Chapter 472
Chapter Title: Knight of the Netherworld
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Chirp- Chirp-
The birds announced the arrival of morning.
“Ugh.”
Lil tossed and turned under the covers, letting out a pained groan.
A terrible hangover made her head throb.
“Water…”
“Here.”
As she sat up, clutching her throbbing head and muttering, someone from the side handed her water.
“Ah, thank you, Leo.”
Lil forced a smile and gulped down the water.
“Pfft?! Kehek?! Cough! Cough!”
Then, she choked and started coughing uncontrollably.
“Why, why why why why why why is Leo here!”
Watching Lil ask frantically with a panicked face, Leo sipped the water from his own glass and replied.
“This is my room. You were completely drunk last night, Senior Lil, so you didn't go back to your room and slept here instead.”
At his words, Lil paused to think, then covered her face with one hand.
“I made a fool of myself. I'm sorry, Leo.”
Her ears, unusually, had turned red. Lil took a deep breath, got off the bed, and spoke.
“Leo, if this ever happens again, please force me out of your room, even if you have to drag me.”
“I didn't have any strange thoughts, if that's what you're worried about.”
“I know you're not the type of person to do something like that, Leo. I'm saying it would be troublesome if unnecessary rumors started.”
“You're right, you could find yourself in a difficult position in many ways, Senior.”
“You'd be in more trouble than I would, Leo.”
Lil said with a small sigh.
“You've been in the global spotlight since last year, Leo. Now, you're even a hero. Many people must respect and admire you. But on the other hand, there must be countless people who are envious and jealous.”
“I suppose so.”
“Yes. Those people will try to find any flaw they can in you. A messy love life is the perfect target.”
Lil sighed.
“Of course, if you look at history, there are many lecherous heroes. Many heroes have also violated moral codes. Just look at the Justice Guild—they're hardly a proper organization. People know that. They know no one is perfect.”
Shwaaa-
Lil walked to the window and opened the curtains.
Morning sunlight poured in.
Basking in the sunlight, Lil squinted pleasantly before turning around.
“But still, people want an ideal hero. And right now, in their minds, you are that hero, Leo.”
“I don't really care what others think, so you don't have to worry about me.”
“Mm. Your mental fortitude is certainly impressive, Leo. But you remaining a flawless hero is also a personal wish of mine.”
“Why?”
“Because I like you, Leo.”
With the pouring sunlight at her back, Lil smiled brightly.
“I've admired you since I first saw you. Even though you're my junior, I thought you were incredible. I've been a fan from the very beginning.”
“I'm honored.”
“In that sense, I have a serious request to make again.”
Lil approached Leo and knelt before him.
“I want to become your disciple. Please, accept me, Leo.”
Lil said with a reverent expression.
“…”
*‘I’ll learn well. Please accept me as your disciple.’*
He remembered the young elven girl whose eyes sparkled with hope for an unseen future.
*‘Make me your disciple.’*
He also remembered the human girl whose eyes burned with hatred for the present before her.
His two disciples, born in the darkest of times, pursued vastly different things.
But.
*‘What will you do when you get stronger?’*
Kyle had asked his two disciples, as if annoyed.
*‘Because I want to contribute to this world, even if it's just a little.’*
*‘I want to dedicate my life to helping the world.’*
“I want to become someone who can contribute to the world.”
*‘Why are their eyes so similar?’*
An unwavering gaze.
A heart that puts the world before herself.
Feeling she was somehow similar to Lisinas, Leo opened his mouth.
“I won't go easy on you.”
“That's what I was hoping for!”
“I'll also speak to you informally.”
“That's fine! From the start, Leo… no, Master, you felt like an older brother to me anyway.”
Smiling brightly, Lil paused for a moment before asking an odd question.
“Come to think of it, it would be weird for me, your senior, to call you, my junior, 'Master' in front of others, right?”
“Just act as you usually do. While we're at it, why don't you also speak informally when others are around?”
“I can't do that. Regardless of age, I can't be careless with how I address my superiors.”
Lil shook her head firmly.
Coming from a military family, she was very particular about hierarchy.
“Hmm. If 'Master' feels too formal, maybe 'Big Brother'?”
“Wouldn't that get us even stranger looks?”
“You think so?”
Lil thought for a moment, then tossed out an idea.
“Then… Bro?”
