Book 1 Chapter 113

[113] 112.

"Tonight, you can stay here."

A-gon, the man who had attacked Leo and Ar, guided the two to an old house.

This place was the southern edge of Reisar.

It was called the 'cursed land' in the giant refugee city.

Even Reisar's central government had designated this area as off-limits.

The residents had left long ago, and there were even rumors of monsters appearing.

Thanks to that, empty houses were overflowing, and this house was one such place.

"I will come back tomorrow morning."

Leaving those words, A-gon left the house.

Thanks to mentioning Ar-on's name, a fight was avoided, but A-gon still had not lowered his guard against Leo and Ar.

Leo, who had laid Ar down in a corner of the room, looked out the window.

An ominous red moon was visible.

'That damned moon, no matter how many times I see it, I don't get used to it.'

If the ash-gray sky symbolized the daytime of the Age of Calamity, that ominous red moon symbolized the night of the Age of Calamity.

The moon, seen again after 15 years, was still chilling and ominous.

'Well then.'

Leo left the house.

Using Aura Step for agile movement, Leo climbed onto the roof and ran towards the southern wall of Reisar.

Perhaps because it was an area beyond the central government's control, there were no guards, just as Leo remembered.

Reaching the city wall, Leo stretched out his hand towards the outside of Reisar.

Thud-!

Leo's hand was blocked as if by an invisible wall.

"Does this mean the only area permitted for activity in this world is Reisar?"

Leo recalled the content of his Heroics class.

'Even if it seems real, the hero's world is ultimately fake. That's why the scope of activity is set like this, right?'

If this hero's world had already been conquered multiple times, there would have been no need for such verification.

However, Leo and Ar were the first to enter this hero's world.

When entering a world whose conquest method was unknown, the top priority was to understand the extent of the active area.

Leo tried to communicate with the outside once more.

"This is Kyle. Please respond."

There was still no response.

Leo narrowed his eyes and looked into the empty space.

[Conquest Objective: Find Ar-on in Reisar.]

'The conquest objective is still the same.'

During the midterm exam, no conquest objective appeared until he defeated Chu-ba-reun.

'Then it's not a rampage. But why can't the outside control the hero's world?'

Leo recalled the situation before entering the hero's world.

'Ar-on's page reacted when I touched it.'

Leo thought of a hypothesis.

'The keys known to open the hero's world are the master of the world, or items deeply connected to the master. These are also meant to control the hero's world. But what if there's one more key? For example, a person with a deep connection?'

Of course, if such a rule existed, it would have been discovered.

But every time Leo conquered a hero's world, he showed differences from others.

He gained conquest rewards twice in Al-bi's world, where there were originally no conquest rewards.

Moreover, both times the rewards were unrelated to Al-bi.

'If Ar-on's world opened because of me, it also explains why the outside can't control this world.'

It means the means of control are internal, not external.

Of course, it could be speculation.

But…

Leo looked down at his hand.

'Was it truly a coincidence that I reincarnated with my memories?'

In the past Age of Calamity, there were many great heroes.

A world hurtling towards destruction.

Countless people called heroes united their strength to save the world.

But all of them met tragic ends, and ultimately, everyone despaired.

To the point where those who claimed they would save the world were called 'fools'.

Lisinas, Kyle, Luna, Ar-on, and Dweno ultimately achieved that impossible feat.

That is why the gods praised them as great heroes.

Because it was a feat that only they could accomplish.

'What if my reincarnation with memories isn't just a simple coincidence?'

Kyle, the last hero of the Age of Calamity and the hero who opened the current era, but his feat was by no means achieved alone.

It was possible because he inherited the strength of his comrades.

What if Hero Records were a preparation for a great hero to be reborn in the future?

'If I can inherit their strength once again…'

Leo clenched his fist tightly and thought.

'Even the complete subjugation of Erebus isn't impossible.'

***

"Ugh!"

Ar gripped her throbbing head.

She was half-asleep, but she recalled her last memory before losing consciousness.

Suddenly, Ar perked up her ears and tail, scanning her surroundings.

"Huh?"

But it was just an unfamiliar house.

Realizing there was nothing to be wary of, she tilted her head.

Turning her head, Ar rushed over to Leo, who was sleeping in a corner.

"Wake up! Black Rabbit."

"Oh, you're awake?"

"What happened yesterday? What was that man?"

"There was a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?"

"Yeah. It seems that man mistook us for intruders yesterday. But we settled it through talk."

"I see."

"By the way, are you okay? That man yesterday was very strong, wasn't he?"

"I'm tough as nails!"

Ar flexed her arm as if it were nothing, laughing cheerfully.

'The shock must have been considerable, though?'

Beast-folk are known to be sturdy, but A-gon, whom Ar fought yesterday, was incredibly powerful.

A-gon.

He was one of the renowned heroes who had been active even before the Age of Calamity.

