Book 1 Chapter 942
942.
“We’re going to be chased. Chased and caught. Then something really big will happen, won’t it?”
“Ah! Seriously! You’re such a whiner! No matter how many invade, we just need to beat them all down!”
Azonia said irritably, looking at Areon, who was muttering with a haggard face.
Seeing Azonia like that, Areon made a face as if he was about to cry.
“But I’m scared.”
“……”
Azonia silently looked up at the sky.
She wasn't surprised that such a coward was the hero who saved the world.
Azonia had seen this side of Areon too many times to be surprised.
Looking up at the sky, Azonia smiled with a look of enlightenment.
Surprisingly, Azonia knew how to comfort such an Areon.
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you no matter what happens.”
“……”
At her words, Areon’s eyes widened as he stared at Azonia.
“Why?”
Azonia made a blank expression.
Such an absurd statement, that she would protect a great hero.
But Azonia actually had the power to protect Areon.
Because the current Areon was not a completed hero.
And the same went for the other great heroes.
‘Of course, they possess legendary power even at this point in time.’
Compared to the completed great heroes of the final chapter, the current great heroes are no different from rookies.
‘The great heroes of the final chapter are, quite literally, possessors of mythical power.’
Unlike such an Areon, Azonia was a completed hero.
By the standards of this time, Azonia was definitely older than Areon.
Also, in terms of pure skill, she was superior to Areon in his cowardly state.
At Azonia’s words, Areon made a dazed expression.
“You’re cool.”
“Yes, yes. Be very impressed.”
“Um…”
“Why?”
“I, I… a man…”
“Manly?”
“Ah, no… that…”
Areon wiggled his fingers, then asked with a flushed face.
“Do you… have a boyfriend…?”
“Why… do you ask that?”
“J-just. H-hypothetically, what kind of guy do you like?”
Azonia’s eyelids trembled.
The current Areon had a somehow determined look in his eyes.
Azonia knew when Areon had that kind of look in his eyes.
It was the look he had when challenging something almost impossible.
It was the look he had when showing courage befitting a hero.
‘No. So… right now… this guy…’
Azonia felt her head spin.
‘He’s fallen for me? No way. It can’t be. It absolutely can’t be.’
Azonia tried hard to deny it.
In the first place, Azonia knew that Areon had someone he was destined for in the future.
‘Wait. Was this before he met Ms. Lisa? No, even so, I’m completely different from Ms. Lisa, aren’t I?’
Rolling her eyes around, Azonia said.
“Well, I don’t have a boyfriend right now.”
Areon’s face brightened.
Seeing that, Azonia instinctively knew things had gotten strangely complicated.
‘Wow, this is a first.’
Azonia seriously pondered.
‘If I beat him up a bit, will he lose interest in me? No. Even so, that’s not right for a great hero, is it?’
It was when Azonia was thinking about how to resolve this situation.
“Hoo! Hoo!”
Suddenly, rough breathing sounds were heard from somewhere.
Azonia smelled a familiar scent.
“Ah, Lord Areon! It’s Lord Areonaaaak!”
“Hiiiiiiiiik?!”
Are, who suddenly popped out from somewhere, clung to Areon’s leg.
Areon shrieked in fright.
“Lord Areon! Hoo! Hoo! You’re so cool! I respect you! Hoo!”
“W-who is this kid?!”
Areon, terrified, screamed, looking at Are with crazed eyes.
Seeing that, Azonia thought.
‘Looks like she got caught up and came in too. When did she get in?’
While Azonia wondered, Are was already clinging to Areon’s back.
“Hoo! Hoo! You’re so cool! Haaak!”
“Hiiiiiiiiik?!”
And Areon was even more startled.
Watching them, Azonia thought.
‘Neither the senior nor the junior is in their right mind. Should I beat them both up to knock some sense into them?’
***
Ferena walked silently in front of Bihar.
“Um… are we supposed to go this way?”
“Don’t ask, just look ahead and walk.”
“Yes, understood.”
At Bihar’s chilly words, Ferena flinched and looked straight ahead.
The reason Ferena was walking ahead was simple.
Bihar had not completely dropped her suspicion of Ferena.
It was to more easily subdue Ferena if something unexpected happened.
Because being behind makes it easier to gain the upper hand.
Knowing that, Ferena wore a tense expression.
The misunderstanding had not been completely cleared up yet.
Bihar still regarded her suspiciously.
‘First, I need to show that I’m harmless.’
In the Hero’s World Guide, connections with NPCs within the world are essential.
To do that, trust was needed.
Ferena resolved to obediently follow Bihar’s words to avoid suspicion.
But despite that, she couldn’t help but glance back involuntarily.
With the Progenitor of Shadows behind her, it might have been a natural reaction for the inexperienced Ferena.
Bihar looked at Ferena, who was glancing at her face, and asked.
“Is there something on my face?”
“Oh, no.”
Ferena hastily shook her head, then soon wiggled her fingers and apologized.
“S-sorry.”
‘What? Why is she staring?’
Bihar was inexplicably bothered by Ferena.
Pretending to be calm.
Pretending to be cool, Bihar also felt quite bewildered looking at Ferena.
