Editor : Amethyst00



Knock knock—

"Come in," Dweno said calmly, gazing out the office window at the night sky.

The door opened, and Enniha entered.

"Did the others go to their lodgings?"

"Yeah."

"And the ones who arrived earlier?"

"They're from the same place as the newcomers. Apparently, they're an advance scouting party they sent ahead."

"I see."

As Dweno nodded, Enniha placed a pipe in her mouth.

"Want a puff?"

"I don't smoke, remember?"

"You really are a strange dwarf."

"And you, Enniha, are quite the eccentric elf yourself."

Smoking was originally a dwarven custom.

Born artisans, dwarves often spent long hours sitting still, deep in thought. Naturally, they began burning herbs to help their mental clarity — that was the origin of smoking.

Elves, on the other hand, despised the strong, distinctive scent of burning herbs. So, an elf with a pipe in her mouth was certainly an unusual sight.

"Hoo…"

Exhaling a long stream of smoke, Enniha walked over to Dweno and murmured as she looked up at the sky.

"It's so beautiful. This's still feels like a dream. That we can see the stars again."

"Haven't you gotten used to it by now?"

“Not at all. No matter how many times I see it, I never get tired of it.”

The night sky, once taken for granted long ago, had now become something precious and heartachingly beautiful. How many people had shed tears the day they saw starlight again — something they thought they'd never recover?

Enniha was one of them.

"Dweno, aren't you a bit too emotionally dry? The day we got the night sky back, you didn't even blink."

"Actually, believe it or not, I was quite moved back then."

"Liar. You've always been like that."

Their relationship went back a long time — even before the Age of Calamity began.

"When we first met, you had this 'end of the world' look on your face. I remember thinking, what kind of dwarf is this?"

"And I thought the same seeing you. What kind of elf struts around so confidently after being exiled from her kin?"

"I've told you over and over, I wasn't exiled! I left on my own!"

"Ah, so that's why you boldly sought protection in dwarven territory — during a war with elves — knowing you'd be dragged back if caught?"

"I told you, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"Do you realize how recklessly stubborn you can be sometimes?"

"They insulted my painting first!"

"Sigh…"

"I could've accepted it if it were fair criticism. But to call it worthless just because it didn't glorify our race — and then try to break my brush? That's tyranny!"

Enniha scowled.

Her crime at the time had been "racial treason."

Why? Because as an artist, she refused to idolize elven beauty and claimed the art and culture of other races were just as valuable.

It was practically a full-on rebellion against elven societal authority.

And since Enniha wasn't some elite, but just a minor painter, she was swiftly branded a traitor.

She escaped elven pursuit and took refuge with the dwarves.

That was where she met Dweno.

She spent a long time in dwarf lands and grew close to them, naturally absorbing their culture.

Other than painting, Enniha had no particular skills — until then.

During that period, she learned martial arts, discovering she had an incredible talent for it, eventually becoming extremely proficient.

"Thank goodness, right? Your painting wasn't even that good, but at least you were blessed with aura and became a warrior instead."

"I'm not a warrior! I'm a painter!"

"I told you back then too — you'd never make a living off that, so just give it up."

“And you! You were moved by my painting, weren’t you!”

"…To be fair, that last one you did in the village was beautiful."

Dweno chuckled.

"Enniha, your sunrise painting was truly stunning."

“Yeah, and you burned my masterpiece — the greatest work of my artistic life!”

"That moment made me decide something. I'd learn to control my power, so I wouldn't reduce the beauty of the world to ashes again."

"You really thought that?"

Enniha's eyes widened.

"I did. And because of that, I developed a slight interest in art."

"Wait, what?! You never told me that!"

Enniha leaned in close, shocked. Dweno looked back at her impassively.

"Weren't you the one who used to say art was meaningless in this era?"

"I used to think that. But now I've changed my mind. I believe we need art worth passing on to future generations."

"Dweno… are you sick?"

"I'm perfectly fine."

"Wow…"

"I intend to leave behind several works with my own hands."

"Art isn't easy, you know."

"Indeed. Not at all. But Enniha, looking at your paintings makes me confident I could do better than you."

"You—!"

She elbowed Dweno in the forehead.

"You okay?"

"No… I'm not! You cynical bastard!"

Clutching her elbow in pain, Enniha ground her teeth.

Dweno laughed heartily, then asked,

"What do you think of those kids?"

"Them?"

Enniha sat up and smiled brightly.

“They’re nothing like kids these days — it’s great! Their eyes are different! How to put it… They’ve got dreams! Hope! Ah, that’s it! Their future seems to shine! They’re truly like kids should be!”

"Are you saying the kids in Ivaldi aren't childlike?"

“Hey, that’s not what I mean! I mean they’re like kids from the old days!”

There were children in Ivaldi too — those born in this era. Children who had never known sunlight, moonlight, or starlight. Who had never seen hope or the future.

That was the fate of children born in the Age of Calamity.

"That spiritualist, Artienne, was it? Even though she's an adult, her eyes were different from ours, right? While we were protecting Ivaldi, the world found hope again. That's why these genuinely childlike kids could appear."

"…"

"I'm sure they'll have a good influence on the kids in Ivaldi too!"

"I hope so."

"But that Leo kid was… a bit different."

"…"

"How do I put it… He felt like us. His eyes weren't like a kid's. He reminded me of you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. That same dead-fish stare."

“Who’re you calling dead-fish? And Enniha, you lack perception. That’s why you’ll never make it big as an artist.”

"What did you say?"

"Sure, that kid's eyes were unpleasant — but not dead-fish eyes. They were the eyes of someone who never gives up."

