Book 1 Chapter 72
【72】71
"You said you left the lodging earlier because there was something to investigate. What did Sir Leo and Lady Lunia come here to investigate?"
Leo answered Eiran's question.
"To investigate the anomaly that occurred in the Fairy Forest."
"At this hour? Did your teachers give you a separate mission?"
"No, that's not it. I just followed this guy after seeing him move on his own."
Lunia, who had called Leo 'Leo-kun' in front of others, seemed to have decided not to be demure in front of Eiran, calling Leo casually.
"Then I'll help too! This land has been protected by our ancestors for generations!"
Eiran clenched her fists tightly.
As the granddaughter of the Elsalvekia Grand Council Speaker and a descendant of Berkhia, the last Fairy Knight, this was a natural reaction.
Seeing Eiran, Lunia approached Leo and whispered softly.
"Don't say anything to Eiran that isn't certain, for no reason."
Leo, realizing she was talking about Lauta, chuckled.
"Got it."
Saying that, Leo turned his gaze towards the Fairy Forest.
'As expected, the power of the curse grows stronger at night.'
The aura of the curse, which was only felt in the center of the forest during the day, was now felt near the entrance.
Of course, it was a very subtle power.
But at this level, if they approached the center of the forest, Lunia and Eiran would surely feel the power of the curse too.
"I'll have to make some preparations before we go."
"Huh? What preparations?"
Seeing Lunia's questioning expression, Leo spread his palm.
"By the name of the covenant holder, I summon thee."
Hwaruruk-!
A summoning circle of flames appeared on Leo's palm.
A moment later, a red bird emerged through the summoning circle.
Fiora, gracefully flapping her wings, exuded a rather dignified atmosphere.
Bbyak-!
Of course, the dignity she had painstakingly gathered vanished in an instant with the cry that came from her mouth.
Fiora showed off her appearance to Leo, gazing at him.
It was as if she was asking, 'How do I look?', but Leo was unenthusiastic.
Whether she flapped her wings gracefully or exuded a dignified aura, to Leo, Fiora was just a red chick.
Seeing his unenthusiastic reaction, Fiora chirped discontentedly.
Thanks to that, she looked even more like a chick.
"What a cute fantastic beast. What kind of fantastic beast is that, Lady Lunia?"
Eiran asked, admiring Fiora's cute appearance.
But receiving no answer, she looked to her side.
And she was flustered to see Lunia trembling.
"Lady Lunia?"
"Fiiiooraa!"
Bbyak-?
Fiora, startled by Lunia rushing towards her with tremendous momentum, quickly took refuge on Leo's head.
"To be born so beautifully! Fiora! It's me! Me! Your big sister Lunia! You remember me, right? Right?"
Seeing Lunia with her hands clasped together and her eyes sparkling, Fiora reacted warily, and Lunia looked shocked at her reaction.
"Do you think she'd remember what happened when she was an egg?"
Leo clicked his tongue, took out a few cookies from his pocket, and placed them on his palm.
Bbyak-
Fiora flew onto Leo's palm and elegantly pecked only the chocolate off the cookie with her beak.
After picking out the chocolate, Fiora knocked the remaining cookie off his palm, and Leo looked dumbfounded.
"Her picky eating is getting worse by the day."
Fiora, having only pecked the chocolate, chirped as if asking for more.
"I have snacks too!"
Lunia hastily took out chocolate from her pocket.
Then, Fiora swiftly flew to Lunia's palm and began pecking at the chocolate.
"Ha-oong!"
Fiora, covering her cheeks with her free hand, exclaimed.
"This graceful figure! Movement full of experience! Ah! Beautiful!"
'No matter how I look at it, she's clearly a chick, but both Teacher Yura and she… are summoners these days blind?'
Seeing Lunia dazed by Fiora, Eiran cautiously asked.
"Sir Leo. What is this fantastic beast?"
"She's a phoenix."
"A, a phoenix? Sir Leo! Were you a contractor of a phoenix?"
"By chance."
Leo smiled at the surprised Eiran and summoned another fantastic beast.
"By the name of the covenant holder, I summon thee."
However, even though the summoning circle was created, the fantastic beast showed no intention of appearing.
"Not coming out?"
At Leo's question, something popped out of the summoning circle.
A very small note read [Cold].
Leo didn't hesitate, put his hand into the summoning circle, and forcibly pulled out Kirian.
[This body is the Fairy Prince! Such disrespect! It shall be unforgiv… Puheop!]
Kirian, who was talking nonsense, still disoriented, was thrown into the snow and Leo trampled him repeatedly.
"A fairy? Sir Leo! You also have a contract with a fairy?"
"By chance."
"Tha, that's amazing!"
'A first-year student being a covenant holder of a phoenix and a fairy!'
Eiran's eyes filled with admiration.
"A fairy?"
Lunia, who had been squealing at Fiora, squatted in front of Kirian.
Kirian, who had barely escaped from Leo, looked at Lunia and chuckled, 'Hmph-'.
[What? Are you mesmerized by this body's appearance?]
"…Is it a variant fairy? It has no wings."
[A variant! Such a disrespectful remark to this body!]
"Leo. A fairy is a top-tier fantastic beast comparable to a phoenix, so there's no harm in contracting one. But isn't contracting with a variant like this a bit much? Our Fiora's dignity might be damaged."
[Don't make me laugh! That chick will be the one to damage my dignity!]
"What are you talking about?"
Bbyak- Bbyak-
'A prince complex, doting on everything, a child. It's a mess.'
Leo sighed, seeing the three creating an unexpected chemical reaction, and said.
"Stop chattering and everyone get ready. We're moving now."
