Legendary Hero is an Academy Honors Student - Chapter 668

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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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668

Knock knock-

“Come in.”

Dweno spoke calmly while looking up at the night sky visible through the window from his office.

The door opened and Ennitha entered.

“Did those friends go to the dormitory?”

“Yes.”

“What about the outsiders who came first?”

“They’re from the same place as the ones who came this time. They said they were an advance scouting party sent ahead.”

“I see.”

Watching Dweno nod his head, Ennitha put a pipe in her mouth.

“Want to smoke one?”

“I don’t smoke, do I?”

“You’re a really peculiar dwarf.”

“Ennitha. You’re no less peculiar an elf yourself.”

Tobacco was originally dwarf culture.

Dwarves, who were craftsmen by nature, often had to sit still in one place and think deeply.

As a result, they naturally began burning and smoking herbs that helped with mental clarity, which became the beginning of tobacco.

And elves greatly disliked the distinctive scent that came from burning herbs.

Therefore, the sight of an elf with a pipe in her mouth was quite an unusual spectacle.

“Phew.”

Ennitha exhaled tobacco smoke in a long stream, then approached Dweno’s side and muttered while looking up at the night sky.

“It’s really beautiful. It still feels like a dream. The fact that we can see the stars in the night sky.”

“Shouldn’t you be getting used to it by now?”

“Not at all. No matter how much I look, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it.”

This night sky, which was taken so for granted in the distant past, was now so precious and dear.

How many people shed tears the day they saw the starlight they thought they could never get back?

Ennitha was one of those people too.

“Dweno, aren’t you the one whose emotions are too dried up? You were the only one who didn’t even blink an eye the day we got the night sky back.”

“No. I may not look it, but I was deeply moved back then.”

“Liar. You’ve been like that since the old days.”

Their relationship goes back a long time.

Long before the Age of Calamity began.

“When we first met, you had the most indifferent expression in the world. I wondered what kind of dwarf could be like that.”

“I also wondered what kind of elf could be like that when I first saw you. What made you so confident despite being banished by your own kind?”

“I keep telling you, I wasn’t banished! I ran out on my own two feet.”

“Ah, so that’s why you came to the dwarven territory, which was at war with the elves, and boldly requested protection, saying you’d be dragged back if caught?”

“I told you. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

“Do you know that you’re sometimes unreasonably stubborn?”

“They insulted my paintings first!”

“Oh dear.”

“If it had been fair criticism, I would have understood. But how could I accept the tyranny of trying to make me break my brush, saying my work was terrible just because it didn’t praise our race!”

Ennitha scowled deeply.

Ennitha’s crime at the time was racial treason.

The reason for the racial treason charge was that she didn’t glorify elven beauty as an artist and argued that the art and culture of other races were equal to that of elves.

Ennitha’s argument was close to a complete rebellion against the authority of elven society.

Moreover, Ennitha, who was just a mere painter and not even an elite in elven society, became wanted for racial treason.

And she sought refuge with the dwarves to escape elven pursuit.

Dweno and Ennitha first met there.

Ennitha stayed in dwarven territory for a long time and became friends with the dwarves.

And naturally learned dwarven culture.

It was also during that time that Ennitha, who had no talent except for painting, learned martial arts.

She had amazing talent for martial arts and grew to become a formidable fighter.

“It was fortunate. You, who had little talent for painting, were blessed with aura and changed careers to become a warrior.”

“I’m not a warrior, I’m a painter!”

“Didn’t I tell you back then too? That you’d have trouble making a living with that, so you should give it up.”

“And you! You were moved by the paintings I drew!”

“…The last painting you drew in the village was certainly beautiful.”

Dweno burst into hearty laughter.

“Ennitha. The sunrise painting you drew was so beautiful.”

“Right. And you burned up that beautiful masterpiece of my artistic career.”

“Thanks to that, I made up my mind back then. To control my power so I wouldn’t turn the beautiful things in the world to ash.”

“You had such thoughts?”

Ennitha’s eyes widened.

“Yes. Thanks to that, I became somewhat interested in art too.”

“Wait! Wait! You’ve never told me this story before!”

Ennitha, with a bewildered expression, thrust her face close to Dweno’s.

Dweno looked at Ennitha’s face with an indifferent expression.

“Until recently, didn’t you say art was meaningless in this era?”

