My Kingdom Building Done Right!-Chapter 28: I’m Not Pretending

"Are you sure you want to do this, Master?" Daedalus asked anxiously. "You even spent a hundred of your hard-earned BP for this."

"It’s fine, Daedalus," Leone replied. "Whether it’s an investment or a waste, it’s something I have to do. I don’t want to live my life thinking about ’what ifs.’ As long as I know that I did my best, the rest doesn’t matter."

"Well, if you have already decided, then I suppose I’ll respect your wishes."

"Thank you, Daedalus. Please, return as soon as you can. I plan to spin the Wheel of Fortune today."

"Understood!" Daedalus nodded. "I’ll be back as quickly as possible!"

The grimoire then flew toward the forest to carry out Leone’s orders. Only three days remained until the time limit for the third mission ended.

The hunt for food was progressing smoothly, and the collection of materials was still in full swing.

Leone had already crafted more arrows and bolts for their bows and repeating crossbows in preparation for an extended siege.

As long as food and water were secured, they could survive for a month. In truth, Leone’s family had given him a storage ring filled with supplies that would last him a month.

But this was for his own use. He intended to rely on it only as a last resort when things spiraled out of control.

The training of the women who had volunteered to defend the shelter where the children would stay was also going well.

They were fast learners, and Yuni was pleased that they could at least become decent archers with the limited time remaining.

Blitz had also rallied its fellow squirrels for war. They would serve as the familiar’s eyes and ears, scouting the forest and reporting enemy movements to their leader.

"Three days..." Leone muttered. "Just three more days."

Frankly, he’d nearly given up on recruiting a subordinate with a Prestige Class. There was no other ideal candidate to serve as his vassal other than Ulric.

But Leone wasn’t optimistic that the chieftain would agree to become his subordinate at this point.

Because of this, he decided to take a gamble.

A very huge gamble.

You could even call it impossible.

But, he really had no other options. Either Ulric pledged to serve him as a vassal for the rest of his life, or Leone would simply have to wait until a new mission arrived after he failed his third.

Daedalus had warned him that if the third mission failed, the next one would be much harder, with stricter conditions.

Still, Leone was fine with that. The reason why he didn’t force Ulric into becoming his vassal was that he also had his own pride.

Leone’s role model was his father.

His father wasn’t particularly strong as an individual, yet people gravitated toward him because he was a good ruler. Now that Leone had chosen the path of a Hero King, he wanted to become like his father.

Someone whom his people would love with their hearts and protect to the bitter end, even if that meant rebelling against the Kingdom of Britannia.

"You look troubled."

Leone snapped out of his daze and turned to find Yuni standing beside him. She had just finished training the tribe’s women in archery and was taking a break.

"I have a lot of things on my mind," Leone replied.

"... I’m sorry," Yuni bowed her head in apology, which surprised the young man.

"Sorry for what?" Leon blinked. "Did you do something wrong?"

Yuni shook her head. "It’s about my father refusing to become your vassal."

"Ah... that." Leone sighed. "Don’t worry about it anymore. Let’s just overcome this threat for now."

Yuni moved closer and gazed out at the forest spreading below them. From this height, it felt like she was looking down at her own kingdom. Her heartbeat quickened at the thought.

"Leone, what are your future plans?" Yuni asked. "I mean... after the threat of the Black Wolf Tribe is resolved, what do you plan to do?"

"Good question," Leone replied. "Frankly, I don’t know what I’m going to do next. I’ve been so focused on survival that I haven’t thought about what happens after."

"Maybe after we resolve this conflict, I’ll have time to figure out what I want to do in the future."

Leone then turned to face Yuni and smirked. Right now, he couldn’t go anywhere because he could only take out the Flag of his territory once it had been upgraded to Rank 2.

"I have eight more missions to finish," Leone stated. "After that, I’ll decide if I want to leave and visit other places. Since Arion can fly, I’m sure we can find a place that I can call my home."

Yuni lowered her gaze after hearing that the young man might leave their tribe after he completed his missions.

Truth be told, Leone had no obligation to help them.

