POSTED ON AUGUST 21, 2019 BY HASUTSUKI

Thus, under Shera’s plan, Leonard and the knights embarked on the road of restoration .  

Two years had pa.s.sed, while making the imperial city as a base, he had fought in numerous battle .  

He had been called by the imperial n.o.bles as someone who likes to do odd jobs, a handyman, and even as a mud cleaner, but he didn’t care at all .  

He didn’t care no matter what people said about him .  

Right now, after liberating Zaan from bandits hands, they were currently being sent off with cheers by the people, filled their heart with indescribable pride . It was something that was difficult to replace with just anything .  

“A real knights are like these people, see?” 

It could not be helped if people feel pride if they were received such praise .  

And more than anything .  

The fame of Alexis knights led by Leonard was growing .  

The meaning of the nickname of the bloodsucking prince of Nosferatu also starts to change .  

The Claude Empire was a vast country, the rate where news spreading was slow but… 

The news was steadily spreading .  

Claude was a major-power country with one-seventh of the continent as its territory .  

And because the Empire was located on the west coast of the continent, it was sometimes being called ‘The Empire of Dawn’

There was Mine river which flows from the East into the western great sea, the imperial capital, Kraken, was located on the sh.o.r.e of the mount of the river mouth, it had a population of 1 million people and also a long history, making the city wealthy and rich with culture .  

The origin of the name Claude was the first emperor surname, as for the capital city, it comes from the symbol of the supremacy of the western great sea, spreading its power .  

The total area corresponds to the population, and it was divided into three districts .  

First and the widest area, it was the common district where the commoners lived . The district had a triangle-shaped area where the people lived, it was formed due to the Mine river split before it reached the sea, surrounding the area were Padi fields . It was first cultivated by ancestors that come from the eastern continent, with it they filled the people’s stomach .  

Outside of the deltshaped area of the common district, it was the harbor district, where it occupies half of the northern district and also act as the main gateway to the ocean .  

Neighboring the harbor district was the central district .  

No matter where you looked at it, it was the aristocrats and the wealthy merchants’ area, where gorgeous mansions were built, and in the center of it all with a circular shape, it was the imperial palace and its garden . Any number of carriages could pa.s.s through the central district due to the wide streets . As for the strategic viewpoint, the city was not suitable for a defensive battle at all, but that was due to the upper echelon thought that the city would never be attacked .  

The mansion where Leonard, Shera and the knights resided was located on the corner of the central district .  

During the late afternoon, a guest came to the mansion, which even though s.p.a.cious, it lack the furniture, reflecting the preference of the previous owner .  

Though one might be called the person a guest, the one who comes was actually a messenger . From Leonard’s father .  

He was a man with white eyebrows, someone who worked as the previous Emperor’s grand chamberlain . He was someone connected to Marquis Destrend household, a household that took an aggressive stance against Leonard, who was a prince . Since he was a messenger bringing the Emperor’s message, Leonard kneeled down, while he loudly read the letter .  

“As a reward of subjugating the bandits in Zaan province, the Emperor bestowed you with the imperial family treasured sword . ” 

The grand chamberlain, after he rolled up the letter, he presented the Saber in arrogant manners .  

Leonard received the sword respectfully .  

No matter how arrogant they were, Leonard himself had something he should feel guilty about . It was customary to report and receive a reward from the Emperor, face to face, but he decided that he didn’t want to meet the man who didn’t come to his mother funeral as much as possible .  

Consequently, the grand chamberlain comes to his house, thus it was natural of he acted a bit arrogant .  

After he saw off the grand chamberlain home, he pulled out the sword from its sheath and inspect it .  

From first glance, he liked it .  

It was considerably different compared to a normal sword . The blade was long, thick, and wide . It was, indeed, a good sword . Good enough for practical use… To be honest, it didn’t feel like it was a treasured sword, but he didn’t want to receive a ceremonial sword either .  

Receiving the sword, Leonard who was usually had a sour look on his face looked triumphant this time, then he tried to fasten the sword on his waist .  

Was he being given a sword as a reward just from subjugating a single bandit group? 

