In My Name

When he said his name, William seriously observed Liliana's expression, hoping to get a read.

In fact, this was one of the reasons why he decided to say his name.

More than a thousand years ago, William Kane's name was definitely famous throughout the continent. Everyone knew him.

Establishing the Doomsday Watcher, sealing the Seven Calamities, repelling the Moon Realm's invasion three times, calming the Tide of Undead on the day of the Rotten Moon, defeating the Damon Continent's expeditionary army, rebuilding the Mage Guild, dismantling the nobles' magic monopoly, establishing the Adventurer Association, simplifying the design of the enchantment table, and optimizing the alchemy and spell systems…

It could be said that he had done more than 20 things that could be written into history books just by his changes to the entire continent's structure.

Even if more than a thousand years had passed, and history had become a legend, his name ought to still be circulating on this continent.

As expected, Liliana's face revealed a mixed expression of confusion and doubt.

If someone claimed to be George Washington in front of him one day, he would probably wear the same expression.

"William Kane?"

"In the flesh."

"Is it the William Kane I know?"

"If there's no second famous William Kane in the past 1,000 years, then that's me."

"Wait a minute. Are you saying that you're the William Kane from a thousand years ago?"

"Yes."

"You don't just share the same name?"

"It's not just the same name."

Liliana clasped her forehead as if she wanted to slow down her train of thought.

"The one that sealed the Seven Calamities?"

"Yes."

"The one who repelled the Damon Continent's expeditionary army?"

"Yes."

"The one representing the Seven Holy Spirits and the 13 Void Sovereigns who signed the Double Moon Agreement at Gray Castle?"

"Yes, although I think the three Moon Realm counter-attacks before that should be mentioned first."

"What Moon Realm counterattacks?"

"Uh… This story hasn't been passed down?"

"Were you the founding emperor, Terra I, who reincarnated into the Riel family 800 years ago and was born wearing a Bronze crown? The one who rode a dragon while unifying the Vic Continent and establishing the Riel Empire?"

"Huh?"

"The one that, later on, became the eighth hidden Holy Spirit after his death because of his achievements. The one worshiped by the Kane Church in later generations?"

"Wait a moment."

This matter seemed to be gradually becoming ridiculous.

Someone had unified the continent in his name in the past thousand years? He had even been worshiped as the eighth Holy Spirit?

What was going on?

"What did you say about unifying Vic and becoming the eighth Holy Spirit?"

Liliana stopped when she heard that and looked suspiciously at the man who claimed to be William Kane.

"If you're William Kane, these are all things you've done yourself."

"I was indeed the one who did those things before you mentioned reincarnation."

"What about the matters after the reincarnation to be the empire's founding emperor?"

"What the hell is that?"

"So you're not like Terra I, who claims to be the reincarnation of Hero Kane?"

"There's no reincarnation, just me. I'm not dead, so how can I reincarnate?"

"But it's impossible for a person to live for more than a thousand years."

"Uh… It's not easy to explain this to you. You can roughly think of it as me sleeping for a thousand years for some reason and only waking up now…"

These words sounded lame even as a lie. When William said it himself, he felt like he was saying "I'm George Washington. Send me money."

As expected, the other party shook her head in disbelief.

"No, no, no. That's impossible. I've never heard of anyone sleeping for a thousand years…"

"You even believed in the nonsense of being born wearing a Bronze crown. Why can't you believe that I was only asleep for a thousand years?"

"Terra I's reincarnation as the hero, Kane, was recognized by the Holy Spirits Church."

"Then can there be one such possibility—the Holy Spirits Church deliberately admitted it for other reasons?"

"How is that possible? How can the Holy Spirits Church do such a thing?"

William curled his lips, thinking that the answer wasn't clear-cut.

During the second Moon Realm crisis, the infiltration of the Void Sovereigns started from within the Holy Spirits Church.

However, it was obvious that she wouldn't believe him even if he told her now, so he coughed lightly and said, "You asked me for my name, so I told you mine. As for whether you believe me or not, it's up to you. I won't produce any evidence to prove it."

"Huh?"

Liliana originally thought that what would happen next would be what this self-proclaimed William Kane would use as a keepsake to prove his identity to her.

Similar things had happened many times in history—a person in a remote area suddenly claimed to have received divine inspiration and awakened his memories as a hero in a previous life.

Then, he dug out some weapon or something from somewhere, claiming it was a keepsake. When the call to arms was made, they declared themselves emperor while raising a rebel army to overthrow the local overlord in the name of continuing the fight until the decadent empire was overthrown.

Of course, most of these ended with them being wiped out by the army sent by the royal family shortly after.

Perhaps it was because such things happened too often, but the Eighth Order of the Holy Spirits Church later established a special enforcer force to hunt down the fake prophets.

Although Liliana had never heard of a prophet who claimed to be William Kane, she felt that their modus operandi would be similar.

Yet, the other party didn't seem to care if she believed him or not. He made it seem like he was just making an announcement and left it at that.

Didn't he know that declaring himself a prophet was a crime that was 100 times more serious than being a heretic? If word got out, he would be wanted by the Church and the royal family and would never be able to live in peace.

Oh right, if he had just woken up after sleeping for 1,000 years, he really shouldn't have known, be it for real or for show.

After all, he didn't even claim to be a prophet; he directly declared himself Holy Spirit Kane. He was the first person who dared to make such a claim as far as Liliana knew.

She originally thought that she had suffered enough shock today, but she never expected this person to continue shocking her from such a novel angle.

Moreover, she seemed to have agreed to be his guide…

Fake prophets' henchmen shared their sins.

Recalling the rules she had once seen in the Church—one she believed she would never violate—Liliana felt cold sweat trickle down her back.

"Um… Mr. William?"

As if afraid of being heard by the church's spies, Liliana whispered.

"What's wrong?"

"Um, let's not talk about whether you're really William Kane for the time being. But on the way to Thorn City, can you not mention your identity to anyone? Especially not to the Church or the Empire's officials."

"Will there be trouble?"

"Plenty."

The other party fell silent for a moment.

"I understand. When the time comes, you can call me William. Master William wouldn't be a problem, right?"

After all, William was a very common name.

Liliana nodded and mustered her courage to continue suggesting.

"In fact, it's not just on the way to Thorn City. If you're really William Kane, I suggest that you be like Terra I and obtain the recognition of the Holy Spirits at the Holy Spirits Church before…"

"My identity needs to be recognized by the Holy Spirits Church?"

William shook his head, and Liliana immediately shut up.

"However, there's nothing wrong with that. Be it the Holy Spirits Church or the Riel Empire, I'll visit those who acted in my name sooner or later."