Editor : Amethyst00



"Oh? Isn't that Leo? What brings you here? Did you drop by since you were meeting Lord Dweno anyway?"

Carl greeted him with a cheerful expression.

In front of Carl, a line of dwarves and beastkin children had formed.

The children were receiving candy from Carl, one by one.

"Wow!"

"Thank you!"

The children who received the candy popped it into their mouths and smiled with joy.

Aru was pulling a cart full of children.

Drianna was in the middle of the wide yard, fixing the children's toys, while Eliana was crawling on the ground like a horse, giving children rides on her back.

'An orphanage.'

"Lord Dweno!"

"Wow! It's Lord Dweno!"

The children spotted Dweno standing next to Leo and rushed over in a swarm.

"You're back! Lord Dweno!"

"Have you all been well?"

Dweno smiled and patted each child on the head before asking,

"Where's Enniha?"

"She's inside."

"She must be drawing."

The orphanage children gathered around Leo and stared at him with curious expressions.

"Wow, are you human too, big brother?"

To that, Leo simply nodded without replying.

The children flinched at his somehow cold demeanor and hid behind Dweno.

"Looks like that personality of yours hasn't changed even in death. Would it hurt to be kind to kids like those friends are?"

"Aru-noona! Faster! Faster!"

"Unni! You can do it!"

"Woooahhh!"

Aru pulled the cart even faster.

"Giddy-up! Giddy-up!"

"Hey, unni's tired, can we take a break now?"

"No way!"

The dwarf girl on Eliana's back shook her head vigorously.

"Ah! Leader!"

Eliana crawled up to Leo and tugged at the hem of his pants.

"Switch with me! My back's going to break!"

"Your back isn't weak enough to give out from something like this. Playing with the kids is part of a hero's duties. Hang in there. Or would you rather continue training?"

At those words, Eliana's face turned pale. She let the child on her back down and shouted, "Next!"

Aru and Eliana, now the most popular toys, played joyfully with the children.

"This is why people need skills."

"Exactly. Otherwise your body takes the toll."

Drianna and Carl chuckled as they watched.

"So hypocritical."

"What now?"

"Since when did you ever care so much about heroism?"

At Dweno's words, Leo shrugged.

"Even if it's just appearances, shouldn't I at least look the part?"

"Tch. You've picked up the worst traits. Of all people, you had to imitate the scammer tendencies of Lysinas?"

"Thanks for the compliment."

"And Luna's shamelessness too. You've picked up all the bad parts."

Dweno looked at him with a disappointed expression.

"They say couples start to resemble each other, but you weren't even in that kind of relationship with them, were you?"

At that, Leo turned his gaze forward.

What should he say?

That he already met Luna and Lysinas and knew how they felt?

That Lysinas even conned him into a marriage proposal?

Telling Dweno that would only lead to one response

'As expected, you're an idiot.'

No need to invite insults.

While thinking this, Dweno approached the orphanage children and said, "You must be tired, so go rest in the mansion."

At his words, Leo nodded and opened the mansion door.

Creak—

Just before stepping into the mansion.

He looked back one last time at Dweno playing and laughing with the children.

Back in Godthrone,

Lysinas, Luna, and Aaron used to look after the orphanage children often.

Lysinas, who never doubted those children were the future.

Luna, who simply enjoyed playing with them.

Aaron, who just genuinely liked children.

Each had their own reasons.

But they all treated the children sincerely.

'And the kids adored them.'

But Leo and Dweno always kept their distance from the kids.

In his previous life, Leo wasn't particularly fond of children.

'Still not, really.'

He didn't get close to them.

The only ones who came near were Velkia and Bihar.

'Well, I always looked grumpy.'

It was only natural they found him scary and stayed away.

But Dweno was different.

He always looked at the children with a kind smile.

He didn't dislike children either.

Still, he kept his distance.

He maintained a boundary with the orphanage children.

It never seemed strange.

'The others were the same too.'

They didn't dislike children, but neither did they like them enough to engage warmly.

But seeing this now made that seem untrue.

'I don't know Dweno's past.'

They could trust each other more than anyone.

Leo would entrust his life to Dweno without hesitation.

Even if that trust were betrayed.

He would have no regrets.

That was the kind of bond they shared as great heroes.

"Lord Dweno! I drew a picture of a flower!"

"Haha! You drew it better than Enniha."

"I don't think so."

A beastkin girl showed him a flower drawing, and Dweno laughed heartily.

A dwarf boy drawing nearby chimed in, "But how pretty are real flowers?"

"They're very pretty."

"I heard a wide flower field is as pretty as a starry night sky!"

Dweno smiled warmly as he looked at the children shining with excitement.

During the Age of Calamity, flowers had almost gone extinct.

This place too, being within Tartaros' domain, had no flowers.

To these children, flowers existed only in pictures.

'Even in Godthrone, they were rarer than magic stones.'

With a bitter expression, Dweno closed his eyes.

'Until some fool completed an absurdly unbelievable spell.'

Snap!

