'He didn't just say what I think he did, did he?'
'I must be going senile... is it age getting to me? I could have sworn I just now heard the hero say something preposterous.'
'He.... he really just said that? Was that supposed to be some sort of joke? To joke about something so inelegant and unrefined...'
The nobles around Kyle were flustered and confused with his statement, however not a single murmur was to be heard.
It was so quiet that a pin dropping would sound like the eruption of a volcano.
"Um... mister hero... perhaps I misheard what you said. Could you repeat it?"
Kyle smiled in a way that was anything but heroic.
'What is this... am I taking pleasure in seeing the disgusted faces on these nobles? Do I feel satisfied at the fact that they are unable to rebuke what I say because I am the hero?'
Kyle stood forward once more proudly, and said firmly once more.
"I will repeat myself then. I am the proud son of a whore, and my seven mothers work the honorable profession of selling their bodies for the pleasure of others."
Kyle said this as if he was bragging about a high test grade to a group of students, with his head held high.
'I love it.... these people... they are the type of people who would never even dare to rebuke the words of the hero, but also that could never allow themselves to agree with the statement I've just made... look at them squirm uncomfortably....I'll show you all that my mothers have done nothing shameful that I should be hiding!'
Kyle felt an odd sense of pleasure knowing that these nobles would usually spit at the thought of anyone having any form of association with his mothers-that is, a group of low bred prostitutes from the slums- if he were a normal person, and yet because he was the hero....
They were forced to accept his word as law.
Nobody dared to make any statements, but it was written all over the faces of the people present. Some of the mothers were covering the ears of their younger children, while others were staring at him in shock and disgust.
'These pieces of scum who would judge my mothers for their professions, without recognizing how many hardships they have been through... they are simply the worst.... but I must show them! I am the hero!! It is my job to lead the people to what is just, even when they are corrupted.
Oscar did not seem to have noticed the commotion, as he was off on the other side of the courtyard somewhere with two women- Layla being one of them- drooling over him as if he were some sort of pimp.
Kyle smiled deviously and took this as a chance.
'If that man has no intention to give my mothers any credit for raising me, then I will take things into my own hands, and ensure they are given the credit where it is due.'
"That's right! I, Kyle, the hero of this land, who will fight valiantly and give my entire soul to training myself and assisting the people of our country, was born in a SLUM! I was born in a situation so filthy that you nobles may throw up just thinking about it! I was raised by women who you would veer away from and cover the eyes and ears of your children if you ever saw them in the streets! I was raised by those same people, who it would be an unrecoverable scandal if it were ever found out that you were involved with them!!!"
Kyle happily began proclaiming the praises of his mothers.
"YES!! I AM A BASTARD!!!"
The nobles were all clearly uncomfortable at this point, and one of them stood up firmly. It was an older man who wore a monocle and seemed excessively serious.
"I think that is enough of this charade, son. This joke has gone on too far. Perhaps we were expecting too much of the hero."
"Father... what will we do if you offend the hero?", his son- who looked to be around 18 said while whispering in his ear and holding his father's coat to hold him back.
"If I offend the hero? That man is no hero. Have you ever heard of a hero who goes around pronouncing profanity like some sort of religion? I have nothing left to say. Perhaps the Indeterminant made yet another mistake."
"Father!!"
The father shoved his son out of the way, and the son bowed to Kyle in apology.
"Please excuse my father's abruptness, oh great hero. He did not mean any harm, I can assure you he was simply surprised by your statements."
Kyle took another look over to see that the women by the side of the Indeterminant had now multiplied, and he was being distracted by 5 of them at this point.
'That man reminds me of one of our customers... but not the good ones... he reminds me of the ones who wish to hog the entire facility to himself, and is rude to both other customers and disrespectful to my mothers... but he is certainly distracted right now. If he wasn't so distracted, he would surely be stopping me.'
"There is nothing worse than a noble who cannot even understand who he should respect and who he shouldn't. Did I not just hear him call me a false hero? Is that a statement that I can simply let go? If I was born into a noble household, then such an insult would be enough to start an entire war between households. Could it be that you are taking advantage of my upbringing, thinking that you can get away with such disrespect? What do you all think? Is this something that I should simply allow to pass under my ears?"
