Chapter 602
Chapter Title: Sightseeing
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602.
The warp gate on the mountainside.
Stepping out of the entrance, they immediately found themselves at an observatory overlooking the city.
Chelsea ran to the observatory and grabbed the railing.
“Wow! So this is Retin, the central city of the Resentong region!”
Chelsea exclaimed in awe as she gazed at the city.
Whoooosh—!
A cold winter wind, riding an updraft, tousled Chelsea’s hair.
“So refreshing!”
Despite the biting winter wind, Chelsea giggled.
To Chelsea, a wind mage, this winter breeze seemed to be rather pleasant.
“Lalala~ La~”
A cheerful tune escaped Chelsea’s lips.
“Hey! Leo! What is going on? Why is that obnoxious Chelsea Llewellyn here?!”
“We’re spending the break in the same country anyway, isn’t it better to spend it together?”
Celia grabbed Leo and shook him furiously.
“Even if it’s the same country, do you have any idea how huge our empire is?! And what’s so good about it?!”
Hearing their conversation, Chelsea whipped her head around toward them.
For a moment, Chelsea and Celia’s eyes met.
Chelsea pulled down her right eyelid with her right index finger and stuck out her tongue.
“Do I really have to see that face even during the break?!”
Watching Celia’s strong rejection from the side, Abad smiled faintly.
“You two get along so well.”
“Does this look like getting along to you?!”
Seeing the indignant Celia, Abad merely chuckled.
“Young Lady, please calm down. There are many eyes watching.”
Celia flinched at those words and looked around.
The questioning gazes of the passengers leaving the warp gate were fixed on Celia.
Seeing this, Celia let out a *ahem* and straightened her clothes.
Instantly returning to the perfect young lady of a noble house, Celia said to Niel.
“Thank you, Sister Niel.”
“As a knight of Jerdinger, and as your escort knight, it is my duty to assist you, Young Lady.”
Niel, dressed in light armor unlike Celia, thumped her chest with her fist.
“The Roda family always thinks of the honor of Jerdinger.”
Celia smiled at her reliable appearance.
Celia and Niel weren’t just in a master-servant relationship; they had been like real sisters since childhood.
Though Celia pursued perfection in all things, she often showed a vulnerable side when she got excited, like just a moment ago.
At times like those, Niel would look after Celia like an older sister.
‘I always feel so reassured when Sister Niel is with me.’
“Young Master Abad. I’ve bought a travel guide sold here at the warp gate.”
“Huh? Machel Ruzia? Why the hell are you here?”
“As a mage of Llewellyn, it is my duty to assist Young Master Abad and Young Lady Chelsea, is it not?”
“Duty, my foot! Do you know where this is?!”
“Hmph. The place that will become Young Master Leo’s territory.”
“I’ve never understood it, but why do you call Young Master Leo ‘Young Master Leo’? He is a direct descendant of Jerdinger!”
“He is the heir of the Flove family before that! And the best friend of Young Master Abad and Young Lady Chelsea! Isn’t that reason enough for me to call him Young Master?”
“Don’t make me laugh!”
Niel and Machel began to argue, pressing their foreheads together.
The commotion they caused was far greater than the one Celia had made moments ago, and it drew the attention of everyone around them.
“Oh my? Why are they fighting?”
“Those family crests… they must be Jerdinger and Llewellyn.”
“Ah, the two great heroic families of Rodren?”
“I heard they don’t get along, and it seems to be true.”
“I think the female knight will win.”
“No, I bet the male mage will win.”
The people coming and going from the warp gate began to whisper.
As all eyes turned to them, Celia covered her face with her hands in embarrassment, while Abad wore a troubled smile.
At this point, it was difficult for Celia and Abad to intervene.
“Leo, do something.”
Celia said urgently in a small voice, but there was no reply.
“Leo?”
Celia removed her hands from her face and glanced to her side.
Leo, who had been there just a moment ago, was gone.
“Y-Young Lady Celia. Young Master Leo is over there…”
Martina, who had come to escort Leo, cautiously pointed in one direction.
There, Leo was with Chelsea, looking at the view of Retin from the observatory.
