Chapter 569

Starting from Dragonia’s entrance and retracing his memories, Leo eventually arrived in the ruins that recreated the Dragonia of the past.

“Black Rabbit, is this the place you wanted to visit?”

Ar looked puzzled as she entered the deserted ruins.

The students of Wisdom had already returned with Enkinias.

“This area is rather complicated, so I will guide you.”

Melina stepped forward.

“Since we have come all the way to Dragonia’s ruins, how about we turn this into a field trip?”

“I’d rather not.”

Ar shook her head.

“How about we turn this into a field trip?”

“I said I’d rather—”

“We are going on a field trip, aren’t we?”

“....”

Melina had somehow brought her face directly in front of Ar’s, leaving Ar with no choice but to nod.

“I wholeheartedly agree! These ruins are a famous site where we can observe the dragons’ beautiful architectural style from the Age of Gods!”

Driana clenched her fists enthusiastically.

“This is an opportunity to reinterpret such beauty with my own hands.”

“I’m being completely serious when I say this. Don’t. The dragons might actually curse you.”

Ar offered the warning with a grave expression, but Driana did not listen.

Lunia clicked her tongue at the sight.

“No matter how I think about it, she needs to meet Dweno-nim one more time.”

“If they met again, Dweno might actually crack Driana’s skull open.”

“That’s exactly what I mean. It would probably be for the best.”

Lunia was entirely serious.

“By the way, Leo, what did you come here to find?”

They had followed Leo because he said he had business here, but he had yet to explain his exact objective.

“I’m looking for something Lysinas hid in the old Dragonia.”

“Something Lysinas-nim hid?”

“What is it? Could it be a powerful Divine Artifact? That would be incredible!”

“Even if it isn’t a Divine Artifact, anything Lysinas-nim left behind must be extraordinary!”

Lunia and Chelsea raised their voices in excitement.

“What are you two talking about that’s so interesting?”

Ar suddenly poked her head between Lunia and Chelsea.

They immediately feigned innocence.

“What do you mean?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Ar narrowed her eyes at them.

“You two are keeping a secret from me, aren’t you?”

“Not at all.”

The fact that Leo was Kyle, the Hero of Beginning, remained a secret.

Even if it was Ar, they could not reveal that truth unless Leo told her himself.

“Black Rabbit! What secret are you hiding?”

“Stop bothering Leo Oppa.”

“Right. More importantly, look over here.”

Lunia produced something resembling foxtail grass and waved it around wildly.

“Do you think I’m an idiot?!”

“Tsk. It didn’t work.”

Lunia clicked her tongue after failing to divert Ar’s attention.

Ar glared furiously at her.

“Like I’d ever be distracted by such a pathetic toy—”

Jingle—!

“...Huh!”

Swat—!

When Leo pulled out a ring of keys and shook it, Ar instinctively swiped at them.

“....”

“....”

Lunia and Chelsea stared at Ar pathetically.

“I told you to stop treating me like a caaat!”

Ar hissed, grabbed Leo, and shook him violently.

Meanwhile, Driana was too busy examining the ruined buildings to show the slightest interest in what was happening behind her.

Melina smiled gently at the sight.

'These children are the future of the world.'

It was not that she doubted Leo’s judgment.

Still—

'Will they really be all right?'

With a faintly worried expression, Melina guided them through the ruins.

===

Whoooooosh—!

The group arrived at an elevated area within Dragonia’s ruins that overlooked the entire city.

The night had long since passed, and the late hours before dawn had arrived.

“Morning will be here soon.”

“Yaaawn! I think we’ve looked around most of the ruins.”

“To think we spent the entire night wandering through this enormous place.”

Lunia folded her arms and muttered.

Ar rubbed her sleepy eyes after yawning, while Chelsea massaged her legs and shook her head.

Leo stood a short distance from the others, silently gazing across the entirety of Dragonia.

“What are you thinking about?”

