Chapter 368

Flash—!

The Warp Gate flared with light.

“It’s hot.”

Leo muttered as he stepped out of the Warp Gate, feeling the desert heat.

He had arrived in the oasis city of Uarguela.

It was one of the most prominent metropolises in Aleham.

Leo walked through the interior of the Warp Gate.

Following behind him, Luke spoke.

“Whoa, it’s incredibly hot, isn’t it?”

Luke was already drenched in sweat from the heat.

Since it was also the middle of a sweltering summer in the central continent, they had long since changed into their summer uniforms.

But the desert weather was so hot it rendered even those summer clothes useless.

Luke shook his head in amazement as he watched Leo, who hadn’t shed a single drop of sweat.

Meanwhile, other students began to appear through the Warp Gate.

Since Uarguela itself was a massive metropolis, many teams had come to investigate it.

The people coming and going through the Warp Gate began to murmur as they saw the Lumene students emerge.

“Lumene?”

“Why are they here…?”

The first-year students reacted in various ways to the people’s surprised expressions.

Some students preened, while others felt embarrassed.

The second-years, for the most part, were indifferent, as they were already more than accustomed to people’s attention.

Leo then walked outside.

He narrowed his eyes at the scene that unfolded before him.

Luke’s eyes went wide at the sight outside the Warp Gate.

The city streets were dazzling.

The entire city sparkled, bathed in the light of Magic Stone Lamps lit all along the streets.

The faces of the people coming and going were all bright.

They chatted happily.

Merchants on the streets were selling all sorts of goods.

Every kind of fresh fruit and food, and even bouquets of flowers.

The scene was reminiscent of a festival.

“This is a little different from what I imagined.”

“I know, right?”

Luke nodded in agreement with Leo’s murmur.

‘It’s almost as glamorous as the capital of Lordren.’

Leo recalled the capital of Lordren, which he had visited with his cousin, Celia.

Lordren was one of the wealthiest nations in the world.

To think there was little difference between the streets of a metropolis in that country and this one.

Since this was the place for their mission, they had already completed their preliminary research on Aleham.

Thus, they were aware of Aleham’s situation as the world’s poorest nation.

But the street before them was a scene far removed from that of an impoverished country.

While Leo was lost in thought.

The other students also exited the Warp Gate, their eyes widening at the sight of Uarguela’s streets.

“Wow! This is amazing!”

“This is almost on the level of Lumeria City, isn’t it?”

The other students were also buzzing with excitement at the street scene, which was different from what they had imagined.

The female students, in particular, were humming happily.

They had been worried they might have to stay in low-quality accommodations, but seeing the streets made that worry vanish.

“I was so worried about where we’d stay, but I guess I worried for nothing.”

“Let’s find a place to stay first!”

“Yeah! The school gave us a ton of support, so since it’s come to this, we should stay somewhere nice!”

The students rushed out of the Warp Gate.

“Should we find a place to stay first, too?”

“Sure, can you find one?”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Leo held out his palm.

Fwoosh—!

With a small flame, a tiny red chick appeared.

Peep—

It was none other than Fiora.

Leo handed Fiora to Luke and said.

“Once you find a place, use her to tell me the location.”

“Yes, sir.”

“After you get a room, I want you to investigate the unusual situation in this city on your own.”

“By myself?”

“You can do it, right?”

“Yes!”

Luke answered, full of motivation.

Peep— Peep—

Fiora climbed on top of Luke’s head.

After tilting her head and pecking a few times, she seemed to take a liking to Luke’s pretty silver hair, elegantly flapping her wings once before settling down.

She looked just like a bird settling into its nest.

“I’m counting on you.”

Peep—

Fiora nodded in response to Luke’s words.

Watching them, Leo said.

“Don’t just buy her whatever she asks for.”

“Okay.”

Having answered, Luke ran off to find lodging.

Watching his retreating back, Elci, who was perched on Leo’s shoulder, spoke.

-Is there a reason you sent him off alone?

“He’s from the countryside, so he lacks experience.”

Leo turned around.

“I want him to have as many different experiences as possible. And I also want to show him that he’s plenty amazing on his own.”

-What do you mean, you want to show him he’s plenty amazing?

As Elci tilted her head, Leo answered calmly.

“Luke has lost a lot of confidence recently.”

It was just as Leo said.

The other students were rapidly improving their skills.

But Luke, thanks to the restriction Leo had placed on him, was continuously stuck in place.

The first-years, unaware of this fact, would often mock and ridicule Luke.

Laughing at him for being a talentless kid who got in by a stroke of luck and became the student council president’s mentee.

Most of the first-years treated Luke as just a lucky guy.

Leo was aware of this fact as well.

Hearing Leo’s story, Elci murmured.

-That must be very difficult for him.

“It is.”

There is nothing more agonizing than not being rewarded for one’s efforts.

The thought of being the only one left behind, especially in a school where one had to compete with others, was more than enough to cause immense stress.

“He probably has no self-confidence, and it must feel like he’s walking down an invisible path.”

-But even so, Luke doesn’t stop trying, does he?

Trusting Leo’s words, Luke was running forward with all his might.

He endured, even though he could have the restriction lifted at any moment and display skills that would overwhelm most students.

‘Sunbae, can I really beat Aina?’

