Book 1 Chapter 532

532.

Trembling eyes.

Tightly shut lips.

Clenched fists.

Airan's face, visible in the darkness, was filled with anxiety.

“When was the last time you slept properly?”

“…A week ago.”

At Airan's answer, Leo let out a deep sigh.

Then he got up and lit the mana stone lamp on one side of the tent.

Leo took the towel hanging on one side and dried Airan's wet hair.

“Oh, I can…”

“Just stay still.”

Leo, speaking indifferently, roughly dried Airan's hair.

Once her hair was somewhat dry, Leo walked over to the sleeping bag, sat down, and asked.

“Are you very worried about Berkhia?”

At Leo's question, Airan bowed her head deeply.

“I know I have to stop her.”

Airan said in a low voice.

“But I don't know what to say, or how to stop her at all.”

Airan, holding her arms as if embracing herself, trembled.

“That's why I'm so scared, that she won't be the Berkhia I know. That she won't open her eyes in the end. That Berkhia might harm Leo.”

For Airan, her mind couldn't help but be in turmoil.

The corruption of the one she admired and aspired to be.

And the fear that someone she respected might harm another she respected.

The anxiety filling her mind kept her from sleeping.

For the past week, she had tried to pull herself together somehow.

But she failed.

That's why she came to find Leo.

Seeing such an Airan, Leo sighed deeply.

‘It's bound to be tough.’

For Airan, it must be a situation that makes her heart feel distant.

To call her weak would be an understatement, as the pressure from the current situation is too immense.

The situation was a little different from Lunia and Chen Xia.

How would Chen Xia react if she had to defeat Leo, who had been resurrected as an undead?

What if Lunia had to defeat Luna?

‘For Airan, it's the same situation.’

It was too great a pressure for Airan, still a young girl, to bear.

Leo looked at Airan silently.

‘What should I say to her?’

Should he tell her that he would defeat Berkhia if he had to, but he wouldn't fall?

‘In the current situation, no words would bring comfort.’

He couldn't rashly say that Berkhia would regain her original form.

Because Airan also knew well that it was a near-impossible feat.

Anxiety wears down the mind.

The silence and darkness that came at night must have made Airan even more afraid.

However, she couldn't tell Lunia and Chen Xia about this.

Though they tried not to show it for Airan's sake, both of them were equally anxious about the current situation.

She couldn't cause trouble for the two who were trying hard to pull themselves together.

Airan had tried to overcome it alone somehow, but in the end, unable to conquer her anxious feelings, she came to Leo.

The only person she could rely on in this situation.

Airan, who had been trembling, raised her head and looked into Leo's red eyes.

“Are you having a hard time?”

At Leo's question, Airan gritted her teeth and composed herself.

‘I shouldn't rely on Leo, either.’

Airan knew.

That Leo didn't just see her as a mere hero candidate.

As long as Leo was the Great Hero.

In the future, Leo would undoubtedly engage in a decisive battle with Erebus and Tartarus.

And Leo had chosen Airan as a hero to fight on that battlefield.

‘That's why I absolutely cannot act like a child.’

If she kept relying on Leo whenever things got tough, she would only become a burden.

‘I have to overcome this alone.’

Airan forced a smile.

“It was hard, but I'll try my best…”

“If you're tired, stay and sleep.”

“Huh?”

“There's no need to forcibly endure and put up with hardship.”

“B-but I can't keep relying on Leo forever…”

“No, you can't. But for now, it's okay.”

Leo said indifferently.

“Because it's an adult's job to help when things are tough. So? Shall I tell you an old story you like?”

At those words, Airan, who had been looking a little blank, unconsciously let out a "Pfft!" and burst into laughter.

“Leo, no matter what, I'm not a complete child.”

“Don't you want to hear it?”

“I still want to hear it.”

Airan replied with a slightly brighter voice.

Seeing such an Airan, Leo pulled out another spare sleeping bag from his subspace.

It was when Airan was about to get into the sleeping bag.

“Hmm~ Looks like nothing special happened.”

“Eek?”

At the voice from behind, Airan gasped in surprise and turned around.

There was Chen Xia, squatting and looking at Airan with narrowed eyes.

“Ch-Chen Xia. How long have you been here?”

“From the very beginning.”

Chen Xia smiled sweetly.

“You never know what might happen when a man and a woman are together at night, right?”

“Do I look like that kind of guy?”

Leo clucked his tongue, and Chen Xia shook her head.

“I trust Young Master Leo. It's Airan I don't trust.”

At those words, Airan's eyes widened, and she asked with teary eyes.

“Th-that's too much. Even if my reading tastes are like that, I don't do strange things! Do I look like an elf who would sneak off to tempt Leo late at night?”

“Yes, you look perfectly like that kind of elf.”

At the answer given without a shred of hesitation, Airan made a tearful face.

“Can I sleep here too?”

“Why you?”

“It would be a big problem if Airan were to pounce on Young Master Leo, wouldn't it?”

“I'm n-not that kind of elf!”

Airan made a tearful face, grabbed Chen Xia, and shook her violently.

Watching them, Leo burst into laughter.

“It reminds me of the old days.”

