Chapter 58

Leo looked at the room key in his hand and thought,

‘Still, handing a granddaughter’s room key to an unrelated man seems a bit much, doesn’t it?’

According to Lune, she’d locked herself in her room and hadn’t come out.

‘Rehabilitating a shut-in, huh.’

He scratched his head.

‘Will seeing me really motivate her?’

Lumene and Seiren are rival schools.

Even so, would introducing the first-year representative of Lumene to a gloomy elf who’s given up on competition really inspire her?

‘Well, whatever. It’s not like I’m going to be penalized if it doesn’t work.’

With a light heart, Leo arrived at the room Lune had mentioned.

He knocked.

It wouldn’t do to just barge into a girl’s room, after all.

But, as expected, there was no response to the knock.

Next, he tried the doorknob, but it was locked.

Leo used the key he was holding to open the door and entered.

The room was a sight to behold.

Snack bags were scattered on the floor, and clothes she’d changed out of were tossed in the corners.

Among the scattered clothes, her underwear was plainly visible.

If Leo were an ordinary teenage boy, it would’ve been a shocking sight, but his mentality was far from that of a teenager.

To Leo, this place was nothing more or less than a pigsty.

But there was one spot that was kept clean.

It was the wall, covered entirely with photographs.

‘Lysinas, Luna, Arron, Dweno?’

The photos were of his companions, now called the great heroes.

For every race, the great heroes were proud figures and the most popular subjects of heroic tales.

So, naturally, there were many related products.

‘I knew there were kids who collected these, but this is almost obsessively intense.’

Narrowing his eyes, Leo spotted something else that was clean.

A neatly hung school uniform in the closet.

‘Is that a Seiren uniform?’

“Grandpa, isn’t it a bit much to just barge into your grown granddaughter’s room?”

Something squirmed under the blanket on the bed, then poked out its head.

And locked eyes with Leo.

“Eeeeek! Wh-who are you?!”

Seeing the unfamiliar elf girl, Leo watched as she rolled right off the bed, blanket and all.

She stared wide-eyed at Leo’s ears.

“Hello. I’m Leo Plov.”

Despite Leo’s introduction, the girl remained frozen.

He watched her for a moment, and with a start, she snapped out of it and asked in a flustered voice,

“H-how did a human get in here?”

It was only natural—finding a human boy, who had no business in elf territory, suddenly appearing in her room was a shock.

It almost felt like a dream.

Leo answered the girl’s question with a gentle smile.

“Your grandfather asked me to come talk to you.”

“M-my grandfather?”

Still flustered, Eiran scrambled out from under the blanket and stood up.

“P-please have a seat.”

She gestured to the guest sofa in the room.

In her pajamas, the elf girl approached the tea set arranged in the corner.

Serving tea to guests was elven custom.

As she went to brew the tea, she glanced at the messy clothes around the room, and her face turned bright red.

She quickly shoved everything into a corner, covered it with a blanket, then prepared the tea and brought it to Leo.

“I-I’m Eiran Ersar.”

With messy, long silver hair and clear blue eyes, the shut-in elf Eiran timidly introduced herself.

“You said you’re my grandfather’s guest, but how did a human end up in Elsalbekia…?”

Watching Eiran’s puzzled face, Leo took a sip of tea and replied,

“I’m a student at Lumene. I came to Elsalbekia for a school trip.”

“Lumene?”

Eiran was startled.

“Lord Lune said it would be good for his granddaughter, who’s a student at Seiren, to meet me, so I came to visit.”

In reality, it was just a plan to motivate Eiran, the shut-in, but he couldn’t say that outright.

Eiran swallowed nervously and looked at Leo.

‘A student from the Human Hero Academy, Lumene.’

He was not only a human, but also her age and attended a hero academy just like her.

That alone made Eiran feel very curious about Leo.

‘A b-boy my age is in my room…!’

Having a boy her age visit her room was a shocking experience for a teenage girl.

More than anything, this was the first time Eiran had ever had a friend over.

She was actually quite introverted and didn’t have many friends.

‘White hair like snow and beautiful ruby-like eyes.’

As she looked closely at Leo’s face, their eyes met, and Eiran blushed a little.

Meanwhile, Leo wondered what he should talk about with Eiran.

After thinking for a moment, he pointed to one side of the room.

“Looks like you really like the great heroes?”

“Yes! I-I love them!”

Eiran clasped her hands together.

“They’re the admirable people who saved the world! I fell in love with their stories when I was a kid, so collecting anything related to them is my hobby!”

The usually withdrawn Eiran now had sparkling eyes.

“Do you have any stories you especially like about the great heroes?”

“The Battle of Darnos.”

“You mean the battle where they defeated Tartarus’s legion commander Tiberka? The first battle where the great heroes joined forces!”

It was a story that remained only in written records, not in the Hero Record.

“Do you know where they defeated Commander Zirga’s forces?”

“Edvelik. That’s where Luna first tested her star magic.”

“That’s right! Most people don’t even know about records that only appear in books!”

‘Well, I lived through all of it.’

Leo smiled faintly.

