Chapter 166: Extremely Popular

Hm? Hearing footsteps outside again, Rod frowned in confusion. Could it be that nurse back? Thinking of the little girl he had scared away, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly—she was quite interesting.
He looked up at the door as the footsteps grew louder. However, they seemed different from before—more steady, almost like those of a man. From the rhythm, it was clear this person was no ordinary individual. Their steps were steady, even, and powerful, completely unlike ordinary people’s. This suggested they must be a warrior, and not just any warrior—perhaps even very strong.
Tap, tap, tap… Moments later, there was a knock at the door, pulling Rod out of his thoughts.
Taking a deep breath, he said calmly, “Come in!”
Staring at the door, he saw it slowly open. A man in a black robe appeared before him—tall and robust, exuding a strong masculinity. His broad shoulders and sturdy frame added to his mysterious aura under the black robe.
Upon seeing Knight Rod, a glint appeared in his eyes, and he flashed a simple smile. He took two steps instead of three and stopped in front of Rod. “You must be Knight Rod. I’m Hori. Hehe, since our lord is unavailable, I’ve been sent to meet you today!”
He got straight to the point, immediately revealing Rod’s identity and introducing himself. As for the “lord” he mentioned, Rod was puzzled. He couldn’t recall ever dealing with any important figure. Could it be that officer from the Imperial Guard? It seemed like the only possibility, but this man didn’t seem to be on the same side as that officer, which left Rod confused.
“Who is your lord?” he asked the man, puzzled.
Seeing Rod’s confused expression, the man seemed to remember something. He awkwardly scratched his head and flashed another simple smile before reaching into his robe and pulling out an object, holding it out to Rod. “You should recognize this. Our lord said he gave you this token!”
It was a pitch-black token covered in strange symbols that were unreadable—seemingly some kind of script. It looked familiar; Rod felt he had seen it before. Yes, he was sure he had.
He racked his brain but couldn’t recall. Looking up at the tall man, he gave him a questioning gaze.

“A few days ago, in the woods, our lord said he gave you this token!” At that, Rod’s gaze made the man anxious, and he leaned closer to Rod’s face, speaking urgently. “In the woods, a token?” Rod muttered to himself, his brows still tightly furrowed. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as an idea struck him—he remembered that on the day after his first match, a man in black had found him in the woods. Just like the man before him, that person was also dressed in black, with only half a mask covering his face; he hadn’t seen it clearly before. Remembering that, everything became clear to him. He reached into his clothes and pulled out his magic bag, searching until he found the item that the man in black had given him that day. It was a black token, identical to the one in front of him, with complex inscriptions on it. The man in black had given it to him back then, but he hadn’t paid it much attention, just glancing at it before tossing it into his magic bag. Now that he remembered, he felt a bit ashamed. “Hmm, is this it? I have one too. Why did he ask you to come find me?” Rod took out the token and showed it to the man, asking doubtfully. It seemed clear that the man in black was indeed the “lord” the other man had mentioned! “Yes, that’s it. Didn’t our lord extend an invitation to you that day, hoping you’d join us? He was supposed to come personally to invite you today, but he had to leave the capital suddenly yesterday afternoon due to some matters, so he asked me to find you instead. Well, have you made up your mind? Our lord doesn’t invite people easily. It’s a great honor to be invited by him!” Seeing that Rod remembered, Hori breathed a sigh of relief and asked anxiously, with a hint of envy in his eyes. An invitation from the lord—what an honor! After all, one had to know how high his status was within the organization. Even someone like him, a long-time member who had been trained by the organization since childhood, rarely got the chance to speak to him directly. And this man before him… such treatment indeed made him a little envious. Honor, Rod thought with a bitter smile. Perhaps it was an honor in the other man’s eyes, but he wasn’t interested in such honor. At least not until he knew more about the other man’s identity. On the other hand, it seemed clear that the man in black who had spoken to him a few days ago held a high position, otherwise he wouldn’t have acted in such a way.

