After a battle that had lasted only a handful of moments—yet proved more than sufficient to bring months of carefully woven conspiracies crashing down—Leo seized complete control of every member of the opposition faction.
His clones spread throughout the royal hall like silent specters born from the darkness itself. They moved with terrifying precision, each step perfectly synchronized with the others, leaving no openings, no hesitation, no wasted motion. It was as though every corner of the chamber had fallen under Leo's absolute dominion, transformed into an extension of his own will.
There was nowhere left to run.
No path to escape.
No opportunity to resist.
Whenever one of the conspirators attempted even the slightest movement, a clone was already there, intercepting him before the thought had fully become an action.
Within moments, every trace of resistance crumbled.
The once-proud ministers who had manipulated the kingdom from the shadows now stood helpless, surrounded by the Royal Guards, their fate already decided as iron shackles closed around their wrists.
Among them stood Vardir, the leader of the secret opposition.
Every avenue of escape had been sealed.
His complexion had gone pale, yet the hatred burning within his eyes refused to fade.
As the guards began escorting him toward the exit, he suddenly twisted around and shouted at Leo, his voice overflowing with fury.
"Then what about the assassin who returned and reported that the assassination had been a complete success?!"
His furious cry echoed throughout the enormous chamber.
Then, with even greater agitation, he roared,
"If you truly turned the killer into a reconstructed corpse... then who in the name of hell came back to deliver that false report to us?!"
Silence followed.
Every gaze in the room turned toward Leo.
Everyone waited for his answer.
Leo merely turned his head slowly toward Vardir.
A faint smile—so subtle it was almost impossible to notice—appeared on his lips.
Then he replied with perfect calm.
"That's... a secret."
Nothing more.
Not another word.
Within his own mind, however, another answer surfaced.
It's never wise to reveal every card in your hand.
The ability to create perfect copies of other people would lose most of its strategic value the moment the world learns it exists.
Any power that everyone understands immediately becomes far less dangerous.
That was why he had no intention of exposing that particular ability, regardless of the circumstances.
Its greatest strength lay not in what it could do—
—but in the fact that no one knew it existed.
---
Once everything had finally come to an end, tranquility slowly settled over the royal chamber.
The suffocating tension that had dominated the hall only moments earlier gradually dissolved into exhausted silence.
The Elven King stepped forward at an unhurried pace.
There was no trace of royal pride upon his face now.
Only sincere gratitude...
...and unmistakable regret.
He looked at Leo for several long moments before finally speaking.
"You have saved this kingdom from a corruption that had nearly rotted it from its very foundations."
"I owe you a debt that cannot easily be repaid."
He paused.
Then his voice grew quieter.
"And... I owe you an apology as well."
"I failed in my duty as king."
"I was unable to uncover the truth before everything spiraled beyond control."
Leo listened without interruption.
When the king finished, he simply shook his head.
"There is nothing to apologize for."
"What happened was not the result of negligence."
"They carried out every step of their plans with extraordinary caution."
"They moved with remarkable professionalism."
"Exposing them was never going to be easy."
He looked toward the arrested ministers before calmly adding,
"Even had our positions been reversed... I doubt I would have uncovered them any sooner."
Those words visibly eased the burden weighing upon the king's heart.
A gentle smile finally appeared on his face.
"Then name your reward."
"Anything."
"Whatever compensation you desire..."
"...shall be yours."
---
Silence returned once more.
Leo lowered his gaze, genuinely considering the offer.
This kingdom probably possesses no magical artifacts capable of drawing my interest.
The magical technology of this era is painfully underdeveloped compared to the knowledge I already possess.
As for rare potions or treasured relics... I doubt any of them would truly benefit me.
While lost in thought...
Fragments of memories belonging to the body's original owner surfaced once again.
Suddenly...
He remembered.
The entrance examinations for the Academy were only about two months away.
A faint smile gradually formed across his face.
He had just decided his next destination.
The Academy.
A completely unfamiliar experience.
Curiously...
The excitement rising within him did not belong entirely to himself.
It mixed with the lingering emotions of the young man whose body he now inhabited.
The former owner of this body had dreamed of entering that Academy for years.
For the first time since arriving in this world...
Leo no longer felt those emotions as though they belonged to someone else.
Then another memory surfaced.
His long journey to the Elven Kingdom.
The expenses.
