Book 1 Chapter 877
877.
The Garan region, on the border of the western and southern continents.
This barren land was originally untouched by human feet.
It connected the west and south but was not a strategic point for transportation.
The terrain was extremely rugged, and monster appearances were frequent.
For this reason, for a long time, this place was nothing more than an isolated backwater.
However, the party couldn't help but look surprised when they saw the central city of the Garan region spread out before their eyes.
“Leo. You've been to the Garan region when you were a freshman, haven't you? Was it always this big?”
Leo shook his head at Kal's question.
“No, it was a completely underdeveloped place.”
Melina, who had been listening to their conversation, explained.
“The Garan region in our timeline was indeed underdeveloped. But as it was revealed to be the location where Gardsron existed, countless archaeologists started to gather there.”
During Leo's freshman year, with Leo as the leader, Lunia, Elena, and Hardin discovered that Garan was the location of Gardsron, which had only existed in records, during their quest to conquer Luna's world.
“People gathered, so it naturally developed, I suppose.”
Hearing that, Lil murmured, looking at Garan with a mix of emotions on her face.
“Everything started here.”
Everyone's expressions changed at Lil's words.
“The land of beginnings.”
Eliza muttered softly, looking down at the ground.
It was already a well-known story that the location of Gardsron was buried deep underground by the demons of Tartaros.
“Why doesn't the Hero Academy take on the mission of excavating the Gardsron ruins?”
Chelsea asked Melina with a puzzled look.
After records were lost by Tartaros and the whereabouts of Gardsron became unknown.
The world, regardless of race, tried to find Gardsron for a long time.
And finally, the location of Gardsron was discovered.
However, for such a historical discovery, the excavation was extremely slow.
In particular, there was no personnel dispatched from the Hero Academy at all.
“Well, that's because an enormous number of curses were activated when they dug into the ground to excavate Gardsron.”
Melina looked troubled.
“Accordingly, the dragons are prioritizing dispelling the curses and clearing the excavation site.”
When it comes to heroology, dragons are also top experts.
Everyone looked convinced by Melina's words.
“Enough chitchat, let's go in.”
At Leo's words, the party started walking.
And the moment they stepped into the future Garan city.
Whoosh-!
The scenery changed.
As the atmosphere suddenly shifted, everyone flinched and looked around warily.
“Where is this…?”
Chen Shia looked around with wide eyes, surprised.
The prosperous city was nowhere to be found.
A scene of a roughly fortified city unfolded.
As everyone looked bewildered.
Kal's eyes widened.
“Wait, isn't this Gardsron's central plaza?”
“Are you sure, Kal?”
Kal nodded at Lil's question.
“Yes. It looks exactly like what I saw in Dweno-nim's world.”
“Then, is this the Age of Calamity?”
Chelsea hastily tilted her head back and looked at the sky.
“Oh? The sky is clear though?”
“The atmosphere is a bit strange too.”
Eliza narrowed her eyes.
If this was Gardsron, it should be a vision of the Age of Calamity.
But the mood of the people was different from the people of the Age of Calamity that Eliza knew.
They were generally excited.
It was similar to when the Arhi members celebrated their victory against the Giant King after protecting Ivaldi in Dweno's world.
However, if that was the kind of excitement that was an escape to forget tomorrow's nightmare, now Gardsron was literally filled with hope.
“It's as if they're preparing for a festival.”
As Lil tilted her head, watching the people.
Kal stealthily approached Leo and whispered.
“Hey, Leo. Just in case, I'm asking, has Gardsron ever been like this?”
“…Not that I know of.”
It was Gardsron's atmosphere that Leo had never seen before either.
Just then, Chen Shia, who was observing the crowd, flinched and unconsciously reached out her hand.
And she grabbed the wrist of a human woman passing by her.
“Huh?”
“Ah?”
Still retaining a youthful air, she gasped in surprise, and Chen Shia was also flustered.
Everyone's gaze turned to Chen Shia.
“Shia, why did you suddenly grab that person?”
Chelsea asked with a puzzled look.
But Chen Shia silently stared at the surprised girl's face and then cautiously asked.
“B… Bihal-nim?”
Everyone in the party was surprised by that name.
“Bihal! What are you doing there! We need to find Silrod quickly!”
Just then, an elf appeared, pushing through the crowd.
That face was a face everyone knew.
“Berkia-nim?”
“That's right. I'm Berkia. A disciple of the great heroes who saved the world.”
When Chelsea called out blankly, Berkia made a smug expression.
Hearing that, the party could understand the current situation.
“It seems like they're preparing for a festival, right?”
Bihal, who had been apologizing to Chen Shia, nodded at Lil's question.
“Of course. The great heroes will be returning soon.”
Bihal's face clearly showed an unusually bright expression.
“What does it mean that Silrod disappeared?”
Then Leo asked.
Berkia looked at Leo, eyes wide open.
“Wow, Bihal look! There's a kid with eyes as unpleasant as my master's!”
Leo silently looked up at Berkia, who was pointing a finger.
“Sorry. I didn't mean it in a bad way.”
Bihal smiled brightly at Leo and then pushed Berkia's back.
“We need to find the vanished Fairy King. We'll go on ahead.”
And so, the two left.
Leo, who was watching their retreating figures, summoned a phantom beast.
“Kirian.”
-Did you call?
Leo, who had summoned Kirian, pointed at Berkia and said.
“Go and ask.”
-Do you think I'm a dog?!
