Early in the morning, before the sun has risen.
Leo, who woke up early as usual, was doing push-ups with one arm in a handstand.
Leo's body had long since entered the realm of the superhuman.
It is no exaggeration to say that this type of training to strengthen the body has little effect.
Still, Leo didn't skip his morning training.
Knock- knock-
The beads of sweat on the tips of my hair fell to the floor.
Leo, who had been concentrating on each and every muscle movement, exhaled.
Even though the training effect was minimal, it helped me maintain the feeling of moving my body.
Of course, there was another reason why Leo was so absorbed in morning training.
'I'm anxious.'
Because if I don't do something, I feel anxious.
This anxiety was especially intense just before sunrise.
Leo landed on the floor with a bounce, using his arms to look out the window.
As the sun rose, bright light began to illuminate the world.
Leo looked at the scenery in silence.
Leo woke up before dawn, out of habit, but it wasn't because of training.
It was to see the rising sun.
-Leo. Are you still afraid of the night?
Elsie, who was left alone in the room watching the scene, asked with a bitter smile.
Leo's secret that only Elsie knows.
It was none other than Leo who was afraid of the night.
To be exact, I was afraid of the dark.
Because it brought back old memories.
A time of disaster filled with only gloom and darkness.
-There is a moon and stars in the night sky these days.
It's different from the nights back then when there was only pitch-black darkness.
But even with the moon and stars, the night sky was reminiscent of a time of calamity.
Leo's expression turned bitter at Elsie's words.
"I will probably never be able to overcome my fear of the night."
It was a kind of aftereffect.
For people today, the sun is something that naturally rises.
But not for Leo.
In both his past and present lives, Leo had seen more gloomy gray skies than the dawn, the sun rising.
I know it in my head.
But I couldn't shake the feeling of anxiety that the sun might not rise.
It was like instinct.
That's why I feel relieved when I wake up early in the morning and see the sun rise.
Elsie looked at the swearer with pity.
Perhaps the only person in this world who can fully understand Leo's heart is Elsie.
It's not a big deal if you have a fear of the dark.
Even if Erebos and Tartarus use their dark powers, they won't be able to shake Leo's strong will.
But I will probably have to live with that fear and anxiety for the rest of my life.
Even if a complete victory leaves no threat to the world.
-It seems like it's gotten a little worse lately... Are you okay? I think you even have nightmares sometimes.
Leo paused as Elsie asked with a pitiful expression.
'Has the anxiety gotten worse?'
This is something I hadn't realized.
It seems like the vanished future unconsciously came to me with a sense of pressure.
Elsie, being the closest person to Leo, noticed the change.
-Leo, what's wrong?
Leo didn't answer Elsie's question, but walked over to the window and opened it wide.
"What are you doing?"
There was Arga outside the window.
Ar said, sneaking into the room like a burglar robbing a fish shop.
"I came early to do morning training with Black Rabbit! Thanks to you, I got to see something good. Hehe."
Arga smiled sinisterly as he watched Leo, who was training with his upper body naked.
"Do you always react like that when you see a male student's upper body?"
"I don't get excited when I see idiots who are only muscle-bound and have a brain."
"What's different about my body?"
"They're just there to show off their strength, right? On the other hand, the Black Rabbit's muscles are the pinnacle of practicality!"
As it was a human body, Ar was able to immediately recognize the developed muscles.
"What a truly artistic body. Churp!"
Arga said, wiping his saliva with a selfish face.
"It's definitely a nice sight, because it's the body of a black rabbit! Can I touch your abs?"
Ar, true to his desires, bent his fingers sinisterly.
"no."
"Okay. Then I'll let you touch my tail."
"I can touch your tail anytime."
"You don't mind being rude! Fine! Then let me touch your abs!"
Arga said it as if he was doing a good deed.
Leo kicked Ar out the window.
"Eight! It's so soft! It's not like it'll wear out if you touch it."
"Worn out."
Leo responded mercilessly to Ar's grumbling and closed the door.
"I've been out of my mind since morning."
Leo grumbled lightly and said to Elsie.
"I'm just a little tired these days. Don't worry too much."
-Okay. If anything happens, you have to tell me, okay?
"okay."
'It's not time yet.'
The fact that the future is gone… … .
'For now, I should keep it to myself.'
***
"Chelsea."
"I'll never do anything like nude modeling, so don't ask!"
Chelsea spoke bluntly to Driana, who called her.
In response to Chelsea's reaction, Driana said:
"It would be a crime not to leave your cuteness as art."
"Yeah. I know I'm cute. But I'd never do something like a nude model."
Driana clicked her tongue lightly at Chelsea's reaction.
one side.
Bormann, who was watching Chelsea from the side, stroked her chin.
"No matter how I look at it, it really looks like a real person, Chelsea Llewallin!"
He looked around Chelsea as if he was curious.
"I can't believe something like this is possible. The more I look at magic, the more amazing it becomes."
Chelsea looked puzzled as she watched Bormann, who was genuinely impressed.
"Don't you learn about polymorph magic in school?"
"I didn't learn."
Dion, who was walking alongside Bormann, corrected him without hesitation.
