3 Chinui

The next morning, Emperor woke up basked in the sunlight getting in from the window. Not too far on his left, the man was sat on a chair and was slowly eating a piece of bread. Emp sat down in front of him while rubbing his eyes and said good morning to the man.

He started to speak between two bites of bread.

"You sleep really deeply."

"I had never slept before, I feel much better now."

"What are you saying? This doesn't even make sense. You need to explain now. That was the condition for letting you in. You need to answer my questions, if you lie, I will kick you out."

"Alright, ask your questions."

It didn't matter much to Emp if the man believed him or not. Now that he had slept, he was ready to go back to his quest.

"Do you know the emperor?"

"Mardrakon Landeater XV? No."

"Who?"

"It is the name of the emperor, I know his name but I never saw him."

"What happened to the emperor Billow Grandbois?"

"I do not know who that is."

"Who sent you then?"

"No one, I was just passing by."

"Did you really live here all your life? You said you only spoke once to your parents, when was this? Who are they?"

"My parents are named, Strength, Love, Sage and Luck. It was yesterday that I spoke to them."

"What?"

The man clearly wasn't able to grasp what Emp was saying.

"I was created yesterday by four gods so that I could complete a mission for them. It's the truth even if you don't believe me. If you could just give me a tip on how to become stronger or wiser before I go, it would help a lot."

"..."

Emp disregarded the fact that the man thought he was saying nonsense and continued to speak.

"I am only a day old, What am I supposed to answer when somebody ask my age? I do not even know what I look like. On top of that, they named me Emperor. What should I say about my name, I do not have a family name and my surname is Emperor, everyone will mock me I am sure."

The man was just looking at him with a strange half empty gaze, trying to come up with some kind of answer to that strange story. Emp was looking straight in his eyesbut wasn't able to guess what was going on in his mind.

"I did not even think about asking you your name yet! exclaimed Emp. I'm Sorry, what is your name sir?"

"Chinui Muracier, That is my name."

"A strange name."

Chinui had a hard time suppressing his smile when he heard Emperor tell him the exact thing he had said the previous night. He raised his hand to shake Emperor's but since he didn't know what shaking hands meant he just shot him a puzzled look.

"You are supposed to clasp it in yours."

"Ho, sorry."

Emp raised his own and they finally shook hands.

"Nice to meet you." Said Chinui.

"Same."

"Still, you understand that your story is the weirdest thing I ever heard right?"

"Yes, you had to ask me for something else than the truth. Even the gods cannot change the truth into a lie. The truth will always be true, whatever it is or who words it."

Chinui looked at nothing for some time, lost in his thoughts. Emperor observed him quietly, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of him. After a while, his eyes came back to life and landed on Emp.

"Kid, can you even prove any parts of your story?"

"I do not know, how can I prove it?

"You could start by showing me your hunting card."

"I do not know what is a hunting card."

Chinui let out a long sigh.

"Boy, you really are clueless. Everybody is born with one. All you have to do is will it to appear in front of you and it will show up."

Emperor felt like it was probably similar to how the bag worked and wished for the hunting card to appear. Almost instantly, a panel seemingly made of light and as large as himself took shape in front of him. Even if he was the one that wished for it to be there, he couldn't help but jump of surprise. Looking at it, most of the card was empty. The only filled section was at the very top. Name: Emperor "Emp". Bellow that, there was a "Titles" section and then, the gigantic "Kills" section that was cut into two halves, both empty. He wondered why it was cut in half but he would have to ask later, for now, his host had things to say.

"I see that at least you told me the truth about your name. And you have no kills at all, not even a fish or a rabbit."

"Is that strange?"

"It is, there are usually so many of those."

"I haven't seen either yet, what does a fish look like?"

Chinui ignored the dumb question and instead, asked for something else.

"Kid, what do you know about the gods?"

"I know their names and what they look like. Apart from that, I do not really know them. Strength seemed very likable and love seemed nice. Sage on the other hand seems very serious and always plays with his beard and Luck is too weird, I don't know what to say about him."

"Did you know that the gods are named after what they are?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that their name isn't just there so that we can designate them. They really are what their name means. If for example a god was named Silence, he would never make a sound however much he tried, he would clap silently and no words would ever come out from his mouth. Not only that, he would probably feel like communicating in any way would not be acceptable. So, Love is the love goddess and everything she does is to love. Sage is the god of wisdom and no one on this earth is more wise than him."

"I did not know that." Answered Emp, happy to learn something new again. "But what is it you are trying to tell me?"

"Well, if we suppose your story is true and the gods named you, they named you for what you are or what you are supposed to be because this is how the gods work."

"I see. They did tell me to take the place of Mardrakon Landeater XV and be emperor in his stead to win a bet for them."

"Are you trying to tell me you are a god?"

"I do not know... I do not think so... They said I had to start normal for the bet. Would I know if I was a god? If I was a god named Emperor, there would be nothing more imperial than me on this earth no? I do not feel very imperial though."

Both men fell into silence for a moment. Emp now felt a little scared to wear such a name. After all, it meant that they expected him to be the best emperor of them all. He already thought that becoming en emperor by itself seemed like an impossible task so becoming the best as well felt a little excessive. How would he do to not disappoint them?

