Chapter 79: Rise to Fame (1)

“My goodness, what did I tell you? I’ve reminded you so many times not to take part in dangerous affairs.”

“Eh…?”

Lloyd couldn’t make sense of things for a moment. He wasn’t in the Frontera barony. He was in a sick ward in Count Cremo’s manor in Cremo, the city of commerce. So he had to ask…

What’s the baron couple doing here? Feeling flustered, Lloyd gazed up to find the baron couple smiling at him as though they were about to burst into tears. Lloyd wasn’t spared any moment to ask questions. The baron hurried and forcefully wrapped his hands around Lloyd’s cheeks.

“Let me see,” the baron said, “Are you hurt?”

“I, uhm, it’s…”

“Speak now,” the baron demanded.

“Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

“Eh, uh, uhm. Nothing really in particular, but-”

“But?” interrupted the baron impatiently.

“I can’t really breathe well because of how you’re smashing my cheeks.”

“Oh… Oops,” said the baron as he flinched and released the grip of his hands. His behavior instantly invited a wave of nags from his wife.

“How could you act like that when he’s sick? What if you hurt him more?” scolded the baroness.

“Uhm… I was just in such a hurry… Anyway, are you all right?” the baron said as he looked at Lloyd.

“Oh, yes. I’m fine.”

Lloyd spoke, a wry smile inevitably forming on his face. The baroness was gazing at Lloyd even while reprimanding her husband, who clumsily and naturally avoided the criticism by tossing a question at Lloyd. Lloyd was glad to see both of them. On the one hand, however, a pang of pain shot through his heart when he saw that they weren’t in their best state.

They must’ve rushed all the way here traveling through day and night. The baron and the baroness kept clean and neat appearances at all times. But it was different right now. Their clothes were marked with splotches and dots, and there was even dirt on their elbows and knees. Lloyd could clearly see how they dropped everything to come here. They must have rushed into this ward as soon as they arrived at Cremo without bothering to even change their clothes.

“Did you, by any chance, get the news from Count Cremo?” asked Lloyd, guessing what seemed likely.

The baron nodded and replied, “Yes, you’re right. His Excellency has sent us a letter.”

“What did he write in there?”

“That you are in a critical condition,” said the baron grimly.

“Woah,” exclaimed Lloyd.

“And he told us in brief what you have done in the past few months. That’s why-”

“We departed at once the day we recieved the news,” the baroness cut in, finishing his sentence.

The baron couple’s words were exactly true. About ten days ago, the baron and the baroness were spending time like any other day, finishing up the ondol construction as per Lloyd’s favor and inspecting the water supply system that provided water to the viscounty. And, they also prayed for Lloyd’s safe return from the travel. The said letter had arrived that afternoon, bringing the news that struck them into shock. Lloyd was in critical condition. The words that followed before and after lost all meaning as they processed the terrible news. The parts about the Gigatitan laying an attack on Cremo and the heroic exploit of their son against such a monster and about how his valor and sacrificing spirit would inspire the others… Blah blah… None of those flowery words mattered to them. Not at all. Only two pieces of information echoed through their head. Lloyd was in critical condition, and the letter was stamped with a magical insignia of Count Cremo. In all seriousness, something terrible had happened to Lloyd.

Their hearts sank. There was no time to waste. So they saddled up right at once. Carriage? Relying on that thing had the potential of tying them down on the road if its wheels went bad on the snowy and icy roads. As such, they hopped on the horses themselves, taking only one knight for protection—Sir Bayern.

They galloped throughout the afternoon, and at night, they relied on the torch and moonlight as they continued to speed up. The travel was hectic and even the horses carrying them were almost knocked out by the fatigue. But the baron and the baroness didn’t feel any exhaustion. They instead galloped off, leaving very little time for sleep. Eating took place on as they were riding on their horses. And nine days later, they finally made it to Cremo.

But they didn’t have the mind or time to work on their appearances to look presentable. They roughly brushed through their matted hair and sprinted to the count’s manor. And at last, when they arrived, they heard the news that Lloyd had woken up while they were traveling to this city.

“You have no idea how relieved we were,” said the baron.

“Your mother may be acting all right now, but her legs nearly gave away, and she almost collapsed to the ground.”

“My dear, you don’t have to say that.”

The baroness looked down.

“What’s wrong? It is true.”

“You’re only pressuring the boy by saying so,” she explained. The baron gaped for a second at the realization.

“You should watch your words in front of a sick patient.”

“Ehem. Hmm…”

The baron let out dry coughs without saying anything more.

“By the way,” asked the baroness, “do you have the doll with you?”

“Excuse me?” answered Lloyd, looking at the baroness.

A doll? What could she possibly be talking about? Lloyd, who had been listening to the story of how the couple arrived here, cocked his head to the question. It was only after he heard the follow-up explanation from the baroness that he remembered the doll she had mentioned.

“I am talking about the talisman I gave you before you left home.”

“Oh.”

Then it dawned on him what it was. It was the uncomfortably large pink doll that was supposed to block nightmares if he hugged it to sleep at night. Lloyd found himself gulping drily.

“That doll should be, err, at the inn,” replied Lloyd at last.

