Chapter 152: Misunderstandings Keep Piling Up

The sudden visit of White Wood Duke.
At the news of her arrival, Zeryon Academy was thrown into utter chaos.
Among the commotion, when I heard she was looking for me, I hurried to meet her.
Honestly, I had a vague idea of the reason.
White Wood Duke is someone who despises anything related to Mysteries.
Would she have stayed silent all this time after a Mysticism Cult attacked the Saintess?
‘She must have had someone planted on the Saintess’s side.’
She must have already heard that Acrede visited Zeryon Academy.
After all, it was White Wood Duke herself who brought Acrede and Iris together.
She must have guessed that this situation was related to the Mysticism Cult and came because of it.
‘Good grief, but even so, to come looking for me first.’
I didn’t know what to do with White Wood Duke’s overwhelming affection.
It was when I finally arrived at White Wood Duke’s guest room.
In front of the guest room, the headmaster came out bowing his head, looking utterly flustered.
As soon as his eyes met mine, he cleared his throat awkwardly and stepped aside.
“Student Hanon, go on in.”
I already knew the headmaster.
He once held an event where he granted any request.
Back then, his face was flushed red, but today it was pale as a sheet.
It looked like he needed to take better care of his health.
“Yes, and thank you for always working so hard, Headmaster.”
“…You’re keeping the secret well, aren’t you?”
“Of course.”
The headmaster left without another word.
It was obvious he didn’t want a long conversation with me.
After the headmaster departed, I immediately stood before the door and knocked twice.
“Your Excellency White Wood Duke, this is Hanon Airei.”
“Come in.”
At her response, I opened the door.
A moment later, I saw familiar faces.
White Wood Duke and her attendants, still radiating their mysterious aura.
And there was one more person I recognized.
‘Oh, well.’
I guess this was bound to happen eventually.
Standing there was Hanon Airei.
Yes, the real Hanon, not me.
When Hanon’s eyes met mine, his gaze sharpened intensely.
This was the Hanon who misunderstood me as the reincarnation of Zeryon.
He must have heard that I handled Zeryon’s Elder Dragon Magic, Heavenly Dragon Transformation.
From the perspective of an archaeology fanatic like Hanon, it would have been enough to drive him wild.
Doubt soon turned into certainty.
In Hanon’s eyes, I was unmistakably the reincarnation of Zeryon.
For someone who had been chasing reincarnations, it was no wonder his eyes looked crazed.
It was like a fan meeting their ultimate favorite idol—the way his eyes sparkled.
Honestly, that was the kind of look a fanatic would have.
“Now, do you have anything to say about this situation?”
White Wood Duke smiled gently.
But the pressure behind that smile was not something I could endure easily.
Nevertheless, I straightened my back with confidence.
What I had done was necessary, without a shred of shame.
Leading the political affairs of a world without Lucas.
“I have nothing to say. I entered under a false identity and have been operating within Zeryon Academy using Hanon’s name.”
Thus, I conveyed my will more confidently than anyone else.

“I enrolled here in place of an old friend with whom I share a complicated past.”
“A friend!”
At that moment, Hanon blurted out.
Having interrupted the conversation between White Wood Duke and me, Hanon hurriedly covered his mouth.
Hanon’s eyes, looking at me, burned even more intensely.
The friend I had just mentioned was Lucas.
But it seemed Hanon thought of someone else.
‘He must be thinking of Wolfram.’
It seemed yet another misunderstanding was piling up, heading in a different direction.
White Wood Duke quietly stared at me.
In truth, she probably already suspected that I was hiding my true identity.
She was the woman who had defeated White Wood, the pinnacle of mystery itself.
Would someone like her really not notice the bandages of the Veil?
She must have had a faint idea.
She simply chose not to act because she didn’t see the need to uncover it yet.
However, bringing the real Hanon here now meant there was a reason to reveal my identity.
