Book 1 Chapter 687
687.
“Isn't it a little strange?”
That night, after completing their reconnaissance mission.
Eliza, who had finished her rest, woken up, and was eating, knitted her brows and spoke.
Chelsea tilted her head, watching her, and asked,
“What is?”
“We’ve currently finished exploring most of the areas inside the Wall of Restraint.”
“Right.”
“But we still haven’t found the entrance to the World of the Legion. Let alone the entrance, we haven’t even encountered the Giant King’s Legion.”
“Hearing that, it certainly is strange.”
Chelsea’s expression turned serious.
She recalled the Giant King’s Legion that had attacked this place.
An overwhelming pressure that sent shivers down her entire body.
‘Could we have stopped them if Lord Dweno and Leo hadn't been here?’
Thinking that, she swallowed dryly.
“Could it be well hidden?”
Luke asked cautiously, and Duran spoke.
“That could be. But in this case… there’s also a good chance it’s inside this fortress.”
“Inside the fortress?”
As Luke looked surprised, Drianah said,
“That’s nonsense.”
Drianah, who spoke while wiggling her finger, said proudly,
“Have you forgotten who the commander of this city is? It’s none other than Lord Dweno! Lord Dweno!”
“Drianah is right. Lord Dweno would have been the first to grasp the situation inside the fortress.”
Ar also nodded as if in agreement.
Karl, who had been listening to their conversation, asked,
“Leo, what do you think?”
“Well…”
Leo, with a fork in his mouth, fell into thought.
The dungeon entrance was inside this fortress.
And Leo had an idea of where it was.
But what Dweno had said made him hesitate to clear the dungeon.
‘I want to take them, even if just for a little while, into the future. That much… isn't it okay to fulfill that much of a wish?’
A wish not for Dweno himself, but to show the people of Ivaldi a glimpse of the future.
Furthermore, it wasn't even about wanting the people of Ivaldi to live in the future.
It was merely about wanting to show them a world that had become completely peaceful.
Just as they had been allowed to see a starry night sky.
He simply wanted to show them beautiful sunshine, too.
‘Of course, it’s nonsense.’
To take beings from the past into the future.
It was an absurd wish.
But the one who wished for it was more deserving of having that wish fulfilled than anyone else in this world.
Leo, and indeed this entire world, owed a great debt to Dweno.
Because Dweno was the one who didn’t hesitate to dedicate and sacrifice himself for a peaceful future he would never get to experience.
Recalling Dweno’s small yet impossibly grand unfulfilled wish, Leo wiggled the fork in his mouth several times before speaking.
“They might have hidden it well, but… I think there’s also a good chance it’s inside.”
Having said that, Leo stood up from his seat.
“Black Rabbit, where are you going?”
“To the ramparts.”
“Ohh! I’ll go too!”
Ar, who had stood up, quickly followed behind Leo.
‘I thought Leo would have found some clue by now.’
Watching his retreating back, Karl tilted his head.
‘Well, I guess. Leo isn’t some omnipotent god.’
Karl, who had been thinking that, tilted his head again.
‘Wait. If I think about it, isn’t he almost a god?’
He has a record of saving the world and is trying to save it once more.
Moreover, he’s a human whom even gods worship.
‘At this point, it almost feels like he is a god…?’
Karl, who had been earnestly pondering such silly thoughts, spotted Chelsea staring intently in the direction Leo and Ar had disappeared, and smiled slyly.
“Are you bothered that Leo and Ar are on a date?”
“Does that look like a date to you?”
Seeing Chelsea’s exasperated expression, Karl looked embarrassed.
Chelsea sighed lightly and stood up.
“Karl, follow me for a moment.”
“Why?”
“Because I have something to tell you.”
Pulling Karl along, Chelsea arrived at a secluded place where there were no signs of people.
She sharpened her senses, checked her surroundings to confirm no one was there, and then spoke.
“About Leo. Isn’t something strange?”
“Leo?”
At Chelsea’s words, Karl crossed his arms and tilted his head.
After pondering for a long time, Karl shook his head.
“Nothing seemed particularly strange? Why?”
“No. It’s more like Leo’s face seemed to be full of worries? It felt subtly different from usual.”
“Huh. You can even distinguish things like that?”
“Of course! Because I’m always watching Leo.”
“That’s almost a stalker…”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Please save me.”
Karl quickly raised both hands as Chelsea’s staff was thrust close to his cheek.
Chelsea, narrowing her eyes at Karl, withdrew her staff and said,
“If it were the usual Leo, he would have found a clue with this much exploration done, wouldn’t he? Isn’t it strange?”
“That’s true. But Leo isn’t an omnipotent god, is he? Isn’t it natural for him to take a little time when he’s in a difficult situation?”
“That’s true, but…”
Chelsea, while accepting Karl’s words, pondered for a moment as if finding something unsettling, then asked,
“Leo went to your side this afternoon, didn’t he? Was anything unusual?”
“Anything unusual? Hmm! Well. He came to the orphanage manor, used the magic to make flowers bloom once, and then immediately slept, so there was nothing unusual to speak of.”
“That’s all?”
“Yeah. There wasn’t really anything to observe about his state, as I only saw Leo for a moment.”
“What do you mean? Tell me in detail.”
“Leo didn’t come directly to the orphanage. He came after being with Lord Dweno at the workshop.”
“With Lord Dweno?”
“Why?”
“So Lord Dweno saw the magic that makes flowers bloom?”
“Yeah. The orphanage kids showed Lord Dweno the flower drawings they made, and seeing that, Leo used the magic to make flowers bloom.”
