LHAHS Chapter 371
Elsie's question left Laruel momentarily stunned.
"What? The era you had to live through? What are you talking about?"
She couldn't comprehend what the elemental before her was implying.
Elsie fluttered closer until she was right in front of Laruel's face, her expression playfully coy.
[You claim to have given up on this world, yet you haven't let go. You haven't vanished. That means, no matter what you say, some part of you still holds on.]
Her tone was petulant, her lips pouting in clear dissatisfaction.
[Acting like you've seen all the darkness in the world.]
It wasn't like her usual self, but even Elsie found the Elemental Lord before her frustrating.
Someone who possessed the brightest light yet clung to the dark.
Someone who could shine even brighter yet chose to smother her own radiance.
Darkness wasn't meant to be carried by a Elemental of Light. Their role was to illuminate, to guide others forward.
That was what it meant to be a Elemental of Light.
"I don't know what you think you've seen," Laruel said, scowling. "But you can't possibly understand my darkness."
[Then show me.]
Laruel narrowed her eyes. "You think you can understand it?"
[Of course.]
Elsie smiled.
Damn darkness elemental… why is she so bright?!
Laruel reached out her hand. A small sphere of light flickered above her palm.
"I won't be responsible if your mind breaks."
This was darkness that had tormented an Elemental Lord.
For a being like Elsie, a purely spiritual existence, mental damage could be fatal.
But without hesitation, Elsie smiled and reached for the orb.
A brilliant light exploded outward.
It lasted only an instant.
Yet for Elsie, it felt like an eternity.
When she opened her eyes again, her gaze met Laruel's.
The pitch-black obsidian of her irises, dark as a starless sky, reflected the Elemental Lord of Light's face.
Elsie let out a bitter smile.
Laruel, still stunned, was about to speak when—
[It must have been difficult.]
Elsie reached out and gently patted Laruel's head, as if comforting her.
As if she understood.
Laruel flinched, her expression twisting. "W-What are you?"
Was the darkness she had carried truly so trivial that it could be understood so easily?
"How do you understand me so easily?"
[Hmm.]
Elsie pressed her fingers to her cheek, thinking for a moment.
[Not that it's a competition, but… probably because I've been through worse.]
She smiled wryly and stretched out her hand.
Darkness stirred.
[Do you want to see?]
Laruel hesitated, then reached out.
Darkness wrapped around her.
A moment later, Laruel stumbled back, her face pale as a sheet.
"You… what are you?"
The world she had seen in Elsie's memories was nothing but despair.
"H-How did you survive the Age of Calamity?"
Elsie smiled softly. [I am a Elemental of the Past.]
She formally introduced herself.
[I was born in the Age of Calamity and perished in the Age of Calamity. I am Elsie, the Elemental Lord of Shadows.]
Hearing her title, Laruel's pupils trembled. "How is an Elemental Lord that disappeared five thousand years ago here now?"
[I borrowed the power of the Hero Record.]
Laruel couldn't refute it. The memories she had seen were undoubtedly from the Age of Calamity.
As Rodia's contractor, she had explored the Great Hero Records and seen fragments of that past firsthand.
But experiencing it through the Hero Record was entirely different from having lived through it.
Laruel's hands trembled. After seeing Elsie's memories, she understood.
"How…" Her voice shook as she stared at Elsie. "How can you still smile?"
How could someone who had survived such an era still walk toward the light?
[Hmm.] Elsie tilted her head, as if pondering the question. [Perhaps… because light is just that beautiful.]
She beamed, her smile dazzling.
Laruel was captivated.
Watching from the side, Leo let out a bitter chuckle.
He knew another version of Elsie.
If this Elsie was what she had been before her despair, then the Elsie he once knew had been an elemental who despised the world more than anyone.
And yet, she still sacrificed herself for it.
She had given up her life for the sight of a night sky filled with stars she had never once seen.
Born into the darkest era as the darkest being, Elsie had done just that.
[So don't give up on this world.]
Elsie gently caressed Laruel's cheek, her smile radiant.
[Don't give up on finding your contractor. As long as you don't give up, you can still save everything. Just as this world, once stripped of its light, has found it again.]
Laruel's face twisted as if she were about to cry.
For one who had been trapped in the deepest darkness, those words were nothing short of salvation.
Laruel had shrunk to the size of Elsie, no bigger than a palm.
[So.] She looked at Leo. [Leo Plov, what exactly are you?]
A hero candidate with an Elemental Lord from the Age of Calamity as his contractee. It was hard to believe.
Before Leo could answer, Elsie spoke. [You must never complain about hardships in front of Leo.]
[What?]
[If you do, you'll get something like, 'Have you ever fought Erebos? Have you seen the world collapse?' You heard him earlier, didn't you? Calling us 'kids these days?']
Leo sighed and glanced at Laruel. "I'm the reincarnation of the Hero of the Beginning."
[T-The Hero of the Beginning?] Laruel's eyes widened. She hadn't expected that.
"Why? Can't believe it?"
[W-Well, considering Elsie's identity… it's not impossible.]
Laruel had unconsciously switched to speaking formally to Elsie. It was only natural. Elsie was an Elemental Lord who had fought alongside the Great Heroes during the Age of Calamity. To Laruel, she was a superior.
Leo Plov is All-Class, and his actions have been unusual from the start.
Since the Hero Record appeared and the Age of Heroes began, five thousand years had passed. Even after the discovery of Hero Worlds, no one had displayed Kyle's abilities. Even the Heroes of Dawn had not inherited his power.
Laruel hesitated before cautiously asking,
[If you really are the Hero of the Beginning…] She glanced around as if checking her surroundings, then finally asked, [Did you really not know that the Wise Queen had feelings for you?]
