Book 1 Chapter 531

531.

Lunia stared at Leo, who was sitting in front of her, with nervous eyes.

Eiran poured black tea into Lunia’s teacup, his expression puzzled.

“Lunia, are you feeling unwell?”

“What? No, I’m fine. Why?”

“You seem uncomfortable somehow. And you look like you’re breaking out in a cold sweat.”

“Ah, that?”

Lunia made an awkward expression and glanced at Leo.

Then, her eyes met Leo’s, and she flinched and lowered her head.

Seeing Lunia’s reaction, Chen Shia, who was standing by Leo’s side, blinked her big eyes a few times, then smiled.

“I thought Lunia was a wild child, but she’s surprisingly a model student.”

“What’s a wild child? What is it?”

As Lunia raised her eyes and looked at Chen Shia, Eiran, with a finger on his chin, thought for a moment while looking at the ceiling, then smiled brightly.

“Rather than a wild child, it’s more like a gangster.”

“What? Why am I a gangster?!”

“Hmm… then a delinquent student?”

As Chen Shia tilted her head, Eiran smiled brightly as if in agreement.

“You guys!”

Lunia, who had clenched her fist and sprung up from her seat, suddenly met Leo’s eyes, flinched, and sat back down.

“I, I’m sorry for being loud… Ah, no! I’m sorry.”

She said that much, then cautiously looked around and mumbled.

“…ry.”

Seeing Lunia, Eiran, who had approached Chen Shia, whispered.

“Why is Lunia so overly cautious?”

“Perhaps because she’s been treating Lord Leo so rudely until now?”

“Indeed.”

“…”

Lunia squeezed her eyes shut.

She certainly felt guilty for having acted according to her personality towards Leo until now.

But more than that…

‘It’s you guys who are overly calm that are strange!’

Lunia screamed inwardly.

He was the Great Hero, not just anyone.

Among them, the Hero of Beginnings who subjugated Erebus as the last remaining one!

‘It’s natural to be conscious of him!’

It seemed that all the Lumern students who knew Leo’s true identity were calm.

‘What kind of mindset do Lumern kids have, anyway? Has Eiran been influenced too?’

Indeed, after recently going to Lumern as an exchange student, he had changed a little.

Seeing Lunia looking at Eiran with a complicated expression, Leo spoke.

“Eiran, Lunia. I have something to tell you.”

“What is it, Lord Leo?”

Eiran, sitting next to Lunia, had a puzzled expression.

Lunia, observing Leo’s atmosphere, realized something and asked, as if to herself.

“Leo. Do you perhaps know the culprit who attacked the principal?”

As Lunia asked with a hardened face, Eiran’s expression changed drastically.

“Is that true?”

Lunia looked at Eiran with a slightly flustered expression.

Given the situation, it was natural for Eiran to be angry.

But no matter what, it was the first time she had heard such a cold voice from Eiran.

While Lunia was surprised by his unfamiliar appearance.

Eiran’s eyes sharpened.

“Who is the culprit?”

His momentum seemed capable of cutting through anything at any moment.

Seeing that, Leo closed his eyes and inhaled.

“Young Master Leo.”

Chen Shia called out, sounding worried.

Leo opened his eyes, looked back at Chen Shia, and then smiled.

“I’m fine.”

He knew what Chen Shia was worried about.

Chen Shia would also know well.

What kind of person Berkhia was to Eiran.

‘That’s why I must tell him even more.’

At first, Leo hesitated to tell Eiran the truth.

But Rune told Leo, who was worrying.

‘Eiran is the successor to the Ersar family.’

It was a statement that Eiran had the right to know everything and that he would not crumble even if he knew the truth.

In the first place, if it weren’t for Leo, Rune would have told Eiran the story directly.

“Lunia is right, Eiran. I know who the culprit who cut down your grandfather is.”

“Who is it?”

Eiran’s eyes glowed eerily.

Lunia’s eyes also turned cold.

Seeing the two elves, Leo opened his mouth.

“Berkhia.”

At the sudden mention of the name, Eiran and Lunia looked bewildered.

Seeing the two, Leo continued.

“The culprit of the incident is my disciple and… Eiran, your ancestor, Berkhia.”

