A large-scale festival was held in the capital Scolbon.

It was to celebrate successfully defending against the undead attack.

Abelson opened the national treasury to provide meat and alcohol.

Though the situation wasn’t particularly abundant, opportunities to win public sentiment like this don’t come often.

She judged it necessary to push a little harder to completely seize the momentum.

“As expected of Her Majesty!”

“If we just trust and follow Her Majesty, the future of the Mariette Kingdom is bright! Haha!”

Fortunately, the strategy worked perfectly.

People praised Abelson one after another and came to completely trust and follow her.

The festival continued until late dawn.

Around daybreak.

Choi Hyun-seok opened his eyes as if entranced by something.

“Still noisy.”

He had gone to bed early regardless of the festival, but even after waking up, the festival was still continuing.

He did some light stretching and got up from his seat.

“Mmm… Hero. Where are you going?”

Rachel approached while rubbing her eyes, still half asleep.

“Going to train.”

“Train?”

“Yeah. Don’t follow and disturb me, just go back to sleep.”

“No… I want to go too…”

Rachel approached wobbling and collapsed onto Choi Hyun-seok’s shoulders.

“Let’s… Go…”

Though he didn’t like how this looked, it felt uncomfortable to leave her behind when she wanted to come.

Having no choice, Choi Hyun-seok headed to the training grounds with Rachel.

The festival noise could still be faintly heard from outside the palace.

‘Times like these are when I need to work even harder.’

Today Choi Hyun-seok had no schedule.

So he was planning to do personal training after a long time.

Though one might take it easy on such a rare holiday, he felt more uncomfortable resting.

‘If I don’t want to regret it when I’m dying, I need to do everything I can.’

He is still weak.

Others might see it differently, but that’s how he felt about himself.

There were still those stronger than him.

When he becomes stronger than anyone else.

When he becomes the world’s strongest like he was on Earth, maybe then he could rest easy.

Such thoughts crossed his mind.

“Yawn~ Hero. What’s with all this fuss from dawn? You’ve worked hard until now, take at least one day off on a day like this.”

Rachel, still collapsed on his shoulder, said while yawning.

Choi Hyun-seok picked her up and casually threw her into the air.

“Eek-! Why are you throwing a lady!?”

“I told you not to follow if you’re going to disturb me. Why come and whine instead of sleeping?”

Choi Hyun-seok shook his head.

Despite saying he’d train quietly alone, she forcefully followed and then said such nonsense.

Rachel retorted with wide eyes.

“That won’t do! We’re needle and thread! Pat and Mat! Hero and dedicated fairy! A soul duo!”

“What soul duo. And we’re not Pat and Mat, we’re more like Tom and Jerry.”

“Well, I suppose that could be true depending on how you look at it.”

Choi Hyun-seok, not particularly wanting to engage, ended the war of words without further comment.

But Rachel, now fully awake, kept circling around Choi Hyun-seok and asking questions.

“So. What training are you doing today?”

“First, fighting techniques.”

“Fighting techniques?”

“My Nobilrace proficiency is still very lacking.”

After combining magical power and demonic energy into mana.

Naturally, the various types of fighting techniques were also newly established.

That was Nobilrace.

It was what Park Hyun-a and Sara Dunphy improved together based on what was previously created with Reidrun.

They completed the unfinished Nobilrace into 10 forms.

“Need to get more familiar with it to use it smoothly in actual combat.”

“Come to think of it, you haven’t used beyond the 5th form in actual combat yet.”

“Right. Haven’t practiced enough from the 6th form onward.”

Since he could only use half of the existing forms, he needed to quickly raise his proficiency.

“And I need to modify Plomot too… I’ll have to do that when I have time. Maybe ask older sister.”

Modifying Plomot was also one of the important tasks.

Plomot was Choi Hyun-seok’s hidden ace.

Like a joker card.

But since its based on demonic energy, he couldn’t use it now.

He needed to make major modifications to use Plomot with mana.

This isn’t an easy task.

It might be comparable to creating a new fighting technique.

Choi Hyun-seok shook his head to clear his thoughts about Plomot.

“Let’s think about Plomot later, and practice Nobilrace first.”

On the empty training grounds.

Choi Hyun-seok stood alone, took his stance, and serious training began.

***

Half a day passed since training began.

Choi Hyun-seok, who hadn’t eaten anything during that time, stopped by the dining hall.

