Chapter 249: Second Hero

Cassian alone showed no sign of surprise, he just wore a calm and detached smile as though none of this had anything to do with him.

"Hero Xiao Tao."

"Y, yes."

Amid the murmuring around them, the king called Xiao Tao’s name.

Xiao Tao flinched again and turned toward the king. His face had gone deathly pale, and he looked as though he might collapse at any moment. Qiu Nuoya was already so worried that he could hardly bear to watch.

"Where is the Divine Sword Velikorya?"

"Um... They took it away earlier because weapons aren’t allowed during an audience with the king..."

That’s right. Bringing any weapons into an audience with the king was strictly prohibited.

Naturally, Qiu Nuoya’s staff had been confiscated as well. But since he could use magic without his staff, Qiu Nuoya could not help wondering whether the rule actually accomplished anything.

Still, a rule was a rule, so he followed it properly.

At the king’s signal, the weapons that had been confiscated from Qiu Nuoya and the others were brought back on a tray.

However, the attendant who had confiscated their weapons looked confused and shook his head.

"His Majesty, Hero Xiao Tao was not carrying a sword."

The king turned his gaze toward Xiao Tao.

"Hero Xiao Tao, what does this mean?"

"Um... I gave the sword to Warren."

"You gave it to him? The Divine Sword Velikorya?"

"Yes. I couldn’t handle it properly, so I gave it to him."

Xiao Tao answered the king in a frightened voice, intimidated by his stern tone. The king then looked around at everyone in the room, probably trying to figure out which one of them was Warren.

Xiao Tao’s words also left everyone else visibly shaken, and the room erupted into murmurs once again.

Well, of course they would be surprised. The Divine Sword Velikorya was a treasured legendary sword, not something an ordinary person could simply ask for and obtain.

It was only natural that they found it difficult to believe Xiao Tao when he so casually claimed that he had given such a sword to someone else.

"Warren, is it? Just who are you?"

"O... I, I am Warren, a Rank D adventurer from the western city of Coalora!"

Warren straightened his back nervously and answered after being called by name. His response caused another wave of surprise to spread through the room.

"The western city of Coalora? I’ve never heard of it. What sort of backwater place is that?"

"More importantly, a Rank D adventurer? Why would someone of such a low rank possess the Divine Sword...?"

"This is the height of disrespect!"

Qiu Nuoya could understand why the older men felt that way, but Warren obtaining the sword had ultimately been completely beyond his control. There was no reason to speak about him like that.

Besides, the Divine Sword had chosen Warren itself, and he was the one who now wielded it. They had no grounds to complain about that.

"Everyone, be silent! First, we must determine whether that sword is genuine. Call an appraiser immediately."

At the king’s commanding voice, silence returned to the room, and an appraiser was hurriedly summoned.

Well, Qiu Nuoya’s Appraisal skill had already confirmed without a doubt that it was the Divine Sword Velikorya, so there was no chance it would suddenly turn out to be a fake.

Sure enough, the moment the appraiser arrived, the sword was examined and confirmed to be genuine.

Once again, everyone’s eyes turned toward Xiao Tao and Warren.

"It seems there is no doubt that this is the Divine Sword Velikorya. But what exactly is going on? This is the Hero’s sword. It is not something that just anyone is allowed to possess."

"I, I understand that. That’s why I, as an adventurer, will return the sword to His Majesty the King."

Warren stumbled over his words badly, but after saying that, he let out a breath.

Well, originally, the Divine Sword Velikorya had been reported missing, and a reward of ten platinum coins had even been offered for its return.

The group had no real use for the sword anyway, and Qiu Nuoya also thought that returning it was probably the best option.

"You intend to return the Hero’s sword? Hero Xiao Tao, are you all right with that?"

"I, I’m not a Hero! And I can’t use that sword anyway. I don’t need it. I’ll return it!"

Just as Xiao Tao finished saying that, the appraiser spoke up.

"Your Majesty, if I may."

"What is it?"

"I have just appraised this sword, and its current owner is the young man named Warren standing there. Furthermore, his title is ’Chosen by the Divine Sword,’ and his occupation is... ’Hero.’"

The atmosphere in the room instantly erupted into another wave of commotion.

Even Qiu Nuoya could not hide his shock.

Warren was a Hero?

No one had ever told Qiu Nuoya anything about that!

"Wait, what? Isn’t that some kind of mistake...?"

Warren himself seemed to be hearing this for the first time. He looked bewildered as he tried to deny it, but the appraiser confidently declared,

"There is no possibility of an error in my appraisal!"

Come to think of it, the titles displayed in one’s status were rewritten from time to time regardless of one’s own intentions. Occupations could change as well. When Qiu Nuoya thought back on his own experience, his initial occupation had been "Wandering Child," followed by "Lost Adventurer," and then, after some time had passed, it changed to "Novice Adventurer."

Considering that, Qiu Nuoya could not rule out the possibility that Warren’s occupation had changed to "Hero" the moment he was chosen by the Divine Sword.

Looking back, it had only been Xiao Tao whose status information had been updated by the appraiser in Cider Orchard. Warren’s status had never been checked at all.

No one had imagined that his occupation might have changed at the time.

Most likely, even Warren himself had failed to notice the change.

Warren was asked to present his identification, and he hurriedly pulled it out of his bag.

Written there, unmistakably, were the words "Hero."

Warren simply stood there in stunned silence.