Editor : Amethyst00



In the beauty pageant waiting room—

“Where’s Leo?!”

With fury blazing in her eyes, Lunia stormed straight into the women’s waiting room.

At Lunia’s sudden appearance, everyone stared at her in stunned disbelief.

'Wait… why is she looking for Leo here?'

Celia, who had been talking with Nella, looked utterly dumbfounded.

To begin with, Leo was not even participating in the beauty pageant.

And yet Lunia was looking for him not in the men’s waiting room, but in the women’s.

Nella, too, was just starting to look completely bewildered when Eliana, who had been standing off to one side, suddenly sprang to her feet.

“Lunia! Why are you looking for the class rep here?”

With wary eyes, Eliana waved her hand back and forth.

“And the registration’s already closed. Shoo— shoo— go away.”

“Hah?!”

Lunia’s face turned fierce as she looked at Eliana making gestures as though to chase her out.

Just as Eliana, shrinking back, drew in her neck under that glare—

“Why are you looking for Young Master Leo here, Miss Lunia?”

Chen Xia approached with a bright, smiling face.

“That’s because! That idiot is dragging a hero’s name through the mud— mmph?! Mmph! Mmph!”

At that moment, someone who had appeared from behind clamped a hand over Lunia’s mouth.

Startled, Lunia struggled for a moment, then froze in shock when her eyes met a pair of red ones.

“Will you come with me for a moment?”

With a faint smile, Leo dragged Lunia toward the private room assigned to the waiting room.

Chen Xia followed after them, smiling softly.

“Sorry for causing a scene. Please don’t mind it.”

After Chen Xia also entered Leo’s room,

Eliana turned to Celia and Nella with a serious expression and said,

“Lunia isn’t entering too, is she?”

From Eliana’s point of view, the last thing she wanted was for the number of rivals to increase.

Thud—!

As soon as the door closed, Lunia immediately shouted,

“Leo! What on earth is that getup?!”

“There are circumstances.”

“Circumstances or not, what were you planning to do if you got found out, walking around looking that outrageous?!”

Watching Lunia yell with her face flushed bright red, Chen Xia let out a small sigh.

“Exactly. You really ought to maintain your dignity.”

“Xia’s right! You’re the King of Beginnings! The leader who’s meant to guide the heroes of this age! And if it ever gets out that you were cross-dressing, the humiliation would be beyond humiliating— Kyaaaaah?!”

“Oh my?”

Seeing Leo strip off his upper garment without a shred of hesitation, Lunia let out a scream and squeezed her eyes shut.

Chen Xia also covered her eyes with one hand, though she conveniently left a slight gap between her fingers to keep watching.

“Why?! Why are you suddenly taking your clothes off?!”

As he looked at Lunia, who had spun around with a whip-like turn and was now red all the way to the tips of her ears, completely at a loss, Leo answered.

“You said you hated cross-dressing, didn’t you? Besides, it’s not like I stripped completely. I only took off my top.”

“No! Even so, showing bare skin is still…!”

“You’re oddly innocent for someone like you.”

“What do you mean, ‘for someone like me’?!”

Lunia flared up, spun around with fire in her eyes to glare at him—then hurriedly squeezed her eyes shut and turned back around again.

At Lunia’s words, Leo let out a snickering laugh and said to Chen Xia,

“If you’re going to look, then stop sneaking peeks and just look.”

“Yes~”

Chen Xia answered with a bright smile and lowered her hand.

Leo took off the long skirt he had been wearing as well.

Of course, he still had his school uniform trousers on underneath.

Creak—! Crack—!

Then, using an Aura Skill, he returned the body shape he had altered back to its original state.

The school uniform, which had been adjusted to fit that altered physique through magic, also returned to its original size.

“Phew.”

Freed at last from the stifling discomfort, Leo cracked his neck from side to side.

Just then—

Chen Xia stepped closer, poked Leo in the stomach a few times, and said,

“Wow~ It goes without saying, but you really do have a very well-trained body.”

“Don’t touch me.”

“It’s not like it’ll wear out.”

“It will.”

At Leo’s words, Chen Xia gave a small smile and pressed her fingers firmly into his abs.

[Poke! Poke!]

Then she turned to Lunia and said,

“Miss Lunia, would you like to touch them too?”

