Chapter 264: Summer (1)

Silence filled the room.

Ariana, still shaken by the sudden turn of events, had burst into tears upon being reunited with Louis. Now, nestled in his arms, she was sound asleep, her soft breathing the only sound in the stillness.

Around a small table sat the group. Louis and the Twins occupied one side, facing the others across the table.

After a long silence, Lia was the first to speak.

“Honestly… I always thought you were extraordinary,” she said quietly, her gaze fixed on Louis.

“An unchanging appearance, extraordinary abilities… Still, I thought there might be someone like you among those who cultivated attribute power, Brother,” Lia said quietly.

Silence hung in the air.

“But I never imagined you weren’t even human…”

Lia’s words echoed the unspoken thoughts of everyone present: Lia and her husband, Aaron; Kendrick and Tania; and even Lavina. Ever since discovering the true nature of Louis and the Twins, their minds had been in utter turmoil.

As everyone stared at him in silence, Louis chuckled.

“So? Are you afraid of me now?”

Lia smiled and shook her head. “Of course not.”

Silence returned to the room.

“Brother Louis saved me from being killed by Orcs in the forest, and he’s been taking care of me ever since. How could I possibly be afraid of the man who took in a girl with no family ties? He’s just Brother Louis to me. It’s just…”

“Just?”

“It’s just… I wish he’d told me sooner. I’m a little disappointed.”

“Told you what? You really think you would have believed me if I’d said, ‘I’m a dragon, and so are my friends’?”

“Well… I guess you’re right. That does sound far-fetched.”

As Lia smiled softly, Aaron, who had been listening to their conversation, joined in.

“I don’t care what kind of person Louis is. After all, I was able to meet Lia thanks to him.”

Aaron gently took Lia’s hand as he spoke.

Their interaction softened the atmosphere.

Then, Kendrick cautiously raised his hand.

“Excuse me, Teacher…”

“What is it?”

“Are you… are you really a dragon?”

“What else would I be, a fake dragon?”

Kendrick’s eyes sparkled.

“So that’s why you taught us to revere dragons like our fathers and masters!”

The truth behind his childhood education finally dawned on him, and Kendrick’s eyes shone even brighter.

“Wow… so we’re actually… disciples of a dragon?!”

”…”

“Disciples of a dragon! Amazing!”

”…Tone it down.”

“Yes, sir!”

He answered promptly.

Kendrick nodded enthusiastically, his eyes twinkling as if stardust had settled within them.

After all, it was a dragon!

The legendary dragon from ancient tales!

In the storybooks Kendrick had read, dragons were the Paladin’s greatest allies, helping them defeat the resurrected Demon King. Or perhaps they were the ones who vanquished evil themselves.

Of course, the fairy tales Tania and Kendrick had read as children were also carefully prepared by Louis as part of his indoctrination scheme.

Regardless, thanks to this early education, Kendrick and Tania’s perception of dragons was overwhelmingly positive.

And so, Kendrick’s fantasies began.

This is just like… I’ve become the Paladin?!

A Paladin raised by a dragon.

For Kendrick, who still retained the heart of a boy, such a title made his heart race.

Perhaps I was chosen, and that’s why Teacher accepted me as his disciple?

Lost in his imagination, Kendrick stumbled upon a fantasy that, by sheer chance, was surprisingly close to the truth.

As he let his dreams take flight, Lavina stood beside him, her eyes shining just as brightly as his.

Louis turned to her and said in a chilling voice, “You’re going to die.”

”…Huh?”

Lavina flinched at the sudden death threat. “W-why?!”

“You were thinking about trying to tame a dragon, weren’t you?”

”…?!”

Lavina’s shoulders twitched twice as violently as before. Her face paled with horror as she stammered, “C-can dragons… read minds too?!”

Just like my ancestor.

Seeing Lavina follow the exact same train of thought Jacob had so long ago, Louis realized she truly was a chip off the old block.

Louis clicked his tongue.

“Tch, if you want to tame a dragon, go right ahead. But I bet your head will roll long before you succeed.”

Hiccup.

Startled, Lavina began to hiccup.

Just then, Tania spoke up for the first time.

Unlike the others, who were chattering excitedly, Tania had been sitting slumped and gloomy, her face clouded with dejection. Now, she called out to Louis in a small voice.

