Chapter 195
After completing their two-day mission, Leo and Lily returned to Lumeria City.
Ignite vanished as soon as they entered the city.
“Where did Lord Ignite go?”
“Even if you did manage to persuade him, that guy’s never been fond of people.”
Jean gestured toward the dense crowd lining the streets as he answered Lily’s concern.
“A place this crowded is his worst nightmare.”
“Ah.”
Lily nodded in understanding.
“In any case, good work on completing the mission. That must’ve been a pretty tough one, but you pulled it off well.”
Seeing Jean grin with his arms crossed, Lily scratched her head.
“I didn’t really do anything special. Leo handled most of it.”
Lily slumped her shoulders.
Jean chuckled at her reaction.
“Don’t be modest. You’re a monster too, you know?”
With a grin, Jean folded his arms again.
“Having talented juniors is reassuring! I’ll be looking forward to the upcoming Lumeiren Selection Match. Do your best!”
“Where are you going now, Senior Jean?”
“I’ve got something to take care of in Lumeria City. You two go ahead.”
Jean waved and disappeared into the crowd.
Lily looked after him with admiration.
“Heroes really are something else.”
“They sure are.”
“In any case, Leo, since you helped me with the mission, I’ll treat you to something delicious.”
“You really don’t have to.”
“No. I took your precious weekend. I have to make it up to you properly.”
With a firm tone, Lily took Leo along as they walked the streets.
Before long, they arrived at a small restaurant tucked into an alley.
“Isn’t this a tavern?”
“Yes. But they serve more than just alcohol. And the food is excellent! It’s a favorite among Lumene students of all years!”
Leo nodded and entered with Lily.
Just as she said, there were plenty of Lumene students inside the tavern.
Noticing Leo and Lily, several waved in greeting.
Leo found a spot in the corner and propped his chin on his hand, taking in the atmosphere.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been to a place like this.”
“So you have been to one before?”
‘Yeah, about five thousand years ago.’
Leo smiled faintly to himself.
“I thought with your maternal side being the Zerdinger family, you wouldn’t have any ties to places like this.”
“It’s true I’m related to the Zerdingers, but I didn’t know that until I enrolled at Lumene.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Things are… complicated at home.”
“Ah, I asked something I shouldn’t have.”
Lily looked apologetic.
“It’s complicated, but not something offensive.”
Just then—
Jingle, Jingle—
The door opened, and a group of students entered.
“Carr, are you sure it’s okay to come here?”
“I’m telling you! I came here before with the business club seniors, and the food was amazing!”
“If anything goes wrong, it’s on you.”
Led by Carr, ten Magic Department students entered the tavern.
“There’s nothing to worry about! Besides, we’re Lumene students. It’s not strange for us to end up in a place like this during a mission— Huh? Leo!”
Carr, who had been trying to convince a clearly hesitant Chelsea, spotted Leo and waved.
Chloe and Chelsea snapped their heads toward Leo.
Carr, grinning widely, walked over.
“Didn’t expect to see you here. Ah! Senior Lily! Hello!”
“Hello again, Carr.”
Lily greeted him with a smile.
The other first-year Magic students bowed politely to Lily.
“Hello, Senior Lily.”
She was one of the most well-known students in the academy, so of course, none of them were unfamiliar with her.
Lily smiled gently at the juniors greeting her.
“Seeing all the Magic Department students gathered like this, I’m guessing you’re out for Lumeiren preparations?”
“Yes.”
“There’s a lot to prepare—especially with the representative selections coming up.”
Carr smacked his lips.
“Seiren is the strongest magic academy among the four, so everyone’s working really hard.”
“Fufu. I remember being so busy preparing in my first year that I wasn’t nervous at all until the day of the match.”
‘Though on the day of, I got so nervous I had to take stomach medicine.’
She didn’t share that part.
Lily always wanted to maintain her image as a composed senior.
Just then—
“By the way, what were you and Leo doing for two days outside of school, Senior Lily?”
The first-year Magic students all froze and stared at Chelsea.
With her wide, innocent eyes, she looked between Leo and Lily.
She was the type who couldn’t ignore curiosity, and it had been bothering her that the two of them had spent a full day and night outside the school together.
Lily answered with a smile.
“I was assigned a mission and received Leo’s help.”
“I see.”
Chelsea smiled and nodded.
Chloe, who had been watching with anxiety, let out a sigh of relief.
Then her eyes met Carr’s.
“What?”
“Feel better now?”
Carr grinned teasingly, and Chloe exhaled sharply at him.
“Grahhh! M-my face! It feels like it’s peeling off!”
As Carr screamed, clutching his face, the surrounding Magic students whispered.
“Isn’t Chloe turning more and more into a storybook Ice Queen lately?”
“Yeah, I heard the upperclassmen have started calling her the ‘Ice Princess.’ Not for her personality—literally because she uses ice magic.”
“Huh? What?”
“It’s nothing!”
“Yeah, we were just saying Carr totally deserved that!”
As Chloe smiled and asked, her classmates scrambled to cover it up.
Watching the scene, Lily said,
“In any case, since you’re all Leo’s friends, would you like to join us? Leo helped me a lot, so let me treat you to something.”
“Oh! Thank you, Senior!”
“You’re the best, Senior Lily!”
“Big sis~!”
As the first-years cheered and fawned over her, Lily beamed with delight.
Once the table was set and the food and drinks arrived, the topic naturally turned to the Lumeiren match.
“Who’s the first-year from Seiren we should be most wary of?”
