I am not getting married to anyone. You cannot force me," Ella said.
I folded my arms and looked at him.
"Look, this king has already decided that you are going to get married. This is what you get for walking around dressed like a woman and making a man fall in love with you. This king needs silver, and you are going to play along."
I said that after Canaan and his father had left the room.
"This is unfair. I am not playing this marriage game."
"Look, Ella, if you want our journey to be successful, then you need to follow my plan. Be useful for once in your life. Stop being a useless assistant and actually contribute something."
I folded my arms after speaking.
Ella immediately shook his head.
"Me? A man? Marry another man? How ridiculous."
I looked at him before a cold smile slowly spread across my face.
"You? A man wearing a woman’s clothes with such a pretty face? Ha! You’re the ridiculous one."
I mocked him without holding anything back.
The little panther, who had climbed onto my lap at some point, let out a cheerful roar.
It sounded as though the little fellow was laughing at Ella along with me.
Just then, the system spoke.
"Young Hero, what you’re doing isn’t right. This is called scamming. You are a hero. A hero should uphold justice."
"You have already done a good deed by saving Canaan. Your Good Deed Points have increased. So why are you doing this?"
"This king needs to survive in this world," I replied.
"I need silver. Even a hero needs money to travel around. If this hero has no silver, then how is your hero supposed to survive in this world? Is that what you want?"
The system became silent for a brief moment.
Then it answered.
"...No."
I clicked my tongue.
Stupid system.
Ha!
I wonder just how much silver I can squeeze out of Canaan’s father.
The old man clearly treasured his son, and he seemed unusually excited about finally getting himself a daughter-in-law. It was almost as though Canaan had chased away every woman he had ever met, and now that he believed Ella was willing to marry him, he was terrified of letting this opportunity slip away.
"System."
"Show this king all the points I have accumulated."
"Very well, Young Hero."
"Displaying current status."
The system immediately began listing everything before me.
Hero Points: 5,000.
Good Deed Points: 4,000.
Reputation Points: 8,900.
Companions: 2.
Points Lost: 100.
I stared at the floating information in silence.
My eyes widened slightly.
When had I accumulated so many Reputation Points?
The system seemed to understand exactly what I was about to ask.
"Young Hero, your Reputation Points increased after you solved the mystery in Crayon City."
"Rumors about the Messenger of God who rescued Crayon City from the evil demons kidnapping young maidens and virgins have already spread throughout the city and surrounding villages."
"That is why your Reputation Points have increased so dramatically."
I frowned.
So all this time...
I had accumulated well over ten thousand points...
And this useless system hadn’t said a single word.
It simply kept throwing missions at this king while secretly piling up all the rewards.
I narrowed my eyes.
"What do you mean by ’Points Lost’?"
I asked coldly.
If the system dared tell me it had stolen this king’s points...
I was seriously considering roasting it alive with my Hellfire.
The system shivered as if it sensed my irritation.
It spoke cautiously.
"Young Hero... look, the reason you lose points is because you refuse some missions or choose methods that go against the Hero System."
"For example, when you kill someone who could have been redeemed instead of guiding them back onto the right path, points are deducted. That is why you lost points."
I stared at the system.
So...
It had been deducting my points without my knowledge.
Now it was finally explaining that I lost points because I had acted rationally and killed people it believed could have been redeemed.
What did it expect?
People like Casper?
Casper, who had already gone completely insane with his obsession over God?
Did it expect this king to waste precious time trying to save a lunatic like him?
"System."
"Shut up."
My voice thundered throughout the room.
The furniture trembled, and the decorations hanging on the walls shook under the authority contained within my words.
"You think I don’t know what you’re trying to do?"
"All of this is just another one of your tricks to keep me under your control."
"You think deducting a few points will make this king obedient? That I’ll follow your orders and complete your ridiculous missions?"
I sneered.
"I’ll say it again."
"I have no interest in your stupid missions."
"This king acts only for his own selfish goals."
"That is all I care about."
"And stop calling me ’Young Hero.’"
"You’re the one who’s sick in the head."
After saying that, I stood up and walked out of the room.
Although I was annoyed for reasons I couldn’t fully explain...
Deep down...
I was actually pleased.
I had accumulated enough points.
Enough to exchange for powerful weapons...
Enough to obtain treasures that would help me complete my mission much faster.
I couldn’t afford to confront my enemies while I was still weak.
Not in my current state.
My body was still incomplete.
Pieces of my strength...
Fragments of my flesh...
They were still scattered throughout the world.
I had to recover them before my enemies discovered my plans.
Only after reclaiming every part of myself would this king begin his true revenge.
For now...
Perhaps the world had not yet confirmed that the Demon King had returned.
But I had a feeling...
Some people were already beginning to suspect.
As I walked into the quiet courtyard, the night breeze brushed past my robes.
Most of the servants had already gone to sleep, leaving the estate silent beneath the moonlight.
Only the silver moon and countless stars watched from above.
Suddenly—
A faint sound came from the corner.
Tap.
Something dropped from above.
I instantly vanished from where I stood.
The next moment, I appeared behind a masked man dressed completely in black.
He crouched low like a shadow hiding in the darkness.