For the next few days, everything was peaceful. And Rowan made the most of it.

Ever since his summoning, he had been thrust into battles of political intrigue or raw strength. The time to relax and rest was very much welcomed. And Rowan spent it doing stuff he always wanted.

“Can you tell me what you’re doing here?” Rowan asked.

“It’s all about what we can do now to better our fields in the future,” the farmer admitted nervously. “It’d be a waste for all of this water to just evaporate. It’s enough to rejuvenate the fields for a long time. We can super-saturate the ground and keep it fertile and watered for much, much longer than it normally should be.”

“And you’re doing all of this with your cards?”

The farmer looked around and leaned forward. “I’m only telling you this because you’re the hero, Hero Rowan. But I’m the only uncommon farmer around and my family’s been saving up cards for generations. We’ve got a couple of good cards that would make any farmer jealous.”

And he wasn’t lying. His thirty fields had turned into giant sponges, sucking up all the water in only two days.

“So how long will the water keep?” Rowan asked. In his head, he was comparing the effect to Lavish Feasting.

“Years. If I manage this well, I can pass it onto my children and their children as well,” the farmer excitedly said.

“This means that you’ll be safe from droughts in the future?” Rowan asked, genuinely curious. Here, farming was still a relatively manual affair with hand tools and oxen. But there were still things that made it magical.

“Yes and no.” The farmer dropped his head. “There’s a limit on how much water can be stored this way. Long droughts hurt still. And not everyone can put in the extra watering work. So it’s more likely that when the drought comes, we’ll have to share this water.”

“It’s still really impressive,” Rowan said and he meant it.

The farmer smiled at that. “Not as impressive as you, Hero Rowan. And I wanted to say sorry about the way we acted during the siege. We all knew that you were helping us. It’s just that… our whole lives, we were told that we were safe. And now there are monsters and corrupted creatures? It’s not the life that I signed up for.”

“It’s okay,” Rowan said. He had already forgiven the villagers. Olivia kept a longer grudge but even she was softening to them. The people of Felton’s Mill might have been real bastards when everything was on the line, but there were decent people in peacetime. Especially since they were cleaning up the battlefields and repairing the walls without any prompting.

In fact, Rowan glanced back at the wall where a woman was performing literal miracles.

“She’s quite something isn’t she,” the farmer said, standing up to look at the sight as well. “Besides Desimir, she’s the only other rare class in the village.”

“Rare?”

“Of course. She’s the whole reason the world even has a place called Felton’s Mill.”

The woman strolled toward them. She was pushing the latter half of her fifties, which meant that she was firmly among the oldest in the village. But it was a young fifty. The system’s stats added a spring in her step and gave her the vigor of someone nearly half her age. It also helped that everywhere she stepped, damage and grime retreated.

“Hero Rowan,” the old woman said. “Glad to see you out here.”

“Yeah, I wanted to ask. How do you do that?” Rowan asked, gesturing at her feet.

“Walk with me, young man,” the woman replied. Rowan waved goodbye to the farmer and walked back toward the village with the woman. “It’s one of my family’s most cherished cards. Stellar Upkeep is its name. A long time ago, someone in my family must have served the nobles.”

“And you chose it as your heart card?”

“Oh, young man,” the woman laughed. “It’s not like there was much competition. The other options were mostly common with a few uncommons sprinkled in. Do you know how much money it’d take to get a good uncommon heart card without being blessed with it?”

Rowan nodded. He stuck his spear in the ground and breathed deeply. None of the villagers commented on the fact that he went everywhere with his spear but he caught them glancing at it, as if wondering why the hero was always with a spear.

The simple answer was that he needed Keen Spear to feel at peace. The horrors of men dying, monsters trying to eat him, and the demon corrupting him was enough for a whole lifetime of bad memories.

Inspired by the conversation, the hero took a quick glance at his status screen, much changed by all the fighting and the terror of what they’d been forced to face.

Rowan Clairfont

Level 37 Reckless Spear

EXP: 185430/240000

STR: 39*

VIT: 12

DEX: 39*

PER: 20

INT: 10

WIS: 11

Deck (5/5):

* [Heart] Keen Spear (Epic, Passive)

* [Class] Blood Siphon (Uncommon, Passive)

* Ravaging Lightning Lance (Rare, Active)

* Persistent Regeneration (Rare, Active)

* Lavish Feasting (Rare, Passive)

Blessings:

* Awakened Blessing of the Stalwart Hero

Rowan was proud of his progress even though a part of him had expected to finally step into the rare tier after all the fighting.

