Fort Mulgrave and directed the main revolutionary army to charge the harbor.

Boosted by the [Charisma of the Battlefield], the revolutionary army swept through the royalist coalition and quickly entered the harbor.

‘They’re Europeans.’

The people hiding in the pit were Europeans.

Since Toulon Harbor is in France, they must be French hunters.

It was fascinating to meet people inside a gate on the other side of the world from my store in Yeoksam-dong, Korea.

The woman who seemed to be their representative looked familiar, but I couldn’t recall where I’d seen her before.

“Can I heal them?”

“If that’s what you want to do, Jeanne, then go ahead.”

While Jeanne treated the hunters, I dealt with the royalist monsters.

Bang—!

As soon as I blew off the head of the officer at the core of the group, dozens of clustered monsters collapsed.

I didn’t know shooting the officer would make the rest of the monsters disappear.

I just had a feeling it would work, and they crumbled.

This must also be part of Napoleon’s rifle’s abilities.

The ability to identify the ‘core’ of a monster.

Bang—! Bang—!

I pulled the trigger, targeting only those Napoleon’s rifle aimed at.

Each time, an officer’s head vanished without fail, and they fell.

‘Wow, these shots are spot-on.’

Every shot was a direct hit, making shooting feel incredibly satisfying.

At this rate, I could hit the target even with my eyes closed.

Of course, it wasn’t because I was some master marksman.

Accuracy: +90%

==

It was purely because the rifle was that good.

As the officers fell one by one, the harbor, once teeming with monsters, became desolate in no time.

“Clean up.”

[Oh!]

The revolutionary army officer saluted me and led his men to deal with the remnants of the royalist monsters.

Maybe it was because they were still under the Charisma of the Battlefield buff, but the royalist monsters didn’t stand a chance.

Leaving the cleanup to the revolutionary army, I turned to look at the French hunters.

The injured hunters had recovered thanks to Jeanne’s healing.

The woman who seemed to be the leader introduced herself.

“Rachel Bonaparte.”

“Her name is Rachel Bonaparte. She said she’s the current head of the Bonaparte family.”

“Ah, so that’s who she is…”

Hearing Jeanne’s translation, I looked at the woman with newfound curiosity.

No wonder she looked familiar.

Rachel Bonaparte was frequently on TV.

She was a famous S-rank hunter from France and a direct descendant of Napoleon.

Up close, her appearance indeed resembled Napoleon’s.

Her hair was silver, but her sharp eyes and graceful features reminded me of him.

Suddenly, Rachel handed me a small brooch.

“Present.”

“Thank you.”

When she said “present” in English, I accepted the brooch she offered.

It was decorated with a jewel in the shape of a cross surrounded by a laurel wreath.

‘It looks like a medal.’

I examined the brooch.

==

Napoleon’s Medal

==

It didn’t show any rank or abilities, but I could tell it was a relic of Napoleon.

Startled, I looked at Rachel, who made a gesture of pinning the medal on her chest.

“She says you should wear it.”

“She’s giving this to me?”

“Yes, she says it’s to thank you for saving them.”

Though surprised by the unexpected gift, I pinned the medal to my chest as Rachel suggested.

But the relic showed no effect and just looked like an ordinary brooch.

‘Maybe it’s not compatible with me.’

Sometimes this happens.

Some relics require a matching spiritual wavelength or choose their owner themselves.

The most famous example is King Arthur’s Excalibur.

Arthur became the King of Britain by pulling Excalibur from the stone when no one else could.

Thor’s hammer is also said to be immovable by anyone other than Thor.

From that perspective, it seemed like I wasn’t chosen by the brooch.

But then…

Napoleon’s Rifle recognizes the medal.

Napoleon’s Rifle’s attack power increases slightly.

Napoleon’s Rifle hummed, and detailed information about the brooch appeared.

==

[Napoleon’s Medal]
[Rank: Epic]
[Veil of Protection: 3 times]
[Cooldown: 24 hours]

• The Elephant Medal awarded to Napoleon by King Frederick VI of Denmark.

‘So, it works like this.’

Just like Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s helmet was compatible with the Twin Dragon Sword, Napoleon’s Medal was also compatible.

Since I was recognized as the rightful owner of the existing relic, the new relic naturally synced with it.

Meanwhile, Rachel, who gave Napoleon’s Medal to Choi Jeosun, was trembling.

She had wanted to confirm her suspicion that Choi Jeosun was the reincarnation of Napoleon, which was why she offered the medal.

Napoleon’s Medal was a relic worn by Napoleon himself, and only the rightful owner could fully awaken its power.

The only one who could awaken it was Napoleon himself.

Unless acknowledged by Napoleon, which was practically impossible, no one could use its true power.

Meeting a historical figure who lived centuries ago was an impossibility in the modern world.

Yet, the medal reacted.

That meant Choi Jeosun was the reincarnation of Napoleon.

Though the medal didn’t respond at first, it suddenly did, puzzling Rachel.

She figured it was because it took time for the medal to recognize Choi Jeosun as the reincarnation.

‘An…cestor.’

Rachel’s eyes wavered as she looked at Choi Jeosun.

She finally understood why the revolutionary army followed him.

Napoleon was the commander at Toulon!

