< Chapter 28 - Returnee #2 >
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Lena.
Her full name is Lena Einsberg.
The beloved disciple of Bardo Einsberg, the royal wizard of the Paragon Kingdom.
To Bardo, who had been single his entire life, she was like a real daughter, and Lena, who had been an orphan, also treated Bardo like her own father.
Although she entered magic relatively late in life, she had Bardo’s dedicated guidance, her natural magical talent, and perhaps most importantly, her deep desire to repay Bardo’s devotion.
At the young age of fifteen, she obtained the rank of a full-fledged sorceress and entered the Grey Tower, a training ground for the Bardo, and achieved the feat of completing all courses in just three years.
‘Master.’
Eighteen.
Still young, she set off home with a smile on her face to meet her beloved teacher and father, Bardo.
Little did they know that the end of that journey would be marked by tragedy.
As Uther recalled the story of Lena described in the first volume of Heroes’ Chronicles, Cordelia looked at Lena, letting out a sigh of relief.
‘It’s the real Lena.’
Lena was my second favorite after Cordelia.
No, in fact, if Lena had been a playable character in Heroes Chronicles 2, it would have been Cordelia who would have been in a lot of trouble with Cordelia and Lena.
That’s why Cordelia’s mind went blank for a moment when she came face to face with the real Lena.
‘i love it.’
It’s just so good.
I’m so happy, I love it so much.
Cordelia, who had a lovely smile that made Uther feel pain in his heart when he saw it, looked at Lena.
But Lena didn’t see Cordelia, and neither did Yuder, who was lying underneath her.
“This place is dangerous. There’s no guarantee that I’ll be able to help you more than once. So, get out of this city as soon as possible.”
She spoke as if spitting out words with her robe pulled down low, then turned around and disappeared into light before Uther and Cordelia could say anything.
“Lena!”
Cordelia shouted urgently, but he had already disappeared.
Only pure white particles of light were scattered, as if the very fact that Lena had been standing there until just now was an illusion.
“The art of cloning.”
Shadow Clone Arts, to be exact.
It was a magic that created a clone, and was one of Lena’s ultimate skills that could be acquired in the latter half of the first part of Heroes’ Chronicles.
‘Originally, it could only be created within the field of vision.’
At this point, I couldn’t even guess how far away the main body and the clone were.
It seems that Landius and Kamael weren’t the only ones who turned into monsters over the course of ten years.
“Uh… Lena.”
When Cordelia started to cry, Uther straightened his head again and spoke.
“Still, it’s a good sign. It’s certain that Lena is alive and somewhere in Endymion.”
It’s not too late.
There is still a chance to save Lena.
Cordelia quickly lowered her gaze at Uther’s explanation.
“Can you tell me where it is?”
“I have to look for it. So, would you please come down first?”
It wasn’t particularly heavy or unpleasant, but once I got up, I knew I’d be able to do anything.
Cordelia nodded quickly and sat down on Uther’s chest.
“Oh, that’s right! Sir Kaplan! Are you okay?”
“Ugh! Ugh!”
Kaplan, who had not yet been able to release Silent or Paralyze.
Cordelia felt sorry for Kaplan, who was sprawled on the floor and squirming, and hurried to him.
“I’m sorry, I’ll let you out right away.”
“Ugh.”
In the meantime, Cordelia is freeing Kaplan from the spells he has placed on her.
Uder stood up and focused his attention beyond the welcoming wall.
Fortunately, there was no sign of the monsters. It seemed that they had been fooled by Lena’s magic and had gone somewhere else.
‘This welcoming wall itself belongs to Endymion.’
Something that was originally in Endymion, not something Lena created.
‘Did Lena activate it… or was it activated while the monsters were awakening Endymion’s functions?’
The hallway through which the monsters passed was filled with magical lights.
It seemed that someone, whether it was Lena, the demons—or the demonic eyes that summoned the demons—had restored Endymion’s city functions.
‘Lena is definitely somewhere in Endymion.’
Lena used expressions like, “This city is dangerous,” and “Get out of this city.”
If Lena were outside the city, she would have used expressions like ‘the city’, ‘there’, or ‘over there’.
‘It may seem like a simple pun, but it works quite well.’
Lena is somewhere in Endymion.