“I used to think that way. But now my thoughts have changed. I think we need artistic works worth leaving for future generations.”

“Dweno, are you sick somewhere?”

“I’m fine.”

“Wow…”

“I’m thinking of leaving several works for future generations with my own hands.”

“Art isn’t easy.”

“That’s right. It definitely won’t be easy. But Ennitha. Looking at your paintings gives me confidence that I can do better than you.”

“You!”

Ennitha immediately jabbed Dweno’s forehead with her elbow.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m… not… okay! You damn pessimistic dwarf!”

Ennitha clutched her elbow and writhed in pain, grinding her teeth.

Watching such Ennitha and chuckling, Dweno asked.

“What do you think of those children?”

“Those kids?”

Ennitha straightened up and smiled brightly.

“They’re not like kids these days, so they’re wonderful to see. Their eyes are different! Their eyes! How should I put it? Should I say they have dreams? Should I say they’re hopeful? Ah! Right! It’s like their future is sparkling! They’re really like children!”

“Are you saying the children in Ivaldy aren’t childlike?”

“Hey! That’s different from this! I mean they’re like children from the old days!”

There are children in Ivaldy too.

Children born in this era.

Children who don’t know sunlight, don’t know moonlight, and don’t know starlight.

Pitiful children who cannot see hope and the future.

That was the characteristic of children born in the Age of Calamity.

“That spiritualist. Was it Artion? Even that adult had different eyes from us, right? While we were protecting Ivaldy, the world regained hope! So that’s why such childlike children appeared, don’t you think?”

“…”

“I’m sure they’ll have a good influence on the children in Ivaldy too!”

“That would be good.”

“But that kid named Leo was a bit different.”

“…”

“How should I put it. Should I say he’s like us? His eyes weren’t childlike either. He felt similar to you.”

“You said I resemble him?”

“Yeah. That distinctive dead fish-like look in the eyes was similar.”

“Who are you calling dead fish eyes? And Ennitha. You lack observational skills. That’s why you’ll never make it as a great artist.”

“What did you say?”

“It’s true that his gaze was unpleasant, but… those weren’t dead fish eyes. Those were definitely the eyes of someone who would never give up.”

“Is that so? I thought I was pretty good at reading people.”

Ennitha tilted her head.

“Anyway, it’s true that hope has emerged.”

“Yeah.”

“So Ennitha. I will definitely show you the morning sunlight again.”

“Huh?”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to see it? That it was your wish.”

“You still remember those words?”

“Of course I remember.”

When they reunited in Isvaldi, Ennitha had said:

‘I want to see the morning sunlight again! We’ll definitely be able to reclaim the morning!’

Nearly twenty years had passed since then.

The world was plummeting toward such darkness that one couldn’t even imagine morning sunlight.

It had become an era where even mentioning such things as pointless hope would irritate those around you.

In such circumstances, seeing starlight again allowed people to envision hope once more.

“I swear on everything I have.”

Dweno said, clenching his fist tightly.

“I will definitely show you the morning sunlight.”

“Oh? That’s incredibly motivated for a pessimistic dwarf!”

Ennitha poked Dweno’s temple with her elbow.

“Ugh…”

“Is your elbow okay?”

“It’s not okay! You blockhead!”

“It’s less hard than yours.”

“Ugh.”

“What will you do about that child Driana? Are you really thinking of teaching her to paint?”

“Yeah.”

“I think it would be better to give up…”

“I’ll raise her to be a splendid artist!”

Watching Ennitha burn with motivation, Dweno said:

“I’m also thinking of passing on blacksmithing techniques to that child.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes. She was a child with talent.”

Dweno grinned.

“First, it’s how to handle flames.”

“Won’t she run away if she learns from you?”

“I’ll just catch her again. Where could she run to from this place?”

Ennitha clicked her tongue at Dweno’s words.

‘Poor thing.’

***

“So we’ve reached the conclusion that destroying the Legion’s record is the most efficient method.”

In the deep of night when everyone was asleep.

Cal, sitting by the campfire outside the tent, spoke to Leo.

“Right.”

“But what exactly is this hidden mission?”

“It probably means there’s over-achievement in the Legion’s World too.”

Over-achievement.

Something that could be accomplished in the Heroes’ World when achieving feats beyond what actually happened in history.

