Chapter 219
The streets of Lorend, capital of the Lordren Empire and the dominant power in the western continent.
True to its reputation as the capital of the most powerful human nation, the streets bustled with massive crowds.
Lately, the number of people had grown even more.
Naturally so, as it was the venue for the Lumene unified entrance exam.
But a lively street wasn’t always a good thing.
“Stop him!”
“Thief!”
“Get back here!”
Urgent shouts echoed from the outskirts of Lorend.
“Hah! Like I’m really gonna stop?!”
The thief cackled as he dashed swiftly into a narrow alley.
Though the capital had excellent public security, the influx of outsiders had made it nearly impossible for the city guard alone to maintain order.
The brighter the light, the darker the shadow.
Even in the age of heroes, criminal organizations remained.
And because they were constantly being purged by heroes, they had grown more secretive, burrowing deeper into the underworld to expand.
Chief among them was the Thieves’ Guild.
Right now, Lorend was the perfect target for such thieves.
‘I’ve already mapped out this alley like the back of my hand!’
The outer districts had fewer guards compared to the central areas.
That’s why thieves from outside were running rampant.
Swish—
Just then, a girl stood right in the middle of the alley with her arms crossed.
“Outta the way! You got a death wish?!”
The thief shouted, raising his dagger.
But the girl scoffed and calmly raised her staff.
‘A mage!’
The thief’s eyes widened and he immediately darted deeper into the alley.
His ability to read the situation quickly was one of the reasons he’d survived as a Thieves’ Guild member for so long.
‘Hah! No matter how good a mage is, they can’t catch me in a maze like this—’
“Hey, this is annoying. Can’t you just surrender?”
“Guh?!”
The thief flinched at the voice beside him.
The same sky-blue-haired girl who had blocked him earlier was now running right next to him, her eyes bored and half-lidded.
The thief instinctively slashed his dagger.
Fwoosh—
A violent gust of wind exploded.
“Gyaaah!”
The thief was lifted high into the air, flailing as he crashed to the ground.
Thud—!
“Urgh!”
Slammed onto the stone pavement from a great height, the thief writhed in pain.
Chelsea had cast her spell with just a glance.
Fwoosh! Thud!
“P-Please spare— Gaaah!”
The thief was lifted into the air again and smashed into the ground once more.
Chelsea casually dusted off her hands and tilted her head as the thief stopped breathing.
“Mister, you breathing?”
But still, the thief didn’t respond.
“Want me to drop you from a height that actually kills?”
“I-I’m breathing! I’m breathing!”
The thief shot up and dropped to his knees.
Chelsea magically crushed his dagger, rendering it useless.
Then she made him turn himself in to the guards.
When she brought the subdued thief over, the guards who had arrived in response to the report saluted her.
“Thank you for your cooperation!”
“No problem. I’m just doing what’s expected of a Lumene student.”
Chelsea smiled.
Onlookers began murmuring.
“A Lumene student?”
“No wonder… her skills were insane.”
“That’s the Lumene uniform?”
“Wait. Isn’t she Chelsea Lewellin?”
“Chelsea Lewellin?!”
The murmuring crowd burst into cheers upon recognizing her.
Chelsea waved at them with a bright smile, drawing even louder cheers before she finally left the scene.
A while later, Chelsea spotted a male student wearing the same uniform as hers.
It was Carr.
Like Chelsea, he was returning after apprehending a criminal.
“How many did you catch today?”
“Five.”
Carr grumbled as he rubbed his shoulder.
“Seriously, why aren’t these criminals thinning out?”
“Because every scumbag hoping for scraps is swarming to our country.”
Where people gathered, crime naturally followed.
And this time, the number of travelers had surged for the exam.
And the main trait of travelers? They usually had money.
To the Thieves’ Guild, they were walking treasure chests.
Thieves were flocking to Lorend like flies to a feast.
To maintain security, Lumene had deployed its students.
All second-year candidates not involved in anything special had been stationed in Lorend.
Chelsea and Carr returned to the student lodging arranged by Lumene.
“Dragged out during break just to catch criminals!”
“Do they even understand how precious break time is?”
“Our school works us like slaves!”
In the luxury hotel lounge provided by Lumene, students were gathered, venting their frustration.
Carr looked at them and suddenly burst out laughing.
“What dumb thing are you up to now?”
“Just watch.”
At Chelsea’s question, Carr cleared his throat and shouted,
“Professor Harrid! Good evening!”
“Eek?!”
“P-Professor Harrid?!”
The complaining students yelped and turned toward the voice.
Their eyes filled with terror.
“Pwahahahahaha!”
Carr clutched his belly and roared with laughter.
“Hahahaha! Hah! Gah—?!”
Of course, his fate was sealed: a vicious beating from the furious students.
As Chelsea looked on with a disapproving expression, two male students entered the lounge.
“That’s what I mean. You’re too soft, Abad Lewellin.”
