Editor : Amethyst00



Crackle-crack-crack—

The campfire burned a vivid red.

In front of it, boys and girls were gathered, taking a break.

"So good!"

"Yeah! It's seriously delicious! I could eat this forever!"

"I've never had anything this tasty!"

The beastkin and dwarf warrior trainees ate with delighted expressions.

Seeing them, Artienne covered her mouth.

"Sniff!"

Artienne's eyes were moist as she looked at the warrior trainees.

What they were eating now was the combat rations issued by Lumene for long-term missions.

No matter the school, when hero candidates are sent out on long-term missions, it's often under extreme conditions.

And to maintain strong mental stamina over time in such harsh conditions, nutritious meals are essential.

That's why each hero academy invests significant effort into developing combat rations that maintain freshness within subspace.

In fact, the rations are so unique to each race and school that they've become something of a trademark.

Hero academies even put effort into R&D just for these.

Which means—yes—they're guaranteed to taste good.

'This is the biggest difference from our time.'

Leo chewed on some jerky from the ration as he muttered.

Lysinas had tried her best to improve the supplies, too.

But in a crumbling world on the brink of destruction, there were limits to what they could provide.

Neither the swindling savior who led the world to hope—

Nor the eccentric magical genius who shone in the depths of despair—

Nor the perverted smith praised by the gods for forging divine weapons—

Could do anything about it.

'Kids these days sure have it easy.'

Of course, it wasn't as if hero candidates today were all spoiled by convenience.

Supplies always have limits.

A true hero candidates should at least be tough enough to slice up monster meat and purify blood for drinking if there's no food or water.

'Still, best not to end up in those situations in the first place.'

The moment the mission began and the trainees tasted Lumene's combat rations, they were floored.

These were warrior trainees born into a time where deprivation was the norm.

Going without food for two or three days wasn't unusual when things got bad.

The recent banquet? That had been a very special case.

They had managed to escape from Ivaldi, reach a fortress in the present day, and claim supplies hidden underground—enough to live well for a while.

Even so, from the perspective of a modern hero candidate, that was far from abundant.

So, it was natural that Ivaldi's cadets would be moved by the delicious rations Lumene had carefully crafted to reduce mission stress.

Tender-hearted Artienne's eyes brimmed with tears at the sight.

"Terre, aren't you eating more?"

"No, I've had enough."

The 2-meter-tall bear beastkin boy, Terre, gave an awkward smile.

But then—his stomach growled loudly.

"You never know when enemies will attack. You should fill up while you can."

At Chelsea's words, Terre replied.

"I wanted to save some for my little brother."

Chelsea looked around.

There were other warrior trainees leaving food as well.

Seeing that, Artienne's teary eyes welled up again.

"Everyone! Once we return to the fortress, you'll be issued more supplies, so don't worry about that—!"

"No! That's not okay!"

Kania frantically shook her head.

"You said supplies, right? We don't know when those Tartaros bastards might invade again—you can't just give those away to civilians!"

At her words, Artienne flinched and slumped her shoulders.

"Y-you're right. I let my emotions get the better of me… I was being foolish."

"No, no! You only said that because you care about us."

Kania spoke hurriedly, trying to comfort her.

The warrior trainees on this mission had not only become close with the hero candidates but also with Artienne.

If it weren't for the terrifying spirits, Artienne's compassion and tolerance would be rated highest even in Lumene.

It was only natural for the trainees to grow fond of her.

Watching this, Leo spoke.

"Whether you take it back to your families or not, that's something to think about after you survive and return. Don't die or drag someone down in a crisis because you skipped a meal. Just eat."

The warrior trainees who had been holding back twitched, then nodded silently.

"Leo Plov, do you realize how unbelievably cold you can be sometimes?"

Even the cynical Eliza felt pity when looking at the warrior trainees.

She had grown up in abundance—it only emphasized the contrast.

Duran felt the same.

But Leo remained surprisingly cold.

'Leo Plov's not exactly kind-hearted.'

In fact, Leo leaned more toward having a difficult personality.

He just didn't show it openly.

In a good way, he was mature.

In a bad way, twisted.

"I just gave them advice because now's not the time to be swayed by emotions."

At his words, Kania gave a bitter smile.

"You're absolutely right."

Agreeing, she added curiously:

"Artienne really is fascinating."

"What do you mean?"

"Well… she seems like someone from a completely different world."

Artienne scratched her cheek, awkwardly laughing at that.

"Not just her—aren't you all around the same age as us? But you feel completely different."

"How so?"

"Hmm."

After thinking a bit, Kania answered.

"Kind, maybe?"

"Leaving me and Leo out of it, those two are anything but kind. Their personalities are nasty."

"If you've got something to say, say it to me, Chelsea Lewellin."

"You're not even a tenth the man Abad Lewellin was, so you're in no place to talk."

