Legendary Hero is an Academy Honors Student - Chapter 539

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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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539.

 

Berkia, who had been caught off guard by the unexpected counterattack, got back to his feet.

 

There was no major damage.

 

However.

 

‘Teacher.’

 

Just a moment ago, he had definitely glimpsed Kail’s shadow.

 

But Berkia couldn’t fully accept what he had seen.

 

“What did you say?”

 

Leo pointed at himself with his finger.

 

“I am.”

 

Leo spoke bluntly and pointed at Berkia.

 

“Your.”

 

And declared indifferently.

 

“Teacher.”

 

Even at those words, Berkia looked at Leo with emotionless eyes.

 

“Nonsense.”

 

A cold sneer flew his way.

 

‘He won’t believe it.’

 

It was only natural.

 

It was an absurd story after all.

 

In that case…

 

“I just need to prove it.”

 

Leo opened his palm.

 

Whooom-!

 

Berkia showed a wary expression at the mana emanating from Leo’s hand.

 

Fwoosh-!

 

And soon, a single flower bloomed in the snow-covered ruins.

 

Berkia’s eyes widened at the sight.

 

One flower, then two flowers began to bloom, and soon they started blooming in full throughout the surrounding area.

 

Berkia’s eyes trembled at the sight.

 

“Magic that… makes flowers bloom…”

 

There was no way he could forget this magic.

 

How could he forget the face of his teacher who smiled brightly while creating a field of blooming flowers?

 

Berkia’s hands trembled.

 

‘No. This is… this is…’

 

Suddenly, a fairy revealed itself above Leo’s outstretched palm.

 

Berkia gasped at the sight.

 

“Spirit magic?”

 

Soon, gray aura burst forth from the sword gripped in Leo’s hand.

 

Using magic, commanding spirits, and emanating aura.

 

Berkia knew all too well what that meant.

 

“…All… Class.”

 

Berkia muttered with a trembling voice and once again met eyes with Leo.

 

Someone’s figure clearly emerged from behind Leo.

 

“Tea… Teacher…”

 

There was no way he couldn’t recognize it.

 

The magic that made flowers bloom.

 

The abilities of All-Class.

 

And even that appearance.

 

Countless pieces of evidence were saying that Leo was Kail.

 

“Kugh!”

 

Berkia clutched his face.

 

Leo took a step toward such a Berkia.

 

Step- step-

 

At the same time, Berkia stepped backward.

 

“I don’t want this…”

 

“Berkia.”

 

Step- step- step-

 

“Don’t look at me…”

 

“You did nothing wrong.”

 

“I’m different from back then! Don’t try to understand me!”

 

Berkia screamed as if having a seizure.

 

Seeing his teacher who understood him, his mind collapsed even faster.

 

Watching that sight, Leo clenched his hand.

 

He knew.

 

That his existence alone couldn’t lift Berkia up.

 

Berkia had crumbled too much for that.

 

It was too late to lean on someone.

 

‘Even if it was difficult, he wouldn’t have leaned on anyone.’

 

Leo had taught his disciple that way.

 

To be able to walk alone silently without relying on anyone.

 

“Aah!”

 

The hatred burning in his chest was agonizing.

 

The fact that there was a teacher who would see his ugly appearance and be disappointed was despairing.

 

Berkia, who had been closing his eyes tightly and trying to soothe his maddening emotions, suddenly opened his eyes wide.

 

And he raised his head to look at Leo.

 

“Teacher.”

 

Berkia, who had been stepping backward, spoke with a trembling voice.

 

“Please… please punish me.”

 

Step- step-

 

Berkia approached Leo.

 

“Please punish the ugly me who became undead… me who tried to destroy the world you saved.”

 

Only one person.

 

The only person qualified to hold Berkia accountable for his sins.

 

That was Kail, who had protected the world by sacrificing everything of himself.

 

And that was also a way to escape from this terrible pain.

 

Looking at such a Berkia, Leo said.

 

“Yes. Running away is also one path.”

 

Hearing those words, Berkia’s face began to look relieved.

 

But at the words that followed, it froze completely.

 

“Asking someone you thought of as a father to kill you and finding peace isn’t a bad choice either, Berkia.”