“Am I?”
As Duran smirked, Abad scratched his cheek.
“Why are you picking on my brother again?”
“I was simply correcting Abad Lewellin’s laughably soft judgment.”
“What’s wrong with my brother’s judgment?!”
Chelsea flared up. The still-winded Carr stepped in.
He slipped his arm under Chelsea’s and lifted her off the ground.
As Chelsea flailed midair, Carr said,
“Whoa, easy there. Our dear little prince of the Moira Kingdom has always had a nasty tone.”
“You’re as rude as ever, Carr Thomas.”
“Consistency is a virtue.”
Carr grinned cheekily.
One was the heir to the Kingdom of Moira.
The other, a commoner from the same country.
A complete contrast in status, yet their relationship never soured too badly.
The Kingdom of Moira was a knightdom—not a large country, but one that highly valued talent.
Anyone with ability, regardless of background, could earn respect.
And a student of the Hero Academy was the best of the best.
Whatever the reasons, Carr had passed the second-year advancement.
Duran acknowledged him in his own way.
That’s why he didn’t go too hard on him despite Carr’s cheeky attitude.
“So, what’s going on?”
Carr tilted his head. Abad smiled softly.
“There are tons of entrance candidates outside. Looks like they came to greet their future seniors. Brought a bunch of gifts too.”
“Gifts?”
“What kind?”
“Mostly snacks and treats.”
The girls squealed with delight.
Most Lumene girls went wild for desserts.
“Oh ho! How polite of them!”
“This is why being a senior is great~”
Excited, the girls hurried toward the exit.
Watching them, Abad added with a wry smile,
“Duran drove them all away. No one’s left.”
“Why’d you chase them off? They came to greet us.”
A girl who had been in Class 1 last year pouted. Duran snorted.
“They don’t deserve to call us seniors yet. And you want to accept gifts from such presumptuous brats?”
“Still, maybe some of them have what it takes.”
“From what I saw, none of them are fit to pass the entrance exam. For them to call me a senior with that level of skill? Absolutely disgraceful.”
“Sometimes, he really does act like royalty.”
“Wow… that arrogance. Only royalty could pull that off.”
Class 1 students familiar with Duran whispered among themselves.
When Duran turned to look, they pretended like nothing had happened.
Soon after, more students began returning from patrol.
Lordren Empire students were also spending their break here.
With friends around and deadly vacation homework to tackle, it was convenient.
“By the way, where are Celia and Chloe?”
“Still out.”
“Maybe they’re having dinner outside?”
Just as Class 1 students were wondering where their class rep and vice rep were—
Celia and Chloe walked into the dorm.
But they weren’t alone.
The students studying downstairs looked up in surprise.
Three others had come with them.
They wore uniforms too—but not Lumene’s.
It was Lunia, Eiran, and Luca, seen during the Lumeiren event.
Representatives of Seiren’s grade level had come to visit.
“They came to spectate the Lumene entrance exam and dropped by to say hello,” Chloe explained.
Lunia stepped forward with a dazzling smile.
“Hello, Lumene students. I’m Lunia El Lunda.”
“Nice to meet you, Seiren rep!”
“How’s Seiren doing?”
“Has everything settled down?”
The Lumene students swarmed around them.
The shy Eiran quickly hid behind Lunia.
Luca chuckled at the sight.
“Yes. Thanks to all of you, Seiren is back to normal. We didn’t have the chance to thank you properly back then… but we’re deeply grateful.”
Lunia bowed gracefully, her smile radiant.
“Thank you for fighting for Seiren.”
“Lumene and Seiren have always been rivals, but that also makes us friendly competitors.”
“Exactly! And it was a Tartarus invasion—of course we joined forces!”
“There’s nothing to thank us for!”
The boys, charmed by Lunia’s beauty, tried to act cool with coughs and composed tones.
“Ugh. They totally lose it around pretty girls.”
“By the way, isn’t Seiren’s third rep… kinda adorable?”
“Yeah! Total protect-her type.”
The girls giggled and swooned over Luca.
“You’re no different than the guys.”
Carr looked at the squealing girls with disgust and turned to Lunia.
Lunia was acting like the perfect model student of Seiren.
But Carr knew the truth.
He knew Lunia was actually a terrifying delinquent elf.
Just thinking about her real nature made Carr shiver.
“C-Carr! How have you been?”
“Oh, Eiran.”
Among the visitors, Eiran approached Carr, the one she was most familiar with.
After exchanging greetings, she hesitantly asked,
“Um… Sir Carr. Where is Lord Leo?”
“He’s not here. Family business.”
Eiran’s ears drooped at that.
‘Leo, you lucky bastard!’
Carr cursed him in his heart.
As the Seiren students made the dorm lively—
“COME OUT THIS INSTANT!! LEO PLOV, YOU BASTAAAARD!!”
A deafening roar echoed through the building.