After the slave owners went bankrupt, they all wanted to keep me as a mistress.

"If one can be blessed by the Dragon God or the World Tree, one can possess a portion of the bloodline of a dragon or elf, which can extend one or two hundred years of lifespan."

"But, one cannot be a hero."

"The heroes blessed by the world cannot change their bloodline. Every hero is a pure-blooded human. Three hundred years is the end of a hero's lifespan. There is no way to extend a hero's lifespan, not even a goddess can."

"bless?"

Mu Qiu touched his chin, feeling completely unaffected by any sense of being blessed.

Is he not actually a hero?

Or is the world's blessing merely to "let him live a long and healthy life"?

"Apart from the first hero, the other heroes did not receive many blessings. They were usually blessings related to the abyss, such as being able to fight more effectively in the abyss."

Fiona didn't seem to understand these world blessings either. She said, "Moreover, heroes aren't necessarily able to possess the power of saints. Sometimes, when the continent isn't facing a crisis, some lazy heroes will be summoned."

"In fact, some heroes will break the law and commit crimes, doing petty theft and other despicable things. In that case, the Star Council and the Truth Association will not provide much help to these heroes."

Fiona curled her lip, her tone tinged with disdain: "This kind of despicable fellow who is merely given the title of hero is no match for a hero like the first guild master."

Then, she changed the subject and returned to the previous topic: "In short, most heroes have a natural lifespan of two to three hundred years, so it is possible for two or three people with the identity of a hero to appear at the same time."

"However, when a new hero is summoned, the previous hero will immediately lose the world's blessing. They will no longer be recognized as heroes by the world and the goddesses, and the countries on the continent will not grant them these privileges."

"Even so, as long as they are not heroes of low character, when they die, they will be engraved on a monument as guardian heroes. This is to commemorate their protection of this continent for a hundred years, until the birth of the next hero."

"Occasionally, there will be heroes who can break into the abyss, kill or seal at least one demon king, and weaken the power of the abyss. After their death, such heroes will be engraved on the Heroes' Monument as heroes, and will be revered by hundreds of millions of people in the future. Their relics will also be enshrined in the Hall of Heroes."

Mu Qiu blinked and asked curiously, "What if the summoned creatures aren't heroes, but demon kings?"

Although, based on a 50% probability, the chances of a hero appearing and a demon king appearing should be 50/50.

But in reality, it's impossible to summon a hero within this century and a demon king within the next century.

If the Demon King is summoned several times in a row... then this continent should have been occupied by the Demon King long ago, right?

Fiona gave a soft "hmm," but before she could speak, Vera provided the answer: "Then of course, it's up to the hero to deal with it."

"Therefore, a hero must become a legend and live to be at least two hundred years old. That way, even if the demon king is summoned twice in a row, there will still be a hero who can deal with it."

"And if this happens, the Star Council and the Truth Association will do their best to help the hero become a saint, in case the third summon is also a demon king."

Just as Mu Qiu was about to ask another question, Vera anticipated his question: "Master, you want to ask what to do if the fourth summon is also a Demon King, right?"

Mu Qiu nodded.

Based on a 50% probability, it's possible to summon the Demon King four times in a row.

This situation might happen again every few thousand years.

"Then we can only rely on everyone's strength to get through this hundred years—because there is only one Demon King, so even that forbidden book cannot summon the Demon King again if he is not sealed or killed. At this time, the object summoned by the forbidden book will definitely be the hero."

As she spoke, Vera sighed slightly, a troubled expression on her face: "But the more troublesome situation is that the hero died in an accident before he could grow up."

For example... the nine most recent heroes, nobody even knows what they look like or what their names are, they're like that.

"Only the brave can face the Demon King in the abyss, and only the brave can weaken the Demon King's power at its root."

"If the hero never appears, and the Demon King continues to accumulate power in the abyss, then once the Demon King's power is restored, no one will be able to stand against him."

"The 137th generation 'Holy Remains Hero' was forced to shoulder a great responsibility after two heroes he had summoned in the past three hundred years died unexpectedly. In his later years, he once again plunged into the abyss, further weakening its power, and then left his holy remains for the next generation of heroes to protect them..."

