"Draw your sword now!"

My mind went blank for a second. What did he say?

"Hurry up!"

He threatened again while pointing his sword to my chest. He's serious. I heaved a long sigh before I drew my sword. He frowned a little when he saw that, but I didn't mind him and took my position.

"Are we really doing this?"

I asked him just in case, and I got a piercing glare as an answer. I guess I had no choice but to go along with it. After all, there's no way I could win against him, the 'Hero'.

After we took our position, one of the other 2 people who were coming with him, stepped forward. It looks like he was going to be our referee.

"...Ready! Fight!!"

Immediately after the signal sounded, he dashed towards me. He's so fast that I could barely catch him with my eyes. As expected of the 'Hero'. I desperately tried to parry his sword and ended up interlocking our swords, but he's also very strong, of course. My arms were shaking as I tried to withstand his power.

I wonder why it became like this. Even though I sincerely wish for their happiness.

[***]

In this world, when one reaches the age of 13, one will go through the 'Baptism Ritual' to get a blessing from the Goddess of Creation. The blessing usually in the form of a skill. After they get a skill, they can level up that skill, then get a job according to their skill. One will be regarded as an adult when they are 15 years old, so the ritual can be said the Goddess's benevolence to all humans before they go to adulthood.

Other than skills, one can get a Title in the Baptism Ritual, although it is extremely rare. When one gets a Title, they also get a set of skills corresponding to their Title. There are many different Titles, from a normal one to a weird or an outrageous one, such as 'Grave Keeper' or even 'Hero'.

Yes, Heroes existed, but not every time a Hero appeared. It only appeared in the time of crisis, and as people know, if one gets the Title of 'Hero', one will get many extraordinary skills and become the strongest warrior to save the world.

My name was Luca. I was just an ordinary boy who lived in this small town near the mountain, surrounded by lush forest. I was blessed with loving parents, a cool-beauty of elder sister, a cute little sister, and a lovely childhood friend. My peaceful life couldn't get anymore fortunate than this.

But then, the day of my older sister's Baptism Ritual came.

Everyone in the town was excited to find out what skill she gets. She's a beautiful girl with silver hair and tan skin. Even though she's a girl, she's a strong warrior who talented in both swordsmanship and spear techniques. She's also very mature for a girl her age, that's why she has many fans in the town. No one doubted that she would get a great and wonderful skill. Some even believe she would get a Title instead of just a skill.

When she blessed by the 'Valkyrie' Title, everyone was so proud like they were the ones who got that Title. Matching her Title, she got many combat-related skills such as Spear Technique Mastery, Foot Technique Mastery, Enchanted Body's Strength, Enchanted Five Senses, etc.

As she kept training diligently, her skills level rose up more and more, until all of it almost reached the max level just a year after she got those skills. No doubt, she was a genius. Mom and our little sister were so proud of her. Everyone in the town did. Of course, me too. But because of that, the pressure on me was high. The higher the expectation was, the more hurt it was when it betrayed you.

It was the beginning of spring this year that I had my Baptism Ritual along with my childhood friend. As a part of the Spring Festival, the ritual was held at the end of the 3-days-long festival. Besides me and my childhood friend, two more children were going through the ritual with us. As expected, I was the one who went first.

The Baptism Ritual started, and everyone who crowded the church held their breaths. They waited and waited, but the priest's announcement didn't come. He just stood there with a blank and confused expression on his face. Minutes later, mom was the first one who sounded her question. The priest looked at my mom but still didn't say a word. Many expressions flashed on his face, but in the end, pity was what stayed as he looked at mom and me.

Mom's face suddenly paled as she guessed what happens. The priest approached us and presented to us a small transparent card, similar to a dog tag, that everyone was given when they finished the ritual; the card where the skill and its level being displayed. Mom feared that I got a useless or a horrible skill, but when she saw my card, she stiffened.

Well, who won't? After all, what was written on my card was...

[7O4*€a19_s21C^E1919o®]

That was it, it was a row of gibberish that couldn't even be read... Really, what was that?! Was it a skill? Or was it a Title?

If it was a skill, there should be a level written somewhere beside it. If it was a Title, there should be a list of skills, or at least one skill, which written below it. But both of those were nowhere to be found. There was only that string of unknown words... Is that even a word? I don't know.