After Erebus stirred and the Age of Calamity began, he gained even more fame by defeating numerous demons.

In fact, until six years ago in the current timeline, the sky over the battlefields he fought in was blue.

Hence the name [Guardian of the Azure Sky].

But even such a hero ultimately failed to stop the advance of Erebus and Tartarus and was defeated.

'And he drifted to Reisar and settled here.'

Although he has left the battlefield now, his skill from fighting on the front lines of the Age of Calamity does not disappear.

Despite being defeated by him, Ar was perfectly fine.

Her injuries had already healed.

It was surprising even considering the toughness and vitality of a beast-folk.

"Oh-ho?"

As Leo exclaimed in admiration and looked at her, Ar put on a smug expression.

"What? Are you admiring my beautiful figure anew?"

"I thought you'd be perfect as a shield because you're sturdy."

"Who are you calling a shield! You rude rabbit bastard!"

Ar glared at Leo with angry eyes and lunged at him.

It was then, as Leo was extending his hand to stop Ar, that-

Bang-

The door opened, and A-gon entered.

Ar tensed up.

Even if it was a misunderstanding, the memory of being suddenly attacked yesterday remained, so it was an instinctive reaction.

Seeing Ar, A-gon looked surprised.

"Have you recovered already? Did you use a potion?"

"It's natural recovery."

"Amazing."

A-gon admired Ar, who answered with intense vigilance.

Then he carefully examined Leo and Ar, and his expression hardened.

"You're younger than I thought."

A-gon, who had a slightly perplexed expression, soon spoke with a blank face.

"Follow me. As an apology for yesterday's incident, I'll treat you to breakfast."

Leaving those words, A-gon left the house.

Ar narrowed her eyes watching his retreating back.

"He's going to make up for yesterday's incident with just breakfast? It's a good thing it was me; if it were some weakling wolf, they'd still be groaning."

"A weakling wolf? That friend you seemed close with yesterday?"

"I'm not close with him?"

Ar glared at Leo, then crossed her arms and snorted.

"It's suspicious that he attacked us yesterday and now suddenly offers us a meal. How about we just leave?"

"He doesn't seem like a bad person."

"Black Rabbit. You have a surprisingly soft spot, don't you? You shouldn't judge people by their appearance. He might seem kind like that now, but you never know when he'll turn into a…"

Grrrrumble-

Ar, who had been earnestly lecturing Leo, turned beet red.

Now that she thought about it, she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday.

"Let's eat first."

"Still…"

"We're in the hero's world right now. We don't know when something might happen, so we need to maintain our stamina as much as possible."

"Ugh."

Ar couldn't retort at all to Leo's words.

Leo smiled, looking at her.

"And you don't have to worry. That person seems to know Ar-on."

"What? Really?"

'He's not just an acquaintance; he's Ar-on's mentor.'

Leo mumbled to himself and followed A-gon.

He was like a father figure who took in the orphaned Ar-on when he was young and established Ar-on's values as a hero.

The current [Brave] existed because there was a noble man named A-gon.

The person Kyle's party originally intended to recruit for the subjugation force was A-gon, not Ar-on.

'Though when we first met him, his will was already broken.'

When Kyle's party arrived in Reisar, there was no trace of the reputation befitting the Guardian of the Azure Sky.

Considering that time, the current A-gon could be said to be in a normal state.

Ar-on himself didn't fully understand the reason for this, so it remained a mystery.

***

Following A-gon, they arrived at a large open space.

Ar's mouth fell open upon arriving at the open space.

"W-what on earth is this!"

Children were eating in the open space.

Humans, beast-folk, dwarves, elves.

Various races, various age groups.

But the commonality was that they were all much younger and skinnier than Leo and Ar.

"Uncle A-gon! Have breakfast!"

Among them, an elf girl who looked the oldest approached with a bright smile.

Of course, even at her oldest, she looked no more than twelve or thirteen.

"Who are the big sister and big brother there?"

"They are guests. My portion is taken care of, so please serve these two a meal."

The elf girl nodded as if she understood.

"Big sister, big brother. Come here. I'll give you breakfast."

Ar bowed her head deeply, looking at the elf girl who approached with an expression that was mature for her age.

She trembled slightly, then suddenly lifted her head and shouted.

"Uncle! I misunderstood you! You were a good person!"

Ar's teary-eyed shout was enough to momentarily fluster even A-gon, who had seen it all.

Leo chuckled at Ar and looked at the children sitting in the open space.

Then he spotted a black-haired girl sitting in a corner and looked surprised.

'Could it be?'

Leo intently watched the girl.

Suddenly, the girl seemed to notice Leo's presence and lifted her head.

And she tilted her head as if something was strange.

The girl didn't know Leo, but Leo knew the girl very well.

No, more than just knowing.

Leo rubbed the back of his right hand.

The great spirit who had contracted with him in the past.

'Shadow Spirit Elsie.'