Of course, the answer was a No . after all, the bandits he had exterminated was no more than 100 men .  

Although Leonard was a half breed, there was no reason for them to treat him coldly more than necessary .  

In fact, it was surprising that he would get an unexpected, clever reward every time .  

Even the knights serving him would also receive a small bonus .  

However, it didn’t mean that he was without single trouble either . Expedition cost a lot of money, Leonard who didn’t have any official position didn’t have income .  

Thus, how did he secure his expedition expense, you ask?— 

The answer was supporters . An aristocrat who understand Leonard and the other’s plan .  

Which right now, he was planning to meet today .  

Straddling a stunning black horse, Leonard head toward the harbor district .  

The horse he was riding was among the 100 horses presented to the imperial household, The one he rode was the smartest, most resilient, and the fastest among them… 

The name was Zanzasu… 

It was during the time he first subdued a bandit that he got the reward .  

Unless the rider was not a houseman like Leonard, they wouldn’t be able to push the horse’s limit .  

The harbor district was the busiest area in the imperial capital .  

There were countless people on the streets built in a neat grid .  

The wealthy housewives who come to shopping from the central district .  

The boys from the common district who run around playing… 

A merchant was on the way to the south with a stack of coffee beans filled his carriage .  

And the escort surrounding the merchant was the Kuntaito mercenaries, from the northeast . Rumors said that when it comes to fighting, their strength was formidable .  

There was the appearance of a female dancer who walked around wearing scantily clad clothes, and the traveler from the north who tried to make a move on them .  

A married couple with brown colored skin from the south and yellowish skin from the East . In the middle of them was a young daughter with olive-colored skin laughing happily .  

In addition, when you looked to the left and right of the streets, a wide variety of shops stand would come into view .  

They sold a great variety of goods from around the continents .  

All kind of alcohol was being carried to be sold in the pub .  

Variety of beautiful girls from all over the world showed their face from the windows of the pavilion, inviting pa.s.sing men with their unique accent .  

This place could be said as a melting pot of race and culture .  

However, such a scene was not only could be seen in the imperial capital, Kraken, one could see them in almost any big city all over the continent .  

That was all possible due to something that happened 300 years ago .  

For the first time in history, a single nation was able to achieve a continental reunification .  

It was said the great Emperor who achieved supremacy was someone who possessed black hair and eyes that would change colors like rainbows, he possessed clear thought about ideal civilization . Although he did perform aggressive aggression, when it comes to cultural aggression, he kept it at minimum . He loved all things beautiful and understood that it must be protected, and he shared the splendor with his people .  

The great Emperor surrounded the people with goods and culture from across the continent, stirring them up .  

And today, people of the west know the taste of rice, while on the other hand, the people of the East know how to drink wine, and because of his progressive reign, men from the north were able to like a woman from the south .  

The historian would then called that unprecedented multicultural policy as ‘world culture doctrine,’ while some other might call it as ‘confusing doctrine . ’ 

On the other hand, there was only on three occasions that the great Emperor forced the people to unite .  

First of all, it was the unit system . Second would be the monetary system . For the sake of economic development, that was inevitable .  

Moreover, he also spread his language throughout the continent as an official language .  

However, since the language had a strong, flexible characteristic of incorporating foreign words, many people would incorporate their regional languages, such difference was created as some sort of resentment .  

And the last one was about religion .  

While the great Emperor respected the indigenous religion as much as possible, he had proclaimed the great Emperor and his descendant as a deity and set themselves as the superior of all the G.o.ds .  

Of course, backlash happened against such policy, but the great Emperor wiped out the monks and priests of each religion who tried to defend their privileges, furthermore, he returned the goods they had acc.u.mulated to the people, and mysteriously the people settled down… That was the start, where people believe in G.o.d quietly .  

However, the Great Empire, which had given so much influence all over the world rapidly fallen after the hero, the Great Emperor, died . The Great Empire only last for no more than four generations . In the end, the Great Empire split itself into seven Empires, which include Claude and Admov, starting an era of rivalry, and wars .  

However, even when the era had changed, the world culture doctrine remained favored in the world even after 200 years had pa.s.sed .