While everyone still confused, the priest began to console us, but his words sounded more and more humiliating instead. The one who snapped first was not my mom, but my childhood friend. She demanded that there was something wrong in the ritual which the priest has done. Fortunately, the priest didn't get angry and made her do the ritual next, to proved that the ritual was done correctly.

To their surprise, she got the Title of 'Holy Maiden' and got many holy and sacred skills, such as Great Healing Technique, Holy Magic Mastery, Sanctuary, etc. Many of those skills are legendary skills that only appeared in stories. Everyone went crazy as they realized their town has been blessed by the presence of the Goddess's apostle. The priest even knelt in front of her with a face full of tears and jointed his hands together as if he was praying.

My childhood friend became extremely confused as she didn't expect this turn of event at all. And she looked at me as she was searching for help. Like that, the thing about my 'failed' Baptism Ritual was forgotten in an instant, as I also joined in the excitement to congratulate her. After that, the remaining two children also did their ritual without a problem.

After my childhood friend became the Holy Maiden, she has been staying in the town's church to study and raise her skill level. It seemed like she refused to go to the Royal Capital where the main church in this kingdom located. Even when some nobles and higher-ups from the church came to escort her, she adamantly refused. I wonder why? Well, it's not like I wanted her to leave but still, I thought she should stay at the main church where her safety can be secure. There are always bad people out there who want to get their hands on something as valuable as someone else's rare skill after all.

A year later, it was my little sister's turn.

After the accident in my Baptism Ritual, my clingy little sister became more clingy than ever. Looks like she thought I was sad because of that accident and those ridicules many people said behind my back, but actually, I didn't mind them. Well, it's hurt at first but that was it. If I took all of their words to heart, it's just prove that their words were true. So now I passed my days as if those ridicules are bird's singing voices.

Even though I genuinely didn't mind them, it wasn't like that for my family and childhood friend. Whenever they heard some insult or even a snicker directed toward me, my older sister would glare at "those foolish people", according to her, as if she will pounce them anytime. Meanwhile, my little sister would stand close to me as if she was protecting me. The same goes for my childhood friend, she would reprimand anyone who said unpleasant things about me, causing everyone to fear her more.

But the most grieving one was mom's condition. She would immediately cry every time she heard those poisonous-tongues people. I couldn't stand it, but even so, I won't confront them. I didn't want to add more trouble. So I did my best to assure my mom, sisters, and childhood friend that I am fine. I did so repeatedly until they convinced, and I am glad they finally believe me. Though my little sister still refused to leave my side.

A week before Spring Festival, my little sister's "demand" became more absurd. She would stick to me wherever I go; to the field, to the market, to the forest to hunt, she even sneak in to the bathroom when I still took my bath, demand to took a bath together, and she also sneak up on my bed at night, said she wanted to sleep with me.

It's cute that my independent little sister wanted to get pamper again, but I just couldn't fathom why she behaved like this so suddenly. It couldn't be related to her Baptism Ritual, could it? Could it be that she's scared that she would end up like me? Nonsense. This was my genius little sister we were talking about. There was no way that she would get some gibberish like me. Instead, like our older sister, she would get an amazing Title befitting of her talent.

And sure enough, the Goddess didn't betray my expectations. My little sister got the Title of 'Great Sage', and of course, a set of extraordinary magic-related skills such as Elemental Magic Mastery, Magic Runes Comprehension, Ancient Magic Comprehension, Rapid Mana Recovery, etc.

Everyone's jaw couldn't help but slacked open at this yet another bombshell. Three youngsters from their small town got selected by the Goddess to received such phenomenal Titles. There was not a single person in the town now, who would doubt that their town has been blessed for several years to the future.

The party mood has begun to take over the town. Every adult; men and women, held their glass high, claimed they would feast until morning. But unfortunately, the protagonist of the feast didn't feel like partying. As soon as the reality sank in her, my little sister burst out crying, suddenly ran toward me and held me tightly. Everyone else thought that those were happy tears, but I didn't think so. She was shivering violently as she sobbed in my arms.

