Chapter 110
Leo was briefly startled by Verga’s question.
‘Does he know my mother?’
After a moment of thought, Leo decided to be honest.
“Do you know my mother?”
“As expected! So you really are Reina’s son!”
Verga let out a hearty laugh.
“I’m an old friend of your mother’s. Reina’s son, I used to compete with her—Lumene’s class representative and Azonia’s class representative—testing our skills against each other. Surely, your mother has told you all about me, Verga Tune?”
“No, she’s never mentioned you.”
“That… That can’t be! Reina and I were the closest of friends!”
“My mother doesn’t really talk about her school days.”
At those words, Verga paused.
Then he let out a deep sigh.
“I suppose that’s possible.”
With a strangely wistful expression, he murmured,
“You must not know how strong and dignified your mother was… She was like a single blooming flower.”
“…”
At Verga’s mutter, Leo wore a serious expression.
‘If it’s Verga, he must be a famous hero among the beastmen.’
Leo, too, had at least heard of the names of well-known heroes.
Among the beastmen who prized strength, Verga was a hero renowned for his relentless ways.
In fact, all the entrance candidates had looked at Verga with sparkling eyes just earlier.
Well, except for Leo.
‘Is there something wrong with his head?’
Leo was worried about Verga.
A single blooming flower?
‘That doesn’t suit my mother at all.’
According to his uncle Gis, Reina’s nickname in her prime had been “Witch of Flames.”
Even though she wasn’t a mage, to have the title “witch” attached meant anyone could imagine her deeds.
“Ellen… If only it weren’t for that fool…!”
Verga’s knuckles bulged as he clenched his hand.
Watching Verga grit his teeth, Leo spoke up.
“She didn’t tell me much about the old days, but my mother never regretted her choices.”
“…!”
At Leo’s words, Verga’s eyes wavered.
“Heh. Yes! That’s exactly like Reina Zerdinger! Hahahahaha!”
Then, he suddenly burst out laughing.
Leo was genuinely starting to worry about his mother’s old friend.
“That’s right! No need to dwell on the past! I saw your power in the Demonic Beast Carnival! You were so strong, you reminded me of Reina in her school days! I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s entrance ceremony, Reina’s son!”
“I do have a name. It’s Kyle.”
At that, Verga let out a short laugh.
“I’ll call you by your name if you make it through tomorrow’s entrance ceremony!”
Leo nodded and left the waiting room.
‘Reina. Even if you lost your flames, I bet you’re still beautiful and dignified.’
Staring out the window, Verga wore a nostalgic expression.
‘I tried to become a man worthy of you… but by then, you had already lost your flames and vanished.’
With a bitter smile, Verga clenched his fist.
‘Even if our paths were different, Reina! Don’t worry! I’ll make your son into the greatest hero!’
Vowing to the woman he had loved in the past, Verga made a firm resolve.
‘If my daughter and your son are together! Maybe even the so-called strongest generation—this year’s first-years at Lumene—won’t be out of reach! Just watch, Reina!’
Completely unaware that Leo was actually Lumene’s class representative, Verga pumped his fist and shouted for the defeat of Lumene.
—
Arriving at his assigned room, Leo immediately headed to the shower.
He still felt uncomfortable, having been splattered with the blood and flesh of a Demonic Beast.
“At least the room is nice.”
Since the colosseum was used as an arena, it was designed to provide maximum comfort for the gladiators who participated here.
‘In the beastmen’s lands, they say becoming a gladiator brings great fame.’
There were five colosseums officially recognized by the beastmen.
And the champions who reigned there wielded power comparable to that of a king.
Of course, every one of those champions was a hero or close to it.
Participating in the colosseum was part of Azonia’s curriculum every year.
‘Truly a race that has loved battle since ancient times.’
Shhh—! Squeak—! Squeak—!
Turning off the shower, Leo picked up a towel.
Drying his hair, he chuckled at the rabbit ears that got in the way.
‘Still not used to these.’
He was currently disguised as a rabbit beastman, but these rabbit ears were something he just couldn’t get used to.
‘Maybe I should study the transformation effect from earlier a bit more.’
Although he hadn’t overcome the aftereffects of [Aura Enhancement], if he could feel the transformation with his body, he might find a clue to overcome the aftereffects and improve [The Hero’s Breath].
As Leo was about to activate his Aura in earnest—
“Hmm?”
Sensing someone, he turned toward the window.
At that moment—
Click!
“Black Rabbit! I came to uncover your secret—why are you undressed!”
“Undressed? I just have my shirt off.”
“Still!”
“And this is my room, you know? I can do whatever I want in here.”
At Leo’s words, Ar was flustered, covering her eyes.
Sighing at Ar’s reaction, Leo put his shirt on and said,
“I’m dressed now, so you can open your eyes.”
