Chapter 336
Third place in Seiren’s first-year rankings.
Eclere Wellarun steadied her pounding heart as she looked at Leo.
‘W-when did he get here?’
Startled by the sight of her white-haired, red-eyed classmate, she darted her eyes toward the boy beside her—Elric Dwon.
Adjusting his horn-rimmed glasses, Elric calmly observed Leo.
From the look on his face, he must have already realized that Leo had overheard their conversation.
‘Ugh! How embarrassing.’
Elric Dwon, the first-year vice representative of Seiren, had been her close friend since their entrance ceremony. But at the same time, he was a rival she needed to surpass.
The fact that Elric had noticed while she hadn’t made Eclere shrink for a moment, but she soon regained her confidence.
‘I’m a traditional mage, and Elric’s a combat mage! That’s the difference!’
Shaking off her embarrassment cheerfully, Eclere tilted her head.
“Who are you?”
Leo paused briefly before smiling.
“Call me Lyle.”
He casually combined his and Kyle’s names to make up a pseudonym. (T/N: Should be either Leil, Lail or Rail but I thought Lyle is a more familiar name so I chose Lyle. What do you guys think?)
Eclere tilted her head again.
“Never heard that name before. You’re not from the advanced class, are you?”
“Nope.”
“Alright, then don’t go spreading this anywhere, okay?”
Eclere puffed up her chest proudly after clearing her throat.
“The first-year representative and direct heir of the Tingel family—Lea Tingel! You’ve heard of her, right?”
“Yeah.”
Leo lied without batting an eye.
The only things he knew about Lea were that she was a descendant of Seiren’s Tingel family and that she was the niece of Tina, the professor who had been invited to Lumene.
For the great hero Leo, a promising but still unproven student wasn’t worth particular attention.
‘Still, it’d be strange to say I don’t know her at all.’
After all, it would sound odd for a fellow first-year to claim ignorance of their year’s top student.
At Leo’s casual response, Eclere raised her finger excitedly.
“So, Lea! Today in class, she summoned Lord Silload, the Fairy King!”
Her face lit up like a chatterbox who could barely hold in what she’d been dying to tell.
Elric spoke dryly.
“Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a full summoning. She only called forth the will of the Fairy King.”
In the case of the highest-tier summoned beasts like the Phoenix, Fairies, or Pegasi, their response to a summoner’s call didn’t always involve manifesting their actual bodies.
Sometimes, they only conveyed their voice.
That alone wasn’t normally considered a summoning.
If only the voice appeared, it usually meant there was a reason. When the summoner’s vessel was still lacking, they could only hear the spirit’s voice.
“Even so, hearing the Fairy King’s voice for the first time in five thousand years is basically the same as a summoning! The teachers said so too!”
“That’s just their interpretation. In Summoning Studies, that doesn’t count. Even Lea herself didn’t call it a summoning, so why are you exaggerating it?”
“Ugh!”
“And besides, it wasn’t even a summoning ritual she accomplished alone.”
“She didn’t do it alone?”
Leo asked curiously, and Elric nodded.
“Yeah. You know where the advanced class held their lesson today, right? The Hall of the Comet.”
The Hall of the Comet.
It was Seiren’s core, containing the magic tools and grimoires left behind by Seiren, the Comet Mage.
Of course, Leo had no idea what it was. The name alone made him assume it was related to the Comet Mage.
“There, Lea took command of Cometes as the representative. She used its power to hear the Fairy King’s voice.”
‘Cometes…’
While Luna’s representative staff was Polium, that wasn’t the only staff she used.
Depending on the battlefield, the circumstances, or the enemy’s nature, Luna used other staves as well.
One of them was Cometes.
Forged by Dweno, it was a divine-class magic staff—though not as mighty as Polium, it was one of Luna’s favorites.
‘Of course, the original doesn’t exist anymore.’
Cometes, too, was shattered alongside Polium during Luna’s final battle. The genuine artifact was lost to history.
The one that remained had first appeared three thousand years ago, as the Comet Mage’s conquest reward when he cleared Luna’s world.
Though a replica, it was still an immensely powerful staff.
‘It’s probably the strongest surviving staff in existence.’
Naturally so—it was crafted by Dweno himself and infused with Luna’s magic power. Moreover, the current Cometes also held Seiren’s mana.
That alone made it an extraordinary staff.
‘If she borrowed Cometes’ power, then even with an immature vessel, she could likely hear Silload’s voice.’
Cometes also contained the mana of Luna, who had once formed a covenant with Silload.
‘Even considering all those factors, to converse with the Fairy King at that age… she’s gifted.’
Feeling intrigued by Seiren’s first-year top student, Leo smiled.
“Thanks for the story.”
Leaving those words, he turned and walked toward his dorm room.
After Leo left, Eclere muttered curiously,
“Don’t know if he’s in the intermediate or lower class, but… he’s kind of unusual. Didn’t even flinch in front of us.”
“Why would someone in a lower class need to?”
“Well, yeah, but… the class ranks are basically social ranks now. I heard it wasn’t like that last year.”
Pouting, Eclere hugged a cushion tightly.
“Even kids in our class act all stiff because I’m the class representative! No one wants to get close! I wanted a school life bursting with youth! Making lots of friends! Falling in love! Not this stiff, hierarchical nonsense!”
She flailed on the sofa in frustration.
Elric adjusted his glasses.
“You know, if a teacher sees that, you’ll get a penalty.”
“You gonna tattle?”
“Maybe not me or Lea, but be careful around the others.”
He recalled the classmates who were scheming to snatch the representative position and sighed.
“Yesterday, I saw the lower-class students chatting freely in their classroom. I was actually jealous.”
