Book 1 Chapter 489
489.
‘It must be a coincidence.’
Throughout the long history of the world, there are often unusual occurrences that go against the seasons.
For instance, it often rains near someone with a strong aura of water.
Or if someone with a strong aura of fire appears in an area experiencing a heavy snowfall, the snow stops.
Such cases are not common, but they occasionally appear in history.
The same is true now.
Especially now that the Necrolord can revive heroes from the past.
‘Perhaps powerful individuals were revived by him. Or the spirits of that area moved en masse. The probability of it being related to Luna is extremely low.’
But even so.
‘I should still check.’
There were no classes now.
Of course, students couldn't go outside freely, but it wasn't too difficult for Leo to create a reason to leave.
“What did you talk about with Teacher Mel?”
Chen Xia asked Leo, who had returned to his seat, with a puzzled expression.
Eiran was also perking up her ears, curious.
Leo looked at them both and said.
“You two. Don’t you want to go flower viewing?”
At the sudden remark, Chen Xia and Eiran widened their eyes.
***
Crackling-
The firewood was burning.
“Dwenno! Have a drink!”
“Hmm, thank you.”
“Arion, you too!”
“Ah, yes!”
Gadthron was a city of many festivals.
In this era where the world was hurtling towards destruction day by day.
News of the heroes' victories against Erebus and Tartarus was enough to excite people.
They were temporarily freed from the anxiety of not knowing when they might perish.
But today was not a festival to celebrate victory.
“Alright, everyone! Pay attention!”
Luna, who had climbed onto the stage, raised her wine glass.
“Tomorrow, we will embark on our final journey to subjugate Erebus!”
The subjugation of Erebus.
It was the fervent wish of all people in the world, yet a word they dared not utter.
Luna, who mentioned that wish in a light tone, continued.
“Of course, many must be feeling anxious.”
Watching Luna speak with a serious face, the festive atmosphere grew cold.
In that atmosphere, Luna smiled.
“But trust us! We will save the world! We will reclaim the blue sky from that damned fireball! We will reclaim the beautiful stars!”
“Whoa-oh-oh!”
“And I will be called the greatest mage in history! A toast to Lady Luna, who will become the greatest mage in history!”
“Cheers!”
Luna's shout dispersed the heavy atmosphere.
Kyle looked at the people raising their toasts and said.
“Why on earth did you entrust such an important speech to *that* guy?”
“Because Luna is perfect for enlivening the atmosphere.”
Lisinas, who was sitting next to Kyle holding a wine glass, smiled faintly and said.
“If we let Dwenno do it, he’ll say something weird and perverted, and Arion will be too nervous to say anything. You’d definitely make the festival atmosphere gloomy. And if I do it, it won’t be fun.”
“Perhaps it’ll be our last festival, so enjoy it to the fullest?”
“You’re spewing ominous nonsense again.”
“K-Kyle! You really think this expedition is hopeless?”
Dwenno, who had approached them at some point, clicked his tongue, and Arion wore an anxious expression.
“What are you talking about?”
Luna, who had finished her speech, asked with a puzzled look.
“About this festival possibly being the last.”
“Why the last? Can’t we just blow Erebus away?”
“That’s right, the world will be saved, Kyle.”
Luna looked at Kyle as if he were strange, and Lisinas also spoke as if it were obvious.
Hearing their confident answers, Kyle subtly averted his gaze and said.
“I certainly hope so.”
“Why does he keep spoiling the mood? This damned human.”
“Will I die if I agree even just this once?”
Luna grabbed Kyle by the collar and shook him, and Lisinas gave him a chilling look.
“Alright, alright, everyone, stop it and enjoy the festival. It's not like this friend acts like this just today or yesterday.”
Thwack!
Dwenno slapped the back of Kyle’s head with his thick hand.
“You damned dwarf bastard. You think you’re hitting softly, but it hurts the one being hit.”