Duran growled dangerously, and Eliza replied with a cold sneer.

"All three of you have terrible personalities, so don't fight."

Leo shrugged.

Watching them, Kania laughed and said:

"I didn't mean kind as in personality. More like… altruistic?"

She nodded.

"You fight for others. That's what amazes me."

"You and the Ivaldi warriors fight to protect your fortress too, don't you?"

"Well… we're like family. That's different."

An enormous family.

Helping each other was natural.

If you didn't, you'd die.

But strangers—they had to be kept at arm's length.

It was only because Ivaldi's leader, Dweno, had vouched for them that they could become close this quickly.

Normally, that would have been impossible.

Most warrior trainees had no real parents.

If not for Enniha, who ran Ivaldi's orphanage—

If not for Dweno, who supported her—

Most of them wouldn't have survived.

In that sense, they were siblings, with Dweno and Enniha as parents.

"So for people who have nothing to do with us to fight for us like this… It's strange. If the roles were reversed—if it were the old me—I'd definitely have turned away. We really were… awful, weren't we?"

Kania and the trainees all looked embarrassed.

"You guys… you shine when I look at you."

Kania's expression blurred.

"You're different from us."

Seeing her darkened face, Leo spoke.

"What about now?"

"Huh?"

"You, after meeting us—if the roles were reversed now, would you still turn away?"

"No."

"Then that's enough."

Kania and the other trainees born in the Age of Calamity simply didn't know.

They didn't know this was another way to live.

It wasn't wrong to turn away from others' crises.

'Especially not in this era.'

They had never learned another way.

And they couldn't have survived if they had.

To Leo's knowledge, only one person born in this dark age had been able to shine brightly.

'Velkia.'

One of his former students, Velkia had been like the sun, illuminating everything around her.

'That's what made her special.'

Even Aaron hadn't been able to do that.

"What matters isn't who you were in the past. It's that you've changed."

Leo smirked.

"You changed and took a step forward. That's something to be proud of."

At his words, Kania scratched her cheek.

"You really do feel similar to us."

Among Leo's group, Kania felt the most kinship with Leo.

Although…

"Just similar. Not quite the same."

Outside of that kinship, he was completely different.

"When I look at you, it's like seeing Lord Dweno."

'Sharp instincts.'

"If it were the old me, I probably would've fallen for you. Well! Now I'm totally head over heels for Carl!"

"Carl, huh? Popular guy."

Leo muttered, and Duran commented.

"Hmph. Guess being a hero means you're naturally charismatic."

"Praising Carl? That's rare."

"I'm just stating a fact."

Duran scoffed.

"And honestly, if he's got that kind of charm as a man, I welcome it."

Leo frowned slightly.

"What's with that disturbing look on your face?"

"Is that your type?"

"If this is your idea of picking a fight, I welcome it, Leo Plov."

Duran growled, and Leo raised his hands.

"Sorry. But why would you 'welcome' it?"

"As much as he doesn't deserve it, I'm considering him as a potential royal consort for my sister. So as her brother, I welcome it."

"What kind of nonsense is that?"

Eliza asked, and Duran answered flatly.

"Nonsense? Carl Thomas is a citizen of Moira. I am Moira's ruler. As king, considering marriage to royalty to secure outstanding talent is just basic sense. I didn't expect the heiress of Hergin to not understand something so simple."

Eliza's shoulders trembled.

"Why are you upset? Eliza Hergin."

Watching all this, Chelsea muttered to herself.

'Does Duran know what he's doing or not?'

Shaking her head, she turned to Leo.

"Leo, got something on your mind?"

"It's already been over ten days since the search began."

"Yeah. We've already scoured up to the Wall of Limitation."

At Chelsea's words, Artienne added

"It must be really well hidden."

The area around the fortress enclosed by the Wall wasn't that wide.

'Giath's absence bothers me too.'

Not just Giath.

The Giant King's legion hadn't shown up either.

'Which means they've left beyond the Wall.'

Is that even possible? Leo formed a hypothesis.

Inside the Wall of Restrictions is technically part of reality—but also part of the dungeon.

A place where reality and dungeon world intersect.

Dungeon rules apply.

And Leo knew how to bypass the rules of the legion world—or more precisely, the hero world.

'By using divine power.'

Just like he had used it to pull Luna and Aaron into the real world.

Tartaros might be able to do the same—pull members of the legion world into reality using Erebos's power.

'Was that last invasion… just a distraction to reduce our numbers?'

Recalling it, Leo clicked his tongue.

What would the Giant King's legion do outside?

'Power up.'

They're coming.

An invasion of a scale far beyond recorded history.

'If we destroy the legion's Record before then, we can stop it.'

But no entrance to the legion world could be found in the surrounding area.

Thinking this far, Leo subtly turned his head.

Toward the fortress of Ivaldi.

'Is the entrance inside the fortress?'