Chapter 686

“Ah, Leo? What brings you by? Did you drop in after your meeting with Lord Dweno?”

Kal’s face lit up with a warm smile.

Before him, a queue of young dwarfs and beastkin had formed. Each child was receiving a single piece of candy from Kal.

“Wow!”

“Thank you so much!”

The children popped the sweets into their mouths, their faces beaming with pure delight. Ar was pulling a wagon loaded with kids. Driana was busy mending broken toys in the center of the wide courtyard, while Iliana moved around on all fours like a horse, giving rides to children one by one.

‘So it’s an orphanage.’

“Lord Dweno!”

“Look, it’s Lord Dweno!”

The youngsters caught sight of Dweno beside Leo and dashed over.

“Welcome back, Lord Dweno!”

“How have you all been keeping?”

Dweno offered a gentle smile, patting each of their heads before inquiring,

“Where is Enniha?”

“She’s indoors.”

“Probably working on a drawing.”

The orphanage children crowded around Leo, observing him with inquisitive eyes.

“Wow, is that big brother a human as well?”

Leo merely gave a silent nod in response. His cold reaction made the children flinched and retreat behind Dweno.

“It seems your personality remains unchanged even after passing away. Would it kill you to show a little warmth to the little ones, like those friends over there?”

“Ar unnie! Go faster! Faster!”

“Sister! Keep going!”

“Woohoo!”

Ar, who was hauling the wagon, picked up the pace.

“Giddy-up! Giddy-up!”

“Hey now. Your unnie is exhausted, shouldn’t we take a break?”

“No way!”

A young dwarf girl perched on Iliana’s back shook her head aggressively.

“Ah! Leader!”

Iliana crawled over toward Leo, tugging at the hem of his trousers.

“Trade places with me! My spine is about to snap!”

“Your back isn’t fragile enough to give out from just this. Entertaining children is part of being a hero, so endure it. Or would you prefer to head back to training?”

Hearing that, Iliana’s complexion drained of color. She quickly let the child down and bellowed,

“Next!”

Ar and Iliana, having transformed into the children’s favorite playthings, continued to frolic happily with them.

“This is exactly why having actual skills is essential.”

“No doubt about it. Otherwise, your physical body takes the brunt of it.”

Driana and Kal shared a soft chuckle as they observed the scene.

“Despicable.”

“What is it now?”

“Since when did you care so much about the duties of heroism?”

Hearing Dweno’s remark, Leo offered a casual shrug.

“Even if I don’t care on the inside, shouldn’t I at least maintain the proper appearance on the outside?”

“Tsk. You’ve picked up some terrible habits. Out of everything you could inherit, why did it have to be Lisinas’s deceptive tendencies?”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You’ve even got Luna’s shamelessness. You only absorb the worst traits.”

Dweno sighed with a look of sheer exasperation.

“People say married couples grow to resemble one another, but weren’t you completely unrelated to those two in that sense?”

At those words, Leo shifted his gaze forward.

What was he supposed to say?

Should he mention that he had already encountered Luna and Lisinas and was fully aware of their emotions? And that Lisinas had even attempted to trick him into matrimony?

If he brought that up, Dweno’s reaction would be entirely predictable.

‘He’d just call me an idiot as expected.’

There was no point in drawing unnecessary ridicule.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Dweno turned to the orphanage children and spoke,

“You all must be weary, go rest up inside the estate.”

Leo gave a nod and pushed open the mansion’s front door.

Creak—

Right before stepping across the threshold, he stole one final glance back at Dweno, who was sharing a laugh while playing with the youngsters.

Back in their days at Guardsron, Lisinas, Luna, and Aron would frequently look after the children at the orphanage.

Lisinas firmly believed that those youngsters represented the future.

Luna simply found genuine joy in playing games with them.

Aron just had a natural fondness for kids.

Their motivations varied entirely, yet all three interacted with the little ones with absolute sincerity.

‘Those kids used to follow the three of them everywhere too.’

In contrast, he and Dweno had always kept their distance from the youngsters.

In his previous life, Leo had never been particularly fond of children.

‘It’s not as if my feelings have changed much now, either.’

Leo never allowed children to get close to him. The only youngsters who ever approached him voluntarily were Berkia and Vihar.

