Book 1 Chapter 490

The entire village was adorned with beautiful flowers in full bloom.

The village, which just a few days ago exuded the charm of autumn, now felt as if spring had arrived.

As Chen Xia had described, it was a rural village, but it had a large inn.

"Wow, we can rent out the entire annex?"

Eiran exclaimed in admiration as she was guided to their accommodation.

Thanks to renting out the entire annex, they also had a garden.

There was a small pond in the garden.

"It has such a charming atmosphere."

Eiran seemed very pleased with the Eastern-style inn, which was rarely seen in elven society.

Eiran went out into the garden, her eyes sparkling as she watched the ornamental fish in the pond, then plucked flowers that filled the garden, humming a tune.

Chen Xia, sitting on the living room floor by the garden, rested her chin on her hand, watching Eiran's innocent demeanor.

"Miss Eiran is truly a lovely girl."

"What are you saying, like you've seen it all? You and she are the same."

"…Leo, who clearly treats us like children, is the youngest here, you know?"

Chen Xia squinted and glanced at Leo as he sat down.

"By the way, it's surprising. Such a landscape."

Fallen leaves lay on the ground.

Literally, spring and autumn coexisted.

'An elven girl and a flower garden… what a beautiful picture.'

Chen Xia smiled as she watched Eiran, her chin resting on her hand.

Then she looked at Leo again.

"……"

Leo sat there blankly, arms crossed, staring at the ceiling.

Seeing him, Chen Xia sighed softly and got up.

She knelt behind Leo and massaged his shoulders with both hands.

"What is it? Suddenly?"

Leo tilted his head back and looked at Chen Xia.

Chen Xia looked down at him and smiled faintly.

"I'm giving you a massage. How is it? Feels good, right?"

"Your technique is good."

Leo nodded at Chen Xia's gentle touch on his shoulders.

Then he tilted his head.

"But why?"

"I figured you, Lord Leo, must be facing something difficult again…"

Chen Xia said softly, loosening Leo's shoulders.

"I was surprised when you suddenly said you wanted to go flower viewing, but I was also relieved. I thought you were taking a break too."

"I'm always well-rested."

"That's not the kind of rest I'm talking about."

Chen Xia said with a slightly pouty voice.

"I mean resting completely, forgetting everything. You've always been caught up in big things since you enrolled, haven't you? It didn't feel like you could rest freely during this vacation either."

Chen Xia's small hands tightened slightly.

"Isn't it always like that?"

"It seems so. I've never really felt the need for rest."

"Yes. But I think that's very important."

Chen Xia's hands gently caressed Leo's shoulders again.

"Looking at your expression, you came here for a reason too, right?"

"That's right."

"I won't ask what it is."

Chen Xia lowered herself, sat beside Leo, and looked up at him.

Leo looked down at her.

"Still, for today, please forget everything and rest well. This is a place where shadows come to rest their minds and bodies when they are tired."

"Indeed, no matter how good the natural scenery is, it's a village with few inhabitants, yet the scale is quite large, and the accommodation is well-equipped. So that's why."

"Yes. Believe it or not, it's a place with a rich history and tradition. It was also a place where Lord Bihar once lived in seclusion."

"Bihar?"

Seeing Leo's slightly surprised expression, Chen Xia smiled and massaged Leo's shoulders again.

"Leo-nim! Chen Xia-yang! Look at this!"

At that moment, Eiran, who was in the garden, called out to them with a bright smile.

When they turned their heads, Eiran was holding the hem of her skirt with both hands.

Since she was wearing casual clothes, her skirt was long.

So, her skirt was filled with flowers, like a basket.

"Isn't it beautiful?!"

"It is."

Chen Xia smiled brightly.

"As you said, I'll rest well today, so you go and play too."

"Huh? But the massage isn't finished yet?"

"Thanks to you, I feel completely refreshed."

Leo chuckled.

"Lord Leo, do you want to play too?"

"Yes! Leo-nim! Let's play together!"

"You want me to play with flowers?"

