Book 1 Chapter 842

842.

Humans, elves, beastfolk, dwarves.

Retin, a gathering of diverse races.

Everyone in Retin was looking at the sky.

WHOOOOOOSH-!

"Hah! Dragons?"

"So many dragons appearing!"

Above Retin.

A swarm of dragons was crossing the sky in an orderly formation, like a squadron in flight.

Soon, the dragons charged into Retin's central plaza.

Just as people, startled, instinctively began to scatter.

With a bright flash, the polymorphed dragons landed lightly.

Tap, tap, tap-!

The people watching the dragons land in the central plaza swallowed hard.

Visually, they appeared to be of various races.

However, their eyes clearly showed that they were dragons.

"Why are so many dragons…"

"They must have come to escort the Dragon Lord."

"Right?"

Everyone watched the dragons with tense eyes.

Dragons weren't exactly a threatening race.

Since the Age of Heroes began,

Dragons had not caused significant damage to the world.

This was in stark contrast to the previous era, the Age of Calamity,

When beings like evil dragons had emerged.

This was the result of dragons, as descendants of the Wise King who saved the world, rigorously pursuing order and living their lives.

Of course, they remained the strongest race and the most secretive race on earth.

Dragons did not reveal their identities carelessly on the surface.

They had always hidden themselves and blended in, preparing for times when the world fell into chaos and crisis.

In a sense, they were more secretive observers than shadows.

Those who chose and guided heroes.

Such noble dragons had revealed themselves.

Because of this, people realized once again.

That this very moment was a decisive page in history.

The festive atmosphere instantly filled with silence.

Then.

The man at the front, scanning the crowd, walked towards a stall placed in a particularly noticeable spot.

Everyone who saw this tensed up.

Just then, the stall owner smiled brightly and shouted cheerfully.

"Welcome!"

Everyone was stunned by the powerful voice that burst out in the serene silence and looked at the stall owner.

He was wearing a deep hood, embodying the concept of a mysterious alchemist.

"What is this?"

The dragon revealed its curiosity and picked up a small candy jar from the stall.

"This is a specialty of Rumern Academy! It's a fatigue-recovery candy sold at Karl's General Store! It's a popular item that Rumern students use frequently during exam periods! Demand has even surged recently in Seirun, Azonia, and Demian!"

The stall owner, Karl, said, giving a thumbs-up.

There was still some time until the coronation.

Karl, not wanting to miss this golden opportunity, had set up his stall since dawn.

"Oh? Is this something that even the King of Beginnings, Leo Flov, uses?"

"Of course! It's an essential item for top Rumern students!"

'Hey, human! You're selling to a dragon, is there nothing you won't lie about!'

People screamed inwardly as they watched the scene.

While it was the truth, to those who didn't know Karl's true identity, it looked like he was shamelessly scamming the dragons.

It couldn't be helped.

No one would have imagined that someone as heroic as he was would be running a stall in a place like this.

As everyone was breaking into a cold sweat.

"Dad! Dad! Please buy it for me as a gift for passing the Wisdom entrance exam this time!"

A girl who appeared from behind the man spoke in a bright voice.

Seeing his daughter's sparkling eyes, the man chuckled.

"Shall we do that?"

Saying so, the man handed a wad of money to Karl and said.

"Give me all that's left."

"Oh my! Thank you!"

"The gratitude is mine. It's quite famous in Dragonia that the items of the 'One preparing for the beginning' are good."

At that, the dragon girl's eyes widened, and Karl scratched his cheek.

"Oh? You knew?"

"Because you are famous."

The man's face shone.

His eyes could see Karl's face beneath his hood.

The people around began to murmur at the mention of "one preparing for the beginning."

While the man put the fatigue-recovery candies into his spatial pocket, the dragon girl stood before Karl with her hands clasped.

"You are the one preparing for the beginning! It's an honor to meet you! My name is Ran!"

"Nice to meet you! Miss Ran. I'm Karl Thomas."

Karl grinned and took off his hood.

"Wow! You look even more handsome in person!"

"Hmph. I hear that a lot."

Karl's expression was slightly smug.

"By the way, you're surprisingly calm even with so many dragons appearing all at once?"

"Because my school life isn't exactly smooth sailing."

It was certainly surprising for dragons to suddenly appear in such numbers.

But Karl had experienced too much to be so rigid that he would miss out on such great customers as dragons.

"And aren't you all just here as tourists to watch the coronation?"

"Oh my? How did you know?"

It was as Karl said.

The dragons here weren't on a special mission or under any orders.

They were literally tourists who came to watch the coronation.

"Did you hear it from the Lord?"

It was already well-known that Karl was Leo's best friend.

Given that, they thought he might have heard about the group tour from the Dragon Lord.

To Ran's question, Karl shrugged.

"No. I just had a feeling."

The official participants in the coronation were already at the royal palace.

Moreover, Karl knew what Leo was pursuing.

'Harmony of all races.'

Dragons were forbidden by their rules from revealing themselves to people carelessly.

But if the country Leo desired was Guardsron, where he had lived in the world of heroes…

'He must want to show a country where dragons can roam freely without being bound by such rules. Although Guardsron back then wasn't entirely bright…'

Karl recalled memories from that time.

'The atmosphere of a city where all races lived in harmony was more dazzling than anything else.'

Karl packed up his stall and smiled at Ran.

"Then have a pleasant trip."

Karl put on his invisibility cloak.

Karl's figure disappeared in an instant.

