Dark toyed with Galileo's paw pads, a faint smile on his lips as he watched Aurora and Camilla interact.
He didn't really know either of them well, but that didn't stop him from feeling happy for their reunion.
When it came down to it, whatever stood between Aurora and Camilla was just a leftover of the war.
The war had ended, but the sorrow it left behind hadn't.
People like them, who could still be reunited with family, counted among the lucky few.
Far more people had lost everything.
Dark felt a quiet pleasure at witnessing this bit of goodness in the world, on his thirteenth birthday of all days.
Once that thin barrier between them had been pierced, Camilla took Aurora's hand and began peppering her with question after question, as if trying to pour out ten years' worth of unspoken words all at once.
Aurora listened patiently to each question and answered them one by one.
Her words were clear and well-chosen.
While the two of them talked, the others certainly weren't just sitting idle.
Little by little, they began treating tonight's late-night tea gathering exactly as Alvit had described it — a meeting between the parents of classmates.
Since Claire had once served as a professor at St. Marian's Academy, she drew a good deal of attention from the parents.
Viscount Greatbear, in his gruff way, kept asking her about Diana's performance in class.
Viscountess Flotly chimed in with a question or two now and then as well.
As for Alvit, she was thoroughly absorbed in questioning Diana and Rose, eager to learn more about Dark's daily life straight from their mouths.
Dark himself sat off to the side feeling a bit awkward about it, but Diana and Rose answered every question with obvious enthusiasm.
The fact that the three of them were always together came out fully in the course of the conversation.
Luckily, Dark's life at the Academy mostly ran between the classroom, the Library, and the dormitory — with the Canteen thrown in at most — so there wasn't much embarrassing material to be found for a good laugh.
Before this, the parents of the three of them had barely had any private contact with one another.
Even Alvit and Viscount Greatbear, who'd known each other a long time, had only ever discussed official business on the rare occasions they crossed paths.
But tonight, thanks to the three of them, their parents were fast becoming familiar with each other too.
Maybe, if things kept going this way, Alvit's small wish — to gather a group of parents together to watch their children's dueling matches — might actually come true.
...
Night wore on.
They talked for nearly an hour, until the clock struck eleven and forced the conversation to a close.
Alvit warmly invited both viscountesses to visit the Duke's estate often — bringing their daughters (nieces) along, of course.
Camilla, meanwhile, kept telling Aurora over and over not to forget to visit their home often.
Dark waved goodbye to Diana, Rose, Anna, and Angie in turn.
Finally, the Eldest Princess scooped up Anna and Angie and climbed into the carriage.
Then, in the quiet of the deep night, the three carriages slowly pulled away, heading off in different directions.
This scene, naturally, did not escape the notice of those who were paying attention.
...
Once the three families had been seen off, Dark and the others returned to the sitting room.
Without the outsiders present, the atmosphere in the room shifted slightly.
Alvit pulled Dark, who'd been about to sit on another sofa, over beside her, with Claire seated on her left.
On the other side of the tea table,
sat City Lord Montielfali and Aurora.
The evening wasn't over yet.
Alvit's thinking was perfectly clear.
If Suna Montielfali had been willing to set aside the affairs of the Free City and travel all this way with her daughter to visit the Duke's estate, she certainly hadn't come just for a pleasure trip.
So Alvit steadied herself and said, "Can we talk about it now? You came all the way to see me in person — is there something you're finding hard to say?"
City Lord Montielfali's expression turned serious as well.
She glanced at Claire, seated beside Alvit, only to be met with a knowing smile — and realized that this Beast Sage's relationship with Alvit was probably even closer than her own.
If that was the case, there was nothing left to hide.
So she slowly spoke two words: "The Easter Dueling Festival."
Alvit raised an eyebrow. "You saw it too?"
"Yes," Suna nodded slightly. "Principal Cynthia happened to be in the Free City at the time, so I watched the match with her."
Alvit immediately grew wary. "So you're here because of my precious boy?"
