Editor : Amethyst00



Humans, elves, beastkin, dwarves.

A gathering of all kinds of races—Letin was filled with them.

And now, every single person in Letin was looking up at the sky.

Whoooosh—!

"Gasp! Dragons?!"

"There's so many of them!"

High above Letin's skies.

A flight of dragons cut through the air in perfect formation, like a squadron in a parade.

Before long, they dove toward the central plaza of Letin.

Just as the crowd was about to instinctively scatter in alarm—

With a flash of light, the dragons polymorphed midair and landed lightly on the ground.

Tap, tap, tap—!

People gulped dryly as they watched the dragons land in the central plaza.

Outwardly, they bore the appearances of different races.

But their eyes told the truth—they were unmistakably dragons.

"Why would so many dragons suddenly appear…?"

"They must be here to attend the Dragon Queen."

"That would make sense…"

Everyone watched the dragons with nervous eyes.

Dragons weren't necessarily a threatening race.

Ever since the Age of Heroes began, dragons had never caused major destruction.

Unlike in the Age of Calamity, when evil dragons had once appeared, this was a stark contrast.

It was the result of dragons living with strict adherence to order as the descendants of the Wise Queen who had once saved the world.

Of course, none of that changed the fact that dragons were the strongest and most secretive race in existence.

They never revealed their true forms carelessly on the surface world.

They had always stayed hidden, blending in, in preparation for the day the world fell into chaos once more.

In a sense, they were even more discreet observers than the Shadows.

Those who chose and guided heroes.

Now, such noble dragons had revealed themselves.

And so, the people realized once more—

This moment was a pivotal page in history.

The festive mood turned instantly silent.

At that moment—

The man standing at the forefront of the dragons slowly approached a conspicuous street stall.

Everyone tensed.

But then, the street vendor beamed and shouted brightly.

"Welcome!"

His cheery voice pierced the tense silence, drawing shocked looks from the crowd.

He wore his hood deep over his head, styled like a mysterious alchemist.

"What is this?" the dragon asked, curious, picking up a small jar of candy from the stall.

"That there is a specialty of Wisdom Academy! Recovery candy sold only at Carl's Curio Shop! Beloved by students during exam season! Lately, it's become a big hit even in Seiren, Azonia, and Damien!"

The vendor—Carl—held up his thumb proudly.

With a bit of time before the coronation began, Carl had taken the opportunity to set up his stall from early dawn.

"Oh-ho? Even the King of Beginnings, Leo Plov, uses this?"

"Of course! It's a must-have item for top students of Lumene!"

'Hey! You idiot! Of all the people to scam, why a dragon?!'

The crowd was internally screaming.

It was all technically true, but those unaware of Carl's identity could only see it as him brazenly scamming a dragon.

Naturally—who would imagine that a full-fledged hero would be running a street stall?

As everyone sweated nervously—

"Daddy! Daddy! Can I get that as a reward for passing the Wisdom Academy entrance exam?"

A girl appeared from behind the man, her voice cheerful.

Her eyes sparkled as her father chuckled softly.

"Shall we then?"

He handed Carl a thick wad of money.

"We'll take everything you've got."

"Much appreciated!"

"No, we should be the ones thanking you. Word has it, even in Dragonia, the goods of the 'Herald of the Beginning' are quite renowned."

At those words, the dragon girl's eyes widened while Carl scratched his cheek.

"Huh? So you knew?"

"You're a famous man."

The man's noble features lit up with a smile.

From his eyes, it was clear he could see Carl's face under the hood.

At the phrase 'Herald of the Beginning', murmurs began to ripple through the crowd.

As the man stashed the candies into his subspace pocket, the dragon girl clasped her hands together and stood before Carl.

"So you really are the Herald of the Beginning! It's an honor to meet you! I'm Lan!"

"Nice to meet you, Miss Lan. I'm Carl Thomas."

Carl smiled as he pulled back his hood.

"Wow! You're even cooler in person!"

"Heh. I get that a lot."

Carl gave a smug little grin.

"Still, aren't you awfully calm even though so many dragons suddenly showed up?"

"Well, school life hasn't exactly been smooth for me, you know."

Indeed, a sudden appearance of so many dragons was surprising.

But Carl had seen far too much in his life to let that distract him from such prized customers.

"Besides, aren't you all just here to watch the coronation?"

"Oh my! How did you know?"

She was spot on.

The dragons here weren't under any special orders or missions.

They had simply come as tourists to witness the coronation.

"Did you hear it from the King?"

Carl's close friendship with Leo was already well known.

It wouldn't be strange if he'd heard about the group tourism plan from the Dragon Queen herself.

Carl shrugged.

"Nope. Just a guess."

Official participants of the coronation were already inside the palace.

And Carl understood what Leo was trying to achieve.

'Unity among all races.'

Dragons typically never revealed themselves without strict reason.

But if Leo's vision for the kingdom resembled the former Godthrone—where they once lived before the Age of Heroes—

'He'd want to create a country where even dragons could walk freely, unbound by rigid codes. That Godthrone back then wasn't perfect, but…'

Carl recalled the city.

'The spirit of harmony among races—it was the most radiant thing of all.'

As he began packing up his stall, Carl smiled at Lan.

"Well then, have a great time."

He pulled a transparent cloak over himself.

Carl vanished in an instant.