 

Berkia’s body began to tremble like an aspen leaf.

 

He couldn’t help but think of it.

 

What if his own child asked him to kill them?

 

How would he feel hearing those words?

 

His stomach felt like it would turn inside out.

 

His self-loathing deepened even more.

 

Thud-!

 

“Aaaaah.”

 

Berkia threw his head back and let out a groan.

 

“Aaaaaaahhhhh!”

 

Berkia, who had been screaming in pain, began to go berserk.

 

His mind became hazy.

 

His reason disappeared under emotions he couldn’t control.

 

In that moment, his eyes met Leo’s.

 

Those eyes again.

 

Eyes that seemed pitying… sad… understanding.

 

When was it?

 

When did Teacher first look at me with those eyes?

 

When did it start?

 

When did I start thinking of Teacher as a father?

 

In his fading consciousness, Berkia lost his mind.

 

“Leo!”

 

At that moment, an urgent voice was heard.

 

When Leo turned his head, he saw Runia, Eiran, and Chen Xia running toward him with pale faces.

 

“What about Lord Berkia?!”

 

Looking at Runia who asked urgently, Leo said.

 

“His mind has collapsed.”

 

Runia and Chen Xia’s faces hardened.

 

Eiran’s face turned pale.

 

“He’s going to go berserk now.”

 

“N-no way…”

 

Eiran looked at Berkia.

 

“H-how… what should we do…!”

 

“Don’t worry.”

 

Leo spoke calmly.

 

His gaze was already fixed on Berkia, who had lost his reason.

 

He had never intended to give up from the start.

 

That word didn’t exist in Leo’s dictionary.

 

But…

 

‘Even if I wanted to give up, when he looks at me with those eyes… I can’t give up.’

 

Leo’s hand tightened.

 

The image of Berkia looking at him with frightened eyes in the last moment before his mind collapsed was burned into his memory.

 

He had only seen Berkia look so terrified once before.

 

It was the same then too.

 

‘Back then too.’

 

***

 

That day too, incomprehensible training had ended.

 

“Kiiiiiiiiik!”

 

“Anyone would think you’re a beast.”

 

Kail looked with an indifferent expression at Berkia, who was lying on the ground like a panting animal, glaring at him with all his might.

 

Kail’s training was repetition of basics.

 

Endlessly swinging a sword and endlessly reciting magic that Berkia could use – the most basic of basics.

 

It’s easy at first when stamina and mental strength are overflowing.

 

But Kail’s training becomes more difficult as time passes.

 

When stamina and mental strength begin to be depleted, mistakes begin.

 

And Berkia had been repeating this ordeal for two months.

 

If he couldn’t successfully swing a sword and memorize magic for a full day, he couldn’t move to the next stage.

 

The task Kail had given was extremely simple yet equally difficult.

 

For Berkia, who had a strong desire to become stronger, this kind of training from Kail was bound to be torture.

 

That didn’t mean Kail indulged Berkia’s whining either.

 

No matter how rough a life he had lived, a child was still a child.

 

The difference in temperature between how Luna and Arron treated Berkia and how Kail treated him was too different.

 

Kail gave Berkia not an ounce of emotion.

 

No, rather he was cold and malicious.

 

If Berkia fell during training, Luna and Arron would come over and help him up.

 

Kail would wait until Berkia got up by himself, then knock him down again.

 

That’s why Berkia disliked Kail.

 

He knew his training was helpful, but it was hard to follow.

 

Before he knew it, it was dawn.

 

Berkia, sitting slumped on the ground, muttered.

 

“I’m hungry.”

 

Perhaps he might have to starve until tomorrow.

 

At this dawn hour, Luna and Arron would be asleep too.

 

And it didn’t seem like Kail in front of him would prepare a meal…

 

“Eat before you go.”

 

“What?”

 

Berkia widened his eyes in surprise and looked up at Kail.

 

Looking at such Berkia, Kail said indifferently.

 

“Don’t you want to eat?”

 

“If you’ll prepare it, I’ll eat.”

 

Being an orphan, Berkia wouldn’t skip meals just because he disliked Kail.

 

He had to eat when he could.