Mu Qiu couldn't help but ask, "What is a Holy Remains?"

"They are the remains of a saint."

Vera fiddled with her hair as she walked and said, “It’s a very special treasure. Usually, after a saint dies, his or her remains will only possess the saint’s power for a short time before it dissipates. But if you crush your own soul and mix it into the remains, so that a part of your soul is attached to each piece of the remains, you can keep the saint’s power on the remains for a long time.”

"However, very few people would do such a thing, especially heroes. If a hero dies of old age, it is said that he can return to his original world. But if he shatters his soul, not only will he not be able to return to his original world, but he will also lose the chance to be resurrected or reincarnated. It is a complete and utter death."

Mu Qiu was filled with respect and nodded slightly: "As expected of a hero and warrior who is revered by all. But then again, judging whether someone is a hero solely based on the Holy Sword... doesn't that sound too casual?"

I wonder where the Holy Sword is?

If he tries to pull out the holy sword himself and finds that he can't, then it means that he is not a hero at all, right?

But if he were to actually draw the holy sword, everyone would know his name as a hero.

Therefore, it seems best not to attempt to draw the holy sword...

"Any hero recognized by this world can definitely draw the Holy Sword. Besides the Holy Sword, angels can also prove the hero's authenticity. Every hero will always be accompanied by a contracted angel."

Vera answered without hesitation.

As she spoke, her beautiful eyes flickered slightly as she glanced at Mu Qiu.

To be honest, the owner sometimes gives the impression of lacking basic common sense.

These are things that even commoners would know, so how could a nobleman like the master not know them?

During their conversation, the three of them soon arrived at the Adventurers' Guild located in the northern part of the city.

The Adventurers' Guild in the City of the Earth was far more magnificent than that in the border town, with two huge lion-like magical beast statues standing at the entrance, looking imposing.

Mu Qiu took the lead and walked into the hall. The first thing he saw was the task bulletin board that occupied an entire wall.

The wall was covered with a dense array of quest lists, and many adventurers were gathered around it, looking for suitable quests.

"Master, shall we go over there and check out the dungeon-related quests first?"

Fiona pointed to an area marked with "Dungeon Affairs".

Mu Qiu waved his hand and said, "No rush, let's take care of business first."

Having said that, he walked straight to the reception counter, found an empty window, and spoke to the female receptionist behind him:

"Hello, I would like to post a task."

"Okay, sir."

The receptionist skillfully took out a form and pen, smiling, and said, "Please specify the type of task, the content of the task, your detailed requirements, and your compensation."

As she spoke, she pointed to a wooden sign on the side.

"If this is your first time posting a task, you can take a look at the rules here first."

Mu Qiu glanced briefly at the wooden sign before looking away, cleared his throat, and said, "Well, the first task is a search mission. The objective is to capture the witch alive and bring her to the location I specify. As for the reward..."

Mu Qiu paused and thought for a moment.

The bounty issued by the Empire for the search of the witch is between ten thousand and one million gold coins.

So it's reasonable for him to offer a bounty of 500,000 gold coins on the witch, right?

Thinking of this, Mu Qiu smiled slightly and said, "Let's make it 500,000 gold coins."

"puff--!"

A dwarf adventurer who was drinking nearby spat out his beer and coughed violently.

The receptionist's hand, holding the pen, froze in mid-air. She looked up, staring incredulously at the black-haired boy before her: "Sir? How much? Five hundred thousand gold coins?"

"Yes, I heard there's a bounty on the head for capturing the witch recently?"

Mu Qiu chuckled and said, "The highest is one million gold coins. If I can use that to exchange for bounties, I can make a fortune."

"..."

The waitress's gaze became somewhat subtle.

Although the maximum bounty is one million gold coins, the minimum is ten thousand gold coins. This gentleman doesn't think that on average it's 50.5 gold coins, does he?!

"Um, sir, are you sure it's 500,000 gold coins? You may not know, but the Empire's bounty for witches is usually 10,000 gold coins..."

Mu Qiu nodded affirmatively to the receptionist: "That's right, it's 500,000 gold coins. Is there a problem? Does the guild not allow the posting of a quest to search for a witch?"