“I haven’t thought it through yet. Could you tell me what organization you belong to or which country you’re from?” After a long silence, Rod asked Hori. At least he wouldn’t make any decision until he knew who the other party was, no matter what benefits they offered! Otherwise, it would be a complete tragedy to end up helping them even after being betrayed.

“I can’t say that. Our masters have instructed us. You can take some time to consider it—there’s no rush. We came today mainly to give you this. Also, our masters said you’ll likely leave the Holy Light Academy soon, so they advised you to be careful once you go and to prepare well, because someone is already watching you!” Hori took out another small yellow bottle from his pocket and handed it to Rod, smiling. Though slightly disappointed, Rod seemed to have been prepared for this.

This outcome left Rod even more puzzled. Who exactly were these people? Why wouldn’t they tell him? How did they know so much? What was their goal in having him join them? Countless doubts surged in his mind, weighing heavily on him.

“Okay. Please convey my thanks to your masters. Tell them Rod remembers. I’ll contact you as soon as I’ve made up my mind!” After hesitating for a moment, Rod took the item and sighed. He knew he couldn’t get any information from these people—clearly, they were very good at keeping secrets.

“Well, I’ll be leaving then. I believe we’ll have the chance to meet again!” Hori looked at Rod with a faint smile, but this time it no longer seemed naive; it carried a hint of understanding.

As Hori left, the room fell silent once again. Rod stared at the medicine bottle in his hand, his brows slightly furrowed.

Another set of footsteps sounded. Today seemed destined to be a turbulent day. Not long after Hori left, another visitor arrived at Rod’s room—this time it was Doro, an officer from the guard. Needless to say, his purpose was also to win over Rod, this rising genius.

Especially after the battle yesterday, his reputation spread like wind among the high-ranking officials of the empire, the leaders of various countries on the continent, the top experts there, and many others. Now, without a doubt, Rod is one of the hottest newcomers on the entire continent. Naturally, the empire would not give up on such a talent, especially for an army like the Imperial Guard. So, early this morning, Doro came to Rod’s room again, hoping to win over this genius before losing him—after all, such talents are hard to come by.

After some persuasion still yielded no results, he even brought up Marshal Okaz as a trump card, trying to use emotional and familial appeals to attract Rod, even promising to grant him a legitimate noble status immediately if he agreed. This was his biggest temptation.

Under such a hierarchical system, what did a noble status mean? It was akin to being a high-ranking civil servant on Earth in the 21st century—representing status, power, wealth, and numerous privileges. For example, nobles didn’t have to bear any responsibility for killing slaves or face any punishment for bullying commoners. In short, they were similar to nobles in feudal societies, if not even more powerful and formidable.

Yet, Rod politely declined. At least for now, he had no intention of entering the strict military or getting involved in the empire’s political intrigues. He still had many personal matters unresolved—how could he have the energy for anything else?

After a reluctant refusal and Rod’s promise to think it over, Doro left the room with a displeased look, casting a sorrowful gaze at Rod that made him shiver. But it wasn’t over yet. Soon after, several major families from the empire sent people to try to win him over, and even other empires and kingdoms extended offers to Rod—temptations like money, power, and beautiful women, as well as advanced combat skills and techniques. But with firm conviction, Rod rejected them all!

When the last person left his room, Rod let out a long sigh of relief. Nine groups of people had come to his room—dealing with them was even more exhausting than fighting a battle. Only then did Rod realize from the hunger in his stomach that evening had already arrived. Going a whole day without food was truly unbearable.

However, things didn’t end there. Just as he was about to take a good rest, the door was pushed open again. With an impatient expression, he glanced toward the door, ready to speak and refuse the visitor. But after seeing who it was, he closed his mouth and gave a faint bitter smile. It wasn’t anyone else but that barbaric Alice, with Kiro and Anderson behind her. If it weren’t for those annoying guys, everything would be fine. At that moment, Rod actually wished they would stay over there—at least that way, when those annoying guys came here and saw them, they wouldn’t dare say much.