Chapter 75 · BMMAW

Chapter 75

The Truth Behind the Hero Summoning

Humans believe what they see. And if you use that well, deceiving people is easy.

Deceiving ignorant citizens is even easier. You present successes and hide failures. With just a little adjustment and polishing, people quickly become excited—and just as quickly believe.

But sometimes, there are things that cannot be hidden.

A quiet sigh escaped. Glenn stood by the window, lowering his gaze.

Below, a man—shorter than the average male of the Tyron Kingdom—was swinging a sword. But he was doing terribly. His movements were so clumsy that even a ten-year-old might have done better.

The woman beside him was even worse. It had already been nearly a month since she first held a sword, yet she still couldn’t even maintain proper form.

Glenn frowned.

Those two were mages. There was no need for them to wield swords. He had explained that many times. Yet they were the ones who insisted.

Even though they never intended to take it seriously.

They had even tried wearing helmets and armor before. But the moment they put them on, they found it too difficult and uncomfortable. After just a few steps, they took everything off. It seemed they simply thought swords and armor looked cool.

According to reports, they often complained that things weren’t as they imagined, dressing up in fancy outfits just to admire themselves in mirrors. They had no perseverance, no motivation. Completely useless.

Even if they had been motivated, it wouldn’t have made much difference. Swordsmanship must be learned from a young age. Adults cannot easily become masters just by starting late.

Worse still, the two were slow learners in every aspect. Learning the language, manners—even magic, the most important skill—they were slow at everything.

Another sigh escaped.

The only thing that set them apart from ordinary people was their immense strength.

But strength alone meant nothing. Power only has meaning when it can be controlled. Otherwise, it is nothing but a disaster.

“….”

One cannot silence people forever. No matter how much they tried to conceal and embellish things, eventually the truth about these two would be revealed to the public.

He only hoped something would improve before then—but judging by what he saw now, there was no hope.

“You must not delay here too long, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

A servant’s voice broke his thoughts.

Glenn turned away from the window, just as the female Hero laughed while whispering something to her escort knight. The male Hero’s angry voice followed shortly after.

This world was not a play or a painting.

If you starved, you went hungry. If you were injured, you bled.

Heroes were no exception. They could fall ill, be wounded, and grow weaker with age.

A person with sense would understand their position, make plans, strive to improve, observe their surroundings carefully, and identify those who could help them. They would act.

But these two did none of that.

They only responded to pleasure and praise. Like innocent children whose bodies had grown but whose minds had not.

It would have been better if they were more capable individuals.

If they had been, Glenn—and even the King—would have considered placing great trust in them.

But foolish brutes with power could only be used like simple tools.

Give them lovers, money, and hollow titles—use them, then discard them after they bear children.

Such a waste for supposed Heroes.

But were they really Heroes?

At first, he had believed it without doubt. But now, he wasn’t so sure.

“….”

The Tyron Kingdom had never performed a Hero summoning ritual.

Those two had simply appeared one day in a room where a summoning circle for Heroes had been drawn.

There had been no ritual—but naturally, they assumed they were Heroes. Sent by the gods to aid Tyron in war. Their appearance and the location left little room for doubt.

We should have handled them more carefully.

According to legends, Heroes could wield many kinds of power.

But these two only possessed a single ability. And there was no sign of any others awakening.

Their power was immense—but incomplete. Like something only half-finished.

But it was too late to say such things now.

The King, the High Priest—they had all begun to suspect something was wrong. Yet no one spoke of it first.

The entire kingdom had already been told that these two were Heroes. The rumor had spread to other nations as well.

In fact, it was the King—and Glenn himself—who had spread those rumors through spies.

Glenn exhaled softly and quickened his pace.

He was on his way to meet his father. The weight in his heart grew heavier—but delaying would change nothing.

After passing through a long corridor, he reached the office. The door opened immediately.

His father had been waiting.

That alone made his chest sink further.

As he stepped inside, the King turned from the window.

“You’re here. You’re late.”

“My apologies.”

“It’s fine.”

The King sat down and gestured for Glenn to do the same.

“How are the Heroes?”

“…There have been no signs of additional powers emerging.”

“And Rudolf? Any sign of creating one?”

The King likely already knew the answer.

“No. Today, only two magical beasts were killed.”

“…What if they are neither Heroes nor Santa’s contractors…”

The King trailed off, staring at the ceiling.

