Chapter 60
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Pedo Sword God
Enoch groaned for a long while before he could finally regain his senses. And one shocking fact greeted him.
“Fortunately, the dungeon doesn’t completely replicate reality. If it did, things wouldn’t have ended this lightly.”
Leone had said that if she’d laid eyes on the real Kyle Estor’s swordsmanship through her True Eye, it wouldn’t have been strange for her mind to shatter.
The True Eye would have slammed unprocessed information straight into her that exceeded what Enoch could handle.
Still, the dungeon falling short of the original was good news in another sense.
“If we just wipe out the dungeon’s influence, we’re done. Haah… Thank goodness. You really scared me there.”
Leone swung her sword, and the scenery before them was rent apart. She had sliced the dungeon itself.
It was beyond Enoch, but with Leone—who could pull it off—even running into a demigod meant they could just carve out the dungeon and call it a day.
[What kind of dungeon even is this?]
Undine bobbed through the air, surveying their surroundings.
[Like it’s just some history lesson? Even if so, it’s way too dangerous.]
If Enoch had come into this dungeon without Leone, he’d have been in deep trouble. This era meant you could easily cross paths with Grand Masters—or even demigods if you weren’t careful.
It felt like one of those sealed dungeons where the exit sometimes didn’t show up. In cases like that, you usually had to meet specific conditions to get out.
Leone slashing everything willy-nilly might work, but that was a last-ditch option.
“Well, dungeons don’t get made with any real intent behind them.”
[True as that may be, it still feels off.]
Leone ignored Undine’s familiar grumbling and narrowed her eyes toward the distance. The victorious elf legion was marching through the gates of a massive city.
“Huh? Don’t tell me…”
Leone’s eyes lit up like she’d realized something. Her gaze brimming with excitement, Enoch asked her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, I definitely heard this from Mom, right?”
“Yeah?”
Enoch tilted his head at the out-of-nowhere comment.
“The day Mom and Dad met. Feels like it’s today.”
“Oh.”
Mom and Dad’s meeting? Enoch couldn’t quite picture the vibe, but judging by Leone’s face, she was looking forward to it more than any show.
“Let’s go, everyone!”
The giddy Leone led the group toward the city.
*
The elf legion marched on, greeted by cheers from countless people. The city’s inhabitants were an odd mix: humans, elves, beastkin, and dwarves all jumbled together.
Leone let out a gasp at the astonishing sight.
“There really was a time like this. I’d heard it was this way before the Emperor’s reign.”
[That Emperor’s always the problem.]
“Hmm… Actually, it wasn’t really the Emperor’s fault.”
Humans had grown their power by riding the Emperor’s coattails and started pushing out the other races. That was why it was so rare to spot non-humans in human lands these days.
“Anyway, now I can actually see him clearly.”
Enoch stared in fascination at the man leading the legion. A high elf demigod with radiant beauty—Kyle Estor. His power must have been reined in, since Enoch could make him out sharply now.
Come to think of it, Leone had given off a similar vibe when she’d gone all-out. Demigods not controlling their strength didn’t make sense.
“Enoch, no True Eye, okay?”
“Yeah. Wasn’t planning on it.”
He had zero interest in peering into a demigod with True Eye. Even Enoch wasn’t into suicide.
Right then, Leone let out a cry.
“Ah…! It’s happening now!”
Kyle, who’d been walking at the front, came to a halt. The procession stopped with him, and murmurs swelled at the sudden irregularity.
Those who’d clocked the reason turned their eyes to Kyle. What could possibly halt a demigod in his tracks?
“Hm…”
Enoch’s eyes rolled along Kyle’s line of sight, just like everyone else’s.
“…Leone?”
“Hm?”
At the end of Kyle’s gaze stood an elf. She had the same radiant golden hair and forest-green eyes as Leone—a beautiful elf.
Except she was tiny. Her pale cheeks were plump with lingering baby fat, and her round eyes blinked as they met Kyle’s. To put it simply, she was a child.
“…Elves grow up kinda slow, right?”
Aha. Leone giggled, getting why Enoch was thrown off. Couldn’t blame him. She’d said it was the day Dad met Mom, but that elf was unmistakably a little girl.
“Growth speed’s about the same as humans. Our peak just lasts longer.”
So why was the elf right in front of Kyle so young? Had her growth stalled for some reason? Was it rude to ask? Enoch mulled it over, but there wasn’t any real issue.
