Edea Chronicle: Hero Summoning Conspiracy

125 SS4: A Walk to Remember

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Note: I think it's pretty self-explanatory when this takes place.

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"What's the matter Tsuna?" Kou was surprised at his friend's reaction after reading the contents of his grandson's letter. He had never seen anything that surprised this man before, not even guns pointed at him would make him feel anxious, rather it just made this crazy friend of his even more excited.

Kou wasn't one to shy away from danger but he was like a child compared to this friend of his. Tsuna would of course deny this and say that he would react just like a normal person if he thought it would be dangerous. This unbelievable statement just made Kou even more confused as to what Tsuna would even consider as 'dangerous'.

"If I'm not mistaken.. your grandson isn't even a decade old yet right?" Tsuna picked up his pipe from the ground and faced his old friend. What he read was something he thought had been unbelievable.

"Yeah.." Kou didn't know why Tsuna took a sudden interest in Kazuya. "(Did that brat say something inappropriate?)" was his initial thought.

"Did something happen to him that caused him to change?" Tsuna went direct to the point which caught Kou off guard. Tsuna rarely showed interest in individuals so why was he so interested in Kazuya now?

"Well.." Kou didn't hide anything and explained what Jirou told him. Kazuya's sudden memory loss that changed the boy and the plot of the Kuroganes by putting Lee in their midst.

"I see.." Tsuna frowned. For a boy that was barely six years old to have been summoned in Edea. It was no wonder that the boy changed.

He of all people should know what it was like to be a summoned hero. Although it had been a long while ago, Tsuna was suddenly thrown into an unknown world where his help was needed. He had been summoned when he was younger but compared to Kazuya, who was summoned in that age? He couldn't imagine how the boy could have handled such a responsibility.

"Wait here" he stood up and smiled wryly at Kou. "I'll get ready to come with you to meet with this godson of mine."

Tsuna was thinking about a lot of things when he got himself ready. He never expected for someone else to be summoned after him especially since everything seemed fine when he left 'that world'. He already figured that time flowed differently in that world so he wondered how long it had been since he left.

What Kazuya wrote in his letter was simple. It was an invite to meet from a successor to his predecessor. The fact that it had been written in ancient elven language already proved that it was authentic. No one could duplicate the text in the modern era, much less write them with infused mana.

But if there was one thing Tsuna learned from his time in another world that had a civilization that wasn't as developed as Earth's and it was to always be careful. He asked Kou a lot of things about Kazuya to make sure that it was indeed written by him and not someone else who might be luring him into a trap by using his acquaintances.

By the time Tsuna and Kou reached the bottom of the mountain, he had more or less confirmed that Kou's grandson was indeed the one who wrote the letter. It wasn't possible for anyone else to have written such a convincing letter because no one in their world would know of the elves in Edea. These were especially in the case of the enemies that Tsuna was guarding himself against.

The boy was able to beat up his own grandfather and even used a ruse to explain his control over the elements. It was indeed clever camouflage but it still contained some risks if those who had keen eyes knew what they were looking for. This reminded Tsuna of when he first came back, it was like he was almost never gone but he was able to gain much knowledge and experience in the process.

"Looks like those people against you are being quite careful this time" Tsuna laughed after pointing out the number of people that began to observe them as soon as they entered the public's eyes.

"That old rat's methods haven't changed" Kou sighed. He figured that they would probably be observed all the way back to their town. He even expected to be delayed because the enemy they were dealing with didn't hesitate to use despicable means as long as they were able to do what they were assigned to do.

"The situation of your family is now tickling my curiosity" Tsuna laughed. "I want to know just how much your grandson has made them take losses"

"Huh? How did you know that the Kuroganes took losses?" Kou was surprised. This hermit friend of his rarely went down from the mountain so he was out of touch with the real world.

"From what I've heard about my godson so far, it seems that my assumption was correct" Tsuna grinned. "Looks like this really will be an interesting trip"

"I don't get it" Kou grumbled. "(Was there something I failed to understand?)" Kou pondered because he was already used to being called slow and insensitive by his peers.

"Why don't we give those enemies of yours a surprise? While we're at it, you should take up my offer and get stronger yourself" Tsuna suggested. "Not only do you have such a promising grandson, the way I see it your enemies probably won't be able to stay in their high position for long so your clan's future is very promising" he encouraged.

"I don't get what you mean" Kou never really understood this friend of his sometimes. Though he is probably the strongest and the wisest person he knew, he still had a bad habit of explaining things in a weird and roundabout way.

"It's simple. We're going to lose those observers by taking a different path" Tsuna gave a mischievous smirk. "We'll walk all the way back to H prefecture" he grabbed Kou's arm pulled him before the old man could respond. This immediately alarmed those who were observing them but they had no idea where their targets went off to.

They called to ask their informants by using the surveillance cameras around the area but this was a fruitless endeavor because they would later find out that aside from a weird blur from the footage, they wouldn't find anything else related to the two that once stood before their eyes.

"I wish I could have seen those guys' faces. HAHAHA" Kou laughed heartily as he massaged his arm. The pain was well worth it because they not only lost the observers, the reports they were going to send to Kurogane Tenma would make the paranoid old man start overthinking of what their plans were.

