Chapter 457

457.

At Chelsea’s words, Leo stopped moving.

He stood still, holding the liquor bottle, and looked up at Chelsea.

Their gazes met in the empty air.

With a tense expression, Chelsea looked into Leo’s crimson eyes.

After a brief silence,

Leo reached for a new glass on the table and poured himself a drink.

Then, with a puzzled look, he handed it to Chelsea.

“Want a drink?”

“Huh, huh?! Oh, uh…”

Chelsea’s face showed a slight panic before hesitantly accepting the glass with both hands. After hesitating for a moment, she finally took a sip.

“Ugh! It’s so bitter!”

Seeing Chelsea scrunch up her face, Leo chuckled, resting his chin on his hand as he took a swallow of his own drink.

Then he murmured softly,

“Ar Aron, always trying to spread rumors.”

Upon hearing Leo’s words, Chelsea’s mouth hung open in surprise. She had suspected something about Leo and Aron’s relationship. She was shocked when she heard it from Aron, but hearing it directly from Leo was a different kind of surprise altogether.

“What do I do now?! Then all this time, I’ve been disrespectful to Brother Leo… no, to Lord Kyle! What am I going to do?!”

Chelsea covered her mouth with both hands and opened her eyes wide, at a loss for what to do.

Seeing Chelsea’s flustered reaction, Leo spoke.

“You don’t have to make a fuss about it now.”

“Huh? But… but!”

Chelsea, who had normally responded casually, quickly changed to a more respectful tone, glancing nervously at Leo while speaking.

“Daring to treat a Great Hero so casually must have been… quite disrespectful, wasn’t it?”

“It won’t change anything. Treat me however makes you comfortable.”

Leo gave a faint smile.

Watching him, Chelsea gripped the glass tightly in her hand. There was a reason why Aron had shared Leo’s secret with her.

‘Ar Aron must have wanted someone close to Brother Leo to know his secret. Someone who could offer him a place to rest, even if only a little.’

Chelsea couldn’t easily imagine the path Leo had walked. As a child, when she heard tales of heroes, it always made her heart race. Her favorite had always been the grand stories of the Great Heroes.

But to Chelsea, those stories of Great Heroes seemed distant, as if they were only fairy tales or stories from history. It was the same for anyone, not just Chelsea.

But after experiencing the Piece of Erebus, she had come to understand, at least a little, the true terror and despair of Erebus.

‘If it weren’t for Ar and Brother Leo, all of us would have died.’

She also came to understand just how extraordinary the Great Heroes were, who waged an endless battle against the complete Erebus to bring peace to the world.

‘Brother Leo… once again, he’s reliving that ordeal… Alone.’

She wanted to share some of that burden.

‘But with who I am now, there’s no way I can.’

Chelsea knew all too well how inexperienced she still was.

‘At least I should try to be the place where Brother Leo can rest comfortably.’

That must have been why Aron had shared the secret—because he wanted this.

Leo was right.

Nothing had to change. If her attitude changed, Leo would surely feel awkward as well.

With a deep breath, Chelsea quickly downed the entire contents of her glass.

“Huff?! Cough! Cough! Hack!”

Chelsea coughed as the liquor burned her throat.

“Water! Water!”

Flustered, Chelsea searched for water, and Leo poured her some.

“Whoa!”

Taking a deep breath, Chelsea said,

“Why do adults drink this kind of stuff? It tastes so bad!”

Returning to her normal self, Chelsea was perplexed.

“That’s what I’ve always wondered. Why do they drink?”

“You know, that’s what I mean—Brother Leo’s just too grown-up.”

Finally, Chelsea understood Leo’s maturity. She also understood why his overwhelming strength was far beyond the norm.

“Back when Brother Leo showed a huge interest in the Hero of Beginning during the start of the semester in our club… What was that about?”

