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“By the way, that guy has quite a gap between his appearance in battle and in everyday life.”

In the shadow of the backyard castle wall where they had been fighting, a huge direwolf was yawning lazily.

It was Tassid’s pet, the Black King. The old wolf was dozing off, looking at them with eyes that seemed to say, “Good, it looks like you still have plenty of energy in your prime.” Looking at him like this, he just seemed like an old dog nearing his end, not at all like the fearsome ruler of Deathland.

Tassid blushed slightly.

“It’s embarrassing. He must be quite lazy usually.”

“But he transforms into a monster the moment he enters battle, truly an impressive wolf.”

The two shared light-hearted jokes as they took a break. Suddenly, Tassid spoke to Russ.

“Hey, show me that aura thing one more time.”

“Like this?”

Buzz!

A brilliant green blade aura enveloped Russ’s longsword. Tassid inspected the longsword from various angles, mumbling to himself.

“Hmm, I think I understand. It seems like I could do it too, if only…”

Since becoming friends with Russ, Tassid had been subtly burning with competitiveness. Tassid, already a warrior boasting the third strongest skills in the Blue Bear Tribe, felt a desire to learn the aura technique seeing someone around his age like Russ wielding it.

Though he had repeatedly crossed swords with Russ and felt something tickling inside him, he still couldn’t quite grasp it. Tassid clicked his tongue in disappointment.

“Ah, perhaps I need more time to receive the blessing of Debata.”

“Probably, it usually takes decades, you know.”

“You shouldn’t be the one saying that.”

Tassid teased Russ, who was already freely using aura in his twenties. Then, giving up, he stretched and yawned.

“Yawn, maybe I need to be at least ten years old?”

“Ahem!”

Russ coughed awkwardly. He had heard that Tassid was nine years old, but it still felt strange every time he remembered. Tassid pouted in displeasure.

“Why that face again? In our racial age, we’re the same age.”

“I know, but still.”

The growth system of orcs was different from that of humans, so Tassid’s current racial age should be considered similar to Russ’s, in his late twenties. Orcs reached adolescence in just five years, equivalent to reaching their mid-twenties as humans, and then aged slowly. It was no exaggeration to say that orcs were born for battle.

‘Yeah, I know it in my head, but still, I just can’t get used to it…’

Scratching his head, Russ got up.

“Since we’ve rested enough, shall we go at it again?”

“Sounds good!”

Tassid also grabbed his true blade and sprang up. The two clashed once more, letting out loud shouts.

“Taah!”

“Kraaah!”

* * *

From the second-floor balcony of Antares Ducal Castle, a girl was looking down at the backyard. It was Siris, an elf girl with platinum blonde hair and brown skin. She was dressed in neat casual clothes, resting her chin in her hand as she watched the sweaty duel of the two men with great interest.

“They’re all so dedicated.”

It wasn’t just Russ and Tassid. Not far off, Sillan was diligently doing squats for his daily workout. Siris, being a young girl, couldn’t help but feel pleased watching men in their prime sweating and moving passionately.

“Miss Tilla is also earnestly carrying out her duties.”

In another area visible from the balcony, a young man and woman were walking in a small garden connected by a corridor. The dwarf maiden Tilla and a young man with black hair and brown eyes of an ordinary appearance were strolling together.

The young man walking with Tilla suddenly flinched as he saw his reflection in the pond’s surface. He touched his face and murmured to himself.

“Hmm, I still can’t get used to this face.”

The young man was Carsus, who had been captured by Repenhardt and brought here. Repenhardt had used magic to change his appearance to hide his identity. Compared to his original face, his attractiveness had significantly decreased, but considering he had traded it for his life, it wasn’t something to be overly upset about.

Having saved Carsus’s life and hidden his identity, Repenhardt had made no demands of him. He had merely assigned Tilla to watch over him and allowed him to roam freely within the castle.

Considering the treatment given to a former enemy, it did seem excessively generous. However, it wasn’t likely to cause any problems. For now, Carsus had no place to go even if he wanted to leave the castle. Besides, Tilla’s skills were nothing to scoff at. No matter how strong Carsus was, it was impossible for him to overpower Tilla while unarmed.

Perhaps understanding this, Carsus showed no signs of rebellion. He was a knight who knew honor and adhered well to the etiquette expected of a prisoner. He might have been curious about why he was saved, but he patiently waited and simply enjoyed the small freedom given to him.

“The weather has become quite warm.”

“It’s almost summer, Mr. Carsus.”

“Aren’t you tired of always having to watch me, Miss Tilla?”

“I’m probably the second most idle person in this castle.”

“Hmm? And who is the first?”

“Well, someone who’s probably still sleeping up there even though the sun is high in the sky?”

Despite the considerable distance, Siris could hear Tilla and Carsus’s conversation perfectly with her exceptional elven hearing. At Tilla’s playful gesture, Siris frowned and turned around.

“Ugh…”

Tilla’s words were entirely accurate. While everyone else was spending their time diligently, there was only one person lazily slacking off.

That person was currently still curled up in bed, avoiding the sunlight. Siris walked briskly over and yanked the blanket away, shouting.

“Ugh, Lord Repenhardt! You’re going to get fat like this!”

As the blanket was pulled away, a large, muscular figure was revealed. It was Repenhardt, the Fist King, and ruler of Duchy of Antares.

