Book 1 Chapter 676
“As expected, Lord Dweno is amazing!”
“It was so brave to see him wipe out the demons alone!”
Praise for Dweno continued from all around.
Hearing the stories, Arga muttered to himself.
“As expected of Lord Dweno. Even before achieving the feat of a great hero, he has such great favor among the people.”
‘It’s only natural, I suppose. In the early days, Dweno was the most renowned in our party.’
He and Lisinas were also known to the point where no one didn’t know them.
‘Well, Lisinas and I had a bad reputation.’
A foolish one who uttered foolish words about saving the world.
And a surviving hero who returned alone after sacrificing his companions.
With rumors that he brought death, he was not a welcome presence.
Luna was just beginning to make a name for herself, and Arion was young.
The most famous hero at this time was Agon of Reysar.
Arion’s teacher, who bore the epithet Guardian of the Azure Sky, and a candidate companion chosen by Lisinas.
And Dweno possessed a renown no less than Agon’s.
“He is indeed amazing.”
“Of course he’s amazing. He’s Lord Dweno.”
“That’s right. Everyone in this city respects Dweno. He is a great leader.”
Enniha said, taking a large gulp of alcohol.
Beside him, Driana nodded in agreement.
Leo brought his wine glass to his lips in silence as he listened.
“I was a failed leader.”
One day, after the battle, while enjoying a banquet.
He suddenly remembered what Dweno had said when they were sharing drinks alone.
“The warriors of Ivaldi were magnificent, and there were many outstanding artisans. If I had protected them until the end… perhaps the outcome would have been different.”
It was a day when Dweno, who rarely spoke of the past, spoke a little about himself.
“How I wish I could turn back time. Then I could have saved more people.”
“Are you drunk? You know better than anyone that such a thing cannot happen.”
“…….”
“We don’t have the luxury of looking back at the past right now. It’s time to look forward.”
“Huhu… that’s right. You’re right.”
“Dweno, you already carry so much. Don’t try to carry the past as well.”
“Stop saying such creepy things.”
“Even when I say nice things.”
Dweno smiled as he looked at Kyle, who was frowning, and said.
“You make a promise with me too.”
“What?”
Dweno gulped down his drink.
“Regret the past, but never be bound by it.”
“That will never happen.”
“Yes. You wouldn’t let that happen.”
“Leo, Oppa?”
Chelsea’s voice broke through his thoughts.
“Why?”
“Your glass is empty… Shall I pour you some?”
“No.”
“You’re not yourself, Leo Phlobe. You’re spacing out.”
Duran scoffed, and Leo chuckled.
“I was just thinking a little about the old days.”
“You’re acting like an old man again.”
Eliza slightly curled her lips, and Karl said.
“Eliza.”
“Why?”
“You’ll be punished by heaven if you keep doing that.”
“What did I do?”
Karl shook his head as he looked at Eliza, who was frowning deeply.
“Captain, what are you thinking about so deeply?”
“Just…”
Leo scanned the beastmen and dwarves enjoying the banquet.
“There’s something I regret from my past that has surfaced.”
“That’s unusual. For you to be thinking about regret. I thought you wouldn’t have anything to regret.”
Iliana said, and Leo chuckled.
“Is there anyone in the world who doesn’t?”
They didn’t know, but the people here were beings from the past.
5000 years ago.
Countless lives that crumbled in Ivaldi after resisting the destruction.
Dweno’s regret.
But suddenly, he had a thought.
‘If I… had just reached out to him a little sooner.’
If I had taken Lisinas’ hand and embarked on the journey to save the world a little faster.
‘Could these people have lived?’
He knew it was a meaningless regret.
But Leo didn’t stop regretting.
This was the regret of a close friend.
The unknown past of a comrade who had saved his life countless times on the battlefield.
Heroes who had disappeared in places he didn’t know.
‘History cannot be changed.’
Even if they win here, history will not change.
However…
‘I can convey their existence to the future.’
The existence of these people, unknown to the people of this era.
Their final moments, having fought to the end for the world at that time.
‘I can pass it on to posterity.’
That would be his role as he lived in the present.
‘I will surely convey your stories to posterity.’
Leo turned his head.
It was the direction of Dweno’s workshop.
‘So, Dweno, don’t be bound by the past either.’
***
The next morning.
Chelsea, who had been sleeping in her tent, sat bolt upright.
“Hyaaaahm!”
Chelsea yawned widely and rubbed her eyes as she got out of bed.
Chelsea, who had fallen asleep relatively early in the dawn.
‘Ar and Driana… and Iliana are not here. Did they go for training?’
Looking at one side of the room, Eliza, Aina, and Artian were sleeping like the dead.
Yesterday’s battle was fierce.
As such, it was natural to be physically exhausted.
Stepping outside, it was late morning.
‘Did I use too much magic yesterday too?’
He felt muscle pain all over his body due to mana overload.
“As expected, fighting on the front lines suits me better than casting magic from behind.”
As she rubbed her shoulders a few times and stretched with a groan, she heard.
“Oho! Little lady! Good morning!”
“Wahahaha! You were amazing yesterday! If it weren’t for you, it would have been a big problem!”
“Do you need a magic staff? I can make one for you.”
The dwarves and beastmen walking around the castle walls offered their help kindly.
“It’s okay! My magic staff is very good! Shall I help you move the repair supplies?”
“No, no. How can we ask a precious mage to do such a thing?”
“I’ll help!”
“It’s alright! Just rest well!”
Chelsea approached a female beastman affectionately, but she waved her hand.
Seeing that, Chelsea breathed a sigh of relief.
‘The walls have crumbled a lot.’
The blatant looks of suspicion had disappeared.
It seemed that defending against Tartarus’ invasion together and enjoying the banquet had been effective.
