Chapter 532

Shaking pupils.

Tightly pursed lips.

Clenched fists.

Eiran’s face, visible in the darkness, was filled with anxiety.

“When was the last time you slept properly?”

“...A week ago.”

At Eiran’s answer, Leo let out a deep sigh.

He stood up and turned on the Mana Stone Lamp on one side of the tent.

Leo grabbed a towel hanging nearby and began drying Eiran’s damp hair.

“Ah, I can do it...”

“Stay still.”

Speaking nonchalantly, Leo roughly dried her hair for her.

Once her hair was somewhat dry, Leo walked over to his sleeping bag, sat down, and asked,

“Are you that worried about Velkia?”

At Leo’s question, Eiran lowered her head deeply.

“I know she has to be stopped,” Eiran said softly.

“But I have no idea what to say to her, or how to stop her.”

Eiran gripped her own arms as if hugging herself, her body trembling.

“That’s why I’m so scared. Scared that she might not be the Velkia I knew. Scared that she might never wake up. Scared that she might hurt you, Leo-nim.”

For Eiran, her mind could not help but be in chaos.

The fall of the person who was both her idol and her goal.

And the fear that one person she respected might harm another person she respected.

The anxiety filling her mind had made sleep impossible.

For the past week, she had tried to pull herself together.

But she had failed.

That was why she had sought out Leo.

Watching Eiran, Leo sighed deeply again.

'It’s only natural that this is hard for her.'

For Eiran, the situation must have been overwhelming to the point of despair.

Calling her weak would be unfair. The pressure of the current situation was simply too immense.

It was a little different from Lunia’s or Chen Xia’s situation.

How would Chen Xia react if she had to strike down Leo after he was resurrected as an Undead?

What if Lunia had to strike down Luna?

'This is the same situation for Eiran.'

It was far too much pressure for Eiran, who was still a young girl, to handle.

Leo looked at Eiran in silence.

'What should I say to her?'

Should he tell her that he would be the one to defeat Velkia, and that he himself would not fall?

'No words will be a comfort in this situation.'

He could not rashly say that Velkia would return to her original self, either.

Eiran knew better than anyone that such a thing was nearly impossible.

Anxiety wore down the spirit.

The silence and darkness that came with the night must have made Eiran even more afraid.

Yet she could not talk about this to Lunia or Chen Xia.

Though they did not show it for Eiran’s sake, those two were just as anxious about the current situation.

She could not bring herself to burden them while they were trying their best to keep their composure.

Eiran had tried to overcome it on her own, but in the end, she could not defeat her anxious heart and had come to Leo.

The only person she could rely on in this situation.

Trembling, Eiran looked up and met Leo’s red eyes.

“Is it hard?”

At Leo’s question, Eiran gritted her teeth and tried to steady her heart.

'I shouldn’t rely on Leo-nim either.'

Eiran knew.

She knew that Leo did not look at her as just another Hero Candidate.

As long as Leo was a Great Hero...

In the future, Leo would surely fight a decisive battle against Erebos and Tartarus.

And Leo had chosen Eiran as a Hero to fight on that battlefield.

'That’s why I can’t act like a child even more.'

If she relied on Leo every time things got hard, she would eventually become nothing more than a burden.

'I have to overcome this alone.'

Eiran forced a smile.

“It’s been hard, but I’ll try to pull through...”

“If it’s hard, just sleep here.”

“Yes?”

“You don’t need to force yourself to endure and hold it all in.”

“B-but I can’t keep relying on you forever, Leo-nim...”

“You can’t. But it’s okay for now.”

Leo said calmly.

“Helping when things are hard is what adults do. So? Should I tell you one of those old stories you like?”

At those words, Eiran wore a slightly dazed expression before she accidentally let out a “Pfft!” and burst into laughter.

“Leo-nim, I’m not a total child, you know.”

“You don’t want to hear it?”

“No, I still want to hear it.”

Eiran replied in a slightly brighter voice.

Looking at her, Leo pulled another spare sleeping bag out of his Subspace.

It was just as Eiran was getting into the sleeping bag.

“Hooo~ Looks like nothing scandalous is happening.”

“Hieek?!”

Startled by the voice coming from behind her, Eiran spun around.

Chen Xia stood there, crouching down and looking at Eiran through narrowed eyes.

“X-Xia-yang. How long have you been there?”

“From the very beginning.”

Chen Xia gave a playful smile.

“You never know what might happen when a man and a woman are together at night, right?”

“Do I look like that kind of guy to you?”

As Leo clicked his tongue, Chen Xia shook her head.

“I trust Leo-nim. The one I don’t trust is Miss Eiran.”

At that, Eiran’s eyes widened, and she asked with teary eyes,

“T-That’s too much! No matter what my taste in books is, I wouldn’t do anything strange! Do I look like an Elf who would sneak into Leo’s tent late at night to seduce him?”

“Yes, you look exactly like an Elf who would do that.”

Eiran looked ready to cry at the answer that came without a moment’s hesitation.

“Can I sleep here too?”

“Why you?”

“It would be bad if Miss Eiran tried to pounce on Leo-nim.”

“I-I told you, I’m not that kind of Elf!”

Eiran wailed and grabbed Chen Xia, shaking her frantically.

Watching them, Leo burst into laughter.

“This reminds me of the old days.”

