Chapter 261
“We need to find Black Rabbit first.”
“Who is Black Rabbit?”
As Ar muttered while walking through the streets of Dwernonia, a female wolf beastkin student walking beside her tilted her head.
“Who else? The student council president of Lumene.”
“Oooh!”
“As expected of you, Boss!”
With Arr’s words, the Azonia students following her let out exclamations.
“Your ambitions are extraordinary, Boss!”
“As expected of the number one in Azonia’s second year!”
“You’re planning to take on Leo Plov first, aren’t you?”
“Well, I am going to face him.”
Ar adjusted the beret of her Azonia uniform.
“But I need to stop any unnecessary fights before those idiots cause trouble…”
“Boss Ar is aiming for Leo Plov’s head! Let’s find him!”
“Listen to me, you idiots!”
Before she could even finish her sentence, Ar shouted at the students following her.
‘Black Rabbit calls me a simple-minded stupid cat, but look at these guys!’
Ar clenched her fist, veins bulging on her forehead.
‘The real simple-minded idiots are right here!’
The ones following behind Ar were none other than the members of her faction.
It wasn’t as if Ar had intentionally created a faction.
The reason for its existence came from Azonia’s school culture.
Hero academies were fundamentally meritocratic no matter where you went.
Lumene, according to its culture, treated all students equally.
Those who couldn’t keep up had to leave the school.
Seiren strictly divided students into upper, middle, and lower classes, teaching them according to their class level.
And then there was Azonia.
Azonia’s educational philosophy was simple: survival of the fittest.
There were no exams to evaluate academic performance by semester as in Lumene or Seiren.
Every moment was a test.
Every day, duels were fought between grades, and rankings were determined.
The weak could challenge the strong at any time to take their place.
And the privileges given to the strong were absolute.
Lower-ranked students had to follow the words of higher-ranked ones.
Of course, not all commands were absolute.
Only the top five students in each grade had absolute command authority.
These five were equal in status.
Thus, students gathered under top-ranked individuals whose personalities matched theirs, forming factions.
You couldn’t order students from another faction.
As such, faction formation in Azonia was completely natural.
Ar covered her face with her hand, sighing deeply at the students wagging their tails like puppies in front of her.
Number one in Azonia’s second year.
Ar Tune.
Her faction was especially famous for its loyalty.
The reason was simple.
Ar was strong.
From the moment she entered the academy, she had been besieged by challengers aiming for her position.
Even after her faction formed, other factions plotted to overthrow her.
But Ar had broken through all of it with her own strength alone.
By now, no one dared to easily covet her position.
Overwhelming strength.
Beastkin admired strength as much as they admired the strong themselves.
And yet she never wielded the privileges given to her as the top student.
In Azonia, where it was natural for the strong to exercise their privileges, Arr’s behavior was shocking.
Naturally, lower-ranked students gathered under her faction.
Other factions derisively called Arr’s group “a gathering place for the weak” behind her back.
Whenever she heard such things, Ar never let it slide.
This was why her faction was so loyal to her.
“Boss! I have a great idea!”
At that moment, a large male bear beastkin student spoke confidently.
The cat ears under her beret perked up.
‘This is going to be something stupid, I can feel it.’
Druan Tig.
Within her faction, he was second to none when it came to causing trouble without thinking.
“What is it?”
‘Still, let’s hear him out.’
“This is something I overheard from Wern’s plan.”
“That dumb bear?”
‘Now I’m even more worried.’
Wern Damoon.
Famous for being the smartest among the second-year bear beastkin.
Of course, “smart” here was only when compared to other bear beastkin.
Among beastkin, bears were known for their exceptional strength.
They also had the strongest tendency to solve everything with brute force.
Not all bears were like that, but Wern Damoon was both clever and a stereotypical bear beastkin.
In other words, he was good at scheming but never thought through the consequences.
“We find a student close to Leo Plov and bring them back to our base.”
“Rejected!”
“Why?”
“Are you telling me to kidnap a Lumene student?!”
At Arr’s outburst, Druan shook his head.
“No, Boss. If we kidnapped them, things would blow up. Even I know that much! We just bring them politely and treat them well!”
“And if Black Rabbit’s friend refuses to come?”
“Hmm… we could use a little force…”
“That’s kidnapping, you idiot!”
Ar kicked Druan in the stomach and froze.
“Wait. The fact you even came up with this idiotic plan… means you’ve already put it into action, hasn’t it?”
“Probably?”
Ar grabbed the back of her neck.
‘Damn it, Principal, why would you put that up as a prize!’
The reason Azonia’s students were so eager to defeat Leo wasn’t just his reputation.
This time, Principal Zephia of Azonia had put a bounty on Leo’s head.
“Whoever defeats Leo Plov in a martial arts match and brings honor to Azonia will be given the opportunity to challenge Lord Arron’s Hero Record!”
