Chapter 661
Chapter Title: Party Reinforcements
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661.
“What’s with this scene of hard labor?”
Iliana looked down at the mining village below with a distasteful expression.
The second-year students from Lumerne and Demian were huddled together at the mine's entrance.
Having just finished their work, their faces were covered in soot.
Without even thinking of washing or wiping it off, they held meal trays in their hands, eagerly awaiting dinner.
“In just two days, the kids have turned into beggars.”
Watching Iliana mutter while casting a pitying gaze at her juniors, Chelsea sighed.
“We don’t look much better, you know?”
Leo's party had just finished a two-day exploration of the Tartaros region.
And they had come to this mine, located in the border region with Tartaros, to rest.
A safe base is essential for exploring the Tartaros region.
This place was also extremely safe, as the second-year students from Lumerne and Demian were gathered here for the exclusive smithing contract.
“I never dreamed we wouldn't be able to wash for two days.”
Ar brought her nose to the back of her arm and sniffed.
“What are you doing?”
“Gah?!”
Seeing Leo approach her, Ar jumped back in surprise.
“Black Rabbit. Don't come close right now. I smell.”
Sshak— As Ar put distance between them, Leo let out a small laugh.
“Everyone smells the same right now anyway.”
The party had been fighting nonstop for two days.
It was inevitable that the smell of sweat and blood would mingle on their bodies.
“Is that so?”
Ar crossed her arms, tilted her head, and stood beside Leo.
“By the way.”
“Hm?”
“You've gotten much better at using your beastification and extrasensory perception.”
At Leo's words, Ar's ears perked up.
“Ar-on might have been happy to see it.”
At Leo's praise, Ar scratched the back of her head and grinned sheepishly.
“No, no. I'm still lacking a lot!”
“No. I was genuinely surprised.”
“Ehehehe.”
“In that case, how about some special tutoring from me?”
“I’d lo—”
Ar, who was about to answer with a completely relaxed face, suddenly put a huge distance between herself and Leo at incredible speed, her expression wary like a hissing cat.
“What kind of torture are you planning this time!”
“Torture?”
Having once received training from Leo that was akin to torture, Ar couldn't help but be terrified.
Watching this, Chelsea muttered under her breath.
“Leo certainly has a lot of victims.”
“I know, right? Catching the class president's eye doesn't seem to be a good thing. In that sense, I think I'm really lucky.”
“Still, if you train with Leo, even though it's tough, your skills improve really fast.”
At Chelsea's words, Iliana laughed. “Uhuhu—”
“That's a story far removed from my philosophy on life! My life goal is to become just famous enough! And based on that fame! Enjoy life!”
“…Is that something the heir of a family should say?”
“Of course!”
Looking at Iliana speaking with such confidence, Chelsea gave her a pathetic look and said,
“I heard Leo plans on training you soon, too.”
“Huh?!”
“He said he'd make you a true Lightspeed Quick-draw.”
“Why!”
“He said you talk about Lightspeed Quick-draw so much, he felt like making you one.”
“Hiiiek!”
Iliana clutched her head and screamed.
Watching Iliana, Chelsea sneered with schadenfreude.
“Oh! Leo! You're here?”
Just then, Karl, who had spotted Leo's party approaching the lodgings, showed a welcoming expression.
“Wow, it's obvious you all went through a lot.”
He didn't show any surprise at Leo's party's arrival, as they had already mentioned they would use this place as a base for their exploration.
“What's that, Karl?”
“This? It's dinner for the kids. If you guys haven't eaten yet, let's eat together.”
Karl personally pushed the cart filled with food towards where Leo's group and the second-years were.
“Ooh! Food!”
“Food! Food!”
Cheers erupted from all over.
“Looks like they don't even see us.”
At the thought of being overshadowed by food, Chelsea's expression turned a little sour.
“Ah, everyone. Welcome. How was the exploration?”
Artian said with a bright expression.
Looking at Artian, Leo said,
“I have something to report regarding that.”
“Yes?”
At Leo's words, Artian tilted her head slightly.
***
“After exploring the entrance to the Tartaros region for two days, the existence of a Hero Dungeon seems certain.”
“If you encountered demons from the Age of Calamity, then it must be.”
Demons from the distant past.
There is only one way for them to appear in the present age.
A Hero Dungeon.
“After the battle with the demons, as we went a little deeper, we found a countless horde of Gigantes holding their ground.”
Those Gigantes were also beings that appeared during the Age of Calamity.
‘You can tell from their armaments.’
Recalling the weapons the Gigantes used, Leo looked down at his palm.
“We'll have to devise tactics assuming a battle with the Gigantes before we proceed.”
“Yes.”
As this was an exploration mission to infiltrate deep into the Tartaros region, it was crucial to gather as much information as possible about the current state of Tartaros from the entrance area.
That was the reason for the past two days of exploration.
“However, one question arises.”
Artian wore a serious expression.
“Why is this area near the border so peaceful when so many Gigantes have appeared in the present age through a Hero Dungeon?”
The very reason Demian formed an exploration team in the first place was because they detected an anomaly in the border region.
After the exploration team sent by Demian went missing, it didn't take long for Leo's party to re-explore the area around Tartaros.
