Book 1 Chapter 500

500

"Berchia?"

At Leo's question, Luna nodded her head.

"Yes. My regret seems to be about Berchia, after all."

Luna looked down at her palm.

"I was very worried."

Worry filled Luna's eyes.

"Were you worried he would carry a lot of things by himself?"

At Leo's question, Luna shook her head.

"I wasn't simply worried that Berchia would carry too many burdens, or that he would struggle because of it."

Luna smiled faintly.

"Because I believed in Berchia's potential more than anyone else."

Berchia couldn't wield star magic, but Luna had already expected that her disciple wouldn't be able to use star magic.

The potential Luna believed in for Berchia was precisely his potential as a hero.

"Berchia must have grown even more. Overcoming difficult trials… he had the potential to stand tall in a shattered world. I had no doubt he would protect the world we saved."

And it was so.

After Erebus was sealed.

Tartarus tried to destroy the world to fulfill his master's long-cherished wish.

It was Berchia who fended off that offensive on the front lines.

He was a truly great hero, capable of taking responsibility for an era following in the footsteps of the great heroes.

"What I was worried about was Berchia's disposition."

"His personality?"

"Yes."

Luna gave a bitter smile.

Berchia was born in the darkest of times.

Born in an age where the brightly burning sun had vanished, he didn't know what it was.

"But when I first saw Berchia, I felt like I was seeing the sun."

A child who could shine brilliantly even in a dark age.

That wasn't simply because Berchia was born with great talent.

"That child is someone who can genuinely smile brightly even in a dark age, isn't he?"

"Indeed."

He was always arrogant, curt, and rebelliously defiant, yet he was the only one among those born in the age of calamity who could smile brightly.

"When everything around him was dark, there was no worry. But when surroundings brighten, shadows are bound to appear."

Luna, who had murmured softly, soon chuckled.

"Still, I'm not overly worried."

"If you're not that worried, can you call it a regret?"

Seeing Leo ask in bewilderment, Luna snorted.

"The regret of not being able to watch what kind of life Berchia lived is also definitely a regret, you know?"

That was certainly true.

"Well, Berchia would have done well."

Luna showed unwavering faith.

"No matter what anyone says, he's my disciple."

Luna grinned and hummed a tune as she walked away.

"In that sense, shall I focus on the present?"

Leo watched Luna's retreating back for a moment, then pulled a dagger from his pocket.

Vihar's Dagger.

Leo, who had been silently gazing at the dagger, followed Luna.

***

Luna's school tour continued.

Amidst this, what caught Luna's eye was the joint performance practice of the music and drama clubs.

"A musical? Or a play?"

"Yes. The slight difference is that they act while singing."

Airan kindly explained beside her.

"Oh-ho!"

Luna's eyes sparkling at a culture that didn't exist 5000 years ago.

"Let's see. What kind of play are they performing?"

She entered the practice room with an excited face.

And…

"Ah?! Airan unnie!"

A bright voice was heard.

Chelsea, who ran over with him, hung onto Airan's back.

"I heard you came as an exchange student, but to meet you here!"

"Chelsea, it's good to see you!"

Airan smiled brightly and stroked Chelsea's head.

"Leo oppa and Sia were here too?"

"Now that I think about it, Chelsea, you're in the music club, right?"

Chen Sia nodded.

"Yes, I'm the ace of the music club."

Chelsea, speaking proudly, folded her arms and grinned triumphantly.

"I got the lead role in the musical this time."

"The lead?"

"Yes."

Nodding, Chelsea showed her ears.

Unlike usual, Chelsea's ears were pointed.

It seemed she was dressed up as an elf.

"Because of this, I came straight to practice as soon as I returned from the requested mission."

"It suits you perfectly!"

It was when Airan smiled brightly.

Indeed, the costume was also traditional elven wizard attire.

Just then.

"What? What is it? What is this one?"

Luna's eyes sparkled as she leaned her face towards Chelsea.

Seeing Luna like that, Chelsea's face froze.

"Huh?"

She let out an astonished gasp.

"Leo! What is this cute creature?"

Leo, seeing Luna looking at him with an excited face, said:

"She's Chelsea Rwalin."

"She's so cute! I want to keep her!"

Seeing Luna speak like a little girl who found a doll she liked, Chelsea made a horrified expression.

"Lu-Luna-nim?!"

"Oh dear?"

Luna looked surprised when her recognition-hindering magic didn't work.

Recognition-hindering magic is also a type of suggestion magic.

Luna set a simple keyword to prevent people from recognizing her true identity.

Those who know Leo's true identity can recognize her.

The simpler the keyword, the stronger the effect of the recognition-hindering magic.

And Leo's true identity was a keyword that could provide a simple yet very powerful suggestion.

"That means… you know Leo's true identity?"

"Hup!"

When what she had doubted turned out to be true, Chelsea's jaw dropped.

"Oh my! Luna-nim! Did you come from the world of heroes like Arion-nim?"

"It's a bit different from Arion, but anyway, I am Luna-nim, the progenitor of the Nebula."

"Oh my, oh my. How, how…"

Chelsea stomped her feet, at a loss for what to do.

Chelsea loved heroic tales.

Moreover, meeting Luna, whom she so respected as a mage!

Where could there be a greater honor than this?

"Ah, could I get a handshake?"

"Sure. There's no reason not to."

Luna smiled faintly, took Chelsea's hand, and then hugged her tightly.

"Ah."

