Chapter 97: Creating a Hero (1)

They say to strike while the iron is hot.

So without delay, we shared the blood oath on the spot.

I already knew the method for forming a blood oath.

It was a scene that appeared in the opening of Brave Road.

But just because you know how to swim doesn’t mean you’re a professional swimmer.

Similarly, I only had a rough idea of the formality—I had no clue how to channel mana through the required steps and processes.

‘Having a scholar-type mage as an ally really makes things easier.’

Fortunately, Sophia said she had read a book on blood oaths before.

When I gave her a general explanation, she gradually recalled details from memory.

And it just so happened that the orc shaman, Zenoro, who had a love for tradition, also had knowledge on the matter, so the two of them prepared the ritual together.

Since the contract targeted the entire orc population, we had to collect blood even from the orcs who hadn’t appeared at the duel and were waiting back in the village.

So while Glaka and the other chieftains headed back to the village with Sir Gunter to explain the situation and collect their blood—

We had a small debate of our own.

“So, you’re saying that once the contract is made, its contents will be engraved in the bloodline and passed down to future generations?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Thanks to the potion Grace gave me as a reward, I was able to hang in there a little longer like I’d taken a stamina booster, but I still hadn’t had the chance to rest.

Meanwhile, Rigrit, who shared the same tent with me, was snoring away in deep sleep.

Lucky guy.

“Hmm.”

When I explained the blood oath to Grace, who had only vaguely heard of it before, she silently fell into thought.

“If both sides are required to offer blood for the ritual, then since all the orcs are participating, do we also need to give a drop of blood each?”

“Since the contract includes a clause that forbids harming the North, I don’t think that’s necessary. One representative from our side should suffice.”

Normally, forming a blood oath would require blood from all contracting parties.

But this time, the terms were not entirely equal.

The orcs were bound by all sorts of clauses: they couldn’t betray the North, harm the North, or commit any hostile acts.

Meanwhile, the North was only required to ensure that the orcs would not be oppressed in the future—just one clause as a safeguard.

‘It may seem like we’re scamming these simple-minded folks into an unfair deal.’

But we had already paid the price in advance.

We saved them from total annihilation.

We stopped them from being turned into test subjects for the Demon Fruit.

And we promised to rescue their captured females.

So while the terms weren’t equal, it was still a win-win agreement for both sides.

Since the coercive clauses only applied to the orcs, we just needed a single representative on our side to make the contract official.

“All we need is a single drop of blood from Your Grace.”

We couldn’t entrust this crucial contract—which binds the orcs to the North—to just any nameless soldier.

Who knows whether their sworn loyalty—pledged in gratitude for saving their females—would be passed down for generations?

That’s why we needed the absolute safeguard of a blood oath to remain active.

And to ensure its longevity, we needed to preserve the human-side contractor’s blood as well.

So the representative had to be someone whose blood could be preserved better than anyone else’s.

With a major war against a powerful enemy looming, we couldn’t afford to lose our contractor and let the oath vanish.

I wasn’t sure if drinking the contractor’s blood would extend the contract, but just in case it didn’t—

There was only one person who fit the role.

Duke Grace Northrein of the North.

The strongest knight of mankind and the Sword Saint.

The most powerful person in the North, and a main character who survived all the way to the end of Episode 4 in the novel.

And as the ruler of the North, she made for a fitting representative—after all, having the Duke hold the leash on the orcs would be quite the statement.

But Grace’s reaction was oddly hesitant.

“Hmm…”

“?“

She didn’t respond with her usual confidence.

Instead, her tone was lukewarm, as if she were reluctant.

“Your Grace, is there something bothering you?”

Elaine, sensing Grace’s reaction as a close aide, asked.

Grace still wore a lukewarm expression as she replied.

“If I absolutely have to do it, then I will. But I’m not very keen on it.”

She wasn’t the type to refuse the chance to gain the power of the orc race without reason.

When Elaine pressed for a reason, Grace explained.

“I heard that to continue the blood oath, the contract must be passed down to descendants along with the blood. Not that I want to say this, but I am the only bloodline in the Northrein family. And the Northrein lineage is precious through generations.”

Grace gave a bitter smile.

“If I don’t have children, this contract will end with me. Right now, I have no husband, nor an arranged fiancé. Huh, maybe at this point, I could have a normal marriage with a man and start a family.”

“……”

In fact, Grace had not married for eight years since becoming the Duke.

She had no interest in men, and the only person she connected with, Aran, never ended up with her in the novel.

Even as a reader, I didn’t know what happened to Grace after the novel ended, but there was no hint she married another man, so optimistic guesses were hard.

“Because I am the Duke of the North, it’s something to consider whether I should bear responsibility for this contract. Whether the blood oath is only to prepare for the upcoming war or also for the future of the North. We must think carefully and select the most suitable person as the contractor. That is my opinion.”

Grace’s words made sense.

The reason for binding the orcs with a blood oath was not only for this event but also to eliminate future threats from them.

Since I had to consider life beyond the novel’s ending, it was necessary to ensure the contractor’s bloodline was securely continued.

