Chapter 687
Chapter 687
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 687
Chapter Title: An Unspoken Wish
-----------------------------------------------------------------
687.
“Doesn’t this seem a little strange?”
That night, after completing their reconnaissance mission.
Eliza, who had woken from her rest and was now eating, spoke up with a frown.
Seeing her, Chelsea tilted her head and asked.
“What is?”
“We’ve now finished exploring most of the areas within the wall of constraint.”
“That’s true.”
“And yet, we still haven’t found the entrance to the Legion’s world. Forget the entrance, we haven’t even encountered the Giant King’s Legion.”
“Now that you mention it, that is certainly strange.”
Chelsea’s expression turned serious.
She recalled the Giant King’s Legion that had attacked this place.
An overwhelming pressure that sent shivers down her spine.
‘Could we have stopped them if Lord Dweno and Leo weren’t here?’
She swallowed dryly at the thought.
“Could it just be well hidden?”
Luke asked cautiously, and Duran spoke up.
“That’s possible. But in this case… there’s a good chance it's within this fortress.”
“Inside the fortress?”
As Luke looked surprised, Adriana interjected.
“That’s ridiculous.”
Wagging her finger, Adriana declared proudly.
“Have you forgotten who the commander of this city is? It’s Lord Dweno! Lord Dweno!”
“Adriana’s right. If it were anywhere in the fortress, Lord Dweno would have been the first to know.”
Ar nodded in agreement.
Listening to their conversation, Karl asked.
“Leo, what do you think?”
“Hmm.”
Leo, with a fork in his mouth, fell into thought.
The dungeon entrance was inside this fortress.
And Leo had a good idea of where it was.
But what Dweno had said made him hesitate to conquer the dungeon.
‘I want to bring them into the future, even for a little while. That much… I should be allowed to wish for that much, shouldn’t I?’
It wasn't a wish for himself, but a desire to show the people of Ivaldi the future.
Besides, he didn’t want the people of Ivaldi to live in the future.
He just wanted to show them a world that had become completely peaceful.
Just as they had been granted a sky full of stars.
He wanted to show them the beautiful sunlight as well.
‘Of course, it’s a ridiculous idea.’
To bring beings of the past into the future.
It was an absurd wish.
But the one who wished it was more deserving than anyone in this world to see it fulfilled.
Leo, and indeed the world, owed Dweno a great debt.
Dweno was someone who never hesitated to devote and sacrifice himself for a peaceful future he would never get to enjoy.
Recalling Dweno's small yet impossibly vast desire, Leo tapped the fork against his lips a few times before speaking.
“They might have hidden it well… but I think there’s a good chance it’s inside.”
With that, Leo stood up from his seat.
“Black Rabbit, where are you going?”
“To the wall.”
“Ooh! I’m coming too!”
Ar shot up from her seat and quickly followed Leo.
‘I thought Leo would have found some clue by now.’
Karl tilted his head as he watched them leave.
‘Well, I guess Leo isn’t some omniscient god.’
As he thought that, Karl tilted his head again.
‘Wait. Now that I think about it, isn’t he basically a god?’
He had a track record of saving the world and was about to do it again.
Moreover, he was a human even gods revered.
‘At this point, it feels like he might as well be a god…?’
While seriously pondering this silly thought, Karl noticed Chelsea staring intently in the direction Leo and Ar had disappeared and gave a sly grin.
“Bothered that Leo and Ar are on a date?”
“You think *that* looks like a date?”
Karl looked abashed at Chelsea’s disdainful expression.
With a soft sigh, Chelsea rose from her seat.
“Karl, come with me for a second.”
“Why?”
“There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
Pulling Karl along, Chelsea arrived at a quiet, deserted spot.
She sharpened her senses, confirmed no one was around, and then spoke.
“It’s about Leo. Don’t you think something’s off?”
“Leo?”
At Chelsea’s words, Karl crossed his arms and tilted his head.
After a long moment of thought, he shook his head.
“He didn’t seem particularly off to me. Why?”
“No, it’s just… Leo’s face looks so troubled. It feels subtly different from usual.”
“Huh. You can even tell the difference?”
“Of course! I’m always watching him.”
“At this point, you’re practically a stalker…”
“Hm? What was that?”
“Please spare me.”
Karl threw his hands up as Chelsea’s staff was pressed right against his cheek.
Chelsea narrowed her eyes at him before lowering her staff and continuing.
“With this much of the search completed, wouldn’t the usual Leo have found a clue by now? Isn’t that strange?”
“I suppose so. But Leo isn’t an omniscient god, right? It’s only natural for it to take a little time when he’s in a difficult situation, isn’t it?”
“That’s true, but.”
Though she accepted Karl’s point, something still bothered her. After a moment of thought, Chelsea asked.
“Earlier today, Leo went over to your side, right? Did anything happen?”
“Anything happen? Hmm, let’s see. He came to the orphanage, used that flower-blooming magic once, and then went straight to sleep, so nothing really happened.”
“Is that all?”
“Yeah. I couldn’t really observe his condition since I only saw him for a moment.”
“What do you mean? Tell me in detail.”
“Leo didn’t come straight to the orphanage. He was with Lord Dweno at the workshop first.”
“With Lord Dweno?”
“Why?”
“So Lord Dweno saw the flower-blooming magic?”
“Yeah. The orphanage kids showed Lord Dweno the flower drawings they made, and seeing that, Leo used the magic to make them bloom.”
