Book 1 Chapter 1021
1021.
Step- step-
Leo walked through the campus of Seyrun.
Luna had forcibly sent Leo out, to consider Leo who had barely slept the previous night and had been engrossed in deciphering magic formulas.
‘From now on, Seyrun and I will handle it, so go clear your head and stay out for a while.’
Recalling Luna from his childhood, who used to forcibly push his back, Leo gave a wry smile.
Seeing Luna in her girlhood form felt incredibly unfamiliar and fresh.
‘Luna is still Luna, though.’
Leo also knew.
That Luna, like himself, had not had an easy childhood.
Therefore, even Luna in her girlhood was far from untouched innocence.
‘No, there's no way any of us could have had an easy childhood to begin with.’
Arion, who was born in the Age of Calamity and couldn't properly enjoy anything.
Himself, born an orphan, growing up in the harsh, freezing lands and beginning a life as a mercenary.
Luna, also an orphan, who suffered all kinds of contempt and discrimination in Varharun.
Lisinas, born as a black dragon and forced to feed on darkness to grow.
And Dweno, who was born with an ability akin to a curse, and everything around him burned and vanished.
Overall, the lives of the great heroes were far from blessed.
Even so, Luna in her girlhood showed a different side that Leo didn't know.
She was also different from the student-era Luna he had seen previously in Luna's world.
She was darker than back then, yet also brighter in a way.
‘Well, she says she'll make me fall in love with her…’
Leo let out a chuckle.
It's not that she wasn't attractive.
Even if she was young, Luna was still Luna.
But the feeling of 'cute' was stronger than any romantic feelings.
Crucially…
‘She's different from the grown-up version.’
Though the girl Luna expressed feelings of affection towards Leo, she didn't truly have romantic feelings for him.
Even Leo, whose emotions had worn thin, knew that fact.
It was probably an effort for her future self, visible only to her.
Leo, whose thoughts had reached that point, stopped walking.
‘Luna.’
A friend he could only meet indirectly through the young Luna.
Recalling Luna, who existed in a weak spirit form, Leo silently looked down at the back of his hand.
The pact he had made with Luna as a spirit was not visible.
It wasn't because Leo's abilities as a Spirit Summoner were lacking.
It was because Luna's presence wasn't strong enough for the pact to revive.
‘Soon… will she disappear again?’
Previously, Luna had left, no longer existing in the world as a spirit.
But that wasn't because Luna had completely let go of her lingering attachments.
It was because she had exhausted her power to exist in this world.
Her ability to be here now was purely due to the unstable Hero Record running rampant.
It wasn't something that could be considered entirely good.
For the dead to remain in the mortal world for a long time as spirits was absolutely not a good phenomenon.
The duty of a Spirit Summoner was also to help spirits let go of their lingering attachments to the world and depart completely.
However, Leo couldn't bring himself to do it.
‘Do I also have lingering attachments?’
Leo clenched his fist and looked ahead.
He saw countless people enjoying peace.
Abundance and prosperity.
A sight unimaginable in the Age of Calamity.
‘Even though I miss it… I never thought I'd develop lingering attachments.’
Leo smiled wryly.
After reincarnating.
Leo had thought that other great heroes might have also reincarnated.
But after enrolling in Lumern, he instinctively realized.
That he was the only one who had reincarnated in this world.
Unfortunately, Leo couldn't become the type of person to desperately search for and cling to what didn't exist.
For Leo, loss was all too familiar.
At the end of a life spent repeatedly losing precious things, his worn-out emotions allowed Leo to remain calm at any time.
No matter how much rage he felt, enough to burn his heart black, that was it.
He never lost his reason.
It was because he possessed such humanity that he was able to subdue Erebus in the final battle without being swayed by emotions.
But Leo disliked this aspect of himself.
They were clearly friends and family more precious than life itself.
He disliked how he sorted out his feelings and moved forward without hesitation.
However.
He began to change little by little after meeting Arion in the world of heroes.
Starting with Arion, he met Luna and Dweno… and Lisinas.
Subsequently, as he miraculously spent time with his friends in the present world, Leo also developed lingering attachments.
‘I want to live together.’
The Age of Calamity came to mind.
An utterly unhappy time.
A terrible time when he only lost everything.
But regrettably, for Leo, it was the happiest time.
He held Lisinas's outstretched hand and met Luna, Arion, and Dweno.
They struggled together, going through all sorts of trials to save the world.
