Hero King Chapter 4

Here is Chapter 4 of Hero King!! To celebrate the start of this series, the first ten chapters will be available to all Patrons throughout all the Patreon pages owned by Re:Library.

We are still pondering which Patreon page to officially publish the early access of this series in the future. I'd love to post it on Nomad due to the fact it already has two other novels with "Hero" in their title. But then again, it might be time to start expanding the lists of novel available at Musubii. What do you think? Should I post future chapters at  Nomad or at Musubii?

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Chapter 4 - Inglis, 0 Years Old (3)

「Raphael. Listen carefully, yours is a High Grade Rune. A rune possessed only by the chosen ones, they are destined to one day become the beacon of hope for everyone in the world. That is why, no matter what the odds are, you’re the only one we can’t possibly lose. Not until you have grown more and reached your full potential. Am I understood?」 

Aunt Irina strongly admonished Raphael.

Apparently, the rune Raphael had was special, enough to be said that it acted like the mark of a chosen hero.

As the Hero King Inglis in her previous life, Inglis knew well just how constrained it was to be in the position of a hero, to stand above others.

Taking account of his disposition as the heir to the Marquis as well, just how steep his future path would be. Really, what a trouble.

「Y-, yes, mother…」 

Raphael seemed to be quite shocked to receive such a threatening attitude from his mother.

From his point of view, his words came purely from his sense of justice.

He must have never imagined his mother would respond strongly like that.

「Since this is a good chance to bring it up, remember this. If something did happen, even at the cost of everyone here, you alone must survive. Know that you’re in such a position now.」 

「N-, no way! Mother……!」  

That was for a hypothetical situation, but for this boy with his strong sense of justice, it was nothing short of painful.

And words, at times, could attract unexpected coincidences.

Truths borne from lies——speak of the devil——things along those lines.

KERCHLAANK!!!

All of sudden, the window was blasted, frame and all.

One of the magic stone beasts strayed from the knights and plunged into the room.

「KYAAAaaaAAAHH!!!」  

Right after it got inside the room, the winged lizard rammed into Aunt Irina. Irina covered the baby with her body so Rafinha wouldn’t fall to an injury, but that rendered her with nothing to protect herself. As Irina received a hit on her head, she fell unconscious.

Shocked by the attack, Rafinha bursted into a wail.

「MOTHER!!」 

「NO! You should escape!」 

Mother Selena prevented Raphael from unsheathing his sword, went to scoop Rafinha from her mother, then entrusted her and Inglis to Raphael.

She did that while pulling out a rapier that was hung on the wall.

「I’m holding it back! You bring Inglis and Rafinha to safety!」 

「But, aunt! That kind of sword can do nothing against it!」 

The lizard magic stone beast leapt towards Selena.

Being a former knight, mother managed to evade the onslaught even though it had been a while since her last active duty.

However, her sword itself was a fragile rapier.

It could only endure so much attack, it was nearly snapped from that single exchange.

「Go already! What are you doing!?」 

Selena reprimanded frantically. However——

「Rani! Glis! I’m sorry, wait here a bit!」 

After Raphael put Inglis and Rafinha down behind the pillar, he unsheathed his sword and went to assist Selena in her fight.

「Let me back you up! If we manage to stall it, a knight with an Artifact might come to our aid!」 

It seemed like that Artifact thing was the weapon effective against the magic stone beasts, used by knights in the current era.

「I’m telling you it’s pointless! Go back down!」 

「No! How can I save other people if I can’t even hold the people I cherish in front of me!?」 

What a young, passionate warcry.

*However, that’s good——that’s the spirit.* Or so was Inglis’ thought.

One only can gain the right to be a hero if they can get over such a situation and survive.

A hero is not something the people choose you to be so you can do their biddings.

A hero is what the people call you for the things you’ve done from your own heart’s callings.

「Ugh… kuh——! UWaah!?」 

「Kyaaah!?」 

However, the two’s effort was in vain. Pushed by the lizard, they both were thrown into the wall.

「A, aunt……! Are you okay……!?」 

「Uuh……」 

Both Raphael and Selena were already on the end of their consciousness.

If things were left as is, they both would be in a grave danger.

And after them, Irina and the baby pair of Rafinha and Inglis were also in peril.

(Then, let me give a hand. I can’t possibly let my mother die. And in honor of that young man’s spirit as well——)

In her current life, Inglis decided to live only for herself.

For that reason, she had no interest in heroism and such. Even so——she wouldn’t hesitate to lend her hand for people with the makings of a hero.

The kid deserved better than dying in this place.

Though indeed she was trapped in her infant body, she’d see if there’s anything she could do.

Even with her current condition, Inglis still could manipulate ether to strike her opponent.

This was the basic level of ether control which she had learned from her previous life.

Would it be fit to call it Ether Strike?

As it had the potential to level the whole mansion, she never used it in her cradle though.

Fortunately for her, it seemed like everyone present was unconscious, so it would pose no problem to use it now.

「Daaaah——! Abububuuuuu!!」 

Baby Inglis’ eyes shone brilliantly.

After which, a pale flash of light rippled, forming into a huge ball of light that attacked the magic stone lizard.

BooOOOooooOOOooomm!!!!

The light swallowed the beast with tremendous force, pierced through and destroyed the wall behind it. The magic stone beast it engulfed was thrown outside into the air, with its body scorched and disintegrated into white ashes.

(Hmph——Quite the power it packed for something a baby made)

It seemed like her routine training was not for nothing.

「G-, Glis……? Wh-, what was……?」 

Raphael, collapsed against the wall, muttered so in daze.

*Is he awake*… Inglis clicked her tongue to that.

「Th-, thank god——」  

Raphael then lost his consciousness immediately after.

*Phew, good thing he fainted, his memory should be hazy and thought of it as nothing more than a dream.* Inglis convinced herself so, it was then she was hit by a strong sense of drowsiness.

After all, she did overextend the limit of her infant body, this was but an obvious result.

「Lady Irina! Young master Raphael! Are you two okay!?」  

From the floor below, a flustered voice was heard.

*Aid is finally here, huh. It should be fine now then.* Or so Inglis wanted to believe.

She wanted to watch over the situation until the end, but with her fatigued body, she couldn’t fight the sleep—— 

By the time she was awake, Inglis was already in her cradle, back at home.

From what she heard from her parents——everything ended well.

After that incident, for a while, Raphael was the only one under the suspicion that there was something off with Inglis.

However, nobody would buy it that a baby like Inglis had done anything, and since Inglis never showed her tail ever since, Raphael began to believe that it was just his brain playing a trick on him.

But, still, the existence of a being such as Magic Stone Beast didn’t exist in Inglis’ past life.

Judging from her parents’ talk, Inglis learned that the Magic Stone Beasts that attacked Ymir that day were on the weakest end of the spectrum, as there were other stronger, more atrocious kinds of Magic Stone Beast out there.

The strongest Magic Stone Beast could even bring a whole country into ruins, or so her father said.

It was quite an interesting talk.

For her first step, she had decided to find the so-called strongest Magic Stone Beast and crush it under her feet!

Inglis, who was still a 0 year old baby at the time, made such a resolution.