A few days passed until everything made sense to Noah. Contrary to what Noah had initially assumed, Ariel hadn't been pressured into marriage just for more points with the Hero, she genuinely had been awed by his feat of tenacity.

Noah didn't know how to tell her that it had nothing to do with tenacity, that he was just a man looking for his version of a fulfilling life, and that he wasn't really about being tenacious or anything. Technically, what he did was almost the dictionary definition of being tenacious, but that seemed to slip his mind.

Still, that wasn't the reason he refused the marriage. Of course, he didn't dislike Ariel or anything of the sort; no, quite the contrary. It was just that he had received bucketloads of marriage requests before as the Hero, and had gotten quite wary of them at this point. Besides, for a modern man, this wasn't the kind of thing he wanted to blindly rush into. Especially considering that he now had a new goal that took precedence over all else, which was to grow stronger.

As much as he didn't want to admit it, it might even be more important to him than Emma's treatment.

Did that make him selfish? That was up for debate. What was certain, though, was that he did not want to waste a single moment of his time on matters having nothing to do with reaching the peak, such as marriage. It was when he reached this line of thought and explained it to Ariel and Cedric that Ariel raised a suggestion.

"If strength and Emma's treatment are what you wish to pursue, make use of a marriage with me. That would make you a baron once Father hands the title over, as I've convinced him to. As a noble, you would have access to resources to grow stronger than an S-rank adventurer would be hard-pressed to get, even in Haldor. Considering my distant lineage to the royal throne, it would be possible to eventually claim Duke status, where you could meet the Spirit Queen."

"Okay, first, I already have an S rank thanks to your mother. I'm not too far from meeting the king anyway. Second, why are you so willing to just let me use you for status?"

"Even as an S rank, you would need a large collection of accolades to meet the king, and even more to meet the spirit queen. With those very same accolades, you could get Duke status while also getting the resources the noble life brings. As for your second question, I have confidence."

"Hmm. I see. I don't understand."

"You and I are two peas in a pod. Even if you use me for status, marriage is a matter of time."

Noah slowly turned his head from the redhead, who was in the same white clothing and standing up, to her father, who was sitting on the same sofa across the one he was on.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Both men looked at each other, and in that moment, the words conveyed to each other through their gazes were of the same meaning.

'She's gone insane; she has!'

'Crazy bitch alert!'

Still, Noah could not deny that it was a good proposal, which led to benefits for all parties. Unsurprisingly, Aeloria, the guildmaster and mother of Ariel, was not involved in her own daughter's marriage proposal at any point and readily agreed when she found out.

Noah couldn't help but feel bad for Cedric, who had to juggle these two. Luckily for him, Noah was now here to take one of them away, and Cedric, though initially surprised, was not opposed. The man loved his daughter, but she was partly insane, and considering that the other guy was a former Hero with a history of valiant deeds, he was happy to give her away to lighten his household load.

The next few days were frustrating ones for Noah. He, who immediately wanted to get to training after his vow filled him with new resolve, found himself burdened with marriage customs and the like. To his pleasant surprise, he found that Ariel was actually Lord-ranked, capable of crumbling entire palaces with just a single punch, and of the same rank as Evan. Of course, she still wasn't his match, considering that Evan's main feature of his combat prowess was his drawing of magic circles in the air and that his Lord-ranked prowess was used only to run quickly enough to draw the magic circles he needed to.

However, she was still at a level where Noah would be able to train by using monsters he wasn't used to using. This was no permanent substitute, though, and Noah found that their one- or two-hour sessions were nowhere near enough hours of training to yield results he was satisfied with. It was great for Ariel, though, who found herself gaining amounts of combat experience that others of her rank would be hard-pressed to find.

Chief-ranked warriors were the third from the top and the third from the bottom. Yet, this was the level most B-rank adventurers found themselves at. Lord-ranked warriors like Ariel were usually S-ranked, with sovereign-ranked warriors being SS-ranked. Even Delor, the Commander of the Eldoria Royal Guard, was Lord-ranked, albeit close to the sovereign rank that a few royals here and there achieved.

This considered, one of the most common hurdles in the progression of ranked warriors was being unable to find those of similar rank. This was why Ariel benefited so much from their training. Still, it was not enough for Noah, who hungered for battle.

On the night of a day filled with particularly more bureaucracy than others, Noah decided he had had enough and snuck into Ariel's room.

"Oy. Oy Ariel, get up. Let's go."

"...hmmm? Ah, has the day come? I knew you were a man as well. Sure, let me just get ready. Shouldn't we shower before we get to it?"

"What? What are you..? No, we're sneaking out. I'm not bearing with any more of this shit."

"...huh?"

Ariel did not think that her fiance, who snuck into her bedroom, was about to suggest that they elope.

Besides, couples that eloped usually did it to escape those that tried to separate them. Why were they eloping from those trying to confirm the marriage?

Is what a reasonable person would have thought. Ariel, the semi-crazy woman in love, did not. Rather, she led the way. Which made no sense, considering that Noah was the one who had wanted to go out in the first place. Needless to say, Noah was confused as well, though he just ran behind her without thinking too much either.

Truly, they suited each other. Together, the two idiots ran off into the sunset.

No, that wasn't quite right. The direction those two were heading wasn't the sunset. Where were they going?

-

A few days later, a couple, one with black hair and another with shoulder-length red hair, stood before a mythical beast for the sea, even dubbed by some fishermen as the 'God of the Seas'.

It stood proud amidst raging seas and torrents of stormy rainfall, and was a great beast the length of several mountain ranges. Its presence was like a natural disaster. Despite a great number of casualties to this beast every year, no kingdom sent out men to subjugate it. The reason was simple. The beast was simply too powerful. None with a fully functioning head on their shoulders would recklessly charge at it head on. The story was different if they had a few screw loose, though.

"We're fucking up a Leviathan, baby! Ariel, I fucking love you!"

"Me too! Let's get married!"

"We already are!"

"I know! Marry me again!"

Without a doubt, no insane couple would run into the sunset.