"Really? I pride myself on being a good judge of character…" Enniha tilted her head.

"Still, it's true we've found hope again."

"Yeah."

"So Enniha… I will show you the morning sunlight again."

"Huh?"

"You said you wanted to see it again, remember? That it was your wish."

"You still remember that?"

"Of course I do."

When they reunited in Ivaldi, Enniha had said:

'I want to see the morning sun again! We'll definitely reclaim the dawn!'

That was nearly twenty years ago.

Since then, the world had fallen into a darkness where no one could even imagine morning light.

Empty hope had become something people mocked — even speaking of it annoyed others.

But the return of starlight allowed people to dream of hope once more.

"I swear it with everything I have," Dweno said, clenching his fist.

"I will show you the morning sunlight again."

"Oh? That's surprisingly passionate, coming from a cynical dwarf!"

Enniha playfully tapped Dweno's temple with her elbow.

"Ughhh…"

"Is your elbow okay?"

"No, it's not! You rock-headed idiot!"

"Not as hard as yours, apparently."

"Ugh…"

"What about that girl, Drianna? Are you really going to teach her to paint?"

"Yeah."

"You should probably give up…"

"I'll make her a great artist!"

As Enniha burned with ambition, Dweno said:

"I'm thinking of passing down blacksmithing skills to her too."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yeah. She's got talent."

Dweno grinned.

"First, she'll learn how to handle flame."

"Won't she run away if she trains under you?"

"If she does, I'll just bring her back. Where can she even run to from here?"

Enniha clicked her tongue at his words.

'Poor kid.'

bl

“So, the conclusion we reached was that destroying the Legion Record is the most efficient method.”

In the dead of night, with everyone else asleep, Carl explained to Leo by the campfire outside the tent.

"Right."

"But what's this hidden mission all about?"

"It means there's an overachievement objective, even in the Legion's world."

Overachievement.

In the Hero's World, it refers to achieving feats beyond actual historical events.

It grants special rewards, glory reserved only for those who turn the impossible into reality.

At Carl's question, Leo answered calmly.

"So, what happened to Ivaldi in real history?"

"Dweno was the only survivor."

"Ah…"

Carl's face tensed.

"And the invader?"

"The Giant King, Giath."

"…Figures."

Carl bit his lip.

It brought back memories of Dweno’s world — of that ill-fated encounter.

“Just as Luna had a grudge with the Monster Queen, Dweno had one with the Giant King.”

Until then, the greatest weapon maker in the world had been Giath.

Weapons forged by him broke ordinary weapons with ease.

But Ivaldi's forges were different — they could produce weapons strong enough to oppose even Giath's dreadful and monstrous creations in existence.

That's what made Ivaldi special.

Even Lysinas had desperately hoped Ivaldi's blacksmiths would join Godthrone.

But in the end, Ivaldi was destroyed, and only Dweno survived.

“He overcame that pain and became the blacksmith who surpassed the Giant King?”

"Yeah."

“But… how to say it? He feels different from before.”

Carl tilted his head.

“He used to be really warm, but now he feels kind of cold. Did he change that much after joining the Great Hero’s party?”

"No. When I first met him, Dweno was a cheerful guy."

An eccentric artist who shouted about hope and insisted on preserving beauty for future generations.

When they first met, he even asked Lysinas to model nude for him — laughing all the while.

So the current Dweno was a side of him even Leo hadn't known.

'He never talked about his past.'

Back then, Leo hadn't thought to ask — because Dweno was just Dweno.

He knew the man had suffered enough.

He didn't want to reopen old wounds.

He simply assumed Dweno was naturally resilient.

"Your grey eyes… reminded me of my past self."

Dweno only spoke of his past right before he died.

In that moment, he admitted he disliked Kyle because he reminded him of who he once was.

Among Leo's comrades, Dweno had understood him best.

It had always puzzled Leo — how someone so different from him could understand him so deeply.

'Now I finally get it.'

Carl gave a bitter smile.

'He was so painfully similar to me.'

"But… if overachievement is their goal… wouldn't killing Dweno be their best move?"

If Dweno died here, history would be altered.

It would become a future where the world couldn't be saved — which would be a huge win for Tartaros.

But this hidden mission involved capturing Dweno alive.

And sometimes, capturing is even harder than killing — especially when it comes to heroes like him.

As Carl frowned in confusion, Leo explained:

"The Legion's Record isn't from the past. It is something written over the Hero Record — it’s being written now, in real time.”

Leo's red eyes gleamed menacingly as he stared at the fire.

"In other words, it means they can create the most advantageous situation for themselves right now."

"The most advantageous?"

"If the Hero Dungeon goes berserk and encroaches on reality, that's a disaster for us. But the Legion's World is the opposite. Think about it."

Crackle—fwoosh—

A spark leapt from the campfire.

"Would a berserk dungeon devouring the world be a disadvantage for them?"

"…!"

"It's a gateway connecting the Age of Calamity with the present. And in that age, demons and monsters ran rampant. Whether from then or now, they all have one goal."

"…The world's destruction…"

Carl swallowed dryly.

"Exactly. Whether the dungeon remains active or not, they lose nothing. It's their ideal situation. And the one thing standing in their way… is this fortress."

Most monsters spilling out of the dungeon are completely wiped out here.

It's literally the choke point — the gatekeeper.

"Capturing Dweno is probably what will allow this runaway world to remain permanently."

"Then… what do we do?"

"Nothing changes. There's only one thing we have to do — protect Ivaldi, so history doesn't repeat itself 5,000 years later."

Leo clenched his fist.

"Rewrite history — that's our mission."