Leon’s POV
I finally wrapped up my business in the Great Forest, and even as I stepped away from it, the place still clung to like the cold. Snow, towering trees, endless white silence—those were the things that defined that stretch of ti. Still, despite everything being technically "done," there were lingering issues I couldn’t just ignore. Mishaps, small but potentially dangerous ones. The biggest problem was the probability—no, the inevitability—that so of the leaders would start clashing with each other sooner rather than later. Getting them to unify in na was one thing. Getting them to actually think and move on the sa wavelength was a completely different beast.
Considering how bad their relationships were before the unification, it honestly wouldn’t bode well if I wasn’t there to keep things from falling apart. Old grudges didn’t disappear overnight. Old pride didn’t magically vanish just because soone shook hands and smiled for the sake of appearances. If I wasn’t present to keep them grounded, to remind them why they even agreed to unify in the first place, things could spiral fast. And once that happened, it wouldn’t just be petty argunts anymore—it would be blood, betrayal, and chaos.
For now, though, it was decided that there wouldn’t be an official leader yet. They were still "figuring things out," as they liked to say. That phrase alone made tired. Even so, they were already looking at as the de facto leader. More than that, they were openly honoring , speaking as if it were already decided that I would beco the president of the newly established republic.
I wasn’t exactly against the idea of being crowned president. Hell, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t co with a certain sense of satisfaction. Still, I could feel it in the air—so of their people didn’t trust completely. They smiled, bowed, and showed respect, but there was hesitation behind their eyes. Doubt. Wariness. And that was dangerous.
If I wanted to officially beco president, I couldn’t just rely on goodwill or reputation. I had to make sure everyone was truly aligned with , moving forward in the sa direction. If I failed at that, the risks were obvious: insurgencies, coup de tat attempts, and possible assassination. Any one of those happening would already be bad. If more than one occurred? That would be a clear sign that the country itself was fundantally broken.
For now, though, I had to shelve those thoughts.
Winter break was over.
With it ca my third sester as a third-year cadet at the academy. The familiar rhythm of academy life crept back in—the schedules, the halls, the constant hum of students talking, training, arguing, laughing. It was strange how easily I slipped back into it after everything that had happened in the Great Forest.
At the sa ti, Princess Myrcella was deep in her own battles. She was working tirelessly to secure more votes from the academy’s administrators, all in an effort to finally implent her vision: graduating all cadets as magic knights, not just those in the Bronze Class. Out of the nine administrators currently overseeing the academy, three had finally co around and agreed with her. It still wasn’t enough to form a majority, but compared to where she started, it was progress.
Slow, frustrating progress—but progress nonetheless.
The problem was ti.
This was Myrcella’s final year at the academy. One sester left. That was all she had. After that, she’d be graduating, and whatever influence she still held within these walls would vanish. Despite the massive improvents in her leadership and the undeniable progress she’d made, it still wasn’t enough to earn her true credibility in their eyes. The administrators were cautious, conservative, and stubborn. Change scared them, especially when it ca from soone young.
I offered her my help. More than once.
She refused.
She told she could handle her own matters and that I should focus on mine first. It was her way of saying, This isn’t your fight. She did it politely, gracefully, without offense. It wasn’t that she didn’t want my help—she just knew how much I already had on my plate. She wasn’t willing to burden with sothing that was, ultimately, her responsibility.
"Hello, Leon. Good morning," Trill said.
Her voice pulled out of my thoughts.
"Looks like all of you had a good ti last night. I was completely wiped out, so I didn’t make it, but... good for the four of you, I suppose."
Her eyes flicked down to my arms.
Both of them were occupied—no, claid—by four girls clinging to without sha. Titania, Yr, Johanne, and Zeruel were pressed against my sides, their bodies warm, familiar, unapologetically close. They rubbed themselves against as if it were the most natural thing in the world, staking their presence with lazy, satisfied confidence.
The five of us had shared a fiveso last night.
After everything I’d gone through in the Great Forest—weeks of cold, exhaustion, and sleeping surrounded by nothing but trees and snow—it had been an experience I didn’t even try to downplay. Being able to fuck in a proper, comfortable bed again felt almost unreal. No frozen ground. No stiff muscles from the cold. Just warmth, softness, and bodies tangled together.
Right now, we were still basking in the afterglow of the sex. The air felt lighter. My body felt loose, relaxed in a way it hadn’t been in a long ti.
Trill, unfortunately, hadn’t been able to join us. She’d gone straight to sleep the mont her head hit the pillow.
"You don’t have to worry," I said to her. "I’ll make sure to give you plenty of loving today too."
"That’s a given," she replied, planting her hands on her hips and puffing out her cheeks like an annoyed pufferfish. "It’s been a while since you last did it with , after all."
She looked absurdly cute when she was mad like that. Almost dangerously so. It made want to tease her even more.
"More importantly," she continued, her tone shifting, "have you heard the rumors going around? Apparently, heroes from another world have been summoned."
"That’s right," Titania added, pressing closer to . "I forgot to tell you earlier because I was too horny to think about anything else, but I heard from Myrcella that people from another world were summoned to act as heroes for this world."
I already knew.
Myrcella had told herself.
Still, hearing it again made the weight of it settle deeper.
"I see..." was all I said.
"That’s it?" Trill asked, narrowing her eyes. "You’re not surprised?"
"Well," I replied, shrugging slightly, "now that I know other worlds exist, it’s not really shocking anymore. Zes, Chloe, and Zoey are all from another world. Even the Republic of Andras is being controlled by a military force from another world. Compared to all that, heroes being summoned doesn’t feel that out of place."
What mattered wasn’t that they ca from another world.
It was which world.
If they ca from the sa world I originally ca from... everything would change. That possibility alone made my chest tighten.
After all, that had always been my goal.
To return to my old world.
And to exact vengeance on the people who wronged my sister.
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