“Teacher…”

“What?”

“Um… you know…”

“What is it?”

“How long do dragons live?”

”…?”

Louis tilted his head in confusion at the sudden question, but Kani answered for him.

“Us? We live for at least ten thousand years, give or take.”

“So… dragons don’t age?”

“Of course we age.”

“But… what about a hundred years from now?”

“We’ll be exactly the same as we are now. Even after a thousand years… no, two or three thousand years, there probably won’t be much difference.”

Tania’s face paled at Kani’s answer.

She let out a wail.

“No way!”

Everyone startled and turned to stare at Tania. Overwhelmed by their gazes, she clutched her head.

“S-so… I’ll grow old, but you, Teacher… you won’t!”

Kendrick stared at his little sister in disbelief.

”…Is that what’s bothering you?”

“This is a huge problem! I married my teacher, but I’m the only one who’s going to turn into a shriveled-up old hag!”

“As if the teacher would even marry you! That level of delusion is practically a disease… cough!”

Kendrick, who had been mentally assaulting his little sister with reality-based arguments, was sent sprawling backward by a swift punch from Tania.

In the meantime, Tania scurried over to Louis. She gazed up at him with pleading eyes.

“Teacher… isn’t there anything we can do?”

”…”

“I don’t want to be the only one who grows old!”

”…Why are you asking me that?”

“Because I’m Brother Louis’s… bride? His future bride?”

A faint blush crept across Tania’s cheeks as she shyly turned her head away.

Louis, now accustomed to Tania’s antics, sighed softly. Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he smiled faintly and said, “Well, it’s not as if there’s absolutely no way.”

“R-really? There’s a way?” Tania stammered.

“There’s a way?!” Kendrick, who had been lying face down, startled and sat up straight.

Louis’s smile deepened. “A single bottle of Elixir can slightly extend your lifespan and slow down the aging process.”

”…?!”

Kendrick and Tania’s eyes widened.

“I’ll give you one if you want it,” Louis added.

Tania and Kendrick swallowed hard, their mouths suddenly dry. Having known Louis for a long time, they knew exactly what that meant.

They knew Louis wouldn’t simply hand over such a valuable item without a catch.

So they asked first, “What’s the condition?”

“Is this a reward?”

Under the tense gazes of his disciples, Louis smiled and replied, “Top Tier.”

”…Huh?”

“What?”

“I’ll give it to the first person to reach Top Tier. The deadline is six months.”

”…?!”

Kendrick and Tania’s eyes widened in shock.

They had spent over three years on the Autumn Continent since leaving the Winter Continent. They hadn’t wasted that time. Kendrick had reached Tier 1 Lower Class, while Tania was barely scraping by at Tier 1 Intermediate Class. Even that was a remarkable achievement, but Louis was demanding something far beyond their current capabilities.

“I-Is that even possible?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

”…”

“As you likely experienced when you reached Tier 1, reaching Top Tier triggers another bodily reconstruction. This will elevate your physical abilities to a completely different level compared to Tier 1. Furthermore, your lifespan will increase, and with the Elixir, you could easily live for centuries.”

Kendrick pressed his lips into a tight line, but Tania’s eyes blazed with fervent determination.

“You’re serious, aren’t you? You’ll really give me the Elixir if I reach Top Tier within six months?”

“I promise.”

“I’ll do it. I absolutely will!”

Tania clenched her fists tightly, her resolve hardening.

Kendrick, Tania’s younger brother and rival, nodded fiercely, unwilling to be outdone.

“M-me too! I’ll do it too!”

Louis watched the two siblings, now fired up with determination, and smiled with satisfaction.

Then, his smile faded, and he spoke.

“Our journey ends here. You two will stay behind.”

“Huh?”

“What? What do you mean?!”

Louis calmly addressed his disciples’ protests.

“You’ll understand when you see it. That dragon… I have to fight it.”

”…?!”

“This battle is far too dangerous. Even I can’t guarantee my own safety, and I won’t drag you into it.”

Louis had admitted he couldn’t even guarantee his own safety.

That meant the fight would be unimaginably perilous.

A brief silence fell.

”…Still, I’m going,” Tania said, her gaze unwavering as she met Louis’s eyes.

Louis shook his head. “This isn’t a decision to make with your heart. You could die.”

