"Brother? You said, brother?! Are you out of your goddamn mind?! Lars Leo!"

Upon hearing what Lars had just said, general Blake lashes out at Lars both shocked and furiously, as if Lars had just done something forbidden.

General Blake looks at Xiao to reconfirm Lars' statement.

"Now that I take a good look at him, he truly is the brother of the candidate of Light, he was unconscious when we found him."

"Your majesty, Pope Baton, please give me the order to execute Lars Leo right here, right now! He has done the unimaginable act of bringing a non-related outsider from another world, who knows what kind of devilish plan he is planning for doing such a thing."

General Blake bows down to Pope Baton and also the King, who's sitting at the throne which was at the furthest end of the audience room.

The king of the Julian Empire, also known as William IV, was a man with wrinkles all over his face, has tidy yet old gray hair, nicely combed mustache and short beard, tall and obese looking body shape and presented himself as a weak spirit looking old man. King William was sitting at his throne without uttering any words at all, and all the talking and decision was done by Pope Baton.

As General Blake requested the King and Pope Baton, the king didn't say anything, he just blankly looked at the air. Only Pope Baton replied to General Blake.

"I understand your position as the General and also the head of the Royal Guard, your duty is to secure the safety of the people in this country and also the King, but let us give Lars sometimes to explain himself first, knowing him, he wouldn't just bring a non-related outsider to our world for no reason, right? Lars."

Pope Baton looked at Lars, who was grinning as usual, and Pope Baton continued his words.

"Or should I call you your other nickname, the God of calculation, the one who makes the impossible possible through pure calculation and prediction?"

With that being said, Lars lets out a malicious smile and proceeds to cover his face with his hand, pretending to be embarrassed by what Pope Baton had described to him.

"My oh my, you flatter me, Pope Baton, I might die out of shyness if you keep going on. Hehe."

"State your reason, Lars Leo, before this blade runs through your neck."

General Blake was getting impatient by Lars goofing around attitude, he places his hand on the hilt of his sword strapped at his waist as he threatens Lars in a killing-intent manner.

And as usual, Lars remains unaffected by the threat as he dances around, stating his reason playfully.

"Reason? The very simple reason indeed, I mean, you guys are lacking one more hero, right? So, here I'm, being a goody-good by bringing in another one to you guys. Hehe."

"And why should you, the one who got exiled from this country, care about the future of this country? Any proof for us to trust you?"

General Blake has begun to pull his sword out for a tiny bit as he was getting more and more frustrated by the disrespectful manners Lars was showing up until now.

The tension in the air was rising as there was an invisible spark between General Blake and Lars. General Blake was going to make the first strike any secs while Lars was grinning as usual, but at the same time, watching his opponent's every movement.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

"In that case, we should ask the one who's the candidate of the Light hero."

Fortunately, Pope Baton pauses the spark between them and breaks away the tension in the air by voicing out his mind in a calm tone as he faces Xiao and asks him politely.

"Sorry for the interruption, may I ask for your name again?"

"Xiao, my name....is Xiao."

Although stuttering his words, Xiao managed to say his name.

"Xiao, that's a good name, please to meet you, Xiao, and once again, welcome to our world, the world of Aora."

Pope Baton replied to Xiao's introduction with a radiant smile, which helped Xiao to feel a bit more relax and slowly stop his body from trembling in fear.

"Thank....thank you."

Xiao also replied to Pope Baton with a kind smile, and thanked him for such a warm welcome.

"So that's the candidate of Light hero, also known as the strongest hero among the heroes band. Interesting! We shall see who's the strongest later on."

The crimson-haired young man who was at the center of the room voices out his excitement for the appearance of Xiao as he repeatedly pumps his fist.

"Whatever, he is still pale compared to us High Elf race."

The arrogant looking High Elf girl also commented on Xiao, without looking at his direction as she thought it was not worth her time to do so.

As Pope Baton shakes Xiao's hand, he appears sorrowful and disappointed as he starts to explain to Xiao.

"Xiao, you know what's going on in our world, right? Lars brought you here as a candidate to become the Light hero, that means you're going to be involved in a lot of dangerous situations and tasks."

"Yes, Lars slightly briefed me on what's going on, and I have my reason for coming to this world, mainly something to do with the monster who killed my family."

As Xiao's trauma was slowly settling down, he speaks with a strong resolve as he remembers one of his objectives for coming to this world.

"I see, I did hear about your parents and younger brother from general Blake, which pains me to say that we are partially responsible for the tragedy that happened as your family were forcefully dragged into our problem. I don't know what to say or do to make amends for your losses, all I can say is please, forgive us for the trouble we had caused you, and we shall do everything we can to help with your losses."

With everything being said, Pope Baton was on four on the floor as he bows down to Xiao, begging Xiao for forgiveness.

"It's...it's okay! Pope Baton, it was already in the past, and it was not your fault for what had happened, so please get up."

Xiao quickly picks him up as the situation starts to get awkward.

"Forgive me, Xiao, truly, and thank you, thank you for your kindness, I can sense kindness and hidden strength in your nature, which may be the reason for Lars to choose you for the hero's candidate.

Upon listening to what Pope Baton has said, Xiao felt flattered by it as he never got held in high regards by someone before, he smiled embarrassingly while scratching his head.

"Forgive my rudeness, Pope Baton, but are you sure he can be the Light hero? According to the oracle, the one who has the potential to be the Light hero is his younger brother, not him."

General Blake speaks out his concern, as he was always putting the safety of the country and the world first, so he was worried that Xiao doesn't have the potential to become the Light hero, which greatly crumbled their force against the Demon God army.

Voices slowly fill the room after what General Blake had said as everyone in the room was also concerned about Xiao's ability and potential as the Light hero, not only was he not the one stated by the oracle, but he was brought in by the exiled mad man, Lars Leo.

Everyone was expressing worry, except for Pope Baton, who was smiling confidently.

"I believe in this young man, general Blake, he may be the brother of the original candidate of the Light hero, but he too came from the same family, which I believe he too has the same potential as his brother."

"And besides, the one who decides whether Xiao has the potential is not from us."

With that being said, he looks at the king for a sign before ordering the guards to bring in a blue crystal ball to the center of the room.

"The time has come everyone! All candidates, forward! We shall now begin the ritual for the hero selection."