30

The hero’s reputation which had been fearlessly soaring into the
skies plummeted. The sewers of cities flowed backward, rivers overflowed
 and submerged villages, dams broke, houses and livestock were washed
away by floods… the fall in reputation was caused by these various
problems occurring across the continent.

If there was a silver lining in all this misfortune? It was that the
torrential rain had stopped after ten days. That was already after my
reputation had been washed away with everything else, however.

“Should I go over to the 4th Playthrough…”

I was by the window on the 3rd floor of the royal palace from where
three delicious-looking mermaids could be seen swimming in a pond.
There, in that ideal location, I sat and gazed blankly out of the
window. The sky free of rain was without a dot of cloud, clear and blue.

What a very good weather it was for taking the Demon King’s neck!

▷Speechless: The Demon King is not an admission ticket to a re-testing…

‘Ah! Professor Morals. You came right when I messed up the vacation.’

▷Consoling: I express my sincere regrets to you. However, Student
Kang Han Soo, it is said not to throw away the axe handle just because
the axe head is gone. While it did become a mess, different to your
intention, but as a result the drought was solved and the mermaids were
freed from from their shackles as well. There is a positive side to…

‘I was fooled by those vile mermaids! Only my reputation blew up
because those damned fish-tarts woke up some strange catfish! I’ll catch
 them all and turn them into sushi and hot chowder…’

▷Dissuading: Please hold yourself back on that alone! And things have
 still yet to end. Whether your reputation soars or is lacking, you must
 carry out the role of making yourself known. The people of the
continent has begun to pay attention to you. If you do something good,
then you will be able to amply placate them all.

‘Something good…’

▷Suggestion: How about helping your friend in his growth? At this
rate, he will be getting in your-… what I meant is, it would not be
strange if he died at any moment now. It is unsettling to let him go
find the Holy Sword, is it not? You may not believe this, but his grade
in character estimated by the teaching staff is an ‘A’. He is
sufficiently worth taking note of.

‘… Sieg has an A-grade in character? Wish this kind of world would just go to hell.’

“There’s no end to this whole charity thing…”

No matter how I thought about it, Sieg’s level was at a severe level.
 It had recently risen to Level 5. In this situation where the heroes’
reputation was despairingly bad enough as it was, it would truly be a
disgrace if Sieg went off adventuring alone and ended up caught by
bandits or dead in some ditch. In the end, my answer was already
decided.

‘I’ll feign insanity and help him just once.’

\*
\*
\*

Saintess
 A, who had seemed like she would promise Sieg her full support, played
innocent and went back on her words, while Sieg’s standing went up in
smoke as well.

The officials of the kingdom felt deep fury. They had summoned him,
fed him, washed him, gave him a bed, clothed him, slaved and ordered him
 around, beat him… yet this damned hero tried to set off to the Holy
Kingdom?

He was branded as an ungrateful hero.

Nevertheless, Alex held Sieg dear as ever. He instructed him all day
long, saying that he was too weak to go adventuring alone. Although it
did seem like Sieg, being smothered by that passion, seemed like he
would be committing suicide sometime soon.

I decided to give him a slight breather.

“Sir Alex.”

“Yes. Please speak, my queen.”

After being completely corrupted by Dark Energy, the queen obeyed me
so blindly as to not even hesitate in kissing the back of my foot. I had
 given her an order: to make Alex move.

“This may be the presumptuous meddling of a woman ignorant of the martial, but…”

“What sort of words is that, my queen! Give whatever command it may be to this humble subject, Your Majesty.”

Kicking Sieg, who had become more dead than alive, far away like he
was trash, Alex prostrated himself before the queen. That barbarian did
have loyalty at least.

“Then Sir Alex, I ask that you remove the threat which has emerged in
 the palace sewers. I have heard rumors saying that it is serious.”

The queen relayed my words directly as commanded to Alex—the hunting
ground location, risks, way to enter… she told everything to Alex except
 for the most important point which was the boss’ Level. Just that was
enough, however; as the palace knight captain whose duty was to defend
the palace and the royalty, it was a command that could by no means be
refused.

