Book 1 Chapter 632

"Yeah. I got angry."

"You got angry…"

Leo mulled over Chelsea's words.

What Leo had manifested through Nightmare at the time was indeed the illusion of Lisinas.

However…

'What they saw through Nightmare back then wasn't the illusion of Lisinas I know.'

They must have encountered the Lisinas of their imagination.

After one song ended.

Leo and Chelsea returned to their original seats.

Other young ladies from noble families cast sidelong glances at Leo.

But their gazes quickly dispersed as Chelsea's eyes narrowed.

Leo, having sat down, looked down at his palm without a word.

After the awakening of spirit summoning, Lisinas' mana occasionally showed clear will.

Lisinas, the strongest summoner in history, was also a powerful spirit summoner.

'Hey. You con artist lizard. Are you really dwelling within the mana I inherited from you?'

There was no answer.

Leo, lifting his head, gazed silently at the grand and magnificent party.

After watching for a moment, Leo stood up.

"Huh? Leo Oppa?"

Chelsea followed Leo with wide eyes.

Leo went out to the deserted terrace and leaned against the railing.

Chelsea also approached Leo, leaned against the railing, and glanced up at him.

The party hall of the imperial palace, located at a high place.

And beyond, the prosperous capital of Roadren was visible.

Leo smiled wryly as he looked at it.

"Sometimes I feel like the world has gotten a lot better."

"Huh?"

"Well… it's been 5000 years."

"It's the peace that's possible thanks to the great heroes," Chelsea said with a smile.

"What do you think when you look at the current era, Leo Oppa?"

"I feel like it's a world they would like more than me."

"…"

"I sometimes think it would have been nice if they had been resurrected too. Well, only sometimes."

Leo chuckled, looking at the party hall in the distance.

Even when Aron emerged from the world of heroes.

Even when Luna appeared in the world as a spirit.

Leo wanted them to live ordinary lives as much as possible.

He knew better than anyone that his friends were the ones who should enjoy this peace.

It was too much of a waste to enjoy this peace alone.

Of course, Leo didn't feel guilty or sorry for his deceased comrades.

'Having gone through hardships together, I deserve my rights too.'

However.

'Sometimes it's lonely.'

His close friends who were like family.

'If we could have shared this time together, there would have been so many things to laugh and talk about.'

A long time ago.

As Leo smiled wryly, recalling old memories.

Pat-pat-

Chelsea placed her hand on Leo's head and stroked it.

"What does this mean?"

"Huh? It's comfort for Leo Oppa who looks tired?"

"That's a childish way to do it."

"I'm a child. Leo Oppa is also a child on the outside. Or should I comfort you in an adult way?"

Seeing Chelsea's wide eyes, Leo wore a bored expression.

"Are you saying that knowing what it means?"

"Ahem! I know everything I need to know."

"You little brat is being cheeky."

"Haaung!"

Chelsea squirmed as Leo pinched her nose.

Leo, holding Chelsea's nose and shaking her back and forth, let go with a chuckle.

"It seems I don't have time to idly reminisce about the past. It won't be too late to do that after everything is over."

Rubbing her reddened nose, Chelsea said.

"Do you feel a little better?"

"Thanks to you."

Leo said, looking at the moon.

"It's going to get really tough from the third year. Be prepared."

"Okay."

"I'll increase the training intensity too."

"Eek?!"

Chelsea made a disgusted face.

Seeing Chelsea like that, Leo said.

"Why?"

"You're going to get even stronger from there?"

"Yes. I was going easy on you because you were still young."

Leo smiled.

"You're saying arrogant things, so it seems fitting to stop treating you like a child."

"Aww~ I'm still young."

"Not cute."

"Tch! It still works on my father."

Chelsea, pretending to be cute with a slightly affectionate voice, clicked her tongue.

Seeing that, Leo said.

"You should have graduated from looking after children now."

***

After the party, Leo returned to Zeldinger's mansion and sat on the sofa in his room, arms crossed.

Beside Leo stood the Dragon Lord, Melina.

A moment later, a door appeared in the air and slid open.

Leo, turning his head, sighed deeply.

Beyond the door, Lian was bowing to Leo.

"A lowly being pays respects to the most venerable, noble, and glorious Hero of Origin in this world."

Saying that, Lian crawled out of the door and approached Leo.

"Are you a cockroach?"

He uttered a harsh insult, asking a divine being if he was a cockroach.

Of course, neither Leo, who insulted him, nor Lian, who heard it, cared.

No, the insane god was even happy at Leo's words.

"Ah! So, in Leo-nim's eyes, even an insignificant microorganism like me has a presence comparable to a cockroach! What an honor!"

The most awkward one here was the Dragon Lord, caught between the great hero and the god.

'What on earth is that person…'

Melina could not adapt to Lian's genuinely delighted expression.

Melina had met Lian several times with Leo before.

But each time, the fanatical behavior of seeing a god before her eyes flustered Melina.

In Melina's understanding, gods were very strange beings.

'How can Leo-nim be unfazed by such a sight?'

As a Dragon Lord, she had seen many types of people.

But she could definitively say that Lian was the most bizarre.

And that wasn't just because Lian was a god.

In Melina's view, Lian was perfectly sane as long as he wasn't involved with Leo.

However, when Leo wasn't around, he was a transcendent being, the absolute itself.

Those two irreconcilable aspects were frightening from Melina's perspective.

