Editor : Amethyst00



A flash of light burst from the warp gate.

Figures emerged from above the gate and descended.

The mage overseeing the gate stepped forward and asked, "What brings you here?"

The warp gates managed by the Magic Tower were all interconnected.

However, they were mostly used for travel within the same country or to nearby nations.

The farther the distance, the higher the cost.

So if someone was traveling long-distance, it was customary to send prior notice.

That's why the gate manager couldn't help but be puzzled.

This was because someone had suddenly used the gate for an emergency transfer from the Davienne Kingdom in the East to Letin, located at the northwestern edge of the continent.

In such cases, access to the gate could be denied outright.

Of course, in this case, authorization had already been granted by higher-ups, so there was no issue with usage.

Leo, standing at the front of the group, responded to the mage's question.

"I am—"

"Wait, wha— GASP!"

The mage managing the gate gasped in shock.

He belonged to the Magic Tower, but he was also a local administrator of the Lezentan region.

As such, he immediately recognized Leo's face.

"Your Majesty the King!"

The mage knelt and bowed his head.

At his cry, the people working in and out of the warp gate turned their attention, and upon spotting Leo, they all gasped and quickly knelt, bowing their heads.

Seeing this, Leo let out a small sigh.

"Must be nice being a king. Normally, entering through a warp gate without prior notice would mean a complicated entry process. But no annoying immigration checks this time."

Elena giggled.

"Everyone, rise."

At her words, people hesitantly began to stand.

"Don't mind me. Just go back to your duties. I'm sure you're all very busy right now."

Letin was a famous tourist city known for its hot springs.

With a problem affecting the hot springs, the entire city had taken a major hit.

If left unaddressed, the city's entire economy could collapse.

Leo headed for the warp gate's exit.

His companions began to follow.

Leo suddenly stopped and asked, "Why are you following me?"

"What are you talking about?"

Leo pointed toward the immigration inspection area.

"Go through immigration."

Elena frowned.

"I'm with you, Leo. Why would I need to go through immigration?"

"I don't need to, but everyone else needs to follow the procedure."

"Mmm. That's true."

Lyl nodded.

"Laws are made to be followed."

Lunia, representing Seiren, also nodded obediently and headed toward the immigration inspection.

Left alone in front of Leo, Elena still looked displeased.

"You won't even grant me this little favour between us?"

"Didn't someone once say that the highest-ranking person should always set the example? You're not the ruler of this country, are you?"

"…You've been blatantly speaking informally when we're alone lately."

"If you don't like it, want me to treat you like an older woman?"

"…"

After glaring at the unyielding Leo, Elena scoffed and headed for immigration.

"You could at least indulge her a little."

At that moment, Lysinas, hidden in Leo's shadow, spoke up.

"She's the type who'll climb all over you if you indulge her even once."

Lysinas' remark made Leo chuckle.

The immigration check finished quickly.

After all, the students from Lumene and Seiren had verified identities, and the inspection didn't take long.

Student IDs from the Hero Academy were considered the highest form of identification anywhere.

Once they exited the warp gate building, they found Sith Zidma waiting with a group of knights.

"Students of Lumene and Seiren, I sincerely welcome you to Letin."

The students from Lumene and Seiren looked surprised that the famous hero Sith had come to personally greet them.

Even a king wouldn't typically receive such treatment.

"Your Majesty, shall we escort you to the government office?"

In response to Sith' question, Leo said, "We'll start the investigation right away."

Then he added, "From now on, we'll investigate beneath Letin. If you find the source of the intense cold, contact me."

Leo was accompanied by four students from Lumene and three from Seiren.

From Lumene: Elena, Lyl, Chloe, and Walden. From Seiren: Lunia, Leah, and Luca.

They were all students well-versed in magic or adept in elementals summoning, capable of efficiently exploring underground areas.

"We'll gather at the city hall by sunset."

bl

Leo entered a deserted alley, knelt, and reached toward a shadow.

Thump—

Lysinas emerged from the shadow, taking Leo's hand.

It was the dragon-speech magic of a black dragon.

Just then, a tiny flame popped between them, and Ishtar, now palm-sized, appeared.

["I cannot forgive this! This land has long been under my protection! The hot springs here are like holy water to me!"]

"Holy water? Hot springs?"

Leo looked baffled, but Ishtar nodded proudly.

["Yes! I blessed this land with hot springs, and the humans here expressed their gratitude to me! It's only natural that the hot springs representing my greatness be considered holy!"]

["Hmph. Winning people's favour with mere hot water—how cheap. You vulgar perverted elementals."]

["Silence! You filthy puddle!"]

["What did you say?! Pact-holder! This disrespectful elemental insulted me! Punish her!"]

The two elemental lords of fire and water faced off like sworn enemies, their fierce auras clashing.