Alex replied unhesitantly, “Protecting the kingdom is a knight’s mission. I will obey Your Majesty’s command!”

Alex immediately assembled the palace knights. As it was a matter
befitting of knights after so long, with the end of that insane weather
bringing a drought and then floods in succession, they were all bursting
 with motivation.

At that time, Sieg, who had been spread out on the dirt ground and
twitching like an insect as he listened on from the side, yelled in a
loud voice, “I’ll help as well-!”

Things were playing out as I had predicted. Sieg’s wild, black eyes
which I observed from a distance away were quite to my liking. That was
the look of someone thirsting for EXP.

Sieg had also come to a realization while one-sidedly being pummelled
 by Alex all day long in the palace training grounds—that at this rate,
he would forever be unable to escape from even the situation of being
Alex’s sandbag, let alone find the Holy Sword of legend. The efficiency
of his Skills fell due to his low Level, and his attack Skills were poor
 due to being beaten throughout the days.

“If Sieg wishes for it, then I’ll have to take him along.”

Alex accepted Sieg’s request without objection. The perpetual
high-strung look on Alex’s face eased a little. Perhaps he was satisfied
 by the hero’s attitude of volunteering to free service.

“Kugh…!”

But it wasn’t long before his expression turned menacing again as he
clutched at his waist. It was that herniated lumbar disc, which would
rear its head whenever he was about to forget it! It was none other than
 my work.

“Thank you! Mr. Alex!”

Clenching his fists tightly, Sieg seemed as if he was dreaming of
sweeping up EXP. While his attitude was desirable, I thought it would be
 good if he didn’t overdo it as a Level 5. It would be meaningless if he
 died, wouldn’t it?

I stuck my head out of the window from which the training grounds was visible and asked quietly, “Should I come along too?”

“No.”

“It’s fine.”

Alex and Sieg refused almost simultaneously. Perhaps they were unwilling to share EXP with me.

“Alright then.”

I didn’t insist, backing off quietly. I had wanted to at least keep
alive Sieg who was expected to get an A-grade in character, but what
could I do since both the person in question and leader of the group
both didn’t want me?

I had done all I could.

“To the sewers!”

“Yeah!”

Sieg and Alex’s palace sewers exploration began.

And thus 2 nights and 3 days passed.

\*
\*
\*

I wasn’t so free as to escort people, who didn’t want protection, for
 nothing. I didn’t pathetically follow in secret after the two and the
palace knights who had gone to the sewers.

I was stressed all day long from just facing those three women, after
 all. Lanuvel, Saintess A, and Aqua. And that the bad memories from the
1st Playthrough kept popping up in succession was an added bonus.

Right now, I was completely engaged working on my reputation.

“In memory of Captain Alex, cheers!”

“Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

I opened a party in my dear friend Tony’s pub. I fully opened the
money bag I had received from the Dumpling King, and bought a drink for
every customer who frequented the pub. The power of freebies was great
indeed. I didn’t regret it in the least.

Alex had died.

He had run into the Level 450 Chimera living in the palace sewers. In
 the 1st Playthrough, I had smoothly hunted it down with the same group
members. If there was a difference to this 3rd Playthrough, it was that
Sieg went in my place. The result was the complete opposite, however.

How could I not drink on a day like this when my mood was so fine?
While this high-performance body of mine was incapable of getting drunk,
 the noisy party atmosphere of the pub was good. While helping Tony by
raising his sales, I grew closer with him too. It felt like the stress
built up by the re-tests were dissolving all at once.

“Brother Hero, you’re too considerate.”

“Indeed. I heard Alex went around cursing Sir Hero.”

“You’re too wonderful, even cherishing his memory like this.”

The pretty ladies of the pub stuck right beside me, each making a
comment. Their looks were far from being compared to the beauty of
Saintess A and Aqua, but I liked these ladies—they were pleasing my mood
 as service for the free drinks from me. Today, however, the girls were
being somewhat awkward around me. And that was because…

“Lanuvel. Get lost while I’m talking nicely.”

Aqua couldn’t come to the pub as she was still a patient, while
Saintess A was in charge of nursing that fish, so the two were naturally
 away. This disrupter, however, had come along like a leech. She really
was no help in my life!

