Chapter 457

Book 1 Chapter 457

457.

Chelsea’s statement caused Leo to freeze.

Gripping the container of alcohol, he lifted his gaze and focused on Chelsea.

Their eyes locked across the space.

With a rigid expression, Chelsea stared into Leo’s crimson eyes.

Following a brief interval of quiet.

Leo reached for an unused tumbler on the surface and poured some alcohol.

He then offered it to Chelsea, who wore a bewildered look.

“Care for a drink?”

“Oh, wait?!”

Chelsea appeared moderately startled.

Soon, however, she accepted the glass using both hands, paused momentarily, and then took a sip.

“Yuck! That’s bitter.”

Observing Chelsea scowl, Leo leaned his chin upon his hand, let out a soft laugh, and drained his own drink.

He then muttered under his breath.

“Arion, that busybody.”

Chelsea’s jaw dropped upon hearing Leo’s remark.

Witnessing the dynamic between Leo and Arion, she had previously wondered, ‘Could it be?’

She had been stunned when she originally heard Arion’s explanation.

Yet, hearing the confirmation straight from Leo made the impact feel entirely different.

“My goodness. What should I do? So, I have been acting disrespectfully toward Brother Leo… no, toward Lord Kyle this entire time? What do I do! What do I do!”

Chelsea masked her mouth with both hands, her eyes stretching wide.

Noticing Chelsea’s panic, Leo spoke.

“There is no point in getting worked up about it at this stage.”

“B-but! Oh, of course. Still, sir!”

Chelsea, who had been replying in her ordinary manner, instantly shifted to formal language and cautiously monitored Leo’s demeanor as she spoke.

“Interacting with the Great Hero in such a casual manner… wasn’t that an immense sign of disrespect…?”

“Nothing has altered. Continue to interact with me however you feel most comfortable.”

Leo offered a soft grin.

Chelsea gripped the tumbler tightly, watching Leo.

There had to be a specific motive behind Arion sharing Leo’s hidden identity with her.

‘Lord Arion desired for someone close to Brother Leo to understand Brother Leo’s secret. In the hope that he might find a place to unwind, even if only a bit.’

To Chelsea, it was difficult to truly comprehend the path Leo had traveled.

Her pulse would race whenever she listened to legends of champions during her youth.

Her favorites were, naturally, the epic chronicles of the Great Heroes.

Yet the accounts of the Great Heroes were, to Chelsea, mere fables or historical events from the deep past.

That sentiment likely applied to everyone, not just Chelsea.

Nonetheless, having encountered a mere portion of Erebus during this incident, she understood a bit better now.

What the actual dread and hopelessness of Erebus truly entailed.

‘Had Lord Arion or Brother Leo not been present, none of us would have survived.’

She also recognized the true magnitude of the Great Heroes, who battled against a fully realized Erebus for a vast duration and ultimately restored harmony to civilization.

‘Brother Leo… is enduring that tribulation all over again. By himself.’

She wished to ease that weight, even if only by a fraction.

‘But with my current capabilities, I cannot possibly manage that.’

Chelsea was simply too underdeveloped right now.

Chelsea was fully aware of that reality.

‘If that is the case, I must at least offer a sanctuary where Brother Leo can feel at ease.’

Arion undoubtedly revealed the truth because he shared that wish.

It was exactly as Leo mentioned.

Nothing changes.

If her behavior shifted, Leo would surely find it uncomfortable.

Chelsea inhaled deeply and swallowed the remaining alcohol in her glass in a single gulp.

“Gasp? Cough! Cough! Choke!”

Chelsea began coughing heavily from the searing sensation traveling down her throat.

“Waaater! Water!”

Leo filled a cup with water for Chelsea, who was frantically scanning the room for it.

“Phew!”

Chelsea exhaled a lengthy breath.

“Why do grown-ups even consume this stuff? It tastes awful!”

Chelsea, returning to her usual demeanor, cried out in distaste.

“Truly, why do they consume it?”

“I always considered Brother Leo to be far too mature.”

Now the reason behind Leo’s maturity made sense.

Furthermore, Leo’s power, which defied all standard limitations, also became logical.

“When we first enrolled, Brother Leo displayed immense curiosity regarding the Hero of Beginnings, didn’t he? What was the reason for that?”

“Ah, that situation.”

During the start of their enrollment, Leo had attempted to establish an organization to bring fresh recognition to the Hero of Beginnings.

Recalling that period, Leo remarked casually.

