Rei knocked on the door of a house. After a while, a woman who was supposed to be the owner of the house appeared and was surprised by Rei's sudden appearance and tried to prostrate herself on the spot. Rei stopped him and let me climb into the house for a while.
"I'm sorry I can only serve raw tea... I'm sorry that His Majesty King Rei can come to our house... I think my son will be pleased."
"Thank you for serving the tea....that...may I greet your son?"
"Yes of course."
Rei went in front of his son with permission to greet him and joined his hands and prayed for about five minutes. Few photos are on display, probably because the mother provided pictures of her son's life.
The owner's mother's son had traveled to Shake as a Kuraki soldier to save her and had died in the war. The body was brought back politely by Kuraki's soldiers who returned earlier and were already cremated. The man was still a young man in his late twenties. Too early to die.
"I'm sorry I let you do it for so long. Then...I said it too late...That...I'm sorry. Your child..."
Rei apologized while pressing his head to the floor. There were a few tears in my eyes. Rei intended to spend more than a month organizing his thoughts about the dead in this war. However, when in front of the family in this way, the words of apology don't come out right away, and it takes up a lot of time.
Rei was ready to be abused. Rei was ready to be sworn in and beaten. And the mother of the son who died on Rei's shoulder, who was ready to do so, gently touched him.
"Raise your face. The king of a nation should not submit so easily. Your Highness Rei. I do not hate you. My son's death is sad. But this is the child. Decided. To go to war, you must be prepared for death. My son is also prepared for this. Yang Your Majesty Rei, you are here and my son has done it for his life. I am proud of him, for protecting our benefactor and our king."
The mother of her dead son smiled and told Rei. The mother behaved gracefully even though her son had died. Rei thought so for a moment. But these are heartfelt words.
The son who died for this mother was a prestigious hero who saved his life and protected Rei, a benefactor, and king. So instead of crying and mourning forever, they will praise you for doing well and send them off to another world.
"My son... I'm glad that His Highness Rei is so worried that I cry. I couldn't live like that until a while ago. I've never been this happy... But Your Highness Rei. Let me tell you a little. Please grant me."
"…Yes."
"Long live your son. Be a good king so that he is respected in the afterlife. If His Highness Rei continues to be great... he will... all who die will be rewarded."
"...Yes, yes..."
After staying for about 10 minutes, Rei left the house. Rei rubbed his face with his sleeve many times before being seen by a human. Then, after a while, looked forward with swollen red eyes.
"I'm sorry for.." Dochi
"…Ah."
"The story of the making of the memorial is also happy." Dochi
"…Ah."
"You are not angry." Dochi
"...…Ah."
"You have to do your best." Dochi
"... Ah... let's be a good king. For their part... let's do our best to be a good king who won't be disappointed... Well! Let's go next. There are still lots of places to go. . . "
"That's true. But don't be crazy. It's weird and crazy sometimes." Dochi
"It's okay. I'll live well for them... laugh, cry, be angry, and have fun. And if I ever meet them someday, thank you for being able to live thanks to you."
********
"Two years have passed. I have a lot of trouble if you don't make a sloppy face..."
"Sorry, sorry, Alexander..."
One afternoon, a Videocall through Familiars suddenly showed the Hero God, Alexander. And to Rei, who never came, a small word and a sermon started.
Those initially selected as World Nobles must report their accomplishments the following year. One year after being selected as a World Noble, it is possible to be promoted by judging human behavior up to that point, in some cases, expulsion from a World Noble, and in some cases being better than expected.
An example of the latter is Sardo Sindbal, who made his way up to Count with a year's achievement report. It seems that Sardo is still doing something to reach higher levels. Perhaps the youngest Marquis among the World's Nobles of merchants, and even Dukes above him.
It only made sense to rise to that position under a World Noble Duke, especially a Heroic God. The hero-god uses many heroes across the land. If you become a hero, you will inscribe your life as a hero, and it will be passed down forever in the future. Every child who dreams of a hero dreams.
There are several ways to become a hero. Those who vanquished mighty monsters, those who were worshiped by humans for their human virtues. However, none of them could become the heroes with the most accomplishments. The most obvious indicator is being a Duke.
Becoming a Duke is not a trivial thing. In fact, neither had been the new Duke in over 10 years. Most of the Dukes currently elected were those whose parents and grandfathers were both Dukes and Heroes. They weren't Heroes, just to say they were descendants of Heroes. It takes some credit for them to become Heroes.
Rei had no desire to become a Hero. But the people of the fire nation were also very interested in the Heroes chosen under the Hero God. That's why they sometimes hear voices asking Rei to be chosen as Hero. It's never easy being a Hero, but Rei wants to be a Hero if people want him to.
However, if it seemed that Alexander, the Hero God, was preaching when thinking of making such an effort, the path to a Hero might be an extraordinary one.
Talking with Alexander took about three hours, and it was discovered that the Kuraki Country was ruled without any problems, and it was decided to leave for the Hero Country shortly. Dochi brings coffee to Rei, who holds his head while the Video Call ends and it's troublesome.
"Thank you for your hard work. Would you like sugar and milk?" Dochi
"...Hero God asked a lot of questions. This country has indeed stabilized, but I still have a lot of work to do, so I don't want to leave yet..."