The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Davey O’Rowane, the first prince of the Kingdom of Rowane, stood before them. The only son of both King Krianes O’Rowane and the late Queen Lennie Alishad.

He had a reputation as a ruthless, sadistic figure who had lived through two reincarnations, spending an excruciatingly long time in the Hall of Heroes before finally returning.

This individual was now in front of Isildi and Verdandi.

“This isn’t Heins Territory… Or am I out of my mind?” Isildi muttered.

"No, we’re in the central part of the continent. I’m sure it’s him,” Verdandi said.

The two were shocked to see Davey. Isildi glared at Verdande with fury, as if ready to lash out, but Verdandi looked at him with a complicated expression.

“Davey?” Verdande asked cautiously.

“What? Is there a problem?” Davey responded casually.

Appearance wise, everything about him seemed to be just as they remembered. Even the immense power he held.

Isildi frowned. "Yeah. It’s massive, as always. But you told me he was dead! That’s why I tore through the barrier to get here!”

"You ran all the way here from the Divine Tree?”

“Shut up!” Isildi snapped, frustrated. She raked her fingers through her blue hair.

“Since you know I’m fine, go back,” Davey said.

“Wait,” Verdandi said, approaching Davey with a cold expression. “Are you really Davey O'Rowane?”

“Who else would I be?”

“...”

She couldn’t help but shake her head as the individual in front of her bore too much of a resemblance to Davey to be a fake.

“Explain to me what’s happening. Your vitality and my power are connected because I lent you my strength when you created your card or whatever, but that vitality disappeared in my senses.”

"So?"

“You’re supposed to be dead right now,” she said bluntly.

Isildi, standing nearby, placed her hand on her shoulder. "Hey, come on, don't joke like that..."

“Who are you,” Verdandi asked in a cold tone. Davey was no longer smiling.

As the atmosphere grew tense, Isildi asked with a frown, “He’s not really Davey?”

“No. If Davey were alive, I wouldn’t have felt his death with my power,” she assured with confidence. But he reacted rather unexpectedly.

“What kind of nonsense is that? If I’m dead, am I a ghost standing before you or something?”

“Maybe. Or something else—something that’s trying to be Davey.”

“With Thanatos dead, do you really think fakes would appear? If you really doubt me…”

Rumble!!

With a wave of his hand, a massive gravitational force distorted the surroundings.

"Can the fake you’re picturing do something like this? Or maybe I should tell you about Hercules, or show you the memories of the day Eclipse disappeared? Ɽά𐌽ồ𐌱ÈŞ

Verdandi turned pale at his annoyed tone.

“What are you…”

“I get that something’s gone wrong, but you really shouldn’t jump to conclusions. I’m Davey O’Rowane. The reason I’m here is because I was away from Tionis for personal reasons, and when I got back, I ended up here.”

Everything about him seemed real—his power, nuance, face, soul. Every part of this individual was screaming ‘Davey.’

“That should be enough. There’s no one to stop him once he gets frustrated. It’s probably better to not push things further.”

“Sorry… I must’ve made a mistake.”

With a pale, troubled expression, Verdandi looked away.

"By the way, Isildi. What about visiting your hometown?"

"Not yet. I’m not ready." Isildi answered calmly. "I still don’t have the courage to face it."

She was still uneasy with the fact that the mentor of the priests had turned out to be a monster.

"I was just on my way to Heins Territory. Let’s go together."

Both women quietly nodded at his suggestion.

"Megalodria,” Davey summoned by waving his hand. The air split open with a violent gust, revealing the overwhelming presence of an enormous black dragon.

[Contractor? You’re back?]

"Yeah, I’m back."

Megalodria landed slowly, narrowing his eyes as he observed Davey.

[For someone who left with such finality, you sure came back pretty quickly.]

"I asked the Time Spirit Altair to freeze time here."

Megalodria gave a small nod.

[Strange. The bond of the contract feels weaker.]

"Something must’ve gone wrong in that space. It’ll get better over time."

[Did everything go according to plan?]

"More or less. No major problems."

With a calm expression, Davey climbed onto Megalodria’s neck.

"You two are coming, right? If you are, join me up here."

Isildi waved dismissively, uninterested. But before she could verbally refuse, Verdandi stopped her.

