Misunderstandings Accumulate

The Baekmok Guild Leader’s unexpected visit.

Her arrival threw Jerion Academy into an uproar.

And upon hearing that she sought me out, I hastened to meet her.

I had a vague idea of the reason, in truth.

White Arborist was a figure who detested mystification above all else.

Could she, of all people, have remained idle when there was an incident of the Mystic Order attacking a Saintess?

‘She must have had ears attached to the Saintess’s side.’

She would have already received the news that Acrede had visited Jerion Academy.

It was White Arborist herself who connected Acrede and Iris, after all.

She must have guessed that this situation had something to do with the Mystic Order and come here.

‘Honestly, why look for me first of all?’

I didn’t know what to do with White Arborist’s excessive affection.

It was then that I arrived at White Arborist’s reception room.

In front of the reception room, the Headmaster was bowing his head, his face flustered, as he emerged.

He made eye contact with me, cleared his throat, and stepped aside.

“Student Hanon, go in.”

I was already acquainted with the Headmaster.

He had previously held an event where he granted any request.

Back then, his face was flushed, but today it was deathly pale.

He really needs to take care of his health, it seems.

“Yes, Headmaster, you’re always working so hard.”

“…you’re keeping the secret well, I trust?”

“Of course.”

The Headmaster left without saying another word.

I could clearly sense that he didn’t want to have a long conversation with me.

After the Headmaster left, I immediately stood in front of the door and knocked twice.

“Your Excellency White Arborist, it is Hanon Irei.”

“Enter.”

As soon as I heard the response, I opened the door.

And then, a familiar face came into view.

White Arborist, still outwardly possessing a mystical aura, and her attendant.

And one more person I knew was there.

‘Oh, hmm.’

It seems what had to happen, happened.

There he stood, Hanon Irei.

Yes, not I, but the real Hanon was right there.

Hanon’s eyes flashed fiercely as they met mine.

He mistook me for Jerion’s reincarnation, that Hanon did.

Surely, news of my handling of Jerion’s Dragon Magic, Cheonryonghwa, had reached his ears.

For Hanon, a devotee of archeology, it must have been a mind-blowing event.

Suspicion soon turned to certainty.

In Hanon’s eyes, I was unmistakably Jerion’s reincarnation.

Having chased after reincarnation, Hanon could hardly be blamed for losing his composure.

His eyes sparkled as if a fan had met their ultimate idol.

Was this not the gaze of a typical fanatic?

“Well, do you have anything to say regarding this situation?”

Baekmokgong smiled gently.

The pressure contained within that smile was beyond my capacity to bear.

Yet, I straightened my back with dignity.

What I had done was necessary, without a shred of shame.

To lead the history of a world without Lucas.

“No. I concealed my identity to enter, and until now, I have been active in the Jerion Academy under Hanon’s name.”

Therefore, I conveyed my intentions more boldly than anyone else.

“In the past, I enrolled here to take the place of an old friend with whom I shared ill-fated ties.”

“Friend!”

At that moment, Hanon cried out impulsively.

Having interrupted Baekmokgong’s and my conversation, Hanon hastily covered his mouth.

Hanon’s eyes, as he gazed at me, burned even more intensely.

The friend I mentioned just now was Lucas.

However, the friend Hanon had in mind seemed to be someone else entirely.

‘It must be Olfram.’

This, it seemed, was another misunderstanding brewing.

Baekmokgong gazed at me steadily.

In truth, Baekmokgong probably knew that I was concealing my true identity.

She was the woman who plucked the White Wood at the apex of mystery.

Could such a woman truly be ignorant of the gauze of the Curtain?

She likely held some faint suspicion.

Choosing not to act, believing there was yet no need to excavate.

But to bring the true Hanon here now… that spoke of a reason to reveal my identity.

“Boy, I have no intention of holding you accountable for your actions.”

It was thanks to this very nature of hers that I had thus far concealed my identity from the presence of White Wood.

