Chapter 532

532.

Her trembling gaze.

Her tightly clenched lips.

Her balled-up fists.

Eiran’s face, visible in the darkness, was filled with unease.

“When was the last time you slept properly?”

“…A week ago.”

At Eiran’s reply, Lord Leo sighed deeply. He stood up and turned on the magic stone lantern located in the corner of the tent. Leo then retrieved a towel hanging nearby and gently dried Eiran’s soaked hair.

“Ah, I…”

“Stay still.”

Leo absentmindedly dried Eiran’s hair in a rough manner.

After the moisture in her hair had dried to a certain extent, Leo walked over and sat by the sleeping bag, asking:

“Are you very worried about Lady Berkiya?”

At Leo’s question, Eiran bowed her head low.

“I know I must try to stop Her Highness…”

Eiran spoke softly.

“But I don’t know what to say or how to dissuade her…”

With her arms crossed as if to embrace herself, Eiran trembled.

“That’s why I’m so scared… that this isn’t the Berkiya I know. That she might never awaken and that Lady Berkiya might harm you, Lord Leo.”

There was no way Eiran’s mind could be anything but in turmoil.

The fall of the one she admired and aspired to be. The fear that someone she respected might harm another she respected.

Overwhelmed by anxiety, Eiran couldn’t sleep. For the past week, she had tried to compose herself, but all attempts had failed.

This was why she had come to Leo.

At the sight of such a distraught Eiran, Leo sighed deeply.

“There’s no way she can’t be struggling.”

Given the situation, Eiran’s mental state wasn’t simply one of weakness. The pressure was far too immense.

It was slightly different for Lunia and Chen Sia.

If Chen Sia had to defeat the undead Leo, how would she react? If Lunia had to defeat Luna, what would she do?

“To Eiran, it must be a similar situation.”

For the young Eiran, the pressure was too enormous to bear.

Silently, Leo watched Eiran.

“What should I say to help her?”

Should he tell her that he would undoubtedly defeat Lady Berkiya if needed?

“In this situation, no words will bring her comfort.”

He also couldn’t say that Berkiya would return to her original self, for Eiran surely understood how unlikely that was.

Anxiety could wear someone down mentally.

The silence and darkness that came with night would surely have frightened Eiran even more.

And yet, she couldn’t confide in Lunia or Chen Sia.

Though they didn’t overtly show their distress, Eiran knew both were anxious about the situation as well. She didn’t want to burden them further.

Eiran had tried to endure alone, but she eventually couldn’t withstand the anxiety and sought out Leo.

The only person she could lean on in this situation.

As Eiran trembled, she looked up, meeting Leo’s crimson gaze.

“Are you struggling?”

At Leo’s question, Eiran clenched her teeth and tried to gather her strength.

“I shouldn’t rely on Lord Leo…”

Eiran knew.

Leo saw her not as just a Hero Candidate, but more.

As the Great Hero, Leo would inevitably have to fight the final battles against Erebus and Tartarus.

And Leo had chosen Eiran to be the hero who would fight alongside him in those battles.

“So, I should not act like a child.”

If she constantly leaned on Leo in times of need, she’d end up being nothing but a burden.

“I have to overcome this on my own.”

Eiran forced a smile.

“It was tough, but I’ll try to keep going…”

“Struggling? Then go to sleep.”

“Huh?”

“There’s no need to force yourself to endure and shoulder all this.”

“Huh, but how long can I keep leaning on Lord Leo…”

“It’s fine for now.”

Leo spoke matter-of-factly.

“It’s the duty of an adult to help you when you’re struggling. So, should I tell you an old story you’d like?”

At that, Eiran, who had been slightly taken aback, couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle.

“Lord Leo, even if I am treated like a child, I’m not that young anymore.”

“You don’t want to hear it?”

“Still, I would like to.”

Eiran replied with a slightly brighter tone.

Leo, seeing this, retrieved an extra sleeping bag from the space dimension and handed it to her.

When Eiran was about to get into the sleeping bag,

“Hmm~ Looks like nothing serious happened.”

“Hiiik?”

At the voice from behind, Eiran gasped and turned around. There was Chen Sia, crouched down, with sleepy eyes staring at her.

“Sia, when did you get there?”

“From the start.”

Chen Sia smirked.

“You never know what could happen when a man and a woman are alone at night.”

“Am I someone who’d do that?”

Leo clicked his tongue in annoyance as Chen Sia shook her head.

“I trust Lord Leo. It’s Lady Eiran I don’t trust.”

At this, Eiran’s eyes widened dramatically and tearfully asked,

“You’re too cruel. Just because of my reading preferences, do you honestly think I would secretly seduce Lord Leo as an elf?”

“Yes, you look like exactly the type of elf who could do that.”

Without a trace of hesitation, Chen Sia’s response made Eiran frown.

“Can I sleep here too?”

“Why?”

“If Lady Eiran attacks Lord Leo, it’ll be a mess.”

“I am not that kind of elf!”

Eiran grabbed onto Chen Sia and shook her furiously.

Seeing this, Leo chuckled.

