Editor : Amethyst00



Aru was kneeling with his hand raised in front of Azonia, who stood with her arms crossed.

Behind Azonia, Aaron was hiding, peeking out with fearful eyes at Aru.

"I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Why do I have to keep my hand raised?"

Azonia replied to Aru's disgruntled question.

"Because you jumped at this guy like you had rabies. Ah! Get away from me! How can you be clinging to me like this when we've barely even met!"

Azonia pushed Aaron away with her hand.

Aru flared up at the sight.

"Don't bully Lord Aaron!"

Azonia gave Aru, who was growling at her, a light smack on the head.

Just as Aru was rolling on the ground clutching her head, Azonia let out a sigh.

"By the way, do you two know each other?"

Aaron asked with a puzzled expression.

"Yes. We come from the same place."

"What's your relationship? You two seem very close."

While Aaron looked at them with curiosity, Azonia thought for a moment, grabbed Aru by the scruff of her neck, and stood her up.

"She's my daughter."

Aru opened her mouth in shock, not understanding what was going on, and Aaron looked stunned.

"But you said you didn't have a boyfriend?"

"I didn't say I didn't have a husband."

Azonia spoke shamelessly.

Now that Aaron had developed a romantic interest in her, Azonia was more determined than ever to shake it off.

'Ugh! It gives me chills.'

Azonia could never see Aaron as a man.

It wasn't that she disliked him.

But it definitely wasn't romantic interest.

'More like a younger brother, maybe.'

Of course, Aaron wouldn't know this.

It was a feeling that developed after hearing too much about Aaron from Agon.

'Not my type anyway. He's too nice.'

"But isn't it kind of hard to believe you have a daughter this big?"

"I had her young. The world's a harsh place, you know. Right, Aru?"

Looking at Azonia who was speaking with a bright smile, Aru nodded.

"Yes, Mom."

Azonia nodded with satisfaction and said,

"We have something to talk about, so stay here and wait."

"Okay…"

Aaron drooped his ears and tail and nodded.

Then Azonia took Aru and moved away from Aaron.

Azonia summoned her aura to block the flow of wind, preventing Aaron from eavesdropping just in case.

"What's the situation outside?"

"We've recognized Aaron's world and are preparing accordingly, Mom."

"Of course. With Lord Kyle around, things move fast."

"Mom, have you reunited with Carl, the Lumene first-year who arrived earlier, and Eiran?"

"Not yet."

"Hmm. Where could they be?"

"They're somewhere. But first, we have to regroup with them."

"Yes, Mom."

"How long are you going to keep calling me Mom, you damn cat?"

Azonia narrowed her eyes and pulled both of Aru's cheeks.

Even so, Aru just giggled.

"What's so funny that you're smiling like an idiot?"

"I thought you hated me, Lady Azonia."

Among beastkin, no one ever calls someone family unless they truly care about them.

That's why, regardless of the circumstances, Azonia calling her a daughter made Aru realize that Azonia cared for her.

"You… so you knew I was being cold to you? Then why did you keep smiling like a fool and doing everything I said?"

"Because it's you, Lady Azonia."

Aru said as if it was no big deal.

"You're someone I respect almost as much as Lord Aaron."

Looking at Aru's innocent and unwavering trust, Azonia scratched her head.

"By the way, why did you introduce me as your daughter?"

"That guy asked if I had a boyfriend."

"Ooh?!"

Aru's tail perked up into an exclamation mark shape.

"So Lord Aaron has fallen for you, Lady Azonia!"

"Why are you excited?"

Azonia looked baffled.

"You two look so good together!"

"Like hell we do."

Azonia snorted.

"By the way, you like Lord Aaron a lot. Don't you get jealous when he says he's interested in me?"

"No, not really. I mean… Lord Aaron definitely feels like someone you want be patted on the head and praise by, but not someone whose tail you want to be touched by."

"True. He's got zero sex appeal as a man."

"Don't say that! Lord Aaron is super attractive as a man!"

Aru immediately snapped back at Azonia's words.

Ignoring Aru's protest, Azonia continued.

"Aru."

"Yes."

"You know Lord Aaron came here to meet his master, right?"

"I heard from the Black Rabbit. But in the end, Lord Aaron didn't get to meet him…"

"Yeah. But I saw Master Agon as soon as I arrived in the Hero's World."

"Really?!"

Aru's eyes widened.

"Yeah. He vanished right away, though."

"Wow! Then let's help Lord Aaron and reunite them!"

