The Hero Becomes the Duke's Eldest Son

Translator: Marctempest

Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 176

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The First Grand Temple.

It was a term Aden had never heard before.

"That can't be."

"The First Grand Temple…."

But the reaction of the High Priest and Priest Bali, who had heard Elise's words, was unusual.

"Priest Bali, do you know something?"

"Yes, the First Grand Temple is, as the name suggests, the first temple established by the Sacred Fire Order in ancient times, and it is passed down as a legendary temple."

According to him, the story was as follows:

Much farther south than this Southern Grand Temple, somewhere in the southern Great Forest, the First Grand Temple was said to exist.

It was a sacred place, almost like the sanctuary of the Lord of the Sacred Fire.

But at some point, people forgot about its location, and now no one could find it.

"So, I thought it was just a legend…."

Priest Bali swallowed hard.

The mention of the temple, previously known only in legend, from the mouth of the Saintess, gave it an entirely different weight.

High Priest Karbasha shouted in an extremely excited voice.

"The – the First Grand Temple! If this is truly a revelation, then this must be the solution that the Lord of the Sacred Fire has granted us to save us! We must follow it!"

The First Grand Temple.

If they could find that place and light the Sacred Fire, everything would be resolved.

Despite not knowing even a tiny bit about the connection between the monsters' savagery and the Sacred Fire, his devout faith made him believe that this was the answer.

Just as hope filled High Priest Karbasha's face,

"Aww, hey, old priest?" Unknown frowned as he asked.

"This so-called First Grand Temple or whatever, it’s supposed to be in the middle of the Great Forest, right? Do you even know where it is?"

"…Well, that is…."

"Tsk, as expected, you don't know. You need to know the location to light the Sacred Fire! Are you seriously telling us to go on an expedition through that bug-infested, monster-ridden jungle in search of a legend?"

"Ugh…."

High Priest Karbasha became speechless at Unknown Nine's sarcastic yet valid point.

Aden thought to himself.

'Go to the First Grand Temple and light the Sacred Fire. Has the Lord of the Sacred Fire intervened?'

Recalling the conversations he had had with the gods during their dreams, it seemed there was some restriction on their interference with the mortal realm.

He remembered what the God of Justice and Law had said.

'They did say that if I went south, I would understand why they were helping me.'

He didn’t know what that truth was.

The gods were certainly helping him.

Though he didn’t know why, this must be related to that as well.

—Then the problem is first finding this so-called First Grand Temple, Dragonslayer.

'Indeed.'

—Do you have any ideas?

'Well, it’s not like they would give me an impossible task.'

Though it was a place passed down in legends, the fact that it was explicitly mentioned in the revelation meant there had to be some way.

'In times like this, it’s best to seek out the locals.'

Those who would know the most about the southern Great Forest were the people who lived there.

The beastman tribes of the Great Forest.

They lived in the wild, sometimes clashing with, sometimes coexisting with, the harsh environment.

They might know something.

'The problem is that the beastmen are generally hostile to outsiders, and finding their village locations is difficult….'

As he thought about this, Aden turned his head to look at Cassie, who was puffing on a long pipe.

Cassie, the cat beastman with striking red hair and red eyes.

Feeling Aden's strange gaze, she tilted her head.

"Mm? Is there something on my face?"

"No, nothing."

It seemed that finding the beastmen's village wouldn’t be as difficult as he thought.

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The next day.

Aden and his group began preparing to venture into the southern Great Forest in search of the lost First Grand Temple.

Priest Bali spoke.

"With the Sacred Fire now lit at the Southern Grand Temple, Elise’s pilgrimage officially ends today, but this is an unexpected development."

He felt a strange mix of emotions about the idea of searching for the First Grand Temple, a ruin whose very existence was uncertain even to the Sacred Fire Order.

Elise poked her head out and said.

"Aden oppa, but this time, there wasn't anything like a flash! or a boom! with a hidden door appearing or anything like that, huh?"

"Indeed."

Contrary to their expectations, when they lit the Sacred Fire at the Southern Grand Temple, no sacred artifact appeared.

'According to the system, there are a total of four sacred artifacts belonging to the Lord of the Sacred Fire. And it said that all four are located in the temples in the north, south, east, and west.'

The system always delivered the truth.

That was something Aden had confirmed through many trials and errors since obtaining the system.

The fact that there was no sacred artifact at the Southern Grand Temple meant one thing.

'It must be farther south.'

At the First Grand Temple, said to be somewhere in the southern Great Forest.

There was now an added reason to find that place.

"Then Cassie, I’ll leave it to you."

"…I never thought I’d be returning to my village, but I do owe you a lot, so I’ll guide you."

"Cassie’s hometown…."

"Mm? Knight, are you interested?"

"No, nothing at all!"

"It's cute how your thoughts show right on your face."

Alchemist Cassie smirked mischievously as she teased Rowe, causing his face to turn red as he avoided her gaze.

'How annoying.'

—I agree, Dragonslayer.

For the first time in a long while, Aden found himself sharing the same sentiment as Curse.

In any case, heading into the Great Forest with just this group felt a bit uneasy.

'The southern Great Forest is a dangerous place.'

One of the vast unexplored territories in the West Continent, known as the Southern Great Forest or the Uncharted Forest.

It was a place so perilous that even a semi-master could only manage to hold out for a short while against the dangerous dragon species, Basilisk, or the beast Leonberger, which had caused a ruckus at the Imperial Banquet.

Just knowing that was enough to understand how treacherous the place was.

"Aden chieftain, it’s been a while!"

"Ets, long time no see."

"Waa! Ets, it’s been so long!"