“It’s just the start of the semester. You’ll get closer soon enough.”
“Think so?”
Eclere sighed deeply and got up.
Her face clouded as she walked back to her room.
Watching her go, Elric also adjusted his glasses and turned toward the first-year building visible through the window—the Castle of Beginnings.
‘…I’m not sure this is fine as it is.’
Though he tried to comfort Eclere, he too sensed something was off about the school atmosphere.
‘Are the other Hero Academies like this too?’
He sighed heavily, filled with doubt.
—
The next morning.
Leo left his dorm early.
The map given to him by Orlen, who had guided him to the first-year building the day before, also marked the location of his assigned classroom.
The first-year area was quite a maze, so he left early to arrive well ahead of time.
‘I’ll just skip breakfast.’
Whenever Leo skipped a meal, his friends back in Lumene would react as if it were a disaster.
‘Hey! We’re still growing! How can you just skip food like that?’
‘That’s right! That’s right!’
Whenever Carr gave his speeches about the importance of meals, even Chelsea and the others would nod in agreement.
But Leo, used to hardship from his past life, never really shared their sentiment.
Apparently, Seiren wasn’t much different. The dorm cafeteria was bustling with life, packed with students chatting energetically.
Passing by the lively dining hall, Leo continued toward the classrooms.
Before long, he found his assigned class.
“Well, I guess that figures.”
He chuckled softly.
Seiren had placed him in the lower class.
“How predictable.”
With a wry smile, he stepped inside—and froze.
The classroom was spacious. Despite housing well over a hundred desks, it still didn’t feel cramped.
Yet the place felt old and lifeless—nothing like a proper academic space.
‘Weird. I heard Seiren divides students into advanced, intermediate, and lower classes, and each of those into Classes 1, 2, and 3…’
He glanced up and confirmed the sign above the door: Lower Class Classroom.
Puzzled, Leo entered and took a seat at the very front.
Since he was here as an exchange student, he figured it best to appear as a model pupil.
Checking the clock above the blackboard, his eyes fell on a large phrase written beside it:
[Believe in Yourself.]
‘Seiren’s school motto, huh.’
Each Hero Academy carried the final words left by its founder.
Lumene’s was Surpass Your Limits.
Seiren’s was Believe in Yourself.
Azonia’s was Move Forward.
Damienne’s was Pursue Potential.
As he recalled the mottos—
Ding-dong, dang-dong—
The bell rang to announce the start of class.
Leo looked around the empty room with a strange expression.
‘Why isn’t anyone here? Don’t tell me that woman tricked me?’
He frowned, thinking of Orlen—when suddenly,
Clack—!
The classroom door opened, and a female elf entered.
Wearing a teacher’s uniform, she froze when her eyes met Leo’s. Then, looking flustered, she double-checked the nameplate outside before turning back to him.
“Um… I’ve never seen you before. Who are you?”
“I’m Lyle. I was assigned to the lower class.”
“L-lower class…?! Are you from the intermediate class?”
“It’s complicated, but let’s just say yes.”
Realizing that even the faculty hadn’t been informed about his exchange status, Leo clicked his tongue inwardly.
A strange answer—but the elf teacher’s face brightened in tears.
“It’s so nice to meet you! I’m your homeroom teacher, Laura Quirya! Let’s work hard together!”
Clasping his hands with teary eyes, Laura looked genuinely moved by the idea of having a student.
“I’ll do my best to help you move back up to the intermediate class!”
“Uh… sure. But where’s everyone else?”
“Well, um…”
Laura looked embarrassed.
“T-the first class of the day is… Basic Aura Studies.”
“…”
Leo blinked.
‘Aura Studies?’
He furrowed his brow.
“You’re teaching it? There’s no other instructor?”
“…Right.”
Her long ears drooped as she glanced nervously at him.
‘A mage teaching Aura Studies?’
It was immediately obvious—Laura was no knight but a pure mage.
How could a mage teach a knight’s discipline?
When Leo frowned, she hurriedly added,
“D-do you have Dual Classes? Don’t worry! I studied really hard for this! I’ll be helpful, I promise!”
Clenching her fist with forced enthusiasm, Laura soon drooped her shoulders again.
“…No, I probably won’t be. You can just come in during third period like the others.”
“What’s second period?”
“Basic Spirit Studies.”
“You teach that too?”
“…Yes.”
‘This place is a mess.’
For one of the world’s four great academies, Seiren’s curriculum was beyond disorganized.
Leo could tell Laura was an excellent mage—but no matter how good she was, that didn’t qualify her to teach Aura or Spirit theory.
“What about the others?”
“The lower-class students only attend during third period—Star Magic class.”
‘Now I see how this works.’
Leo sighed deeply.
Clack—
“Good morning, teacher. I just stopped by to drop off the textbooks.”
A cheerful girl entered the room.
“Anrii.”
Laura greeted her with a resigned smile.
As Anri headed to the back of the room, she noticed Leo and blinked in surprise.
“Huh? You’re from the intermediate class?”
“Yeah.”
“That sucks.”
She smiled wryly.
“I’m Anri Bizan. What’s your name?”
“Lyle.”
“Let’s hang in there, Lyle.”
She offered a handshake, then sighed deeply.
“It won’t be easy, though.”
Leo took her hand, frowning slightly.
‘…This is supposed to be the lower class?’
Even at a glance, Anri’s ability was far beyond that level—easily top-tier among Lumene’s first-year Knight Department students.
‘What the hell happened to this academy?’
To see talent like hers wasting away here—it was absurd.
‘If this keeps up, even promising students will rot.’
He seriously considered it.
‘Maybe I should just tell Mel to transfer all the gifted ones to Lumene.’