But since his territorial flag had been planted in the Grimjaw Mountain, he had no choice but to stay until he finished his missions.

But the moment he finished, he was free to go wherever he wanted to go.

A breeze brushed past them, making the young man’s cape flutter. Yuni couldn’t help but stare at Leone’s lonely figure as he gazed in the distance.

Unlike her, who still had her father and the Alborin Tribe, Leone was all alone. His family was still in the Kingdom, and he didn’t know when they could see each other again.

"Say, Leone... do you really have to go?" Yuni asked.

She wanted to tell him to stay, but she couldn’t.

Leone wished to become the Hero King. Staying with people who refused to become his subjects would only hold him back.

As long as Ulric refused to become his Vassal, the young man had no choice but to leave, so that both him, and the Alborin Tribe could part ways without any hard feelings.

"Yuni... I know I’m handsome, so I understand you’re reluctant to see me go," Leone said smugly. "Don’t worry. I’ll ask Daedalus to draw my portrait. That way, you can still see my face even after I’m gone."

The young lady’s lips twitched. She had been feeling sad at their possible parting, but the bastard still dared to make a joke of her feelings?

"You jerk!" Yuni kicked the young man so hard that he almost fell off the cliff.

Thankfully, Yuni was able to grab his cape and pull him back before he could fall over.

"I-I’m sorry! I over-reacted!" Yuni crouched down anxiously to check if the young man was alright.

A chuckle escaped Leone’s lips after seeing how worried she was.

"I’m sorry too for making light of your feelings," Leone said before reaching out to hold Yuni’s hand. "But I also hate saying goodbye the most. At least, that was what I thought until the day I was exiled.

"I regret not being able to say goodbye to my family. Now that I’ve learned my lesson, I promise you—if there comes a time I really have to say goodbye, I’ll make sure I do it properly. I won’t leave without telling you, I promise."

"... You idiot," Yuni averted her gaze.

"I’m already used to being called an idiot." Leone smirked before shifting his gaze once more over the horizon that held endless possibilities. "But being an idiot has its perks."

Yuni arched an eyebrow. "What kind of perks?"

"Well, for starters, no one expects anything from idiots," Leone replied, as if it was pure common sense. "When people think you’re an idiot, they don’t expect you to succeed. They aren’t expecting you to accomplish anything great either."

The young man chuckled softly before standing up. He then dusted off his clothes before continuing what he had to say.

"So when an idiot like me manages to do something amazing, it surprises everyone."

Yuni was surprised because she couldn’t refute his words and make a comeback.

The reason?

Leone was right. Even now, she still felt surprised whenever the young man did something beyond the norms. Also, there were moments like this when he spoke like some sage that had already faced many hardships in their lives.

The young man then smiled and spread his arms wide as if embracing the world. Yuni looked at his figure before asking him a question.

"And, what if you fail?" Yuni asked sadly. For some reason, she hated the thought of people calling Leone stupid.

"If I fail, then people will say ’well, as expected of an idiot,’" Leone answered. "See? That is the perk of being an idiot."

For a moment, Yuni didn’t know whether she should laugh or hit him again.

"So you’re planning to live your life pretending to be an idiot?" Yuni asked, feeling a little anger rising up her chest.

"Pretending?" Leone placed a hand on his chest as if offended. "Yuni, that hurts. I’m not pretending."

"You really are an idiot." Yuni glared.

Leone laughed. "See? Even you agree."

The wind blew gently across the cliff as the two of them looked out at the forest once more.

"But there’s another advantage to being an idiot," Leone said after a minute had passed.

"What kind of advantage do you get for being an idiot?" Yuni was only an inch away from smacking the hell out of the young man.

"If an idiot like me manages to build something great..." Leone replied calmly. "Then that means anyone can do it."

Yuni’s eyes widened as if she had just come into a realization. She then glanced sideways to look at the young man, whose gaze was fixed over the horizon.

"And that..." Leone smiled faintly, while he reached out to grab something like an impossible dream. "Is the kind of kingdom I want to build someday."

From somewhere in the forest, a pair of golden eyes locked onto the young man.

His words had been carried gently by the wind, reaching the ears of those who would listen to him.