Chirp— Chirp—
“Ugh.”
Lily tossed and turned beneath the covers and let out a pained groan.
Her head throbbed from a terrible hangover.
“Water…”
“Here.”
As she sat up, clutching her pounding head and muttering, someone beside her handed her a glass of water.
“Ah, thank you, Leo.”
Lily managed a weak smile and gulped down the water.
Gulp— Gulp—
“Pfft?! Kehek?! Cough! Cough!”
Then she choked and broke into a violent coughing fit.
“Wh-why-why-why-why-why is Leo here?!”
At Lily’s flustered question, Leo took a sip from his own glass of water and answered.
“This is my room. Lily-sunbae got completely drunk yesterday and ended up sleeping here instead of going back to her own room.”
At his words, Lily seemed to think for a moment before covering her face with one hand.
“I’ve made a fool of myself. I’m sorry, Leo.”
With her ears turning a rare shade of red, Lily took a deep breath, got out of bed, and spoke.
“Leo, if this ever happens again, please throw me out of your room by force, even if you have to drag me.”
“I wasn’t having any strange thoughts.”
“I know you’re not that kind of person, Leo. What I mean is, it’ll be troublesome if unnecessary rumors start spreading.”
“It would definitely be troublesome for you in many ways, Sunbae.”
“It would be more troublesome for you than for me,” Lily said with a small sigh.
“Leo, you’ve been in the global spotlight since last year. And now you’re a hero. There must be many people who respect and admire you. But on the other hand, there must also be countless people who envy and resent you.”
“I suppose so.”
“Yes. And those people will try to find even the smallest flaw in you. A messy love life is the perfect thing for them to latch onto.”
Lily sighed.
“Of course, if you look through history, there were many lecherous heroes. There were also many heroes who violated moral standards. Just look at the Justice Guild. It’s not exactly a proper organization. People know that. They know that no one is perfect.”
Shwaaa—
Lily walked over to the window and pulled the curtains open.
Morning sunlight poured in.
Standing in the light, Lily narrowed her eyes pleasantly, then turned back around.
“But even so, people want an ideal hero. And right now, in their minds, you’re exactly that kind of hero, Leo.”
“I don’t really care what other people think, so you don’t need to worry.”
“Mm. Your mental fortitude really is impressive, Leo. But it’s also my personal wish that you remain a flawless hero.”
“Why?”
“Because I like you, Leo.”
With the sunlight at her back, Lily smiled brightly.
“I admired you from the very first time I saw you. Even though you’re my hubae, I thought you were amazing. I’ve been your fan since the first moment I saw you.”
“I’m honored.”
“And in that sense, I’ll ask you again, seriously.”
Lily walked up to Leo and knelt before him.
“I want to become your disciple. Please accept me, Leo.”
Lily spoke with a reverent expression.
“…”
He remembered the young elven girl whose eyes had sparkled with hope for a future she had never seen.
He also remembered the human girl whose eyes burned with hatred for the reality before her.
The two disciples born in the darkest of ages had pursued completely different things.
And yet—
Kyle had asked his two disciples that as if he were annoyed.
'Because I want to contribute to this world, even if only a little.'
'I want to devote my life to helping the world.'
'Their personalities are completely different from Velkia’s or Vihar’s.'
“I want to become someone who can contribute to the world.”
'Why do their eyes look so alike?'
An unshakable gaze.
A heart that placed the world before oneself.
Feeling that she resembled Lysinas somehow, Leo opened his mouth.
“I won’t go easy on you.”
“That’s exactly what I wanted!”
“I’ll speak informally to you too.”
“That’s fine! In the first place, Leo… no, Master, you always felt more like an older brother to me.”
Lily, who had been smiling brightly, thought for a moment and then asked an odd question.
“Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be strange for me, the sunbae, to call you, my hubae, ‘Master’ in front of other people?”
“Just act as you always do. Or how about you start speaking informally to me in front of other people too?”
“I can’t do that. Regardless of age, I can’t be careless in how I address someone above me.”
Lily firmly shook her head.
Coming from a military family, she was particularly strict about hierarchy.
“Hmm. If ‘Master’ is too much, should I call you Oppa?”
“Wouldn’t that get us even stranger looks?”
“You’re right, isn’t it?”
Lily thought for a moment, then tossed out another idea.
“Then… Hyung?”
