Editor : Amethyst00



The weather in the western part of the continent, where winter had begun to approach, was quite chilly.

As the wind blew, Elena was seated at a tea table in one corner of the Lewellin garden, sipping her tea.

"Why can't I attend the meeting?"

Hark asked, frowning as he rubbed his neck.

Seeing him like that, Elena replied, "After saying something like that, do you really think the meeting would proceed smoothly if you were present?"

"What! Did I say anything wrong? If they did things properly, would people even want to emigrate? Especially to the point where it causes problems."

Leaving the place one has lived their whole life and settling in a foreign land is by no means an easy thing.

Even if Arhi is rumoured to be a land of opportunity, for ordinary people to give up all they have and head to another country is no different from gambling with their lives.

And yet, to still leave their beloved homeland for an unknown land meant that life in their current place had become unbearably difficult.

"And besides, I don't want to hear that kind of comment from you of all people. You weren't allowed into the meeting either."

When the meeting resumed, Elena, just like Hark, had not been allowed to attend.

"I'm here to keep an eye on you, Hark-sunbae."

"What a weak excuse."

Hark frowned slightly.

While the two talked, Leo poured more tea into Elena's empty teacup and silently looked toward the conference hall.

"Is it bothering you?"

Elena asked with a gentle smile.

Hark also glanced at Leo.

He had already heard that the attendant was Leo in disguise.

"Are you disappointed because it turned out more rotten than you expected?"

"Not really. It seemed a bit better than I thought, actually."

"How low were your expectations of the noble houses?"

Hark shook his head in disbelief.

"So? What are you planning to do?"

"Not sure."

Leo let out a short sigh.

"Politics isn't my area of expertise."

"There's actually something Leo Plov can't do?"

"I'm not perfect, so there are a lot of things I can't do."

"From what I can see, you're pretty good at politics, though?"

Elena chuckled.

"I mean, just look at how well you've been using Hark-sunbae. Isn't that political skill?"

"Getting a lazy guy off his butt doesn't count as politics."

"What? What did you just say?"

Hark's eyes bulged as he grabbed Leo by the collar and shook him furiously.

"Sunbae, this is insubordination."

"You provoked me first!"

Apparently, the word "lazy bum" had hit him pretty hard, and the veins on Hark's neck stood out.

After a moment—

Hark suppressed his anger, pulled out a pill from a bottle, and tossed it into his mouth.

Seeing that, Elena tilted her head.

"Sleeping pill?"

"It's for my stomach! My stomach!"

Hark shouted, then suddenly sprang up from his seat.

"Where are you going?"

"Talking with you two feels like it's shortening my lifespan! I'm going to my room to sleep!"

Watching his back as he left in exasperation, Elena giggled softly.

Then she glanced sideways at Leo.

"Your mind looks tangled, huh?"

"I'm trying to figure out what I should do."

"Hm?"

"Whether I should suppress them with strength since I have justification and legitimacy… or try to persuade them."

"Using strength is simpler. Though, it leaves plenty of room for future problems."

Elena shrugged.

The gods of the world and sky had chosen Leo Plov as the king to lead the next generation.

As a result, Leo had once again taken upon his shoulders the hopes of countless people.

The hope that he would bring true peace.

The hope that he would change the world.

Of course, it was not something Leo could do alone.

Even if Lysinas were to reincarnate, she couldn't fulfill that wish by herself.

But bringing everyone together was possible.

Someone who could guide humanity in a single direction.

The title "King of the World" was given to the leader who would usher the world into a new era.

"So? What are you going to do, Leo?"

It wasn't only the noble families in the meeting who held dissatisfaction toward the Kingdom of Arhi.

Many other forces were also trying to check and pressure the kingdom.

'Crushing them wouldn't be hard.'

The Kingdom of Arhi wasn't a mere fledgling nation.

It was a powerful force capable of moving both Dragonia and the Xian Empire.

