Book 1 Chapter 789

789.

Late dawn.

Four people stood in front of the dock in Lumeria City.

"Hey, Leo. Is there really a secret passage?"

Kyle asked with a bewildered expression.

"Yes. There is."

"How do you know that?"

A secret passage connecting Lumeria City and Lumern City.

Lumern students surely wouldn't know about something like that.

'Let alone students, even professors wouldn't know.'

And yet, Leo, a clear outsider, knew about such a passage?

It was certainly strange.

Leo shrugged at Kyle's question.

"Actually, I'm friends with Leah."

"You're big sister Leah's friend?"

"You, you knew Leah?"

Chelsea and Iliana's eyes widened as they looked at Leo.

Kyle scratched his head.

"If that's truly the case, then it makes a little sense that you know about a secret passage… but I can't just believe that fact at face value, Leo."

"Right."

"What's your real identity?"

Overwhelming power that made the Lich King Hel Kaiser retreat.

And even the magic he taught Chelsea and Iliana.

It was easy to tell that he was no ordinary person.

But then, he suddenly claimed to be friends with the Lumern student council president and even knew a secret passage to the school.

He was a friend with many suspicious points in various ways.

Leo let out a short laugh at Kyle's question.

"My identity is a business secret."

"Hmm."

"Just trust your eyes, Kyle."

"What?"

"Whether I'm a trustworthy person or not. You're pretty accurate at judging people, aren't you?"

Kyle scratched his head.

"Well, even if you're a guy with a lot of strange points, I vaguely feel that you're a trustworthy person. But that's just my gut feeling. These two won't believe…"

"Uh-huh. If Kyle says so, then Leo oppa is a trustworthy person."

"Le, how long have you been friends with Leah?"

"…"

Before Kyle could finish speaking, Chelsea and Iliana asked Leo about things they were curious about.

"Hey. You're trusting a person just based on my words?"

"Yeah. Even if I don't know anything else, you're definitely good at judging people."

"Chelsea…"

Kyle showed a touched expression at his friend's trust.

"If there's a problem, I can just say I trusted you, and that's that. And crucially, a secret passage! I'm curious!"

"Ugh, yeah… I think the same."

Kyle let out a sorrowful laugh at his friends' words.

"Alright. So? Where's the secret passage?"

At Kyle's question, Leo headed towards a secluded spot at the dock.

Actually, there wasn't really anything secret about it.

Lumern was originally built on top of the Record System managed by Lian.

Leo had received permission from Lian to move around the Record System's core.

Even if the world-line had split and Leo was a non-existent entity in this world, that authority itself was still alive.

Standing in front of a wall, Leo placed his hand on it.

Then, a circular magic circle formed on the wall.

Leo stepped into the wall where the magic circle had appeared.

Swoosh-!

The three people's eyes widened as they watched Leo disappear into the wall.

"Wow… there really was a s-secret passage!"

Iliana exclaimed excitedly, her voice flushed, and bounced up and down.

Then she tried to follow Leo in.

"Hey, it's an unknown magic, shouldn't we be careful?"

Iliana, who had stopped in her tracks at Kyle's words, tilted her head.

"You guys know Leo isn't a bad person, right?"

"That's true, but."

Kyle scratched his head.

Chelsea stared intently at Iliana and said.

"Acting without thinking, it's like you've gone back to your first year."

"Ugh!"

Iliana flinched.

She instinctively recalled the days when Leah had corrected her habits.

"I'm not saying it's bad! I think it's just like you and good!"

Just as Chelsea was hastily trying to lift Iliana's spirits.

"What are you doing, not coming?"

"Kyaa?!"

As Leo suddenly poked his head out of the wall, Iliana was startled and stumbled backward.

She tripped and was about to fall when Leo reached out and pulled her.

Iliana, who was suddenly pulled through the wall and into Leo's arms, opened and closed her mouth.

They were so close their breaths almost touched.

"Be careful."

"Uh, huh…"

As Leo let go of her hand, Iliana backed away and stammered her thanks.

"Th-thank you for catching me, Leo."

Seeing Iliana like that, Leo said.

"Iliana."

"Yes?"

"Suppressing yourself too much isn't a good thing either."

Iliana's eyes widened.

Seeing her like that, Leo reached out and ruffled her hair.