Eiran’s face hardened.

After a moment, his face began to turn pale.

Seeing his expression, Leo spoke.

“Tonight, I plan to leave to find Berkhia.”

At Leo’s words, Chen Shia said.

“Will we be able to find Lord Berkhia in this vast northern continent?”

Leo looked at Chen Shia, who asked with a slight hint of worry, and said.

“I’ve found out which direction Berkhia headed.”

At those words, Chen Shia looked a little surprised.

But she soon understood.

Before coming to the Ersar family.

Leo and Chen Shia had visited the crime scene.

There were countless clues at the crime scene.

For Leo, it wouldn’t have been difficult to find clues about where Berkhia had gone from that scene.

‘Young Master Leo is the first Shadow, after all.’

Shadows had to be skilled in tracking.

There was no way Leo couldn’t do that.

Chen Shia knew well that Leo had reached a far higher level than her in that field.

“I won’t tell you to follow. It’s dangerous.”

At Leo’s words, Lunia asked cautiously in a heavy voice.

“Leo, can’t you also defeat Lord Berkhia?”

“I can’t promise. If it were during my days as Kyle, it might be different, but in terms of pure power, Berkhia has far surpassed me now.”

Leo said calmly.

“And the current Berkhia won’t listen to me. You might lose your life.”

At those words, Chen Shia said.

“Even if you tell me not to, I will follow Young Master Leo. Especially if it’s a dangerous place.”

“I’ll go too, Lady Luna must have been worried about Lord Berkhia.”

Lunia said with a determined voice.

“I don’t know if I can be of help, but I really want to help persuade Lord Berkhia.”

Leo, who had heard the two, nodded and then looked at Eiran.

“I…”

Eiran’s lips trembled.

Eiran, who had lowered his eyes, spoke with strength.

“I want to meet Lord Berkhia.”

The image of Berkhia he had encountered in the Hero Record came to mind.

He still didn’t want to believe it.

That such a Berkhia had fallen and become an undead?

That he had become a being consumed by hatred?

But he knew all too well that Leo wouldn’t lie about such things.

It was a shock.

But he didn’t want to look away.

“I want to meet him and talk.”

He didn’t know what they should talk about.

His mind was still blank from the shock.

He was so confused that he didn’t even know why he wanted to meet Berkhia.

He just thought he had to stop him somehow.

Eiran bit his lip.

Seeing the three girls, Leo spoke.

“We will depart as soon as preparations are complete.”

Leaving those words, Leo exited the room.

With an atmosphere clearly different from usual, the three girls bit their lips tightly.

It was clear that a challenging journey awaited them.

***

A week had passed since Leo and his party began chasing Berkhia.

Leo tracked Berkhia, tracing the lingering mana he remembered.

But after a week, even those traces of mana disappeared.

Whoosh!

In the snowstorm-swept forest, Leo sighed deeply.

“Troublesome.”

No matter if it was Leo, he couldn’t create vanished traces.

“It seems we’ll have to spend the night in this forest today.”

“Right.”

Leo nodded at Chen Shia’s words.

It was already late.

There was nothing more to gain by moving further.

The party quickly prepared to sleep.

Lunia took out a tent from her subspace.

In the northern continent, a cold winter land, severe cold also arrives earlier than in other regions.

And that severe cold is very harsh.

Even for a trained hero candidate, sleeping in a snowstorm was an ordeal.

That’s why at Sayrun, such camping preparations were thoroughly taught from the first year.

Chen Shia, who had entered the tent, murmured as if in wonder.

“Even so, I really can’t get used to it. That elves with such noble images are so accustomed to camping.”

“Then what? Did you think we built a mansion with magic every time we slept outside?”

“Yes, I think Sayrun would have done that and more.”

Lunia sighed, looking at Chen Shia who nodded with a serious voice.

“I can see how students from other schools think of us.”

Clicking her tongue, Lunia took off her coat in one corner of the tent.

Whoosh!

As Lunia used magic, the inside of the tent became warm.

The tent was spacious, so four people sleeping inside was not a problem.

Lunia spread a round table, taken from her subspace, in the center of the tent and said.

“First, everyone gather around.”