"……" Leo stared at her, expressionless.
Under his gaze, Laruel flinched.
"Do you think I really didn't know?" Leo said flatly. "I was busy saving the world. I had no choice but to turn away."
Elsie looked at him in disbelief.
Laruel, on the other hand, sighed in relief. [I knew it. Rodia told me! He kept saying that Lady Lysinas was pitiful, learning dragon etiquette when she didn't even need it. If you didn't notice, you'd have to be a complete fool.]
Leo just smiled.
These damn people. First Seiren calls me an idiot, and now Rodia calls me a fool.
Lecturing them wouldn't be enough. He needed to punish them first.
Suppressing that thought, Leo stood becore Laruel. "Then let me ask you, Elemental of Radiance. Will you form a contract with me?"
Laruel looked up at him.
The Elemental Lords of Light had always chosen those who would lead the world. During the Age of Calamity, that person had been the Wise Queen Lysinas. During the Reawakening of Calamity, it had been the Dawn Dragon Rodia.
[If Kyle must fight against the Primordial Evil again… you will have to stake everything once more. Do you believe this world is worth that?]
"Is it worth it, huh?" Leo chuckled. "Elsie once asked me the same thing."
Elsie gave a bitter smile.
"And I used to wonder about that, too," Leo admitted. "I know that the world we fought for, the world we saved, wasn't just beautiful."
"We're going to save the world."
He recalled a friend's words.
"Why? Is this world worth saving?"
And he remembered his own cynical response.
"But this world also has flowers that bloom and children who laugh. It has its beauty, too."
Leo looked out over the city. The sun was setting.
He repeated the words that she had once told him.
"It's not about whether the world is worth saving."
Behind him, the sunset cast its glow.
"It's the world my loved ones cherished, the world where people will continue to live. That's reason enough for me. Someone once taught me that."
[That alone is enough?]
"A fool who was both the wisest and the most foolish taught me that. So yeah, I'm sure."
Seeing his unwavering gaze, Laruel bowed her head.
[Kyle, no, Leo Plov.] She lifted her head and extended a hand. [I vow to become your contractor, to wield my strength as your blade and shield, and to open the path before you.]
A contract sigil appeared on Leo's hand.
[Once again, save this world.]
"Yeah," Leo said. "I'll be counting on you, Elemental of Radiance."
The deep hours of the night.
Walking ahead through the alley, Eliana spoke with a flushed face. "I'm telling you, I saw it with my own two eyes. The class rep went into that kind of street!"
Chelsea narrowed her eyes. "There's no way Leo would go to such a shady place."
Seeing the disbelief on Chelsea's face, Eliana looked frustrated. "Yeah! Normally, it wouldn't make sense for the class rep. But he's still a guy!"
Chloe gave Eliana a pitying look and turned to Carl. "Carl, what do you think?"
"Hmm. Leo's never shown interest in that kind of thing."
"Right? Leo's always so mature."
"You guys don't get it," Eliana said, wagging a finger. "The class rep is very mature."
"Yeah, he is."
"And adults do big things."
Chelsea squinted. "What big things?"
Carl smirked. "Come on, you know what I mean. When two people go into a room, and then suddenly there are three. That kind of magic."
"No, no! Sometimes it's four!"
Whack!
"Ugh!"
"Cough!"
Chelsea struck Carl and Eliana's throats with both arms. "Cut it out with the dirty jokes."
As Chelsea looked at them in disappointment, Chloe clicked her tongue. "He probably went there to investigate."
With that, the four of them arrived at the entrance of the Pleasure District.
"Grandma!"
"Oh? The little miss who ran away screaming earlier." The old woman chuckled under the dim night sky. "This street has even more interesting shows at night. Are you curious?"
"I'm not interested in that!" Eliana shouted.
Beside her, Carl grinned mischievously. "Really?"
Thud!
"Guh?"
Carl collapsed, clutching his gut.
"About the boy you mentioned earlier, do you know where he went?"
"I haven't seen him leave, so he must still be in the Pleasure District."
Eliana flinched at the response, then turned to the others. "See?! There's no way he's been investigating this whole time! The class rep must've fallen into the world of adults!"
Chloe and Chelsea stiffened upon hearing that Leo had been inside for so long.
Carl gaped. "Wow, as expected of Leo. That's bold."
"Leo would never do that!" Chelsea shouted, her face red.
Carl flinched. "H-Hey! Don't yell at me!"
"What are you guys doing here?"
Leo appeared at the entrance.
Eliana quickly scanned him from head to toe. Chelsea and Chloe hesitated, unsure of how to react.
"Class rep, be honest," Eliana said.
"About what?"
"You were having fun in there, weren't you? You experienced the adult world, right? Right?"
Leo grabbed Eliana's cheek and pulled. "What the hell are you saying?"
"D-Don't!"
"You little brat. I knew it from the moment you smuggled in all those forbidden magazines and novels to the dorm."
"Ack! Ack! Ack!" Eliana flailed, trying to silence him. "You promised not to bring that up!"
"If all you read is that kind of stuff, of course your imagination runs wild."
"Stop talking!" Eliana protested desperately, but the more she struggled, the more of her dark past Leo exposed.
Watching the scene unfold, Chelsea muttered, "Every time I see Leo scold someone, I can't help but think…"
She glanced at Carl. "Doesn't it remind you of getting scolded by your parents?"
"Yeah, I agree," Carl replied.
Chloe also nodded.
Carl turned to look at her. "Why do you look so scary?"
"I'm going to teach Eliana a lesson," Chloe said, her tone dangerous.
As the dorm leader, she was furious that Eliana had smuggled in contraband.
"What, are you her mom?"
Thwack!
"Argh!?" Carl rolled across the ground, regretting his words.