I Became the Hero While Paving a Flower Path for My Niece - Chapter 35

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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A Hero Born from Laying Flower Paths for a Jerk — Episode 35
Clop-clop, clop-clop.
A farmer driving his cart in the cool autumn breeze spotted an approaching horse and wagon. Fortunately, the road here was wide enough that he didn’t need to pull aside.
“Good day to you.”
The good-natured farmer greeted them with a smile.
“Hello there!”
Then he startled.
A boy who looked to be five or six years old was sitting on the driver’s bench, holding the reins.
“Huh? Uh, um?”
“Safe travels!”
The boy—Leo—cheerfully waved goodbye to the bewildered farmer as they passed, then grinned and turned to look beside him. “Uncle! I’m driving the cart pretty well, aren’t I?”
“Uncle! I’m doing good at this, right?”
At that, Alex—Leo’s uncle, running alongside the cart at roughly the same pace—laughed.
“You really are! You’re a natural!”
“Uncle, you keep up with your stamina training!”
Today Alex was running beside the cart as a form of stamina training and to practice a new technique.
It seemed that morning and evening training alone weren’t giving him enough time for swordsmanship practice.
[Gah, this is rough!]
[Why won’t you just ride in the stupid cart….]
The one suffering through this was Ibek.
The soreness in his legs from running and the sensation of burning lungs from his ragged breathing came through vividly.
[My heart’s about to burst out!]
[Even though I don’t have one!]
Alex ignored Ibek’s complaints and focused his mind. Now that he’d reached 2nd Circle, he was determined to advance his swordsmanship another step forward as well.
‘Body Enhancement.’
Today too, Alex was attempting Body Enhancement.
If he reinforced both legs with Mana—or Aura, rather—he could run faster, and if he reinforced both fists with Mana, they’d become harder and capable of striking with greater force.
Similarly, reinforcing his eyes sharpened his vision, and reinforcing his ears boosted his hearing to several times that of an ordinary person.
‘And after that comes Sword Energy.’
Once he grew accustomed to reinforcing his own body, the next step would be to infuse Aura into something inanimate—a blade.
A sword so powerful it could cleave through steel itself.
The gleaming white sword of the ‘Hero Leo’ unbidden rose in Alex’s mind.
When could he grow that strong?
Could he ever grow that strong?
‘…One step at a time.’
As if calming his anxious heart, Alex drew a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
Unlike the magic Ibek taught him, swordsmanship had to be learned based on the knowledge he already possessed.
“Phew.”
Alex came to a halt and breathed in and out, drawing the Mana within his body into motion.
“Uncle?”
When Alex fell back, Leo poked his head out anxiously.
“I’ll catch up in a moment.”
“Okay!”
With a smile and a wave, Alex channeled his Mana toward his legs. Up to this point it was similar to magic, so it came easily.
[With your talent for handling Mana, you’ll manage it soon enough.]
“I hope so.”
Alex slowly moved the Mana, wrapping it around the soles of his feet. He’d failed here before, but today felt different.
“!!”
[There we go!]
Though there was a slight scattering motion, he soon managed to bind the Mana flawlessly.
Alex was somewhat startled by the success, but he didn’t panic—instead pushing the Mana up through his feet and legs.
Then the Mana, which had been scattering and wavering, began to settle more and more stably around both legs.
[See? Told you.]
[I said you’d manage it soon enough.]
As Ibek chuckled, Alex laughed warmly too.
[But this is strange.]
[It feels like my legs have gotten harder.]
Just as Ibek said—from the soles of his feet to his toes, his instep and ankles, up through his legs. Bones, blood vessels, muscle—it all felt unfamiliar. Hardened and toughened.
“Is this right?”
Since this was his first time actually infusing Mana this way, Alex wasn’t entirely certain he’d done it correctly, so he took a light hop forward to test it out.
Barely a single step.
Bang!
“! Gasp!”
[! Ahhhhh!]
With a tremendous sound, his body was yanked forward as though attached to an invisible rope, launching him backward with such violence that Alex had no time to steady himself before tumbling across the ground with a cry.