Ah! She was a little helpful in the 2nd Playthrough.

“Sir Hero! I’m also a customer of this pub!”

“Then stop propping up your chin on the table acting cute, quietly
have your bloody drink and go. It’s a bother to have a hole stared
through your face.”

“But the ladies here are openly staring at Sir Hero too, though.”

“Then you want to do it as well tonight?”

At my meaningful suggestion, Lanuvel cracked a smile and replied lightly.

“Nope! Lanuvel will shut up this instant! I’ve been very rude!”

“You, really get on my nerves!”

Rare was the person who disliked freebies in the world. Tony’s pub
was so crowded that there wasn’t room to sit for the customers who had
come from all over the city hearing the news. We merrily ate and drank
without Lanuvel. Everyone cried out with united hearts:

“In memory of Captain Alex, cheers!”

“Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

Truth be told, I hadn’t expected Alex to really die. Although the
Level 450 boss was higher in Level than the Level 300 Alex, the Skill
ranks of the majority of monsters including bosses were extremely low.
Since the other palace knights who were around Level 180 had also gone
with him, I had judged that it was fully possible for him to escape even
 if he couldn’t win.

But there had been a variable in the equation.

“To Hero Sieg as well, cheers!”

“Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

Alex and the palace knights had tossed themselves in danger’s way to
save Sieg—they gave up on escape and recklessly fought against the boss
monster. Shouldn’t they have known that there wasn’t only one hero? They
 had made much too foolish a decision.

“Damned idiots. What about the wife and children they left behind…
Hmhm! For the palace knight order who fought bravely until the end as
well, cheers!”

“Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

It was the worst victory stained with sacrifice. Reinforcements had found Sieg on the brink of death and rescued him.

The corpses of the warriors were retrieved afterwards. Saintess A had
 attempted the resurrection of Alex and the palace knights, but as the
damage to their bodies were severe and quite a bit of time had passed
since their death, there were extremely few who could be saved, and Alex
 wasn’t included among them. That why Sieg, who was also here in
remembrance of those lost, was looking melancholy.

▷Race: Arch-Human
▷Level: 125
▷Job: Hero(EXP 500%)
▷Skills: Interpretation(A) Endurance(A) Swordsmanship(B) Survivability(B) Fortitude(C)…
▷Condition: Reflecting, Regretful, Fatigued, Drunk

His Level had greatly increased while clearing out the sewers.
Although his Skills still being emphasized on defense was a flaw, it
would work out if it was steadily improved.

“Because of me, Alex… Hic!”

“Now now, Sieg. There’s no need to be so down like that. Didn’t you
take out the boss which was eating Alex and gain EXP? One plus one! At
the end of it all, you’ve become one with Alex! So cheer up!”

Alex would live for eternity in Sieg’s heart.

“Waaah…! Aleeexx…!”

Sieg hugged his beer bottle and began to cry.

“… This guy, really troublesome.”

I shouldn’t have given alcohol to a 17-year-old minor. It was
slightly outside of my expectations, however—I had thought Sieg was
enraptured by the immoral Saintess A, but who’d have known that in truth
 he liked macho men!

Could it be that he was a masochist who enjoyed thrashings…?

“He must have depended on Alex a lot even as he acted like he hated him.”

Lanuvel gazed at Sieg with pity.

“Like how you act cute?”

“It’s not acting, Sir Hero! My cuteness is natural!”

“Pft-hahahah!”

“Wha-? Why are you laughing suddenly?”

“That was the funniest thing today! Lanuvel! Where’s your conscience? Puhahahah!”

“Eurgh…!”

The sight of Sieg bursting with tears was something I could often see
 in the 1st Playthrough. A gloomy air would fall over the entire party
when a companion died. While a saintess’ resurrection ability might
appear omnipotent, the prerequisite was that the cost in EXP grew more
if the corpse’s condition was bad or if there was delay in casting the
spell.

Would the death of the saintess be the most despairing situation?