“At the inn?” repeated the baroness.

“Yes,” said Lloyd, feeling that he needed to do better with his response. So he added, “I was staying at the inn prior to this whole ruckus.”

“So is that why you didn’t bring it here?”

“Yes.”

“Wait, have you not used it even before?” inquired the baroness, her voice shaking.

“Um, well, of course…”

Of course, I didn’t. I was rather scared that I’d get nightmares of the pink teddy bear if I slept with it. But Lloyd didn’t say his thoughts out loud. Nothing good would come out of it if he did.

The baroness, now wearing a regretful expression on her face, said, “My, I suppose you did not like the doll.”

“Uhm, to be honest, no, I didn’t like it too much.”

“I shall,” the baroness declared, “then make you a bigger one.”

“What…?” Lloyd gasped.

Excuse me? What’s she saying? Lloyd suddenly had a bad feeling about the situation, and that premonition turned into reality, to his misfortune.

The baroness put on a gentle smile as though she had everything in control and spoke.

“I gave it to you, so you could use it as a lucky charm, but you didn’t. I posit that it was too small for you. That is why I am telling you that I shall make a much larger and fluffier one so you can hug it with ease.”

“…”

“Would you not like that, either? Then shall I attach a ribbon-”

“No, it’s fine. Absolutely fine,” Lloyd hurriedly cut in.

A wry smile forced its way onto Lloyd’s face. To be frank, the attention and affection made him uncomfortable. But at the same time, he found himself touched by how they put aside their usual dignity and formalities and showered him with love. They prompted Lloyd to recall his childhood in South Korea.

I felt exactly this way then. When he was young, Lloyd’s father used to be slammed with work. Meeting him happened on rare occasions because he was always working. And on seldom cases where he was at home, he spent most of the time sleeping. Lloyd wanted to play with him each time he was at home. But Lloyd held up, taking heed to his mother’s words that Father needs to take a good rest.

But one day, when Lloyd was probably about seven years old, he was riding the kick scooter in front of his house when he fell down. The fall hurt his forehead pretty badly, and with a bit of an exaggeration, it left an egg-like bump on his forehead. This got Lloyd to go back home crying, and the sound instantly woke his father up. Father was sleeping in his room because it was his day off.

Lloyd’s father rushed him to the hospital, and on the way home, they stopped at a nice restaurant. The taste of the tonkatsu stuck in his memory even now, and so were the conversation they had and the concerned expression and voice of his father. They were all clear. That day, Lloyd felt in every fiber of his being how much his father cherished and loved him. He wasn’t a man who valued work over his son.

“Whew.”

Heaving a heavy sigh, Lloyd tried to shake off his emotions before they developed into tears. And he looked at the baroness and said, “Thank you. So how big do you plan to make that doll for me?”

“Presumably, this big?” said the baroness as she beamed and opened her arms wide.

Lloyd’s smile brightened as well when he saw her do so.

“Yes, that seems to be a perfect size,” he said.

“I know, right?”

“Yes, so what do you say to make another one since you will be working on one anyway?”

“One more?” asked the baroness.

“Yes.”

“Why, do you plan on hugging the two in sleep?”

“No, it’s not that,” Lloyd said and shook his head. He then pointed at Javier, who was standing beside his bed.

“I wish Sir Asrahan to have one as well. He goes through so much to protect me all the time.”

Flinch! Javier, who was watching the union of the family with a calm expression, flinched slightly in the shoulder. And when the baroness praised Lloyd for having such a kind heart, his Adam’s apple fluctuated visibly. Lloyd smiled, his smile growing vicious like the sirens that drag people to misery. Joy is for one, while tragedy is for many, thought Lloyd to himself. A shameful act became less shameful when it wasn’t done alone.

♣

A few more days passed. Lloyd’s health recovered as days went by. The contusions that marked all over his body healed quickly, and the strained and torn muscles returned back to normal. His recovery was a combined effort of the hearty care of the baron couple, nurse, triple circle, and manaheart. There was a massive difference in his healing speed between now and then. The physician watched in amazement as he checked Lloyd’s body.

“You have completely healed. You could even go out hunting on a horse right now,” declared the physician.

“Is that so?” asked Lloyd.

“What about my heart?”

“It beats normally.”

His heart seemed to have stopped when he was in a coma, but now, it was beating perfectly fine. Lloyd had told Javier a part of the secret behind such a miracle, and no one else. To others, he simply played ignorant, saying that he was in the dark just as much as everyone else was. And thanks to his feigned ignorance, the matter behind his heart remained a mystery to everyone. Not only that, Lloyd even confessed that he had no idea how he’d killed the Gigatitan. Heck, he explained, he didn’t even know if he actually was the one behind the killing. Sure, he had fought hard until he passed out. Once he woke up, this happened. Even with a such story, some people gazed at Lloyd with doubts, but what else could they do when he played innocent? When he plastered on a thick-skinned a few more times, no one questioned him about the Gigatitan anymore.

