Harem-Powered Kingdom Building: Empire of Carnal Sin-Chapter 49: Hero

Hiro walked through the mist at an unhurried pace, his usual easygoing smile gracing his face. His gray eyes swept across the settlement, assessing the damage, the corpses, and the expressions on his citizens' faces.

Most of them were not very pleased. No one dared to say it outright, but the discontent and unease were plastered on their faces.

Why hadn't Hiro arrived sooner? They knew how strong he was. They knew he could teleport.

Although this question lingered in several people's minds, only one person was bold enough to say anything.

Barbara.

"Nice of you to finally show up," she said sharply. A few of the Shuvlok people grunted in agreement.

Looking at her, Hiro couldn't help but sigh.

"What are you sighing for?"

"Nothing. It's just... I'm your Baron, not your soldier," he said, letting his words hang in the air for a while.

"What does that—"

"From what I see, you all have handled yourselves quite well. If I take care of every little problem you face, how will you ever grow? As people with combat classes, the XP from these monsters will help you level up. All these dead monsters have become your strength and will increase your chances of survival in this place."

Since Hiro's plan of showing up at the last moment had been thwarted by Starius, he had no choice but to convince his citizens with his words.

And his words did their job for the most part. Although they were irked by Hiro asserting his status in such a situation, the expressions of many people eased when they realized the logic in his argument.

In any case, none of them had died or even gotten seriously injured. It could not be denied that their self-confidence had also increased. It was a good outcome no matter how one looked at it.

Barbara was the only one who was reluctant to accept it. "Hmph! You say that, but if it were not for this new guy over here, I would most likely be dead already."

She was referring to Starius.

"Is that so?" Hiro lazily said. "Then all you have to do is become stronger."

With that, he shifted his attention away from the speechless Barbara and onto Starius. The two men studied each other while Tara handled the introductions.

"My Lord, this is Starius. I told you about him yesterday. He's the one who saved my life when I was younger."

Hiro gave Tara a teasing smile. "You also told me that he was dead, and I distinctly remember pointing out how that might not necessarily be the case. Quite the coincidence, isn't it, Tara?"

"Hihi." Tara just gave a silly chuckle in response. Hiro had indeed suggested such a possibility. Was her Lord clairvoyant? How could his words come true so soon?

"Welcome to my Realm, Starius. Since you're the man who saved Tara's life, I already have a good impression of you."

It wasn't clear if Hiro truly had a good impression of him.

The perceptive Starius also intuited that Hiro and Tara might not share a simple relationship. Right now, it was just a hunch based on how Tara acted around Hiro. He couldn't really be certain yet, so he decided not to overthink it for now.

Other than that, Starius did have a positive first impression of Hiro, whose easygoing attitude seemed to be compatible with his own cheerful personality.

"Thank you, My Lord. I'm happy to be here as well."

"Haha. You're my first citizen who has told me that they're happy to have found themselves in the Desolate Lands. But then again, I guess heroes really are different from ordinary people. Both in terms of their strength... and their way of thinking."

Hiro's words were spoken in such a casual tone that his citizens took a few seconds to even process what he was saying.

Starius stiffened in surprise.

"How did you know, My Lord?" Although he asked that question out loud, Starius' thoughts spun, and he quickly came to the conclusion that Hiro must have a high-level skill for appraising humans and other intelligent species. What a coincidence. As a hero, he too had such a skill.

Curious as to what class Hiro had, Starius used his appraisal skill on him, but that only caused his eyes to widen in surprise.

He couldn't see! He could see neither the name nor the rarity of Hiro's class.

Meanwhile, the ever-reliable [Citizen Appraisal] had done its job nicely by revealing Starius' details.

----------------------------------------

Class: Moonlight Swordsman

Rarity: Rare [Special: Growth-Type class] [Special: Hero-Class]

----------------------------------------

"How did I know...? I have my ways. Oh! Should I have not said it out loud? I apologize if you were intending to keep it a secret."

"No... There's no need to apologize. I did not particularly plan on keeping it a secret. You're right, My Lord. I'm indeed a Hero chosen by Goddess Selune."

"What...?" Tara couldn't believe her ears.

Starius nodded at her and then looked back at Hiro. "I actually received a Que—"

"Wait! Do you guys hear that sound?" Vasquen asked, interrupting the conversation.

Once again, the ground rumbled, and the sound of slow, thunderous footsteps could be heard.

The mist was beginning to lift, but it hadn't completely disappeared. The faint silhouette of another Hill Giant could be seen in the fog.

"Another one of these!?" Vasquen said, this time with more irritation than fear. "There's nothing to worry about though, right? We have Starius to count on."

He didn't mention Hiro because he wasn't sure if Hiro would lend a hand or just 'let them have the XP.'

Starius' expression became a little awkward when he heard Vasquen's words. He scratched the left side of his face and said, "Actually... the Moonlight Domain skill that I just used is on cooldown. I'll have some trouble dealing with the giant on my own without that skill."

Hiro wasn't too surprised upon hearing this, and his smile imperceptibly widened. Even though Starius had a class that could grow in rarity, it was currently only considered 'Rare.' There was a limit to how overpowered it could be. His level was also not too high.

"Damn, that sucks!" Vasquen exclaimed. "No worries, though. We just have to hold it back until it comes off cooldown, right? How long is it? 10 minutes? 20?"

The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.

"Urgh... you'll have to hold it back for a week if that's the plan," Starius said awkwardly.

...

Immediately, the eyes of several people shifted toward Hiro. They contained an untold expectation, which Hiro did not fail to notice.

[Monster Appraisal] revealed that the now charging Hill Giant was only Level 37.

"I should be able to do THAT, right?" Hiro asked Carnalia a rhetorical question.

"You really shouldn't do it," came Carnalia's swift and somewhat pleading reply.

Unfortunately for her, Hiro's mind was already made up.

"Come on, it's fun. My stats are also incomparably higher right now compared to when I killed Shuvene. The Carna cost will be manageable."

"Hmph!" Carnalia did not bother responding to his words, merely choosing to sulk in silence.

Hiro addressed the group in front of him.

"Since you guys worked so hard to take care of the last one, I guess I'll reluctantly help you out this time. There's no need for any of you to do anything. Let me show you how it's done."

What!? Was he saying that he would take care of it alone? Having just fought a Hill Giant, they knew all too well how strong it was. Although the one approaching right now was slightly smaller than the one they already took care of, it probably wouldn't be much weaker.

Their brains subconsciously were unwilling to believe that Hiro would be able to take care of it easily. But they also didn't speak out since it might be an opportunity to gain a deeper insight into Hiro's prowess.

Once the Hill Giant came close enough, it quickened its pace, practically running toward Hiro and the group. Everyone moved away from Hiro in order to not get caught up in his fight. But such a thing was unnecessary.

For Hiro merely raised his right hand... and snapped his fingers.

The giant's head exploded like a watermelon struck by a hammer, and the giant's body fell to the ground with a loud thud.

A tranquil silence embraced the camp. This silence was accompanied by a profound shock as Hiro's citizens stared at him with gaping mouths.

A few of the Shuvloks even had a hint of pride on their faces, as if asking, 'First time?'

[You have leveled up. +1 to all stats. 7 free stats can be distributed.]