Editor : Amethyst00



Warp gate on the mountainside.

As soon as they stepped out of the entrance, a viewing platform overlooking the entire cityscape came into view.

Chelsea ran to the platform and grabbed the railing.

“Wow—! So this is Letin, the central city of the Lezentan region!”

Chelsea marveled as she looked over the city.

Whoooosh—!

A cold winter wind riding the updraft tousled Chelsea’s hair.

“So refreshing!”

Despite the frigid wind, Chelsea laughed brightly.

As a wind mage, the winter wind seemed to invigorate her.

“La-la-la~ lal~”

A cheerful tune came from Chelsea’s lips.

“Hey! Leo! What is going on here! Why is that annoying Chelsea Lewellin here?!”

“We’re spending the break in the same country anyway, so why not spend it together?”

Celia grabbed Leo and shook him wildly.

“Even if it's the same country, do you have any idea how big our empire is?! And what’s so great about it anyway?!”

Hearing the conversation, Chelsea turned her head quickly toward them.

In that moment, Chelsea and Celia’s eyes met.

Chelsea pulled down her right lower eyelid with her index finger and stuck out her tongue.

“Do I really have to see her during vacation too?!”

Abad, watching Celia’s intense reaction, chuckled.

“You two get along well.”

“Does that look like getting along to you?!”

Celia snapped, but Abad only laughed.

“Miss, please calm down. There are many eyes watching.”

Startled by those words, Celia looked around.

The curious gazes of other passengers exiting the warp gate were directed at her.

Seeing that, Celia cleared her throat—ahem!—and straightened her clothes.

Returning to her perfect noble lady persona, Celia addressed Niel.

“Thank you, Niel.”

“As a knight of Zerdinger, and your bodyguard, it’s only natural that I serve you.”

Unlike Celia, Niel was dressed in light armour and pounded her chest with her fist.

“The Rhoda family always considers the honor of Zerdinger.”

Celia smiled at her reliable demeanour.

Celia and Niel weren’t just lady and knight—they were like sisters, having grown up together since childhood.

Though Celia always pursued perfection, she would occasionally show cracks when agitated like before.

Whenever that happened, Niel looked after her like an older sister.

‘It’s reassuring having Niel with me.’

“Master Abad. I’ve bought a tourist guidebook being sold at the warp gate.”

“Huh? Marcel Lugia? What are you doing here?”

“As a mage of Lewellin, it’s my duty to assist Master Abad and Lady Chelsea.”

“Duty, my foot! Do you know where you are right now?!”

“Hmph. In the future fiefdom of Master Leo.”

“I’ve never understood why you call him Master Leo! He’s a direct heir of Zerdinger!”

“Before that, he’s the heir of the Plov family! And a close friend of Master Abad and Lady Chelsea! That alone is enough reason to call him Master!”

“Ridiculous!”

Niel and Marcel clashed foreheads and began arguing.

Compared to the fuss Celia caused earlier, this was a much larger commotion and quickly drew everyone’s attention.

“Oh my? Why are they fighting?”

“Those family crests… Zerdinger and Lewellin, huh?”

“Ah, the two heroic noble families of Lordren?”

“I heard they didn’t get along, and it seems true.”

“I think the knight lady will win.”

“No way, the male mage might win.”

People coming and going through the warp gate began whispering.

With all eyes suddenly on them, Celia covered her face with her hands in embarrassment, and Abad gave a troubled smile.

At this point, it was difficult for Celia and Abad to stop them.

“Leo, do something.”

Celia whispered urgently, but there was no reply.

“Leo?”

Removing her hand from her face, Celia glanced to the side.

Leo, who had been there just moments ago, was nowhere to be seen.

“M-Miss Celia. If you’re looking for Master Leo… over there…”

Martina, who had come to assist Leo, cautiously pointed to one side.

There, Leo was calmly looking over the cityscape of Letin with Chelsea from the observation deck.

“Leo, why are you putting coins into the binoculars? You could just use magic.”

“I think this has its own charm.”

“Really?”

As if completely unrelated to the chaos, the two distanced themselves mentally from the others. Celia felt her anger rising.

“You two! Go stop them!”

Celia, grinding her teeth, walked up to the pair.

“Who are you? Do you know her, Leo?”

“Never seen her before.”

As Leo and Chelsea treated her like a stranger, Celia’s red eyes flared.

Leo mumbled inwardly.

‘If I tease her any further, she’ll explode.’

Chelsea must have noticed too, as she clicked her tongue.

“I don’t want to get involved in their fight.”

“What?”

“You don’t know yet, do you?”

Chelsea’s face grew slightly sullen.

“Lady Chelsea is way prettier than Lady Celia!”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Lady Celia is more beautiful! Men prefer strong, majestic types like her!”

“You’re not even a man—what do you know! Lady Chelsea is like a delicate flower…”

“Lady Celia is like a rose!”

As the two shouted, Celia’s mouth fell open.

“W-What is this?!”

“They always drag us into their fights!”

Chelsea screamed.

She once had run into Niel while walking with Marcel at school.

The two instantly clashed, growled at each other, and started boasting about Celia, Chelsea, and Abad, arguing who was greater.

Though they were in different departments and rarely crossed paths due to their fierce rivalry, among the senior students, they were already known as a famous spectacle.

To Chelsea, it was a mortifying incident she wanted to erase from memory.

Remembering the reactions of older students, Celia recalled their cryptic comments.

‘Oh~ a single rose in bloom.’

‘The strongest lady in the world is passing by.’