A finger snap echoed.

"Wooooaaahhh!"

"So pretty!"

The children's excited cheers rang out.

When he opened his eyes, the view was filled with blooming flowers.

Dweno unconsciously turned around.

There stood Leo, wearing his usual uninterested expression, eyes emotionless.

Then, looking slightly annoyed, Leo disappeared inside the room.

"Honestly."

Dweno chuckled.

'Sometimes I think I get why those fools fell for that idiot.'

bl

"Ahhhhh! This isn't it!"

Leo, who had flopped onto the living room couch after entering the mansion, stood up at the scream from the second floor.

Scratching his head, he headed upstairs.

When he reached the second floor, he sensed movement in the room at the very end.

Opening the door, he saw Enniha's back as she drew, pale-faced in the dim room with the curtains drawn.

The canvas before Enniha had a flower painting on it.

"What are you doing?"

"Huh? When did you get here?"

Enniha turned and scratched her greasy hair.

"Just… I wanted to show the kids flowers, but it's not going well. I haven't seen real flowers in ages either."

The painting on the canvas was well done.

But the flowers lacked vitality.

Other paintings hung around the room, full of flowers and sunrise scenes.

"You must like flowers."

"Not really."

"You're the first elf I've met who doesn't like flowers."

Elves, who seek harmony with nature, generally love flowers.

Because they value natural beauty over artificial.

"Hmph. I just like the sun best."

"Why?"

"Because it's pretty."

Leo chuckled at the simple answer and pulled open the curtains.

"Then focus on drawing the sun. The flowers are already blooming."

"What?"

Enniha looked out the window, eyes wide.

"What? What? Where did all those flowers come from?"

A field of blooming flowers.

Watching the children play among them, Enniha was stunned.

"It's magic."

"Magic? It's not illusion magic though?"

"A spell that makes flowers bloom."

"There's such a spell?"

"Made by some dumb elf."

A magic born in a distant past for Leo, but not far off in the future for Enniha.

"Wow~ If I'd known, I would've learned magic."

Enniha, awestruck, looked at Leo.

"Was that your magic?"

"Yeah."

"That's amazing."

She smiled in admiration.

"I'm really glad I met you… or rather, that we met."

"Out of nowhere?"

When Leo gave her a puzzled look, Enniha smiled wryly.

"Yeah. I'm grateful. Thanks to you, I feel like Dweno finally has a true companion."

"A companion, huh."

Leo, crossing his arms and leaning against the window, looked out at Dweno.

"You mean you're not his companion?"

"I'm more of a burden than a companion."

Enniha smiled self-deprecatingly.

"It's not just me. Even the people of Ivaldi are just burdens to Dweno."

She washed her brush in a water container and continued.

"You know too, don't you? How overwhelmingly strong Dweno is."

Better than anyone.

He was the Great Hero who saved the world with Leo.

An unshakable, unbreakable will like steel.

Even Lysinas, who initially balked at Dweno joining their party, and Luna, who often clashed with him.

Even Aaron, always frightened and seeking someone to rely on.

'Even me.'

Whenever they wavered or were about to collapse,

Dweno would hammer them with that will and forge them stronger.

He wasn't just the smith who made their weapons.

He was the hammer that made them sharper and stronger.

'The past doesn't matter.'

Dweno never wanted to talk about it.

Still.

Facing Dweno's past now, Leo felt ashamed of having only relied on him.

Enniha said, "To protect us, he never fought at full strength. We always held him back."

"Did he say that?"

"No. He never said it…"

Enniha shook her head.

"But with you, who has equal strength, he's finally able to fight properly."

She clenched her fist.

"He may deny it, but Dweno has the power to save this world. I, and all of Ivaldi, believe that."

"So you're glad I met him?"

"Yeah."

Leo chuckled.

"You're not a burden to Dweno."

"What?"

"Same goes for the people of Ivaldi."

It was obvious, even without thinking deeply, how much this elf had influenced that self-proclaimed perverted artist's life.

The source of the iron will that never wavered or crumbled was right here.

Enniha.

And the people of Ivaldi, whose wishes Dweno carried and moved forward with, unwavering.

'Just like I did.'

Until the end.

Even at the moment of death, they surely believed in Dweno.

'Just like you all did.'

"Just like you believe in Dweno, he believes in you too. So don't say things like you're a burden."

Leo looked at Enniha.

"Dweno will answer your faith."

"What do you mean?"

"He's going to save the world."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I know the future."

"What?"

Enniha's eyes widened.

Looking at him in confusion, she eventually laughed.

"Wow, I almost believed that."

"But it's true."

"You're incredible. In peaceful times, you could've been an amazing conman. Where'd you learn that?"

As Enniha admired him, Leo looked seriously out at Dweno.

'Am I really turning into that con-artist lizard, just like he said?'

bl

Thud— Thud—

With each step, the earth shook.

Its mere presence killed nearby life.

The Giant King Giath smiled as he looked over the rampaging world before him.

"You will regret stepping into my world, Surviving Hero."