The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 173

The last remaining participant, the so-called ‘Anchovy Bachelor,’ was recognized by the Bandit King.

“Ah? It’s Banner, Aden-nim.”

“Banner? Is he well-known?”

“Yes, he is the one called ‘Walking Death.'”

What the…?

Did he even have such an unusual nickname?

It seemed that, despite appearances, he was a capable fellow.

Just then, the Bandit King Muscle-less spoke up.

“That guy nearly dies even when just walking on flat ground.”

“…What?”

“He collapses from heat if it’s too hot, passes out from cold if it’s too cold, and if he gets caught in the rain, he falls ill and collapses.”

“……”

“But somehow, despite constantly teetering on the brink of life and death, he never actually dies. That’s why they call him ‘Walking Death.'”

“….Is that true?”

“I swear on my muscles. I once made him do a push-up, and his shoulder dislocated.”

…What was this insane level of frailty?

Aden, intrigued by Banner’s unusual background, subconsciously used his Arcane Sight to examine him.

—

[Banner]

**Race:** Human
**Age:** 25 years
**Traits:** Familial Love, Unfortunate Young Head of Family, Bad Luck, Malnutrition, Supernaturally Frail Body, Yet Undying, Insomnia, Nervous Breakdown, Indomitable Willpower…

**Psychological State:** ‘Just a bit more… Hang in there, my siblings. This brother will make sure you live in comfort…’

—

Ah.

Somehow, just looking at it, he couldn’t help but feel pity for the guy.

“…Does he have a family?”

“How did you know? He’s extremely devoted to them. He has one younger brother, one younger sister, and two little brothers. His mother passed away early, and his father choked to death while eating.”

“……”

“I heard it’s a family trait.”

What a terrifying family trait.

While Aden conversed with Muscle-less, the unfortunate anchovy Banner continued to struggle through the trial.

“Huff, huff…”

His spindly limbs trembling, the emaciated young man staggered forward, almost crawling like a zombie.

Even under the intense pressure of Aden’s relentless Master Fear, he persisted with desperate determination.

‘Wow, this guy’s tough.’

Aden couldn’t help but be impressed.

Over 30 minutes had passed since the trial began, meaning Banner had been exposed to Master Fear for that long and still retained his sanity.

Not just an ordinary person, but someone with even weaker physical conditions was enduring the murderous intent of a warrior of transcendent level without losing consciousness or going insane.

It was probably due to that trait.

—

[Indomitable Willpower]

– A person with this trait has an extremely strong will.

– If there is no reason to give up and a reason to accomplish something, they will challenge it repeatedly and rise again.

—

Indomitable Willpower.

This trait offered a glimpse into the kind of life he might have lived.

Meanwhile, regardless of whether Aden was impressed or not, the frail anchovy Banner continued to struggle forward, half-dead.

‘I am frail.’

From the moment he was born, he had always been unusually small, and his family was not wealthy, so he didn’t grow up eating much.

Even when everyone else was fine in summer, he would easily catch a cold and, due to his weak stamina, couldn’t work in the fields for long.

But he had no complaints about it. His precious family gave him strength like no one else.

—

“Brother, did you get hurt again? I told you to leave it to me!”

“Brother! Look at this! I made it!”

“Brother, eat some bread while you work. Mrs. Emma from next door gave it to me.”

—

Though his parents had passed away in an unfortunate accident, he had siblings to care for.

They said that if he became the Captain of the Guard, he would be treated the same as veteran knights.

Then he could provide his siblings with good clothes and food.

“I have to… I must do this…!”

Despite stumbling, Banner kept walking.

And finally, his determination paid off.

Step by step, Banner’s feet finally reached the line Aden had drawn on the ground.

*Shiiing*, simultaneously, Aden withdrew his Master Fear.

“I did… it!”

*Thud!*

Just as his strength gave out and Banner was about to collapse, Aden caught him by the shoulder.

“Hey, you okay?”

“I’m… I’m okay….”

“Good job. Your name is Banner, right?”

“Yes, yes! That’s right!”

Aden patted his shoulder, smiling contentedly.

“I’ve been looking for a talent like you.”

“Huh? Me, talented? No, I’m definitely not that kind of person…”

“Six hundred people challenged this trial, and only six passed, including you. And you’re the only one still sane. So from now on, you’re the Captain of the 5th Guard Division.”

“Do you really think I deserve such a position? I’m unlucky, and my body is weak…”

“I can fix that weakness easily.”

