Book 1 Chapter 944

944.

Argonia stood with her arms crossed, while Arg knelt before her, hands raised.

Arion hid behind Argonia, watching Arg with fearful eyes.

"I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Why do I have to keep my hands up?"

Argonia replied to Arg's complaining question.

"Because you rushed at this person like you had rabies. Ah! Go away! When did we even meet for you to stick so close!"

Argonia pushed Arion away with her hand.

Arg became indignant at the sight.

"Don't bully Arion!"

Argonia flicked Arg's head as she snarled at her.

As Arg rolled on the floor clutching her head, Argonia sighed.

"By the way, do you two know each other?"

Arion asked with a puzzled look.

"Yes. We came from the same place."

"What kind of relationship do you have? You seem very close."

Seeing Arion show curiosity, Argonia pondered for a moment, then grabbed Arg by the scruff of her neck and pulled her up.

"She's my daughter."

Arg gaped blankly, not understanding, while Arion's face showed shock.

"You said you didn't have a boyfriend?"

"Yes. But I never said I didn't have a husband."

Argonia said shamelessly.

Now that Arion had developed an intellectual affection for her,

Argonia's greatest desire was to shake off that affection.

'Ugh! That's creepy.'

Argonia could never see Arion as a romantic partner.

It wasn't that she disliked Arion.

But it definitely didn't mean she had romantic interest.

'It's more like a sibling feeling.'

Of course, Arion didn't know her.

This feeling stemmed from hearing too much about Arion from Argon.

'Besides, she's not my type. She's too kind.'

"B-but isn't that too young to have such a grown daughter?"

"I had her when I was young. The world is harsh, isn't it, Arg?"

Arg nodded, looking at Argonia who spoke with a bright smile.

"Yes, Mother."

Argonia nodded with a satisfied expression at Arg's answer and said,

"We're going to talk separately, so wait here for a bit."

"Okay…"

Arion nodded, ears and tail drooping.

Then, Argonia took Arg and walked away from Arion.

Argonia created an aura to block the airflow.

It was to prevent Arion from overhearing, just in case.

"What's the situation outside?"

"We're aware of Arion's world and making preparations, Mother."

"As expected, with Lord Kyle, things are going swiftly."

"Mother. Have you joined up with Kal and the first-year students from Eiran, who seemed to have arrived earlier?"

"Not yet."

"Hmm. I wonder where they could be."

"They must be somewhere. First, we need to join up with them."

"Yes, Mother."

"How long are you going to keep calling me Mother, you damn cat?"

Argonia slowly opened her eyes and stretched Arg's cheeks.

Despite this, Arg smiled sheepishly.

"What's so funny that you're laughing like an idiot?"

"I thought you hated me, Argonia."

A beastkin never calls someone family unless they cherish them, regardless of the situation.

Therefore, even if the situation was unclear, Arg realized that Argonia cared for her by being called her daughter.

"You… you knew I was treating you harshly? Then why did you keep smiling like an idiot and obeying everything I said?"

"Because it's you, Argonia."

Arg said as if it were no big deal.

"I respect you as much as I respect Lord Arion."

Seeing Arg offer her innocent trust, Argonia scratched her head.

"By the way, why did you introduce me as your daughter?"

"Because that guy asked me if I had a boyfriend."

"Whoa?!"

Arg's tail formed a '!' shape.

"Lord Arion is smitten with you!"

"Why are you so happy?"

Argonia looked dumbfounded.

"You two look so good together!"

"Good together, my foot."

Argonia snorted.

"By the way. You like Lord Arion so much, don't you get jealous that he's interested in me?"

"No, not really. Lord Arion… how should I put it? He's definitely someone you want to pet and praise, but it's far from the feeling of wanting him to touch your tail."

"Indeed. He's zero in terms of attractiveness as a man."

"Don't make me laugh! Lord Arion is incredibly attractive as a man!"

Arg immediately snarled at Argonia's words.

Ignoring Arg, Argonia said,

"Arg."

"Yes."

"You know Arion came here to meet his teacher, right?"

"I heard it from the black rabbit. In the end, Lord Arion couldn't meet his teacher…"

"Yes. But I met Master Argon as soon as I came to the hero's world."

"Really?!"

Arg's eyes widened.

"Yes. Though he disappeared immediately."

"Wow! Then let's help our Lord Arion meet the two of them!"

"Of course, I will. No. I won't just stop at meeting the two."

"What? Then…"

"I will save Master Argon."

"…"

"I intend to change the history that actually happened."

Arg's eyes widened at Argonia's words, and she grinned.