“Boy, I have no intention of holding you accountable for what you’ve done.”
The reason I could meet White Wood Duke while hiding my identity until now was thanks to her personality.
I knew she wasn’t the type to nitpick over someone concealing their true self.
She valued one’s actions above all else.
From the moment she granted me special privileges under the Heroic Special Act, she must have been tracking all my actions.
And there was no falsehood in my path.
It was a path so heroic that even White Wood Duke acknowledged it.
‘Of course.’
The path I walked was the righteous one.
It was the path of Lucas—the flame destined to become a hero someday.
Though many things had gone astray recently, it still remained Lucas’s will.
“I merely want to ask you something.”
White Wood Duke crossed one white leg over the other.
“Boy, what is it that you truly want to do?”
The path I walk is not consistent.
However, it was certain that I was moving toward a single goal.
Because White Wood Duke had seen the road I traveled, she asked this question.
What exactly lies at the end of it?
“There are precious people around me.”
The ones I used to watch only through a screen, unable to reach them.
I had watched them, smiling and crying as they moved toward their endings, borrowing Lucas’s eyes.
But now, it was different.
The ones who were once trapped inside the screen were now by my side.
And they had become just as precious to me.
‘The loss of love.’
Even if I could no longer feel love because of the Veil Bandages.
The fact that I had once loved and cherished them would never change.
Thus, even if I lost three emotions, I could still keep moving forward.
Even if the heart cooled, memories would remain forever.
“To lead them toward the happiest world.”
My eyes shone with sincerity and unwavering resolve.
Lucas would have worn the same eyes in this situation.
And now, for the first time, I could truly empathize with his feelings.
“That is the one and only thing I wish for.”
White Wood Duke’s eyes quietly gazed at me.
She was someone skilled at reading people.
She instantly realized there was no lie in my words.
“Then, boy, let me ask you just one more thing.”

White Wood Duke decided to ask her final question.
“In that happy world, will you be there too, boy?”
A happy world.
She was asking if I would be there.
After a brief pause, I slowly opened my lips.
“Someday.”
Even if I can no longer cherish myself…
“I hope that I will be.”
I want to stay there, for the sake of those who care about me.
White Wood Duke fell silent.
I too closed my mouth, following her lead.
Now, it was up to her how she would interpret my words.
“I have no intention of standing in the way of a young hero’s path. My era has long since passed — it’s time to leave it to the young.”
Saying this, White Wood Duke made just one promise.
“But even a hero, once they fall, becomes meaningless. I have seen countless heroes fall like that.”
There was warmth in her gaze.
In White Wood Duke’s eyes, I was still just a very young boy.
“Boy, do not forget the heart you have now.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Just as I had shown my sincerity, White Wood Duke had sincerely worried for me.
Having received her help many times, I bowed deeply in gratitude.
“Now, then. Let’s stop with the comforting words here.”
White Wood Duke smiled as she shifted to the main topic.
“You know very well how much I despise the Mystics, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do.”
“I’ve been searching hard, but unfortunately, I still haven’t been able to reach the Mystics’ stronghold.”
The Mystics, hidden so deeply that even White Wood Duke’s information network couldn’t uncover them.
Their power was not to be underestimated either.
“But you see, I have a feeling. A strange feeling — and I bet you do too, boy.”
White Wood Duke’s eyes curved slyly like a fox.
She was one of the four dukes who shook the Empire.
Even if she had no interest in politics, there was no way her intuition would be dull.
“I believe the reason the Saintess came looking for you is also related to the Mystics. What do you think?”
“You’re correct.”
If I wanted White Wood Duke’s help, I had to be completely honest.
“Lady Acrede is the reincarnation of the Saintess, Narea.”
“Kraak!”
Hanon, unable to hold back again, cried out.
He twisted his body as if he might collapse at any moment — unable to endure it as a true archaeology fanatic.
“Reincarnation — you mean the reincarnations of the heroes?”