“But even the Bandit King gave up on my body…”

“Hey, do you think this muscle pig and I are the same? Tell me, who am I?”

“…You are Aden Remes, the youngest Sword Master!”

“In fact, until last year, I was so weak I could barely win a fight against the neighborhood dog.”

“R-Really?”

“Yeah. But look at me now. How about it? I might not make you as strong as I am, but I can make sure you’re not breaking your nose just because you tripped. I swear it on the name of the Ducal Family.”

At the mention of the ‘name of the Ducal Family,’ trust welled up in Banner’s tear-filled eyes.

“Thank you! Thank you so much! Sniff, sob…”

He was moved by Aden’s words.

Now, it finally felt real.

‘I did it! I really did it!’

The person who always got injured and collapsed finally succeeded.

He even heard someone call him ‘a talented individual’!

Banner was overwhelmed with emotion at hearing something he had never been told in his entire life.

“Sob! Thank you! I will do my best from now on, Young Master!”

“Good, by the way, let me tell you this now. My training is pretty tough. Can you handle it?”

“Yes! Even if my limbs break, I won’t have any regrets!”

“Great, that’s the spirit!”

Aden looked at Banner and smiled with great satisfaction, and Banner burst into tears again.

Because of this, he didn’t see it.

He didn’t see Aden’s extremely wicked grin the moment Banner’s head lowered.

‘Hehe, yeah. He really is a valuable talent.’

An extraordinary willpower and tenacity that could endure 30 minutes under Master Fear.

This was exactly the diamond in the rough Aden had been searching for.

The reason was simple.

The training method he intended to implement was one that began with willpower and ended with willpower—a method so brutal that even an undefeated general would beg for mercy.

‘I’m already looking forward to the stories about how well I’ve molded you.’

-Aden, are you a demon?

‘I’m a person, you idiot.’

Aden gently patted Banner’s shoulder.

Then, with an unusually kind smile, he spoke.

“If you die, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of your family.”

“Yes, thank you… Huh?”

—

* * *

About a week later, the security force to protect Frozen was assembled.

First, the half who were eliminated early on—about three hundred people—were sent back.

‘If their willpower is weak enough to be eliminated in the beginning, there’s no way to toughen them up.’

The overall commander of the Frozen Guard was Muscle-less Royder.

Under him, Banner and the other five who passed the trial were appointed as the captains of Frozen’s security divisions. The remaining three hundred or so people were divided into five groups, with each captain leading about sixty guards.

Aden asked the dwarves to build a specialized training center for the Frozen Guard.

“Everyone, gather round. From now on, you will be responsible for maintaining all security in Frozen.”

Aden called together the five division captains, excluding Muscle-less.

The reason Muscle-less wasn’t called was simple. He was already strong enough that training was unnecessary.

Besides, after seeing Ukurak, he exclaimed, “Oh my God! A perfect sparring partner in a place like this!” and gleefully started pummeling Ukurak.

I’ll have to give him an extra serving of beef later.

“First, let’s go around and each state your current level. Let’s start with the captain of the 1st Guard Division.”

“Yes! I’m at the level of Sword Resonance!”

The 1st Division Captain, Gerden, declared confidently.

Sword Resonance, the level just below Sword Aura.

For a bandit, he was a mana warrior of quite a high level.

He was on par with the vice-captain of the Remes Ducal Family.

‘…For a vice-captain of the Ducal Family to be on par with a bandit… This really makes me realize how weak our Ducal Family is.’

No matter how much the family had declined, having a vice-captain at the level of Sword Resonance was something more befitting a mere viscount’s household.

It was only because they were the descendants of founding heroes that the Ducal title was barely maintained, but in truth, it was just a minor, insignificant family in the borderlands.

‘But now that I think about it, it’s strange.’

No matter how much the Remes family had declined, it was still a Ducal Family, a great family with

a high title.

‘It’s not like they lack money.’

The Remes family was one that had slowly accumulated wealth over a long period, and its wealth was almost at the level of a marquisate.

They could have easily trained capable warriors and increased their private army.

‘But they haven’t done so.’

The current situation in Remes territory was so pitiful that even the appearance of a Hobgoblin would cause a panic.

But why wasn’t Duke Fried Remes, who cared so much for his people, focusing on increasing and training his troops?

Why hasn’t the imperial family demoted the Remes Ducal Family?

Why doesn’t the Ducal Family, despite having wealth, try to increase their strength?

‘Is there a special reason for this?’