"We think alike."

***

"How are the first-years?"

"Overall, it's a chaotic atmosphere, I guess."

In response to Leo's question, Lunia replied with a small sigh.

"A hero's dungeon has appeared somewhere in Reisar. We don't know when someone might suddenly get dragged in, so it's bound to be chaotic."

It was unusual for hero dungeons to indiscriminately drag in adventurers.

The first-years, and even the second and third-years, were in confusion due to an unprecedented situation.

Dryana, who had been listening to their conversation, said,

"In a way, isn't it a good thing?"

Leo and Lunia looked at Dryana.

Dryana poured tea into her teacup and spoke calmly.

"After all, a hero's dungeon has appeared. There's nothing we can do about it."

Dryana lifted her teacup, inhaled the aroma, and then sipped the tea.

"However, the worst possible scenario in this situation is everyone getting dragged into the hero's dungeon at once. If hundreds of people enter at the same time, chaos could ensue. But right now, in a sense, we've bought ourselves time to prepare."

Dryana was right.

The biggest danger of hero dungeons was not knowing whose world they belonged to.

At the Hero Academy, students learned Heroics and were trained to anticipate countless scenarios to conquer the hero's world.

However, even with such training, the success rate of clearing hero dungeons remained low.

Furthermore, the probability of success drops even further when hero dungeons appear unexpectedly.

The difference between being prepared and not being prepared is vast.

Considering that, the current situation wasn't so dire.

Listening to Dryana, Lunia nodded in agreement.

Then, suddenly, he wore a puzzled expression.

"By the way, where did Arg go?"

"Hmm. Wasn't she with you?"

"You don't mean…?"

Lunia's expression turned surprised.

"It seems she got caught up in a hero's dungeon. Arg will be fine."

At Leo's words, Dryana stood up.

"I should go and check if there are any others who got caught in hero dungeons."

"Please do."

"Leo. As Dryana said, have you thought about a strategy to conquer Arion's world?"

"I have."

"As expected."

Lunia looked at him with trusting eyes.

"Arion went to Reisar first to meet his teacher. We warped Arion and some of Reisar's residents to Gardsron. That alone should be enough to conquer Arion's world. Simple, right?"

At that, Lunia and Dryana looked at Leo with slightly flustered expressions.

"Why?"

"Don't you have a plan to defeat Tartaros invading Reisar, or to prevent Erebos's summoning and save Reisar?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Even if we conquer Arion's world, the past won't change."

Leo answered calmly.

"It's already a past event. Saving Reisar in the hero's world won't change anything."

Leo spoke while taking in the scenery of Reisar.

"It would be different if it were another world. But this time, if we're not careful, we might have to fight the complete Erebos."

There are great heroes in the hero's world.

But they are still incomplete heroes.

Objectively speaking, saving Reisar would be an act of suicide.

"There's no need to risk your lives, the future of this world, for a past that has already been decided."

At Leo's words, Dryana asked,

"What about Lord Arion? The great heroes you met in the hero's world have regained their memories. Isn't it the same this time?"

At Dryana's words, Leo closed his eyes.

"For Lord Arion, didn't he lose his teacher, who was like his home and father?"

As Leo said, conquering the hero's world won't change anything.

The dead don't come back to life, and the past doesn't change.

However, for someone, it could be an opportunity to heal the wounds left in their heart, even if only a little.

Everyone leaves behind things they regret.

They often regret thinking that things would be different if they had acted then.

"Leo. It's the same for you."

"…"

"Weren't there any regrets back then?"

"No."

Leo smiled faintly.

"Even if there were, they weren't important enough to risk your lives for."

"…"

"Arion will make the same choice as me."

"I understand."

"Dryana. If you're going to back down so readily…"

"What can I do if he himself doesn't want to?"

Realistically, only Leo has any lingering attachment to that era.

And since Leo is fine with it, it would be strange for others to complain.

"I'll go and see if there are any others besides Arg who got caught in hero dungeons."

"Please do."

Dryana pulled Lunia out of the room.

As Elci was left alone in the room, she revealed herself.

-Are you alright?

"Do you also want to save Argon and Reisar?"

-Yes. But I'm in this world because of Leo. I will follow Leo's will. However.

"However?"

-It seems Leo has quite a lot of regrets about Reisar.

At Elci's words, Leo smiled bitterly.

"Was it that obvious?"

-I am your closest contractor.

Leo stroked his face.

"It's inevitable that I have regrets."

Leo's gaze turned back to Reisar outside the window.

"I was the one who abandoned Reisar."