Chapter 30
“How could Chloe Mueller not counter what looked like a simple illusion spell?”
“Simple? Did you say simple, Senior Ain?”
Len asked in a trembling voice.
“Was I wrong?”
“It’s simple, yes! The spell Leo used isn’t structurally difficult! But it’s not human magic—it’s Elven magic!”
Len hugged himself, crying out passionately.
“A different race’s magic system is fundamentally different from that of humans! Even if you understand the structure, you can’t use it! It’s a matter of talent and sense—something you can’t achieve through effort alone! Leo has that gift! The gods must have sent him to the Magic Department!”
“I don’t get it, Len Hors. Leo Plov is aiming for the Knights Department.”
“It seems your tiny brain can’t understand, so let me explain—”
“I understand just fine. I understand you have a death wish.”
Ain smiled coldly, grabbing Len by the collar, but Len paid no attention and launched into another speech about Leo’s magical talent.
—
The students of Class 5 joined hands in celebration.
Objectively, Class 1 was vastly superior and had dominated most of the match.
But the result was a victory for Class 5.
Celia gritted her teeth, and Duran’s face twisted with frustration.
Chloe, still seated, wore a blank expression, unable even to get up.
“Come on, Chloe. On your feet.”
“P-Professor…”
“When a match ends, you should always greet the other team, no matter the result.”
Professor Sedgen gently patted Chloe on the shoulder and brought both teams to the center.
“Well done, everyone. Class 5, head back to Harrid and talk about today’s match.”
Professor Sedgen turned his gaze to the students of Class 1, who stiffened.
He was famous for his elitist standards.
All of his students were top performers, known for bringing in excellent results at academy events.
But now, they’d lost to the lowest-ranked class.
Class 1 thought he’d be furious.
“Elegance! All the students who played today did wonderfully! I’m so proud of the incredible performances I saw!”
Contrary to their expectations, Professor Sedgen praised them.
“Celia, as expected, you know your strengths well! Overwhelming power! That’s the strength of someone who wields the Aura of flame! But you should work on your stamina a bit more!”
Starting with Celia, Professor Sedgen explained what each Class 1 student did well and where they could improve.
“Duran, your quick movements were impressive! So efficient! But if you can find a way to increase your explosive power, that would be even better! Lightning is an attribute with immense destructive force, after all!”
He gave genuine advice to every single student, finally turning to Chloe.
Chloe shrank.
No matter what anyone said, today’s defeat was because she failed to stop Leo.
“Chloe, you were perfect! There was nothing to criticize!”
“B-But the loss was my fault…”
“It wasn’t your fault at all. In fact, I don’t think we lost at all. Sure, the final result was a defeat, but I never think Class 1 lost to Class 5.”
Professor Sedgen smiled gently.
“We dominated the match. And the match lasted only twenty minutes. Class 5’s teamwork was impressive, but if there had been more time, I’m sure we would’ve come back!”
He patted Chloe’s shoulder.
“And as for not being able to stop Leo in the end, it was because he completely took you by surprise. No one in the first year could have stopped him. I guarantee it!”
With that, Professor Sedgen pointed to the sky.
“Raise your heads, everyone! Look up! It hasn’t changed—Class 1 is still the most elegant!”
“Professor!”
“Uwaaaah! I respect you!”
Class 1 students wept with emotion and praised their professor.
Their belief that he only valued elite students was a misunderstanding.
He wasn’t a teacher who cared only for the top; he was famous for never giving up on a single student he was responsible for.
He hadn’t chosen Class 1 because of their high average, but simply because he liked the sound of “Class 1.”
While Class 1 basked in this warm moment—
“Professor Sedgen.”
“Leo, your strategy in today’s match was amazing. What is it?”
“Professor Harrid says you need to buy drinks right now, and that the bathroom cleaning starts today.”
With Leo’s words, Class 1’s mood crashed, and Professor Sedgen’s lips began to twitch.
“Huh? Professor Sedgen! Professor Ain and Professor Len are fighting!”
Then, Haul from Class 1 shrieked at the sight of chilling Aura and magic colliding in the center of the training ground.
“Haul.”
“Yes?”
“Could you take your friends and buy drinks at the café? Professor Harrid will handle Professors Ain and Len.”
Sure enough, Professor Harrid was already approaching the two professors.
Bewildered, Haul nodded and headed to the campus café with his friends.
Leo called after him with a mischievous addition.
“Get the most expensive ones.”
“Ugh!”
Professor Sedgen felt a pain in his neck.
‘I’ll definitely win next time! Claaass Fiiive!’
—
A month had passed since the first years entered Lumene.
It was enough time for the students to settle in.
“Yaaawn! Good morning.”
Carr stretched and took his seat.