“Brother Leo, why are you bothering to put in a coin and use the binoculars? You could just use magic.”
“I think this has its own charm.”
“Really?”
Seeing them acting as if it had nothing to do with them, drawing a line between them, Celia felt her anger bubble up.
“You two! Do something!”
Celia walked up to them and said through gritted teeth.
“Who are you? Do you know him, Brother Leo?”
“Never seen her before.”
As Leo and Chelsea treated her like a stranger, Celia’s red eyes flashed.
Seeing this, Leo muttered to himself.
‘If I tease her any more, she’ll explode.’
Chelsea seemed to sense it too and clicked her tongue softly.
“I don’t want to get caught up in their fight.”
“What?”
“You don’t know yet, do you?”
Chelsea’s expression clouded over slightly.
“Young Lady Chelsea is much prettier than Celia Jerdinger!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Young Lady Celia is prettier! Men prefer the beautiful, cool, and dignified type like Young Lady Celia!”
“You’re not even a man, yet you talk so much! Young Lady Chelsea is like a delicate flower…”
“Young Lady Celia is like a rose!”
Celia’s mouth gaped at their shouts.
“W-What is that?”
“Those two! Whenever they fight, they always drag us into it!”
Chelsea shrieked as well.
Chelsea had once run into Niel while walking with Machel at school.
The two had inevitably started a fight, and after growling at each other, they began bragging about Celia, Chelsea, and Abad, arguing over who was more amazing.
Since they were in different departments and were like cats and dogs, they usually avoided each other, making such encounters rare. However, it was already a famous spectacle among the upperclassmen.
Naturally, for Chelsea, it was an incident so embarrassing she could have died on the spot.
Watching the two of them, Celia recalled the strange things the upperclassmen would sometimes say to her.
‘Oh my~ a single rose.’
‘The world’s strongest lady is passing by.’
“So that’s what all that was about?!”
“If Young Lady Celia put her mind to it, seducing your Young Master would be a piece of cake!”
“Ridiculous! Young Master Abad is the one who could… your Young Lady…”
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Screaming with a beet-red face, Celia sprinted toward Niel.
Even Abad, who usually reacted calmly to everything, seemed flustered this time as he rushed over to Machel and covered his mouth.
Just then, Leo’s Slayer Knights approached.
“Young Master. What should we do?”
Austin asked cautiously, and Leo smiled.
“I don’t know those people.”
“Me neither.”
Chelsea agreed with Leo.
At those words, Carin spoke up carefully.
“Young Master.”
“Yes?”
“Can we pretend to be part of your group too?”
At that, Leo gestured behind him with his chin.
“Get in line.”
“Yes, sir.”
At his command, Leo’s knights swiftly lined up behind him.
Chelsea watched them, impressed.
“They’re quick on the uptake.”
“We learned from Young Master Leo that you have to pick the right side.”
The other knights nodded in agreement with Carin’s words.
Watching them, Chelsea shook her head.
***
“We’re sorry, Young Lady Celia!”
“We’re sorry, Young Master Abad!”
Niel and Machel bowed at a 90-degree angle to their respective masters.
Celia looked at Niel, smiled awkwardly, and shook her head.
“It’s okay, Sister Niel. Chelsea and I do it all the time, right?”
“You know we’ve been fighting since we were kids, right? So don’t feel too bad, Machel.”
Abad also comforted Machel.
Chelsea, who had been staring at them, commented bluntly.
“Still, we don’t embarrass our families this much.”
At her words, the two slumped their shoulders.
Celia and Abad glared at Chelsea for that.
Flustered, Chelsea quickly hid behind Leo, peeking her head out.
The group was currently warming up in a cafe not far from the warp gate.
Even for knights and mages hardened by training, being exposed to the cold winter wind was not a good thing.
Especially since the Resentong region was geographically close to the northern part of the continent, a land of severe cold.
Warming himself with a hot drink, Abad asked.
“By the way, Celia. I heard some of the graduated upperclassmen are at the Jerdinger estate?”
“Yes. Senior Jamua, Senior Torua, and Senior Ulta are there.”
“It would have been nice to greet them.”
“They’re out suppressing the rebels with Brother Lis right now, so they’re not at the estate anyway.”
