Neighboring Territory, Weverpool

The next morning.

I headed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into the lord's manor early. Today was an important day, after all.

Renata stepped up onto the platform that had been raised on the training grounds. Her expression was more solemn than I had ever seen it.

I followed her up onto the dais. I was about to receive my formal appointment as a true Hero ahead of the other candidates.

"Whoa, Lashu's actually going up there. I'm so jealous, sheeeesh!"

Looking down at the candidates staring up at me, I felt my chest swell with grandeur.

Is this a dream or is this real life? Me, a guy who never even got a single award back on Earth, becoming a proper Hero!

I stood before Renata with a stiff face. Even in a moment like this, her mature, sweet scent drifted over me.

The instant I dropped to one knee, Renata spoke with more gravity than usual.

"Lashu Leonhart, heir to the bloodline of the legendary Hero, and chosen by the holy sword that knows the future."

"Yes, my liege Renata Gailwards. Speak, and I shall listen."

It was an official occasion, so I had to use her surname as lord. Renata took a step closer.

"Do you swear to protect our territory, your homeland; to go further still as a Hero and shield the weak from evil; to revere justice and conviction; and to drive your holy sword into the Demon King's heart?"

"I so swear."

I finished my answer and lifted my head. Renata was smiling with satisfaction — and those overwhelmingly enormous breasts of hers were making their presence known right along with her.

She drew a sword. It was my blade, the one I had handed her beforehand: Dawn Guardian.

Holding the sword, Renata lightly tapped my shoulders and the crown of my head in turn. It was much like a knighting ceremony.

"Lashu Leonhart is hereby a true Hero. May your deeds be glorious."

"Thank you. I will give everything I have for my homeland, my convictions, and my liege."

I rose to my feet.

Clap-clap-clap-clap! Clap-clap!

"Wooo! Looking good, Lashu!"

"Milk-white Lashu Leonhart!"

"He's gonna start pulling a real knight's fat paycheck now! I'm actually jealous as hell!"

Applause and cheers poured in from every direction. Most of it was pure envy.

A brilliant roar of celebration wrapped around me.

After handing the sword back, Renata met my eyes.

"Congratulations. You finally did it — your dream."

"All thanks to the Acting Lord."

What I really want to say is, "All thanks to Mama Renata, heh heh," but…

Renata nodded. Her long silver hair swayed like silk.

"Then, as a rite of passage, it's time you showed your face in the neighboring territory we're friendly with. Think of it as paying a courtesy call."

"To Weverpool?"

"That's right. The lord there is a man of character, so go share a cup of tea with him. I've already sent word."

"Thank you."

Honestly, I didn't want to go. I already knew what that bastard was really like.

But the man was the lord of an entire territory. A noble — officially a Viscount, as I understood it.

He ranked one step above our own lord.

And if I got friendly with someone like that? Even if all I got were the scraps that fell from his table, who was to say those scraps wouldn't turn out to be the finest oil? So it mattered to me, too.

Who knows? Maybe he'll dump some brutal commission on me and shower me with treasure and women for it.

In the end, humans only move when there's something in it for them. That's the animal we are.

When I came down from the platform, Jaira approached with a serious look on her face.

"Just wait a little. I'll catch up soon."

"Yeah. I'll be waiting, partner."

At my answer, Jaira finally smiled. We traded grins as we passed each other by.

I got ready to head for the Weverpool Fief. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Not that there was much to prepare, really.

Renata patted my shoulder.

"I'll have a carriage made ready for you."

"I'm fine, thank you."

"You're a proper Hero now. No less than a full knight. There's no need to put yourself through the hard way every single time."

I understood she was trying to look after me. That was one of the maternal virtues older women had.

But I told her my conviction anyway.

"Even so, the person I am doesn't change. If I don't keep my body moving like this, I get restless."

"Lashu… just what kind of man are you?"

Renata kept her solemn expression, but the tips of her ears went red. Honest to a fault, that mama of mine.

"Thank you for worrying about me. I'll be back! Mama Renata!"

I left the territory with a light step. Truth be told, I had something else in mind as well.

At this point in the timeline, that should be there. That.

Honestly — the second they become politicians they buy foreign cars, then lie to ordinary people about serving them. I refuse to become that kind of human being.

Even if your status rises, the grade of the human being itself doesn't automatically go up with it.

That was one of the classic delusions of the politicians back home.

Putting on a mask and going on about serving the people, putting people first — ugh.

Wasn't it genuinely disgusting?

I loosened up a little as I crossed Pelegor Hill. All right. Time to give this a shot.

Shall I go meet a hidden piece? Heh heh.

I headed in the opposite direction from Weverpool, drawn deeper into the hill as if the place were swallowing me whole.

Rustle, swish!

Something burst out of the undergrowth all at once — trailing sparks.

"Hihiiiiin!"

A pure-white mane woven of lightning. A pitch-black body packed with muscle.

And two eyes holding a blue radiance.

A Rank D monster: a Thunder Steed. I laughed out loud without meaning to.

Bingo. So you were here! Hell yeah!

For the record, killing the Thunder Steed was fine. The quest would bring it back to life as my mount anyway, so it wasn't a real problem.

I was already broke on points from upgrading titles last time. Perfect timing!

I licked my lips and drew my sword. The beast whinnied and charged.

Crack-crackle! Clatter-clatter, zap!

White sparks flying, the Thunder Steed came at me at the speed of sound.

The way it charged was no joke. Get hit by that and you were dead.

Thunder Steed's level is 30. Unfortunately for you, I'm 40.

An absolute level gap. But that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠concept was never absolute.

Didn't matter. In honor of becoming a true Hero — I'll cut you down!

I thrust my sword toward the charging horse. And then something astonishing happened.

