531.
Lunia looked at Leo, who was sitting in front of her, with a tense gaze.
As Eiran poured tea into Lunia’s cup, she gave her a curious look.
“Miss Lunia, are you feeling unwell?”
“What? No, I’m fine. Why?”
“I don’t know, but you seem uncomfortable. It looks like you’re breaking a cold sweat.”
“Oh, that?”
Lunia glanced at Leo awkwardly.
The moment their eyes met, Lunia was startled and quickly bowed her head.
Observing Lunia’s behavior, Chen Sia, who was standing by Leo’s side, blinked her large eyes a few times before smiling faintly.
“I thought Miss Lunia was the reckless type, but it seems she’s more of a diligent student.”
“What? What do you mean by ‘reckless type’? ‘Reckless type’?”
Lunia glared at Chen Sia. Eiran, who placed her finger under her chin, looked up at the ceiling as if in deep thought before breaking into a bright smile.
“Not reckless, more like a gangster.”
“What? Why am I a gangster?”
“Hmm… Then maybe a delinquent?”
Chen Sia tilted her head, and Eiran nodded in agreement, grinning brightly.
“These people!”
Lunia clenched her fists and leapt to her feet. But as soon as her eyes met Leo’s, she was startled again and quickly sat back down.
“I’m sorry for being so noisy… Ah, no! I’m sorry.”
She said this before stealthily glancing around nervously.
“…”
Watching Lunia like this, Eiran sidled up to Chen Sia and whispered.
“Why is Miss Lunia so nervous?”
“Maybe because of how she treated Lord Leo before?”
“Right.”
“…”
Lunia clenched her eyes shut.
Indeed, her conscience was prickling over how she had acted toward Leo until now.
But more importantly…
‘You guys being too calm is the real issue!’
Lunia shouted inwardly.
Not just anyone, but the Great Hero.
Among those, the very last one who defeated Erebus, the Hero of Beginning!
‘Of course it’s conspicuous!’
Everyone among Lumeran’s students who knew Leo’s true identity seemed completely unfazed.
‘What’s even going on in the minds of these Lumeran kids? Did Eiran drink the same water too?’
Indeed, Eiran had changed somewhat since she’d gone as an exchange student to Lumeran.
Looking at Lunia, whose eyes filled with sorrow as she observed Eiran, Leo spoke.
“Eiran, Lunia. There’s something I need to tell you.”
“What kind of story is this, Lord Leo?”
Eiran looked puzzled as she sat next to Lunia.
Lunia, who had been observing the atmosphere of Leo, suddenly realized something and hesitatingly asked.
“Leo, do you by any chance know who the culprit attacking the Principal is?”
Lunia asked with a rigid face, causing Eiran’s expression to change drastically.
“Really?”
Lunia looked at Eiran with a slightly flustered face.
Given the situation, Eiran’s anger was justified.
Nevertheless, this was the first time Lunia had ever heard such a cold tone in Eiran’s voice.
While Lunia was taken aback, Eiran sharply opened her eyes.
“Who is the culprit?”
The atmosphere was charged, almost as if she might cut someone down at any moment.
Seeing this, Leo closed his eyes before drawing a breath.
“Lord Leo.”
Chen Sia called out in a worried tone.
After opening his eyes and turning to her, Leo smiled.
“I’m fine.”
Chen Sia knew what she was worried about, and she herself was well aware.
Of what significance Berkiya was to Eiran.
‘Precisely because of that, it’s more important that I tell her.’
At first, Leo hesitated to tell Eiran the truth.
However, when Leo was hesitating, Lur said to him.
“Eiran is the heir of the Eresar family.”
This meant that Eiran had the right to know everything, and even if she learned the truth, she wouldn’t collapse.
If it weren’t for Leo, Lur would have told Eiran herself.
“Eiran, as Lunia said, I know who slashed your grandfather.”
“Who is it?”
Eiran’s eyes glimmered eerily.
Lunia’s eyes also became icy.
Looking at the two elves, Leo began to speak.
“Berkiya.”
This unexpected name caused Eiran and Lunia to wear expressions of confusion.
To the two of them, Leo continued.
“The culprit of the incident is my disciple and your ancestor, Eiran—Berkiya.”