On top of that, he felt that maybe his name was a bigger problem than he thought. Not only would normal people laugh at him but once he made some progress in his quest, he felt like his target would probably make the link between the bet and the guy named Emperor.

Would his name influence his destiny? Was his name that important? If he hid behind a false name would he cause a catastrophe? His thoughts where once again interrupted by the voice of Chinui.

"Hey Emp, what was it you said they asked you to do again?"

"They asked me to take the place of the emperor of the green dragon, Mardrakon Landeater XV. To do this, they asked me to become the strongest and the wisest. They asked me to become someone people can rely on and trust, because for them, I guess, those are the qualities a good emperor needs."

"You, what do you think makes a good emperor?"

"I do not know, I never met an emperor before, either good or bad. You Chinui, what do you think makes a good emperor?"

Chinui thought about it for a moment before he gestured Emp to get up.

"Come outside with me, I will show you something. "

Chinui got up from his chair and went to the door with Emperor on his heels. They walked through the small vegetable garden outside to the side of the house. There were not that many things growing in the garden, Chinui only grew what he needed.

They arrived in front of a large flat stone engraved with a name, Chijou Muracier. A small tree was bravely growing on top of it.

"This is the grave of my brother Chijou." Said Chinui while pointing at it. "He died pierced by a spear on a battlefield. He didn't even have a reason to be there, the orders he received where absolutely idiotic. The truth is that him and all the other members of the twelfth company died for nothing at all. They were sent to their deaths for no reason."

He took a small break in his speech to calm himself and took the opportunity to remove some dead leaves that had fell on the grave.

"I will tell you Emp. For me, a good emperor is someone that respect his men. someone that walk with them on the battlefield instead of a coward hiding behind them. Above all, a good emperor is someone that doesn't give out orders that he wouldn't follow himself. More so if he doesn't understand what is going on. I do understand that sometimes, sacrificing troops are necessary but when it's not..."

Chinui fell silent and clenched a fist, he was obviously very angry still. Emperor took the time to carefully choose his next words before he spoke. He did not want to appear disrespectful of either his host or his dead brother.

"I Understand, I will keep the lesson in mind. If I ever become an emperor, I will do my best to not make any more Chijou, to not make anymore twelfth company. If I do not have the courage to do what I am asking, I will not ask at all.

I do not know anything at all but if it is such a bad idea, there should definitely be another way. All I can give you are words but I swear that I will not forget."

Chinui looked right into the depths of his eyes to confirm not only his understanding but the sincerity of his words. He could not see the shadow of a lie in them and stayed mute for a moment longer before he seemed to come to some sort of resolution. A small light seemed to shine somewhere in the darkness of his pupils and his brows looked somehow even sharper than before.

"It's better than nothing, he said before quickly changing the subject. Did you know, in barely a couple of months, the great school of the Steelwoods will open its doors to new students. There, they teach all sorts of things including fencing and the bases of magic for those who have the talent for it."

"Really?" Said Emp, hopeful. "That seems to be exactly what I need. I should go there, it would surely help."

"That is also what I thought but the cost of entry is enormous. Do you think you can pay?"

Emp made a frown and put his hand on the bottomless bag to check.

"I have thirty bronze leafs and four silver scepters, is it enough?"

"Not at all, said Chinui scoffing. You would need a hundred golden crowns to get in!"

"Is it a lot? I am sorry, I understand the concept of money but not its value yet."

His host smiled and calmly explained.

"Kid, the leaf on the bronze coin is there to show that there is a multitude of them, like the leaves in a forest. For five bronze coin, you can buy a kilo of potatoes almost everywhere but you need a hundred of them to make a single silver scepter. Likewise, you need a hundred silver scepter to make a single gold crown."

Emp made the count quickly in his head before exclaiming in utter amazement.

"I would need a million bronze leaves to get into the school!"

"I am impressed you can count that well kid." Said a pleased Chinui. "It's exact, you need a million bronze leaves. This is not an amount you can find anywhere. Even if you worked your whole life in the fields, you wouldn't get half of it."

"What kind of person can afford such a thing? What will I do then?"

"I don't quite know what to tell you. Even admitting that your crazy story is true, you can't just become an emperor like that. Even If you got the money to go study there with the nobles, it wouldn't help you much. Usually, the first son of the emperor becomes emperor when his father dies. Or rarely, a rival noble house gain so much power and influence that it ends up surpassing the ruling house and takes its place after a lot of spilled blood. Honestly, I don't see how you could do it at all."

"With a lot of effort and luck." Said Emp quite unconvincingly.

Chinui burst out laughing which didn't dampen Emp's determination at all. In fact, he thought that his laughter was amusing, he liked it. Chinui didn't seem like the kind of man who laughed often. It didn't seem like a mocking laughter either, it was just a merry laugh of surprise.

"Anyway." Said Emp. "If I became emperor now, I would probably lead the empire into ruin since I do not have any useful knowledge. I have a lot to learn and many people to meet before I get there. Only with a lot of work will I be able to do anything."

