Chapter 505
Chapter Title: The Storyteller and the Potion
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Flowers filled the streets.
Leo walked through streets where countless petals fluttered in the festive air, lost in thought.
‘Worries about Berchia, huh.’
If Luna herself believed her lingering attachment was Berchia, then it must be true.
In a way, it felt just like Luna.
‘Ar-on, myself… and Luna, too. We all knew Berchia's potential.’
It didn't take much thought to know he would grow into a great magic swordsman.
‘That's why Ar-on and I weren't too worried about Berchia when we left on our final journey. But Luna was different.’
He recalled Luna looking back toward Berchia until the very end.
She must have been worried.
A worry separate from strength.
‘Just because you're strong doesn't mean your spirit can't be broken.’
Unlike Luna, Leo believed his disciple would overcome any challenges.
‘If anything, I was more worried about Bihar than Berchia.’
It wasn't that he particularly liked Bihar more than Berchia.
It was purely because of Bihar's past.
‘In any case, I can't think of a way to resolve Luna's lingering attachment right now.’
With that thought, Leo glanced at Eiran walking ahead of him.
‘Should I visit Elsalvekia after the festival ends?’
He remembered visiting the Ersar family during his first year.
There would surely be traces of Berchia left there.
If Luna saw those traces, wouldn't she feel at ease?
‘…I don't know.’
Leo clenched his fist.
He was acting nonchalant, but in truth, Leo's mind was a complicated mess.
Back when Ar-on disappeared after subjugating Erebos.
Leo had hoped Ar-on would remain in this era.
He wanted him to enjoy the peaceful world he himself had created.
But Ar-on chose to return to his original place.
It was the same now.
Leo wanted Luna to stay in this era for as long as possible.
It was a sentiment born purely from concern for a comrade who had weathered the Age of Calamity with him.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
“About Luna.”
“Ah.”
Karl let out a small sound of understanding.
“You said she's a spiritual entity now, right?”
“That's right.”
“Then is there a need to worry? It's not an immediate problem. I think you can take your time thinking about the serious stuff later.”
Karl, too, knew that it wasn't good for a spiritual entity to linger for long.
But he spoke calmly.
“I think you and Lady Luna should enjoy life a bit more.”
“You’re a good guy, Karl.”
“Wow~ Being praised by the man who saved the world, I don't know where to put myself.”
Leo chuckled at Karl's playful act.
“Oh! Speaking of which, let's stop by Kuraju Street! I need to check if the item I put up for auction has sold.”
At his words, Leo, Eiran, and Chen Xia nodded.
After visiting the auction manager on the lively Kuraju Street, Karl went to collect his payment.
In the meantime, Leo, Eiran, and Chen Xia decided to look around Kuraju Street.
It was then.
“Come listen to the heart-pounding tales of the great heroes.”
Storytellers and bards were calling out to passersby.
It was such a familiar sight that Leo was about to pass by with a smirk.
“Today, I will speak of a secret from history. The story of the Hero of the Beginning, Kyle.”
Someone was telling a story in a familiar voice.
A crowd had gathered around, as if word had spread that it was an interesting story.
“There was a woman who loved the Hero of the Beginning, Kyle. She was the hope and bright light of the dark Age of Calamity. The King of Wisdom, Lisinas.”
The storyteller spoke in a sorrowful voice.
“However, the Hero of the Beginning had another he truly loved. It was none other than the beautiful, pure, benevolent, and noble elf, like a single flower—the Progenitor of the Nebula, Luna.”
Thanks to the beautiful voice and the scandalous setup, the storyteller was surrounded by a large audience.
“Young Master Leo, I think Lady Luna is quite drunk.”
Chen Xia said cautiously.
Just as she said, several empty bottles were rolling around Luna, who was in the middle of her story.
“Oh my. To think Lord Leo loved Lady Luna.”
Eiran covered her mouth, not knowing what to do.
Leo narrowed his eyes, staring at Luna.
Regardless, Luna excitedly continued her tale.
Luna's story was incredibly immersive.
She spoke as if she had truly seen those times.
Which was only natural, as she had actually been there.
Everything except the relationship between Luna and Kyle was true.