A time when physical and emotional wounds endlessly accumulated.
But…
‘It was a time when the five of them gathered together, laughing and chatting.’
It was a wish that the previous Leo couldn't have imagined.
Miraculously, Leo shared time with all his friends.
He also came to understand emotions he hadn't known and wounds he had hidden in his heart.
Ironically, Leo only came to understand everyone after losing them all.
And after experiencing all those things, Leo came to have the wish to share the same time with everyone.
‘Not meeting them one by one, but all together in one place.’
He knew it was greed.
If it were Leo from just a while ago, he wouldn't have thought like this.
But as time passed, he wished for it even more.
He couldn't help it.
Leo was human, and wanting something unreachable was a very natural human trait.
As Leo recalled his friends.
“Oh! Class Prez?”
He turned his head at the familiar voice coming from behind him.
“Leo, what are you doing here?”
Chloe and Iliana were approaching him with puzzled expressions.
“Class Prez! Class Prez! Listen! I entered a beauty pageant, you know that, right?”
“I know.”
“I absolutely have to win, so give me a vote!”
Iliana said with a serious face.
Seeing such an Iliana, Chloe sighed.
“We need to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, and you're worried about a beauty pageant?”
“Unforeseen circumstances are unforeseen circumstances. I'm more scared of Professor Harlind than Tartarus.”
Iliana was very serious.
Seeing such an Iliana, Chloe said.
“Even so, for a beauty pageant, you need to show your charm. You can't just ask for votes, where's the appeal in that?”
“That's true, I guess? Then, Class Prez.”
Iliana abruptly stepped closer to Leo, unbuttoned a few buttons of her school uniform top, and flashed a seductive smile.
“If you promise to give me a vote, I might even unbutton more… Ack!”
Chloe summoned her magic staff and hit Iliana on the head.
“Why did you hit me? I'm just appealing my charm like Chloe said!”
“I didn't tell you to commit a breach of public decency in that way.”
At her words, Iliana narrowed her eyes.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It's unfair.”
“What is?”
“If me unbuttoning a few buttons is a breach of public decency, isn't Chloe's very existence a breach of public decency?”
“What kind of ridiculous logic is that?”
“Class Prez, do you know? A while ago in the library, Chloe was there! She stretched backward. And her uniform buttons went pop-pop-pop!”
“Don't tell Leo weird things! And that was an accident because my uniform was too small!”
“Chloe, didn't you get your uniform fitted during summer vacation? Why is it already small?”
“Because I'm growing.”
“Growing?”
Iliana tilted her head, then grinned.
“Well, I guess she is growing! Her height hasn't changed at all, just her chest…”
CRACKLE!
Iliana, who had dared to tease Chloe, was instantly trapped in ice.
Chloe, gripping her staff with both hands, her face flushed red and huffing, glanced at Leo and said in a trembling voice.
“Forget it.”
“What?”
“I said forget it.”
Seeing Chloe speaking with trembling shoulders, Leo chuckled.
Seeing Leo, Chloe puffed out her cheeks and poked Leo's side with her staff.
A moment later, Iliana, who had barely escaped the ice, clutched herself, trembling.
“Ugh, I need to go somewhere warm and have some warm tea… A-ACHOO!”
“That's why you should only tease within limits.”
At Leo's words, Iliana made a tearful face.
Seeing her, Leo burst out laughing.
***
“Hmm-! The coffee tastes good?”
“You're drinking cold coffee in this weather?”
“Yeah.”
Leo shook his head, watching Chloe savor her iced coffee.
“Anyway, are you really okay?”
“Why? Are you trying to 'conquer' me?”
“No, I'm not.”
Chloe let out a scoff and shook her head.
“Speaking of which, Chloe. What do you think about magic that allows time travel?”
“Time travel?”
Chloe's eyes sparkled.
“I'm interested!”
Lena had said that the one who created the magic that brought him to the past was Chloe.
‘Well, there might be a huge difference compared to the current Chloe… but I might be able to find some clues.’
Leo, having thought that far, took out a piece of paper from his subspace and placed it on the table.
Leo began to draw a magic formula.
Chloe, her sapphire-like blue eyes sparkling, gazed at the magic circle.
A moment later.
Before the magic was completed, Chloe made a surprised expression.
“Huh?”
“Why?”
“No. I'm just asking, just in case… Leo.”
Chloe looked at Leo.
“This magic… Did I make it, by any chance?”