I knew White Wood was not one to take issue with my hidden guise.

She is one who values the trajectory.

From the moment she granted me exception under the Hero Special Law, she has undoubtedly been aware of every step of my journey.

There is no falsehood in my journey.

A heroic trajectory, enough for White Wood to acknowledge directly.

‘As it should be.’

The path I tread is the orthodox one.

For it is the path of Lukas, the spark that will one day become a hero.

Though things have strayed somewhat of late, my intent to fulfill Lukas’ will remains unchanged.

“I merely wish to ask.”

White Wood crossed her alabaster legs.

“Boy, what is it you wish to do?”

The path I walk is inconsistent.

Yet, it is undoubtedly a path leading towards a single goal.

White Wood asks this because she sees the path I tread.

Asking, in truth, what lies at its end.

“There are precious people around me.”

Those I had always watched only from beyond the screen.

I have watched them, weeping and laughing as they moved towards the end, through the eyes of Lukas.

But now, it is different.

Those who were within the screen are now beside me.

And as such, they are all the more precious to me.

‘The Disappearance of Love.’

Even though the bandages of the curtain surely prevent me from feeling love any longer.

The fact that I loved them, cherished them, remains unchanged.

Thus, even if I lose three emotions, I can still move forward.

For though my heart may have cooled, my memories are eternal.

“That they journey to the world where they can be most happy.”

My eyes shone with sincerity, unwavering.

In this very situation, Lucas, too, must have had such eyes.

And, at least for now, I could empathize with his heart.

“That is the one thing I wish for, and nothing more.”

The White Carpenter’s eyes gazed at me in silence.

She is skilled at reading people.

She would know immediately that there was no falsehood in my words.

“Then, boy, allow me to ask just one more thing.”

The White Carpenter had resolved to ask her final question.

“Is the boy within this world of happiness?”

A world of happiness.

A question of whether I am there.

I paused for a moment before answering, then slowly opened my lips.

“Someday.”

Even though I can no longer cherish myself.

“I would like to think so.”

For those who cherish me, I wish to remain there.

The White Carpenter fell silent.

I, too, followed her lead and closed my mouth.

Now, how the White Carpenter interprets my words is up to her.

“I have no particular desire to obstruct the path of a young hero.

My era passed long ago, thus, I must entrust it to the young.”

Yet, the White Carpenter conveyed, wishing to promise just one thing.

“But a hero, too, is meaningless if abandoned. I have seen countless heroes abandoned in just such a way.”

Warmth could be read within her eyes.

In the White Arbor Artisan’s eyes, I was still no more than a young boy.

“Boy, do not forget the heart you hold now.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Just as I had revealed my sincerity, the White Arbor Artisan worried for me in earnest.

Having received her aid countless times, I bowed my head, offering my gratitude.

“Well then, let’s leave the words of comfort at that.”

The White Arbor Artisan smiled, signaling it was time to delve into the true matter at hand.

“You know well enough, boy, how much I detest all things mystical, yes?”

“Yes, I do.”

“I have searched diligently, but alas, I have yet to reach the very heart of that Mystical Order.”

The Mystical Order’s lot was hidden so deeply that even the White Arbor Artisan’s information couldn’t reach them.

Their power was not to be dismissed lightly.

“But listen. I have a premonition, you see. A peculiar feeling that tells me you might know something.”

The White Arbor Artisan’s eyes narrowed, fox-like.

She was one of the four dukes who shook the empire.

Even if she held no interest in politics, her intuition could not be wrong.

“The Saintess came to find you, the reason for that. I believe it is related to the Mystical Order as well. What are your thoughts?”

“That is correct.”

To seek the White Arbor Artisan’s help, I must reveal everything, holding nothing back.

“Archrede is the reincarnation of the Saintess, Narea.”

“Kkhak!”

Hanon, unable to contain himself, cried out once more.

His body twisted as if about to faint, a sight he couldn’t endure as a fanatic of Archeology.

