Book 1 Chapter 48

[48]47.

Aria looked at Leo, who was talking in the distance, and thought.

'He looks like my brother.'

Although their personalities and auras were different, the feeling they gave off was very similar.

"Isn't that a little strange?"

Teyad, the boy holding the spear, narrowed his brow.

"What is?"

"You said you were a rescue team, right? But it's only two people?"

"It is certainly strange."

"Could it be a trap from Tartarus?"

Dina, a swordmaster and party member, and Louis, a summoner, agreed with Teyad.

However, Bellac, from the Knight Department, shook his head.

"If they were enemies, they wouldn't be joining forces with us to fight demons."

"That's right. Those people are not enemies."

When Aria said this with conviction, Teyad asked in a sullen voice,

"How can you be so sure?"

"Don't you feel a very familiar sense? Besides…"

"Besides?"

"He's a little cool, too."

Teyad was flustered seeing Aria blush slightly.

"Cool? Hey! Hey! Aria! Snap out of it! You haven't even glanced at a guy since you enrolled!"

"It's understandable. Who among our classmates is good enough for Aria? Besides, as Alby-senpai's sister, her standards must be high."

"Hey, but what's so cool about someone like that!"

"He is definitely cool, though."

"Dina? You too!"

Teyad clutched his head.

While they were bickering, Leo, who had finished talking with Chloe, approached.

"It's noisy."

"Ah! Sorry! We got unnecessarily excited during a crisis!"

"I'm not scolding you. I just thought that first-years, regardless of their cohort, tend to be noisy."

"Regardless of their cohort? Are you perhaps a student of our school?"

Illyia asked with sparkling eyes, but it was Chloe who answered.

"Yes. Though not anymore."

"Ah!"

Illyia, mistaking them for seniors who had dropped out, became flustered.

"I'm sorry! I said something I shouldn't have…"

"It's okay."

"I'll explain the current situation first."

"Do we need an explanation? The situation is that demons have appeared in this forest right now."

Teyad replied brusquely to Leo's words.

"If it were a simple demon appearance, there would be no need for an explanation. However, there are demons in this forest that are beyond your ability to handle."

"How strong are these demons that you're making such a fuss?"

"They are level 3."

"What!"

"L-level 3?"

"That's not a rank that first-years can handle!"

Dina asked urgently.

"What about the others? Are the other parties besides us okay?"

"They are safe. All you need to do is get out of this forest. So, I would like you to follow my instructions from now on."

As Dina let out a sigh of relief, Teyad asked,

"Do you have the strength to defeat a level 3 demon?"

Level 3 demons.

They were high-ranking threats capable of annihilating an entire unit.

"I cannot guarantee that I can defeat a level 3 demon with my current strength alone."

"Then why should we follow your instructions?"

"There is a reason, of course."

However, Leo smiled casually.

"What is that reason?"

"Because I have the skill to escort you out safely."

"What kind of unfounded confidence is that…"

"Yes, I understand. I will follow your instructions."

"Hey, Aria!"

Teyad looked taken aback.

"You saw this person fighting earlier, didn't you? Besides, he probably understands the situation much better than we do."

Aria persuaded her party members.

"We definitely cannot handle level 3 demons with our current abilities. Therefore, as party leader, I believe it is right to follow the experienced rescue team rather than making clumsy moves."

At Aria's persuasion, her party members looked at each other and nodded.

"If Aria says so."

"We've never had a bad outcome by listening to you before."

"Haa! Really!"

Teyad scratched his head vigorously and glared at Leo.

"However! If you seem unreliable in the slightest, I will absolutely not follow your orders, so keep that in mind!"

"I will live up to your expectations, so don't worry."

***

"Find a case of Hero Record being turned into a Hero Dungeon!"

In the Tower of Heroes, which oversees the practical administrative tasks of Lumern Academy, professors and teaching assistants were moving busily.

It was a sensitive time due to the appearance of a demonic beast during the practical exam for summoning.

With the unprecedented situation of Hero Record being turned into a dungeon occurring in such circumstances, Lumern had no choice but to be on high alert.

Meanwhile, in the principal's office on the top floor of the Tower of Heroes, Callian was pressing his temples as if he had a headache.

Before him, Hero Record was displayed.

"The fact that we still cannot enter can be seen as a positive sign, right?"

"Yes."

Alby replied, looking down at his own runaway Hero Record.

Additional entry into a Hero Dungeon is impossible if there are prior entrants.

This meant that Leo and Chloe were still alive.

"It's already been three hours since the two students entered the Hero Dungeon. It must be night inside the Hero's World by now. Alby-kun, when did you defeat Chubarun thirty years ago?"

"It was around midnight."

"Does this mean we have no choice but to entrust everything to your past self?"

Callian let out a deep sigh.

At that moment, Elena, Callian's secretary, entered the principal's office.

"Principal, we've found the person who sold the demonic beast summoning catalyst to student Liu."

"Who is it?"

Alby's eyes glinted.

Elena, who had come to report, turned pale.

Bloodshot veins appeared in her left eye, and a geometrically distorted magic circle materialized in her pupil.

It was fairy magic.

Thirty years ago.

Alby, who had lost his younger sibling to demons, was a man with an intense hatred for Tartarus.

"Calm down, Alby-kun."

At Callian's words, Alby's pupils returned to normal.

"I'll go cool my head."