The amount of experience he needed to advance to another level was almost astronomical at this point. Which made the fact that people got to rare or epic in peacetime all the more impressive. But he hadn’t exactly walked away from the battle a pauper.

The experience was obvious, but beyond that, and much to the hero’s excitement, he finally got the chance to replace his very first class card. Now, he had something much better.

Ravaging Lightning Lance (Rare, Active)

Unleash the wrath of the heavens upon your foes and ravage their bodies with lighting. You can either summon blasts of lighting lances out of thin air at a much greater mana cost, or channel that attack through a spear type weapon for reduced cost and increased effectiveness.

It wasn’t the same as Empowered Thrust and Rowan genuinely hoped to eventually get his hands on an improved version of that card since it felt easier and more natural to use. But there was no denying that Ravaging Lightning Lance, courtesy of the demon knight and its mount, was definitely an upgrade.

That wasn’t to say the rare card was easy to use. The first time he equipped the card, Rowan had almost fried himself when the lance arced back and hit him. It was only one time but that didn’t stop Olivia from using that as a laugh for about a dozen times already.

“Well, thanks,” Rowan said, snapping out of introspection as he caught sight of his menace of a companion. He ran forward to greet her and then stopped dead in his tracks.

In the distance were two familiar figures riding toward the village. A man and a woman. The two riders were at the head of an army. Knights rode behind them while a massive group of ordinary soldiers marched in orderly rows. They had been through a battle with splotches of red and brown among their ranks.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“I can’t believe they’re only just getting here! The mages left over a week ago,” Olivia grumbled.

“You think they’re reinforcing us because they expect more demonic trouble?” Rowan asked. Olivia turned around and stared into Rowan’s face. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, I thought that maybe… Did father ever teach you about the emblems of the noble houses and their colors?” Olivia’s fingers were twitching towards his own but she restrained herself.

“He did,” Rowan said. “Oh, oh.”

Understanding dawned on Rowan as he realized what he was looking at. The army was sporting the colors of House Sutton. And unless there was a second hidden army somewhere in the barony, the two riders at the front were…

All of a sudden, Rowan’s heart tightened. He stole a glance at Olivia and saw that she was fidgeting on her own. In theory, the two of them had just saved a village from getting destroyed and fought off demons far above their weight class. They hadn’t done anything wrong, he hadn’t done anything wrong.

And yet, Rowan couldn’t help but be nervous meeting Kayden again. Especially with the knowledge that he had been spending the nights after the last demon battle staring into a fireplace with her and falling asleep together.

Olivia took a few hurried steps forward before catching herself and falling back again. She even schooled her expression into a dignified look. And then she did what seemed to have turned into instinct for the two of them when they were stressed over the last few days, she grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze.

Almost immediately, a cold shiver raced down Rowan’s spine and he wondered if it was worth trying to get her to let go. But before he could decide one way or another, he felt the full weight of a gaze land on his shoulders.

Rowan stiffened. I guess come hell or high water. We’re doing this.

Kayden Sutton came into view first. And when Rowan could make out his face, he saw a snarl forming on the baron’s lips. His wife, Camilla, looked oddly smug.

You know, it might not be too late to change my name and move to a different kingdom.

—

Kayden gave the briefest of nods towards Rowan and Olivia before he waved his knights off and went to visit Bron. After a lot of ceremony and logistics, Rowan found himself alone in a room with the Sutton family.

Luckily, Olivia drew the first shot. “You could have come to visit a bit faster, you know?”

“There was a lot to do in the aftermath of the invasion, dear,” Camilla said, pulling Olivia closer and adjusting her clothes in spite of the younger woman’s protests. “There’s a lot of work to be done to recover from all of this.”

“How bad was it?” Rowan attempted to steer the conversation into safe grounds and was immediate met with Kayden’s full attention. The baron had been throwing glares Rowan’s way whenever he could without his wife catching on. Now, Rowan had just handed him the perfect opportunity.