“It feels unjust.”

“Unjust?”

“Yes. The deceptive reptile, the irritable elf, the timid beastman, and the degenerate dwarf are all revered as Great Heroes, yet I am regarded as a mythical figure.”

Chelsea’s mouth parted in shock as she understood exactly who Leo meant.

It was an assertion an ordinary person would never presume to utter.

“Pfft.”

Chelsea, who had been stuttering, suddenly burst into laughter despite herself.

“Hearing you describe them that way makes it truly hit home that Brother Leo is indeed the Hero of Beginnings.”

It was a dynamic only possible among intimate companions.

“Brother Leo! Would you tell me accounts about the Great Heroes?”

“I will share those chronicles with you another time.”

“Huh? Why is that? We still have plenty of available time.”

“We have an uninvited arrival. If I continue to disregard them, they will begin imagining peculiar scenarios.”

“Peculiar scenarios?”

While Chelsea tilted her head in confusion, Leo arose from his seat and moved toward the entrance.

Slam! Crash!

“Eeek?”

The moment the barrier swung open, Eiran, who had been leaning her face flush against it, collapsed flat onto the floorboards.

“E-Eiran unnie?”

Chelsea felt bewildered.

Had she perhaps eavesdropped on their dialogue?

The suspicion flashed through her mind.

Yet observing Leo’s unbothered expression, she felt reassured.

‘He utilized sorcery.’

Given Leo’s capability, he could easily obstruct sound waves so that no outsider would notice.

It was at that point Chelsea nodded in understanding.

Eiran, who had scrambled back up, spoke in a tone laced with astonishment and thrill.

“Is Lord Leo truly Lord Kyle, the Hero of Beginnings?!”

“What?”

“Eek?!”

Leo and Chelsea both displayed startled expressions at the unforeseen turn of events.

Eiran’s ears were twitching rapidly.

Eiran, strolling by herself down the corridor, soon arrived near Leo’s quarters.

‘Deep into the night… alone inside Lord Leo’s quarters.’

Eiran recollected the plot of a romance book she had previously browsed.

‘Late at night, a servant visits the master’s chambers and…’

Eiran, her cheeks flushing, shook her head fiercely.

‘Lord Leo is an honorable gentleman, so that simply cannot be.’

As she drew nearer to Leo’s room, Eiran’s ears perked up.

She detected vocal sounds originating from inside Leo’s room.

‘Gasp? A female’s voice?’

Eiran’s hand shuddered slightly.

Eiran swallowed softly, concealed her presence entirely, and advanced closer to Leo’s door, pressing her ear against the wood.

‘This is… Miss Chelsea’s voice? C-could it be! A midnight tryst?’

Eiran’s mouth parted and closed repeatedly.

‘W-well, Lord Leo and Miss Chelsea certainly attend the same academy, share the same year… and Miss Chelsea is lovely, so it would not be unusual for them to be romantically involved. B-but I understood human aristocrats do not have straightforward courtships? Furthermore, Lord Leo’s maternal clan and Miss Chelsea’s house are fierce competitors… Ah! A romance defying ancestral opposition?!’

Eiran’s thoughts spun in circles.

She pressed her ear even closer to capture the dialogue within the room.

However, no distinct articulation could be detected, as if a barrier was obstructing them.

‘Why am I unable to hear anything?’

Despite her sharp elven auditory senses, Eiran felt aggravated when she could not clearly capture the dialogue inside.

Shortly after, Eiran shut her eyes and concentrated her awareness entirely on her hearing.

Still, the conversation sounds remained muffled, as though disrupted by a barrier, merely buzzing.

Eiran focused her internal energy even further.

A brief moment later.

The obscured sounds gradually regained their distinctness.

It felt as though a solid barrier was slowly dissolving away.

‘What exactly is this?’

Eiran felt startled by the extraordinary sensation.

Her auditory capacity felt as though it had broken past its ordinary boundaries.

‘…Supersense?’

The instant she recognized it as Supersense, a capability she had studied under Arion.

“Hearing you say that makes it really sink in that Brother Leo is the Hero of Beginnings.”

Upon hearing Chelsea’s voice, Eiran’s thoughts clarified instantly.

“What?!”

The very moment she was stunned by the shocking revelation.

Slam!

The door swung wide, and Eiran pitched forward into the room.

Without a moment to feel embarrassed about being discovered eavesdropping, she urgently inquired.