Since the rightful owner of the relic had returned, it was only natural for the revolutionary army to follow him.

‘Even the strategy to pressure the fort with artillery is exactly as written in the family’s records.’

Rachel’s legs trembled at the shocking realization that her ancestor had been reincarnated.

“Why is she acting like this?”

Rachel was looking at me uneasily. Her legs were faintly shaking, likely because she hadn’t fully recovered from her injury.

It seemed like she was silently asking me to return the medal, so I reluctantly took it off my chest.

Well, it wasn’t as if she would simply give away such an artifact.

“This is far too great a gift for me.”

However, even after I tried to give the medal back, Rachel refused to take it.

“He said you’re worthy of it.”

“Me?”

“Yes. That’s what he said.”

When I looked at Rachel, she nodded with a gentle smile. Then she climbed out of the pit and took the lead.

“He said you should lead the attack.”

“But you still seem to be recovering from your injury…”

I was worried about Rachel’s condition, but since she insisted on taking the lead, I couldn’t stop her.

Honestly, I was also curious to see just how powerful this S-rank hunter truly was.
If it got too dangerous, I could always intervene then.

‘She’s incredibly considerate.’

Marching forward with confidence, Rachel truly seemed like a descendant of Napoleon.

The only reason she struggled earlier was that she entered the gate without any prior information.

Once she was on guard, her abilities were nothing short of astonishing—worthy of the S-rank title.

Swish—

Each time her golden sword swung, the monsters blocking our path were mercilessly cut down.

Rachel’s sword, with Jupiter’s head engraved on its hilt, was known to be the golden sabre that Napoleon used in the Battle of Marengo.

However, her true strength didn’t come from the artifact. It came from her awakened power as a hunter.

Whoosh…

Around her, the wind swirled like a tiny vortex.

“Armor of the Wind King”

Rachel’s S-rank wind attribute awakening ability was a terrifying force that destroyed everything in her path.

With the wind enveloping her golden sword, its cutting power became absurdly sharp, and she could even shoot out compressed wind blasts.

But that wasn’t all.

Flap,
Flap.

Jeanne’s flag waved, enhancing all of Rachel’s abilities.

On top of that, she gained the indomitable fighting spirit granted by the charisma of the battlefield.

Slash—

With this powerful double buff, Rachel effortlessly cut down the Royalist general guarding the path to the fortress.

[Ohhh!]

With the obstacle removed, the revolutionaries charged into the crumbling fortress.

Even though I did nothing, the raid was progressing smoothly.

‘This is like getting a free ride.’
Is this what auto-hunting feels like?

[You have defeated General Ohara.]
[Toulon Gate Conquest Complete]
[Conquest Rating: SSS]
[You have received a Summon Reset Ticket as a reward.]

The conquest was completed as General Ohara’s head was cut off by Rachel’s sword.
Once the gate was cleared, Jeanne and I were automatically returned to the shop.

“Jeosun, great job today.”

“What do you mean? Rachel and Jeanne did all the work.”

I meant it. All I did was pull the trigger a few times from the back.

After Rachel joined us, I didn’t even need to do that.

An S-rank hunter buffed by a saint was practically an invincible monster.

Her wounds healed almost instantly, making it hard to tell who the real monster was.

The one who truly put in the effort was Jeanne, who tirelessly poured out her holy power.

Anyway…

‘A Summon Reset Ticket, huh?’

The reward from the gate allowed me to reset the cooldown time for artifacts or Jeanne’s summon duration.

At first glance, it seemed mediocre, but it could be a lifesaver in a critical moment.

On top of that, the magic power in the snowflake stone significantly increased after this conquest.

I couldn’t use artifacts freely yet, but at least I didn’t have to conserve magic power as much as before.

Though it didn’t reduce the cooldown time, Jeanne’s holy power capacity had increased, which was a nice bonus.

Thinking about summons reminded me of something I was curious about.

“Jeanne, where do you go when your time in this world ends?”

“I’m not sure. It feels like I’m asleep.”

“Is it uncomfortable?”

“No, I don’t feel anything. Don’t worry about me.”

Jeanne smiled softly, reassuring me. But it couldn’t be as easy as she made it sound.
I felt an urgency to either increase my magic power quickly or collect more Summon Reset Tickets.

“Jeanne, how about we clean up and go out for some grilled pork belly?”

“That sounds great.”

Jeanne’s face lit up with a bright smile.

My shop had a house connected to the back, with a living room and a single bedroom.
It was more convenient for me than commuting back and forth.

‘I should move to a bigger place.’

I never noticed it when I was alone, but now that Jeanne was around, the place felt cramped.

Even though she wasn’t with me all the time, I wanted her to be comfortable when she was.

I still had plenty of money left from selling Anwi’s sword, so there was no need to worry about expenses.

I decided to look for a new house soon, thinking about it as I plopped down on the living room sofa and turned on the TV.

— “Rachel Hunter! How did you manage to clear the Toulon Gate?”
— “We heard that the other hunters with you suffered heavy casualties. How were you able to finish the raid unscathed?”

Rachel was on live TV, facing a barrage of questions from reporters.

The whole world was buzzing about the successful raid on the Toulon Gate.

In response to the reporters’ questions, Rachel gave her thoughts on the raid.

— “My ancestor… helped me.”

“…What?”