Ragon, hearing their words, was taken by surprise; he wasn't ready to be anybody's king.
"Hey, you all are wrong; I'm not fit to be a king. You all should reconsider," Ragon said as he gestured for them to get up.
"We won't get up unless you accept the leadership role," the patriarch said, representing the entire village.
"Okay, fine, I accept. You all should get up; I don't want you to view me as any different. I'm still the same person you all know; nothing is going to change." Ragon wanted to clarify everything. This explained why he was in Graknar's room when he was unconscious.
"Please, I would love to have some rest if you don't mind," Ragon said, his head still wobbling a bit as he felt he was about to faint. Thera noticed this, held his hands, and carried him back to his chambers.
He immediately collapsed onto the bed and slept.
*********
The next day, Ragon opened his eyes, shocked to have woken up in the morning.
"Hmmm! My head hurts; I must have slept all through yesterday," Ragon said, rubbing his eyes as he stood up from the bed.
Then, a minute later, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in," Ragon said, and the person immediately opened the door upon hearing him.
It was none other than Thera.
"Good morning, sir. Sorry to disturb you, but I came to help you take your bath," Thera said shyly.
"Take my bath?" Ragon wasn't expecting this from a girl as beautiful as Thera. He casually took a whiff of his armpit.
"Ugh!" He coughed as the odor he perceived was quite offensive. "Hell! Yeah, I need to take a bath," he said.
"Yes, that's what I want to help you do," Thera came closer, wanting to pull off his clothes.
"Noooo! What are you trying to do?" Ragon shifted back, feeling awkward about having a girl bathe him.
"What the heck! Who told you that I need someone to bathe me, especially a girl as... pretty as you?" Ragon said, not wanting to direct the statement at her.
Thera blushed, not expecting Ragon to compliment her.
"It's my duty to fulfill your wishes as the new king," she said, blushing as she brushed hair from her face.
"You keep saying this like it's some kind of duty you were forced into... Have you ever bathed a man before?" Ragon raised an eyebrow, curious to know.
Thera turned away, reluctant to answer.
"Not really; I haven't actually," she finally admitted.
"Damn... you're completely clueless. Then why are you doing this?" Ragon asked, surprised to hear this from her.
"Then who asked you to do this?" Ragon demanded, wanting to hear her reply.
"Hmmm... I'm not meant to tell you, but I promise he didn't force me to do anything. Actually, it's my grandpa. He is the village patriarch... but he just told me to please you as you're our savior. All these were ideas I got from my friends. I'm serious, he didn't tell me to... bathe you," she stammered, finally letting the words out.
"It's fine; I won't tell anybody about this, but please just drop the stuff there. I can take care of myself," Ragon smiled, keeping a bit of distance from her.
"Okay, but please don't tell him," Thera pleaded.
"I won't; you have my word," Ragon gestured, placing his hand over his lips to indicate he had sealed them.
"Thank you! Okay, I will take my leave now," Thera smiled, slightly embarrassed. She then went outside and locked the door.
As she locked the door, Ragon breathed a sigh of relief.
Ragon felt his divine energy gradually circulating back.
Graknar was just a three-star warrior, yet he had been able to defeat him. It was all due to the grudges that allowed him to draw a large amount of divine energy from his environment. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but it was unfortunate that if he were to find himself in a similar situation, he might not be able to replicate the same actions, let alone defeat all the other one-star warrior orcs he fought and killed.
"My path is now open; I just need to allow the flow from the environment to nourish my cells. Hmmmm!" Ragon sat cross-legged, drawing in the energy around him.
After he used his divine energy as a child, he had been unable to create the core of his energy. Normally, it took an average human fifteen years to form their core and enter the path of cultivation. But Ragon's case was different, as he had already exhausted that energy in his childhood to take on a three-star warrior.
If not for the knowledge of a half-god, he would have lost his path to cultivation. He was planning to save all his divine energy and leap straight to a five-star warrior, but he had exhausted more than half of the energy he had been saving.
However, he was indeed blessed to have knowledge from his previous life.
"Thank God I came across the Enlightenment to Divine Energy," Ragon smiled as he recalled its teachings.
He immediately began to recite it as the energies began to flow toward his body.
********
After an hour, Ragon had finished his training, and the bed was soaked black as he cleared the impurities from his body.
"Finally a two-star warrior... at least this will help fend off some threats," he said, swinging his hands and hitting the air; the force slashed a wooden structure in front of him.
"I think I really made a mess here," Ragon stared at the bed sheet, now pitch black. He removed them and went to take his bath in the pool.
He finished after a few minutes and was surprised to see new, very clean clothes.
"I thought the production of clean clothes had stopped. I haven't seen clothes this clean in a while," Ragon said, raising the clothing Thera had brought him. It was a white silk shirt and black leather pants.
"I think they're taking this king thing really seriously," he laughed as he put on the clothes.
Ragon stepped out of his chamber, and everyone who saw him couldn't take their eyes off him; he had striking silver hair and blue eyes. He was the perfect dream for everyone.
Ragon saw Thera walking toward the staircase in the castle and tapped her lightly from behind.
"Hey! Thanks for the clothes," Ragon surprised her from behind.
She turned to see a more handsome man than she previously recognized.