Chapter 499
Chapter Title: I'll Be Your Future
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499.
Beneath a faded gray sky.
Five people sat around a campfire.
The sun would soon set.
In the world as it was now, the days were bleak, but the nights were even more dreadful.
No matter how accustomed they were to expeditions, moving carelessly at night was not easy.
Luna, having taken off her shoes and socks by the fire, warmed her soles and wiggled her toes.
Demon blood had seeped into her shoes during the battle earlier.
Luna, wiggling her feet to dry them faster, spoke up.
“Kyle, I want meat. Cook me some meat.”
Tilting her head back to look at Kyle, who was preparing a meal at another fire, she saw him frown.
“What kind of elf craves meat like you?”
Contrary to popular belief, elves did eat meat.
But it was extremely rare for one to seek it out like this.
“If you ask me, this elf is a fraud.”
As Dweno sat down by the fire, Luna scoffed at his words.
“Hmph! An elf is an elf. What’s a fraud elf?”
With that, she clapped her feet together.
Just then, Lisinas returned from scouting the area with Ar-on.
“There are no signs of demons or monsters in the vicinity.”
“Looks like we can rest easy tonight.”
Kyle let out a small sigh and added more wood to the fire.
As evening fell, the five of them gathered around the campfire to eat.
“If Erebos had never appeared, what kind of lives do you think we’d be living?”
Ar-on asked with a curious expression.
Looking at him, Kyle replied.
“There are no ‘what ifs.’ Why waste time thinking about something so pointless?”
At the blunt remark, Ar-on’s ears drooped.
But no one else agreed with him.
“Not at all. What Ar-on said isn't pointless.”
Dweno said, putting down his spoon.
“How we would be if Erebos hadn't appeared. Isn't that the same as who we'll be in the future, after we defeat him?”
“I agree with Dweno.”
“That sounds like a fun thought!”
Lisinas smiled and nodded, while Luna’s eyes sparkled.
Imagination.
It was one of the great strengths for those living in this world hurtling toward ruin.
Because imagining a distant future transformed into hope.
Even if it was an unattainable… a meaningless delusion for now.
If it made them look toward tomorrow, it was an act of great significance.
“Ar-on, what kind of life do you think you’d be living?”
At Dweno’s question, Ar-on’s eyes widened, and he scratched his head.
“I’m strong, so… I think I would have followed in my master's footsteps, built an orphanage, and lived peacefully as a farmer.”
He spoke of his humble dream with a shy smile.
Though it might seem modest to the other four.
To those born in the age of calamity, it was an unimaginably grand dream.
A normal life had long been stolen from them, and the generation of disaster had only known a world filled with lament.
“That’s certainly a nice dream.”
Lisinas smiled cheerfully.
For the dragon with the grand dream of saving the world, the daily life Ar-on envisioned was one of the very things he most wanted to reclaim.
“Dweno, what about you?”
“Isn't it obvious? I’d be making a name for myself as a phenomenal artist.”
Watching Dweno speak so nonchalantly, Luna jeered.
“No. You’d definitely be on the wanted list for saying perverted things to royalty in various kingdoms.”
Dweno brought his thick fist down on the head of the cackling Luna.
Ignoring Luna, who clutched her head with tears in her eyes, Dweno looked at Lisinas.
“And you?”
“Me….”
Lisinas rested his chin on his hand and smiled.
“Wouldn't I have been quietly protecting the world's order from the shadows?”
Lisinas was a black dragon.
A guardian of the world's order from the darkness.
But no one agreed with his words.
“The light you possess isn't something you can hide just by trying.”
“Yeah. I’m sure Lisinas would have done something amazing even without Erebos!”
“You would have been famous.”
Dweno, Ar-on, and Luna all refuted Lisinas’s statement in turn.
Lisinas, the savior of the world and a radiant light, living in the shadows?
It was unimaginable.
At his companions’ words, Lisinas scratched his cheek.
“Ahem! Then is it my turn?!”
Luna puffed out her chest.
“I’d surely be a great archmage, more famous than I am now. I would have been able to focus solely on magical research! All mages would have knelt before me in reverence, no doubt!”
As Luna wore a smug expression, Ar-on clapped blankly, and Lisinas burst into laughter.
Dweno simply shook his head.
But he didn’t deny her words.
Knowing Luna, she was more than capable of achieving it.
“What about you, Kyle?”
Luna asked, her eyes twinkling.
“I’d probably be working as a mercenary somewhere.”
At Kyle’s indifferent reply, Lisinas and Dweno smiled bitterly.
“I feel like Kyle would have been doing something amazing, too.”
Ar-on tilted his head.
But Kyle just snickered.
“Not a chance.”
With that, Kyle focused on his meal.
Afterward, the five of them chatted excitedly about the future after defeating Erebos.
The grand dreams each of them wanted to achieve.
The things they wanted to do when an age of peace arrived.
They talked about countless things.
To forget the despair before them and look to a distant future.