*‘Why are all the people who want to be my disciples so weird?’*
Leo wondered in all seriousness.
If Luna were here, she probably would have answered, ‘Because you're not normal,’ but Luna was not here.
***
That morning.
Leo and Lil changed into their school uniforms and headed to the audience chamber to meet the king.
The king had sent word, asking to postpone the meeting until evening, citing the aftereffects of the banquet.
Leo was dumbfounded by the news of a postponement to the evening, not even the afternoon, but on the other hand, he could understand.
*‘A man who would empty the national treasury for a massive banquet while his country is in crisis is more than capable of this.’*
“If you have no intention of seeing us now, we will consider that you do not want our help and will return to Lumerne. Whether you fall into ruin or not is up to you.”
His words sent the panicked retainers scrambling, and they barely managed to schedule an audience for the morning.
“Your Majesty, Lord Leo Flove and Lady Lil Luce have arrived.”
“Let them enter.”
Creeak-
The doors opened.
With that, Leo and Lil entered the council chamber where matters of state were discussed.
The most eye-catching figure was, of course, King Kanel, seated on the highest throne.
He looked at Leo and Lil with eyes bleary from drink, his expression one of displeasure.
“Welcome, Lord Flove. Lady Luce. But to seek me out so urgently, before the fatigue from the banquet has even faded… Is there some pressing matter?”
His words and actions were not those of a king whose nation was in crisis.
*‘He's the type of person who thinks it's natural for him to be above others.’*
Such people had existed even during the Age of Calamity.
People who did nothing, simply taking for granted the privileges they enjoyed from being born into a good family.
Of course, their ends were invariably grim.
*‘In an age of peace, I would just watch silently.’*
When the world is peaceful, the ancillary benefits of a bloodline can offer protection.
But in a world where law has vanished, a bloodline is worthless.
Yet, they couldn't shed their greed, the belief that they deserved to enjoy more than others.
That was why countless royals and nobles were slaughtered during the Age of Calamity.
*‘Well, plenty of talented scumbags seized power afterward, though.’*
When Lisinas ruled Gardsrone, he ran the city strictly based on merit.
*‘Lisinas's administrative skills were one thing, but his eye for people was downright chilling.’*
In truth, Lisinas's abilities had a profound impact on their ability to hold back the invasion of Tartaros to the very end, not just on the subjugation of Erebos.
Leo watched, his eyes narrowed.
Lil looked like she was about to burst out with a retort, but she held herself back because of Leo.
Leo spoke.
“Is there a reason why the Justice Guild is trying to destroy the Kanel Kingdom?”
“I don't know the answer to that myself. Why a Justice Guild that screams about justice would help Petimon—a minor nation with no pedigree—instead of our proud and historic Kanel.”
He snorted.
“But there must be a reason, right?”
“Hmph. Seeing as they've been digging up heroes' tombs lately, they must be after the Kanel Kingdom's legacy.”
“Is there something in Kanel that the Justice Guild would covet? And if so, what does that have to do with digging up heroes' tombs?”
At Leo's question, King Kanel flinched, then clutched his head.
“Ugh—my head hurts too much. Attendant!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
A servant standing behind him bowed his head.
“My head is throbbing from all the alcohol!”
“Yes. I will bring food and drink to relieve your hangover at once.”
*‘He has no intention of talking.’*
Leo's eyes narrowed.
*‘So the ones robbing heroes' tombs were the Justice Guild?’*
The reason was unknown.
But from what King Kanel said, it was clear the Justice Guild was robbing the heroes' tombs in this country.
*‘Could they be connected to that Necro King bastard?’*
He had already figured out that the Justice Guild was not a conventional organization.
And the Necro King was the one who best exploited such groups.
“In any case, the important thing now is that the Justice Guild has interfered in the war without reason and is threatening our kingdom. I am officially requesting Lumerne's mediation.”
Watching King Kanel play dumb, Leo's lips curled into a smirk.
After a bit more conversation, Leo left the audience chamber and clenched his left fist.
Crack-
The sound of bones cracking echoed ominously from his left hand.
*‘Should I make him talk?’*
Making an incompetent king talk would be no trouble at all.
After the Hero Record was created, Vihar tore out and kept the pages detailing Kyle's deeds as a shadow.
Kyle's record as a shadow included acts of brutal torture.