During the rest of that day, until late at night, she cried and cried as she refused to leave my arms. I didn't know what made her like this, but I knew what I could do for now; to hold her gently and to appease her silently. That night as we sleep together, she finally opened her mouth after refusing to talk one day long. But what she whispered as she drifted into the dreamland was, "I'm sorry Brother, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." She apologized. Why? I couldn't remember if she ever made a mistake that caused her to feel this miserable. And I also couldn't remember if she ever hurt me or anything.

The next day, thankfully she turned back to normal again, even though she was still acting a bit spoiled to me. Like that, days passed by peacefully again, or so I thought. A few days later, an envoy from the Royal Academy came to our house. He said the Royal Academy has invited my sisters to enroll in the Academy as scholarship students.

Though every resident of this kingdom had compulsory education when they turned 10, the Royal Academy was different. It was an advanced education facility for people with specific skills who want to pursue a higher level, and of course, you had to pass a series of entrance exams to able to enroll. It was a prestigious academy within the kingdom. Your future would be secure if you are a graduate of the Royal Academy. Almost all of the knights of the kingdom's Knight Legion were graduates of the academy, so were ministers and magicians of the Magic Bureau.

Such an elite place had invited my sisters and as scholarship students even. What a fortune is this! Just to get enrolled in that Royal Academy was already difficult enough, but to get enrolled as a scholarship student you must be a genius among geniuses or got one hell of excellent luck under your sleeve. These high difficulties to get enrolled is equal to the guaranteed success after all.

I was so happy when I heard this and excitedly turn my face to see my sisters' reactions. But contrary to mine, they looked at the envoy suspiciously; no, actually they glared at him. The envoy fidgeted nervously under their glares as he became confused, so was I. My sisters said they wouldn't want to enroll in such a school full of airhead rich people.

Well, they were right that the Royal Academy was full of nobles. But the nobles in this kingdom were the most respectable and "noblest" I know, compared to other kingdoms. They weren't arrogant, didn't abuse their authorities, didn't look down on commoner and had a tradition to sworn fidelity for people's safety and prosperity. Every resident of this kingdom should know this. Naturally, even if some commoners like us became the student of the Royal Academy, there's no difference in attitude and rights. The students were all treated equally, no matter if they were nobles or commoners. So why?

In the end, they didn't want to answer so I send the envoy back for now. That night I approached them again, and after a few arguments, they finally said it's because they didn't want to leave the town, mom, and me. I immediately smacked their heads, rendering them and mom, who had been watching us quietly, to gape at me.

I was very thankful for them to always place me and mom before them. But it was enough already, they should think more about themselves from now on. Mom also agreed with me. I persuaded them with that and succeeded in making them willing to enroll in the Royal Academy.

The envoy was glad when he heard this, and declared that they would depart for the Royal Capital in three days. My sisters were surprised at first but they were more excited this time. I and our childhood friend also got excited when helping them prepare their departure.

While we were at it, I also persuaded my childhood friend to go along with them to the Royal Capital. Well, I guess that time I sounded a bit too persistent. I made her and my sisters misunderstood that I was casting them out, that I didn't want to be with them anymore. Fortunately, I was able to explain to them properly that it was because I care about their future. They were important to me, and I knew they would become important figures to this kingdom too. No matter what, I would always proud of them.

Three days later, my sisters and childhood friend finally departed for Royal Capital. It was really hard to say goodbye this morning before they rode the horse-drawn carriage. My younger sister wouldn't stop crying and made my older sister and childhood friend burst out crying as well. I was so lucky to be loved so much by them like this. But I'm not worried at all because I knew they would do well. And they would come back home again after 3 years when they graduate.

Thus, quiet days resumed. My daily life of going to the field, hunting, and helping other townspeople continued without anything special, except at the end of every month, when those three's letters arrived. Their letters were always interesting to read, so mom also got excited when they were coming.

In a blink of an eye, 3 years have passed. My sisters' graduation ceremony would be held in 2 months at the beginning of fall. But, something utterly unexpected happened.

The news about the Demon King's Army began marching to this kingdom, made everyone shocked. The legendary destructive army that was said to be able to wipe out a whole kingdom in just one night had gathered near this kingdom's border from who-knows-where and when, without anyone, even the king, noticed. So it was bound to make everyone panicked. Even this small town, that is located at the farthest land from the border where the Demon King's Army said to appeared, was in a gloomy state.

