Chapter 173 — Hero [8] - Offer

After Duchess Lobelia dealt with everything that needed to be taken care of, she invited Liora to go on a trip with her, claiming that it was to gather information.

Liora didn’t have a reason to refuse her offer. The Duchess’s invitation matched her plan of getting closer to her.

Thus, after a few days of wandering, the two had ended up here, in a city inhabited by mortals.

Still, even though the city was small and no Knight lived here, the story of Hope City had reached this place.

Thinking of her life being packaged as a fairytale and spreading throughout the Iron Armor Empire, Liora couldn’t help but feel a little weird.

Perhaps no one could have guessed that she—the hero who saved the human race and was praised by common people and Knights alike—was a Devil whose sole objective was to plunder this world.

If the Will of the World had the ability, it would have brought down punishment to its disobedient "children", who were helping the intruder rather than dealing with them!

Liora and Duchess Lobelia chatted for quite a while.

The topics they discussed ranged from Knight training to simple, everyday life matters. Neither of them mentioned anything regarding the previous war, nor about Hope City.

That was until, suddenly, Duchess Lobelia inadvertently brought the conversation to beasts.

"What do you think about the beasts’ recent riot? Do you have any guesses regarding what might have happened in the Ancient Beast Wilderness that caused them to go berserk?"

The Duchess’s tone remained unchanged, and she appeared to be inquiring merely out of curiosity rather than the need to seek out the truth.

But Liora understood that this was not the whole truth.

Although the two got along very well over the past few days and seemed to have become close friends, Liora keenly noticed that the Duchess was seeking clues regarding her identity.

However, this was to be expected.

The emergence of an unknown Great Knight possessing such powerful strength was bound to pique people’s interest. Especially Duchess Lobelia, who had personally witnessed her strength.

Thus, whether the Duchess was simply curious or whether she wanted to evaluate her, it was natural for her to try to find where Liora came from.

Liora had, of course, not revealed her real identity.

She had seemingly inadvertently revealed that she was the descendant of a wandering Knight and that she had been training alone as a Knight since a very young age.

It was only now, when she discovered that she could not advance any further, that she chose to leave her hometown and show herself to the rest of the world.

This explanation seemed plausible at first glance, but upon further scrutiny, it was extremely outlandish.

It was true that there were many famous Knights who used to be wandering Knights. But once these people obtained a certain amount of strength, their information would soon spread.

A Great Knight like Liora, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, was an anomaly.

Yet, the Duchess showed no signs of doubting her, though it remained to be seen if she really believed her or was merely pretending.

While many thoughts were racing through her mind, Liora replied pretty quickly.

"How could I possibly know what happened in the Ancient Beast Wilderness. That forest is a forbidden area for us humans.", she shook her head and looked straight at the Duchess.

"But hasn’t the Royal Family found the reason behind the riot yet? With the Empire’s resources, calming down the unrest should be easy.", Liora asked a question of her own.

Now it was Duchess Lobelia’s turn to shake her head.

"No. The changes in the wilderness happened very suddenly and out of nowhere. The Royal Family had no time to react."

"It was only a few days ago that His Majesty ordered the Infernal Army to come to the border and investigate the cause behind everything.", she replied.

Liora nodded her head to show that she understood.

Of course, she would not really believe the Duchess’s words.

Just like the Duchess was on guard against Liora, Liora was also on guard against her.

Although the Duchess’s explanation was reasonable and matched the events that she knew so far, there was no way of knowing what really happened.

After a few more words regarding the beasts, the topic drifted once again, making the conversation seem natural, as if the beasts’ riot was merely an afterthought of theirs.

Before long, the conversation had shifted back to Liora.

"It’s good to be a wandering Knight. With no ties and no responsibilities. But having reached your current level of strength and status, it’s nearly impossible."

"Tsk... Tsk... Imagine if the great hero praised by common people wandered through the Empire looking for a way to make a living...", Duchess Lobelia clicked her tongue jokingly.

"So... What are your next plans? Are you planning to settle down, or will you join the Iron Armor Empire and obtain a noble title?"

Saying this, she paused for a brief second. Then, she resumed her speech:

"If it’s the latter, I can lend you a hand. With your achievements in Hope City and my personal guarantee, it should be easy for you to obtain the title of a Baron. Perhaps even becoming an Earl or Marquis at once is possible."

The title of Baron seemed ordinary and worthless, but one had to know that it usually required one to contribute greatly to the Empire to obtain it.

Usually, it would take successive generations of a family to work hard and risk their lives in order to gain the Royal Family’s approval and finally become Barons.

Therefore, although Duchess Lobelia’s offer was not earthshattering, it was actually quite surprising.

Unfortunately, she was offering it to the wrong person.

Liora was not interested in such an empty title.

She might have accepted if she were offered the title of Duchess, since it would have helped her integrate into the Empire quickly, but the lower titles were not enough to satisfy her.