He planned to have a quick meal and return to training.

“Starting to get used to this place too.”

The dining hall was very luxurious as it was where distinguished guests visiting the palace dined.

Born without an affinity for such atmospheres, Choi Hyun-seok found this place very uncomfortable.

So uncomfortable that food would often get stuck in his throat.

But now he seemed quite used to it, as he didn’t feel as severely uncomfortable as at first.

“Umm…?”

Choi Hyun-seok narrowed his eyes.

That’s because a familiar man was sitting in the dining hall.

“Olaf?”

“It’s Orlaben.”

“Ah.”

Duke Orlaben Grimier of the Drason Empire.

He was having a meal in the dining hall.

“What brings you here? No, more importantly, is it okay to show yourself so openly?”

On the surface, the Kingdom of Mariette and the Drason Empire have no points of contact.

There was no need to show their alliance and raise awareness from nearby kingdoms including Gatren.

He thought they should be more careful, especially since they had recently dealt with two cardinals, holy knights, and priests from Gatren.

“Hmm, as rumored, the food at the Mariette Palace is quite good. Though not as good as Drason’s.”

Orlaben Grimier was calmly cutting his meat.

Once the commander of the Allied Forces and now a Duke of the Drason Empire.

In other words, he’s one of the most powerful figures on the continent.

It was quite impressive to see such a figure dining alone without any guards or servants.

He wiped his mouth with a napkin and turned to Choi Hyun-seok.

“Today, I’m here on official business. Outwardly, I’m here to negotiate new trade with the Kingdom of Mariette.”

“Then in reality?”

“I came because I have a favor to ask of Lord Choi Hyun-seok.”

He offered Choi Hyun-seok a seat.

“It seems Lord Choi Hyun-seok also came to dine, why don’t you sit down first?”

He’s acting as if he owns this dining hall.

However, it oddly suited him well, so Choi Hyun-seok found himself sitting down.

Dishes were placed in front of him one by one.

After the servants finished preparing the meal and left the dining hall, Orlaben got to the main point.

“The recent matter in the Kingdom of Mariette was very successful. It was a great benefit to both our Drason and Mariette.”

“Indeed. It feels like we achieved something without lifting a finger.”

Choi Hyun-seok nodded while cutting his meat.

If the Drason Empire hadn’t helped during this Cardinal’s visit, things would have become complicated.

Perhaps a large battle might have broken out in the capital.

If that had happened, the casualties and property damage would have been beyond imagination.

‘Even winning would have been problematic.’

Victory in battle wouldn’t have been the end.

Gatren, who had the justification, would have persisted until the end.

Until the Kingdom of Mariette either collapsed or fell into their hands.

In such a situation, thanks to Drason’s help, they were able to drive out Gatren comfortably.

While it was win-win, he felt grateful.

“So, I wanted to ask you a favor this time.”

“What kind of favor?”

“Do you know about the Kingdom of Chersi?”

Choi Hyun-seok shook his head.

Though he had become familiar with many common knowledge items of this world, he still didn’t know all the kingdoms on the continent.

Orlaben Grimier, seemingly understanding this situation, continued speaking naturally.

“It’s a kingdom between the Kingdom of Mariette and the Drason Empire. It’s a small kingdom with about half the territory and national power of the Mariette Palace.”

The Kingdom of Mariette isn’t that large either.

If anything, it was just one of many small kingdoms, and Chersi seemed to be an even smaller kingdom than that.

“So. Why are you suddenly talking about this Kingdom of Chersi?”

“Currently, Gatren is moving to swallow up the continent’s small and medium-sized kingdoms.”

At this point, Choi Hyun-seok couldn’t help but notice what the other party was trying to say.

“You want me to prevent Gatren from getting too close to the Kingdom of Chersi?”

“That’s right.”

Orlaben stroked his elegant beard as he spoke.

“It would be nice if our Drason could step forward officially, but that’s difficult because it could cause diplomatic issues.”

“Hmm…”

“That’s why I think no one is more suitable for this task than Lord Choi Hyun-seok. You possess legendary combat power and are the only one with experience in shaking off Gatren’s clutches.”

I understood what Orlaben wanted to say.

I also understood that I am suitable for the task.

But Choi Hyun-seok is troubled.

Though Orlaben spoke easily, this was about determining the fate of a kingdom.

It means tens or hundreds of thousands of lives are at stake.

It’s true that it’s burdensome to accept without careful consideration.

