Editor : Amethyst00



Leaving Princess Treniconi behind, Leo and his group immediately headed to the battlefield via the warp gate.

The princess and her entourage were so overwhelmed by Elena that they couldn't say a word until the students of Lumene had left.

Lumene's intervention wasn't to help Princess Treniconi, but to keep Seiren in check.

So there was no reason to curry favour with the princess.

Upon arriving at the warp gate on the battlefield, Leo's group headed straight into the city where the battle was taking place.

The city where the elf had reportedly appeared was called Diviana.

Before leaving Lumene, they had heard that Treniconi's soldiers had suffered a crushing defeat there and were retreating in a hurry.

When they arrived, a nobleman who appeared to be the city's commander was waiting for them.

Elena didn't even glance at the commander as she spoke.

"As soon as preparations are complete, we'll head to the front. Lyl, get a detailed situation report from the commander. Runeba, get the students ready."

"Yes."

"Got it."

Lyl, who came from a military family, spoke with the commander to assess the battle situation.

Runeba began organizing the 2nd and 3rd-year students to prepare for the battlefield.

At the warp gate, only Leo and Elena remained.

When Leo stepped out of the warp gate building, Elena followed behind him like a puppy.

Diviana was considered the second most important city after the capital, Deang, located at the very center of Davienne.

Geographically and in terms of scale, it was a vital strategic location in the current civil war.

The area outside the warp gate was extremely luxurious.

The first thing that caught the eye was an ornate fountain.

Normally, water would have been flowing from it, but it wasn't functioning in the urgent situation where the city was on the verge of being lost.

However, in contrast to the grandeur, there wasn't a soul in sight.

It was clear all the soldiers had been mobilized to defend the castle walls.

Leo sat down on a nearby bench.

Elena promptly sat beside him like a loyal dog.

As Leo leaned back and looked up at the blue sky, Elena gently tapped his shoulder with her finger.

When he turned his head, she was sparkling with anticipation.

"Hey. Aren't you going to say anything? Hm? Hm?"

She pointed obviously at her head with her finger and scooted even closer to him.

Leo, as if pushing her head away, patted it and said, "Yeah, you did good. But don't you think your personality's changed a bit?"

"Well, you always treat me like a kid, right? So I figured I should take advantage of being younger."

Elena grinned, and Leo clicked his tongue.

"You're like a sly fox—it's overwhelming."

Despite the comment, Elena didn't blink and enjoyed his affectionate patting.

Anyone watching would have been stunned.

Everyone knew Elena was fond of Leo.

But even so, to see the lofty Elena act so playful and cutesy toward someone was unthinkable.

She only showed this side of herself to Leo.

Innocent and childlike.

A bit shameless and sneaky, always looking for a chance to climb over him.

She resembled the princesses often found in fairy tales.

Having read many heroic tales as a child, Elena had admired the princesses more than the heroes.

And to Elena, Leo was just like the hero from those stories.

'A hero who would save her in a moment of crisis.'

Though she was rarely in danger, Elena still wanted to show Leo the version of herself she dreamed of being.

And it was also the side of her she had always kept hidden.

"Still, wasn't that a bit much?"

Leo referred to how Elena had utterly crushed Princess Treniconi's faction.

Elena scoffed.

"People born into privilege tend to be blind to the world."

She narrowed her eyes.

"They think they're noble when they're not, think they're exceptional when they're mediocre. And worst of all, they act like it's only natural."

Then she smiled softly.

"Those kinds of delusions lead people to overstep and challenge someone truly exceptional."

"Isn't it okay to let them stay deluded?"

"Nope. Not at all."

Elena answered firmly.

"The Age of Calamity is over. This is a different era. Now, fools with no sense of their place can still wield influence. I'll never tolerate anyone looking down on my flawless hero."

Leo scratched his cheek at her serious expression.

"None of the Lumene students would tolerate that anyway. You're not alone, Leo. You're our leader."

Elena poked his chest repeatedly with her finger.

"Sometimes I feel like you forget that."

"I'm still not used to it."

Leo smiled bitterly, and Elena smiled back.

"It's okay. Just by existing, you're already powerful. I'll take care of the pesky flies around you. That's why I support you as vice president."

With her chest puffed out, she smiled brightly.

"My goal is for Leo Plov to go down in history as a flawless hero."

"Why?"

"Because it's fun."

Elena giggled as she stood up and took a few steps back, lifting her skirt slightly in a curtsy.

"Then, dear hero, this girl shall now go to help prepare for battle."

