Book 1 Chapter 490
490.
Beautiful flowers were blooming profusely throughout the village.
Just a few days ago, the village had been filled with the ambiance of autumn, but now it felt as if spring had arrived.
As Chen Xia had explained, it was a rural village, but there was a large inn, befitting a resort.
“Wow, we can rent the entire annex?”
Eiran exclaimed in admiration as she was led to their accommodation.
Thanks to renting the entire annex, they even had a garden.
In the garden, there was a small pond.
“It feels quite picturesque.”
Eiran seemed very satisfied with the Eastern-style inn, which was rare to see in Elf society.
Eiran went out into the garden, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the ornamental fish in the pond, then hummed a tune while picking the many flowers blooming in the garden.
Chen Xia, who was sitting on the living room floor overlooking the garden, rested her chin on her hand, watching her innocent demeanor.
“Eiran is such a pretty girl.”
“Why are you talking like you’ve experienced all the world has to offer? You two are the same.”
“…Young Master Leo, who clearly treats us like children, is the youngest one here, you know?”
Chen Xia narrowed her eyes and glared at Leo as he sat down.
“Anyway, it’s amazing. This scenery.”
There were fallen leaves on the ground.
Literally, spring and autumn coexisted.
‘An elf girl and a flower garden… what a beautiful picture.’
Chen Xia smiled, her chin still resting on her hand, as she watched Eiran.
Then she looked at Leo again.
“…”
Leo sat stiffly, arms crossed, staring at the ceiling.
Seeing his posture, Chen Xia sighed softly and got up from her seat.
She then 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 smiled faintly, looking down at him.
“I’m giving you a massage. How is it? Does it feel refreshing?”
“Good technique.”
Leo nodded, feeling Chen Xia’s soft touch on his shoulders.
Then he tilted his head.
“But why?”
“I thought Young Master Leo might be facing some difficult task again…” Chen Xia said, gently easing Leo’s shoulders.
“I was surprised when you suddenly suggested we go flower viewing, but at the same time, I felt relieved. I thought Young Master Leo was finally taking a rest.”
“I always get enough rest.”
“I’m not talking about that kind of rest.”
Chen Xia said with a slight hint of a pout in her voice.
“I mean a complete rest, forgetting everything. Young Master Leo has always been caught up in big events since enrollment, hasn’t he? Even this vacation, the atmosphere wasn’t conducive to relaxing.”
She felt Chen Xia’s small hands tense up.
“Wasn’t it always like that?”
“I suppose so. I’ve never really thought I needed a rest.”
“Yes, but I think it’s very important.”
Chen Xia’s hands gently massaged Leo’s shoulders again.
“Judging by your expression, you came here for a reason, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“I won’t ask what it is.”
Chen Xia lowered herself and sat beside him, looking up at Leo.
Leo looked down at Chen Xia.
“Even so, just for today, forget everything and get some good rest. After all, this is also a place where the Shadows come to rest their bodies and minds when they’re tired.”
“Indeed. I thought that even if the natural scenery was good, for a sparsely populated village, its scale was quite substantial and the accommodations were well-maintained. So that was the reason.”
“Yes. Despite appearances, it’s a place proud of its history and tradition. It’s also where Lady Bihar once made her hermitage a long time ago.”
“Bihar?”
When Leo looked slightly surprised, Chen Xia smiled softly and massaged his shoulders again.
“Lord Leo! Chen Xia! Look at this!”
Just then, Eiran, who was in the garden, called out to them with a bright smile.
When they turned their heads, Eiran was holding the ends of her skirt with both hands.
Because she was in casual clothes, her skirt was long.
And so, her skirt was filled with flowers, as if they were in a basket.
“Isn’t it so pretty?!”
“It is.”
Chen Xia smiled brightly.
“As you said, I’ll take a good rest today, so you go and play too.”
“Huh? But the massage isn’t finished yet?”
“Thanks to you, I’m perfectly refreshed.”
Leo chuckled.
“Young Master Leo, do you want to play with us?”
“Yes! Lord Leo! Let’s play together!”
