Chapter 51

After conquering the Hero World and returning, Leo and Chloe were immediately transferred to the infirmary.

Leo had a fractured left arm, full-body burns, and multiple hairline fractures throughout his body.

Chloe, on the other hand, was suffering from exhaustion due to extreme Mana depletion.

The prescription in the infirmary was absolute rest.

In the end, both of them were admitted to the infirmary.

The next morning.

Chloe, who had slept in, looked at the Mana-replenishing IV that the healer had placed in her left wrist the night before.

“It doesn’t seem serious enough to ban visitors.”

Both of them were in a situation where even visitors were not allowed.

“It’s probably not just because of the injuries.”

Leo, with a medical patch on his face, sat down on the sofa at one side of the spacious two-person room.

“Right?”

Chloe’s expression darkened.

Even if it wasn’t for Leo, Chloe still had things to explain to Lumene.

‘If I get expelled, what do I tell my family?’

The Mueller family, affiliated with the Northern Mage Tower, had very little standing.

They didn’t have a long family history, nor had there ever been an outstanding mage.

They were just a typical mage family you could find anywhere.

But because Chloe had entered as the top student, she became the focus of the Northern Mage Tower.

But if she were to suffer the disgrace of expulsion, her reputation would undoubtedly fall even lower than before.

And even if she wasn’t expelled, there was still a problem.

The Mueller family was poor.

That’s why she planned to attend school on a scholarship.

‘But since it was my mistake, I have to take responsibility!’

‘She’s deep in thought.’

Leo smiled slightly, resting his chin on his hand as he watched Chloe clench her fist with a determined look on her face.

‘Kids that age really do grow up fast.’

Thinking that, Leo recalled what happened yesterday.

‘They said the [Hero Record] has never once gone out of control in all recorded history.’

But yesterday, a huge incident occurred.

Even Leo didn’t know the reason.

‘[Hero Record] is something that didn’t exist in my era.’

But he could make a guess.

‘If the grimoire Chloe had affected the [Hero Record]…’

Erebos, after all, could be considered a divine entity.

‘If the Demonic Artifact could affect the [Hero Record]… Could that be connected to the disappearance of my [Hero Record]?’

The demons still remembered and hated Leo.

There was no guarantee they weren’t secretly influencing the [Hero Record] in this way.

‘The destruction of the [Hero Record] itself might be related to Tartarus.’

Leo let out a light sigh and found a chess set in the desk drawer.

‘Maybe I should organize my thoughts a bit.’

“Chloe. Do you know how to play chess? I’m bored, want to play?”

“Yeah, okay.”

Rustle—Chloe got down from the bed and sat in front of Leo.

The chess game started and the pieces began to move.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Leo, stuck with no moves, crossed his arms and clicked his tongue.

‘She’s good.’

The rules were a little different than now, but chess existed in his previous life too.

It was Lysinas’s favorite game, so he used to play it often.

“Checkmate.”

At Chloe’s declaration, Leo moved his king.

Chloe smiled as she chased Leo’s king.

‘It’s been ages since I played like this.’

Ever since the start of the semester, she had been studying day and night, determined to catch up to Leo.

‘At least while I’m in the infirmary, I can spend time with Leo.’

That thought made Chloe pause.

‘Wait a second. Now that I think about it, I’m sharing a hospital room with Leo, aren’t I?’

She hadn’t noticed when she was first admitted, but now that she thought about it, her face grew hot for no reason.

“Not going to play?”

“Huh? Oh! Yeah!”

Flustered, Chloe moved her piece in a higher-pitched voice.

After a while, Leo was caught in a forced mate and the game ended.

“Ah! That was fun!”

As Chloe stretched and smiled brightly, her stomach growled—gurgle! Her belly clock rang out.

“Ah, no! It’s just—because I’m hungry!”

“Come to think of it, we haven’t eaten anything since yesterday, have we? Isn’t it a bit much for kids who are still growing?”

Leo grumbled at Chloe, who was making excuses with a beet-red face.

Before they knew it, it was already lunchtime.