Kyle looked around to see the reactions of the people, who were all staying quiet and looking down without answering him.
It was far too dangerous to answer in the affirmative, for that would mean supporting Kyle's absurd claims, and accepting the hero who was born in a brothel.
However, they also could not disagree, lest they get on the bad side of the person who was certainly the hero of the country.
Calling him a false hero was merely disbelief on the part of the old man, as he was not prepared to accept such vulgar statements from a hero.
But Kyle started to step towards the man who was making his way out of the banquet.
Kyle stepped quickly, and in a flash was right behind the man who was almost all the way at the gates, storming out of the courtyard.
Kyle put his hand on the shoulder of the man.
"I can forgive you for calling me a false hero."
The man stumbled back in a not so elegant manner as soon as Kyle touched him, completely overtaken by his speed.
'That speed just now... that wasn't human... that was faster than I could see...'
"But your reasoning for calling me a false hero... could it be that my background is unsuitable for a hero? Is that what you are implying? Would that mean that you are disrespecting the honorable positions that my mothers hold?"
The man looked at Kyle with fear as he stumbled backwards.
'I... no... no... he isn't the hero... a vulgar man like this of such an indecent upbringing... he cannot be the hero...'
A thought then crossed the mind of the man.
'Could it be!?! This man is one of the antiheroes!?! Those fearsome and powerful beings who the heroes must face off and defeat, who are said to wish to spread chaos and disorder throughout the world???'
The man grinned as if he had figured something out.
"That must be it!!! You are no hero!!! You are merely one of the antiheroes- those beings of evil who are destined to fight against the Indeterminant, and you have disguised yourself as a hero!!"
'Huh? What is this man talking about?'
"I have no idea what you're saying. Antihero? What is that supposed to mean?"
"Trying to play dumb!? If you were a real hero, then of course you would know about the antiheroes!! The fact that you are playing dumb about them is proof that you are not the true hero!!!"
Many of the nobles in the crowd who were viewing the spectacle did find something strange about the statements that the noble made regarding the hero. Everyone in the country knew about the legends, and it would be extremely strange for the hero himself to not be aware of his own duty to defeat the antiheroes.
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The legends were common knowledge among peasants and nobility, so it was excessively strange regardless of his background to not be aware... unless he truly was trying to fein ignorance for reasons unknown.
However, while some people's suspicions fell on the hero, many of them did not pay attention, and did not recognize this inconsistency. They were still trying to maintain their composure and keep their statements politically correct, despite the deteriorating situation, so they had no time to think about such things.
"More important than that... you implied that there was something dishonorable... something vulgar or socially unacceptable about my mothers and their line of work."
Kyle raised his hand, and slapped the noble who was slowly backing up.
SMACK!
"The only thing socially unacceptable here is the fact that you would insult my mothers and their profession to my face. Do you call yourself a noble? One who is politically correct in all situations, yet quick to admonish anyone who goes against your norms? Is that your definition of being noble!? Being loaded up with your own arrogance, flaunting how much better you are than everyone else while failing to recognize true achievement, and true noble souls?"
A red mark was left on the man, who looked infuriated.
"Why you!!"
"Let us leave things here. I will have you know that as the hero, I will have no tolerance for those who do not respect the poor and lowly who give up their very souls to get by with the little they have. If anyone has a problem with them, then they can take it to me."
At this point, Oscar had escaped from the six women who were fluttering around him, and walked over to the crowd.
"Is there something wrong, everyone? What is all the commotion going on over here?"
Nobody said a word, and they all kept their mouths shut. The man who had a slap mark on his face grit his teeth in anger before fixing his monocle and turning to leave.
"There is nothing wrong. I am leaving.", he said with a distinguished maneuver as he left the room- pretending as if nothing had happened. It was a quick change of pace, because he understood well that the Indeterminant was at least the real thing, and he didn't want to make more enemies than he already had.
'I need to take my time and dig up dirt on that grease-bag from the slums... if he truly is one of the antiheroes pretending to be a hero, then all I need is proof...'