‘What do you think?’

‘How could I possibly beat Aina?’

Luke denied his own potential.

But…

‘Still, since you said it’s possible, Leo-sunbae, I’ll try.’

He didn’t believe in his own potential, but he believed in Leo’s words.

“In that respect, he resembles Velkia and Bihar.”

Leo thought of his disciples from his past life.

Disciples who never stopped trying, even while constantly thinking they were lacking.

That must have been why they were able to accomplish the great feat of rebuilding the world after the Age of Calamity ended.

“He’ll regain some confidence if he’s treated as a Lumene student during the investigation.”

Whatever the case, getting into Lumene was an achievement Luke had earned.

When you’re only among Lumene students, you might not realize how great that is, but from an outsider’s perspective, it’s a truly impressive feat.

“Besides… the place I’m going now might be a little too stimulating for a kid.”

At those words, Elci tilted her head.

With that, Leo disappeared into an alley.

Swoosh—

“He’s gone, right?”

Just then, a girl sitting not far away lowered the newspaper she was reading and glanced toward the alley Leo had disappeared into.

“Sunbae.”

“Yes, what is it, Hubae?”

Austin cautiously called out to his mentor.

“Why exactly are we secretly watching the young master?”

At Austin’s question, Eliana smiled meaningfully.

“You just don’t get it. The class rep, you see. He’s incredibly good at these kinds of missions, you know?”

Eliana said, elegantly folding her newspaper.

“So, if we just stick close to the class rep during this mission practicum, it’ll be a free ride.”

Austin stared at Eliana with a dumbfounded expression.

“Was ordering me to ask Luke for his destination also so you could follow the young master?”

“Of course!”

Eliana’s eyes sparkled.

Looking at her, Austin let out a deep sigh.

“Can’t we just conduct the investigation with our own strength?”

“It’s not that we can’t, but.”

Eliana shook the wallet containing their support funds.

“Since we got a ton of money, wouldn’t it be nice to have a relaxing mission practicum?”

“As a knight of Zerdinger, I cannot accept this. The first virtue of a Zerdinger knight is diligence. The second is morality. The third…”

“Ah! Quiet! The virtue of the Laden family is ‘if it feels good, it is good’!”

“Even so, this is a mission practicum, to be thinking about playing around is…”

Austin tried his best to persuade Eliana.

Looking at Austin, Eliana smiled brightly.

“Austin. Do you know what your young master said to Hark-sunbae, the current vice president, when he became the student council president last year?”

“What did he say?”

“‘If I tell you to do it, you do it.’”

“……”

Austin hung his head low.

It wasn’t that Eliana was a lacking mentor.

No, she was actually on the excellent side.

She taught well and guided him well.

But when she went on a rampage like this, there was no getting through to her.

“Come on, let’s follow him!”

Getting up from her seat, Eliana, along with Austin, began to trail Leo.

“By the way, why does he have such an old man’s expression on his face?”

Eliana tilted her head, recalling Leo’s expression.

And so, Eliana and Austin entered the alley and followed Leo.

Whenever they came to a fork in the alley, they asked a passerby which way Leo had gone and moved along smoothly.

And a short while later.

“An entrance?”

Something that looked like an entrance appeared in the back alley.

Eliana tilted her head, looking at the entrance, which had a curtain hanging as if to divide the area.

Just as she was about to enter.

“Kekeke. This is no place for snot-nosed brats like you.”

An old woman standing at the entrance said with a wicked laugh.

At her words, Eliana crossed her arms.

“A kid wearing similar clothes to us just passed through here, right?”

“If you mean that young master, he did.”

“We’re following him.”

Eliana lifted her chin.

“If he went in, that means we can go in too, right?”

“That’s true. This place doesn’t discriminate. However…”

The old woman’s gaze swept over Eliana and Austin.

“It might be a bit too stimulating for little kids.”

Watching the cackling old woman, Eliana scoffed, “Hmph.”

“Grandmother. I’ll have you know I’m a grown lady. I’m far from naive. Hmph! How stimulating can it possibly be?”

Eliana confidently pushed aside the entrance curtain and went inside.

Austin was about to follow her when.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah—!”

Eliana’s scream echoed out.

“Sunbae!”

Startled, Austin urgently drew his sword and was about to enter when.

Whoosh—!

Eliana came running out from behind the curtain at full speed.

Red all the way to her neck, Eliana collapsed to the ground, stammering, “B-b-b-b-b-buh—”

“Sunbae! What happened!”

“A m-man and! A w-w-w-woman! In the middle of the streeeeeeeet!”

Seeing Eliana babbling incoherently, as if in culture shock, the old woman clicked her tongue with a “tsk.”

“Looks like some junkies happened to be right by the entrance.”

“What in the world is this place!”

Eliana asked, her face flushed, and the old woman answered.

“This is the Pleasure District, where the Pleasure Castle is located.”

Kekeke, the old woman laughed.

“The filthiest paradise in the world. It’s no place for young ladies or masters like you. Though that young master walked through without batting an eye.”

Austin’s expression grew tense.

Eliana muttered.

“Don’t tell me the reason the class rep had an old man’s expression was…!”

“Sunbae. The young master must have only come here for the investigation.”

Austin defended Leo, but Eliana wasn’t listening.