Literally, special rewards were given.

A glorious achievement given only to those who made the impossible possible.

Cal cautiously asked at Leo’s words:

“What happens to Isvaldi in actual history?”

“Dweno is the sole survivor.”

“Ah…”

Cal’s face hardened slightly at Leo’s words.

“What about the invading demons?”

“Gias the Giant King.”

“…As expected.”

Cal bit his lip.

He recalled the bitter connection from Dweno’s World.

“Just as Luna has a bitter connection with the Monster Queen. Dweno has a bitter connection with the Giant King.”

Until then, Gias was the one who made the world’s finest weapons.

Before weapons made by Gias, ordinary weapons would break helplessly.

But weapons made in Isvaldi were different.

The only place in the world that could produce weapons capable of opposing the most terrible and powerful weapons.

That’s why Isvaldi was special.

Risinass had also desperately hoped for Isvaldi’s blacksmiths to join Gardstron.

But Isvaldi ultimately fell, and only Dweno became the sole survivor.

“Did Master Dweno overcome that pain to become a blacksmith surpassing the Giant King?”

“Yes.”

“But how should I put it? The atmosphere seemed different from when I saw him before?”

Cal tilted his head.

“Back then he was a very warm person, but now he feels a bit cold? Did his personality change a lot after joining the Great Hero Party?”

“No, Dweno was a bright guy from when I first met him.”

An eccentric artist who shouted about hope, saying there was a future and that beauty should be left for future generations.

From their first meeting, Dweno was the one who laughed while asking Risinass to be a nude model.

So Dweno’s current appearance was something even Leo didn’t know about.

‘He never talked about his old stories.’

At the time, Leo had no intention of prying into Dweno’s past.

Because Dweno was Dweno.

Because he knew Dweno had suffered enough pain.

He didn’t do such things because it seemed like needlessly stirring up wounds.

He just thought Dweno was naturally someone with an unyielding personality.

“Your gray aura… reminded me of my past self.”

It was just before Dweno’s death that he first talked about his old days.

And in that conversation, Dweno said he had disliked Kail because he reminded him of his past self.

Dweno was the one among his companions who understood him best.

He often wondered how Dweno, who was completely opposite to him, could understand him so well.

‘That question is being answered now.’

Kail smiled bitterly.

‘He was terribly similar to me.’

“But to achieve over-achievement… wouldn’t eliminating Master Dweno be over-achievement from their perspective?”

If Dweno dies here, history will change.

To a history where the world absolutely cannot be saved.

That alone would be over-achievement from Tartaros’s standpoint.

But this hidden mission is to capture Dweno alive.

Sometimes capturing alive is more difficult than killing.

Especially for a Great Hero like Dweno.

Looking at Cal who wore a puzzled expression, Leo said.

“The Legion’s Record is something that rewrote the Legion’s records over the Hero Record. It’s not something from the past, but something being used right now.”

Leo’s red eyes gleamed fiercely as he gazed at the campfire.

“That means they can create the best situation for themselves in the current circumstances.”

“The best situation?”

“If the Hero Dungeon goes berserk and devours the world, it would be a disaster from our perspective. The Legion’s World is the opposite of the Heroes’ World. But here’s the thing.”

Crack- Flicker-

Sparks flew from the campfire.

“Would this dungeon going berserk and eroding the world really be a loss from the Legion’s perspective?”

“…!”

“In a sense, it’s a gateway connecting the Age of Calamity and the current era. And the Age of Calamity was an era when all kinds of demons and mabeasts ran rampant. Whether it’s the creatures from that era or the ones from now, they all have one goal.”

“…The destruction of the world….”

Cal gulped down dry saliva.

“Exactly. From their perspective, there’s no loss even if this dungeon is maintained. Rather, it’s the best situation. And what bothers those guys the most is precisely this fortress.”

Most of the mabeasts that emerge from the dungeon into reality are being annihilated at this fortress.

Literally an obstacle blocking the entrance.

“Capturing Dweno alive would probably be the condition for this berserk world to be maintained forever.”

“Then… what should we do?”

“Nothing changes. There’s only one thing we need to do. Protect Isvaldi so that the history from 5,000 years ago doesn’t repeat itself.”

Leo clenched his fist.

“Changing history. That’s what we need to do.”

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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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