I Became a Hero With a Lot of Experience

24 – 024: Shall We Slowly Go Meet (1)

The saying ‘a horse without hooves travels a thousand li’ seemed applicable not only in Korea.

The incident happened, barely a few hours had passed, yet news of my victory against the knight order spread widely throughout the palace.

Though I hadn’t witnessed maids or knights gossiping surreptitiously, the glances directed at me made asking unnecessary.

The usual gazes that looked at me with an inexplicable something, now seemed filled with admiration.

The maids fluttered their eyelashes with the shy demeanor of an unwed maiden, and the knights regarded me with a subtle mix of reverence and pride.

Brushing off those looks lightly, I headed not to the assigned room but toward the kitchen.

There was nothing to do in the room, and spending time there seemed less appealing than the kitchen.

“What do you call this?”

“It’s a pepper. (Experience points: 6)”

What I held in my hand was a yellow vegetable shaped like a star, far removed from being a pepper.

I asked the chef here about the names of ingredients, storing their tastes and appearances in my mind.

It seemed that its taste wasn’t vastly different from carrots on Earth, making it feasible for cooking.

“You’ve worked hard. I’ll handle the cleanup, so you can go in.”

“Oh, no… If you just leave it, we’ll take care of it tomorrow. (Experience points: 6)”

“You’ll be busy in the morning.”

Sending the chef away, I fiddled around and before I knew it, time had swiftly passed.

Though there were lighting fixtures in the kitchen, it wasn’t enough to dispel the shadows of the night completely. It seemed like I’d have to call it a night here.

As I was pouring the made sauce into a container and about to wash the utensils, my hand suddenly stopped.

The kitchen was silent. A silence that lingered as if I were the only one left in this world.

In reality, that sentiment wasn’t too far off.

Even with many people in this country, there wasn’t a single person who shared my values.

“Maybe it’s nearly dawn, that’s why all these thoughts are coming up.”

Is this what nostalgia feels like?

Suddenly, Son Heung-min, who struggled alone for several years on the football field, felt incredibly admirable to me.”

I cannot even imagine how much they must have suffered among those dogs singing and frolicking.

Putting aside my thoughts for a moment, I attempted to rinse the dishes and turned on the water.

“Splendid.”

With a cheerful sound, water gushed out, startling me more than the rusted handle as the king entered the kitchen, screaming.

“I thought you were in your room. (Experience Points: 79)”

“There’s nothing to do anyway.”

Glancing at me and returning to organizing the dishes, the king approached and grinned.

“Why do you do it yourself instead of leaving it to the chefs? (Experience Points: 79)”

“Because I did it. Unlike others, I can’t do such things with a different mindset.”

“You talk about a different mindset quite well. Did you also show mercy to Sir Las, the former commander? (Experience Points: 79)”

“That was showing mercy. If such a mistake had been overlooked without any punishment, would I have felt at ease?”

The king chuckled, came closer, and asked me about the bowl of sauce.

“Is all this for making this sauce? (Experience Points: 79)”

“Yes, try it.”

Taking a small amount of sauce with a teaspoon and savoring it, the king closed his eyes.

“Spicy and sweet. What is the name of this sauce? (Experience Points: 79)”

“Seasoned Chicken Sauce.”

A deeply rooted tradition in South Korea.

“I’ll treat you to a taste of a real delicacy later.”

Although the events that had occurred were not forgotten, the thought of seeing the king’s face enjoying seasoned chicken made it worth a meal.

“Why is that?”

“…No, never mind. (Experience Points: 79)”

The king, seemingly not expecting to be treated to food, had an uneasy expression.

Having finished the dishwashing, I wiped off the water from my hands and took a deep breath.

“So, what is it that you really want to say?”

Given the experiences so far, this person wasn’t someone who would come this far for mere small talk. There must be something important he was waiting to say.

“…You must know there was a noble observing the training in the training ground during the day. (Experience Points: 79)”

“I know.”

With eyes that seemed to target my youth, there was no way I wouldn’t know.

Thinking about that gaze, the king spoke amidst sipping his sauce.

“Since ancient times… whenever a hero emerges, those aiming to overthrow the dynasty appear as well. (Experience points: 79)”

In fact, if one traced back their lineage, the king himself was from such a faction, he chuckled self-deprecatingly.

A hero is, so to speak, the representative of the divine.

If such a hero supports a particular lineage, there is no greater justification than that.

With the world currently in chaos due to the Demon King’s army, if the king misbehaves and incites that the world has become desolate due to him, gaining the support of the people would be quite easy.

It has been three years since the Demon King’s invasion began.

Directly and indirectly, the territory lost has reached about 30% of the entire kingdom, the extent of the damage is beyond imaginable.

Among the local lords, many seem to have formed alliances with the Demon King, whether their heads have gone bad or not.

Apart from various complaints, in essence, it was a statement that there was no room to handle the nobles’ rebellion.