Kirian protested, biting Leo's finger.
“You bite well.”
Leo, who lightly shook the hand Kirian was biting, said.
“This confirms it.”
Leo said, looking at the unfamiliar atmosphere of Gardsron.
“This vision seems to be the situation immediately after the world was saved.”
The day when the hope, which was like a lie from the King of Wisdom, Lysinass, became truth.
The day when all humans in Gardsron purely rejoiced at the start of a new history.
And…
It was Gardsron before they had heard the tragic news of the great heroes.
***
“Drink! Drink!”
“To the stars in the night sky! Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
Night fell.
The streets were filled with heavily drunken people.
“People seem genuinely happy.”
Chen Shia nodded at Chelsea's words.
“Of course. The world was saved right before its destruction.”
Those who lived in an era of peace would never truly understand the joy of the people of this era.
Even late at night, people, intoxicated with joy, had no thought of sleeping.
Eliza, sitting cross-legged on one side of the street, filing her nails, spotted a group of children in an alley and frowned.
“What are you looking at so intently?”
“Those children. What are they doing at this late hour?”
At Eliza's words, Kal looked at the children huddled together in the alley.
Gardsron, the last bastion before destruction, was a city with very good public order.
It had to withstand the suffocating attacks of Erebus and Tartaros.
As such, they had no choice but to pay more attention to internal affairs.
As the King of the World, Lysinass paid more attention to the public order of Gardsron under his reign than anything else.
As a result, it was very safe within the city.
So much so that even if children wandered around late at night like this, there wouldn't be a big problem.
But even so, it was excessively late for children to be awake.
Kal and Eliza approached the children.
“What are you doing here, kids?”
The children tilted their heads back and answered Eliza's question.
“We're looking at the stars.”
At that answer, Kal and Eliza looked up at the night sky.
As the children said, stars were shining as if they would pour down from the sky.
Even though it was late and they should have been sleepy, the children's eyes sparkled like the stars in the sky.
They didn't even give Kal and Eliza a glance.
“Children. When talking to adults, you should look them in the eye.”
Just then, a gentle voice came from the other side of the alley.
Kal and Eliza turned their heads.
A human woman with a gentle impression stood there.
She had an ordinary appearance, but her presence somehow made one feel comfortable and warm.
“We apologize.”
The children took their eyes off the sky and bowed deeply to Kal and Eliza, apologizing.
“It's okay.”
Kal waved his hand.
The other party members also came into the alley.
Leo looked at the woman's face.
After greeting the party, the children started chattering among themselves.
“The stars are really beautiful, just like Luna-nim said.”
“Luna-nim said she'd teach us the constellations when she comes back!”
“Let's listen together with Arion-nim!”
It was when the party looked surprised as the names of the great heroes were mentioned by the children.
“It's a wonderful night, isn't it?”
The woman smiled softly and said.
“Yes. But what's your name…?”
“Hmm? You don't know me?”
The woman's eyes widened.
At her words, as the party looked troubled.
“We were often out and about, assigned to monster subjugation around Gardsron.”
Chen Shia said with a gentle smile.
Leo was being held in Chen Shia's arms.
“Ah, I see.”
The woman nodded as if she understood.
“My name is Lisa. I'm a member of Arhi.”
“A member of Arhi?”
Chelsea's eyes widened.
All the heroes who fought alongside the great heroes led by Lysinass, the King of Wisdom, were members of Arhi.
That meant the woman named Lisa standing before them was a seasoned hero who had survived the Age of Calamity.
“Yes. I've retired now and am serving as the director of the orphanage run by Arion-nim.”
“Retired?”
As Kal tilted his head, Lisa smiled gently and then grabbed her left hand and pulled.
Then her left hand detached with a 'thump-!'.
“Ah…”
As the party's expressions darkened, Lisa's eyes widened, and then she laughed.
“Don't worry about it. It's a huge stroke of luck just to not have lost my life.”
Lisa giggled and reattached her hand.
Just then, a dwarf man appeared from the other side of the alley.
“Hey, Lisa.”
“Ah! Tanio!”
The dwarf man, who was pulling a wheelchair with magic, had no legs.
“Young master Leo, that person also…”
“That's right. He was also a member of Arhi. His name is Tanio.”
Leo nodded at Chen Shia's whispered question.
It was when they were looking at the familiar faces of Lisa and Tanio.
“Did you make it?”
“I was cooped up in the workshop for days, making only this.”
Tanio handed over a small box with a tired face.
Lisa, who had reattached her prosthetic hand, opened the box.
Inside was a ring.
Melina's eyes widened when she saw it.
“Is that a wedding ring?”
At that question, everyone in the party looked at Lisa.
On the ring finger of Lisa's prosthetic hand was a ring of the same design as the one in the box.
Lisa smiled shyly at Melina's question.
“Yes. I was proposed to a while ago.”
“Congratulations.”
Melina smiled softly.
“Thank you. We're planning to get married as soon as Arion-nim returns.”
Everyone looked surprised.
“Marrying Arion-nim?”
“Yes. We got engaged before Arion-nim left on the expedition. This ring was given to me then.”
“Wow. Arion-nim had a lover…”
“Hehe. It's a fact that even the other great heroes don't know. Please keep it a secret. Arion-nim said he would announce it himself.”
At that answer, everyone except Lil and Eliza looked at Leo.
Leo blinked his red eyes a few times and then murmured.
“He was doing everything he wanted, huh?”