Leo and Celia had also come to Resentong without hearing the news about Lis and the graduated upperclassmen.
“Brother Leo. Are you planning to go straight to the government building in Retin?”
Chelsea asked while eating ice cream.
The people from the Llewellyn family had come here at Leo’s invitation.
As such, they had no choice but to follow wherever Leo went.
“We’ll see.”
Leo flipped through the travel guide.
Regas had perfectly prepared the documents that could prove Leo was the rightful owner of the Resentong region.
Not only the land deeds for the Resentong region but also a certificate proving that Leo’s grandmother, Naila Jerdinger, was the direct descendant of the Tongkon Kingdom.
In addition, there was even an artifact that could prove it.
This place, Retin, was the ancient capital of Tongkon.
The government building in Retin was the central government that extended its administrative power over the entire Resentong region.
And the most powerful person here, Sis Jigma, was the commander of the Tussen Knights.
“But no matter how perfect the documents are, will the Tussen Knights really hand over the entire region to you, Brother Leo?”
Decades had passed since the fall of Tongkon.
Many people had already forgotten the nation of Tongkon.
Even the people living on this land now found the name Tongkon unfamiliar.
It was doubtful whether they would obediently crown an ancient royal who returned to such a place.
“Grandfather said that the legacy of Tongkon here in Retin can only be claimed by one who is worthy. He said the Tussen Knights desperately need that legacy to regain their true power.”
“Aha. But what is that legacy?”
“The blessing of the Great Spirit of Fire, Ista, the Spirit of Purification.”
“Come to think of it, wasn’t the founding king of Tongkon the contractor of the Spirit of Purification?”
Retin was the birthplace of the current era’s Great Spirit of Fire, Ista, the Spirit of Purification, and it was once an active volcano.
However, the Giant King of Tartaros attacked this place to annihilate the Spirit of Purification.
At that time, the founding king of Tongkon fought alongside Ista as her contractor.
In the process, they used up all the volcano’s power, turning Retin into a dormant volcano.
The Giant King ultimately failed to achieve his goal and retreated.
“The founding king of Tongkon, having exhausted his power in that battle, passed away, and as a reward, Ista bestowed a blessing upon the Tongkon royal family, right?”
Celia crossed her arms.
The Tussen Knights were originally a powerful order that commanded the entire continent.
But now, their power had weakened to the point where they could barely manage the Resentong region.
The reason for this was the absence of the Tongkon royal family.
Chelsea asked Celia.
“But is the qualification just bloodline?”
“Being a Great Spirit, he said it would be difficult to qualify by bloodline alone. There must be a trial.”
“Brother Leo can handle any trial, though!”
Chelsea scoffed with a *heh heh!*
If it was Leo, the Hero of the Beginning, even a Great Spirit grandpa wouldn’t be able to help but acknowledge him.
Hearing Chelsea’s words, Arti muttered so that only Leo could hear.
-Ista is famous for being ill-tempered, so it won’t be easy, Master.
As Arti had been around since the founding of the Rodren Empire, she was well aware of the Great Spirit residing in the neighboring region.
-If Leo doesn’t suit that spirit’s tastes, things could get a little complicated.
As Elsie muttered worriedly, Rariel, the oldest of the existing Great Spirits, scoffed.
-Who does she think she is to reject Lord Leo? If she refuses, we can just twist her wrist.
-T-Twist her wrist…! Rariel! Can you do that to me? *Pant! Pant!*
Arti reacted intensely to those violent words.
Just then, Leo, who was reading the guide, spoke up.
“This city is famous for its hot springs.”
Celia tilted her head at the sudden remark.
“Of course. That’s why this city is renowned as a tourist destination.”
Leo lifted his head and glanced to his right.
The attendants from Jerdinger, who were escorting Leo and Celia, were sitting there.
Leo turned his gaze and looked to his left.
Likewise, there were the people from Llewellyn, escorting Chelsea and Abad.
Leo was sitting right in the middle of them.
“Let’s go to the government building tomorrow.”
“What? Then what are we doing first?”
Leo grinned at Celia’s puzzled expression.
“Sightseeing.”