Book 1 Chapter 668

668

Knock knock-

"Come in."

Dweno said calmly, looking up at the night sky visible from his office window.

The door opened and Enniha entered.

"Did those friends go to their lodging?"

"Yes."

"And the outsiders who came first?"

"They're from the same place as the ones who came this time. They said they were an advance scouting party sent earlier."

"Is that so?"

Enniha put a long pipe in her mouth as she watched Dweno nod his head.

"Want a puff?"

"Don't I not smoke?"

"You're a very unique dwarf."

"Enniha. You, too, are an unusually peculiar elf."

Tobacco was originally a part of dwarf culture.

Dwarves, who are artisans from birth, often had to sit still and ponder deeply.

As a result, they naturally started burning herbs that helped with mental clarity, and this was the beginning of tobacco.

And elves intensely disliked the peculiar scent produced when herbs were burned.

Therefore, the sight of an elf holding a long pipe could be said to be a very peculiar one.

"Phew."

Enniha exhaled a long stream of smoke, approached Dweno, looked up at the night sky, and murmured.

"It's truly beautiful. It still feels like a dream. The fact that I can see the stars in the night sky."

"Shouldn't you be used to it by now?"

"Not at all. I don't think I'll ever get tired of looking at it."

This night sky, which was taken for granted in the distant past, was now so precious and cherished.

How many people shed tears on the day they saw the starlight again, which they thought they would never be able to reclaim?

Enniha was one of them.

"Dweno, aren't you too emotionally dry? When we reclaimed the night sky, you were the only one who didn't even bat an eye."

"No. Even though I may seem like this, I was deeply moved back then."

"Lie. You've always been like that since the old days."

Their connection goes back a long time.

Long before the Age of Calamity began.

"When I first met you, you had such a world-weary expression. I wondered, 'What kind of dwarf is this?'"

"When I first saw you, I also wondered, 'What kind of elf is this?' So defiant, despite being exiled by her own kind."

"I've told you repeatedly, I wasn't exiled, okay? I ran away on my own two feet."

"Ah, so that's why you confidently requested protection in a dwarf territory, which is at war with elves, because you'd be dragged back if caught?"

"I told you. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"Do you know that you're sometimes excessively stubborn?"

"They insulted my paintings first!"

"Ugh."

"If it was fair criticism, I'd understand. But how can I accept the tyranny that tried to make me break my brush, saying my art was terrible just because it didn't praise our race!"

Enniha frowned intensely.

At that time, Enniha's crime was racial treason.

The reason for being accused of racial treason was that as an artist, she did not admire the beauty of elves and claimed that the art and culture of other races were equal to those of elves.

Enniha's assertion was close to an all-out rebellion against the authority of elven society.

Furthermore, Enniha, who was merely an insignificant painter, not an elite in elven society, became a wanted person under the charge of racial treason.

And to avoid the elves' pursuit, she sought refuge with the dwarves.

Dweno and Enniha met there for the first time.

Enniha stayed in dwarf territory for a long time and became friends with the dwarves.

And naturally, she learned dwarf culture.

It was also during that period that Enniha, who had no other talents besides painting, learned martial arts.

She had an astonishing talent for martial arts and grew into a formidable practitioner.

"It was a blessing in disguise. You, who weren't particularly gifted at painting, were blessed with aura and changed your profession to a warrior."

"I'm a painter, not a warrior!"

"Didn't I tell you back then? That it would be hard to make a living with that, so quit."

"And you! You were moved by the painting I drew!"

"…Indeed, the last painting you did in the village was beautiful."

Dweno burst into a hearty laugh.

"Enniha. The sunrise painting you drew was so beautiful."

"Yes. And you burned that beautiful masterpiece, the greatest work of my artistic life."

"Thanks to that, I made up my mind back then. To control my power so as not to turn the beautiful things of the world into ashes."

"You thought that?"

Enniha widened her eyes.

"Yes. Thanks to that, I even developed a slight interest in art."

"Wait! Wait! You've never told me this before!"

Enniha, with a bewildered expression, pushed her face close to Dweno.

Dweno looked at Enniha's face with a nonchalant expression.

