The World Is Mine For The Taking-Chapter 1172 - 179 - A Miraculous Reunion (2)

Leon’s POV

The message from Myrcella hit me like a hammer to the chest. It was short, rushed, and carried a kind of weight that didn’t need extra words to explain itself. Something had happened with the heroes. Something bad. I didn’t waste a second. I gathered myself and moved immediately, pushing my body and mana to get to their location as fast as I could.

When I arrived, the atmosphere alone told me everything I needed to know.

The air felt wrong. Heavy. Like the aftermath of a storm that had torn through and left nothing but wreckage behind. The ground bore signs of chaos—disturbed earth, broken equipment, scattered traces of a struggle that had clearly ended poorly. It was an awful sight, one that settled deep in my gut and refused to leave.

I hadn’t heard about any of this earlier because, frankly, I was distracted. I had been having sex with Erica and the Starry Knights last night, completely cut off from the outside world. I had no alerts, no reports, and nothing. By the time Myrcella finally managed to contact me, whatever happened here had already unfolded.

"Leon!"

My name was practically torn out of her throat the moment she saw me. Myrcella came rushing toward me, still wearing her sleepwear. The fabric looked thin and rumpled, completely out of place in a scene like this. That alone told me how sudden everything had been. She hadn’t even stopped to change.

She reached me and wrapped her arms around me immediately. The hug was tight, desperate, and so sudden that I didn’t even have time to think before my body reacted. I felt her shaking slightly.

"Thank goodness you’re here," she said, her voice unsteady.

Before I could respond properly, someone else stepped into my view.

"Oh, it’s been a while," I said, forcing a small, tired smile.

"It really has."

Shredica stood there in a magic knight uniform. The armor fit her surprisingly well, both practically and visually. There was something about the way she carried herself now. She was more grounded and more composed, I guess. I hadn’t expected to see her here at all, and that alone made the situation feel even heavier.

"I’ve already been briefed on the situation," I said, shifting into focus. "My people are already working on tracking where the bandits escaped to."

I watched Myrcella closely as I spoke. Relief washed over her face, but it didn’t last long. Worry lingered underneath it, and it was stubborn and impossible to hide. I didn’t need her to explain why. She had already told me earlier. The one who had been kidnapped was her disciple. Anyone in her position would be terrified.

"P-Princess Myrcella."

That voice.

The moment it reached my ears, my entire body stiffened.

I was twenty years old in this world now. I had lived here for two full decades. I had built a life, relationships, as well as memories. And yet, despite all of that, there was absolutely no way I could forget that voice.

Slowly, almost unwillingly, I turned my head toward the source.

The instant I saw her, it felt like something inside me cracked apart.

Of course.

That possibility had always existed, hadn’t it?

The chances were unbelievably small, almost laughable to think about—but never zero. There was always the chance that someone summoned to this world would be someone I knew from my past life.

"Hasegawa-sensei...?"

The name slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it. My voice was quiet. It was barely more than a breath. Thankfully, she didn’t hear me. She was still a short distance away, focused entirely on Myrcella.

Myrcella, on the other hand, caught the words immediately. She glanced at me, but she didn’t say anything. For that, I was grateful.

"T-Thank goodness you’re here..." Hasegawa-sensei said, her voice trembling as she addressed Myrcella. "Um, A-Asada-san... Asada-san was kidnapped... W-We... we need your help."

The moment she said that name, my thoughts froze.

My mind went completely blank.

I hadn’t thought of Kaori right away. How could I have? Twenty years had passed for me. I assumed she had long since graduated. That Hasegawa-sensei was simply teaching a new group of students.

But hearing that name again, spoken like that, pulled me straight back into memories I thought I had already buried.

I didn’t understand what was happening. Maybe time here didn’t flow the same way it did on Earth. Maybe months there were years here—or the other way around. Nothing made sense anymore.

"Leon?"

Myrcella’s voice broke through my thoughts. She was looking at me with concern now, clearly noticing how shaken I’d become.

"Are you okay?"

I met her gaze. She looked worried, genuinely worried, and that alone helped ground me.

"Yeah," I said after a brief pause. "I’m fine." I took a breath. "Myrcella, I’m going to pursue the kidnappers. Can you stay here with the others and heal their wounds?"

She studied my face for a moment, as if weighing something internally. Then she nodded.

"Alright."

She trusted me. She always had.

Now the only question was whether I’d be fast enough.

These were bandits. There was no guarantee they were just holding their captive. The worst possibilities crept into my mind no matter how much I tried to push them away.

"I’m coming with you," Shredica said firmly.

I looked at her, searching her expression for hesitation. There was none. After a moment, I nodded.

While all of this was happening, Hasegawa-sensei suddenly ran toward me. Before I could react, she grabbed my hands tightly.

Her hands were cold. That was the first thing I noticed. The second was how different they felt. The softness I remembered from my past life was still there, but layered over it were callouses—proof of months spent surviving and enduring in a world far harsher than the one we came from.

That single touch shattered any remaining illusion that this might be a dream.

"Please, sir... please..." she said, her voice breaking completely now. Her eyes were red, tears streaming freely down her cheeks. "Save my student..."

I didn’t have an answer right away. The weight of her plea pressed down on me harder than any enemy ever could.

As she spoke, several of her students ran up to her. I recognized some of their faces instantly. Even after all this time, they were familiar. For me, twenty years had passed. For them, it looked like only months had gone by since my death.

That alone convinced me—time truly did move differently between worlds.

"I’ll save her," I said at last, my voice steady despite everything. "Don’t worry."

I turned toward Shredica, and without another word, she headed straight for her wyvern. I hadn’t known she’d managed to tame one, but right now, that detail didn’t matter.

"Hop on, Leon," she said, already climbing up. "It’s much easier to search from above."

I exhaled slowly.

Well. At least I wouldn’t be walking.

With that, I mounted the wyvern behind her, gripping tightly as its wings spread wide, ready to carry us toward whatever awaited next.