The Max Level Hero Strikes Back!

Davey was opening the door of opportunity for the commoners, who lived pay cheque to pay cheque; he wanted them to be able to enjoy themselves as well. He would stand to gain a lot if they chose to move to the Heins Territory from enjoying it very much.

“Your Highness, I heard that you made a bet with the dwarves and elves.”

“The relationship between them could sour even more if they were the only ones competing. I’m just participating to lighten the mood up a little.”

“But… Monicca is an expensive jewel that is worth so much. Its worth was whatever one determines it to be.” “Don’t worry. I’m not doing charity work or anything. The preparation is complete on my end, too.”

“You’re…talking about the explosive magic stone…”

“Are you worried?”

“How could I doubt anything you do, Your Highness?”

They could only doubt Davey so much. Royal Attendant Bernile and the others all agreed upon the fact that they had no choice but to blindly trust Davey, who always brought unbelievable results no matter what he did.

“It doesn’t matter whether I win or lose that bet. For Monicca… I can just make it again.”

It took about a year to make one Monicca, but Davey’s Pocket Plane was full of failed works.

“Chuckle.”

Royal Attendant Bernile scoffed in bewilderment at what he just heard from Davey.

“Why don’t you go see the festival, Royal Attendant Bernile? This isn’t an opportunity that comes by often.”

Royal Attendant Bernile smiled faintly, then shook his head. “It is Amy who has worked hard all this time. When else would she be able to let loose and rest if not now, Your Highness?”

The territory needed someone to take care of the small and large issues that arose in the continent. It was originally Amy’s job, but Bernile insisted that he wanted to give her some time to rest.

“Thank you for taking care of her. Perhaps I was too inconsiderate of her.”

Amy had followed Davey, and she had looked after him when he had still been in a coma.

“Although I always criticize her for lacking in certain areas, she is a clever child. She is the only source of joy left in this old man’s life. But she is probably exhausted from working so hard recently. When shall I give her time to rest, if not now?”

“Okay. If you say so, I’ll respect it. However, make sure to enjoy the festival for at least a day. We still need to know how the festival is running. This is an order,” Davey said.

Bernile quietly nodded. “Yes, Your Highness.’

After watching Bernile leave, Davey glanced out the bright window and stared at the bright image of the territory.

“So? You’re not going to see the festival?” Illyna asked with curiosity as she stared at Davey with indifference.

“I’m going to go. I have to keep my word if I said that to Royal Attendant Bernile.”

Then, Davey opened a drawer and pulled out something.

“Hm? A mask? What for?”

“I don’t want anyone to recognize me and pretend to not know me. From now on, I’m David, not Davey.”

“You’re funny.” Although Illyna thought Davey was being ridiculous, she looked somewhat amused as well. She added, “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’ll still be a pig. It’s just bothersome.”

“Then, should I just throw it all away?”

Lightly stepping up onto the windowsill with one foot, Illyna twirled and asked playfully, “Well then, my prince. May I ask for you to escort me?”

“You won’t regret it, at least.”

‘Whether it be the Mining Festival, the Spirit Celebration, or the finale I prepared.’

* * *

The territory was far busier than Davey expected, perhaps due to the large crowd and their excitement from the festival. Regardless, it was better regulated than he had thought.

The Mining Festival was almost a parade for the dwarves who had prepared their work for a long time to boast and show off. Of course, those artworks and masterpieces were hung on display in galleries. Other than that, there were lots of snacks unique to dwarves, pubs, or betting stalls on the streets for people to enjoy. The numerous artworks decorating the streets caught everyone’s eyes, and the dwarves’ specialty foods and alcohol touched their noses.

Since the dwarves like tasty and curious foods, some were cooking mouthwatering food right on the street. Amongst the people who were fascinated by the different culture and scenery, Illyna’s excitement stood out from the rest.

“D–Davey! Look at this!” Illyna grabbed Davey’s hand and quickly ran toward the stall where an entire boar was being grilled. She was fascinated as she stared at the boar with wide eyes. She exclaimed, “Its shine is no joke. I saw a lot of whole animal grills when I was training for the knight order, but this is top notch!”

Seeing Illyna’s eyes sparkle, Davey asked the dwarf who was cooking with an apron on, “How much is it?”

“Hm?” The dwarf raised his head and squinted as he stared at Davey.

“Is something wrong?” Davey asked.

“Oh! You are the Wise Teacher!”

“Wise Teacher? What are you talking about?

The dwarf looked a little puzzled by Davey’s answer. Then, he gasped and nodded slowly like he understood something. He simply changed the subject. “Ah, it’s a cute human couple! Welcome! It is five silver in human currency for one plate! You can pick your flavor; which one would you like?”

Davey was a little surprised at the price of five silver, but it was reasonable considering the normal prices here.

“Hm… This sauce called ‘Ultra Violence’ is very unique. What is it?”

It was Illyna who answered when she heard that there were a lot of flavors.

“Hm? Ah, it’s an intense one! You will not easily forget it after you eat it. However, humans cannot tolerate this intense flavor very well. How about the normal flavor? This isn’t very intense…”

It only took seconds for Illyna’s competitiveness to fire up.

“Ultra Violence!” Illyna shouted firmly.

Surprised by her sudden shout, the dwarf glanced at Davey with a worried gaze. He asked, “Wise Teacher, will she really be okay?”

“You got the wrong person.”

The dwarf did nothing more than just chuckle at Davey’s answer. However, Davey did ask Illyna once again as a warning out of unnecessary concern. He asked, “It’s going to be more intense than you think. Do you think you will be okay?”

“Of course! I can stomach anything and everything that can be eaten.”