Although there wasn’t only one saintess on the continents of
Fantasia, no two saintesses would go around together as they were all of
 a rival relationship, worshiping their respective gods. The rule was
one hero to one saintess, perhaps it should be said. From my experience,
 Saintess A, B and C were all similar in ability and appearance. When it
 came to business at nights, however, Saintess C was the best.

In any case…

“Really now… matters keep going wrong.”

It was a plan I formed to raise Sieg’s Level, but the strict Alex and palace knights had ended up dying.

“Uh, Sir Hero.”

Lanuvel, who had claimed to shut up herself, began to meddle again.

“What?”

“I’m asking because I’m really curious, but when did the culture of
remembering those who passed away by opening a drinking party start?”

“Huh? You don’t know?”

“Yes, I don’t.”

That must mean she really didn’t know.

“Then I don’t know either.”

“Okay… okay?!”

“I thought there’d be one such culture somewhere in Fantasia’s
continents. Seeing how even you don’t know, it must be completely
non-existent.”

“…”

I did know the original way folks here respected the dead, though. If
 you visited a temple which each city had at least one of, prayed and
offered donation, a priest would cast a blessing on the deceased one’s
body and return it to nature. It would disappear, just like monsters
which vanished after giving EXP.

“Got a problem with my way of respecting the dead?”

“Nope.”

“Then shut it and take my drink. That’s right! You drink well. I’ll
carry you out on my back if you collapse drunk, so don’t worry.”

‘Where should I bury her so there won’t be rumors?’

“One more glass! More more! Hic!”

“R-right.”

We spent the whole night giving and taking drinks. Although I didn’t
get drunk, I had to frequently expel the water which accumulated while
downing shots. And then I realized it—why didn’t I know in the 1st
Playthrough?

“This darned girl, is she really human…?”

Going by the buckets-worth of drinks I had fed her, the alcohol level
 in her blood should have easily passed 0.45, and yet Lanuvel didn’t die
 despite that. Only my previously bulging wallet croaked its last.

I should have secretly put poison in her glass or some…

▷Pleading: Please leave your companions alone, will you! Please!

‘Ahem! Who said anything? I’ll catch a heart disease from you popping out everytim-’

Slam!

‘Geez! Why is this hero acting crazy startling people? Ahem! I don’t mean that Professor Morals was acting crazy.’

Sieg had slammed both hands down on his table and shot to his feet.

He declared in a loud voice, “Aleeexx! I’ll inherit your dream and
will! A heart-thumping adventure right this instant, lez gooo…! Hic!”

… This punk, was he for real?

It seemed that he had been serious—after leaving the pub swaying just
 like that, Sieg packed his things the next day and set off on an
adventure without making any plans.

Really! Was he still going through puberty?

▷Persuading: A reed is weak but it can be used to tie other trees,
and one hand is used to wash the other. That is why it is worrying. It
seems the candidate has become twisted from the shock of losing a
companion…

‘Then shall I kill him?’

I had no intention of grabbing hold of a failed test paper and rotten
 rope. If the 3rd Playthrough was doomed, then I just had to move on to
the 4th Playthrough. This was also why I didn’t try to raise my
Level—the Demon King’s penalty. The lower the hero’s Level was, the
weaker the Demon King became. I was being prepared to assassinate Demon
King Fedornar and begin the re-test at any time, in case it looked like
my reputation was done for or showed no signs of improving.

▷Bewildered: Student Kang Han Soo. The Demon King is not a neighborhood drum.

‘Who said anything?’

▷Headache: Please win with love and friendship like others…

“Sir Hero! Sir Hero! It’s terrible!”

In the far distance off, I caught the sight of Lanuvel, already
sobered despite guzzling down so many drinks all night, running over
while acting cute. When she had drawn near I asked, “Why? Feel like you
were submerged in formalin?”

Being so soaked in alcohol, I didn’t feel that Lanuvel’s corpse would rot even if she did die.

“Sir Hero! This isn’t the time to be spouting such incomprehensible things! Sir Sieg got a woman!”

“… Really?”

“Yes! And three at that! Isn’t it amazing?!”

It went beyond amazing and sounded like a miracle to me.