"So cute! Why don't you try calling me Luna unnie?"

"Lu-Luna unnie?"

"I wish I had a little sister like this!"

At Luna's action of rubbing her cheek against Chelsea's head, Chelsea's face softened into a bright smile.

"Chelsea, it's time to practice!"

"Huh? It's the student council president."

The seniors from the music and drama clubs called Chelsea.

Luna let go of Chelsea.

Chelsea, with a regretful expression, headed for the stage.

She had a mountain of questions she wanted to ask.

But she couldn't put practice aside.

Just then, members of the music and drama clubs approached Leo.

"President. Are you observing?"

"Just looking around."

"I see. This is the pamphlet for the performance we're putting on this time."

"What's it about?"

"The unfulfilled love story of the Progenitor of the Nebula and the Hero."

"Pfft?!"

At the drama club member's words, Luna, who was drinking a beverage handed out by a stage staff member, spat it out.

"Cough! Cough!"

In an instant, puzzled gazes fell upon Luna.

Luna calmed her cough and waved her hand dismissively.

Conversely, Leo was suppressing his laughter, stifling it alone.

"Sounds interesting."

"Right? So, regarding the budget…"

"I didn't come here to meddle with the budget."

For some reason, every club member he met brought up the budget.

At Leo's words, the music and drama clubs left with bright expressions.

"Young Master Leo has completely become a terrifying presence."

It was then that Chen Sia giggled.

"An unfulfilled love story between me and that Arion guy! Where on earth did such a ridiculous story come from, and why are they performing it?!"

Luna, with a flushed face, shouted at Leo.

"Protesting to me won't do anything."

Leo shrugged.

Airan spoke in Leo's stead.

"The stories of the great heroes are so famous that many later generations speculate that they were in love with each other."

At those words, Luna's eyes narrowed.

"So? Are there rumors that Arion and I might have been 'that kind of relationship'?"

"Yes. It's a very popular story, along with the love story of Lysinus-nim and Arion-nim."

"Aren't I linked with Kyle?"

At that, Airan subtly glanced at Leo.

"Because until recently, the Hero of Beginnings was treated as a fictional character who didn't exist…"

"Hmm~"

Luna narrowed her eyes and looked at Leo.

"And your love story with that Dweno guy is quite famous too, isn't it?"

"Oh~ there's a story like that too?"

"It seems from the pamphlet that a performance based on that story was also a strong candidate. But since there wasn't a suitable person for the role of Dweno, they seem to have chosen your story with Arion instead?"

Elves and beastmen could be disguised with makeup, but dwarves couldn't have their height reduced.

Hearing Leo's words, Luna's face brightened.

"It's a real relief they didn't perform that."

"Huh? Why is it a relief?"

"Because if they had performed that story, I would have smashed this entire place to bits."

The expression vanished from Luna's face.

Seeing Luna genuinely display her anger, Airan made a frightened expression.

A moment later, practice began.

Chelsea, who was said to be the lead, played Luna's role.

In Arion's case, it was a 4th-year drama club student.

"Goodness, who is Chelsea playing to look so pretty?"

Luna said brazenly.

As Luna's words were ignored, the song began.

Luna, seeing that, paused and then stared intently at Chelsea.

"It's a beautiful song."

Airan clasped her hands together and admired.

It was true.

Chelsea's song gave the listener a surprising amount of emotion.

A moment later.

Practice ended, and Luna spoke to Leo.

"Leo."

"Why?"

"Why are there so many jewels in this school?"

Luna, with sparkling eyes, said.

"Inspiration for magic keeps bubbling up."

At her words, Leo chuckled.

Luna, having left the practice room, said with an excited face.

"Chloe, Illiana, and now Chelsea! This era really has a lot of children with brilliant talents!"

"There's also the child who completed the Flame Emperor spell."

"Yes! I want to meet Lunia soon too! My successor you've picked out!"

Luna smiled brightly.

"It's truly the best! This era is full of potential!"

Luna looked down at her hands.

"I can grow even more."

Magic accumulated and advanced over 5000 years stimulated Luna.

Innumerable talents provided new ideas and inspiration that Luna herself had never even conceived of.

Based on that, a new path became visible.

Before the Age of Calamity.

Even encompassing the period before and after the Age of Calamity, Luna is still considered the strongest mage in the history of magic.

However, Luna's talent had not yet fully blossomed.

The new era and newly created magical theories provided nourishment to her unblossomed talent.

Luna was convinced that a new tree could be cultivated in the soil of 5000 years, accumulated by the history of magic.

'In this era… I might be able to see the end of magic.'

It was then that Luna, as a mage and a seeker, made her eyes shine.

"Oh! Leo!"

A welcoming voice was heard.

It was none other than Karl who was there.

"Chloe came earlier, but Karl, have you just arrived?"

When Chen Sia asked with a puzzled expression, Karl grinned.

"Yeah. There was a lot to learn at the Northern Magic Tower. Plus, I could skip classes, right?"

Karl, chuckling, also waved cheerfully at Airan.

And then he looked at Luna and made a flustered expression.

"Huh?"

Karl's eyes widened.

At Karl's reaction, colored with astonishment, Luna looked up with a puzzled expression.

"Hup?!"

Karl was startled.

Leo, seeing that reaction, narrowed his eyes.

Chen Sia, perhaps not expecting it either, looked at Karl with a slightly bewildered expression.

Karl asked in a voice filled with astonishment.

"Lu-Luna-nim?"