Suna looked at Dark and nodded again.
"Because of me?"
Dark frowned slightly, his gaze drifting toward Aurora beside Suna.
Caught in his gaze, Aurora instinctively lowered her head, her cheeks flushing faintly.
Dark had long been curious about that reaction of hers, and now he said, "Auntie Montielfali, just say whatever it is you want to say. I don't think I did anything out of line at the Easter Dueling Festival, did I?"
The moment the words left his mouth, not just Suna but Alvit and Claire too gave him strange looks.
Even Aurora quietly lifted her head to stare at his face.
Baffled by all this, Dark said helplessly, "Is something wrong?"
"I think I know what this is about," Alvit said. "Suna, go ahead."
Suna continued, "The problem isn't with you — it's with your Magic Guide Spirits."
Dark's frown deepened. "My Magic Guide Spirits? What's wrong with them?"
Suna said, "Specifically, that white cat of yours, and the lion-man."
Dark: "Gatomon and Leomon?"
Suna sighed. "Those two — a pair of Magic Guide Spirits with Hero Aptitude."
...
At the mention of "Hero Aptitude," Dark began piecing things together.
A Magic Guide Spirit having Hero Aptitude was unusual, sure, but not unheard of — there were even stranger cases out there.
Among the classifications of Magic Guide Spirits was the "Human Species."
It held infinite possibilities.
It was even entirely possible to accidentally forge figures who had once existed in history.
More than one Great Magic Guide Master had once tried to recreate historical figures through Magic Guide Spirits.
Though such reproductions could only ever produce empty shells, and the practice had since been designated a "taboo" and jointly banned.
But if one arose by accident, there wasn't much anyone could do about it.
Such "Human Species" Magic Guide Spirits usually carried special traits — Hero Aptitude was merely one of them.
Of course, neither Gatomon nor Leomon were of the Human Species.
...
"Is that where the problem lies?"
Dark pinched at Galileo's soft flesh, thinking it unlikely.
And indeed, that wasn't it.
Suna said slowly, "Do you know where the title of 'Hero' comes from?"
Dark nodded slightly. "I've read a bit about it."
The title "Hero" had very deep roots.
According to this world's legends—
the very first human was called the "Holy One" — both god and man.
To protect humanity, the Holy One once split into three.
When the three offshoots grew to adulthood,
one of them became the Hero without equal.
Another became the all-knowing Sage.
The last became the emperor of unmatched nobility.
Every Hero since then had descended from that original Hero — the true and legitimate "Son of God."
That was the origin of the "Hero," and the reason the Hero was so special.
...
Seeing him nod, Suna continued, "The Hero's bloodline comes from the Holy One — the legitimate 'Son of God.' But as the ages passed, that bloodline scattered further and further. More and more people came to carry a trace of it, even as it grew thinner and thinner with each generation.
In fact, my husband Alex carries a fairly diluted strain of the Hero's bloodline himself.
He could have become a Hero Candidate, but because he refused the Holy Church's formal recognition, it was never put on record."
"To become a true Hero, one needs the recognition of a great many Holy Swords, using them to complete the bloodline."
"That's how the previous Hero, Bright Gold, became a true Hero."
"And his descendants are born carrying nearly fifty percent of the Hero's bloodline."
"I imagine you already know who his descendant is."
Dark nodded. "Virt Gold."
Suna's expression grew heavier. "Then you probably also know that Virt Gold grew up in an orphanage."
Dark said carefully, "That's right."
Suna said, "Your mother and I were both comrades of the previous Hero, Bright Gold. We went through the final campaign against the Demon King together, and we watched Bright Gold sacrifice himself with our own eyes."
Dark: "He was a great man."
Suna closed her eyes briefly. "He truly was. He already sensed, before the battle even began, that he would die — and still he charged to the front line without hesitation. That was Bright Gold, a man who carried the Hero's fate on his shoulders."
Dark: "The Hero's fate?"
Suna narrowed her eyes. "A Hero is someone who carries a fate. Throughout history, not one true Hero has ever lived long."
