The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 131

Aden was a born mercenary, and mercenaries loved money.

And the large sapphire, the Tear of the Azure Sky, was worth as much as a mansion.

“Are you crazy?”

So, when Leo ate the sapphire, Aden couldn’t help but curse.

“Aaaargh! My gem!”

Unknown screamed as he watched the end of the gem he had stolen with great effort.

Aden felt the same, though he didn’t scream.

Why did this dragon suddenly eat it?

“You…!”

Aden’s face twisted in anger as he was about to shout at Leo.

– Spirit Dragon, ‘Leo’ has consumed a Spirit Stone.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw the system message.

– Phantom Beast, ‘Leo’s potential is awakening.

– Phantom Beast, ‘Leo’s rapid growth is beginning.

“Kyu-kyu!”

Hwaaa.

A faint blue light started to emanate from Leo’s body as he curled up.

Then, a translucent sphere formed around him, wrapping him like an egg.

– Phantom Beast, ‘Leo’ will enter a dormant state until the completion of its first growth phase.

Soon, the egg-shaped Leo slid back into Aden’s body.

Aden frowned.

‘What is this…?’

He couldn’t understand what had just happened.

‘First growth? Entering a dormant state?’

The presence of the Spirit Dragon Leo, which he could feel inside the second mana organ, the Blood Jewel, was now dormant as if it had fallen asleep.

He heard Curse’s voice of admiration.

– I thought it looked familiar. So that’s what it was? This is interesting.

‘Do you know what’s happening?’

– That is not just a gem, Dragon Slayer. Its true name is ‘Fairy Crystal’. It is a fairy’s jewel imbued with the power of the Spirit World or the Phantom Beast World.

Fairy Crystal.

It was a very rare jewel that usually formed where high-level spirits or phantom beasts resided.

And the only ones who could manifest such high-level spirits in the terrestrial world were the Fairy Tribe, who were innately highly attuned to spirits.

In ancient times, it was also called the ‘Jewel of Fairies’ for that reason.

– To lower-level phantom beasts or spirits, a Fairy Crystal is like an elixir from the heavens. Tsk, that viscount really had no eye for such things.

‘Then why are you telling me this just now?’

-…

“You didn’t recognize it either, did you?”

– Th-that’s not true.

If the Tear of the Azure Sky, a mysterious jewel, was worth a small mansion, then the value of the Fairy Crystal couldn’t be exchanged for even ten grand mansions.

It was an item of a completely different level from ordinary jewels.

‘So that’s what it was.’

Aden finally understood.

In other words, by consuming the Tear of the Azure Sky, or rather the Fairy Crystal, Leo had gained enough power to grow.

That was why Leo had entered a dormant state, much like a caterpillar becoming a pupa to turn into a butterfly.

Aden could share mana with Leo.

Leo’s growth meant that the amount of mana Aden could use would expand.

It was the best possible outcome.

“How lucky.”

Aden smirked.

Spirit Dragons were a slow-growing species.

Obtaining such an opportunity was incredibly fortunate.

Just thinking about how versatile Leo’s abilities would become in the future made Aden smile involuntarily.

‘S-scary…’

– The cursed sword Seere agrees.

Meanwhile, Unknown was terrified watching Aden suddenly smile with a sinister grin.

He was beginning to regret getting involved with this strange human in the first place.

* * *

Aden left the territory of Viscount Helaid and returned to Frozen.

The viscount was furious about the stolen Tear of the Azure Sky, but when Aden released a slight amount of Master Fear, he fainted immediately with a burp.

Since Aden had already sent the records of the viscount’s tax evasion and embezzlement to the Grand Duke’s family, the viscount’s future was bound to go downhill.

It wasn’t something Aden needed to worry about.

When Aden returned to Frozen, he witnessed a bizarre sight, both in his past life and present life.

Frozen was being transformed into a mining town, divided into sections under the guidance of dwarf civil engineers.

Laborers could be seen working hard everywhere.

“Hey, you kobolds over there! Move those materials here!”

– Krek, Kreek!

The problem was that the laborers were not humans.

Kobolds, frost orcs, frost ogres, and various other northern monsters were replacing the workforce, transporting materials.

And a massive figure was directing these monsters.

– Wal, Waaaah!

Ellis’s pet, the giant golden wolf Choco, sat majestically and proudly displayed its grandeur.

“Don’t fight or destroy anything, and work hard! If you get hurt, come to me!”

On top of Choco’s head, little saintess Ellis, wearing a hard hat and a shoulder sash, chattered boldly through a magical loudspeaker.

– Follow the little human! Uga!

Beside her, an enormous frost ogre, larger than the others, followed, commanding the monsters.

Incidentally, Ukulak, the ogre lord, also wore a hard hat and an armband, looking quite comical.

Ukulak, while commanding the monsters, felt confused about his identity.

‘What is Ukulak doing now? Uga.’

He had come to invade and conquer this ‘Melted Land’, but now he found himself leading monsters to help build a human city.

But there was no choice.

‘Uga. These humans are too strong.’

There were humans resembling his kin (Priest Bali), humans disguised as demons (Priestess Lunia), and humans who appeared weak but were strong (Aden).

Even the young human named Ellis was quite strong, though not as much as the others, and she commanded the terrifying giant wolf Choco.

Everywhere, dwarves laughing maniacally while shouting “Art is an explosion!” were smashing boulder-sized rocks with magical power cannons, turning them into flat ground.

A single hit from those beams would send him to meet his deceased father.

‘This place is dangerous, Uga.’

So, Ukulak had planned to escape when Aden and Priestess Lunia left Frozen on an expedition.

‘The weak-looking but strong human brought a silver human.’

