Chapter 73
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 073
Chapter Title: The Hero and the Merit Awards (2)
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After I received my award, it was a few other people's turns.
Then the big trio—Gilbert, Bear, and Konel—were called up in that order.
They each received a warhorse as their prize.
Considering how wildly horse prices were soaring these days, it was an enormous reward.
And on top of that, all three of them were knights, weren't they?
A horse was essential for any knight.
They might not fight mounted in battle, but the symbolism it carried didn't just vanish.
Anyway, once the merit awards wrapped up like that...
The banquet began.
And I... became the center of all the nobles' attention.
"Heros! I have something to say!"
"Heros. I'd love to have a chat with you—shall we move somewhere quieter?"
"Heros, I have a favor to ask of you."
My name was being called from every direction.
So I had no choice but to keep circulating without a break.
The big trio weren't exceptions either.
"Shouldn't a true knight serve a noble house?"
"Three knights for one mage seems a bit much, don't you think?"
"Pledge your loyalty to me, and I'll make every knight's dream come true. I'll grant you a fief—that's what I'm saying."
Whenever I stepped away to talk with other nobles, someone would approach the trio and try to sway them.
Some even did it right in front of me.
But Bear and Konel shot down those offers flat.
Gilbert went without saying.
Since I was the one controlling him, he could reject the nobles' proposals without hesitation.
'Nobles sure have a keen eye for talent.'
Nobles were people who commanded others.
So naturally, they had sharp judgment when it came to spotting talent.
And we were proven prospects already, weren't we?
It wasn't strange that they were clamoring for us.
The problem was that the recruitment pitches never let up.
'No, if they've been turned down, shouldn't they at least wait a day before trying again?'
The nobles didn't know the meaning of giving up.
Even after Earl Chester granted me a fief, they kept at it.
They seemed to think there was still a chance since I wasn't officially his vassal yet.
Maybe the rumors that I was leaving Chester had spread—somehow, they were clinging even more desperately than before.
'Fine, I got a fief, so I can endure this much.'
I kept that in mind as I entertained the nobles.
The fief Earl Chester had bestowed on me.
It was entirely mine.
Not just ownership of the land, but military authority, judicial rights, taxation—every right tied to that territory belonged to me completely.
Some impoverished lords sold off those rights to scrape together cash, but I had no intention of ever doing that.
After the banquet ended, I trudged home with the big trio.
The four warhorses Earl Chester had given us.
They were safely stabled in the castle stables.
We could take them when we left the city later.
"You all did great."
I said to the trio.
Gilbert the undead was fine as always, but Bear and Konel looked utterly exhausted.
Meaning they'd been hounded by nobles just as much.
"What should we do with this?"
That's when Bear asked, holding up a wooden box.
Konel was holding a similarly shaped one.
These were extras from Earl Chester.
Beyond the public merit awards, he'd slipped me separate rewards.
Bear's box was stuffed with gold coins, and Konel's...
Contained grimoires.
'From nobles moved by my feats who offered up their own grimoires, and ones found on the black mages' corpses. That's what he said.'
Earl Chester had explained.
Some nobles, impressed by my performance, had donated grimoires from their collections.
Five in total that way.
Plus three more that soldiers, refugees, and castle folk found while clearing the battlefield corpses.
Eight grimoires became my share.
Nina had probably gotten a few as well, though fewer than me.
"Stash the coin box in the corner, and set the grimoire one down in the middle of the living room. I wanna check 'em right away."
Bear and Konel followed my orders to the letter.
Bear tucked the coins away in the corner, and Konel carefully placed the box in the center of the living room.
I immediately flipped open the lid.
And a whoop of delight escaped me.
"Hell yeah!"
The eight grimoires inside the box.
Just looking at them set my heart racing.
'Let's check the names first.'
I eagerly examined the grimoires.
About ten minutes later...
I fell deep into thought.
'What do I do with these?'
The breakdown: two Earth Magic, one Water Magic, one Wind Magic, one Fire Magic, three Exotic Magic.
Normally, I'd listen to each one's conditions one by one and start with whatever I could fulfill right away.
But I didn't this time.
All because of one grimoire.
"Offer five grimoires as sacrifice."
The Magic Expert Grimoire.
