Editor : Amethyst00



The dormitory courtyard was a complete mess.

Tap, tap…

As Leo withdrew his flames, the fires died out.

The once-chaotic dorms returned to silence— because the elementals and summons Leo had called forth had all disappeared.

Rune sat slouched on a bench, head hung low.

She snuck a sideways glance at Leo, who sat beside her staring blankly ahead.

The moment their eyes met, she quickly averted her gaze again.

'Ugh, how embarrassing.'

A faint blush colored her face.

After all, just moments ago, she had buried her face in Leo's chest and sobbed like a child.

'I didn't mean to—my emotions just got the better of me…'

The more she thought about it, the more humiliating it became.

Trying to cool down the swelling in her face, she discreetly conjured an ice spell in her palm and carefully brought it up to her cheeks—

"Ah, cold!!"

Having misjudged the temperature, Rune yelped and flinched reflexively.

As her eyes locked with Leo's again, her face turned even redder.

Leo looked at her with a deeply disappointed expression.

Seeing that only made her shoulders tremble from shame.

Then Leo spoke, deadpan.

"Just admit it. You were so happy to see me again it made you cry."

"Don't—don't be ridiculous."

"'Boohoo, where were you all this time, you bastard—sniffle sniffle!'"

"I didn't say that!"

"I didn't say that~"

"Don't do that!"

"Don't do that~"

Grinding her teeth, Rune glared at him.

Finally, she grabbed the hem of his shirt and—HONK!—blew her nose on it before giving him a smug snort.

Leo grimaced and cast a cleaning spell on his clothes.

Rune, having returned to her usual self, crossed her arms and asked, "So? What are you, exactly?"

"I'm Kyle. The Hero of the Beginning."

"Yeah, that I know. I mean what the hell have you been doing until now?"

She stared straight at him.

"Are you even from this world?"

"…What's that supposed to mean?"

Leo blinked at the unexpected question.

"I can feel it from you—Aaron's mana, Dweno's, mine… even Lysinas's."

Rune's golden eyes studied him.

"If you'd conquered the Heroes' World, maybe I'd understand. But if you had, we'd know about it. So, what are you really?"

Leo let out a small laugh.

"Still sharp as ever. That's the rotten Luna I remember."

"Who are you calling rotten?!"

"You."

Leo tapped her forehead with his finger.

"With those dead fish eyes and zero motivation? What else could you be but rotten?"

"Ah! Stop that!"

Rune batted his hand away with flailing arms.

Normally, she would've socked him, but she felt too guilty right now to resist— so she could only sit there and take it.

Leo finally withdrew his hand and spoke plainly.

"Parallel world."

"…What?"

Rune's eyes widened.

She immediately dropped her head in deep thought.

After a moment, she looked back up, her eyes full of disbelief.

It was a theory—one that existed only in textbooks.

But if he really was from a parallel world, then the mystery of this sudden reincarnated Kyle made a lot more sense.

"How… how did you get here?"

"I was fighting a fragment of Erebos. I'll explain the details later."

Leo stood up as he spoke.

In the distance, students from Lumene were approaching.

"Leo, save me~!"

Carl, still bound by Elena's magic, gave him a tearful look.

Elena stepped forward with a gentle smile.

"Nice to meet you, outsider. You seem to be the source of this disturbance—mind giving us an explanation?"

Her lips were smiling, but her eyes were icy cold.

Leo chuckled as he met her gaze and casually waved a hand—

Pop!

The magic binding Carl unraveled instantly.

"Whoa!"

Carl landed awkwardly and scrambled behind Leo.

Elena's eye twitched at how easily her magic had been dismissed.

"Trying to act like a little princess, aren't we?"

"…What?!"

A crack formed in Elena's composed expression.

As Leo gave her a crooked grin—

"Quite the lively night, hmm?"

A hearty laugh echoed through the yard.

From the back appeared Kalian, with Harrid and Sedgen in tow.

The students parted like a tide to make way.

"You've all worked hard training this late at night."

Grinning from ear to ear, Kalian approached Leo.

Elena stepped forward.

"Headmaster. Training?"

"Indeed. A drill as close to the real thing as it gets."

"But there was no notice of any such drill—"

"If we told the students, it wouldn't be a surprise drill, would it?"

Kalian replied kindly, then turned to Sedgen.

"Would you take care of it, Professor Sedgen?"

"Of course, Headmaster! I, Sedgen, shall handle it with the utmost elegance!"

With a flourish of his usual flamboyant gestures, Sedgen waved his hand—

And in an instant, the ruined dormitory began restoring itself to pristine condition.

One of Professor Sedgen's specialties—alchemy-based restoration magic—had repaired the wrecked dormitory in an instant.

Looking over the flawless result, Sedgen wore a proud grin.

"Now then, everyone! Off to bed, and rest well for tomorrow!"

Kalian smiled as he began dispersing the students.