“! Uncle!”
Leo, who had been watching behind to see if his uncle was keeping up, witnessed the man blur past at such astonishing speed before rolling to a stop ahead of him—his expression shifting to pure shock.
“Are you all right, Uncle?”
Clip-clop—
As if understanding Leo’s concern, Max quickened his pace and drew alongside Alex.
“I’m fine. Your uncle just made a small mistake.”
[I’m not fine at all….]
Alex, who had been sprawled on the ground, waved his hand and pushed himself up. His clothes were caked with dust.
Leo descended from the wagon bed and examined his uncle carefully from every angle, nodding with relief. Then his eyes lit up.
“Uncle, what was that just now? You moved so incredibly fast! You were like lightning!”
“That’s called Body Enhancement—it’s something you can do once you learn Swordsmanship. I’ll teach you later.”
“Really?!”
Leo beamed at him.
“Then I’ll be able to run super fast too! I’ll always come in first in racing contests!”
[Hehe. Racing contests, he says.]
Charmed by the boy’s innocent thinking, Alex and Ibek both burst out laughing.
“So wizards can run that fast too?”
“Hmm. I don’t think wizards can do that.”
“Oh, I see. So wizards can’t win first place in running races either….”
[No way! We have Blink!]
[With Blink, first place is child’s play!]
Blink.
It seemed to be a teleportation spell, and using it would probably be cheating in a race.
Though Body Enhancement was cheating too, if he thought about it.
“Let’s start again, Leo.”
“Okay! I’m ready!”
Alex lifted Leo onto the wagon bed and began running alongside the cart once more.
This time, he experimented with increasing and decreasing the Mana he was channeling into his legs, searching for a comfortable balance of speed and strength.
Whoosh—!
As his uncle sprinted ahead only to arc back like he was soaring through the air, Leo gasped in wonder. “Wow wow wow!”
“Uncle, you’re amazing! You’re so skilled! Swordsmanship is the best!”
[Magic is amazing too!!]
Unfortunately, Ibek’s voice went unheard by the boy.

* * *
The first village in Brodell Territory.
“Fresh vegetables for sale! Vegetables just harvested!”
“Sweet fruit! Delicious fruit!”
The village bustled with energy, situated as it was on the road to other territories, and there were quite a few people about.
Alex and Leo climbed down from the wagon and looked around the village. Clip-clop—the brown horse Max walked beside them.
“Wow!”
Leo’s eyes sparkled with excitement at the lively market, and he looked ready to dash off at any moment—until Alex caught him firmly by the side.
[It seems different from what we were worried about.]
That it did.
It occurred to Alex that House of Brodell might be austere with their own blood, but they apparently governed their Territory quite well.
“Little one, would you like to try this?”
A fruit vendor with a kind face smiled warmly and offered Leo a Red Fruit no larger than a baby’s fist.
Leo looked up at Alex, and when his uncle nodded with a smile, the boy accepted it with a grateful “Thank you!”
“It’s delicious!”
How could Alex not buy some when his adorable nephew said they were good?
[I want to try some too!]
Especially when there was a spirit here who wanted a taste as well.
“I’ll take a basket, please.”
“Oh my! Much obliged!”
[This man’s got a good head for business!]
The fruit vendor beamed at Alex’s generous purchase and added a few extra pieces to a full basket as a bonus.
[Oh! Tastes just like plums.]
[Sweet and delicious!]
And so the uncle, Ibek, and his nephew bit into the fruit as they glanced around the marketplace.
“Uncle! Let’s buy Max a carrot too!”
At Leo’s words—he was the one in charge of the brown horse Max’s snacks—Alex nodded in agreement.
“All right.”
Leo took Alex’s hand and led him to the vendor’s stall, where he chose a carrot for Max with a thoughtful expression. Once Alex paid, Leo immediately offered it to Max standing nearby.
Crunch—
“Tasty, isn’t it, Max?”
Whinny!
At Max’s reply, Leo burst into laughter.
“Uncle, are we going to sell the wolf bones and fangs here?”