They were both palm-sized, but the pressure they emitted was immense.

As they argued loudly, Leo felt a headache coming on.

["Both of you, be quiet."]

Laruel appeared between them.

["Old hag, butt out!"]

["You too, granny!"]

["You little—!"]

["Laruel, please calm down."]

Elsie tried to restrain Laruel, who was about to pounce on the two elementals in a rage.

If Laruel lost control here, Leo's headache would only get worse.

"…"

Watching this unfold, Lysinas blinked, then spread her palm.

Her mana formed a shape resembling a fly swatter.

Swoosh—Whack! Whack!

She swung it toward Ishtar and Undine, who tried to flee in panic, but Lysinas swiftly struck them down.

As the elementals crashed to the ground, Fiora—now round and plump—approached and pecked them with her beak.

Watching this, Kiran said, ["Pig, those aren't for eating."]

["PIKYAAAAAAK!"]

Enraged at being called a pig, Fiora flapped her wings and chased after Kiran, but Kiran had already taken flight.

["Bwahaha! You're so fat you can't fly now? What kind of phoenix-pigeon are you—"]

CRACK—!

["Ack!"]

Lysinas stomped on Kiran to subdue him.

["Ugh! She not only swats elemental lord with fly swatters, now she's stomping on fairies too?! Hit me too! Please hit me!"]

Alty appeared, clinging to Lysinas' pants.

Lysinas gave a small smile.

"You're Alty, right?"

["Yes!"]

"Want me to make you hate getting hit?"

Crack—

At that eerie remark, Alty froze, then quickly hid behind Leo, trembling.

With the pacts quiet at last, Leo felt his headache fade.

Three mythical beasts and four elemental lords causing a ruckus was bound to give anyone a migraine.

"You okay?"

Lysinas asked with a smile. Leo rubbed his temples.

"You really are the strongest summoner."

"You're kind of soft on your summons, huh?"

"Well, I only had Elsie as a elemental lord-level pact and Albus as a mythical tier beast."

"True… Those two had pretty mild personalities."

["Lysinas, you handle the summons very well."]

Elsie said with admiration. Leo replied, "This woman used to make contracts with the most ill-tempered elementals ever."

Even as the world crumbled, they held their heads high, refusing to share a pact with any other summoner.

The very embodiment of pride.

And her mythical beast had been none other than the notoriously short-tempered Phoenix King, Katariou.

Compared to them, Leo's summons now were practically saints.

"When you think about how those kinds of spirits held the title of elemental lord and beast king… maybe the world really was falling apart back then. Right?"

Lysinas didn't object to Leo's words.

After all, she had subdued those temperamental beings by force.

Lysinas grabbed the fallen Ishtar and Undine in each hand.

"There's something I need you two to do."

["What is it?"]

Undine asked, shrinking back. Lysinas explained,

"If the hot springs are cooling, there are two possibilities. Either the ground carrying the hot spring water is getting colder—or the spring's source has a problem."

["That makes sense."]

Ishtar crossed his arms.

"The students are investigating the ground. So we're going to stimulate the source of the hot spring."

["How?"]

"We'll use the hot spring water to channel Ishtar's heat back into the earth."

At that, Undine flinched.

["Wait! That means I have to embrace that damned fireball!"]

"Exactly."

["No way! Absolutely not! I'd rather do it with that chick-phoenix!"]

"Elementals and sacred beasts aren't as efficient. Elemental-to-elemental is optimal."

["Still!"]

["I don't want to either."]

Ishtar also grimaced in protest.

Seeing the two agreeing, Lysinas laughed.

"You don't want to? Want me to change your minds?"

["…"]

["…"]

The threat made both elemental lords as shudder.

Elsie hesitantly asked, ["Is this really okay? If it's too forceful, won't it backfire?"]

"Normally, yes. Elemental Lords aren't just strong—they're kings of their elements."

Even if someone had more power, a subordination relationship wasn't possible.

The same applied to the great three mythical beasts.

That's why it took Leo time to calm his own pacts.

"But Lysinas is different."

["Why?"]

"Because she's the king of the world."

The only one among heroes that the gods had granted the title of "king."

She once bore the weight of the entire world.

Not for domination, but out of responsibility—thus, she was recognized as the king of the world.

"That also means she's the master of the world."

If she wished to rule, she could wield near-absolute authority.

It wasn't visible strength—it was literal unseen power.

"Her commands are close to absolute."

["That's practically divine authority!"]

"Exactly. It's close to a divine gift."

Leo nodded.

"Aaron reached divine realms through hyper-sense and martial arts. Luna through magic. Dwenno with weapon-crafting. If those count as miracles…"

Leo looked at Lysinas and said,

"Then she reached the divine through the power to lead people."