After we finished lunch, the king suddenly turned to me.
"Karen, there's something I've been meaning to ask. Why is the middle of this table different?"
He pointed at the grilling mesh installed in the center.
"That's for cooking meat."
"Cooking meat? Why not just do it in the kitchen?"
Honestly, that was a good question. Grilling indoors could leave oil smoke and grease on the floor, but you could just wipe it up. So why do people grill outside?
Barbecuing is something you do when friends visit—it's a simple and time-saving way to prepare food since most people love meat. And even people who have never cooked can usually manage to grill something.
But why I grill? I don't even have friends coming over. I just enjoy the atmosphere—eating in a different spot, celebrating small things. Only… I really didn't know how to explain all of that. So I answered truthfully.
"...I'm not quite sure how to explain it to you. You will staying for dinner tonight, I can show you. Maybe then you'll understand."
"Very well."
After that, I dropped the dishes into the sink, grabbed the chess set, and returned to the barbecue pavilion.
"Since we're all full, how about a game?"
Games were a good way to kill time—and avoid awkward silence.
"This is chess, isn't it? I can play," the king said.
Great. No need to waste time explaining the rules. I set the board on the table and said:
"Let's play a few rounds."
The king thumped his chest confidently.
"I'm quite strong at this."
For the next while, I waited for him to make every move, while the queen and the Sword Saint offered advice at his side. So I was basically playing one against three—and still crushing them.
Then I noticed I hadn't heard a sound from Lani. When I looked over, she had fallen asleep.
Finally! The moment had come.
I immediately turned to the king.
"Your Majesty, please wait a moment. Lani fell asleep—I need to carry her inside."
"Go ahead. Gives me more time to think."
I scooped Lani up and brought her to the washitsu. After tucking her in, I returned to the pavilion. The king had finally made his next move and proudly announced:
"Karen, it's your turn."
I strongly suspected he'd forgotten why he came here in the first place. So I raised a hand to signal a pause.
"Your Majesty—pause. Do you still remember what you came here to tell me?"
"...Ah! I had something important to say, but you interrupted me."
The king stared at me for a long time before remembering. Yes, I did tell him to put it aside earlier, but he clearly didn't consider it urgent enough. Apparently, chess was more important. Well, fine. I asked:
"Have you told anyone else about this?"
"No. The moment I received the news, I came straight to you. Judging from your tone… you already know?"
"I'm sorry, but we need to talk alone. Your Majesty, please follow me. If you're concerned, Duke Somat should come as well."
"But is this really something that requires privacy?"
The king was confused—and leisurely drinking water. Meanwhile, I was racing against time. I didn't know how long Lani would stay asleep, and she could wake up any minute. So I blurted out, panicked:
"The fewer people who know, the better. We need to finish this while Lani is still asleep. Your Majesty the Queen, Your Highness the Princess—please wait here for a moment. We'll be right back. If you need the toilet, it's over there. Your Majesty, please get up quickly—time is money. Hurry up."
I explained everything as fast as I could. The toilet is built within the trunk of a great tree, reshaped by my plant magic.
Meanwhile, I waved my hand up and down anxiously, motioning the king follow me.
"Karen, must you be so frantic? Fine, I'm coming. You're making me want to use the toilet too."
Yes, I am frantic. I almost grabbed his collar and dragged him myself, but I held back and instead said bluntly:
"Hold it in. Once we finish talking, you can go."
The king sighed heavily, then slowly stood up.
"Fine, fine. I'll hold it. Antony, you're coming too."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
I led the king and the sword saint to the apple tree by the fields.
"All right. No one should hear us here. Your Majesty, please speak."
"Finally. Karen, did you know you've become a Brave?"
"Of course I know."
The king looked genuinely shocked by my answer.
"That's strange. According to the records, none of the previous Braves ever knew they'd become Braves. They only learned about it through divine revelation."
Not knowing you became a Brave? How did that even work? I couldn't understand it. You gain the power in reality, not in a dream. How could you not notice? Did the gods erase their memories?
"...So no one ever knew how Braves received their power?"