‘In any case, the conditions for dungeon clearing are met.’
To conquer the dungeon that has now appeared, exploration of the dungeon interior is essential.
Whether it be this fortress or the surrounding areas outside the fortress.
The record of the legion that caused the dungeon must be found and destroyed.
With that alone, this mission could be perfectly resolved.
‘Before that… can I request support from Demian?’
It was when Chelsea was contemplating.
“You woke up early.”
“Leo, Oppa. Good morning!”
Chelsea smiled brightly and approached Leo.
“Where have you been?”
“I left the kids with Dweno.”
Early this morning.
Leo woke up Ar, Driana, and Iliana, who were sleeping, and took them to Dweno’s workshop.
“Huh? Ar is training too?”
Chelsea tilted her head, and Leo smiled.
“It seemed necessary. It’s a training that Arion used to do.”
“Did Ar go in willingly?”
She had already heard about the training.
“No.”
Of course, there was no concern.
‘Let go of meeeeee! You perverttttt!’
Chelsea, who had heard the situation from Leo, muttered.
“A water ghost… no, a fire ghost.”
Chelsea clicked her tongue and snorted.
“It’s good to be able to receive training from Lord Dweno and Leo, Oppa!”
“Then do you want to receive it too?”
“……I’m fine.”
Chelsea smiled awkwardly.
Having been dragged by Leo for training since her first year, Chelsea knew better than anyone.
How terrible Leo’s training was.
‘Well, it’s definitely effective, though.’
Chelsea, shuddering, said.
“Are you going to prepare breakfast? Then I’ll help.”
“No. We’ll just grab something to eat this morning. I have something to do before that.”
“Something to do? What is it? Is it related to dungeon clearing?”
“No, it’s a personal matter.”
“Personal…?”
“Yes.”
Leo looked at the city within the fortress.
“I need to find my benefactor.”
“Benefactor?”
Leo headed towards the weapon crafting area attached to the residential area of the fortress.
Dweno using a private workshop was a special case.
Most smiths produced weapons in common.
Gardsron was the same.
Clang- Clang-
Woosh- Woosh-
Roar- sizzle-!
Hammering sounds, bellows, and the sounds of heating and cooling metal could be heard from all directions.
“You people. This is a restricted area, isn’t it?”
Normally, outsiders could not come here.
However, this morning, Dweno had granted them permission to enter.
Leo showed the letter written by Dweno from his pocket to the person in charge.
The person in charge, who read it, nodded and asked.
“What is it? Did you come to repair a weapon?”
“Is there a dwarf named Dineth here?”
“Dineth?”
The dwarf woman who appeared to be in charge tilted her head.
“He’s a sword smith. I believe he’s an intermediate smith.”
Dineth.
It was the name engraved with the Ivaldi crest at the end of the hilt of the sword that Kyle used.
He had asked about him in his previous life, but Dweno didn’t know.
‘There were many smiths in Ivaldi. If he was intermediate, he would have been able to do a decent job… but unfortunately, he wasn’t high enough in rank for me to remember him.’
Ivaldi was one of the few fortresses that resisted Erebus for a long time during the age of disaster.
As such, it boasted a vast scale.
The population within this fortress alone was considerable.
Therefore, it was impossible for Dweno, who was also the commander-in-chief, to remember the name of an intermediate smith.
“Dineth… Dineth… Ah! That Dineth.”
The head of the weapon workshop nodded.
“Why is an outsider looking for Dineth?”
“He’s my benefactor.”
“What?”
“I’ve had my life saved countless times thanks to the weapons he made. I want to express my gratitude.”
“Hah… to think that someone who used Ivaldi’s weapons would come to express their gratitude…”
“It’s too late for me.”
Regardless of how they felt, in actual history, this was a thank you after 5000 years.
Leo smiled wryly, and the person in charge smiled bitterly.
“Dineth would have been truly happy if he heard that. It would have been the greatest honor as a smith.”
“If he heard that?”
“He died. Just before being transported here.”
“…….”
At that remark, Leo closed his eyes, and Chelsea gasped.
“His grave is in Ivaldi, but there are gravestones commemorating those who died. I can guide you if you wish.”
“Please do.”
***
The place they were guided to had rows of gravestones.
A few new gravestones, created after coming to the current world, were visible, perhaps as this was intended to be a new cemetery.
Leo stood before a gravestone.
Searching for the name engraved on the gravestone, Leo found the name Dineth.
A craftsman whose face he didn’t know.
Dineth, too, would never have dreamed of the user of the weapons he made until the moment of his death.
The surviving hero had simply picked up Dineth’s weapon on the battlefield by chance.
Dineth had simply made weapons as a smith.
But…
“Thanks to you, I was saved countless times.”
It was an undeniable fact that Leo owed his life to him many times over.
“Thanks to that, I was able to save the world.”
The weapons of a smith who, even in a desperate world, did not stop making weapons, hoping this world would be saved, became the cornerstone of saving the world.
“Thank you. For saving my life.”
Even though it wouldn’t reach him.
Leo said the words he had to say and turned around.
***
Roar-
Black flames erupted within the furnace.
Swish-
Gias raised a massive hammer.
Before him was an anvil that resembled a mountain of iron.
On that anvil lay another Gias.
Thud-
Gripping the hammer with both hands, Gias laughed.
“Everything is as the gods willed.”
With a chilling smile, the massive hammer swung down.
Crack-! Crack!
Gias’s arms, which were on the anvil, were brutally crushed.
The pain of his body being crushed while alive.
“Kukukukuku! Kahahahaha!”
Gias, whose body was being crushed, burst into wild laughter.
In his bloodshot eyes, he saw the black flames engulfing him.
“Everything is as the gods willed!”