Chapter 490: A Heart Ready to Move Forward

A Heart Ready to Move Forward

Leon noticed it.

A faint smile touched his lips.

He slowly raised his hand and rested it on her head. His fingers slipped gently through her soft, silver-white hair.

"You’ve called me Teacher for so long," he said quietly. "If you suddenly changed it now, wouldn’t that feel strange?"

Selena blinked.

For a moment, she didn’t know how to answer.

Then a small smile appeared on her tear-stained face. It was shy and almost uncertain.

"But..." she murmured. "You said I shouldn’t keep living only in the past."

Leon’s smile grew a little deeper.

"That’s true."

He paused.

His hand remained gently on her head.

"Then, from now on, if you want to call me something different..."

He stopped there.

Instead, he looked straight into her eyes.

Selena’s eyes trembled.

She stared at him for a few seconds.

Then, slowly, she smiled.

"Then I’ll continue calling you Teacher."

"Teacher..."

She carefully repeated the word.

It sounded different this time.

Almost unfamiliar.

Yet there was something warm about it too.

Something that settled quietly in her chest.

As if, somewhere deep inside, she had been waiting to call him that for a very long time.

Leon simply looked at her.

He didn’t say anything.

After a moment, Leon reached out again.

His fingers gently brushed across her cheek.

A few tears still clung to her skin. He wiped them away one by one, his touch careful and warm.

"Selena."

"Yes?"

Her answer was soft.

She looked at him without turning away.

Leon watched her for a moment.

Then his expression grew a little more serious.

"There’s something else."

Selena blinked.

Her curiosity returned almost immediately.

"What is it?"

Leon’s gaze remained on her.

"About what you just confessed..."

The moment those words left his mouth, Selena’s face turned red.

The warmth spread quickly across her cheeks.

She lowered her eyes.

Suddenly, looking at him felt much harder than facing any enemy.

Leon noticed it.

A small smile appeared on his lips.

He couldn’t help it.

Her reaction was simply too obvious.

But he didn’t tease her.

Not now.

Instead, he spoke in a calm voice.

"We’ll talk about it properly once we return to the mountain."

Selena froze.

For a heartbeat, she didn’t move at all.

Then her heart began pounding.

Faster.

Much faster.

She slowly raised her eyes.

"Really?"

There was a hint of disbelief in her voice.

"Really."

Leon gently patted her head again.

"So don’t rush to think about it now."

Selena bit her lip lightly.

She didn’t know what to say.

A strange mixture of embarrassment, anticipation, and happiness stirred inside her chest.

After a moment, she gave a small nod.

"Okay..."

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Yet this time, there was something different in it.

The sadness was still there.

The wounds of the past had not magically disappeared.

Neither had the memories.

But beneath all of that sorrow, there was now a quiet happiness.

For so many years, Selena had been walking toward one destination.

Revenge.

She had carried that purpose through pain, loss, anger, and loneliness.

She had believed that once it was over, there would be nothing left for her.

But now...

She had finally taken revenge.

She had finally faced the past she had spent so long running toward.

And for the first time in many years, she could look beyond it.

There was something waiting for her.

Something she hadn’t allowed herself to imagine before.

A future.

Leon looked at her quietly.

He could see the change in her expression.

It was small.

Almost imperceptible.

But he noticed it.

"You’ve suffered enough."

His voice was quiet.

There was no grand declaration behind it.

Just simple sincerity.

"From now on, don’t live only for the past."

Selena’s fingers tightened slightly at her side.

She lowered her gaze.

Those words settled somewhere deep inside her heart.

For years, she had thought surviving meant carrying everything alone.

Every loss.

Every wound.

Every regret.

She had held onto them because letting go felt like betraying the people she had lost.

But perhaps...

Perhaps moving forward didn’t mean forgetting them.

Perhaps it simply meant allowing herself to live again.

Selena slowly nodded.

This time, she didn’t cry.

She didn’t need to.

She simply stood beside Leon.

Quietly holding onto his words.

After a long moment, Selena finally gave him a small, steady smile.

"I won’t."

Her voice was quiet.

She turned her gaze toward the distant sky.

Her parents were gone.

That pain would never truly disappear. She knew that now.

There would always be moments when the memories came back. Moments when the emptiness in her chest felt just as fresh as the day she had lost them.

But perhaps she no longer had to carry that pain by herself.

Slowly, Selena loosened her arms.

She stepped back from Leon.

Yet before she could fully move away, she stopped.

Her lips parted.

For a moment, she seemed to hesitate.

Then she whispered one last sentence.

"Thank you, my dear Teacher."

Leon smiled.

"You don’t need to thank me."

Selena shook her head.

"No."

Her eyes were still wet, but there was a quiet determination in them now.

"But I want to."

Leon looked at her for a moment.

He could see that she meant every word.

So he didn’t argue.

Instead, he gently raised his hand and rested it on top of her head once more.

"Sigh..."

Leon shook his head.

There was nothing more he needed to say.

Sometimes, words only made things heavier.

The silence between them was enough.

It had already been many days since Leon had left the mountain.

Now that the battle was finally over, his mind slowly began to drift toward something else.

The Amethyst Summit Division.

He wondered what was happening there now.

What were Rias and the others doing?

How had everything changed while he was away?

Leon turned his gaze toward the distant sky.

He had been gone for a long time.

Longer than he had expected.

A faint breeze passed through his hair as he stood there quietly.

This journey down the mountain had given him far more than he had originally imagined.

His strength had grown.

His understanding had deepened.

He had experienced battles that had pushed him further than before.

He had met people he would never forget.

And along the way, many things had changed.

Some of those changes were obvious.

Others were harder to put into words.

Leon lowered his eyes slightly.

But this was only the beginning.

There was still a long road ahead of him.

