Chapter 162
Shasha looked at Leo, momentarily wearing a bewildered expression.
Not only Shasha, but everyone around them looked the same.
“What did you just say…?”
Shasha asked, looking flustered.
“I called you a cheeky brat,” Leo replied.
Shasha stood there dumbfounded.
“You… how dare you say that to the Crown Princess!”
Varden tried to shout in outrage, but Shasha raised her hand and stopped him.
Then, staring at Leo with her golden eyes, she asked,
“Is there something you don’t like about me as your lord?”
“Like or dislike, why would I be your vassal? We’re not even from the same country.”
“That’s because your maternal family is the Zerdinger. While you’re from the Delard Kingdom, you’re also connected to the Lordren Empire.”
At Shasha’s words, the students in the library widened their eyes.
“Leo Plov’s maternal family is the Zerdinger?”
“Wait. So that means he’s related to Celia Zerdinger?”
“No wonder… I thought they were dating, but it turns out they’re relatives.”
Even the Lordren Empire students were surprised.
“This is big news! Huge!”
At that moment, a student from what looked like the newspaper club dashed out of the library, excitement written all over their face.
‘By tomorrow, the rumor will be everywhere.’
It was something the Zerdinger family would announce soon anyway, so it wasn’t a problem.
‘Still, it doesn’t feel great to have my business outed like this. And so what if my mother’s side is Zerdinger? What are they going to do about it?’
Leo continued to look at the princess before him with a bored gaze.
The princess, who had always lived at the top of a great imperial power, took it for granted that she was Leo’s lord.
Flick—
Shasha snapped open a red fan from her sleeve and narrowed her eyes.
“Hmm— I see.”
“What now?”
“I haven’t yet shown you my worth as your lord, have I?”
Nodding as if she understood, Shasha smiled with her eyes.
“You want me to prove it, right? That I’m worthy to be your lord.”
Snap—
Closing her fan, Shasha lifted the corners of her lips.
“How impressive. Certainly, to recruit an unprecedented all-class vassal, I need to prove my value first.”
Having completely convinced herself, Shasha nodded.
“Fine. During this joint class, I’ll prove my worth to you. Hohohoho!”
With that, Shasha swept out of the library.
The Lordren Empire students hurried after her.
As soon as Shasha left, the whole library began to buzz.
“So if she proves she’s worth serving, she could recruit Leo Plov to her faction?”
“Hmm. He’s cheeky, but if it’s him…”
Because of the widespread misunderstanding, the place grew noisy.
Chen Xia watched the scene and smiled.
“Leo, you’re going to get even more popular now.”
“I don’t need this kind of popularity.”
—
By the end of lunch break.
Rumors about Leo and Shasha had spread throughout the school.
Students gathered in the open field for the summoning class, and everyone was excitedly talking about it.
The biggest commotion was about Leo’s family.
“Hey! Leo! Is it true your mother’s side is the Zerdinger?”
“Yeah.”
“Whoa. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“There was no reason to go around telling everyone, was there?”
Leo shrugged at Tide’s question from the same class.
Tide stuck out his tongue at Leo’s response.
‘Most people can’t wait to brag about that kind of thing. But I guess that’s just Leo.’
Tide glanced around.
The most excited were the girls.
Leo, the class representative and a so-called pretty boy, was quite popular.
But despite that popularity, the girls hadn’t shown much interest in Leo.
It was because of Celia.
Since the beginning of the semester, there had been endless rumors about the two of them being together, always seen side by side.
If your rival is Celia Zerdinger, there’s no hope.
And all the other girls close to Leo were equally out of reach, so no one bothered.
But now that it was revealed Leo and Celia were relatives, the girls’ interest shot up.
“Tide! You’re friends with your class president, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know what your class president likes?”
A girl from the summoning department asked sweetly.
‘Why are you asking me that!’
Tide wept internally but answered her question anyway.
Just then, Yura appeared with Assistant Professor Carlo and the Scaun professors in tow.
The first-years, chatting among themselves, quickly fell silent.