Eiran’s face stiffened.
A moment later, her face began to pale gradually.
Seeing this, Leo said,
“Tonight, I plan to leave to find Berkiya.”
At Leo’s words, Chen Sia asked,
“In this vast northern continent, can we find Sir Berkiya?”
Chen Sia asked with a touch of worry, to which Leo responded.
“I’ve figured out which direction Berkiya headed.”
At his words, Chen Sia looked slightly surprised.
But soon, she understood.
Before coming to the Eresar family, both Leo and Chen Sia had visited the crime scene.
There were countless clues at the scene.
It wouldn’t have been difficult for Leo to find the direction in which Berkiya had gone.
‘Lord Leo is the original Shadow.’
Shadows are trained in pursuit skills.
It wasn’t something Leo could fail at—Chen Sia was well aware that in that area, Leo was at a far higher level than herself.
“I won’t tell you to come along. It’s dangerous.”
To Leo’s words, Lunia asked hesitantly with a heavy tone,
“Leo, is there a chance you can’t defeat Sir Berkiya?”
“I can’t promise anything. In the days of Kyle, I might not have been, but with pure strength, Berkiya surpasses me by far now.”
Leo said calmly.
“Moreover, with how Berkiya is now, my words won’t reach him either. There’s also a chance I might lose my life.”
At this, Chen Sia said,
“Even if you discourage me, I will follow Lord Leo. The more dangerous it is, the more I will.”
“I will also go. Lady Lunia must have been worried about Sir Berkiya.”
Lunia spoke with determination.
“Not sure if I can help, but I’d like to help you persuade Sir Berkiya.”
After hearing the words of the two, Leo nodded and looked at Eiran.
“I….”
Eiran moved her lips.
Lowering her eyes, she spoke strongly.
“I want to meet Sir Berkiya.”
The image of Berkiya she had met in the Hero Record popped into her mind.
She still didn’t want to believe it.
That Berkiya had fallen and become undead?
That he had become a being consumed by hatred?
But she was all too aware that Leo wouldn’t fabricate something as serious as this.
It was a shock.
But she didn’t want to avert her eyes.
“I want to talk to him.”
She didn’t know what they’d discuss.
Her mind was still a blank sheet from the shock.
She couldn’t even figure out why she wanted to meet Berkiya.
All she could think of was that he had to be stopped somehow.
Eiran bit her lip.
Seeing the three young women, Leo said,
“We’ll depart as soon as we’re ready.”
With that, Leo left the room.
The atmosphere was clearly different from usual, causing the three women to tightly clench their lips.
A difficult journey awaited them, that much was clear.
It had been one week since Leo’s group started chasing Berkiya.
Leo followed the trail of mana remnants he remembered from Berkiya.
But after a week, even the traces of that mana had disappeared.
WHOOSH!
Amid the howling snowstorm in the forest, Leo released a deep sigh.
“This is troublesome.”
Even someone as skilled as Leo couldn’t conjure up vanished traces.
“For now, it seems we’ll have to spend the night in this forest.”
“Agreed.”
At Chen Sia’s words, Leo nodded.
The time was already late.
Continuing movement wouldn’t yield any benefits at this point.
The group quickly prepared.
Lunia pulled out a tent from an alternate space.
In the northern part of the continent, winter comes earlier due to the harsh cold.
And that cold is fierce.
Even well-trained Hero Candidates found sleeping outdoors in a snowstorm to be grueling.
That’s why at Seirun Academy, students were rigorously trained in camping skills starting from the 1st year.
Entering the tent, Chen Sia murmured in surprise.
“Even so, this is definitely not something I would have expected. I didn’t think elegant Elves would be so skilled at camping.”
“Then what? Did you think we conjured up a mansion every time we slept outside?”
“Yeah, something like that. That would be entirely possible at Seirun.”
Listening to Chen Sia’s serious response, Lunia sighed.
“I see what students from other schools think of us.”
Scoffing, Lunia took off her coat inside one of the tents.
WHOOSH!
Using magic from Lunia, the tent interior warmed up.
The tent’s interior was spacious enough for all four of them to sleep comfortably.
Lunia, pulling out a circular table from an alternate space and placing it at the center, spoke.
