Editor : Amethyst00



"To sum it up, you're not the ones who came to the past—we came to the future?"

"Yes."

"And this place right now is the boundary between the present and the past?"

"You understood it perfectly."

At Enniha's words, Chelsea nodded.

"Wow. So that kind of thing is possible. As expected of a divine artifact."

Enniha exclaimed in admiration.

Chelsea, who had been watching Enniha with anxious eyes, looked over at Carl.

Carl was also watching Enniha with a tense expression.

When a character in the Hero's World realizes they are fake, their ego collapses and they go berserk.

In Carl's memory, there were only two cases where a character remained sane after realizing the existence of a Player.

'Sir Dweno and Lady Rodia.'

Among them, Rodia maintained her sanity by deliberately destroying her own ego just before it collapsed.

It was something only someone like Rodia—the one called the Dragon of Dawn—could do.

'Sir Dweno was able to stay sane because he was the owner of the Hero Record and had already recognized the existence of a Player, right? That's what Rian said.'

Carl recalled the story told by the fake Rian he had met in Lumene's world and looked at Enniha.

'Then what about Lady Enniha? Is it because this is the world of the Legion?'

"I did think it was strange. Suddenly regaining the night sky and all. The gods really are amazing. Performing miracles that transcend space and time."

For Enniha, who had lived in the age of gods, such miracles were astonishing but within a familiar category.

Watching Enniha, Carl formed a hypothesis.

'The Hero Record doesn't exist in this era. So maybe she thinks of us as just people from the future, not Players, and that's why she's fine?'

For those living in the post-calamity era, encountering someone from the future naturally leads to the assumption that they're a Player.

But if she simply thinks of them as people from the future?

'She doesn't think she's fake, so she doesn't suffer ego collapse?'

While Carl considered various hypotheses, Enniha spoke.

"I don't know why, but I feel a surge of motivation? In the future, you eventually defeat Erebos, right? And Dweno becomes one of the five heroes who defeat him."

At that, Chelsea gave a bitter smile.

"He wasn't completely defeated."

"That's still impressive! So, how far in the future did you come from?"

"Five thousand years."

"Oh! That's amazing! What does the future look like? Is it filled with beautiful things? How's the art world?"

Enniha asked innocently.

Chelsea and Carl answered her questions one by one.

"It's a world I can't even imagine."

Enniha looked up at the sky.

"Let's set the future talk aside for now. I understood correctly at the beginning, right? That entrance you mentioned is a passage that connects the past and future, and if it remains open, Tartaros from the Age of Calamity plans to invade the future?"

"Yes."

"And if we destroy it, they'll return to their original time?"

The ability of the Hero Record was explained as time travel, and Enniha understood everything.

Chelsea nodded carefully.

"Simple enough."

"Lady Enniha, if that happens, not only you but also the people of Ivaldi…"

"I know. We'll return to the past too."

"……"

"In history, Ivaldi was destroyed, wasn't it?"

"Most likely."

"'Most likely'… that means we didn't even leave a name for future generations."

"That's only because the demons wiped out all records of the past! If not for that, I'm sure there would've been records…"

"It's fine. Everyone in Ivaldi knew what kind of end we'd meet."

Enniha stood up.

"It was something we all prepared for. We were just uneasy. Would our sacrifice be in vain?"

With her hands on her hips, Enniha smiled.

"But in the end, it had meaning, right? That's enough."

"Aren't you resentful?"

To Chelsea's tearful question, Enniha remained silent for a moment before she cautiously spoke.

"If I said I wasn't… that would be a lie."

"Then let's find a way! I'm sure Leo and Lord Dweno will—"

"Chelsea, you're a kind child."

Enniha gently patted Chelsea's head and smiled.

But then she spoke firmly.

"But we can't."

Seeing Enniha's stern expression, Chelsea caught her breath.

"The warriors of Ivaldi, including myself… we resolved to resist until the end even knowing our fate—not for the honor of leaving our name in history or because we believed in hope."

"Then… why?"

"Because the unyielding back of Dweno led us."

"But… didn't Lord Dweno fight for hope?"

"That dwarf constantly said there was no such thing as hope."

Enniha smiled bitterly.

"When we came here and he stopped saying those things, I thought it was strange… I guess he saw hope in the future. That's why he said we should come to the future and such."

"Then… why did Lord Dweno fight?"

"No matter how hopeless the era, he must've wanted to let his people live, even if just a little longer."

"For that reason alone?"

"That reason was enough. That dwarf… he was a loner from birth."

"From birth?"

"Yes. He was known as the Cursed Dwarf. The golden flame he possessed turned everything around him to ashes."

And then he met Enniha, and his life changed.

"To be able to fight for his people—that was enough for him."

Being unyielding and not giving up are different.

While Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning, fought without giving up to seek unseen hope—

Dweno, the Divine Blacksmith, fought wishing that the time shared by the people he cherished and loved could last a little longer.

From the beginning of the Age of Calamity,

Until the moment of their final end.

"Fighting while dreaming of a beautiful world where precious people share beautiful times together… How could we ever give up when someone like that existed?"