“It’s not as bad as it could have been,” Camilla answered. “Kayden, stop doing that and come sit.”

The baron grunted and settled down on one of the seats with a kind of wince that Rowan recognized. He, and the rest of the hero party, had been showing the same expression for the past few days, a byproduct of pushing too far in combat and taking too many potions. Although Rowan’s stats showed that he was stronger than ever before, his body was tattered. He needed time to let his wounds heal and replenish the stock he’d drawn on.

“Losses?” Olivia asked quietly, her eyes fixed on her father. After all, if Rowan could recognize potion overuse, so could the alchemist.

“Four more settlements were attacked, aside from Felton’s Mill. A city and three villages. The city’s fine. I had experienced troops stationed there since it’s closer to the frontier than I’d like. Two of the villages were wiped out and one is mostly still standing. None of them were actually attacked by powerful demons, though.” Kayden sounded tired as he spoke, and his wife went over to stand by him, her hand firmly on his shoulder.

“Powerful as in… epic?” Rowan ventured.

“Epic,” Kayden sighed.

“How could something like this happen? What was the frontier doing?” Olivia hissed.

“It’s not entirely their fault,” Kayden said, though reluctantly. “Such a surge in demon activity shouldn’t have been possible for several more months. The defenses simply weren’t set up to handle them yet.”

“And I’m sure that failure has nothing to do with the fact that our family’s territory is first in line of any invasion force,” Olivia snapped out.

Almost instinctively, Rowan reached out to take Olivia’s hand. The brief smile that earned him was worth the glare he got from the baron and the wry look on the baroness’ face. Rowan toughed it out. For all of Olivia’s impulsiveness and short temper, she was true to herself. She wasn’t one of those calculating people who measured every word or hid themselves behind elaborate rituals. She was just herself.

“Perhaps, Olivia, I think…” Kayden winced and tilted his head the tiniest fraction upward toward his wife. “Ah, what I mean to say is this. Olivia, I would suggest not sharing any such accusations in public. It wouldn’t do much at this point. And most nobles have interests tied up in the frontier. They don’t want this as much as I do. One of the towns fell in the wave and its commander was lost. An epic tier combat class.”

“Interests?” Rowan asked. “What does that mean? Isn’t it practically a death sentence for anyone not strong enough to be sent there?” Rowan was picturing the frontier to be an inhospitable hellscape staffed by the unlucky souls in the kingdom’s army.

“The nobles all have their own towns along the frontier. It’s a business to them. What they want is the constant stream of cards coming out of the frontier,” Camilla said.

“But the system assigns the cards to the combatants. So they all signed contracts like me?” Rowan asked.

“No,” Kayden said as his eyes sparkled. “Rowan, you see my army. I train them, give them equipment, and lead them into battle. But for any monsters they kill, they get to keep the cards. That’s the iron law of the kingdom. You fight? You keep your reward. So tell me, how do the nobles get their cards?”

Rowan could see that this was a test and the realization made it that much harder to think. He tried to stall for time. “Are these soldiers that are stationed on the frontier?”

“Soldiers and mercenaries.”

“And you said that there were towns right?” Rowan said slowly. Camilla nodded encouragingly. “The soldiers and mercenaries, they need a place to rest, food to eat, and even entertainment. And the noble houses control that. Cards would be the currency of frontier towns.”

“Well done,” Camilla said. “The towns are built by the nobles. They own every single shop or service. So they get to set their own prices.”

“And I’m guessing the prices aren’t pretty.” Rowan didn’t even bother keeping the disgust out of his voice. “They’re sucking the blood of people who are dying for the kingdom to stay safe.”

Kayden shrugged and Rowan noticed Olivia looked particularly uncomfortable. When he arched a brow in question, she blushed.

“We used to own one of these frontier towns,” Kayden said.

“But it was managed fairly,” Olivia rushed to say. “It was one of the biggest because of our practices but then the Sutton House was demoted to…” She trailed off and Rowan didn’t need to ask for clarification.

“Be that as it may, it is in the best interest of nobility to keep things running smoothly in those towns,” Kayden said, picking up the conversation again. “For one of them to be reduced to near rubble? It goes to show that this wasn’t just some plot to hurt us. This was a genuine demonic invasion.”