"It’s nice to see you again, Elise!"

Ets, the Ent boy Aden had saved in Sedus County.

He was brought along for this expedition to the Great Forest by using the Dwarf Workshop key.

"An eye for an eye, a tree for a tree."

As a tree fairy, Ets would undoubtedly prove useful for this endeavor.

However, Ets had changed considerably since Aden last saw him.

"You’ve grown quite a bit…."

"Hehe, Ents tend to grow quickly."

Ets laughed awkwardly.

Where before he had only reached Elise’s waist, he now stood tall enough to reach Aden’s chest.

That was excluding the leaves growing on his head, of course.

Elise tilted her head, pondering seriously.

"Should I start calling you oppa…?"

"You can just keep calling me Ets, Elise!"

"Okay!"

Ets said confidently.

"The day has finally come when I can repay the kindness of Chieftain Aden! The forest is practically the domain of us tree fairies, so leave it to me!"

"Alright, I’ll trust you."

Unknown muttered to himself.

"Aw man… I hate the forest; too many bugs and scary beasts…."

"If you hate it, you can stay behind."

"And leave me all alone? Yeah, right! Ow, why’d you hit me?"

"I just feel like smacking you whenever I see you."

"What a cruel tyranny… Ah, okay, okay, so put that fist down? Welcome to peace!"

"You always talk well."

After finishing their preparations, Aden and his party rented a carriage and traveled to the starting point of the southern Great Forest.

They soon arrived at the entrance to the forest.

"This is the edge of the Uncharted Forest."

"Wow! The trees are huge!"

Just as Elise marveled, the trees grew tall from the very beginning, with dense foliage.

The undergrowth was filled with tall bushes and dead branches, forming a natural green barrier.

Unknown looked at the scene with a disgusted expression.

"Ugh… What’s with these massive trees?"

—The demonic sword Seere says that the trees are so thick that you can’t see a foot ahead!

Aden commented simply.

"No wonder the subjugation squads failed."

Screeches and howls, ominous and somewhat eerie, echoed from the forest.

With trees this dense, the monsters native to the Great Forest would easily ambush them.

Priest Bali muttered with a stiff face.

"It feels like something could jump out at any moment…."

"Eek, don’t say something so ominous…."

At that moment.

—Kyawooo!

A massive dire wolf burst through the brush, baring its fangs as it charged at them.

Specifically, at Unknown.

"Aaah!"

The startled man couldn’t even run as he let out a scream.

Just as the wolf’s sharp teeth were about to sink into his neck.

Slash! Aden swung his sword, splitting the wolf’s head and body in one stroke.

Seeing the wolf’s head and body roll to his feet, Unknown staggered back, his legs giving out.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"…W-why, why, why did it have to come at me? There are so many people here!"

"Because you look the weakest."

Animals instinctively attack the weakest-looking prey.

It saw Unknown as the easiest target, and it was right.

Looking at the dead dire wolf, Aden muttered.

"Hmm… It’s definitely strange."

"What do you mean, Aden?"

"Look at it. It’s covered in wounds."

"Oh."

Rowe, noticing the wolf’s condition for the first time, unconsciously nodded.

It had many recent wounds.

'A young, strong dire wolf of this size shouldn’t have many opportunities to get injured.'

It seemed that something unusual was indeed happening in the Great Forest.

"Cassie, do you think you can find where your tribe is?"

The southern Great Forest was vast, and finding a single tribe within it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Without Cassie, he wouldn’t have even considered attempting it.

"Hold on, my lord. Could you return that ring?"

"Ring…? Ah."

The artifact they had dealt with when Aden first met the alchemist Cassie, the Ring of Swiftness.

She was asking for it back.

"Just let me borrow it for a moment."

"Here."

At her request, Aden removed the Ring of Swiftness from his finger and handed it to her.

The ring had a tiny ruby embedded in it.

"Now, just like this."

Cassie bit her thumb with her beastman’s sharp fangs, drawing a little blood.

Drip, drip.

She let a few drops of blood fall onto the ring.

A moment later.

Wuuung.

The ring emitted a brief hum.

Flash-!

A red beam of light shot out from the ring's gemstone, extending straight into the Great Forest.

Cassie said in a languid voice.

"Just follow this light, and you’ll reach our village."

"How long will it last?"

"About two hours? If the light disappears, just sprinkle a bit more of my blood on it."

Aden’s eyes narrowed slightly with suspicion as he looked at Cassie, but he said nothing and instead turned to Ets.

"Ets, go ahead."

"Yes, Chieftain!"

Ets extended his hand toward the trees in the Great Forest, sending out a green, shimmering energy.

"Friends, could you make some room?"

Then, something incredible happened.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

The trees began to move.

The ground shook as if a mild earthquake had struck.

"What, what is this!"

"What’s happening…!"

The group was startled and confused.

But what followed was even more astonishing.

Elise shouted.

"The trees are moving!"

Snap, crackle, the sounds of branches breaking and the earth being disturbed filled the air.

The trees, as if they had a will of their own, moved their roots and branches in a coordinated manner to clear a path.

"Huh."

Aden let out a chuckle.

With just a word from Ets, the trees wriggled their roots like octopus tentacles, moving in perfect harmony to open up a path.

Not only that, they smoothed out the ground with their roots, creating a trail in real time.

Curse commented as he watched.

—The tree fairies are a race beloved by the forest.

The Ents, a race loved by the forest, had ‘asked,’ and the Great Forest had ‘created a path.’

The Ent boy smiled brightly.

"Chieftain! We can go through now!"

Bringing Ets along had definitely been the right decision.