Chapter 388
Chapter Title: Secrets of the Past
-----------------------------------------------------------------
388.
The age of heroes began, and the knights, warriors, and mages who wielded Aura all advanced.
Summoners were no different.
Under the influence of the Hero Record, more powerful individuals were born than in the age of gods.
‘Compared to the past, it’s certainly easier to learn Aura, easier to encounter magic, and easier to summon familiars in this era.’
The world had certainly progressed.
But in another sense, summoners had regressed.
‘After two of the three leaders of the great spirit beasts vanished, their positions were never filled.’
The Flame Emperor and the King of Pure White.
In the life-or-death struggle against Erebos, Lisinas and Kyle lost their pact-holders, Katariu and Albus.
Neither Katariu nor Albus left behind a successor, and as a result, by the current era, the only spirit beast king remaining was the Fairy King.
‘Even he has become a king in name only, as Silroad is known to have not formed a contract with anyone for 5,000 years.’
Seirun had once succeeded in summoning Silroad.
But because Silroad could not leave Fairy Land unattended, the summoning was never officially known.
A situation where three of the most powerful spirit beasts a summoner could call upon had vanished.
It was, quite literally, a regression.
Leo was walking the streets of Gardsrone.
“Kyle!”
Someone called out to Kyle as they approached.
“Did you sleep well last night?”
“Well enough. Did you find a place to stay? It’s hard to find lodging in Gardsrone this time of year.”
“That’s the easy part. Do you know how many times I’ve tried to clear this world?”
Leo chuckled at Rodia’s words.
“By the way, I thought you’d be with Sir Lisinas, but you’re moving separately?”
Having attempted to clear this world several times, Rodia was well aware that Lisinas had gone to meet the allies who would join his journey.
“In the original history, I didn’t travel with Lisinas at this point.”
“I always helped Sir Lisinas and traveled with him.”
Rodia crossed her arms, a puzzled look on her face.
“Though Sir Lisinas didn’t seem to like it very much.”
“Knowing his personality, he would have appreciated the help, not disliked it.”
Leo narrowed his eyes.
“You didn’t do anything weird in front of Lisinas while you looked like me, did you?”
“…”
Rodia fell silent at the question.
Seeing her avoid the answer, Leo cracked his knuckles, and Rodia hastily shouted.
“B-But! It’s Sir Lisinas! The King of Wisdom, Sir Lisinas! You of all people should know what he means to us dragons, Sir Kyle!”
“What does that have to do with anything? You think a reason like that will get you forgiven for doing strange things in my body?”
“I didn’t do anything strange! I just…”
“Just?”
“I just acted a little cutesy, got all friendly, and was very forward with him. That’s all.”
Leo’s expression turned murderous.
Seeing this, Rodia added.
“And Sir Lisinas scolded me a lot for it!”
“How did he scold you?”
“He hit me.”
From Rodia’s perspective, she was only expressing her joy at meeting the King of Wisdom, whom she admired most in the world.
But from Lisinas’s perspective, the guy who had been acting standoffish just yesterday had suddenly changed his attitude and was clinging to him, which was bound to be startling.
“He hit me the hardest when I blushed while looking at him.”
“You deserved to be hit hard.”
Looking at the merciless Leo, Rodia spoke as if wronged.
“This is all your fault, Sir Kyle.”
“How is this my fault?”
“Because you were so cruel as to never realize Sir Lisinas’s feelings! I felt so sorry for him that I….”
“…We’ve only just become companions. How could Lisinas possibly have those kinds of feelings for me? Besides.”
Leo let out a deep sigh.
“Lisinas’s feelings… I knew about them.”
“What?”
“But at the time, saving the world came first. Lisinas knew that, which is why he never told me his feelings directly. And I had no choice but to pretend I didn't know.”
“Sir Kyle…”
Seeing Leo’s bitter smile, Rodia’s face scrunched up.
“Don’t feed me that crap.”
“This damn lizard really knows how to run its mouth, doesn't it?”
“I certainly respect you, Sir Kyle, but the one I respect most is Sir Lisinas. I have no problem being irreverent toward the man who broke his heart.”
“Oh, really? Is that why you called me a moron?”
“Even so, do I look like the kind of dragon who would say something that rude?”
“You absolutely do, you damn lizard.”
Leo growled fiercely, grabbed Rodia, and repeatedly rapped them on the head.
The Great Hero who ended the age of calamity and the Heroes of Genesis who prevented its return.
They are revered by all and are naturally the subjects of intense study by countless heroologists and historians of all races across the world.
A meeting that could never happen, as they were fated to live in different eras.
But through the Hero Record, the Heroes of Genesis have transcended the barrier of time and are regarded as the successors to the Great Hero.
Countless scholars have imagined it at least once.
What if the Great Hero and the Heroes of Genesis met not in the World of Heroes, but in the real world?
A thought thrilling enough to make one’s heart flutter.
An impossible event.
But if such a miracle were to occur, they would surely shed tears.
Graaaasp—!