With that, she laughed and ran toward Lyl outside the warp gate.

"So cute."

Lysinas appeared next to Leo.

"Must be nice having so many people blindly following you."

"Not really."

Lysinas sat beside him and looked at his face for a moment before smiling.

"I'm glad."

"About what?"

Leo looked puzzled.

Lysinas answered while gazing at the blue sky.

"I'm glad that you're the one who was born in this era."

"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"

"I just think… if it had been me—or us—we wouldn't have done as well as you."

Lysinas smiled.

"Kyle, I think you're already a perfect hero."

A hero who would save the world.

Maybe even Lysinas had once dreamed of being that hero.

"You guys probably would've done much better than me."

"Could we have defeated Erebos without the power of Purity?"

"You'd have found a way."

Leo said calmly.

"If Aaron had returned to life, his sword might really have reached the realm of the gods. He might have reached the level needed to cut through Erebos's flames."

During their battle with Erebos's fragment, Aaron's extrasensory perception had truly glimpsed the future.

Having stepped into the divine realm, Aaron had obtained divinity.

If he had been reborn, his sword might have achieved miracles.

"If Luna had come back, maybe she would've perfected the White Flame."

The magic that stood against Erebos.

Though incomplete, five thousand years had passed, and that pure white flame had been inherited by Lunia.

If it had been Luna, she might have completed the spell.

"If it had been Dweno, he might have forged a sword capable of cutting Erebos."

Leo lightly touched the Posteritas at his waist.

Dweno would have made it possible.

"If it had been you, you probably would've led the new heroes even better."

What Leo was doing was ultimately just mimicking Lysinas.

And even he knew he didn't quite measure up.

The talents of the hero candidates might have blossomed even more under him.

Aaron, Luna, Dweno, and Lysinas's time had stopped.

Even if they appeared again, unlike Leo, they couldn't move forward.

But if time had continued for them as it did for him and his friends…

No one knew what kind of miracles they could have achieved.

"And what kind of perfect hero raises others instead of doing it all himself?"

Leo scoffed.

"……"

Lysinas closed her eyes at that.

'Yeah. Kyle's right.'

There's no such thing as a perfect hero.

Kyle, me, and the others…

They all had flaws.

They had complemented one another's weaknesses in pursuit of perfection.

'I want to live the future with Kyle.'

It was her lingering attachment.

A hopeless, impossible wish.

And yet, a foolish wish ahe couldn't give up on.

Lysinas looked down at her palm.

'I'll find something else.'

She thought about how she could help Kyle now.

Then an idea came to her.

She stood up.

"I'm going to meet the Seiren students."

"What? Why?"

Leo looked surprised.

"I just… want to see them. The ones said to be Luna's successors."

She had seen Kyle's successors in the Lumene students.

She had met her own in the dragons.

All of them were worthy of their names—hero of the beginning and wise queen.

Naturally, she became curious.

What kind of people were the descendants of the Star?

'They might be a bit dumb like Luna…'

But surely, they'd shine just as brightly as she had.

The best hero she had chosen.

She wanted to see the kind of allies those children would become for the hero of the beginning, Kyle.

"I'll be back."

Lysinas smiled faintly and disappeared.

Watching her go, Leo looked a little worried.

'When Lysinas gets fired up, she has a way of causing trouble…'

She's usually calm and rational, but when emotional, Lysinas is surprisingly reckless.

And her personality isn't exactly pleasant, either.

Dweno hadn't put her and Luna together under the label of "beautiful but nasty" for no reason.

The only difference between her and Luna was that Lysinas hid it better.

As Leo pondered that—

The Lumene students, ready for battle, emerged from the warp gate.

Just then, Chen Xia approached Leo.

"Leo-doryeong, do you know where Lady Lysinas went?"

Leo replied, "She said she wanted to test the Seiren students."

Chen Xia widened her eyes.

"Really?"

She smiled brightly, and Leo looked at her with a curious expression.

"You look kind of happy."

"Well, it'd be unfair if only we got messed with!"

As if it were the most obvious thing in the world, she beamed.

Leo clicked his tongue.

'She's just like Bihar. Acts all innocent but secretly twisted.'

"By the way, I heard there's a girl among the Seiren students called the 'Witch of Corpses.'"

Leo made a strange face.

"What kind of name is that? Sounds like one of the Lich King's minions."

"I don't know? They say she grabbed a freshly dead knight's corpse and started shaking it like crazy."

"What the hell? Is that elf insane?"

Leo scowled.