“So, you’ve come to warn me?”

“A warning combined with a plea. Even if you were to accept the proposal of a certain faction to overturn the kingdom, you won’t go to the netherworld alone. (Experience points: 79)”

Dealing with the chaos after the rebellion is our responsibility, and in that process, think about how much blood will flow,” the king smiled.

“Well, luckily, you seem disinterested in such matters. (Experience points: 79)”

“Don’t be too relieved. What if there’s a noble who incites rebellion but refuses to involve me?”

“Do you think other nobles’ daughters are virgins just because the king’s daughter is? (Experience points: 79)”

“…Are you boasting about that now?”

“It’s a boast. (Experience points: 79)”

“At least for now, nothing can be more prideful than this,” the king laughed boisterously.

He splashed water on that shameless face.

*****

Weren’t humans said to be creatures of adaptation?

After several days had passed since the duel with Ras, this life, which had initially felt unfamiliar, gradually became more accustomed.

During the day, swallowing the sorrow of not handling the lance well, I trained with the lance, and at night, I exerted effort in replicating Earth’s cuisine in the kitchen.

Amidst this, I gradually opened up to even the unfeeling fellows, as knights usually graduate empathy through prostitutes.

The resentment toward the fellows somewhat dissipated upon hearing that they hadn’t violated virgins.

With no one to converse with, I reluctantly made the fellows my companions and eventually became friendly enough to entertain them with my cooking skills.

“These legs are mine, touch them and you’ll perish.”

Saying so, I placed a sizzling, spicy chicken dish on the table.

It was one of the achievements I gained from researching this world’s cuisine every night.

They hesitated at first because the red seasoning was unfamiliar, but they couldn’t resist the sweet aroma emanating from the seasoned chicken.

As they grabbed a piece of chicken and bit into it, the knight’s face began to contort with delight.

After quickly devouring a whole chicken and washing it down with beer, they expelled a cold breath.

“Now I believe you when you say the hero is also a chef. Only a chef can create such delicacies. (Experience Points: 9)”

“Thanks for believing, kid. But Las is still nowhere to be found today.”

Even if he were around, they had no intention of serving a meal to a debauched man who engaged in immoral behavior, even if he had taken a maiden’s virginity.

However, his absence for several days was starting to concern them.

The one who boldly grabbed a chicken leg and answered my question was a knight without a trace of fear.

“Commander… I mean, former commander. I saw him not far from the royal road in the forest. (Experience Points: 2)”

“The forest?”

“Yes, with a sword hanging at his waist, he entered the forest with a determined look. (Experience Points: 2)”

“Is he crazy? When is it ever the right time to practice swordsmanship in the forest? It’s not some martial arts novel…”

“What? (Experience Points: 2)”

The knights chuckled at words that didn’t exist in this world. I casually asked them, masking the unfamiliarity.

“But what about the prospective hero? It seems like something happened, even though it doesn’t sound like a big deal.”

It didn’t seem to be a secret, as they casually mentioned it was nothing special.

“Well… Do you know that heroes are chosen among the followers of each god? (Experience Points: 9)”

“I do.”

I hadn’t heard about being chosen among the followers of the gods, but I was guessing that was the case.

“Las, the former commander, is a follower of the bravery god. Everyone gathered and said he would become the hero, as there was no one else in the kingdom who could match him as a warrior. (Experience Points: 9)”

But Las wasn’t chosen.

Instead, I, a warrior of the purity god, became the hero in his place.

“So he muttered in prison, ‘If only I weren’t here…’ Wait a minute… When is the hero chosen by the bravery god?”

The quick-witted knights immediately realized that my question wasn’t about dates.

“All the gods’ heroes are chosen at the same moment. (Experience Points: 9)”

“What? Then it’s not my fault?”

Until now, I thought Las didn’t become the hero because the bravery god chose me before he chose Las.

In a kingdom, there is only one hero, so I thought Las couldn’t become a hero because of that.

But if all heroes are chosen at the same time, maybe Las simply wasn’t chosen as a hero because his skills weren’t up to par?

“Our goddess, who lacks power, can’t afford to be resented by the god of bravery, right? Am I wrong?”

“That… Well, it’s true, but… Sir… (Experience Acquisition: 9 individuals)”

“What, so all this time those women were just venting their anger at me? If they have grievances, they should blame their own incompetent husbands. Why me…”

“Sir!! (Experience Acquisition: 9 individuals)”

Suddenly, a loud voice of a knight interrupted the conversation.

Wondering what was happening, I looked at the knight, only to realize that he was looking behind me, not at me.

“…. (Experience Acquisition: 4 individuals)”

Naturally, when I followed his gaze and turned around, I saw the faces of the four individuals who had been waiting.

Whether she had heard the whole story or not, she silently glared at me with an expressionless face, as if wearing a mask.

“What’s the big deal if you glare at me?”

On the topic of being a non-virgin.