Chapter 114

【114】113.

“Do you think this world is worth saving?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean exactly that.”

Elsi stared intently at Leo with a blank expression.

“I’m asking if there’s a reason for this world to continue to exist.”

“Hmm.”

Kyle scratched his head.

“Wouldn’t it make sense to save it first and then think about it?”

*

Kyle recalled an event from long ago.

The first time he met Elsi was after the Erebus Extermination Squad had taken on its familiar form in people’s memories.

After Lissinas had pulled Kyle into what seemed to be an impossible journey.

And then, with the successive arrivals of Luna and Aron and Dwenno, the group known to people in today’s world as the “Great Hero” party was formed.

And not long after, the group encountered Elsi.

There were three members of the Great Hero party who possessed the qualities of a summoner.

Kyle, Lissinas, and Luna.

Of these, Luna had no talent as a spirit mage.

Kyle could handle familiars and spirits alike, but he wasn’t as skilled as Lissinas.

Therefore, they anticipated that Elsi would contract with Lissinas.

Moreover, since Lissinas was a black dragon, he was undoubtedly the best possible contractor for Elsi, a shadow spirit.

However, against all expectations, Elsi chose Kyle.

“I never did find out why she asked that question before the contract or why she chose me.”

The contract between Kyle and Elsi did not last long.

Not long after the contract was established, Elsi was wiped out in a battle against the Demon King, Hel Kaiser.

“Black Rabbit! Why are you just standing there?”

Arga approached and asked with a puzzled look on her face.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“I should definitely talk to her about it slowly later.”

Now wasn’t the time for Elsi and him to have a conversation.

Moreover, Kyle’s meeting with Elsi was a story from a year later.

Furthermore, Leo wasn’t even Kyle.

When the eldest-looking elf girl passed a bowl to Leo and Arga, they accepted it.

“Could you give us one more bowl, by any chance?”

“Yes?”

“There’s something this uncle should eat as well.”

“Yes!”

Upon hearing these words, the female elf gleamed and handed over an additional bowl.

As Arga portioned out her share, Leo also prepared food for the Agon’s bowl.

“Uncle, you should eat this too!”

Agon turned his gaze back and forth between the bowl and Ar.

“Why are you doing this?”

As Agon smiled bitterly at the slightly flustered Arga, he said,

“It’s nothing.”

Agon, who took the bowl, sat down in a corner of the open space, and Leo and Ar took a seat in front of him.

“You two, you’ve come from the outside.”

Upon hearing this remark, Ar stopped for a moment.

‘Actually, we’ve come from the future.’

Since it was impossible to say things as they were, Ar just nodded silently.

“Yes.”

“Then you’d better leave this city quickly.”

“Huh?”

Startled by this sudden statement, Ar widened her eyes.

“I know you two aren’t mere refugees. With that level of skill, you’d be well-regarded wherever you go.”

Agon pierced through the skills of Leo and Ar and his expression became complex.

“There are still many places that could appreciate your talents, other than this city.”

During the Era of Catastrophe, it was a time when places were desperately seeking individuals with greater power to ward off Tartarus’ attacks.

“There’s no way we can do that.”

“Why not?”

“Didn’t I say? Aron sent us here.”

As Leo mentioned this while eating porridge, Ar sharply erected her ears and tail.

“So, Aron sent you here, didn’t he? Where is he now?”

“Do you not know where Aron is?”

“I don’t. That foolish disciple of mine. I haven’t heard from him for half a year.”

At Agon’s words, Ar’s eyes widened in shock.

‘Disciple?’

To Ar, Agon’s words came as a shock.

All that’s recorded in the Hero Record are the accomplishments of a hero.

Thus, very little is known about the past stories of the Great Hero.

As the figures from 5000 years ago, it’s difficult to find documents about their earlier activities.

Therefore, Agon being Aron’s teacher was more than enough to excite Ar; as it represented an unprecedented new history that had not been revealed until now.

