Chapter 385

Guardslone.

The last fortress of humanity, where the flame of hope began.

A great, impregnable fortress, literally called the Land of Hope.

But even Guardslone wasn’t great from the start.

‘No, it was a mess at first.’

Leo, sitting at a table in a Guardslone tavern, gave a bitter smile.

This Guardslone was no different.

The reason it remained even as the world teetered on the brink of destruction wasn’t because of any special virtue.

‘It was just luck.’

The reason Tartarus’s reach didn’t extend all the way here was, quite literally, nothing more than luck.

It was called by many glorious titles, but even now it wasn’t much different from any other last city.

Public order was terrible, countless refugees poured in.

Resources were limited.

And most of all, there was a constant, gnawing fear that it could collapse into ruin at any moment.

But even so, it was still a place where people lived.

There were taverns where those who fought on the battlefield could wet their throats and fill their bellies.

In an era when the fortress could fall and everyone could perish at any moment, drinking might have seemed absurd.

‘But it was also an era when it was hard to get through each day with a clear mind unless you drank and got drunk.’

That was how little hope remained in this world.

They were literally standing at the edge of a cliff.

The era Leo had stepped into was such an era.

The great Tartarus raid was over.

After that, any tavern would normally be crowded with people.

But the tavern and inn where Leo sat were empty.

Leo was the only one at a table.

The elf who ran the tavern set down two large, rough wooden glasses and went back behind the counter, crossing her legs as she sat.

This was also one of Kyle’s regular taverns, back when he was the Surviving Hero.

‘I was in his debt right before his last journey.’

Leo gave a bitter smile as he thought of the acquaintance buried deep in his memory.

“Sorry, sorry.”

Lysinas came down from the second floor.

“I was doing something for a moment.”

With a faintly relieved smile, Lysinas sat across from Leo.

‘Did she go write in her journal?’

Lysinas recorded everything about the Era of Calamity in her journal.

And today was the day she joined the party.

Leo chuckled inwardly, remembering the entry from that day.

“Today is the historic day we founded the subjugation party, so drink as much as you want. I wish I could buy drinks for all the customers, but…”

Lysinas looked around.

“With you and me together, no customers are coming near this tavern.”

“The Surviving Hero is a symbol of misfortune, and the foolish dragon who spreads useless hope is avoided.”

“That’s how it is now. But soon the way people look at us will change. This city will change too.”

Speaking with firm resolve, Lysinas picked up her glass.

“Well then, before we get serious. It’s just the beginning.”

Lysinas smiled brightly.

‘Now it’s the end.’

“A toast to our future and the hope of the world.”

‘A toast to our future and the hope of the world.’

Five thousand years ago, when he had shared his final drink with his friends, she had raised the same toast.

Leo silently watched Lysinas as she spoke the exact same words.

“…Kyle?”

Lysinas looked at Leo, who was just staring at her, with a puzzled expression.

“Cheers.”

Clunk—!

The rough wooden glasses knocked together.

‘I never imagined that after everyone died, I’d come back to the first time we shared a drink, thousands of years later.’

“Kyle?”

Lysinas, sipping her drink, asked in a slightly awkward voice,

“Did something good happen? Why are you smiling like that?”

Leo blinked, then propped his chin on his hand and smiled.

“Just, because I’m happy.”

Lysinas looked flustered.

‘He wasn’t like this?’

She knew Kyle’s personality very well.

She had chased him around for the past few weeks to get him into the party and had suffered his twisted personality more than enough.

‘Until now, he’s said all sorts of rude things to me, calling me foolish and a lizard.’

She had wanted to punch him in the face more than once, but she’d endured it because she needed to make a good impression and recruit him.

But a little while ago, after defending Guardslone’s workshop and formally joining the party, he felt unfamiliar.

‘Whatever. No matter what, the fact that this guy is a member of the subjugation party I formed doesn’t change.’

Kyle, the Surviving Hero.

His strength was already known across the world.

The demons feared him.

‘A true master who survived countless battlefields.’

Lysinas wanted such companions.

After seeing Kyle in person, she had become even more determined to pull him into the subjugation party.

‘An unprecedented All-Class. He’ll definitely be a great help in the battle against Erebos.’

With that thought, Lysinas cleared her throat.

“Okay, Kyle. Then shall we have a serious conversation? About the future.”

She set down her glass and crossed her arms.

With a serious expression, Lysinas spoke.

“As you know, my goal is to subjugate Erebos and save this world. To do that, I need you. That’s why I recruited you.”

“Yeah.”

“But you and I alone aren’t enough to save the world.”

Lysinas took a deep breath and said firmly,

“So we need strong companions to join us on our journey.”

“Do you have any candidates in mind?”

“Of course. First we need a mage.”

Lysinas opened a Subspace and spread out a map.

A world map from five thousand years ago.

Most of the land was painted black—regions burned and destroyed by Erebos.

Among them, Lysinas pointed to one region that had not yet been burned.

“Here. The homeland forest of the southern elves. A land cursed by the Monster Queen. There’s an elven genius mage there, ‘Luna Lubinence’. You’ve heard the name, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve heard she’s the most noble elf of all.”

‘…Come to think of it, people were saying this kind of ridiculous thing back then too.’

