Book 1 Chapter 438

438.

Arion looked at Chelsea, who was gazing up at him with sparkling eyes, and put on a nervous expression.

"It's truly an honor to meet you! To be able to meet the great hero in person like this! It feels like a dream!"

"Uh, uh-huh. I-I'm glad to meet you too."

"Huh?!"

"Why, why?"

Arion was taken aback by Chelsea's wide-eyed, gaping expression.

"Leo oppa! Arion-nim said he's glad to meet me!"

As he watched Chelsea cover her cheeks and not know what to do, Arion scratched his own cheek.

"Are you that happy to meet me?"

"Of course! You're the great hero who saved this world! Thank you so much! For saving the world!"

Arion's eyes widened at her innocent smile.

Chelsea looked a little flustered as she saw Arion gazing intently at her face.

Arion smiled as he looked at Chelsea.

"Yeah."

Arion reached out and gently patted Chelsea's head.

Chelsea's eyes widened.

"Thank you for saying that."

Chelsea, looking up at Arion who offered a faint smile, soon grinned.

"Arion-nim! Me too! Please pat my head too!"

"Sure, sure."

As Arga thrust his head forward, Arion laughed and stroked his hair.

Kal said, watching them.

"Hey, Chelsea. Just a word of caution, but if by any chance Instructor Akan is Arion-nim…"

"I know. That it's something I shouldn't tell others. Do you think I'm an idiot?"

Chelsea scoffed in a slightly sharp tone.

"By the way, I have a question."

At that moment, Lunia wore a thoughtful expression.

"Arion-nim, how on earth did you appear in the present world?"

"Through something called a Hero Record."

"Like how Luna-nim and Seirun-nim appeared in the present world?"

As Arion nodded, Dryana crossed her arms.

"Then there's another question. Why is it that you remember Leo and Ar, but not us?"

"I don't know about that."

Arion shook his head.

Lunia, who had been contemplating, raised her index finger and said,

"Perhaps it's because only those two entered Arion-nim's world that you remember Leo and Ar?"

"That's certainly plausible."

Kal stroked his chin.

"It seems so. We met Arion-nim in Deweno's world. When Luna-nim appeared in Seirun, she clearly remembered me."

Lunia said, recalling Luna's appearance while defeating Jerdiak in Seirun.

Arion marveled at Lunia.

"You're so smart. You were just like Luna."

"Thank you."

"Your personality seems to be just like hers too!"

"That's quite an honor."

Lunia looked shy at Arion's words.

Upon hearing that, Arga shouted,

"Arion-nim! Don't be fooled!" You're being fooled right now."

"Huh? What?"

"This wicked elf is pretending. Don't be fooled by her appearance."

Dryana said seriously, crossing her arms, and Arga nodded enthusiastically.

"That's right. Arion-nim! Comparing the benevolent Luna-nim to this wicked elf is an insult to Luna-nim!"

"You guys!"

Lunia, with fire in her eyes, strangled Ar and Dryana with both arms.

Of course, since the two surpassed Lunia in physical ability, they didn't stop talking.

"Truly, they're like thugs… Cough!"

Kal, who had been laughing and teasing them, was kicked in the abdomen and collapsed.

"It's true that comparing Miss Lunia to Luna-nim is a bit…"

"Eiran! You too!"

It was when Lunia's eyes were getting fiercer.

Arion burst out laughing at the sight.

"Yeah. Seeing that, it's certain. Your personalities are exactly the same."

"What?"

"Huh?"

"What do you mean?"

Everyone looked at Arion with blank faces.

"What kind of person is the Luna you know?"

"Well, she's a benevolent, kind… like a gentle goddess?"

Eiran replied with a shocked expression, and Arion tilted his head.

"Luna isn't benevolent, and she's not particularly kind. And gentle? A goddess?"

Arion's face contorted strangely at the modifiers that didn't suit Luna at all, and in the end, he slightly frowned.

"N-No way! That's impossible!"

Lunia denied reality, clutching her head in shock.

"Hey, Leo. You saw Luna-nim with Lunia in the hero's world, right? How was it?"

Leo, after a moment of thought at Kal's question, replied.

"A spoiled brat?"

"You! Don't insult Luna-nim!"

"You saw it too, didn't you?"

"That was when Luna-nim was young and innocent! There's no way Luna-nim would have a personality like mine! There's no way she'd be like me!"

Leo looked at Lunia with pity as she desperately denied reality.

"She knows her own personality is bad!"

"Yeah, she's truly a representative of Seirun. She seems to know herself well."

Chelsea nodded and chimed in with Kal's admiration.

"You guys!"

Lunia, with fire in her eyes, lunged, but Chelsea quickly used Kal as a shield.

"Hey! What are you doing! Chelsea!"

"Friend shield."

"Hey! Hey? Kwaaak?!"

Kal's scream echoed.

Leo looked relieved by the credible testimony from the great hero.

'It won't be long before Luna's true nature is revealed.'

***

"Wow! I was being taught by the hero!"

Chelsea still looked excited, her chest trembling.

"Hmph! You're genuinely happy to receive Arion-nim's teachings. You're a mage, but we can communicate, Chelsea. Who is your favorite great hero?"

Arga said with a smug expression, and Chelsea answered without hesitation.

"The Hero of Beginnings, Kyle-nim. I should ask Arion-nim about Kyle-nim later!"

Chelsea's answer made Arga look crestfallen.