Davey wondered if Illyna would be able to say the same thing if she was presented with live bugs.

“You’re going to regret it.”

Illyna flinched a little as Davey threatened her, but her eyes were already full of desire to have a taste. Her competitive spirit was already on fire.

“I’m someone who ate the intensely herbed food of the west. Don’t underestimate the Pallan Empire’s only daughter.”

Everything seemed to be fine just from seeing how confident Illyna was. However, she had no idea how intense the dwarves’ specialty foods were; the spice felt like a merciless assault on the tongue! By the standards of the people of the eastern and central continent who couldn’t eat hot things, the dwarves’ spice had something that made it difficult to get used to.

“Hahaha! It might be a little spicy.”

As the dwarf chuckled and handed her a plate, Illyna gulped and stabbed the meat on the plate with her fork. She could have been a little repulsed by this cheap meal as royalty always had luxurious meals, but she looked delighted and full of excitement. Then, she sat down and put the nicely grilled piece of meat in her mouth with a nervous expression.

‘What do you think will happen?’

—Well, she will probably scream if she doesn’t have strange tastes like you.

“Hup!!!”

The dwarves preferred a spice level that was considered extremely spicy even in South Korea, the country Davey had lived in in his past life.

Illyna teared up as she clenched her jaw. She held her fists so tightly that her hands could possibly break.

Davey watched Illyna force herself to tolerate it because of her face and pride even though she wanted to scream and roll on the floor. It was quite funny seeing her stare at him with resentment, even though she had tears in her eyes.

* * *

“Hahaha! Are you okay?” the dwarf asked.

“I… I’m fine,” Illyna pretended to be okay and replied, but her face was already red from the spice.

Davey had already tried this intense flavor when he had visited the Yellowstone Tribe. He commented, “See, I told you.”

“I… I said I’m fine! And you try it!”

As Illyna picked up a piece of meat and shoved it into his mouth even before he could do anything, Davey casually released his mana in secret. Then, he uttered a spell without anyone hearing it.

[Pain Reduction]

[Olfaction Desentization]

In some way, spice could also be a type of sensory pain. Just with these two spells…

“Hm, it’s good.”

“N… No way. Are you human?!”

Unlike Illyna, who was in shock, Perserque squinted and glared at Davey. She knew exactly what he did.

—You fraud.

‘It’s her fault for being tricked.’

The thing about spice was that once one tasted it, it would come back later even if it disappeared for a bit.

As the spice came back just when she thought she was okay, Illyna grabbed Davey’s arm hard enough to break it with a tense face. She was pretending so hard that her eyes were full of tears. She exclaimed, “I–It was delicious! D–Davey, let’s go.”

“Hahahahaha! Wise Teacher! Come again next time! I will give you the ‘Hyper Violence’ flavor, my family’s secret sauce!”

‘I keep telling you that I’m not the Wise Teacher.’

Davey was in quite some trouble, since the dwarves recognized him as if the mask was nonexistent. Although it wasn’t to trick the dwarves, he was disappointed that they could figure out his identity so easily.

The dwarves’ festival was much more festive and diverse than Davey had thought.

“Hey! The elves are going to do the Spirit Dance over here!”

“Spirit Dance? What’s that?”

“They said that it was a dance with spirits? Everyone is going crazy over it because it’s so cool.”

Watching the crowd of mercenaries who came to see the festival chatter amongst themselves before leaving, Davey found a familiar face. He murmured, “Elder Goulda?”

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“Hm? Wise Teacher?”

Davey wondered how they were recognizing him when he had a mask on. He coughed. “Ahem, you got the wrong person.”

“Hahaha! If you say so, Wise Teacher! So, how do you like this? Would you like to try?” Goulda, who was looking after the huge stall with pride, pulled out a large box and handed it to Davey. It was as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“What is this?”

“The treasure of the dwarves! A blind box! You will pick one of the balls in here. If you win, you will make a fortune in seconds! There are items worth dozens and hundreds of gold in human currency as well. The most surprising thing is that you can’t lose! So, how about it? Intriguing?”

“Hm… How much is it for one?”

“I will give it to you for cheap, Wise Teacher. Two silver for one.”

Two silver would get Davey one chance. The contents were unknown, but within it was a reward that could make him a fortune.

‘This is totally…’

It was just like a gambling box from games. It was fitting for the dwarves, who liked gambling and betting.

“Woah!! It’s a sword covered with dwarf-made mithril?! Cool!”

That was when a human exclaimed and got everyone’s attention.

“Look at this! This sheen! It’s definitely real!”

“Woah!!”

“S… Should I try?”

“I mean, two silver… That’s not even that expensive.”

As people began to gather after hearing the excited mercenary’s shouts, Goulda chuckled and asked Davey in delight, “See? So? Would you like to try it? The odds are quite good.”

As Elder Goulda slowly tried to entice Davey, Illyna was staring at the box blankly as if she was already persuaded. She mumbled quietly, “If one time is for two silver… One gold is fifty times…”

Davey quickly grabbed Illyna’s hand and pulled her away. He said to her, “You become a capitalist pig if you get lured into that kind of gambling.”

“You’re pretty good for using a wingman, too,” Davey said.

After listening to that, Elder Goulda chuckled and said, “You really won’t regret it. Well, for you, Wise Teacher, I will give you ten chances for free.”

Davey grinned. “Haha, I’m Davey, Elder Goulda. Do you think I will fall for such a trick?”

“Hahaha!”

Davey wasn’t one to fall for that sort of sweet trick. He had already experienced firsthand the rock bottom one could feel from blind box gambling. He would not make that mistake again.