Not just this kingdom, the neighboring countries also became anxious. But instead of sending their army to support this kingdom, they got ready to defend their own respective countries. Well, I guess there's nothing wrong with that. But that sounded like they already certain that this kingdom would fall when they refused to send help.

Despite this, the kingdom tried its best to defend against the Demon King's Army. The Knight Legion, the Magic Bureau, even the crown prince, all went to the front line. They were fighting as hard as they could for several days, while the resident who resided at the border evacuated. They succeeded in keeping the residents safe, but they suffered a lot more casualties than expected. I even heard that the crown prince has been heavily injured.

When the news arrived, everyone despaired. But war is a dangerous place that doesn't spare anyone or anything, thus the enemy won't wait. As if they didn't need to rest, the Demon King's Army kept their advanced day and night, forced the kingdom's army to fall back until eventually, they got their back against a dead end. The kingdom's army struggled to at least let the crown prince escape, but all in vain.

They were just about to surrender themselves to death, but... a miracle happened. The crown prince who was in a comatose state suddenly woke up. All of his severe injuries were gone, and power was surging from his body. Their hopeless situation got flipped in an instant when the Demon King's army couldn't do anything to the crown prince anymore. In the end, they managed to fight off the enemy and returned to Royal Capital.

Sadly, the loss has been immense and the 'storm' hasn't subsided yet. Looks like the army that the kingdom has such great difficulty to win against, was only a small part of the main force of the Demon King's Army. The situation didn't improve much, but the Goddess didn't forsake us. In the last battle, the crown prince has awakened as the 'Hero'.

Different from any other Title, a Hero has never appeared in Baptism Ritual. Apparently, it could only appear when a prospective vessel met various certain criteria. No matter if that vessel already got a skill or a Title at their previous ritual, the blessing would be overwritten by 'Hero' Title. This could mean that if you had been in the right state, time, and place, anyone could be a Hero, right? I wondered if the crown prince chose to go to the front line because he knew anything about this? Anyway, with his newly accrued power, the Hero swore to defeat the Demon King, so I guess all was well now.

Thanks to Hero's emergence, the despair that enveloped the entire kingdom immediately disappeared. All residents of the kingdom... no, all residents of the world were very grateful for the presence of the Hero. The soldiers' morale also increased past over the top, and suddenly many neighboring countries offered to send their troops to form a joint force to defeat the Demon King. Although many were suspicious about the change in those countries' attitude, refusing their offers seem would cause many problems later, so the kingdom decided to accept them.

The Joint Army then would be placed at the border and advanced slowly to the area that suspected to be the demon's territory. But it would seem that the Hero wouldn't lead that army. He said he would lead a small party to infiltrate the Demon King's nest to kill it. Many disagreed with his decision, but nobody objected when he said this was a revelation he got from the Goddess after his awakening. The revelation also told him about the 6 party members. They were the Hero himself, the Prime Minister's son who was also his close aide, the Royal Knights' young captain, and 3 chosen girls. There's no need to guess who those 3 girls were. The moment I heard about this, I knew they were my sisters and childhood friend.

A piece of news said that there was a bit of commotion when the Hero and the other 2 members went to the main church to find the 'Holy Maiden'. It turned out that the 'Valkyrie' and the 'Great Sage' have already been waiting for their arrival in the church. Looks like the Holy Maiden also received a revelation before they arrived, the same as the Hero.

After a moment of conversation, they all officially became 'The Hero Party', the ultimate team that consisted of the most blessed and talented people you could find in the whole world right now; savior who shouldered everyone's hope, the Hero; Goddess's apostle, the Holy Maiden; master of all magic, the Great Sage; master of military arts and most knowledgeable, the Strategist; one of strongest warrior in the world, the Valkyrie; and last but not least, one of impenetrable protector, the Guardian. With these people united their strength, there was nothing that could stop them.

Everyone eventually felt at ease, but I thought it still too early for that. After all, no one knew what might happen in the future. It wasn't that I didn't believe in the Hero Party, just it didn't hurt to always cautious until the Demon King and its army were surely defeated. I hoped my sisters and childhood friend could return home safe and sound.

Although we had the Hero Party, as expected the war didn't end easily just like that. The Demon King and its army were brutal, vicious, and surprisingly clever. The Hero Party and the Joint Army were fighting with all they had, but these enemies still managed to steal many victories. It was a fierce war.

