Chapter 501
Chapter Title: This Is Me
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501.
“Luna? What are you doing here?”
Chen Xia smiled brightly at Karl’s surprised expression.
“I'm more surprised that you recognized her at a glance, Karl.”
Though surprised that Karl had recognized Luna, Chen Xia, the quickest of the second-years to compose herself, had already returned to her characteristic smiling face.
“What?”
Karl, flustered by Chen Xia's words, soon wore a look of regret.
“Oh?”
Luna let out a sound of admiration.
“Looks like he figured out who you are. Did you know?”
Leo shook his head, watching Luna playfully poke him in the side.
“I had no idea.”
Leo, too, was quite surprised, watching his best friend in this life cover his face in embarrassment.
***
“When did you figure it out?”
On the path to the club building.
Leo asked, sitting on one of the benches scattered across the campus.
“The first time I felt something was off was in Dweno's world.”
Karl, sitting next to Leo, looked awkward.
“You were too familiar with that world. Plus, you were so casual with Verkia, Ar-on, and Dweno.”
Acting is essential in the World of Heroes.
You have to act as much like a person of that era as possible.
You have to move naturally, treating them as others would.
But even considering that, your attitude was a little strange.
A subtle feeling that only someone as sharp as Karl could notice.
As if you were treating them like your friends at the academy, myself included.
Or like you were meeting old friends after a long time.
“Then, during summer break, I saw you with Ar-on and started to get a vague idea.”
I started putting together the puzzle pieces I'd gathered from being friends with you.
Your extraordinary growth rate.
Your continuous connections with the Great Heroes.
And on top of that, being an All-Class, just like the Hero of the Beginning.
From the moment the word ‘impossible’ crossed my mind, the thought that you might be Kyle grew stronger.
At Karl's words, Leo let out a hollow laugh.
“I was too careless.”
“Rather than that, isn't it just that I'm quick on the uptake?”
“Why didn't you tell me you knew I was Kyle?”
“My lips were itching to say something, I'll admit. But the person I know is Leo Flove.”
Karl grinned at Leo.
“Not Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning, but my friend, Leo.”
From the moment of the entrance ceremony, Leo treated everyone equally.
He naturally befriended those who approached him.
Despite his status, he treated everyone without barriers.
When I first suspected who he was, I wondered why he acted that way.
Was it the composure and generosity of someone who had saved the world?
But as far as Karl could remember, Leo was always sincere.
When facing trials.
When dealing with those who confronted him head-on.
And when he led the charge into the most dangerous places, reassuring those who followed him.
So, Karl decided to treat Leo as a friend.
Because no matter who he was, to Karl, he was his best friend.
“That's quite a mature thing to say.”
“Ugh?!”
Just then, Luna's face popped up between Leo and Karl.
Seeing Luna appear out of nowhere, Karl clutched his heart and tumbled off the bench.
Luna watched him, clutching her stomach and bursting into laughter.
Then she walked over to Karl and offered her hand.
“You're Karl Thomas, right?”
“Yes.”
Karl took Luna's hand and got to his feet.
Watching Karl dust off his bottom, Luna said,
“My name is Luna Rubinance. Feel free to call me Lu.”
“Yes, Lady Lu.”
“No, no. I said call me Lu.”
Luna grinned and pointed at Leo.
“You think of this guy as a friend, right?”
“That's right.”
“I'm his friend, too.”
With that, she casually threw an arm around Leo's shoulders and leaned on him.
Leo, looking annoyed, pushed her face away with his hand.
“Doesn't that make you and me friends, too?”
Looking at Luna's beaming face, Karl scratched his cheek.
“Does it work like that?”
“Of course. I'd like to have another friend besides this cheeky brat.”
Luna grumbled, pinching the hand Leo was using to push her face away.
“My little darlings are all too formal with me.”
Breaking free from Leo's grasp, Luna went over to Chen Xia and Eiran and hugged them with both arms.
Eiran looked incredibly awestruck, while Chen Xia wore a troubled smile.
“Is it really okay for someone like me to be your friend?”
“What's wrong with you?”
“I don't have much talent for magic, and I have no chance of becoming a hero.”
“What does that matter?”
Luna scoffed.
Releasing her arms, Luna stood next to Leo with a little 'oomph'.
“Do you think we saved the world with only our power, the power of the heroes who lived in the same era?”
“Didn't you?”
Eiran looked puzzled.
“Wrong!”
As Luna spoke with a cheerful laugh, Eiran's ears drooped.
“It was possible because everyone who lived in that era pooled their strength. Not me, not Leo, not Ar-on or Dweno—not even Lisinas would think we saved the world with our power alone.”
There are certainly people who have the power to do greater things than others.