“Honestly! Do humans have no sense of shame at all?!”

“Oh, come on. Considering the books Miss Eiran reads, this isn’t exactly anything new, is it?”

“That’s because Eiran is the weird one!”

At that reaction, Chen Xia giggled and pressed on Leo’s stomach with both hands like a cat kneading.

Tap—

Leo swiftly caught both of Chen Xia’s wrists.

“I told you, it wears down.”

“……”

Stopped by Leo, Chen Xia made a pouty face and said,

“If you think it’s unfair, then you can touch my stomach too, Young Master Leo.”

“If I were the one stroking your stomach, wouldn’t that be more of a reward for you?”

“Oh my? That sounds a little overly self-important, doesn’t it?”

Chen Xia briefly stuck out her tongue, then slipped her wrist free from Leo’s grasp.

Then, while Leo put on his school shirt and fastened the buttons, she brought over his uniform jacket.

At the sound of him getting dressed, Lunia opened her eyes and turned her head.

And when she saw Chen Xia helping Leo put on his uniform, a strange look crossed her face.

“You’re about to become Her Majesty the Empress of Xian, and you’re still helping Leo get dressed?”

“Well, that’s because I serve Young Master Leo.”

Chen Xia smiled faintly, as though she had nothing at all to be ashamed of.

Lunia turned to look at Leo.

“She says this is how she wants it.”

Watching Leo let out a light sigh, Lunia clicked her tongue in disbelief.

“More importantly, why did you do something like cross-dress in the first place?! And why on earth did you enter the beauty pageant?!”

“Because some nasty women decided to make my life miserable.”

“That’s because Young Master Leo keeps teasing people.”

“Quiet.”

Leo flicked Chen Xia on the head with his knuckle.

Rubbing her head, Chen Xia said,

“So if Young Master Leo changed clothes, that means something happened in the end, right?”

“I think so.”

“You think so?”

Just as Chen Xia was beginning to look puzzled by the rather vague answer—

Leo opened his palm.

At the same time, seven summoning circles appeared above it.

Poof!

With a small puff of smoke, a group of tiny spirit beasts and elemental spirits were summoned.

['Leo!']

Kiran flew straight onto Leo’s head and grabbed hold of his hair.

['Find me a mate that suits me!']

“A mate? Why?”

['That idiot fairy says he doesn’t want to become the Fairy King.']

Fiora flew over and settled onto Leo’s shoulder.

After inheriting the White Flame from Katariu, Fiora had become much more adept at handling her own power.

Seeing her, Lunia took a few snacks out from her arms and placed them on her palm.

“Fiora, come here.”

Peep— peep—!

Of course, she was still just a child who could never resist sweets.

['Leo! There’s way too much work for the Fairy King! Hurry up and find me a mate, arrange a marriage, have children, and pass the Fairy King’s seat on to them!']

Watching Kiran whine with tears in his eyes, Leo smacked the top of his own head with his palm.

Smack—!

Hit like a mosquito against a palm, Kiran dropped straight to the floor.

“Gasp! Master! Please hit me that harshly too!”

Clinging to Leo’s feet, Alty pleaded desperately.

“……”

At the absurd outbursts of his summons, who had now ascended to the rank of kings, Leo felt a pounding headache coming on.

They had already been troublesome before, but now that their stature had risen, they were even noisier.

['Leo, why did you call us?']

Holding Kiran, Fiora, and Alty in place with shadows, Elsie asked.

Even when they tried to protest, their mouths were sealed shut as well, leaving them unable to move.

Watching that scene, Leo spoke.

“We don’t know what kind of situation might break out. That’s why I need your help.”

After saying that, Leo turned to Undine, the Water Elemental Lord.

“Undine. You help Chen Xia.”

['Yes.']

“Ishtar, stay with Lyl. Pass my words on as well.”

['Understood.']

“Fiora, move with Lunia. Kiran, go to Melina.”

Chirp.

"Alty, you protect Elena."

“Understood, Master.”

With the exception of Alty, Leo placed the Elemental Lords and Phantom Beasts with whom he had formed pacts under summoners who could handle their power.

Basically, Elemental Lords and Phantom Beasts have strong pride.

They do not lend their power to those who have not made a pact.

But things were different when the one giving the orders was Leo.

