501.
“How did you end up here, Lady Luna?”
Karl looked surprised as Chen Sia smiled wryly.
“I’m more surprised that you recognized Lady Luna at once, Karl.”
Although startled by the fact that Karl had recognized Luna, Chen Sia, the quickest at composing herself among second-year students, had already returned to her characteristic smiling demeanor.
“What?”
Chen Sia’s words left Karl momentarily flabbergasted, causing him to display a “Oh no, I’m embarrassed” expression.
“Hoo?”
Luna exclaimed in mock surprise.
“Looks like you figured out your identity, huh? Did you know?”
While Leo playfully nudged Luna’s side, Leo shook his head.
“I didn’t know.”
Watching his closest friend in this life, who looked somewhat flustered as he clasped his face, Leo was quite astonished himself.
“When did you start suspecting?”
On the way to the club room, Leo asked while sitting on a bench somewhere on the school grounds.
“It was when we were in Lord Dwenno’s world that I first felt something was off.”
Sitting beside Leo, Karl wore an awkward expression.
“You seemed too familiar with that world. Besides, you weren’t the least bit awkward around Lady Berkiya, Lady Aron, and Lord Dwenno.”
In the Hero’s World, acting is essential.
You must behave as much like someone from that era as possible.
You need to move naturally, as others would when interacting with them.
Even taking that into account, Leo’s demeanor had seemed slightly off.
Only someone as perceptive as Karl could have noticed the subtle feelings involved.
It was almost like how Leo interacts with his friends at school.
Or how one greets old friends after a long absence.
“Then, when I saw you and Lady Aron during the summer break, I began to suspect more clearly.”
As Leo grew closer, the pieces of the puzzle started fitting together.
Unusual growth rate.
A continuous connection with Great Heroes.
And then, being in the same class as the Hero of Beginning.
The word “No Way” had crossed Karl’s mind multiple times, strengthening the suspicion that Leo might be Kyle.
At Leo’s laughter, Karl chimed in.
“Maybe I’m just too perceptive.”
“Why didn’t you say anything when you figured out I was Kyle?”
“Well, I did want to say something. But to me, you’re Leo Flove.”
Karl smiled at Leo.
“You’re my friend, Leo—not the Hero of Beginning, Kyle.”
From the moment of the entrance ceremony, Leo had been equal with everyone.
He naturally formed bonds with those who approached him.
Despite the hierarchy that existed, he treated everyone without reserve.
When Karl first noticed Leo’s presence, he wondered why Leo acted the way he did.
Was it the calmness and broad-mindedness of someone who had saved the world?
But according to what Karl remembered, Leo was genuine in everything he did.
In facing trials.
In confronting those who opposed him directly.
And in leading the way into the most dangerous places, reassuring those who followed him.
So Karl decided to treat Leo as a friend, regardless of his identity. He was his most intimate friend after all.
“Saying quite grown-up things now, aren’t you?”
“Ugh?!”
Just then, Luna suddenly popped her face between Leo and Karl.
Startled by her sudden appearance, Karl grabbed his chest and fell off the bench.
Seeing this, Luna grabbed her stomach and laughed merrily.
Then, she extended her hand toward Karl.
“Karl Thomas, right?”
“Yes.”
Karl stood up and shook hands with Luna.
Patting off his rear, Karl said,
“My name is Luna Rubiness. Call me Lu casually.”
“Yes, Lady Lu.”
“No, no, call me Lu informally.”
With a mischievous grin, Luna pointed toward Leo.
“You think of this guy as a friend, right?”
“Yes.”
“So do I.”
She casually slung her arm over Leo’s shoulder.
Annoyed, Leo pushed her face away with his hand.
“So does that make you and me friends too?”
With a bright smile, Luna looked at Karl, who scratched his cheek.
“Does it work that way?”
“It does. Apart from this arrogant guy, I’d like to have more friends.”
Luna muttered as she pinched Leo’s hand resisting her gestures.
“Our precious ones treat me too formally.”
Luna approached Chen Sia and Eiran, placing both arms around them.
Eiran wore a look of awe, and Chen Sia an expression of slight discomfort.
“Could I possibly become friends with someone like me?”
“Why not?”
“Because my magical talent is so-so, and I have little chance of becoming a hero.”
“What’s that got to do with it?”
Luna smirked.
Releasing her hold from around Leo, she grinned and stood by him.
“You don’t think the world was saved by the strength of heroes alone, do you?”
“Not really?”
Eiran looked puzzled as Luna happily laughed.
“Right!”
Eiran’s ears drooped.
“It was possible because everyone from that era contributed their strength. Not just me or Leo, but Aron and Dwenno, even Lissinas—none of them think they saved the world alone.”