Undoubtedly, it was the greatest power on the continent, capable of shaking its very balance.

"I don't know yet."

"Huh?"

"I'm thinking. Wondering what Lysinas would have done."

The Hero of the Beginning, Kyle, had certainly saved the world as the final Great Hero.

And for that achievement, he had been granted the title "Hero of the Beginning" by the gods.

But Leo knew very well—

'I'm not the kind of person who leads others.'

Rather, he had always been the one following someone else.

Just like how he took Lysinas's outstretched hand and followed the direction she pointed.

Just like how Luna, Aaron, and Dweno had pushed him forward so he could open a new era.

When he was reincarnated and finally resolved to save the world completely—

Leo had no idea what he was supposed to do.

So, he thought of his friends.

Of Lysinas, who led people with hope.

Of Luna, who showed people the light.

Of Aaron, who gave them courage.

And of Dweno, who gave them advice.

All Leo ever did was mimic his friends.

That's why, even in this situation, he thought of Lysinas.

To fully purge Erebos, he couldn't just remain a symbolic World's King—he had to become a king who could unite all powers into one.

If it had been Lysinas, she surely would've persuaded them with words rather than force.

But that was an extremely difficult thing to do.

"……"

Elena smiled faintly as she looked at Leo, who had fallen into deep thought.

"Leo. I never thought I'd be saying this to you, but…"

"Hm?"

"You're you."

Elena smiled gently.

"You might think you're just imitating the Great Heroes, but you're the one nurturing and leading the heroes of the next generation—like me."

"Thanks for saying that so nicely, but why bring it up so suddenly?"

"Agh, really. Sometimes you can be so dense, you know?"

Elena shook her head in disbelief.

"I mean you're more respected than you think."

"What?"

"There are a lot of people who recognize and appreciate how consistently upright you've been."

bl

"Then let us proceed with the meeting."

When Chade, head of the Lewellin family, declared so, the head of the Zeltian family once again began reading aloud a resolution condemning Arhi.

Eventually, after the statement concluded, Chade, who was presiding over the meeting, spoke.

"Do any houses have something to say regarding the opinion of the noble houses led by House Zeltian?"

At that question, Selde rose from his seat.

'Hmph. As expected, he's stepping up to defend them.'

Leo was a direct descendant of the Zerdinger family.

Naturally, in this noble house conference, he was the one house certain to side with the Kingdom of Arhi.

However, the head of the Zeltian house was confident—at least this time.

Even if none of the Heroic Houses were lending their support to the condemnation of Arhi, a tremendous number of noble families had united behind it.

And it wasn't just noble families.

Noble clans tied to them in various nations, as well as even some royal families, had thrown their weight behind this resolution.

No matter how prominent Zerdinger was as one of the twin pillars of the Lordren Empire, it would not be able to defend Arhi alone.

While the head of House Zeltian was smiling meaningfully—

"Taking this opportunity, I declare, as representative of the Thirteen Heroic Houses."

'What?'

For a moment, the face of the Zeltian head hardened stiffly.

The Thirteen Heroic Houses.

Zerdinger, Lewellin, Zeron, Rigard, and so on.

This was the number of existing human Heroic Houses today.

Excluding the Heroic Royal Families who founded nations with their hero status, they were the most noble bloodlines in existence.

To be declared their representative meant all the Heroic Houses had united in will.

As unease crept into the Zeltian lord's chest, Selde opened his mouth.

"Before this house assembly, there was a separate meeting held by the heads of the Heroic Noble Houses."

Among the leaders of the Heroic Houses, many stood on the very frontlines of Tartaros.

The fact that even they attended the meeting meant this was a matter of utmost importance.

"As a result of the meeting, all Heroic Houses have agreed to form an alliance to accomplish the great task of the world—the complete eradication of Erebos and Tartaros."

"T-The Heroic Houses are forming an alliance?!"

"Wait! Then what about the nations to which the Heroic Houses belong?"