With those words, he left the principal's office.

"Mr. Alby is always a dangerous person to see."

"Alby is a man who reached the position of hero through hatred."

Thirty years ago.

Faced with the death of his younger sibling, for whom not even a memento was left, he dropped out of Lumern that day and devoted himself to hunting demons, ultimately becoming a hero recognized by the gods.

However, his thorough destruction of everything associated with Tartarus also caused considerable damage to those around him.

As a result, Alby was not an object of adoration but of fear among the public.

"I still can't believe Mr. Alby agreed to be a professor."

"Still, Alby-kun tends to listen to me."

Callian, who smiled bitterly, suddenly changed his expression.

"So, who is it?"

"He's a fence sitter who set up shop in the back alleys of Lumelia City this year. He's not well-known among the upperclassmen, but he seems to be quite famous among the first-years. Some first-years bought items from this merchant. Among them was a demonic beast summoning catalyst."

"Are you saying a spy from Tartarus has infiltrated Lumelia City?"

"We investigated, and he's not someone directly involved with Tartarus. However, it's clear that Tartarus supplied him with some items."

"…I don't understand. Why would they do such a thing?"

"I don't know the reason for that either. This is the fence sitter's ledger."

Callian received the ledger and turned the pages.

Rustle-! Rustle-!

Callian's hand stopped as he turned the ledger.

'Chloe Müller: Black Grimoire.'

Staring intently at the entry, Callian said,

"Elena, please summon Professor Sedjen and Professor Ren to the principal's office immediately. Tell them it's something I need to ask about student Chloe."

"Have you found something?"

"No. But I have a hunch."

"A hunch? Are you going to act based on a hunch?"

Seeing Elena's flustered reaction, Callian smiled faintly.

"Elena, I'm old. My reputation as a Sword Saint is now just a hollow past glory. But you know."

The eyes of the former Sword Saint sparkled.

"I pride myself on the fact that my intuition, honed through countless life-and-death situations, is still as sharp as ever."

***

The sun had completely set, and darkness had descended.

The group, having just finished a battle, were all breathing heavily.

"Let's take a short break."

At Leo's words, groans erupted from various places.

'Everyone's almost at their physical limit. Has it been about three hours since we entered the Hero's World?'

Considering that other groups had cleared in about an hour, this was three times as long.

But it couldn't be helped.

While other groups satisfied the clear condition simply by rescuing a party in danger, Leo and Chloe were different.

Chloe had predicted that the [Safety Guarantee] condition for Aria's party would be to completely escape the threat of Chubarun.

So they were taking the shortest route out of the forest.

Unlike when Leo and Chloe avoided battles by utilizing their mobility, now battles were unavoidable and frequent.

'Still, we're almost there.'

As Leo sighed, he felt a throbbing in his head and his vision blurred.

'Damn, did I use my super senses for too long?'

Super senses, which maximize one's senses, is a technique where the brain processes more than double the usual amount of surrounding information.

As such, mental fatigue accumulated quickly.

'Just a little longer.'

Closing his eyes, Leo took a deep breath.

Seeing this, Aria's party was amazed.

"How can they show no signs of exhaustion?"

"Their skill must be amazing."

"Pfft! Teyad asked someone like that, 'Is there a reason we should follow your instructions?' I'd be too embarrassed to even show my face!"

"Shut up!"

Teyad shouted, his face beet red, as his party members teased him.

Meanwhile, Chloe, sitting under a tree, took out the Black Grimoire from her pocket and looked at it.

Just then, Aria approached.

"Chloe-nim. Can we talk for a bit?"

"About what?"

"About Leo-nim."

Aria sat down next to Chloe with a gentle smile.

"What is your relationship with Leo-nim, Chloe-nim?"

"What relationship?"

"Are you perhaps lovers?"

"We're not?!"

Flustered, Chloe shook her head urgently.

"Seeing your reaction, it seems you're definitely not!"

Chloe let out a hollow laugh.

'Even a distant senior who enrolled 30 years ago is still a first-year.'

It felt like she was talking to the girls in her class.

Most of the girls in the class were very interested in romance.

"Why are you asking that? Are you interested in Leo?"

"I am. My heart beats faster when I see him."

"It seems you fell for him at first sight."

Thinking that even a top student from 30 years ago was no different, Chloe let out a hollow laugh.

"I don't know if I fell for him. My heart beats faster, but that feeling of my heart beating faster resembles someone a lot."

"Who?"

"My brother."

"Your brother? Alby Zerone?"

"Yes. Of course, compared to Leo-nim, Leo-nim is much cooler. My brother is clumsy and makes mistakes in everything."

For a moment, Chloe doubted her ears.

'Clumsy and makes mistakes? Who? That magic-eyed sorcerer?'

These were adjectives that didn't fit the magic-eyed sorcerer, the only hero people feared.

"But he's like a hero from a fairy tale. He challenges impossible things without hesitation and ultimately achieves them. That's why I admire my brother."

"Challenging impossible things without hesitation… That definitely resembles Leo."

Chloe's eyes sank.

"Leo is amazing. He always leads people well. His grades are good, and he's a perfect person who accomplishes impossible tasks. It's just as Aria-ssi said. Leo is like a hero."

Chloe let out a dry laugh.

"What's my relationship with Leo? At first, I thought of him as a friend and a rival. But now…"

"Now?"

"I'm jealous."

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