Book 1 Chapter 996

996.

Crackle- crackle-

Firewood burns in the fireplace.

Biting cold.

An era where the world is ablaze.

Winter still existed, even in an era where the flames of disaster were ushering in destruction.

Of course, winter was very short.

But it was harsher than any cold.

Rustle-

The sound of firewood burning was accompanied by the quiet rustle of a page turning.

Kyle, who was boiling soup in the kitchen, glanced over his shoulder to look at the living room.

The stark living room of the house.

In front of the fireplace, a small elf girl, Berkia, was asleep, covered by a blanket.

In front of Berkia, a beautiful elf woman, Luna, was sitting in a rocking chair, reading a magic tome.

Berghia, who had been breathing evenly in front of the fireplace, stirred.

"Mmm… mmm… You're so kind today… I can't eat any more… Master Kyle…"

It seemed she was eating in her dream.

Hearing this, Luna took her eyes off the magic tome and looked at her disciple.

Then she chuckled softly as if Berkia's sleep-talking was cute.

Her gentle demeanor looked exceptionally benevolent, unlike her usual self.

That laugh alone seemed to create a cozy warmth.

Seeing the picturesque scene, like sisters or a mother and daughter, Kyle muttered to himself.

'She looks so beautiful when she's like that, impossibly beautiful.'

Though he often forgot due to Luna's personality.

When she kept her mouth shut, Luna was breathtakingly beautiful.

'The problem is that her usual behavior ruins the whole atmosphere.'

Of course, even if her looks were overshadowed by her everyday personality, she was still beautiful.

Luna gazed at Berkia with soft eyes, then her eyes met Kyle's.

"What are you looking at, you damned bastard? What rude thoughts are you having now?"

"Is that how you talk to the owner of the house? If you don't like it, leave."

"Hmph! This house certainly doesn't know how to treat guests! You heartless wretch!"

"I don't want to hear that from someone who just barged in. If you don't like it, leave."

"Can't I make a joke? Why so serious? You petty man."

Kyle sighed deeply, watching the grumbling Luna.

"It's amazing that you're from Varhalrun."

"Why? Are you dissatisfied because I'm not arrogant and insolent like the High Elves from there?"

"No. Compared to them, you're much better."

"Hmph. You're stating the obvious."

Luna scoffed but showed a pleased expression at Kyle's words.

"Did you have a hard time?"

Varhalrun is an educational institution that cultivates High Elves.

And High Elves were an arrogant and insolent race that looked down even on common elves.

Kyle couldn't even begin to imagine how much Luna, an orphan of unknown origin from such a place, must have struggled.

Luna herself didn't consider the memories of that time particularly pleasant.

"I did have a hard time. Back then, I was incredibly twisted. But I met a good teacher and was able to grow up properly like this."

"Is that what you call growing up properly? No, more importantly, if you were more twisted than now, how messed up were you?"

At that, Luna's expression became indignant.

"What about you? What were you like when you were little? Were you twisted from a young age?"

"No. I had a pretty good personality as a child."

"Lies. I bet you were a kid with a terrible temper, I can just tell."

"It might be very different from what you imagine."

"I think it'll be exactly as I imagine."

Luna grinned and looked at Berkia.

"Looking at it that way, Berkia is really good-natured, unlike us."

"Exclude me."

"I hope she continues to grow up well like this."

Kyle shook his head, seeing Luna categorize his past as having a bad temper.

'Anyway, "twisted," huh?'

The Luna Kyle knew, despite having a bad personality, was far from being twisted.

'I can't imagine it.'

***

'I didn't realize it would be like this.'

She was twisted.

Besides that, Luna didn't tell him anything about her past self.

She literally treated her past self as a complete dark history.

Seeing her now, he understood why.

Leo sighed softly, looking at Luna kneeling before him with her hands raised.

She was very obedient in front of Leo, whom she had called an inferior species just moments ago.

Her bright, sparkling eyes seemed to say, 'I have no intention of rebelling.'

Seirun and Lunia were at a loss, watching the young Luna being punished.

'Thank goodness the seal wasn't broken when I wasn't around.'

If it had been, this young Luna would have been incredibly conceited.

While Leo looked at Seirun and Lunia, Luna subtly lowered her hands.

Then, when Leo looked back, she raised her hands straight up again as if nothing had happened.

"Put your hands down."

Swish-

At his words, Luna lowered her hands.

And she stared up at Leo's face with eyes that said, 'I'm a good listener.'

Looking at Luna, Leo said.

"This isn't Varhalrun."

"Huh? The High Elves are here, and you say it's not Varhalrun?"

Luna looked at Seirun and Lunia with a puzzled expression.

High Elves are like nobility among humans.

But they have a unique aura.

Elves who are exceptionally beautiful and possess a noble aura even among elves.

High Elves in the Age of Gods typically exuded such an atmosphere.

"They're not High Elves."

"Hmm…"

"And they hate High Elves."

"…"

At Leo's words, suspicion sprouted in Luna's eyes.

A moment later.

Luna asked.

"Then prove it."

"Hey, Seirun."

"Yes, Kyle-nim."

"Say 'High Elves are sons of bitches'."

"High Elves are sons of bitches."

"Say 'Elf King is a son of a bitch' too."

"Elf King is a son of a bitch. Varhalrun is a backward school."

