Book 1 Chapter 688
688.
“So, to sum up the story, you didn’t come to the past, but we came to the future?”
“Yes.”
“And this place is the boundary between the present and the past?”
“You’ve understood it precisely.”
Chelsea nodded at Enniha’s words.
“Wow. That’s possible. As expected of a divine artifact.”
Enniha exclaimed in admiration.
Chelsea, who had been watching Enniha with anxious eyes, looked at Kyle.
Kyle was also looking at Enniha with a tense gaze.
A character in the Hero’s World undergoes ego collapse and runs rampant the moment they realize they are fake.
As far as Kyle could remember, there were only two instances where a character from the Hero’s World maintained sanity despite realizing the existence of a subjugator.
‘Lord Dweno and Lady Rodia.’
Among them, Rodia maintained her sanity by destroying her own ego just before it collapsed.
This was only possible for someone of Rodia’s caliber, known as the Dragon of Creation.
‘Lord Lian said that Lord Dweno was able to maintain his reason because he was the owner of the Hero Record and simultaneously aware of the subjugator’s existence, right?’
Kyle recalled the story told by the fake Lian he met in Lumerne’s world earlier and looked at Enniha.
‘Then what about Lady Enniha? Is it because it’s the Legion’s World?’
“I told you something felt strange. Suddenly regaining the night sky. The gods are amazing after all. To cause a miracle that transcends space and time.”
For Enniha, who lived in the Age of Gods, the miracles of the gods, though astonishing, were within a familiar realm.
Watching Enniha, Kyle formed a hypothesis.
‘The Hero Record doesn't exist in this era. If so, is she fine because she sees us not as subjugators, but simply as people from the future?’
For someone living in the post-Creation era, it would be natural to assume that someone from the future is a subjugator.
But what if she simply thinks they are people from the future?
‘Is she not experiencing a mental breakdown because she doesn’t think she herself is fake?’
While Kyle was considering various hypotheses,
Enniha spoke.
“What do you call it? I feel motivated! You’re saying that in the future, Erebus will eventually be defeated, right? And Dweno becomes one of the five heroes who defeat Erebus.”
At that, Chelsea made a bitter expression.
“He wasn’t completely defeated.”
“Even that much is amazing! How far into the future did you come from?”
“5000 years later.”
“Oh! Amazing! What does the future look like? Are there many beautiful things? How’s the art world?”
Enniha poured out innocent questions.
Chelsea and Kyle answered each of them.
“It’s a world I can’t even imagine.”
Enniha looked up at the sky.
“Let’s put the future talk aside for now. What I first understood is correct, isn’t it? That entrance is a passage connecting the past and the future, and if it's connected, Tartarus of the Age of Calamity is planning to invade the future, right?”
“Yes.”
“If we destroy it, they’ll return to their original timeline?”
The power of the Hero Record was explained as time travel, and Enniha understood the entire explanation.
Chelsea carefully nodded.
“Simple.”
“Lady Enniha. If that happens, not only you, Lady Enniha, but also the people of Yvaldi…”
“I know. We’ll also return to the past.”
“…”
“In history, Yvaldi was destroyed, right?”
“Probably.”
“’Probably’ means… we couldn’t even leave our name to posterity.”
“Th-that’s because the demons eradicated all past records! If it weren’t for that, surely records would have remained…”
“It’s okay. Everyone in Yvaldi knew what kind of end we would meet.”
Enniha brushed herself off and stood up.
“Everyone was prepared for it. There was just an apprehension. Was our sacrifice in vain?”
Enniha placed her hands on her hips and smiled gently.
“But it ultimately had meaning, didn’t it? That’s enough.”
“Aren’t you resentful?”
Enniha, who had been silent at Chelsea’s tearful question, carefully opened her mouth.
“If I said I wasn’t resentful… that would be a lie.”
“Then find a way! Surely Leo Oppa and Lord Dweno will find a way…”
“Chelsea is a good child.”
Enniha gently stroked Chelsea’s head and smiled.
But then she said firmly,
“But we can’t do that.”
Chelsea gasped, seeing Enniha with a stern expression.
“The warriors of Yvaldi, including myself… the people of Yvaldi, even though they knew our end, thought of resisting to the very end without breaking, not for the honor of leaving their names in history, nor because they believed there was hope.”
“Then… why?”
“Because Dweno’s unyielding back led us.”
“B-but… Lord Dweno surely fought for hope…”
“It was that dwarf who always said there was no such thing as hope.”
Enniha smiled bitterly.
“I thought it was strange that he hadn’t said such things since coming here… it seems he saw hope in the future. So that’s why he talked about taking us to the future or something.”
“If so… why did Lord Dweno fight?”
“He must have wanted to let his people live a little longer, no matter how desperate the era.”
“Just for that reason?”
“That reason would have been enough. That dwarf was an outcast from birth.”
“From birth?”
“Yes. He was famous as a cursed dwarf. The golden flame Dweno possessed turned everything around him to ashes.”
And after meeting Enniha, Dweno’s life changed.
“He considered it enough if he could fight for his people.”
Not breaking and not giving up are different.
If Kyle, the Hero of Beginnings, fought without giving up to find unseen hope,
Dweno, the Divine Blacksmith, fought hoping that the time of the people he cherished and loved would last a little longer.
From the beginning of the Age of Calamity,
until the very moment he met his end.
“He must have fought, dreaming of a world where precious people share beautiful moments in a beautiful world… How could we break when there’s such an idiot?”
Enniha sighed deeply and gritted her teeth.
“That’s why I’m furious right now. We ended up being a burden, didn’t we?”