Some Heroic Houses were third forces unaffiliated with any country, like Zeron, Rigard, and Hergin, while others, like Zerdinger and Lewellin were affiliated with specific nations.

And the will of a Heroic House tied to a nation could be seen as the will of that nation itself.

As such, the relationships among Heroic Houses were incredibly complex, with many standing in opposition due to conflicting interests.

That such houses had all united—this was nothing short of a major event.

Selde spoke calmly.

"And as the leader of this alliance, we have chosen the King of the Beginning—Leo Plov."

"What?!"

"How could such a thing be allowed!"

Cries of shock erupted from those who had been condemning the Kingdom of Arhi.

It was a decision completely incomprehensible by their standards.

Even if he were a hero to stand against Erebos— how could they entrust such vast power to the king of a mere fledgling nation?

"Was there interference from Dragonia?"

"No matter how powerful Dragonia is, how could the Heroic Houses yield to external pressure?!"

Furious outbursts exploded from among the noble houses who had been pushing for sanctions against Arhi.

"Hmph?"

Just then, a woman who had been sitting with her eyes closed throughout the meeting, as though she had no interest, opened one eye.

"That remark… I find it quite irritating."

At the woman's twisted smile, silence fell over the conference hall like cold water had been poured over it.

She was a beautiful young woman in appearance, but in truth, she was far older than anyone else present here.

A knight who had once been active during the time of the Sword Saint Kallian.

The rival of that Sword Saint, with the fearsome title—[The Crimson Executioner].

Naiyan Edwilly.

As she, the head of the Edwilly family, swept her gaze over the hall, the ones who had been stirring up noise all quickly looked away.

"There was absolutely no outside involvement. It was merely the Heroic Houses uniting under one will."

Impossible.

The Zeltian head screamed inwardly at Selde's continued explanation.

Just then, another of Lumene's three great houses—Tursia—opened her mouth, having quietly observed the situation until now.

"The Heroic Houses believe that now is a turning point in this era. As descendants of the Great Heroes and the Heroes of the Dawn who upheld their will, we judged this as a golden opportunity to fulfill the world's wish. And in that sense, following the will of the Wise Queen, Lysinas, who led the world to salvation, is only natural."

The reason heroes are called heroes.

And the reason this age is called the age of heroes.

People forget easily.

But the Heroic Houses did not forget that reason.

The world still had not achieved true peace.

The world still needed new heroes to succeed the Great Heroes.

Heroes akin to the Great Heroes.

Those who lived alongside the Great Heroes in their time and eventually disappeared into the shadows of history.

For 5000 years, the world had needed them, without end.

In other words, throughout those 5000 long years, the number of heroes the world truly needed had been only five—the Heroes of the Great Dawn.

And that marked the origin of the Heroic Houses.

Only those heroes who lamented and felt shame at not becoming the hero the world needed passed on that noble will to their descendants.

And only those families who had received that noble will and endlessly reflected on it came to be called Heroic Houses and were honoured as such.

The reason a Heroic House is called a Heroic House—

It means they are always prepared to uphold the will of the Great Heroes.

The Heroic Houses that forgot that will—every one of them had fallen.

That was the biggest difference between Heroic Houses and regular noble houses.

Selde spoke again.

"We, the Heroic Houses, hereby declare that until the world regains true peace, we shall follow the will of our Alliance Leader."

A newly redrawn board.

Every house attending the meeting instinctively knew.

The forces that failed to join that alliance—would be left behind.

bl

"……"

Having heard the story about the Heroic Houses from Elena, Leo wore a perplexed expression.

"They're entrusting such enormous power… to me?"

"The people of the Heroic Houses have eyes, too. They know Leo won't use that power in vain. So have a little confidence."

"What?"

"You're the king chosen not by anyone else, but by the Wise Queen, Lady Lysinas. And you're no longer alone."

Elena smiled gently.

"Stop trying to shoulder everything by yourself."