Once he returned to the mountain, Leon would need to properly consolidate everything he had gained during this journey.

There was a lot to him now.

Too much, perhaps.

Too many things he had seen. Too many things he had learned. Too many changes had taken place within him during this journey.

He still needed time to understand all of it.

And, perhaps more importantly, there were people waiting for him.

That thought made Leon’s expression soften.

He looked toward the distant horizon one last time.

The evening sky stretched endlessly before him. The last traces of light were fading beyond the mountains, leaving behind a quiet, dusky glow.

Leon stood there for a moment without saying anything.

Then he slowly turned his attention back to the road ahead.

There was still a long road waiting for him.

Whatever had happened during this journey was not the end.

If anything, it was only the beginning.

He still had things to prepare for.

The future would not wait for him.

And Leon knew better than anyone that the stronger he became, the greater the responsibilities waiting on his shoulders would be.

The thought brought a faint smile to his face.

It wasn’t a carefree smile.

It was the quiet smile of someone who had finally accepted that there was no turning back.

Leon turned toward Mike.

"Senior Brother Headmaster, I’ll bring my students back first."

Mike nodded.

"Okay. Take care, Junior Brother."

His gaze shifted toward Selena.

Then toward Rias.

The two girls looked exhausted after everything they had endured.

There was a faint warmth in Mike’s eyes.

"Your students have been through a lot today," he said. "Let them rest when you return."

Leon nodded.

"I will."

His answer was simple.

But his eyes naturally moved toward Selena and Rias.

They had both pushed themselves hard.

Far harder than they should have.

Leon knew that once they returned, the first thing they needed was rest.

Behind Mike, Shera remained silent.

He was also looking at Leon.

His expression was difficult to read.

There was gratitude there.

Guilt.

And something else that he couldn’t quite put into words.

There were many things Shera wanted to say.

He had thought about saying them several times.

Perhaps he should thank Leon.

Perhaps he should apologize.

Perhaps he should simply admit that he had been wrong.

But when the moment actually came, the words refused to leave his mouth.

His lips parted slightly.

Then closed again.

Shera lowered his gaze.

His thoughts drifted back to what had happened before.

He remembered the calamity.

He remembered how close he had come to losing everything.

And he remembered who had reached out his hand when he needed it most.

Leon.

The very person Shera had once stood against.

The very person he had once misunderstood.

Despite everything, Leon had still saved him.

Shera’s fingers slowly tightened at his side.

That debt weighed heavily on his heart.

It wasn’t something a simple thank-you could erase.

Nor was it something he could pretend had never happened.

He had once treated Leon as an enemy.

Now, because of Leon, he had been given another chance at life.

Shera didn’t know how he was supposed to repay something like that.

For a moment, he simply stood there.

Silent.

Perhaps some debts couldn’t be repaid with words.

Perhaps they needed time.

Perhaps they needed actions.

He quietly lowered his eyes.

Leon noticed.

Of course he did.

He had been watching Shera for several moments.

Their eyes met.

Only for a brief moment.

Neither of them spoke.

There was no need.

Leon understood what Shera was trying to say, even though the words had never left his mouth.

A faint smile touched Leon’s eyes.

Then he gave Shera a slight nod.

Nothing more.

But that single gesture was enough.

Shera’s eyes widened slightly.

He had expected Leon to say something. Perhaps a few words of reassurance. Maybe even a reminder of what had happened between them.

Instead, Leon had simply nodded.

It told Shera everything he needed to know.

Leon understood.

He wasn’t going to force Shera to explain himself.

He wasn’t going to keep dragging the past back into the light.

Whatever had happened between them was not something Leon intended to hold over his head forever.

Shera stared at him for another moment.

Then, slowly, the tension in his face faded.

His expression softened.

He lowered his eyes.

This time, however, something had changed.

There was no longer the same hesitation in them.

There was resolve.

Quiet and steady.

Perhaps some debts really couldn’t be repaid with a single apology.

Perhaps some things needed time.

Time to heal.

Time to prove oneself.

And perhaps, for now, that was enough.

Shera gave a small nod back.

The matter between them did not need any more words.

Leon understood.

Shera understood.

That was enough.

Leon turned away.

The wind rose gently across the mountain.

His black hair swept behind him, strands brushing against his shoulders as his robes fluttered in the breeze.

For a moment, Leon simply stood there.

Behind him were the battles.

The misunderstandings.

The things that had already happened and could never be changed.

Ahead of him was the mountain road.

His students were waiting.

His companions were waiting.

And beyond them lay the future.

Whatever awaited him there, Leon would face it when the time came.

He took the first step forward.

The journey home had begun.

Leon turned around and looked toward his students.

Selena had already composed herself.

Her blue eyes were still slightly red.

The traces of despair that had filled them earlier, however, were gone.

She stood quietly, watching Leon.

Beside her, Rias had been watching everything.

She said nothing at first.

Then a small, knowing smile appeared on her lips.

Rias walked over to Selena.

As she passed, she gently bumped her shoulder against hers.

Selena glanced at her.

Rias leaned closer.

"Senior Sister..."

Selena’s face immediately warmed.

"Don’t."

Rias blinked innocently.

"I didn’t say anything."

"You were about to."

A grin spread across Rias’s face.

"I was."

Selena gave her a helpless look.

She already knew exactly what Rias had been thinking.

There was no point arguing with her.

Leon watched the two girls from a short distance away.

The corner of his lips lifted slightly.

Then he spoke.

"Let’s go."

He turned around.

The next moment, Leon stepped forward and rose into the air.

His black hair streamed behind him as he flew toward the mountain path.

Selena and Rias exchanged one final glance.

Then they followed closely behind.

The three figures disappeared into the distance.

The mountain slowly fell silent once more.

Only the wind remained.