Vihar used to tease Velkia like that quite often.

Looking at the descendants of his disciples, Leo began to speak as he recalled memories of the past.

“Shall I tell you about the first time I met Velkia and Vihar?”

At those words, Eiran and Chen Xia, who had been bickering, sat down in front of Leo.

Time passed as they listened to the stories of their ancestors.

===

Early dawn.

The blizzard had stopped before they knew it.

Lunia, waking from her sleep, took a deep breath.

'I wonder if Eiran is okay.'

As her close friend, Lunia also knew that Eiran was not in a good state.

'I want to cheer her up somehow.'

But Lunia could not rashly comfort Eiran either.

Lunia also sincerely respected the ancestor of the Lunda Family.

The ancestor who had worked so hard to pass down the Flame of Holy Fire to future generations had always been one of her points of pride.

What if such an ancestor was resurrected as an Undead due to the Death King’s schemes?

She could not even imagine how it would feel.

'If I bring it up carelessly, I might hurt her even more.'

Lunia took a deep breath and opened her sleeping bag.

Zip—!

After unzipping it and sitting up, Lunia’s expression turned to one of bewilderment.

“Eiran? Chen Xia?”

The two of them had vanished without a trace.

As Lunia looked confused, voices came from outside the tent.

“Can’t we stay a bit longer?”

'Ah.'

Lunia sighed in relief, realizing nothing serious had happened overnight.

And the voice that followed was Eiran’s, sounding much brighter.

As Lunia was getting up, her ears perked at the voices that followed.

“No. Leo-nim needs to sleep too.”

“Can’t we just sleep together with Leo-nim?”

“I said no. We were together all night. Leo-nim couldn’t sleep because of us, so we should let him rest, even if it’s just for a little bit.”

“Leo-nim was the one who kept us awake. After he did all that for us, how could we sleep?”

“Mm... That’s true. It certainly was an enjoyable time.”

Lunia froze solid at the conversation coming from outside.

The tent flap opened, and Eiran and Chen Xia walked in.

Finding Lunia standing frozen with her mouth agape, Eiran’s eyes went round.

“Miss Lunia, you’re up early.”

“U-Uh, yeah... Eiran, you seem to be feeling better?”

“Yes! I’m sorry for making you worry, Miss Lunia.”

Lunia gave an awkward smile as she looked at Eiran’s apologetic face.

“N-No, it’s fine. By the way... are you coming from Leo-nim’s tent?”

“Yes. It’s embarrassing, but I was comforted by Leo-nim all night long. Thanks to that, I was able to forget a lot of my worries and anxieties.”

“Even though Leo-nim couldn’t sleep because of Miss Eiran’s spoiled behavior.”

“Xia-yang, you were there too!”

Eiran grumbled in a pouting voice.

Hearing their conversation, Lunia’s voice began to tremble violently.

“Y-Y-Y-You! You! Do you two realize what you just did?!”

“Yes? Well, being with Leo-nim all night... Ah, should we have taken Miss Lunia along instead of leaving you alone? I’m sorry! I didn’t think of it... Let’s definitely go together next time.”

As Eiran looked genuinely sorry, Lunia, whose face had turned as red as her hair, began to have a fit.

“I’m talking about you two! You’re students!”

“Miss Lunia?”

“What on earth were you students doing?! Leo-nim! No matter how much of an adult he is! No! That’s not even the problem! Three? The threeee of youuu?! All night long?! And me too next time?!”

“M-Miss Lunia? What’s wrong? P-Please calm down!”

“Calm down? What’s wrong? You two are top students of Seiren and Lumene! Your conduct should be proper! Do you think it makes sense to do something like that and then act like you don’t know what the problem is?!”

Looking at Lunia, who was glaring with a beet-red face, Eiran spoke with a terrified look.

“W-We just listened to old stories from Leo-nim all night?!”

“No matter how many of those books you’ve read... Huh?!”

Lunia, who had been shouting, suddenly looked flustered.

And a moment later.

With her face turning slightly pale, her shoulders began to tremble.

“Aah, so that’s what you were thinking.”

Chen Xia smiled brightly.

“Miss Lunia has quite the imagination. I never dreamed you’d think of it that way.”

“N-No, I mean. I... that is...”

Watching Lunia break into a cold sweat, Eiran realized the situation, and her eyes went wide.

Then her eyes narrowed.

“Miss Lunia.”

“S-Sorry. I mean, I!”

“You’re a pervert.”

“...”

At those words, Lunia hung her head low.

Her shoulders trembled for a moment before she snapped again and lunged at Eiran.

“This is all because you’re always reading those weird things!”

“Why is that my fault?! It’s your head that’s weird, Miss Lunia!”

“Aaaah! I don’t know! It’s your fault! I said it’s your fault!”

Chen Xia smiled as she watched the two Elves barking at each other.

“Shh, Leo-nim will hear everything.”

At that, the two voices were cut short instantly.

Chen Xia smiled and approached Lunia.

“I’m glad the misunderstanding is cleared up.”

“Y-Yeah.”

“But I’m curious. Just how far did your imagination go?”

Lunia’s shoulders began to tremble again.

She really wanted to pull on that smiling mouth.

“Tell me. Hmm?”

'This girl is surprisingly mean.'

Watching Chen Xia tease her with a beaming face, Lunia had no choice but to cover her face with her hands.

***