Of course, they’ll still think that I caught the monster. But they’d believe that I am loathing to reveal the secret. Yes, that’s exactly what I want. In the first place, all of this happened because of the mana circles. But not a single person, minus Javier, knew about the existence of mana circles. So it was unnecessary for him to tell them about it. Thinking that, Lloyd stepped out of sickbed and walked out of the manor. He then headed to the city district and stood on the podium. He took a full view of the plaza that spanned ahead of him.

“Huraaaaay!!!”

The plaza was jam-packed with people. The crowd could not be counted. The merchants, pier workers, sailors, fishers, scholars, carpenters, and children… Every citizen born and living in Cremo gathered up, cheering at the podium.

There was more. Trumpets played a clear and majestic song at both sides of the podium, and tiny colored papers were sprinkled from the building roofs that followed along the plaza outline.

Woah. I feel so cool right now. Suho Kim who had nose-bled every day in his tiny dorm room in South Korea. He never expected that a day would come when he’d be treated with such splendor. A part of him felt uncomfortable and jittery, but a greater sense of satisfaction took over him.

The accomplishment was achieved out of pure coincidence, but still, it was an accomplishment nonetheless. He told himself that he should act confident when he was being adored. He must not be shy. He must be chill. Resolving such in his head, he looked to the side to see Count Cremo nod his head as he stood beside the podium. The magic marble that amplified the speaker’s voice was ready. Picking up the marble placed on the podium, Lloyd cleared his throat.

“Ehem. Hmm.”

His voice rang aloud and clear across the plaza as it traveled with magic. The cheering died down a bit as a result, and now they were waiting for Lloyd to speak. As the silence gradually fell, Lloyd fished a note from his pocket, which was the speech he’d written in advance as per the count’s request to speak in front of everyone.

Well, the topic of my speech is obvious. I’m going to talk about how the real heroes are the ones that rescued the drowning people from the waters at that disastrous night. And not only them but also the guards and citizens who sweated over to save those who were pressed under the rubbles in the plaza, as well as the medical officers who risked their lives to put out the fire. Lastly, I’ll end with how everyone in this city is the true hero for working together as one to overcome the challenge set forth by the disaster or something like that.

The content of the speech couldn’t be any more cliche and platitude. So Lloyd was left in two minds. His heart that had originally decided to give such a commonplace speech swayed. It was the people. As he laid his eyes on the crowds as thick as clouds, desire started to creep up inside him. A decision was newly made, and Lloyd clenched his molars tight. He put his lips to the magic marble with the heart of shouting.

“You may know not what they are, but there is such a thing called ‘ondol’ in this world.”

Lloyd’s calm voice spread to every corner of the plaza. People cocked their heads to the side. They had no idea what this ondol Lloyd was talking about. Lloyd continued talking.

“It warms your entire house like a hot potato. A furnace isn’t comparable. No more tears streaking down your face or cough gripping you because of the smoke. Moreover, you don’t have to assign shifts through the night worrying about embers growing into a fire by staying close to the furnace and sacrificing sleep.”

Everyone was left baffled. However, it was strangely appealing. The plaza grew quieter. People gave all their ears as they breathed softly. And Lloyd’s salesman pitch invaded their eardrums.

“Yes, I am the one who installs the ondol. But this occasion is not the right time to talk about it, so I shall stop here. If you have more questions, please visit the Frontera barony that sits east of Cremo. I promise to answer your questions heartily and do the construction for you. With that, I’ll go down. Thank you.”

He was tacit just enough to evoke a sense of curiosity, and this strategy was meant to ensure that he’d be flooded with ondol orders later. Once he was done with the speech, no, the ondol advertisement, he gave a bow and quickly got down the podium. Everyone looked dazed, and the count let out an empty laugh. Lloyd decided to act thick-skinned, caring little what their reactions were. He walked over to Count Cremo and casually greeted him.

“Thank you, Your Excellency, for preparing such an occasion before I leave the city,” he said.

The count, on the other hand, said nothing but smiled in a daze. He had heard recently from his source about the ondol. But it never occurred to the count that Lloyd would be brash enough to promote his construction on the podium.

My, I want to have him beside me all the more. The count thought Lloyd something. He was bold. He struck the perfect balance, sometimes appropriate and sometimes bolder. The young man advanced and retreated just aptly to fight for and make his profit.

Not to mention that he’s always on the ball. It was still beyond Count Cremo how Lloyd had killed the Gigatitan. But one thing became crystal clear, and it was that Lloyd’s constructing skills exceeded anyone the count has seen so far.

It’s telling from how the artificial ground in the water is still standing strong despite the Gigatitan’s attack. The count’s gaze traveled to the shore near the port, and he stared at the artificial ground left there. The mermaid statue had been shattered to pieces when the monster attacked, but the ground was nearly fine save for a slight dent in its side. Made of steel bars and cement, the ground could accommodate a new statue right away.

Certainly, a talent like his must not be wasted away in a remote province. The count’s gaze toward Lloyd glimmered in secret, and it remained like that even when Lloyd left the city after his speech.

“Godspeed. May our paths cross again,” said the count, bidding farewell. Then after escorting Lloyd and the others, he then headed back to his manor right away. That night, his report detailing the abilities and accomplishments of Lloyd Frontera got attached to the carrier pigeon, which flew her way to the palace in the royal capital.