“Uncle! You were Aron-sama’s teacher!”

With shining eyes, Ar asked.

“Yes, that bumbling one’s teacher.”

“Aren’t you surprised by how amazing Aron-sama is!”

“Huh?”

With Ar’s shining eyes, Agon was flustered this time.

“Highly dignified, exalted, and brave hero — to have fostered such a person while calling yourself inadequate…”

Smiling brightly, Ar praised Aron while Agon wore an expression of bewilderment and Leo held his head in his hands.

“Young lady, it seems you’re mistaken.”

“Huh?”

“My disciple is not dignified. He’s neither exalted nor brave.”

Ar opened her mouth wide in disbelief.

“Though he possesses great power for his age.”

Agon sighed deeply.

“Just a coward who doesn’t match his strength. The reason Aron parted ways with Leisar was because he was afraid of fighting.”

Faced with such cruel truths, Ar was flustered and exclaimed,

“Ah, I understand now! The Aron-sama I know and your disciple must be different people!”

Ar scrambled through her clothes and took out a photo of Aron.

“Your disciple doesn’t look like this person, right?”

As Agon looked at the photo, he said,

“Exactly, that’s definitely my disciple.”

“Liar.”

“What?”

Ar fell back a step.

“Th-there’s no way. There’s definitely no way! Aron-sama! That Aron-sama was a coward?!”

As Ar cried out and rushed off shouting “Woo-dada-da!”, Agon looked on and questioned.

“Why is your friend acting like that?”

“She has this idealized notion about Aron.”

“Hmm. It is a shock indeed?”

Aron, for thousands of years, was a source of pride and dignity for the Beastman race.

To the Beastmen, Aron was a great hero and a symbol of courage. There was even a tradition of praying to Aron when facing life-threatening battles.

Hearing that such a figure was, in reality, a coward could indeed be a tremendous blow to someone like Ar, who was just beginning to dream of becoming a hero.

Moreover, in the world of heroes, history was reality.

Ar had been aware of this harsh truth, which was why she was refusing to accept it and had fled.

“A idealized notion of Aron? That’s impressive.”

“Saved by your disciple.”

“Huh?”

“Your friend isn’t the only one.”

Leo put down the porridge bowl and looked intently at Agon.

“Of course, Aron is a coward. I know that better than anyone.”

He thought of his quivering friend who trembled in the face of battle.

“But he saved many people in places you don’t know about. Including me. So you can be proud of your disciple.”

Though this was far in the future from Agon’s perspective,

Aron had saved the world.

“Could it be… did that kid grow so much in the last six months?”

Agon was astonished.

A look of pride showed on his face.

Aron was like a son to Agon, even though the story had begun with criticism. Of course, hearing praise for his son was inevitably pleasing.

“Anyway, it doesn’t seem like I should just leave her like that. I’ll go get her.”

Leo got up to bring Ar back.

A little away from the open area, Ar stared at Aron’s photo muttering,

“There’s no way Aron-sama was a coward. There must be some kind of mistake.”

“Would it be so bad if Aron were a coward?”

“Eeeek?”

Startled like a cat, Ar leapt up and shouted,

“Wha-what a shock!”

“It’s not that big of a deal.”

“You have no thoughts about Aron-sama being a coward?”

“Not at all. It’s plausible.”

To Beastmen, calling someone a coward is an insult.

To say the word “coward” about a hero who has been deified is akin to mocking the entire species of Beastmen.

Even if the real history was accurate, people tend to get angry when they hear stories that don’t align with their common sense.

But Ar’s reaction was peculiar.

Her face seemed somewhere in deep despair, a look as if she had lost her way.

Once confident Ar now appeared somewhat withdrawn.

“Can the fact that Aron was a coward really be that shocking?”

“Because Aron-sama’s story gave me courage.”

Ar gazed at Aron’s photo while her tail drooped.

“Young you didn’t seem like it at all.”

“Don’t sprinkle ash on my emotional immersion!”

