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“Ah, Sir Repenhardt…”

“Ah, hello…”

They greeted him, but the fear in their eyes was evident. They only nodded their heads and avoided eye contact, focusing on their work. The mature women managed to maintain some composure, but the younger elf girls immediately hid inside their homes at the mere sight of Repenhardt.

Whoosh!

Siris, walking beside him, chuckled as she watched a young elf girl run away.

“Wow, Sir Repenhardt. You’re really not popular, huh?”

Repenhardt’s muscular and large physique seriously clashed with the elves’ aesthetic sense. Despite knowing he was their benefactor, their instincts made them uncomfortable, causing them to shrink away.

In contrast, the elves looked at Siris as if she were the goddess Eldia herself.

“Ah! Lady Siris! Welcome!”

“We picked some fresh fruit. Would you like to… Oh my, Sir Repenhardt?”

The elves who genuinely greeted Siris would flinch upon seeing Repenhardt. The situation was vastly different from his previous life.

“Ugh…”

What was this extreme discrepancy with the past? He didn’t particularly crave the attention of women, but still, this was quite… disheartening.

“Sigh…”

Repenhardt let out a deep sigh.

He suddenly missed his past physique. Back then, just a single step from him would have elf women flirting with him from all directions…

‘Damn you, Teslon!’

Cursing Teslon in vain, Repenhardt continued inspecting the village. In the distance, he saw young elf children gathered around a woman.

It was Shailen of the Dahnhaim tribe. She was one of those invited at Repenhardt’s request to teach these former slaves about the elven traditions, spirit songs, and culture.

With a clear voice, Shailen began speaking to the girls.

“Originally, we elves were the guardians of the forest. Under the blessing of the World Tree Elvenheim, all elves lived in eternal happiness. Every animal was a friend of the elves, and every tree bore fruit, providing us with endless sustenance.”

The children listened with sparkling eyes. Shailen continued her story.

“We are the descendants of the great fairies. You must never forget that pride.”

“Yes, Sister Shailen!”

“We won’t forget!”

“We will live with the pride of elves.”

The children chirped in unison like little birds. Siris waved at her.

“Sister Shailen!”

“Oh my, Serendi? Lord Repenhardt is here too?”

Shailen stood up and warmly greeted the two. She pointed at Repenhardt and spoke to the children.

“Children, say hello. This is Lord Repenhardt, who saved us and provided us with this village.”

The children looked up at Repenhardt intently.

Even among elves, known for their beauty, these children were exceptionally adorable and pretty, like little dolls. Repenhardt slightly bowed and waved with a gentle smile.

“Hello, children.”

As he bowed, a shadow cast over the children’s heads, making it look as if dark clouds had formed. His large hand blocked the sky, causing the children’s faces to turn pale.

Some of the children burst into tears.

“Sniff, sniff…”

“Waaah!”

It seemed that Repenhardt’s presence was overwhelming for the young children. Siris quickly pushed him back, scolding him.

“Lord Repenhardt! Why are you making the children cry?”

“…What did I do?”

Just existing was a crime! Feeling infinitely sorrowful, Repenhardt slumped his shoulders.

As usual, when one child started crying, the rest followed suit, and soon the place was filled with wails.

“Waaah!”

“Waaah!”

“Lord Repenhardt, please step aside for a moment…”

Shailen awkwardly pushed Repenhardt away. His retreating figure looked desolate.

Feeling sorry for him, Siris consoled him.

“What can we do? To the elves, Lord Repenhardt looks a bit intimidating…”

“…”

“Of course, I’m not scared.”

“Sniff. Thank you, Siris. You’re the only one for me.”

Leaning his head on Siris’s shoulder, Repenhardt mumbled in a half-dazed voice. Chuckling, Siris patted his head.

“It will get better with time.”

Repenhardt straightened his back again. Despair was despair, but the inspection had to continue.

As he looked around the village, he muttered.

“They’ve settled down. The elves who were slaves seem to have adapted to some extent.”

“They’ve also learned the basics of spirit magic.”