“Reminds me of the old days.”

Bihar used to tease Berkiya similarly all the time.

Looking at the descendants of his disciples, Leo recalled the past and spoke up.

“Let me tell you the story of my first meeting with Berkiya and Bihar.”

At this, Eiran and Chen Sia, who had been bickering, immediately sat in front of Leo.

As they listened to the tales of their predecessors, time passed.

*

Early dawn.

The snowstorm had subsided somewhere along the night.

Lunia woke up and took a deep breath.

“I wonder if Eiran’s alright.”

Knowing Eiran’s friendship well, Lunia was aware her state wasn’t good.

“I would like to cheer her up somehow.”

But Lunia herself couldn’t easily console her. She also respected the progenitor of the Lundar family deeply.

The ancestor’s efforts to pass on the flame of purity were always a source of pride for her.

If this progenitor were to resurrect as an undead due to the Demon King’s scheming?

She couldn’t imagine what that would feel like.

“Even if I bring up the topic carelessly, it might cause more harm than good.”

Lunia took another deep breath and opened her sleeping bag.

Ziiiiik-!

After unzipping it and standing up, Lunia frowned in confusion.

“Eiran? Chen Sia?”

Both had vanished completely.

As Lunia stood there confused, a conversation from outside the tent reached her ears.

“Can’t we stay a little longer?”

“Aha.”

Relieved by this, Lunia realized nothing serious had happened during the night.

To her surprise, Eiran’s voice sounded much cheerier than before.

As Lunia was about to rise, a sudden voice caught her attention.

“It’s not allowed. Lord Leo needs his sleep.”

“Why don’t we sleep with Lord Leo?”

“It’s not allowed. You’ve already kept him awake the whole night. Let’s give him a bit of time to rest.”

“But Lord Leo kept us awake, so how can we sleep?”

“Hmm… You’re right. It was indeed a joyful time.”

At this exchange from outside, Lunia froze.

As the tent door opened and Eiran and Chen Sia entered, their eyes met Lunia’s hardened expression, causing Eiran’s eyes to widen.

“Lunia, you’re awake early.”

“Uh, yeah… Eiran, you seem a bit better?”

“Yes! Sorry for worrying you, Lunia.”

With a sheepish smile, Eiran looked at Lunia as she managed an awkward one.

“Ah, it’s alright. But… were you just at Leo’s tent?”

“Yes. Shamefully, I was comforted by Lord Leo all night. It helped me forget many of my worries.”

“Though due to Lady Eiran’s clinginess, Lord Leo couldn’t sleep.”

“It’s not just me; you were there too, Sia!”

Eiran complained in a grumpy voice.

As Lunia listened to their conversation, her voice began to tremble.

“You-you! Do you even realize what you’ve done?”

“Huh? We just stayed with Lord Leo all night… Oh, should we’ve invited you too, Lunia? Sorry! I didn’t think about that… Next time, we’ll definitely go together.”

At Eiran’s apologetic expression, Lunia’s face turned as red as her hair, and she began to have a panic attack.

“You! You students!”

“Lunia?”

“What did you students just do?! Regardless of Lord Leo being an adult, that’s not even the issue here! The three of you spent the entire night?! And now you’re even inviting me next time?!”

“Lu, Lunia? What’s wrong? Calm down!”

“Calm down? You two are the top students of Seirun and Lumeran. You’re supposed to conduct yourselves properly! Now you’re asking what the problem is after acting this way?”

Completely flustered, Lunia scolded the two with a red face and wide eyes.

Eiran fearfully responded,

“W-W-We just listened to some old stories from Lord Leo!”

As Lunia shouted, she suddenly appeared embarrassed for a moment.

“Even if you’ve read a lot of those kinds of books… Wha-?!”

Eiran’s eyes widened when Lunia suddenly looked embarrassed.

After a short pause,

“Aaah, so that’s what you were thinking.”

Chen Sia smiled broadly.

“Lunia, your imagination is truly vivid. I never imagined you’d think that way.”

“N-No, that’s not what I meant! It’s…”

Sweating profusely, Lunia tried to explain.

Upon understanding the situation, Eiran’s eyes widened, then narrowed.

“Lunia.”

“Mi, my fault? No, that’s not-”

“You’re shallow.”

“…”

At those words, Lunia bowed her head deeply.

Shaking, Lunia suddenly had another panic attack and lunged at Eiran.

“It’s all because you’re always watching weird things!”

“Why is it my fault?! Your mind is the weird one!”

“Aaah! I don’t care! It’s your fault! It’s all your fault!”

As the two elves shouted at each other furiously, Chen Sia smiled warmly.

“Lord Leo will hear all of this.”

That warning quieted their voices instantly.

Chen Sia approached Lunia with a smile.

“It’s fortunate that the misunderstanding is cleared up.”

“Y-Yes.”

“But I’m curious, how far did you imagine it?”

Lunia began shaking again.

I want to rip that smiling face apart.

“Tell me, please?”

‘This girl is surprisingly nasty.’

Seeing Chen Sia’s smiling face mocking her, Lunia had no choice but to cover her face.