The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 75

The Pledge Token was an item given as a token of promise, pledging the honor of the family and oneself.

“If ever, Aden Remes, you need the strength of our Sedus, just once, we will lend you our power. Even if the entire family has to get involved.”

“Are you crazy? Are you serious?”

Aden looked at the Pledge Token in disbelief.

Promising to lend the family’s strength was a dangerous commitment that shouldn’t be made lightly.

This meant that Viscount Tiried of the border could personally intervene.

In other words, Aden now had the means to utilize a Sword Master once.

“Can you really give something like this away on your own? Tiried won’t stand for it.”

Aden’s question was met with a scoff from Taion.

“Huh, don’t worry about it! Do you think I wouldn’t know that much? This is a right given by my father. When I was being reprimanded for losing the family heirloom in a bet, he gave it to me to calm me down, telling me to use it as I please.”

Taion crossed his arms and raised his chin arrogantly, as if boasting.

“……”

Aden was at a loss for words at Tiried’s absurd irresponsibility.

A father who gave such authority to calm his son and a son who boasted about it.

‘This family is out of their minds.’

Aden clicked his tongue and asked Taion.

“Anyway, what do you plan to do?”

“About what?”

“I’m asking what you want to do with the ents here.”

The ents were a valuable species on their own.

It wouldn’t be strange if Taion, a noble, coveted them.

However, Aden’s concern was unnecessary.

Taion spoke earnestly.

“Strictly speaking, the Forest of Death is not part of the Sedus territory.”

Taion’s mission to eliminate the bandits was a moral act to rescue the residents of the slash-and-burn village, who were descendants of the Sedus territory.

“Well, since the monsters are gone, it might be possible to develop the area, but I have no intention of doing anything to the natives living in non-territorial land. As long as they don’t harm the territory.”

Taion referred to the ents as natives.

This meant he acknowledged the ents as a race with personality, akin to humans, rather than mere animals.

“So, Aden Remes, you handle it as you see fit, understood?”

Aden smirked.

He knew Taion was aware of the value of the ents, yet he didn’t show it. It was somewhat endearing.

“Alright, I’ll do that.”

—

After finishing his conversation with Taion, Aden went to where the ents were gathered.

All the ents were gathered around the broken Fairy Tree.

He approached Ets and asked.

“What are you doing right now?”

“……We are guarding the Fairy Tree in its final moments.”

The broken Fairy Tree still faintly exuded life, but it wouldn’t last much longer.

According to Ets, the Fairy Tree held a significance beyond being a mere connection to the spirit world for the tree fairies.

“Sniff, sob……”

“I’m sorry for not protecting you……”

The ents, each sobbing, stroked the trunk of the Fairy Tree and spoke to it.

The Fairy Tree was the one that allowed the ents to survive in this deadly forest.

It was their guardian, their companion who had grown with them, and their stalwart protector.

Ets spoke.

“The Fairy Tree was planted by our ancestors before our clan settled on this land. They broke off a branch from the World Tree of our homeland and planted it here.”

They had continued this practice, breaking a branch from the original tree and planting it anew, over and over.

Even while being hunted by humans, they never gave up on the Fairy Tree.

It was their history, their beginning, and, simultaneously, their end.

Ets approached the tree.

“You’ve done well.”

Tears welled up in Ets’ eyes.

“You’ve been with us as we were born, lived, and in our final moments.”

She gently stroked the grain of the Fairy Tree.

“Thank you for being with us. And I’m sorry for not protecting you.”

Plop.

The tears Ets shed turned into amber as they fell.

Aden stood by silently.

Their sorrow for losing what was essentially the spiritual pillar of their clan was not something an outsider like him could intrude upon.

But then it happened.

– Help me……

Aden heard a voice that seemed about to break.

‘What is this?’

It wasn’t a sound heard with his ears, but a will directly transmitted to his mind.

Aden soon realized it was the voice of the dying Fairy Tree.

‘So, it had a consciousness.’

The tree, having watched over the ents for hundreds of years, had developed a spirit.

Seeing the other ents, it seemed they couldn’t hear the voice of the Fairy Tree.

– Only you can hear my voice here……

Aden couldn’t understand the Fairy Tree’s words.

‘Why?’

Only a spirit mage could communicate with the spirits in plants.

It made no sense for Aden, who wasn’t a spirit mage, to hear the Fairy Tree’s voice.

– It’s thanks to the child sleeping in your right hand. The pitiful child who was saddened and saddened, unable to return home……

There was sympathy in the Fairy Tree’s voice.

Aden’s right hand bore a shield tattoo, the Banshee’s Spirit Shield.

Through the corrupted spirit’s power within it, Aden could communicate with the Fairy Tree.

The Fairy Tree spoke.

– I will soon fall asleep, like all other living beings. But I can’t leave these children, my friends, behind.

The voice of the Fairy Tree was faint, almost breaking, but it continued to speak.

– I remember the moment when these children were born, touched by the first morning dew. I remember them playing on my branches. I remember the happiness of singing together, watching the twilight, the stars, and the moon……

Just as the ents cherished the Fairy Tree, the Fairy Tree cherished the ents.

To the tree, the tree fairies were family, friends, and precious children.

That’s why the Fairy Tree was sorrowful.

It knew that without it, the tree fairies had no future.

– Help me……

So the Fairy Tree earnestly pleaded to Aden.

To the human who had saved the surviving ents and defeated those who had caused them pain, to the human who, despite being scarred and torn, carried a lovely spirit within.

– Help my friends. Please, I beg you……

The Fairy Tree’s plea was earnest.

Aden, feeling that earnestness, spoke with a detached expression.

“I am a mercenary. A mercenary doesn’t help or move without compensation.”

Therefore, the one-sided request of the Fairy Tree was not worth considering.