“Yes, exactly. And…”
I delivered the information that would even freeze White Wood Duke in place.
“The fallen flame, Rosli — his reincarnation, Vulcan Zebra, is now leading the Mystics.”
“…Huh.”
Sure enough, White Wood Duke let out a stunned breath.
Rosli Academy, founded in the Zebra Kingdom.
The founder of that academy — Rosli’s reincarnation, Vulcan — was the leader of the Mystics.
For White Wood Duke, who had once experienced the age of heroes, there could hardly be a more shocking revelation.
“…I see. So that’s how it is.”
White Wood Duke seemed to understand now why even she had failed to gather any information.
“Boy, this time, I can’t help but ask — where on earth did you get this information?”
She was now addressing the source of my almost unnatural level of intelligence.
Even White Wood Duke found my information unsettling.

However, there was legitimate sourcing behind this information.
“There is currently the reincarnation of Aquiline at Zeryon Academy.”
“Craakh!”
Hanon now trembled so hard it looked like he might faint.
I had no idea how long he planned to keep reacting like this.
“I heard it directly from her.”
It’s not for nothing that I follow the path of the official history.
To move a great figure, there must be sufficient reason and proper procedures.
Every incident has a cause, and there must be evidence to support it.
That’s why I tried to stick as closely to official history as possible.
To stop the Evil Existence that would eventually spread and threaten the entire world, the world itself had to be moved.
Act 5, the Reincarnators Arc, was directly tied to the power needed to set the world into motion.
And to move those great figures, I had to go all out.
“Narea and Aquiline… All the beloved heroes are reappearing.”
White Wood Duke looked at me with a gaze full of deep interest.
“With this level of ties, boy… Are you perhaps the reincarnation of Zeryon, the Sage of Transcendence?”
“That’s an absurd misunderstanding.”
I corrected her, as I always did when such misunderstandings came up.
But it seemed Hanon, whose mind had already snapped, couldn’t hear a thing.
“Hehehe, fine. Let’s leave it at that for now.”
White Wood Duke didn’t press any further about it.
Instead, she chose to move to a different question.
“Right now, what matters is whether you can figure out the location of the Mystics’ stronghold.”
In her eyes, the desire to crush the Mystics blazed without hesitation.
There was no need to snuff out that fire.
Rather, I needed to fan it carefully — until it became a full-blown inferno.
“A portion of Narea’s soul that Lady Acrede possessed has been kidnapped.”
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to crush the Mystics using White Wood Duke.
“If it’s Aquiline’s reincarnation, she should be able to track the traces of the soul.”
Originally, I had intended to obtain the 6th-floor equipment, the Soul Tracker.
However, due to the Autumn Demonic Palace Shift incident, I had failed to secure it.
But if Aquiline was here, the story changed.
She was a former hero who had reached a realm far beyond what a Soul Tracker could achieve.
Even in a twisted official history, there were always ways.
If you had no teeth, you just used your gums.
Only one concern remained.
‘This was originally supposed to happen in Act 5.’
White Wood Duke clearly wanted to crush the Mystics as soon as possible.
Which meant — she planned to do it before the year was out.
In the official history, Act 5 didn’t begin until the first semester of the third year.
Yet now, Act 5 was being pulled forward by half a year.
Still, it was too good an opportunity to pass up.
White Wood Duke was a powerful force that could not be used just any time.
This might be the only chance.
I clenched my fist tightly.
Up until now, I had already twisted many parts of the official history.
Ever since Lucas’s death, the flow of official history had long since been severely distorted.
Trying to preserve it was part stubbornness, part obsession on my part.
But now, beyond that — I wanted to protect the things I held dear.
Even if my emotions had faded, that desire remained unchanged.
‘Let’s do this.’
An early Act 5, even before Act 4 concluded.
With the greatest possible variable — White Wood Duke — in my hands, I would open the stage of Act 5.