And according to the previous exploration team's report, no such anomalies had occurred at the entrance of the Tartaros region before then.
‘This means the situation has deteriorated rapidly in the last few days.’
And if that many Gigantes had appeared, it wouldn't be strange for them to cross the border and invade the dwarves' territory.
It was, quite literally, a touch-and-go situation.
But this surrounding area was peaceful.
Of course, being a border region, it wasn't entirely peaceful.
Monsters crossed over from the Tartaros region.
Monsters had also appeared at this mine several times.
To the point that work would have been impossible if not for the students of Lumerne and Demian.
But that was all.
Considering the confirmed situation of a clear anomaly where a Hero Dungeon was invading the present world, it was far too peaceful.
“As for that, I think we'll have to go deeper to find out.”
Artian nodded at Leo's words.
The request given to Leo was to confirm the existence of a Hero Dungeon, but that wasn't all.
If the existence of a Hero Dungeon was confirmed, they needed to find out which hero from which era it belonged to.
‘In the current situation, it seems like a fragment of a Hero Record from one of the Great Heroes, but…’
The discovery of a Great Hero's Hero Record was certainly tremendous news.
However, if that Hero Record had turned into a Hero Dungeon, it was a different story.
It meant the monsters emerging from the Hero Dungeon were monsters from the Age of Calamity.
‘What's more, high-ranking demons from that era have also appeared.’
Thinking that far, Artian spoke seriously.
“As a professor of Lumerne, I will speak to you, Student Leo, leader of the Ar-Hi Party.”
At those words, Leo straightened his posture.
A Lumerne professor was not merely an educator.
In an emergency, they also held the authority of a commander who could give orders to students.
No matter that Leo was the student council president and here on a request, if Artian used her command authority, he had to obey.
“It seems we need to reinforce the party. Student Karl.”
“Yes.”
“You are to join Student Leo's party.”
“Huh?”
“And by my authority as a professor, I will also have students Luke, Aina, and Habiden from the second-year Knight Department join the party. And of course, I will be joining the Ar-Hi Party as well.”
Hearing this, Chelsea's eyes widened.
“Does that mean Professor Artian will be the party leader?”
“No. The leader is Student Leo. I've merely judged it necessary to strengthen the party's combat power as a professor. As a leader, Student Leo will be more excellent than I.”
Luke, Aina, and Habiden.
The reason for adding the trio from the Knight Department was also to match the disposition of Leo's existing party.
The top three of the second-year Knight Department were all fundamentally specialized in speed.
Shasha from the second-year Summoning Department was also fast, but it would be overwhelming for her to keep up with the fastest third-years.
“What about the second-years' exclusive smithing contract?”
“We'll proceed with it as planned. The professors from Demian are here as chaperones.”
At Artian's words, Karl sighed.
“Ahh. So I'm being dragged to my death again.”
Clutching his face, Karl muttered with a dismal expression and asked,
“But how am I supposed to keep up with you guys? Unlike you monsters, I'm frail.”
“Don't worry about that.”
Iliana grinned and handed Karl a rope.
“Karl, it's a special rope for tying up your merchandise.”
“…You're not planning on tying me up with this rope, are you?”
“You guessed it exactly!”
Iliana gave a thumbs-up and said,
“Tie it around your waist. I'll pull you along.”
“Do you want to see someone's waist snap in half?”
Karl scowled and scanned the group.
‘No matter who it is, except for one person, I'm guaranteed to get motion sickness.’
It was obvious they would run at incredible speeds, and there was no way they would be considerate of him.
Thinking that far, Karl sidled up to Eliza, who offered the most comfortable mode of transportation.
“Lady Eliza.”
“No.”
“Aw, come on. Huh? Huh?”
“Get on your knees and beg.”
“Oh? Really? If I do that, you'll give me a ride? I can get on my knees and beg all you want!”
Looking at Karl's bright expression, Eliza scowled.
“How unpleasant.”
And so, after the party was reinforced.
Leo spoke.
“Then let's rest well for a day and depart tomorrow morning. I'll talk to the second-years who are joining the party. Dismissed.”
At his words, the party members dispersed to rest.
Leo stood up and looked down at his palm.
‘…Whose world is it.’
He tried not to think about it, but the thought that it might be the Hero Record of an old friend made his eyes waver slightly.
Will we be able to meet again?
‘They'll be thinking about the past this time, too, won't they?’
No matter who it was, his comrades in the World of Heroes now knew his true identity.
Just as Leo's heart was stirring.
“Uhm… Student Leo?”
“Yes, Professor Artian.”
After all the students had left, Artian called out to Leo cautiously.
“Student Leo, could you stay for a moment? I have something to ask you.”
“Yes.”
Leo sat back down.
The rest of the group left first, thinking the two would be discussing matters for tomorrow.
Inside the room were Leo and Artian.
The two of them were left alone.
Sitting in front of Leo, Artian hesitated before speaking.
“Leo. There's something I've wanted to ask you for a while.”
“Yes.”
“Have you ever had a lover?”
“Pardon?”
At the sudden question, Leo showed a rare expression of bewilderment.
“Why do you ask?”
“Because I can feel the aura of a heroic spirit around you, Student Leo.”