“I hit you to make you hurt.”
“Oh really? Then can I hit you hard in the solar plexus too?”
As Kyle growled, Dwenno said calmly.
“D-don’t fight.”
Arion frantically tried to stop the two.
After that small commotion.
Kyle, left alone, sipped his wine.
‘The atmosphere is good.’
Kyle propped his chin, placing his wine glass next to him, watching his friends enjoying the festival with vibrant laughter.
‘Yes, you all will surely be able to move forward into the future.’
All five of them knew it was a battle where victory couldn't be guaranteed.
But even so, their mindsets were different.
It was when Kyle was wearing a gentle smile.
He felt a presence stealthily approaching from behind.
Kyle easily recognized that the owner of the presence was Belkiah.
‘What’s wrong with her now?’
He watched, wondering what she was up to, and Belkiah put something into Kyle's wine glass.
“Master Kyle, let’s toast together with Master Luna.”
And as if nothing had happened, she quickly sat next to Kyle, spoke casually, and called out to Luna.
“Master Luna.”
“Hm? Why did you call me?”
“Let’s toast, us.”
“Shall we?”
Luna smiled brightly, picked up her glass, came over, and toasted.
Luna downed her drink in one go and shouted.
“Ah! That's good~!”
“Aren’t you drinking?”
Kyle grabbed Belkiah, who was feigning ignorance, and force-fed her the drink in his glass.
“Ugh!”
“What are you two doing?!”
“This idiot put something in my drink.”
“Belkiah, what did you put in it?”
At Luna's question, Belkiah quickly closed her eyes and said.
“L-love potion made by Master Dwenno…”
At those words, Luna clicked her tongue.
“That doesn't work.”
“Huh?”
Belkiah widened her eyes.
“It’s a useless, stupid pervert's potion.”
Luna said sharply and turned away! And left.
At her words, Belkiah pouted.
“Do you want to mess with me until the very end?”
“That’s not it, okay?”
It was when Belkiah was pouting.
“Master.”
Vihar approached Kyle.
Kyle looked at Belkiah and Vihar for a moment and then said.
“You two, come and sit in front here.”
At his words, Belkiah and Vihar sat in front of Kyle.
Kyle poured drinks into their glasses and said.
“You’ve worked hard learning from me all this time.”
“Why are you talking as if it’s the last time?”
Belkiah said with a frown.
“Because it might be the last.”
“Don’t say strange things.”
Belkiah pouted, but Vihar bowed her head with a firm expression.
“Thank you for… teaching me all this time.”
“You too, don’t say strange things! Master will defeat Erebus and return! Are you saying Master can’t subjugate Erebus?”
Belkiah grabbed Vihar and shook her vigorously.
“No, I believe.”
Vihar smiled faintly.
“That Master will defeat Erebus.”
Satisfied by her words, Belkiah snorted and nodded her head.
Kyle looked at the two and said.
“What will you two do when the era of peace comes?”
“We will help the Masters rebuild the world.”
Belkiah smiled brightly.
“I want to help those in need and create a world where everyone can be happy.”
“Yes, good luck.”
“Of course.”
“Belkiah. Come here, will you?”
“Yes! Master Luna!”
Belkiah heard Luna’s call and ran over.
Luna handed a large bouquet of flowers to her disciple.
“This is a gift. These are my favorite flowers.”
“Wow, they’re so beautiful! Master Luna!”
Seeing Belkiah genuinely delighted with the bouquet, Vihar smiled and said.
“Belkiah will surely brighten this world.”
Vihar’s gently smiling face suddenly turned expressionless.
“Master.”
“Why?”
“If there are still those who plague the world, like now, even after peace is restored, what should we do?”
Emotion drained from Vihar’s voice.
“Should I continue the work I do now?”
Kyle silently stared at Vihar.
Vihar fundamentally distrusted others.
Born without parents and living a thoroughly unfortunate life from birth was an unavoidable trend of the times.