“And the territory towards the Fetland Plain has expanded quite a bit…”

They had already heard through the messenger that the Duchy of Antares, led by Kalken, had achieved a great victory.

Currently, the Duchy of Antares was merely at the level of a common county if considering only the territories within the Crovence Kingdom. However, when including the areas beyond the Gloten Mountain Range, its expanse was not small.

Most of the non-human races originally lived outside the kingdom, in mountainous regions and forests. These were harsh areas for humans to inhabit but were quite suitable for elves, orcs, trolls, and dwarves. They frequently mobilized their forces to subdue the surrounding monsters considerably.

The orcs had long established settlements throughout the Gloten Mountain Range and the Fetland Plain. Being a nomadic people, they were the quickest to settle. The dwarves mined and cultivated the land to establish villages, and the trolls also began to form villages as their numbers grew.

The elf sanctuary, Elven Forest, had an estimated population of about three hundred, which included some members of the Dahnhaim tribe who had temporarily migrated, totaling nearly four hundred. Although a significant population, it was still relatively small compared to the orcs or dwarves. Unlike the numerous orcs or the dwarves who lived as whole tribes in slavery, the elves could only rescue a handful from noble houses, usually one or two, at most ten.

Stroking his chin, Repenhardt muttered.

“We must attack the Principality of Chatan.”

Most elves were raised as slaves there and distributed across the continent. To rescue more elves, they had to target the stronghold.

Just then, a soldier on horseback galloped into the village towards them. It was a messenger sent by Karl. After dismounting, the messenger knelt before Repenhardt.

“Greetings to the Duke!”

“What is the matter?”

“I bring news from Sir Kalken.”

“Hmm? About the victory? We’ve already heard that.”

As Repenhardt expressed his curiosity, the messenger took a handful of letters from his breast pocket.

“There is new information.”

Handing over the letters, the messenger continued.

“Sir Kalken, during his return, encountered an unknown group of elves. They are said to be from the Stiria tribe. The details are in the letter…”

“Iniya?”

“How did you know? Their leader’s name is Iniya…”

The surprised messenger looked up. Repenhardt nodded knowingly as he unfolded the letter.

“Well done. You may leave.”

“Yes, sir!”

After sending off the messenger, Repenhardt examined the letter. It stated that Iniya, leading four hundred members of the Stiria tribe, was following the Duchy of Antares’ forces over the Gloten Mountain Range.

Siris glanced at the letter and asked, “Iniya? Is she someone you know?”

“In my past life.”

Repenhardt gave a brief reply as he tucked the letter into his coat.

“Well, we’ve roughly completed the inspection. Let’s head back to the White King’s Castle, Siris.”

* * *

The training ground in the backyard of the White King’s Castle was filled with blooming spring flowers.

Repenhardt shouted loudly.

“Rest is over! Start two sets of 12 reps each!”

In response to his call, two individuals stretched their backs and walked forward. One was a beautiful red-haired boy, and the other was a young man in his twenties with black hair and a beard covering his face.

Repenhardt pointed at the red-haired boy.

“Sillan, add one more set with the same weight, making it three sets.”

Sillan caught his breath and replied.

“Phew, phew… Yes, Mr. Repen.”

It had been over a year since Sillan started serious muscle training with Repenhardt. Sillan, who had grown considerably taller and more muscular, was no longer the young boy he once was. Now, anyone would acknowledge him as a late teenager, almost like a beautiful young woman.

‘No, seriously, why does he still look like a young woman? Ugh…’

Though Sillan had changed a lot, his original frail build still left a long way to go. He was now twenty years old, but still looked no different from a teenage girl, which could be quite disheartening.

However, Sillan never despaired, despite his grumbling.

Wasn’t his indomitable spirit the very source of his divine power?

He never gave up even when there was no change in the past, and now that his body was changing daily, he had no reason to despair.

“Here we go!”

With a face full of determination, Sillan lifted the barbell.

Calling it a barbell was generous; it was a cute tool with two pebbles tied to the ends of a stick. Sillan diligently performed full-body exercises, bending and straightening his back in a deadlift.

