Chapter 531

Lunia looked at Leo sitting across from her, her eyes tense.

Eiran poured black tea into Lunia’s cup with a puzzled expression.

“Miss Lunia, are you feeling unwell?”

“What? No, I’m fine. Why?”

“You seem uncomfortable for some reason. It looks like you’re breaking out in a cold sweat.”

“Oh, that?”

Lunia glanced sideways at Leo with an awkward expression.

The moment her eyes met Leo’s, she flinched and lowered her head.

Watching Lunia, Chen Xia, who stood beside Leo, blinked her large eyes a few times before grinning.

“I thought Miss Lunia was the reckless type, but she’s surprisingly a model student.”

“What do you mean reckless? Reckless!”

As Lunia glared at Chen Xia, Eiran placed a finger on her chin, looked up at the ceiling for a moment, then smiled brightly.

“Rather than reckless, it’s more like she’s a thug.”

“What? Why am I a thug?”

“Hmm... Then a delinquent student?”

When Chen Xia tilted her head, Eiran smiled brightly as if in agreement.

“You two!”

Lunia clenched her fists and leaped from her seat, but the moment her eyes met Leo’s, she startled and sat back down.

“I-I’m sorry for being so loud... No, I mean! I’m sorry.”

After saying that, she glanced at him sheepishly and muttered.

“...-nim.”

Watching Lunia, Eiran approached Chen Xia and whispered.

“Why is Miss Lunia walking on eggshells so much?”

“Isn’t it because of how she treated Leo-nim until now?”

“Certainly.”

“...”

Lunia squeezed her eyes shut.

It was true that her conscience pricked her for how she had acted toward Leo according to her usual personality.

But more than that...

'You two are the strange ones for being so calm!'

Lunia screamed internally.

He wasn’t just anyone. He was a Great Hero.

And among them, he was the Hero of the Beginning, who had defeated Erebos as the last one standing.

'It’s only natural to be self-conscious!'

It seemed all the students from Lumene who knew Leo’s identity were acting nonchalantly.

'What on earth is wrong with the mindsets of those Lumene kids? Has Eiran been influenced by them too?'

She had certainly changed a little after recently going to Lumene as an exchange student.

As Lunia watched Eiran with complicated eyes, Leo spoke.

“Eiran, Lunia. I have something to tell you.”

“What is it, Leo-nim?”

Eiran, sitting beside Lunia, looked puzzled.

Lunia, who was carefully observing Leo’s mood, realized something and asked just in case.

“Leo-nim. Do you happen to know who attacked the principal?”

At Lunia’s question, Eiran’s expression changed instantly.

“Is that true?”

Lunia looked at Eiran with a slightly flustered expression.

Given the situation, it was only natural for Eiran to be angry.

Even so, Lunia had never heard such a cold voice from Eiran before.

While Lunia was surprised by that unfamiliar side of her, Eiran’s eyes sharpened.

“Who is the culprit?”

Her aura was so sharp that she seemed ready to cut someone down at any moment.

Seeing her like that, Leo closed his eyes and took a breath.

“Leo-nim.”

Chen Xia called out, sounding worried.

Leo opened his eyes, looked at Chen Xia, and smiled.

“It’s okay.”

He knew what Chen Xia was worried about.

And Chen Xia probably knew as well.

What Velkia meant to Eiran.

'That’s exactly why I have to tell her.'

At first, Leo had hesitated to tell Eiran the truth.

But Lune had said this to Leo while he was worrying.

'Eiran is the successor of the Ersar family.'

It meant that Eiran had the right to know everything and that she would not crumble even if she learned the truth.

In the first place, if it had not been for Leo, Lune would have told Eiran himself.

“It’s as Lunia said, Eiran. I know who struck down your grandfather.”

“Who is it?”

Eiran’s eyes flashed eerily.

Lunia’s eyes also turned cold.

Looking at the two Elves, Leo opened his mouth.

“Velkia.”

At the sudden name, Eiran and Lunia looked confused.

Looking at the two of them, Leo continued.

“The culprit behind the incident is my disciple and... Eiran, your ancestor, Velkia.”

Eiran’s face froze.

A moment later, her complexion began to pale.

Watching her, Leo spoke.