The countless gold coins spent along the way.
His remaining funds were nearly exhausted.
And at that moment...
He knew exactly what he wanted.
Raising his head, he looked directly at the king.
"I would like money."
Silence.
Utter silence.
Then...
The expressions of everyone present froze.
Even the ministers who had not yet left the chamber stared at him in complete disbelief.
They had expected him to request an ancient magical relic.
A legendary weapon.
An invaluable collection of enhancement elixirs coveted by every mage upon the continent.
Instead...
He rejected every priceless treasure before it had even been offered.
And asked...
...for money.
It was such an ordinary request that it somehow became the most unexpected one imaginable.
Not far away...
Eliaria quietly covered her mouth as a small laugh escaped her lips.
She gently shook her head.
A request like that...
It's exactly like Leo.
Strange.
Unpredictable.
Always ignoring appearances and choosing only what truly serves his goals.
He never walks the road others expect him to take.
---
Without hesitation, the Elven King presented Leo with a finely crafted spatial storage ring.
Its workmanship was exquisite, worthy of a royal treasury.
Inside it rested an astonishing fortune—
Nearly an entire ton of gold coins.
It was the kingdom's official reward for exposing the conspiracy, eradicating the corruption threatening its foundation, and preserving the peace of the Elven Realm.
The moment the scale of the reward became known, astonishment swept through the hall.
Some believed the king had been overly generous.
Granting wealth of such unimaginable value to a single individual—even one responsible for saving the kingdom—seemed excessive beyond reason.
Others, however...
Thought the exact opposite.
To them, no amount of gold could truly repay what Leo had done.
Had he failed...
The opposition faction would likely have plunged the kingdom into civil conflict.
Faith would have shattered.
The royal court would have collapsed into chaos.
Perhaps even the World Tree itself would have witnessed a war among her own children.
Compared to such a catastrophe...
Thousands upon thousands of chests filled with gold seemed almost insignificant.
Leo, meanwhile...
Displayed no excitement whatsoever.
He accepted the storage ring with complete indifference.
His eyes merely glanced over it before he stored it away as though it were nothing more than another travel expense.
To him...
It was simply a practical resource for the next stage of his journey.
Nothing more.
---
That night unfolded far differently from how it had begun.
The fear that had weighed upon the kingdom for days finally dispersed.
In its place came relief...
Hope...
And long-forgotten peace.
News spread rapidly throughout the forests of the elves.
The secret opposition faction had fallen.
Alongside it disappeared numerous corrupt ministers who had abused their authority for years in pursuit of their own ambitions.
For the first time in a very long while...
Many elves felt that their kingdom had finally begun to regain the balance it had nearly lost forever.
---
Much later...
After the celebrations had faded into silence...
And the night once again wrapped the ancient forest beneath its quiet embrace...
Leo sat alone beneath a sky overflowing with countless stars.
His gaze drifted upward as he reflected upon everything that had happened since arriving in this world.
After a long silence, he quietly murmured to himself,
"That... was more enjoyable than I expected."
"Perhaps looking at life from different perspectives isn't such a bad thing after all."
He remained silent for another moment before organizing his future plans.
"In one month..."
"I'll head to House Deinhart."
"And from there..."
"My next destination will be the Academy."
Closing his eyes briefly, he calculated the time remaining.
"Before then..."
"I need to reach the peak of the Fifth Circle."
"If I manage that..."
"I'll have made excellent progress."
Confidence flickered across his golden eyes.
"It shouldn't be difficult."
"The mana within this forest is extraordinarily abundant."
"It isn't a question of talent anymore."
"It's simply a matter of time."
Then the original owner's memories surfaced once again.
Through those fragments...
Leo saw a young man who had dreamed endlessly of entering the Academy.
Someone who had longed for that future with all his heart.
A gentle smile appeared upon Leo's face.
"So..."
"Attending the Academy was one of his greatest dreams."
"And since I'm living within this body..."
"The least I can do..."
"...is fulfill that dream for him."
"Let it be..."
"...the first debt I repay."
"And perhaps..."
"...the last."
At that exact moment...
He sensed someone's presence approaching quietly.
Leo slowly lifted his head.
A short distance away stood Eliaria.
She said nothing.
Not a single word.
Yet the sorrow within her emerald eyes spoke more eloquently than any voice ever could.
Her expression alone...
...told the entire story.