Ten Years Later

Olivier had Simba grow larger and rode on his back, sightseeing all the way toward the O'Brien imperial capital.

There was nothing urgent, and he was in no hurry to return to the capital. Olivier traveled at an unhurried pace, passing through many cities and taking in the scenery of foreign lands. Several months later, he finally arrived at the O'Brien imperial capital.

The architecture, food, and customs of every region; the magnificently dressed magi; the warriors clad in all manner of armor; the strange and bizarre magical beasts—all of it opened Olivier's eyes.

By auctioning off the magical cores of the beasts he casually slew, Olivier easily went from being penniless to becoming wealthy. That was simply how the world worked. With strength, money came easily.

After living extravagantly for a time, he ate the finest food, stayed in the finest places, and enjoyed the finest entertainment.

Olivier wore white robes and was strikingly handsome, and he spent lavishly. He also had Simba transform into a miniature white cat and held him in his arms, giving him an air of mystery. Along the way, he captured the hearts of many noble young ladies and married women. Olivier would flirt with them, but he was never serious. At most, he took a little advantage with his words and hands. No matter how beautiful ordinary women were, they simply did not belong to the same world as him.

There was a famous restaurant in the imperial capital, a place where high-ranking officials and nobles gathered. After returning to the capital, Olivier had originally intended to go straight home and see Blumer. But then he remembered that although he had sampled countless delicacies during his journey, he had been born in the capital and had always been too occupied with training to ever taste its renowned cuisine at any famous restaurant. On a whim, he came here.

There were not many people in the restaurant. Holding Simba, Olivier found a window seat and sat down. From there, he could overlook the bustling streets of the imperial capital. Seeing his white shirt embroidered with cloud patterns, his extraordinary bearing, and the golden pet cat in his arms, the waiter immediately assumed he was a young master from a wealthy and influential family and did not dare neglect him.

Before long, several exquisite dishes and a pot of fine wine were brought to the table. There was Tongue Dragon Beast meat, Turtle Dove Beast liver, Flat Spirit Vegetable, and more, all signature dishes of the restaurant. Every dish cost dozens of gold coins, and one meal came to several hundred gold coins—far beyond what ordinary people could afford.

"The taste is truly excellent." Olivier ate with great satisfaction.

"How wonderful would it be if we could come here for a meal every day!"

At the neighboring table sat six people, both warriors and magi. Their food had just arrived, and after a few bites, they praised it endlessly. One of them drooled as he spoke.

"Stop daydreaming. We only had enough money for one meal because the six of us nearly died killing a rank-seven magical beast."

On the Yulan Continent, an ordinary rank-seven magical core was worth only fifty thousand gold coins. Split among six people, that was less than ten thousand each. With their abilities, who knew when they would manage to kill another rank-seven magical beast? How could they afford to eat here again?

"This is a place only the great families of the imperial capital can visit regularly. Give up on that idea."

The others teased him. It was not that they did not want to come; they simply knew their own limits.

"Speaking of the great families of the imperial capital, the Achisoren Family has had the strongest momentum in recent years. Ten years ago, shortly after Sword Saint Olivier entered the Saint-level, he challenged Haydson, the strongest Saint-level warrior, the Rock Sword Saint, and survived. After ten years, Lord Olivier must have surpassed Lord Haydson and become the strongest Saint-level warrior. And his younger brother, Blumer, not only became the War God's disciple but also broke through to the Saint-level this year. At forty-two, he became a new genius Sword Saint five years younger than Lord Olivier. He even challenged Tyrone, the Star Sword Saint, and remained undefeated. Two Sword Saints in one family—what a legendary family."

His tone was filled with envy and reverence.

"I never expected Blumer to have already broken through to the Saint-level. I came back at just the right time."

Olivier had not known when Blumer became Saint-level. Naturally, the sooner, the better.

"Still, I think Lord Olivier is more formidable. He cultivated entirely on his own. Lord Blumer not only had the War God as his master, but also had a Saint-level elder brother to guide him, so becoming Saint-level was much easier for him. Besides, when he first entered the Saint-level, he could not defeat the Star Sword Saint Tyrone as Lord Olivier did."

This man admired Olivier even more. Perhaps for people like them, who lacked strong backgrounds, Olivier was their role model. They naturally felt somewhat resentful toward those born into powerful families.

"Lord Olivier and Lord Blumer are both geniuses of our O'Brien Empire, but the greatest genius on the entire Yulan Continent is still Lord Linley. He became Saint-level at twenty-seven, and even back then his strength was already comparable to Lord Haydson's. He must be even stronger now. I think Lord Linley is the strongest Saint-level warrior, along with that rat magical beast of his."

"True. Lord Olivier has not appeared in nearly ten years, while Lord Linley has already founded a kingdom in the Chaos Territory."

