Chapter 49
…I messed up.
The seat next to me remained unchanged. There were still two beautiful saints. Saint Estelle and Saint Selin.
Honestly, it was hard to endure. I tried to let it slide, but after hearing Levius’s golden words, I couldn’t hold back. In the end, I acted on my own and declared that I would take Selin with me.
Still, I was aware that I had been hasty. So, I was subtly checking the saint’s reaction, but she didn’t seem to care much, whether she was still sulking or not.
“…Saint Selin.”
“Just Selin is fine.”
“…Huh?”
Selin looked at me and said.
“Since you already have Saint Estelle, just call me by my name.”
“…Uh, okay.”
I didn’t understand what she meant, but since she said to call her by her name, it’s easier and better for me.
“Selin, could you ask her if she’s mad at me for acting on my own?”
“…She’s right next to you.”
“Hurry.”
It’s a bit awkward for me to ask. We’re in the middle of a war, after all.
“…Ask her yourself later. What kind of behavior is that with someone right next to you?”
…So petty.
At that moment, grand music began to play. The music played for a while, and a middle-aged man ascended the high platform at the end of the banquet hall.
Despite his modest appearance, what he wore was dazzling. And on his head was a crown.
Is that the king of the Vesta Kingdom?
“Thank you for coming.”
“Long live His Majesty the King!!”
The nobles all greeted him loudly. Wow.
When it was held in the Mars Empire, the nobles didn’t react like this. Is it because the Vesta Kingdom is more powerful?
“Now, we will begin the Hero Regular Reporting Meeting. This time, in addition to the two existing heroes, we will also hear about the exploits of Hero Abel, so I am personally looking forward to it.”
…Why are you putting so much pressure on me?
The king descended from the platform, and a woman who appeared to be a secretary ascended. She had her hair neatly tied back.
So, the secretary of this country is a woman.
“We will now begin the Hero Regular Reporting Meeting. The first order of business is for Hero Elfride of the Vesta Kingdom to speak.”
At the secretary’s words, Elfride and Saint Cynthia ascended together. So, they’re here today.
…Still an incredible reservoir of holy power. Elfride is quite impressive too, but hers is so overwhelming that Elfride’s doesn’t even catch my eye.
“Hero Elfride, report your activities over the past three months.”
“I have defeated one Balbatos-class and one Behemoth-class monster.”
“The Balbatos-class monster was defeated in Habsburg, Mars Empire, correct?”
“That is correct.”
“Truly remarkable.”
The hall buzzed at Elfride’s report.
“He defeated another Balbatos-class monster? Truly amazing.”
“Hero Elfride is truly the pride of our kingdom.”
The secretary recorded Elfride’s report and declared.
“In recognition of Hero Elfride’s achievements, by royal decree, we bestow a reward of 2 million gold, five horses, and this from the royal family.”
The secretary received something from an attendant.
…A sword?
“We bestow the royal sword of the Vesta Kingdom.”
At the mention of the royal sword, many nobles were astonished.
“So, the Batory family…”
“They’ve been recognized by the royal sword. Envious, truly envious.”
Elfride looked at the sword for a while before respectfully receiving it with both hands.
“Elfride Batory, I am deeply grateful for His Majesty’s grace.”
“Continue your good work, Hero Elfride.”
Since he has the Holy Sword, he probably won’t use the royal sword much. It seems more symbolic, given the talk of the royal sword.
“Next, Hero Levius, please come up.”
Elfride descended from the platform, and Levius ascended. The nobles began to whisper differently.
“He’ll be compared.”
“Indeed. It’s a pity for the Minerva Kingdom. To have such a hero emerge.”
Perhaps due to the earlier commotion, the reactions were quite different from those in the Mars Empire. There were even comments that seemed to deliberately belittle Levius.
…The nobles and Levius, that jerk, are no different.
“Hero Levius, report your activities over the past three months.”
“I have repelled one monster wave in the Diana Kingdom, one in the Minerva Kingdom, and defeated one Gorgon-class monster.”
At the end of Levius’s report, the nobles’ reactions were markedly different from those for Elfride.
“One Gorgon-class?”
“Didn’t he take it too easy?”
“Today, Hero Levius seems quite different in many ways.”
What’s a Gorgon-class monster?
I was about to ask the saint as usual, but realizing she was sulking, I asked Selin instead.
“Selin, how strong is a Gorgon-class monster?”
“You know that monsters stronger than high-class are classified as high-risk, right?”
“Yes.”
“That’s the lowest grade among those high-risk monsters. That’s why there are many reactions that Hero Levius didn’t meet expectations.”
Ah, so his performance didn’t meet expectations. This guy, he slacked off.
The secretary recorded Levius’s report and declared.
“In recognition of Hero Levius’s achievements, we bestow a reward of 800,000 gold and two horses.”
“…Thank you.”
The reward was a bit disappointing, but Levius himself knew that his performance didn’t meet his usual standards. Levius descended from the platform, and it was finally my turn.