‘By actual medieval standards, Grace’s age was past marriageable years.’

But this was a medieval fantasy world, and it shouldn’t be assumed to match the historical medieval lifestyle taught in world history.

Brave Road was not an adult work, but it did have sexual depictions, such as Luna, the main villain of Episode 1, and the Black Crow crime syndicate in Episode 3.

For some adult reason or other, all characters were over twenty years old.

Unlike the medieval world where teenage marriage was common, the setting treated the early to mid-twenties as the proper age for marriage—more like modern society.

‘Even the protagonist Aran was in his late twenties, and the heroines, except for one, were also in their twenties.’

Grace looked a year or two younger than Elaine but was actually in her early thirties, making her a bit late by this world’s standards.

That’s why she held the role of the eldest sister among the heroines.

There were heroines older than Grace, but they belonged to different races, so that didn’t count.

Anyway, Grace was opposed to using her own blood to make the blood oath.

Asking her whether she would marry here and now wasn’t just crossing a line—it was outright rude.

I had to think about how to persuade Grace to conclude the contract, but my fatigue was clouding my thoughts.

“So then. I can’t just refuse and cause trouble for everyone, so I want to propose something.”

“?”

“This blood oath wasn’t originally part of my plan. I was going to exterminate the orcs here and now, but thanks to the wise decision of one knight, we were able to accept the orcs as an asset to the North without losses.”

Wait a moment.

Something about this felt off.

“So it would be unreasonable for me, who did nothing, to just take the credit for this. Obviously, the one who suffered the most for the North should take it.”

Then Grace looked at me.

“Sir Luke, what do you think?”

As expected, Grace’s choice for the human-side contractor was me.

Honestly, I was taken aback.

The contract only restrained the orcs from hostility toward the North.

It didn’t control the orcs or make anyone their true master.

From our side, anyone could be the contractor as long as the blood was preserved.

Still, since this contract symbolized the orcs’ submission to the North, it made sense that someone with the right status or reputation should take the role.

‘At least someone like Lady Ligrit, a great noble, Elder Sophia of the Mage Tower, or Sir Gunter… they are older, so it would be difficult to force them to have new children.’

Sophia being a lesbian made it a bit complicated, too.

Ligrit was in her early twenties and a great noble, so she probably had a fiancé.

As an archer fighting just behind the front lines, she was the most suitable candidate, so I thought about recommending her.

“You’re not a hero, but you are a knight sworn to protect the North. So I think it’s fitting for you to accept the responsibility of guarding this contract.”

From the moment she made it clear she wouldn’t fight in a duel, I realized she intended to push this matter entirely onto me from start to finish.

However—

‘Is there something else she’s up to?’

Even if she planned to fully support me for passing her final test as promised, this was very thorough support.

She was literally handing over the symbolic blood oath to me.

If that happened, the people of the North would see me as the one who protects the North from the orcs, and I might gain even more fame than I did back at the Snowflake Tower.

‘No way! Does she still misunderstand me as a hero?’

She didn’t seem to treat me as a hero, but from the way she mumbled when she brought the blood oath proposal, I could tell she hadn’t completely dismissed that suspicion.

She said if I was to bear the mission of protecting the North, I needed to become a hero with the influence to match.

‘Making me a hero… huh.’

Grace really liked capable rookies.

When I was trying to win her favor before, my strategy was to make a name for myself as a skilled rookie to catch her attention.

That was also why I was chosen for the guard.

Even so, for her, an eight-year veteran Duke, to push this much just because she liked me felt somewhat unsettling.

I suspected that using the bloodline as an excuse was just part of a build-up for this.

‘I don’t know what benefit Grace gains from making me a hero.’

But it probably isn’t for a bad reason.

From what I saw in the novel and from serving her directly, she wasn’t a malicious person who envied others.

This was definitely a decision made for a positive future for me and the North.

‘Haha.’

That made me understand Grace’s feelings.

Even if I don’t know what the other party is thinking, she is willing to trust for everyone’s sake.

That’s what I have done for her and the North so far.

Alright.

Even if I become the hero of this incident according to Grace’s intentions, there’s nothing for me to lose.

‘If that happens… we might get a little closer.’

Elaine, Grace’s captain of the guard, was very famous in the North.

That was clear from the way northern nobles competed to talk to her when she appeared in a dress.

In contrast, I had only gained some attention after one big incident.

By rank or status, I wasn’t very impressive.

One reason I hid my relationship with Elaine at first was because I worried about the rumors that would spread if a famous person like her was known to be with an unknown like me.

But if I gained more fame as the hero who saved the North from the orc threat?

I could get closer to where Elaine stood, and fewer people would question our relationship while more would accept it.

“If that is Your Grace’s will.”

Hiding my true thoughts, I spoke politely to Grace.

“I am infinitely honored by your trust and will guard this heavy responsibility entrusted to me for the North with my life.”

Kneeling like a true knight, I acted out a look full of gratitude and loyalty.

Grace, whether it was an act or not, smiled back at me full of trust.

Thus, I became the sworn guardian of the blood oath.