Chapter 15

Chapter 15. The First Hero (9)

“Did you not get enough sleep? Your eyes look unfocused. Well, you only slept for about two hours, so I guess that makes sense.”

“N, no. On behalf of the villagers of the Terk Kingdom, thank you very much!”

“That much is obvious. More importantly, are you going back to your village or not?”

Kim Seongchan cut off Taylor’s emotional moment.

The Wild Pigs may have been a disaster to the villagers, but compared to the disasters that were coming in the future, they were only a small problem.

We have to prepare for them one by one and overcome them. We can’t be satisfied here, cry a little, and call it finished.

Emotions could be exhausted.

Once emotions were spent, they were difficult to recover.

This was not the time to celebrate.

This was the time to calmly prepare for what came next.

Kim Seongchan was the only one who knew the future, which was why he could speak so firmly.

And he had to speak this firmly if he wanted to draw out the answer he wanted from Taylor.

“I don’t know.”

That was the answer Kim Seongchan wanted.

Now, he only needed to give Taylor a clear goal.

“If you don’t know, then unite all the nearby villages. Make it true when you said you were speaking on behalf of the villages.”

“Do you even understand what you’re saying?!”

Kosdal, who had been silently listening, suddenly reacted.

Lee Naye flinched at Kosdal’s shout.

Taylor, who had already been worried about how he could possibly unite all the villages, also jumped in surprise.

No one here knew what Kosdal was thinking.

No one except Kim Seongchan.

“It’s not like I’m telling him to start a rebellion. Aren’t you reacting a little too strongly?”

“That’s practically what you’re saying!”

“You’re overreacting. Isn’t it safer for them to stay together rather than apart? They could also help each other when the Terk Kingdom can’t help them.”

“Who is helping whom? If anyone provides help, it will be the Terk Kingdom helping them.”

Kosdal sided with the Terk Kingdom.

By normal standards, Kosdal’s words were the kind that nobles would accept.

Kim Seongchan answered firmly.

“Like right now?”

“What do you mean by that?!”

If the Terk Kingdom had been properly managed, Kim Seongchan would never have needed to personally step forward, hunt Wild Pigs, and spread knowledge about the Butchering skill.

Because Kim Seongchan intervened, villagers who had learned the Butchering skill could now defeat Wild Pigs that normally required a well-trained soldier.

“Because the kingdom didn’t help them, I had to personally teach them the Butchering skill.”

Kim Seongchan understood why Kosdal was wary of the strength the villagers had gained through the Butchering skill.

But the Terk Kingdom should have done better in the first place.

If it had, Kim Seongchan would never have needed to get involved.

“I’m sorry. I got too excited and spoke as if I represented the villages. But telling me to unite the villages, how could I possibly do something like that?”

Taylor shook his head violently, making it clear that he thought it was impossible.

His desperate reaction had no effect on Kim Seongchan.

“Sir Kosdal made Taylor lose confidence.”

“How is that my fault?!”

“If Taylor can’t do it, I’ll do it!”

“You, Naye? You’re not even a Guild Master.”

Lee Naye blinked.

She seemed to be thinking about something.

“Did I ever tell you I belong to a guild?”

Lee Naye had talked about the wind spirit before.

From what she said, it had been possible to guess that she had obtained the spirit through a Guild Master.

And Kim Seongchan already knew that from his regression knowledge.

“You told me. You’re probably not the Guild Master though. Are you?”

“I’m not the Guild Master. I’m the Vice Guild Master...”

Lee Naye realized that she could not act completely free of her guild.

Lee Naye and Taylor both lowered their heads like people who had done something wrong.

Kosdal could not imagine that minimizing the damage from future disasters for the sake of the Terk Kingdom could also strengthen its ally, the Posit Kingdom.

That was why he reacted like this.

The one who should have been lowering his head, Kosdal, instead held it high and spoke proudly.

“They built wooden fences and can now deal with Wild Pigs on their own. This is already enough.”

“Just as Sir Kosdal said, this much is enough. Taylor.”

