"Leon!? Y-you... met Umbros, the bringer of calamity from the legend of Lamburge City!?"
Ah, right. Now I remember why her face looked familiar.
The bonus chapter in the game began with a missing student mission. The student was supposed to enroll, but the entry date had long passed, and since their family couldn't be contacted, Arthur had to find them.
During the investigation, they discovered that the missing student had gone to Lamburge City and died there while exploring a secret tomb.
That student was Penlope Mogran. Because there were so few illustrations of her character, I had completely forgotten.
"Why are you here?" I asked, still lying down from the frost wound in my chest.
"I wanted to learn more about the War Between Hanz and found a strange little tomb… then I fell in. Wait, your name's Leon, and that red hair, you're Leon Moriet!!"
Wow, brilliant detective. You're only several hours late.
"Urgh... hey, help me out, I think my lungs are still frozen," I said. Though hesitant, Penlope helped me up, and together we climbed out of the disgusting underground passage.
Because she kept pestering me to tell her the real story of the War Between Hanz apparently she'd been eavesdropping from afar I told her. Though, of course, I added a few lies about Camelo's spirit appearing before me.
"Eh? T-this needs to be recorded! The legend has been a lie for over a hundred years!" said Penlope.
"No. I think it's better this stays hidden."
It would be too dangerous if others found out. Especially since Penlope could easily become a target for that organization.
In the game, the main antagonists were the Dark Divine, an organization that worshipped the God of Darkness. Their goal was to collect powerful artifacts to dominate the world and awaken their god.
Sounds typical, doesn't it?
But they were only one of many threats. Other villains appeared throughout the academy year—some strong, some weak. Surviving all of them would require more than just power. I'd have to use every trick I had.
"Are you heading straight back? That internal wound must hurt like hell if left untreated."
"No, I'm starting to feel better."
Thanks to Umbros, who had now formed a contract with me, my injuries were healing faster. The full extent of the Cursed Item's power was still unknown. I'd need to experiment later.
I boarded the train. Penlope said she wanted to look at the tomb again, promising she wouldn't tell anyone since I found it first.
"If you're really Leon Moriet, then we'll definitely meet again at the academy," she said.
"You don't seem afraid when you hear my name," I replied. That was odd, Leon Moriet was infamous for causing trouble. Most people avoided him like a plague.
"Pff, you don't look scary at all! Besides, you'll be a student too, right? That means from now on, we're friends," Penlope said confidently.
Friends? Leon Moriet? You've got to be kidding me.
"Just a tip, stay away from me, or you won't have any friends left," I said as the train bell rang.
"Hah! Is that a challenge? As a Mogran, I'll accept it! Just you wait, I'll make sure you have more friends than you can handle! Mwahahaha!" Penlope raised a finger dramatically, nose in the air.
That was how my first meeting with Penlope ended. She kept waving until the train was out of sight.
I had changed the story's course. That was always the plan. If I followed the main route, I'd die stupidly like Leon did. My goal was simple to survive and return to my world.
To do that, I had to eliminate every threat and reach the game's ending.And if the game hadn't even started yet, it already felt like too much trouble. Don't you think?
When I arrived at the inn Sebastian and I rented, there were still no signs of the Moriet family. Good. That meant this place was safe.
Bleeding slightly, I entered the inn. Only one attendant was on duty perfect, fewer witnesses.
"Bring me warm water and bandages," I said. The man nodded nervously and hurried away.
I entered the room. The pain was already fading, and I only needed to cover the wound.
"My apologies, Leon Moriet," said Umbros, appearing in the form of a small owl.
"It's fine. The wound just needs to be wrapped. And drop the 'Moriet'. Just Leon is enough. Before that, tell me—what powers do you actually have?" I asked. In the game, Umbros couldn't be used because he was still vengeful. He was defeated without ever learning the truth.
But now that his hatred had faded, he could be used.
"It depends on the one I am bound to. My power centers around chaos and calamity. Depending on how that person perceives chaos, my strength will follow their will," Umbros explained.
I see. The kind of chaos I imagined… was a white storm that destroys everything.
I looked at my hand. No light, no aura, no mysterious glow like in the game. Just an ordinary human hand covered in cuts.
"Umbros, you must be joking."
The little owl perched on the table, its eyes glimmering faintly. "You have made a contract with me. But my strength grows alongside your soul."
"And my soul now?" I asked coldly.
"Weak," he answered without hesitation.
I grunted, then reached for the training sword I had picked up from the ruins. I swung it into the air. Heavy. My arm trembled. The motion was stiff.
I tried again. This time, for some reason, the blade felt slightly lighter not much, but just enough to lift it with one hand without shaking.
That was it.
"So this is your power?" I asked. "You just make my sword a bit lighter?"
"No," Umbros said quietly. "I merely make you more in tune with what you hold. If the weapon is truly yours, you will wield it better. But raw power? No. You are still human. My strength does enhance your body slightly, but for you, only a small portion flows through."
I took a deep breath.
I was starting to understand. Leon really was talentless. Even if you gave him the strongest sword in the world, it would lose to a wooden stick in the right hands.
I tried swinging again. The sword moved a bit more smoothly, but there was nothing special. No energy burst, no mana spark, no flash of brilliance.
Just me, sweating, panting, with a dull blade in my hand.
"At this rate," I muttered, "I won't survive a single day at the academy."
Umbros fluttered his tiny wings, landing on my shoulder. "That is reality, Leon. You are not a hero. You are just a man with a little help from the shadows. But that does not mean you cannot help others, does it?"
I remembered the promise I made with Umbros to save as many lives as possible to atone for his sins.
"Yeah. Even if your power only turns me from useless to average… I still have two hundred ways to save people."
"Not with talent. But with my own way."