Chapter 426

426.

The peak of summer.

The warp gate flashed.

Together with it, a boy with orange hair emerged from the warp gate.

“The west is definitely hotter than the central region.”

While fanning his collar to ward off the heat, Kal covered his eyes with his other palm and looked up at the sky.

The glaring sunlight made it evident that summer was in full swing.

“It’d be great if Chloe were here at a time like this.”

Kal looked around disappointedly, reminiscing about the Ice Wizard.

In Kal’s homeland, Moira Kingdom, as well as in Rumelia City, during such steaming hot days, you could easily buy refreshing drinks or ice cream on the streets.

“Maybe it’s because this is a rural kingdom? There’s nothing like that at all here.”

The Moira Kingdom, located in the central part of the continent, is a small country, but an important hub with an immense population and logistics traffic. Meanwhile, Rumelia City is referred to as the center of the world for its high level of development.

While urban infrastructure is well-developed there, there was none of that in this place, the peripheral kingdom of Delrad in the west.

“I feel like I could make a fortune here if I started a business. It is the capital, so people here must have money, right?”

Kal mused, observing the streets of Delan.

How much money could he make if he stayed here all summer?

He contemplated that but soon sighed quietly.

“It’s a shame I don’t have much time to stay here.”

Just as Kal was about to move on, reminiscing about the thought, a group of students dressed in what looked like uniforms were riding horses down the street.

They were walking along as if guarding a carriage.

Kal noticed the flag on the carriage and stepped aside.

It was embroidered with the emblem of the Delrad royal family.

“Looks like a royal carriage.”

As Kal muttered to himself and was about to move on, he heard a voice calling from the carriage side.

“Hey, orange hair.”

Kal turned his head curiously and saw a boy his age, dressed in a uniform, approaching him on horseback.

“What is it?”

“Did you dare to obstruct the passage of royalty?”

With those words, Kal scratched his head.

He had stepped aside to avoid interfering with the carriage’s passage.

Judging from the comment, it seemed he had inadvertently gotten entangled in some trouble.

“I’m from the central continent, so I’m not familiar with the laws of this country. Could you tell me what I should do when royalty passes by?”

“It’s proper etiquette to keep as much distance as possible when a royal carriage passes by.”

“Understood.”

Each kingdom has its own code of etiquette.

Rather than getting unnecessarily entangled in complications, Kal chose to let it slide.

As Kal moved on, the boy, Gollibun, curled his lips into a smirk.

“Hmph. No matter how common one may be, if you’re visiting another country, you should at least learn its customs. Take this as a lesson from me, the top student of Delan Royal Academy, as a commemoration of your visit to Delrad.”

“That’s very kind of you.”

Kal smiled faintly.

In every place, there are always aristocrats of this kind.

“Thank goodness the prince didn’t come along.”

Kal recalled Duran, the crown prince of his own kingdom and a classmate as well as dormitory mate at the Academy.

On the morning of the next day after the start of summer break,

A single invitation had arrived at Kal’s room.

The sender was none other than the Dragon Lord.

Exclaiming in surprised delight, Kal was about to enjoy breakfast in the kitchen when:

“Kal Thomas, did you receive the invitation too?”

Kal, who had just taken a bite of a morning bread, nearly choked upon seeing Duran barging into the kitchen out of nowhere.

Remembering the commotion his parents had made earlier seeing the unexpected visit of the crown prince, Kal sighed inwardly.

Amidst the noise of “It’s an honor for the household!” Kal was driven out of his place, and Duran was generously treated to breakfast in Kal’s home without hesitation.

“Mom, what about my breakfast?”

“You can eat after His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, has eaten his.”

As Kal inwardly complained about Duran, who confidently barged into someone else’s house and even permitted Kal’s breakfast,

‘Is it referring to the territory of the Flove Family when it mentions the Flove Family’s territory?’

‘Probably, but why contact you via magic communication just to talk about what you could discuss with your friends? Why come here this early?’

‘Hmph, only a small number of people received invitations, and I’ve already confirmed with several people.’

It seemed like Duran had already used magic communication to confirm with other Lumeran Academy classmates from the early morning.

After roughly verifying the information, Duran left.

Kal was planning to visit Leo’s house earlier than the other students to spend the break together to avoid going with him.

‘If I had gone with him, it would have been chaotic.’

Just as Kal was murmuring to himself,

Suddenly, the door of the carriage opened.

The students from Delan Royal Academy who were guarding the carriage jumped in surprise, dismounted their horses, and knelt down.

The Delan Royal Academy student who had arrogantly confronted Kal also hurriedly knelt down and signaled to Kal with his eyes.

“His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince of Delrad Kingdom. Please hurry…”

“Isn’t this Kal Thomas from Lumeran Academy, a friend of Sir Leo?”

“Ah, so you are His Highness, Crown Prince Devan. Have you been well?”

Taking his stance respectfully.

At the mention of Lumeran, the Delan Royal Academy student, Gollibun, who had been arrogant towards Kal, widened his eyes.

“It seems you plan to spend your summer vacation here in Delrad.”

“Yes, I have been invited by Leo.”

Kal smiled faintly.

Despite being a commoner, he had grown accustomed to the formalities, being part of the Nobles, a group of students from noble families.

The prince, Devan, nodded after observing Kal.

“I’m unsure whether one of our academy students has made an offense.”

“I imagine if you don’t know, such occurrences could happen.”

Kal responded playfully.

The face of Gollibun, who had been bowing his head, visibly paled.

“Since we’ve met by chance, let’s escort you to the Flove Family mansion.”

“That’s not necessary; it would be troublesome.”

“Please don’t refuse. In fact, I want to seek your advice on something.”

