Editor : Amethyst00



The Hot Spring City of Letin.

A globally renowned tourist destination, Letin was now overflowing with people.

The city was experiencing an unprecedented boom in its history— because this day marked the founding of the Kingdom of Arhi, and the coronation of its first king, Leo Plov.

But the massive crowds weren't drawn in by the coronation alone.

It was also because heroes—those esteemed figures who shape and guide the world—were gathering here in one place. A scene so rare it might never occur again.

Naturally, no one wanted to miss the chance to witness such a moment.

Thus, the grand avenue stretching from the warp gate to the royal palace was packed to the brim, day after day.

With each new arrival of a famed hero, waves of cheers erupted through the crowd.

"Look! That banner—! Isn't that the Zerdinger family?!"

"Whoa! Then the man at the front must be Selde Zerdinger!"

"The Sword of the Lordren Empire!"

Excited voices rang out.

The Zerdinger House, one of the pillars of the Lordren Empire, was known across the western continent as the mightiest knightly family.

And of course, Selde, the current head of the house, held fame as the strongest knight of the west.

He was particularly beloved for the legendary feats he'd accomplished.

"The man who defeated ten knight-heroes in single combat ten years ago!"

"The guardian of the Empire who took down hundreds of Tartaros demons alone on the western front!"

Voices rose with praise and awe as Selde passed by.

"Elder Brother is still very popular with the masses, it seems," Zeiss quipped playfully beside him.

Selde gave a wry smile.

"Well… it was ten one-on-one duels, but somehow the story twisted into 'ten defeated all at once'…"

"But it was still ten in a row. No lie there."

Beside him, Zeiss and Rhys also drew the crowd's admiration.

"That man on the left must be Zeiss Zerdinger."

"He's not a hero by title, but didn't he defeat three hero-ranked knights? He's no pushover."

"And the young man on the right is Rhys Zerdinger?"

"The rising holy star making headlines lately!"

Soon, attention turned to the girl behind them, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at her father, uncles, and brothers— Celia Zerdinger.

"That must be Celia Zerdinger, right?"

"Wow… she's beautiful…"

Boys around her age stared, entranced.

If it were just about her beauty, the response might not have been so enthusiastic.

But Celia was also one of the leading members of Lumene's golden generation, and a next-generation hero candidate with immense promise. Naturally, public interest in her burned hot.

What made Letin especially warm toward the Zerdingers was that they were Leo's maternal relatives— descendants of the old Tonkan royal line.

So it was only natural that the welcome they received outshone others.

As the Zerdinger vanguard waved to the crowd, the cheering grew even louder.

But then— a stir began to ripple from behind the Zerdinger group.

Noticing the shift in atmosphere, Celia turned around— and her eyes widened.

Marching behind the Zerdingers were a group in unfamiliar garb.

Their attire was distinctly eastern, far different from the western style of the continent. Their numbers were smaller than the Zerdingers', but their presence was just as great—perhaps greater.

"Xian…"

"The Xian Empire's envoy…? Haven't they avoided sending any diplomatic delegations for nearly a hundred years?"

The oldest empire, the Empire of Shadows— the Xian Empire rarely showed itself to the outside world.

They had only recently sent an envoy to Lumene. The last time they formally interacted with another nation had been a century ago.

Everyone expected they might attend the coronation. But no one thought they'd appear publicly.

That surprise overwhelmed the cheers— and fear lingered as well.

The image of "shadow" still cast an unconscious sense of unease in the hearts of the people.

"Who's the girl at the front?"

"Could it be Chen Xia?"

"Oh… the Xian princess… and the heiress…"

Shock rippled through the crowd.

Before them stood the most mysterious royal in the world.

Though her name had occasionally appeared in the press, Chen Xia's face had never once been shown.

That was due to the influence of the Xian Empire.

So the crowd's reaction was hesitant— uncertain, even now.

"Xia!"

Celia called out and stepped toward her.

"Hello, Miss Celia."

Chen Xia replied with a gentle smile.

"Wow… you look completely different like this."

Celia admired her.

She wore elegant, airy garments made of fine silk—typical of the eastern continent.

Her hair was pinned up with an ornate hairpin, and gleaming ornaments danced at her side.

She'd always been pretty, but now she looked altogether different—refined, regal, and mature.

"You look so grown-up."

"Well… I am older than you, Celia."

"Oh, right. Ah—wait. Is it rude of me to be chatting with you like this during Xian's official procession?"

"Not at all. On the contrary, I'm grateful you spoke to me first."

And indeed— thanks to the friendly exchange between Celia and Chen Xia, the tense atmosphere gradually eased.

The image of "shadow" still lingered uneasily in the public mind. But seeing a warm, natural moment between two young girls—both admired and respected— helped melt a little of that fear.

Just a little.

Moreover, the sight of Celia in the formal uniform of the western continent standing side by side with Chen Xia in the traditional dress of the east stirred a strange thrill in the hearts of the people— as if they were witnessing the unity of the world itself.

"Since we're headed the same way, shall we walk together?"

"Shall we?"

Chen Xia gave a gentle smile and walked alongside Celia. Her escort knight, Niel, quietly joined them as well.

The Xian officials bowed politely to Celia in acknowledgment.

As the two girls began walking together, the restless murmuring of the crowd softened into a more harmonious atmosphere.

When Chen Xia turned to the people and waved gracefully with a gentle smile, a loud cheer finally broke out.

bl

At the palace, the delegations from Xian and the Zerdinger family were given a lavish welcome.

Celia and Chen Xia were soon ushered in to meet Leo.

"Lord Leo, did you enjoy your break?"

Chen Xia greeted with a warm smile.

"I did," Leo replied nonchalantly.

"Did you have fun playing around alone on a deserted island?" Celia asked curiously.

