Eshnunna was waiting in front of his house. Chi-Woo stopped walking and stared at her. She looked like she had come to tell him something important.
As soon as Eshnunna met his eyes, she asked, “Can I stay here for a bit?”
“Why?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
“Um…did you get chased out of the palace? Did the heroes tell you to leave?”
The best building in the capital was the palace. With the royal family's fall, some heroes might have coveted the place. However, Eshnunna shook her head to say that wasn’t it.
“Some came to the palace, but they quickly left in disappointment after taking a look around.”
“?”
“It seemed they had expected to find treasures, but it was empty.”
Chi-Woo let out a soft ‘Ah’ in understanding. All royal families had a treasury room to store their treasures, but it seemed this particular one had been emptied. Having hoped to get at least a sword from the treasury, Chi-Woo was disappointed. He scratched his head and opened the door to his house. Eshnunna bowed her head politely and went inside.
She quietly sat down once inside and didn’t say a word. Every once in a while, she would squeeze her eyes tightly shut with a bemused look on her face. Chi-Woo didn’t know why she was acting like this. There was a strange air around her. But Chi-Woo didn’t say anything either and began doing his own things such as cleaning and looking for the bun.
‘What has that guy been up to that I can’t see him?’ Chi-Woo suddenly wondered, realizing that he rarely saw Pyu-pyu the past few days. Recently, Pyu-pyu had been leaving home early in the morning and coming back home late.
‘It doesn’t matter what it’s doing, but it shouldn’t make other people worried,’ Chi-Woo thought and promised to scold the bun when it came back.
Time passed. After sunset, darkness soon followed and encompassed the capital.
‘What? Is Eshnunna planning to just go to sleep now? Without saying anything, really?’ Chi-Woo wondered.
It was then Eshnunna finally spoke. “There’s a place I would like to go with you. Could you come with me?”
Chi-Woo crossed his arms at this sudden suggestion and asked, “Did you make me wait all this time to just tell me that?”
“It’s because I was conflicted, and I wanted to go when there would be few people around. It could become bothersome if other people got involved,” Eshnunna responded.
Chi-Woo squinted one eye. Eshnunna appeared calm, but there was a sense of inner turmoil. It didn’t appear she was lying.
“What is it? Tell me.” Chi-Woo asked.
“I’ll tell you as we go. If you will.”
Chi-Woo sighed at Eshnunna’s cryptic words and shrugged.
“…Let’s go then.” Eshnunna arched her head and rose from her seat. She appeared a bit strengthless as Chi-Woo walked behind her. The busy streets were now empty and quiet.
“Do you think heroes are born or created?” Then Eshnunna suddenly shot a question at Chi-Woo while they were walking.
Chi-Woo couldn’t answer immediately because the question was thrown at him so suddenly, and Eshnunna turned her head back and continued, “I think it’s the latter. Instead of being born with innate qualities that make them destined to be heroes, I think they are created by acquiring different factors while they are alive.” It seemed Eshnunna hadn’t really expected an answer, as she answered her own question. It was strange. The way she talked and behaved—Eshnunna was acting very strangely today. Chi-Woo pondered the reason, and an idea popped into his head.
“Ms. Eshnunna, do you want to be a hero?”
“Yes,” Eshnunna quickly agreed. “A hero who can at least fight would be hundreds and thousands of times better than a useless princess.” There was a deep sense of self-deprecation in her words, as well as worries and anxiety for the future. Eshnunna continued to reveal her heart-felt feelings brashly, “I want to become a hero, and I know how.”
Chi-Woo was surprised to hear this. Eshnunna knew a method to become a hero? How?
“Do you remember? The guardian spirit of Salem?”
Chi-Woo remembered. The guardian spirit was Salem’s hero and the kingdom’s margrave. Salem had been a strong kingdom. Although its territory had been small, it had a strong military. It had to be strong since it was surrounded by enemies, which included the empire, nomadic groups, and other factions. Chi-Woo looked at Eshnunna blankly and asked, “Is Salem’s guardian spirit perhaps…”
“Yes, the spirit is created for Salem and their people.”
