Editor : Amethyst00



The Zeron family treated Leo with exceptional care.

It wasn't simply because he was Elena's guest.

"You have no idea how much this old man cried when Lord Plov found Lady Aliah's keepsake."

Seated at the dinner banquet, the old mage dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief, bowing his head repeatedly to Leo.

Elena, seated at the head of the table, addressed the tearful old mage as she cut into her steak with a fork and knife.

"That's disgraceful behavior in front of a guest, Berwyn."

"I know, my lady," Berwyn stammered, his voice thick with emotion. "It's just, whenever I think about that time, this old man… this old man…"

Berwyn Berak.

He was a grand mage, a hero whose name was etched in the Hero Record. He had served as the magic tutor not only for Altec Zeron, the current family head known as the Infinity Speller, and Albi, the human mage from Lumene, but also for Elena.

Having taught the direct Zeron lineage, it was clear he must have also taught Aliah Zeron, whom Leo had saved in the Hero World during the first-year midterms.

His epithet was Blood Demon, wasn't it?

Judging by the title alone, he must have been a mage who manipulated blood.

Leo recalled Fritz Edgon from the first-year magic department.

Hailing from Shadows and an admirer of Leo, he also wielded blood magic.

"Miss Aliah was truly a kind-hearted person," Berwyn continued, his voice filled with reverence. "When she was alive, both the family head and Lord Albi were much brighter. She was also incredibly talented."

"Yes, yes, I've heard more than enough about my aunt," Elena cut in, resting her chin on her hand with a sigh.

"Of course, purely in terms of talent, Lady Elena is the best."

Berwyn looked at Elena.

"Her only problem is that she's a little lazy."

Elena's expression soured, clearly tired of this topic.

"Don't you agree, Lord Plov?" Berwyn asked, turning to Leo.

Leo looked over at Elena.

"Senior Elena is certainly lazy."

"Oh?" Elena raised an eyebrow. "Can you really speak so carelessly to your senior?"

"Because it's true."

Leo calmly cut another piece of meat with his knife.

In terms of pure talent.

Elena was one of the most exceptional geniuses Leo had ever encountered.

Across both his past and present lives, that held true.

The history of heroes featured great figures who carried their eras.

The hero of the most recent era was none other than the Sword Saint, Kalian.

"In terms of talent alone, she has the potential to surpass the Sword Saint," Leo stated plainly.

"Oh?" Berwyn's eyes widened slightly, clearly impressed.

He too was a hero who had lived in the same era as the Sword Saint.

Of course, his own name paled before the Sword Saint's immense fame.

Still, he was a comrade who had fought beside Sword Saint Kalian in countless battles, a fellow warrior who had given and received help on the field.

For such a man as Berwyn, Leo's statement that Elena could surpass the Sword Saint was deeply intriguing.

"What makes you think so?" he inquired.

"I had a friend who was good at reading people," Leo replied, thinking of Lysinas.

"I learned a bit from her."

"You seem confident in your judgment," Berwyn remarked.

"Not as good as my friend."

Leo offered a faint smile.

Elena stared intently at Leo, her expression unreadable and so, dinner concluded.

bl

Deep in the night.

Leo was fast asleep in bed.

Tap… Tap…

Just then, the sound of light footsteps echoed softly in the room.

SWISH-

Feeling someone climbing onto the bed, Leo opened his eyes.

"Awake, Leo?"

Elena smiled down at him.

Leo looked up at the smiling Elena. "Senior, it's quite late, isn't it?"

"I know." Elena shrugged casually. "I just came because I wanted to talk."

Dressed in a negligee, she sat perched on the edge of the bed, crossing her legs.

The Queen of Lumene. Or perhaps the Witch, the object of fear among the students. This was Elena.

Right now, however, she looked just like a girl her age.

"Leo. Do you know why I willingly handed over the student council president position to you?"

"Because it was troublesome," Leo answered immediately.

"Of course, that's part of it." Elena chuckled softly. "More than that, though, it was because I wanted to see a perfect hero."

Elena turned her head to look directly at Leo, her pink eyes sparkling.

"I thought you could become that perfect hero."

Within those eyes, a childlike innocence flickered.

"Why did you want to see a perfect hero?" Leo asked.

"Remember what I said after we defeated Erebos in Lady Luna's world?"

When I was young, I preferred the princesses being rescued in fairy tales over the heroes. I found myself admiring them more.

Leo recalled what she'd said then. "That you liked princesses more than heroes?"

"Yeah." Elena chuckled softly again. "I got sick of hearing it since I was young. People saying I'd become a hero."

No matter what anyone said, Elena was undoubtedly one of the most outstanding talents in the Age of Heroes.

An extraordinary background and an even more extraordinary talent.

"I heard it constantly growing up," she continued, "That I had to succeed Lumene."

Elena gave a short, dry laugh. "Did you know? Sir Lumene hit his limit and fell into despair."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's written in the first director's memoirs."

"That's surprising," Leo remarked neutrally.

…

Elena narrowed her eyes slightly. "That's a rather lukewarm reaction, isn't it?"

"Senior Elena, did you admire the Twilight Knight?" Leo asked instead.

…

Elena fell silent for a moment, then nodded slowly. "I admire him. Even now."

She gave another short laugh. "You know, I had a really harsh upbringing."

Since childhood, Elena had lived with the label of being the greatest genius in the Zeron family's history. There were even expectations that she might surpass the Sage of Twilight, perhaps even reaching the level of the Twilight Knight himself. She was literally revered as the successor to Dawn.

Consequently, Elena's childhood was severe.

"Whenever things got tough, I read the fairy tales about Sir Lumene," she confessed softly.

The knight who never gave up. Lumene's epic, rising from slavery to become a world-saving hero, was literally a saga of endless challenges.