Chinui approved with a nod and a half smile.

"I'll tell you what kid. The doors to the great school won't open before a few months. Meanwhile, I can let you stay here. If you can prove to me that not only what you said is true but also that you are worth the time and effort, I am willing to pay the admission fee."

Emperor was stunned to hear this.

"Really? You would do that? That is a lot of money."

Not only was the man willing to keep him around for months, he was also willing to pay a fortune for a complete stranger. The insanity of such a proposition completely escaped the grasp of Emp.

"This money is only collecting dust anyway. I never use it because I never leave this forest so it wouldn't hurt me at all to get rid of it. But you have to understand, you will need to deserve it! I will not leave you idle all day long. If you want that money, you will have to work hard for it!"

Emperor wasn't deterred by his warning. He was determined to make all the necessary efforts from the start.

"Of course I will work hard. I do not think that someone who doesn't want to make any effort would make for a good emperor."

"You would be surprised by the number of nobles who are like that."

"Do you know a lot of nobles?"

"A long time ago yes, I did. So, are you ready? We start right now and I won't give any mercy."

Chinui extended his hand to him and this time, Emperor shook it without being told. He agreed to work hard but he also had to remember what his creators had asked him to do. He had to lift the hammer. Since Chinui would see it at some point and he didn't really feel the need to hide it anyway, he decided to show it to him.

"Before we start, There is something I need to do."

"What?"

Chinui was curious about what kind of strangeness his visitor still had in reserve. Emperor didn't waste any time and grabbed his empty looking bag to get the hammer out of it as he explained what it was to Chinui. The giant weapon fell in the dirt with a dull thud.

"My parents didn't give me a lot of money but they did give me some useful things. The Great overburdening hammer that Strength gave me is one of them. He said that the more I lifted the hammer, the stronger I would get, it is magic. I do not know what you wanted me to do but I would like to lift it as many times as possible."

"A bottomless bag!"

Of course, the hammer was impressive but he was much too impressed by the bottomless bag to pay attention to what Emp was saying. Not many people had bottomless bags. They were hard to find and harder to keep. This did not prove the truth of Emp story but it at least proved that Emp was no ordinary boy.

Emp didn't pay any mind to his surprised expression nor to his step of recoil and waited for him to regain his sense while he leaned against the hammer. Chinui quickly regained most of his composure and resumed his interrogation.

"Say kid, before we speak of the hammer, how much space is there in that bag of yours?"

"I do not understand the question."

"What do you mean you don't understand the question? It's a simple one though. What is it you can't understand in that question?"

Chinui seemed irritated by his answer but Emp was clueless on how else to put it.

"You said it yourself, it's a bottomless bag. If there is no bottom, it means there is an infinite space in it."

"It's impossible, those bags aren't really bottomless. They have a space ranging from one meter to around a kilometer cube inside but never more. I just want to know how much space is in it to guess it's value, that's all."

"It is a gift from Luck, he said that there was infinite space in it. I did not believe him at first so I asked the book of answers about it and it said the same thing."

"It's ridiculous, if that was true, you could empty the seas in it if you wanted!"

Chinui had no idea what kind of book that was but he was too interested by the bag to care.

"No, I can not store liquids that are not held in a container in the bag.

"It looks like a very convenient excuse to me."

"I am not the one who made the rules or the bag. In any case, it was not the bag I wanted to show you but the hammer instead."

He quickly explained what he knew about the hammer to Chinui who stayed silent throughout the whole thing. He did however tell himself to fix Emp's speech at some point.

"I see, so, you can only lift it for a few seconds before falling exhausted. That seems interesting. May I try to lift it myself?"

"Sure but my creators said that the four treasure they gave me belong to me and only me. I do not know if it was a rule or an hard fact. I am unsure of what will happen."

"It's all right, I want to try anyway."

Not scared at all, Chinui rolled up his sleeves with a confident smile and grabbed the haft of the hammer. The moment the hammer entered his grasp, he felt all his strength leave him. Before he even had the time to think about raising it from the ground, he had become so feeble his legs had given up. Too weak to keep his grip, he released the hammer as he fell backward powerlessly. It seemed like the hammer ate his strength much quicker than it did for Emp which scared him.

"Chinui! Are you all right?"

Sprawled on his back against the grave of his brother, he was slowly recuperating from the experience. Even if he knew he had done nothing tiring at all, it was without a doubt the most tiring thing he had ever done in his life. He was taking huge breaths trying to bring back fresh air to his burning muscles.

"It's impossible! How could you ever lift that! How strong are you supposed to be?"

Emp felt glad Chinui was alright.

"I do not think I am stronger than you at all. Instead, I think it is just because you are not the one who is supposed to lift it and that is why the hammer reacted strangely. As I said, it is supposed to always be a match to my strength and I should be weaker than you since my creators said I was ordinary for now. Normally, you should have been able to lift it easily I think.

"Alright then." Said Chinui still lying on the ground. "Since that thing is really magical and can make you stronger, from now on, you will lift it three times a day, in the morning, at noon and before going to sleep."

This is how the long stay of Emperor with Chinui began.