People who light the way in the darkness and guide others along that path.
People call those who can take one step further into the darkness 'heroes'.
But…
“It's up to the people to follow that path.”
Luna said, gently twirling a strand of her hair with her fingertip.
“In the end, it was the many people who supported us.”
Just because we shouldered the era doesn't mean the era was a burden.
On the contrary, when we were about to fall, it held us up.
We received as much help as we gave.
In that sense, Luna believed that people living in the same era were equals.
“What's important is that you and I share the same time. In that sense,”
Luna once again extended her hand to Karl.
“My name is Luna Rubinance. And you are?”
At Luna's words, Karl clasped her hand.
“I'm Karl Thomas.”
Knowing what Luna wanted, Karl decided to cast aside his various reservations.
‘Whatever it is, a merchant gives the customer what they want, and a supporter gives the hero on the battlefield what they want.’
“In that sense.”
Karl took out a subspace pouch from his pocket and pulled something out.
Fwip-!
“Gasp?!”
“Wow.”
Eiran let out a gasp of shock, and Chen Xia uttered a sound of admiration.
What Karl had taken out was none other than a collection book.
It was an album popular among humans, filled with cards depicting famous heroes.
“This must be incredibly expensive, isn't it?”
When Chen Xia asked, looking at the completed collection book, Karl grinned.
“It is.”
Eiran swallowed hard.
“Ooh, this is pretty.”
Luna smiled brightly as she looked at the card with her picture on it.
Karl took a pen from his pocket.
“As a friend, I have a favor to ask. Could you sign these?”
“Sign them?”
Luna looked bewildered.
“Yeah. Just because we're friends doesn't mean I don't respect you. As a mage, I have immense respect for Luna Rubinance, the Progenitor of the Nebula.”
Karl said nonchalantly.
In response, Luna nodded and diligently signed each and every card.
“So, is there something good about getting an autograph?”
Luna, a stranger to such culture, asked with an innocent face.
At her question, Karl beamed.
“Of course. This is going to make me rich.”
At those words, Chen Xia narrowed her eyes.
“Karl.”
“Yeah.”
“You're going to be smited.”
“It's fine. It's a favor between friends.”
Karl said shamelessly.
“Alright! In that case, dinner's on me!”
“Ooooh! Is that really okay?”
Luna asked, clapping her hands, and Karl laughed.
“Yep. Because I just got rich.”
Luna and Karl walked off, exuding a friendly atmosphere.
Chen Xia and Eiran hurriedly followed them.
Leo smiled as he watched them go.
***
Whoooooosh-!
In the frigid lands of the northern continent, now the domain of the elves, there are numerous nations.
However, unlike human nations, the elven nations had no kings.
During the Age of Calamity.
The reason the elves, once considered the most powerful race with immense influence on the continent, collapsed so helplessly before Tartaros's onslaught was their pride in their bloodline.
They had formed a strong, centralized government around the Elf King, but when that central power became corrupt, it crumbled all too easily.
And after the Age of Calamity ended.
The Fairy Knight, Verkia Ersar, who had led the rebuilding of the world, abolished the class system in elven society.
There were those who cried for legitimacy, but the Elf King and the High Elves had already fallen.
Under the ideology that all elves are equal, elven society was rebuilt.
But with the passage of time, intentions are bound to dull.
After thousands of years, the elves once again became intoxicated with their own specialness.
Their beautiful appearances, superior magical abilities, and affinity for spirits, all greater than other races, were enough to make the elves believe they were special.
Later, with the appearance of Seirun and the elves becoming the masters of magic, their sense of superiority grew even stronger.
This led to the birth of something called the 'Pureblood Society'.
However, that very society recently lost its power.
By none other than the being whose existence led to their creation: 'Seirun'.
A single word from Seirun denied the very existence of the Pureblood Society.
The society's foundation was shaken, and with the betrayal of several key elves revealed, its prestige plummeted even further.
But for them, who had been rooted in elven society for thousands of years, to disappear overnight was nearly impossible.
“Unacceptable! That a human possesses an elven treasure!”
An elf wore an expression of intolerance.
“Although Lord Seirun acknowledged Leo Flove as his successor... Cometes is an elven treasure.”
“Some fools say that since it is Lord Seirun's staff, we must follow his will... but Cometes originally belonged to Lady Luna. To hand it over to a human based on Lord Seirun's will alone is absurd.”
“We have sent a delegation to Leo Flove in time for the Twilight Festival. We intend to formally request the return of Cometes.”
A heated debate was underway at the Pureblood Society's meeting.
An elf listening to the discussion narrowed his eyes.
“But why have you summoned me here?”
Rune Ersar.
The current acting principal of Seirun and one of the elder elves.