After a moment, he asked again:

“Are you certain they met Santa?”

“Yes. They claim to have met him when they were very young.”

“And they made wishes?”

“Yes. Multiple times. And Santa granted those wishes. They received gifts.”

“Both of them?”

“Yes.”

“Then why…”

The King sighed deeply.

If they were not Heroes but Santa’s contractors, that would have been even better.

But no matter how many magical beasts were offered, they could not create Rudolf.

“Father…”

Glenn hesitated before speaking.

“It is becoming difficult to acquire magical beasts within our borders. If we do it openly, rumors will spread. If secretly, there are too few beasts.”

That was the biggest problem.

They still didn’t know whether the Heroes could create Rudolf. They couldn’t give up too early—but capturing magical beasts alive was extremely difficult.

And obtaining them without drawing attention was now nearly impossible.

The King nodded lightly.

“I see.”

He called over the head attendant and spoke quietly.

“Contact a merchant from the Wind Kingdom. Have him procure magical beasts. He can request it through the Santa Guild of the Simoni Kingdom. Their hunters are known to be skilled.”

Simoni was currently at war with them.

Glenn looked stunned.

“But Father… that country is our enemy.”

The King smirked.

“Glenn, do you know how we fund this war?”

“….”

“Plunder.”

“…What?”

“Our kingdom conducts raids across other nations. It’s time you knew.”

Glenn’s expression froze.

The King chuckled.

“There is a merchant company in the Wind Kingdom that helps move such goods across borders discreetly. Leave it to them—they’ll secure magical beasts without exposing us.”

“…Understood.”

The conversation ended.

But the weight of it lingered.

The King—allowing plunder in foreign lands.

This is absurd.

It wasn’t unusual for rulers to deceive their people. Politics was never clean. He knew that.

But plunder…

A wave of disgust rose within him.

Suppressing his emotions, Glenn bowed and left the office.

As he walked down the corridor, maintaining his practiced expressionless face, a servant called out:

“Your Highness.”

Glenn stopped and turned.

“You keep wiping your lips.”

Only then did he realize he had been rubbing his mouth with the back of his hand.

“…It felt like something was there.”

The servant lowered his head silently.

Glenn clenched his fist to stop himself from doing it again.

But as he walked, he once more found himself wiping his lips.

From outside, the sharp voices of the Heroes arguing echoed through the window.

Humans adapt quickly.

Juhwan had only visited the guild a few times, yet it already felt as familiar as if he had been coming for years.

As he entered, the adventurers seated on the right all turned to look at him.

The scene felt strangely familiar—almost identical to before.

“….”

“Juhwan, what’s wrong?” Lizzy tilted her head.

“Nothing.”

She smiled, taking Dorothy’s hand and walking ahead.

“Come on. Red Sword must be waiting.”

Unlike their first visit—when both Lizzy and Dorothy had been stiff with tension—they now walked inside naturally.

Lizzy’s straight posture made her look like a proper adventurer.

Juhwan realized how much she had changed since they first met.

Thinking that she had changed because of him made her seem even more lovable. Like a gardener carefully nurturing a blooming flower.

Red Sword sat in a corner.

Something felt different around them.

Then he realized—

Unlike before, the men nearby were no longer mocking or harassing them.

Something happened.

As he approached, he noticed bloodstains on the table.

A guild staff member began scolding them loudly:

“If you damage guild property, you must pay for it! Do you know how much we spend replacing furniture because of violent adventurers? That’s why these tables are expensive and sturdy!”

It wasn’t just one sentence—it was a full lecture.

Mary quietly explained to Lizzy:

“Some guy started harassing us again, making dirty jokes. Karin tried to scare him by stabbing the table with a nail… but accidentally pierced between his fingers.”

…That wasn’t scaring him. That was nearly killing him.

A nearby adventurer spoke up:

“Serves him right. I’ve seen him harass women countless times.”

Karin glanced at him, and he grinned.

“You need guts like that to survive as an adventurer. Next time, don’t stop at his hand—aim lower.”

Laughter broke out around them.

The atmosphere softened.

Even the crude jokes that followed felt less hostile than before—more like ordinary banter among men.

Juhwan glanced at Lizzy and Red Sword.

They still frowned slightly—but they no longer seemed isolated.

They were becoming part of this world.

“….”

Step by step.

Little by little.

If they could continue like this, perhaps one day—they would truly belong