It made a tough demand of me.
To sacrifice precious grimoires.
No less than five of them!
How could I not agonize?
'Tough request means it probably holds good magic. But... is that magic really worth five grimoires? Might be better to skip it and read the other seven.'
The dilemma deepened.
But as time passed, my mind tilted toward reading the Magic Expert Grimoire.
I couldn't contain my curiosity.
It held Exotic Magic.
I was dying to know what spell I'd learn from it.
'Which ones to sacrifice.'
I had no way to know what magic it contained without reading it.
So I had to check each grimoire's name, the type of magic it held, and its demand—then pick the sacrifices.
Fortunately, two were easy to let go.
"Wow, we keep running into each other, huh?"
The Beauty Grimoire—this was our third meeting.
"Kill an innocent soul."
And the Curious Evil Grimoire, with its demand I could never fulfill.
That made two.
I could easily give up the Beauty Grimoire since I knew what magic it held, and the Curious Evil one had an impossible task, so no regrets there.
Now three left to choose from.
'Which ones to keep...'
After over thirty minutes of deliberation, I selected the five for sacrifice.
Leaving the Wind Magic grimoire and the Fire Magic one.
Ones I'd never learned before for Wind, and familiar Fire Magic for the other.
'Here goes.'
The five doomed grimoires.
I placed them before the Magic Expert Grimoire.
They crumbled to dust and vanished, and then its voice rang out.
"Well received."
That one line from the Magic Expert Grimoire.
Right after, its cover flipped open on its own.
The pages flew by rapidly.
I watched, praying fervently inside.
'Please be good magic.'
Magic learned by sacrificing five grimoires.
It had to be worth it.
Smooth as silk.
Moments later, the back cover of the Magic Expert Grimoire appeared.
It too turned to dust and faded away.
Soon, information on the magic flooded my mind.
The instant I checked it, any lingering regret vanished clean away.
It was that useful.
'Nice.'
The grimoire's magic was called Mana Conservation.
A passive skill that reduced mana costs for spells.
Simply put, spells that used to cost 100 mana—like my Land Leveling—now only took 80.
Power unchanged, of course.
That's why I was satisfied, even without a mana boost.
'Plant Magic and Fire Magic are a bit more complex.'
Plant Magic's Green Thumb and Fire Magic's Burning Hands increased mana costs but boosted power.
Now, with Mana Conservation, I could cut costs on those too.
The conservation applied first when casting.
Say I cast Incinerate, normally 250 mana.
Conservation drops it to 200, then Burning Hands bumps it to 240.
Without it, it'd cost 300—huge savings.
'Of course, high-cost spells make the effect obvious. Low-cost ones, less so.'
For Lightning Bolt at 25 mana, it drops to 20—a mere 5 difference.
Still not trivial.
Four casts at 100 mana become five.
'And it works on passives too, so my available mana pool's bigger now.'
Of my spells, four constantly drained mana.
One active, three passives.
Death Deferral took 100; Smooth Skin 5, Bane of Fair Skin 25, Moist Skin 5.
Total 135 locked.
Now down to 108 with conservation.
27 more mana free.
Profit.
'Worth the five grimoires.'
With that conclusion, I looked down at the floor.
Two grimoires remained.
The Enduring Flame and Gentle Breeze grimoires.
"Greedy one. Want to show me some fire magic with power that'll really impress me?"
The Enduring Flame demanded fire magic impressive enough to satisfy it.
Perfect—I had just the spell: Incinerate.
Strongest I'd ever wielded; it'd surely please it.
"Feel the wind in the nude."
The Gentle Breeze wanted me naked in the breeze.
Not too hard.
But to protect my reputation, I'd need a secluded spot.
Getting caught bare would tank my mage cred.
No option to skip.
The next day.
I went to see Earl Chester.
To get permission for Incinerate.
Powerful spell—casting without warning would freak people out.
But his reaction surprised me.
"Oh, perfect timing!"
"Pardon?"
"I've been agonizing over when to burn those hundreds of corpses. Burying that many would poison the soil, you know. And sourcing wood for pyres was another headache. Thanks to you, all problems solved. I'll have people pile the bodies in one spot—hit it with your magic there."
Is this for real?
The thought flickered, but I slowly nodded.