Adam knew that she didn’t know〘Explosion Magic〙. This might have triggered some past trauma for her.
If she hadn’t learned Intermediate Magic back then — even if it wasn’t as powerful — would she have been able to learn the highest-level〘Explosion Magic〙like Megumin?
The two squeezed their way out.
A crowd of Adventurers had gathered during their silence, completely surrounding them. Each challenger who stepped forward failed in turn.
The total prize money had climbed past ξ200,000.
That was no small amount!
The hefty prize drew even more spectators. Yet everyone recognized the challenge’s difficulty and knew they’d only add to the prize pool if they tried. No one dared to step forward.
Despite the tempting prize money keeping the crowd in place, the stall owner grew anxious at the lack of challengers.
"Anyone else?" He shouted, trying to stir up enthusiasm, "Is there really no one left? Come on! No more challengers? Is Adamantite ore too tough for people from this town? I heard the Mobile Fortress Destroyer was taken down here, so I made the trip all the way out! Are you all really that weak?"
The stall owner’s taunts grew increasingly aggressive as he openly belittled the town’s Adventurers.
Furious spectators nudged one another, urging someone to take up the challenge.
Though everyone recognized the stall owner’s reverse psychology, the sight of the adamantite ore on its stone pedestal left them gritting their teeth in frustration.
As the Adventurers traded uncertain glances, a figure emerged from the crowd and confronted the stall owner.
He was young, clad in a white knight uniform with purple trim. His pure white cape fluttered gently in the breeze, and though his face remained expressionless, his mere presence radiated reassurance.
The protagonist makes his entrance!
Adam appeared before everyone.
"Wow, it’s the Hero!"
His entrance was met with cries of amazement, making the stall owner visibly uncomfortable.
He could sense that Adam was here to shake things up.
Though the stall owner hadn’t recognized Adam initially, the way others addressed him made it clear — this was the rising star of the kingdom, a newly prominent noble.
A man of both strength and fame.
As a merchant who’d come to capitalize on the town’s defeat of the Mobile Fortress Destroyer, he knew better than to offend its Lord.
His earlier words had been far too rude. There was no doubt he’d insulted the Lord — the very man who had defeated the Mobile Fortress Destroyer and led the 『 Hero 』 Party — Adam himself!
"S-Sorry! I spoke out of turn and offended you. I’m truly sorry!" The stall owner’s face drained of color as he bowed repeatedly, offering profuse apologies.
The scene made Adam appear almost villainous.
"No need to be nervous, boss." Adam smiled warmly, "I only stepped up because your words were a bit harsh. I don’t want to use my status to force an apology."
"But! I can’t accept what you said about there being no one worthy in this town!" Adam placed his finger lightly on the stone pedestal, atop the adamantite ore, and pressed down, "I’ll let it slide this time, but if there’s a next time... you know what’ll happen!"
As he spoke, he began applying pressure with his fingertip!
The adamantite ore — known as the hardest ore in the Parallel World — began to crack. Under his finger’s immense pressure, it crumbled, and even the pedestal beneath shattered into pieces before the stunned onlookers!
With a single finger, he had left the crowd speechless!
"Wha—?!" The stall owner’s face turned ghostly white.
Without even collecting the adamantite fragments or prize money, he slipped into the crowd and fled, never looking back.
Adam’s display of strength had clearly left the stall owner in awe — so much that he’d abandoned the money as compensation.
"N-No wonder he’s the Lord — that strength is unbelievable!"
"That’s right! Lord Adam is the Hero!"
"No doubt about it, the Hero’s strength is something we can only look up to!"
The crowd whispered among themselves, deeply impressed by Adam’s display of power and acknowledging his title as Hero.
That effortless show of strength was something none of the Adventurers present — or maybe even in all of Axel — could hope to match!
It was simply overwhelming!
"Hero! Hero! Hero! Hero!"
The Adventurers chanted the Hero’s name at the top of their lungs as if celebrating a great victory for Axel.
As the commotion threatened to get out of hand, Adam stepped in to calm the crowd.
"Villagers and Adventurers! We recently defeated the Mobile Fortress Destroyer here in Axel, and we can look forward to the economic boost that follows. People from other towns are gathering here, but..." He paused, then continued, "You all know we’re just a beginner’s village, so our average strength isn’t that high! But we can’t give up! If you let others look down on you, what’s the point of being an Adventurer? Am I right?"
The surrounding Adventurers shouted back.
"Yes! The Lord is right!"
"If we keep letting others look down on us, what’s the point of being Adventurers? We might as well stay home and raise pigs!"
"That’s right, that’s right!"
"In that case, everyone needs to work on getting stronger!"
Adam pointed toward the plains outside Axel, "Today, when I inspected the plains, I found several Giant Toads had woken early from hibernation! They’re monsters, and it’s an Adventurer’s job to get stronger by defeating monsters. So... what are you waiting for? Get out there and take action!"
His passionate speech successfully fired up the crowd.
With a final cheer, the Adventurers grabbed their weapons and rushed toward the plains outside the city.
Adam leisurely collected the prize money from beneath the shattered pedestal and reunited with Yunyun, who had been waiting patiently nearby.
"All right, let’s go home."
The two nodded and headed toward the lord’s mansion on the outskirts.
Watching the Adventurers run out of town, Adam couldn’t help but look up at the sky and sigh.
He really was a lord who always put others first.
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