‘Well, considering I always wore a sullen expression, it makes sense.’

It was entirely reasonable that they stayed away out of intimidation.

But Dweno’s situation was different.

He would always observe the youngsters with a kind, gentle grin. Dweno himself didn’t harbor any dislike for children, yet he deliberately maintained a clear boundary between himself and the orphanage kids.

Back then, Leo had never found that behavior peculiar.

‘Everyone else was the same way.’

He had assumed Dweno simply didn’t dislike children but didn’t adore them enough to dote on them either.

However, watching him now, that obviously wasn’t the case.

‘I actually know nothing about Dweno’s past.’

They placed more trust in each other than anyone else in the world. He would put his life in Dweno’s hands without a second thought. Even if Dweno were to somehow betray that trust, he would feel no remorse.

Such was the profound connection shared by great heroes.

“Lord Dweno! Look at the flower I drew!”

“Haha! This is even better than Enniha’s work.”

“I doubt that.”

Dweno laughed out loud, examining the floral drawing presented by the beastkin girl.

A dwarf boy sitting across from them, also busy sketching, chimed in,

“But how beautiful are real flowers?”

“Extremely beautiful.”

“I’ve heard that massive fields of flowers look just like the stars scattered across the midnight sky!”

Dweno offered a faint smile as he gazed at the children’s glittering eyes.

Throughout the Age of Disaster, flora had become virtually extinct. This territory was also under Tartaros’s control, making flowers an incredibly rare sight. For these youngsters, flowers were a concept that existed solely within drawings.

‘They were harder to come via than magic stones, even back in Guardsron.’

Dweno shut his eyes, a somber expression overtaking his features.

‘At least until that utter fool finalized an absolutely ridiculous spell.’

Snap—!

The distinct sound of a finger snapping echoed through the air.

“Whoa!”

“It’s so beautiful!”

The ecstatic shouts of the children rang out.

Opening his eyes, his vision was instantly filled with a sea of vibrantly blooming flowers.

Dweno turned around instinctively.

Standing there was Leo, wearing his typical blank stare and looking thoroughly uninterested. With a slightly irritated expression, he turned and walked into the house.

“Unbelievable.”

Dweno let out a breathy laugh.

‘There are moments when I truly comprehend why those idiots fell for that fool.’

“Arrgh! No, this isn’t right!”

Leo, who had walked into the villa and stretched out on the living room sofa, bolted upright at the sound of a scream echoing from the upper floor.

Running a hand aggressively through his hair, he made his way up the stairs.

Upon reaching the second floor, he sensed a presence emanating from the room at the very end of the hallway.

Pushing the door open, he stepped inside to see Enniha’s back. She looked completely exhausted, sitting in a dim room with the sunlight shut out by heavy curtains, focused entirely on a canvas.

Painted upon it was a depiction of a flower.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh? When did you get in here?”

Enniha turned around, scratching her unwashed hair as she spoke,

“It’s nothing special. I want to show the children what real flowers look like, but it’s just not coming together. Besides, it’s been a lifetime since I last laid eyes on a flower myself.”

The artwork on the canvas was actually quite well-executed, but it was a flower entirely devoid of life. Around the room, the walls were covered with numerous other paintings depicting flowers and brilliant sunrises.

“Are you a fan of flowers?”

“Not particularly.”

“That’s a first. I’ve never met an elf who didn’t care for flowers.”

Elves, who constantly seek unity with the natural world, typically adore flowers because they represent organic beauty rather than something fabricated.

“Hmph. I simply prefer the sun above all else.”

“For what reason?”

“Because it’s beautiful.”

Leo let out a slight smirk at Enniha’s incredibly basic reasoning and pulled back the curtains.

“In that case, focus on painting the sun. The flowers have already bloomed out there.”

“What?”

Enniha’s eyes went wide as she peered out the window.

“What in the world? Where did all these flowers come from?”

A massive field of blossoms was in full bloom. Enniha watched in utter astonishment as the youngsters ran around playing amidst them.

“It’s magic.”

“Magic? You don’t mean an illusion spell, do you?”

“No, it’s a spell that genuinely causes flowers to grow and bloom.”

“Such a spell exists?”

“An incredibly foolish elf created it.”

