Inheriting the Novel

The Value of a Hero (1)

As soon as I descended Mount Tylaris, I immediately headed for Shioten, the capital of Talua.

After all, I needed to report to the king that I had become one of the Seven Heroes.

Since the Seven Heroes Convocation had just ended, all the Magic Towers had restarted their operations, so the return trip was quick.

When I arrived at the gates of Shioten, the knights standing guard seemed to spot me and hurriedly saluted.

“Gasp! W-welcome back, Count Vanhart!”

“We’ve been eagerly counting the days until your return!”

Startled, I flinched for a moment at the overwhelming display of respect from the knight, who stood to attention and shouted loudly. I had been to the capital several times before, but I’d never seen such an extremely formal welcome.

“I’ve heard the rumors! Congratulations on becoming one of the new Seven Heroes!”

“Ah, well. I was just lucky.”

“No, sir! To become one of the Seven Heroes at such a young age, you’re truly the pride of the kingdom. I… if it’s not too much trouble, may I shake your hand…?”

Checking the profile of the knight whose eyes sparkled, I noticed he wasn’t much older or younger than me.

It felt nice, yet also strange, to be looked at this way by someone my own age.

No, thinking about it, maybe it was precisely because we were close in age that he was reacting like this.

“Sure.”

“Thank you!”

It felt a little embarrassing, but rejecting him seemed worse, so I gave him a handshake, at which he jumped for joy. The other knights watching him began to glance at me and edged closer.

Since I could already guess what they wanted, I spoke up first.

“Then, is it alright for me to enter now?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. That… would you mind waiting just a moment?”

“A moment? Is there some new procedure now?”

“No, it’s not that…”

Hearing the uncertainty in the knight’s trailing words, I nodded.

I wasn’t in a hurry, so waiting a bit was no big deal.

“Alright. I’ll wait.”

“Th-thank you! Please wait just a little!”

A few knights rushed off somewhere, but quite some time passed before they returned.

‘Did something happen inside the capital?’

I waited with that thought, then soon enough, the knights came back.

With them was an exceptionally ornate carriage.

“Count Vanhart, please board the carriage.”

Warily, I wondered if Duke Gale was scheming something again, but I climbed into the carriage anyway.

“…!”

But as soon as the carriage entered the bounds of Shioten, any other thoughts vanished from my mind.

Because before my eyes was a massive crowd.

“It’s Count Vanhart!”

At that single cry, the throng surged toward the carriage I was riding.

If not for the lined-up knights, the crowd looked ready to swarm the carriage.

“Hooray for Count Vanhart!”

“The conqueror of the South, the pillar of the kingdom!”

“Please, just look this way once!”

I could only stand bewildered by the unexpected cheers from the crowd.

But there was one thing that puzzled me even more.

I noticed several people outside the carriage looked quite gaunt and haggard.

“These are people who’ve stayed here, waiting in anticipation for your return, my lord.”

“What?”

The coachman, driving the carriage, spoke loudly enough for me to hear.

“You are the hero of our kingdom, are you not? Naturally, they wanted to see you before anyone else.”

I found myself at a loss for words at the coachman’s explanation.

‘Even when I became a war hero, it wasn’t like this.’

I’d saved the kingdom from crisis a few times, but I’d never experienced anything like this.

Is this the difference between an ordinary hero and one of the Seven Heroes?

[Wow, that’s amazing. You really made it, huh?]

‘Yeah, I did.’

For a fallen heir to the House of the Count like me to receive such a welcome—it was hard to believe.

Pushed through the crowd by the carriage—and thanks to the escort of the knights—I reached the palace without incident.

“His Majesty is inside.”

The knights who met my eyes seemed stunned, staring at me with looks of adoration.

At first, I felt quite proud, but as it happened repeatedly, it became hard to describe how I felt.

“I’ve been waiting, Count Vanhart.”

When I entered the audience chamber, King Leogart stood up and greeted me warmly.

Last time I saw him, his face had been full of worries, but now it almost seemed to glow.

“What a blessing for the kingdom! You can’t imagine how glad I am to have you with us.”

“I am unworthy of your praise.”

“Unworthy? If you weren’t here, I can’t even imagine what would have become of us.”

Before I could even properly greet him, the king kept talking, leaving me standing there awkwardly.

When I tried to kneel to pay my respects, King Leogart seemed startled and stopped me.

“As a Seven Hero, and as the hero who saved the kingdom, your knees shouldn’t touch the floor lightly, Count.”

He said so and patted me on the shoulder.

“I almost worry that Talua is too small to hold someone like you. So, how are things these days with Princess Riya of Asktalin?”

The king subtly pried about my relationship with Riya.

Clearly, he was worried I might run off to the empire.

“Her Highness Princess Riya of Asktalin said she had matters in the empire and has already returned home.”

“I see, is that so.”

Leogart’s face brightened at the news that Riya was gone. With Riya’s presence being so significant, that was only natural.

“Count, if you wish, I’d like to hold a grand banquet in the palace in your honor. How about it?”

Him asking my opinion about things he would usually do on his own reminded me once again of the stature that comes with being called a Seven Hero.

So I decided to be a little more brazen.

“Your Majesty, my apologies, but could we postpone the banquet?”

“Oh? Is something the matter?”

“I’ve been away from my domain for too long. There are many matters I’ve postponed—I need to return quickly.”