'Why is it that everyone who wants to become my disciple thinks so abnormally?'
Leo pondered seriously.
If Luna had been there, she probably would have said, ‘Because you’re not normal either,’ but Luna was not here.
===
That morning.
Leo and Lily changed into their uniforms and headed to the audience chamber to meet the king.
The king had sent word that the meeting would be postponed until evening because of the aftereffects of the banquet.
Hearing that it had been pushed back not just to the afternoon, but all the way to the evening, Leo was dumbfounded, though in a way, he understood.
'A man who would throw a grand banquet by draining the national treasury while his country is in danger would be capable of that and worse.'
“If you have no intention of seeing us now, then I’ll take it as a refusal of aid and return to Lumene. Whether your nation falls or not is none of my concern.”
After that message was sent, the panicked retainers rushed around like mad and barely managed to arrange an audience that same morning.
“Your Majesty, Sir Leo Plov and Lady Lily Luce have arrived.”
“Let them enter.”
Creeak—
The doors opened.
And with that, Leo and Lily entered the conference hall where matters of state were discussed.
The most eye-catching person there was, of course, King Carnel, seated on the highest throne.
His alcohol-soaked eyes looked at Leo and Lily with obvious displeasure.
“A pleasure to meet you, Sir Plov. Lady Luce. But to seek an audience with me so urgently… before the fatigue from the banquet has even faded. Is there some urgent matter?”
Neither his words nor his attitude suited a king whose country was in crisis.
'He’s the kind of person who thinks it’s only natural for him to stand above everyone else.'
There had been people like that even in the Era of Calamity.
People who did nothing, yet thought it only natural that they enjoy privileges simply because they had been born into a good family.
Of course, their ends were never good.
'If this were an age of peace, I’d just watch quietly.'
When the world was peaceful, the added benefits of one’s bloodline could serve as a kind of protection.
But in a world where law had disappeared, bloodline meant nothing.
And yet they still couldn’t let go of their greed, convinced that they deserved to enjoy more than others.
That was why countless royals and nobles had been slaughtered during the Era of Calamity.
'Though after that, plenty of talented bastards still managed to seize power.'
When Lysinas ruled Guardslone, she had governed the city thoroughly based on ability.
'Lysinas not only had administrative talent, but her eye for people was terrifyingly sharp.'
In truth, Lysinas’s abilities had greatly influenced not just the subjugation of Erebos, but also their ability to hold off Tartarus’s invasion until the very end.
Leo watched with narrowed eyes.
Lily looked as though she might burst out with a remark at any moment, but she endured it for Leo’s sake.
Leo spoke first.
“Is there a reason the Justice Guild is trying to destroy the Kingdom of Carnel?”
“I don’t know either. Why a guild that prattles on about justice would side with Pettiman, a petty nation with no pedigree, instead of Carnel, which boasts a proud history and tradition.”
He scoffed.
“Still, there must be some reason, right?”
“Hmph. Seeing how they’ve been digging up heroes’ graves lately, they must be after the legacy of the Kingdom of Carnel.”
“Is there something in Carnel that the Justice Guild would covet? And what does that have to do with digging up heroes’ graves?”
At Leo’s question, King Carnel flinched, then grabbed his head.
“Ugh— my head hurts too much. Attendant!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
A servant standing behind him bowed.
“My head is pounding from all the alcohol!”
“Yes. I’ll bring food and drink that are good for a hangover right away.”
'He has no intention of talking.'
Leo narrowed his eyes.
'So it really was the Justice Guild digging up the heroes’ graves?'
He still didn’t know the reason.
But from what King Carnel had just said, it was clear that the Justice Guild was desecrating a hero’s grave in this country.
'Could it be connected to that damned Death King?'
He had already figured out that the Justice Guild was far from a normal organization.
And no one was better at making use of organizations like that than the Death King.
“In any case, what matters now is that the Justice Guild has intervened in the war without cause and is threatening our kingdom. I am formally requesting Lumene’s mediation.”
As he watched King Carnel playing dumb, the corner of Leo’s mouth curled up.
After a brief exchange, Leo left the audience chamber and clenched his left hand.
Crack—
The sound of bones grinding echoed eerily from his left hand.
'Should I make him talk?'
Getting that incompetent king to talk would be easy.
After the Hero Record had been created, Vihar had torn out and kept the pages that described Kyle’s activities in the shadows.
