Chapter 114
Unfazed by the reaction, Lebatyn continued.
“The lord counts the days until Lord Agon appears in the capital. For a great hero like you to rot away in this cursed land—it’s something even the gods who’ve departed this world wouldn’t tolerate.”
He emphasized his words.
“Why not end your long seclusion now and join the Hero Legion of Leisar?”
“As I said before, if the lord guarantees these children’s safety, I’ll consider accepting his will.”
“Lord Agon still fails to grasp simple logic.”
Lebatyn made a pitying face before smiling softly.
“Understood. I’ll report to the lord that the Guardian of the Firmament isn’t ready yet. However...”
Lebatyn grinned wickedly.
“I’ve been strictly ordered to retrieve the sword Shaten, the Blade that Devours Darkness.”
Shaten
A sword once hailed as one of the strongest during the Age of Cataclysm.
Hearing this, Leo tilted his head.
Agon had Shaten? I never heard that from Aron.
If Agon had possessed such a sword, he surely would have passed it to Aron before setting out on his journey.
“I’ve told you countless times: Shaten broke in a battle ten years ago.”
“Such lies!”
“Are you defying the lord’s command out of personal greed, Lord Agon?”
The knights around them raised their voices at Agon’s words.
Agon burst into laughter at their outburst.
“Why would I lie? And even if I were, what would you do about it?”
Agon’s voice grew low.
Lebatyn and the knights flinched at the change.
“Are you planning to do something about it?”
Killing intent poured from Agon’s body.
Lebatyn’s face drained of color, and the knights stumbled back.
The Hero Legion.
An army formed in surviving cities to defend against Tartaros’s invasions.
But not everyone in the Hero Legion was a true hero.
The unchanging criterion for a hero, past or present, was feats of valor.
One didn’t become a hero by self-proclamation. Recognition from others—be they mortals or gods—was required.
But Lebatyn and these knights were not such people.
While true heroes risked their lives battling Tartaros, they hid safely behind the pretext of city defense, leeching off others’ achievements.
To Agon, who had fought on battlefields since before the Age of Cataclysm, they weren’t even worth a scoff—mere greenhorns.
“A-ah, I understand. I’ll convey Lord Agon’s will to the lord faithfully. Th-then, we’ll take our leave!”
Lebatyn and the knights retreated in a panic.
Watching their backs, Agon let out a deep sigh.
“Sorry you had to see that unsightly display.”
“No need. I’m used to scum like that.”
Leo replied flatly.
“They’re cowards. But what’s this about joining the Hero Legion?”
“Exactly as it sounds. An invitation to join the army fighting Erebos.”
Ar swallowed hard.
The terror of the name Erebos lingered even into the present era.
In fact, in this era, one could experience that horrifying existence if they wished.
Three thousand years ago, when a fragment of Erebos revived, five heroes defeated it: Lumerun, Seirun, Azenia, Demian, and Dragon Lord Granas.
Their Hero Records were perfectly preserved deep in the dragons’ lands.
And their pages were the only ones among intact Hero Records that remained unconquered.
Conquering those heroes’ pages was one of humanity’s greatest aspirations.
Knowing this, Ar couldn’t help but gulp dryly.
Feeling his heart race, Ar said,
“Uncle must be someone incredibly strong, wanted by such a grand legion!”
“Everyone knows the Guardian of the Firmament.”
The elf girl Lia, who had watched the scene, smiled wryly.
“Guardian of the Firmament?”
“You don’t know about Uncle Agon?”
“O-of course I do! Th-the Guardian of the Firmament, Lord Agon!”
Leo sighed deeply.
It’s obvious you don’t know.
Not knowing the Guardian of the Firmament in this era was unthinkable.
In the Hero’s World, every detail mattered.
A single oversight could derail the entire run.
“Then wouldn’t joining the Hero Legion be a good thing?”
“I can’t do that.”
Ar panicked at Agon’s response.
“Huh?”
“If I join the Hero Legion, who’ll look after these kids?”
“The orphans would naturally be taken care of by the state...”
Agon sighed deeply.
“Leisar doesn’t care for these children. They’d sooner abandon them.”
“Abandon them?!”
Agon answered the indignant Ar.
“Sacrificing the few for the many. Isn’t that natural in this era?”
“What’s natural about that?! How can someone call themselves a hero with thoughts like that?”
Ar was genuinely furious.
Staring at the truly angry Ar, Agon said,
“That’s truly strange.”
“Huh?”
“Are you kids really born in the Age of Cataclysm?”
Ar flinched.
“Clinging to dreamy ideals detached from reality...”
Ar’s values clearly differed from those of the Age of Cataclysm.
Agon saw right through it.
Oh no, what do I do? I got too worked up!
As Ar panicked, thinking things had gone awry,
“So what if it’s a dreamy ideal? If it’s the right path, isn’t it obvious we should follow it? That’s why you’re looking after these kids, right, Lord Agon?”
Agon stared intently at Leo’s face.
They’re just kids who look fifteen or sixteen.