Not a single person mentioned anything about the words of the hero, but Oscar could tell that something was up.
'Did that kid do something? Or perhaps the other one? No, he seems to be in his own world in the corner over there... then it was Kyle who made the scene? Perhaps I should have kept a closer eye on him... but...'
Oscar glanced at the crowd of women behind him.
'Meh... that can wait for later. Which one of these beauties should I target tonight... such a shame that I have to stick with only one at a time...why do women always get so jealous when I try to be with multiple of them?'
Eventually, the banquet came to an end and the Harxeau family left together in their carriage back home.
Upon reaching their home, Oscar told Layla that he had some immediate business that he needed to attend to, and that he likely wouldn't return until morning.
"I see... I will miss you, darling... I will be so lonely tonight..."
"Do not worry, my love. I will be back before you know it."
"Alright..."
And with that, Oscar left, leaving Eric with mixed feelings.
'He is probably going off to be with one of those women...that means I don't have to deal with him tonight. But...'
Eric couldn't help but grab his head in anxiety.
'WHAT HAS THAT IDIOT DONE!!!! TO MAKE THOSE DISTURBING STATEMENTS IN FRONT OF THE ENTIRE NOBILITY OF THIS COUNTRY!?!!? HAS HE GONE MAD!!!??? OUR FAMILY NAME IS RUINED!!!'
Layla and Oscar were completely unaware of the bold, unheroic, vulgar, and frankly fanatic statements that Kyle had made, but Eric watched from the side, cringing at the display.
He wanted to grab his 'brother' then and there and silence him, but that would of course be completely unacceptable to do in public.
'At least that man knew how to handle himself in public.... well, with all the women floundering him I wouldn't say that he exactly was doing something acceptable either... but at least he didn't degrade himself to the level of this imbecile!'
Eric was at a complete loss for what to do.
His family name had lost any and all respect at this point, and as a noble, to live without any honor was to live in suffering.
He would become the laughing stock and the subject of gossip among all the other nobles, and they would likely ally against this household, perhaps even driving Eric from his position as a noble.
'I.... I might have to live as a peasant.... no... even worse... if the nobles decide to turn their backs on the hero and forge an alliance against us... I might even be subjected to treatment like a criminal...'
Eric fretted about the possibilities as he headed up to his room.
'This is unrecoverable... with so many peasants in my household, things are spiraling into an uncontrollable mess... peasants are truly unpredictable... I can't control them... nothing I say or do will influence them, and I have no power over the hero nor the Indeterminant.... agh.... agh.... why...WHY!!!!!!'
Eric stressed the entire night, and was unable to get any sleep.
-----
The Emperor, Percius IV had arrived in the Ruthobold kingdom at long last.
After setting out from the capital, it took well over a day of travel to arrive.
Percius was met at the border of the kingdom with a troupe of guards led by the 2nd prince himself. The king had only recently received the message, and was flustered at the fact that the Emperor of another country would be visiting on such a short notice, but his 2nd son Sylvester happened to be in the capital for certain reasons, and so he was able to personally ask him the favor of guiding the Emperor to the Capital when he entered the country.
"Of course, father. It is a duty fit for the son of a king to escort the Emperor of a neighboring country to the Capital. I will set out immediately."
And so, Sylvester Ruthobold- at the head of 50 horsemen- approached the line of carriages.
Sylvester yelled out to the horsemen in front of the caravan.
"People of the Empire! I, Sylvester Ruthobold, have been assigned the honor of guiding you all to the royal capital from here. While his majesty did not expect such an abrupt meeting, it is his duty as king to ensure that you are all guided safely to the capital, and so I am here for that reason."
"I understand. Then, let us ride in unison. Have your men take the flanks, while we take the vanguard.", ordered the man who was leading the caravan.
"Will do. Men! Split into two groups and guard the flanks with your lives!"
"Yes sir!"
The knights all spread out and the two groups worked together surprisingly well despite being from completely different countries and units.
Those who were used to the drills and order of the military understood each other well, even if they fought for different banners, and so the groups had no problems performing a joint operation and moved together as if they were from a single unit.
Percius sat in his carriage, alone and pondering things.
