Chapter 14
Two days later, in the morning.
Leo and Celia headed for the docks at Lake Lumeria.
Wearing their Lumene uniforms, the two drew everyone’s attention.
“Oh? Lumene freshmen.”
“My, how fresh-faced they are.”
People on the street smiled and cheered them on.
At that moment, a fruit vendor tossed them two apples.
Leo caught them and smiled in thanks.
“Thank you!”
“Sure, good luck and study hard!”
Crunch—! Leo bit into an apple and handed the other to Celia, but she shook her head.
“I’m good.”
“Lumene really is impressive. People seem to like you here.”
“We’re the future.”
Heroes enjoy a lot of public support.
And Lumene students are hero candidates.
They follow in the footsteps of previous heroes, preparing for times when the world might face threats.
People cheer on these hero candidates.
“Even though Tartarus has been quiet lately, who knows when it’ll be a threat again. And—”
Celia stopped and lifted her chin.
“We can’t keep losing to Seiren forever!”
Humans and elves don’t get along well.
Because of that, the Elf Hero Academy, Seiren, and Lumene often hold exchange competitions for the sake of racial harmony.
Starting with quizzes like real students, then sports, and even mock battles to test their strength.
They compete in all kinds of ways, calling it the Lum-eiren, a prestigious event with centuries of history.
The Lum-eiren had a positive effect, helping ease relations between the two races to some extent.
But because national pride was at stake, students often risked everything in the competition.
In recent years, Lumene had been lagging behind Seiren.
“Just watch. I’ll flatten Seiren’s nose!”
“Yeah, yeah. Good luck.”
Leo gave a half-hearted cheer as Celia’s eyes blazed and she clenched her fist.
As they neared the docks, more freshmen appeared.
Flying through the air with staffs, riding summoned beasts—these were basics.
There were even students covered in all sorts of weapons.
“Everyone’s just trying to stand out.”
Celia shook her head.
Then, a boy with light orange hair blocked their path.
“Wait! Hey, you two, the guy and girl who look great together! Mind if I talk to you?”
“And you are?”
“My name’s Carr Thomas. I’m from the Moira Kingdom!”
“So?”
“It’s nothing big.”
With a grin, Carr pulled out business cards and smoothly handed them to Leo and Celia.
“From weapons to potions! Carr’s Shop! If you ever need anything for your classes, come see me!”
He winked, laughed brightly, and ran off to another student.
“There really are all kinds of weirdos.”
Celia put the card away, looking exasperated.
“I’m going to go meet some of the new students from our country.”
The Lordren Empire is the western continent’s powerhouse.
That meant plenty of new students from the empire.
“Go ahead, I’ll just look around for a bit.”
“Okay. Meet you at the docks later.”
After Celia left, Leo strolled around, people-watching.
The docks weren’t just full of freshmen; many families had come to celebrate too.
The sight of so many different cultures crowded together made Leo feel nostalgic.
‘Feels like Gardslone.’
The city known as the last bastion in the Age of Calamity.
And the city where Rishinas, with Kyle at the lead, fired the first shot in the counterattack against Erebos.
As Leo was lost in memory—
Thump—!
“Huh?”
A blonde girl, reading as she walked, didn’t see Leo and bumped her head into his back.
“Oh, sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
She apologized, then immediately went back to her book and walked away.
‘She’s going to bump into someone else like that… Hm?’
Leo noticed a card on the ground.
It was the student ID of the girl who’d just bumped into him, with her photo and the name Chloe Mueller.
He glanced around, but Chloe had already disappeared into the crowd.
‘I’ll return it when I see her next time.’
Freshmen are bound to meet again.
“Carr’s Shop! Get your business card here!”
Carr was handing out business cards to other freshmen nearby.
When he made eye contact with Leo, he grinned and came over.
“We meet again?”
“How’s the advertising going?”
“Not bad. But the high-and-mighty nobles and ladies don’t even look at me.”
“Isn’t that normal? Most Lumene students are nobles, so they barely pay attention.”
“Yeah, haha.”
Carr shrugged and laughed.
“Let me introduce myself again. Carr Thomas. I’m fifteen!”
“I’m Leo Plov. From the Delard Kingdom, same age as you.”
“A noble, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow, and you don’t seem to care that I’m a commoner?”
Leo smiled at Carr’s surprised tone.
“By the way, Delard Kingdom means you took the western exam, right? I heard it was brutal. Amazing that you passed!”
“It wasn’t easy.”
After that, Leo and Carr chatted.
Thanks to Carr’s outgoing nature, they became friends quickly.
“What’s your major? My family’s been alchemists for generations! So I’m going for Magic Studies.”
“I’m planning to take Magic Studies too.”
“Really? Then let’s be close, Leo!”
Carr beamed with joy.
Of course, Leo planned to study not only Magic, but Knight Studies and Summoning Studies as well.
While they chatted, a massive ship appeared through the mist over Lake Lumeria.
It was the vessel connecting Lumene and Lumeria.
“Wow! It’s huge!”
Carr exclaimed in awe.
After a moment, a silver-haired man in uniform stepped off the docked ship.
“All freshmen, gather!”
The freshmen, after saying goodbye to their families, gathered in front of the man.
“Headcount.”
Assistants waiting behind the man used a magic checker to verify the students’ IDs.
As Leo took out his student ID, he noticed a girl fumbling around, searching for something.
“Wait a sec.”
“Huh? Where are you going?” Carr followed behind.
Chloe, looking troubled, seemed puzzled when Leo approached.
“Here.”
“Huh?”
“You dropped this earlier.”
“Oh, thanks!”