Knock knock—

Perfect timing—a knock sounded and the hospital room door opened.

Seeing who it was, Chloe quickly straightened up in surprise.

“Pr-Principal!”

“Hoho! Nice to see you! Leo! Chloe! Did you rest well last night?”

Kalian approached with a friendly smile.

“It’s an honor to meet you! I’m Chloe Mueller from Class 1-1!”

“Hoho! No need to be nervous. I’m just here to ask a few things!”

‘This is Sword Star Kalian. One of the greatest heroes of this era.’

Leo’s eyes sparkled.

Leo and Chloe sat down in front of Kalian.

“First, I want to apologize to both of you. Even though it was an unpredictable situation, the appearance of the [Hero Dungeon] put you in danger. As the principal, I am sorry.”

Kalian bowed his head after opening with those words.

Chloe waved her hands in embarrassment.

“It’s okay, Principal. There was nothing the school could do either, right?”

“I appreciate your understanding. Now, let’s get to the main topic.”

Kalian raised his head and put on a solemn expression.

Chloe, overwhelmed by his presence, fell silent.

“First, Chloe. There’s something I want to ask you. Could you show me the grimoire you bought in the back alley of Lumeria City? I heard from Professor Sedgen and Professor Len that you carried it around for several months.”

Chloe caught her breath.

Leo, who was beside her, asked,

“Why do you want to see it?”

“There’s no need to hide it from you, Leo. The place where Ryu bought the summoning catalyst was the same place where Chloe bought the grimoire.”

“So the source was the same, huh.”

“What do you mean, ‘the same’?”

“That grimoire was a [Demonic Artifact].”

Kalian’s face grew serious.

“Could you tell me in detail what happened in the Hero World?”

Leo began to tell the story.

Kalian narrowed his eyes after hearing the whole story.

“So the Demonic Artifact affected the Hero World?”

“Since the Hero Dungeon returned to normal as soon as the Demonic Artifact was destroyed, I’d say that’s highly likely.”

Kalian stroked his beard.

“Then my second question. It’s about the items you brought back from the Hero Dungeon yesterday.”

“Items from the Hero Dungeon? I thought you couldn’t bring anything out of the Hero World except for the conquest rewards?”

Chloe asked with a puzzled expression.

No matter how real it seemed, the Hero World was ultimately fake.

No matter what item you obtained, everything disappeared when you returned to reality after the conquest.

“Looks like you didn’t know, Chloe. Yesterday, Leo submitted five items. They were keepsakes of Alia’s party members.”

Hearing Kalian’s words, Leo fell into thought.

‘Did I get the conquest reward again, just by myself?’

It was the second time Leo had conquered the Hero World.

Coincidentally, both times the rules of [no conquest rewards for the living in the Hero World] and [rewards related to the master of the Hero World] were broken.

This time, since it was a Hero Dungeon, he thought Chloe might get a reward too, but she hadn’t.

‘I still don’t know why only the rules are broken for me, but there’s no benefit to letting that be known.’

If the fact that you could always get conquest rewards in any world became public, it was sure to cause trouble.

“That was a conquest reward.”

“Conquest reward? You shouldn’t be able to receive rewards in the Hero World of the living.”

“Yes. But yesterday’s Hero World was a Hero Dungeon, wasn’t it? Maybe it was because of the abnormal situation?”

Leo decided to use the incident as an excuse to get through the situation.

“And Chloe didn’t get a conquest reward?”

“That’s probably because Leo contributed the most during the conquest.”

Chloe said.

It was true that rewards could differ depending on one’s contribution to the conquest.

“I see.”

Kalian nodded.

“Understood. Then I have one last thing to say.”

Kalian put on a serious expression.

“About the Demonic Artifact, keep your mouths shut.”

“Yes?”

“Chloe, I’ll inform your homeroom professor, Professor Sedgen, and the magic department professor, Professor Len, about your case separately. Appropriate measures will be taken. But beyond that, keep it secret.”

“Uh, why?”

“You’re still young, so you might not understand.”

Kalian smiled faintly as he stood up.

“The enemy isn’t only outside.”