If so, where would it be?
What is she trying to do in Endymion, and what on earth is going on in Endymion?
‘Angel’s Feathers.’
At the place where Lena disappeared, there was a white feather.
It was clear that these were not the feathers of an ordinary bird, but those of an angel – and Lena at that.
‘Did you write it as the core of a clone?’
It was while Yuder was examining the white feathers that were slightly emitting light.
“Yuder, Yuuder.”
Cordelia, who had even cast a healing spell on Kaplan, approached him with quick steps.
As soon as Yuder turned around, he spoke quickly.
“Lena came to help us when we were in danger, right? Then, if we are in danger again, won’t Lena show up?”
It was a pretty plausible story.
If Lena had a good personality like the saint in the story, then it would have been a very possible story.
But Uder immediately shook his head.
“It’s too dangerous.”
There was no guarantee that Lena would be able to react to all dangers.
Lena didn’t even show up when we fought the named Najarus.
“But······.”
“Let’s find another way.”
If it were a game, I would have accepted Cordelia’s offer.
But it was reality.
If that was the only way, I wouldn’t mind, but I couldn’t gamble with my only life.
“Cordelia, this is Lena’s feather. Is it possible to trace it back?”
Cordelia frowned at Uther’s expectant question, then shook her head.
“It’s impossible. I can’t think of any magic right now.”
“I see.”
“If it’s backtracking, there is a way.”
At those last words, Uther and Cordelia turned their heads simultaneously.
Kaplan, who had barely recovered, stammered and wiped his sweaty hair.
“I’m not sure, but… have you two ever heard of the name ‘Bellagio’?”
Bellagio.
Uther and Cordelia blinked once and looked at each other.
Without anyone knowing who would speak first, everyone opened their mouths and spoke.
“ah.”
“Ahhh.”
“iced coffee!”
“Ahhhh!”
“ah.”
“ah.”
“Mr. Uder? Miss Cordelia?”
When Kaplan felt left out between the two who could communicate with just their eyes, Yuder opened his mouth again and spoke.
“Bellagio. Yes, Bellagio. That was it.”
“I guess I can find Lena at Bellagio?”
“I guess so.”
There are even feathers here.
As soon as Uther nodded, Cordelia jumped up from her seat and ran to Kaplan, hugging his head tightly.
“Kaplan is the best! I’m glad I have Kaplan!”
“Ahem. Uh, ahem.”
Kaplan, whose head was buried in Cordelia’s chest, coughed with a red face, and Uder counted with narrowed eyes.
‘One, two, three.’
This was enough.
Uther interrupted the hug by sneaking up to Cordelia and grabbing her arm, and quickly continued speaking.
“Sir Kaplan is right. If you have Bellagio, you will be able to find Lena.”
“But then… first of all, finding Bellagio….”
Although it occurred to me in a flash, actually finding Bellagio itself wasn’t easy.
Kaplan himself didn’t know much about the Bellagios, other than that they were home to a habitat somewhere in the Bladebeak Canyon.
But it wasn’t Uther and Cordelia.
“I know where Bellagio is.”
“I know exactly who raises Bellagio, and I know how to meet them.”
Refund Bellagio.
A magical beast that can track even traces of magical power as small as a fingernail.
“Oh! Really?”
“It’s true.”
Cordelia answered with a big smile and looked back at Uther as if to say, “Isn’t that so?” and Uther nodded.
‘Even in Heroes’ Chronicles, it was those guys who raised the Bellagios.’
So, I guess they are being raised here in reality too.
“Where should we go? With all these demons running around like this, something big must have happened in Endymion. It might not be easy to get out of the city.”
Unlike Uther and Cordelia, Kaplan was absolutely lacking in information about the current situation, but he was not a tenured professor at the Academy for nothing.
Yuder smiled and answered, trying to put together the insufficient information and speak coherently.
“You don’t have to go all the way out of the city. Just go to the place marked on the map. And… it’s not that far away.”
As he said this, Uther spread out the map of Endymion for Cordelia and Kaplan, and Cordelia immediately pointed to the places that had been marked.
“We have to go here.”
“What is there…?”
As Kaplan blinked and asked, Uther and Cordelia looked at each other again, and then Cordelia spoke with her chest puffed out.