There were three people in total who were accompanying Sieg on his
adventure. Their jobs were respectively priest, archer and thief. The
three were all said to be capable beauties who were fairly well regarded
 by the kingdom’s mercenary agency. The priest was a daughter of a
famous count’s household, and the archer was an Elf who was formerly a
slave. The thief’s identity was apparently unclear.

In any case, they were said to be young and pretty.

“Really, how extraordinary.”

He was so busy getting thrashed by Alex day after day, yet when did he find women? And all three of them beauties at that?

I put my plan to kill the Demon King right away on hold. That Sieg was going on an adventure with girls?

‘Goddamn! I’m too curious!’

… But my workload ended up increasing due to Sieg’s escape. There really was no end to this charity business.

“Bloody Alex. Croaking after leaving a mess.”

Alex was troubling me even in death. He should have only sacrificed
himself if he wanted to save Hero Sieg, no? Yet he drove the palace
knight order into the abyss of death as well. As a result, the strength
of the kingdom had plummeted. There was no impact on regular soldiers
and so there was no problem with public order yet, but there was a
drastic reduction in field commanders that could be called elites. That
the kingdom’s security became poor was no surprise either.

Things would be difficult left alone as is, the reason being that the
 countless demon worshipers who directly received my commands already
knew that I was controlling the kingdom from the shadows. This secret
would leak not long in the future and at that time, if the kingdom’s
situation wasn’t good, a fatal blow would be dealt to my reputation and
character scores. Even though it was a mess enough as it was because of
the flood!

As of now, I had no mind to spare for Sieg’s adventure.

“I have to turn the demon worshipers into military strength.”

In this fantasy world, your Level and Skill would be greater the more
 evil you were, as your EXP and Skill proficiency would rise upon
killing others. Demon worshipers were no exception to this. There were
some who were deeply involved in political and commercial circles, and
there were even armed forces in the 1st Playthrough that were powerful
enough to wipe the Dumpling Kingdom off the map.

The Dark Knight Order. Those associated were not only present in
kingdoms, but scattered across everywhere in the continents. A group
made up of the most elite, talented orphans secretly taken in and forged
 through harsh training.

The Dark Knight Order was also here in the Dumpling Kingdom, but it
would take 3 more years if they were to surpass the palace knight order
and grow powerful enough to overthrow the kingdom. This was because the
B-rank demon was leading their movement, but if an SS-rank individual
like me stepped up, it would be as easy as I had dealt with the Elf
King.

“Sir Hero! Sir Hero!”

Lanuvel stuck to me like gum, chirping by the side.

“What now?”

“Aren’t you going to follow after Sieg?”

“You, are you nuts? What about my reputation and the kingdom? It
should originally have been Sieg and not me supporting the kingdom.
Since Alex died because of him, he should have taken that responsibility
 as well. This impudent punk went off on a journey with girls.”

His personality was trash-level, and yet Sieg was worthy of an
A-grade in character? It was dubious whether the teaching staff were
sane.

▷Vindication: The candidate is not neglecting his responsibilities
and escaping from reality. He wants to grow strong through adventuring
and repay the debt of his lif…

‘And who’ll defend the kingdom until then?’

▷Quiet: We must pray that he becomes strong quickly…

It was sloppy. Much too careless.

At present, this kingdom would become a scene of hell if even a
single Level 400 demon were to invade. The Dumpling King and the two
princes would meet their deaths within instants, while the queen and
princess would be reduced to the playthings of countless demons.

Even now, as long as I was willing, I could usurp the crown without
lifting even a finger. The demon worshipers were already completely in
full control of this kingdom; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say
there wasn’t a place that my influence didn’t reach here. This peace
wasn’t just made out of nothing.

▷Frustrated: Student Kang Han Soo. Please do not always look at
reality too negatively. What makes us happy is not the circumstances we
come across, but the nature of our soul. Try embracing dreams and hopes
deep in your heart. You will then become capable of moving forward even
amidst adversity.

‘That’s what you call escaping from reality, though?’

I knew well what Professor Morals was trying to say. Sieg held the
dream and hope that the kingdom would remain safe until he completed his
 growth. He was only chasing after the obscure future without looking at
 the present. Hah! Wasn’t he a complete gambler? But I was different.