Enniha, who had let out a deep sigh, gritted her teeth.

"That's why I'm mad. In the end, we've become a burden."

Enniha smacked her palm with her fist.

"Don't make me laugh. The dice has probably already been cast. Our fate was decided. Are we really weighing the peace he risked his life to restore against our already-ended future? That damn fool of a dwarf! I feel like running to him right now and scolding him!"

Breathing heavily, Enniha looked at Chelsea and Carl and spoke resolutely.

"Anyone from Ivaldi would think the same. Even the kids at the orphanage!"

Faced with her unwavering will of steel, Chelsea and Carl were speechless.

"We refuse to be a burden! You feel the same, don't you?"

"Huh?"

"You don't want to become a burden on Leo—the Surviving Hero—either, right?"

"Of course not!"

"Then if he wavers, smack him if you must to bring him to his senses! Make sure he doesn't make the wrong choice. Wasn't that what you two were worried about?"

No one is perfect.

Even a Great Hero who saved the world can have moments of doubt.

That's why comrades exist.

At Enniha's words, Chelsea and Carl's eyes changed.

Seeing this, Enniha smiled broadly.

"Now that's the look I like. Then, let's find that entrance."

"The entrance has a distortion. If it were somewhere visible, there's no way you wouldn't have noticed it, Lady Enniha. Isn't there some place hidden from people's eyes?"

At Carl's question, Enniha answered.

"This fortress has an underground section. There are two suspicious places."

"Where?"

"First, the underground labyrinth at the center of the fortress. Second, a secret space beneath the moat under the wall."

"Why those two?"

"Because when we first arrived here, Dweno explored those two places alone. And no one has gone there since."

Certainly, if no one but Dweno had been there, they were worth suspecting.

"Given the complexity of a labyrinth, someone fast should go there."

Carl spoke to Chelsea.

"Chelsea, explore the labyrinth with Lady Enniha. Even if it's a labyrinth, it's probably a simple maze without magic. I'll check the underground space beneath the moat."

"Leave it to me."

Chelsea pounded her chest.

"The moat area will be heavily guarded. Are you sure you won't get caught?"

If Dweno hid the entrance, he might also suppress any suspicious activity in the fortress by Chelsea and Carl.

"Don't worry. I'm confident I won't be caught."

bl

Parting from the others, Carl approached the grassy area near the fortress wall.

Then, he took off his shirt.

'Wet clothes make it hard to move.'

He knew a simple water-breathing spell, but the sentries guarding the walls were seasoned veterans.

'Using clumsy magic would get me caught for sure.'

Carl grinned confidently as he took off his top.

"Hmph. I really am well-prepared."

He took out a swimsuit from the corner of his subspace.

It wasn't an ordinary swimsuit.

It was a special one Carl had made using alchemy, designed not to hinder him in water.

Just as he was changing into it—

"Who's there?"

A sharp voice rang out.

Carl flinched and held his breath.

"Don't bother hiding. I can smell you!"

A cat beastkin, Kania, appeared through the bushes.

Apparently, she was on patrol.

Her tail stood on edge as she sharply scanned her surroundings, then suddenly leapt into the bush where Carl was hiding.

"Gotcha! Suspicious—huh? Carl? What are you doing, practically naked?"

Kania, pinning Carl down, tilted her head.

"Naked? You make it sound like I'm a pervert."

"Well, you are just in underwear at night. You look like a suspicious pervert."

"This is a swimsuit."

"What's a swimsuit?"

'Guess they don't exist in the Age of Calamity. Actually, even in our time, a man walking around in a swimsuit at night would look like a pervert.'

As Carl struggled to figure out how to explain—

"Pipi. Is this where Carl went?"

Kyu.

Eliza, who had shrunk her Wind Wyvern summon to palm-size, was walking over.

Worried because Chelsea and Carl hadn't returned late at night, she came to look for them.

Reaching the remote wall area, Eliza found Carl lying in a swimsuit with Kania on top of him and gave her signature blank stare.

"Eliza. What are you doing here?"

"Just out for a walk, Carl Thomas. Seems I interrupted your 'fun time.'"

"What's with the way you're talking? Anyway, perfect timing. We can go together."

At that, Eliza's face turned icy.

"Getting bold, aren't we? Making crude requests like that…"

"I meant we're going to search the entrance—what the hell are you talking about?"

Carl looked dumbfounded, and Eliza went silent.

"Seems like a big misunderstanding happened."

Kania shrugged and stood up.

"I was just patrolling. Carl was being suspicious in that getup, so I restrained him."

"I told you, it's a swimsuit. Anyway, Eliza, do you really think I'd—"

"Shut up. Say one more word and I'll kill you."

Eliza's voice was murderous.

Kania looked on in awe.

"I heard that before the Age of Calamity, humans were the most populous race. Hmm. I see. This is why."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Anyway, let's save the embarrassing talk. It's pretty clear now that the entrance is somewhere inside this fortress."

At that, Eliza and Kania widened their eyes.

"So, ladies, I need your help."

Grinning, Carl reached into his subspace and pulled out two women's swimsuits.

"Let's move."