Enniha slammed her fist into her palm.
“Don’t make me laugh. The dice are probably cast. Our fate is sealed. He’s weighing the peace he risked his life to reclaim against our future, which ended long ago? That blockhead dwarf! I feel like going to him right now and giving him a piece of my mind!”
Enniha, huffing, looked at Chelsea and Kyle and said firmly.
“Anyone in Yvaldi would think the same as me. Even the children in the orphanage!”
Chelsea and Kyle could only look aghast at her unwavering, steel-like resolve.
“I refuse to be a burden! The same goes for you.”
“Huh?”
“You too, Leo. You don’t want to be a burden to the surviving hero, do you?”
“Of course not!”
“Then when he wavers, snap him out of it, even if you have to hit him! You must prevent him from making the wrong choice. Wasn’t that what you were worried about too?”
No one is perfect.
Even a great hero who saved the world has moments of wavering.
That’s why there are comrades.
At Enniha’s words, Chelsea and Kyle’s eyes changed.
Seeing that, Enniha grinned.
“You both look good now. All right, let’s find the entrance.”
“The entrance has a distortion. If it were in a noticeable place, Lady Enniha wouldn’t have been unaware of it. Isn’t there a place that wouldn’t catch people’s attention?”
Enniha answered Kyle’s question.
“This fortress has an underground. In that case, there are two suspicious places.”
“Where are they?”
“First, the underground labyrinth in the center of the fortress. Second, a secret space beneath the castle moat.”
“Why?”
“Both places were explored by Dweno alone when he first came here. And no one has been there since.”
Indeed, a place no one but Dweno has been to is suspicious.
“Considering the complex structure of the labyrinth, it would be good for someone fast-footed to go.”
Kyle said to Chelsea.
“Chelsea. Explore the labyrinth with Lady Enniha. Even if it’s called a labyrinth, it’s probably just a simple maze without magic. I’ll explore the underground space under the moat.”
“Leave it to me.”
Chelsea said, patting her chest with a bang!
“The moat side will be heavily guarded. Are you confident you won’t get caught?”
If Dweno had hidden the existence of the entrance, he might try to stop Chelsea and Kyle if they made suspicious movements searching for something within the fortress.
“Don’t worry. I’m confident I won’t get caught.”
***
After parting with the two, Kyle immediately approached the bushes around the castle wall.
And took off his upper garment.
‘It’s hard to move if my clothes get wet.’
He knew some diving magic, but the sentries guarding the castle wall were seasoned veterans from the battlefield.
‘It’s obvious I’ll get caught if I try to use clumsy magic.’
Kyle, who had taken off his top, put on a smug expression.
“Hmph. I told you I’m always well-prepared.”
He pulled out a swimsuit from a corner of his subspace.
It wasn't just a simple swimsuit.
It was a special swimsuit Kyle made with alchemy, designed not to be hindered by water currents.
Just as Kyle was changing into his swimsuit,
“Who’s there?”
A sharp voice was heard.
Kyle flinched and held his breath.
“It’s no use pretending you’re not there. I smell something! I smell something!”
Appearing from beyond the bushes was a cat-beastman, Kanea.
It seemed she was on patrol.
Kanea’s tail stood straight up as she sharply looked around.
Then she dashed straight into the bushes where Kyle was hiding!
“Got you! Suspicious… huh? Kyle? What are you doing, completely naked?”
Kanea, who had pinned Kyle down, tilted her head.
“Completely naked, you say. Anyone would think I’m a pervert.”
“Yeah. You’re only wearing underwear at night. Anyone would see you as a suspicious pervert.”
“This is a swimsuit.”
“What’s a swimsuit?”
‘Is it something that doesn't exist in the Age of Calamity? No. Even in our era, a man walking around in a swimsuit at night would look like a pervert.’
Kyle was contemplating how to explain the situation.
“Peep-peep. Is Kyle really supposed to have gone this way?”
Qyu.
Eliza, who had shrunk her wind wyvern summon to palm size, was walking over.
She had come looking for Chelsea and Kyle, worried that they hadn’t returned even at a late hour.
Eliza, who arrived at the deserted castle wall, found Kyle lying in the bushes wearing only a swimsuit, with Kanea on top of him, and her usual bored expression returned.
“Eliza. What brings you here?”
“I was taking a walk, Kyle Thomas. It seems I’ve interrupted your enjoyable time.”
“Why is your tone suddenly like that? Anyway, it’s good. The three of us can do it.”
At that, Eliza’s face turned cold.
“You take advantage when I’m nice. To make such a vulgar request of me now…”
“We’re going to explore the entrance now… What are you talking about?”
When Kyle made a bewildered expression, Eliza fell silent.
“It seems I’ve misunderstood strangely.”
Kanea shrugged her shoulders and stood up.
“I was just on patrol. Kyle was acting suspicious in perverted attire, so I just subdued him.”
“I told you it’s a swimsuit. Anyway, Eliza. I wouldn’t… unless I was crazy…”
“Shut up. Say anything more and I’ll kill you.”
Eliza said in a murderous voice.
Kanea watched her, impressed.
“They say humans were the most numerous race before the Age of Calamity. Hmm. Indeed. This is why.”
“What does that mean?”
“Alright, alright. Let’s put off embarrassing talk. It seems certain that the entrance is within this fortress.”
At that, Eliza and Kanea’s eyes widened.
“So, I’d appreciate your cooperation, ladies.”
Kyle grinned, reached into his subspace, and pulled out two women’s swimsuits.
“Let’s move right away.”