“Me, playing with flowers?”
At Leo’s indifferent reaction, the two girls went to the garden without hesitation.
‘No matter what you say, kids are still kids.’
Leo chuckled, watching the two of them happily enjoying the flowers like ordinary girls their age.
‘Rest.’
5000 years ago.
It was a word far removed from Leo, from the moment he held Lisinas’s hand.
It wasn't just Leo.
His other friends would have been the same.
‘Well, back then, no one could forget everything and rest comfortably.’
It was the same after his reincarnation.
He had lived only with the thought of subjugating Erebus.
His body never tired, nor did his mental strength wear down.
He meticulously managed himself to always maintain optimal condition.
But as Chen Xia said, he had never truly relaxed his mind.
There were still many things that hadn't been sorted out.
‘This is a place Bihar frequently visited. And just now, through spirit magic, I read a memory whose owner I couldn’t identify.’
Leo organized the clues one by one.
‘Also, statice, which should have been extinct long ago, is in full bloom. And somewhere around here are Luna’s tomb, which Lisinas and I made, and… my tomb, which Berkhia recovered and made for me.’
Leo picked up a single petal that had drifted through the large door connecting to the garden.
‘This flower must be related to the flower Lisinas gave Berkhia the night before the last expedition.’
Various clues complicated his mind.
‘Did the Necrolord resurrect Bihar as an undead?’
He thought of his disciple who couldn't abandon her hatred for people.
But he soon shook his head.
‘No, as Chen Xia said, let’s just take a good rest for today.’
He saw Chen Xia making a crown out of flowers and Eiran clapping and laughing at it.
Leo smiled gently, watching the two of them play happily.
***
‘Somehow, it’s turned into a rest trip.’
Leo, soaking in the hot spring, stared blankly at the sky.
The night sky was full of stars, as if they were about to pour down.
“Looking at it this way, Chen Xia is amazing. I mean, she’s incredible.”
“Hehe – thank you for the compliment.”
The cheerful voices of the two girls could be heard from beyond the wall.
“Young Master Leo, how is it? It’s really nice, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
“Lord Leo, the night sky is so beautiful.”
“Indeed.”
Leo answered leisurely, affirming their words.
Meanwhile, beyond the wall, Chen Xia pouted, her lips in the water.
Eiran was admiring the sky.
“Isn’t Young Master Leo a bit too much?”
“What do you mean?”
Eiran tilted her head at the slightly miffed tone.
“In an open-air bath like this, with two beautiful girls washing just beyond a wall. He’s too nonchalant.”
At that, Eiran smiled awkwardly.
“Not even an ounce of nervousness. He’s like some jaded old man.”
Eiran scratched her cheek, watching Chen Xia grumble with an unidentifiable tone of complaint.
And earlier, being treated like a child.
Chen Xia was somewhat piqued by Leo’s attitude.
‘Indeed, Lord Leo isn’t a child.’
No matter what he looked like on the outside, he was an adult on the inside.
And not just any adult, but a great hero from 5000 years ago.
He was also the teacher of Berkhia and Bihar, the founders of her own and Chen Xia’s families.
‘It’s probably not surprising that we look like children to him.’
She submerged her lips in the water and exhaled.
Bubble, bubble—
Amidst the bursting air bubbles, Chen Xia spoke.
“We’re older sisters, you know.”
“Th-that’s… right?”
Eiran gave an ambiguous smile, watching Chen Xia suddenly assert her senior pride.
“Don’t you want to hear Young Master Leo’s flustered voice?”
“How?”
Chen Xia playfully winked one eye and said,
“Young Master Leo. Since we’re already here for fun, how about we wash together? I’ll scrub your back!”
At Chen Xia’s outrageous bombshell, Eiran gasped, her mouth opening and closing.
It was a statement she’d thrown out, judging that Leo wouldn't be flustered by anything less than this.
“Shall we?”
Splash—!
But Leo was unperturbed.
A sound of him getting out of the water was heard, followed by sounds of him approaching the wall.
Slosh – Slosh –
“Do you two want to come over? Or should I come to you?”