“How is that possible?”
“It’s thanks to the vow that had been passed down since the time of our ancestors.”
Salem Phillip was the founder of the Salem kingdom. He left a promise, saying that he would protect Salem even after his death, and accordingly, his descendants placed Salem Philip’s tomb at a secretive place inside the royal palace and wished for eternal protection for Salem.
‘So, he’s basically like Munmu of Silla for Salem.’ Even after his death, King Munmu became the dragon king of the East Sea and a guardian spirit who protected Silla from the east coast. It seemed Salem’s founder was a similar case. On the other hand, although this story was simply one of a single country, on Liber, it was a story so famous that there wasn’t a native who hadn’t heard of it. In the past, a hero had come forth whenever a crisis that could cause Liber’s extinction occurred; it was as if it had been decided to be this way.
“People think it’s because of the promise our founder left,” Eshnunna said while maintaining her walking speed. “They aren’t completely wrong.” Before Chi-Woo realized it, they had arrived in front of the palace. “But there aren’t many who know the process.” Eshnunna didn’t enter through the front entrance. She opened the back door and then, with more care, the door leading to a mysterious building. A staircase descending to the lower floor came into view, and the only thing that appeared beyond that was pitch-black darkness.
Flicker. Eshnunna lit up the lamp she had brought and gestured for Chi-Woo to follow her in. Chi-Woo obliged and murmured ‘the process’ under his breath. This seemed to mean that there was something more than just a promise.
Clack, clack. For a while, they only heard the sound of footsteps. They walked for a while after going down the stairs, and Eshnunna opened a tightly sealed stone door. With a loud scraping noise from the floor, the interior was revealed. There were stone pillars lining both sides of a long hallway, and at the end was an altar and a large statue. The statue wore stylish armor and had a sword at his hip, looking clearly like a mighty hero. How unexpected. Chi-Woo had known that this place was a tomb, but he didn’t expect there to be a stone statue or an altar instead of a royal tomb. This place looked more like a temple for a ritual.
“Salem’s heroes are created here.” True to Chi-Woo’s prediction, Eshnunna continued, “Those who are chosen by the royal family swear to protect Salem and receive a special ability from our founder. And those who receive a special ability are obligated to act like a guardian spirit of Salem under any circumstances until they die.” Only one person was selected at a time, and when that person died, their powers and obligations automatically returned to their origin. Like this, they would wait for a new person to become the next guardian spirit of Salem. And this was the reason why Salem was able to survive for a long time despite being surrounded by great powers.
“Honestly, it has become meaningless now since Salem collapsed.” As Eshnunna said, Salem as a kingdom had already fallen into obscurity in history. “However, the founder’s will is still in effect,” Eshnunna explained that the most recent guardian spirit, the margrave, already died in the chaos. Even though they couldn’t call this place a capital anymore, they had also successfully recaptured the place. And above all, as the only surviving member of the royal family of the Salem Kingdom, Eshnunna could bring about the effect of the founder’s will and give him a special ability.
Chi-Woo looked slightly taken aback as he heard Eshnunna’s explanation. He could understand what she was saying. She was telling him to make a vow, even if it was just a formality, and receive a special ability from the founder’s will. This was definitely a good deal for him. It was basically the same as receiving half of the reward of the promotion test for free, and since it was an ability from a great hero, it would probably be impressive.
However, a question popped into his head. Since this power was from the founder of Salem, it was only natural that the royal family of the Salem Kingdom should receive the founder’s special ability.
Eshnunna agreed to Chi-Woo’s remark. “Yes, you’re right. Only the royal members of the Salem Kingdom could receive this ability for generations. In a way, the past guardian spirit of Salem was an exception among exceptions. And the reason why this happened was that my father was an extremely practical person.”