In the past, he would have seen it as just another family to use for his revenge and wouldn’t have paid much attention.

But now, the Remes family was the family he was ‘reborn’ into, his own family.

Naturally, he started thinking more deeply about it and began to notice the oddities he hadn’t seen before.

“Um, excuse me…”

At that moment, a voice interrupted Aden’s thoughts.

Gerden was looking at Aden with an uneasy expression.

“Is there a problem with my level…?”

“Oh, sorry. I was just lost in thought for a moment. It’s impressive that you’ve reached Sword Resonance without formal training.”

“Ah, thank you!”

Aden decided to put aside the contradictions of the Remes Ducal Family for later and focus on the task at hand.

“Now, the rest of you, report your levels in turn.”

“Experienced in Reinforcement level!”

“Likewise, Experienced level!”

“Beginner level of Reinforcement.”

“Uh, well… I haven’t entered the mana stage yet…”

The last voice was that of the 5th Division Captain, our unfortunate anchovy Banner.

Pfft, a snicker slipped out among the others. They found it ridiculous that the weak ‘Walking Disaster’ had become a division captain.

“Hey, did you just laugh?”

Of course, Aden wasn’t one to let this slide. He asked in a very chilling tone.

“You guys, who can’t even use Sword Aura or Blade Aura, are making fun of someone? Do you find it that amusing?”

“N-No, we don’t!”

“Really? So are you saying my ears were wrong? Ah, I see, are you saying that the hearing of a Sword Master is faulty?”

“N-Not at all!”

“Then you do find it funny, right? But you just said it wasn’t. So were you lying to me?”

“N-No, that’s not it…”

“It’s not? Then you’re saying you didn’t lie, I didn’t mishear, you didn’t laugh? Does that even make sense?”

“W-We’re sorry!”

“If you’re sorry, why do it?”

“……”

Only then did they realize there was no escape from this conversation, and their faces turned pale.

Seeing this, Aden smiled with satisfaction inside.

‘Ah, this brings back memories.’

During the Great Talos War, Aden had led an army.

At the time, the soldiers’ nickname for Aden was ‘The Demon Commander Even Talos Would Weep Over.’

And so, the four division captains could only escape after having their souls completely drained by Aden’s ‘Endless Hellish Nagging.’

‘Damn it, it’s all because of that Banner guy.’

‘If it weren’t for him…’

Human psychology was simple. They resented the innocent Banner.

Of course, they didn’t show it outwardly.

After all, they didn’t want to go through the Endless Hellish Nagging again.

“You guys are already quite old to be polishing mana skills, and as such, you have limitations in your growth. In my eyes, you’re all the same, so stop mocking each other.”

Aden’s words made them naturally lower their heads.

After all, whether it was Sword Resonance or Reinforcement, it would all seem insignificant to a Sword Master.

But what Aden said next left them shocked.

“I intend to raise all of you to at least the level of Sword Aura.”

“…!”

“S-Sword Aura!”

“R-Really?”

“Of course. But it will be difficult, and it will be as tough as dying. However, you can be sure that you’ll awaken your aura, so don’t worry. So, what do you think? Want to give it a shot?”

Gulp, they swallowed hard.

Sword Aura was a dream on par with becoming a Sword Master for people like them.

No matter how much they wanted it, it was a dream they could never achieve.

Yet here was someone telling them it was possible.

There was only one choice they could make.

“We’ve already passed the trial!”

“How hard can it be! We’ve already been through Royder-nim’s hellish training!”

“We’ll do it! Whatever it takes!”

“Good, I like your enthusiasm.”

All five of them had eyes blazing with determination and resolve. And at the same time, curiosity arose.

‘He says he’ll make people like us able to use aura…’

‘Does he have some special technique only for Sword Masters?’

‘What kind of method is it?’

Aden immediately started them on the first training.

But the ‘first training’ they were about to face was something none of them could have predicted.

“The first training is this. Here, take it.”

“……?”

“This is…?”

“A potion?”

Aden handed each of them a potion bottle.

But the potion looked anything but ordinary.

*Bubbling*.

Inside the bottle, a black liquid, as dark as the depths of an abyss, ominously churned.

Just looking at it made every hair on their bodies stand on end.

One of the division captains gulped nervously and asked,

“Young Master, what is this potion…?”

“It’s a miraculous elixir that will lead you to a new level…”

Aden smiled brightly.

“It’s Gehenna’s Breath.”

That day, they saw hell.