Editor : Amethyst00



Leo walked silently with Lysinas through Godthrone.

'Even that damned sky feels unfamiliar now.'

A crimson night sky of an Age of Calamity, thick with foreboding.

To Leo, the dark red sky was more familiar than a black night sky twinkling with stars.

Because throughout both his past life and his current one, he had seen more of the crimson sky.

But tonight, when he happened to glance up at the sky, it felt strangely unfamiliar.

As Leo silently looked up at the sky—

"Strange, isn't it?"

Lysinas gave a wry smile.

Leo hesitated, unsure how to respond, then nodded.

"Yes."

He replied formally.

If this had been Lysinas's world, Lysinas would have remembered his past life upon seeing Leo.

But this world now belonged to Aaron.

Only Aaron, as the master of the world, could recall memories of the previous conquest upon meeting Leo.

Leo hadn't told Lysinas that he was Kyle.

'Even if I did, it wouldn't collapse the world or anything…'

Great heroes, unlike others, didn't suffer mental collapse even when they became aware of future events.

In fact, revealing that he was from the future and sharing what lay ahead would often help in conquering a hero's world.

But Leo still couldn't bring himself to reveal that he was Kyle.

'…I broke my promise.'

Back when he had conquered Lysinas's world—

Lysinas's guilt-ridden face before they parted flashed through his mind.

'She acted like she'd let go of that guilt when she entered the real world, but…'

The truth was, she hadn't.

She had simply hidden her feelings.

Lysinas felt more sorrow and guilt over a promise made to Leo that turned out to be a lie than she felt joy from turning a lie into truth by saving the world.

'I want her to feel the full joy of having saved a world.'

That's why Leo hadn't revealed his identity as Kyle.

"It is scary too, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, in the future, things like this would only be found in books, I suppose."

To Lysinas's words, Leo calmly replied,

"It's all thanks to the great heroes. Thank you for saving the world."

Lysinas widened her eyes at that.

Then, smiling brightly, she patted Leo's head.

"Aww. How sweet and cute."

Leo let out a small sigh at being treated like a child, but decided to let it go.

"With those sharp eyes, I figured you'd have a nasty personality like that dumbass you resemble. But you're really kind, huh?"

A dumbass with nasty eyes.

He didn't need to ask who that was referring to.

'Damn lizard… should I just punch her?'

He felt a sudden surge of irritation but held it in.

Just then—

"Hmm? Lysinas?"

Another familiar voice called out from down the street.

'Luna.'

Leo turned toward her.

"Who's that cute and handsome kid with you?"

Leo looked more like a young man now, though some boyishness still remained.

"Said he's a friend of that Carl kid."

"Oh! You came from the future too!"

Luna beamed as she walked briskly over.

She studied Leo up and down and murmured,

"Hmm… everything's great except the eyes. They look just like that dumbass's. Oh, don't take it personally. I wasn't talking about you."

She patted Leo on the shoulder and smiled cheerfully.

'These damn people… Should I really just flatten them both?'

As Leo seriously considered that—

"You taking him to Kyle's place too?"

"Yeah. Weren't you staying there tonight?"

"I was going to. But that jerk kicked me out. Said there were too many people."

Luna grumbled.

"What about Bihar and Velkia?"

"At Kyle's place. Oh! And an elf named Eiran showed up too."

"Were there any beastkin named Azonia or Aru?"

"Huh? No one like that."

Luna shook her head.

"Kids from the future keep showing up in the past. Something's off here."

"Maybe someone invents time-travel magic in the future? It's theoretically not impossible!"

Luna's eyes sparkled.

"Hey, hey. How did you end up in the past? Oh, if it's a forbidden topic, you don't have to say."

"I accidentally came through an artifact left by the gods."

"The gods? Those incompetent jerks made something like that?"

Disbelief was written all over Luna's face.

Recalling Luna's distaste for the gods, Leo nodded.

"If it's the gods… I guess it might be possible. They are omnipotent after all."

"Hmph. More like, omnipotently useless."

Luna retorted sharply to Lysinas's comment.

"Anyway, what's your name?"

"I'm Leo Plov."

"Hmm. Leo."

Luna grabbed Leo's shoulders with a serious face.

"This might sound weird, but… by any chance, do I have any descendants in the future?"

Leo looked at her face.

"I mean, I don't know how far in the future you came from, but if we defeated Erebos, we'd be historical heroes, right? So maybe… I'd have some descendants left. And, well… I'm curious who my partner was, if I had one."

She looked away, blushing a little.

Leo saw Lysinas's expression fade slightly at her words.

That told him something.

'…She knows.'

Lysinas knows about the great heroes' future.

'That's why she cried.'

