In his previous life, he had stood at the center of attention countless times. He had reached a position where people awaited his arrival and applauded even the simplest words that left his mouth.

Achievement blinds people. Sometimes, it forces them to accept and praise whatever the successful person does.

That was why, when he stood atop the platform beside the chief, he did not feel flustered.

So many gazes were fixed upon him. Reverence, admiration, awe... he faced it all from the very same people who, until recently, would not even wave at him. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Someone who had never possessed a presence within his own family, let alone the village.

But now...

"He is your savior. The one who completely turned the battle around through his combat awareness and overwhelming strength." Baldon spoke without restraint, showering Luke with words of praise.

Raising an arm toward Luke, he continued, "He alone held the battlefield when Claw went down and I was brought to my knees. The final strike that ended the battle and killed that creature was delivered by none other than Luke."

More gasps followed. More looks of awe. People were stunned that the very creature which had cornered even the chief himself had ultimately been slain by Luke.

Luke was slightly surprised by Baldon’s blunt admission that he had been brought to his knees. Most people in his position would have tried to protect their image, especially before those who looked up to them.

But Baldon wanted them to understand how grave the threat truly had been.

He wanted them to realize what it had cost to protect this village.

As silence once again fell over the villagers, Baldon spoke.

"I know all of you must be terrified right now. And I won’t lie, even I never expected something this dangerous to appear here. However, we have always stood together, and we always will. In peace and in chaos alike. And I, as your chief, swear that until my final breath, I will live for the sake of every one of you."

Those words seemed to send a wave of strength through the crowd. Slumped shoulders straightened. Grieving eyes regained warmth and hope.

Another testament to how blindly these people trusted this man.

"And now..." Baldon suddenly rested a hand on Luke’s shoulder before adding, "You also have a strong and reliable guardian like Luke. With the two of us standing beside this village, there is nothing in this world that can destroy our peaceful lives. So people, cheer for your new guardian. Praise your savior!"

"Luke!"

"Luke!"

"Luke!"

"Luke!"

One after another, people began chanting his name. Voices overlapped, growing louder and louder as more joined in. Hands shot into the air while the villagers cried out his name with excitement.

Luke let out a quiet sigh upon realizing that at some point, every single person, including his own father, had started chanting for him.

His gaze shifted toward Dart, only to find the guy raising both arms while yelling his name far louder than necessary, tears even glistening in his eyes.

Luke then turned toward his mate.

She was calling out his name as well, a smile constantly curving her lips while her eyes shimmered with emotion.

He smiled helplessly at the sight of her. Look at this woman... so happy, so proud.

Suddenly, all the trouble felt worth it.

.....

Not long after, the gathering came to an end and people slowly began scattering away.

Luke was pulled aside by the chief.

Though he wanted to reunite with his mate, he still accompanied Baldon for a short while.

Once they had put some distance between themselves and the crowd, Baldon said, "If possible, make some time for me tomorrow."

Luke hummed in surprise. "Is something urgent?"

"You could say that... so let’s meet tomorrow."

Luke slowly nodded. "Alright." He was curious about what exactly the man wanted to discuss. Was it some kind of reward? Naturally, he wasn’t opposed to receiving something worthwhile.

Baldon turned toward Luke, resting a hand on his shoulder before speaking.

"You... have saved many things, son. I just want to thank you properly for that."

After patting his shoulder once, Baldon turned and walked away.

Luke did not dwell on it for long.

He had not thought much about rewards until now, but considering he was running low on toras, around six hundred left, asking for some did not sound like a bad idea.

Of course, for saving the village, he could probably request something far greater, but at the moment, nothing else really came to mind.

’Forget it. I’ll think about it later.’

Soon, he turned and walked toward his family members waiting for him nearby.

And surprisingly, that included Lex as well.

Luke could see many villagers glancing his way, their faces filled with smiles.

Every doubt they once held about Luke’s role in defending the village against that magical beast had vanished after hearing the words of the one man they could never doubt.

"So? Are we heading back now?" Luke asked, resting his hands on his waist.

Suddenly, Gustav stepped forward and pulled Luke into a hug, catching the young man by surprise.

The others watched with warmth in their eyes.

Patting Luke’s back, Gustav said, "You truly made me proud, son. I can’t even put into words what I’m feeling right now. Not only did you save us, you protected this entire settlement. Risking your life and facing that danger alone... it takes a truly brave heart to do something like that."

Luke could not stop himself from smiling.

"Well, it becomes easier when you have a reason to fight. And for me, that reason was protecting all of you."

Gustav pulled back before saying with a smile, "Thank you, Luke. I say this on behalf of everyone here, thank you for everything you’ve done for us."

Luke merely glanced at his mate and said nothing.

Then suddenly—

"Gustav, are you coming?"

Luke looked toward the group of men, his brows rising slightly. "Are you going somewhere?"

Gustav nodded. "Yeah. Me and Lex are meeting up with some friends to chat a little more. Want to come along?"

Luke did not even need to think about it. "Nah, I’ll head back and rest."

Gustav did not insist. "Alright then. Lead all the women back home too."

Luke nodded before turning toward the four women who had been standing there quietly the entire time.

Soon, Gustav and Lex left alongside the others, leaving Luke alone with the four beauties.

Four hot mature women.

He grinned and said, "Well, shall we get going?"

Monica nodded, "Yes, let’s go. I will prepare something good for us!" She seemed excited as she approached Luke and held his arm.

Luke hooked his arm with hers and the five of them started walking back to their house.

A long night awaited them. And Luke has a lot of energy to spare.

••••••••

Returning home, his mate and Ginna went straight to the kitchen to prepare a meal to celebrate the occasion.

Both of them looked quite happy, discussing a new dish Monica had recently learned from Nadia.

Laila had gone inside as well to change and get some rest.

Luke sat alone in the dining hall, leaning against the table while going through his inventory.

He only had two potions left, and one of them would be used today after consuming the Core Gem.

’I just brewed them yesterday and I’m already running short.’ He smiled wryly.

Thankfully, the hearth was still kept outside, so brewing more potions wouldn’t be much trouble. Though gathering herbs again would definitely take time.

Speaking of time...

’When can I challenge the dungeon again?’

Now that he finally had a proper weapon in his possession, he felt he would perform far better than before.

And since he was already itching to level up again, he wanted to dive back in as soon as possible.

[For the sake of the host’s mental health, it is advised to take a few days of rest.]

[For safety purposes, the dungeon is locked for another thirty-six hours.]

Luke let out a slow sigh.

’Worried about me, huh?’

The system didn’t respond this time.

Well, he was eager, but the system wasn’t wrong either. Maybe it was because he was surrounded by familiar faces, or perhaps the warmth of his mate helped calm him, but once he returned to that place, the paranoia might creep back in again.

So yes, a few days of rest would be beneficial.

’Let’s go the day after tomorrow.’ He made his decision.

Just then—

"Luke, can you help me?"

He turned and found his sister-in-law standing by the doorway.

He hummed softly. "What is it?"

"I need to take the pickle jars down from the upper shelf. Can you help me?"

Luke nodded and slowly rose to his feet.

Can’t say no to a woman in need.

•••••••

A/N:- First of all, sorry for one Chapter today. I am a little unwell. And secondly, vote for Luke migrating to a different village.

I hope you liked the Chapter. Please leave a review.