"We have a lot of time so as we walk, I'll be explaining all the things you need to know" Tsuna touched Kou's arm and healed the bruise that was caused by him earlier.

This wasn't the first time that Kou witnessed Tsuna perform magic so he wasn't surprised. Rather, he felt more interested in the topic after hearing that his grandson had the same abilities as this reliable friend of his. Who wasn't interested in those sorts of abilities if they were given a choice?

Kou listened intently and even thought of ways on how to get back at his grandson for being shamefully treated. He didn't care and was petty that he was schooled by his own grandson. It was his pride as the grandfather who was supposed to have authority over that rebellious grandson of his.

Tsuna was already aware of how naturally talented Kou was so it came to no surprise that he was able to understand things naturally. Kou already learned the basics and openly used it in his misadventures as an explorer. His basics were pretty solid so it took little time for Kou to be upgraded into something that required him to actually do something.

"Your first task is simple, I want you to carry this cane of mine on your back until I let you transfer it over to another part of your body" Tsuna handed over the weapon in his hand.

"Oooofff!" Kou was caught off guard. The weapon Tsuna carried with one hand actually felt like it weighed a ton on Kou's back. If his back or body wasn't as tough as it was today, Kou felt like his back would have been already broken for sure.

Kou grit his teeth and focused his mana like what this mischievous friend of his taught him. Slowly, he was able to stand straight as he supported the weapon that didn't seem so simple now that he had carried it. This answered a few questions on how Tsuna was able to effortlessly break walls without breaking a sweat. Not only was his strength inhuman, so was his weapon.

"Now then, shall we continue our talk as we go?" Tsuna urged Kou on and made him spill more about Kazuya.

Kou wasn't as stupid as he looked. He knew why Tsuna was doing this because of the old lessons he used to give. What he needed to do was to get used to the weight he had been carrying as if it was normal and to let his body circulate the increased amount of mana in the process.

Tsuna didn't befriend Kou just because of his strong affinity towards mana. What made him like this person was his strong and righteous sense of character. That is why he felt a little pity towards this friend of his when he found out what had happened to him after he got back to his home. To him, though Kou was indeed mischievous, there was something deeper that made Kazuya react so strongly.

He felt a little bad for the boy. He must have been through so much for him to be that overprotective over his family. Kazuya's aggressiveness said a lot about him and what he had experienced and it wasn't something that a boy his age should have gone through. Tsuna couldn't help but curse at those Edeans who didn't spared such a boy from shouldering such a heavy responsibility.

Tsuna wished he could go back to Edea and beat the living daylights out of those who made such decisions. He didn't fight their war for them so that they could take advantage of another earthling when the need arises. It wasn't that Tsuna didn't understand the plight of those who previously summoned him. The fact that they involved a six year old boy was a testament to how selfish those humans in Edea really were.

Time passed by quickly as the two made their way slowly towards the H prefecture. They avoided places that would attract attention and Tsuna made it so that this travel was prepare Kou for the likely upcoming trouble he predicted would eventually come.

"You seem to be quite interested in my grandson old friend" Kou commented after they had travelled quite a long way. He already had gotten used to carrying Tsuna's weapon to the point that he could carry it comfortably with both hands while having a conversation.

"Didn't you say that Jirou has taken a liking to him as well? Why can't I?" Tsuna scoffed. He knew that Kou was trying to fish for information regarding Kazuya. It wasn't his secret to tell so if Kazuya didn't mention anything, neither would he.

"You're seriously comparing yourself to Jirou?" Kou couldn't believe that Tsuna actually tried to compare himself to someone that could be considered normal.

"We're both humans so what's wrong with that? My godson is quite the interesting topic since he was even able to kick you out of your own house" Tsuna mocked Kou who was really sensitive over this topic. "Your daughter shares the same aptitude as you so I'm looking forward to seeing her too" he laughed.

"My daughter is too young for you!" Kou lashed out. He may not have seemed like it but he used to be an overprotective father. "You may look young but we all know that your appearance hasn't changed ever since we met you. Who knows how old you really are" Kou sighed.

"With your connections, it would be easy to find old records of me. It's not like I've hidden anything, Even those from the Kurogane camp might have already studied my identity and wet their pants" Tsuna laughed out loud. Truly the fear he struck on the Kurogane Clan when he first showed himself to support Kou left a deep impression upon the current head.

"I don't like prying into other people's businesses when it is not needed" Kou shook his head. Though he was indeed curious, he didn't want that to be the cause of their friendship to fall apart. Something must have caused Tsuna to relocate in the mountains all those years ago but he wouldn't prey too much about it because everyone had their own secrets to keep.

"Come to think of it, didn't you and Jirou have an agreement that his granddaughter and your grandson would be the ones to connect your two families in the future?" Tsuna asked. "Though I personally think that Komori's granddaughter would be more suitable for him now considering his abilities, Jirou's granddaughter only has a slight difference.

"Ugh.. don't remind me" Kou shuddered. "Those two have been fighting like cats and dogs whenever I see them. This is all because of this grandson of mine who impressed those two so much in so little time.

"Stop evading the topic and answer my question. Are you going to stick to that agreement or not?"

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