"Wow! Wow!"

A blush appeared on Ran's face.

"So cool!"

Ran, covering her cheeks, squirmed, unable to contain herself.

Starting with this, the dragons naturally began to blend into the festival.

They bought things from stalls and bought food.

They watched the clowns' performances, laughed in amazement, and asked the people around them questions.

The people who had been flustered by this sight soon began to naturally accept the dragons.

"…It's a sight I never imagined I'd see."

"…"

A woman wearing a hood in an alley watched with curiosity.

All races gathered in one place, harmonizing.

They didn't ostracize each other.

They were simply enjoying this moment.

This country, about to begin, possessed a strange magic.

"Isn't that right, Eliza?"

Chen Xia asked, turning around.

"Karl Thomas! That rascal! Still charming women? I'll show you!"

There, Eliza was gnawing on a whip.

"Miss Eliza."

"What is it?"

"I'm hungry."

"Why are you telling me that?"

"Buy me something to eat."

"Why should I!"

"Because I know Eliza's secret~"

At that, Eliza flinched.

"Miss Eliza is~ secretly dating Karl~ starting last night~"

Watching Chen Xia humming with a giggle, Eliza crossed her arms.

"Blackmailing me with something you eavesdropped on is sordid, Chen Xia."

"Eavesdropping? Two people came to me."

"Spread it around if you want!"

"Huh? Illiana is on patrol over there. Illy… *muffled*!"

Eliza urgently covered Chen Xia's mouth as she was about to call out to Illiana.

If this news reached Illiana's ears, even if nothing else, it would surely become famous not only throughout the school but globally.

Chen Xia removed Eliza's hand from her mouth and grinned.

"It's a lie."

"…You're a devil."

Eliza replied weakly and trudly headed towards the stall.

Seeing Eliza go, Chen Xia headed to another stall to buy a drink.

'Eliza is cute too. Really.'

Chen Xia chuckled, thinking of Eliza, who strangely provoked her sadistic impulses.

She bought a drink and surveyed the atmosphere of the street.

'…No signs of any disrespect.'

Leo had already told his trusted friends and subordinates, led by Chen Xia, about the Hero Hunters.

The fact that Karl was running a stall and observing the atmosphere with the coronation so close,

And Chen Xia and Eliza guarding the alley,

It was all to prevent the terrorism of the Hero Hunters.

'How dare they try to disrupt someone's coronation?'

She returned to the alley with two drinks, and Eliza had just arrived.

"Drink this."

"It's not poisoned, is it?"

Despite speaking suspiciously, Eliza accepted the drink.

Chen Xia bit into the sandwich Eliza had bought.

"When will they make their move?"

"Soon."

As Chen Xia narrowed her eyes.

FWOOOSH~ BOOM! BOOM!

Fireworks signaling the start of the coronation began to explode.

People going to and fro on the streets looked up at the sky.

A magical screen appeared in the sky, showing the situation in front of the royal palace.

On the royal palace balcony overlooking Retin.

Leo appeared there.

WAAAAAAAAAAAH-!

The cheers of the people began to erupt.

***

WAAAAAAAAAAAH-!

Leo, perched on top of the royal palace, looked down at Retin.

-Isn't it a shame? Entrusting your coronation to a proxy?

Elsie, perched on his shoulder, asked carefully.

Peep- Peep-

-Denix said he wanted to be the center of attention.

Peck, peck, peck-

Fiora pecked Kirian's head, who was calling her strangely.

Looking at his usual summoned beasts, Leo chuckled.

"In any case, my coronation ended then."

Just before Lishinas disappeared.

When he entrusted the world to me.

"This is just a show to inform the people. It doesn't really matter whether I use a proxy or not."

Leo, currently at the coronation, was Enkinias.

Leo silently watched the people gathered in Retin.

'Perhaps… if we had finished the subjugation and returned to Guardsron… this would have been the atmosphere.'

A new beginning.

'When we set off on our final journey, I didn't know then that we would be revered for 5,000 years.'

5,000 years.

Enough time for history to become legend, and for even that legend to be forgotten.

However, through the item called the Hero Record, the great heroes and countless heroes had existed as 'history.'

'Someday, our story too will become mere legend.'

Leo stood up.

'Still… I want to leave some trace of the era we lived in.'

The time when all races truly harmonized.

Something made possible by the peculiarity of the world's destruction.

"Kyle."

"Why."

"What will you do after subduing Erebus?"

"I'll live as a wanderer. I have nowhere to go."

"Then."

Lishinas smiled shyly.

"Won't you live with me in the dragon's territory?"

The conversation with Lishinas from long ago flashed back.

"I will become your future."

"What?"

"If you cannot draw a future, I will become your unchanging dream."

Luna said primly, her face slightly flushed.

"So that your life can lead to my life."

The conversation with Luna also came back.

'Come to think of it… both were proposals?'

Leo let out a hollow laugh.

'I have no excuse even if I get cursed.'

Shaking his head, Leo got up.

'Lishinas wanted me to be able to settle down with peace of mind.'

Leo looked down at his hands.

'Luna must have wanted me to be someone who could dream.'

The day they would meet again would surely come.

At that time…

'Now I can tell them.'

That after subduing Erebus, I made a place to stay.

That I can now dream.

"So on this fine day."

Leo's red eyes gleamed.

"Don't ruin it, you damn legion commander brat."

Leo's gaze precisely pinpointed the Dark King amidst the crowd.