“So that was all because of them?!”

“If Lady Celia wanted to, seducing your master would be a piece of cake!”

“Absurd! Master Abad would never—”

“Kyaaaaah!”

Celia, her face flushed red, screamed and sprinted toward Niel.

Even Abad, usually composed, rushed to Marcel and covered his mouth.

At that moment, Leo’s Slayers approached.

“Master, what shall we do?”

Austin asked carefully, and Leo smiled faintly.

“I have nothing to do with any of that.”

“Me neither.”

Chelsea agreed.

Hearing that, Karin cautiously asked, “Master.”

“What is it?”

“Can we also pretend we’re not with them?”

Leo gestured behind him with his chin.

“Line up.”

“Yes, sir.”

At that, Leo’s knights quietly gathered behind him.

Watching that, Chelsea was impressed.

“Quick thinkers.”

“We’ve learned the importance of knowing which side to stand on, thanks to Master Leo.”

The other knights nodded at Karin’s words.

Seeing them, Chelsea shook her head.

bl

“We’re sorry, Lady Celia!”

“We’re sorry, Master Abad!”

Niel and Marcel bowed 90 degrees to their respective lords.

Celia shook her head awkwardly, looking at Niel.

“It’s okay, Niel. I fight with Chelsea all the time too.”

“We’ve been doing this since we were kids, you know? Don’t feel too bad, Marcel.”

Abad also consoled Marcel.

Chelsea, watching silently, muttered “At least we don’t bring shame to our families like this.”

The two slumped their shoulders at her remark.

Celia and Abad glared at Chelsea, who quickly hid behind Leo, peeking out just her head.

They were now warming up in a nearby café, not far from the warp gate.

Even trained knights and mages wouldn’t benefit from exposure to freezing winds.

Lezentan, geographically speaking, was close to the northern, frigid regions of the continent.

While drinking something warm, Abad asked, “By the way, Celia. I heard some graduated seniors are working for Zerdinger?”

“Yeah. Senior Jamua, Senior Torua, and Senior Ulta are with us.”

“Would’ve been nice to greet them.”

“They’ve gone with Brother Rhys to suppress the rebels, so they’re not at the manor.”

Leo and Celia had come to Lezentan unaware of the whereabouts of the seniors including Rhys.

“Leo, are we going straight to the Letin government building?”

Chelsea asked while eating ice cream.

The Lewellin family had come at Leo’s invitation.

Naturally, they would follow wherever he went.

“I'm not sure yet.”

Leo flipped through the tourist guidebook.

Legas had prepared documents that clearly proved Leo’s rightful claim to the Lezentan region.

Land deeds of Lezentan, proof that his grandmother Nayla Zerdinger was the legitimate heir of the Tonkan Kingdom, and even an artifact to verify it.

Letin used to be the capital of Tonkan long ago.

Its government building served as the central administration for the entire Lezentan region.

And the highest authority here was Sith Zidma, commander of the Tuzen Knights.

“But no matter how perfect the documents are, will the Tuzen Knights really hand over the region to Leo?”

It had been decades since Tonkan fell.

Most people had already forgotten it.

Even locals barely remembered the name Tonkan.

So, would they really welcome a former royal descendant as king?

“Grandfather said only those worthy can draw out the legacy of Tonkan here in Letin. That the Tuzen Knights need that legacy to regain their true strength.”

“Oh? What is that legacy?”

“The blessing of the Fire Elemental Lord of Purification, Ishtar.”

“Right, the founder of Tonkan made a pact with the Purification Elemental.”

Letin, once a volcano, was known as the birthplace of the Fire Elemental Lord, Ishtar.

To destroy him, the Giant King of Tartaros attacked this place.

The founder of Tonkan fought alongside Ishtar.

He used all the volcano’s power, turning Letin into a dormant volcano.

The Giant King failed and withdrew.

“Exhausted from battle, the founder passed away, and Ishtar gave his blessing to the royal line in return, right?”

Celia crossed her arms.

The Tuzen Knights, once a mighty order that commanded the continent, were now reduced to barely managing Lezentan.

This decline was due to the absence of the royal line.

Chelsea asked Celia, “So this qualification… does it mean bloodline?”

“Being a Elemental Lord, bloodline alone isn’t enough. There’s probably a test.”

“Leo can pass any test easily!”

Chelsea scoffed proudly.

As the Hero of Beginnings, not even a Elemental Lord could ignore Leo.

Hearing this, Alty muttered to Leo alone.

[Ishtar is famously difficult, Master. It won’t be easy.]

As an artifact from the founding of the Rodren Empire, Alty knew the region well.

[If he doesn’t like Leo, things might get tricky.]

When Elsie worried aloud, Laruel, the oldest existing grand spirit, scoffed.

[Who does he think he is to reject Lord Leo? If he does, just twist his arm.]

[T-Twist his arm…! Laruel! Will you do that for me?! Haaak! Haaak!]

Alty reacted wildly to the bold comment.

Then, Leo, still reading the guidebook, spoke up.

“This city’s hot springs are famous.”

At the sudden remark, Celia tilted her head.

“Of course. That’s why it’s such a famous tourist destination.”

Leo glanced to his right.

There sat Zerdinger attendants assigned to accompany Leo and Celia.

He then turned to the left.

There sat Lewellin attendants for Chelsea and Abad.

Leo was seated directly between them.

“We’ll visit the government building tomorrow.”

“Huh? Then what first?”

Celia looked puzzled.

Leo smiled.

“Sightseeing.”