Taylor, who had been looking down, reacted.

His body trembled slightly.

He almost seemed afraid.

“Since you don’t know what to do, just try it. While we traveled through the villages, I already told the Village Chiefs that anyone who wanted to join forces with Tolkhan Village should move there. Try convincing the villages that weren’t persuaded.”

“So the people who left without building wooden fences were... Wait, when did you even do something like that?!”

Kosdal had found it strange that some villagers had left despite the danger.

Now that the mystery had been solved, Kosdal looked at Kim Seongchan in shock, demanding an explanation.

But Kim Seongchan was looking at Taylor, not Kosdal.

Taylor also looked curious.

“I did it when Taylor was shining the brightest, when the Village Chiefs were paying attention to him.”

“When I was shining?”

“When you were fighting the Wild Pigs. Everyone already knew Naye, but they became curious about Taylor fighting beside her. So I told them you were the Village Chief’s son from Tolkhan Village.”

When a village was being destroyed by Wild Pigs and desperately needed help, the gratitude they felt would naturally become stronger if a young man from another struggling village of the same Terk Kingdom came to help them.

“On top of that, Taylor taught them how to butcher the Wild Pigs. I also told them that once they learned the Lower Butchering skill, they would gain the strength to kill Wild Pigs themselves.”

Taylor had even taught them how to kill the Wild Pigs.

To the Village Chiefs and the villagers, Taylor had already become a symbol of hope.

Without Taylor even realizing it, Kim Seongchan had turned him into a hero among the villages settled around the Terk Kingdom.

“Uh... Are you saying I killed Wild Pigs and taught them how to kill them too?”

“That’s right.”

“Uh... well...”

Taylor staggered as if he had been struck by lightning.

He barely managed to steady himself, but he could not speak.

Taylor had been too busy following Kim Seongchan this entire time.

When Kim Seongchan told him to do something, he did it.

When he was ordered to move, he moved.

And now he had suddenly learned the truth.

It was only natural that he could not recover from the shock.

It must be hard to accept.

Kim Seongchan had simply told Taylor to follow him.

Taylor had merely done what Kim Seongchan told him.

And somehow, he had become a hero.

“You don’t want to?”

If Taylor said no, Kim Seongchan could leave it to Lee Naye.

There was no one who had helped the villagers more than Lee Naye.

However, some villages disliked Heroes and would reject her.

Even if only the villages willing to accept Lee Naye joined together, it would still create a meaningful result.

Kim Seongchan’s regression knowledge allowed him to produce results no matter the situation.

“Wouldn’t it be better for Hero Lee Naye to gather the villagers instead of me?”

“What are you saying?! Are you planning to bring in the Fist Rice Ball Guild?!”

Kosdal immediately exploded at Taylor’s attempt to escape responsibility.

Lee Naye was the Vice Guild Master of the Fist Rice Ball Guild.

The Fist Rice Ball Guild was made up of Heroes, and the people living in the villages outside the walls of the Terk Kingdom made up roughly one-third of the kingdom’s population.

Taylor had effectively suggested handing that one-third over to the Fist Rice Ball Guild.

Kosdal’s thoughts had already reached that conclusion, so it was understandable that he was angry.

No one reacted to Kosdal’s words.

“I don’t know if the guild members would follow me if I said I wanted to unite the villages. So I think Taylor should do it.”

“Even Naye is telling you to do it. What are you going to do?”

Everyone’s eyes turned toward Taylor.

Taylor struggled with the decision.

Can I really do it well?

He had no confidence.

He never expected someone to suddenly tell him to unite the villages.

He also never expected Hero Kim Seongchan to go around shamelessly praising him in every village.

Taylor had only worked hard.

That was all.

“May I ask you one thing?”

“Ask.”

“Are you asking me to do this because you think I can?”

“No.”

At Kim Seongchan’s answer, Taylor felt something drop heavily inside him.

When he looked at what had fallen, he realized it was his confidence.

He had wanted to hear the words, You can do it.

That confidence had been one of the stones supporting the tower inside his heart.