Kyle’s record as a shadow also contained accounts of unspeakably cruel torture.
That was why Vihar had torn out and preserved that part of Kyle’s Hero Record.
She did not want her master to be depicted badly to future generations.
Leo walked down the corridor, murderous thoughts filling his mind.
Beside him, Lily was also deep in thought.
“It feels like he’s hiding something. What could it be?”
“If it’s about that matter, would it be all right if I explained?”
At the voice from behind them, Leo and Lily turned around.
A boy who looked to be in his late teens stood there.
His eyes were full of intelligence.
But his face was dark with shadow.
“Who are you?”
When Lily tilted her head and asked, he introduced himself.
“My name is Jeremin Carnel. I am the crown prince of this nation.”
After offering a polite greeting, Jeremin spoke in a serious tone.
“There is something urgent I need to discuss with the two of you. Could you spare me some time?”
The place Jeremin led them to was outside the royal palace.
They rode there in a carriage.
Along the way, Lily peeked through the curtain at the scenery outside.
Whenever the people of the capital saw the royal crest on the carriage, they hurriedly bowed their heads.
But their gazes were anything but friendly.
Without exception, the people of the capital looked shabby.
“It seems the country is in serious trouble.”
At Lily’s remark, Jeremin let out a deep sigh.
“It can’t be helped. It pains me to say this, but… my father and the ministers become more tyrannical by the day.”
Bitterness settled over Jeremin’s face.
“They neglect state affairs and indulge in luxury. When the Kingdom of Pettiman launched a large-scale invasion, they were too anxious to even hold banquets, but… the moment they heard the news about you two yesterday, it was as if they were making up for all the time they had restrained themselves…”
Jeremin’s face twisted.
He seemed to sincerely loathe both his father and the ministers.
“So what was it you wanted to explain?”
At Leo’s question, Jeremin replied,
“The reason the Justice Guild is targeting our kingdom. And it’s something that would tempt Lumene as well.”
“What is it?”
“What the Justice Guild seeks is the tomb of the Nether Knight. They heard that it lies dormant somewhere within our kingdom, and that is what they are after.”
“The tomb of the Nether Knight? Isn’t that something that only exists in legends?”
Lily tilted her head.
Jeremin shook his head.
“No. It is a secret that has been passed down through the royal family for generations, so it is certain. Though we do not know its exact location.”
At Jeremin’s words, Leo fell into thought.
'The Nether Knight.'
Leo knew of this hero as well.
And he had also heard of the countless hero relics said to have been left behind by him.
'Wasn’t it said that the Nether Knight buried not only the relics of his followers, but also the relics of those he defeated?'
The Nether Knight had many epithets besides that one.
An example one was the Hero Emperor.
Another famous epithet was—
'The Conqueror.'
A name earned by conquering countless lands and defeating countless heroes.
It was said that all the relics wielded by those heroes had been buried within his own tomb.
Finding them would certainly be of great help to Lumene.
'Not just Lumene. The other races too.'
The heroes who had fallen at the hands of the Nether Knight had not been human alone.
“Even if it’s a secret passed down through the royal family, if you don’t know the exact location, can you really be sure it’s true? Don’t all royal families have legends like that?”
As Lily tilted her head, Jeremin smiled.
“You need not worry about that. The key to opening the tomb’s treasury has definitely been passed down through our royal family.”
“Hmm.”
At Jeremin’s words, Lily crossed her arms and sank into thought.
Meanwhile, the carriage left the capital and stopped in front of a large old training ground on the outskirts.
“This place is?”
“The Graveyard of the Vanquished.”
“The Graveyard of the Vanquished?”
Lily’s eyes widened, and Jeremin gave a bitter smile.
“Yes. It is said to be the place where the bodies of the heroes defeated by the Nether Knight were thrown long ago. Well, it’s only a legend, of course.”
“Why did you bring us here?”
Leo asked as he stepped out of the carriage, and Jeremin answered,
“To make a deal. For now, please follow me.”
Jeremin took the lead.
Lily followed behind him.
Just as Leo, after glancing around, was about to take a step—
[Listen carefully, Kyle.]
A voice from behind him, one so familiar that it made him freeze in place.
[To the voices of the Spirits.]
Startled out of his mind, he spun around without thinking.
“Lysinas?”
Swoooosh—
There was no answer to Leo’s call.
Only the empty scenery met his eyes.
***
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