"Alright, fine. I’ll go," Isildi muttered, frowning at her persistence.

They took flight on Megalodria’s back.

"Isn’t this black dragon the Mythical Beast King that Urd once encroached? If they have a contract, then he’s obviously Davey. What’s with the doubt?"

"I hope it’s just me being paranoid," Verdandi muttered, her eyes fixed solely on Davey.

"Davey!!"

Winley O’Rowane came running toward Davey once they arrived, her green hair flying wildly. Before she could reach him, Yulis, the Central Elder of the Red Tower, gently stopped her.

"Winley, moving too much isn’t good for the baby."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

“Haha,” Yulis chuckled warmly. Davey narrowed his eyes at the sight.

"Hm. That’s strangely annoying."

"Davey, where have you been? You were gone for two months without so much as a word.”

"Sorry about that. It won’t happen again."

"It’s a relief you came back before it was too late."

Yulis had knocked up Winley, and it showed—her stomach was noticeably round, leaving no doubt she was expecting.

"Davey, you’re always so busy," Yulis said.

"Yeah, but not exactly by choice," Davey replied with a dry laugh.

Yulis tilted his head toward Davey. "You should head in. Your wives have been eagerly awaiting your return."

"Yeah."

Leaving them behind, Davey entered the castle.

"Winley, right?" Verdandi asked.

"Mm? You’re—?”

"Your brother—does anything seem strange about him?"

"Strange? No, not really."

Verdandi’s expression hardened, and Isildi gave her an exasperated look.

"How long are you going to keep doubting him? It’s obviously him!"

"He just… feels off."

Isildi waved it off as nonsense.

"Davey!!”

Aeria widened her eyes as she rushed toward Davey.

Two months had passed since he’d left. That made it about four months since she first found out she was expecting.

Just as she was about to hug him, Davey spread his arms to pull her in, making her pause and tilt her head.

"Davey?"

"How have you been? Feeling healthy?"

"A-Are you really Davey?”

"Of course. Who else would I be?"

"Hm? That’s strange… Maybe I’m imagining things.”

Looking puzzled, Aeria slowly stepped away from him.

"Davey, you’re not hurt, are you?"

"Don’t worry, there’s no way I’d get hurt somewhere.”

"That’s a relief."

As Aeria smiled brightly, Davey turned toward Illyna and Perserque, offering them a warm smile.

"Perserque. I’m back."

"Welcome back."

Perserque smiled gently, while Illyna gave Davey a sharp glance with narrowing eyes. On the surface, everything seemed peaceful.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!"

Just as Perserque moved closer to kiss him, Aeria suddenly reached out, stopping her.

"Aeria?"

"Huh?"

Aeria tilted her head, clearly confused by her own instinctive reaction.

"What’s wrong?"

"Ah… I don’t know why I did that."

She frowned, stepping back.

"S-Sorry, Davey. I must not be feeling well."

"Get some rest. Perserque, Illyna, take care of her for me."

"Are you alright?" Perserque asked.

"It’s not like this is the only time I’ll get to see her, it can wait until later. She’s probably just a bit overwhelmed. Actually, I’ll check on her myself. Come over here."

"I-I’m fine!"

Davey gave her a slightly hurt look at her sudden protest.

"Did I do something to upset you?"

"No, that’s not it…"

"Alright, just get some rest."

With a gentle smile, Davey stroked her head before turning away.

"Alright, let’s start by sorting out the issues in the territory that I had Amy take care of while I was gone."

His voice was full of energy. After reclaiming full authority from Amy, Davey tackled all the matters of the territory, so fair and thorough that it was almost astonishing.

"Next on the agenda is the matter of food supplies for the territory…"

"Implement this with this, and that one with this—get it all done."

"A-All of them?"

"Yeah."

Amy nodded, visibly impressed, and withdrew to carry out his orders.

"You’ve worked hard. Thank you, Amy."

"Oh, not at all! Your Highness, this is my job, and I enjoy doing it!" Amy replied with a shy smile.

Davey leaned on his hand, chuckling softly.

"And since everyone’s probably exhausted from all the work, let's use some of the treasury to hold a festival. We could all use some fun."

"As you command, Your Highness."

