Legendary Hero is an Academy Honors Student - Chapter 499
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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499.
Under the faded gray sky.
Five people sat in front of a campfire.
It was now close to sunset.
The current world was gloomy even during the day, but the nights were even more terrible.
No matter how accustomed they were to expeditions, it wasn’t easy to move around carelessly at night.
Luna, who had taken off her shoes and socks in front of the campfire, wiggled her toes while warming the soles of her feet by the fire.
This was because demon blood had gotten inside her shoes during the earlier battle.
Luna, who was flapping her feet to dry them quickly, said.
“Kail, I want to eat meat. Cook some meat for me.”
At those words, Kail, who was preparing the meal, frowned.
“What’s with you being an elf who’s so crazy about meat?”
Contrary to popular perception, elves also ate meat.
But seeking it out like this was extremely rare.
“In my opinion, this elf is a fake elf.”
Luna snorted as she watched Dweno sit down in front of the campfire and speak.
“Hmph! An elf is an elf, what’s this about a fake elf?”
As she said this, she clapped with the soles of her feet.
Meanwhile, Risinass, who had gone scouting with Arron, returned.
“There are no signs of demons or monsters in this surrounding area.”
“We’ll be able to rest comfortably tonight.”
Kail sighed softly and added wood to the campfire.
As evening came, the five people sat around the campfire and ate their meal.
“If Erebos hadn’t appeared, what kind of life would we be living?”
Then Arron asked with a curious expression.
Looking at Arron, Kail said.
“There are no ‘ifs.’ What’s the point of worrying about such useless things?”
At the blunt words, Arron’s ears drooped.
But no one agreed with those words.
“No. Arron’s words aren’t useless.”
Dweno said as he put down his spoon.
“Our appearance when Erebos hadn’t appeared. Isn’t that exactly what we’ll look like in the future after defeating Erebos?”
“I agree with Dweno too.”
“It sounds like an interesting imagination?!”
Risinass nodded with a smile, and Luna’s eyes sparkled.
Imagination.
It was one of the great forces for surviving in this world heading toward destruction.
Imagination of the distant future transforms into hope.
Even if it’s difficult to achieve… even if it’s currently a meaningless delusion.
If it makes one look toward tomorrow, then it was an act with great meaning.
“Arron, what kind of life do you think you’d be living?”
At Dweno’s question, Arron’s eyes widened and he scratched his head.
“Since I’m strong, wouldn’t I follow in Teacher’s footsteps, create an orphanage, and live peacefully farming?”
He smiled shyly as he spoke of his modest dream.
Though it might seem modest to the four people.
For those born in the Age of Calamity, it was an unimaginably grand dream.
Ordinary daily life had been taken away long ago, and the generation of calamity lived in a world filled only with sighs.
“It’s certainly a good dream.”
Risinass smiled pleasantly.
For the dragon who held the grand dream of saving the world, the daily life Arron dreamed of was one of the things he most wanted to reclaim.
“Dweno, what about you?”
“Mine’s obvious, isn’t it? I’d be making a name for myself as a tremendous artist.”
Looking at Dweno speaking as if it were nothing, Luna teased.
“No. You’d definitely be on the wanted list for saying perverted things to royalty from various countries.”
Dweno struck the head of the giggling Luna with his thick fist.
Ignoring Luna, who was clutching her head and tearing up, Dweno looked at Risinass.
“What about you?”
“I would…”
Risinass rested his chin on his hand and smiled.
“Wouldn’t I be quietly protecting the world’s order from the darkness?”
Risinass was a black dragon.
One who protects the world’s order from the darkness.
But no one agreed with Risinass’s words.
“The light you possess isn’t something you can hide just because you want to hide it.”
“Yeah. Risinass would definitely have done great things even without Erebos!”
“You would have had high fame.”
Dweno, Arron, and Luna successively denied Risinass’s words.
Risinass, the savior of the world and brilliant light, living in darkness.
It was unimaginable.
At his companions’ words, Risinass scratched his cheek.
“Ahem! Then is it my turn!”
Luna puffed out her chest proudly.
“I would definitely have been a great archmage in history with even higher fame than now. Since I could have devoted myself solely to magical research! Surely all mages would have knelt before me and offered their worship?”
Looking at Luna making a smug expression, Arron clapped blankly and Risinass burst into laughter.
Dweno shook his head repeatedly.
But he didn’t deny those words.
Luna would have become that and more.
“What about Kail?”
Luna asked with sparkling eyes.
“I’d probably be doing mercenary work somewhere.”
At Kail’s indifferent words, Risinass and Dweno smiled bitterly.
“I think Kail would have been doing great things too?”
Arron tilted his head.
But Kail chuckled.
“Not at all.”
After answering that, Kail concentrated on his meal.
Afterward, the five of them had a lively conversation about the future after defeating Erebos.
Each person’s grand dreams they wanted to achieve.