“The final moment arrived. ‘Luna, you can’t die! You promised you’d love me after this battle was over! You left a token of your love on this very cheek!’, ‘I’m sorry, Kyle. I don’t think I can keep that promise.’”
‘...She remembers confessing to me, doesn't she?’
Luna had definitely said she had no memory of when she came out of the World of Heroes before.
But as soon as he heard the story about the kiss on the cheek, he knew.
Leo smiled coldly and pushed through the crowd toward Luna.
“Kyle smiled sadly! Even Lisinas, for that moment, mourned the death of the Luna he had hated... Eek?!”
Just as the story reached its climax, Luna let out a shriek.
She had made eye contact with Leo, who had somehow made his way to the front of the crowd.
Leo said.
“Drag her over here.”
At his command, Chen Xia approached Luna without hesitation.
Eiran, however, hesitated.
For an elf, the very act of dragging away the Progenitor of the Nebula, Luna, was a great sacrilege.
“It’s fine. I permit it.”
But after hearing Leo's words, she seemed to make up her mind and moved to Luna's side.
With both arms grabbed, Luna was dragged away by Chen Xia and Eiran as if she were being arrested.
“W-wait! You two! After I’ve treated you so well, how could you do this to me?! Especially you, Eiran! You...!”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“Hmph! See, being nice gets you nowhere! Let go! Let go of me, you dogs of Leo!”
Luna shouted.
“What? What in the world is going on?”
Karl, who had collected his payment and met up with Lunia who was waiting to receive her item, returned to see Chen Xia and Eiran dragging Luna away, and could only stare blankly.
***
Leo's group and the others reunited, and they all enjoyed the festival.
During that time, Luna didn't say a single word to Leo.
Having sobered up, Luna was so embarrassed by her outrageous behavior that she couldn't even look in Leo's direction.
Leo, for his part, didn't bother the embarrassed Luna.
He just watched her with a vaguely unsettling smile.
‘Should I just punch him!’
Luna shouted internally, clenching a fist with veins popping.
Throughout Lumeria City, there were many shops run by Lumerne students.
Among them was a pop-up cafe.
“Oh? Looks like a cafe run by the third-year seniors.”
“It does.”
Karl and Chen Xia's eyes widened as they saw their upperclassmen.
Being a cafe run by hero cadets, it was bustling with customers.
This was possible because, for Lumerne students, the Twilight Festival was also a sort of school festival.
“Oh!”
A familiar voice rang out.
“Big Bro!”
All eyes in the shop turned to one spot.
The reason was simple.
A beautiful female student had called a male student ‘Big Bro’.
Even Karl and Chen Xia looked dumbfounded.
“Lil, have you no shame?”
At Leo's words, Lil's face turned red.
It was definitely not because she felt embarrassed about the title.
“Big Bro. Please speak casually to me, even in front of others.”
It was because Leo, whom she had decided to serve as her master, was speaking to her formally.
‘If she's going to act like that, wouldn't it be better to just call me master?’
While Leo sighed internally, Lil took their order and went back.
“What’s this? Since when did Senior Lil start calling you Big Bro?”
“It just happened.”
Leo said nonchalantly, resting his chin on his hand.
The sun was beginning to set.
The pop-up cafe was located in Lumeria City's central square, so they had a clear view of the stage where performances were being held to celebrate the Twilight Festival.
On stage, a famous band and a bard were singing.
“The atmosphere is nice.”
Luna muttered, resting her chin on her hand.
Just then, the Lumerne music club came onto the stage.
The girl standing in the center was familiar.
“It’s Chelsea.”
Karl exclaimed in admiration.
The music club had prepared not only their musical but also a celebratory performance.
Soon, the instruments began to play, and Chelsea started to sing.
“—♪”
With her eyes closed, her beautiful voice sang of the heroes, from the Hero of the Beginning to the Great Hero.
It was a song filled with gratitude for those who had strived to save this world.
Everyone listened to Chelsea's singing with captivated expressions.
When the song ended, Chelsea beamed, and the entire square erupted in applause.
Luna smiled as she watched the scene.
“How dazzling.”
The sun had already begun to set.
