Son of the Hero King

After he finished informing the Dukes about his plans, Sol found himself once again alone with Milia.

“Do you think I am wrong?”

“Whether you are right or wrong does not matter now. A king's words cannot be taken back. Otherwise, he would lose all respect. Our job is to make sure your vision sees the light and to take care of anything that will stand in between.”

Milia looked up at Sol sitting on his throne with a fervent gaze. Her loyalty for the young prince knew no bounds and she would sooner kill everyone than let someone stop him from accomplishing his dream.

Of course, she knew that she couldn’t just be a Yes woman.

“The situation of Lustburg is very unstable currently and executing even more nobles will make the situation even more complicated.”

“I know. But this is the result of stagnation. There has been no major change in the Nobility since my great-grandfather. This led many nobles to see themselves as superior beings. This cannot continue.”

Sol ultimate main goal currently was the conquest of the world. But this didn’t just stop at the military.

A true conquest involved control over all states and for that, competent subordinates were necessary.

“With the Royal examination, I will be able to pump some new blood; By the time they are ready, they will be working on a much bigger scale. As for the current war, it’s perfect to take some of Wrathari's territory under our control. Once we beat Wratharis, others will be a little warier but it doesn’t matter.”

His plan was pretty simple. Conquer wratharis and make it a vassal state. Use the land to reward the new nobles. Take the lands from old nobles as rewards for a select few he wants to have in his faction and completely reshuffles the order in Lustburg.

This was going to be long works so he needed very competent subordinates.

“How's the situation with Isis?”

“We are testing the new implementation. But many workers admit being uncomfortable working with the undead.”

“Don’t need to tell them they are undead. Say they are holy warriors or something of the like. Either way, her undead are clad in armor and holy energy so no one can guess without being told. Is there any other problem?”

“The undead shine greatly when used for simple labor. But their self-awareness seems relatively small. I doubt we can use them for the administration. The King-ranked undead is stronger and more self-aware. Able to think and act by themselves but from what she said, since they are not natural undead, she needs to constantly use her energy to keep them activated.”

“I see. I guess this is too bad. We will have to wait until she becomes a Kind rank to see the result.”

Milia gave a rueful smile. Clearly, in Sol’s eyes, the king rank was just a mere formality for Isis. Then again she couldn’t say much against this. Simply being able to use the King rank undead made a difference in power so clear it was startling.

Isis was in a completely different level and the same went for Sol.

Milia sighed. In her case, she did not feel much inferiority. She knew very well that Sol still needed her. But, the image of a blue-haired wolf flashed in her mind

‘I wonder if she is alright.’

—--

Setsuna was not alright.

The speech Sol had just given had been transmitted in all Lustburg and of course, the Capital was no exception.

War against Wratharis was becoming a reality.

Her people would bleed and die, her kingdom would suffer. All that, because of a usurper. A tyrant without honor. A man who should have never obtained the mantle of King.

No matter how she looked at it. Wratharis had absolutely no reason to fight Lustburg right now.

It was nothing more than a desire for conquest or petty vanity.

“Damn this…”

Thunder roared alongside Setsuna as she swung her sword, creating a clear path.

But the weight on her heart could not vanish with just this.

She hated her own powerlessness more than anyone.

‘In the end, what do I truly want?’

She was lost and confused. Her sword moved but her mind was not with it.

“Stop.”

Setsuna stopped moving her sword. Her head was covered in perspiration and her chest heaved up with difficulty.

She had been swinging her swords for hours now and it was showing.

“I am not much of a swordsman but I know those attacks were lacking.”

Kali, unfortunately back to her maid attire rose an eyebrow as she spoke to Setsuna.

“I guess you are distracted now.”

“I am sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s understandable. Either way, we reached a plateau and the only way for you to break through it is to either awaken your blood and reach Rank S or become a Duke.”

Setsuna bit her lips. Neither of them was easy.

“Normally going back to your original race. Calamity wolf should only be possible after you become a demigod.”

Once someone becomes a demigod, they would be able to become a partial energy being and have to rearrange their body structures.

This was the ‘easiest’ and most straightforward way. But it was different for mutants like Setsuna.

“You are a rare Storm wolf. The highest possible variant of Blue wolf. So the blood of Fenrir should be pretty strong in you. All you need is something to induce it.”

That something was a great understanding of the bloodline power. By becoming more adept in handling power, one could reach greater heights.

“Don’t be mistaken Setsuna. You may be using a sword. But you are not a pure swordswoman like Lilith. Lilin understood that and found her way. Nor it’s your turn.”

Simply using the sword did not make you a true swordsman. Of course, Kali knew that using Lilith as a comparison was absurd. If the only way to be seen as a swordsman was to follow Lilith’s path, then no one else could obtain the title.

A swordsman was someone who followed the path of the sword and made everything else secondary.

“For you. The sword is secondary and elements are necessary.”

Of course, being variants like Setsuna did not assure evolution. Pandora for example was also a variant of Succubi as she was of royal blood. But she was far from becoming a True Demon.

“Well. Now I believe there is a third way.”

Setsuna rose her head in a hurry. “What do you mean?”

Kali shrugged, “You should ask your prince. I believe it’s time for you two to sign a contract. Don’t you think so?”

Kali had seen what Sold did when they were saving Lilith. Even now, she could not believe what she had witnessed.

The advent of a new race or the variant of Humanity. Like Witches. A superior race that had access to power humans did not normally have.

If witches were humans who could use magic as easily as some divine beasts, then Lilith's new races were humans whose physical bodies were not inferior to divine beasts.

It had been jaw-dropping. Sol had said that he could not do something like this again since he didn’t have divinity. But this also meant that once he officially became a demigod, he might be even more terrifying.

“So, what do you think? Gonna sign your contract?”

Setsuna clenched her fists, “I…This has always been my dream.”

She had dedicated her sword and her life to Sol long ago. So signing a contract with him would be a dream come true.

But,

“Does he even still want me?”

Isis was so much more superior. Her chance of becoming a Rank S in quality were low. But Isis was beyond that. Wouldn’t taking a more divine beast as a contract be more useful than her weak self?

“I mean…If you are curious why don’t you just go ask him?”

“It…It isn’t easy.”

If there was something that Kali hated more than anything, it was extended drama born from a misunderstanding;

“It is. You are just too scared to do it.”

Kali shrugged, “We will stop here.”

Kali waved her hand as she walked away, “My advice is. Take Sol for some time outside. Have fun or something and ask him. You two need to spend more time together anyway. Don’t you think so?”

Now alone in the garden when she trained. Setsuna gazed at the sky thoughtfully.

Whether she was too weak or not, worrying endlessly alone would not change her situation and in fact, might make it worse.

She clenched her fists a few moments before nodding,

“Let’s do it today.”

Setsuna gathered her courage and moved toward the interior of the tower. This time she planned to make clear her current situation with Sol.

But first…She had to take a bath.