"You don't have to go that far."

At Leo's words, Seirun, without a moment's hesitation, insulted High Elves, the Elf King, and Varhalrun, which was called the elves' holy land.

At this sight, Luna's eyes widened.

In the Age of Gods, making such a statement could lead to execution for blasphemy.

Lunia approached Leo with a worried expression and whispered.

"Well… seeing her call you 'inferior species' makes me think that young Luna was influenced by the ideologies of the Varhalrun elves when she was young… Will she be okay?"

Lunia had experienced the High Elves of Varhalrun.

Knowing how arrogant and self-righteous they were, Lunia worried that young Luna, who seemed to have been indoctrinated by their ideology, might show hostility to this drastic reaction.

"Don't worry. Even if she's young, Luna is still Luna."

At that, Lunia made a puzzled expression.

And soon, Lunia understood Leo's words.

Luna showed no particular reaction to the insults against the High Elves and the Elf King.

'Considering Luna's personality, she must have been a rebel from a young age.'

The elf Luna that Leo knew was a genius mage of unparalleled talent.

An elf born to learn magic by nature.

She wasn't just a genius mage because she was born with an incredible affinity for magic.

She was a great genius mage because she was born with a way of thinking that allowed her to objectively observe, question, research, and explore subjects.

Luna didn't simply accept the prevailing notion of elf society in the Age of Gods that elves were great and superior.

To put it nicely, she was smart; to put it negatively, she was rebellious.

'Well, she was discriminated against from the start, so she probably didn't see the High Elves favorably.'

Luna entered Varhalrun solely on her talent.

In the eyes of the High Elves, Luna was an existence that didn't belong with them.

Having been ostracized, she couldn't assimilate.

Nevertheless, Luna calling Leo an inferior species earlier was simple.

An orphan of unclear origin like Luna, who also possessed heretical tendencies in the eyes of the High Elves?

No matter who Luna was, she wouldn't have survived in Varhalrun.

That's why she pretended to conform.

The Luna whom Leo and Lunia had seen from that time in Varhalrun already had a strong rebellious streak.

This was because her talent had already begun to blossom, and she no longer needed to hide her heretical tendencies in Varhalrun.

Luna, rolling her eyes around, asked Leo.

"Then where is this place?"

"It's a school."

"A school?"

Doubt appeared on Luna's face.

"Yes."

"Is it similar to Varhalrun?"

At Luna's question, Seirun, who was listening nearby, smiled faintly.

"It's insulting to compare it to such a backward school."

"This school also had a strong backward tendency until just a few years ago, didn't it?"

"That's because some damned elves of later generations carelessly corrupted his teachings."

Seirun's face became serious at Leo's comment.

"Why am I here?"

"Hmm."

Leo, pondering how to explain, said.

"This is the future."

"Huh?"

"It's thousands of years in the future from your time."

"…"

Luna blinked her large eyes.

"You got caught in magic and accidentally came to this future."

At Leo's words, suspicion sprouted in Luna's eyes.

Time travel, of all things.

It was absurd.

But Luna didn't state her disbelief outright.

Luna knew well that she was weak.

And she knew better than anyone that in such a situation, she shouldn't speak her mind directly.

It was Luna's survival method from her childhood, when she had to endure contempt.

Leo gave a bitter smile, looking at Luna.

'That's not like Luna.'

It was strange to see Luna, who was always so confident, being so cautious of someone else's gaze, and it made him feel uneasy.

'Look at that. She wants to say "don't talk nonsense" right away, but she's holding it back.'

"You don't believe it?"

Luna, after a moment of internal conflict at Leo's words, carefully nodded her head.

"Yes. It's impossible for magic to interfere with spacetime."

"I know an elf who said there are no limits to magic."

"Wouldn't that be a delusion?"

There are no limits to magic.

That was something Luna used to say constantly.

But it seemed that Luna of this era was not like that.

Seeing her looking somewhat downcast, Leo thought.

'She must have had a lot of emotional hardship.'

While Leo silently looked down at Luna.

Luna had her head bowed deeply.

There are no limits to magic.

There was a time when Luna also thought that.

It was like that when she first encountered magic.

But now, her thoughts had changed.

'Interfering with spacetime… If I said that in Varhalrun, they would laugh at me for being stupid.'

With such thoughts, she couldn't survive in Varhalrun.

Luna's eyes were losing their light, as if dark clouds had gathered in the night sky.

Leo silently watched her looking depressed with her ears drooping, then extended his hand right in front of Luna's nose.

"Huh?"

When Luna made a confused expression.

Flash-

Light flashed from Leo's hand.

"Oh…?"

A dazed gasp escaped Luna's lips.

She couldn't understand what kind of magic it was.

Magic that vastly surpassed Luna's common sense.

But she could tell that the phenomenon, comparable to a miracle, was purely made of magic.

"You… created a flower…?"

Luna looked up at Leo with an incredulous expression.

Leo handed the flower to Luna and said.

"In the future, there's magic like this too."

Magic that reached the realm of creation.

'If so, then time travel wouldn't be impossible either.'

Leo smiled at Luna, who was receiving the flower, lost in thought.

"Do you still think there are limits to magic?"

Looking at Luna's eyes, which were now shining brightly like stars in a clear night sky, Leo thought to himself.

'Yes. That's the look that suits you.'