As Amy departed, Aeria kept tilting her head in confusion.

"Something wrong, Aeria?"

Illyna and Perserque approached her, noticing her puzzled expression.

"Oh, uh…” Aerie hesitated, her expression darkening.

"Sorry… I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t stop feeling like…"

"Can’t stop feeling like…?”

"That Davey… feels a bit different somehow."

"Different? He seems the same to me."

"I don’t know how to explain it," Aeria admitted, her voice uncertain.

Illyna narrowed her eyes. "Let’s test something. I know his habits very well.”

She crept up to his side and gave him a playful poke in the ribs.

"Hmph!?”

Davey flinched, his eyes widening.

"What are you doing? You scared me!"

"You’re such a weirdo,” Illyna teased.

"You’re the weird one. Is Aeria okay?”

"Yeah. I think she was just startled earlier."

Aeria slowly approached.

"See? It’s definitely Davey."

"I suppose so…" she mumbled.

"It’s probably just the pregnancy making you feel a little off. Getting some more rest will help," Perserque reassured her.

"Sorry, Perserque.”

"There’s nothing to apologize for. You need to prioritize your health."

There was nothing wrong or ‘off’ with Davey. He hadn't explained his absence, but neither Perserque nor the others pressed him about it.

"Isn’t it weird? He’s Davey, but… something feels different."

"What exactly feels different? Tell me more about it,” Verdandi interrupted. The three women each made different faces as she chimed in.

"I thought you’d be at the Divine Tree," Illyna said.

"I was…”

“We came because she said Davey had supposedly died. Yet here he is, alive and well,” Isildi answered on behalf of Verdandi. She then added and said, "Try to be understanding—she’s been suspicious from the start, convinced that he’s some kind of fake. But he’s clearly in a contract with the black dragon, so it has to be him."

"A fake?"

Illyna and Perserque turned toward Davey, watching him banter playfully with a beastfolk maid. His behavior was the same as always.

Everything was peaceful.

There were no apparent issues.

"Care to explain?" Perserque asked.

Verdandi kept her eyes on Davey for a bit before giving a slight nod.

"Something feels off… Like either he’s not really Davey, or something drastically changed within him."

"Changed?"

"Yeah, changed. It’s hard to say. Just a feeling."

"Nonsense. After all, you did betray him before. You’re not exactly trustworthy to us."

"I owe him my life now. I wouldn’t do anything to harm him."

Davey was Davey, but she couldn’t brush off the feeling that there was something off about him.

"Davey! A letter just arrived from that idiot Baris in the royal palace!”

Winley hopped toward Davey, holding a letter in her hands.

"It’s marked urgent, so something serious must’ve happened!"

Davey tore open the letter, his expression turning cold as he read its contents.

“...”

"Davey?"

"We're going to the capital. Winley, get ready."

His voice was sharp and decisive as he strode forward, simmering anger in his expression.

"What happened?”

"Grave robbers. Someone raided the royal tombs."

Everyone around him fell silent. Davey didn’t hold much attachment to the tombs—but he did for one specific tomb.

His birth mother’s.

Perserque contemplated for a while before turning to Aeria.

"Aeria… Does Davey really feel ‘off’ to you?"

"He’s definitely Davey. The way he talks, the warmth, even his scent. But… something feels a little off. Maybe it’s just me imagining.”

Perserque glanced down at the ring on her finger.

"…"

The ring, which symbolized vitality, was slowly dimming. It was a clear sign that something was wrong with his vitality.

Without a word, Perserque shifted her gaze to his hand. The ring he wore was unmistakably the one they had exchanged when they married.

Staring at the faintly glowing ring, she narrowed her eyes.

"Maybe… he really isn’t Davey."

Sometimes, a woman’s intuition was terrifyingly accurate.

"Perserque? What are you saying?"

"We’ll find out soon enough. Hopefully I’m wrong, and this is just a misunderstanding."

She approached Davey, reaching out to grab his arm.

"Davey."

"Hm?"

"Before you left… Do you remember the promise you made to me?"

ChubbyCheeks & FriedNook's Thoughts

Editor’s Thought

Bro ur shithead husband just came back a competent politician/ruler, makin’ decrees and all, no shit there’s something off about him

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