Without doubt, there are people who possess greater power and can accomplish more extraordinary feats than others.
Those who illuminate the path in the darkness, guiding others along the way.
People who can step further ahead in the midst of the darkness are what folks call “heroes.”
But…
“The ones who follow that path are the responsibility of the people.”
Luna twirled her hair with the tip of her finger.
“What held us up eventually were so many people.”
Bearing an era isn’t a burden; rather, when someone is about to fall, others are there to help them back up.
Helping each other creates a balanced relationship.
That’s why Luna believed that those living in the same era are equal.
“The important thing is that you and I share this time. Henceforth, in that sense.”
Luna extended her hand to Karl again.
“My name is Luna Rubiness. What about yours?”
Realizing what Luna sought, Karl decided to discard any ulterior motives.
‘Whatever it is, if the customer wants something, it’s the job of the merchant or the supporter in a battlefield to cater to that need.’
“Hence…”
Karl pulled out a small storage space from inside his robe and retrieved something.
Rustle!
“Huh?!”
“Wow.”
Eiran exclaimed in shock and Chen Sia marveled.
From Karl’s hands emerged what was clearly a collection book filled with cards of famous heroes.
It was well-known among the people, a popular album that contained various types of cards depicting famed heroes.
“Isn’t this expensive?”
Chen Sia asked upon seeing the completed collection book, and Karl smirked.
“It’s pricey.”
Eiran gulped.
“Oh, it’s beautiful?”
Luna smiled, gazing at her portrait card.
Karl pulled out a pen from his pocket.
“As a favor from a friend, could you sign this for me?”
“A signature?”
Luna looked bewildered.
“Yeah. Just because you’re my friend doesn’t mean I don’t respect you. As a wizard, I deeply respect the founder of the Cloud of Stars, Luna Rubiness.”
Karl said this confidently.
With a nod, Luna carefully signed each card.
“Is there any benefit to signing?”
Innocently, Luna, who was completely unfamiliar with this culture, asked.
To which Karl beamed.
“Of course! This one will make me rich.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Sia narrowed her gaze.
“Karl.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re going to get what’s coming to you.”
“It’s fine. I’m asking you as a friend.”
Karl grinned cheekily.
Having received all the signatures, Karl declared happily,
“Alright! Then, I treat everyone to dinner tonight.”
“Really? That’s great!”
Luna clapped her hands and Karl nodded.
“Yep, since I’m now a wealthy man.”
With a warm and amiable atmosphere, Luna and Karl walked off, with Chen Sia and Eiran rushing to catch up behind.
Leo smiled watching their retreating figures.
Whistling winds swept across the bitterly cold northern continent, now the domain of the Elves. This vast land contained multiple nations, but unlike human states, the Elven domain lacked a king.
During the Era of Catastrophe.
Elves, considered the strongest race and possessing great influence throughout the continent, collapsed easily under the onslaught of Tartarus. The reason? Their pride in their lineage.
Centered around the Elf King, the Elves wielded strong centralized power. However, when this power became corrupt, they tumbled down swiftly and effortlessly.
Following the end of the Era of Catastrophe.
The Fairy Knight, Berkiya Ersar, took the lead in reconstructing the world and abolished the social hierarchy in Elven societies.
Despite protests from those who called for the preservation of tradition, both the Elf King and the High Elves had fallen into decline.
Under the principle of equality for all Elves, the Elven society was rebuilt.
But over time, ideals can dull.
After thousands of years, the Elves indulged once more in their sense of uniqueness.
Their unmatched beauty compared to other races, their superior magical abilities, and their affinity with spirits convinced the Elves of their special status.
When Seirun appeared later and established the Elves as the custodians of magic, this belief in their uniqueness grew even stronger.
Starting from this, the “Pureblood Society” was born.
However, even this Pureblood Society lost its power not long ago.
Ironically, the very person whose existence enabled it—Seirun—denounced it.
One phrase from Seirun shattered the very foundation of their society.
When some of its main figures were revealed as traitors, the reputation of the Pureblood Society plummeted further.
Nonetheless, it was almost impossible for an institution so deeply rooted in elven society after thousands of years to vanish overnight.
“It’s intolerable. That a human possesses an Elven treasure!”
An Elf displayed his disapproval.
“Even if Lady Seirun recognized Leo Flove as a successor… Cometes is an Elven treasure.”
“Even though some fools claim that as Seirun’s staff, it must follow Seirun’s will… Cometes was originally Lady Luna’s. It’s absurd to hand it over to a human simply following Seirun’s wishes.”
“We sent envoys to Leo Flove in preparation for the Dusk Festival to request the formal return of Cometes.”