But to Luna, this sight was as dazzling as the sun.
Watching her silently, Leo let out a deep, internal sigh.
***
After sunset, the group returned to their lodgings first.
It was to organize the many things they had bought while enjoying the festival.
Back in her room, Luna organized her belongings.
Most of them were magic-related items.
Luna looked at the grimoires she was in the process of writing, set to one side of the room.
In them were written spells she had created after seeing the mages she considered the future.
Smiling softly, Luna took out a bottle.
“Anyway, this looks a lot like that cheap potion.”
Just as Luna tilted her head in confusion.
Knock, knock—
“Come in.”
In response to the knock, Leo opened the door and entered.
At the sight of him, Luna flinched and turned her head away.
“Hey. You remember confessing to me, don't you?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
As Luna scowled, Leo's lips curled into a smirk.
“Don't play dumb. I know you remember what happened in the World of Heroes when we defeated Jerdiac.”
Realizing she'd been caught, Luna's expression turned resentful before she scoffed.
“Fine! I remember! What are you gonna do about it!”
“Why did you lie and say you didn't?”
“Because you were so nonchalant about it, you jerk!”
Luna yelled.
Leo scowled at her.
“And what was that story from earlier? Thanks to that, rumors are spreading all over the streets that I was in love with you!”
“Good for you!”
“You could have just told the truth, why spread false rumors!”
“I’ll make sure it becomes the truth! I’ll brainwash everyone else, too! That you were in love with me!”
“You little spitfire.”
“I swallowed all my pride to confess to you! How could you be so calm about it?!”
“It's possible to be calm. Besides, if you'd shown any sign of it beforehand, this wouldn't have happened.”
“Ugh! So frustrating! Then how did you know Lisinas liked you?! she showed it even less than I did!”
In truth, he had shown it, but Luna had simply failed to notice.
“I found out from a letter he left behind.”
“So you didn't know while he was alive?”
“Right.”
“Ah! Seriously! Why did I fall for an idiot like this! And why did he like this idiot too!”
Leo chuckled at Luna, who was stomping her feet and throwing a tantrum.
“The one who falls in love loses.”
“Keep running that mouth and I’ll kill you.”
Luna growled.
“I even kissed your cheek when I confessed! Give me back my confession!”
“Stop talking nonsense. And what’s the big deal about a kiss on the cheek?”
“It is a big deal! Lisinas would never do something like that!”
“He did more. He stuck his tongue in my mouth.”
Crack—!
Luna was so shocked that she clenched her hand without realizing it.
As a result, the bottle she was holding shattered to pieces.
Naturally, the contents splashed everywhere, dousing Luna.
Utterly stunned, Luna's mouth hung open.
Then she lunged at Leo, grabbing him by the collar and shaking him violently.
“When! When the hell did that happen!”
“When I saw him in the World of Heroes before.”
“Don't be ridiculous! The gentle Lisinas would never do something like that! You must have forced yourself on him! That's it, right?!”
“Not at all.”
“He was a total lecherous dragon!”
“Maybe you're just overly naive?”
Leo teased Luna.
Thoroughly provoked, Luna gripped Leo's collar tighter and shook him harder.
As they struggled in close contact, the two of them suddenly felt something strange.
Sizzle—
The sound of something melting away.
“Wait, what’s wrong with my clothes?”
“Don't try to change the subject!”
As Leo spoke, noticing the odd sensation, Luna, whose ears had turned bright red, glared at him.
“Hey, wait. What was that thing you just broke?”
“I bought it at the auction house. It was some kind of perverted potion made by some old geezer, said it was a love potion or something.”
“What?”
Leo wore a rare expression of alarm.
He hurriedly pushed Luna away.
Drip—
Luna, too, realized something was wrong and looked down at herself.
She let out a horrified scream as she saw her clothes slowly melting away.
“What! Why is this thing real!”
“That damn Karl….”
Luna screamed while Leo, realizing the culprit, clicked his tongue.
In the end, Leo and Luna were left in their birthday suits.
“Inventing a potion like this! I’m going to kill that perverted old man!”
“He’s already dead.”
“I’ll kill him a second time!”
Luna's furious voice echoed.