At her words, Leo, Chen Shia, and Eiran gathered around Lunia.

Lunia unfolded a map of the northern continent on the round table and said.

“First, this is our travel route so far.”

The travel route for the week since leaving Elsalbekia was all recorded on the map.

“They’ve been wandering aimlessly.”

“Because they wouldn’t be in a normal state.”

After organizing the travel route chasing Berkhia, it looked like they had wandered aimlessly.

Lunia nodded at Leo’s words.

“Right, Lord Berkhia doesn’t know about the current era. And he hasn’t shown himself to other people either.”

There were small and large villages along the travel route over the past week.

But they only heard that there were no outsiders in those villages.

“This is just my thought, but no matter if he became an undead, Lord Berkhia is Lord Berkhia. He is not someone who would harm the innocent. So he must only intend to eliminate his target.”

Lunia’s red eyes turned to the map.

“If so, wouldn’t there be a high probability that he headed here?”

Lunia pointed to a spot on the map with her hand.

Not far from their current location was a small city-state called ‘Eldon.’

Seeing that, Chen Shia said.

“It’s where the Pureblood Council’s influence is strongest in the northern continent.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Lunia frowned.

Eldon was a nation filled with purebloodism, from its council to its citizens.

To put it nicely, they had strong racial pride; to put it badly, they were typical elves who were rigidly closed-minded.

That’s why Lunia was not keen on setting foot in that neighborhood either.

“So, I was thinking, how about we investigate this place? What do you think?”

Lunia said cautiously, gauging Leo’s reaction.

At her words, Leo, who had been listening to the explanation, nodded.

It was a judgment that Lunia, who knew the political situation of the northern continent well, could make.

“Good idea. Excellent.”

At those words, Lunia smiled faintly.

A goal had been set.

They then discussed what to do after entering Eldon.

However, throughout the discussion, Eiran merely wore a dazed expression.

Lunia and Chen Shia looked at Eiran with concern.

“Eiran, are you really okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

Eiran nodded with a somewhat weak voice.

He had been in that state all week.

Eiran, with his head bowed, bit his lip.

***

Whoooosh!

The sound of a swirling snowstorm echoed inside the tent.

The tent was dark.

Outside was a dark, snowstorm-swept night, and there was no light even inside the tent.

But Leo was lying in his sleeping bag, eyes open, inside the tent.

Even in the dark, Leo could clearly see the dagger in his hand.

‘Vihar.’

What Leo held in his hand was none other than Vihar’s dagger.

‘How can I make that damn guy listen?’

In the pitch-black darkness, he asked another one of his disciples a question that couldn’t reach him.

‘And can you forgive Berkhia?’

Vihar had lost his life precisely because of a wound he sustained in Berkhia’s battle.

Vihar also suddenly lost his life during Berkhia’s rampage.

Vihar too closed his eyes without being able to fully convey his intentions to his children.

If Vihar had lived a little longer, the lives of her descendants might have been a little different.

What thoughts did Vihar have as she closed her eyes?

‘She must have resented Berkhia.’

He was about to close his eyes tightly and clench the dagger in his hand.

Whoosh— crunch— crunch—

Leo’s sensitive hearing caught the sound of footsteps in the snow.

Shhh! Whoooosh!

The sound of the tent entrance opening carefully was accompanied by the fierce sound of the snowstorm.

Rustle— rustle—

The intruder entered the tent and approached Leo with cautious footsteps.

Soon, the intruder opened their mouth with a trembling voice.

“Lord Leo… are you asleep?”

It was none other than Eiran who had come to Leo’s tent in the middle of the night.

“Can’t sleep?”

“No.”

Eiran, Lunia, and Chen Shia shared one tent, and Leo had a small tent to himself.

It was natural to separate spaces for washing and changing clothes.

In the darkness, Leo looked at Eiran.

Her clothes were wet, as if she had braved the snowstorm in her pajamas in this cold weather.

In addition, her body was trembling due to the severe cold.

“Wait, I’ll brew you some warm tea.”

“Tea is fine.”

Eiran replied with a trembling voice and shook his head.

“Just.”

Eiran closed the distance between them.

“Can’t I sleep with you, Lord Leo?”