Zip! As Leo teased, Ar returned to her nostalgia.

“I was a very timid coward when I was a child.”

‘There we go again.’

Laughing awkwardly, Leo watched as Ar got back in character.

“Father would always emphasize this.”

‘You must become the best! My daughter, Ar!’

“Every day was an absolutely grueling routine.”

He recalled that powerful cat Beastman whom he had briefly met.

“Definitely, that gentleman looked very stern.”

“Don’t sprinkle ash on my sentiment!”

As Ar’s tail and ears bristled, she sighed deeply.

“I always wanted to quit. But every time I felt like that, my father would remind me. My name is a hero, taken from Hero Aron-sama.”

The name derived from the greatest hero.

“Just hearing that gave me courage. So, I worked hard to become like Aron-sama.”

To live up to the name of the hero.

“Highly dignified, exalted, and courageous… never faltering in any situation, always standing tall like Aron-sama.”

The image of Aron that the young girl knew came entirely from fairy tales.

Recalling old memories, the tail that had gone limp swayed as if regaining strength.

“But if the Aron-sama I know was a coward…”

Looking at Ar’s tail drooping again, Leo chuckled lightly.

“It’s quite simple.”

“What’s simple? It’s a complex issue for a teenage girl!”

Crying out loud “Gee!” Ar was speaking and Leo said,

“That coward saved the world.”

“What…!”

“It could be different from fairy tales. But I don’t see any reason for disappointment.”

Leo recounted what he knew about Aron.

“That cowardly fellow was the one who gathered the most courage when everyone else had given up. That’s why the gods called him a hero.”

And Leo smiled.

“Maybe we should admire him even more?”

Ar widened her eyes and looked at Aron’s photo.

The confident figure in the picture was undoubtedly a creation for later generations.

But the fact that Aron was a hero and had achieved greatness remained unchanged.

Ar’s ears perked up, and her tail wagged again.

“Hey, hearing that makes me like Aron-sama even more!”

As Ar exclaimed with a blush, Leo clicked his tongue.

“Complete fangirl.”

“Stop sprinkling ash on a girl’s feelings!”

With an “Ack!” and Ar’s cries fading behind, Leo returned to the open space.

In the open space, children were cleaning up, and Leo’s face darkened a bit at the sight.

‘Now that I think of it, will all these kids d*e of the plague?’

In Leo’s memory, this open space was a massive cemetery.

The children Agon cared for here all perished from the plague by the time Kyle’s group arrived.

For Leo, knowing the future, it was painful to see this place.

Frowning pensively, Leo noticed something odd.

‘Wait. Plague?’

Based on timing, Kyle, Lissinas, and Luna were supposed to arrive in Leisar only a month later.

‘Around the time we arrived in Leisar, it was stated that, except for the Guardian of the Heavens, all residents of the district had already died from the plague.’

Even with a potent plague, it was odd that so many children would pass away within a month.

At this point, a memory surfaced for Leo.

‘Shouldn’t the Guardian of the Heavens have been convinced again?’

‘Yeah. His will had already been broken.’

‘The will can be rekindled. It’s a waste to leave someone of such caliber behind.’

‘Luna. You’re right, a broken will can be revived. But…’

Lissinas displayed a grim face.

‘Anyone harboring hatred cannot save the world. Let’s find someone else.’

Afterward, Aron came along, and Agon blessed the extermination team’s journey.

So, at that moment, those words passed unheeded.

‘Could there be something amiss here?’

Leo wore a hardened expression when…

“Such a mess. Things are still dirty.”

A somewhat arrogant voice cut through the silence.

Turning his head, Leo frowned upon seeing the face.

A person Leo also recognized was standing there.

A man who refused help to the extermination team on the eve of battle against Tartarus far in the future.

But as the extermination team surged forward with victories, this individual joined in seamlessly, seeking accolades and pretending to be a hero.

The Lord of Leisar,

‘Leabathen.’