Melina carefully approached and asked.

“The past.”

Leo gazed at the flourishing Dragonia.

“When I first came here 5,000 years ago, this place was quite literally a living hell.”

“....”

“That was the first time I ever saw Lysinas show weakness.”

“Dragons love their homeland.”

Melina could understand how Lysinas must have felt at the time.

“So I made a promise to her. I told her I would help rebuild Dragonia, even if it took the rest of my life.”

Leo smiled bitterly.

“Well, neither of us managed to accomplish anything in the end. Still, she would undoubtedly be delighted if she could see how prosperous Dragonia has become.”

“How can you say that neither of you accomplished anything? The world as it exists today is only possible because of the Great Heroes.”

Melina spoke firmly.

Leo nodded at her words.

“Still, that is rather unexpected. Considering Luna-nim’s free-spirited personality, I assumed she would have traveled the world once peace returned. I’m surprised she intended to settle in Dragonia.”

Melina sounded intrigued, but Leo looked at her as though she were talking nonsense.

“As if that reckless troublemaker would ever settle in Dragonia. She also had a duty to restore the elves. Though if she had survived, she probably would have dumped all the work on Velkia and gone off to enjoy herself.”

“As expected.”

Melina nodded, then suddenly found herself deeply puzzled.

“Did you not say you intended to help Lysinas-nim rebuild Dragonia, Leo-nim?”

“I did.”

“Then you would have remained in Dragonia while Luna-nim traveled the world?”

Leo nodded.

'What does that mean? Leo-nim and Luna-nim were lovers, so why wouldn’t they have stayed together?'

Melina looked bewildered.

'Was it because they were both such free spirits? But even so....'

If Leo’s words were true, did that not make Leo and Lysinas sound more like lovers?

While Melina wrestled with that thought, Leo silently watched the ruins until the sun began to rise.

“Right. I remember now.”

“Pardon?”

“I remember where Lysinas’s house used to stand.”

Leo arrived at a small house.

Since the ruins had been reconstructed using blueprints of Dragonia that survived the Age of Calamity, there was no way to know who had once inhabited each building.

Creak—!

Leo opened the door and entered.

Step— Step—

The others followed behind him.

There was no furniture, but the room felt small and cozy.

It was a historical reconstruction of how the house had looked during the Age of Gods.

“What is this place?”

Chelsea looked puzzled. Melina glanced at Leo’s back before answering.

“This is believed to be the house where Lysinas-nim lived as a child.”

Everyone’s eyes widened.

“This is where the Wise King lived as a child?”

“That’s incredible!”

“To think a place like this still exists! As expected of Dragonia!”

Melina smiled at the excited students.

“Yes. Of course, it was restored according to records that survived the Age of Calamity, so it is not the actual house Lysinas-nim lived in. However, her house did stand at this location, and this building faithfully recreates its original appearance.”

Melina explained everything calmly, but she was actually the most excited person present.

'I must maintain my dignity, but... Ah, truly.'

Her eyes trembled as she looked around the interior.

This was where the Wise King, revered by every dragon, had lived as a child.

While everyone else eagerly explored the house, Leo entered one of its rooms.

Remembering the ruins from the distant past, Leo knelt in the center of the room and swept his hand across the floor.

'Was it here?'

He sensed Magic Power so faint that only he could have noticed it.

Leo roused his Magic Power.

A magic circle appeared across the floor.

Ordinarily, it was a seal that no one but Lysinas could ever open.

However, the seal unmistakably responded to Leo’s Magic Power, which contained the essence of Lysinas’s Mana.

Startled by the sudden reaction, the others rushed into the room.

“Black Rabbit, did you find something?”

Ar asked excitedly.

Leo reached into the magic circle.

His hand grasped a small wooden box within the subspace beyond it.

Leo pulled it out.

Although 5,000 years had passed, the wooden box remained exactly as Leo remembered it, preserved within the subspace.