When one stone fell away, the tower of confidence began to shake.

A shadow fell over Taylor’s face.

“This isn’t about whether you can or can’t.”

Taylor looked into Kim Seongchan’s blazing eyes.

His ears focused completely on Kim Seongchan’s voice.

“I can’t do it. Sir Kosdal can’t do it. Naye can’t do it either. You’re the only one who can unite them. If you don’t do it, it won’t happen. If you decide to do it, then it can happen.”

Saying that Taylor could do it simply because he had the ability would have been wrong.

If Taylor did not act, the unification of the villages would fail.

Only Taylor could do it.

That was exactly why Kim Seongchan was asking him.

“Do you think I can do it well?”

Even after Kim Seongchan told him that he was necessary, Taylor still wanted certainty.

Kim Seongchan had placed the missing stone back into his tower of confidence.

The shaking had stopped.

But Taylor was still afraid that the tower might shake again.

“Let’s eat Wild Pig Soup.”

Kim Seongchan decided to give Taylor some time to think.

Taylor had been born as the Village Chief’s son and had spent his life desperately hunting Wild Pigs.

Now, in only ten days, he was suddenly being told that he had saved every village, had to unite all of them, and should become their Village Chief.

It was understandable that he needed time to accept it.

The answer is already decided.

Clack.

Taylor placed a bowl filled with Wild Pig Soup on the table and picked up his spoon.

Slurp.

It was delicious.

Even though he ate it every day, he never got tired of it.

If anything, it was getting better.

And because he had maintained the 20 percent increase to all stats every day, the strength now almost felt like his own.

Thanks to this strength, I accomplished things I normally wouldn’t even dare attempt.

As he repeatedly succeeded, his muscles became stronger and he could run faster.

If he pushed himself to the limit while all his stats were increased, the effort remained in his body as experience even after the stat effect disappeared.

It was also the result of using muscles and senses he had rarely used before and making an effort to understand those sensations with his body.

“It seems even more delicious than yesterday.”

“I’m trying to make it delicious, so of course it tastes good.”

“So even you put in effort, Seongchan.”

“If you keep trying, even things you couldn’t do before eventually become possible. Compared to ten days ago, you’ve become much stronger than you expected, Taylor.”

After finishing those words, Seongchan began eating his Wild Pig Soup.

Taylor could not move his spoon.

Effort.

Taylor looked at the villagers happily eating Wild Pig Soup.

They were all covered in dirt.

Their clothes and skin were stained with blood from fighting the Wild Pigs.

Yet their expressions were bright.

The people eating Wild Pig Soup were happy because they had escaped danger and hunger.

Can I do it too?

Slurp.

The rich flavor of the Wild Pig Soup filled his mouth as he swallowed.

All his stats were increased by 20 percent, and once his empty stomach was filled, even his exhaustion seemed to disappear.

“Could I become like Hero Kim Seongchan too?”

“Wake up from that dream.”

Ah.

Taylor had asked without considering the difference between himself and Hero Kim Seongchan.

Still, he wanted to become even a little like him.

“T, then what if I unite the villages?”

“Then things would be different. If you make that choice and keep working hard, you might be able to follow me a little.”

“I’ll work hard!”

“I’ll be cheering for you too!”

“Thank you! Hero Lee Naye... truly, thank you! On behalf of the villagers, if it weren’t for you, Hero Lee Naye, we never would’ve made it this far.”

At Taylor’s heartfelt thanks, Lee Naye’s expression froze for a moment.

Then it softened.

Tears gathered in Lee Naye’s eyes, and she smiled with her eyes gently curved.

Kyaooo~

As if asking why she was getting emotional over something like that, Silnyang also shed a few tiny tears made of wind.

The falling tears became wind and disappeared.

“I’ll work hard to become like Hero Kim Seongchan!”

Taylor made his decision.

He would make sure that the people living in the villages outside the walls of the Terk Kingdom could live without suffering from Wild Pigs and without going hungry.

I’ll become a cook like Hero Kim Seongchan and put smiles on people’s faces!