"Charging headfirst without thinking is certainly a bad habit… but on the other hand, isn't that the most 'you' way of being? A timid demeanor doesn't really suit you."

At those words, Iliana stared blankly, mouth agape.

Just then, Chelsea and Kyle passed through the wall and entered.

"Wow… it really is a secret passage, isn't it?"

"It feels like we're sneaking in, my heart is starting to pound."

Seeing the two expressing their admiration, Leo said.

"Let's move."

After saying that, Kyle and Chelsea followed Leo, who was leading the way, with admiration.

Then, seeing Iliana standing still in her spot, they turned their heads with puzzled expressions.

"What's wrong?"

"Is something the matter?"

Iliana, cupping both cheeks with her hands, murmured.

"Leo… does he have a girlfriend?"

At her murmur, Chelsea looked at Kyle.

Kyle spread his palm and brought it in front of Iliana's eyes, waved it, then shrugged.

"She's lost it."

Chelsea sighed heavily, then grabbed Iliana by the scruff of her neck and dragged her along.

"Stop talking nonsense and just follow."

"By the way, where exactly does this place lead to?"

Kyle tilted his head as he followed behind Leo.

Seeing that, Chelsea narrowed her eyes.

"You're thinking bad thoughts right now, aren't you?"

"Huh? Not at all."

"You're thinking about smuggling or something."

"Oh, come on! I'm thinking about a delivery service for external goods that students need, and you call it smuggling!"

"I'm going to tell big sister Leah everything."

Chelsea scoffed, and Kyle clicked his tongue.

"A delinquent trying to act like an honor student."

"What?!"

Chelsea grabbed Iliana and swung her at Kyle, who scurried over to Leo.

"Leo, Leo! Save me!"

"Chelsea… I'm not a weapon."

"Who told you to space out?!"

Leo laughed, watching the noisy trio.

"You guys are the same everywhere."

***

A moonlit night.

Lunia, approaching the window of her dorm, pulled out a cookie.

"Here, take this."

Cheep! Cheep!

A red feather ball, flapping what looked like wings, bounced around, then tripped and tumbled down the windowsill.

Fiora, who had snapped at the cookie Lunia gave her with her beak, suddenly started crying loudly.

Peeeeeep~!

Lunia was flustered, watching Fiora protest discontentedly.

"It, it's sugar-free, Fiora. You've gained too much weight lately…"

Chirp! Cheep-cheep-cheep!

Lunia's face fell as she watched Fiora roll around on the floor in protest.

"Fiora. If you keep getting so fat, Senior Rune might really boil and eat you."

Just then, Eiran, who shared a room with Lunia, spoke to Fiora with a troubled expression, trying to reason with her.

Nevertheless, Fiora didn't stop rolling around.

In the end, Lunia pulled out another cookie from her pocket and gave it to Fiora.

Fiora ate all the new cookie as well as the one she had originally received, then sat on the floor with a satisfied expression.

"Aren't you spoiling her too much? It seems to be getting worse lately."

As Eiran showed a worried expression, Lunia, holding Fiora, who was sitting on the floor, in both hands, rubbed her cheek against Fiora and said.

"But, she's so fluffy and cute!"

'That's not fluffy, Lunia. She's just too fat.'

Eiran muttered to herself, but couldn't bring herself to say it to the summoner and summoned beast who were both looking happy.

"But is Senior Rune staying in her room again this time?"

"Yes. Senior Rune isn't very interested in Lumern students."

"It's strange, isn't it? Leah is very interested in Seirun students."

There were many Seirun students whose grades had improved thanks to Leah's advice alone.

"Senior Rune says that Lumern students have no individuality at all."

"Hmm, there's definitely that feeling."

Lumern students are hard to find flaws in during combat.

They are excellent in all aspects but don't have any outstanding strengths either.

So, while the overall standard is very high, Lunia didn't feel any competitive spirit towards any student.

"Their personalities are all strange, though."

"…I don't think we're in a position to say that."

"Exclude me. At least my reading tastes aren't as strange as yours."

Eiran made a tearful face and grabbed Lunia, shaking her wildly.

***

Rune, sitting by the window and gazing at the night sky, murmured with an emotionless face.

'The stars are exceptionally bright tonight.'

Rune, looking up at the night sky with slightly hazy eyes, gazed at the potted plant in front of the window.