At his words, Fiora and Kirian settled on Leo's shoulders.
Lunia tied her long red hair into a ponytail for ease of movement, and Eiran, with a tense expression, pulled out a sword and shield from her subspace.
"So, where are we going?"
Leo glared at the forest in response to Lunia's question, who had finished tidying her hair.
"To the very heart of the forest."
***
Bbyak! Bbyak!
[Ugh! What is this smell!]
Fiora, covering her beak with her wings, and Kirian, covering his nose with his hand, reacted strongly.
Seeing this, Eiran looked flustered.
"Sir Fairy. What's wrong?"
Kirian showed an arrogant reaction, seeming pleased with Eiran's address.
[A well-mannered elf. Why am I like this? Because of the stench spreading through this forest right now.]
Kirian grumbled.
[That this place, where Fairy Land once stood, could be so tainted with the aura of death. It's the end of days, the end of days.]
Leo, who had been walking, stopped.
"Why stop?"
At Lunia's question, Leo said.
"Get ready."
Puwak-! Puwahahak-!
White bones began to shoot up from the ground.
Tak- Tak- Tak-
Seeing the suddenly appearing skeletons, Lunia and Eiran hastily prepared for battle.
"They're all Skeleton Knights."
"What?"
Lunia looked surprised.
Though not Death Knight class, Skeleton Knights are strictly speaking, high-ranking undead.
'But all ten of these are Skeleton Knights?'
Lunia, flustered, grew tense seeing the heavily armored skeletons.
Unlike regular skeletons, Skeleton Knights formed an orderly formation.
Gooh-oh-oh-!
Cheolkuk! Cheolkuk!
Lunia was about to click her tongue and cast a spell, watching the Skeleton Knights emitting dark energy and closing the distance.
"Leave this place to me."
Eiran stepped forward.
Lunia paused, seeing her.
"Sir Leo and Lady Lunia need to conserve their strength, don't you?"
Eiran smiled, adjusted her grip on her sword and small shield, and unleashed her magic power.
Eiran's body glowed silver, then transformed into the shape of armor.
Leo's eyes widened.
Seeing Leo's reaction, Lunia crossed her arms and said triumphantly.
"That's the magic passed down in the Ersar family, fusing aura and magic power!"
"Armor of Animus."
"Huh? You know it?"
"It's a famous technique."
It was a technique created by none other than Berkhia.
Berkhia's unique magic, created with Kyle's help to block countless enemies on the front lines.
That magic has been passed down through generations to this day.
Eiran, armed with the armor of light, charged without hesitation.
The swords of the skeletons, armed with dark energy, swung to strike Eiran.
Kwagagak-!
The skeleton's attack bounced off uselessly.
Kung! Kwadeuduk-!
Eiran, who had struck a Skeleton Knight's head with her shield, quickly swung her sword backward.
Her appearance was reminiscent of Berkhia.
Lunia smiled as Eiran approached, having instantly defeated the Skeleton Knight.
"As expected of Eiran! Amazing."
Eiran smiled shyly at Lunia's compliment.
Then, looking at Leo, she nervously fidgeted with her fingers and asked.
"Sir Leo, what did you, um, think?"
At her question, Leo smiled.
"It was just like Berkhia."
Eiran's eyes widened.
"You speak as if you saw Lady Berkhia in person."
"You can encounter her in stories as much as you want."
"Ho, honored."
Eiran's cheeks flushed at Leo's compliment.
Leo smiled, seeing Eiran not knowing what to do with joy.
Puddeuk-!
Just then, a small bird flew and perched on a branch.
The bird's eyes glowed red.
Leo picked up a small stone from the ground.
And flicked it with his finger.
Peok-! Pasak-!
"……!"
"……!"
The small stone hit the bird directly on the head, and the bird immediately turned to dust and scattered.
"Familiar?"
"It seems the enemy has realized our presence. More undead will attack."
Both Lunia and Eiran wore tense expressions.
"Let's keep going."
***
"It seems our tail has been stepped on."
"What?"
Lauta, who was drawing a summoning circle, frowned at the words of Kargor, the Death Knight wearing a hood.
"What do you mean by that?"
"An intruder has appeared. Seems to be a hero candidate."
At that, Lauta scoffed.
"Then the knights can handle it. Wasn't that why you came here?"
"Huhu. That's true. But youngster. Are you treating the great Death King's knights as servants?"
Lauta curled the corners of his mouth, seeing Kargor expressing displeasure.
"You seem to have forgotten that the great Death King chose me!"
Lauta raised his hand and showed a black ring.
"The divine weapon containing Erebus's power! Something your leader gave me to lead me to become a hero."
Kargor's red eyes glinted under his hood.
"If you understand, stop talking nonsense and deal with the intruders."
"Hmph."
Kargor chuckled softly and disappeared into the darkness.
Seeing that, Lauta made a disgusted expression.
"Smelly undead."
Having said that, he began drawing the summoning circle.
'Just you wait. Soon I'll be done needing help from those filthy Tartaros scum!'
During the last vacation.
He was overjoyed when he got his hands on the ring that supposedly drew out latent abilities.
But he despaired when he realized it was a divine weapon.
'I thought I was finished. But it was an opportunity!'
The mysterious demon, who revealed himself as the legendary shuddering legion commander, Death King Hel Kaiser, personally taught Lauta magic.
It was a magical spell formula that was now lost and gone.
Lauta considered this an opportunity to become a hero.
'I am using them to become a more brilliant existence!'
Lauta's eyes gleamed with madness.
'Beyond this… if I just get my hands on the power of the progenitor! Then no one will be able to ignore me!'
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