Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 257 Party A
Rean frowned. Hela was still a problem, and it seemed he couldn't avoid it any longer.

"She is actually a distant relative of the princess and came here specifically to help, but her identity is a secret. As you know, if she reveals her identity, it will cause a lot of unnecessary misunderstandings and rumors about the so-called second princess. So for the sake of the country's stability, please help keep this secret."

"Of course, as a loyal knight, it is my duty and honor. However, how should we treat this 'princess'?"

Did Claire believe it? Probably not, and she'll definitely check it out afterward, and will most likely come to Dania for verification.

But her attitude was clear: as long as we remain “loyal to the royal family,” we will believe whatever you say.

The best way to bring people closer is to have a "shared secret".

After they confirmed their stances, their conversation became much more peaceful.

Rean didn't really care much about the moment Lex stood behind him. As far as the kingdom's loyal knights were concerned, even if he said he wanted to marry the princess, they would probably support him without hesitation.

Looking at the tall woman draped in a lion skin and carrying the blood of the Northern Lizardmen, Rean suddenly felt that she was a good candidate.

The easiest way to prevent a repeat of the "princess and hero" story is to introduce a female hero, and currently the royal family has no princes.
“At least not now.” Rean felt inexplicably guilty, but he found Claire more and more pleasing to the eye.

He will strive to win the title of hero, gaining power and prestige in the process, but he does not want to be completely confined by this title.

He promised Dania he would do his best to ensure her future was secure, but he had no intention of getting himself completely trapped.

Another thing Rean couldn't tell Dania was that if he really became the hero and the rumors came true, Dania might really never be able to get married.

"No rush, let's take it one step at a time. The female candidates this time all seem quite capable."

If it's really certain that I can get the title, then it seems reasonable to give it to a female hero who plays it safe.

Lana and Hela's potential is no less than that of the woman in front of them.

Rean himself cannot obtain the title of Hero of the Hall of Heroes, but the title of Hero of the Kingdom is another matter entirely.

"I'll just take it one step at a time. With my current strength, I'm probably at the bottom among the candidates for Lex's successor. Uh, with Lana in the mix, so second to last?"

Potential is potential, but realizing it requires time and resources, as well as a conducive environment for development and the luck to prevent it from being stifled.

Rean's main task now is to ensure that this competition is relatively healthy, and while gaining enough attention and popularity, to provide these talents with a suitable environment for development and growth.

With Rean's current strength, this goal is probably no different from fishing for a whale with a fishing rod. Those "geniuses" could probably crush him with their superior equipment without any brainpower. But if it is regarded as a long-term task within two years, it is a different story.
"Let's try to win over these potential heroes first, at least to establish a good relationship."

Since they were from the same faction, the two knights were naturally easy to talk to.

Especially since Rean has the Paladin aura bonus, and Claire, as a candidate, originally intended to please the examiners even though she knew that classical Paladins were unlikely to show favoritism, could the judges really be completely unaffected by feelings of goodwill and dislike?

Knights who both have needs from each other and are both law-abiding are naturally easy to get along with, especially when they are, in a sense, of the same race.

As mentioned before, Claire is not only a lizardman, but also a powerful figure on the "pseudo-dragon" path.

Her title is Red-Haired Demon. Clearly, she is also a lizardman with red dragon blood.

The intimacy of blood ties is indeed hard to resist. Claire found Rean increasingly approachable and even vaguely felt that she would probably feel the same way if she had a "brother".

She became increasingly enthusiastic, even teaching the "newcomer" some basic knowledge about the industry.

"Everyone uses merchant guilds to run their shops; it's an open secret in the industry. Most of these guilds are backed by some powerful noble family. Your Sudar family isn't exactly adept at this."

If it were yesterday, Rean would have offered some explanation, saying that he actually had no connection with the Sudar family.

But now, it seems all I can do is smile wryly and agree.

While chatting, the two also took the opportunity to watch a "live broadcast" of the underground ruins and gave their opinions on the newlyweds.

"The big fish haven't entered the fray yet, so it's unlikely they'll surpass the Knights' progress."