Compared to Agon, a veteran of countless battlefields, they were utter novices.
But what’s with this depth?
It felt like the depth of someone who had endured trials equal to—or greater than—his own.
“What are your names?”
“I’m Ar! And this black rabbit is Kyle!”
“Kyle, huh. Must be tough. Same name as the ‘Hero Who Survives.’”
“Eh, I’m used to it now.”
Leo smiled and replied casually.
Ar, meanwhile, looked shocked.
“Hero Who Surv... Ack?!”
Leo yanked Ar’s swishing tail where Agon couldn’t see.
Any more slip-ups, and the run really could fail.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Watching Leo’s nonchalant response, Agon said,
“You’re right. Even if it’s a dreamy ideal, if it’s the righteous path, we should follow it.”
Agon’s expression somehow looked relieved.
“Why did you come to Leisar?”
“To meet Aron.”
“Then stay here until that guy returns. Even though it’s been half a year without word from my disciple... this is his home, so he’ll come back someday.”
“Thank you.”
Leo bowed, granted permission to stay.
“Alright, kids. Let’s finish cleaning up breakfast.”
“Yes!”
At Agon’s words, the children brightly began tidying up.
“Tails are sensitive! Why’d you grab it suddenly?!”
“Because you were about to blurt out something stupid without thinking.”
“That doesn’t mean you grab a lady’s tail! I’ll get revenge!”
“If you want revenge, grab mine too.”
Leo offered his tail with a bored face.
Ar froze, then yelled with a flushed face.
“How am I supposed to grab that embarrassingly?! And before that! How long are you gonna hold it? Let go!”
Ar struggled to wrench her tail from Leo’s hand.
Just as Ar finally freed it,
Quest Objective: Meet Aron, who will return home in three days.
So coming to Agon was the right answer?
Leo smiled faintly.
In truth, the quest objective itself wasn’t too hard.
The problem is that the person to find is Aron.
Agon believed Aron had left Leisar half a year ago, but that wasn’t true.
He never set foot outside Leisar.
One could tell from the fact that Leo and Ar were restricted to Leisar.
At this time, Leisar was conscripting all able-bodied adults over 18 for the Hero Legion and such.
Aron was exactly 18 then.
Frightened by the thought of the battlefield, he’d gone into hiding.
Though cowardly, Aron’s skills were real.
Finding someone deliberately hiding is tough even for me.
Leo knew of Aron and Agon’s relationship, making the objective achievable; anyone else would have no chance.
“Black Rabbit! Black Rabbit! The quest objective changed! We’ll see Lord Aron in three days!”
As Ar excitedly spoke,
Quest Objective (Hidden): Save the Guardian of the Firmament, Agon.
A hidden objective?
Leo looked at Ar in surprise.
But Ar showed no sign of it.
She was purely joyful at the prospect of meeting Aron.
Doesn’t it show for Ar?
“Black Rabbit! I’m gonna ask Uncle Agon more about Lord Aron!”
Seizing the chance to learn more about the Aron she didn’t know, Ar headed to Agon.
Left alone in the clearing, Leo pondered.
In the Hero’s World, changing actual history counts as overachievement.
Overachievement yielded greater rewards.
The issue was the content.
When we arrived, Agon’s will was already broken. ‘Save Agon’ means helping him keep his resolve.
He’d accepted it at first.
Broken wills were common among heroes in the Age of Cataclysm.
Even the Guardian of the Firmament losing fighting spirit against Erebos and Tartaros wasn’t odd.
Rather, having fought them so long, deeper despair made sense.
But before meeting Kyle’s group, Agon was different.
Weary, perhaps, but unbroken.
And another fact Leo hadn’t known: Leisar’s government claims to have Shaten.
The Blade that Devours Darkness, Shaten.
The famed sword that slew countless Tartaros monsters.
If true, Lebatyn coveting it was natural.
But Shaten vanished three years ago, right?
As Leo frowned,
Someone appeared before him.
Elsi?
His past spirit companion stared at Leo and smiled brightly.
Leo was flustered by the smile.
Elsi smiling like that?
The Elsi in Leo’s memory was deeply melancholic.
“You know I’m not human, right?”
Confronted directly, Leo nodded after a moment’s thought.
“Yeah, you’re a spirit.”
“As expected of a great spiritist. And an All-Class at that.”
True to a great spirit, Elsi saw through Leo’s abilities precisely.
“Looks like you really are the Hero Who Survives, Kyle.”
“I might not be.”
“Don’t try to fool me. No fool with All-Class and the Jewel of Light exists except Risinas’s comrade.”
Leo fiddled with the Jewel of Light he’d received from Luminous in the inter-academy tournament.
Who’d have thought this would make Elsi mistake me for Kyle.
Feeling a strange sensation, Leo chuckled awkwardly as Elsi continued.
“I heard the rumors. That Risinas left with the Hero Who Survives, Kyle, to subjugate Erebos. I was planning to find you.”
“Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Her black hair swaying, Elsi smiled confidently.
“To help save the world!”