“Ahem. Is everyone here?”
The students whispered, seeing her slightly displeased expression.
“Why is the professor acting like that?”
“It’s probably because Leo’s maternal side is the Zerdinger family.”
“Yeah, that means he’s less likely to choose the summoning department.”
“Sure, the class five president’s skills as a summoner are impressive, but compared to what he’s shown as a knight or mage, it doesn’t have the same impact.”
At those words, Yura’s eye twitched.
‘What do you mean, no impact! He made a contract with a Phoenix on his first day! Even if an old knight or mage showed up, they wouldn’t have as much impact as a summoner does!’
She held back the urge to shout and spoke instead.
“I have an announcement before class. It’s about the sparring assessment.”
Yura crossed her arms.
“The sparring assessment will start next week. Your opponents will be decided by the draw as previously announced.”
At those words, anxious expressions appeared everywhere.
Most students just hoped they wouldn’t be matched against top-ranked students.
“That’s all for Lumene students. Now, let’s begin the class.”
At Yura’s words, the Scaun students looked nervous.
Lumene’s summoning class.
How long they’d waited for this.
With everyone on edge, Yura folded her arms and spoke.
“From today, the joint class will be beneficial not only for Scaun but also for Lumene students.”
Everyone looked puzzled at those words.
“I’ve invited someone to help with today’s class.”
“Nice to meet you, students of Scaun.”
As soon as Yura finished, a grand voice echoed.
Everyone looked around in surprise.
Meanwhile, only Leo and Yura accurately pinpointed the voice’s location and looked up at the sky.
Crackle! Rumble—!
Suddenly, thunder crashed and lightning flashed.
Through the storm, a man riding a Pegasus made a dramatic entrance, descending to the ground.
Tap—!
Seeing Ulta ride in on her Pegasus, not only the Scaun students but also the Lumene students were shocked.
Pegasus.
One of the three legendary beasts, a dream contract for any summoner.
It’s said that most summoners never see one their entire lives.
To see one in person—Lumene students were overwhelmed.
“That’s Ulta Regdition’s Pegasus everyone’s heard about!”
“Unbelievable luck!”
As most students gasped in awe, Yura asked with an annoyed face,
“Did you have to make such a flashy entrance?”
“I wanted to emphasize the most important thing for a summoner. Love, of course.”
As Ulta dismounted her Pegasus, Yura let out a deep sigh.
In a half-resigned tone, Yura introduced her.
“This is Ulta Regdition. She’s the amazing student who, while still a student, managed to contract with a Pegasus.”
Everyone started whispering excitedly.
“Today, you’ll learn one thing. How to summon and form a contract with a ‘powerful summoned beast.’”
At Yura’s words, the Scaun students looked puzzled.
Summoning and contracting with a powerful summoned beast.
That’s the ultimate goal of any summoner.
To hear it presented as a special class when they already studied it in Scaun—of course, the students were confused.
Just then, a girl raised her hand.
“Professor, I have a question.”
A girl from Scaun.
Seeing her face, Yura’s eyes sparkled.
‘Shasha. She was supposed to enter Lumene directly as a candidate for next year but chose to take Scaun’s classes out of curiosity. A rather unique princess.’
A girl with absolute confidence in her abilities.
That’s why even Lumene was keeping an eye on her.
‘If she enrolls next year, the summoning department couldn’t ask for more.’
“Yes, what is it?”
“Isn’t it obvious to contract with powerful summoned beasts?”
Shasha asked, sounding rather unimpressed.
Yura grinned.
“Of course. But what I’ll teach today isn’t just about contracting with strong summoned beasts.”
Yura crossed her arms and smiled meaningfully.
“It’s about how to contract with a summoned beast beyond your own abilities, and how to control it.”
Everyone looked shocked.
“Some of you especially need this lesson, don’t you?”
Yura smiled at Shasha.
“For example, the Lordren family’s Pegasus.”
The Lordren royal family had always possessed Pegasi bound by oath to the family.