The founder, Salem Philip, was a hero. However, there was no guarantee that his descendants would be born with the qualities of a hero. Of course, even if an ordinary person received a special ability, they would become somewhat powerful. However, the late king of Salem did not agree with this thought process as he sought to make Salem a more powerful kingdom. If this ability could make an ordinary person into an extraordinary person, wouldn’t it be much better to give this power to an already extraordinary person who could best utilize this ability?
As a result, the late king of Salem keenly watched the margrave who showed amazing military talent at a young age. And after judging that the margrave was a trustworthy person, he made a bold decision to transfer the authority of the founder’s will to the margrave. “Thanks to my father’s decision, Salem was able to withstand 100 years of its most difficult period.” They successfully defended against the nomadic groups and empire’s attacks and launched a counterattack as well so that they wouldn't ever try to attack Salem again.
“So I’m trying to do what my father did.”
Chi-Woo’s eyes slightly widened. “But, even then—.”
“No.”
Even before Chi-Woo could finish, Eshnunna shook her head. “Please take it.” Eshnunna’s eyes looked firmer than ever before. The past guardian spirit wasn’t able to protect Salem from their current situation. No matter how amazing he was, he was still a human in the end; it was impossible for a human to face a god. However, Chi-Woo, who was a human and already a hero, had beat a god.
“You don’t have to act as the guardian spirit of Salem.” Since Chi-Woo already had a burden too heavy for one person to endure, Eshnunna did not want to burden him even more. “I won’t make you fulfill any obligations whatsoever, so please take it.”
Chi-Woo felt even more burdened after hearing this. He stared at Eshnunna while feeling extremely conflicted. He realized why she had been acting so strange today. Eshnunna had told him that she wanted to become a hero, and she wanted enough strength to survive in this world. And in reality, she could gain this strength. If Chi-Woo hadn’t existed, she would have rightfully received this special ability without hesitation. However, Eshnunna suppressed her personal desires and passed an opportunity of a lifetime to Chi-Woo. She had already seen his achievements and was sure that he would be able to use this special ability better than any other person.
“Please come here.” Eshnunna kneeled down in front of the statue, putting her hands together in a prayer and quietly bowed her head. Chi-Woo became speechless. He was going to refuse, but he couldn’t say anything because he felt an irresistible force pulling him. In the end, Chi-Woo began moving. He moved each step forward as if he was being pulled and kneeled down next to Eshnunna with his head lowered.
“…Founder,” Eshnunna spoke up then. “I dare beseech you as the last remaining person to succeed the will of Salem.” She begged with an extremely desperate heart. ‘His body’s condition…’ Eshnunna thought that Chi-Woo’s physical condition was poor, and it was getting worse day by day.
If Chi-Woo heard her thoughts, he would jump up in a frenzy and deny it fervently; Eshnunna had all the reasons in the world to think this way, though. There was that incident with Ru Hiana when he vomited out blood, and when he came back from fighting a god, his condition had looked so serious that Eshnunna wondered if he was really going to die. Moreover, his physical condition was most likely getting worse since every task he did caused extreme strain on his body.
However, Eshnunna could not sit still and watch Chi-Woo’s condition get worse; she believed this hero needed to live a long life and save Liber. The future they had so desperately sought after could only be obtained through him.
The ability that the founder gave was not the same for every person. He only gave one ability at a time, and it was different every time. Eshnunna recalled that there was a healing ability before among the different abilities, and she hoped that the founder would give Chi-Woo an ability to heal his broken body, or an ability that would help him stay alive for a long time.
They stayed kneeling for a while. This process should not have taken this long; usually, the royal family chose the person to receive the ability and the founder gave an ability to only this person. It was normal for the process to end quickly. However, there was no response. Chi-Woo, who had been working hard to make his vow, tilted his head in confusion. He didn’t hear a message or an alarm.
—Hah, this is nuts.
Chi-Woo suddenly heard a pleasant but troubled voice in his ears.
—It’s great that you brought him but…this guy already has almost everything. What the heck do I give him?