There were rabbit ears, dog ears, wolf ears, cat ears, and bear ears. With five beastman children and two cute girls in the house, my mother screamed in joy. “Where did so many children come from!? Are they yours?”

I protested vehemently, “I’m only 21, Mom!”

“Animals ears, how cute! They feel so realistic!” she squealed.

A child wailed, “Let me go!”

I exclaimed urgently, “They’re real, Mom. Don’t try to pull them out!”

After I returned, I first reported to the guild and Loretta. Since I had also brought Ren and Lebuik from the dungeon, the house was full. Mother happily went off to cook for the guests, while Yua went to help her.

Ren, on the other hand, sat in my room, depressed. I had to stay and talk to him without being able to eat first.

He sighed dejectedly. “Sorry, Crown Prince…When I saw the enemy that took Father’s body, I felt like my blood was flowing backwards. I should have trusted your plan. I have no excuses.”

I candidly replied, “Right, you don’t.”

“Rookie!” Lebuik screeched.

I gave her a stern look. “I told you before, right? A warrior has to be cool-headed. I didn’t think you’d charge at the world’s enemy with no plan.”

“That, Kang Shin has…no right. Kang Shin is far from…being cool-headed. It’s just, Kang Shin’s ability is overwhelming, so no problem.”

When I was admonishing Ren, Daisy appeared out of nowhere and refuted me. I wanted to say something, but I became speechless after seeing what was in Daisy’s hands.

In one hand, she had a beer can, and in the other, she had a thick sausage. I remembered seeing the sausage before. After seeing that Ren and Lebuik were safe, the children sat around the living room table and ate with Mother, Yua, and Father. Before I came to my room, I remembered being surprised by how adaptable they were. If I was recalling everything correctly, that exact same sausage was on the table.

Daisy explained, “Kang Shin’s mother…gave me sausage. Kang Shin’s father…gave me beer.”

“Well, I’m happy you’ve gotten close to my fa… Why are you here!?” I shouted in shock. Why was Daisy on Earth!?

She then answered as if I was being dumb, “Kang Shin used Return…with me too. Barely put Aikan…in my inventory.”

I smiled sheepishly. “S-Sorry…”

She shrugged. “I like this place. I stay still, and I get food.”

Daisy truly had an interesting way of thinking. “I, I see… That’s good…”

She looked like a middle-school student, so it was somewhat strange seeing her drink beer. Though I wanted to say something to her, I held it in. I looked at Ren again and continued, “Ren, it’s time. The second season of the thrashing phase!”

He let out a horrified screech, “N-No!”

I grinned evilly. “Even if you say no, your body is shaking from excitement!”

He shook his head vigorously. “I’m shaking because I’m terrified! Stop saying weird things!”

“What’s thrashing phase, Rookie?” Lebuik asked curiously.

I vaguely replied, “It’s a special training I make Ren do.”

Her eyes lit up. “T-Training? No, if it’s training, I’ll do it! Ren-nim is my disciple!”

I immediately refused, “Lebuik is too soft. Plus, I feel like Lebuik will end up doing some other training, so no.”

“Hey!”

With a face saying, ‘how did you know?’, Lebuik took a step back. I was just joking, but this woman…how scary. On the other hand, Ren tilted his head. With a virgin-like innocence, he asked, “Some other training? What’s that? Lebuik is an excellent warrior. If there’s something I can learn from her, I’d like to learn it. Please, teach this foolish one.”

She stuttered shyly, “R-R-R-Ren-nim. If that’s what you wish, this Lebuik will….”

Seeing Lebuik drooling and fiddling with her clothes, I flicked her forehead and shot her down. Then, I took out the crystal bottle containing the world’s power. All eyes became focused on the ball of light floating in the bottle.

“Crown Prince, could this be…?” Ren asked in disbelief.

I nodded. “Yep, it’s your world’s power.”

His eyes widened. “H-How?”

I smiled confidently and raised my chin slightly. “I’m Earth’s Hero. I can do at least this much.”

“Why didn’t you take it for yourself?”

I shook my head. “Don’t be absurd. This power belongs to Panan continent.”

“Crown Prince…!”

Ren sounded touched. Annoyingly, he was tearing up. I knocked on the table to catch his attention and continued, “Let me explain. I trapped the world’s power in an Elixir bottle. The bottle’s special material is preventing it from leaking out, but it won't last forever. The moment it’s taken out, it will probably start to assimilate itself with Earth’s power. Do you want the Panan continent’s power to be absorbed by Earth?”

He replied, “No…of course not.”

I grinned. I naturally brought up the topic to prevent that from happening.

I continued in a sonorous voice, “As Earth’s Hero, I can vest this ownerless power to someone. It’s much easier and less time-consuming to transfer an ownerless power than transferring it from one human to another. But as more time passes, this power will start to weaken and it’ll get harder for me to transfer it to someone. Now, what should I do with it?”

Ren immediately said, “You’ll need to transfer it to an explorer as quickly as possible.”

I winked. “Correct. And it just so happens that there’s an excellent candidate in front of me.”

“Lebuik is here too,” Ren pointed out.