Biharu often teased Berkhia like that too.

Looking at the descendants of his disciples, Leo reminisced about past memories and began to speak.

“Shall I tell you the story of when I first met Berkhia and Biharu?”

At those words, Airan and Chen Xia, who had been bickering, sat down in front of Leo.

Time flowed by as they listened to the stories of their ancestors.

***

Early dawn.

The blizzard had stopped sometime ago.

Lunia, awake from her sleep, took a deep breath.

‘I wonder if Airan is okay.’

As a close friend, Lunia also knew that Airan was not doing well.

‘I want to cheer her up somehow.’

But Lunia couldn't rashly comfort Airan either.

Lunia also truly respected the ancestors of the Rundia family.

Because the ancestors who strived to pass on the flame of the holy fire to future generations had always been one of her prides.

What if such an ancestor were resurrected as an undead due to the manipulations of the Lich King?

She dared not imagine how that would feel.

‘If I bring up the topic rashly, I might cause even greater pain.’

Lunia took a deep breath and opened her sleeping bag.

Ziiiiip-!

After unzipping it, Lunia sat up with an embarrassed expression.

“Airan? Chen Xia?”

The two had vanished without a trace.

As Lunia wore an embarrassed expression, she heard voices from outside the tent.

“Can't we stay a little longer?”

‘Ah.’

Lunia, who had thought something happened overnight, breathed a sigh of relief.

And Airan's voice, which she heard, had brightened.

Lunia, who was getting up, suddenly pricked up her ears at the voices she heard.

“No. Leo needs to sleep too.”

“Can't we just sleep with Leo?”

“I said no. We were together all night. Young Master Leo couldn't sleep because of us, so we should let him rest, even for a short while.”

“It was Leo who kept us from sleeping. How could we sleep when he was doing that for us?”

“Hmm… That's true. It was certainly a fun time.”

At the sound of the conversation from outside, Lunia stiffened completely.

The tent door opened, and Airan and Chen Xia entered.

And upon seeing Lunia, who was stiff and gaping, Airan's eyes widened.

“Lunia, you're up early.”

“Uh, uh-huh… Airan, you seem a little better?”

“Yes! I'm sorry for making you worry, Lunia.”

Seeing Airan's apologetic expression, Lunia gave an awkward laugh.

“Oh, no. It's fine. By the way… are you coming from Leo's tent?”

“Yes. It's a bit embarrassing, but Leo comforted me all night. Thanks to him, I was able to forget a lot of my worries and anxieties.”

“Though Young Master Leo couldn't sleep because of Airan's childishness.”

“Chen Xia was there too.”

Airan grumbled in a resentful voice.

Lunia's voice, listening to their conversation, began to tremble rapidly.

“Y-y-y-you! Do you know what you two just did?!”

“Huh? Well, all night with Leo… Oh, should I have taken Lunia with us instead of leaving her alone? I'm sorry! I didn't think of it… Next time, let's definitely go together.”

As Airan made an apologetic face, Lunia, whose face turned as red as her hair, began to have a fit.

“You two! Students!”

“Lunia?”

“What on earth did you students do?! Leo! No matter how much of an adult he is! No! Being an adult isn't even the problem in the first place! Three? Th-th-three? The three of you?! All night?! And next time, me too?!”

“Lu-Lunia? What's wrong? C-calm down!”

“Calm down? Why are you asking that? You two are honor students from Seirun and Lumerne! You should behave properly! Do you think it makes sense to have done such things and then act as if you don't know what the problem is?”

Looking at Lunia, who was glaring with a bright red face, Airan said with a frightened expression.

“W-we just listened to Leo tell old stories?!”

“No matter how many of those kinds of books you've read… Huh?!”

Lunia, who had been shouting, suddenly looked flustered.

And a moment later.

With a slightly pale face, she began to tremble at the shoulders.

“Ah, so that's what you were thinking.”

Chen Xia smiled brightly.

“Lunia, you really have a rich imagination. I never dreamed you'd think that way.”

“Ah, no, I mean… I… that is…”

Watching Lunia, who was profusely sweating, Airan understood the situation and her eyes widened.

Then she narrowed her eyes.

“Lunia.”

“S-sorry. I mean, I!”

“How vulgar.”

“…”

At those words, Lunia bowed her head deeply.

Lunia, who had been trembling at the shoulders, started having another fit and pounced on Airan.

“This is all because you usually watch so many weird things!”

“How is that my fault?! It's Lunia's mind that's weird!”

“Aargh! I don't know! It's your fault! It's your fault!”

Watching the two elves shouting "wah-wah" at each other, Chen Xia smiled sweetly.

“Shhh, Leo will hear everything.”

At those words, both of their voices abruptly cut off.

Chen Xia smiled sweetly and approached Lunia.

“I'm glad the misunderstanding has been cleared up.”

“R-right.”

“But I'm just curious. How far did you imagine it?”

Lunia's shoulders began to tremble again.

She wanted to pull at that smiling mouth.

“Tell me about it. Please?”

‘This one actually has a nasty personality.’

Watching Chen Xia tease her with a smiling face, Lunia could only cover her own face.