“Reincarnation, the tales of heroes’ reincarnations, is it?”

“Yes, that is so. And…”

I spoke of a tale that would even stiffen the White Arbor Artisan.

“The Fallen Flame, Rosly. His reincarnation, Vulcan Zebra, leads the Mystical Order.”

“Hm.”

As expected, a remarkable reaction escaped the White Arbor Artisan’s lips.

The Rosly Academy, erected in the Zebra Kingdom.

There, so they say, is Vulcan, the reincarnation of Rosley, the founder, as the head of the Mystics.

For the White Craftsman, a man who had witnessed heroes firsthand, nothing could be more astounding.

“…I see, so that’s how it is.”

The White Craftsman understood now why he himself had failed to acquire this intelligence.

“Boy, for once, I must ask the source of this information.”

Furthermore, he had picked up on my unnatural information-gathering abilities.

Even the White Craftsman found my information network peculiar.

But this information had a legitimate informant behind it.

“There is currently a reincarnation of Aquilin at Jerion Academy.”

“Kyak!”

Hanon now trembled violently, seemingly on the verge of fainting.

I wondered how long he intended to keep reacting like this.

“I heard the story directly from her.”

I wasn’t following the established history for no reason.

To move a great figure, there must be a valid reason and procedure.

Every incident has a cause, and evidence to support it.

Thus, my attempt to follow the established history as closely as possible was for this reason.

To stop the evil being that would spread as a threat to the entire world, it was necessary to move the world itself.

Act 5, the Reincarnation Arc, is about the power associated with moving the world in earnest.

To move them, it was necessary to act with all our strength.

“Aquilin in Narea… all the beloved heroes are popping up.”

The White Craftsman looked at me with great interest.

“To have connections like this tied to you, boy… are you perhaps the reincarnation of the Transcendent Sage Jerion, skilled at handling the guest room?”

“That is a ridiculous misunderstanding.”

I corrected him, as I had done with Hanon, that it was a misconception.

But Hanon, his eyes already rolling back, seemed not to hear me at all.

“Heh heh heh, good. Let’s just assume that for now.”

The White Craftsman did not bother to ask further about it.

Instead, he decided to ask a different question.

“Right now, what’s important is whether you know the location of the Mystics’ base.”

A fervor to shatter the mystique blazed unreservedly in her eyes.

No need to extinguish that burning fire now.

Better to gently fan the flames, build it into a veritable conflagration.

“Acrede-nim’s fragment of Narea’s soul… it has been abducted.”

A prime chance to bludgeon the mystique with the White Carpenter’s hammer.

“If it’s Aquiline reborn, then tracking the soul’s residue should be possible.”

The sixth-floor equipment I’d originally aimed for: the Soul Tracker.

But the Autumn Magic Palace transfer incident prevented me from acquiring it.

Yet, with Aquiline here, things are different.

She is, after all, a former hero far surpassing the Soul Tracker’s capabilities.

Even in a twisted chronicle, solutions exist.

If you lack teeth, you use your gums.

However, one snag remains.

‘A tale that was originally meant to unfold in Act Five.’

The White Carpenter clearly seeks to vanquish the mystique with haste.

Which means, he’ll be coming for them before the year concludes.

In the chronicle, Act Five belongs to the first semester of third year, next year.

But Act Five has been pulled forward by half a year.

Still, thwarting this situation would mean missing an unparalleled opportunity.

Such a formidable tool as the White Carpenter isn’t readily available.

This chance might be the only one.

I clenched my fist tight.

I’ve already distorted the chronicle in numerous ways.

From the moment Lucas died, the chronicle veered off course long ago.

Clinging to the chronicle was my own stubbornness, my conceit.

But now, I want to safeguard what I hold dear.

That much remains unchanged, even with the loss of my emotions.

‘Let’s do it.’

Act Five, earlier than Act Four.

Grasping the White Carpenter, the ultimate variable, I opened the chapter of Act Five.