Then after 2 years of dispute, the Hero finally defeated the Demon King. The Hero Party and the Joint Army managed to split the force of its army, so when the Joint Army engaged in an open war with most of its army, the Hero Party was able to corner the Demon King and killed it.

Even though they succeeded in killing the Demon King, it didn't mean they had won the war. There were many of its soldiers who still alive, so the war didn't end yet until they wiped them all out. Or so it should be. The moment their king died, the army began to act strangely. Their movement became disarray, then before long, they went insane. Seemingly couldn't distinguish friends to foes, they blindly attacked everything within their reach. Many soldiers of the Joint Army said they acted like they had 'lost their heads' even though it was still intact.

It was good that the Joint Army noticed this mysterious phenomenon early, so they won't get caught in that 'self destruct' move. They even used that situation to cleanly killed all the remaining enemies.

Finally, humanity won the war against demons.

Today the Hero Party arrived gallantly at the Royal Capital. Thousand of people filled the streets of the capital to welcome them. The residents' smiling faces were full of happiness, admiration, and respect. The King also welcomed them and immediately bestowed them honor as soon as they arrived at the palace. When they came out to greet the residents, the cheers of the people was deafening. And it got even more deafening when they announced their engagement with each other.

[***]

"Ugh!!!"

A muffled groan escaped my mouth when the Hero forcefully knocked the sword off my hand. It drew a beautiful arc in the air before falling and stabbed the ground far behind me. Then it suddenly became silent when everyone but me, shocked.

Huh? Why was everyone so surprised? Hey Mr. Hero, you were the one who's pointing his sword at my neck right now, why did you look perplexed? Mr. Strategist, your handsome looks would be ruined if you stayed gawking like that. And Mr. Guardian, weren't you supposed to be our referee? Please don't look dumbstruck like that, the winner was clear from the beginning, wasn't it?

"Mr. referee?"

Because everyone has been stayed frozen for a while now, I called out to the referee to wake everyone up.

"Oh! ...Winner, Arthur!"

Once he announced the winner, I turned around right away to pick up my sword. Arthur, the Hero, wasn't even lowered his swords yet, his face was still full of doubt. After I placed my sword back to its scabbard, I repeated the same question that I asked them before Arthur snapped.

"So, can you guys tell me why are you here?"

Today was the usual day which I went to the forest to hunt some foods. I was in the middle of preparing my bow, arrows, and traps when they suddenly came.

"...To hunt. To help you hunt."

Arthur answered while putting his sword back. My eyes widened when I heard it. That's surprising. This whole month, since they started staying at our house, they never volunteer to help me. In fact, they were clearly avoiding me.

They appeared nice when they first arrived along with my sisters and childhood friend who were finally returned home. But then they won't talk or even look at me. Well, I guess it couldn't help as I was kind of a 'cursed' man who wasn't blessed by the Goddess. To have a soon-to-be brother-in-law or a close friend like me, I am sure anyone would be unsatisfied.

"...You don't have to force yourself, you know?"

"We don't."

"Really? But you don't look happy at all...."

I wondered if those 3 girls have said something to make them like this. Whoa, I felt so bad, don't tell me they were fighting because of me?

"I said we don't!!"

When I peered in his expression, Arthur snapped at me again, which made me unconsciously stepped back. He was really mad. Looking closely, the other 2 were also somehow in a bad mood. I guessed it's true that they were fighting with their fiancées.

"Aaghh!!! This pisses me off!!"

"Calm down, Arthur. Getting angry at him won't solve the problem."

"Even so, aren't you upset with all this too, Alvin?!"

Arthur began yelling while ruffled his hair irritably. Mr. Strategist, Alvin, tried to pacify him, but he got snapped at by him too. OK, alright. I already knew they hate me but heard this directly was still hurt. Let's quietly leave here, I must go hunting anyway...

"Indeed, but didn't you see it for yourself? Luca is indeed an outstanding person. You also feel that way since the beginning, right?"

"...That's right, but..."

Hmm? What...? I just picked up my equipment and turned to leave them silently, but then I involuntarily stopped my steps. Didn't they say something weird just now? Who's wonderful?

