Chapter 158
Swoosh—!
The ferry sliced through Lumeria Lake, heading toward Lumene.
Students from each academy gathered on deck, chatting with one another.
But the overall mood was poor.
After all, they’d just witnessed a student get expelled moments ago.
“Excuse me.”
An Ecorte student carefully approached Chen Xia, one of the supervising students.
“What is it?”
“What’s the name of the professor who just expelled Sirina?”
“That would be Professor Ain.”
“Gasp!”
The Ecorte students looked shocked at Chen Xia’s answer.
Ain Elandieu.
Famous as the Knight of the Frozen Sea, none of them had imagined he’d come as just a supervising professor.
“If someone like him is a supervising teacher, does that mean we’ll be learning from him?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Amazing! That’s Lumene for you!”
“To think we get to learn from the Knight of the Frozen Sea!”
The gloomy mood vanished in an instant.
Where else could they possibly take a class from someone like Ain?
Students from Emeral and Scaun were just as awed, since their supervising professors were Len and Yura.
All three academies’ students reacted with excitement.
As the tense mood lifted, the ferry drew closer to Lumene.
When the thick mist cleared and the enormous Lumene Academy appeared, students from the three academies gasped in admiration.
“That’s Lumene Academy.”
“The place where hero candidates study.”
Some swallowed nervously.
Among them, some gazed at the academy with yearning in their eyes.
Those were the students hoping to enroll at Lumene.
Once they docked, the students poured off the boat and headed for the school.
“Nothing special here.”
“Looks ordinary, doesn’t it?”
“I think our school is nicer.”
Amidst those voices, they entered the main auditorium of the first-year classroom building.
Professor Sedgen stood on the stage, and the first-year Lumene students were seated by department.
“Welcome, students from the three academies. I am Sedgen.”
When Professor Sedgen spoke in a low voice, the room became noisy again.
“Sedgen? The famous professor from Lumene?”
“I heard so many heroes have come from under his guidance…”
“Amazing… Incredible!”
Exclamations of admiration burst out, and Sedgen let out a small chuckle.
“Take your seats. Ecorte to the left, Emeral in the center, Scaun on the right.”
Following Sedgen’s instructions, the visiting students sat with tense faces.
‘We’re sitting right next to Lumene students.’
‘I never thought a day like this would come.’
Just sitting with students lauded as hero candidates was enough to make their hearts race.
But some were thinking differently.
‘Just how different am I from these guys?’
Some of the visiting students were preparing to apply to Lumene, while others had failed multiple times and ended up at one of the three academies instead.
Many, having been considered the best among their peers growing up, found it hard to accept their current situation.
Admiration and jealousy mixed together as Sedgen spoke.
“Welcome, everyone. I am very pleased that such a meaningful event has been arranged. Though the time is short, I hope you will use this chance to share values and take a step forward together.”
Sedgen looked over the students as he spoke.
“I hope this will be a time for you to gain much. That is all.”
—
The students from Ecorte, Emeral, and Scaun followed Lumene’s department schedule exactly.
Even though they were invited as guests, Lumene had no intention of changing their academic schedule for them.
The first order of business was to mix all 600 students and assign them to new classes.
Although the three prestigious academies were grouped together, there were actually very few points of contact between Ecorte, Emeral, and Scaun students.
At Lumene, departments were often mixed in the same class, but students from other academies almost never interacted.
There was a sense of rivalry, but actual exchange was rare.
So when 60 students from the other academies were grouped together, a very awkward atmosphere developed.
“Wow, talk about awkward,” Carr muttered in the classroom, leaning deep against the backrest and supporting his head with his hands.
Rocking his chair, Carr grinned.
“I can’t just sit around watching!”
The ever-friendly Carr suddenly jumped up from his seat.
The students of Class 5 watched as if they were used to his antics, but the other academy students focused on Carr’s actions, not understanding what he was up to.
Stride—stride— Carr walked up to the podium.
“Hey there! I’m Carr Thomas! Fifteen years old! Magic Department!”
Carr grinned.
“It’s a short time, but we’re classmates now, so let’s get along! And speaking of which!”
He pulled a potion bottle from his subspace and placed it on the teacher’s desk.
Thud—!
“This is my special fatigue recovery potion! It’s a hit not only with first years, but even the upperclassmen love it!”
Ever since the start of the semester, Carr’s fatigue recovery potion had become famous for its effectiveness.
Thanks to that, not only first years, but also second and third years regularly sought it out.
“It’s going to be a tough few days, so for you guys, I’ll be selling it at a special discount. This isn’t an opportunity that comes every day!”
The other academy students looked baffled.
A hero candidate selling goods out of nowhere?
But Class 5 looked completely used to it.
“Carr, does that mean you’ll sell it to us cheaper too?”
Eliana’s eyes sparkled as she asked, but Carr shook his head.
“Nope.”
“Hey! That’s discrimination!”
“Boo—!”
“Sellout!”
“Did you forget your roots?!”
Class 5 booed loudly.
Carr just laughed it off—”Can’t hear you!”—with his usual shameless grin.
Watching, the tense students from the other academies started to laugh too.
Just then—
“You’re Carr Thomas, right?”
A boy in an Ecorte uniform sitting near the back smirked.
“I’ll use honorifics since I’ll be joining Lumene next year, so you’ll be my senior.”