Then what about me? I still remembered everything. Don't tell me the god of crime forgot to wipe my memory? If so—good job.
"That's right. How did you know?" the king asked, clearly curious about my experience.
There was no reason to hide it, so I told him.
"I'll explain. The day after I came of age, I went into the dungeon as usual. When I stepped on the teleportation circle to return, I was transported to the dungeon's 100th level instead. There was a statue of the Goddess of Fate, but the one inside wasn't the Goddess of Fate—it was a god who had committed a crime. She casually told me, "Congratulations, you've been chosen as the Hero. I'll give you the power now. Go defeat the Demon King," and that was it."
The king frowned, rubbing his temples as if the information gave him a headache. Too much at once?
"I don't quite understand. Karen, when was your coming-of-age day?"
"September 12th of this year."
"Then you became a Brave before you hunted down Samidoride?! Why did the divine revelation arrive only today?!"
The King was practically shouting, but I answered calmly.
"Because I asked the god to deliver the revelation on December 26th—and to ensure the one receiving it reported it only to you."
The king froze, staring at me in shock before speaking again.
"...So there really are other gods in this world… and you actually spoke to one? And the archbishop who delivered the revelation today did say it could only be reported to me. But why go to such lengths?"
"Because I don't want anyone else knowing I'm the Brave. Not even Lina knows. What I said earlier about her going to work was just a surface explanation. The truth is, I don't want her coming with me to defeat the Demon King. I want her to keep living her peaceful life. So I need you to agree to three requests."
"I don't understand why you want to hide this, but… very well. I'll promise you. What are the requests?"
"First, keep my identity secret. It must not reach the public. And that archbishop needs to keep his mouth shut."
Preferably permanently, but I didn't say that aloud.
"Can I at least tell Leanna?" the king asked.
"She'll pester me nonstop if I don't explain something."
"If she can keep her lips sealed, then yes. But the Prince and Princess absolutely cannot know."
The Queen was an adult—someone who understood what could and could not be spoken aloud. She had a brain. I trusted her judgment.
But the princess was a child, blissfully unaware of the world's dangers. She'd blurt something out eventually. As for the prince—I didn't even know how old he was. So no.
"Why?"
"Because the fewer people who know, the better. Duke Somart, please don't share this with your family either."
I looked at the sword saint. He was staring at us, his jaw slowly dropping open.
"...I don't understand anything you've been saying… Your Majesty, you said Mr. Karen is the Brave—was that true?!"
"It's true," the king replied.
"T-Then… the reason I couldn't defeat Mr. Karen… was because he's the Brave? That's why I lost…?"
The sword saint had entered the phase where I needed to counsel him again. I crossed my arms and cut into the conversation between him and the king.
"Duke Somart, this has nothing to do with the Brave's power. A Brave doesn't gain the ability to beat the sword saint barehanded. Everything comes from my own strength."
"W-What…?"
"Duke Somart, if an ordinary person received the Brave's power but never trained, then all he'd be is someone with higher physical stats. He still wouldn't defeat someone who's trained their entire life."
"...I see. I was too shallow."
"Anyway, Duke Somat, did you hear the requests I made to His Majesty just now?"
"...No."
"Then I'll repeat them. Keep my identity as the Brave secret. Don't tell your family either."
"Why?"
"Because I want to experience the world as a normal person—to interact with people, to see things, to understand the genuine nature of this world. If everyone knew I was the Brave, how would they treat me?"
I couldn't believe I'd said something so sentimental—but it wasn't entirely false. I truly did want to meet people as Karen, not as the Brave.
If I weren't the Brave—just an ordinary man—I would probably push my hopes and expectations onto the Hero. I would expect him to act like a Brave, to fulfill that role.
"I understand," the King said. "I feel the same. A bunch of two-faced flatterers."
The only people who got to see the king regularly were nobles. And even he knew their flattery was awful—just how bad were their acting skills?
"Mr. Karen," the Sword Saint suddenly declared, "from today on, you are my role model!"
That was ridiculous. I was certain he had misunderstood everything I said.
"Duke Somart, you're exaggerating. Anyway, let's stop talking about that. I still have another request."
"Go on."