That was why Vihar had torn out and kept a part of Kyle's Hero Record.
She didn't want her master to be portrayed badly to future generations.
Leo walked down the hallway, thinking murderous thoughts.
Beside him, Lil was also lost in thought.
“It seems like he's hiding something. What could it be?”
“Regarding that matter, would you allow me to explain?”
Hearing a voice from behind, Leo and Lil turned their heads.
A young man who looked to be in his late teens was standing there.
His eyes were sharp and intelligent.
But his face was shadowed with worry.
“Who are you?”
Lil tilted her head and asked. He introduced himself.
“My name is Jeremin Kanel. I am the crown prince of this nation.”
After a polite greeting, Jeremin spoke seriously.
“I have something urgent to discuss with you both. Could you spare me some time?”
Jeremin invited the two of them and led them outside the royal palace.
They traveled by carriage.
During the ride, Lil discreetly lifted the curtain to look at the scenery outside.
The people in the capital, seeing the royal crest, noticed the carriage and hastily bowed their heads.
But their gazes were not kind.
The appearance of the capital's citizens was uniformly shabby.
“The country seems to be in a difficult state.”
At Lil's words, Jeremin sighed deeply.
“It can't be helped. It's difficult for me to say this, but… the tyranny of my father the king and his ministers grows worse by the day.”
A look of despair settled on Jeremin's face.
“He neglects his duties to the state and indulges in luxury. When the Kingdom of Petimon launched a major invasion, he was anxious and couldn't hold any banquets… but as soon as he heard the news of your arrival yesterday, it was as if he was releasing all his pent-up desires…”
Jeremin's face twisted.
He seemed to genuinely despise his father and the ministers.
“So, what is it you wanted to explain?”
Jeremin answered Leo's question.
“The reason the Justice Guild is targeting our kingdom. And it is something that Lumerne will also find tempting.”
“What is it?”
“What the Justice Guild is after is the tomb of the Knight of the Netherworld. They are targeting it because they heard it lies sleeping somewhere in our kingdom.”
“The tomb of the Knight of the Netherworld? Isn't that something that only exists in legends?”
Lil tilted her head.
Jeremin shook his head in response.
“No. It is a secret passed down through the royal family for generations, so it is certain. Although we do not know its exact location.”
At Jeremin's words, Leo fell into thought.
*‘The Knight of the Netherworld.’*
A hero Leo also knew of.
And he had heard about the countless heroic relics the knight was said to have left behind.
*‘The Knight of the Netherworld was said to have taken not only the relics of his followers but also those of the ones he defeated, wasn't he?’*
The Knight of the Netherworld had many other titles besides that one.
The most representative one was the Hero Emperor.
Another famous title was…
*‘The Conqueror.’*
A name earned by expanding his territory countless times and felling countless heroes.
It was said he buried all the relics used by those heroes in his own tomb.
Finding them would certainly be a huge help to Lumerne.
*‘Not just Lumerne. The other races, too.’*
Because the heroes who fell at the hands of the Knight of the Netherworld were not only human.
“Even if it's a secret passed down in the royal family, is it likely to be true if you don't know the exact location? Every royal family has legends like that, don't they?”
As Lil tilted her head, Jeremin smiled.
“Do not worry about that. The key to opening the tomb's treasure vault has certainly been passed down in our royal family.”
“Hmm.”
At Jeremin's words, Lil crossed her arms and fell into thought.
Meanwhile, the carriage left the capital and stopped in front of a large, old training ground on the outskirts.
“This place is?”
“The Tomb of the Defeated.”
“The Tomb of the Defeated?”
As Lil's eyes widened, Jeremin gave a bitter smile.
“Yes. It is said to be the place where the bodies of heroes defeated by the Knight of the Netherworld long ago were discarded. Well, it's only a legend, of course.”
“Why did you bring us here?”
Leo asked as he stepped out of the carriage, and Jeremin replied.
“To make a deal. Please, follow me for now.”
Jeremin led the way.
Lil followed behind him.
Leo glanced around at the scenery and was about to take a step.
[Listen carefully, Kyle.]
The all-too-familiar voice from behind made him stop dead in his tracks.
[The voices of the heroic spirits.]
So startled, he spun around without thinking.
“Lisinas?”
Swoooosh-
There was no answer to Leo's call.
Only the empty landscape met his eyes.