Chloe grinned as she accepted the student ID Leo handed her.
“You saved me! I’m Chloe Mueller!”
“Chloe Mueller?”
Carr looked shocked.
“Chloe Mueller, the top scorer from the northern exam?”
“Yep. And you two?”
“I’m Leo Plov, and this guy is…”
“Carr Thomas! Weapons, potions—everything you need for classes! Here, have a business card!”
Carr quickly handed Chloe his card, getting right to his sales pitch.
Chloe, intrigued, said,
“A shop? Looks like you’re planning to be a supporter, huh?”
“Haha, see, that’s what makes the top student different! You figured it out right away.”
“I picked up a thing or two from the seniors at the Mage Tower.”
All Lumene students are called hero candidates and possess outstanding talent.
But even among them, there are differences.
Some students realize they lack the talent to be a hero during their time at school.
They become supporters—helping heroes, providing supplies, offering combat support.
They’re essential, but most students don’t pay much attention to the supporter role.
After all, everyone who enters Lumene dreams only of becoming a hero.
But it seemed Carr had chosen the supporter path from the start.
“Anyway, I just barely made the cutoff.”
“If your goods are good, I’ll be a regular.”
“Oh! Making connections with a top student already! I’m lucky today!”
Carr laughed heartily.
“Let’s stick together! We’re all in Magic Studies, right?”
“Magic Studies?”
Chloe tilted her head.
“You, sure, but you too?”
“Yeah.”
“Not Knight Studies?”
As expected of the top student, Chloe saw right away that Leo possessed Aura.
“I’m aiming for a double major.”
“What! You’re a magic swordsman? That’s amazing!”
Carr made a big fuss.
Though rare, students with two special talents are called dual class.
Lumene had quite a few dual class students.
Chloe just accepted Leo’s answer with a nod.
Meanwhile, a staff member came by to check all three of their IDs.
After the headcount, the staff stepped back and the silver-haired man in uniform came forward.
“I’m Professor Ain Elandieu from Lumene.”
“Ain Elandieu? The Knight of the Frozen Sea?”
“That’s Ain Elandieu!”
“I want his autograph!”
“Quiet!”
Ain silenced the excited students.
“We’ll move to Lumene now. Everyone, board the ship.”
“Yes, sir!”
* * *
Before the entrance ceremony, freshmen crowded the deck to take in the view.
As befitted a ship run by Lumene Academy, the deck was pure luxury.
It felt more like a social party than a ship deck.
World-class chefs served traditional dishes from various countries, delighting the freshmen’s palates and senses.
Even Professor Ain sat on deck, leisurely enjoying wine.
Dressed to the nines, silver-uniformed staff busily tended to the students, and the noble students were happy, laughing and mingling.
“Lumene Academy really is something else.”
“I’m looking forward to school life.”
The new students let their imaginations run wild about the life ahead.
Leo frowned at the sight.
“Something feels off.”
“What do you mean?”
Carr, with a plate piled high, looked at him curiously.
“It’s a hero academy, but it feels more like a party.”
“It’s just before the entrance ceremony. Anyway, Leo! I got some info.”
“Info?”
“Yeah! Look over there!”
Carr grinned, pointing to a big, dark-skinned boy eating quietly in a corner of the deck.
“That’s Walden Thaiden! Top scorer from the southern exam, and he’s majoring in Summoning!”
“A spirit mage, huh.”
“That’s right. Did you check ahead of time?”
Leo didn’t bother to correct him; he could tell at a glance.
“And over there’s the eastern top scorer, Chen Xia!”
The small girl with black hair and eyes was tasting foods from other countries with a curious look.
“She’s majoring in Knight Studies and apparently beat all her competitors in the exam with her fists.”
Carr shook his head in disbelief and then pointed the other way.
“That’s the central exam’s top student. Our kingdom’s third prince, Duran Moira. Knight Studies major.”
A blond boy gently swirled his wine glass, surrounded by friends.
Carr made a face and pointed next to Leo.
“And the northern top scorer.”
Chloe was munching cake while reading a book.
“There are two top students from the west: the famous Celia Zerdinger and Abad Lewellin.”
“Leo, here you are?”
Celia approached.
“Hey, Celia.”
“Celia? Wait! You mean Celia Zerdinger?”
“That’s right.”
“Leo, the girl you’re close with is Celia Zerdinger? That’s huge!”
Carr grinned and held out his hand to Celia.
“Like I said earlier, I’m Carr Thomas!”
“Hm? Got close fast, I see? I’m Celia Zerdinger.”
Celia shook Carr’s hand and looked at Chloe.
“And you?”
“I’m Chloe Mueller.”
“The top scorer from the north?”
“That’s me.”
Chloe smiled confidently.
Celia studied her for a moment, then asked Leo,
“What are you thinking about?”
“It’s just… This isn’t the image I had of the academy.”
Lumene is known for training the best into heroes.
School life there is famous for being brutal, and the dropout rate is very high.
So it felt strange for them to be treated to a luxurious cruise before the entrance ceremony.
“Even at Lumene, would they really put the students through the wringer before they even start?”
“You’re overthinking it,” Celia agreed with Carr.
At that moment—
Boom—!
The ship shook violently.
“Maybe not.”
“What’s going on?”
As Leo muttered, something shot up from the lake.
Splash!
“Kyaaa! What is this?!”
“A kraken?”
“A kraken? What is going on?!”
A giant squid tentacle slammed onto the deck, throwing the party into chaos and sending the students into panic.
“P-professor Ain! Help us!”
A girl ran to Ain, pleading for help.
Ain frowned.
“Help you? Why should I?”
