Chapter 121
A sudden visitor arrived at the Plov family estate on the very day Leo attended the Azonia entrance exam.
“Ma’am.”
Reina, who was leisurely enjoying tea in the mansion garden, looked at the approaching maid with a puzzled expression.
“What is it?”
“There’s a guest here to see you.”
“A guest?”
Flap—
Turning the morning paper, Reina wore a confused look.
It was rare for the Plov family to receive visitors.
Though they were a prestigious family in Delard, the head, Deid Plov, rarely appeared in social circles, and Reina herself seldom attended social gatherings.
Of course, ever since Leo became famous, requests for meetings had increased considerably.
But as they had continued to refuse those meetings, there was no reason for a guest’s arrival to be reported directly to Reina.
“Did they say who it is?”
“They said they are a school friend of the young master.”
“Is that so? Then, why don’t you bring them here?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Currently, both Deid and Leo were away from the Plov residence.
Reina was the only one available to receive a guest.
Normally, guests should be welcomed with full formality.
‘If they didn’t mention which family they’re from and simply said they’re Leo’s school friend, then it must truly be a casual visit.’
Extending formal hospitality to someone who hadn’t come for an official visit would only be a burden.
So, Reina decided to receive the guest as a friend’s parent.
‘Visiting so casually like this means they must be close with Leo. I wonder what kind of child they are?’
Humming a little tune, Reina felt pleased at the thought of her son’s school friend coming to visit.
A moment later, a girl in a white dress appeared alongside the maid.
The girl with light sky-blue hair, Chelsea, stood before Reina and gave a polite bow.
“Hello, my name is Chelsea, and I’m a classmate of Leo.”
Chelsea, greeting politely, looked at Reina with a slightly nervous face.
It was because she knew Leo’s mother was from the Zerdinger family.
Reina, too, looked somewhat surprised upon seeing Chelsea, who was clearly from the Lewellin family.
‘She’s the one who teamed up with Leo during the entrance exam.’
Remembering how Chelsea was blackmailed by Leo at that time, Reina smiled softly.
“Welcome. Would you like to sit here?”
“Yes!”
Chelsea smiled brightly and sat down in front of Reina.
“Oh, this is a gift I brought.”
Chelsea handed over a cake and snacks she bought before coming.
It was from a famous bakery in the capital of the Lordren Empire.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had something from this shop.”
“Um… please, you can speak comfortably!”
“Shall I do that, then?”
Reina smiled.
“By the way, my son’s been away from home for a few days… I hope you won’t be left waiting unnecessarily.”
“It’s fine! I was planning to stay in Delard for a few days during summer vacation anyway.”
“Is that so? That’s good to hear. By the way, how is my son doing at school? He doesn’t really tell me about the little things.”
“He’s a total honor student! Leo is really amazing!”
Chelsea beamed as she talked about Leo’s life at school.
Watching Chelsea speak with such sparkling eyes, Reina smiled as well.
‘Listening to you makes me remember my own school days.’
“Lady Reina, were you a Lumene student too?”
“Yes. Your father, Cheid Lewellin, was two years ahead of me, so we knew each other well.”
“You went to school with my father!”
Chelsea’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Yes.”
“When I get home, I’ll have to ask my dad about your school days!”
‘He probably won’t have much good to say.’
Reina chuckled.
Indeed, thanks to the wild Reina back in her school days, her senior Cheid Lewellin had a hard time.
“Chelsea, this lady really enjoys talking with you. Would you like to stay at our house until Leo returns?”
“Would that be alright?”
“Of course.”
“Then please, treat this as your home and make yourself comfortable.”
“Yes! Thank you so much!”
Chelsea grinned broadly and thanked her.
Reina looked at Chelsea with a fond gaze.
—
Leo, who had returned to the Delard Kingdom, wore a puzzled expression when he saw Chelsea chatting with Reina at home.
“Chelsea? When did you get here?”
“I came two days ago.”
“We missed each other.”
“It’s okay. Listening to Lady Reina talk about the old school days was a lot of fun!”
Reina looked at Chelsea with a proud expression as Chelsea spoke with a bright smile.
Reina seemed quite fond of Chelsea’s lively and affectionate personality.
As Reina had already let go of the Zerdinger name, the relationship between Zerdinger and Lewellin was no obstacle.
“You’re home earlier than expected, Leo.”
“Yes. Something came up.”
“Something?”
“I’ll tell you about it later.”
“Alright. For now, go up and rest.”
“Yes, let’s go, Chelsea.”
“Okay.”
Chelsea gave Reina a polite bow and followed Leo up to his room.
“Where did you go during vacation?”
“I went to Azrek for a bit.”
“Azrek? Why? Oh! Did you go to watch the Azonia entrance ceremony?”
“No, I went to participate in the entrance ceremony.”
“What?”
Chelsea’s eyes widened.
Leo explained everything that had happened.
“Wow, Leo, you even spend your vacation in such a spectacular way?”
“Yeah.”
Leo laughed and opened the door to his room.
Chelsea stopped in front of the door.
‘Leo’s room.’
