Edwin Lunar Chapter 75: A Hero's Burden

Read chapter 75 of Edwin Lunar by MananTayal on NovelPedia.

The next morning, Edwin quickly realized something. Saving reality had consequences. A lot of consequences. And none of them involved fighting cosmic monsters. The moment he entered the academy courtyard; dozens of students surrounded him. "Edwin!" "Can I get your autograph?" "Is it true you fought the Devourer?" "Did you really enter the Final Expanse?" "How strong are you now?" "What does the Unity Flame look like?" "Can you show us?" "Can you destroy a mountain?" Carl immediately took several steps backward. "Good luck." Traitor. Within seconds Edwin was trapped. Students crowded around him from every direction. Some wanted stories. Others wanted advice. Several simply wanted to see the hero who had saved the galaxy. Edwin understood why. Yet it still felt strange. Only a year ago he had been an ordinary academy student. Now people looked at him the same way he once looked at Wingard. As a legend. And he hated it. Because he knew the truth. Legends were just people. People who made mistakes. People who were afraid. People who didn't always know what they were doing. After nearly fifteen exhausting minutes, Iris finally rescued him. "Move." The crowd immediately stepped aside. Apparently even heroes feared Iris when she was annoyed. Edwin silently thanked her. "You owe me." "I know." "Several desserts." "I know." The group entered the academy's central hall. The enormous chamber buzzed with activity. Students rushed between classes. Professors discussed schedules. Military officers moved through the building preparing for advanced training programs. Life had returned to normal. Or at least the academy's version of normal. Then a voice echoed through the hall. "Edwin Lunar." The entire room fell silent. Hundreds of students turned. At the far end of the chamber stood Headmaster Humming. The old headmaster looked exactly the same as ever. Tall. Straight-backed. And permanently disappointed in everyone. Including himself. "Come with me." No explanation. No greeting. Just an order. Classic Humming. Carl immediately whispered. "You're being executed." "I'm not." "You might be." "I'm not." "We'll miss you." Lucien nodded. "Probably." "I hate all of you." Several minutes later Edwin followed Humming through a series of corridors. Neither spoke. Which was unusual. Normally Humming would already be criticizing something. Eventually they entered the headmaster's office. The door closed behind them. Humming walked toward the large window overlooking the academy. For a while he simply stood there. Watching the students below. Then he finally spoke. "You have become very popular." Edwin groaned. "Please don't remind me." To his surprise, Humming smiled. Very slightly. The expression lasted less than a second. But it was there. "Fame is dangerous." Edwin looked up. The seriousness in Humming's voice immediately caught his attention. "People no longer see you as a student." "They see you as a symbol." The headmaster turned toward him. "And symbols carry burdens." Edwin remained silent. Because he knew Humming was right. "When your father became famous, everything changed." The mention of Wingard immediately sharpened Edwin's focus. Humming rarely spoke about him. Very rarely. "He stopped being treated like a person." Humming continued. "Everyone expected perfection." "Everyone expected miracles." "And eventually..." The old headmaster paused. "He started expecting them from himself." Something about those words felt personal. Almost painful. "Did he struggle with it?" Edwin asked quietly. For a moment Humming looked away. As if remembering something. "More than anyone realized." Silence filled the room. Finally Humming moved toward his desk. He activated a holographic display. Several academy reports appeared. Student rankings. Training evaluations. Mission records. At the very top stood one name. Edwin Lunar. "You are now the strongest student in academy history." Edwin blinked. "What?" "It is not particularly close." That wasn't what he