Chapter 131

Chapter 131. Summer Vacation (3)

The bumpy off-road.

A high-end magic carriage, which looked like it could easily cost hundreds of thousands of gold, was gliding down the road.

Juliet had brought the carriage, and while I had described it as “sleek,” it wasn’t one of those sporty magic carriages that were popular among the Republic’s youth.

The carriage Juliet brought was a high-end sedan, often referred to as the “boss’s car.”

With leather seats so soft they felt like they’d melt your body and a spacious backseat, it was a model favored by the Republic’s wealthy.

*Thud!*

“Ugh.”

No matter how good the magic carriage was, it was hard to feel comfortable on such rough terrain.

Especially when four people—Camila, Iris, me, and Yuren—were crammed into the backseat in that order.

“Are you okay, Dale?”

“Ah, yeah.”

“Don’t sit so uncomfortably. You can move closer to me.”

“Well…”

I awkwardly smiled as I sat next to Iris, noticing Camila glaring at me with a look that said, “Just try moving closer to the Saintess.”

“Come on, Dale, move closer to me. We’re both ‘men,’ right?”

Yuren grinned and pulled my arm.

“Oh my~ What does it matter if you’re a man or a woman in this situation? Dale, you’d be much more comfortable moving closer to me.”

“Hahaha. Iris, you’re quite bold for a Saintess.”

“Yuren, you’re the one saying strange things. From what I’ve heard, men don’t like sitting too close to each other, even if they’re friends.”

The exchanged glances between Iris and Yuren.

As I was sandwiched between them, the intense battle of nerves between the two (?) continued.

“…Brother.”

Berald, sitting in the passenger seat, turned his head.

“Brother, do you want to sit in the passenger seat?”

“If you sit in the back, it’ll explode.”

It was already cramped enough.

“Ugh… Sorry. If I’d known it’d be like this, I would’ve brought a bigger carriage.”

Juliet, who was driving, glanced at the rearview mirror and gave an awkward smile.

“No, I’m just grateful you’re giving us a ride.”

“By the way, why are you heading to Iron Canyon?”

“Well… for some training camp or something.”

“…Right at the start of summer vacation?”

Juliet shook her head with a look of disbelief.

“Dale, you’re surprisingly diligent, unlike your grades.”

“Shut up, man.”

“Hahaha, just kidding.”

Juliet let out a light laugh.

‘Juliet joking with me…’

It definitely felt like we’d grown closer since I handed him that money last time.

“By the way, have you heard the rumor?”

“What rumor?”

“The rumor that the ‘Legacy of the Iron Fist’ is buried in Iron Canyon.”

“Ah…”

Well, it was a pretty famous rumor, so I knew about it.

‘Though it’s just a baseless rumor.’

The ruins we were heading to in Iron Canyon were the first ruins my party—Yuren, Berald, Iris, and Sophia—had conquered in my past life.

Back then, when we discovered the hidden ruins, Berald and I had made a big fuss, thinking we’d finally found the Legacy of the Iron Fist, but the ruins were empty except for a guardian golem.

‘Still, defeating the guardian golem inside the ruins will give us high-grade magic stones.’

Of course, the guardian golem here was on a completely different level from the one we fought during the final evaluation, but since we were here for training anyway, it was a win-win.

“The Legacy of the Iron Fist…”

Berald, sitting in the passenger seat, muttered softly.

Juliet turned his head toward Berald and asked.

“By the way, Berald… Junior?”

“Haha. Just call me Berald.”

“Ah, yeah. I’ll do that.”

“What were you about to ask?”

“The ‘Ryu’ family is related to the Iron Fist Ryu Jin-seong, right?”

“Well, yes.”

The ‘Ryu’ family, one of the core powerhouses of the Republic, was descended from Ryu Jin-hyuk, the younger brother of Ryu Jin-seong, the Iron Fist.

Unlike his older brother, who had a natural talent for martial arts, Ryu Jin-hyuk had a special talent for magic.

His talent was passed down through the bloodline, and now the Ryu family held the honor of being the Republic’s top magic family.

“Then do you know anything about the Legacy of the Iron Fist?”

Juliet, who seemed very interested in such rumors, asked with sparkling eyes.

“Haha. Not necessarily.”

Berald shook his head with a bitter smile.

“From what I heard as a child, the relationship between Ryu Jin-seong and our ancestor wasn’t very good.”

“Ryu Jin-seong and Ryu Jin-hyuk didn’t get along? But they were brothers, right?”

“Just because they’re brothers doesn’t mean they have to get along, right?”

“Ah, that’s true.”

Even though they were connected by blood… or perhaps because they were connected by blood, it wasn’t uncommon for brothers to drift apart.

“Anyway. So, our ancestor deliberately kept his distance from Ryu Jin-seong.”

“I see.”

“Since Ryu Jin-seong didn’t have any children… with his only blood relative estranged, the ‘Legacy of the Iron Fist’ naturally faded into history.”

“So that’s why no one’s found it in the past 500 years.”

Juliet made a slightly disappointed expression.

I chuckled as I looked at Juliet.

“You’re really interested in this stuff, huh?”