“I see. I understand, Count.”

The king genuinely looked disappointed.

But I really had no intention of attending the banquet.

‘It’s a waste of time—and I could get ensnared in something unnecessary.’

King Leogart might be worried I’d get together with Riya and leave for the empire.

So he’d want to pair me with a kingdom noble as soon as possible. He might even use one of his princesses.

‘Besides…’

I glanced around.

There were other powerful nobles gathered in the audience hall besides King Leogart.

Some of them looked at me with admiration, like the knights, but the majority did not.

They were wary of me, who was, for all intents and purposes, the new center of power.

‘I don’t have time to care about pointless power struggles.’

If I wanted, there was nothing stopping me from rising even higher.

But I had neither the desire nor the time for that.

Above all, it was just bothersome.

[You can clear that away any time.]

‘That’s true.’

King Leogart looked at me, standing quietly, with a face that seemed ready to give me anything.

“But, for one who has accomplished so much, I can’t let you go unrewarded. Is there anything you want? As long as it’s within my power, I’ll grant it. If you wish to become a marquis, I’ll do so.”

At the mention of marquis, there was a small stir among the nobles nearby.

“No, that’s alright. Lately, I’ve already received far more than I deserve, so I desire no special reward.”

“Hm? You don’t want any reward?”

“Yes. I’m satisfied just having helped the kingdom.”

I’d already squeezed out everything I could get.

Anything I received from now on would only be a debt.

I believed I’d sufficiently honored Count Ribina as well.

“All I want right now is to return to my domain as soon as possible.”

At those words, the king could no longer keep me.

* * *

“Young master! Welcome home!”

When I returned to the House of the Count, as expected, Monet came running out to greet me first.

“I heard the news! You’ve become one of the Seven Heroes, right?”

“Yes.”

“A-amazing! You’re just like a hero from a story!”

Monet bounced excitedly, eyes shining.

Seeing Monet so excited, Dorian, who stood beside her, cleared his throat.

“Count, you were traveling so busily that Monet must have been especially happy to see you.”

“I… plan to stay in the domain for a while now. Thank you for all your hard work while I was away.”

Hearing Dorian’s words, I couldn’t help but flinch.

Even if it was because of the calamity or the Seven Swords Under Heaven, as a lord, I’d left my domain unattended for far too long.

“Heh, it was nothing. Lady Maria was the one who managed the domain all this time.”

With Riya absent as well, it seemed Maria had, for all intents and purposes, been managing everything alone.

Though the workload was far too much for one person, Maria put her remarkable ability to full use and ran the domain perfectly.

“To be honest, the domain runs better when you’re gone, Count.”

“Ahem, ahem.”

There was no retort for that.

It’s not that I’m incapable, but when it comes to managing money or people, few can match Maria.

Maybe only Riya could be considered a rival to Maria.

“Anyway, I think you should hurry to see Lady Maria.”

“Huh? Did something happen?”

“That’s…?”

Dorian trailed off, wearing an ambiguous smile.

I understood why only ten minutes later.

“Welcome… back, Clay. I really waited for you.”

When I entered the lord’s chambers, I saw a mountain of documents—and the small form buried among them.

Soft pink-blonde hair peeked out from between the stacks of papers.

“W-what is all this?”

“It’s all because of what you did recently.”

Maria sighed, poking her face from between the documents.

“We have to build waterways, and you sent out official letters to recruit new knights, remember?”

“I did.”

“It’s hard enough to do them one by one, but you tried to do everything at once…”

I had no words.

I’d just thought about doing everything at once for efficiency, but I hadn’t expected it to be quite this much.

‘Well, building waterways is never simple…’

My mind had been caught up with the Seven Heroes Convocation, and I took things too lightly.

“Congratulations on becoming one of the Seven Heroes. But thanks to that, it seems the work has doubled.”

“Doubled?”

I asked with a puzzled face, and Maria pointed at the mountain of documents.

“These are all applications from people who want to become knights or soldiers in Vanhart territory. And besides the paperwork, many have come directly to the domain.”

Maria let out a faint sigh.

“At least, the good thing is that with so many visitors, the domain is full of vigor.”

“…Are all these really applicants?”

“Yes. I’ve already looked through and sorted the documents. Please review and reply when you can, Clay.”

“Alright. You really went through a lot, Maria.”

“Hmph. Thank you, even if it’s just empty flattery.”

Maria replied in a rather aloof tone—unusual for her.

She must have been truly worn out by all the work, maybe a bit irritated, too.

“Was there anything else special that happened?”

“There was.”

“I see… Huh? There was?”

“Yes.”

Maria replied curtly and looked out the window.

At that moment—

KWAANG!

“What’s this?!”

As I placed my hand on my sword and stepped to the window, Maria sighed and tugged on my sleeve.

“You really do gather all the oddballs, don’t you?”

“Oddballs…? Don’t tell me…”

At her words, a thought struck me.

That explosive noise just now wasn’t an ordinary bang.

It was the sound created when enormous magic power collided with equally great magic power.

“Was it Kisea and Teo?”

“I believe those were the names. And…”

Fwoooom!

A great gust of wind shook the window frame.

Having my suspicions, I looked to Maria to read her mood.

She looked out at the darkening sky with an expression of disbelief and muttered.

“How in the world did you even pick up a dragon?”

This time, I, too, had nothing to say.