"Oh, right! Chelsea and Eliana."

Kalian clapped a hand to his forehead, as if suddenly remembering something.

Chelsea and Eliana, who were being dragged off by upperclassmen demanding answers about their absurd power spike, turned around at the call.

After all, defeating Celia and Duran out of nowhere had drawn serious attention—and scrutiny.

"I'll need a report from you two. So stay behind."

"Yes, sir!"

"Understood!"

The two girls perked up and ran over to Kalian.

"I reviewed the footage! Very elegant performances, both of you!"

Sedgen beamed at the pair, full of praise.

"How did you grow so much so suddenly? If I could just have a detailed explanation of your explosive developme—"

"Professor Sedgen."

"Yes, Headmaster?"

"Take him away."

Harrid moved swiftly, grabbing Sedgen and beginning to haul him off.

"Headmaster! I must uncover the secret to their growth! This could be vital for improving my guidance for the other stu—mmph!"

"Too loud."

Harrid clamped a hand over Sedgen's mouth and disappeared into the distance.

If left alone, the overzealous professor would've no doubt interrogated the girls until he was satisfied.

As Sedgen vanished, Kalian chuckled softly, stroking his beard.

"Professor Sedgen's enthusiasm is a double-edged sword, as always."

With that, he turned around.

"Now then, the rest of you. Off to bed."

"But I thought we had to write the report—?" Eliana tilted her head.

Kalian gave a knowing smile.

"That was just an excuse. You'd have been swarmed by your classmates otherwise, wouldn't you?"

"Well… yeah."

Chelsea nodded.

Kalian chuckled again, then said, "Don't let your recent progress make you complacent. Keep training. At this rate, the other students will catch up in no time."

He glanced at Leo meaningfully, then turned and left.

"…Okay, but what about us?" Carl scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Where are we sleeping?"

Unlike the others, Leo and Kar didn't have designated rooms in Lumene.

At that, Rune snapped her fingers—click!

A doorway formed in midair.

Chelsea blinked in surprise. "Huh? What's that?"

"A portal to Leah's room."

"Wha—?! Leah's room?!"

"How does the student council president from Seiren have access to Leah's room?!"

Chelsea and Eliana looked utterly stunned.

"We're friends."

"Even so…"

"But her room's like… a sacred zone. No Lumene student would dare set foot there!"

Eliana's voice rose with disbelief, to which Rune merely smirked.

"Maybe to you it's sacred. To me, she's a best friend."

"But we're best friends too!"

"Sure, sure. You two are close friends. But me and that girl… Let's just say we've seen each other at our best and worst."

Rune shrugged.

Eliana flinched back a little.

"…What?"

"So… the rumour's true, then?"

"…rumour? What rumour."

"You know… the one about you and Leah… being, um… romantically involved…"

"WHAT?! Who the hell started that load of crap?!"

Rune's voice exploded like thunder.

Eliana shrieked and ducked behind Leo.

Instinctively choosing the safest place to hide.

And she wasn't alone—Rune's uncharacteristically explosive reaction left everyone stunned.

Especially Lunia and Eiran, who remained nearby. Their eyes widened in disbelief.

As Rune stormed toward Eliana, Leo stepped between them.

"Whoa, whoa—calm down. She's just a kid. And besides, you phrased it weird too."

"That little pervert was about to spread some twisted nonsense! Why the hell would I be into her?! I already like—"

Rune suddenly stopped, locking eyes with Leo.

He clicked his tongue inwardly.

'She's still so bad at being honest.'

Luna's determination to make Kyle fall for her hadn't faded a bit—not even in this new life.

'Well… if she was straightforward, she wouldn't be Luna.'

Leo shook his head.

"Anyway! Where did you even hear that ridiculous nonsense?!"

Still fuming, Rune glared at Eliana.

The girl flailed and pointed off to the side.

Following her gaze, Rune's face twisted in horror.

"Ah, no…! I didn't mean it like that! It was just a wild guess because you two seemed so close! I never spread it or anything…!"

Apparently, the poor girl's wild imagination had slipped out as a careless comment—one that snowballed into a full-blown rumour.

"I told you to stop reading those trashy fantasy romance novels…—ack!"

Rune clutched the back of her neck mid-rant.

"Senior Rune!"

Lunia rushed forward to catch her.

But Rune instead grabbed Leo's sleeve to steady herself and took a deep breath.

Watching her recover, Leo smirked and said casually, "If you two did get married, I'd honestly be happy for you."

Rune froze mid-breath and slowly looked up at him.

She stared at him for a second—

WHAM!

—and headbutted him in the face.

Then, with a deadly calm voice, began punching him.

"DIE! JUST DIE AGAIN ALREADY!"

Leo shrugged as he dodged.

The heartwarming reunion had officially come to an end.

But even in another timeline,Even in different bodies— The fact remained unchanged.

They were Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning—And Luna, the Poet of the Star.