Leaving the two behind, Kalian walked to the hospital room door.

“Take care and get plenty of rest during the exam period. You can be discharged after that.”

With a hearty laugh, Kalian opened the door, then paused and said,

“Ah, I forgot to tell you the results of the practical exam.”

Kalian turned back to the two of them and smiled.

“Congratulations! You two are the first first-years in Lumene’s history to exceed the Hero World mission achievement rate.”

Chloe’s eyes widened and Leo crossed his arms with a faint smile.

“I look forward to seeing your future achievements.”

Creak—! Click.

“Leo! We exceeded the mission achievement rate! We’re the first in Lumene’s history!”

Chloe cheered in delight, thrilled to have made history at Lumene.

Leo smiled as he watched her.

—

“Why do we have to go straight to class even though exams are over? This school has no humanity! None at all!”

Carr grumbled as if he couldn’t take it anymore.

“You hate going to class that much?”

“Hey! Chelsea! Who in their right mind wants to go to class right after exams?”

“You hate class regardless of whether exams are over or not.”

The two bickered as they headed toward the magic building.

“Did you hear? About Chloe.”

“Yeah. Apparently the unique magic she presented wasn’t hers?”

“Right. She confessed herself. So she got a zero on the practical and finished last in the magic department exams?”

“Serves her right. Acting all high and mighty.”

A group of magic department students were laughing and walking past.

Carr frowned at the sight.

“Those jerks. They all used to suck up to Chloe, now look how fast they turn on her.”

“That’s just how clueless people are.”

“Still, I’m worried about Chloe. She’s got a surprisingly weak mentality.”

Carr scratched his head.

At that moment, someone stretched out a leg from the bench in the magic building’s garden.

The boy at the front of the group gossiping about Chloe tripped over the leg and fell.

“Argh! Who the hell—! You wanna die—!”

“Oh, sorry. Were you passing by? Maybe you should watch where you’re going.”

“L-Leo Plov?”

Leo stood up, looking completely unapologetic.

“Are you picking a fight with us right now?”

“Why? You’re allowed to talk behind my back, but I can’t pick a fight with you? And what if I am?”

Leo smirked at the flustered boy.

“If you’re so upset, how about a duel?”

“Ugh?!”

Until midterms, Leo was seen as more of a theorist.

But after the midterms, word spread that he was one of the top-class fighters among the students.

Whether it was knight studies, magic, or summoning, it was fair to say none of them could beat Leo in a duel.

“If you keep this up, I’ll tell Professor Len!”

But where there are many mouths, the voices are loud.

One of the girls in the group snapped back.

Leo smiled calmly.

“That’s great. Actually, Professor Len was looking for you.”

“What?”

“He said he had something to ask you about your assignments. You should hurry.”

Their faces went white.

Since they’d all leaned on Chloe to do the assignments, they’d be in trouble if asked about it.

“Damn it! You’re so underhanded!”

“Just wait.” (T/N: Hahaha. I love how petty he is unlike other MCs.)

They hurled curses as they dashed off to the magic building.

Leo smirked as he watched them go.

“They’re just asking for it.”

“Leo! You’re out of the hospital!”

Chelsea ran up with a bright smile.

Carr grinned, lacing his hands behind his head.

“Awesome! Now that Leo’s out, should we skip class today? They’re just going to do review anyway—Ow, ow, ow!”

“So someone who came second last in the magic department wants to skip class? That’s pretty bold, isn’t it?”

“C-Chloe?”

Chloe grabbed Carr’s ear.

“That’s it. From today, you’re sitting with me at the very front.”

“The very front? No! I don’t want to go through that suffering again!”

Chelsea giggled at Carr’s screams, then turned to Leo with a big smile.

“Congratulations on getting out, Leo.”

Leo smiled and patted Chelsea on the head.

Chloe, watching, muttered to herself.

‘Let’s work hard. So I won’t embarrass myself in front of Leo, who gave me the courage that day.’

Carr, still screaming, looked over and asked,

“Your face looks a lot better. Are you okay now?”

“Thanks. And thank you for caring, Carr.”