Editor : Amethyst00



The Next Day.

Leo and his party arrived at the Hergin family's main estate.

As soon as Eliza arrived, several retainers swarmed her to discuss family affairs.

"We'll be heading to the northern continent. Clear the head's schedule."

"Yes, understood."

At Eliza's command, the Hergin retainers bowed their heads.

"Oooh~ Future head of the household!"

It was just as Carl whispered next to her with a thumbs-up—

"Carl! Where have you been!"

"Your paperwork is piling up like crazy!"

"The Merchant Guild is looking for you again!"

"Carl! About Hersia's finances this summer—!"

"No! We need your approval for the family event first—!"

"Huh? Wha—? Aaaaah?!"

A flood of people, incomparable even to those surrounding Eliza, swarmed Carl.

They were all retainers of the Hergin family, gathering like a tide and circling Carl in a ring.

The party could only back away quickly, startled by the unexpected storm.

"W-Wait! O-One at a time—!"

"There's no time!"

"Hurry, take Carl to his office!"

"G-Guys! Help me out here!"

The retainers lifted Carl and whisked him away.

As if a storm had passed, the group stood in stunned silence.

"It seems Hersia's growth is largely thanks to Carl."

Leo crossed his arms in admiration.

"Carl's that capable?" Chelsea asked in disbelief.

Leo replied, "Even our school's picky vice student council president acknowledged his abilities."

Lumene's vice president—Elena—had been famous for assembling perfect hero dungeon parties even when she was still a delinquent.

It wasn't easy for a 3rd year to lead parties that surpassed those of 4th and 5th years.

Though she was personally powerful, she also had a sharp eye for people.

Yet, due to her own overwhelming skills, even impressive talents rarely impressed her.

So, when Elena lavishly praised Carl's domestic affairs ability as 'all-purpose,' it spoke volumes.

She had even considered using her authority as Lumene's acting board chair to keep Carl at the school before he became a hero.

Leo had once assigned Carl student council work and was astonished by his beyond-expectations competence.

"But Carl never studied anything related to managing large organizations," Chelsea said, still surprised.

Everyone knew Carl was a savvy merchant, but this was another level.

"He was born with it. And he probably grew naturally under Elena's relentless demands," Leo explained.

Everyone nodded and admired in unison.

"No wonder my brother's trying to recruit him after graduation."

Abad, who had been in the same dorm as Carl in their second year, had been keeping a close eye on him.

And the same went for Duran.

Duran's reason for wanting to pair Carl with his sister wasn't just about Carl's potential as a hero.

Step. Step.

Leo passed by Eliza and whispered, "Keep an eye on him. Carl's going to get even more popular."

"Ugh?!"

Eliza flinched, looking down at Leo, who had whispered just loud enough for her to hear.

She had been amazed at Hersia's development and only now realized Carl had played a key role.

Leo gave a soft smile to the flustered Eliza.

"Carl's been dragged away, so let's go finish our preparations."

Leo's group decided to use the Hergin family's armory.

As a prestigious hero lineage, the Hergin family's armory housed not only summoner-related gear but also items for various classes.

With Eliza's authority, the group entered and armed themselves according to their preferences.

"Wow, this dagger is blessed by the water elemental."

Chen Xia took a dagger hanging on one side of the armory and gave it a swing.

"Whoa! Whoa! This magic staff holds the hair of the Wind Elemental Lord! The Hergin family had this?!"

Chelsea lifted the staff in awe.

"Oh, that? I'd forgotten it was there."

"Wanna trade it for the summoner-exclusive staff in our family vault?"

"Hmph. If it's an item worthy of that staff, the trade wouldn't be bad."

Eliza seemed intrigued by Chelsea's offer.

"Uh, Eliza. Isn't this a bit too much gear?"

"No. Senior Lyl has to operate at the front lines."

Eliza personally accompanied Lyl through the armory, outfitting her with the best of Hergin's artifacts.

As a summoner's gear, there were many artifacts to choose from.

Ordinarily, opening the armory to outsiders was unthinkable.

Taking items out? Even more absurd.