Seeing Choi Hyun-seok’s concerns deepen, Orlaben added,

“This is necessary not just for the Kingdom of Mariette and the Kingdom of Chersi, but for the entire continent.”

“Why is that?”

“Gatren swallows up small kingdoms and grows larger. This means the probability of war increases.”

Once Gatren judges itself strong enough, it will start a war to conquer the continent.

The damage then might be greater than any war that has happened until now.

At that moment.

Ding!

Along with the familiar alarm sound, a hero quest appeared.

★☆★☆ Hero Quest! ★☆★☆

The Kingdom of Chersi is in crisis!

As a legendary hero, you can’t ignore them!

Drive away the evil clutches of Gatren and save the Kingdom of Chersi!

* Objective: Drive out Gatren’s forces from the Kingdom of Chersi

* Reward: Large amount of experience points and 3,000 Hero Points

After seeing the hero quest, Choi Hyun-seok shook his head.

‘Now they’re openly treating them as forces of evil.’

The Holy Empire of Gatren and the Deusis faith.

On the surface, they are followers of god.

Yet the hero system, which is practically godlike itself, refers to them as evil.

“Is something wrong?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Choi Hyun-seok shook his head and continued.

“Well, they helped us before, so I can’t just wipe my mouth and pretend not to know. Let’s do it.”

A smile appeared on Orlaben Grimier’s lips.

He handed Choi Hyun-seok a thick bundle of documents.

It is a summary of what’s currently happening in the Kingdom of Chersi.

“Look over these materials for details. If possible, I recommend memorizing everything and burning them so they can’t be seen from outside.”

“Hmm, that’s difficult…”

To memorize this much material all at once.

It would be impossible even within a week.

After contemplating, Choi Hyun-seok immediately put the documents in his inventory.

“If I keep it like this, others won’t be able to see it, so it should be fine.”

“Hmm… Indeed.”

Orlaben nodded as if convinced.

He stood up and adjusted his appearance.

“Well then, I’ll be going now. I have matters to discuss with Her Majesty regarding new trade.”

“See you next time.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll meet again soon.”

With those final words, Orlaben Grimier left the dining hall.

Watching his retreating figure, Choi Hyun-seok smiled slightly.

“He’s quite mysterious. Just like Hong Gil-dong.”

“Right. Are all high nobles of the empire like that? It’s fascinating.”

Choi Hyun-seok frowned at Rachel’s words.

There was something strange about what she said.

“Rachel. Have you never met a high noble before?”

“Of course not! This is my first time seeing one while being with you, hero!”

“Didn’t you say you worked as a dedicated fairy before me?”

“Yes. I’ve served at least 10 heroes!”

Rachel said proudly, puffing out her chest.

Choi Hyun-seok’s doubts deepened.

“You never met a high noble during all that time?”

“No!”

“Why?”

“Um… I wonder why…?”

Rachel scratched the back of her head.

Why hadn’t she met any high nobles despite serving 10 heroes?

Even Rachel herself thought it is a bit strange.

“I served 10 heroes over 2 years, but never met any high nobles. I wonder why?”

“10 heroes in 2 years…”

Choi Hyun-seok rubbed his face.

10 heroes in 2 years.

Even without any breaks between heroes, the average survival time of a hero doesn’t exceed 3 months.

At this point, she’s more like a ‘grim reaper’ than a ‘fairy’.

‘She didn’t graduate from being a dedicated fairy, she was fired…’

Rachel had proudly mentioned that she hasn’t been a dedicated fairy for a long time, but that wasn’t something to be proud of.

She must have been transferred from dedicated fairy to hero scout to ensure hero survival.

Choi Hyun-seok quietly pushed Rachel away.

“Rachel. Stay a bit away from me.”

“What?”

“Don’t stick too close to me from now on.”

“Why?”

“Just stay away when I tell you to!”

While he was proud of himself for surviving two years with this worst grim reaper, he wanted to keep his distance from now on.

Of course, Rachel wasn’t one to back down easily.

“Why are you suddenly acting like this!?”

When told to stay away, Rachel clung even closer.

Rachel stuck to him like a leech.

Choi Hyun-seok heaved a deep sigh.

“Well, it should be fine.”

At this point, he wondered what meaning there would be in pushing away this small reaper.

‘Anyway, Rachel is pretty and cute.’

Yeah. That’s enough for now.

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