Chapter : 209

Time slipped away mercilessly under the pressure of impatience.

Before Lucian knew it, the promised moment he’d spoken of was steadily, inexorably drawing closer.

《It brings me great joy to see the Hero so motivated—yet I fear you may harm your body.》

Over those few short days, Lucian threw himself into training without even properly sleeping.

《Of course, I did everything I could to ensure that would not happen.》

Scrio was an exceptionally capable collaborator.

He understood Lucian’s limits precisely and supported him with everything he had, making sure Lucian didn’t overextend and kept to a sustainable pace.

So much so that Lucian even found himself thinking: perhaps “the Hero’s Notes” didn’t simply refer to this space—perhaps it referred to Scrio’s existence itself.

《Do you believe you have achieved all that you intended?》

“More than I ever imagined.”

Scrio’s partnership was so remarkable it made Lucian’s initial doubts feel ridiculous. The growth he’d gained here was beyond expectation.

“Thank you, Rio.”

The moment he received Lucian’s gratitude, Scrio abruptly froze—then began flailing wildly.

Startled, Lucian hurried over.

“Are you hurt? Is something wrong?”

《I am merely moved by the Hero’s unexpected tenderness. Is this what it means to be favored by a Hero!!》

As Scrio abruptly began to thrash about, Lucian subtly stepped back, doing his best to avoid Scrio’s gaze.

He didn’t not understand the emotion—but this was… a little intense.

《It appears someone is waiting outside.》

Lucian had already given the Emperor a hint that, barring any special variable, he would likely spend the remaining time inside the Notes.

So it was really over. The training time had ended.

“The existence of this place—”

《Naturally, it is a secret. I have no intention whatsoever of allowing anyone besides the Hero into this space!》

Scrio crossed his smoke-formed arms, making a firm X.

With that decisive tone, Lucian couldn’t press further. He simply nodded slowly.

“I’ll win… and come back.”

《I believe in your victory. The Hero is the incarnation of triumph—proof of a promise.》

“What does that mean?”

《It means this world turns in your favor.》

Lucian couldn’t make sense of it. He was just about to ask more when Scrio waved a hand lightly.

Perhaps because he could wield godlike authority inside this space, a fierce gale suddenly swept over Lucian—

and when he opened his eyes again, he was standing before the entrance of the corridor he’d passed through days ago.

“Ah…”

The evasiveness was so blatant that Lucian, panicked, pulled the key from inside his clothes, trying to force the issue somehow.

But perhaps even the corridor entrance could be locked at will—no matter how he turned the key, the door would not open.

“Lucian?”

If not for the voice calling him from behind, he would have kept trying.

Lucian swallowed his regret, turned, and answered.

“Theo.”

“His Majesty said you’d be coming out around now and sent me. Looking at you… should I have come a little later?”

“…No.”

He could chase him out now, but sooner or later, the door would have to open again.

Then—maybe he would finally understand what those words truly meant.

“His Majesty is looking for me?”

“Because Iris’s seal breaks tomorrow.”

The plan was already complete.

All that remained was to explain it.

“We also need to go get Zephyros, so hurry.”

Under Theo’s not-quite-a-command, Lucian trudged along—then glanced back.

Scrio’s face, the cryptic words he’d left behind before forcibly sending Lucian out, still lingered vividly in his mind.

—

### * * *

Leaves scattered in the wind.

Amid them, an ash-gray young man opened his eyes—eyes he’d kept tightly shut—then selected a single petal from the breeze, placing it softly onto his palm as if he were controlling limbs.

He’d been so focused he’d nearly stopped breathing. Just as he tried to inhale—

“Ppi—ppiit!”

A yellow bird perched on his head screeched and flapped up.

Zephyros swallowed wrong and had to cough hard.

“Hey!”

Whether Zephyros raged or not meant little to Ru, who was enjoying the joy of liberation.

After fluttering around the sky, Ru now began outright dancing atop Zephyros’s head.

“Is that damn bird not way too happy?”

“Ppit, ppiat, kak! Ptui!!”

Did it… just spit in irritation?

Surely not—

No. It absolutely wasn’t just his imagination.

“Seriously, a bird like you—”

Why Theo kept it around was beyond him, but he’d already benefited from the situation, so complaining now felt pointless.

“Ppiik.”

The bird began to sneer openly.

Zephyros already knew it wasn’t ordinary, but now it didn’t even bother hiding it.

“Ppi—kihihik!!!”

It even waved with its wings while mocking him.

“If you keep teasing me, I’m not giving you dried sweet potato.”

The moment Zephyros threatened it, Ru shut his beak and immediately put on the act of an innocent, adorable bird.

Unbelievable. With a sigh, Zephyros patted Ru’s head and handed over the dried sweet potato anyway.

Ru took it in its beak and began tearing into a chunk nearly half its own body size.

“So it’s tomorrow…”

It had already been six days since Professor Evan sealed Iris.

Short, yet somehow it felt long.

“Hey, Zephyros!”