Seeing Leo's indifferent reaction, the two girls went to the garden without hesitation.

'No matter what, they're still children.'

Leo chuckled, watching the two of them enjoy themselves looking at the flowers, like ordinary girls their age.

'Rest.'

5000 years ago.

From the moment he held Lisina's hand, it was a word that had no meaning for Leo.

Not just Leo.

It would have been the same for his other friends.

'Well, at that time, no one could have truly rested, forgetting everything.'

It was the same even after reincarnation.

He had lived solely with the thought of vanquishing Erebus.

His body never tired, nor did his spirit wane.

He always maintained peak condition through strict personal care.

However, as Chen Xia said, he had never had the luxury of mental space.

There were still many things he hadn't sorted out.

'This is a place Lord Bihar frequented. And through the spectral summoning earlier, I read a memory that didn't belong to anyone.'

Leo sorted through the clues one by one.

'And Statis, which should have gone extinct long ago, is in full bloom. And somewhere around here is Luna's grave, which Lisina and I made… and my grave, which Berkia took care of and made for me.'

Leo picked up a petal that had flown in through a large door adjacent to the garden.

'This flower is definitely related to the one Lisina gifted Berkia the night before the final expedition.'

Various clues swirled in his mind.

'Did the Death King revive Bihar as an undead?'

He recalled his disciple who couldn't let go of his hatred for humans.

But he quickly shook his head.

'No, as Chen Xia said, let's just rest for today.'

Chen Xia, weaving flowers into a crown, and Eiran, clapping and laughing at the sight, came into view.

Watching them play happily, Leo smiled gently.

***

'It has turned into a relaxing trip before I knew it.'

Leo, soaking in the hot spring, stared blankly at the sky.

The night sky was filled with what seemed like a multitude of stars about to fall.

"Looking at it like this, Miss Chen Xia is amazing. I mean, incredible."

"Hehe - thank you for the compliment."

The voices of the two filled with laughter could be heard from beyond the wall.

"Lord Leo, how is it? Isn't it great?"

"It is."

"Leo-nim, the night sky is so beautiful."

"It is."

Leo responded leisurely, agreeing with their words.

Meanwhile, beyond the wall, Chen Xia pouted her lips.

Eiran was marveling at the sky.

"Isn't Lord Leo being a bit too much?"

"What do you mean?"

Eiran tilted her head at Chen Xia's slightly displeased voice.

"In this open-air bath, with just a wall between us, there are two beautiful young ladies bathing. And you're so indifferent."

At that, Eiran smiled awkwardly.

"Not tense at all. Like a jaded old man."

Eiran scratched her cheek, looking at Chen Xia, who was grumbling with a hint of dissatisfaction.

And the treatment as a child earlier.

Chen Xia was a little provoked by Leo's attitude.

'Indeed, Leo-nim isn't a child.'

He might appear so on the outside, but on the inside, he's an adult.

More than that, he's the great hero from 5000 years ago.

He's also the teacher of Berkia and Bihar, the progenitors of their families.

'It's not unreasonable for us to seem like children.'

She submerged her lips in the water and exhaled.

Bubbling…

As the air bubbles burst, Chen Xia said.

"We are older sisters."

"Th-that's right?"

Eiran gave an ambiguous smile, seeing Chen Xia suddenly assert her seniority.

"Don't you want to hear Lord Leo's flustered voice?"

"How?"

Chen Xia winked playfully and said.

"Lord Leo, since we're here to play, would you like to join us? I'll give you a back scrub!"

Eiran gasped, her mouth opening and closing at Chen Xia's bombshell.

She had blurted it out, judging that Leo wouldn't be surprised by anything less.

"Shall we?"

Splash-!

But Leo remained unfazed.

The sound of him getting out of the water was heard, followed by the sound of him approaching the wall.

Step-step-

"Do you want to come over, or should I come there?"

Leo's unexpected answer caught Chen Xia off guard.