It was just…
“My mom was six back then.”
“Wow.”
Enoch clapped a hand over his mouth.
*
Fairy Sword God Kyle Estor was over two thousand years old when he met the Fairy Spirit Queen. She was six at the time. Pedo Sword God Kyle Estor—who fell head over heels for a girl two thousand years his junior—had this to say.
- For one who’s reached the demigod realm, outward appearance means little. I fell for her inner spirit, not her looks.
They apparently didn’t marry until she was an adult, though. Enoch, who’d been listening quietly to Leone, nodded solemnly.
“Leone, honestly, our age gap might not be that huge.”
[No, you moron.]
Leone shot Undine—who’d answered instead—a glare, but even she couldn’t bring herself to agree, so that was that.
[…Dad, is it really fine for a guy like that to be called Sword God?]
“Huh? He said he fell for her inner self. Demigods probably don’t sweat age.”
[Even so, six years old feels straight-up criminal…]
Eri’s gaze toward her father carried a hint of disdain—a small snag, but nothing major.
Once the shock from the wildly mismatched couple faded, Leone beamed and waved them along.
“Let’s head out for now. Hehe, never thought I’d get to witness this moment live.”
“Where we going?”
“Outside the city.”
Leone grabbed Enoch’s hand and gave it a gentle back-and-forth shake.
“I heard demons raided that night. A demigod was in the mix, total mayhem, so we’re dodging it early.”
*
Leone’s word was spot-on—no room for doubt. As evening fell, unimaginable bursts of power erupted from the distant city.
Burned by it once already, Enoch observed with just his right eye.
“No kidding, total chaos.”
Kyle clashing with the demon-side demigod, then a couple dragons swooping in from afar to join the fray, the faltering demon demigod pulling back while lashing out at the city, Kyle blocking it in a desperate scramble.
A miracle the city hadn’t been atomized.
“Dad went all-out back then, desperately venting his power. After two millennia-plus, he’d finally found his lifelong partner—how could he not?”
Plus, his sword style leaned soft, which was why the city stayed intact.
Shielding it by releasing force that could’ve vaporized chunks of the continent. As Enoch marveled in genuine awe,
Shieeeek—
Something hurtled toward Enoch. Leone reacted a beat late. It hadn’t been aimed at her, after all.
The price: a faint scratch on Enoch’s cheek. Kaang-! The dagger ricocheted off Leone’s sword and just nicked his cheek.
“Who the—!”
Fury rising, Leone drew on her power. The foe was Grand Master caliber. But fresh to the rank, it seemed.
She wouldn’t need a full minute. Just as Leone moved to butcher the scum,
“…Hold on.”
Enoch held her back.
“Why, Enoch? Poison!?”
“No, the wound’s gone.”
Impossible. She’d clearly seen it appear on his cheek.
Leone inspected Enoch’s cheek. The wound was truly gone. Even the trickle of blood.
“…Huh?”
Leone blinked in confusion. What gives? Healing was one thing, but the bloodstain vanishing too?
Meanwhile, the attacker who’d flung the dagger at Enoch revealed himself. Pallid skin, horns sprouting from his head. A demon.
“…Damnable elf wench.”
A straggler? Didn’t look ragged enough. Leone tightened her grip on her sword. His identity didn’t matter. He’d dared wound Enoch—even if it was gone now?
She could obliterate him in one go by slashing the dungeon, but no—she’d cut him down personally.
[Ah, so that’s it. Yeah, didn’t make sense otherwise. No dungeon’s mana is dense enough to perfectly recreate a past timeline.]
“What’re you on about all of a sudden?”
Undine answered Enoch’s question.
[It’s like an insanely lifelike illusion. Past events do get summoned, but there’s no real substance? Did your cheek hurt when it got scratched?]
“Yeah, sensations feel identical.”
[But no wound.]
“Exactly.”
[That’s your proof.]
Enoch furrowed his brow, pondering for a moment, then asked.
“So, no one dies here?”
[Not quite. An illusion this refined can trick your brain into killing you.]
“Then if your brain doesn’t buy it, you won’t die even if your head gets lopped off.”
[Well… if it’s the illusion doing the slicing?]
Enoch’s eyes flew wide at Undine’s affirmation. He couldn’t let this slip. He shouted urgently.
“Leone…! Hold on……!”