“That thing? Oh, well…”

Leo had tried to form a club at the start of the semester to re-examine the Hero of Beginning. Recalling that, Leo said with a disinterested tone,

“It’s frustrating, you know.”

“Frustrating?”

“Yeah. Some fraud lizard, temperamental elf, cowardly beastman, and a perverted dwarf are all celebrated as Great Heroes, but I’m treated like a fictional character.”

Realizing the identities of the people mentioned by Leo, Chelsea’s mouth dropped open. It was an unimaginable statement—especially bold.

“Aha…”

Chelsea burst into laughter without realizing it.

“Hearing that makes it obvious why Brother Leo is the Hero of Beginning.”

This was a comment only made possible by their close friendship.

“Brother Leo, could you tell me some stories about the Great Heroes?”

“I’ll tell you the next time.”

“Huh? Why? We still have time.”

“There’s a guest outside. If we leave them waiting, they’ll start to make wild assumptions.”

“Wild assumptions?”

Just as Chelsea tilted her head in puzzlement, Leo stood up and approached the door.

Creeeak! Wham!

“Hiiik?!”

When the door opened, Eran, who had been eavesdropping with her ear pressed against it, tumbled straight into the floor.

“Eh… Elder Sister Eran?”

Chelsea was flustered.

Could she have been listening in on their conversation?

But upon seeing Leo’s calm expression, she relaxed.

‘He must have used magic.’

Leo had the skills to block his voice without anyone noticing.

Just as Chelsea nodded, Eran, who had stood up, said excitedly and in surprise,

“Could it be… Lord Leo is truly the Hero of Beginning, Lord Kyle?”

“What?”

“Eh?! Whaaaat?!”

Both Leo and Chelsea were shocked by the unexpected situation.

Eran’s ears flickered.

…

Alone in the hallway, Eran had soon arrived at the vicinity of Leo’s room.

‘This late at night… she’s alone at Brother Leo’s place…’

Eran recalled a scene from a novel she had read before.

‘Late at night, a maid goes to visit the house lord’s chamber…’

Blushing, Eran shook her head back and forth.

‘Brother Leo is a gentleman, so he wouldn’t do something like that.’

Approaching Leo’s room, Eran’s ears twitched.

She heard voices coming from Leo’s room.

‘Huh? A woman’s voice?’

Eran’s hands trembled slightly.

She swallowed nervously, suppressing her presence as closely as possible and tiptoed toward the room, pressing her ear against the door.

‘This is… isn’t that Miss Chelsea’s voice? C, could it be? A late-night rendezvous?’

Eran muttered to herself.

‘If Brother Leo and Miss Chelsea are in the same school year and she’s cute enough, it doesn’t seem strange that they’d be in a relationship… But didn’t I hear that human nobles have trouble dating? Moreover, Brother Leo’s maternal family and Miss Chelsea’s family are rivals… A! Forbidden love resisting family opposition?!’

Eran’s eyes darted around furiously.

She leaned closer to hear the conversation inside the room.

But something was blocking the sound—it wouldn’t come through clearly.

‘Why can’t I hear properly?’

Despite the elf’s acute hearing, the internal sounds were unclear to Eran.

Feeling frustrated, Eran closed her eyes and concentrated her senses on her hearing.

Still, the voices remained muffled, like something was blocking them.

She focused her mana even more.

After a moment,

The vague sounds gradually became clearer.

It felt like a wall had melted away slowly.

‘What is this?’

The feeling was unlike anything Eran had experienced before.

It felt like her senses had gone beyond their limits.

‘…Extrasensory Perception?’

The moment she realized this skill was the Extrasensory Perception she had learned from Ar Aron,

“Brother Leo being the Hero of Beginning makes complete sense.”

Hearing Chelsea’s voice, Eran was startled into attention.

“Wha—?!”

Caught off guard by such shocking news,

Creeeak!