Not even the head of the house could do so recklessly.

If the Council of Elders found out, they'd explode—and Eliza's position as head might be at risk.

But Eliza didn't care and went all in.

'So what? It's a celebration.'

When else would she get to go on a shopping spree like this from the armory?

Eliza also grabbed whatever she fancied without hesitation.

She even swept up rare potions that made the Elders' hands tremble just from seeing them.

Even Dragon Lord Melina took interest and picked up a few items.

Leo, meanwhile, silently walked around the armory.

"Leo Plov, aren't you picking anything?"

"This is enough for me."

Leo pulled out the Jet-Black Cloak, Kyle's cloak, from his spatial storage.

Eliza nodded. If he said he didn't need more, there was no reason to push it.

Especially since Leo wasn't one to speak lightly.

Then, as Leo browsed, he stopped in front of a corner.

It was a section with old, unusable items.

Weapons unfit for real battle, carefully preserved, but merely ornamental at best—barely even that.

Two items caught Leo's eye: a faded, rusted necklace and a spear.

Worn and forgotten, yet Leo was captivated.

As Leo stood silently, Eliza tilted her head.

"What is it?"

"…They're divine artifacts."

"Divine artifacts? Made by Dweno?"

Eliza was shocked, and the group's attention turned to him.

"…."

Leo reached for the glass case displaying the spear atop silk.

He brushed the glass and spoke calmly.

"Not just crafted by a mastersmith. These are true divine artifacts."

"Pardon? What do you mean…?"

"Dweno's craftsmanship is godlike. So, we call his works divine. But in truth, they're still manmade."

"Then what do you mean by true divine artifacts?"

"Literally—items created by gods."

Leo silently stared at the old spear.

Seemingly useless, yet it had a place in the Hergin armory.

"I sense Pegasus's power," Melina said.

"…."

"And from this necklace, Phoenix's power."

Just as Melina said, the items were connected to Pegasus and Phoenix, two of the Three Great Beasts.

Artifacts imbued with their power were rare.

Just having one was enough to use as a summoning medium.

"Do you know how these were acquired?"

At Melina's question, Eliza shook her head.

"I don't know. The Hergin family has collected items related to the Three Great Beasts for generations, useful or not."

They had likely made their way here through that process.

"…."

Leo brushed the case again.

"Leo Plov, how do you know what these really are? I heard they've never been successfully used to summon Phoenix or Pegasus."

If anyone had succeeded, these wouldn't be tucked away in the vault's corner.

They had been placed here with the hope they'd someday become useful.

"And you said they're really divine artifacts—do those even exist?"

"A famous example is Polyum, the staff symbolizing the Poet of the Star."

Everyone widened their eyes at Leo's words.

"And the Hero Record, still around in this age—but that's another matter."

Leo withdrew his hand from the case.

"There's also the Ring of Life held by the Fairy King."

Everyone fell silent.

The Ring of Life—the symbol of the Fairy King.

"It was a gift from the gods. Their symbol. And it also serves as the medium to summon the Fairy King."

Shocked expressions spread. This was the first they'd heard of it. Naturally—it wasn't recorded in any history.

After the Age of Calamity ended, the lineage of the Beast Kings was broken—except for the Fairy King, who never responded to summons again.

Thus, the stories of their divine artifacts faded into obscurity.

Only summoners who lived in that era knew of them.

"Wait a minute. Why are you telling us this now?" Eliza asked, flustered.

Leo stretched out both hands.

Crackle— Whoosh—

From his left hand came gray mana and pure white lightning. From his right, black mana and pure white flames. The necklace and spear—once belonging to soul-bound masters—reacted to Leo's mana.

"The Spear of Judgment and the Necklace of Purification."

Leo clenched his fists.

Flash! Hummmm—

In an instant, the spear and necklace once inside the display case appeared in Leo's hands.

"They are the symbols of the Pegasus King and Phoenix King."

Leo looked down somberly at the relics of his former comrades. He hadn't been able to retrieve them back then. Now, 5,000 years later, they had finally returned to him.

"The reason they couldn't be used for summoning… was because there was no one left to summon."