“Ah, I surrender! Surrender! I was wrong! I was wrong!”
Caught in Leo’s headlock, Rodia cried out in a pained, urgent voice.
“Then why did you do something wrong in the first place?”
Leo tightened his grip.
Unable to bear it, Rodia pinched the back of Leo’s hand repeatedly.
A scene the scholars could never have imagined.
If they were to witness this, they would undoubtedly wail for an entirely different reason.
***
“So? Where were you headed?”
“I’m going to find Albus.”
“Albus? As in, the last king of the pegasi?”
Rodia asked, her face filled with surprise.
“That’s right. I’m going to make a pact with him.”
“But you didn’t make a contract with Albus until after Sir Dweno joined you, did you?”
“Correct. The catalyst for me making a contract with Albus was when Lisinas told me about my mana attribute.”
“...Purity.”
Rodia softly uttered the name of Leo’s mana attribute.
Mana that belongs to no element.
Mana that maintains absolute purity does not lose its properties when awakened as Aura, nor when converted into magical power.
Even when sublimated into spiritual power, it returns to pure mana.
Mana unbound by anything.
Thus, it is the only mana attribute capable of countering the Immortal Flame.
The reason why Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning, and Leo Flove are the natural enemies of the Primordial Evil.
‘The reason we… failed to subjugate Erebos.’
Rodia’s eyes darkened.
Leo ruffled Rodia’s hair.
“...?”
“Don’t blame yourself. You all achieved a great feat. I acknowledge that.”
“Those are words of immense honor.”
Rodia said with a look of reverence.
“So, is the Pegasus King within Gardsrone?”
“Yes. He and the other pegasi have created their own territory within Gardsrone.”
“I had no idea.”
“I didn’t know either, not until Lisinas told me.”
‘Truth be told, I could summon him right now without going through the trouble of finding him.’
Leo stroked the back of his left hand.
The mark of their contract was engraved there.
A pact made not by Leo Flove, but by Kyle.
A pact of the soul, not the body, it had been revived now that he was in the past.
But Leo did not summon Albus.
From Albus’s perspective, it was a contract he had never made.
Forcing him to honor such a contract could easily sour their relationship.
‘I absolutely need Albus’s power to defeat Jormungandr.’
He was an opponent I barely defeated in my past life.
‘I still haven’t regained the full extent of my power from that era.’
Of course, I have Rodia, but that alone isn’t enough.
‘Something I have now that my past self didn’t.’
Knowledge of what’s to come, and overwhelming experience.
‘I have to use everything at my disposal to get even a little closer to my past self.’
“Sir Kyle. I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Sir Lisinas was the strongest summoner in history, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t he make a contract with the pegasi?”
Leo answered Rodia, who asked with a curious expression.
“Lisinas said the pegasi wouldn’t answer his call.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know the details. It’s not like I know everything about Lisinas.”
Just as he had a past he kept hidden from his friend.
Lisinas surely had a past he kept hidden from him as well.
Leo had no intention of digging into it.
‘Although, I do have my suspicions.’
As he thought this, Leo remembered something and paused.
“Speaking of which. I heard you left a treasury in the land of your birth?”
“It seems Laruel told you that I spoke ill of you, Sir Kyle.”
“She did. I even made a contract with her. I couldn’t bring her along since I came into the World of Heroes so suddenly.”
He had originally intended to just scout and leave, so Leo hadn't brought any of his summons.
He had left them at his lodgings because they were noisy chatterboxes.
“Laruel… she’s soft-hearted and too kind, but she has a strong will when it counts. She will surely be a great help.”
“Soft-hearted?”
“Yes. She’s quite adorable when she talks about how beautiful the world is.”
Leo recalled the Laruel who would constantly mutter, “The world is rotten,” and a crooked smile formed on his lips.
Even after contracting with Leo and being influenced by Elsie, her assertion that ‘the world is rotten’ remained unchanged.
Kiruan was terrified by the gloomy aura Laruel exuded, and Artie would cover Piora’s ears so she wouldn’t hear Laruel’s words.
‘If you put her next to Elsie, it’s hard to tell which one is the spirit of darkness and which is the spirit of light.’
Leo clicked his tongue.
‘Why are all my summons so weird?’
Shaking his head, Leo decided not to tell Rodia how Laruel had changed.
“So what exactly did you leave in that treasury?”
At Leo’s question, Rodia’s expression hardened slightly as she answered.
“I sealed away Sir Lisinas’s power.”
“Is it related to Lisinas’s unique magic?”
“Yes.”
Rodia lowered her head slightly.
“That power was far too dark. It was certainly Sir Lisinas’s power, but just touching it felt like I would be consumed by a deep darkness. Not only me and Seirun, but even Lumerne, Azonia, and Damian couldn’t handle it. We judged it too dangerous to wield carelessly, so we sealed it in the treasury and told Laruel to reveal its location only to someone who is worthy.”
Hearing Rodia’s words, Leo clicked his tongue.
‘So this is a power of Lisinas that even I didn’t know about.’