“Heave-ho! Heave-ho!”

Repenhardt turned his gaze to the bearded man.

“Karl, you stick with two sets but increase the weight.”

For Sillan, who still needed to grow taller, it was better to increase the reps rather than the weight. However, for Karl, who was already an adult, increasing the weight provided the necessary stimulus for his muscles to grow bigger and thicker.

Karl nodded seriously with a determined expression.

“Understood, my lord.”

Karl also grabbed the barbell and began doing deadlifts. This time, the barbell truly lived up to its name, with two hefty rocks tied to the ends of the bar.

“Heave-ho!”

While Sillan was one thing, recently Karl had also been receiving direct training from Repenhardt.

The reason he was so dedicated to training, even amid his busy official duties, was simple.

‘To survive, I need to get stronger!’

Despite the tearful opposition of the dwarf craftsman, Karl and Tilla were becoming increasingly close. As both were adults, it was only natural that their relationship had developed to spending nights together. (Regardless of her appearance, Tilla was clearly a mature dwarf maiden.)

Only then did Karl fully realize why Yubel’s lower body was so strong.

‘Miss Tilla, the nights are terrifying…’

Lifting the barbell, Karl gazed wistfully at the spring sky.

He had to be strong.

Without strength, he couldn’t endure.

Even he, known as the knight of knights who never neglected his training, found it difficult to withstand the formidable strength of the dwarf warrior.

“Heave-ho! Heave-ho!”

Repenhardt frowned as he watched Karl earnestly working with the barbell.

While Sillan, who had been training for a long time, was doing well, Karl still had some shortcomings due to his unfamiliarity with the exercise.

“Hey, Karl. I told you not to use explosive power, didn’t I?”

Having only trained as a knight, Karl naturally used his reflexes and momentum as if he were swinging a weapon while lifting the barbell. This was good training for a knight, but not effective for building muscle.

Exercises must be performed correctly to achieve their intended goal.

Unable to stand it any longer, Repenhardt took off his shirt and lifted the heaviest barbell to demonstrate.

“Like this!”

His spine’s erector muscles moved like iron serpents. His massive biceps and triceps visibly displayed their tendons. His chest muscles, bulging and bronze-colored, looked more like a well-crafted statue than a human body.

Sillan gazed at him with eyes full of envy.

‘Wow, he always looks amazing! When will I ever be like that?’

Well, it might be impossible even with a lifetime of effort, but dreaming is not a crime.

As Repenhardt was diligently instructing the two, a commotion arose from the other side of the training ground.

“Oh, please wait a moment, I’ll send word immediately, so please wait in the reception room.”

The attendant’s voice was heard trying to persuade someone.

“It’s fine. It’s only natural for the person with business to seek out their counterpart, isn’t it?”

Then came the clear voice of a woman.

Repenhardt’s eyes widened. It was a familiar voice.

“Huh? Iniya?”

He recalled hearing that the leader of the Stiria tribe was expected to arrive at the White King’s Castle today.

He had thought they would arrive in the afternoon, but it seemed they had come a bit early. True to the nature of elves from remote areas, unfamiliar with human etiquette, they didn’t understand the formalities of an audience and came straight to where Repenhardt was.

‘Well, she was like this in my past life too.’

Soon, two figures appeared in the corridor leading to the training ground. One was the ever-apologetic attendant, and the other was a beautiful elf woman with long, violet hair cascading down to her waist.

Repenhardt gestured for the attendant to leave and then spoke quietly to the side.

“Karl, Sillan. Could you both step aside for a moment?”

The two nodded perceptively and exited the training ground.

Once they were alone, Iniya placed her right hand on her shoulder and formally introduced herself.

“I am Iniya, the leader of the Stiria tribe, O King of Humans.”

Repenhardt responded in kind, placing his left hand on his shoulder, following the elven custom.

“Welcome, leader of the Stiria tribe. I am Repenhardt, the White King of the Duchy of Antares.”