Chelsea’s face turned serious upon hearing that much.
At that, Karl made a puzzled expression.
“What’s wrong?”
“Karl. What if. Just what if.”
“Hm?”
“The memories from when you and Leo went to Lord Dweno’s world… could Lord Dweno possess them?”
“What?”
Karl looked dumbfounded.
“You said Lady Luna and Lord Arion had Leo’s memories, didn’t you?”
Chelsea recalled the cases of Luna and Arion, which she had heard from Leo, and spoke.
“No way? This isn’t the World of Heroes, it’s the World of the Legion, isn’t it?”
“Yes. It’s the World of the Legion. But it was originally Lord Dweno’s world, wasn’t it?”
At Chelsea’s words, Karl’s expression turned serious.
Karl, crossing his arms and pondering seriously, asked,
“What’s your basis for thinking that?”
“What was Lord Dweno’s reaction when he saw the magic that makes flowers bloom?”
“He seemed a little surprised, I guess?”
“He was just a little surprised and that was it? Isn’t that strange?”
Chelsea spread both hands.
Then, a magic formula appeared above them.
It was none other than the magic formula for the flower-blooming magic.
“Karl. You’re a magician, so you’d know. How absurd the flower-blooming magic is.”
The essence of Luna Rubynance, progenitor of nebulae.
“The flower-blooming magic is a more advanced magic than any other. No, it’s a magic that has already entered the realm of miracles.”
The result is merely blooming flowers, but the process is unimaginably complex and difficult.
The realm of miracles that defies the laws of the world, even touching upon the domain of creation.
“This magic is one that will astound you the deeper your understanding of magic is.”
Whoosh-!
The magic formula that had appeared above Chelsea’s hands dispersed.
“And Lord Dweno’s ability to understand magic formulas is remarkable.”
Although limited to the field of magic engineering, Dweno is still undeniably a magician.
Karl’s face turned serious after hearing Chelsea’s explanation.
‘Indeed.’
When Dweno saw the flower-blooming magic, he was surprised, but that was all.
‘From Lord Dweno’s perspective, it must have been magic close to an incomprehensible miracle.’
Having thought that far, Karl’s expression turned flustered.
“B-but! Why would Lord Dweno hide the fact that he has memories? Did he only reveal it to Leo?”
“Perhaps Leo didn’t know either and found out today?”
“That makes even less sense! If Leo knew, why would he hide that fact?”
“He might be hesitating because of Lord Dweno.”
“What?”
“Think about how Lord Dweno treats the people of Ivaldi. You said it yourself, Karl. He’s quite different from how he was during the Gadstron period.”
Even to Karl’s eyes, the Dweno from the future he had seen and the current Dweno were different.
The current Dweno felt colder.
However, the current Dweno treated all the people of Ivaldi like family, not just as people to be protected.
The residents of Ivaldi felt the same way.
They treated Dweno like a father, an uncle, or an older brother.
“Lord Dweno promised to show the people of Ivaldi the sun.”
Karl had seen Dweno say such things many times.
“B-but if it’s Leo… if Leo knew…”
The Leo Karl knew was someone who would do anything to save the world.
An ideal hero, like one from a fairy tale.
It couldn’t be any other way.
Because Leo was truly one of the great heroes who could be called the archetype of all heroes existing in this era.
The flawless hero of beginnings.
That was Leo.
“Karl. You said it just now.”
Chelsea bit her lip tightly.
“Leo isn’t an omnipotent god.”
“……”
“Leo is also a human. A person who laughs when happy and cries when sad.”
He had merely experienced many things, causing his emotions to wear down.
She didn’t believe Leo was so heartless as to ignore the wish of a friend, who was like family, and not just anyone.
“Leo is someone who desperately wishes, more than anyone, for the great heroes to be able to live in a peaceful era, just like himself.”
At Chelsea’s words, Karl covered his face with his hands.
“Hah… then what should we do? If Lord Dweno and Leo know the location of the entrance but aren’t clearing it because they want to show the people of Ivaldi even a little bit of our era? What on earth should we do?”
“……I don’t know.”
‘…Lord Arion. What should I do?’
Arion, who had revealed Leo’s identity as Kyle, had left a request for her to be Leo’s strength.
She wanted to be a source of strength for Leo, who might be conflicted.
‘What should I do?’
It was then that Chelsea bit her lip tightly.
“Hmm? So. You guys came from the future, did you?”
At that moment, Chelsea and Karl were startled by a voice from above and looked up.
Enniha was looking down from the top of the ramparts, holding a brush.
“H-how?”
Seeing Chelsea flustered, Enniha smiled faintly and pointed to her own ear with a finger.
“Because I’m an elf. I’m sensitive to the movements of the wind.”
It meant she had avoided Chelsea’s detection magic by seeing her cast it upon arrival.
“So, if I’m to summarize your story, that dwarf has memories of the future. And that child named Leo is the dwarf’s friend.”
Enniha, putting her brush back into its case, jumped down from the ramparts and landed lightly between Chelsea and Karl.
“That dwarf doesn’t want to clear it even in a crisis, does he? Because of us.”
Enniha frowned sharply.
“That damn dwarf, really. Does he think we’re some kind of baggage? Talking about taking people to the future or not? How arrogant.”
“W-well, what we were discussing…”
“It’s not beautiful! I, an artist who pursues aesthetics, absolutely cannot tolerate such a thing!”
“Huh?”
Enniha looked at Chelsea and Karl and said,
“Let’s find that entrance.”