SON OF THE HERO KING

Those murmurs did not come from anyone he knew either. They were indistinguishable voices that had been gradually increasing in volume. When the phenomenon started, Sol almost had the misconception that Hypnos was attempting a mental attack on him. Or he was just slowly turning insane.

The reality, though, was much stranger than his head-canon.

Prayers.

For some reason, he suddenly gained the capability to hear prayers. Naturally, he was incredibly confused at first, regarding why he even got that ability and more so regarding just who would pray to him.

Undoubtedly, to become a King, one had to build a legend and Sol was certainly well respected in his Kingdom. But there was no way anyone would pray to him— he wasn’t even close to becoming a demigod yet.

However, listening to Milia’s report as well as gaining a deeper understanding of the Hounds division under her, Sol got a good grasp of the overall scenario.

It seemed like Nefertiti went above and beyond his wildest imagination. She was quite literally building a religion in his name, using his title of the Dragon Emperor as cover.

Since the elves already more or less worshiped dragons, even the goddesses giving their tacit understanding on the issue, people who believed in him would not be persecuted.

Still. Impressive.

Nefertiti was worthy of her name, and now Sol found himself with a bonafide Cult.

She had come in a clutch many times and was religiously proving how invaluable she truly was.

She was so efficient that Sol was starting to wonder if he should just leave her to deal with the Elves so she could enroll even more of them into his newly established faith. After all, it would be harder to preach to a human.

My name is also reacting very well to the changes. I can feel my divinity growing wonderfully.

A small smirk stretched his face. The boost he was receiving was minimal at best, extremely so, in fact. However, it was still a boost at the end of the day. The more faith he gathered, the stronger he would become.

“I see that you are in a good mood.” A feminine voice stopped his musing, causing him to gaze down.

He had found his way to the lower gardens. The flowers here were obviously not as beautiful or well arranged as the hanging garden above. However, there was also a certain charm to the place. It was cozy and made him want to simply lie down on the ground and relax.

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Clearly, he wasn’t the only one who found the place relaxing and pleasing to the senses. After all, Pandora was sitting on a mat with some white bread, meat, jam, and some beverages surrounding her.

“I am always in a good mood.” Sol joked as he advanced a few steps forward and asked, “Can I sit? This impromptu picnic looks pretty good, and I happen to be hungry myself.”

Pandora gave him a dubious glance but simply shrugged her shoulders, in the end, “Everything here belongs to you. I can’t stop you even if I want to.”

Sol did not mind the prickly thorns in her words, deciding to take a seat beside her. “So, what have you been up to? I am surprised you came to the lower gardens.”

“Nothing really. The hanging garden was taken over by Freya and Persephone for the wedding preparation. So they waved me away. Since the time is too nice to simply stay in my room, I decided to breathe some fresh air.”

She answered him politely, but the politeness in itself was the greatest proof of the distance between the two.

He shook his head with a sigh. “The last time I enjoyed an outdoor picnic was quite some time ago. I am constantly going from office to office, filling them with so much paper that they are overflowing.”

Pandora couldn’t stop herself from snorting. “Hah. You should be happy you even have paperwork. As the Demon Queen, I was forced to listen to the grievances of the different demons. As you can imagine, it became a pain in the ass very fast.

“Having to explain to an ancient zombie why he cannot drink the blood and eat the flesh of mortals. Stopping a clan of vampires and werewolves who had been at war for nearly 100 years from literally destroying the whole kingdom. Help keep the status quo, and eliminate people who can negatively affect the situation.” áℕÊ

She rapid-fired complaint after complaint before taking one of the wine bottles and downing it in one go. It was clear that she was very upset and had many grievances in her heart.

Thankfully, from an optimistic perspective, it was clear that Sol was not at the top of those grievances.

“Seems like you had your hands full with your kingdom. Must be tough” Pandora’s smile became a bit more gentle at those words. Her brows stopped furrowing and her voice was now back to her normal singsong note.

“I am sorry. It’s just that… the situation in my kingdom isn’t easy. Even more so since that bitch took power. There is not much I can do with her around and I have been more or less relegated to a mere figurehead.”

She sighed and ate the meat with big bites of frustration. Pandora, the Succubus Queen, and Queen of Envilya. In essence, she had one of the most enviable positions imaginable in the world. A Blessed born with a powerful race.

What more could she ask?

Well, the answer was far more complicated than one could explain. In the end, Pandora was simply born in the wrong era. The current Supreme Daughter was simply too powerful and because of her transcendental power, most of the authority that should have been Pandora’s was stripped away from her.

“I came to Lustburg to seek help, but instead I got devoured by a big bad wolf, or should I say a big bad dragon?” She gave a side eye to Sol, but the smile never left Sol’s face, he even snickered at her.

“For me, what happened was an agreeable conversation where we reached a common accord.” He gesticulated a little exaggeratedly, his movement even as he spoke seemed to bring more impact to his words.

In the end, the two of them chuckled for a short time but soon, Pandora simply found herself drowning in wine again.

“Thinking about it. I am about to become a stepfather, right? Should be an interesting experience,” said Sol, laughing as she watched Pandora choking on her drink.

Sol had just brought up a topic she had been desperately trying to avoid. Now though, it seemed to her that there was no more escape possible from reality.

“Well… I think they will take it well?” Though she said those words, Sol did not buy it. He imagined that his future stepdaughters would most likely not take it well once they learned of this news.