Book 1 Chapter 806
Lea’s eyes trembled relentlessly.
Lea, who had been looking at Leo with disbelief, soon gave an awkward laugh.
“Is this… a dream?”
She couldn’t be purely happy.
She was afraid.
Afraid the being before her would vanish like a mirage.
Afraid of emotions that might soar with joy, only to plunge into endless sorrow.
That fear made Lea deny the person before her.
Despite her reaction, Leo just smiled wordlessly and held out his hand.
After a moment.
Lea, gritting her teeth, asked,
“Are you really Kyle?”
“Would I be a fake?”
A somewhat gruff yet mocking response.
Lea’s eyes blurred at the sight of him, so undeniably Kyle.
Suppressing the tears that threatened to spill, Lea spoke with difficulty.
“Then why… why… why did you appear now?”
Tears welled up in her eyes.
“How much I’ve….”
As Lea spoke with difficulty, fighting back tears, Leo reached out his hand.
At Leo’s touch, Lea flinched.
‘It’s warm…’
Lea felt her heart stabilize from the warmth on her cheek.
“You really are… Kyle…!”
Leo, who had been caressing Lea’s cheek, suddenly grabbed and pulled her cheek.
“Hey. You fake lizard.”
“Y-yeah?”
“You tricked me into writing a marriage vow, so you fix it. I can’t handle Luna.”
Leo growled fiercely.
“Not only did you cheat me, but you’re pinning it on me?”
“……”
Lea could only open and close her mouth.
And she was 100% sure.
‘This guy, he’s definitely Kyle.’
With that dirty personality and how he ruined this emotional reunion.
Lea thought he was more Kyle than anyone.
***
Chirp- chirp-
As the birds’ chirping tickled her ears, the eyelashes of the beautiful elf girl lying on the bed fluttered.
Rune, opening her eyes, sat up with a dazed expression.
‘What’s going on? Did I drink too much yesterday and my memory’s gone?’
Rub-rub- She scratched her belly and yawned widely.
She seemed to have drunk a lot yesterday, for the first time in a while.
And then…
‘I talked with Lea… and then…’
The moment her thoughts reached that point.
Rune’s dazed eyes snapped open.
“Right!”
Rune’s eyes narrowed fiercely.
“What? Marriage? Marrrriiiage?”
Trembling with anger, Rune’s head drooped.
‘…Right, they were in that kind of relationship.’
Honestly, even as a woman, Lea was someone she could fall for.
A sense of emptiness washed over her.
And.
Rune’s ears perked up.
‘So, that bastard played with my innocent heart?’
Anger that felt like it could turn everything to ash surged within her.
Rune was not an elf to be this deeply disheartened.
Instead, she only felt anger towards Leo, who had apparently hidden the truth.
“I’m going to kill this damn bastard!”
Rune jumped up from her seat and kicked open the door.
“You’re dead!”
Rune, who burst out of the room as if breathing fire, looked to her side.
Just then, Leo emerged from the next room, scratching his head.
“Awake?”
“Hoho? Who do we have here? Isn’t that a married man?”
Veins bulged on Rune’s forehead.
Seeing Rune like that, Leo closed his door and said,
“Calm down for now. Lisinas just fell asleep. I stayed up all night dealing with him too.”
“Stayed up all night? Ah~ you must have had a very hot night? Did you enjoy your reunion as a couple?”
Seeing Rune snarling as if she were about to bite him, Leo sighed.
“It wasn’t like that.”
“Not like that! You damn bastard! Playing with an innocent elf’s heart?!”
Rune grabbed Leo by the collar.
“You’re not exactly innocent.”
At those words, Rune paused.
It was true.
The undeniable statement only made her more annoyed.
“Take responsibility! You played with me, so take responsibility! You adulterous bastard!”
“Someone hearing this would misunderstand.”
Leo sighed, watching Rune shake him violently, and said,
“Let me make one thing clear.”
“What?!”
“I didn’t even know that was a marriage vow.”
At Leo’s words, Rune froze.
“What does that mean?”
“I was tricked too, by that damn swindler.”
At those words, Rune stared intently at Leo’s face.
Rune, searching for lies in Leo’s words, soon realized it was the truth and let go of him.
Then, with a sly smile, she tried to enter Lea’s room.
Leo grabbed Rune by the scruff of her neck.
“Leave it.”
“Why? This is a complete betrayal! I have to say something!”
“She’s tired from everything that happened. We’ll talk later.”
“Are you taking Lisinas’s side now?”
“If you and Lisinas clash, it’ll be too noisy to sleep, so I’m saying this.”
Leo scratched his head.
Watching Leo, Rune paused.
“Let me rest too.”
Leo, who possessed steel-like stamina and unwavering mental fortitude, had not been able to sleep since his fight with the fragment of Erebus yesterday.