The door opened suddenly, and Eran tumbled in. Before she could fluster at being caught eavesdropping, she hurriedly asked,

“Could it be… Brother Leo is truly the Hero of Beginning, Lord Kyle?”

And that brought us to the current situation.

Looking at Eran sitting there, eyes glittering, Leo muttered,

“Extrasensory Perception.”

“Extrasensory Perception?”

Chelsea tilted her head in confusion.

“Even with the magic blocking sound from escaping the room, Eran could hear our conversation. There’s only one explanation.”

Aside from the fact that Eran had entered the realm of Extrasensory Perception, there was no other explanation.

“Ah, so it really was Extrasensory Perception, then!”

Eran, whose eyes opened wide in amazement, also realized this.

“Still, why is it only me who has been able to activate Extrasensory Perception? Even Yang Ar and other Azonia students, along with students from Lumeran, couldn’t achieve it so far.”

Seeing Eran’s puzzled expression, Leo explained,

“Berkiya’s influence, perhaps.”

“Ancestor Berkiya’s influence?”

“Yeah. Berkiya continuously practiced to enter the realm of Extrasensory Perception.”

But at the time, the auric theory was insufficient to perfect what was Ar Aron’s unique skill, Extrasensory Perception.

Still, the research carried forward through the Eirsar family’s auric knowledge and techniques, which were passed down through the generations.

‘Perhaps the continuous, independent research from the Eirsar family combined with Ar Aron’s guidance has allowed Eran to succeed in mastering Extrasensory Perception.’

It seemed that, due to the nature of elves, hearing was the first sense to awaken.

As Leo explained, Chelsea and Eran nodded in agreement.

“Indeed! So Brother Leo, your greatness is because you’re actually the Hero of Beginning!”

Looking at Eran’s radiant smile, Chelsea spoke.

“Eran-nee, for now, let’s keep this a secret…”

“I understand, Miss Chelsea.”

Eran looked at Chelsea, winking with one eye.

“It will cause chaos if the truth about Brother Leo is revealed. So let’s keep this as our shared secret.”

Eran’s words caused Chelsea to nod.

Eran looked at Leo’s face, who was idolized since childhood as the hero who saved the world.

To Eran, who has always admired and wanted to witness Leo’s deeds, it was an exhilarating situation.

“I want to be of help to Brother Leo, even in the slightest. I want to lighten Brother Leo’s burden.”

“Then you must grow a little more, don’t you?”

Leo smiled gently and spoke.

“Yes. For now, I might be insufficient to share what Brother Leo carries, but as Ar Aron said, I can create a space where Brother Leo can put it all down and rest.”

Clutching her fists tightly, Eran said,

“So Brother Leo, when you’re tired, lean on me!”

“Thank you, that’s quite kind of you.”

“Nope, I mean it! I’ll offer my utmost devotion wherever and whenever needed to comfort Brother Leo!”

Eran’s voice was filled with earnestness, showing her readiness to help the Hero of Beginning, who embarks on a trial once more to save the world.

However, contrary to Eran’s intentions, Chelsea, listening from the side, felt a complicated mix of awkwardness.

“Eran-nee, that earlier statement could be interpreted in a way that might lead to misunderstanding…”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

As Eran began to look confused, her face slowly stiffened…before turning a bright red.

“That wasn’t what I meant at all!”

Suddenly flaring up, Eran started to panic.

“I-I-I mean, um… if you need something, please let me know… Ah no, no, that’s not what I mean… Not that either!”

“Don’t you read too many questionable novels?”

“No!”

Eran’s face grew teary as it became more agitated, and she violently shook her head. She then covered her face with both hands and crouched down where she sat.

Chelsea soothingly comforted Eran from the side.

Seeing this, Leo chuckled.

‘Same book tastes, but such different personalities, huh?’

With a contented mood, Leo rested his chin on his hand and stared out the window.

Though he didn’t outwardly show it, he felt much more at ease.

‘Not bad.’

Comfortably, Leo smiled faintly.