'Well, at the very least the king understands the situation well enough to welcome me in with open arms... to send a guard to assist my arrival should be an obvious move from a diplomatic perspective, however even that much is surprising for that idiot who never looks ahead of him and only focuses on what is right in front of him, and only is ever concerned about his own position in his own country.'
The carriage traveled through a few small villages, and through one larger village without any issues. Sylvester didn't even have to show any proof of identity in order to make it through the checkpoints, as he was well known among the soldiers of the Kingdom as a warrior and as a leader.
Without incident, the Emperor by the end of the day arrived in the capital. When he did so, there was a reception of soldiers lined up across the city streets- starting from the outer industrial district, all the way through the commercial district, and into the inner walls of the noble and royal districts.
It was quite the reception. There were trumpets and music being played, and confetti was thrown for the Emperor as if he was the king himself.
'Is he trying to please me, and butter me up with this grand reception? Perhaps he has no intention of giving up his hero to the Empire... or perhaps he has come to a realization and has instead tried to improve our relations...'
Either way, this was too much for the ruler of another country.
'Well, that being said... this visit is an unprecedented event... I suppose it isn't a bad move to throw something like this.'
----
King Ruthobold was in a frenzy.
Too much was going on.
First, the Indeterminant arrived in the kingdom.
Then, the hero happened to.... against all probability... be the one mistake he left behind in some brothel.
When the king was younger, as a prince, he was somewhat reckless and spent much time fooling around. He never really cared about ruling or his image as royalty, however it came to bite him in the ass.
Even now, King Ruthobold was only focused on his own position as the King of this country and his own gains.
'It was extremely fortunate that the Indeterminant happened to arrive in our country... if this was not the case, then we might have been taken advantage of by other countries who had their heroes awakened before us... but things are different because of our luck.... and we now hold a hero in our grasp! Our country is the most powerful in the world because of that, and I cannot afford to give up that advantage...'
However, things looked grim for King Ruthobold.
The Indeterminant was no fool.
He was able to search out and by some miracle find the hero who happened to be the king's illegitimate son- a mistake from his younger days, and was somehow able to deduce that on his own.
'I suppose he truly is a being of legend... I cannot underestimate his intelligence and abilities... which is all the more reason to keep him on my side...'
The king had been blackmailed by the Indeterminant with the information of his illegitimate son, and in exchange for keeping the secret...
"I will collect a debt from you later... please rest easy for now, knowing that your secret is safe so long as you don't make any moves against me..."
'He is cocky and was able to dig up my dirt so easily... but I cannot afford to anger him... and now that he has control of the hero as well, and has invited him into his own home... which I had no power to oppose... things are becoming a mess....'
Ruthobold had heard from one of the nobles about the chaos at the banquet earlier this day, and he was disturbed to say the least.
'He... he couldn't know that I am his father... right!? There's no way it will be found out, right? The fact that the bastard is my son... right!?'
Ruthobold couldn't stop his hands from shaking as he thought these things.
But that was not his only problem.
The Emperor of the Vythguard Empire had recently sent a sudden message that he would be visiting the royal capital because he had a matter of great urgency to discuss.
Of course, this was something which the king didn't have the power to refuse. Doing so would be essentially a declaration of war.
Instead, Ruthobold had ordered a great reception, and had even sent his own son to receive the Emperor.
'But with all these things happening... the arrival of the Indeterminant... the chaos with the hero... the arrival of the Emperor... those legends about the shift of the era certainly are proving to be true... what a pain... I need to focus on strengthening my own country. If change is bound to happen, I have to come out on top.'
With that, Ruthobold clenched a fist.
'I will not allow my country to fall as a result of this new era!! I will do everything I can to secure my position and improve my standing!'
A knock was then heard on the door of the king's room.
"What is it at this hour!?"
"Your highness, please forgive this intrusion, but the Indeterminant is here and wishes to see you. Also, there is news that the Emperor has arrived in the capital, and is being led to a prepared chamber to rest for the night as we speak."
On hearing the name of the Indeterminant, King Ruthobold quickly opened his door.
"Why didn't you say so sooner? Lead me to where he is waiting."
----