"By the way, I'm shocked that Luna-nim was like that."

"Indeed, coming from the great hero himself… it means she's as temperamental as Lunia, right?"

Kal stroked his chin at Chelsea's words.

He was wary of Lunia attacking, but Lunia was still reeling from the shock.

Previously, in Deweno's world, he hadn't asked detailed questions about the great hero for fear of affecting the strategy.

'So I maintained my illusions, but today they've been shattered.'

While Leo clicked his tongue.

Dryana asked Eiran.

"By the way, Eiran, you don't seem very shocked."

"What?"

"About Luna-nim's personality being similar to Lunia's."

"Certainly, Miss Lunia has a violent side, but she's still a very righteous elf."

Eiran smiled brightly.

"Besides, Arion-nim said it himself, didn't he? Luna-nim was incredibly curious and always serious about magic. I can imagine what kind of person she was. She must have been a wonderful person, always full of confidence and always dignified…"

Lunia's ears twitched at Eiran's words.

"Yes, at least she must have been like me, beating up all the bad guys. Yeah."

Lunia began to think positively and started to cheer up.

Leo, watching her, recalled Luna, who would become incredibly arrogant when praised but would sink to the depths of despair when something went wrong.

Recalling old times, Leo said,

"Go on ahead. I'll catch up soon."

Eiran approached as Leo went into the bushes.

"Shall I accompany you?"

"It would be a bit difficult if you followed."

"What? What do you mean… Hot! S-Sorry!"

Eiran, who had a puzzled expression, turned bright red and hastily retreated.

Eiran, pondering the ambiguous reply alone, let out a "How!" and covered her face.

As Leo entered, Dragon En, who looked exactly like Leo, bowed his head from a tree.

"Welcome, Leo-nim."

"Please."

"Understood."

En, who took over Leo's role, came out of the bushes.

"Huh? You're back already?"

"I just saw something wrong."

Kal asked with a puzzled look, and En, in Leo's form, shrugged and replied.

Leo, having entrusted his role to En, immediately returned to Arion.

Arion was already gazing at the night sky, filled with starlight as the sun set.

"He really likes the night sky, doesn't he?"

Kirran, who had appeared, muttered with his arms crossed.

"He does. He never seems to get tired of it."

Fiora, now in human form, chewed her candy with a surprised crunch.

"You'll turn into a pig again if you keep doing that."

Kirran teased, but Fiora didn't care.

"You guys wouldn't understand."

At that moment, Elsi said.

"For someone born in the Age of Calamity, the beauty of this night sky is… beyond imagination."

Elsi smiled faintly.

Leo approached Arion and said,

"Did you have a nightmare? Why did you suddenly start signing?"

"I don't know. I think I smelled something strange. Did anything happen while I was sleeping?"

"There was an earthquake."

"Is that why?"

Arion said, tilting his head.

"That kid, Chelsea. She reminded me of my younger siblings at the orphanage."

"Chelsea still has a naive side."

Although only a year younger, she was more innocent than the other students.

Yet, she also had a sharp side.

"So? Did you feel anew that you saved the world?"

"Yeah. I realized my wish had come true."

Arion smiled brightly.

Chelsea, though unaware of it, had delivered a greeting that saved Arion.

"So now I want to find it."

Arion, having seen what he wanted in the future, found another goal.

"Kyle, the thing you told me I wanted to do for myself."

"Yeah."

"How much time do I have?"

"…"

Leo fell silent at Arion's question.

'Luna didn't stay long when she came to the present from the hero's world.'

Unlike Luna, Arion has been in this era for a long time.

The reason was simple.

'Luna used an immense amount of magic to defeat Jerdiak and Silatuna.'

Therefore, the consumption of divine power that constituted Luna's body was enormous.

Unlike Luna, Arion uses very little aura.

That's why the consumption of divine power is slow.

'If he participates in even one battle… Arion will disappear too.'

"Enjoy this peace as much as you can."

"Yeah."

Arion nodded with a smile.

"Ah! There's something I want to do!"

Arion got up from his seat and smiled brightly.

"You said Shirode was still alive, right? I want to meet Shirode!"

"That's a good idea. Shirode will surely be happy."

***

Opening a warp to Fairy Land through Melina wasn't difficult.

"Welcome, Leo Flobe-nim. The King is awaiting Leo Flobe-nim's visit."

Although it was a land of fairies that outsiders could not freely enter, Leo and Arion were warmly welcomed.

Following the fairy's guidance, Leo headed towards the Fairy King's residence.

"It's a shame Kirran couldn't come. It's his homeland."

Elsi, perched on Leo's shoulder, muttered.

"What can we do? He's an exile."

Kirran was depressed that he couldn't return to his homeland.

"It's karma."

"Wow! Fiora-yang! You're using difficult words now!"

"Ahem!"

Fiora, who had been by Leo's side, put her hands on her hips and tilted her chin up.

Soon, only Shirode was in the Fairy King's residence.

"Really… it's you, Arion."

"Have you been well? You're still a crybaby."

"And you, Arion, are still a coward."

Shirode, flying towards Arion, wiped his tears.

Arion, smiling faintly at Shirode, suddenly looked puzzled.

"What's wrong?"

Leo asked with a puzzled expression, and Arion said,

"No, I smelled something strange from Shirode."

Shirode said, as Arion scrunched up his brow slightly.

"Ah. It's probably because of that."

"That?"

"Yes."

Shirode nodded heavily.

"A fragment of Erebus."