The next day,after Ryutaro lost control...
Grace woke up earlier than Ryutaro. She gazed at her husband's peaceful, sleeping face.
"I can't believe it, just last night I proposed to him, and now I'm officially his wife,"she thought.
Suddenly, Ryutaro woke up.
"Good morning, Grace," he said while yawning.
Grace responded, "Good morning to you too, darling. By the way, how long are you going to keep avoiding calling me that? We've been married for a whole day now." She sounded slightly annoyed.
"Well, we only got married last night. I still need time to get used to it," Ryutaro said, scratching his head.
"But I want you to start calling me that right away," Grace pouted.
"Alright, alright. I'll try my best tomorrow," Ryutaro replied.
"Hmph! Fine. Now go take a bath. I'll prepare breakfast," Grace said, still a little annoyed.
Grace quickly headed to the kitchen, while Ryutaro could only smile at his wife's antics.
"Hah… Grace, Grace," Ryutaro muttered.
Suddenly, Alex chimed in.
"Starting the morning with sweet moments, huh?" Alex teased.
"Shut up. You just woke up, and you're already messing with me," Ryutaro shot back.
"Sorry, sorry, bro. I just felt like it," Alex said playfully.
Before heading to the bathroom, Ryutaro decided to check his status.
"System, open status."
BEEP!
NAME: RYUTARO
LEVEL: 150
EXP: 523,432 / 1,000,000
AGE: 18 YEARS
HP: 300,000 / 300,000
MP: 120,000 / 120,000
CONTRACTED BEAST: ALEX
JOB:
FARMER
HERO
TITLES:
MASTER OF DARKNESS AND LIGHT
HUSBAND OF THE DEMON QUEEN
HEIR OF THE FIRST HERO
"Whoa! Seriously? My stats increased this much?" Ryutaro exclaimed in shock.
Then, his eyes landed on something new.
"Titles? What is that?" Ryutaro wondered.
BEEP!
TITLES ARE GIVEN TO THE HOST UPON COMPLETING TASKS OUTSIDE THEIR ASSIGNED JOBS. SOME RARE TITLES CAN ALSO GRANT ADDITIONAL JOBS TO THE RECEIVER.
"Oh, I see. But why wasn't this option available before?" Ryutaro thought.
The system answered,
IT IS BECAUSE THE HOST HAS DEFEATED THEIR OWN SHADOW AND AWAKENED A LONG-LOST POWER.
"A lost power? Is it the light power I used to fight Alex last night?" Ryutaro asked.
CORRECT. YOUR STRONG WILL ENABLED YOU TO AWAKEN THAT POWER.
"I see. Well, I'll figure this out later. For now, I should keep this a secret from Grace."
Ryutaro closed the status panel, deciding to hide this information from Grace for the time being.
When he arrived at the kitchen, he saw Grace wearing an apron, preparing breakfast.
"Why did you take so long? Is something wrong? Are you still feeling unwell?" Grace asked as she put on her apron.
"No, it's nothing. Just a small matter," Ryutaro replied.
"Hmph! Are you sure?" Grace said suspiciously.
"Of course. What, don't you trust your own husband?" Ryutaro said with a grin.
"It's not that I don't trust you… I'm just worried. Last night, you lost control like that. I don't want to lose someone important to me again," Grace said as tears welled up in her eyes.
"Don't worry. I promise I won't make you worry anymore," Ryutaro said, gently wiping away her tears.
"Alright. Now go take a bath. Breakfast is almost ready," Grace said, regaining her composure.
After hearing that, Ryutaro immediately went to the bathroom.
"Is hiding this from her really the right thing to do?" Ryutaro wondered.
Five minutes later…
"Are you done? It's time for breakfast," Grace said, setting the food on the table.
The two of them sat down to eat together.
"Wow, I never expected the Demon Queen to be such a good cook," Ryutaro said, letting out a satisfied burp.
"Of course! Do you think I didn't know how to cook before I was sealed for 500 years?" Grace replied.
"Oh, right. That reminds me… Why were you sealed? You're the Demon Queen. How could you be captured so easily?" Ryutaro asked.
Grace seemed startled by the question.
"Oh, sorry. If you don't want to talk about it, I won't push you," Ryutaro said quickly.
"No, it's okay. You're my husband, so I should tell you," Grace said.
She took a deep breath and began to recount her past.
"Five hundred years ago, before the Celestia Kingdom existed, this land belonged to the demons. But it wasn't just demons—other races, like elves, dwarves, vampires, and even some humans, lived here in harmony. There was no discrimination between races.
"But one day, the humans rebelled, claiming they wanted to take control of the land. As their queen, I fought back with all my strength. However, an unknown entity aided them—someone incredibly powerful. I had no choice but to flee with the remaining survivors.
"During our escape, a young elf child fell behind. As the Demon Queen, I couldn't ignore them. I turned back to help, but that allowed the humans to catch up. Even though I was severely wounded, I fought as hard as I could to give my people a chance to escape.
"But eventually, my strength ran out, and I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I found myself sealed underground. And I remained here… until you arrived."
"Me? Why me?" Ryutaro asked, confused.
"Because every time you farmed, plowed the land, or harvested crops, the seal weakened," Grace explained.
"Huh? I thought that legendary hoe just made my crops grow faster."
Suddenly, the legendary hoe in the corner of the room spoke.
"Boy, do you think I'm just an ordinary legendary hoe?" it said.
"W-What?! Then what are you?" Ryutaro asked.
"Have you forgotten who created me?" the hoe replied.
"The same person as me, right?" Ryutaro guessed.
"Correct. I was made by the First Hero—his name was Kevin. He was always fair and just to all races.
"One day, he accidentally discovered a secret archive hidden beneath the royal palace. There, he learned the truth about the human rebellion against Queen Grace," the hoe explained.
"So, he knew everything?" Ryutaro asked.
"Yes. That's why he secretly created me, hoping that one day, the right person would come along to free Grace," the hoe said.
"And that person… is me?" Ryutaro asked.
"Yes. You inherited Kevin's will. That's why you were able to wield me," the hoe confirmed.
"Then why didn't you say anything?" Ryutaro asked, annoyed.
"You never asked," the hoe replied.
Grace chuckled at their conversation. But suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
Ryutaro quickly went to open it, and to his shock, a man in full royal armor, complete with Celestia's emblem, stood before him.
"Who are you? And what is the Celestia Kingdom doing in this forest?" Ryutaro asked, narrowing his eyes.
"I am an envoy of the kingdom. I have come to find you," the man said.
"Huh?" Ryutaro was stunned.
Why was the royal envoy looking for him? Was it because he awakened his new job? Or was there an even more important reason?
Find out in Chapter 6!
*If I made any minor mistakes that might be distracting, I sincerely apologize. I have done my best for this novel, and if you enjoy it, please consider giving it a like and sharing your feedback, suggestions, or criticism so I can learn and improve. Thank you for reading, and see you in the next chapter!*