"His never-give-up attitude gave me strength. To my younger self, Sir Lumene was the perfect hero."

And then she saw it.

The story that, in the end, Lumene had despaired.

"Were you disappointed?" Leo asked quietly.

"Well… more than disappointed, I despaired." A shadow fell over Elena's eyes. "It was vividly described in our ancestor's memoirs. Sir Lumene's figure, despairing and screaming."

It was a shock to the young Elena.

"The fact that even the person I aimed to be wasn't a perfect hero… I didn't know what to do anymore."

A terrible life hidden behind the names of harshness and severity.

Of course, the Zeron family didn't force such a life on Elena just to torment her. They simply believed in her potential. Elena too spent her childhood believing in her own potential, relying on Lumene's stories to get through it.

"When Uncle Albi returned to the family, that grueling training finally stopped. I'm really grateful for that." Elena smiled warmly at the memory. "After that, though, I went completely off the rails. I became an arrogant kid who looked down on people, you know?"

"That's true," Leo confirmed without hesitation.

"Isn't that when you're supposed to deny it?" Elena glared at him, frowning slightly.

After a moment, she sighed and continued, "I only recently found out why he despaired."

…

"In the end, Sir Lumene despaired over the fact that he couldn't defeat Erebos." Uncrossing her legs, Elena gazed at the ceiling and lamented, "It feels so empty. What was I even trying to become a hero for?"

FLOP-

Lying back on the bed, Elena turned her gaze towards Leo. "The reason I made you student council president was because I wanted to help you become the perfect hero I couldn't be. Well, not that you needed help from someone like me to get there anyway."

Elena gave a short laugh. "My motivation's completely gone now. Maybe I should just drop out of school?"

"That would be problematic," Leo countered. "You need to be my vice president."

"Hmm? Does that mean you need me, Leo?" Elena gave a strangely twisted smile, then sat up and moved closer, crawling onto the bed until she was right over him.

"Leo, what do you think of me?"

"What about you?"

"I'm incredibly beautiful, aren't I? Plus I have the Zeron name backing me up. My abilities are outstanding too. That must be why you want to entrust the vice president position to me." Having crawled right up to Leo, Elena settled herself on top of him. "The princess marries the hero who saved her and supports him from behind the scenes. It's a common story, isn't it?"

Elena's pink eyes shone, her face close to his. Strands of her hair fell down, tickling Leo's cheek.

"What do you think?" she whispered.

The reclining Leo reached out a hand. His fingertips touched Elena's abdomen. Elena's stomach twitched at the contact. Leo's fingers traveled up her stomach towards her side, and with each slight movement, Elena's body trembled faintly and then…

TWIST!

"Aaack?!" Elena yelped.

"Stop messing around," Leo snapped, his voice sharp as he ruthlessly pinched Elena's side, finding her act utterly ridiculous. "You're just a kid still wet behind the ears, trying to act like a grown-up?"

"Is this insubordination? This is insubordination!" Elena cried out, squirming.

"At school, the student council president is the highest rank, you know?" Leo retorted flatly. Easily overpowering her, he clicked his tongue and climbed off the bed.

Left alone on the bed, Elena clutched her side, her body twitching and trembling. "Did you tame Lyl this roughly too?" she muttered resentfully.

Leo crossed his arms. "Don't say things others might misunderstand," he warned coolly. "Pull a stunt like this again, and you might face some real consequences next time. So don't."

"Aah, no fun," Elena complained, sitting up and scoffing. "What kind of junior acts like such a jaded old man? I can't even tease him."

Jaded old man, am I, you insolent brat? Leo let out a dry chuckle internally. "The Twilight Knight certainly despaired and gave up," he said aloud.

…

Elena smiled bitterly at the confirmation.

"However, he probably stood up again," Leo added.

"What?" Elena looked confused.

"Who in the world doesn't face despair or give up?" Leo clicked his tongue. "Anyone like that would have to be truly insane."

The Age of Calamity. He knew despair better than anyone. As the Surviving Hero, he'd given up more times than he could count.

"The important thing is whether you can stand up again."

In the end, he had always stood up.

For Leo, not giving up didn't just mean clinging to impossible tasks until the very end. Standing up again, avoiding the insurmountable wall, and running down a different path, that too was a form of not giving up.

"He gave up on defeating Erebos himself," Leo explained calmly, "but he didn't give up on defeating Erebos. That's why the Twilight Knight has been holding back Erebos in the Hero World for 3000 years."

He probably thinks he gave up.

Leo thought of his successor, Kyle, whom he had never met nor saidn to.

Don't be so hard on yourself, Kyle. The reason you're called the Surviving Hero… is because even though you despaired and gave up in those moments, you ultimately stood up again countless times and ran down a different path. That's definitely not giving up.

Lysinas's words echoed in his mind.

If you admire me… you don't need to resemble me in that way.

Leo let out a bitter laugh, looking at Elena's dazed expression. "If you truly admire the Twilight Knight, you don't have to give up just because he did. Understand?"

Leo met Elena's gaze. "Stand up again and again. You spoiled princess. Stand up and…"

"Stand up and?" Elena prompted, her voice small.

"Become a true queen," Leo finished firmly.

"How long are you going to act like a child just because you had a bit of a tough childhood?"

Elena looked utterly dumbfounded. Then, she quickly burst into a hollow laugh.

"You just need a new slave, don't you?" she asked, a hint of her usual self returning.

"New slaves are always welcome," Leo replied smoothly.

Elena let out another hollow laugh. "Really now… I've got myself quite an absurd junior."

Letting out a deep sigh, Elena climbed off the bed and crossed her arms, mirroring him. "Fine. Instead, I'll run things my way."

Leo nodded. "Suit yourself."