With sleep still in his eyes, Repenhardt grinned at Siris.

“It’d be nice if my body were normal enough to gain fat just from lying around for a few days.”

It had been over twenty days since Repenhardt and his group had arrived here. For the first ten days, Repenhardt had been very active. He gathered the various races, divided the land, established laws, and even led his forces to explore Dungeon Chloe, effectively taking control of the dungeon’s system and activating the space portal. It had been a really busy period for him.

However, after that, he had nothing to do. Usually, when a lord is newly appointed to a territory, there is a mountain of work to be done. But since this territory originally had few human inhabitants, there wasn’t much to manage. Moreover, Repenhardt granted full autonomy to each of the different races, allowing them to act independently. Instead of commanding as a king to his subjects, he merely provided advice as an ally. While this seemed ideal in principle, knowing the full context, it also meant he had shifted all the complicated tasks onto them.

After handling everything within the first ten days, he truly found himself with nothing to do. As a result, he became completely lazy! He slept in every day and started skipping his daily martial arts training and magic practice bit by bit. At first, Siris thought, ‘He’s been working so hard, he deserves a break,’ and let it slide. But soon enough, she couldn’t ignore it any longer.

“Yawn~!”

Repenhardt stretched languidly. Just as he had said, his body still boasted perfect steel-like muscles. The rigorous training from Gym Unbreakable had made his body impervious to a few days of laziness.

“Still! How can a warrior skip his daily training?”

“I’m a magician…”

“How can a magician skip his daily meditation?”

“Well, when you put it that way, I don’t have a retort…”

Unable to withstand her nagging, Repenhardt eventually crawled out of bed, lumbering like a bear emerging from hibernation. Clicking her tongue, Siris led him to the balcony.

“Wake up already!”

Grumbling, Repenhardt glanced at Siris.

‘Why is it that she never accepts my feelings, but when it comes to nagging, she shows her old self?’

It was unfair! It was unreasonable! Repenhardt grumbled inwardly.

“Breakfast is ready. Even if you have no appetite, at least drink some tea.”

A splendid meal had been laid out on the balcony. Repenhardt’s expression immediately brightened. Despite her constant scolding, Siris was diligently taking care of him.

‘Ah, this lovely girl!’

With her arms crossed and feigning indifference, Siris mumbled curtly.

“Eat before it gets cold.”

Repenhardt quickly sat down, grabbing the fork and knife.

“Okay! Thanks for the meal!”

He was indeed the very unprincipled former Demon King.

* * *

On the table set on the balcony, there were thick loaves of bread, fresh vegetables, and a whole, perfectly roasted piglet. It was an overly extravagant feast for breakfast, but for Repenhardt in his current state, it was quite modest.

Grabbing a leg of the pig and chewing it, Repenhardt asked, “Did you prepare all this yourself, Siris?”

“Yes,” she replied.

“Then what about the maids?”

Repenhardt briefly frowned, wondering if the maids had perhaps dumped the work on Siris because she was an elf. But he quickly relaxed his expression.

‘No way, that wouldn’t happen.’

The power of the multi-racial warriors led by the Fist King was well-known throughout the Crovence Kingdom. The human servants currently working in the White King Castle had seen these warriors with their own eyes and were in awe of them. None of the humans in the Duchy of Antares still harbored the illusion that non-humans were merely slaves.

‘Well, considering the humans in the duchy, there are only about twenty servants in this castle.’

It seemed that Siris had voluntarily prepared the meal. She sat next to Repenhardt, grumbling.

“Everyone is busy with their own work. Not everyone is lounging around pathetically like someone I know. Besides, it’s not mealtime, so it would be rude to ask them to prepare food.”

She tore a small piece of bread and chewed it, glaring at Repenhardt. Having waited to eat with him, she hadn’t had her breakfast either. Repenhardt felt a bit embarrassed as he glanced at the position of the sun outside.

Indeed, he had slept in far too late. Should this meal be called breakfast or lunch?

Even so, true to his nature as a magician with only a quick tongue, Repenhardt began mumbling excuses.

“In the Kingdom of Hallein, there’s this new cultural trend called brunch where people eat like this…”

“Eating meals late is a trend? Don’t use trends as an excuse for your laziness!” Siris retorted sharply.

At her pointed remark, Repenhardt shrank back and diligently tore into the pig leg.

‘Have I really been slacking off too much?’

Indeed, even he thought he had been overly lazy these past few days. It had been a long time since he had some leisure time, and the joy of finally achieving something had caused him to let his guard down.

“Well, it seems things have stabilized here, so it’s time to get moving.”

He muttered as he gulped down an entire chunk of bread.

The Blue Bear Tribe had completed their migration and established a new settlement. The Dahnhaim warriors, led by Relhard, were exploring the forest and selecting suitable sites for villages. The dwarves who originally lived here were also setting up new bases with the help of the Grand Forge dwarves.

Repenhardt had stayed at the White King Castle in case of any unexpected incidents, but fortunately, everything had been progressing smoothly. At this point, everything would naturally run even without him.

Siris, tilting her head, poured some diluted wine for him.

“Move? Where to?”

“To find a fragment of the World Tree to plant in the Elven Forest. The closest one is probably the Azure Sky Staff, Jerunting.”

“Jerunting? Is it like the Demon Palace Nihillen?”

“Similar. It’s also a relic of Elvenheim that fully retains the essence of the World Tree.”