“Even if I do… at least I’ll die by your side, Teacher.”

”…”

“That’s enough for me.” Tania offered a smile as pure and white as a flower.

Kendrick, who had been watching silently from the side, spoke up. “Teacher, I have a question.”

Louis turned to Kendrick, surprised by the uncharacteristic caution in his voice. “What is it?”

“Why are you trying to fight that dragon?”

”…”

“And why is that dragon trying to kill you?”

Louis paused, gathering his thoughts.

He sighed softly and said, “This might sound a bit cliché…”

”…?”

“For world peace, perhaps?”

It wasn’t entirely wrong.

Chulsoo88’s ultimate motive for trying to kill Louis was to bring about the story of the world’s destruction. Therefore, stopping the Mad Dragon was undeniably an act for world peace.

Upon hearing Louis’s answer, Kendrick’s eyes lit up.

He replied with unwavering resolve, “I’ll come with you!”

“What?”

“The Demonic Scripture you taught me… all the effort I’ve put into mastering it—this is my chance to contribute to world peace! If a man is born into this world, shouldn’t he swing his sword at least once for such a grand purpose?”

Louis clicked his tongue at Kendrick and Tania’s hasty decision.

“Tsk, I told you it wouldn’t be that easy to decide,” he said.

His gaze then shifted to Lia and Aaron. Only then did Kendrick and Tania remember their parents, and their faces fell.

What parent would readily approve of their children walking into the jaws of death?

The change in Kendrick and Tania’s expressions caused Lia and Aaron’s eyes to waver.

A deep conflict began to brew in Lia’s pupils. No matter how much she trusted and relied on Louis, she couldn’t simply stand by and watch her children march into mortal danger.

She hesitated, unable to speak.

“Go,” Aaron said, breaking the silence.

”…Honey?”

He was the first to speak. The conflict had vanished from his eyes, replaced by unwavering conviction.

“You’re not children anymore. You’re all grown adults now. You choose your own fates.”

“You…”

“Let’s let them go, Lia.”

“But…”

“Just as you and I lived our lives pursuing our dreams, shouldn’t our children have the same chance? They’re not doing anything wrong—they’re risking their lives for a noble cause. As their parents, we should trust and support them.”

Lia, Kendrick, and Tania fell silent, listening to their father’s and husband’s stories.

After a long moment of contemplation, Lia fixed her children with a stern gaze. “Promise me just one thing,” she said. “Promise me you’ll survive, no matter what. No matter the circumstances, promise me you won’t accept death easily.”

”…I promise,” Kendrick said.

“I promise,” Tania echoed.

Hearing their answers, Lia’s stern gaze softened, and she gently embraced her children. “You must… come back alive.”

“Mom…”

“Mom…”

As Tania’s eyes began to glisten with tears, Lavina stepped forward. “Louis,” she declared, “I’m going too.”

”…What?” Louis exclaimed, surprised.

“You were going to ask me anyway, right? What I wanted to do. You were going to offer to send me to the Winter Continent if I wished.”

“Well, yes, that’s right.”

“Then let me tell you first: I’m going with you, Louis.”

“Why? You don’t need to take on such risks.”

“Even if you send me back, you’ll still take Nabi, right?”

”…”

“See? It’ll be more helpful for Nabi in battle if I’m there. Besides, after everything we’ve been through, I’d feel terrible just bailing out now.”

“Fine, do as you please.”

“Hehe.”

Lavina grinned brightly.

Seeing her smile, Louis smiled inwardly.

Perfect.

From the start, Louis had intended to involve them.

Louis wanted a voluntary alliance, not a forced one.

Having achieved his desired outcome, all that remained was to maximize their combined strength.

Louis pulled two thin booklets from his robe.

“Here,” he said, handing them over.

Kendrick and Tania accepted the booklets, tilting their heads in confusion. Their puzzled expressions seemed to ask, “What are these?” Louis chuckled.

“The latter halves of the Demonic Scripture you’ve been studying.”

”…?!”

“They’ll be quite helpful in reaching the Top Tier.”

“Ah…!”

Louis’s smile widened as he watched the astonished Flame siblings.

And so, on that day, the True Body of the Hero King’s Lawless—the very foundation that had forged Kendrick the Sword Saint—returned to its Original Master.