“Lunia El Lunda.”
Abad said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.
The contrast between his refined behavior and the tavern setting somehow made him more charming, Lily thought, nodding in agreement.
“Indeed. Lunia El Lunda is even on the summoning department’s radar.”
Lunia wasn’t just a formidable mage—she was the daughter of the Lunda family and slated to form a contract with the Phoenix.
Her summoning ability alone made her a top-tier threat.
“Leo, Chelsea, Carr—you’ve all met Lunia El Lunda before, right? What did you think?”
“If you’re asking that…”
Chelsea folded her arms, tilting her head.
“A thug?”
“Lunia’s known as a model honor student. Top in both skill and behavior, no?”
Abad asked, puzzled.
Chelsea nodded.
“That’s right, brother. But that part of her always felt fake.”
“Oh! You’re good at faking too, so you’d know— Ack!”
Carr, teasing her for no reason, got elbowed in the ribs and tumbled to the floor.
Chelsea stepped on his chest and said flatly,
“I don’t fake anything.”
Though she acted tough around others, she always softened in front of Leo and Abad.
Of course, that didn’t mean she was ever gentle with anyone else.
“Ow, I give up!”
Carr cried beneath her heel.
“Don’t underestimate Eiran either.”
“Yeah. Eiran’s another one to watch out for.”
Chelsea recalled Eiran, who had become her close friend during the school trip.
A magic swordswoman and the second-ranked first-year at Seiren, she was another high-priority target.
Lunia got all the attention, but Eiran’s skills were enough to challenge her for the top spot.
“She’s a magic swordswoman, right? How would she compare to Eliana?”
Turka from Class 10, a fellow Magic Department student, tilted his head.
Among Lumene’s first-year magic swordsmen, Eliana was undeniably the best.
“Even comparing her to Eiran is an insult.”
“Yeah. That attack-obsessed fool doesn’t hold a candle.”
Chelsea and Carr said bluntly, causing Turka to blink in disbelief.
“Isn’t that a bit harsh? She’s your classmate.”
“Turka. The closer you are, the more objective you need to be.”
“Yeah. If she hears you compared her to Eiran, she’ll get all smug again.”
With their firm stance, the Magic Department students nodded in agreement.
As the lively discussion about Lumeiren continued, Leo rested his chin in his hand.
“Seiren, huh.”
An academy built to carry on Luna’s will.
‘I wonder what kind of place it is.’
Though he’d met students from other hero academies, he’d never been to one himself.
Even he was looking forward to the Lumeiren match.
—
After midterms, the representative selection for Lumeiren was held.
Many students competed fiercely for a chance to represent their school.
With one clear goal.
Defeat Seiren.
Lumene had lost the past few years.
Their resolve was stronger than ever.
The students being watched by the returning heroes summoned to Lumene felt the pressure and excitement.
They’d enrolled in hero academies to become heroes.
Now their admired seniors were watching them—it only fueled their motivation further.
The selections ended.
All students gathered at the warp gate, ready to head for Seiren.
“The day’s finally here.”
Standing at the podium, Rhys—selected to give the student speech—looked down at the crowd.
“For us fifth-years, the last Lumeiren was nothing but defeat. We gave it our all, but couldn’t surpass Seiren.”
A shadow passed over his eyes.
“As someone who always believed we were the best, those matches became my greatest regret. And now, it’s our final Lumeiren.”
The second, third, and fourth-years also looked solemn.
Having always lost to Seiren, they felt guilty toward the fifth-years who had never lost in inter-grade battles within Lumene.
“As student council president, I won’t say something noble like ‘don’t worry about winning or losing.’”
Rhys declared firmly.
“To make sure we don’t pass this history of defeat down to you—we fifth-years will give it everything we’ve got. So let’s win this Lumeiren!”
“Yes, sir!”
The students responded with a thunderous shout.
Grinning, Rhys yelled,
“Let’s go! To Seiren!”
“Let’s go!”
“Woooooo!”
Fired-up Lumene students roared with excitement.
And then—
The ground lit up as the warp gate activated.
Hundreds of students vanished in an instant.
And—
Whooooooooosh!
“It’s freezing!”
“Waaah! What the heck?!”
Students screamed.
The bitter cold of the northernmost region of the continent hit them like a wall.
Caught in a sudden blizzard, the Lumene students were thrown into chaos.
They had come prepared for the cold, wearing thick clothes—
But Seiren’s brutal cold far exceeded expectations.
“Yikes, sorry! Bad luck—we got hit with a blizzard today.”
A girl in a Seiren uniform emerged through the snow.
“Rienia.”
Rhys smiled at the sight of Seiren’s student council president, fifth-year Rienia.
“The blizzard came on so suddenly, we couldn’t cast any countermeasures in time. Just hang in there—we’ll activate magic soon—”
“No need.”
Rhys shook his head.
In an instant, the blizzard died down.
Rienia widened her eyes and looked at Rhys.
‘He got stronger again?’
She realized Rhys had disrupted the harsh weather using [Aura].
As the snow cleared, a new scene came into view.
The shivering Lumene students wiped the snow from themselves—and saw the Seiren students waiting with their flags raised.
Rienia crossed her arms and smiled.
“Welcome, Lumene students! To Seiren!”
Stomp— stomp—
“Welcome!”
The Seiren students stomped in unison and shouted in perfect sync.
Carr mumbled under his breath.
“This is a welcome? Feels more like intimidation.”
Leo chuckled beside him.
“It means the match has already begun.”