I stared at Lebuik, who was sleeping on the ground with a happy expression. It made me shake my head. That said, I had to acknowledge her courage in risking her life to help Ren, and charging in in the midst of battle to stop Ren’s insane actions.

Ren still seemed oblivious, but Lebuik’s actions came from her love for Ren. At some point, loyalty morphed into love. Regardless, to Lebuik, Ren was more important than the Panan continent. On the other hand, even when all hope seemed to be lost, Ren stayed in the Panan continent.

I firmly said, “Between Ren and Lebuik, I’m going to have to choose Ren.”

He protested softly, “But I’m foolish. Because of me, both of you suffered. Whenever I watch you, I can’t help but think why I can’t be like you, Crown Prince. Ahem!”

I flicked his forehead strongly. His head was so hard that it made my finger hurt slightly. I held the pain in and told Ren, “I already said what you did was foolish. But…it was understandable. Mm, well, he was your father…Ahem. In any case, you are different than before, and I know you can get stronger. As for your rash personality, it can be fixed through another thrashing phase.”

He continued to protest, “But I—”

“Ren, I hold you in high regard because you managed to save eight children from that hell without losing hope. You are full of spirit and hungry for battle. That’s exactly what I want. That’s not something that can be taught. You have to be born with it.”

“Crown Prince…”

I continued firmly, “I won’t take no for an answer. I won’t change my mind anyways.”

He was silent for a moment before finally asking, “…Can I really not avoid another thrashing phase?”

I rolled my eyes. “Is that what you were worried about!?”

I gave Ren the world’s power. It was simple. I opened the bottle and shoved it in Ren’s mouth. Then, using my power as the Hero, I just had to settle and energize it. Compared to the time and effort it took for a Hero to transfer his own power to someone else, it was extremely simple.

After obtaining the Hero’s power, Ren rubbed his belly and said, “Whoa, I feel dizzy. I can feel that this power hasn’t settled in. It’s almost a bit nauseating.”

I reassured him, “It’ll be better once you get used to it. Congratulations on becoming a Hero. Quite the pressure, huh?”

He solemnly vowed, “I’ll be sure to fulfill my duties.”

I smiled. “Well, the kids are here now. Don’t go back for a while.”

“Eh?” He looked at me in confusion.

Everything Ren wanted to protect was on Earth. I couldn’t say it was completely safe to be on Earth, but I was at least sure that it was more safe than the Panan continent, which was dominated by the El Patiz.

I continued blithely, “There’s nothing Ren can do alone anyways. If you die and have the world’s power stolen again, that would be disastrous. They said so themselves that they need time before an El Patiz that can contain the Hero’s power was born. In other words, another one would eventually come into existence. I’m not sure how they can reproduce without the world’s power, but that’s what they said. Maybe they’ll fuse or evolve or something.”

He stammered, “R-Right…”

I chided him, “Going back alone is simply stupid. Or what, did you plan on hiding in the ocean? Who knows if they can still reproduce?”

Ren looked deflated. “That’s…true.”

“So Ren, help me,” I said bluntly. “I’ll deal with the danger Earth is facing in two years. After that, I want to save other worlds. Ludia’s Luka continent, Daisy’s Sylon continent, and yours, the Panan continent. All of them.”

“Do you know what you’re saying, Crown Prince?” he asked in an awed tone.

I grinned broadly. “Of course. You weren’t thinking of hiding for the rest of your life, were you? Then there would be no meaning to having the Hero’s power.”

Ren’s face became dyed red. He shot up and shouted, “Impossible! Do you know how many worlds were ruined and how many worlds are being ruined!? If you did, you wouldn’t say something like that!”

I shrugged. “If strong explorers come together, I’m sure it’s possible to defeat them. People like you, Daisy, and me. So help me, Ren. Help protect Earth. I’ll help you too.”

I spoke calmly as I stared into his eyes. There was no room for joking. I wanted Ren to truly consider this and reply when he was ready.

At that moment, Ren’s expression became strange. He finally said, “Crown Prince. Your…Your guild…”

I winked. “Didn’t I tell you? Revival. It means rebirth.”

“Rebirth…” he breathed out.

Ren sat down, unable to take it all in. Seeing the hint of flames that were beginning to burn in his eyes, I smiled.

He took in a deep breath before saying, “I’ll…try. After all, I owe you, Crown Prince, a debt.”

I clapped him on the shoulder. “Good. Welcome to Revival, Ren.”

Ren joined my guild. I was somewhat curious how Lebuik would react, but I decided not to pursue the thought. Daisy had been watching from the side this entire time, so when Ren and I shook our hands, she slammed her empty beer can down.

She proclaimed solemnly, “Long, arduous journey. But, I’m looking forward to it.”

I looked her in the eye. “I’ll be sure to save the Sylon continent too. Then, you’ll become its Hero. Get ready to feel the pressure.”

She snorted and raised her chin arrogantly. “Hmph, I welcome it anytime.”

With that, she left the room. Perhaps she just wanted to hear the conversation between Ren and me. Or perhaps, she wanted to confirm my resolve. I got up. Ren also followed me up and asked hesitantly, “U-Um…is the thrashing phase starting now?”

“No.” I said bluntly, “Let me climb the dungeon first!”