Because it was the first time she had seen someone with a similar aura to her own.
‘Of course, she’s much more inexperienced than I am.’
In that subtly strange atmosphere.
Bihar opened her mouth.
“Turn left.”
At her words, Ferena headed down the left hallway.
Then a door appeared.
As she stood before the door, it quietly opened.
“Ah…”
Ferena let out a small gasp.
The room was an office.
There were many objects inside the room.
But it didn’t feel complicated or messy.
The books on the bookshelf were also neatly organized.
The appearance of the room seemed to reflect the personality of its owner.
A sense of seeking harmony and orderliness.
True to that feeling, a woman was at the desk.
A woman so beautiful that merely looking at her could make one lose their mind.
‘Lady Lisinas, the King of Wisdom.’
Ferena felt her heart tremble.
Ferena had seen Lisinas once before, when Lisinas appeared in the present world.
But at that time, she had only seen her from a distance, so she hadn’t been able to speak with her directly.
That Lisinas was now before her eyes.
Just as she appeared in history.
She had seen Kyle and Luna earlier, but this was different again.
‘At that time, I was too surprised and only saw them in passing.’
Ferena swallowed dryly.
“What a cute Summoner lady.”
At that moment, Lisinas took her eyes off the documents and smiled gently, looking at Ferena.
And she stood up from her seat.
“Would you like to come here?”
She offered a seat at the guest table in the office.
As Ferena hesitantly sat down, Lisinas sat next to her.
And then she stared directly into Ferena’s eyes.
At that gaze, which felt as if it could pierce her thoughts, Ferena involuntarily turned her head.
Lisinas merely chuckled and continued to look at Ferena.
Bihar brewed tea in a teapot in one corner of the office.
Because Lisinas had accepted Ferena as a guest.
Clink- Clink-
Bihar placed the teapot in front of Lisinas.
“Bihar, you sit down too.”
“Yes?”
At Lisinas’s words, Bihar showed a slightly flustered expression.
Lisinas smiled gently and patted the seat next to her.
Bihar, though looking puzzled, sat down next to Lisinas.
Pour-pour-pour-
Lisinas used telekinesis to lift the teapot and poured tea into the teacups.
“Ah, thank you.”
Ferena, fumbling, received the tea and carefully took a sip.
It was far from a luxurious taste.
But she felt her mind settle.
As her mind calmed, she noticed Lisinas and Bihar.
Both had black hair and black eyes, making one mistakenly think they might be blood relatives at first glance.
‘What should I say, they look like mother and daughter.’
Based on appearance, elder and younger sister would fit, but the atmosphere was different.
Ferena, observing the two, suddenly met Lisinas’s eyes.
“Do we look like mother and daughter?”
“N-heh?! Huh? Hot!”
Ferena, startled at her true thoughts being exposed, involuntarily gulped down the hot tea.
Seeing Ferena, who had barely calmed down, Lisinas made an apologetic expression.
“I guess I startled you.”
“Oh, no.”
Ferena shook her head vigorously.
Lisinas chuckled, looking at such Ferena.
‘She really is like a goddess.’
Ferena stared blankly at her, thinking.
“Alright.”
Clink-
At that moment, Lisinas put down her teacup and nodded.
“As Kyle said, this child is not a traitor.”
Ferena felt relieved at Lisinas’s words.
“And while she is suspicious, she is not a bad child.”
At those words, the lingering spark of doubt in Bihar’s eyes completely vanished.
Ferena felt a strange sensation, seeing Bihar’s doubt—which hadn’t dissipated even at the words of Kyle, her master and the Progenitor of Shadows—resolve at Lisinas’s words.
‘Do Lady Lisinas’s words hold more weight for Lady Bihar than Lord Kyle’s?’
Though she was the Progenitor of Shadows, little was known about Bihar.
As Ferena felt doubtful, Lisinas silently watched her.
Soon, Lisinas spoke to Ferena.
“Bihar. Would you go call Kyle for me?”
“Yes.”
Bihar rose from her seat and left the room.
Once they were alone in the room, Lisinas spoke to Ferena, who was still tense.
“What is your name?”
“It’s Ferena.”
“Ferena. Would you come over here?”
Lisinas gently patted the empty seat next to her.
At her words, Ferena carefully approached and sat beside Lisinas.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Lisinas smiled and took Ferena’s hand.
Ferena’s face turned bright red as her hand was held.
Lisinas, seen up close, was breathtakingly beautiful.
‘She doesn’t seem to have the demonic charm of Lord Damian or Senior Elena.’
Damian and Elena possessed a demonic power that captivated people.
Even without such power, Lisinas’s beautiful appearance made people feel distant.
That wasn’t simply because her looks were beautiful.
It was the charisma created by her benevolence.
Lisinas, examining Ferena’s hand, said.
“Such clean hands.”
“Yes?”
“You haven’t stained them with human blood yet, have you?”
“……”
“Living in the darkness with such power, yet not staining your hands with human blood.”
“Because I am lacking…”
“It seems even hunters have a choice in the future.”
“Yes?”
Ferena could only stare blankly, looking at Lisinas, who smiled with a benevolent expression.