At a meeting of the Pureblood Society, heated discussions were underway.
One Elf furrowed his brows at this discussion.
“So why am I here?”
Lur Ersar.
Currently, the interim principal of Seirun and one of the elder Elves.
A powerful elf.
However, he had lived his life far away from the Pureblood Society.
In fact, he was an Elf not favored by the Pureblood Society.
Among Elves, his ideas were rather progressive.
Hence, Lur currently felt highly uncomfortable.
‘I was reading Eiran’s letter…’
Being called away from reading a letter from his granddaughter to listen to such nonsense, Lur found it hard to not develop a headache.
‘Thought it was a constructive meeting about the dissolution of the Pureblood Society.’
Faced with Lur’s evident discomfort, an Elf from the Pureblood Society spoke.
“Isn’t Master Lur a descendant of the famed Berkiya?”
“Shouldn’t you follow the teachings of Berkiya, the student of Lady Luna?”
Inside, Lur scoffed.
‘So now they’re trying to bring out Berkiya because Seirun denounced them, huh?’
In the first place, that Berkiya, one of the three great figures of the Elves, had a relatively weak influence precisely because of the Pureblood Society.
The rebuilt world’s Berkiya was someone who emphasized bonds with other races.
Naturally, Berkiya’s teachings were unacceptable to the Pureblood Society.
Therefore, despite the long-standing prestige of the Ersar family, Berkiya slowly faded into obscurity among the Elves.
The Ersar family, of course, never cared about such status. They simply revealed their progressive inclinations in line with their ancestor’s teachings.
But now that Seirun had denounced the Pureblood Society.
The Pureblood Society intended to change the Elven hero they upheld to Berkiya.
It would be easier to twist Berkiya’s teachings 5000 years ago to fit their purposes than those of Seirun, who criticized them.
While watching the Pureblood Society distort the legacy of his ancestor, Lur’s expression turned icy.
Creeeak!
Suddenly, the room’s door slid open with a loud sound.
“How dare anyone disrupt the important discussion of our race!”
Sitting in the highest seat, an Elder Elf shouted out in anger.
Kerch, kerch…
The sound of wet footsteps reached their ears.
At the same time, an Elven woman appeared, drenched in bl**d, wielding an equally bl**d-dripping sword.
“Wh… What…!”
“Who exactly are you!”
Shocked and angry voices erupted from all over the Pureblood meeting.
At the same time, strong magical powers surged.
All were powerful wizards of the Magic of Stars.
Even though they had twisted ideals, their capabilities were without fault.
WHOOSH!
But before their magic could fully form,
In the blink of an eye, the heads of the Pureblood members were severed.
From that moment on, it was a massacre.
At lightning speed, the Elven woman with the sword slaughtered everyone in the Pureblood Society.
Finally, her sword turned toward Lur.
KLANG!
But Lur defended himself.
At the moment their swords clashed,
A look of shock spread across Lur’s eyes.
WHOOSH!
bl**d splattered across Lur’s chest.
SPLASH!
The woman wiped her chest.
Had Lur swung his sword deliberately, she might have been wounded—not fatally, but surely hurt. He was still a powerful swordsman.
But he couldn’t bring himself to fully swing the sword.
And neither could she.
“…Thank heavens… You resemble Myrd more than I expected.”
The Elven woman’s voice, filled with relief and wistfulness, stepped closer.
SPLAT!
Rising, the Elf woman watched silently.
“Since you’re not a traitor, will you let me pass?”
Her voice kind, the woman asked.
“Why…” choked Lur, spitting bl**d.
“Isn’t someone needed to do this?”
Smiling bitterly, she continued,
“Bihars might’ve echoed the same words.”
Her thoughts turned to her lifelong friend, who had resided in the shadows.
“Did Bihars once feel this way looking at me in the past?”
She knew.
She knew this descendant was a pure and noble hero.
Someone who had surrounded the world with brilliance.
All to avoid tarnishing their name.
All to live up to their ideals.
But…
“I’m sorry, though. This is me.”
Then Berkiya’s figure vanished.
CREEEK!
KRAK!
Lur collapsed.
She would leave the Pureblood Society behind.
She wouldn’t d*e.
But…
‘Still disappointed her…’
Recalling his inability to raise his sword, Berkiya’s expression turned wistful under the night sky.
As she looked down at her hand beneath the falling snowflakes,
“Unacceptable…”
Dark emotions flickered in Berkiya’s eyes.
“It’s unthinkable… to mock their sacrifices… the people who live on… I cannot accept it…”
![[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1743806812-5548-TS-The-Protagonist-is-Conquered.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered")