However……

“I have already made a deal with Ets.”

Aden looked at Ets.

Ets had pleaded with him, offering herself, to save her clan.

In her position, she had merely meant for him to defeat the warlocks.

But the promise to save her clan was still valid.

Leaving a request half-done was not in his nature.

“I will take care of Ets and the others’ issues regardless of your request.”

Crack.

A crack formed at the base of the Fairy Tree.

“So, don’t worry.”

Crack, crack.

The crack widened.

“Rest in peace, Fairy Tree.”

As Aden finished speaking.

Flash!
The tree shattered into countless pieces, transforming into light green particles that spread in all directions.

-Thank you.

The final voice of the Fairy Tree carried joy.

-May the Fairy’s blessing be with you, benefactor.

The light green particles, shining like the sparkling dew of dawn, flowed into Aden’s body.

“This is….”

Aden felt a peculiar power imbue his body, reminiscent of the blessing he received from the Phoenix.

-‘You have obtained the ‘Fairy Tree’s Blessing.’

‘Fairy Tree’s Blessing?’

Aden checked the detailed description.

[Fairy Tree’s Blessing]

A blessing bestowed only upon those acknowledged by the Fairy Tree, cherished by the tree fairies.

Increases mana recovery rate by 5-15%.

Improves affinity with spirits.

Fairies will inexplicably feel favorable towards you.

The Fairy Tree’s final gift to Aden.

“My goodness….”

“The Fairy Tree has blessed our benefactor.”

The ents were astonished and awed as they looked at Aden.

But that was not the only thing the tree left behind.

The remaining light that hadn’t been absorbed by Aden gathered in front of him, forming a small, round shape.

Poof!

When the light disappeared, it revealed a seed about the size of an egg.

The seed, which had been floating in the air, fell into Aden’s hand.

Tremble!

The leaves on the ents’ heads shot up and trembled violently.

“This, this can’t be…?”

“It’s the Fairy Tree’s seed!”

The seed of the Fairy Tree.

It was another arrangement left by the tree that had thought of the ents until the very end.

Planting this seed would allow another Fairy Tree to grow, and the ents would regain their strength.

They would start anew.

“Hah, it left quite something.”

Aden chuckled softly.

Then he looked around at the surrounding ents and flinched.

“…What’s with those eyes?”

All the ents were staring at Aden with a peculiar intensity that made him uncomfortable.

In an excited voice, Ets said, “The one who receives the Fairy Tree’s blessing becomes the chief of our clan! And Aden, you have been chosen by the Fairy Tree’s seed!”

Ets’ eyes sparkled brightly, almost burdensome.

The same was true for the other ents. To become the chief because he received the blessing?

“Does that mean…?”

Aden’s uneasy guess was correct. The tree fairies spoke in unison.

“We look forward to your leadership, Chief!”

Aden had become the chief of the ent clan.

—

Aden pressed his aching forehead, feeling exhausted.

Why had things turned out this way?

‘This wasn’t my intention.’

He had come here to trade for the ent’s tears.

But he hadn’t expected the entire clan to cling to him, not just a few tears.

When Aden touched his head, the surrounding ents fussed over him.

“Chief Aden!”

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“…Don’t call me chief.”

The ents, having lost many kin and the Fairy Tree, depended on Aden excessively and took care of him meticulously.

The effects of the Fairy Tree’s blessing likely contributed as well.

At Aden’s words, the ents’ eyes and head leaves trembled in confusion.

“But you are our chief….”

“If we can’t call you chief….”

“Calling the chief anything but chief….”

The atmosphere, which had been slightly uplifted, grew gloomy again.

Seeing the situation getting worse, Aden sighed and gave up.

“Fine, call me whatever you want.”

“Yes, Chief!”

They wanted to follow Aden to the Remes Ducal Territory.

Especially Ets.

‘My master is the chief, so it’s only natural to follow.’

The ents, true to their fairy nature, were beautiful regardless of age or gender.

Ets’ words could easily be misunderstood, so Aden made sure she spoke carefully.

Though they were a small group of less than twenty, they were still a clan.

A clan that wasn’t human, but fairy.

Was there enough merit in bringing them to the Remes Duchy for protection?

‘Yes, there is….’

Just the ent’s tears alone made them valuable.

Ent’s tears, an elixir that even the church obtained only in minimal amounts each year.

There was always high demand but low supply.

If the Remes territory could export them to the Sacred Fire Order, the profits would be unmatched.

But the ents, unaware of this, were anxious about Aden’s lack of reaction.

“We will work hard, so please take us with you, Chief!”

“Even though we collapse after walking for five minutes, we’ll do our best!”

“I don’t expect labor from those who collapse after five minutes of walking.”

“Still, we are good at growing flowers and trees!”

Good at growing flowers and trees…. Aden suddenly had an idea upon hearing that.

“Can you also grow wheat or barley? Or perhaps rare herbs?”

The Remes territory, with its mountainous and barren land, had many areas yet to be cultivated.

Most of their grains were imported through trade guilds.

Apart from the byproducts obtained from subjugating the monsters, there was little to call a specialty of the territory.

“Yes? Yes, as long as it’s a plant, we can take care of it well.”

“I see.”

Aden’s face showed a satisfied smile at those words.

He had planned to take them along anyway because of the ent’s tears, but now he had found an unexpected use for them.

Looking at the innocent ents, Aden declared.

“Alright. Since you wish so much, let’s go together to the Remes territory.”

The ents’ faces brightened at Aden’s approval.

“Thank you!”

“We will work hard!”

It was truly a heartwarming scene.

Watching this, a voice inside Aden, Curse, clicked its tongue.

-Tsk. Fools willingly rolling in, Dragon Slayer King.

Indeed.