“Advice?”

“That’s right, on the matter of the Hero Record.”

At the mention of “Hero Record,” Kal momentarily wore a puzzled expression.

“Recently, in our kingdom, many items suspected to be fragments of a Hero Record have been discovered. Coincidentally, I was moving some selected items to the palace today. As a student of Lumeran Academy, you must have seen many Hero Records.”

Prince Devan smiled faintly.

“Could you take a look at them?”

Hero Records are powerful items that can alter even the fate of a nation when discovered, and accordingly, numerous counterfeits flood the market.

‘Of course, I can’t refuse a request from the crown prince of a nation.’

Kal scratched his cheek and responded,

“Given that I’m still a student, you might want to reconsider trusting my judgment so much.”

“That’s something you don’t need to worry about.”

Kal boarded Prince Devan’s carriage.

Inside the carriage, Kal spotted a luxurious chest placed in the center.

As Devan’s fingers touched the chest sealed by magic, a magic circle appeared.

Click!

The lock emitted a sound and opened.

Inside the chest were numerous paper fragments imbued with mana.

‘Of course, these kinds of objects.’

Fragments of old magic books or summoning books that store mana or spiritual energy are often suspected of being Hero Records.

‘Founder of the Star Cloud, Lune? Wow, even the King of Wisdom.’

Discovering a shard with a Great Hero’s name inscribed, Kal internally chuckled.

‘Well, the true records of the Great Heroes are almost entirely lost, making it hard to verify their authenticity, so Hero Record forgeries that relate to the Great Heroes are the most common. Especially, there are an outrageous number related to the Hero of the Beginning.’

Kal sorted out the records, categorizing those that were definitely fake.

“From my perspective, these records have a high probability of being forgeries.”

“That’s true, but why didn’t you exclude this?”

Devan held up a fragment that was almost charred away. A faint inscription reading “Aron” was barely visible.

“Because records related to Great Heroes often have many small fragments like this. Though, it would be better to consult with true experts rather than just someone like me.”

Kal’s response made Devan nod approvingly.

Before they knew it, the carriage had arrived before the Flove family compound.

“Whenever the opportunity arises, please visit the palace with Sir Leo.”

“Thank you very much for your hospitality.”

Kal paid his respects as the prince’s carriage drove away.

“Why were you stepping down from the crown prince’s carriage of our nation?”

“Whoa! Leo! How’s your vacation been?”

Kal greeted happily at a voice coming from behind.

“I coincidentally ran into him on the way.”

Kal shrugged nonchalantly, and Leo smiled lightly as he opened the gate.

“How’s your vacation been?”

“It’s been alright.”

“Your homework? Could you show me at least something you’ve done?”

“You can do what you like with it.”

“Ah! You’re the only one I can rely on, my friend!”

Kal thanked Leo and walked ahead.

Watching Kal walk away, Leo whispered to himself,

‘I bet you won’t have time for homework, Kal.’

*

“Having Leo’s school friends visit our home hasn’t happened since Chelsea as a young kid.”

That evening,

Kal was warmly received by Leo’s father, Deid, and his mother, Reina.

“Thank you for your welcoming.”

Kal greeted Deid.

“Hey, Kal. Leo doesn’t have any friends from the Department of Knights? It’s disappointing since only Magic Department kids visit.”

Reina clasped her cheeks with a disappointed expression, prompting Kal’s reply.

“There’s an Chen Sia and an Iliana, though it seems Leo doesn’t talk much about school life.”

“Hmm. Our son doesn’t tell stories about his friends.”

Reina, savoring her food, asked,

“Is he really without a girlfriend? As Student Council President, I imagine he must be quite popular.”

“No girlfriend. Still, he’s the most popular boy in the second year. He receives letters multiple times a day.”

“Oh ho ho.”

Reina’s eyes sparkled.

Kal recounted Leo’s school life.

Leo just smiled as he listened.

Seeing this, Reina muttered,

“Watching him, he really looks like an uncle.”

“Please say ‘mature’.”

“Mature to an extent.”

At Leo’s words, Reina shook her head.

“Isn’t he called ‘Grandpa’ or something similar in your school? Hey, Kal, what is Leo’s nickname in school?”

Hearing the story of her son’s school life, Reina wore a slightly excited expression.

To this, Kal spoke rather matter-of-factly.

“The Demon King.”

“The Demon King?”

“That’s right. Because of the power he displayed during midterms, the students call him Demon King Leo.”

“Why does your nickname have nothing to do with a hero?”

Reina clicked her tongue.

“Anyway, you both must work hard. Not being able to relax during vacation for a training camp is tough.”

Reina, who was already aware of the training camp, spoke.

“What? Being able to build camaraderie is good. It’s not like it’s happening in some dangerous area, but rather on the territory of the Flove Family. There’ll be clean beds and good food, right?”

“Seems like you don’t know yet.”

As the lady of the Flove household, Reina had indeed been to the location selected by the Dragon Lord for the training camp.

And she had seen the banners.

“Hey, Kal.”

“Yes?”

“Have some more.”

“I’m full, really.”

“Not that. Eat as much delicious food as you can now.”

Kal felt uneasy seeing Reina’s pity-filled gaze and turned to Leo.

“Hey, Leo.”

“What is it?”

“Are you somewhat familiar with what this training camp is about? It’s happening on your family’s territory, isn’t it?”

The Dragon Lord must have chosen the Flove Family’s territory among many places because of Leo, the Student Council President and number one in the Upper Class.

Therefore, Kal expected that Leo probably knew something.

In response to Kal’s question, Leo silently transferred the main dish from his plate to Kal’s.

Looking at that, Kal grimaced.

‘Looks like we’re doomed.’