He was an elf of immense power.
But he had lived his entire life far removed from the Pureblood Society.
No, rather, from the society's perspective, he was an unwelcome elf.
His way of thinking was considered extremely progressive, even among elves.
Therefore, Rune was currently in a very foul mood.
‘I was in the middle of reading Eiran's letter!’
To be called out to listen to such trivial matters while reading a letter from his granddaughter was bound to give him a headache.
‘I thought it would be a constructive meeting, like about disbanding the Pureblood Society.’
A Pureblood Society elf spoke to the displeased Rune.
“Lord Rune, are you not a descendant of the great elven hero, Verkia?”
“Should you not follow the will of that great person, who was Lady Luna's disciple?”
At the society's words, Rune scoffed internally.
‘Since Lord Seirun has denied them, are they now planning to use Lady Verkia as their figurehead?’
In the first place, the reason Verkia, considered one of the three great elven heroes, had a relatively diminished standing was also because of the Pureblood Society.
Verkia, who rebuilt the world, was an elf who emphasized bonds with other races.
From the society's perspective, their ancestor's teachings were naturally unacceptable.
That was why, despite holding the title of Luna's disciple, Verkia was slowly being forgotten among the elves.
The Ersar family was still a prestigious house, but considering Verkia's achievements and status, their position was rather narrow.
Of course, the Ersar family had never cared about such things.
They simply displayed their progressive tendencies in accordance with their ancestor's will.
But now that Seirun had denied the Pureblood Society.
The society was planning to change the elven hero they revered to Verkia.
It would be easier for them to twist the teachings of Verkia, a figure from 5000 years ago, to their liking than to deal with Seirun, who had denied them.
Just as Rune was forming a cold smile at the sight of the Pureblood Society trying to insult his ancestor.
Creeeeak-!
The door to the meeting room suddenly opened.
“We are in the midst of a grave discussion concerning our race! How dare you open the door so recklessly!”
The Pureblood Society elf at the head of the table was shouting with a furious expression.
Squish. Squish.
The sound of what seemed to be wet footsteps was heard.
With it, an elven woman appeared, covered head to toe in blood and holding a sword from which blood dripped.
“Wh-what!”
“Who in the world are you, wench!”
Voices filled with shock and anger erupted from all over the room.
Along with them, a powerful magical energy swirled.
These were all powerful mages of the stars.
Even if their ideologies were twisted and problematic, their skills were not flawed.
Spurt-!
But before their magic could even be completed.
In a fleeting moment, the head of a Pureblood Society elf went flying.
From that moment on, it was a literal massacre.
The sword of the elven woman, who had slaughtered the Pureblood Society at a terrifying speed, finally turned toward Rune.
Kagagang-!
But Rune blocked her sword.
And the moment their swords met.
Rune's eyes filled with shock.
Spurt-!
Blood splattered onto Rune's chest.
Splash-
The elven woman brushed her chest.
If Rune had swung his sword with intent, she would have been cut, though it wouldn't have been a fatal wound.
That was how skilled Rune was.
But he couldn't bring himself to complete the swing.
Of course, the same was true for her.
“...Thank goodness... You resemble Myde more than me.”
With a voice laced with relief and bitterness, the elven woman took a step.
Squish-
Watching the elven woman, Rune pushed himself up.
“You are not a traitor. Won't you step aside?”
Looking at her speaking in a benevolent voice, Rune coughed up blood and said,
“Why...?”
“It's something someone has to do, isn't it?”
Seeing her bitter smile, Rune shook his head.
“Great ancestor... this... this is not right. The you I know was not this kind of person.”
Rune said desperately to Verkia.
“You say the same thing as Bihar.”
She recalled a friend who shared the same master... who had lived his entire life in darkness.
“I wonder if this is how Bihar felt when he looked at me back then.”
I know.
I know that the descendant before me is a noble hero.
That he has lived as a hero who enveloped the world in a more brilliant light than anyone.
To not tarnish my name.
To follow my will.
But…
“I'm sorry. But this is me.”
Verkia's form vanished.
Creeak-
Thud-!
Rune collapsed.
Verkia left the Pureblood Society's hall.
He won't die.
But…
‘I've disappointed him.’
Remembering Rune, who couldn't bring himself to swing his sword, Verkia wore a bitter smile.
Beneath the night sky, Verkia looked down at her hands.
Sshh... sshh...
Snow is falling.
The snow that touched her body did not melt.
Sshh-
A snowflake landed on her palm.
How wondrous was it, the first time she saw white snow?
“I cannot forgive them.”
A dark emotion filled Verkia's eyes.
“Those who insult the sacrifices of our comrades... and continue to live... I cannot forgive them.”