Book 1 Chapter 51

[51]50

Leo and Chloe, who had conquered the hero's world and returned, were immediately taken to the infirmary.

Leo had a fractured left arm, full-body burns, and several bone fractures.

Chloe suffered from exhaustion due to severe mana depletion.

The prescription from the infirmary was absolute rest.

Ultimately, both were hospitalized.

The next morning.

Chloe, who had overslept, looked at the mana-replenishing IV drip the healer had placed on her left wrist the previous night and said,

"It doesn't seem serious enough to prohibit even visitors."

Both of them were in a situation where even visitors were forbidden.

"It's probably not just because of the injuries,"

Leo, with a medical patch on his face, said as he sat on a sofa in a large two-person room.

"You think so?"

Chloe's face clouded over.

Chloe still had matters to be investigated in Lumen, even if Leo didn't.

'What will I tell my family if I'm expelled?'

The Muller family, belonging to the Northern Magic Tower, was in a precarious position.

The family didn't have a long history, nor did they have any outstanding mages.

They were just an ordinary mage family, like any other.

However, Chloe's admission as valedictorian had placed the Northern Magic Tower in a position of prominence due to her.

But if she were to bear the disgrace of expulsion, her treatment would undoubtedly worsen compared to before.

Furthermore, even if she wasn't expelled, there was still a problem.

The Muller family was poor.

That's why they had planned to finance their school life through scholarships.

'But it's my fault, so I have to take responsibility!'

'She's thinking of something.'

Leo gently smiled, resting his chin on his hand, as he watched Chloe clench her fist with a determined expression.

'Kids that age grow up so fast.'

As he thought this, Leo recalled the events of the previous day.

'They said the pages of the Hero Record had never gone berserk in recorded history.'

But yesterday, a great anomaly had occurred.

Leo himself didn't know the reason.

'The Hero Record is something that didn't exist in my time.'

However, he could make a guess.

'What if the grimoire Chloe had influenced the Hero Record?'

Erebos, strictly speaking, was also a divine being.

'If a demonic artifact influenced the Hero Record… could it be related to my Hero Record disappearing?'

Demons still remembered and hated Leo.

There was no reason why they wouldn't be subtly influencing the Hero Record in this manner.

'The destruction of the Hero Record itself might be related to Tartarus.'

Leo let out a light sigh and found chess in a drawer of the table.

'I'll organize my thoughts for now.'

"Chloe. Do you know how to play chess? I'm bored, want to play?"

"Yes, sure."

Rustle- Chloe got off the bed and sat in front of Leo.

As the chess game began, their pieces started to move.

Clack! Clack! Clack!

Leo, whose moves were blocked, crossed his arms and shook his head.

'She plays well.'

The rules were slightly different from now, but chess existed in his previous life as well.

Chess was Rysinas' favorite game, so they often played together.

"Checkmate."

At Chloe's declaration, Leo moved his king.

Chloe laughed, pursuing the king.

'It's been a really long time since I played like this.'

After the beginning of the semester, driven by the determination to catch up to Leo, she had studied day and night.

'I can play with Leo to my heart's content while I'm in the infirmary.'

Chloe stopped as she thought this.

'Wait. Now that I think about it, I'm in the same infirmary room as Leo?'

She hadn't had the presence of mind to think about it when she was admitted, but now that she recalled it, her face felt hot.

"Aren't you going to move?"

"Huh? Uh! Yes!"

Flustered, Chloe's voice rose in pitch, and she hastily moved her piece.

A moment later, Leo was trapped in checkmate, and the game ended.

"Ah! That was fun!"

Chloe stretched and smiled brightly, when suddenly her stomach growled! Her stomach clock rang.

"Ah, no! I mean, this is! I'm hungry!"

"Come to think of it, you haven't eaten anything since yesterday, have you? That's too much for growing kids."

Leo grumbled at Chloe, whose face was flushed red as she spoke urgently.

Time had somehow turned to lunchtime.

Knock-knock-!

Just in time, there was a knock, and the infirmary door opened.