Kyle, too, occasionally interjected with retorts or affirmations, enjoying the conversation.
But in the end, he never said what he wanted to do in the future.
“You know, about Kyle.”
After the meal was finished.
Luna, on dish duty for the day, asked Lisinas, who was in the same group, as they washed the dishes.
“What kind of dream does he live for?”
At Luna’s question, Lisinas paused.
“I wonder.”
Clink.
Washing a spoon, Lisinas gave a bitter smile.
“I don’t think he has one.”
“What?”
Luna’s eyes widened.
The five heroes Lisinas had chosen and gathered.
Each of them was from a different race, age group, and held different thoughts, beliefs, and ideologies.
If not for the special circumstances of the age of calamity, they probably would never have come together to act as one.
It had been half a year since the five had gathered.
They still didn’t know much about each other.
Even so, Luna knew these five heroes shared a powerful bond.
It was the desire to move toward the future.
Which also meant they had a future they wanted to see.
Luna thought that even though Kyle didn't say it, he surely had a future he was picturing.
That was why Lisinas’s answer was so unexpected.
“Kyle is different from us.”
“Different how?”
“You, Ar-on, and Dweno willingly joined my expedition. But Kyle didn't.”
“You said he was really cynical at first, right?”
“Yes.”
“If he was that hard to persuade, couldn’t you have come for me, the Guardian of the Blue Sky, or Dweno first?”
“I thought about that, but… the more I followed Kyle, the more certain I became.”
Click—
Looking at his reflection in the spoon, Lisinas spoke.
“That the first step had to be Kyle.”
“Because of Kyle’s mana attribute?”
“No.”
Lisinas calmly shook his head.
“Among us, from the very moment the age of calamity began until now, Kyle is probably the only one who has continuously fought on the front lines.”
The Surviving Hero.
That title wasn’t earned simply because he was the only one left alive while all his comrades died.
Kyle had always lived as a mercenary on the front lines.
As if that was where he belonged.
He always stood on the front lines against Tartaros.
What that meant was simple.
He had lost countless comrades.
He had watched those who fought alongside him on the same battlefield die.
It meant he had witnessed defeat after defeat with his own two eyes.
Lisinas, who had waited for the right time to save the world.
Luna, who had fought to protect her homeland.
Ar-on, who had grown stronger under his master’s tutelage.
He was fundamentally different from Dweno, who had wandered the world fighting.
“Kyle is likely the only person who has watched the world fall to ruin in real time.”
Everyone else had either died or broken and fled.
But the Surviving Hero was different.
No one would have pointed fingers if he had passed the burden to someone else.
No one would have mocked or blamed him if he had run away.
“But for some reason, as if it were his rightful place, Kyle was always on the front lines.”
Lisinas recalled the sight of Kyle’s back.
“Watching Kyle fight, I understood. Ah, if this man gives up, the world will truly end.”
When he had extended a hand and proposed they save the world, Kyle had scoffed at him.
He’d called it a lie.
That the world was beyond saving.
‘It really was a lie. The probability of this world being saved is close to zero. But…’
Lisinas remembered Kyle at Gardsrone.
Ironically, the sight of Kyle fighting on the front lines had affirmed Lisinas’s lie.
“Kyle was so cool back then.”
She smiled, her cheeks flushing slightly.
It was a fresh emotion, uncharacteristic of the usual Lisinas.
Blinking at her, Luna said.
“Are you sick? Your face is red.”
“What?”
Lisinas was flustered for a moment before composing her expression.
She then checked Luna’s reaction, wondering if her feelings had been exposed.
But Luna was genuinely worried.
‘Thank goodness, she’s an idiot.’
To quote Kyle, Luna was a magic idiot who knew nothing but magic.
“Anyway, maybe all those difficult experiences have caused the light in Kyle’s heart to fade.”
“Huh?”
“It must be hard for him to even think of a path he wants to take. That’s why he’s still searching. For something he wants to do.”
The flames of calamity had taken more from the Surviving Hero than just his dead comrades or the world.
His future must have also been burned away, leaving only ashes.
“Just like this damn sky.”
The faded gray sky.
“Hmph! I can’t stand all this gloominess.”
Having finished the dishes, Luna scoffed and shot to her feet.
“What are you doing?”
“You said Kyle is looking for something he wants to do, right? Then I shall permit him to board the ship of my grand dream.”
Luna grinned smugly.
“He’s a mage, too, after all. Once he hears my grand plan, he’ll be completely hooked.”
With a confidence that seemed to come from nowhere, Luna marched over to Kyle.
Watching her go, Lisinas smiled.
‘Not bad.’
She herself was a mage, after all.
Luna’s dream piqued her interest.
‘Maybe I’ll join in after the world is saved.’
***
“Kyle!”
A short distance away from the campsite.
Kyle, who had been sitting alone on a rock, glanced at Luna, who was now beaming beside him.
“I’ve been thinking.”
“About what.”
