Gaius Julius Caesar—a brilliant general, renowned politician, and celebrated writer born in 100 BC—was famous for his conquest of Gaul and instrumental role in the transformation of Rome from a republic into an empire. Though he never bore the title of emperor himself—since it was only established after his death—he nonetheless laid the foundations for what would become one of the most influential and expansive empires in human history.And now, that same Caesar was standing before Lucas—alive, breathing, and dressed in regal attire—in a fantasy world far from the Earth he once knew.
Lucas was awestruck. He did everything in his power not to let it show on his face. The shock alone nearly shattered his composure. Of course, it was unlikely that anyone native to this world would recognize the name "Caesar." If they did, it could only mean one of two things: either they were another summoned hero, like Caesar himself, or someone from this world who had learned about him from another hero.
Yet judging from the lack of reaction across the throne room—from ministers, guards, and even Sequoria—it was clear none of them had ever heard of Gaius Julius Caesar.
Lucas took a deep breath, steadied himself, and then spoke in a regal tone.
"Pleased to meet you, Hero Gaius Julius Caesar. Again, I truly appreciate that you've chosen to stop in our capital. Fortore informed me you intended to participate in the Tournament of the Golden Trees. Is that correct?"
Caesar smiled, his tone friendly yet refined.
"Please, Queen Alberia, just call me Caesar. I understand my full name can be a bit of a mouthful. And yes, all members of my party are interested in participating. Since King Leo XX asked us to pass through this kingdom and deliver his greetings, we thought this would be the perfect opportunity—especially with the famous Tournament of the Golden Tree fast approaching."
As he spoke, his golden-amber eyes briefly appraised the queen's appearance once more—but this time, it was with a level of refinement and restraint that stood in stark contrast to Fortore's earlier lecherous behavior.
Then, with a faint smile, Caesar added softly:
"There is nothing more to say, Queen Alberia—you are perquam pulchra."
Lucas's eyes widened subtly.
'That's Latin, isn't it? he thought. Strange—the automatic translator didn't convert it. I've never studied Latin, but I'm pretty sure that was a compliment.'
The words had barely left Caesar's lips when, for the briefest of moments, the atmosphere in the throne room shifted.
A sudden tension filled the air. Scowls briefly flickered across the faces of several guards. Even Aislyra's expression darkened. But just as quickly, they seemed to hesitate, as if realizing they had misunderstood something.
Everyone backed down—except Fortore.
With a shout, the captain of the royal knights drew his sword and lunged at Caesar, his voice filled with rage:
"Bastard! How dare you call the queen that!?"
In the blink of an eye, Fortore was nearly upon Caesar, his golden blade flashing in the torchlight, aimed with lethal intent to strike him down.
Though momentarily surprised, Caesar didn't flinch. His composure remained unshaken.
Aislyra, recognizing the danger, bolted after Fortore to intercept him—but even she wasn't sure if she could catch him in time.
"Stop—he didn't—!" she cried, knowing she wouldn't reach them in time.
But it was already too late.
Fortore's sword was mere inches from Caesar's chest when—clang!—a flash of black and white steel intercepted the strike.
A black-and-white katana stopped the golden blade dead in its tracks.
Between Fortore and Caesar now stood the hooded boy from Caesar's party. His hood was removed mid-movement, revealing the face of a boy around eighteen, whose right eye was hidden by a long, dark brown—nearly black—tuft of hair that swept across most of the right side of his face. The visible eye was a lighter shade of brown than his hair, shadowed by light dark circles. At that moment, he wore a confident, excited smile tinged with a hint of mania, his smile twisted yet calm.
"You—human! How dare you get in my way?! Do you have any idea what that bastard just said to my queen?!" Fortore barked, his voice seething with fury.
But the boy replied coolly, his tone laced with amusement.
"Oh, I know exactly what he said. But you, on the other hand… I don't think you do."
Fortore snarled, still pressing his sword forward, but the katana held firm.
"What are you talking about?! He obviously insulted the queen—he called her a whore in Elvish!" he roared, doubling down on his rage.
But even as Fortore pushed harder, something dawned on him—the boy wasn't budging.
'He's not even straining to hold me back!' Fortore realized, frustration boiling over. 'Just who the hell is this guy?!'
"Excuse me, but think about it for a moment. This is clearly an obvious misunderstanding—and personally, I hate misunderstandings," said the boy, his voice calm, but now carrying a hint of disappointment. "So I decided to intervene."
"A misunderstanding?" Fortore asked, confused and still brimming with rage.
"Quite simple, really," the boy replied, his tone patient but firm. "As I believe everyone else in this room has already realized, Caesar did not speak in Elvish. He spoke in his native language—Latin. Because he made a conscious decision to speak it, his translator didn't activate. So what you heard wasn't an Elvish insult—it was a Latin phrase that merely sounds similar to a crude word in your tongue, but it has a completely different meaning. All he said was that Queen Alberia is very beautiful. It was a compliment. Nothing more."
He paused, then added with a grin of gleeful excitement:
"Of course, if you still want to fight, I don't mind. This is fun for me. But don't you think things like this are better saved for the tournament?"
"You—!!" Fortore began to shout again, but he was quickly interrupted.
"Calm down, Fo," Aislyra said firmly, stepping forward. "The boy is right. Isn't that so, Hero Caesar?"
Caesar stepped forward and gave a courteous nod.
"Indeed. I had no intention of insulting Queen Alberia. As my companion Enea just explained, I only meant to compliment her in my native language. I offer my sincerest apologies for the misunderstanding."
"No, there's no need for you to apologize, Caesar," Lucas said diplomatically, doing his best to sound composed. "The blame lies with the captain of our Royal Knights—he failed to control his emotions."