Chloe gasped and straightened her posture upon seeing the visitor's face.

"P-Principal!"

"Ho ho! It's nice to see you! Student Leo! Student Chloe! Did you rest well last night?"

Kallian, with a kind smile, approached the two.

"It's an honor to meet you! I'm Chloe Muller, from Class 1-1!"

"Ho ho! Don't be too nervous. I just came to ask a few things!"

'Is this man the Sword Saint, one of the greatest heroes of this era?'

Leo's eyes sparkled.

Leo and Chloe sat before Kallian.

"First of all, I want to apologize to both of you. While it was an unpredictable situation, I apologize as principal for putting you in danger with the occurrence of the hero's dungeon."

Kallian, having started the conversation, bowed his head.

Chloe hastily waved her hands.

"It's okay, Principal. It was an unavoidable situation for the school, wasn't it?"

"I'm grateful that you think so. Then, let's get to the main point."

Kallian raised his head and put on a solemn expression.

Chloe, intimidated by his demeanor, closed her mouth.

"First, student Chloe. I have something to ask you. I would like to see the grimoire you purchased in the back alleys of Lumen City. I heard from Professor Sedjen and Professor Len that you had carried that grimoire for several months."

Chloe gasped.

Leo, beside her, asked,

"Why do you want to see it?"

"There's nothing to hide from student Leo. The place where student Liu purchased the summoning catalyst is the same place where Chloe purchased the grimoire."

"So the source was the same."

"Indeed? What do you mean by that?"

"That grimoire was a demonic artifact."

Kallian's expression turned serious.

"Could you tell me in detail what happened in the hero's world?"

Leo began to tell the story.

After hearing the entire story, Kallian narrowed his eyes.

"Did the demonic artifact influence the hero's world?"

"The hero's dungeon normalized immediately after the demonic artifact was eliminated, so it's highly likely, isn't it?"

Kallian stroked his beard.

"Then, my second question. It's about the items you brought back from the hero's dungeon yesterday."

"Items from the hero's dungeon? Wasn't it impossible to bring anything back from the hero's world except for conquest rewards?"

Chloe asked with a puzzled expression.

Even if it seemed real, the hero's world was ultimately fake.

Whatever items were obtained would disappear upon returning to reality after the conquest.

"It seems student Chloe wasn't aware. Student Leo submitted five items yesterday. They were the personal belongings of the Aliyah party members."

Upon hearing Kallian's words, Leo fell into thought.

'Did I receive conquest rewards again, only me?'

This was Leo's second time conquering the hero's world.

Coincidentally, on both occasions, the rules of [No conquest rewards exist in the hero's world of the living] and [Rewards related to the master of the hero's world] were broken.

This time, he thought Chloe might have received a reward since it was a hero's dungeon, but she hadn't.

'I don't know why the rules keep being broken for me, but it won't be good if it gets out.'

In any world, the fact that one could unconditionally obtain conquest rewards would undoubtedly lead to troublesome situations.

"Those were conquest rewards."

"Conquest rewards? But you can't receive rewards from the hero's world of the living."

"Yes. But yesterday's hero's world was a hero's dungeon. Perhaps an anomaly occurred?"

Leo decided to use yesterday's anomaly to get out of the situation.

"Why didn't student Chloe receive a conquest reward?"

"Perhaps it's because Leo was the most active in the conquest?"

Chloe said.

It was true that the presence or absence of rewards varied based on contribution to the conquest.

"I see."

Kallian nodded.

"Understood. Then, I have one last thing to say."

Kallian's expression became serious.

"Regarding the demonic artifact, please remain silent."

"Yes?"

"Chloe. Regarding you, I will speak separately with your advisor, Professor Sedjen, and the professor of the magic department, Professor Len. Appropriate measures will be taken. But beyond that, please remain silent."

"W-Why?"

"You are still young, so you may not know, but."

Kallian smiled faintly and stood up.

"The enemy is not only outside."

Leaving the two behind, Kallian walked towards the infirmary door.

"Please take good care of yourselves and rest well during the exam period. You will be able to be discharged after that."

