Chapter 426
It was the height of summer.
The Warp Gate flashed.
Along with it, a boy with orange hair stepped out of the Warp Gate.
“The west is definitely hotter than the center.”
Fanning his collar to chase off the heat, Carr shielded his eyes with his other palm and looked up at the sky.
The intense sunlight glaring down made it unmistakably summer.
“If only Chloe were here at times like this.”
Smacking his lips in regret as he thought of the ice mage, Carr looked around.
In Carr’s hometown, Moira Kingdom, or in Lumeria City, on sweltering days like this, you could easily buy a cold drink or ice cream on the street.
‘Maybe because it’s a backwater kingdom? There’s nothing like that here.’
Moira Kingdom, located in the center of the continent, was a small country, but a key hub where countless people and goods passed through, and Lumeria City was a developed metropolis called the very center of the world.
Accordingly, their infrastructure was well-developed, but here, in this western frontier kingdom of Delard, there was nothing like that.
‘If someone started a business here, it’d be a huge hit. It’s the capital, so they must have money, right?’
Carr watched the streets of Delan and worked his brain.
How much could he make if he earned money here all summer break?
He entertained the thought, then let out a small sigh.
‘It’s a shame I don’t have time to stay here long.’
Smacking his lips, Carr started walking.
That was when a group of students in what looked like uniforms rode through the street on horseback.
They were moving as if escorting a carriage.
Carr checked the flag on the carriage and stepped aside.
The symbol of the Delard royal family was embroidered on it.
‘A royal carriage.’
Carr was about to keep walking after muttering to himself when—
“Hey, orange hair.”
Someone called out to Carr from the carriage.
He turned with a puzzled look, and a boy around Carr’s age, dressed in a uniform, was riding up on horseback.
“Why?”
“How dare you block the road when royalty is passing?”
At the boy’s words, Carr scratched his head.
Carr had moved aside so he wouldn’t get in the carriage’s way.
Even so, hearing this meant he’d gotten dragged into something annoying.
“I’m from the center of the continent. I’m here as a tourist, so I’m not familiar with this country’s laws. Could you tell me what I’m supposed to do when royalty passes?”
“When a royal carriage passes, proper etiquette is to move as far away as possible.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Etiquette differed from kingdom to kingdom.
Rather than get dragged into something annoying, Carr chose to smooth it over.
Watching Carr, the boy—Gulliven—curled the corner of his lips upward.
“Hmph. Even if you’re a commoner, if you’re visiting another country as a tourist, at least learn that country’s etiquette before you come. As a commemoration of your visit to Delard, consider it an honor that I, the top student of Delan Royal Academy, personally instructed you in etiquette.”
“Thanks for that.”
Carr smiled faintly.
No matter where you go, there are nobles like this.
‘Good thing the prince didn’t come with me.’
Carr thought of Duran, the crown prince of the kingdom Carr was born into, as well as his academy classmate and dormmate.
The morning after summer break began, an invitation had flown into Carr’s room.
And the sender was none other than the Dragon Lord.
He’d been about to head to the kitchen for breakfast, exclaiming in excitement, when—
‘Carr Thomas, did you get an invitation too?’
Carr, in the middle of biting into a slice of toast, nearly choked when he saw Duran burst into the kitchen out of nowhere.
Remembering how his parents had panicked at the sudden visit from royalty—no, from the crown prince—Carr let out a deep sigh inwardly.
They’d gone on about how it was an honor for the family, and Carr had been shoved out of his own seat while Duran shamelessly received a lavish breakfast at Carr’s house.
‘Mom, what about my breakfast?’
‘You eat after His Highness the Crown Prince finishes.’
Thinking of Duran barging into someone else’s house, shamelessly eating their food, and even deciding when the host could eat, Carr grumbled to himself.
‘If it’s Plov family territory, does that mean Leo Plov’s territory?’
‘Probably. But why did you have to barge in here this early when you could’ve just used magic communication to talk to the guys you’re close with?’
‘Hmph. Only a handful received invitations. I already confirmed it with several people.’
It seemed he’d sent magic communication messages to their Lumene classmates at the crack of dawn to check.
After getting what he wanted, Duran left as he was.
Carr had almost ended up going with him, but Carr planned to go to Leo’s house earlier than the others because he wanted to hang out with Leo.
‘If we’d come together, it would’ve been a mess.’
Carr muttered to himself when—
The carriage door suddenly opened.
All the Delan Royal Academy students escorting it flinched, dismounted, and knelt.
Even the Delan Royal Academy student who’d been showing off to Carr hurriedly knelt, then glanced up at Carr and gestured with his eyes.
“It’s the crown prince of Delard Kingdom. Hurry and—”
“Are you not Carr Thomas of Lumene Academy? Sir Leo’s friend.”
“So it was Your Highness. I hope you have been well.”
Carr offered his respects.
During the recent World Summit, through Leo, he had come to know Delard Kingdom’s crown prince—Prince Deven.
At the mention of Lumene, Gulliven, the Delan Royal Academy student who’d been flaunting himself at Carr, widened his eyes.
“Looks like you’ll be spending your vacation here in Delard.”
“Yes, I was invited by Leo.”
Carr smiled.
He was a commoner, but he’d gotten used to etiquette thanks to his easygoing nature and the fact that he belonged to Noble, which was full of students from prestigious families.
Prince Deven, who had been looking at Carr for a moment before nodding, glanced at Gulliven and made an apologetic expression.
“I hope our royal academy student hasn’t been rude to you.”
“If he didn’t know, I suppose it can happen.”
Carr answered smoothly.