“Eh? No, why… It’s the legacy of the Five Great Heroes… Of course, I’d be interested in heroes, right?”

“Well, that’s true.”

Especially since, unlike the other heroes, Ryu Jin-seong didn’t leave his legacy to anyone, so it was natural for people to be curious about it.

‘Thinking about it now, I’m not even sure if there really was a legacy.’

Even when I wandered the continent for thousands of years, searching for the Primordial Flame, I never found the Legacy of the Iron Fist.

‘Well, the Legacy of the Iron Fist isn’t what’s important right now.’

What’s important is helping the party members grow through combat and finding the ‘offering’ that can cure Berald’s father.

That’s far more important than chasing after a legacy that might not even exist.

“This is the entrance to Iron Canyon… I don’t think we can go any further by carriage.”

After driving for about half a day, we arrived at the canyon entrance.

Juliet stopped the carriage, looking at the jagged rocks visible inside the canyon.

“This is far enough. Thanks for the ride.”

“Hehe. It’s nothing. So, you’re all going to do some training camp together now?”

“Yeah.”

Juliet looked at us with a hint of envy, but it was hard to invite him to join.

‘If the gap in skill between party members is too big, it can actually be harmful.’

Juliet wasn’t someone who’d fall behind easily, but that was only by the standards of an ‘average candidate.’

Yuren, Iris, Berald, and even Camila.

They were already far beyond the level of average candidates, to the point where even active heroes would struggle to keep up with them.

“Then I’ll be on my way! Let me know if you need anything else!”

“Alright. Be careful on your way back.”

“Ah, let me know when the training camp is over. I’ll come pick you up then.”

Juliet grinned and put on his sunglasses.

“Thank you, Juliet.”

Iris bowed her head slightly toward Juliet.

Perhaps he hadn’t expected to receive thanks from the Saintess.

Juliet looked flustered and shook his head.

“Ah, no. It’s just a favor for a friend…”

“Hmm. Is that really the only reason?”

Iris smirked as she watched Juliet, who was still flustered.

“…Huh? What do you mean, ‘the only reason’?”

“Hehe. The reason Juliet is so eager to help us…”

Iris glanced at Berald and leaned closer to Juliet.

“It’s because of Berald… right?”

“…What?”

“Haha. You said it before, didn’t you? That Juliet has feelings for… a certain someone.”

“Ah.”

Juliet’s face instantly turned pale.

“N-no! I’m not…!”

Before he could even finish his excuse, Iris patted his shoulder and gave him a thumbs-up.

“Hang in there! I’ll support your love, Juliet!”

With a bright smile, Iris turned and walked away.

“…Ugh.”

Left alone, Juliet hung his head low, his fists trembling.

“No… I’m not… into that…”

It was summer.

* * *

Iron Canyon, where Ryu Jin-seong, the Iron Fist, was said to have spent his later years, was notorious for its rugged terrain and maze-like, complex paths.

Not only were there fierce wild monsters hiding everywhere, but the canyon was also filled with poisonous plants and insects that could be fatal even to heroes.

*Crash!*

“Phew. Now I understand why this place is called a forbidden zone among heroes.”

Yuren quickly pulled himself out of the ground, which had collapsed as if it were a trap, and let out a low sigh.

I walked ahead, avoiding the collapsed ground, and looked back at the tired faces of my party members.

“We’re almost at the ruins, so hang in there a little longer.”

“By the way, Brother, how did you know there were ruins in a place like this?”

“Yeah. I’ve never even heard of ruins being in Iron Canyon before.”

Berald and Yuren looked at me with questioning eyes.

“Remember when I went outside the school with Professor Elisha last time?”

“Ah, yeah. After the final evaluation, right?”

“Yeah. That’s when I got information about hidden ruins in Iron Canyon.”

In reality, it was because of my memories from my past life that I knew the location of the ruins.

But I couldn’t tell my companions the whole truth yet.

“Hmm… Is that so?”

Yuren frowned, looking unconvinced, but I kept walking.

After a few more hours of heading deeper into Iron Canyon, a massive cave entrance appeared.

“Is this the entrance to the ruins Dale mentioned?”

“Yeah.”

“But for a ruin entrance… it doesn’t seem very deep, does it?”

As Iris pointed out, the end of the cave was clearly visible from the outside.

It looked more like a large pit formed by a landslide than a cave.

I swallowed a chuckle and stepped inside.

“If the entrance were easy to find, it wouldn’t have gone undiscovered for 500 years.”

The entrance to the ruins was hidden by a seal, so it was impossible to tell where the entrance was just by looking.

‘It was quite a struggle to break the seal.’

To reveal the entrance to the ruins, we first had to find the seal stones hidden throughout Iron Canyon and then arrange them in a specific order inside this cave.

‘But doing that would take up the entire vacation.’

There was an easier way.

A much simpler and faster method.

“Berald. What was that magic you used when the student restaurant door broke?”

“You mean… the Unlock Magic?”

“Yeah.”

I grinned and lit a flame of ash fire.

*Whoosh!*

A gray flame fiercely burned in my clenched fist.

“I’m going to use that magic.”