Leo answered flatly.

"I went with Senior Elena, didn't I?"

"Ah, with Senior Elena—wait, what?!"

Celia, who had been nodding as if she understood, suddenly froze in shock.

"Leo! If you get caught up in a scandal, it'll be a disaster!"

"Oh my? That's rather hurtful. Are you implying that getting caught up in a scandal would only ruin Leo's future prospects?"

Celia turned her head in surprise at the voice that had suddenly spoken from beside her.

There, Elena was standing.

"Th-that's not what I meant! I meant it wouldn't be good for you either, Senior Elena!"

"I don't really care. Leo and I aren't the type to be swayed by some cheap scandal."

Elena gave a slight smirk before turning to Chen Xia.

"I thought you would've shown up first."

But Chen Xia only smiled in return.

"Even Leo-doryeong needs rest, doesn't he?"

"Oh? And what if something had happened between us while you weren't here?"

"I didn't think that would happen. Whether it's me or Senior Elena, I imagine we look the same in Leo's eyes."

"Hm~?"

“What’s more, it’s actually rather good.”

"What?"

"If something did happen between you two, that means it could happen with me too, doesn't it?."

""Look at this, eh?"

Elena's lips curled faintly at Chen Xia's sly reply.

Just then—

The door opened, and two more people entered the room.

"Congratulations, Leo."

"Hey hey! Hello, my adorable underclassmen!"

Rhys and Torua had arrived.

"Senior Torua! When did you get here?"

Celia widened her eyes in delight—only for Torua to grin mischievously and tug at her cheek.

"'Senior'? Excuse me? Shouldn't that be 'sister-in-law'? Sister-in-law!"

"Okay, I'm sorryyy!"

Celia flailed as Torua pulled at her cheeks mercilessly.

After finally letting her go, Torua turned to Elena with open arms.

"Hi Elena! How've you been?"

But Elena frowned and crossed her arms.

"Never mind how I've been—what's going on with your body, Senior Torua? Is that why you were on leave?"

Ever since the Hero Slayer incident, Torua had stepped away from public appearances due to lingering injuries.

Elena hadn't heard any updates. And now, after half a year, the change was enough to shock anyone.

Torua gave a soft smile and placed a hand on her now visibly rounded belly.

"Yup. That's how it turned out."

Elena's expression twisted, and she turned sharply toward Ryss.

"Is the father Senior Rhys?"

Rhys subtly averted his gaze.

"Judging by your reaction… this relationship goes back to before graduation, doesn't it?"

"Yup. Even Jamua didn't know."

"And you were always lecturing me about school rules."

"Well, you did break the rules openly. We just broke them secretly."

Torua shrugged innocently.

Even Elena, the infamous troublemaker, was left speechless by her audacity.

"When did this even start?"

"After we became student council president and vice president."

"…Since then?!"

"Oh, come on. Do you really think we were fooling around all throughout fifth year?"

Torua gave her a deadpan look.

"Then…?"

"Summer break."

With a bright smile, Torua declared it so.

Elena gave her a very serious look.

"Should I hit her?"

Back in her troublemaking days, Torua was the only one who dared scold her.

Of course, she had deserved it at the time—but now, watching Torua act so smug, Elena found it hard to let go.

As she seriously contemplated punching her…

Rhys turned to Leo and said, "Leo."

"Yes?"

"You do realize the coronation might not go smoothly, right?"

"It's not going to be a normal coronation."

Leo gave a wry smile.

Celia, puzzled, tilted her head.

"What do you mean?"

Before Leo could answer, Elena spoke up, still glaring at Torua.

"There are always people who refuse to believe something unless they see it with their own eyes."

"…What?"

"And some people actually want to test it for themselves."

Celia looked confused, clearly the only one not following.

Knock knock—

A knock came at the door.

"Come in."

With Leo's reply, the door opened and a knight entered.

"Your Majesty. A challenger has appeared at the palace gate requesting a duel."

"…A duel?"

Celia blinked in disbelief— but everyone else in the room wore the expression of people who had expected this.

"Why would anyone request a duel…?"

"Because most people don't know."

"Know what?"

"How incredible Leo-doryeong really is."

Chen Xia answered softly.

"They don't know why he was chosen by Lady Lysinas… or why he was deemed worthy to inherit the throne of the world."

To the public, it was enough that Leo's name appeared on the Hero Record.

But not for everyone.

Leo wasn't the only one who had accomplished great feats in this world.

Every hero had their own legend.

And so, many wanted to test whether Leo truly deserved the unique title he now bore.

"It's arrogance," Torua said plainly.

But for those who aimed to become heroes themselves, like her— she understood the mindset.

Heroes viewed one another as equals—unless you were one of the rare Great Heroes or Heroes of Dawn.

To those who had earned a place in the Hero Record, they considered themselves equals to legends of the past.

"Some just want to defeat Leo to elevate their own fame. And what better opportunity than the coronation, with the whole world watching?"

"They come all this way just for that?" Celia said, exasperated.

Chen Xia answered quietly.

"Heroes are exceptional… but not all of them are noble."

Celia fell silent at that.

"What should we do, Your Majesty?"

The knight bowed.

Leo replied calmly.

"Let's go greet our guest."

"Do you really need to answer them?"

Elena frowned slightly.

Leo smiled faintly.

"It's true I inherited the throne of the world from the Wise Queen… But I'm not going to be the same as my predecessor."

If it had been Lysinas, she would have welcomed the challenger with grace and mercy.

But Leo knew—

He didn't have that kind of breadth.

'I don't have to be the same kind of leader as Lysinas. I can't be.'

If Lysinas had been the gentle king who guided the heroes—

Then Leo would be the one who stood at their pinnacle.