"Of course. No—this won't just be a reunion."

"Huh?"

"We're going to save Master Agon."

"……"

"I'm going to change history."

Hearing that, Aru's eyes widened—and she smiled slyly.

"Looks like we think alike."

bl

"How are the first-years doing?"

"There's a general sense of unrest."

Lunia sighed softly in response to Leo's question.

"Right now, a Hero Dungeon has appeared somewhere in Raysar. No one knows who'll be pulled in next, so everyone's on edge."

It was extremely rare for Hero Dungeons to indiscriminately suck in challengers.

This unprecedented situation left not only the first-years, but also the second- and third-years, feeling confused.

Drianna, who had been listening, spoke up.

"In a way, maybe it's actually a good thing?"

Leo and Lunia looked at her.

Pouring tea into her cup, Drianna continued calmly.

"A Hero Dungeon has already appeared. There's nothing we can do about that."

She brought the cup to her lips and took a sip.

"But the worst-case scenario would be everyone getting pulled in all at once without warning. If hundreds of people went in at once, it'd be chaos. But right now, in a sense, we've been given time to prepare."

Drianna was right.

The greatest danger of Hero Dungeons was that no one knew whose world they belonged to.

At the Hero Academy, students studied Hero Studies and prepared for countless scenarios to tackle Hero Worlds.

Even so, the clear rate for Hero Dungeons was still low.

When a dungeon appeared suddenly, success rates dropped even further.

Whether you were prepared or not made a huge difference.

In that sense, the current situation wasn't the worst.

Lunia nodded in agreement, then suddenly looked puzzled.

"By the way, where's Aru?"

"Hmm. I thought she was with you."

"No way…"

Lunia's face turned pale.

"Looks like she got pulled into the Hero Dungeon. But if it's Aru, she'll be fine."

At Leo's words, Drianna stood up.

"I'll go check if anyone else has gotten dragged in."

"Please do."

"Leo. Have you thought of a way to conquer Aaron's world, like Drianna suggested?"

"I have."

"Knew it."

Lunia looked at him with trust in her eyes.

"Aaron went to Raysar ahead of time to meet his master. We warped part of Raysar's population along with Aaron to Godthrone. That alone should be enough to conquer Aaron's world. Simple, right?"

At that, Lunia and Drianna looked at Leo, a little taken aback.

"What?"

"There's no plan to defeat Tartaros or stop the summoning of Erebos and save Raysar?"

"Nope."

"Why?"

"Even if we conquer Aaron's world, the past doesn't change."

Leo replied calmly.

"It's already the past. Saving Raysar in the Hero's World won't change anything."

He looked out the window at Raysar.

"It might be different for another world. But this time, if we're not careful, we might have to face the complete form of Erebos."

The Hero's World has great heroes.

But they're still incomplete heroes.

From an objective perspective, trying to save Raysar was basically suicide.

"There's no need for you, who represent this world's future, to risk your lives for a past that's already gone."

Drianna then asked,

"What about Aaron? The great heroes you met in the Hero's World recovered their memories. Wouldn't it be the same this time?"

Leo closed his eyes.

"For Aaron, it's like losing his hometown and his master, a father figure."

Even if they conquered the Hero's World, nothing would change.

The dead wouldn't return, and the past wouldn't be rewritten.

But for some, it could be a chance to heal old wounds.

Everyone has regrets.

They often say they'd act differently if given another chance.

"Leo. You're no different."

"……"

"Didn't you have any regrets from back then?"

"None."

Leo smiled faintly.

"Even if I did, it's not worth risking your lives over."

"……"

"Aaron would make the same choice I did."

"Alright then."

"Drianna. You're stepping back so easily…"

"He says no. What can we do?"

The only one still attached to that era was Leo.

And if Leo said he was fine, arguing further was pointless.

"I'll go check again if anyone else besides Aru got caught in the dungeon."

"Please do."

Drianna left, dragging Lunia along.

Once alone in the room, Elsie revealed herself.

["Will you be okay?"]

"You want to save Agon and Raysar too?"

["Yes. But I'm here thanks to you, Leo. I'll follow your decision. Still…"]

"Still?"

["It just seems like you have a lot of regrets about Raysar."]

At her words, Leo gave a bitter smile.

"Was it that obvious?"

["I'm your closest covenant, after all."]

Leo brushed his face.

"Of course I have regrets."

His gaze drifted again to the scenery outside the window.

"I was the one who abandoned Raysar."