Rune stared silently at the withered flower and let out a short laugh.

'Come to think of it, there was a magic to make flowers bloom.'

The magic she had so desperately wanted to create in her previous life.

There was only one reason she created magic containing the entire essence of her magic.

It was simply because she loved flowers.

'It was a useless waste.'

Rune did not pass on the magic of blooming flowers to later generations.

'What kind of star is a person who only entrusts me with what I have to do?'

Rune, taking her eyes off the pot with emotionless eyes, sent herself a self-deprecating sneer and got up from her seat.

'What kind of magic is making flowers bloom?'

Then she flopped onto her bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.

"If you saw me now, what would you say… Kyle?"

Thinking of the friend she believed she would never meet again, Rune slowly closed her eyes.

***

A very beautiful, gender-neutral child with gray hair and eyes stopped what they were doing and looked up.

'Who is it?'

An uninvited visitor had arrived.

Specifically, a long-awaited guest who had come after a vast 3000 years.

'Are they the Great Heroes?'

Perhaps they could reach this place.

But Lian was not particularly pleased with the visitors.

Crucially, it was surprising that they had arrived here without him noticing.

'Well, they were people who caused miracles as if it were daily bread.'

Lian, who had stopped carving a statue out of jewels on the sofa, stepped-stepped- out of the library.

It was a place filled with Lian's collections.

"Wow… what is this?"

"Lord Kyle's statue?"

"…What is this? Is this like some cult?"

Startled voices were heard from outside.

What the visitors were looking at was a giant statue of Kyle.

'Hmph, they have good taste.'

Lian gloated.

Of course, it was Kyle, the Hero of Beginnings, no less.

And his masterpiece.

He boasted it was the most beautiful work of art in the world, intricately depicting even the solid muscles.

'Dwenno couldn't make a statue like this either!'

As he was born.

A semi-nude statue of Kyle, with only the important parts covered!

Truly, a collection of beauty!

Chelsea and Iliana turned their heads away awkwardly, yet stole glances at the statue.

'Let's see… Chelsea Rwallin, Iliana Raden… that one is the expelled Kyle Thomas… who is that guy?'

The person with white hair and red eyes was staring intently at the statue.

'Hmph. He seems to have been captivated and frozen by Lord Kyle's overwhelming presence…'

Thump!

"Gasp! Leo! Wh-what are you doing!"

"Leo oppa?"

"Th-this looks like a valuable item at first glance?"

Leo kicked the giant jewel statue that Lian had made.

Bang-!

The jewel statue fell to the marble floor, shattering into pieces.

Leo stomped on the piece of his own head that rolled to his feet, crushing it to powder.

"It seems the owner here is more insane than I thought."

As Leo clicked his tongue.

Lian, who had been frozen, shrieked.

"Noooooooooooooo!"

Chelsea, Kyle, and Iliana flinched at the almost desperate scream.

Lian rushed over, gathering the fragments on the floor, and sobbed uncontrollably.

"My life's greatest masterpiece!"

The three people were flustered, seeing Lian crying so sorrowfully.

Then Lian looked up at Leo with hatred-filled eyes.

"You…! How dare you! How dare you do this to my Lord Kyle!"

Chelsea, Kyle, and Iliana, indirectly receiving the divine being's hatred, felt their vision darken for a moment.

Thud-

The three of them lost consciousness without realizing it.

Even in that situation, Leo calmly stared at Lian.

"I won't forgive you. I won't forgive you. I won't forgive you."

Leo clicked his tongue, watching Lian murmur with a hateful voice, then spread his palm.

Gray aura surged.

"You think you can do anything to me with that measly aura…"

Soon, gray magical power erupted, and finally, spiritual power was emitted.

The gray aura, magical power, and spiritual power swirled above Leo's hand.

Lian's thoughts froze at the sight.

"The Hero of… Beginnings?"

"I'm warning you."

Leo said irritably.

"If you spout nonsense like you'll gouge out my eyes and tongue for blasphemous words, I'll just leave."

Leo, having preemptively cut off Lian's outburst, said.

"I am the reincarnation of Kyle, the Hero of Beginnings from another world-line."

Thud-

At those words, Lian collapsed.

Leo approached Lian.

Seeing Lian, who had rolled her eyes back and fainted, Leo looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

'Ha… Should I just abandon him and leave?'