Clatter-clatter! Crack-crackle! Whoosh!

As if by a lie, it turned into lightning and veered aside, flowing around me like water.

That's the Thunder Steed's specialty — a drift that looks like it defies the laws of physics! Now I want it even more!

With just this one beast, Initial D had nothing on me. And since it was a Thunder Steed, I could even call it Initial T, right?

I ignited my aura.

Full power from me, too!

Grinning, I closed the distance. The horse reared up and swung a hoof.

The attack speed was sonic as well.

But I could track it. I spun a full circle and drove a roundhouse kick straight into its chest.

Whoosh — THUD! Collapse!

"Ingihiiiiin!"

The horse toppled backward. The way it screamed as it went down was magnificent.

Then it got back up and showed me something I hadn't expected.

Rumble — KRAAAASH!

The density of the air changed all at once. A pure-white flash stabbed down onto the crown of my head, and the world went white for a moment.

"Urgh…!"

From the top of my skull to the tips of my toes, something cold boiled up and then burned away into nothing. I staggered, barely staying on my feet.

I only held on thanks to the shield effect! How the hell is a Thunder Steed casting 2nd Circle magic? Is this even in the original lore?!

Thunder Steeds were never supposed to use magic at all. But this one had just cast a full 2nd Circle lightning spell. Insane.

I calmly closed the distance again. I wanted it even more now, didn't I?

I thrust; it dodged. Moving on an off-beat, I seized the attack range in a single breath.

"Lightning strikes twice!"

SHRAAAAK!

The Thunder Steed, mid-kick with its hind legs, was split cleanly in two and died.

Zzzzt, zzt! Crack-crackle!

The Thunder Steed reappeared in a spectacular burst of pure-white sparks.

Looking at the horse standing before me, snorting, I couldn't help but marvel. It was big. It was beautiful.

Wait, is this thing a mare? Eh, doesn't matter. Don't tell me this one can do that too…?

Just in case, I tried putting the Thunder Steed into my ring. And then—

Whoosh, fssst!

Just as I'd expected, I could store the Thunder Steed inside the ring. Whoa. Jackpot.

I summoned it again and admired it.

"Whoa, my very own personal mount! This is real. This is actually real. Looking forward to working with you! From now on, your name is Lin."

"Prrrrh."

"It means thunder, thunderbolt, in Norwegian! Hah-cha — run!"

I swung up onto Lin's back. Lin started to run. Even without stirrups, nothing hurt between my legs.

Crack-crackle! Clatter-clatter! Whoooosh!

Lin raced along trailing white sparks. The sight of those sparks scattering outward with every stride was spectacular.

A black horse wreathed in white lightning — now that's rare.

Even though I didn't know how to ride, I took no damage at all. It felt as if Lin were looking out for me, adjusting skillfully as we ran.

In a single stretch, I arrived at Weverpool. The moment I dismounted from Lin, a title popped up.

Hell yeah, so there's stuff like this too. I'd upgrade it a little later.

I entered the Weverpool Fief and looked around. It was cleaner than our territory — and louder.

They say this place has so many craftsmen it's called the City of Artisans. That's why there's so much factory land, too.

Even just from what I could see, the left side looked like an ordinary fief, while the right side flaunted factory grounds with real presence.

I was freshly impressed.

To think the bastard who rules a place this good is that kind of human being.

I wanted to see his face, at least. Just how full of himself this guy was.

I headed for the mansion. Word must already have gone around; the guards heard my introduction and didn't stop me.

When I reached the front doors, they slid open as if on automatic, and instead of a butler, a maid appeared.

Judging by the armband-like thing she wore, she looked like the head maid.

Ohh, so the head maid holds real power around here? Her looks aren't bad either — especially those breasts…

I looked her over while pretending not to.

Long dark-brown hair in a two-block cut, the back section braided into a ponytail.

Subtly luminous yellow-green eyes that sparked curiosity about her.

Modest compared to the women I'd tasted so far, but the C-cup glamour body wrapped precariously in that maid uniform still made its presence known without shame.

And stockings with a garter belt on top of that — yeah, I can't resist this. I want a taste.

I licked my lips just a little, and the head maid introduced herself.

"I am Peary, the head maid."

"A pleasure. Lashu Leonhart, Hero of Gailwards."

"We've received word. Please, come in."

As I stepped inside, I looked around. It was bigger than our lord's mansion.

Red carpets laid here and there, chandeliers sculpted from pure gold.

And expensive-looking portraits on top of that. How should I put it — the kind of man who'd made up his mind to look rich.

"Where is the lord?"

"He is not in."

"…Excuse me?"

What kind of nonsense was this. Not in?

"You see, a heretical cult calling themselves Those Who Recite Sins has been running rampant in our territory of late. His Lordship is rarely at the mansion, as he is busy suppressing them."

"But I can still meet him, right?"

"Most likely. Please wait in the guest room."

This felt off. He should have heard from Renata that I was coming.

But what if he just never showed? Nah — he couldn't be that lacking in manners… could he?

I was shown to the guest room and left alone. I drank some tea at a leisurely pace.

And I waited.

Early evening arrived. The lord hadn't shown so much as the tip of his nose.

Ha. This is pissing me off. This fucking bastard…

Should I just go public with the ledgers I've got right now? I left the guest room.

Not a servant in sight — no one at all. Unbelievable. This whole territory.

I left Weverpool, mounted Lin, and headed back toward our fief. Fine, you son of a bitch. Just you wait. Lord of Weverpool — I'm going to take everything you have!

I was cutting across the hill path, about to pass the ridge, when I happened to run into Abeiru's mother, Anya.

Anya had been picking mushrooms; the moment she spotted me, her face twisted.

"Hey, you little cripple! Get over here."

Fuck. You walked right into this one, you bitch.