At the sound of someone’s voice, Ru tossed the sweet potato aside, fluttered over—and slammed straight into Theo’s face.

“Ppiiiit!!!”

It cried so sorrowfully you’d think Zephyros had been abusing it. Theo looked at Zephyros suspiciously.

“Ru, did Zephy bully you?”

“I’m the one who got assaulted one-sidedly, you know?”

Even Zephyros—who’d once been notoriously picky as a duke’s son—found himself tongue-tied at how temperamental that bird was.

He was the one getting abused, so why was he being glared at?

At Zephyros’s indignant grumbling, Theo went silent.

Maybe he realized, Actually, that does sound like Ru… because Theo shamelessly avoided eye contact and instead stroked Ru’s feathers.

“What are you all doing here? Weren’t you each busy training?”

Theo was training in magic—no one knew with whom—and Lucian was said to be training with the Holy Sword using treasures left behind by the First Emperor and the previous Hero.

“We have to plan the anti-Iris strategy.”

“And more importantly, keeping ourselves in the best condition matters too.”

“Did you come up with countermeasures for Iris?”

“Seems like you somehow completed it.”

Fel hadn’t explained in detail, but Theo had already heard it would be fine.

As Theo spoke, Zephyros looked at the two of them.

Friends he’d only known for barely half a year.

And yet, strangely enough, the bond he’d formed with them was deeper than the so-called “friends” he’d spent over a decade mingling with in high society.

“I—”

Zephyros began to speak, overwhelmed, but Theo instantly cut him off.

“Let’s not raise any flags.”

“Flags?”

Lucian tilted his head at the unfamiliar word.

“You know. Like right before the final battle, someone tells their lover, ‘If I win this fight, I’ll propose to you.’ Then they definitely die in that battle. Or if someone says ‘Is it over now?’ it’s never over.”

“That’s why you cut me off?”

“An extremely, very, very important reason!”

At Theo’s bold declaration, Zephyros groaned.

Honestly, it felt like Theo Lisitoel never once let a mood carry smoothly to the end.

Sometimes that was a relief beyond measure—

but right now, it was incredibly annoying. Especially with Ru perched atop Theo’s head, pointing at Zephyros with a feather and giggling.

“Fine. It’s not like facing Iris is the greatest ordeal of our lives.”

“Iris Viden is

impressive, but… that’s true.”

“So there’s no need to get overly serious or grave about it.”

Theo lightly clenched his fist and held it out.

“We win.”

“We’ll win—because it’s ‘us.’”

Lucian raised his fist and bumped Theo’s.

“When I’m with you guys… I really feel like I’m becoming an idiot.”

But it wasn’t a bad feeling.

Zephyros raised his own fist and tapped it against theirs.

—

### * * *

“Are we late?”

Since I also had to bring Lucian and Zephyros along, it felt like we might be running a bit behind.

At my question, Professor Beatrice—sorting documents—answered:

“No. You came at exactly the right time.”

That was a relief.

With magic, she flicked the documents containing the plan into the air, sending one neatly to each of us.

“Our first priority is zero civilian casualties.”

“Of course.”

In the original game, countless people were slaughtered by Senior Ruwen after he became Ouroboros.

Maybe—just maybe—that was why, at the very end, Ruwen hadn’t been able to take Lucian’s outstretched hand.

“I don’t want to put this burden on you students, but… if things go wrong, the nobles might try to make an issue out of it.”

“Are we going to be on the front line?” Zephyros asked, raising a hand.

“Yes. We tried to choose a different approach, but the core framework remains: a second sealing spell using a destroyed dungeon core and holy magic.”

“The conditions still apply,” Fel added calmly.

Conditions meaning—

“Students currently enrolled at the Academy, right?”

“Yes.”

Just like last time I heard it, it was a malicious condition—blatantly designed to target Senior Ruwen.

“Our plan is simple and clear.”

Professor Beatrice slammed the table—*bang!*—and declared:

“We lure Iris into a dungeon reconstructed through a subspace, and seal her there. But to do that—”

“We have to drain as much of her power as possible, so she can’t resist,” Senior Ruwen said after scanning the plan quickly.

Professor Beatrice nodded slowly.

“But it’s obviously a trap—will Iris really go in?” Lucian asked, raising his hand this time.

“It’s fine. Evan will put her inside while maintaining the seal.”

Professor Beatrice’s gaze flicked to me.

“Once the seal breaks, Evan will be expelled by the dungeon’s conditions. Those of us positioned behind will retrieve him and restore him quickly.”

If it worked, civilian damage could be reduced to nearly zero.

But there was a cost.

“Right now, the only enrolled students capable of entering this battle… are you.”

That was the problem.

Me, Zephyros, Lucian—plus Cecilia, Lilia, Senior Laurel, Senior Ruwen, and also Fel, Hartain, and Mordyn. Ten people total.

“So we’ll support you with everything we have from outside,” Professor Beatrice declared.

As she said it, her eyes flashed with a vivid, resolute light.

—

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