As such, his fatigue was at its extreme.
Leo, his face etched with exhaustion, scowled.
Even to Rune, Leo looked like he wouldn’t be out of place sleeping on the floor right now.
And this was a side he didn’t show to others.
What Leo had to show was an unwavering demeanor.
It was a slightly weak side shown only to great heroes.
Rune pulled Leo along.
“Come here.”
“I’m tired. I want to go to my room.”
“No more talking, come on.”
Rune dragged Leo into her room.
And she pushed the frowning Leo onto the bed.
“Sleep here.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Don’t worry, I won’t jump you. Or rather, wouldn’t it be nice if I did?”
Seeing Rune push him with a snort, Leo sighed.
‘Looks like she has no intention of letting me go easily.’
“If you doodle on me, I won’t leave you alone.”
“Am I a child?”
Leo was about to lie down on Rune’s bed.
Then Rune quickly sat on the bed.
“What?”
“Here.”
Rune tapped her thigh.
“I’ll let you rest your head on my lap.”
“It’s okay.”
“Hmph! You should accept a favor when it’s offered!”
Rune pulled Leo and forcibly made him lie down.
Then, with a bright smile, she looked down at Leo.
“It’s uncomfortable.”
“Even though you were tricked, you knew and didn’t tell me. You tricked me too.”
“……”
“If you sleep quietly like this, I’ll forgive everything!”
Rune, now happy knowing Leo had simply been tricked, felt better.
Leo, looking up at Rune who was smiling down at him, shook his head and closed his eyes.
Rune stroked Leo’s hair and murmured,
“It feels nice like this.”
“……”
“Kyle?”
Rune looked at Leo.
Leo had already fallen asleep soundly.
Leo, who had light ears, was in a deep sleep at this moment.
‘He probably won’t wake up easily now.’
The physical and mental exhaustion from fighting Erebus.
The after-effects of using fully awakened pure mana.
He must have been so tired that he could collapse and sleep at any moment.
Rune poked Leo’s cheek.
Leo, deep in sleep, didn’t react.
Rune looked out the window.
It was a peaceful morning, hard to believe the fragment of Erebus had resurrected yesterday.
‘I wish this time would last.’
***
“Black flames?”
“Yes!”
Karl, who had arrived at Azonia, slightly furrowed his brow at Ar’s report.
Just thinking about it made him shudder.
“According to the report, the current student council president of Seirune went to investigate first, followed by the student council president of Lumern.”
“If there’s a problem, they’ll request support. Thank you for handling it well, Ar.”
“You’re welcome! Call me if you need anything!”
Ar, who answered enthusiastically, left the student council room.
‘He was always energetic, but Ar has become even more so after meeting Kyle.’
Karl smiled faintly and examined the documents.
The student council president’s work was mind-numbing, but Karl diligently carried out his duties.
He thought of it as his job in this current life.
As Karl was examining the documents, he paused.
Karl’s transcendent senses detected something unnatural.
Shhwwoooosh-
Suddenly, it began to rain outside.
The sound of raindrops hitting the windowpane echoed.
Rain falls even in deserts.
Therefore, sudden rain was not strange.
‘But the weather forecast wasn’t for rain today.’
Karl, sensitive to atmospheric changes due to his super senses.
There were no signs of rain today.
Crucially…
Shhwwoooosh- Thud- Toodoodoodoodook-!
Something solid mixed with the rain began to fall.
Toodoodoodoodoodook! Kwagagagagak-!
Ice chunks, hail.
This was what defied Arion’s super senses.
‘Cold.’
Cold air that was completely out of place in a hot desert.
Due to the sudden hail, the air around Azonia began to rapidly drop.
Finally, the hail stopped, and then snow began to fall.
The moment he saw the snow, Karl jumped out the window.
Whoooosh! Tak-!
Karl landed perfectly from the tall building.
“Senior Karl?”
Ar, who had just exited the student council building, widened his eyes upon seeing Karl standing before him.
“……Ar.”
“Yes?”
“By my authority, issue a summons to the great hall.”
“Yes?”
“Prepare for battle.”
With those words, Karl kicked off the ground and began to sprint.
A bell began to ring throughout Azonia.
Leaving the sound behind, Karl instantly reached the main gate of Azonia.
The snow had already turned into a blizzard.
Karl’s body trembled.
Not from the cold.
But from fear.
“Hello?”
A woman wearing a hood looked at Karl and smiled.
“Who… are you?”
Karl asked with a trembling voice.
“What is your relationship with Erebus?”
At Karl’s words, the woman reacted with surprise.
“To sense Erebus from me, that’s amazing.”
Karl’s senses told him.
The being before him was not Erebus.
But in essence, they were the same.
“My name is Nyx.”
Nyx said calmly.
“I am a dark god called the Ice of Death.”