He didn't know how she found out.

'But Lysinas could've figured it out from subtle hints.'

She wasn't called the Wise Queen for nothing.

Leo, unsure how to answer, said,

"There's no record of your descendants."

"R-Really? Hmm…"

"But who you liked is pretty well known."

"W-What?!"

Luna jumped, startled.

Then, she blushed slightly.

"R-Really? How did that get out? Wait, more importantly—he knew how I felt?"

"Are we talking about the same guy? If it's that idiot, he probably never realized."

"Oh, come on. Lysinas, 'idiot' is a bit much."

"You call him dumbass all the time."

"Yeah, but he's not an idiot."

Luna's expression melted into a goofy grin.

In contrast, Lysinas's face grew distant.

'Kyle found out about Luna's feelings? Did she confess at the end? Or did Kyle realize it first? Maybe before their final journey, something happened between them?'

Her thoughts spun.

"Oh man. When did he figure it out?"

Watching anxious Lysinas and cheerful Luna, Leo thought,

'Idiots. These damn lizard and the pointy-eared elf.'

"In the future, it's known that Luna and Lysinas liked the same person."

"Oh, that's— Huh?"

Luna's face, smiling brightly, suddenly clouded with confusion.

Lysinas's face went rigid.

As Luna processed Leo's words, her expression turned serious.

"I don't like that damn perverted dwarf."

"You think I liked him?"

Lysinas protested before she could stop herself.

"Oh! Is it Aaron? Lysinas, did you like Aaron?"

Luna asked, just in case.

Lysinas was struck dumb.

Then—

Luna's gaze turned vicious.

"You… you! You lying lizard! You've been deceiving me this whole time?!"

Shrieking, she lunged at Lysinas.

Lysinas looked at Leo with a face full of betrayal.

"You said you didn't like him! Said you had no feelings!"

"I—I didn't mean—!"

Luna, who had often consulted Lysinas about her feelings for Kyle, felt nothing but betrayal.

"Liar! Fraud! Lizard! Fox-faced traitor!"

As Luna's curses escalated, veins popped on Lysinas's forehead.

"Oh please! Who are you calling fox-faced?! I liked him before you did!"

"You little—!"

Luna grabbed Lysinas by the hair.

Naturally, Lysinas didn't just take it.

As the two yanked each other's hair, Leo muttered to himself.

'Serves them right. Always calling me dumbass and idiot.'

He grinned with malicious glee, but as the fight escalated, he grew alarmed.

'Why are they fighting so viciously?'

Eventually, Leo had to step in.

"Both of you, calm down! Please!"

But while trying to break it up, his hair got pulled too.

It wasn't until they were all a mess that Leo finally managed to stop them.

Between the two, who were now glaring daggers at each other, Leo rubbed his eye.

He'd taken a punch from Luna during the scuffle.

"How could you mess up the kid like this!"

"Well, look! You scratched his neck and he's bleeding!"

Luna pointed to Leo's nape.

The damage they'd dealt to each other had ended up on him.

"Please. Calm down, both of you."

"So! Who did Kyle choose?!"

Luna demanded with blazing eyes.

Leo was silent for a moment, then replied,

"That part wasn't revealed."

"Ah! Seriously! That dumbass! I can't take it anymore! I should go punch him in the face!"

Fuming, Luna glared in the direction of Kyle's house.

Lysinas grabbed her arm.

"Wait."

"What!"

"I'm going first."

As Lysinas growled fiercely, Leo thought,

'Let's never reveal I'm Kyle.'

Who knows what disaster might follow.

That was Leo's conclusion.

Meanwhile, Luna cast a healing spell on Leo.

Seeing his wounds healed, she tilted her head.

"You said your name was Leo?"

"Yes."

"Are you worried about something?"

"…?"

Leo looked at her, puzzled.

She scratched her cheek awkwardly.

"Well… someone I know makes the same face when something's bothering him. You two have similar vibes… I guess not?"

Leo subconsciously touched his face.

'Was it that obvious?'

"Come on, tell this big sister. I'll help you sort it out."

Maybe it was because he reminded them of Kyle?

Lysinas and Luna felt a strange sense of closeness to Leo.

Leo couldn't help but laugh softly at Luna.

"Then… could I get your advice?"

"Lysinas! Look how well-behaved he is! He's got Kyle's vibe, but he acts completely different! So cute!"

Luna tousled Leo's hair.

Leo gave a hollow laugh at the gesture.

"So? What's your problem?"

To her question, Leo asked, "If you had the chance to change the past… but doing so would mean risking the lives of your comrades—what would you do?"

Luna blinked at that.

Then, smiling gently, she answered firmly:

"I wouldn't change it."