Chapter 343

               

“You want me to summon the Fairy King again?”

“Yeah.”

Lea’s eyes widened.

Summoning the Fairy King—

It was the eternal wish of the elves, passed down through millennia.

In history, there had only ever been one final contractor of the Fairy King.

Luna.

Originally, the Fairy King had always formed a covenant with the successive Elf Kings—an eternal guardian beast of legend.

But when the Era of Calamity began, the Elf King vanished.

The previous Fairy King, Grawin, lost his power in the battle against Tartarus, and the one who took on the duties of Fairy King afterward was none other than the current Fairy King, Silload.

And Luna had been both his first and last contractor.

Just as Lysinas had the Phoenix King, Fire Sovereign Katarieu, as his partner, Luna had Silload, the heir of the Fairy King.

Katarieu perished.

But Silload survived the final battle.

Leo’s last memory of Silload was that of a being drowning in despair and guilt over Luna’s death.

As those memories resurfaced, Leo’s eyes darkened.

He looked down at the back of his hand.

During the entrance exam—

He had obtained [Covenant of the Fairy King] as a conquest reward.

Through that covenant, he’d formed a contract with Kirran, who had been sealed and exiled from Fairy Land by Silload.

Although Kirran was his current contracted spirit, the true origin of the covenant still lay with Silload himself.

Up until last year, Leo had been unable to summon Silload due to insufficient spirit energy.

Even after his vessel expanded and his spiritual power reached the necessary level, he still couldn’t summon the Fairy King.

‘It must be because this covenant was acquired through a Hero Record.’

Although he had received the [Covenant of the Fairy King] as a conquest reward, his spiritual affinity didn’t match with fairies.

‘The blood of the Zerdinger family flows through me now, which fits better with phoenix-type energy… and with pegasus, my natural mana attribute—purity—aligns well enough. But fairies? Not in my past life, not now.’

The only reason he could even contract Kirran was thanks to the conquest reward from Albi’s world.

So, even though he possessed the covenant, Leo himself couldn’t call forth Silload.

Because Silload wasn’t consciously aware of that covenant’s existence.

‘But if someone else creates the connection, that changes everything.’

If Silload became aware of the covenant’s existence, then from that moment onward, he could be summoned freely.

At Leo’s words, Lea spoke hesitantly.

“Sir Plov… It’s true that I heard Lord Silload’s voice once, but… that was only because I borrowed Cometes’s power. With my current ability, I could never summon the Fairy King again. Hearing his voice was purely an accident.”

“An accident?”

“Yes.”

Lea carefully explained what had happened back then.

“When the first-year upper class was taking lessons at the Hall of the Comet, I was given permission to hold Cometes.”

She smiled awkwardly.

“I wasn’t even trying to summon the Fairy King. The teacher at the time just encouraged me to try summoning a fairy once. He even drew the summoning circle for me. Then… suddenly, I heard Lord Silload’s voice.”

Scratching her head shyly, she looked embarrassed.

Leo tilted his head slightly.

“I heard rumors among the lower class that you were the one who drew the summoning circle yourself.”

“No way.”

Lea frantically waved her hands.

“Who was the instructor?”

“It was Acting Principal Luhagen.”

Leo stroked his chin.

‘This kid really does have talent as a summoner.’

She was still an inexperienced first-year, but she had enough talent and potential to be called promising.

A little odd, sure—but a future hero nonetheless.

Even so, she was still far too lacking in vessel and knowledge to summon the Fairy King on her own.

“Cometes only works when wielded by members of the Tingel family, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Cometes was the magical staff Seiren had retrieved as a conquest reward from the Hero World.

It contained both Luna and Seiren’s magical essence.

Only those of the Tingel bloodline could fully utilize its power.

‘So the summoning of the Fairy King was staged almost perfectly… Did someone plan this?’

Leo grew suspicious but soon spoke calmly.

“Regardless, the fact that you heard the Fairy King’s voice means you have the talent.”

He released his spirit energy.

“I’ll handle Cometes’s role for now.”

“Then…”

At his words, Lea took off her socks.

She took a deep breath and stepped onto the summoning circle Leo had drawn.

From ancient times, elves had always performed fairy summoning rituals near lakes.

Though that tradition had faded, one part of the ceremony—entering barefoot—had remained.

“I’ll try.”

Her voice trembled slightly, but she smiled awkwardly and reached out her hand.

Leo grasped her hand and invoked his energy.

Vwoom—

The summoning circle shone brightly.

Golden light filled the entire dorm room.

Lea staggered.

Summoning the Fairy King without Cometes required an immense amount of mana.

It was only natural.

The Fairy King was officially the strongest summoned beast still in existence.

With the Phoenix King, Fire Sovereign, and the Thunder Lord all long gone, the Fairy King stood at the pinnacle.

Even with Leo’s assistance, it was impossible for a mere first-year like Lea to handle such a being.

Activating the summoning circle alone should’ve been beyond her reach.

But—

‘There’s always a workaround.’

Leo glanced at his glowing golden hand.