“That’s an honor, but who are you?”
“Haviden Birsen.”
“The crown prince of the Birsen Kingdom?”
Carr looked surprised.
The Birsen Kingdom.
A powerful nation in the north known for its famed knight orders.
In particular, the leaders of the two great orders—Winter Knights and Snow Knights—were heroes whose names appeared in the Hero Record.
Haviden had learned under them and was recognized for his talent as a knight from a young age.
He was considered the biggest shot among the Ecorte students.
“Truly an honor.”
“Yes, take it as such. But you see…”
Haviden spoke awkwardly as he scratched his cheek.
“I came to meet my Lumene seniors, not a merchant. You’re a commoner, aren’t you, senior?”
“Yeah. And?”
“Ha. To think a lowly commoner is showing off. Are there no proper nobles or royals in this class?”
“Guess I made you uncomfortable, Your Highness.”
Carr grinned slyly.
Haviden’s eyes twitched at Carr’s attitude.
“Don’t get cocky just because you’re a Lumene student. I’ll be one too next year.”
“I wasn’t being cocky.”
“Ha. A lowly commoner, getting ahead of himself.”
Haviden gave an exasperated smile.
His approach was distinctly different from Sirina’s earlier.
He wasn’t out to challenge the authority of a professor, or break any rules.
Nor was he looking to antagonize famous students.
Since he wanted to get into Lumene, he knew flaunting his status would be foolish.
But Carr openly ignored him.
‘To think someone with that little mana could still be at Lumene. By the time I enroll, he’ll be long gone. Even if he’s still here, he’s in the Magic Department, so we won’t have anything to do with each other.’
Minimizing trouble was wise, but as someone who’d spent his life above others, Haviden had no patience with Carr.
“Shouldn’t you take your merchant act to the marketplace instead?”
Carr shrugged and started to put away the potion bottles when—
“If you don’t like it, you can leave! This is our class, and you’re not even a Lumene student, so why act like you own the place?”
Haviden’s eyes twitched.
The girl who’d stood up was famous.
“Chelsea Lewellin.”
Haviden curled his lip.
She was out of his league.
Even if they were from different countries, the gap between royalty and the direct line of the Lewellin family was huge.
The Lewellin line supported the vast Lordren Empire in the west.
Not only that, but Chelsea was renowned for her individual skill.
She was a globally recognized first year.
But Haviden refused to back down.
He was extremely confident in his own abilities.
Plus, Chelsea was a mage and his age.
Knowing that, Haviden saw her as a rival.
“Sticking up for your classmate, huh?”
“Hmph. I’m just annoyed you’re being rude to my friend.”
“Friend? A commoner?”
“Who cares if they’re a commoner or a noble? Ugh—disgusting.”
Chelsea stuck her tongue out in disgust at Haviden.
Haviden’s eyes twitched again.
“Chelsea.”
Carr looked moved.
“I’ll give you a 50% discount coupon.”
“Hey! Way to ruin the mood!”
Chelsea shouted, kicking Carr’s butt repeatedly.
“Unbelievable,” Haviden muttered, curling his lip.
“If you’re so bothered, why not prove it with your skills?”
Everyone turned toward the voice.
There stood Leo.
Haviden’s eyes twitched.
“Skills, you say?”
“Yeah. You seem to be underestimating Carr’s abilities.”
Leo curled his lip.
“If you’re so confident, why not see for yourself what Lumene students can do?”
“Hoh.”
Haviden let out an impressed sound.
“Sounds good. But I won’t be fighting Carr.”
He glanced at Chelsea.
“I want to spar with Chelsea Lewellin.”
“You’re kidding. Know your place.”
“Go ahead,” Leo said.
“Huh? Leo!”
Chelsea’s eyes widened as she looked at Leo.
“Chelsea, go for it! Show him what Lumene is made of!”
“You should be the one showing off, not me!”
Chelsea glared and punched Carr in the chest.
“In that case, my friend will fight Carr.”
Haviden glanced at another Ecorte student beside him.
A boy nearly a head and a half taller than Carr.
“Alright.”
Leo nodded.
Haviden stared at Leo.
“I’d like to see Leo Plov’s skills too. I want to know just how amazing that All-Class title really is.”
Leo laughed.
“Isn’t it overkill for me to fight someone like you?” (T/N: Ooooooooohhhh. Burnnnnnnn!)
“What do you mean…?”
“I don’t want to waste my time sparring with someone who’s not even on my level.”
“Ugh!”
Haviden’s eyes burned with anger.
“If I beat Chelsea Lewellin, you’re next!”
“My, you sure dream big.”
Chelsea stuck out her tongue and shouted fiercely.
“You’ll regret picking a fight with me when you don’t even know your place!”
—
“I don’t think this is a good idea. There’s been too much attention lately.”
“I know. Let’s just keep it brief.”
“Then get to the point.”
“Tell me the exact location of the target.”
At the eerie voice, she let out a laugh.
“Looks like this wretched mission is finally coming to an end. Good.”
Wearing a relieved expression, she replied in a cold voice.
“It’s in the very center of the main relic storeroom at the Grand Library. I’ll draw you a map soon.”
“Alright. May the blessing of the Great Black Flame be with you.”
“May the blessing of the Great Black Flame be with you.”