The Hero Arron was the idol of all beastkin.
And Azonia’s students aspired to become the strongest warriors like him.
To them, the chance to challenge the Hero’s Hero Record was an incomparable treasure.
With such a reward, it was no wonder the entire second year had gone crazy.
“First, find Dion.”
“Why Dion?”
Dion Den.
Arr’s childhood friend and the undisputed second place in Azonia’s second year.
He was considered her greatest rival.
And Wern was part of Dion’s faction.
“When a fool from your own faction is about to cause trouble, you stop them, don’t you—”
“Ar Tune!”
A panicked voice called from a distance.
Ar turned her head.
It was a student from the fifth rank of Azonia’s second year, belonging to the tiger beastkin faction of Borman.
“It’s bad! Lumene students have attacked our school’s base! They said we kidnapped one of their own…”
Ar looked up at the sky in exasperation.
‘That damn bear. I’m going to find him and tear him apart.’
—
Leo was leisurely sightseeing through Dwernonia alone.
Statues of Dweno were erected all over the city.
And true to its reputation as the world’s richest city, all the statues were made of gold.
They were so beautiful they could be called works of art.
They almost seemed like they might start moving at any moment.
Seeing them made Leo smile.
‘This city truly worships Dweno.’
Even its name was taken from Dweno.
It was clearly a city built to honor him.
‘I wonder what Dweno would think if he saw this city?’
Leo chuckled at the thought.
Certainly, his friends were often recorded very differently from reality.
The dragons told tales of Lysinas as a wise and righteous great sage.
While she did have that side, she was also very much a con artist.
‘She told a lot of lies too.’
The ones most deceived were Luna and Arron.
When Luna raged at Lysinas for being a swindler, Arron would quietly agree from the side.
‘She gave people false hope with her lies. Well, most of that hope did come true, so it’s hard to call it lying in the end.’
He recalled Lysinas giving people hope through well-intentioned lies.
In any case, she was not as righteous a dragon as the dragons remembered.
‘And Luna.’
A gentle and compassionate Founder.
‘Yeah, right. She was a tomboy and a fierce thug.’
Dweno once said she was “a divine masterpiece—if only she kept her mouth shut.”
‘And Arron…’
Brave and strong.
In truth, he was a timid coward and fragile to the core.
That’s why, in every great battle, the entire raid party was shocked.
‘It’s still a mystery how that coward managed to summon such courage.’
Leo smiled at the memory of Arron.
Finally, Dweno.
‘Dweno was recorded exactly as he was.’
As the eldest in the party, he was their mental pillar.
His unwavering will and iron resolve.
His unshakable, steel-like mind always offered advice.
If Lysinas was the leader of the raid, Dweno was its pillar.
‘If Arron had died… and Dweno hadn’t been there, we would have all fallen apart.’
No one suffered more shock and guilt from Arron’s death than Dweno.
But even then, he took care of the others.
‘Get a hold of yourself, Lysinas! You’re the leader—what happens if you waver?’
After barely managing to repel Erebos, Dweno got angry.
‘Luna! Stop those tears! We made a choice! Arron knew the risks! Throw away your grief! Forget Arron’s death! Focus on one thing!’
He spoke especially harshly to Luna, who was shaken the most.
Hearing that, Luna was truly angry with Dweno.
But Dweno willingly played the villain.
‘Kyle.’
Leo recalled Dweno’s steadfast eyes.
‘It’s not your fault—it’s because my weapon was lacking.’
He took the blame for Arron’s death on himself.
Right before their next battle, after composing himself, Dweno looked down at his hands and muttered:
‘Now that I think about it… Luna, you were right. My hands… are ugly.’
He had always been proud of his hands.
They were the hands that created beauty.
He boasted they were the prettiest in the party.
Whenever he did, Luna teased him for having ugly dwarf hands.
Luna was flustered at his words.
‘N-no, your hands are actually kind of cute!’
Dweno burst into laughter, and only then did they make peace.
That was their last conversation.
‘That’s the kind of man he was.’
He always accepted everything as the adult in the group.
That’s why the recorded personality of Dweno was perhaps the truest to reality.
The big brother.
‘Well, except for the pervert part.’
Leo chuckled.
If Dweno saw this city, he’d probably curse.
Dweno sought beauty but despised gaudy luxury.
If he saw his golden statue, he’d probably smash it with those pot-lid-like hands.
As Leo was lost in memories of Dweno, someone spoke to him.
“You there.”
Turning around, Leo saw a small woman standing there.
She was so short she barely reached his waist.
She was obviously a dwarf.
But overall, she didn’t look very dwarf-like.
Her fashion was extremely extravagant.
“You’re a man, but you possess a different kind of beauty from the usual masculine image.”
She looked him up and down intently before asking seriously:
“Would you consider becoming a nude model?”
‘What the hell is with this woman, Dweno?’