“Lastly, Hero Abel, please come up.”
Before ascending the platform, I glanced at the saint. She was still uncomfortable, but we had to discuss these official matters.
“…Saint, do I have to report every little detail?”
The saint glared at me.
“…I’ll report it, so just stay still.”
“…Yes.”
…Are you going to keep being so curt? Fine, you handle it all!
I ascended the platform with the saint. Selin didn’t follow, as it would be too chaotic if she came up too.
“Hero Abel…”
“Abel, report on your activities over the past three months.”
At the scribe’s words, the Saint responded.
“Since the Hero is still inexperienced, may I report on his behalf instead?”
Her voice, usually calm, now carried a soothing tone that even the stern-faced scribe couldn’t help but soften to.
“Very well, Saint Estelle.”
“Assisting Hero Elfride in defending against the monster wave that appeared in Habsburg City. Defeated eight high-level Ogres and eradicated a human trafficking ring, arresting the culprits. Eliminated one Chimera in the border region, rescued victims of the Transformational Stone, and safely returned them. During this process, we discovered a distribution route for the Transformational Stone in Athene and are currently working with the Solaria Church to dismantle it.”
…Listing it all out like this, it seems like a lot. But what’s with the human trafficking ring? Are they talking about those bandits from back then?
Elfride and Levius never reported defeating high-level monsters, but since I’ve only been a Hero for a short time, I guess I have to report everything.
However, the scribe, upon hearing the Saint’s report, looked slightly bewildered and asked, “You accomplished all of that in just three months?”
“I omitted the minor tasks like defeating mid to low-level monsters.”
“…You didn’t rest at all, did you?”
“The Hero, feeling that he still has much to improve, has been tirelessly training without rest.”
…Why is she suddenly hyping me up? I gave the Saint a puzzled look.
It’s not like I wanted to do all that; you were the one who worked me to the bone.
But the Saint completely ignored my look and continued to embellish the story.
“Although our Hero still has much to learn, I can assure you that no one works harder than he does.”
Just moments ago, she hadn’t exchanged a single word with me, and now she’s showering me with sweet words. It’s hard to adjust and quite embarrassing.
Then, someone clapped loudly. Not from behind us, but from the front—where the king’s seat was.
“Indeed, a Hero must strive hard, even if they feel they are lacking.”
The applause came from the King of the Vesta Kingdom.
W-what’s with this sudden praise?
“Don’t you agree?”
As the King looked around at the nobles, they all began to praise me.
“Indeed, Hero Abel’s attitude is exemplary of what a true Hero should be.”
“I agree.”
“Other Heroes should learn from him!”
Wait, this is like being handed a private jet out of nowhere—it’s overwhelming. I glanced at the instigator of this situation.
The Saint then whispered quietly to me, “Relax, you’re being rewarded for your efforts. Enjoy this moment.”
“…….”
In the end, she did it all for my sake.
…I really can’t hate her.
#
“Ah, as expected of Abel.”
Elfride was pleased. The Abel she knew was indeed the real deal. In her eyes, Abel was a true Hero.
He had only been a Hero for three months, yet he was already so active. Compared to herself, who had been resting in the banquet hall since the feast, she felt a bit ashamed.
“I need to work harder too.”
Meanwhile, Levius clicked his tongue in annoyance at the banquet hall’s atmosphere of praising Abel.
“Acting like a hero just for defeating a few high-level monsters.”
Though he said that, Levius himself had reported every high-level monster he defeated in his early days. It was unavoidable since taking down high-risk monsters was impossible for a new Hero.
Despite knowing this, Levius was clearly displeased. With the King’s praise, Abel’s reputation would only grow.
On the other hand, Levius had only damaged his own reputation in this regular reporting meeting, gaining nothing.
“…This is irritating.”
#
The Saint and I descended from the podium. We were rewarded with 1.5 million gold and two horses. Feeling it was a bit excessive, I asked the Saint.
“Do they usually give this much?”
“…It’s your first reward as a Hero. The kingdom wanted to be generous.”
“Ah…”
So, it’s like a first-time bonus.
As we walked down, the Saint turned her head away again. Still sulking, huh?
…Well, I did mess up, so it’s understandable.
“…Saint.”
“…What?”
Though she sounded annoyed, she didn’t ignore me. That’s enough to smooth things over.
“I’m sorry for making decisions without consulting you. I’ll discuss things with you first next time.”
“…….”
I apologized sincerely. The Saint, still facing away, glanced at me from the corner of her eye.
…Just look at me properly.
“…Are you still very angry?”
When I asked, the Saint sighed deeply and muttered something.
“…They say the one who falls in love first loses. The nun wasn’t wrong.”
“…What did you say?”
She spoke too softly for me to hear.
“Could you speak a bit louder?”
“…No♡”
The Saint turned to face me, her eyes smiling with her usual cheeky grin.
“You couldn’t even hear that… You’re really such a fool, Hero♡”
“…Haha.”
Then just speak louder, you brat.