“Tonight, I plan to leave to find Velkia.”

At Leo’s words, Chen Xia said,

“Will we be able to find Lady Velkia in this vast northern part of the continent?”

Looking at Chen Xia, who sounded somewhat worried, Leo said,

“I’ve figured out which direction Velkia headed.”

At those words, Chen Xia looked a little surprised.

But she soon understood.

Before coming to the Ersar family, Leo and Chen Xia had stopped by the scene of the incident.

There had been countless clues at the scene.

For someone like Leo, finding clues about where Velkia had gone from that place would not have been difficult.

'Because Leo-nim is the First Shadow.'

Shadows had to be skilled in Pursuit Art.

There was no way Leo could not do it.

Chen Xia knew well that in that field, Leo had reached a realm far beyond her own.

“I won’t tell you to follow me. It’s dangerous.”

At Leo’s words, Lunia asked carefully in a heavy voice.

“Leo-nim, is it that even you can’t defeat Lady Velkia?”

“I can’t guarantee it. Maybe if it were when I was Kyle, but in terms of pure power, Velkia far surpasses my current self.”

Leo spoke calmly.

“And my words probably won’t reach the current Velkia. You could lose your lives.”

At those words, Chen Xia said,

“Even if you try to stop me, I will follow you, Leo-nim. Especially if it’s dangerous.”

“I’m going too. Lady Luna would have definitely worried about Lady Velkia.”

Lunia spoke with resolve in her voice.

“I don’t know if I’ll be of any help, but I definitely want to help persuade Lady Velkia.”

Hearing the two of them, Leo nodded and then looked at Eiran.

“I...”

Eiran’s lips trembled.

After looking down for a moment, Eiran spoke with strength.

“I want to see Lady Velkia.”

The image of Velkia she had met in the Hero Record came to mind.

She still did not want to believe it.

That Velkia had fallen and become an Undead?

That she had become a being burning with hatred?

But she knew all too well that Leo would not lie about something like this.

It was a shock.

Even so, she did not want to look away.

“I want to meet her and talk.”

She did not know what they should talk about.

Her mind had gone blank from the shock.

She was so confused that she could not even tell why she wanted to meet Velkia herself.

She simply felt that she had to stop her somehow.

Eiran bit her lip.

Looking at the three girls, Leo said,

“We leave as soon as preparations are finished.”

With those words, Leo left the room.

The three girls bit their lips at the atmosphere, which was clearly different from usual.

It was certain that a difficult journey lay ahead.

===

A week had passed since Leo’s group began chasing Velkia.

Leo followed the trail by tracing the lingering scent of Velkia’s Mana as he remembered it.

However, after a week, even those traces of Mana were cut off.

Whoosh—!

Leo let out a deep sigh in the forest where a blizzard raged.

“This is troublesome.”

No matter how great Leo was, he could not create traces that had already disappeared.

“It looks like we’ll have to spend the night in this forest for now.”

“Right.”

Leo nodded at Chen Xia’s words.

It was already late.

There was nothing to gain from moving any farther.

The group quickly prepared to sleep.

Lunia took a tent from her Subspace.

On the northern continent, the cold continent, the extreme cold arrived earlier than in other regions.

And that extreme cold was fierce.

Even for trained Hero Candidates, sleeping while enduring a blizzard was an ordeal.

That was why Seiren thoroughly taught such camping preparations from the first year.

Chen Xia, who entered the tent, muttered in wonder.

“Even so, I’m certainly not used to this. To think that refined Elves are so accustomed to camping.”

“Then what? Did you think we’d build a mansion with magic every time we slept outside?”

“Yes. If it’s Seiren, I feel like they might do that and more.”

Seeing Chen Xia nod with a serious voice, Lunia sighed.

“I can tell exactly what the kids from other schools think of us.”

Clicking her tongue, Lunia took off her coat in a corner of the tent.

Whoosh—!

As Lunia used magic, the inside of the tent grew warm.

The inside of the tent was spacious, so there was no great difficulty in four people sleeping there.

Lunia set a round table she took from her Subspace in the middle of the tent and said,

“Everyone, gather around for a moment.”

At those words, Leo, Chen Xia, and Eiran gathered near Lunia.