"Until recently, you said art was meaningless in this era?"

"I did think that. But now my thoughts have changed. I believe we need works of art to leave behind for future generations."

"Dweno, are you feeling unwell?"

"I'm perfectly fine."

"Wow…"

"I plan to leave several works for future generations with my own hands."

"Art is not easy."

"Indeed. It will certainly not be easy. But Enniha. When I look at your paintings, I feel confident that I can do better than you."

"This!"

Enniha immediately elbowed Dweno's forehead.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm not… al… right! You damned pessimistic dwarf!"

Enniha, writhing in pain and clutching her elbow, gritted her teeth.

Dweno, who had been chuckling at Enniha, asked.

"What do you think of those children?"

"Those kids?"

Enniha stood up and smiled brightly.

"It's so nice to see them because they don't seem like kids these days. Their eyes are different! Their eyes! What should I say? Should I say they have dreams? Should I say they're hopeful? Ah! Yes! Their future seems to sparkle! They're truly childlike!"

"Are the children in Ivaldi not childlike?"

"Hey! That's different from this! I mean they're like kids from the old days!"

There are children in Ivaldi too.

Children born in this era.

Children who don't know sunlight, don't know moonlight, and don't know starlight.

Poor children who cannot see hope and future.

That was the characteristic of children born in the Age of Calamity.

"Even that Spirit Sorcerer, Artian, wasn't it? Even as an adult, his eyes were different from ours, weren't they? While we were protecting Ivaldi, the world regained hope! So perhaps that's why such childlike children have appeared?"

"…"

"It will definitely have a good influence on the children in Ivaldi too!"

"I hope so."

"But that child named Leo was a bit different."

"…"

"What should I say? Should I say he's like us? His eyes weren't childlike either. He gives off a feeling similar to you."

"Similar to me?"

"Yes. He had that peculiar dead-fish look in his eyes, just like you."

"Who are you calling dead-fish eyes? And Enniha. You lack observational skills. That's why you're not cut out to be a great painter."

"What did you say?"

"It's true that his eyes were unpleasant, but… they weren't dead-fish eyes. Those eyes clearly belonged to someone who would never give up."

"Is that so? I thought I was good at reading people."

Enniha tilted her head.

"Anyway, it's true that hope has appeared."

"Yes."

"So, Enniha. I will definitely show you the morning sunlight again."

"Huh?"

"Didn't you say you really wanted to see it? That it was your wish?"

"You still remember that?"

"Of course I do."

When they reunited in Ivaldi, Enniha had said.

'I want to see the morning sunlight again! We will definitely reclaim the morning!'

Nearly twenty years had passed since then.

The world was falling into a darkness so profound that people couldn't even recall the morning sunlight.

It had become an era where even mentioning such words, calling them useless hope, would provoke irritation from those around you.

In such a situation, the starlight they saw again allowed people to dream of hope once more.

"I swear on everything I have."

Dweno clenched his fist tightly and said.

"I will definitely show you the morning sunlight."

"Oh? That's quite enthusiastic for a pessimistic dwarf!"

Enniha poked Dweno's temple with her elbow.

"Ugh…"

"Is your elbow alright?"

"It's not… alright! You blockhead!"

"It's less hard than yours."

"Ugh."

"What about that child Driana? Do you really plan to teach her painting?"

"Yes."

"I think it would be better to give up…"

"I will raise her into a great artist!"

Dweno said, watching Enniha burn with enthusiasm.

"I also plan to pass on my blacksmithing skills to that child."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yes. She was a child with talent."

Dweno grinned.

"First, how to handle fire."

"Won't she run away if she learns from you?"

"I'll just catch her again. Where would she run to from here?"

Enniha clicked her tongue at Dweno's words.

'Too bad for her.'

***

"So, we've come to the conclusion that destroying the Legion's Record is the most efficient method."

In the wee hours of the morning when everyone was asleep.

Kal, sitting by the campfire outside the tent, spoke to Leo.

"Right."

"By the way, what exactly is this Hidden Mission?"

"It probably means there's an overachievement in the Legion's world too."

Overachievement.