It was a magic that, from Leo’s perspective, would be invented in the distant past, but for Enniha, lay in the not-so-distant future.

“Ah… if I had known about that, I would have studied magic instead.”

Admiring the view, Enniha turned her gaze back to Leo.

“Was it you who cast it?”

“Yes.”

“That’s truly remarkable.”

With an admiring tone, Enniha remarked,

“I’m genuinely glad that we… or rather, I’m glad that I had the chance to meet you.”

“Out of nowhere?”

As Leo wore a look of pure confusion, Enniha gave a bittersweet smile.

“Yes. I feel grateful. Because of your arrival, I feel like Dweno has finally found a true equal.”

“An equal, you say.”

Leo crossed his arms, leaning back against the window frame as he observed Dweno outside.

“Are you implying that you aren’t his equal?”

“Before I could ever be an equal, I’m merely a weight dragging him down.”

Enniha offered a self-pitying chuckle, continuing to speak as she rinsed her paintbrush in a jar of water.

“You’re well aware of it too. Dweno possesses an overwhelming, monstrous level of power.”

He knew that fact better than anyone else. After all, Dweno was the legendary hero who had joined him in rescuing the world.

He possessed an unyielding, iron-like determination that seemed entirely incapable of wavering or breaking down.

Even Lisinas, who had been gripped by fear and claimed he couldn’t join their party when he first encountered Dweno, or Luna, who frequently picked arguments with him—even Aron, who was perpetually terrified and always sought someone to lean on—

‘And even myself.’

Whenever any of them began to falter or break under the pressure, Dweno would strike them with that iron will, forging a stronger determination within them and straightening out their broken pieces.

Dweno wasn’t merely a blacksmith who forged their armaments. He was the very hammer that sharpened their edges and hardened their resolve.

‘His past is irrelevant.’

Because Dweno himself chose never to speak of it.

However, facing Dweno’s history in this manner made Leo feel pathetic for having simply relied upon him all this time.

Enniha spoke up,

“He could never fight to his full potential because he was always busy keeping us safe. We were constantly holding Dweno back.”

“Did Dweno ever tell you that?”

“No. He would never say such a thing, but…”

Enniha shook her head.

“Standing alongside you, someone who wields a comparable level of strength, Dweno was finally able to unleash his true, unrestricted power.”

Enniha tightened her fist.

“He might deny it himself, but Dweno absolutely has the capability to rescue this world. Everyone in Ibaldi, including myself, believes that implicitly.”

“Is that why you’re happy to have crossed paths with me?”

“Exactly.”

Leo let out a soft laugh.

“You aren’t a burden to Dweno.”

“What?”

“And the residents of Ibaldi aren’t either.”

One could easily discern how deeply this elf had shaped the life of that wretched, self-proclaimed artistic pervert without even needing to ponder it deeply.

The very catalyst for that unyielding iron will that kept them upright and unwavering was standing right in front of him. It was Enniha’s presence.

Dweno had borne the expectations of the citizens of Ibaldi, driving himself forward without ever slowing down.

‘Just like I did.’

In their final moments, they must have placed their absolute faith in Dweno until the very second they closed their eyes for good.

‘Just like you did.’

“Just as you place your trust in Dweno, Dweno places his trust in you. So stop speaking as if you’re a burden.”

Leo looked directly at Enniha.

“Dweno will live up to your faith.”

“How can you be so certain?”

“Because that man is going to save this world.”

“How could you possibly know that for sure?”

“Because I am aware of what happens in the future.”

“Pardon?”

Enniha’s eyes stretched wide. She stared at Leo with a completely flabbergasted expression before letting out a soft sigh of wonder.

“Wow, you almost had me fooled for a second.”

“But it’s the truth.”

“Incredible. You would have made a phenomenal swindler if we lived in a time of peace. Where did you pick up such deceptive storytelling?”

Observing the impressed Enniha, Leo directed his gaze through the glass toward Dweno, his expression turning solemn.

‘Am I truly turning into that deceptive lizard, just like he claimed?’

Thud—! Thud—!

The earth trembles with every stride.

Simply by virtue of his presence, the surrounding wildlife perishes.

Giant King Gias grinned maliciously as he observed the chaotic, unraveling world sweeping out before him.

“I shall make you bitterly regret setting foot in my domain, surviving hero.”