 

Berkia knew that fact better than anyone.

 

Getting up from his spot, Berkia followed Kail who was walking ahead.

 

‘Is Master Kail surprisingly a good person?’

 

Such a thought naturally occurred to him, but soon he disliked himself for thinking that.

 

Calling someone a good person just for giving food.

 

That was nonsense.

 

Berkia shook his head vigorously as defiance and spite sprouted in his eyes.

 

‘This person is a bad person.’

 

Of course, it didn’t take long for that thought to change.

 

‘Master Kail is a good person.’

 

Berkia bit his fork and made a happy expression.

 

Then immediately made a ‘hot!’ expression and shook his head vigorously.

 

‘No, he can’t be a good person just because the food is delicious!’

 

As Berkia was steeling his resolve, Kail looked at Berkia eating hurriedly and asked as if incredulous.

 

“Don’t Luna and Arron feed you?”

 

‘Yes, no. He’s a good person. I’m sure.’

 

“They do.”

 

“I suppose they give you that nutritious stuff they make themselves.”

 

Kail clicked his tongue mercilessly.

 

“They should just buy food instead.”

 

Mm-mm! Berkia nodded without realizing it.

 

Though it was an irreverent thought to have about teachers who loved him endlessly, the food Kail had prepared naturally made him think such things.

 

While eating, Berkia looked around Kail’s house.

 

It was bleak.

 

It didn’t feel like a space where people lived.

 

“Master Kail’s house has nothing in it.”

 

“That way I don’t develop attachments.”

 

Kail said matter-of-factly.

 

“What does that mean?”

 

“If you have a place to return to, you develop attachments. Then regret comes at the final moment.”

 

Berkia, still young, couldn’t understand those words.

 

But she could tell that Kail’s face as he spoke looked somehow lonely.

 

Clank-

 

Berkia, who had put down her fork, asked.

 

“Can I sleep over?”

 

“If you’re done eating, go home.”

 

At those words, Berkia pouted her lips.

 

“Meanie.”

 

Thwack-!

 

***

 

“This is strange.”

 

“What’s the point of calling all of us except Kail?”

 

Dweno asked listlessly.

 

Watching Dweno, Luna slammed the table with a bang-!

 

“Berkia keeps coming back after eating at Kail’s house these days! Cooking for Berkia was one of my pleasures!”

 

“That is strange. Why would she do that? That child doesn’t particularly like Kail, does she?”

 

Risinass tilted her head.

 

Watching the two women, Dweno said.

 

“Do you truly not know the reason?”

 

“Dweno, do you know the reason?”

 

Dweno looked at Risinass, who asked with a puzzled face, as if he truly found her pathetic.

 

“Isn’t it because Luna’s cooking doesn’t seem like cooking, so she eats at Kail’s house instead?”

 

“Ah! Definitely!”

 

Arron nodded as if he understood.

 

“You old man! What’s wrong with my cooking! Compared to your cooking, mine is a work of art!”

 

“Don’t blaspheme art. And my cooking is a product of creativity. Plus, unlike yours, it’s beautiful in appearance.”

 

Dweno sneered.

 

“Rather than eating yours and Risinass’s cooking, it would be tastier to eat monster meat grilled raw.”

 

At those words, Risinass and Luna used magic to restrain Dweno.

 

“You first?”

 

“No, let’s hit him together. I’ll take the face.”

 

“I’ll take the solar plexus.”

 

“Hit me all you want. Your hands will just hurt.”

 

Even while getting beaten, Dweno remained calm.

 

After a bout of commotion, Luna said seriously.

 

“Fine. It’s because Kail’s cooking is more delicious, right? Then I’ll start practicing cooking from today too!”

 

“Playing parent to Berkia must be tough too.”

 

“Huh? Do Luna and I look like parents?”

 

“Arron, get your head straight. I’m talking about Kail. Do you want to look like a parent with this thing?”

 

“No.”

 

“These guys, really!”

 

Luna frantically swung her staff at Dweno and Arron.

 

Risinass, who had been shaking her head at the sight, looked outside the window.

 

There, Berkia was following behind Kail like a little duckling.

 

Risinass, who had been watching that scene, nodded her head.

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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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