Chelsea, always cheerful and outgoing, had many friends since she was young.
She’d visited friends’ houses before, but never a boy’s room.
So, even though it was just a school friend’s room, being in a boy’s room of her age made her heart flutter.
Following Leo inside, Chelsea looked around the room carefully.
She thought there might be something special, considering he was the academy’s top honor student and in the unprecedented all-class, but there was nothing particularly unusual.
“Do you get along well with my mother?”
“Of course! Didn’t I tell you? She finds me cute!”
Chelsea boasted with a smug expression and giggled.
“But what about your homework, Leo?”
“I’m working on it. You?”
“I finished it all at once.”
Chelsea shrugged her shoulders.
She explained that she quickly finished her homework at the start of vacation so she could enjoy the rest.
Although Lumene’s homework load was massive, Chelsea was one of the top students in her year.
With her unique drive, she finished her homework early.
“Want to see it?”
“If I copy it, the professors will notice right away.”
“True.”
Chelsea nodded.
“By the way, how was the Azonia entrance ceremony?”
“It was wild. Arron’s Hero’s World opened up.”
“What? During the entrance ceremony?”
Chelsea was shocked.
“Yeah. The entrance candidates entered Arron’s world, and the desert crossing marathon was postponed for a day.”
“Wow! So what happened with Arron’s Hero’s World?”
“The entrance candidates cleared it.”
“Whoa! The Azonia students are no joke. Clearing a Great Hero’s World!”
Leo considered telling her that he was the one who cleared it but decided to stay quiet.
Ain and Yura had specifically told him not to mention it to others.
“Ugh! Only half of vacation is left now.”
Chelsea stretched.
“It feels like time is flying, and yet not.”
Chelsea swung her legs, thinking back on the hectic first semester.
“Anyway, hang out with me for a few days! Take me to some good restaurants here too!”
“Alright.”
Leo chuckled and nodded, making Chelsea hum in delight.
—
That night.
Leo held the Jewel of Light in his hand while in his room.
Inside the Jewel of Light, the presence of the shadow spirit, Elci, was clear.
‘What in the world is going on?’
Leo had received rewards from clearing Hero’s Worlds that shouldn’t have been possible.
But for Elci, who existed in the past, to cross over into reality from a Hero’s World was a whole different matter.
‘Is this really happening because I’m Kyle?’
He pondered deeply, but nothing came to mind.
‘First, I need to check Elci’s condition.’
Leo raised his Spirit Power to awaken Elci, who seemed to be sleeping deeply.
Bzzz—
The Jewel of Light suddenly turned pitch black.
That darkness soon emerged from the orb and gathered in Leo’s palm.
It looked as if a shadow had come to life and was squirming.
After a moment, the small darkness cleared and Elci, the size of a palm, appeared.
Elci’s closed eyes trembled.
[Where… am I?]
“You’re awake?”
[Huh? Where did your rabbit ears go?]
Elci tilted her head at Leo.
With those words, Leo realized that the Elci he met in Arron’s world had crossed over into reality just as she was.
“What on earth…”
[I feel strangely stifled! It’s like I can’t use my full power.]
Elci looked frustrated, as if she were trapped in a tight space.
Leo assessed Elci’s condition.
‘As expected, she’s not in a complete state.’
Elci’s power was so weak that she could hardly be called a great spirit.
Of course, her power wasn’t lost.
The power of a great spirit was still dormant within Elci.
However, Elci couldn’t fully draw out her abilities.
She needed help from Leo, her contractor, to do so.
‘Has she become bound to me?’
Leo looked at the back of his hand.
Elci was now completely bound to Leo.
She was just like a spirit attached to a specific object.
If the contract with Leo was broken, she would disappear.
In short, Leo’s existence was sustaining Elci, a spirit from the distant past, in the present.
‘Haha. Who would have thought Hero’s Worlds hid powers like this.’
The power to manifest supernatural abilities from the distant past in the present era.
Surprisingly, that even included spirits or phantom beasts.
While Leo was still reeling, Elci, who had been flitting around in frustration, looked out the window.
Then, she noticed something and froze.
[Huh?]
Elci looked startled.
Countless unknown grains of light could be seen in the night sky.
Elci pressed herself to the window, staring up in amazement, then excitedly turned to Leo.
[Kyle! The moon isn’t red! There are strange grains of light in the night sky! What are those? They look just like the starlight I’ve only heard about in stories!]
Leo watched Elci, who was pointing at the night sky with one hand and waving the other, trying to explain something.
“Those are stars.”
Elci’s eyes widened.
“Listen closely, Elci.”
Leo took a deep breath.
“You won’t believe it… but you’re in the future now.”
[What?]
“This is a world five thousand years after Erebos was defeated.”
Elci looked like she couldn’t believe it.
[Is that possible? That means you brought me to the future… Kyle, who are you?]
“My name is Leo Plov now.”
[Leo Plov?]
“Yes. And five thousand years ago, in the age of disaster, I was called ‘the Surviving Hero,’ Kyle.”
[……!]
“I defeated Erebos and was reincarnated into this era.”