Chapter 473

473.

It was after some time had passed since Dwenno joined the party of the Great Heroes, which had finally taken its complete form.

The areas where the Great Heroes had been active began to gradually regain stability, breaking free from despair and chaos.

The first place to regain stability was Guardstron, which the Great Heroes had made their stronghold.

It was around that time that Lissinas, who had been foolishly mocked for a long time, was appointed as the lord of Guardstron.

One busy day, while Lissinas was working to stabilize the administration, Kyle came to him with a request.

“You want me to teach you Spirit Magic?”

Lissinas, who was processing paperwork, looked at Kyle with a surprised expression.

“Why all of a sudden?”

“I felt that your Spirit Magic during the last battle could greatly help in future fights.”

“Hmm?”

Lissinas, resting his chin on his hand, squinted slightly and made a slightly crooked expression.

“When I offered to teach you summoning magic, you said you didn’t need it, and now you come asking for Spirit Magic?”

Lissinas scoffed.

“That’s because I didn’t understand the concept of the summoning magic you were explaining.”

“What about Luna and Aron? Their explanations are probably harder to understand than mine, right?”

Kyle had already sought instruction from Luna and Aron.

However, before that, Lissinas had offered to teach Kyle Spirit Magic.

But at that time, Kyle refused.

“Your explanations are too difficult, so there’s no need for it.”

Recalling that moment, Lissinas frowned, and Kyle spoke.

“It’s true that their explanations are full of things I can’t understand. So, I’ve been trying to learn by forcefully cramming the incantations into my head, and that has helped me understand to some extent. But the concept of your summoning magic isn’t something that can be understood just by memorizing it. Before that, I’ve been using your Spirit Magic at the level of just skimming the surface, so I didn’t feel the necessity.”

“Ah, I see.”

Lissinas responded coldly, but he acknowledged that point.

Kyle attempted to mimic the martial arts of Luna and Aron without having learned directly, but he failed.

In contrast, Leo was good at mimicking Lissinas’s Spirit Magic.

“Why can I mimic your Spirit Magic, but not Luna and Aron’s?”

“Because I am someone you’ve been observing for the longest time among your companions.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Lissinas answered indifferently and looked out the window, diverting his gaze from Kyle.

Kyle let out a small sigh at that indifferent reaction.

Lissinas didn’t seem to have any intention of teaching Kyle Spirit Magic.

“You’ve been watching me a lot?”

However, Lissinas was feeling slightly… no, quite relaxed.

Though it was not visible to Kyle, his legs were happily bouncing under the desk.

In fact, recently, Lissinas had been feeling a bit neglected by Kyle.

“Learning magic means spending almost all your time with Luna.”

When he first became the lord, Kyle would frequently visit, but after starting training with Luna and Aron, it had become difficult to see him.

Of course, Lissinas didn’t intend to blame him for that.

“Kyle’s newfound enthusiasm is undoubtedly a good thing. Still, as a founding partner of the subjugation team, couldn’t he pay a little more attention to me?”

He wanted to teach Spirit Magic.

He wanted to spend time alone with Kyle.

But before that, he also had a desire to tease him a bit.

“It’s not like I don’t want to teach you, but I’m currently too busy and don’t have time?”

“If you’re okay with it, I don’t mind even if it’s late at night. Should I come over to your house? If you don’t want me just barging into your space, I can come to my house instead.”

“At night? At home?”

“Hehehm~ hm~ hm~”

Lissinas began humming a tune, feeling even better.

However, to Kyle, that demeanor looked like he was pretending to be uninterested.

As Kyle furrowed his brows further, Lissinas said, “It wouldn’t be bad to try teaching you.”

Lissinas smiled brightly.

“Come to my house tonight when you have time, and I’ll teach you the incantation for the opening spell.”

“Do you really need to teach me the incantation for the opening spell?”

“It’s a hassle to unlock the door every time you come. Oh, of course, if you sneak in while I’m not around, I’ll k*ll you.”

“Do you think I would do something like that?”

“If you come when you’re bored or have something on your mind, that’s fine. I’ll gladly be a conversation partner or drinking buddy.”

“Thanks for that. Oh, by the way…”

“Hmm?”

“Do I have any talent for Spirit Magic? I need to know that before I start learning.”

At that, Lissinas felt a sudden jolt inside.

“Kyle has no talent for Spirit Magic.”

He recalled what he had said to Luna out of curiosity when she was the higher class.

“Lissinas, can he use Spirit Magic, by any chance?”

“Kyle has no talent for Spirit Magic. He might need to d*e and be reborn to acquire it.”

“Oh? So he is not omnipotent after all.”

Just as she said, Kyle had no talent for Spirit Magic.

So it was impossible for him to use it even if he learned it.

He simply wanted to spend personal time with Kyle.

He was decisively envious of how closely Kyle and Luna had become like siblings.

“I don’t know. Your potential as a higher class is limitless. I believe there is potential.”

“I see.”

Kyle nodded.

“Then I’ll come by tonight.”

“Tonight?”

‘The study is a bit messy. Should I tidy it up? No, more importantly, do I have nice clothes?’

As Lissinas contemplated this in his mind.

“Hello!”

Luna entered Lissinas’s office.

“Kyle! Tonight, I’ll give you a special private lesson! Consider it an honor!”

“No thanks. You’re just going to come to my house, drink, and make a mess, aren’t you? Don’t ever come back to my house again.”

Kyle frowned.

“What kind of attitude is that toward your teacher? How rude!”

“Teacher, my foot. I’m helping you create your magic incantations, aren’t I? It’s a give-and-take relationship.”

Kyle irritably pushed away Luna, who was shaking him insistently.

Luna pinched Kyle’s face vigorously.

“Anyway, I have a prior engagement tonight.”