"It is permissible, but..."

The receptionist paused for a moment, then gently reminded her, "But... harboring a witch is a serious crime. If you're looking to use it to exchange for a bounty..."

In addition to the reward of 10,000 to 1 million gold coins, completing bounties from the Empire will also accumulate merit points.

Therefore, some nobles would offer a bounty of 30,000 to 50,000 gold coins for witches. Once a mercenary group captured a witch, they would first hand her over to the noble, who would then hand her over to the temple or the city lord to accumulate merit.

But offering a reward of 500,000 gold coins for the witch is clearly not worthwhile, even for the sake of merit...

Could it be that the other party is trying to harbor a witch?

Before Mu Qiu could speak, Vera explained for him: "Of course our master would never harbor witches. Master just wants to taste the flavor of witches, whether they are little thunder witches or big thunder witches, whether they are black-stockinged witches or white-stockinged witches—Master wants to taste all kinds of witches until they roll their eyes and make 'snack-snack' noises before reporting it to the Empire. Is this not allowed?"

"Cough, cough... Yes, that's exactly what she said."

Mu Qiu coughed lightly.

Although I really want to argue, isn't the reputation of being a lowly nobleman better than being seen as a criminal harboring a witch?

female receptionist: "..."

So this is what those low-class nobles thought!

Even the maidservant could so brazenly utter such vulgar remarks about her master; it's hard to imagine just how debauched this nobleman was in his daily life...

How rude of her to think that the other person was a criminal who harbored a witch.

The receptionist immediately apologized to Mu Qiu: "I'm sorry, sir, I misunderstood you. So you wanted to use your mighty greatsword to punish those wicked witches? Then I think you should add some more mission conditions, such as using the anti-magic cocoon to capture the witches, and not having any contact with the witches to ensure their chastity..."

Mu Qiu's lips twitched.

Doesn't this additional condition make him seem more like a low-class nobleman?!

However... without this condition, his high bounty on the witch seems very suspicious; it looks like he's trying to harbor an accomplice who might harm the witch...

"Then let's add them all!"

The receptionist nodded and, with great professionalism, picked up a pen and began writing down the requirements on a piece of paper: "Okay, mission objective: capture one witch alive. Reward: 500,000 gold coins. May I ask your name or code name?"

"Just use... um..."

Mu Qiu thought for a moment, then pointed to Fiona next to him: "Her name is Fiona, so let's publish it under her name."

Fiona: "!!!"

Fiona's eyes widened as she belatedly realized what was happening.

Wait a minute, if this kind of task is posted out, won't she be the one who gets the stigma of being lewd?!

"Wait, wait! Master, I also have a code name!"

Fiona protested.

"Oh, then let's use a code name. Let's use the code name 'Princess Knight'."

The receptionist looked embarrassed: "Um... the codename 'Princess Knight' has already been used. Would you like to choose another one?"

Hmm? The character already has the same name, right?

Mu Qiu raised an eyebrow and casually said, "Then let's call her the lewd Princess Knight... cough! Fiona, what are you doing?"

Fiona, furious, lashed out at Mu Qiu's leg with her tail and shouted, "That's not the code name! It should be Dragon Knight!"

"Dragon Knight... This code name has never been used."

The female receptionist nodded and wrote down the publisher's code name on the paper.

Mu Qiu shook his head slightly, feeling a mix of emotions.

Fiona, you're still too young.

If you use the codename "Dragon Knight" now, people will know that you once issued this kind of mission.

But if you use a code name like "Vulgar Princess Knight," who would know that Dragon Princess Knight and Vulgar Princess Knight are the same person?

It's like rushing out of a bathhouse when there's a fire, with no clothes on but a towel. In that situation, the thing you need to cover is your face!

Mu Qiu clicked his tongue and continued, "There's a second mission, also a search mission, the target is a dragon, and the goal is to capture it alive. As for the reward... let's say two million gold coins."

"Crack!"

The receptionist dropped her pen onto the table, her mouth agape as if she had heard something unbelievable.

A deathly silence fell over the area around the counter, and all the adventurers who heard those words stared at Mu Qiu in shock.

Capture a dragon?!