From what Rean has seen so far, the situation is quite delicate; the real experts haven't entered the fray yet. Surprisingly, the kingdom's candidate hero is the one attracting the most attention.

But this wasn't solely due to him; his teammates were among the strongest in the group.

A combination of a high-ranking priest and an archmage is clearly not something an ordinary adventurer can possess. The Ruther family is considered one of the newly emerging noble families, but their main business is not based in the new capital or Radiant City. They are considered members of the "nouveau riche rural nobles" and are not even classified as liberals or conservatives.

In the past, these rural nobles wouldn't have caught the eye of the "kingdom's upper echelons," but now, given the kingdom's current state, the royal family will simply turn a blind eye unless someone openly rebels.
"This kid is a bit annoying."

Looking at the tall and handsome Clark in the Mirror Demon, Rean felt inexplicably annoyed.

You guys aren't here for the hero title, you're all here for Dania.
"Shall we go down and have some fun?" Claire suggested, seeing that Rean seemed interested.

With that underground teleportation passage, traveling to and from the underground ruins has become much easier. As long as you don't go too far, you can even come back to rest at night.

"No, I have an appointment with my advisor today. It would be really inappropriate to stand him up again."

"Mentor? Who can become your knight mentor?"

Claire was increasingly surprised. The person in front of her was no ordinary person. He was a degenerate version of a classical paladin, but now he also seemed to be a holder of the Heroic Spirit Inheritance.

He simply needs to rebuild his knightly path, even though his father has privately told him that he is not qualified to teach him.

“Master mage, I’m preparing to attempt to become a third-tier spellcaster, and I need some extra training and guidance.”

At this moment, Claire's expression became even stranger, as if she had seen the good young man next door, a graduate of a top university, suddenly become interested in selling pork.

"A third-tier spellcaster, huh? That's pretty good."

He opened his mouth, ready to make a whole bunch of jokes about the mage, but ultimately didn't say them.

The little incident passed quickly. After looking around, Rean said goodbye and left. Before leaving, Rean bought a commemorative mask, the kind that's on the Hero Statue.

This wasn't prepared for him; Hela's situation was clearly problematic, and Rean felt a little guilty about persuading her to wear the mask.

Looking like this, for better or worse, is something to be proud of. It's a gift from blood relatives. Why should she hide her face for someone else? Li En had already guessed what she would think and say.

"Why me? Why wasn't it Dania who was covering her face?!"

If Hela really said that, I don't think I could answer her.

No matter what you say, in the eyes of the other side, it will probably be seen as blatant favoritism.

"Tsk, wait, I've gotten myself into this mess. Isn't this all Lex's fault? How did I, Rean, end up being the unlucky father who has to deal with my daughters' disagreements?"

If he couldn't figure it out, he decided to stop thinking about it and dump this trouble on Lex that night. "Lex, get down to business."

The little incident passed quickly, and seeing the Hero Selection proceed smoothly, Rean felt a little relieved.

The progress doesn't really matter. Once the framework is in place and the personnel and funding are in place, the progress will naturally proceed steadily.

Now is not the time for me to enter the game; let's focus on improving our combat strength first.

After leaving that area, Rean went directly to the Mage Street in the Radiant District, partly to see his spellcaster teacher whom he had been waiting for a long time, and partly to do some shopping.

"It's definitely time to get a better sword."

While Rex was possessed, Rean was hesitant to use the Hero's Sword. If it were activated directly, it would be difficult to explain, especially since the Hero's Sword disappeared along with the Hero Rena.

Rean's current combat abilities don't really fit well with the Sword of the Brave.

"I need a magic sword, preferably imbued with fire element, uh, can you add the acid breath enhancement? If you can add positive energy and radiance enhancement, that would be even better."

The dwarf craftsman, who was known for his short temper, actually smiled when he asked for a greeting.

"More money? No problem."

"Say what you're saying in your sleep, and get out of here!"

As a result, Rean was kicked out of the dwarf craftsman's shop.

(End of this chapter)