“If you don’t have anything to do after we save the world, how about we start a magic academy together?”
“What?”
“I’ll be the headmaster, and you can be the vice headmaster. We’ll contribute to the advancement of magic together. What do you think? Good idea, right?”
Looking at Luna, who was making this sudden proposal with sparkling eyes, Kyle answered dismissively.
“No thanks. Too much of a hassle.”
At his words, Luna’s lips formed a pout.
“Do you really not have anything you want to do?”
“Nope.”
Seeing Kyle’s curt reply, Luna plopped down next to him.
“I don’t get it. You’re so versatile, aren’t you? It feels like you could become anything you wanted.”
The abilities of an All-Class.
To Luna, it was a versatile talent that could make anything possible.
“What a waste.”
At Luna’s mumble, Kyle let out a chuckle.
“Tell me about it.”
“Still, you’ve kept fighting all this time, right? And you’ll keep fighting in the future.”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
Luna looked puzzled.
If he had nothing he wanted to do, what meaning did the future hold?
“You’re being unusually persistent today.”
“My curiosity is piqued. You know how it is, right? We mages can’t stand it when our curiosity is stirred.”
Watching Luna grin, Kyle said.
“I don’t have anything I want to do or anything I want to be. But there is a future I want to see.”
“What is it?”
“I want to see your futures.”
Kyle said with a gentle smile.
Luna’s eyes widened slightly.
“If we defeat that damn Primordial Evil, you’ll surely become the greatest archmage in history.”
“Ah.”
As Kyle affirmed her dream, an involuntary sound escaped Luna’s lips.
“If that happens, I’ll be sure to expose what a cranky personality you have.”
Kyle chuckled, saying it would be hilarious just thinking about it.
Normally, Luna would have thrown a punch right away, but she was captivated by the smile that had just flashed across his mind.
He had no ambitions of his own, yet the way he affirmed her dream captured her heart.
At some point, her heart began to pound.
In response, her ears kept twitching.
By the time she realized her face was blushing, she had already whipped her head to the side.
It was an emotion she had never experienced before, but Luna knew what was happening.
‘I’m in trouble. I can’t look at his face.’
Luna realized.
She had fallen for this cynical man.
Composing herself, she snuck a glance at Kyle.
He still wore his usual indifferent expression.
The man who never gave up, yet could no longer dream.
Looking at the man wandering in search of a destination, Luna cleared her throat.
“I’ll be your future.”
“What?”
“If you can’t picture a future, then I’ll become your unchanging dream.”
Luna said coyly, her face slightly flushed.
“So that your life may continue through mine.”
Luna could feel the blush spread all the way to her neck.
“Ha, how wonderful, Luna. You claim to dislike High Elves, yet you mimic their elegant words so well.”
“Eek?!”
Luna jumped in fright at the sound of Dweno’s voice from behind her.
“S-since when?”
“I’ve been here for a while.”
Dweno wore a sly, unnerving grin.
Luna’s mouth gaped open.
‘To confess the moment she realizes her feelings. Luna certainly is direct.’
Luna’s words just now were a High Elven courtship phrase.
Of course, even if he didn’t know that, Kyle should have sensed something from Luna’s demeanor.
‘Lisinas is going to have a hard time with this.’
Just as Dweno stroked his chin.
“Why are you suddenly acting like a High Elf? It doesn’t suit you. Have you been drinking?”
“What?”
Kyle said indifferently.
“You… don’t you know what I mean?”
“What do you mean?”
Thwack—!
Luna planted her fist squarely in Kyle’s face and stormed off, fuming.
“What the….”
Just as Kyle clutched his face, about to retaliate against Luna.
“Kyle, I must say this one thing.”
“What is it?”
“You are, without a doubt, a moron.”
***
Recalling the distant past, Luna stroked her cheek.
‘I swore it back then. I’d make that bastard fall for me first.’
Luna wore a sullen expression.
Of course, that plan had failed in the World of Heroes when she confessed her feelings first. But still, the desire to paint Kyle's gray heart with various colors remained.
‘Could this be my lingering attachment?’
The thought crossed her mind, but seeing Kyle walking and talking with Eiran and Chen Xia, Luna quickly shook her head.
‘No, that’s not it.’
She had declared she would become Kyle’s future, that she would let him aboard her dream, but in the end, she was the one who had entrusted her future and dreams to him.
The moment she entrusted her everything to Kyle, this feeling had not remained as a lingering attachment.
‘Still… I miss it.’
Luna smiled as she watched Kyle talking with her disciple’s descendants.
The sight reminded her of her disciple.
‘I miss Berkia.’
As a faint smile played on her lips, Luna’s ears twitched.
‘Berkia?’
The disciple she had left behind still weighed on her heart.
“Ah.”
Luna’s eyes shot open.
“Ah!”
At Luna’s scream, Leo turned around.
“What’s wrong?”
As Kyle asked with a puzzled face, Luna shouted.
“I’ve got it! It’s Berkia!”