I was going to face the present head on and lead the future. This was why I had prepared this occasion.

“The palace knight order has become nothing but an empty name. My friends, you all are the kingdom’s future from now on.”

“…”

“… Gulp.”

Lined up before me were 300 young men and women. Although they were
still greenhorns that stunk of milk, within 3 years they would transform
 into bloodthirsty killers who would plunge this kingdom into shock and
fear. They were merely laughable as of now, though.

▷Race: Human
▷Level: 117
▷Job: Warrior(War→Stamina↑)
▷Skills: Assassinate(B) Endurance(C) Stamina(D) Fighting SKill(E) Dark Energy(F)…
▷Condition: Uneasy, Nervous

A set of Skills only emphasized for combat. Even those ranks were at a
 standard hard to achieve around that age. Approximately 10,000 children
 had been thrown into a murderous training scheme akin to a heartless
war, and 300 of them remained at the end. The way they were trained
wasn’t as sane as Alex’s methods. They were the products made by
grinding people.

It still wasn’t the end. According to the plan, they would keep at it
 for 3 more years. 200 of them would drop out of the competition and
only 100 would remain until the end. Only 1% of the original 10,000
would survive. Even the efficiency of this training method was dubious,
and that was why I had put a halt to it.

“I will give a chance to you all who do not even have a proper name!
Grow strong and find your name yourselves! Because I will show you the
way.”

I activated Dark Energy(SS), a power of the highest level on another
league from the B-rank demon’s! The barbarians of this world called this
 a ‘demon’s contract’.

Fwaah-!

The energy of darkness unleashed from my body disappeared from sight
as it was evenly absorbed by the 300 young men and women. There was an
immediate change to their Status.

▷Race: Dark Human
▷Level: 117
▷Job: Champion(Crisis→Fighting Skill↑)
▷Skills: Assassinate(B) Dark Energy(C) Endurance(C) Stamina(D) Fighting Skill(E)…
▷Condition: Alteration, Blind Faith, Jubilation

Race, Job, Skill, Condition. Everything had changed apart from their
Level, and their looks as well; the color of their hair and eyes which
had been diverse, as becoming of fantasy world natives, had turned a
uniform black. Upon closer observation, some kind of protrusion had
appeared above the outer edges of their ears. Horns had only partly
grown, as they weren’t pure demons. Even so, however, their physical
bodies had become superior to that of pure humans. Their racial
advantage had changed.

“You all have been reborn. Do you believe in me?”

“I do!”

“I believe!”

Their responses were satisfying. They differed from the ordinary
knight who disregarded training for the sake of honor and keeping up
appearances, and only chased after the skirts of maidens. These men and
women had no EXP perk like a hero, and yet they had managed to achieve
this much growth. It wouldn’t do for me to not grant them an adequate
reward for this. It was time to reveal my 1st Playthrough knowledge.

“From now on, I will let all of you know of the hunting grounds that
suit you. The time limit is one month. Reach Level 200 with the resolve
to die. Ah! But don’t be disheartened even if you fail. The weak will be
 given tasks befitting of the weak. Go!”

“Platoon 1, depart!”

“Platoon 2, prepare!”

“Platoon 3, standby!”

The future Dark Knight Order moved in perfect order. They would
develop and clean up the mess that Alex and Sieg had shat out, and then
let me embrace a positive reputation.

A month to go. My schedule would be a bit tough, but this much was
enough to focus on raising the Dark Knight Order while residing in the
kingdom.

After this matter, I planned on also leaving the kingdom and
journeying across the continents. I was going to build up achievements
while being careful of my character being called into question, whereas
for my reputation I was going to gradually expand it using this kingdom
as the base.

‘Ullullu.’

Investigating his destination would be the goal of the journey. If
things still didn’t look good though, I would only have to go take down
the Demon King right away. There was no need to be impatien…

“Sir Hero! You’re really amazing!”

Lanuvel, who had been quietly watching by the side, flattered me foolishly.

“What about me?”

“The air around Sir Hero was so fearsome that I thought you were Demon King Fedornar’s incarnation! Your acting is outstanding!”