“Were you working late again yesterday?” Chelsea asked, eating the school cafeteria’s spaghetti for breakfast.
Carr scratched his head.
“Yeah. The demand for recovery potions keeps going up.”
When it came to combat abilities, Carr was clearly among the lowest of the first-years, but in alchemy and support magic, he ranked above average.
Homeroom professor Harrid had positively evaluated Carr since enrollment for choosing to specialize as a support.
On top of that, his business was thriving.
Since the entrance ceremony, he’d been promoting himself everywhere, and after the top students started using Carr’s recovery potions, they sold like hotcakes.
Another reason for his success was that potions were surprisingly labor-intensive to make, so many students found it easier to just buy them.
“Still, I wish people would buy some of my other products, too,” Carr said, looking wistfully at his other business items.
But he had settled in faster than expected, so he had no real complaints.
As Leo chewed on steak early in the morning, he spoke.
“By the way, have you heard the rumors?”
“What rumors?”
“They say the seniors who went out to conquer a dungeon are returning.”
Carr’s eyes lit up at that.
“I heard! I heard! Rumor is three teams are coming back, right?”
Hero Dungeon raiders—those tasked with conquering Hero Dungeons and retrieving pages of the Hero Record—were often away from school.
Especially this time, with three teams out, all the students considered the school’s strongest were gone.
There was a sense of disappointment among the first-years, as they hadn’t yet met any of the famous upperclassmen of Lumene.
As Chelsea twirled her forkful of spaghetti and popped it into her mouth, she spoke.
“For the next Hero Studies class, I heard they’ll use a recovered page of the Hero Record as a teaching aid.”
“Really? We’re already diving into the world of heroes? I thought something like that would only happen during the practicals for midterms,” Carr said excitedly.
“That’s not it. I heard some of the pages they recovered this time are damaged, so the lesson will be about deducing which hero they belong to.”
“Aww, what? That’s all?”
“What’s with that reaction? Even getting to see a missing Hero Record is amazing,” Chelsea said, her eyes shining.
She loved hero tales and had a hobby of researching legendary stories.
“Come to think of it, club promotion week is starting soon, too,” Carr said, stroking his chin.
Now that the first-years were getting used to school life, it was almost time to join clubs.
“Do you have any clubs in mind? I’m thinking about joining a business club.”
“I’m thinking about joining the music club. I’ve studied music as part of my upbringing since I was young,” Chelsea replied.
“Classic noble hobby, huh? What about you, Leo?”
“I’m thinking of starting a club,” Leo said.
“What?”
“You’re starting a club?”
“Yeah.”
Chelsea and Carr grew interested at the idea of the class representative starting a club.
“What kind of club?”
“Hero Research Society.”
“Hero Research Society? Sounds like an academic club,” Carr said, a bit put off.
“Most people join clubs to relieve the stress of school life. Would anyone want to join something academic?” Chelsea shook her head as well.
“It’s not academic at all. I’m planning to research forgotten heroes,” Leo said with a gentle smile.
“For example?” Carr asked.
“Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning.”
It was all a scheme to advertise his own feats at Lumene.
“Kyle? He’s not a forgotten hero, he’s a figure of legend! If it’s too outlandish, it’ll be even less popular.”
“It still sounds fun! Kyle isn’t registered in the Hero Record, so he’s treated as a myth, but isn’t he super famous anyway? How can someone not even in the historical records have that much recognition? Maybe Kyle’s Hero Record just hasn’t been found yet!” Chelsea said, getting excited.
“Chelsea.”
“Hm?”
“You’re a good person.”
For the first time, Leo smiled gently as he patted Chelsea’s head—meeting someone who thought so positively of him.
Chelsea was bewildered by Leo’s sudden gesture, but soon let out a bashful laugh and leaned into his touch.
Carr watched and laughed.
“You’re dreaming too big. Everyone knows Kyle’s a fake hero. Why not Dweno instead? The Divine Blacksmith, advisor to the Great Hero’s party! That’s a real hero, way more credible than Kyle—mmph! Mmph?!”
“Carr, be careful not to choke on just bread.”
“Uuuuugh! Mmmpf! (Who stuffs someone’s mouth while lecturing?!)”
“Hm? You want more?”
“Mmmm! (Waaaater!)”
Leo kindly stuffed more bread into his friend’s mouth.
—
After morning classes, it was time for lunch.
Students poured out of the classroom.
Leo was putting his books away and about to stand up when—
“Leo.”
“Yeah?”
Celia entered Class 5 and stood before Leo.
“What are you doing in someone else’s class, Celia?” Chelsea asked, frowning.
“I came because I need to talk to Leo. You don’t have any lunch plans today, do you?”
“No.”
“Then eat with me.”
“Why?”
“The student council president wants to see you.”