Chapter 110

【110】109.

At Berga’s question, Leo’s face momentarily showed surprise.

‘Does he know my mother?’

After a brief moment of thought, Leo decided to be honest.

“Do you know my mother?”

“Indeed! You truly are Reina’s son!”

Berga chuckled.

“I am an old friend of your mother. Son of Reina, she and I, as representatives of the first year at Lumeran and Azonia respectively, used to compare our skills. Surely, you must have heard stories about me, Berga Tune, from your mother?”

“No. She never mentioned you once.”

“That can’t be! Reina and I were so close!”

“She didn’t like to talk much about her school days.”

At this statement, Berga hesitated, then let out a deep sigh.

“It could be so.”

He sighed again, his face tinged with melancholy, muttering to himself.

“Your mother was like a single flower, so strong and noble… You don’t know how remarkable she was.”

“…”

At Berga’s muttering, Leo grew serious.

‘Berga, wasn’t he a famous hero among the Beastmen?’

Leo had heard the name of this hero known for his fearlessness and pursuit of strength among the Beastmen.

Just moments ago, all the freshmen candidates were staring at Berga in awe.

Not Leo, though.

‘Is there something wrong with his head?’

Leo was seriously concerned for Berga.

A single flower?

‘That doesn’t suit mother at all.’

From Uncle Giese, he had learned that during her prime, Reina’s nickname was the ‘Flame Witch.’

Just hearing the title ‘Witch’ was enough to know what kind of person she was, even without being a mage.

“Ellen… if only that fool hadn’t been there…”

The veins in Berga’s hand bulged as he clenched his fist.

Through gritted teeth, Berga spoke, and Leo interjected.

“She never talked about old stories, but my mother never regretted her own choices.”

“…”

Leo’s words made Berga’s eyes waver.

“Ho ho. That’s right! Reina Zerdinger would never regret! Hohohoahaha!”

He suddenly burst out laughing.

Leo began to sincerely worry about this man who claimed to be his mother’s old friend.

“That’s right! No need to dwell on the past! I saw your power at the Monster Carnival—it reminded me of Reina’s strong presence back in school! I look forward to tomorrow’s entrance ceremony, son of Reina!”

“My name’s Kyle.”

At this, Berga laughed heartily.

“I will call you by your name once you pass tomorrow’s ceremony!”

With that, Leo nodded and left the waiting room.

“Reina, you may have lost your flame, but I know you remain as beautiful and strong as ever.”

Looking out the window, Berga’s face revealed a nostalgic expression.

“Even though I tried to be the man worthy of you, by the time I had, you had already disappeared, having lost your flame.”

With a bitter smile, Berga clenched his fists.

“Though our paths differed, Reina, don’t worry! I will make your son the greatest hero!”

Pledging this to the woman he once loved, Berga made his resolve firm.

“If my daughter and your son can work together, even the strongest generation of Lumeran’s current first year might not be out of reach! Watch me, Reina!”

Unaware of the fact that Leo was already the first-year representative of Lumeran, Berga raised his fist and shouted, “Let’s defeat Lumeran!”

*

Upon arriving at his assigned dormitory, Leo immediately entered the attached shower room.

He had continuously felt uncomfortable due to the monster’s bl**d and flesh that clung to him.

“Still, the dormitory’s nice.”

This Colosseum, originally built as an arena, was intended to provide as much convenience as possible for the gladiators who participated in its events.

‘I heard Beastmen could achieve great fame by excelling here.’

There were five official Colosseums across the Beastmen’s lands, the champions of which wielded power comparable to the kings of their nations—all of them heroes or warriors close to such greatness.

Each year, participating in the Colosseum was part of the curriculum at Azonia.

‘Anyway, they’ve always been a race that liked combat.’

Shhhhhh-! Squeak-! Squeak-!

Leo turned off the hot shower and grabbed a towel.

As he dried his hair, he chuckled at the rabbit ears that constantly obstructed him.

‘They won’t ever feel normal.’

Even though he was disguised as a rabbit beastman, those rabbit ears weren’t getting any easier to handle.

‘Let’s study the water transformation phenomenon I experienced earlier then.’

Though he hadn’t entirely overcome the side effects of the aura enhancement, experiencing the water transformation firsthand might help him find clues to overcoming the side effects and even perfect the [Hero’s Breath].

Just as Leo was about to start generating his aura,

“Hmm?”

Sensing someone, he turned toward the window.

At the same time,

Click!

“Black Rabbit! I’ve come to uncover your secrets… Why are you n*ked!”

“There’s no such thing as ‘n*ked.’ I’m just undressing my top.”

“Still!”

“And this is my room, so whatever I do here is my freedom, right?”

After hearing Leo’s words, Arga, whose eyes were covered, looked flustered.