Erebus, Tartarus.
They had stolen everyone’s happiness and plunged them into misery.
But it was humans like her who, as an orphan, delivered tragedy into a life of only misfortune.
Leo looked at Belkiah.
Despite being born into a dark world, Belkiah was a bright woman.
If she was like the sun, Vihar was like the moon in the night sky.
“I… cannot tolerate it. In a world where peace has been restored through the sacrifice of many heroes… a world created by the hands of Master and the great heroes… for maggots that plague the world to live… I don’t think I can ever forgive that.”
Vihar spoke as if spitting out words, emitting twisted bloodlust.
“If I see those who are unworthy of living in an era of peace… if there are many such people. What should I do?”
“There will probably be many.”
Kyle said flatly.
Those born in the era of despair thought that a world without Erebus would be purely beautiful.
But having lived before the era of despair, Kyle knew.
That a world without Erebus wasn't purely beautiful.
That sometimes it was even more hideous than the era of despair.
“You’ll see a lot of ugly things too.”
At Kyle’s words, Vihar gritted her teeth.
“But don’t dwell on such things too much.”
Kyle smiled.
“Because many people, including myself, risked their lives to save the world, even knowing that.”
“…”
“When the era of peace surely comes, you’ll meet all sorts of people. Lisinas will surely regret it too, won’t he? Thinking, ‘Did we save the world for *that* kind of thing?’”
Kyle looked at Lisinas in the distance and smiled faintly.
“But even so, there will surely be more good people. The era you will live in will be a world where light is brighter than the depth of darkness. So.”
Leo reached out and roughly stroked Vihar’s head.
“When the world finds peace, don’t live your whole life only in darkness.”
“…Yes, Master.”
***
Deep in the eastern forests of the continent.
There was a sizable village there.
“Melanu Village. It’s a village known for its beautiful natural scenery, where outsiders come for tourism or recuperation. It’s famous for its hot springs.”
Chen Xia told them about the village.
“But… this is surprising.”
Chen Xia looked at the scene unfolding before her with a dazed expression.
“Look at this! I’ve never seen these flowers before, but they are so beautiful!”
Eiran gazed at the profusely blooming flowers on the ground, beaming with a wide smile.
“What kind of flowers could they be?”
As Chen Xia also made a puzzled expression, Leo answered.
“Statice.”
“Young Master Leo, do you know these flowers?”
“They are flowers that have disappeared in this era.”
To be precise, they all disappeared during the era of catastrophe.
‘Luna’s favorite flowers.’
Now, they are flowers that can only be bloomed using the ‘Flower Blooming Magic.’
The moment Leo plucked a flower.
Whirr-!
Leo’s spiritual power reacted, and his vision went dark.
What he saw at that moment was.
Stomp- Stomp-
Vihar was walking, holding a large, withered bouquet of statice flowers.
[Master?]
[…Here.]
In response to Vihar's question, Belkiah, who was next to her, showed a small urn.
[Is it the right thing to bury Master next to Lady Luna?]
In response to Vihar's question, Belkiah clutched the urn tightly.
[…We couldn’t find the other’s graves, could we? At least I want to make sure the two of them aren’t lonely together.]
Vihar nodded, looking at Belkiah who was bowing her head.
[Let’s go.]
Unlike Vihar, who walked forward, Belkiah could not.
She just stood there blankly, staring at the ground.
Flash-!
“Young Master Leo?”
“Mr. Leo!”
Chen Xia, flustered, supported Leo.
Eiran quickly came to Leo's side.
“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
Leo held his head and shook it.
‘That was spirit magic just now. But whose memory was it?’
Belkiah or Vihar.
It was certainly one of the two.
‘Is it related to these flowers?’
Leo looked at the profusely blooming flowers.
He couldn't know the source of the memory.
Only that it was related to these flowers.
‘What I can know now is that Luna’s grave, and mine, are in this vicinity?’