Things they wanted to do when the age of peace arrived.
They talked about countless things.
To forget the despair before their eyes and look toward the distant future.
Kail also enjoyed the conversation, occasionally objecting or agreeing.
But in the end, he didn’t talk about what he wanted to do in the future.
“About Kail.”
After the meal was over.
Luna, who was in charge of washing dishes today, asked while washing the dishes with Risinass, her partner.
“What kind of dream is he living with?”
At Luna’s question, Risinass hesitated.
“Well.”
Clatter.
Risinass smiled bitterly while washing the spoon.
“There probably isn’t any.”
“What?”
Luna’s eyes widened.
Five heroes brought together by Risinass’s choice.
Five people with different races, age groups, ideologies, beliefs, and principles.
If it weren’t for the special situation called the Age of Calamity, they probably would never have come together and moved as one.
It had already been half a year since the five gathered.
They still didn’t know much about each other.
Even so, Luna knew that these five heroes shared a strong bond.
That was their desire to move forward into the future.
That also meant there was a future they wanted to see.
Luna thought that although Kail didn’t talk about it, he surely had a future he was envisioning.
That’s why Risinass’s answer was unexpected.
“Kail is different from us.”
“Different how?”
“You, Arron, and Dweno willingly joined my expedition. But Kail didn’t.”
“You said he was quite rebellious at first, right?”
“Yeah.”
“If persuading him was difficult, couldn’t you have just sought out me, the Guardians of the Starry Skies, or Dweno first?”
“I thought about that too, but… chasing after Kail made me even more certain.”
Clink-
Looking at his reflection in the spoon, Risinass said.
“That Kail was the first button.”
“Because of Kail’s mana characteristics?”
“No.”
Risinass calmly shook his head.
“Among us, from the moment the Age of Calamity began until now. The person who has continuously fought on the front lines is probably only Kail.”
The Surviving Hero.
That wasn’t simply a title earned because he alone survived while all his comrades died.
Kail had always lived as a mercenary on the front lines.
As if that was his rightful place.
He always stood at the front lines against Tartaros.
What that meant was simple.
He had lost countless comrades.
He watched those who fought on the same battlefield die.
It meant he had witnessed continuous defeats with his own eyes.
Risinass, who waited for the right time to save the world.
Luna, who was active to protect her homeland.
Arron, who built his strength under his master’s shadow.
He was clearly different from Dweno, who fought while wandering the world.
“Kail is probably the only person who watched the world’s destruction process in real time.”
Everyone else would have either died or been broken and fled.
But the Surviving Hero was different.
Even if he passed the burden to others, there would be no one to point fingers.
Even if he ran away, there would be no one to mock or blame him.
“But for reasons unknown, as if that place was always his rightful position. Kail was always on the front lines.”
Risinass recalled Kail’s back.
“Watching Kail fight, I understood. Ah, if this person gives up, the world will truly end.”
When he extended his hand saying let’s save the world, Kail mocked Risinass.
Saying it was a lie.
That the world was beyond salvation.
‘It actually was a lie. The probability of this world being saved is close to zero. But…’
Risinass recalled Kail at Gardstron.
Ironically, Kail’s back as he fought on the front lines affirmed Risinass’s lie.
“Kail was cool back then.”
He smiled with slightly flushed cheeks.
A youthful emotion unlike Risinass’s usual self.
Watching such Risinass, Luna blinked and said.
“Are you sick somewhere? Your face is red.”
“What?”
Risinass panicked but soon composed his expression.
Then he observed Luna’s demeanor, wondering if his feelings had been discovered.
But Luna was genuinely worried.
‘Thank goodness, she’s an idiot.’
To quote Kail’s words, Luna was a magic fool who only knew magic.
“Anyway, having gone through so many hardships, hasn’t Kail’s heart become faded?”
“Huh?”
“It would be hard for him to even recall the path he wants to take. So he’s probably still searching. For what he wants to do.”
What the Calamity Forces took from the Surviving Hero probably wasn’t just dead comrades or the world.
They probably burned his future too, leaving only ashes.
“Just like this damn sky.”
The faded gray sky.
“Hmph! I can’t stand gloomy things.”
Luna, who had finished washing dishes, snorted and suddenly stood up.
“What are you going to do?”
“You said Kail is searching for what he wants to do, right? Then I’m going to allow him to board my grand dream.”
Luna smiled smugly.
“He’s a mage too, so once he hears my grand plan, he’ll be completely hooked.”
With confidence from who knows where, Luna confidently ran toward Kail.
Watching her retreating figure, Risinass smiled.
‘Not bad.’
He was also a mage, after all.
Interest in Luna’s dream was rising.
‘Should I join in too after the world is saved?’
***
“Kail!”
A little away from the campsite.
Kail, who had been sitting alone on a rock, glanced at Luna who was suddenly grinning beside him.