The Great Hero who had saved the world.

No one could refuse a command from such a Great Hero.

At Leo’s orders, Lunia and Chen Xia instinctively realized that something serious was unfolding.

“Leo, what on earth is going on?”

Lunia asked with a flustered expression.

“There’s going to be an attack.”

“An attack?!”

Lunia’s eyes flew wide open.

“Probably.”

“What do you mean, ‘probably’? What is that supposed to mean?”

Chen Xia looked completely flustered.

"It's a hunch."

At Leo’s words, Lunia and Chen Xia both looked utterly incredulous.

But Lunia quickly realized that Leo was not the sort to say something so baseless, and so she asked,

“What about stopping the Lumeiren Competition?”

“That wouldn’t be a good choice.”

At Leo’s answer, Lunia frowned.

“Don’t make a big scene out of this. Keep watch with your own strength alone.”

“Can we really manage that on our own?”

Looking at Lunia’s serious expression, Leo gave a small smile.

“You can.”

“What?”

“You two are full-fledged heroes now, aren’t you?”

At Leo’s words, Chen Xia and Lunia’s eyes widened.

“I trust you.”

“Ugh… That really does make me happy, but…”

“How should I put it? It feels incredibly heavy.”

“It’s not just a heavy feeling.”

Leo let out a short laugh.

“It’s actually going to be heavy.”

Tap, tap—

Leo lightly patted Lunia and Chen Xia on the shoulders.

“It means that, unlike before, I’m trusting you now.”

“What? Then does that mean you didn’t trust us before?”

When Lunia frowned, Leo nodded.

“How am I supposed to trust kids?”

“Seriously?!”

With an indignant look on her face, Lunia let out a scornful snort, left the room, and stormed out of the waiting area.

Walking down the corridor with Chen Xia, Lunia wore a deeply resentful expression.

“That guy, seriously! How long is he planning to keep treating us like children?”

“Mm… But, you know.”

“What? Did you leave something behind?”

Glancing back over her shoulder again and again, Chen Xia spoke with a slightly unfamiliar expression on her face.

“No. It just feels like Young Master Leo’s attitude changed a little somehow… though maybe I’m imagining it.”

bl

['Trust, huh… That's not a word that suits you, Leo.']

Elsie gave a bitter smile.

“That’s right. I don’t really like trusting anyone.”

At Leo’s words, Laruel tilted her head.

[Why don’t you trust people?]

“Because everyone I ever trusted died.”

[Ah….]

Watching Leo answer as though it were nothing at all, Laruel’s face darkened.

“Don’t worry about it. Things will be different from now on.”

Saying it as though it did not matter, Leo turned to Laruel and said,

“Laruel. Seiren has crossed over into the present world. Go help her.”

[Yes.]

After even Laruel had left, Leo opened the window and headed for the highest place on the school grounds.

And then he looked down below.

[By the way, Leo.]

“What.”

[Up until now, you always used to pat their heads, but today you patted their shoulders instead?]

“Did I?”

[Yes.]

Leo tilted his head.

Sitting on Leo’s shoulder, Elsie swung her legs back and forth in an easy rhythm as she spoke.

[You trust them as comrades now… and your attitude changing along with that too.]

Elsie said with a bright smile,

[Well, I suppose that’s only natural. It’s hard to see them as mere children now, isn’t it?]

At those words, Leo let out a short laugh and flicked his index finger against Elsie’s forehead.

Flick—!

[Ahk!]

“Stop talking nonsense and focus.”

bl

The man walking through the crowd came to a stop.

“How tiresome.”

He drew a black orb from inside his clothes.

“But that ends now. I’m finally starting to see how to deal with Leo Plov.”

With that mocking remark, the man turned around.

“Wouldn’t you agree, Princess Rena?”

“Do you remember which loop this is?”

“Who knows. I gave up counting after a hundred.”

“……”

Rena stared at the man with hatred in her eyes.

“You should give up as well. I’ve told you again and again—I am by no means trying to destroy the world.”

“What nonsense…!”

“This is nothing more than the first step toward ushering in a new age.”

The man spoke with hatred in his voice.

“The first step toward beginning once more the Age of Heroes that Leo Plov brought to an end.”

Fwoooosh—!

Black flames surged up from the orb in the man’s hand