“… Hey, Lanuvel.”

“Yes?”

“Have you even seen the Demon King before?”

I had met with the top dog with my life on the line twice, though.

“Eh… No. I haven’t.”

“Don’t wag your tongue then! It’s always daft fools like you who
spread groundless speculations and ruin the reputation of others! Put a
sock in it while I’m speaking foul and not killing you!”

“Aww…”

I couldn’t wrap my head around my reputation in the 2nd Playthrough, no matter how I thought about it.

I had massacred the demons back then—what I hunted weren’t any old
living fossils—and yet my reputation dropped instead of rising. That…
was proof that 2nd Playthrough Lanuvel didn’t do her work properly.
Thus, I had to consider another measure to take. I tried imagining my
current grades:

1) Combat Ability: Don’t care.
2) Achievement: Let’s kill the Elf King again!
3) Reputation: Meltdown imminent.
4) Character: No problem.

The most urgent matter was to recover my reputation which had gone to
 the dogs after hunting Ullullu. A 4th Playthrough would be guaranteed
if something wasn’t done about this. I had a rather excellent plan in
mind, however—the demon worshipers. They were scattered everywhere
across the continents. I intended on rallying the whole lot of them and
have them promote the public opinion of me into saying, “Sir Hero Kang
Han Soo! You’re the best!”

It was easy to fool the idiotic barbarians of this world.

“It’s perfect.”

The Dumpling Kingdom would be the first step to accomplishing this.

\*
\*
\*

2 months had passed in the blink of an eye.

My perfect plan had proceeded without a hitch. The entire members of
the Dark Knight Order had really reached over Level 200. The number of
members who had drawn close to Level 300 weren’t few either.

At the same time, the small harem Sieg had formed had grown as well,
but I couldn’t help feeling frustrated every time I received a report
about them.

“To comfort the loneliness of a grandma living alone whose husband
and children have passed away, staying at her home for two days while
doing the cleaning, cooking, laundry and so on, just what…?”

Was it that heroes had to pay mind to the welfare of the elderly?

Sieg’s adventure was a bizarre one. Most of what he did was welfare
activities which anyone could do even if they weren’t a hero. Cases of
him behaving abnormally, saving the EXP that he took down with effort,
weren’t few either. Thanks to that, the growth of Sieg’s party was at a
despairing level.

Hero B: Level 125 → Level 124
Priest A: Level 56 → Level 73
Archer A: Level 245 → Level 247
Thief A: Level 118 → Level 125

It was a surprising magical feat, setting off on an adventure and
becoming weaker! Sieg was showing a miraculous rate of development where
 his Level was falling despite having received a hero’s EXP 500% perk.

I could deny it no longer—Sieg was definitely a masochist. Priest A
having made a jump in growth while healing Hero B was proof of it.

“Sir Hero, are you worrying about Sieg again? I think my esteemed hero is too kind-hearted~𝅘𝅥𝅮”

“BuBu…!?”

Aqua spoke while using a spear to stab the throat of a Level 615 Orc chieftain.

“Aqua! Aqua! Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Not this time as well because of the awesome Sir Hero~𝅘𝅥𝅮”

“… I see.”

Behind Aqua was Saintess A, who had been in an ill mood the entire
journey. She had insisted on chasing after us, even though I had told
her there was no need for her to follow. The purpose of this journey was
 to find Ullullu’s destination, and around half a month had now passed
since its beginning.

Hero A: Level 750 → Level 751
Scholar A: Level 200 → Level 352
Heroine A: Level 236 → Level 537
Saintess A: Level 124 → Level 124

I had taken note of Sieg’s adventure and was raising these muppets on my back.

‘Professor Morals, are you looking at this? Please include this well in my character and reputation scores.’

“Sir Hero! Lanuvel is way too tired!”

Lanuvel sunk to her knees in the grass.

‘… This kid is testing this gentle hero.’

“Get up right now! Spineless kids like you will only come to their
senses after being caught and subjected to some physical talk! Do you
wanna experience it that much?”

“Eek?!”

In any case, things were going extremely smooth.