It's something that can be achieved in the Hero's world when one accomplishes a feat greater than what occurred in actual history.

Literally, a special reward is given.

A glorious achievement given only to those who make the impossible possible.

Kal carefully asked Leo after his words.

"What happens to Ivaldi in actual history?"

"Dweno is the sole survivor."

"Ah…"

Kal's face stiffened slightly at Leo's words.

"And the invading demons?"

"Gias, the Giant King."

"…As expected."

Kal bit her lip.

The past bitter rivalry in Dweno's world came to mind.

"Just as Luna has a bitter rivalry with the Monster Queen, Dweno has one with the Giant King."

Until then, Gias was the one who made the world's finest armaments.

Before the armaments Gias made, ordinary ones would simply break without resistance.

But the armaments made in Ivaldi were different.

The only place that could produce armaments to counter the world's most terrifying and powerful ones.

That's why Ivaldi was special.

Lisinas had also desperately wished for Ivaldi's blacksmiths to join Gardstron.

But Ivaldi ultimately fell, and Dweno became the sole survivor.

"Did Lord Dweno become a blacksmith surpassing the Giant King, overcoming that pain?"

"Yes."

"But, how should I put it? His demeanor was different from when I saw him before?"

Kal tilted her head.

"Back then, he was a very warm person, but now he feels a bit cold, I'd say? Did his personality change a lot after joining the Great Hero party?"

"No, Dweno was a bright guy from the first time I met him."

A quirky artist who proclaimed hope, saying there was a future, and insisted on leaving beauty for future generations.

It was Dweno who smiled and asked Lisinas to be his nude model from their first meeting.

That's why Dweno's current appearance was a side Leo himself had never known.

'He never talked about his past.'

At the time, he had no intention of prying into Dweno's past either.

Because Dweno was Dweno.

Because he knew he had suffered enough.

He didn't do such a thing, feeling it would be like stirring up old wounds.

He simply thought he was naturally indomitable.

"Your grayness… reminded me of my past self."

It was right before Dweno died that he first spoke about his past.

And in that conversation, Dweno said he disliked Kyle, who reminded him of his past self.

Dweno was the one among his companions who understood him best.

He often wondered how Dweno, who was completely opposite to him, could understand him so well.

'That question is finally answered now.'

Kyle smiled bitterly.

'He's eerily similar to me.'

"But to achieve overachievement… wouldn't eliminating Lord Dweno be an overachievement from their perspective?"

If Dweno dies here, history changes.

Into a history where the world can never be saved.

That alone would be an overachievement for Tartaros.

However, this Hidden Mission is to capture Dweno alive.

Sometimes, capturing alive is more difficult than killing.

Even more so for a great hero like Dweno.

Leo spoke, looking at Kal's puzzled expression.

"The Legion's Record is an object that overwrites the Hero Record with the Legion's records. It's something being written now, not in the past."

Leo's red eyes gleamed fiercely as he looked at the campfire.

"That means they can create the best possible situation for themselves in the current circumstances."

"The best possible situation?"

"If the Hero Dungeon goes berserk and engulfs the world, it's a disaster for us. The Legion's world is the opposite of the Hero's world. But you know what?"

Snap- Woosh-

Sparks flew from the campfire.

"Would this dungeon going berserk and encroaching upon the world truly be a loss for the Legion?"

"…"

"In a way, it's a gate connecting the Age of Calamity and the current era. And the Age of Calamity was an era where all sorts of demons and monsters ran rampant. The guys from that era and the guys from this era all have one goal."

"…The destruction of the world…"

Kal swallowed hard.

"That's right. From their perspective, there's no loss even if this dungeon is maintained. Rather, it's the best situation. And what bothers those guys the most is this fortress."

Most of the monsters that emerge from the dungeon and appear in reality are annihilated at this fortress.

Literally, an obstacle blocking the entrance.

"Capturing Dweno alive would be a condition to ensure this berserk world can be maintained forever."

"Then… what should we do?"

"Nothing changes. We have one job. To protect Ivaldi so that the history of 5000 years ago doesn't repeat itself."

Leo clenched his fist.

"Changing history. That's what we have to do."