Dark couldn't help frowning. "How is there no record of something like that?"
Suna said slowly, "Haven't you noticed how little has ever been recorded about 'Heroes'?"
Dark fell into a brief silence.
He didn't believe in this so-called "Hero's fate," but it was true that records concerning Heroes were scarce.
If one calculated the lifespans of past Heroes statistically, it might indeed lead to the conclusion Suna had drawn.
He suddenly realized that people's impression of Heroes always seemed to stop at the moment they vanquished evil — there was never a story of what came after!
Did Heroes simply keep a low profile after defeating evil?
Anyone capable of becoming a true Hero had to possess extraordinary strengths — how could such a person vanish without a trace so easily?
Could the "Hero's fate" really be real?
...
There was no denying that Suna's words carried real persuasive weight.
And neither Alvit nor Claire had refuted them.
That, at least to some degree, lent support to what Suna was saying.
...
After a long moment, it was finally Alvit who spoke. "Whether the Hero's fate really exists or not doesn't actually matter. After the war ended, I had people specifically look into it, and it's true — no past Hero has ever lived long.
Even those who didn't die on the battlefield ended up dying afterward from some misfortune or another. What I lean toward believing is that there's something inherently wrong with the Hero's bloodline itself."
"Something wrong with the Hero's bloodline itself?"
Dark repeated it slowly.
Alvit's explanation was clearly easier to accept.
But wasn't the so-called "Hero's bloodline," according to legend, supposed to come from "a third of the Holy One"?
Or was it that the human body simply couldn't withstand a full hundred percent of that bloodline?
...
Speculation like this was hard to prove either way.
For now, Dark could only accept that being a "Hero" wasn't exactly a good job to have.
By now, he'd more or less guessed what Suna was getting at.
And sure enough—
Suna went on, "Setting Leomon aside, the purity of the Hero Aptitude that Gatomon shows is even greater than the current Son of the Hero's.
Principal Cynthia and I discussed it — Hero Aptitude doesn't appear out of nowhere. If things keep developing the way they are, there's a real chance you'll become a Hero through some other means."
"That's exactly what worries us," Alvit said thoughtfully. "Even setting aside the whole business of early death, the road to becoming a Hero is bound to be difficult and full of hardship. That's not something we want for him. And besides, a sudden surge in Hero Candidates has always tended to signal disaster on the horizon."
Suna nodded. "That's exactly why I came all this way. The possibility of Dark becoming a true Hero is something that must be treated with the utmost care."
Beside her, Aurora felt a flicker of surprise. Weren't you here to call off the engagement?
But City Lord Suna Montielfali hadn't said a single word about "calling off the engagement" — she hadn't even mentioned the "childhood betrothal."
That left Aurora quietly unsettled.
...
Suna was still speaking. "The truth is, my husband's illness has never been curable, precisely because of the portion of the Hero's bloodline he awakened.
A poison ate into the Holy Sword and spread into his blood through it. No potion of any kind has any effect on a bloodline that's been altered like that."
"Is it Dragonblood Cancer?" Alvit's brow furrowed slightly.
Suna nodded sadly. "Yes."
Not understanding, Dark asked, "What's Dragonblood Cancer?"
Alvit said slowly, "A special affliction that used to be common among Hero Candidates. For a candidate with Hero Aptitude, it's like a wicked dragon — capable of devouring their entire life in an instant."
Suna said, "In any case, being a 'Hero' isn't a good job to have. If a new disaster really does come, just let us old folks handle it."
But Alvit said, "It's rare for our thinking to line up so closely. But we both know that some things can't be solved just by running from them.
And besides, Dark has his own thoughts on the matter, and I'll support whatever he decides. Of course, so that he'll always have what he needs to make his own choices, I've put together a holiday package for him. Since Aurora's here too, why don't we all do it together."
____
Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 10 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on (P). with 50 advanced chapters available on (P)
👻 Join the crew by searching Leanzin on (P). You know the spot! 😉