“I’ve been thinking about it.”
“About what.”
“After we save the world, if you have nothing to do, how about making a magic academy with me?”
“What?”
“I’ll be the principal. You’ll be the vice principal. We’ll contribute to magical advancement together, okay? How about it? It’s a good idea, right?”
Watching Luna make her sudden proposal with sparkling eyes, Kail responded indifferently.
“I’ll pass. It’s bothersome.”
At those words, Luna pouted.
“Is there really nothing you want to do?”
“Nothing.”
Watching Kail speak so definitively, Luna plopped down beside him.
“I don’t understand. You’re so versatile, aren’t you? It seems like you could become anything you want.”
The All-Class ability.
In Luna’s view, it was an omnipotent talent that could become anything one desired.
“What a waste.”
Kail chuckled at Luna’s muttering.
“You’re telling me.”
“But Kail, you’ve continued fighting all this time, haven’t you? And you’ll keep fighting in the future too.”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
Luna made a puzzled expression.
If there’s nothing you want to do, what meaning does the future have?
“You’re being particularly persistent today.”
“My curiosity is piqued. You know, don’t you? Mages can’t stand it when their curiosity is aroused.”
Looking at Luna who was grinning, Kail said.
“I don’t have anything I want to do or become. But there is a future I want to see.”
“What’s that?”
“I want to see your futures.”
Kail said with a slight smile.
Luna’s eyes widened slightly.
“If we defeat that damn Primordial Evil, you’ll definitely become the greatest archmage in history.”
“Ah.”
Seeing Kail affirm her dream, Luna unconsciously let out an exclamation.
“When that happens, I’ll expose just how eccentric your personality is.”
Kail giggled, saying it would be funny just thinking about it.
Normally Luna would have thrown a punch immediately, but she was captivated by the smile that had flashed through her mind moments before.
The sight of him having nothing he wanted to do but affirming her dreams captivated her heart.
At some point, her heart began to race.
Accordingly, her ears kept twitching.
When she realized her face had turned red, she had already whipped her head to the other side.
Though it was the first time experiencing such an emotion, Luna knew what this situation was.
‘This is trouble. I can’t look at his face.’
Luna realized.
That she had fallen for this contrary human.
She composed her emotions and glanced at Kail.
Kail still wore his usual indifferent expression.
A human who could no longer dream but wouldn’t give up.
Watching the human wandering in search of a place to go, Luna cleared her throat.
“I’ll become your future.”
“What?”
“If you can’t envision a future, I’ll become your unchanging dream.”
Luna said primly, her face slightly flushed.
“So that your life can continue into mine.”
Luna felt the redness spreading to her neck.
“Ho, how magnificent. Luna. You said you disliked High Elves, yet you imitate their elegant speech quite well.”
“Eek?!”
At Dweno’s voice from behind, Luna was startled.
“Wh-when?”
“I’ve been here since earlier?”
Dweno wore a sly and unpleasant smile.
Luna’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly.
‘But still, courting right after confirming her feelings. Luna is certainly straightforward.’
Luna’s words just now were the courting words used between High Elves.
Of course, even if he didn’t know that, seeing Luna’s atmosphere, Kail should have sensed something.
‘Risinass will be troubled.’
It was when Dweno was stroking his chin.
“Why the sudden High Elf imitation when it doesn’t suit you? Are you drunk?”
“What?”
Kail said indifferently.
“Don’t you understand… what I mean?”
“What do you mean?”
Thwack-!
Luna punched Kail right in the face and left, fuming.
“This is…”
It was when Kail was covering his face and about to retaliate against Luna.
“Kail. I must say this one thing.”
“What?”
“You’re definitely an idiot.”
***
Recalling the distant past, Luna stroked her cheek.
‘I made a resolution then. I’d make that bastard like me first.’
Luna made a sullen expression.
Of course, that plan failed when she confessed her feelings first in the Heroes’ World. But still, her desire to color Kail’s ash-filled heart with various colors remained unchanged.
‘Could this be my lingering attachment?’
Though such a thought occurred to her, Luna looked at Kail walking and talking with Eiran and Chen Xia, then shook her head.
‘That’s not it.’
She had said she would become Kail’s future.
Despite boasting that she would carry him in her dreams, it was she who had entrusted her future and dreams to him.
The moment she entrusted everything of herself to Kail, this emotion didn’t remain as mere attachment.
‘But still… I miss it.’
Luna smiled watching Kail converse with his disciple’s descendants.
That sight reminded her of her disciple.
‘I want to see Berkia.’
Luna’s ears perked up as she smiled faintly.
‘Berkia?’
The disciple she had left behind continued to linger in her heart.
“Ah.”
Luna’s eyes widened.
“Ah!”
At Luna’s scream, Leo turned around.
“Why?”
Looking at Kail who asked with a puzzled face, Luna shouted.
“I got it! It’s Berkia!”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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