"I still prefer Lord Olivier and Lord Blumer. After all, they are from our O'Brien Empire—and neither of them is married yet."

The only female magus at the table spoke.

These people ranged from their twenties to their forties. The strongest among them had only just reached rank seven, while the rest were around rank five or six. The female magus was only rank four.

"You nymphomaniac. What does whether Lord Olivier is married have to do with you?"

The female magus was the youngest in the group. She had considerable talent and was beautiful as well, so it was clear the others doted on her.

"Boss, your little brother is even more impressive than you. Your entire family is full of freaks. But there is actually someone named Linley who is even more of a genius than a freak like you."

Simba had transformed into a cat and sat on the table eating the food. Olivier would not let him speak, so he could only communicate through their soul contract. During their journey, Simba had come to understand Olivier's personality and returned to his roguish ways. Olivier often had him transform into a cat to flirt with beautiful women, so although they had signed a master-servant contract, they were really more like disreputable drinking and whoring companions.

"Linley? It would be easy for me to defeat him now," Olivier said proudly.

Judging by the timeline, Linley was still quite far from the Saint-level limit. He was probably only about as strong as Simba. It was only after entering the Graveyard of the Gods that he would possess Saint-level limit strength.

"Linley should be about as strong as you right now," Olivier transmitted mentally.

"Boss, how do you know that? Haven't you been training on the ice plains this whole time?"

Simba was quite puzzled. They had heard about Linley during their travels, and it was said that he had not fought in a long time. How could his boss be so certain?

"Of course I know. Otherwise, how could I be the boss?"

Olivier did not explain, nor could he. Was he supposed to tell Simba that he had transmigrated here?

"Still, Linley is indeed formidable. If you do not improve, he will surpass you before long. And his rat magical beast is no weaker than you. Do not provoke them in the future, or do not blame me if I refuse to help you."

Olivier spoke again.

After all, Linley had an enormous background. If Simba offended Linley one day and ruined their relationship, that would be troublesome. Olivier felt that he needed to warn Simba.

"No way, Boss. Didn't you say Linley was weaker than you?"

Simba was confused. Linley could not beat his boss, yet his boss's attitude was clearly strange. He knew Olivier was extremely proud and rarely thought much of anyone. Even when Olivier occasionally mentioned the High Priest and the War God, he showed little respect.

"You only need to know that Linley's background is enormous—far greater than that of the High Priest and the War God. So..."

Olivier did not say more. He knew Simba understood.

"Oh."

Although Simba was very curious, seeing that Olivier had no intention of continuing, he could only keep it to himself.

Archisoren Duke Mansion

Ever since Blumer became Saint-level, Emperor Joanne had elevated Blumer's title to duke.

The Duke Mansion was still in its original location, but it had changed greatly. Compared to ten years ago, its gates were visibly taller and more imposing. Two enormous stone lions stood before them, sculpted after the Snow Lion. The golden characters reading "Archisoren Duke Mansion" gleamed brightly.

Seeing the pair of stone lions, Simba felt a sense of familiarity.

"Not imposing enough."

Snow Lion Simba glanced at them and said smugly.

Yet he did not consider that he was currently transformed into a cat. He looked even less imposing himself; he was only suitable for acting cute.

Olivier walked directly toward the mansion, thinking, I'm home.

"Stop! Who are you? You cannot enter the Duke Mansion casually."

A guard stopped Olivier.

"Even the guards have rank-six strength. Not bad."

In his memories, the Achisoren Family had declined. When Olivier was young, there had not been a single person in the entire mansion with strength above rank six.

"I am Olivier, Blumer's elder brother. I am returning home. Are you sure you want to stop me?"

Olivier smiled.

Yes, he had not returned home in nearly ten years. There were probably few people in the mansion who still recognized him. Being stopped was both helplessly amusing and perfectly understandable. Olivier did not get angry. After all, this was his home. He politely told the guards who he was, intending to have Blumer come out if necessary.

"Y-you are... Lord Olivier?"

The guard was clearly stunned. Olivier was the pride of the Archisoren Duke Mansion. There was no one who did not know of him.

"The one and only."

Olivier spoke again.

"It really is Lord Olivier! Wonderful!"

The two guards looked Olivier over and cried out in delight.

"Lord Olivier, you have returned. I will notify Lord Blumer," one guard said.

"Lord Olivier has returned! Lord Olivier has returned...!" The other led Olivier into the mansion while shouting.

"I did not expect them to recognize me. Not bad, not bad."

This was beyond Olivier's expectations. He had thought he might be given trouble, but the guards actually recognized him.

It turned out that whenever Blumer recruited anyone into the Duke Mansion, he would bring them before Olivier's portrait and make them memorize Olivier's appearance. This was a test that everyone in the Archisoren Duke Mansion had to pass. Thus, after Olivier reminded them, the guards recognized him.