“Prior engagement? Are you going to drink with that perverted old man and Aron?”

“No, with Lissinas.”

“Lissinas?”

Luna showed a slightly flustered expression as she alternated her gaze between Kyle and Lissinas.

“Kyle asked me to teach him summoning magic.”

“Really? Then I want to learn too.”

Luna smiled brightly.

She was also a summoner who had made a pact with a fairy.

Lissinas felt flustered by Luna’s response.

“Luna, I’ll teach you separately next time.”

“Sure. You should learn on your own next time. I’m learning Spirit Magic today.”

Luna’s eyes widened at Kyle’s words.

“You’re not forcing Lissinas to teach you because you’re bothering him, are you? Wake up.”

“What?”

“Lissinas said before that you wouldn’t be able to use Spirit Magic until your next life.”

Luna crossed her arms with a triumphant expression.

“Stop fooling around and learn some magic from me!”

At her words, Kyle narrowed his eyes and looked at Lissinas.

“Hey, you deceitful lizard, were you trying to make a fool of me?”

“No, I was just considering your potential that might exist…!”

“Isn’t it because of your usual bad behavior that Lissinas is treating you maliciously?”

Luna clicked her tongue, looking at Kyle with a disappointed expression.

Kyle grabbed one of Luna’s cheeks and pulled it.

“What the hell is this!”

Luna’s eyes widened as she tugged at Kyle’s hair.

Lissinas looked at Luna with a slightly resentful gaze.

After that, there were no opportunities to learn Spirit Magic.

*

Reflecting on the past, Leo was troubled.

‘Was that just an auditory hallucination?’

Neither in his previous life nor this life had he been born with the talent for Spirit Magic.

‘But it was too vivid to be an auditory hallucination.’

It felt as if Lissinas had spoken to him.

Just then, as Leo frowned, Lily approached him.

“Master, is something wrong? You look serious.”

“I was thinking about Spirit Magic.”

“Spirit Magic?”

Lily’s eyes widened.

“That’s entirely within the realm of talent, isn’t it? Are you perhaps… going to handle Spirit Magic?”

“No.”

‘If I could handle Spirit Magic, perhaps I could have completely annihilated Erebus.’

Leo’s expression turned grim.

‘The reason I couldn’t finish him off completely in the first place was due to my own shortcomings.’

During the subjugation of Erebus, all the essence of the power accumulated by his companions was contained within Kyle.

Kyle used that power to defeat Erebus.

But, after all, it was borrowed power.

Kyle couldn’t fully make that power his own.

‘It was just that he became stronger because the power was contained within him. The vessel itself, that is, he didn’t become stronger.’

In terms of pure combat power, Kyle’s martial arts skills could never reach Aron.

Not to mention, it was impossible for him to rival Luna’s domain with magic, and he also couldn’t keep up with Lissinas’s summoning magic.

‘And I couldn’t fulfill the role of a shield in place of Dwenno either.’

If he had reached even one of the ultimate realms his companions had attained, the sealing of Erebus wouldn’t have ended there.

Leo looked down at his hands.

‘As a higher class, I needed to unify all my abilities to be on par with them.’

In a sense, it was not achieved purely by his own strength.

‘I was simply following the path they forged.’

He had no ability to carve out unknown territory for himself.

‘Every time I hit a wall, it was they who created the path for me to forge ahead.’

He had always been good at observing and imitating.

During the final battle with Erebus, Leo had only mimicked his friends.

For example, the true power of Aron comes from extrasensory perception.

Aron’s extrasensory perception, once he reached the ultimate level, could peer even into fragmented futures, but Leo had yet to step into that realm.

Similarly, to fully understand Lissinas’s summoning magic, he would need to be able to use Spirit Magic.

‘If that hallucination was really Lissinas’s voice…’

Previously, Leo had received Lissinas’s mana essence as a reward for clearing Lissinas’s world.

If that power awakened and gave him talent as a Spirit Magician…

‘Does that mean I could reach the same level as Lissinas?’

While Leo was deep in thought.

“We’ve arrived.”

Jeremin halted his horse.

The ruins known as the Tomb of the Vanquished.

This ruin, which was once an ancient fortress long ago, was surrounded by vast castle walls.

As they entered, many boys and girls were holding spears and shouting, almost as if they were engaged in military training.

Leo and Lily looked at Jeremin with puzzled expressions.

“Those children are all war orphans. They are the darkness of this country that has lived their entire lives taken away from them.”

Jeremin’s face hardened.

“Those in command of this country have operated orphanages for a long time.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Lily tilted her head in confusion.

“On the surface, it seems like a good thing.”

Disgust clouded Jeremin’s face.

“But their orphanages were a kind of military facility.”

“What do you mean?”

“A training center to raise strong soldiers. The reason for gathering the young orphans was to send them to the battlefield when they were of age.”

Lily’s expression drained of color.

Leo crossed his arms.

“I will state the conditions for our deal.”

Taking a deep breath, Jeremin spoke before Leo and Lily.

“Please stop those children from going to the battlefield.”

“That’s easy. I’ll break the heads of the higher-ups right away!”

Lily growled, but Leo spoke up.

“It won’t end there.”

“What do you mean?”

Lily hesitated.

“Those kids will likely want to go to the battlefield voluntarily.”

“Why is that?”

“Because that’s how they’ve been taught and raised.”

In response to Lily’s bewilderment, Leo looked at Jeremin.

“Prince Jeremin, I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Did the plan to raise these war orphans into soldiers start a few years ago?”

“It’s probably five years ago.”

“Are those kids the first generation?”

“How do you know that?”

Leo had seen this scene long ago.

5000 years ago, in the refugee city of Leisar.

And he knew very well whose work this was.

‘The Grand Duke of Mourning, Artkan.’