"W-wow!"

Lan's face flushed red.

"H-he's so cool!"

She twisted and turned with embarrassment, holding her cheeks.

And with that—

The dragons began blending naturally into the festival.

They bought goods from stalls, tasted food.

They laughed at street performances and asked curious questions to those nearby.

At first startled, the citizens gradually accepted the dragons' presence as natural.

"…Honestly, I never imagined I'd get to see something like this."

"…."

A hooded woman watching from an alley murmured in awe.

All races gathered together in harmony.

No discrimination, no rejection.

Everyone simply enjoying the moment.

There was something magical about this fledgling nation.

"Don't you think so, Miss Eliza?" asked Chen Xia, turning around.

"That Carl Thomasss! That womanizing bastard! I swear, I'm gonna—!"

Eliza was grinding her whip between her teeth.

"Miss Eliza."

"What."

"I'm hungry."

"And why are you telling me that?"

"Go buy me something to eat."

"Why should I?"

"Because I know your secret~"

Eliza flinched.

"Eliza~ started secretly dating Carl~ Starting last night~"

Chen Xia hummed with a smug smile.

Eliza folded her arms tightly.

"Using eavesdropped info as blackmail—vile of you, Chen Xia."

"I didn't eavesdrop. You two came to my spot."

"Spread the rumour if you want!"

"Oh? Isn't that Eliana patrolling over there? Eli—mmph!"

Eliza urgently clamped her hand over Chen Xia's mouth.

If she heard this, the entire academy—and probably the world—would know by sundown.

Chen Xia brushed her hand off and smirked.

"Just kidding."

"…You're a demon."

Eliza sighed and trudged off to a food stall.

Chen Xia went to buy drinks at another stall.

'Eliza really is kind of cute.'

Something about her just sparked a mischievous urge in Chen Xia.

She looked around the street.

'…No suspicious movements.'

Leo had already informed his trusted friends and vassals—including Chen Xia—about the Hero Hunters.

Carl's street stall was a part of the security plan.

So were Chen Xia and Eliza's patrols through the alleyways.

All to prevent any terrorist attack from the Hero Hunters.

'Who do they think they are to disrupt Leo's coronation?'

Chen Xia returned to the alley with two drinks just as Eliza arrived.

"Here."

"It's not poisoned, is it?"

Grumbling suspiciously, Eliza took the drink.

Chen Xia took a bite of the sandwich Eliza had brought.

"When do you think they'll move?"

"Soon."

Just then—

Fweeeeeee—! Bang! Bang!

Fireworks burst into the sky, signaling the start of the coronation.

People on the street looked up.

A magical screen lit up in the sky, showing the palace balcony overlooking Letin.

There stood Leo.

WAAAAAAAA—!

The cheers of the crowd erupted.

bl

WAAAAAAAA—!

Leo sat perched atop the palace's highest spire, gazing down at Letin.

["Aren't you a bit disappointed? Leaving your own coronation to a stand-in?"]

Elsie asked carefully from his shoulder.

["Cheep, cheep—!"]

["Young-nix said she wanted to be in the spotlight"], Kiran added, as Fiora pecked his head sharply.

Leo let out a soft chuckle at the usual antics of his familiars.

"My coronation ended back then."

Right before Lysinas disappeared—

When she entrusted the world to him.

"This now is just a show for the people. Whether it's me or a double, it doesn't really matter."

The Leo standing at the coronation right now was Enkinas in disguise.

Leo silently watched the masses gathered below in Letin.

'Perhaps… if we had completed the subjugation and returned to Godthrone… it would've felt like this.'

A new beginning.

'Back then, when we set off on our final journey… we never imagined we'd be remembered for 5,000 years.'

Five thousand years.

Enough time for history to become legend, and legend to fade into myth.

Yet through the artifact known as the Hero Record, the Great Heroes—and countless other heroes—continued to live on as history.

'Someday, even our tale will become nothing more than legend…'

Leo rose to his feet.

'Still… I want to leave behind something of the era we lived in.'

That time when all races truly lived in harmony.

A unity made possible only through the unique crisis of world destruction.

"Kyle."

"…What?"

"What will you do after we defeat Erebos?"

"I'll probably just wander. I've got nowhere to go."

"Then—"

Lysinas had once smiled shyly and said—

"Why don't you come and live with me, in the Dragon's Domain?"

Leo remembered that conversation with her from long ago.

"I'll become your future."

"What?"

"If you can't picture one… I'll be the unchanging dream that you can hold on to."

Another memory surfaced—Luna's words, said with a slight blush.

"So that your life can continue into mine."

'Now that I think about it… they were both proposals, weren't they?'

Leo let out a dry laugh.

'I really can't deny it, can I.'

He shook his head with a sigh and stood tall.

'Lysinas wanted me to find a place to finally settle…'

He looked down at his own hands.

'And Luna… wanted me to become someone capable of dreaming.'

Someday, a day would come when they would meet again.

And when that day came—

'I'll be able to tell them.'

That he had defeated Erebos.

That he had found a place to belong.

That he could finally dream again.

"That's why—on a day as beautiful as this…"

Leo's crimson eyes gleamed coldly.

"Don't you dare ruin it, you damn fledgling, playing legion commander."

Leo's gaze locked precisely onto a dark presence hidden among the crowd—

—the Dark King.