“If we convey our intentions, the noble her will surely join us on our journey.”

‘What did that woman say to me when I first met Luna?’

‘Are you crazy? What did you eat to think of something like that?’

Leo had simply delivered Lysinas’s words to Luna exactly as they were.

But it was Leo, not Lysinas, who had been called crazy.

He felt unfairly treated all over again.

He looked at Lysinas, who was now gazing at the terrain that would later be called the Forest of Monsters with a serious face.

Up until this point, even up to just before meeting Luna, Lysinas had great expectations for her.

She couldn’t be blamed.

The first person she had recruited into her party was the twisted man in front of her.

‘She didn’t know it at this time. That Luna would be the most disobedient one in our party.’

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“How am I looking at you?”

Lysinas continued, her expression turning uneasy.

“The next member we need to add is Agon, the ‘Azure Guardian’ in Reisar.”

Agon, the Azure Guardian.

Arron’s teacher—he had already been famous as a powerful hero even before the Era of Calamity.

He had earned the title “Azure Guardian” for protecting the blue sky for many years.

But when Lysinas, Kyle, and Luna went looking for him, he had already lost his will.

Arron joined the party in place of Agon.

“The Azure Guardian is a great hero who has stopped countless demons. He’s always dignified and brave. He’ll be a reliable vanguard.”

‘Instead, Arron came in. In large battles he was exactly the reliable vanguard Lysinas hoped for, but in small fights he was the most unreliable guy.’

His overwhelming skill and the courage he showed in true crisis situations made him an excellent vanguard for the subjugation party.

‘Lysinas’s face during the first battle was worth seeing.’

Arron had been terrified and hid behind Lysinas.

It was no wonder. He was still just a young boy—someone who possessed great power, but was still immature.

Seeing Luna’s tomboy behavior, Lysinas had become even more desperate for a proper new party member.

Then she saw Arron, shaking with fear.

At that moment, she’d looked like she was about to cry.

‘Luna laughed herself sick when she saw that.’

“Why do you keep looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“Don’t look at me with pity.”

“I never looked at you like that.”

At Leo’s words, Lysinas frowned and continued.

“Next, we need a blacksmith who can forge powerful Artifacts. And since we’re overwhelmingly outnumbered, he also has to be a warrior with overwhelming skill. There’s only one man who fits that description. There are rumors he’s a bit of an oddball, but they say he’s a great person.”

‘He wasn’t just a bit of an oddball.’

‘Dweno, we need your strength. Please join us on our journey.’

Dweno, staring at Lysinas as she performed the Dragon’s Greeting and asked for his help at their first meeting, had turned to Leo and said,

‘You.’

‘Why?’

‘Are you and this dragon lady lovers?’

‘I am not in that kind of relationship with this human.’

‘Really?’

‘Absolutely.’

‘Hmm.’

Stroking his chin, Dweno had eyed Lysinas suspiciously, then nodded.

‘I understand. But there’s a condition, Black Dragon.’

‘Tell me, Blacksmith Dweno.’

Dweno had spoken with an almost reverent expression.

‘Be my nude model.’

‘Did I hear you wrong?’

‘You heard me right. Your beauty needs to be known far and wide, for future generations.’

At that moment, Lysinas’s face had clearly looked like she’d lost the whole world.

‘Let’s go, Kyle. This guy isn’t the one.’

Kyle had picked up a sword tossed on the floor of Dweno’s workshop and said,

‘This is an amazing sword. Why is it thrown away like this?’

‘That’s a failure. It’s not beautiful.’

‘If the failure is this good, it seems like it’d be a big help?’

‘Let’s go! A guy with a twisted personality, a tomboy, and a coward are enough! I absolutely refuse to take a pervert!’

Lysinas had desperately tried to drag Leo away.

‘Hey, dwarf old man. We have an elf as beautiful as this one in our party. Want to come?’

‘Oh? In that case, it might be worth following!’

‘Kyle!’

Dweno had joined the party, leaving behind Lysinas, who was screaming in agony.

Leo looked at Lysinas now, his eyes softening.

“So why do you keep looking at me like that?”

“…I just think saving the world won’t be easy.”

“Of course it won’t. Don’t waste time on pointless thoughts. What do you think about our future companions?”

“…They sound like amazing people.”

“Right? They’ll be different from a guy with a dirty personality like you.”

Wronged, Lysinas answered with a hint of emotion in her voice.

“…Yeah. They’ll definitely be different from a guy with a dirty personality like me.”

Later, while drinking, Lysinas would confess.

That the man she had been sure had the worst first impression—

Had actually been the most normal of them all.

************************************************************

Premium Access is now available!
If you want to stay ahead, you can now read 35 early chapters in advance through my new Premium Access tier on Ko-fi.

Price: $2.99 per month
Benefits:

– Instant access to 35 chapters ahead
– 5 new early chapters every week
– Full archive access from Chapter 1 to the latest premium release
– Optional Discord notifications for every new chapter drop
– Bonus Series! ‘I can only Raise Skeleton’ will be included in this access! You will get 15+ advanced chapters upon subscription.

If you’d like to support the translation and read ahead, you can join here: https://ko-fi.com/s/a743253e51

Thank you for reading and supporting the series!