Chen Xia was flustered by Leo’s unexpected reply.
“Huh? Ah! Th-that is! No, it was a joke… It-it’s fine, but I’m alone here… No, no! I was just playing a prank! I just wanted to tease Young Master Leo a bit…”
Chen Xia, who usually wouldn’t bat an eye at most things, was flustered.
Her face turned bright red as she stammered, hastily answering.
“Don’t play pranks like that.”
Beyond the wall, Leo’s amused voice was heard again, followed by another splash.
‘Ugh… I got owned. He really never loses.’
Chen Xia plunged her face into the hot spring to hide her reddened face.
“Ah, what a shame.”
“Huh?”
Then, startled by Eiran’s voice, she lifted her head.
Seeing Chen Xia dumbfounded, 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 in travel destinations! Th-think of it as an opportunity to experience the culture. I thought it was a good opportunity…”
“What do you take humans for? There’s no such promiscuous culture. No, what kind of book, in the first place, would have such content? Unless it’s some strange novel, such content…”
Eiran quickly turned her head, avoiding eye contact.
Watching her, Chen Xia muttered blankly to herself.
‘She looks innocent, but she has a dangerously peculiar taste in books.’
***
Goooooooh—!
The world was filled with black flames.
The massive primordial evil spewed flames that seemed to engulf everything.
Boom—! Flash—!
Golden aura soared high into the sky, as if to cleave the gray sky.
A gray-haired man gripping a sword flew forward, his eyes gleaming.
“K-Kyle! Alone, you can’t!”
Luna desperately called out to Kyle.
“Luna, treating your shoulder is the priority. Kyle will buy us time, so hurry in the meantime.”
Lisinas rushed to Luna.
Luna gritted her teeth and treated the wound on her pierced right shoulder.
Slash—!
Meanwhile, a sword strike that seemed to split the world plunged towards Erebus.
Whoosh—!
The golden aura cleaved the giant spewing black flames.
Kyle’s gray eyes and Erebus’s dark red eyes met in the air.
[Indeed.]
Erebus murmured lowly.
[Are you prepared for death, surviving hero?]
Erebus scoffed at the resolve reflected in Kyle’s eyes.
Clench—!
Erebus gripped the golden aura embedded in his body.
Then, pulling it out of his body, he raised his other hand.
Fwoosh—!
A sword of black flames was generated.
Seeing it, Kyle lifted the sword gripped in his hand.
Flash—! Crrrraaaash—! Fwoosh—!
The sword swung by Erebus bore down on Kyle.
Crrrraaaash—!
The ground Kyle stood on shattered and collapsed.
Kyle, blocking Erebus’s sword, was so small.
He looked so unstable, as if he could be crushed and disappear at any moment.
However, Kyle’s gray eyes were not stained with despair.
Rather, they burned with even fiercer killing intent.
Fwoosh—!
From Erebus’s sword, black flames, capable of consuming everything, poured out like a wave.
Black flames burned with an intensity that threatened to turn Kyle to ashes at any moment.
Kyle’s hand gripping the sword was engulfed in the black flames.
His face contorted in extreme pain.
Seeing that, Luna shouted,
“This is no time to tend to your wounds!”
Luna, gripping her staff, rushed forward.
Thump—!
Leo sat up.
“A dream?”
Leo’s shoulders were uncharacteristically heaving.
His body was soaked in cold sweat.
It was a dream so vivid it felt real.
Leo took a deep breath, recalling the contents of the dream just moments ago.
‘The third battle of the final expedition.’
It was none other than the battle in which Luna died.
‘How unusual. To dream of that so vividly.’
It was as real as if he had been on that battlefield himself just moments ago.
The moment Leo put his right hand down to get up.
“Gah?!”
A searing pain shot through his right shoulder, and he lost all strength.
Splash—!
Leo, having fallen, felt that the futon was damp.
‘Blood?’
At the metallic scent of blood, Leo placed 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 abundant blood proved that Leo had been wounded just moments ago.
Leo wore a bewildered expression.
“What in the world is this?”