At that, Ar carefully opened her eyes.
The sun had already set outside.
In the twilight shining through the window, Ar’s blue eyes sparkled.
“So? What secret did you come to uncover?”
Hearing the word “secret,” Leo couldn’t help but be concerned.
Either way, if she was aiming for entrance to Azonia, she might be gathering information about the rival Lumene.
Anyone interested could easily notice the resemblance between Leo, the class representative of Lumene, and Kyle, Azonia’s recommended candidate.
‘And she’s been watching me all day. She said she had something to ask, too.’
As Leo tensed, Ar spoke up.
“I saw it during the Demonic Beast Carnival! You! You can transform at will, can’t you?!”
Pointing at him, Ar demanded an answer, and Leo let out a small sigh of relief.
‘Father and daughter both know how to give a surprise.’
Recalling Verga, Leo clicked his tongue and sat down in the chair by the desk.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Really?!”
Seeing him admit it so easily, Ar was actually shocked.
“In all history, the only beastman who could transform at will was Hero Arron!”
“Why are you double-checking something you just asked?”
Leo looked at her in disbelief.
“C-could you show me?”
Seeing Ar ask so carefully, Leo activated his Aura.
The first thing to change was his eyes.
Leo’s pupils, identical to a human’s, narrowed into vertical slits and became beastlike.
Soft fur sprouted on his hands like gloves.
His teeth became sharper.
After finishing the transformation, Leo lightly flexed his hand.
“Amazing… It’s real.”
Looking moved, Ar approached Leo.
Curious, she raised her tail and circled him, gently poking the back of his hand like a kitten.
“Wow…”
Watching Ar marvel, Leo undid the transformation.
“You can’t keep it up for long?”
“It’s not that, just… it’s tiring.”
To be precise, just maintaining it meant dealing with muscle pain as an aftereffect.
With a casual air, Leo picked up a quill from the desk and spun it on his hand.
“So? Now that you know I can transform, what do you want to do about it?”
“…”
“Hey?”
“Huh?”
Ar, who’d been staring at the spinning quill, blinked.
“Why are you asking about transformation? Do you want me to teach you?”
“No.”
Ar shook her head firmly.
“It would be rude to ask for something like that. It might be your special skill or a family trait. I just wanted to prove it.”
“Prove it?”
“Yeah! That there could be a beastman with the same ability as Hero Arron!”
Watching the quill, Ar’s catlike eyes shone.
“The fact that Hero Arron could freely transform only exists in the old records. There are a lot of people who doubt it, too.”
As Leo spun the quill again, Ar’s hand twitched.
“But now, thanks to you, it’s proven possible to transform at will. Of course, I’ll keep your transformation secret! It’d obviously be a pain if word got out, right?”
Her only goal seemed to be satisfying her pure curiosity. Ar promised to keep it secret and winked.
“Hmm.”
Deep in thought, Leo twirled the quill.
Then Ar instinctively reached out like a cat.
For a moment, there was silence.
Leo shook the quill like he was playing with a cat, and Ar followed it, then shouted,
“Don’t treat me like a pet cat!”
Swoosh—!
“Got it!”
When Leo threw the quill to the floor, Ar tried to slap it with her paw, then yelped and tossed it aside.
Watching, Leo let out a chuckle and gathered his thoughts.
‘Arron wanted to pass his breathing technique on to other beastmen.’
But only Kyle had ever fully mastered it.
‘It’s not something just anyone can do. But it’s also true that someone has to inherit Arron’s technique.’
Someone to succeed Arron was needed.
‘Because we need all the strength we can get for the coming battle with Tartarus.’
If someone was worthy, Leo planned to pass his friends’ techniques down to each race.
‘That might even be why I was reborn in this era.’
Even if he, revived now, couldn’t finish things, perhaps the world meant for him to leave behind successors.
Leo had come to Azonia’s entrance ceremony to find such promising candidates.
And Ar seemed like a possibility.
‘She doesn’t have a bad personality, either.’
“Want me to teach you?”
“Huh?”
For a moment, Ar didn’t understand, and blinked her eyes.
“The way to transform. Want me to teach you?”
Ar’s eyes went wide.
“Y-you’d really teach me?”
“There’s no reason not to. There are conditions, though.”
“Conditions? What are they?”
Ar perked up her ears.
“You just have to prove it.”
“Prove what?”
Seeing Leo’s sly smile, Ar felt an unexplainable shiver run through her.
It was an instinctive feeling as a beastman.
‘This guy…’
Her fur bristled a little as she swallowed.
‘He’s looking down from above.’
“That you really are worthy of being a hero.”
‘From a very high place.’
“I’ll be waiting to see, Ar Tune.”