“It’s a bathhouse.”
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“What’s the temperature?”
“That’s perfect. How about you wear a blindfold?”
“I can’t see anything and I feel like I’m going to fall. Can you take it off for a moment?”
“No, no.”
Cordelia laughed out loud and then looked elsewhere and spoke.
“Mr. Kaplan, please bear with it for a little longer, even if it’s frustrating.”
“it’s okay.”
Inside the bathhouse located on the outskirts of Endymion.
Like the hot springs in the valley, this place was also well-maintained.
Uther and Kaplan sat in the empty bathtub, blindfolded, while Cordelia stood in front of the tub filled with hot water, preparing to bathe.
“Okay, shall we begin?”
Cordelia entered the bathtub and began to wash her body with hot water.
It may seem like an odd thing to do while the demons of Hell roam the underground of Endymion, but it was actually a very important ritual.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
Cordelia hummed and started to wash her hair, and Uther coughed and said.
“Cordelia, are you going to continue bathing?”
“Tch, just wash your hair.”
Because the opportunity to take a hot bath doesn’t come at just any time.
Cordelia, who had washed her hair carefully, took a deep breath and recited a magic spell to summon the fairies.
“Twinkle, twinkle little star~ It shines beautifully~ Even in the western sky~ Ah, here it comes.”
Because I’m used to it now.
“Wow! So pretty!”
“It’s really pretty!”
“But haven’t we met before?”
“I’ve met you before.”
The last one was Cordelia.
After getting out of the bath and drying her body with magic, she spoke to the Wild Fairies who were looking up at her with their sparkling eyes.
“Won’t you play with me?”
“Yeah! Surprise!”
“What are you going to play?”
Cordelia nodded slowly as the wild fairies jumped and screamed on the bathtub.
He looked back at Kaplan and Yuder, who were flinching at the sound of the fairies’ voices, and said as he put on his clothes.
“first.”
“first?”
“Let us see the Queen.”
“Your Majesty?”
“Your Majesty.”
A mischievous smile spread across Cordelia’s face.
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Wild Fairy Queen.
She, the owner of lush blonde hair like a lion’s mane, was lying in bed, resting.
She was a fairy by any means, but while the other fairies were little girls, she was a queen and a girl.
Because she had not yet fully recovered from the aftermath of the storm that had swept through them not long ago.
‘I’m tired.’
Mental fatigue, not physical fatigue.
A subtle feeling of having solved a problem, but not feeling like you’ve solved it.
The feeling of emptiness I get every time I see the warehouses of the high elves that have become filthy.
‘No, it’s something we can’t use in the first place.’
Still, something.
Really something.
‘It’s over anyway.’
Then that would be fine.
Yeah, that’s fine.
The Fairy Queen, who thought like a fairy, tried to fall into a deep sleep.
But it was at that very moment.
“Your Majesty!”
“Your Majesty!”
“Your Majesty!”
The Fairy Queen opened her eyes in surprise at the sound of someone calling her name, and rolled out of bed in even greater surprise.
Because there was a beautiful human girl among the fairies.
“Your Majesty! I missed you!”
When Cordelia spoke with a bright smile, her face was so pretty and lovely that the Fairy Queen couldn’t help but smile along, but it only lasted a moment.
“Ah… Aren’t you guys already done with your work? You’ve already received your reward.”
You’re not asking for more compensation, are you?
You guys have a conscience too, right?
At the Fairy Queen’s question, Cordelia smiled brightly again and said.
“I didn’t come here for the reward. I’ve already received enough.”
“Right? Yeah, I knew all along that you guys were good kids.”
The Fairy Queen smiled kindly, relieved that she had not come to demand compensation.
But it was too early to judge.
“I don’t need compensation, but I need help.”
“help?”
“Yes, the Queen’s help. It’s really, really important. In fact, in a way, it’s not us who is getting help, but the fairies. Yes, it’s our job to help the fairies.”
The fairies get help.
It was an ominous choice of words, but the Fairy Queen decided to listen to Cordelia’s story for now.
“Tell me.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
After taking a deep breath, Cordelia began to cheat – no, to tell a story – just as she had learned from Uther.
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< Chapter 28 - Returnee #2 > End