Gulliven’s face turned pale as he kept his head bowed.
“Since we’ve met like this, I’ll have you taken to the Plov family estate.”
“You don’t have to go out of your way.”
“Don’t refuse. To be honest, I’d like to ask your advice about something as well.”
“Advice?”
“Yes. It’s about the Hero Record.”
At the words “Hero Record,” Carr briefly made a puzzled expression.
“Recently, we’ve been finding many items suspected to be Hero Record fragments within our kingdom. As it happens, we were transporting the selected items to the royal palace today. As a student of Lumene Academy, you’ve likely encountered Hero Records often, haven’t you?”
Prince Deven smiled.
“Take a look at them for me.”
A Hero Record was powerful enough that simply finding one could change a nation’s fortunes.
That was why countless fakes flooded the market.
‘But I can’t exactly refuse a request from a crown prince.’
Scratching his cheek, Carr said,
“I’m still a student, so please don’t put too much faith in my judgment.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
Carr got into Prince Deven’s carriage.
Inside, Carr spotted a luxurious case in the center.
When Prince Deven’s hand touched the case sealed with magic, a magic circle rose.
Click-!
With the sound of the lock opening, the case opened.
Inside were countless scraps of paper imbued with Mana.
‘As expected, it’s this kind of stuff.’
Most items suspected to be Hero Records were fragments of old magic tomes or summoning books that held magical power or spiritual power.
‘The Founder of the Nebula, Luna? Wow, even the Wise King.’
Carr let out a hollow laugh to himself as he found scraps with the names of great heroes written on them.
‘Since so few records of great heroes remain, it’s hard to verify authenticity, so among forged Hero Records, the most common ones are related to great heroes. There are tons related to the Heroes of Genesis.’
Carr examined the records and sorted out the ones that were definitely fake.
“From what I can tell, there’s a very high chance these records are forgeries.”
“I see. Then why didn’t you exclude this one?”
Prince Deven lifted a scrap of paper that was nearly burned away.
It was a tiny piece with the faint word “Arron” written on it.
“Usually, records related to great heroes tend to be in small fragments like that. Well, honestly, it’d be better to consult experts than rely on me.”
At Carr’s words, Prince Deven nodded.
Before long, the carriage arrived in front of the Plov family estate.
“If the chance arises, visit the royal palace with Sir Leo.”
“Thank you for your hospitality.”
Carr greeted the departing crown prince’s carriage.
“Why are you getting out of our country’s crown prince’s carriage?”
“Oh! Leo! You been having a good vacation?”
At the voice from behind, Carr greeted him happily.
“I ran into him on the way here.”
Leo snorted with a smile at Carr’s shrug and opened the front gate.
“You been having a good vacation?”
“More or less.”
“What about your homework? Can’t you show me even just what you’ve done?”
“Do what you want.”
“Ah~ You’re the only one for me! My friend!”
Carr thanked Leo and walked in.
Watching Carr’s back, Leo muttered to himself.
‘You probably won’t have time to do homework, Carr.’
—
“It’s the first time Leo’s school friend has come to visit since that kid Chelsea.”
That evening.
Carr was warmly welcomed by Leo’s father, Deid, and Reina.
“Thank you for having me.”
Carr greeted Deid.
“Hey, Carr. Doesn’t Leo have any friends from the Knights Department? It’s a shame only Magic Department kids come over.”
Reina cupped her cheek with a disappointed expression, and Carr said,
“He does have a friend named Chen Xia and a friend named Eliana Laden. But I guess Leo doesn’t talk much about school life?”
“Yeah. Our son doesn’t talk much about his friends.”
Smacking her lips, Reina asked,
“Really no girlfriend? He’s the student council president, so I’d think he’d be popular.”
“No girlfriend. But he’s the most popular guy in second year. He gets multiple letters a day.”
“Oh. Oh?”
Reina’s eyes sparkled.
Carr told her about Leo’s school life.
Leo just kept smiling as he listened.
Watching him, Reina grumbled.
“When I just watch him sit there, he really looks like an old man.”
“Please just say he’s mature.”
“Mature within reason.”
Reina shook her head at Leo’s words.
“Don’t you have some nickname at school like ‘old man’ or something? Hey, Carr. What’s Leo’s nickname at school?”
Having heard about her son’s school life, Reina looked a little excited.
Carr replied flatly.
“Demon King.”
“Demon King?”
“Yes. Because of the presence he showed during midterms, people call him Demon King Leo.”
“Why is your nickname so far from being a hero?”
Reina clicked her tongue.
“Still, you boys have it rough. It’s vacation and you can’t even play—training camp, of all things.”
Reina said, already knowing about the training camp.
“Well, it’s nice since we can bond, too. It’s not like it’s in some dangerous area, and it’s on Plov family territory. There’ll be clean sleeping quarters and meals, so.”
‘He still doesn’t know, huh.’
As the lady of the Plov family, Reina had gone to see the training camp location chosen by the Dragon Lord.
And she had seen that banner.
“Hey, Carr.”
“Yes?”
“Eat more.”
“Ah, I’m full.”
“No. Eat as much of the good stuff as you can.”
Feeling uneasy at Reina looking at him with pity, Carr turned to Leo beside him.
“Hey, Leo.”
“What?”
“Do you know what this training camp is going to be like? It’s on your territory, right?”
Out of all possible places, the Dragon Lord choosing Plov family territory likely had a lot to do with Leo, the student council president and overall top-ranked student.
So Carr expected Leo would know something.
In response, Leo silently moved the main dish from his own plate onto Carr’s.
Seeing that, Carr gave a mournful smile.
‘We’re doomed.’