Fortore clenched his jaw, visibly shaken. Then, with a stunned expression and trembling hands, he sheathed his sword, stepped forward, and dropped to his knees, bowing deeply until his forehead touched the floor.
"I APOLOGIZE DEEPLY, YOUR SPLENDID MAJESTY! I ACTED ON IMPULSE!" he shouted, distraught.
Before Lucas could respond, Sequoria spoke up, her tone colder than steel.
"Captain of the Royal Knights, Fortore—do you realize what you've just done? Had your sword reached its mark, you might have single-handedly destroyed our diplomatic relations with the kingdom of Leore."
Her voice was icy, and Lucas, who had never seen her like this since arriving in this world, felt a shiver crawl down his spine.
"Apologize to Hero Caesar immediately. Then leave the throne room and wait in the royal knights' barracks. After that, you and I will have a long conversation."
"Y-Yes, Lady Sequoria!" Fortore replied with a trembling voice, standing and saluting.
He turned to Caesar and bowed deeply.
"I'm truly sorry, Cosar. I shouldn't have acted so rashly—especially since I knew from the moment we met that you'd end up becoming another one of Queen Alberia's admirers."
Caesar chuckled softly.
"Wait a minute… Did he just forget Caesar's name again?" Lucas thought with disbelief.
He glanced sideways and saw Aislyra covering her face with her hand in embarrassment. Sequoria, meanwhile, could only shake her head.
Once Fortore had exited the throne room, all eyes turned back to Caesar. Sequoria stepped forward and bowed her head politely.
"Hero Caesar, I also wish to apologize for the behavior of our Captain of the Royal Knights. He is usually a calm and well-mannered man—albeit a little too "devoted" to the queen—but when it comes to her honor, he often loses all sense of reason."
Then, with a gentle smile, she added, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Sequoria, Alberia's mother and the former queen of Yggdora. I now serve as an advisor to my daughter."
Caesar offered a refined bow of his head, his regal tone never faltering.
"King Leo XX of Leore spoke of you with high praise, Lady Sequoria. He described you as the wisest woman he's ever met. It's an honor to finally meet you."
Then, with a subtle charm in his voice, he added:
"And I must say—your beauty equals that of your daughter."
Sequoria's cheeks flushed lightly, and a delicate, amused laugh escaped her lips as she raised a hand to cover them.
"Thank you for the compliment, Caesar."
Meanwhile, Lucas noticed an intense gaze being directed at the boy named Enea, not only from Aislyra, but also from Scuro. It wasn't a look of anger, hatred, or disdain. Instead, it was the kind of expression one wears when encountering something completely new—a mixture of caution and curiosity, the gaze you give something you don't yet understand but instinctively recognize as noteworthy.
Thinking about it, Lucas realized he shared the same curiosity. Now that Caesar's identity had been revealed, he found himself eager to learn more about the rest of his party.
"Caesar, would you do us the favor of introducing the members of your party?" Lucas asked, his voice genuinely curious.
"Of course," Caesar replied warmly. "Before the interruption by the captain of your Royal Knights, I was just about to do so—right after complimenting you in my native language."
With a glance, Caesar signaled Emeralda, who nodded, rose from her bow, and stepped up to stand at his right side.
"I imagine you already know her," Caesar began, "since she comes from your kingdom and, from what she told me, is quite well-known. But formal introductions are still in order. This is Emeralda, a member of my party who was sent from your own lands."
"It is my great pleasure to see you again so soon, Your Majesty," said Emeralda with a polite bow, then turned to another figure in the room. "And you as well, commander Scuro..." She paused, and then shifted her gaze sharply toward Aislyra, narrowing her eyes. "And... Aislyra," she added, her tone laced with thinly veiled venom.
"Welcome back, Emeralda. Is your journey with Caesar going well?" Lucas asked, masking his surprise at her hostility.
"Very well," she replied confidently. "And I promise that by the end of this journey, I will do something that shows the world the true power of our kingdom."
"I-I see... I'm sure you'll achieve your goal," Lucas responded, slightly taken aback by her intensity.
Then, with a slight blush rising to her cheeks, Emeralda began to play with her fingers and spoke with a note of embarrassment.
"Your Majesty... May I go and console Mr. Fortore? I know he was in the wrong, but in his heart, he only acted to protect your honor."
Lucas glanced at Sequoria, who gave a faint nod of approval.
"Of course, go ahead," Lucas replied graciously.
Emeralda's face lit up with joy. After receiving a confirming glance from Caesar, she rushed out of the throne room.
Once she had left, the sturdy man Lucas suspected was a dwarf stepped forward and took her place beside Caesar.
"This is Roterberg, one of the finest warriors and smiths from the dwarf kingdom of Felsmassiv, Leore's other great ally," Caesar explained.
"Pleased to meet you, Queen Alberia," Roterberg said in a deep, gravelly voice. "I am Roterberg. If you—or anyone else here—need a weapon repaired or a new one forged, just come to me. I'll be happy to help... at the right price," he added with a wide grin, followed by a hearty laugh that echoed through the throne room.
'Yes!' Lucas thought with giddy excitement. 'He is a dwarf! A real dwarf!'
Finally, Caesar gestured toward the last member of the group—the boy who had blocked Fortore's sword.
"And lastly, this is Enea Draghi. In the kingdom of Leore, we have a rule: the strongest adventurer in the Adventurers' Guild must join the hero's party and serve as his bodyguard throughout the journey. Enea currently holds that title."
Enea stepped forward and gave a small nod.
"Pleased to meet you. As Caesar said, I'm Enea Draghi, and I'm currently serving as his personal bodyguard."
He turned his gaze toward Alberia —no, toward Lucas—and for a moment, a strange smile formed on his face. Then, in a voice just loud enough for only Lucas to hear, he murmured:
"I see... So that's how it is. Interesting."