“Is Lord Leo truly Lord Kyle, the Hero of Beginnings?!”

Consequently, the current scenario came to pass.

Leo muttered, observing Eiran, who remained seated with her eyes gleaming brilliantly.

“Supersense, is it?”

“Supersense?”

Chelsea tilted her head sideways.

“Even though I restricted the room’s audio from escaping using sorcery, Eiran detected the exchange. Thus, there is only one logical explanation.”

There was no alternative way to clarify it other than that Eiran had advanced into the boundary of Supersense.

“Ah, so it truly was Supersense after all.”

Eiran’s eyes dilated in fascination.

“But why did only I manage to trigger Supersense? Miss Ar and the remaining Azonia pupils, as well as the pupils from Lumerin, have not managed to trigger Supersense yet.”

Directing his gaze toward Eiran and her bewildered expression, Leo remarked.

“It is likely Berquia’s legacy.”

“My predecessor’s legacy?”

“Yes. Berquia also persistently practiced to enter the boundary of Supersense.”

Nonetheless, the energetic concepts of that era were inadequate to fully realize Supersense, which was Arion’s exclusive capability.

However, Berquia’s findings endured within the Eisar lineage’s energy system and were transmitted down through generations.

‘Did the Eisar lineage’s energy, which persisted in being analyzed and enhanced independently, merge with Arion’s guidance to allow Eiran to fully realize Supersense?’

It appeared that, owing to elven biology, her auditory senses had manifested first.

Absorbing Leo’s breakdown, Chelsea and Eiran nodded in agreement.

“Unquestionably! Lord Leo was extraordinary precisely because he was Lord Kyle, the Hero of Beginnings!”

Observing Eiran beam radiantly, Chelsea spoke.

“Eiran unnie, this information ought to remain confidential for the time being…”

“I understand, Miss Chelsea.”

Eiran gestured subtly to Chelsea, looking at her.

“If Lord Leo’s true status is unmasked, it will trigger an immense amount of chaos. Let us preserve it as our shared secret for the moment.”

Chelsea nodded along with Eiran’s assertion.

Eiran stared intently at Leo’s face.

The Great Hero who preserved the realm, whom she had worshiped since her youth, was standing directly ahead of her.

For Eiran, who constantly revered Leo and wished to witness his deeds, it was an incredibly thrilling reality.

“I wish to assist Lord Leo, even if only in a small way. Therefore, I want to ease Lord Leo’s obligations.”

“In that case, shouldn’t you develop yourself a bit further?”

Leo responded with a polite smirk.

“Yes. I may still be inadequate to divide the weight that Lord Leo bears. However, as Lord Arion mentioned, I can establish an environment where Lord Leo can briefly set everything aside and rest.”

Eiran closed her fist tightly and declared.

“Therefore, Lord Leo. Whenever you grow weary, depend on me!”

“That is a considerate offer.”

“I am not merely uttering words! I will solace Lord Leo with my entire being and spirit, at any time and in any place!”

Eiran’s voice, coupled with her reddened expression, carried a notably determined tone.

It represented the resolve to turn into a fountain of vitality for the Hero of Beginnings, who was once more encountering hardships to preserve civilization.

Nevertheless, in contrast to Eiran’s true meaning, Chelsea, who was listening close by, experienced a complicated and awkward embarrassment.

“Eiran unnie. The statement you just uttered could be slightly misconstrued depending on how a person interprets it…”

“Huh? What do you imply by that?”

Eiran’s countenance, which had been bewildered, gradually started to freeze, then suddenly! it flushed intensely crimson.

“What I just expressed did not signify that sort of thing whatsoever!”

Eiran, exclaiming as if throwing a tantrum, began to panic wildly.

“T-that is! That is! I-if you require anything, it signifies to summon me at any moment… Ah, no no no no! To employ me? T-that is incorrect as well!”

“Have you perhaps consumed an excessive amount of questionable fiction?”

“No!”

Eiran’s expression appeared as though she were on the verge of tears, she shook her head repeatedly, then masked her face with both hands and curled up in her spot.

Chelsea offered comfort to Eiran at her side.

Observing the pair, Leo laughed quietly to himself.

‘Their temperaments differ completely, yet why are their preferences in literature identical?’

Feeling amused, Leo rested his chin upon his hand and directed his gaze outside the window.

He refrained from displaying it outwardly, but his mind felt significantly lighter.

‘Not terrible.’

Feeling content, Leo permitted a subtle smile to grace his face.