Kallian, who was opening the door with a hearty laugh, stopped and said,

"Come to think of it, I forgot to tell you the results of your practical exam."

Kallian turned to the two and smiled.

"Congratulations! You have become the first students in Lumen's history to exceed the hero's world mission completion rate among first-years."

Chloe's eyes widened, and Leo smiled faintly, crossing his arms.

"I look forward to your future endeavors."

Creak! Snap.

"Leo! They said we exceeded the mission! It's the first time in Lumen's history!"

Chloe, who had etched her name in Lumen's history, cheered with joy.

Leo smiled as he watched Chloe.

***

"The exam period is over, so why do we have to take classes right away? This school has no humanity! No humanity!"

Kal grumbled, shuddering.

"Do you hate taking classes that much?"

"Hey! Chelsea! Humanly speaking, who would want to take classes after exams!"

"You hate taking classes regardless of exams."

As the two bickered and headed towards the magic building.

"Did you hear that? About Chloe."

"I heard. She confessed that the unique magic she presented wasn't hers?"

"Yes. She confessed it herself. So, her practical exam was graded as 0, and she's last in the magic department exams."

"Heh heh! She acted so high and mighty, she deserves it."

A group of magic department students walked by, giggling.

Seeing them, Kal scowled.

" Those annoying bastards. They were leeching off Chloe, and now they've turned their backs on her as if nothing happened."

"That's how those pathetic people are."

"Speaking of which, I'm worried about Chloe. She's surprisingly weak mentally."

Kal scratched his head vigorously.

At that moment, someone sitting on a bench in the magic building's garden extended a leg.

The male student at the front of the group bad-mouthing Chloe tripped over the outstretched leg.

"Gack! Who is it! I'll kill you…!"

"Oh, sorry. Were you passing by? You should watch where you're going."

"L-Leo Flob?"

Leo, who had gotten up, said with a completely unrepentant expression.

"Are you picking a fight with us now?"

"Why? You guys are bad-mouthing me behind my back, so can't I pick a fight with you? And what if I am picking a fight?"

Leo smirked at the indignant male student.

"If you're so upset, why don't you duel me?"

"Ugh?!"

Before the midterm exams, Leo had a strong reputation as a theoretical student.

However, after the midterm exams, it became known that he was a top-tier powerhouse among students.

Knightology, Magicology, Summonology.

It was safe to say that there was no probability of them being able to defeat Leo through duels in any subject.

"If you pick a fight like this, I'll report you to Professor Len!"

However, the more mouths, the louder the voices.

One of the female students in the group retorted.

But Leo smiled leisurely.

"That's good. Professor Len was just looking for you."

"W-What?"

"He said he had something to ask you related to your assignment? Hurry up and go."

Their faces turned ashen.

Since they had relied on Chloe for their assignments, it would be a disaster if they were asked about it.

"Damn it! You cowardly bastard!"

"Just you wait."

They spat curses and hurried towards the magic building.

Leo chuckled as he watched their retreating backs.

"Showing off."

"Oppa Leo! You're discharged!"

Chelsea approached with a bright smile.

Kal, with his clasped hands behind his head, grinned.

"All right! Leo's discharged too, so should we skip today's class? It's not like we're going to learn anything new, it'll just be theory review… Ayayaya!"

"The person who got second to last in the magic department exam is going to skip class? What kind of guts does that take?"

"C-Chloe?"

Chloe grabbed Kal's ear and pulled.

"This won't do. From today on, you're sitting next to me in the front row for class."

"The front row? No! I don't want to experience that torture from the beginning of the semester again!"

Chelsea chuckled as she watched Kal scream and then smiled brightly at Leo.

"Oppa Leo, congratulations on your discharge."

At those words, Leo smiled and patted Chelsea's head.

Chloe, looking back at them, muttered.

'I need to try harder. So as not to be ashamed of Leo, who gave me courage back then.'

Kal, who had been screaming, asked as he saw her.

"You look much more relaxed? Are you feeling better now?"

"Thanks to you. Thanks for your concern, Kal."