“Dad, was it dangerous? Are you alright?” Olivia’s voice softened and Rowan watched the baron’s weariness and bad mood melt away.

“I’m fine, I assure you. The rewards we got from the invasion also more than compensated any losses we took.” A small smile rose on Kayden’s lips as he looked in Rowan’s direction. “Speaking of, considering how you protected Felton’s Mill and helped save Olivia from danger, I won’t ask for my share of the loot… this time.”

“Dad!” Olivia blushed.

“A contract is a contract,” Camilla chimed in too, her eyes dancing with the same mischief Rowan saw in Olivia’s green irises. “Of course, such things could be waived for family.”

Kayden choked. Olivia’s face turned scarlet. And Rowan thought that if a hole opened in the ground, he might just jump in it.

“Dear, ahem, you can’t say things like that,” Kayden whispered as he tried to keep his voice in control.

“I take it then that you haven’t heard?” Camilla laughed. She looked so self-satisfied it bordered on smugness.

“Heard what?”

“Oh my! I can’t possibly share such sordid details. What if someone overhears?”

Kayden whipped his head around, leaned forward, and stared daggers into Rowan. “What is she talking about?”

“Oh dear, don’t do that,” Camilla said as she kept her arm on the baron. Kayden flinched as he half-willingly leaned back in his chair. “A little bird told me that they were sharing private time in the hero’s very own bedroom. They were on the bed.”

Rowan almost jumped out of his chair but Olivia beat him to it. “We were discussing loot! And we were just tired! We couldn’t have done anything even if we wanted. Which we didn’t!”

“People also said that our daughter likes to stroll through the village hand in hand with the hero, why, we even saw them do it,” Camilla continued.

“I was just keeping hold of him so he doesn’t wander off and so we get where we need to go faster!” Olivia protested.

“They often spend time together, all alone.”

“I needed to plan and deal with all the logistics after Bron was hurt. Rowan was the only one who could help.”

“You know, they even say that the hero hasn’t slept in his own room for the last week.”

As Olivia faltered in her response, Rowan ventured his own attempt. “We just have the blankets set up in front of the fireplace and kind of doze off together?”

Kayden’s face turned the same shade of red as Olivia. His next words were spat out like he was chewing on gravel. “We should talk, Hero Rowan.”

Olivia stood up. “You can’t kill him. I didn’t even kiss him yet or anything.”

Her father’s attention briefly switched over to her. “Yet?”

Olivia grabbed Rowan’s hand and ran for the door. Somehow, they made it through and when Rowan risked a glance back, he saw Camilla with both hands on Kayden’s shoulder. She gave him a wink as the door slammed shut behind them.

—

Thankfully, Rowan found a way to stay out of trouble for the next few days. Kayden was more than a father, he was the baron whose barony had just been ravaged. Between training his army and coordinating the relief and rebuilding efforts of his entire barony, the baron was too busy to execute whatever scheme he had thought up.

And so Rowan found a way to torture himself. Practicing and training with his new card and finding new combinations for his deck. With three passive cards, there wasn’t much that he could do but Ravaging Lightning Lance was like a cave, there was always more to attempt and explore.

When things began settling down and a messenger came to fetch Rowan, he thought that Kayden was finally settling debts. But he walked into a room with the baron dressed in noble clothes while a pompous-looking stranger stood in the center.

“Hero Rowan?”

Rowan caught the eye of Kayden and the baron gave an imperceptible nod. “Yeah, that’s me,” Rowan answered.

“Good.” The stranger pulled out a scroll from his pouch and slowly unfurled it. “In the name of the king, I hereby inform you that one Rowan Sutton, his party, and any support you deem fit to outfit him with, are to present themselves at the town of Rest’s Remorse in no more than three weeks. You will find the details of his deployment here. You are dismissed.”

The stranger rolled the scroll back up before tossing it into Kayden’s lap. “Baron Sutton, the order has been delivered. If the hero doesn’t show up, you’ll be held responsible.”

Kayden nodded gravely. Without another word, the man turned around and left the room. As the footsteps faded away, a silence settled between Rowan and Kayden.

For a few seconds, Rowan wondered how he should break the ice. “Where’s Rest’s Remorse?”

“The frontier.”