He already possessed the [Covenant of the Fairy King].
All he needed was a channel to reach Silload.

Lea would serve as that channel.

Fwoosh—!

The summoning gate opened.

At that moment, Lea collapsed, her mana completely drained.

Thud—

Leo caught her before she hit the floor, then looked toward the gate.

—So it’s you again, descendant of Seiren.

A familiar voice echoed.

The moment he heard it, Leo felt a stir in his chest.

—Descendant of Seiren. You still lack the qualifications.

It seemed Silload assumed it was Lea who had summoned him, speaking in a gentle, admonishing tone.

—Grow your vessel further and then—

“Silload.”

—…Who are you? How can a third party interfere in this conversation?

If he could hear the voice, it meant there was a semi-contractual link.

In other words, only the summoner could communicate through the channel.

So hearing a third voice naturally startled Silload.

“It’s me—Kyle.”

—What?

A moment later, the gate opened wider, and a fairy appeared.

Cloaked in golden light, Silload stared in disbelief at Leo.

Their eyes met.

Though Leo’s appearance was completely different, the light in his crimson eyes was unmistakably the same as Kyle’s.

—You’re saying… you’re Kyle?

Silload’s voice trembled.

Leo extended his hand.

Pure white light burst forth.

Silload’s hands shook as he saw it.

That light—

He knew it.

Five thousand years ago.

The light his first and last contractor had wielded.

The miracle that had defeated calamity itself.

—Innocent…

Seeing the unmistakable light that proved the boy before him was indeed Kyle, Silload darted forward, clinging to Leo’s white hair as he wept.

—You promised! You said you’d defeat Erebos! You said you, Kyle, and Lysinas would return! So why… why only now—why after five thousand years…!

Silload’s tearful cries filled the room.

Leo gave a crooked smile.

“…A Fairy King over five thousand years old, bawling like this—don’t you think it’s a bit undignified?”

But Silload didn’t stop crying.

After five thousand years of waiting, the ancient fairy wept endlessly like the young spirit he once was.

—

—Ahem. I see. That explains a lot. So the famous Leo Plov is actually you, Kyle.

Now sitting across from Leo, Silload blew his nose into a tissue and nodded.

He seemed calmer now, though his voice still trembled.

Watching him, Leo rested his chin on his hand.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because even though a few people know who I am, you’re the only one left who remembers what happened five thousand years ago. That’s… kind of amazing.”

—And I should be the one saying that. You, who died five thousand years ago, came back alive.

Silload chuckled.

His tone was exactly the same as it had been back then.

Leo laughed softly.

“You’ve heard my story then?”

—Yes. Even Fairy Land knows the tales of Leo Plov. At first, I thought they were exaggerated… but now I understand. If it’s you, it all makes sense.

Silload smiled faintly.

—Luna came out of the Hero Record because of you, didn’t she?

“That’s right.”

—…I still miss her. But seeing you now… makes me miss her even more.

Silload’s expression darkened as he remembered his long-lost contractor.

“I’ve got a question. You haven’t had another contractor in the last five thousand years, have you?”

—Officially, no.

“So unofficially, that means you did.”

At that, Silload looked toward Lea.

—Yes. Just as you predicted, the Comet Mage, Seiren, became my second contractor.

Leo tilted his head.

“Then why keep that a secret?”

—It was a mutual decision. We even destroyed all the mediums used for the summoning, except for Cometes.

“Why?”

—If word got out that I had an active contract, countless summoners would have tried to bind me.

In the current era, the Fairy King was considered an unattainable being—an absolute myth among spirits.

There was no known medium capable of summoning him anymore.

According to Silload, he had deliberately avoided new contracts.

“Then why refuse new ones entirely? Even three thousand years ago, during the Age of Genesis Heroes, your power was needed. Why didn’t you help them?”

As one who had lived through the Age of Calamity, Silload hated and feared Erebos more than anyone.

If he had truly contracted with Seiren, he should have aided the Genesis Heroes.

Yet during the Calamity’s return three thousand years ago, Silload had not left Fairy Land.

At Leo’s question, Silload’s tone grew heavy.

—I didn’t refuse to help… I couldn’t.

Leo’s expression hardened.

“…Don’t tell me the reason you relocated Fairy Land was—”

After the Age of Calamity ended, the northern lands where Fairy Land once resided turned into frozen wastelands.

Fairies despised the cold.

But that alone wasn’t enough reason to abandon their ancient homeland.

Especially when they could have maintained the region’s warmth with their immense magical power.

Yet Silload had left it behind without hesitation.

At Leo’s words, Silload’s face tightened.

—As you suspected, Kyle. The reason I cannot leave Fairy Land for long… is because I must guard something.

“No way…”

—Yes. Just as you’re thinking.

Leo covered his face with his hand.

Five thousand years ago—

Kyle had divided the Primordial Evil into six fragments and sealed them away.

The first fragment had reawakened three thousand years ago during the Calamity’s return, and the Genesis Heroes had sealed it again.

And the second one was—

“In Fairy Land.”