Even now, at the sight of him being delighted at being called a cockroach, Melina felt indescribable fear.

Leo gritted his teeth, watching Lian crawl towards him in the same bowed posture.

"Just stand up and come quickly."

"I cannot! How can a cockroach like me look up before the great Hero of Origin!"

"Come quickly, you're being frustrating!"

"Gasp! To make Leo-nim frustrated! What sacrilege!"

Lian, startled, ran towards Leo.

And then, banging his head on the floor, he began to injure himself, saying, 'Ah! Truly, I am less than a cockroach!'

At that sight, Melina instinctively hid behind Leo.

'Yes. The more one knows, the scarier that behavior becomes.'

It wasn't just anyone, but Melina, the Dragon Lord.

As she understood the transcendent power Lian possessed, the fact that such a transcendent being showed such chaotic behavior would surely instill great fear.

Of course, Leo had become so accustomed to dealing with gods that he now took such behavior for granted.

Leo's values regarding people and gods of the current era were completely different.

Lian, who had been injuring himself, suddenly stopped and took out a small box from his pocket.

"Leo-nim! Please accept my humble offering!"

"What is this?"

"It's a crown carved from the most beautiful gem I possess!"

Lian's eyes sparkled.

"Aren't you going to become the King of this world this time!"

"What are you talking about? I'm just becoming the king of a small country."

"No! This world is all Leo-nim's! Leo-nim becoming king means becoming the king of the world! It means Leo-nim becoming the absolute ruler of the world!"

Seeing Lian assigning another strange meaning, Leo sighed and opened the box.

On the crown made of gems, the figures of Kyle and Leo were elaborately crafted.

It looked less like a crown and more like wearing a sculpture on one's head.

"How is it! Isn't it a dignified crown befitting the King of the World…"

Clang-! Crackle-!

"Ahhhhh! My artwork!"

When Leo mercilessly threw the crown, it shattered.

Seeing Lian screaming as if he had lost everything, Melina rushed to Lian's side.

"Are, are you okay?"

"Well then, shall we get to the main point?"

"Yes."

At Leo's words, Lian stood straight before Leo as if nothing had happened.

Melina pouted.

She could not adapt to the god before her, who was pure chaos.

Taking a deep breath, Melina stood beside Leo.

"What do you want to know about the Hero Record?"

In response to Lian's question, Leo said.

"In the process of dealing with the Hero Slayer this time, I learned about the existence of Legion Records."

At those words, not only Melina's but also Lian's face stiffened.

"Legion Records?"

"Yes. Like the world of heroes, I also entered the world of legions."

Leo told Lian about his experiences.

Leo said to Lian, who was listening with a serious expression.

"Finally, I saw traitors who seemed to have become monsters. So, I ask, does that Erebus fellow know about the Record System?"

To that question, Lian nodded.

"Yes. That abomination also possesses knowledge of the Record System."

"Really? Then does that guy have the power to implement a Record System like the Hero Record?"

"No. It's true that that abomination is the nemesis of gods. However, that doesn't mean that abomination has the power to implement the Record System created by all gods working together. Even if its power has increased by burning this entire world, implementing a system like the Hero Record is impossible."

At that, Melina said cautiously.

"Then… does that mean Erebus changed the Hero Record into the world of legions?"

"Yes, Dragon Lord."

Lian's face was tinged with displeasure.

"With that abomination's power… it's possible."

The Hero Record was the power of all gods' wishes.

Lian couldn't help but feel instinctive rage at the fact that this power was not only defiled but also being used by their nemesis.

"Perhaps the Legion Record was created by the necromancer king, a creation of that abomination."

Lian said with a blank expression.

"Because that creation possesses a fragment of that abomination."

Leo nodded upon hearing Lian's words.

He had expected it.

However, what he expected and what Lian, the administrator and participant in the creation of the Hero Record, said carried a different weight.

"Can other pages of the Hero Record also be changed into Legion Records?"

"It would be possible. However, they will not do such a thing."

"Why?"

"Even with the abomination's power, altering the Hero Record itself, the essence of the gods' power, would consume immense energy."

"Hmm."

"Furthermore, the demons after the age of heroes will not be of much help to the current Tartarus."

Lian bowed his head towards Leo.

"Even in their heyday, the Age of Calamity, they could not defeat the great heroes. The necromancer king knows best that the power of the demons born in the age of heroes is powerless before you."

"That's true."

The current legions are not as strong as the legions of the past.

Therefore, what needs to be passed down to the current legions is the power of their heyday.

"As many Hero Records of the great heroes have been destroyed… they won't be able to create many Legion Records either."

Of course, even that would be a tremendous threat.

"Melina. Prepare to announce the facts about Legion Records in the name of the Dragon Lord. Also, research countermeasures for Legion Records."

"Yes."

Melina, bowing her head, returned to Dragonia using warp.

Leo, sighing as he watched her go, rested his chin on his hand.

"It's going to get even busier from now on."

"It is. Especially since you will soon be enthroned as the King of the World."

"Here we go with the 'ruler of the world' talk again?"

"I do have that wish… but the king I'm talking about now isn't that kind of king."

Lian smiled.

"Do you remember what I told you before? In this world, the only King of the World recognized by the gods was the King of Wisdom."

"…"

"This is finally the beginning. The first step towards the will of the world gathering beneath you. No god will deny that you have become the second King of this world."

Lian bowed his head.

"From now on, a truly new era will begin."