“No. We’ll sell them at Brodell Castle. The prices are better there.”
“Brodell Castle! Like Caldis Castle?”
Leo’s eyes gleamed with interest.
He still remembered the sight from when he first entered a castle, and the awe he’d felt looking down from the stone tower.
“No.”
“…No?”
[No?]
Seeing Leo’s disappointed face and Ibek’s confusion, Alex chuckled softly and continued.
“Brodell Castle is even bigger than Caldis Castle. There are crowds of people and all sorts of amazing things. There might even be buildings with three stories.”
“! Three stories!”
Leo’s mouth fell open in astonishment.
“I want to go up to the third floor!”
“All right. Uncle will find a way.”
“You’re the best, Uncle!”
Alex grinned widely at Leo’s praise.
They had dinner at an Inn.
Of course, Alex tasted the food first before placing it on Leo’s plate.
[Hmm.]
[It’s overcooked—no texture to it. Though the seasoning’s not bad.]
[Fair enough.]
[Out of five stars, I’d give it two and a half!]
Ibek had grown so particular about food that he now rated everything by stars.
Alex didn’t know what this “star rating” system was, but two and a half out of five seemed harsh.
“It’s delicious!”
See?
Leo ate just fine.
[This is delicious?]
[What have you been feeding him all this time?]
Stung by Ibek’s reproach, Alex’s eyes darted away.
‘It’s decent enough, isn’t it?’
Though they shared the same sense of taste, Alex—unlike the discerning Ibek—tended to find anything reasonably edible quite tasty.
[Seems like a dull palate runs in the family.]
At Ibek’s words, Alex found himself thinking of his sister Serena, and the observation might have some truth to it.
She’d eaten readily too, and so had her husband.
The memory brought a smile to Alex’s face unbidden.
[But from now on, I should treat the boy to better food!]
[Pave his way with flower petals, as promised!]
That was true enough.
He’d have to consider food quality when choosing an inn going forward.
But just then, as they were eating dinner—
The chatter of other guests caught their ear. Ibek, having lost interest in the two-and-a-half-star meal, turned to listen.
[They say there’s a chance to make serious money over there?]
Serious money?
While taking care of Leo as he ate away, Alex listened with mild curiosity. He wasn’t short on funds, but more was always welcome.
“There’s a chance to make serious money, you say?”
In a secluded corner of the Inn.
Two men—one who looked like a farmer, the other like a merchant—were seated together.
“That’s right! They say you can earn good money just working at the castle.”
Though the peddler’s voice was low, Alex, who was practicing Body Enhancement nearby, caught every word.
“What kind of work?”
“Nothing difficult. They said something about construction work—building structures, maybe a villa or something?”
The farmer’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.
“But they’re offering that much money for it?”
“Look, if you don’t want to make easy money, fine. I went through the trouble of bringing you this opportunity.”
The peddler waved his hand dismissively, lowering his voice even further.
“I heard some fellow who lived in the forest over there earned enough at the castle to buy land and a house in a village near the capital.”
At that, the farmer leaned forward, interest flickering across his face.
[Something about this doesn’t add up.]
Right.
Alex found it hard to believe they’d pay enough for land and a house to some ordinary farmer with no carpentry or masonry skills, just for construction work.
“Then… maybe I should go take a look?”
But suspicion aside, the promise of that much money was too tempting to ignore.
[I’ve seen this on the news before. Employment scams.]
[People go to some unknown place because they’re promised big money, and end up kidnapped and locked away.]
[Looks like it happens here too.]
Since it wasn’t particularly useful information, Alex returned his attention to preparing Leo’s dinner.
[Cold, aren’t I?]
Well, it’s an adult’s business, after all.
[Besides, he probably wouldn’t listen anyway if I tried to warn him.]
Ibek, sensing Alex’s thoughts, pricked up his ears in search of more interesting conversation.
[Hey, Alex!]
[That shop over there sells really good Dried Meat!]
[Let’s go buy some tomorrow!]
Now that was it.
A far more worthwhile topic of discussion.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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