Upon hearing that, Chelsea’s face grew serious.
Karl looked at her quizzically.
“What’s wrong?”
“Karl. What if. Just what if.”
“Yeah?”
“What if Lord Dweno… has the memories from when you and Leo went to his world?”
“What?”
Karl looked utterly dumbfounded.
“You said Lady Luna and Sir Ar-on had Leo’s memories.”
Chelsea recalled the examples of Luna and Ar-on that Leo had told her about.
“No way. This isn’t the World of Heroes, it’s the Legion’s World, right?”
“Yes. It’s the Legion’s World. But it was originally Lord Dweno’s world, wasn’t it?”
At Chelsea’s words, Karl’s expression turned grave.
Crossing his arms, he pondered seriously for a moment before asking.
“What’s your reasoning for thinking that?”
“How did Lord Dweno react when he saw the flower-blooming magic?”
“He seemed a little surprised, I guess?”
“Just a little surprised? Isn’t that strange?”
Chelsea spread her hands.
A magic formula materialized above them.
It was none other than the formula for the flower-blooming magic.
“Karl, you’re a mage, so you should know. You know how absurd the flower-blooming magic is.”
The essence of Luna Rubinence, progenitor of the Nebula.
“The flower-blooming magic is more advanced than any other. No, it’s magic that has already entered the realm of miracles.”
The result is simply blooming flowers, but the process is unimaginably complex and difficult.
It was a miracle that ignored the laws of the world, touching upon the domain of creation itself.
“The deeper one’s understanding of magic, the more astonishing this spell becomes.”
*Fwoosh-!*
The magic formula floating above Chelsea’s hands dispersed.
“And Lord Dweno’s understanding of magitech formulas is incredible.”
Though limited to the field of magitech engineering, Dweno was still undeniably a mage.
Hearing Chelsea’s explanation, Karl’s face grew serious.
‘She’s right.’
When Dweno saw the flower-blooming magic, he was surprised, but that was all.
‘From Lord Dweno’s perspective, it should have been a miracle beyond comprehension.’
Thinking that far, Karl’s expression turned to one of alarm.
“B-But! Why would Lord Dweno hide the fact that he has his memories? Did he only reveal it to Leo?”
“What if Leo didn’t know either, and only found out today?”
“That makes even less sense! If Leo knew, why would he hide it?”
“He might be hesitating because of Lord Dweno.”
“What?”
“Think about how Lord Dweno treats the people of Ivaldi. You said it yourself, Karl. He’s quite different from how he was in Gardsrone.”
Even to Karl’s eyes, the Dweno of the future was different from the Dweno of now.
The current Dweno had a colder feel to him.
But this Dweno treated the people of Ivaldi not merely as people to protect, but as family.
The residents of Ivaldi felt the same way.
They treated Dweno like a father, an uncle, a brother.
“Lord Dweno promised the people of Ivaldi that he would show them the sun.”
Karl himself had seen Dweno say such things several times.
“B-But, if it’s Leo… If Leo knew…”
The Leo that Karl knew was someone who would do anything to save the world.
An ideal hero, like one straight out of a fairy tale.
It was only natural.
Leo was one of the Great Heroes, the very archetype for all heroes of the current era.
The flawless Hero of the Beginning.
That was Leo.
“Karl. You said it yourself just a moment ago.”
Chelsea bit her lip hard.
“Leo isn’t an omniscient god.”
“…”
“Leo is a person, too. A person who laughs when he’s happy and cries when he’s sad.”
He had just experienced so much that his emotions had worn down.
She couldn’t imagine Leo being so heartless as to ignore the wish of a friend who was like family.
“Leo is someone who desperately wishes, more than anyone, that the Great Heroes could live in a peaceful era like his own.”
At Chelsea’s words, Karl buried his face in his hands.
“Hah… Then what are we supposed to do? What if Lord Dweno and Leo know where the entrance is but aren’t conquering it because they want to show the people of Ivaldi our era, even for a little while? What on earth are we supposed to do?”
“…I don’t know.”
‘…Sir Ar-on. What should I do?’
Ar-on, who had told her that Leo was Kyle, had asked her to be a source of strength for Leo.
She wanted to be a help to Leo, who might be conflicted right now.
‘What do I do?’
Just as Chelsea bit her lip.
“Hmph? So. You’re saying you two are from the future?”
A voice from above made Chelsea and Karl jump in surprise and look up.
On top of the wall, Enniha was looking down at them, a paintbrush in her hand.
“H-How?”
Seeing the flustered Chelsea, Enniha grinned and pointed to her ear.
“I’m an elf. I’m sensitive to the movements of the wind.”
It meant she had avoided the detection magic Chelsea cast when she arrived.
“Let me get this straight. That dwarf has memories of the future, and this Leo kid is his friend.”
Placing her brush in its holder, Enniha leaped from the wall, landing lightly between Chelsea and Karl.
“And that dwarf doesn’t want to proceed with the conquest, even in a crisis? Because of us.”
Enniha’s face scrunched up in a scowl.
“That damn dwarf. Does he really see us as some kind of baggage? Who is he to decide who gets taken to the future? How arrogant.”
“W-Wait, what we were talking about was…”
“It’s not beautiful! As an artist who pursues aesthetics, I can’t possibly tolerate this!”
“What?”
Enniha looked at Chelsea and Karl and said.
“Let’s find that entrance.”