At Yura’s words, Shasha smiled.
“That sounds fun.”
—
Almost all the students focused intensely during Yura’s lesson.
And assisting her was none other than Ulta.
Ulta, who had contracted with a Pegasus in her third year, was the very summoner who’d formed a contract beyond her own capabilities.
Of course, Ulta’s typically cryptic explanations were interpreted for the class by Yura.
Not everyone was enthralled, though.
Leo, Walden, and Eliza focused, but didn’t hang on every word.
Leo was a Phoenix contractor, and Walden and Eliza, while not quite at that level, had also made contracts with powerful summoned beasts beyond their abilities as children.
They already understood from experience, so the lesson wasn’t all that interesting.
“In conclusion, love alone isn’t enough.”
“…You have to be ready to risk your life.”
Yura translated for Ulta, rubbing her aching head.
“Alright, if you’ve listened, let’s move on to practical class.”
“Practical class?”
“You’ll try to contract with Ulta’s Pegasus.”
Everyone’s eyes went wide.
“I-Is that really allowed?”
A Scaun student asked excitedly.
Ulta smiled at him.
“Of course.”
“But if someone actually succeeds…”
“Then they’ll become the Oathbound of Eiria.”
Ulta gently stroked her Pegasus’s muzzle and smiled.
“If you can manage it, that is.”
To rewrite the oath of a contracted summoned beast meant you had to be a greater summoner than the current Oathbound.
To surpass the current summoner and rewrite the oath was something not even top heroes of summoning could hope for.
The students crowded around Ulta.
“Leo, come here for a second.”
“Yes?”
“This lesson is probably pointless for you, right?”
“That’s right.”
As the Phoenix’s Oathbound, the class didn’t mean much to Leo.
“Then look after that one.”
Leo glanced at Shasha, who was fanning herself, uninterested in the Pegasus.
“You know, the Lordren family are always the Oathbound of the Pegasus. On the surface, it looks like the Lunda family, but it’s different. The Lunda family’s Phoenix would arrange contracts with other Phoenixes, but the Lordren royal family has always made a contract with the same Pegasus through the generations.”
Every Lordren emperor was the Oathbound of the Pegasus.
It was a blood contract made by lineage.
But not every Lordren emperor had been able to summon the Pegasus.
Even if they had the contract, if they lacked the power, they couldn’t summon it.
“It’s like a provisional contract. That’s why your know-how will be important.”
“Understood.”
Leo nodded and approached Shasha.
As he did, Shasha smiled.
“Hello, Leo. Is something up?”
“Professor Yura asked me to help you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. You’re already the Oathbound of the Pegasus, right?”
“Yes.”
“She asked me to help you summon your Pegasus.”
“Oh my. I’m grateful for the professor’s consideration. But what could Leo possibly do to help me summon a Pegasus?”
The fact that Leo was the Oathbound of the Phoenix was a secret.
So Shasha looked at him with a hint of scorn.
‘She’s cheeky in every way.’
“It’ll help. It’s not a Pegasus, but I’ve made a contract with a powerful summoned beast.”
“Hmm. A one-on-one lesson, then? I can feel the summoning department’s interest in me as a candidate for next year’s class president.”
Shasha smiled confidently.
“But I don’t want to make a spectacle of myself in front of everyone.”
“Then I’ll tell the professor you don’t need my help.”
“Leo, you really are a proud man.”
Shasha frowned.
“Fine. In honor of your sincerity, I’ll accept your help.”
“It’s not my sincerity. It’s the professor’s.”
“You’re curious too, aren’t you? Whether I’m someone valuable.”
“Not at all.”
“But I don’t want to become a spectacle here, so please give me a private lesson tonight. I’ll let the professor know.”
As Shasha decided everything on her own, Leo let out a small sigh.
‘She really does whatever she wants.’
It seemed this princess wouldn’t rest until she heard Leo call her ‘my lord.’
Unfortunately for her, Leo knew only one way to deal with someone like that.
‘I guess she needs a little education.’