After sighing, Leo put his shirt back on and said,

“I’m dressed now, so you can open your eyes.”

At this, Arga cautiously opened her eyes.

The sun had already set, and only dusk remained.

The orange glow of the sunset streaming through the window made Arga’s blue eyes sparkle.

“So? What secrets are you here to uncover?”

Since she claimed to be here for secrets, Leo couldn’t help but be curious.

Considering she also aimed to enroll in Azonia, gathering information on a rival school like Lumeran wasn’t out of the question.

The resemblance between the representative of Lumeran, Leo, and the recommended candidate for Azonia, Kyle, was something that those interested would surely notice.

‘And she has been watching me carefully since before. She said she had questions.’

Tense, Leo waited for Arga to speak.

“I saw you earlier during the Monster Carnival! Can you really manipulate water transformation at your will?!”

At Arga’s blunt inquiry, Leo felt a small sense of relief.

‘Another person surprising me like mother and daughter.’

Recalling Berga, Leo sat on a chair at the desk in the corner of the room and said,

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Really?!”

She was genuinely surprised by his honest admission.

“Only Lord Aron in history has ever been able to freely control water transformation!”

“What are you going to do now that you’ve asked and confirmed it yourself?”

Leo raised an eyebrow.

“How about you show me?”

Carefully asking this, Arga watched as Leo activated his aura.

The first change happened in his eyes.

Leo’s originally human-like pupils vertically narrowed into feline slit eyes. His hands sprouted soft fur like gloves. His fangs became sharper.

After completing the transformation, Leo flexed his fingers.

“Wow… It’s true.”

Impressed, Arga approached him. Her tail rose halfway, and she circled him curiously like a kitten.

Tentatively, she reached out her hand and lightly tapped Leo’s hand.

“Wow…!”

With a satisfied look, Leo reverted back to normal.

“Can’t you maintain it longer?”

“Not really, it’s tiring.”

Truthfully, even maintaining the transformation caused significant muscle fatigue due to the aftereffects.

With a casual expression, Leo picked up a quill pen from the desk and spun it idly on his fingers.

“So? What are you going to do now that you know I can transform?”

“…”

“Hey?”

“Hmm?”

While watching the quill being spun by Leo’s hand, Arga blinked.

“Why are you asking about the water transformation ability? Asking to learn it?”

“No.”

At Leo’s question, Arga firmly shook her head.

“That would be presumptuous. That could be your special ability or your family’s inherited talent. I just wanted to confirm!”

“Confirm?”

“Yes! Confirm that there is a beastman who can control water transformation like Lord Aron!”

Arga focused on the spinning quill.

“The record that Lord Aron could freely manipulate water transformation only existed in documents. As such, there were many disgraceful individuals who doubted that.”

As the quill spun again, Arga’s hand twitched.

“But now thanks to you, it’s proven that someone can freely perform water transformation. Of course, I will keep your ability a secret! You’ll surely be bothered if it gets out, right?”

It seemed that her true purpose was simply out of pure curiosity. Promising to keep it secret, Arga gave him a wink.

“Hmm.”

Leo thoughtfully spun the quill faster.

Then, Arga, almost instinctively, extended her hand.

A brief silence followed.

When Leo teased her by shaking the quill like playing with a cat, Arga exclaimed,

“Don’t treat me like a pet!”

Whoosh!

“I got it!”

Leo threw the quill to the floor as Arga reached out to slap it with her palm, then yelped and threw it away.

Smiling, Leo thought:

“Lord Aron wanted to pass on her breathing technique to all beastmen.”

But only Kyle had fully mastered the technique.

“To achieve something requires hard training. But there needs to be someone to inherit Lord Aron’s skill.”

An heir to Lord Aron was necessary.

“We need power against Tartarus.”

Leo intended to pass on the skills of his friends to different races to find worthy candidates.

“Maybe that’s why I reincarnated into this world.”

Even if the new Leo couldn’t finish his task, the world might have intended for him to leave a successor.

The reason Leo attended Azonia’s entrance ceremony was to find such talent.

And Arga seemed to be potential.

“She doesn’t seem to have a bad personality.”

“Should I teach you?”

“Huh?”

Arga blinked, momentarily confused by the question.

“How to transform. Should I teach it to you?”

At Leo’s words, Arga’s eyes opened wide.

“Can, can you teach me?”

“It’s not impossible. There is, however, a condition.”

“Condition? What is it?”

Arga’s ears perked up.

“Just prove it.”

“What do you mean by ‘prove it’?”

Smiling faintly, Leo gave Arga a shiver, akin to a wild instinct.

‘This kid.’

She could feel goosebumps rising as her instincts warned her.

“He’s looking down on me.”

“To see if you’re truly worthy to become a hero.”

‘From somewhere high up.’

“I’ll be expecting it, Ar Tune.”