Having found someone he could talk with, Eiran’s tension eased and her mood lifted.

Then, with a start, she realized something.

“I-I’ve just been asking you a bunch of random questions as a guest…”

“It’s fine. The great heroes would have been thrilled to know there are fans like you.”

‘Except for Arron, they all loved being adored, so they would’ve been overjoyed.’

Hearing Leo’s words, Eiran’s smile grew even brighter.

After that, Eiran started introducing her collection.

The images of the great heroes known in this era were all based on the records left in the Hero Record, so the depictions in Eiran’s collection looked just like his friends did when they were alive.

Seeing them, memories of those days came flooding back for Leo.

“This is my most treasured piece. They say it’s from right before the great heroes set out on their final expedition!”

“It really is. It’s exactly the same.”

“Exactly… the same?”

Eiran paused.

“Leo, you talk like you’ve seen them in person.”

Leo answered the sharp question.

“There’s stuff like this in human society, too. I meant it’s exactly like that.”

“I see!”

The innocent girl accepted his answer without question.

Leo looked at the pictures of his friends on the desk and smiled bittersweetly.

“I’ve never shown my collection to anyone else before, but I’m really glad I did.”

The gloom had vanished from Eiran’s face, replaced by a bright smile as she spoke carefully.

“This is just my opinion, but even though history says there were four great heroes, I think there might have actually been a fifth… What do you think, Leo?”

“You mean Kyle?”

“Yes. People laugh at me and say it’s just my imagination, but… Even if the Hero Record doesn’t mention him, there are still many written records about Kyle.”

Saying this, Eiran blushed.

“I’m sorry, I guess I got carried away since we understand each other so well…”

“I think the same thing.”

“Huh?”

“I also believe Kyle was real. I don’t collect things like you do, but I’m planning to create a club at school that researches Kyle’s legacy.”

He hadn’t had time for it with everything going on, but when he returned to school, he was thinking about starting club activities.

“O-oh! That’s why you know so much about the great heroes.”

Eiran clasped her hands together in admiration.

She was thinking she’d finally met someone who shared her interests.

Looking at Eiran, who had dropped all her defenses, Leo found it odd.

‘She doesn’t seem like someone who’d refuse to go to school.’

Seiren also had a dormitory system, just like Lumene.

For her to leave school and come home in the middle of the term was a big deal.

Lune had said that if she didn’t go back soon, she could be expelled.

‘At first, I thought she couldn’t talk to anyone at all, but… she’s shy and reserved, but she’s not that bad.’

Plus, she even believes in the possibility that Kyle existed—how admirable.

‘She’s so cute and admirable, it’s hard to believe she’s the descendant of that arrogant Velkia.’

“Actually, Lord Lune is really worried about you not going to school.”

“Ah…”

Eiran’s face suddenly darkened.

“He told me you’re a very talented student… Why aren’t you going?”

Lune had said it was because there was one student she absolutely couldn’t surpass.

But Leo didn’t think that was it.

As soon as school came up, Eiran’s face clouded over.

“Se-Seiren just doesn’t feel like the right place for me…”

“Why?”

“Everyone at Seiren works so hard, and they’re all so passionate about getting ahead… They all seriously want to become heroes. I was the only one dreaming of being a hero so lightly.”

Leo watched Eiran, whose ears drooped.

“Trying to become a hero just for fun, huh…”

‘Elves really do have different sensibilities from humans.’

Elves value order above all else.

That’s why they meticulously plan for the future.

‘There are humans like that too, but with elves, it’s almost a racial trait. Still, refusing to go to school just for that seems odd.’

Watching Eiran’s shadowed face, Leo tilted his head.

‘Did someone say something hurtful to her?’

He wondered if she’d been discouraged by harsh words.

Leo glanced at Eiran’s uniform.

‘But the fact that she keeps her uniform so carefully means she hasn’t given up completely.’

Leo grinned.

“Right now, my whole class is in Velkia, not just me.”

“What?”

“I told you, we’re here on a school trip. I think my classmates would love to meet you if they heard about you.”

At those words, Eiran hurriedly hid behind the sofa.

“A-are you going to take me with you? I don’t want to leave my room!”

“I’m not that rude.”

“In school, they say all humans are rude… Ah! No! I didn’t mean you, Leo!”

Eiran frantically waved her hands.

Leo chuckled as he stood up.

“We’ll be in Velkia for ten days. If you’re interested, you can come to our inn—Professor Harrid and Assistant Professor Sena are there.”

“…”

Eiran averted her gaze.

It didn’t seem likely she would come.

“There’s a girl in my class named Chelsea who collects things like you do. She’s got a lot you don’t have.”

“…! The great hero collection from human society!”

Eiran’s eyes went wide with interest.

“You two would probably have a lot to talk about.”

Leo looked out the window.

Before he knew it, the sun was setting.

They’d spent quite a while talking about the great heroes.

“It’s late, so I’ll go.”

“Ah! Um… Leo.”

“Yeah?”

“Ah. Goodbye.”

“See you.”

Leo smiled as he left the room.

“Ah…”

Looking at the door Leo had left through, Eiran let out a sigh filled with regret.