"Come on. I think this is enough already. Don't tell me, you're still jealous?"

"I'm not!! ...Well, maybe a little."

"Edward's right. Let's talk this out. You don't want things to get more awkward than this, do you?"

Mr. Guardian, Edward, joined in to appease Arthur, or did he just tease him? Also, their conversation didn't make any sense at all.

"...Hey, what's that? What are you guys talking about?"

I couldn't take it anymore and asked them. Surprised, they turned to me, then Alvin and Edward smiled wryly while Arthur acted like he was guilty of something.

"Aahh, well, I think we have some misunderstanding. We didn't force ourselves to talk to you, instead, we did force ourselves to avoid you."

"You see, we have been wanting to meet you for a long time now, especially Arthur. But, well, you're slightly different from the impression we had of you. So, I guess things get quite hairy at our end. Still, it doesn't change the fact that we respect you, Luca."

Edward and Alvin tried to explain the situation, but I couldn't wrap my head around it at all. I didn't understand, do you mean you guys didn't hate me? Why? How come? I supposed my thoughts showed on my face because Alvin immediately added.

"Sophie, Jeanne, and Marie often told us about you. Well, actually they were always talking about you, so..."

What?! They had been talking about me?! What did they tell you?!

"They have been talking about what a wonderful brother and friend you are, and how important you are to them. They even once said that they were willing to go to the war because they wanted to protect you."

What's that?! That's so embarrassing! Geez, saying something like that, of course, it would cause misunderstandings. I guessed they were more attached to me than I thought. ...Thinking back, they were that attached to me, weren't they?

"Indeed, they were so passionate every time they were talking about you. Seeing them like that, we couldn't help but get curious."

".....I see. Then you guys must be got disillusion when you finally meet me, right? I'm sorry about that."

If that's how it was, then it makes sense. Your fiancées had been talking about nothing but their 'wonderful' brother and friend. And then, when you finally met him, he turned out to be some kind of a 'heretic' who's the first in all history. Also, Alvin, since earlier, did you read my mind? I didn't voice my questions but you could answer all of it accurately. As expected of the 'Strategist'.

"About that, we already knew about your circumstance since long ago. It's unbelievable, but we convinced that must be something behind it."

Arthur stepped forward, his gaze was still intense. As I was still taken aback by his momentum from before, I unconsciously became cautious. But, much to my surprise, he bowed his head down to me.

"We are sorry. Even though we know about your condition, still we've been immature and rude towards you. Please forgive us."

Not just him, Alvin and Edward also followed Arthur and bowed to me as they apologized. Bowing down to apologize to someone like me, even though they were heroes, as I thought these guys were good people. I was glad that they were the ones who my sisters and childhood friend fell in love with.

"Please raise your head. I'm not angry or anything. Besides, maybe it's me who should be apologizing. You guys got into a fight with those 3 because of me, right?"

"Oh, it's not a fight. Well, they indeed warned us to hurry up and sort things out with you."

"I see, that's good to hear. But, I'm surprised... So you guys already knew about my 'status'. If that's not the reason, then why did you avoid me?"

When I questioned them directly, their faces suddenly became more serious. Alvin mentioned something before about me being slightly different from the impression they had of me, but what did he mean exactly? Edward spoke first to answer me.

"It's because you don't resemble Jeanne or Sophie at all. Sophie looks just like your mother so it's obvious that she took after her. Then that means Jeanne took after your late father. But, you don't resemble any one of them..."

.....Aaahh, so that's how it is. It was because of that, huh? Indeed, for someone who never meets me before, they must think it is strange. That's natural. I forgot. All of the townspeople already knew, so I got used to it and forgot about this little truth.

"You're not blood-related, right?"

When Alvin finished Edward's explanation with another question for me, I smiled before I answered them honestly.

"That's right, I'm not their real sibling, I'm just an adopted child. ...Or maybe it'd be more accurate to say, that I'm so lucky they picked me up from the streets."

I tried to joke about it as the atmosphere suddenly became gloomy, but Arthur and Edward frowned when they heard it, while Alvin scolded me that it's not something to joke about. I startled a bit, but that made me realized just what kind of people these 3 were. It pleased me even more and giggles escaped my mouth.

"Hey, are you guys still want to go hunting together?"