"I learned."
"Hmm! Looks like it was in a liberal arts class! You and I take different classes."
"It was a required subject."
"Hmm."
"By the way, you got a failing grade."
"How did you get promoted when you failed a required subject?"
"Because in our Azonia, only the strong can advance!"
Chelsea looked at Dion with pity as she watched Bormann begin to flex his arms and show off his muscles.
"It must be hard."
"Still, I'm good at simple things."
"Anyway, Chelsea Llewallin! Since you've become a mercenary, why don't you work out some muscles?"
"Whether I become a waterman or not, I am a wizard."
"Right. Even if you build muscle with that small body, it's barely noticeable… Keuk!"
Chelsea wrapped her fist around Bormann's side and hit him.
Dion asked, leaving behind the miserably collapsed Bormann.
"By the way, is Leo Plov really not participating in the Colosseum?"
"Yeah. I think I left everything about the champion entirely to Ar."
Dion was silent for a moment at Chelsea's answer, then opened his mouth.
"Chelsea Llewallin, what do you think?"
"huh?"
"Do you think you can defeat Arga Meram in this Colosseum?"
"Hmm. I guess it won't be hard?"
Chelsea hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and answered.
Among his generation, Ar is a hero who is clearly in a unique position.
As the direct successor of the great hero, the brave Aron, he will later lead the entire water race.
'In our generation, the only ones who can compare to Arrang are Runia and Driana.'
Although everyone acknowledges Leo as the hero who will lead the next generation, the three chosen as the successors to the great hero are on a different level.
However, it is difficult to place him on the same level as the current strongest hero.
'I don't know if it will be a few years from now.'
It's impossible for now.
Dion glanced at Driana.
Driana shrugged as if she was thinking the same thing.
"Then why did you leave Leo Plov in Ar's care?"
Chelsea responded to Dion's words that she couldn't understand.
"That's because Leo believes he can defeat Arga Meram."
"Are you kidding?"
"I'm not joking, Dion."
Driana sighed.
"Leo really believes that."
Leo also knows that it is impossible.
But it is true that I believe in Ar.
'What a harsh belief.'
What Leo wants from himself, Ar… … and Runia is the ability to make the impossible possible.
You could say it's reckless, but there's nothing I can do.
'We have been chosen as companions by the hero of the beginning.'
Just like Risinas did in the past.
Leo had entrusted the fate of the world to three people.
In this way, they inherited the will and abilities of the great hero along with the title of successor to the great hero.
'You can't keep making excuses like you're young.'
The world situation is not normal.
In the near future, a huge event will occur that will determine the fate of the world.
Driana had a premonition of that.
"As the successors of the great hero, we have a duty to live up to that unreasonable belief."
At Driana's words, Dion clenched his fist.
Arwa and I have been childhood friends since we were little.
I felt like they were rivals and thought they would compete against each other in Azonia, but from the moment of the entrance ceremony, Ar started to take the lead.
And Dion knows, even though he doesn't say anything.
That I would be following Ar's back my whole life.
'It's like acknowledging me as the captain.'
Probably all Azonia students are like that.
'But I didn't trust Ar.'
When Arga declared that he would defeat Meram.
Dion never once cheered for Ar, saying it was impossible.
"I was afraid. The gap would widen even further."
It wasn't until I heard Leo say that he trusted Ar that I realized the truth.
Now, I had to treat Ar as a leader, not a rival.
It wasn't easy to acknowledge someone I'd always considered an equal as a leader.
Especially if it's Suin.
'But now I have to admit it.'
Chelsea looked at Dion without saying anything.
'Everyone is changing little by little.'
Each of us is finding our own way.
The change is bringing huge waves.
'It seems like everyone is slowly becoming an adult.'
It's not just students from the same school.
The other competing hero cadets also gradually change.
Chelsea, who had arrived at Leo's lodging, smiled faintly.
'It seems like it won't be long before we share the burden Leo carries.'
The day when I will be recognized as a true colleague is not far off.
'I guess, as you grow up, your perspective on the world changes little by little.'
Things that were invisible begin to become visible.
With that thought in mind, Chelsea knocked.
dripping-
"Brother Leo, we're here."
There was no answer.
Chelsea tilted her head at him and reached for the doorknob.
Bam-
The door opens.
"Breathe. Breathe. You can breathe underwater if you get used to it."
Splash- splash-
The sound of water splashing echoed throughout the room.
Chelsea, who was shocked, headed to the bathroom where she could hear the sound of water.
When they arrived at the bathroom, they saw Leo putting Ar's head in a bathtub filled with water and preventing him from getting out.
"Are you here?"
Leo smiled brightly.
Phew-!
"Okay, wait! Phew, break!"
"Where is the time for that?"
with a splash-!
Leo put Ar's head back into the bathtub as if he was waterboarding him.
Chelsea thought, looking at that maddening sight.
'Growing up isn't always a good thing.'
Until now, there was a tendency to look down on him because he was young, but recently, that feeling has been decreasing.
'If it gets more vicious there, will I be able to handle it...?'
Chelsea felt that anxiety and sighed secretly.