"Huh? Ah, well! I, I was joking… It doesn't matter, but I'm alone… No, no! I was just kidding! I wanted to tease Lord Leo a little…"

Chen Xia, who was rarely flustered by anything, was taken aback.

Her face turned bright red as she stammered a hurried reply.

"Don't joke around with things like this."

Leo's voice, tinged with amusement, was heard from beyond the wall, followed by another splash.

'Ugh… I was tricked. He never loses, not even once.'

Chen Xia buried her face in the hot spring to hide her flushed face.

"Ah, what a shame."

"Huh?"

And at Eiran's voice, she was startled and lifted her head.

Seeing the stunned Chen Xia, Eiran flinched and quickly made an excuse.

"I, I read in a book that in human society, there's a culture where unrelated men and women bathe together at travel destinations! It's an opportunity for cultural experience, you see. I thought it was a good opportunity…"

"What do you think humans are like? There's no such promiscuous culture. Or rather, what kind of book even contains such content? Unless it's a strange novel, such content…"

Eiran quickly turned her head away, avoiding eye contact.

Seeing her, Chen Xia muttered to herself, lost in thought.

'She looks so innocent, but her reading tastes are dangerous.'

***

Growl-!

The world was filled with black flames.

The colossal primordial evil spewed flames that seemed to carry everything.

Crash-! Flash-!

Golden aura soared high into the sky, as if to cleave the gray sky.

The man with gray hair, wielding a sword, flew with gleaming eyes.

"Kyle! You can't do it alone!"

Luna called out urgently to Kyle.

"Luna, your shoulder treatment is the priority. Kyle will buy us time, so hurry."

Lisina rushed to Luna.

Luna gritted her teeth and treated the wound on her pierced right shoulder.

Swoosh-!

In the meantime, a sword strike that seemed to shatter the world was unleashed towards Erebus.

Whoosh-!

Golden aura sliced through the black flames.

Kyle's gray eyes and Erebus's dark red eyes clashed in mid-air.

[Indeed.]

Erebus murmured softly.

[Are you prepared to die, or are you a surviving hero?]

Erebus sneered at the resolve reflected in Kyle's eyes.

Clang-!

Erebus grabbed the golden aura embedded in his body.

And pulling it out, he raised his other hand.

Fwoosh-!

A sword of black flames was created.

Seeing that, Kyle raised the sword in his hand.

Flash-! Boom-! Fwoosh-!

The sword wielded by Erebus crushed Kyle.

Boom-!

The ground Kyle stood on was destroyed and sank.

Kyle, blocking Erebus's sword, was incredibly small.

He looked unstable, as if he could be crushed and disappear at any moment.

However, Kyle's gray eyes were not filled with despair.

Instead, a more ferocious killing intent burned within them.

Fwoosh-!

All-consuming black flames poured out of Erebus's sword like waves.

Black flames burning with the intensity to turn Kyle into ashes at any moment.

Kyle's hand gripping the sword was engulfed by the black flames.

His face contorted in extreme pain.

Seeing that, Luna shouted.

"Now is not the time to worry about your wound!"

Holding her staff, Luna rushed forward.

Thump-!

Leo sat up.

"A dream?"

Leo's shoulders trembled slightly.

Cold sweat drenched his entire body.

The dream was as vivid as if it were real.

Recalling the content of the dream just moments ago, Leo took a deep breath.

'The third battle of the final expedition.'

It was the battle where Luna died.

'Strange. To have such a vivid dream now.'

It was as if he had been on that battlefield himself just moments ago.

As Leo placed his right hand on the ground and tried to push himself up.

"Tch?!"

A burning pain shot through his right shoulder, and his strength vanished.

Thud-!

Lying down, Leo felt that the blanket was damp.

'Blood?'

Smelling the metallic scent of blood, Leo put his left hand on his right shoulder.

He felt a wound.

But the wound healed instantly.

As if it had never been there.

The pain also disappeared.

Only the congealed blood proved that Leo had been wounded moments ago.

Leo wore a bewildered expression.

"What in the world is this?"