A Night of Passion and a New Challenge

The two of us returned to the room prepared for us by the Royal Family.

"This outfit is so cumbersome, I need to change," Yui said as she prepared some fresh clothes. "Ah, you go bathe first, I need to prepare a few things."

Listening to Yui, I stepped into the bathroom. After a long, exhausting day filled with shocking news, I needed to relax. In just a few days, a grand tournament would be held in Bavelot. In terms of team battles, the hero's party was likely the strongest; they were trained to fight in formation, making this tournament nothing more than a large-scale training session for them.

I pensively recalled the events that had transpired, the insults they had hurled at me. The more I remembered, the more my hatred seethed, but they still had utility value, so I would take my time with them.

As I was lost in thought, Yui suddenly walked in and naturally sat on my lap.

"Yui?" I was quite surprised by her action.

"What are you thinking about?" Yui asked, playfully messing with some toiletries in the bathroom.

"Ah, I was just thinking about the upcoming tournament."

"I just saw that you were so deep in thought," she smiled. "But let me ask, why are you not wearing any clothes?"

"Well, I came to bathe... with you," Yui stammered, her cheeks blushing red.

I suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace, making her both shy and flustered. She turned around and pressed a kiss onto my lips.

"It has been a while, dear husband," Yui looked at me with an inviting gaze, like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey.

She quickly wrapped her arms around me and kissed me passionately. I could feel the softness of her body, especially against my chest. I gently pressed Yui down onto the bathroom floor, returning her kiss.

"I won't lose to you."

"I won't have it, I want to be the active one," Yui said with teary eyes, coquettishly demanding to take charge of the 'game'.

"I won't allow it."

Afterward, we became entangled in things everyone knows. For two hours, the bathroom echoed only with Yui's blissful sounds.

When I finally stopped, Yui lay on the floor with a satisfied face. She then gently kissed me.

"You went too far, I thought I was going to faint in the bathroom."

We continued to wash each other, playing in the water. After bathing, Yui and I tumbled onto the bed to sleep, wearing only a thin layer of clothing. Yui hugged me tightly, sleeping peacefully like a kitten. I also held her, feeling every curve, the warmth, and the alluring scent of her body.

And so, we slept in each other's arms until morning. But when we woke up, strangely, both of our clothes were lying on the floor, and Yui and I were sleeping completely naked. Asp had gone out for a stroll since yesterday, so I didn't need to worry. Perhaps in my half-awake state, I had 'done' something more. I only vaguely remembered, but the happy smile on Yui's lips as she slept deeply was completely real.

The next morning, the king himself came to ask us about the tournament, but I immediately refused. I had no desire to participate in a meaningless fight. However, the king still placed me on the list of honorary guests.

The Bavelot Arena was located in the Heavenly Forest, featuring a massive scale with a capacity of up to one hundred thousand people. It often hosted national-level competitions, which showed the importance of this event. Teams had been registering with the Royal Family, gathering a vast number of adventurers, including some of the strongest in the kingdom. To date, nearly fifty teams had registered.

The hero's party consisted of Emi, Seki, Isuka, and Aruto. The princess also participated in a team representing the Royal Family. In terms of strength, although there were many powerful individuals across the country, when it came to team combat, the hero's party was still stronger than all. As those chosen by the gods, their power was vastly superior. The hero Aruto had also grown much stronger, comparable to legendary heroes, which was why he was always overly confident in his own power.

- Name: Kagamari Aruto
- Race: Human
- Class: Hero
- Level: 245
HP: 316,013
MP: 292,811
Defense: 318,838
Agility: 213,918
Stamina: 231,013
- Skills:
+ Fire Magic <Advanced>: Level 4
+ Reinforcement <Advanced>: Level 3
+ Appraisal <Legendary>: Level 2
+ Limit Break: Level MAX (x2 Stats)
+ Leadership <Legendary>: Level 3
+ Threaten <Advanced>: Level 4
+ Light Magic <Advanced>: Level 2
+ Earth Magic <Advanced>: Level 5
+ Lightning Magic <Advanced>: Level 4
+ MP Recovery Boost <Basic>: Level 9
+ Recovery <Advanced>: Level 8
+ Dark Damage Reduction <Advanced>: Level 3
+ Crowd Control Resistance <Advanced>: Level 1
- Equipment:
+ Holy Sword <Legendary>
+ Battle Dragon Armor <Legendary>
+ Fallen Soldier's Cloak <Legendary>
+ Dragon Shield <Legendary>
- Special Skills:
+ Divine Magic <Legendary>: Level 1
+ Military Tactics Mastery <Advanced>: Level 1
+ Weapon Mastery <Basic>: Level 5
- Martial Arts/Swordplay:
+ Royal Close Combat

With such powerful stats, it was understandable why he was so arrogant. The other members had similar stats, though slightly weaker.

With two days left before the tournament began, there was still plenty of time, so perhaps Yui and I should explore the forest a bit. We left the palace to stroll through the streets; staying inside for too long felt suffocating. Asp had also returned after spending the night wandering the city.

Upon reaching the streets, the scenery was vastly different from usual. Everyone was busily preparing for the event in two days, and the crowds were much denser. I decided to drop by the Guild to check the quest board.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw Uncle Gemet talking to the receptionist. Seeing me, he immediately walked over to greet us.
"Hello, you two."
"Hello, Uncle."
"Ah, there's something I wanted to mention. Your adventurer rank has been promoted to A-rank. A Guildmaster's authority can only raise you that far. However, as the representative of this nation's adventurers, I could raise you to S-rank, but that requires a public match for everyone to witness."
"Therefore, I have only raised you two to A-rank."

I had just been promoted straight to A-rank, even though I was still F-rank just a few days ago.
"But why?"
"Well, at the very least, an A-rank adventurer is required to accept royal quests, so I raised your rank after you completed a quest from the Royal Family. And here is your reward."

Uncle Gemet handed me a platinum coin, the reward for the special quest I had been forced to accept.
"From now on, you two are A-rank and can choose from many more quests. Have fun. I have some urgent business to attend to, so goodbye."

Uncle Gemet bid us farewell and boarded a carriage waiting outside. I didn't think too much of it and approached the quest board to look at the A-rank quests. All of them had significantly higher difficulty, such as subjugating a Minotaur, slaying a Black Serpent, and various other powerful magical beasts. The rewards were more generous, but the danger increased correspondingly.

We accepted a quest to subjugate Two-Headed Wolves and brought it to the receptionist. She instructed us on how to obtain proof of subjugation and their location. They lived in a large cave near the Heavenly Forest, an unexplored dungeon. The Two-Headed Wolves mostly lived on the fourth and fifth floors, with very few on other floors. Adventurers were advised to only search on the first and second floors, as going deeper would be extremely dangerous.

After listening, Yui and I set off toward the West Gate, heading for that dungeon. Once we reached an unpopulated area, we rode Asp to get there faster. A normal horse would take about half a day, but flying on Asp took only about thirty minutes.

We arrived at our destination right on schedule; before us was a massive cave. The entrance plunged deep into the earth, surrounded by a few adventurer camps, likely set up there for easy access to the dungeon.

Stepping inside, a gloomy atmosphere thick with mana enveloped us. It was a rather familiar feeling. The first floor was where low-level monsters like goblins gathered. Many adventurers were doing quests here, but the sheer number of monsters made it unsafe for the weak.

Therefore, we headed straight down to the lower floors, where stronger magical beasts resided. Perhaps Yui and I should take this opportunity to explore the dungeon a bit, as long as we returned in time to attend the tournament.