“Is that something Lysinas-nim left behind?”

“A grimoire? Is it a grimoire?”

“Hurry and open it, Leo!”

“Now, now. Everyone, please calm down.”

Melina smiled calmly at the girls crowding around Leo.

Of course, she also wanted nothing more than to hurry him, but she firmly suppressed the urge.

Leo opened the wooden box.

Click—!

Inside was a thin fragment resembling obsidian.

Chelsea blinked at it.

“What is that?”

“This is... a fragment of a dragon’s eggshell. It belonged to a Black Dragon... Could it be?”

Melina’s eyes widened.

“Is that a fragment of the egg Lysinas-nim hatched from?”

“Gasp!”

“Th-That survived all this time?”

If true, it was an incredible discovery.

While everyone stared in astonishment, Leo lifted the eggshell fragment and turned it over.

He smiled faintly.

'There it is. The slave contract.'

The image of Lysinas writing their names with a mischievous, wicked smile flashed through his mind.

“Hmm. This is Dragon Speech.”

“What does it say?”

“Kyle-nim and Lysinas-nim’s names are written in Dragon Speech. Judging from the handwriting, Lysinas-nim appears to have written her own name.”

Since Lysinas had left vast amounts of knowledge to later generations, her handwriting was relatively well-known.

“Then did Kyle-nim write this one?”

Driana tilted her head while examining Kyle’s name.

“Th-This is...?”

Melina’s trembling voice rang out.

Everyone turned toward her.

Seeing Melina’s shocked expression, Lunia asked,

“Melina-nim, what’s wrong? Is this an incredibly special object?”

“I-It is special... Yes! To us dragons, it is v-very... very special.”

Melina’s voice trembled.

She stared at Leo with an indescribable expression, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly.

Leo furrowed his brow at her reaction.

“What exactly is it?”

“Writing names upon the shell of the egg from which a dragon hatched... That is a contract made between those who vow to spend their entire lives together.”

Everyone fell silent.

Chelsea opened and closed her mouth before finally asking,

“D-Does that mean... Then... this is....”

“I-If it is genuine... this is Lysinas-nim and Kyle-nim’s marriage vow.”

Everyone’s faces filled with shock.

“What kind of bullshit is that? This is a marriage vow?”

“Black Rabbit! How can you speak to Melina-nim like that?”

“Why are you becoming so agitated?”

Ar and Driana recoiled as they scolded Leo.

“It is a dragon tradition. It dates back to before the Age of Calamity... all the way to the Age of Gods.”

Ar spoke after hearing that explanation.

“Wait! Kyle-nim and Luna-nim were lovers, weren’t they? Then why does this exist? Was there a love triangle?! Did Kyle-nim two-time them?”

“Hmm... If that is true, Kyle-nim was unquestionably a terrible man.”

Driana folded her arms and muttered seriously.

Luna, the Founder of the Nebula who had recently descended into the present world, had declared that she loved Kyle, the Hero of Beginning.

But now a marriage vow between the Wise King and the Hero of Beginning had appeared.

This reality, which far surpassed anything the girls had imagined, was more than enough to set their imaginations ablaze.

“Wait. If there’s a marriage vow... does that mean Luna-nim was the other woman?”

“Do you want to die, you stupid cat?! How dare you call Luna-nim the other woman! Should I burn your brain along with your skull?”

“B-But it’s strange! What in the world happened?”

As the situation sank deeper into a quagmire, Melina watched Leo with a complicated expression.

Her eyes, which had always been filled with reverence, now held a faint trace of inexplicable distrust.

Leo looked toward Lunia and Chelsea.

Their gazes were not much different from Melina’s.

His eyes trembling, Leo stared at Lysinas’s contract in his hand.

'You insane fucking lizard! Was there really nothing else you could scam me over, so you had to stab me in the back like this?!'

(T/N: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. Well played Lysinas. HAHAHAHA )

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