Lunia spread a map of the northern continent on the round table and said,

“First, this is the route we’ve taken so far.”

All the paths they had traveled over the past week since leaving Elsalbekia were recorded on the map.

“We’ve been wandering aimlessly.”

“Since she probably isn’t in a normal state.”

When the path they had taken while chasing Velkia was organized, it looked as if they had wandered here and there without finding a direction.

At Leo’s words, Lunia nodded.

“Right. Lady Velkia doesn’t know the current era. And even so, she hasn’t shown herself in front of other people.”

There were villages, large and small, along the path they had taken over the past week.

However, all they heard from those villages was that not a single outsider had appeared.

“This is just my opinion, but even if Lady Velkia has become an Undead, Lady Velkia is still Lady Velkia. She would never harm innocent people. So it’s clear she only intends to strike down her targets.”

Lunia’s red eyes moved toward the map.

“Then isn’t there a high probability that she headed here?”

Lunia pointed to one spot on the map with her hand.

Not far from where the group currently was, there was a small city-state called Eldon.

Seeing it, Chen Xia said,

“It’s the place where the Pureblood Society’s power is strongest in the North.”

“Yes, exactly.”

Lunia grimaced.

Eldon was a country steeped in Pureblood Doctrine, from its council down to its citizens.

To put it nicely, they had strong pride in their race. To put it bluntly, they were typical Elves who were completely stubborn and close-minded.

That was why even Lunia was not pleased to set foot there.

“So I was wondering what you’d think about investigating this place. How about it?”

Lunia spoke carefully while watching Leo’s reaction.

At those words, Leo, who had been listening to her explanation, nodded.

It was a conclusion Lunia could make precisely because she knew the situation of the northern continent well.

“Good idea. Excellent.”

At those words, Lunia smiled broadly.

Their destination was decided.

Afterward, they also discussed what to do after entering Eldon.

However, throughout the conversation, Eiran only wore a vacant expression.

Lunia and Chen Xia looked at Eiran with concern.

“Eiran, are you really okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

Eiran nodded with a voice that sounded somewhat weak.

She had been in that state all week.

Eiran lowered her head and bit her lip.

===

Whoosh—!

The sound of the raging blizzard echoed inside the tent.

The tent was dark.

Outside was a dark night with a blizzard, and there was not even any light inside the tent.

However, Leo lay inside his sleeping bag with his eyes open.

Even in the darkness, Leo could clearly see the dagger held in his hand.

'Vihar.'

What Leo held was none other than Vihar’s dagger.

'How can I get that damn brat to listen?'

In the pitch-black darkness, he threw out a question that would never reach his other disciple.

'And can you forgive Velkia?'

The reason Vihar lost her life was the wounds she had sustained in her battle with Velkia.

Vihar had also suddenly lost her life because of Velkia’s rampage.

Vihar had also closed her eyes without being able to fully convey her will to her children.

If Vihar had lived a little longer, the lives of her descendants might have been a bit different.

What thoughts had Vihar held as she closed her eyes?

'She must have resented Velkia.'

It was when he squeezed his eyes shut and tightened his grip on the dagger in his hand.

Whoosh— Crunch— Crunch—

The sound of someone stepping on snow reached Leo’s sensitive hearing.

Rustle— Whoosh—!

Along with the sound of the tent entrance carefully opening, the fierce blizzard rushed in.

Step— Step—

The person who entered the tent approached Leo with careful footsteps.

Soon, the visitor spoke in a trembling voice.

“Leo-nim... are you asleep?”

The one who visited Leo’s tent in the middle of the night was none other than Eiran.

“Can’t you sleep?”

“Yes.”

Eiran, Lunia, and Chen Xia shared one tent, while Leo used a small tent alone.

Since they had to wash and change clothes, separating the spaces was only natural.

In the darkness, Leo looked at Eiran.

Perhaps because she had come through the blizzard in her pajamas in this cold, her clothes were wet.

On top of that, her body was trembling from the freezing weather.

“Wait a moment. I’ll boil some warm tea for you.”

“I’m fine without tea.”

Eiran replied in a trembling voice and shook her head.

“Just...”

Eiran closed the distance between herself and Leo.

“Could I sleep here with you?”

***