“Let’s all gather here.”
At her words, Leo, Chen Sia, and Eiran gathered by Lunia.
Unfolding the map of the northern continent on the circular table, Lunia said,
“First, this is our movement route so far.”
Since departing Elsalbekia a week ago, all the movement routes were recorded on the map.
“We’ve been wandering aimlessly.”
“Given the circumstances, it’s normal.”
Organizing the tracking route for chasing Berkiya, it seemed they had been aimlessly drifting hither and thither.
At Leo’s words, Lunia nodded.
“That’s right. Sir Berkiya is unfamiliar with this era. Moreover, he hasn’t revealed himself publicly to people.”
Throughout the past week, there were various small and large villages along the route.
But every village reported that there weren’t any outsiders present.
“It’s just my guess, but even if Sir Berkiya has become undead, he’s still Sir Berkiya. He would never harm innocents. Therefore, I believe he is only targeting his goal.”
Lunia’s crimson eyes focused on the map.
“If that’s the case, there’s a high probability he headed to this place.”
With her finger, Lunia pointed to a place on the map. Close to their current location was a small city-state called ‘Eldon’.
Seeing this, Chen Sia said,
“The place where the Pureblood Society’s power is strongest in the continent’s northern region.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Lunia’s face twisted in disapproval.
Eldon was a place where people, from the parliament to the citizens, were filled with pure-bl**d ideology.
You could say they had strong racial pride, or in a bad light, they were stubborn, stereotypical Elves.
Therefore, even for Lunia, it wasn’t a pleasant place to visit.
“So, what do you think about investigating this place?”
Lunia cautiously asked Leo while reading his expression.
After listening to her explanation, Leo nodded.
Given her extensive knowledge of the northern continent’s situation, it was a fair judgment Lunia had made.
“Good idea. Excellent.”
At his words, Lunia smiled faintly.
The objective was set.
They also discussed the plan for what to do once they entered Eldon.
Still, throughout the discussion, Eiran’s expression remained hazy and vague.
Lunia and Chen Sia worriedly observed Eiran.
“Eiran, are you really okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Even with that vague tone, Eiran nodded.
She had been like this for the whole week.
Eiran, looking down, clenched her lips.
WHOOSH!
The howling sound of the snowstorm reverberated through the tent.
The tent was dark.
Outside was a stormy and pitch-black night, and inside the tent, there was no light at all.
Yet Leo lay awake in his sleeping bag, eyes open.
Even in the darkness, the dagger clutched in Leo’s hand was vividly visible to him.
“Bihar.”
The dagger held by Leo was none other than Bihar’s dagger.
‘How can I make that d*mn guy listen?’
He asked himself a question that wouldn’t reach his other disciple in the pitch-black dark.
‘And can you forgive Berkiya?’
Bihar had lost her life due to the wounds inflicted in a fight with Berkiya.
Bihar had suddenly lost her life due to Berkiya’s rampage.
Bihar had died without fully passing on her intentions to her own descendants.
Had she lived a little longer, the lives of her descendants might have been somewhat different.
What thoughts did Bihar have in mind before she closed her eyes?
‘She must have hated Berkiya.’
Just as Leo gave more pressure to the dagger in his firm grip, closing his eyes, the sound of someone stepping in the snow was heard by his sensitive hearing.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The entrance to the tent was quietly opened, and the sound of the snowstorm was heard.
CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
The visitor carefully walked inside the tent toward Leo.
And finally, the intruder opened their trembling lips.
“Lord Leo… Are you asleep?”
The midnight visitor to Leo’s tent was none other than Eiran.
“Can’t sleep?”
“Yes.”
Eiran, along with Lunia and Chen Sia, used one tent, while Leo used a separate small tent alone.
It was natural to separate the spaces since they needed privacy for bathing and changing clothes.
In the darkness, Leo looked at Eiran.
Considering the cold, it seemed she had come despite the snowstorm in merely her nightwear. Her clothes were already damp, and her body was trembling with the cold from the harsh weather.
“Wait, I’ll boil some warm tea for you.”
“The tea is fine.”
Eiran shook her head with her trembling voice.
“Just…”
Eiran came closer to Leo.
“Can I sleep with you, Lord Leo?”
![[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")