However, before Aden left Frozen, he had called for the Silver Witch Niketa and brought her before Ukulak.

“I have to go somewhere for a while, and it would be a waste to kill this guy. I’d like you to put a safety mechanism on him, Niketa.”

“Leave it to me, Lord.”

Niketa smiled brightly and cast the ‘Curse of Obedience’ on Ukurak.

A curse where disobedience led to instant death.

Because of this, Ukurak had no choice but to completely obey Aden and his party.

Moreover, Aden had no intention of leaving Ukurak, a monster of lord rank, idle. So he gathered the northern monsters that had been loitering around annoyingly and put them to collective labor.

They couldn’t fight back or run away, so there was no way to escape.

‘Ugh… The food humans give is delicious. Especially beef…’

The cannibalistic monster of the snowy plains, the Frost Ogre.

Their main diet consisted of catching and eating other monsters or humans raw.

Monsters had tough, chewy meat that tasted bad.

So they preferred humans, whose flesh was softer.

Thus, the taste of tender and fragrant cooked meat was nothing short of a new world for Ukurak and his kin.

Ukurak’s mouth watered again at the thought of beef.

The upcoming snack time, Ukurak eagerly anticipated.

Ukurak’s eyes gleamed with resolve.

‘Ugh. Yes, this is not giving up. Just waiting, patience, planning.’

He hadn’t given up on conquering the land of humans.

It was merely a ‘strategic retreat,’ bowing his head and waiting for the perfect opportunity since the situation was unfavorable.

Justifying himself that way, Ukurak continued to diligently carry on with his tasks.

“He’s working harder than I expected. It was indeed wise not to kill him.”

“As expected of Lord Aden, using monsters like this…”

“What the hell is this…?”

-The demon sword Seere exclaimed, “This insane scene, 100% my style! What’s this, it’s so exciting!” with a non-existent heart pounding!

Aden, watching from a distance, was very satisfied.

Lowe looked at Aden with eyes full of respect.

Unknown was so shocked by the unbelievable scene that he couldn’t close his mouth.

The demon sword Seere spouted nonsense.

“Aden oppa!”

At that moment, Elise, somehow sensing Aden’s arrival, jumped down from Choco’s head, generated a Holy Shield using the Guardian Bracelet as a stepping stone, and shot towards Aden like an arrow.

“Welcome baaaack!”

With a mischievous smile, she unleashed a punch imbued with blazing golden holy power at full force.

Aden lightly moved one step to the right, but Elise’s fist curved as if anticipating his movement.

Ta-at!

However, Aden deflected Elise’s outstretched arm, neutralizing the attack.

“Hiyah!”

Elise followed up with a lightning-fast kick.

But Aden blocked the kick as well, grabbing her unbalanced arm and waist, and threw her into the air.

Elise, thrown into the air, did a somersault without panic and landed lightly on the ground.

Like a cat, it was a perfect landing that made one instinctively applaud, just like when she sparred with Aden before.

It took less than three seconds.

“That’s quite a grand welcome, Elise.”

“Well, I thought it would work this time.”

Elise puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

Aden chuckled at the sight of Elise.

“Hmm, your skill in using the bracelet has improved. Ambushing by using a shield as a foothold in mid-air, it’s quite a good, innovative technique.”

“Hehe, thanks!”

Elise beamed at Aden’s compliment, and Aden patted her head.

One of Elise’s new favorite games was to beat Aden.

From others’ perspectives, the ambush earlier was a level of attack that could catch even a skilled Sword Aura swordsman off guard, but to Aden, it was just a cute child showing off.

Elise knew that Aden wouldn’t be in any danger, so she could attack with all her strength without worry.

However, to others, it was a scene beyond comprehension.

Unknown and Ukurak just stared blankly at Aden and Elise in disbelief.

Then their gazes met.

“……”

-……

They felt a strange sense of camaraderie in their silence.

* * *

Upon returning to Frozen, Aden immediately decided to contact Priestess Lunia.

By now, she should have arrived at the Sedus territory and had some conversation with Border Count Tiried.

‘It was a good idea to keep a spare bracelet.’

A bracelet imbued with the Blessing of Wind.

A gift from the Ent Tribe to Aden and his party, allowing them to communicate no matter how far apart they were.

Aden had given one of the spare bracelets to Lunia.

Aden used the bracelet to contact Lunia.

“Ah, ah. Priestess Lunia. It’s me. Can you hear me?”

After a moment, a clear, cheerful laugh echoed from the wooden bracelet.

-Kyah! I can hear you well! Prince Aden!

It was Priestess Lunia’s voice.

Then there was a sound of amazement.

-Wow! This bracelet is truly amazing! It’s not a communication magic crystal, yet we can talk!

“Priestess Lunia. Did you arrive safely at the Sedus territory?”

-Yes! I’m at the lord’s castle now!

“Then, did you have a good talk with Border Count Tiried…?”

At that moment.

-Excuse me for a moment. Aden Remes! Are you listening?

A deep, authoritative voice interrupted, different from Lunia’s.

This familiar yet imposing voice was…

“Taion?”

-You can really hear me. It’s been a while, Aden Remes. Yes, it’s me!

Taion Sedus, the son of Border Count Tiried, was speaking to Aden through the bracelet.

-Aden, I beg you! Please help us!

Taion’s voice trembled with anxiety and sounded extremely urgent.

-Call the Saintess, the Saintess of the Sacred Fire Order, to our Sedus territory! My father is…!

“What? Hey, Taion. Speak clearly. What exactly is…?”

-It seems we need the help of your order! Prince Aden!

From beside him, Priestess Lunia’s bright voice rang out.

-The lord here is about to pass into the embrace of the deity!