Chapter 372
The middle-aged man sitting on the throne spoke in a low voice.
“So, in the end, students from Lumene have entered the country?”
“That is correct, Your Majesty.”
“How utterly insolent!”
‘CRASH—!’
Vihir III, the king of Aleham, slammed his hand on the armrest of his throne and shouted.
“On what grounds do they dare suspect me and investigate my lands as they please!”
Seeing Vihir III’s open rage, his retainers didn’t dare meet his eyes and bowed their heads low.
Everyone swallowed dryly.
Aleham.
A nation infamous for being the poorest of the poor, a country where all sorts of activities illegal elsewhere were legal.
It was a place pointed at and criticized for being a living hell where countless citizens were left behind to starve to death, and because of that, its king was looked down upon by other nations.
But within Aleham, he was a ruler with absolute power.
The wealth and power he had obtained by pushing the entire nation into destitution.
And the nobles who flocked to that wealth and power.
In Aleham, the king’s word was law and truth.
However, the power of Aleham’s king did not extend to Lumene.
Unlike the king of Aleham, who was barely treated as a proper head of state abroad, Lumene was a transnational organization.
It was a place that nurtured hero candidates who would lead the world, and its students were called the future of their respective nations.
Talented students from countless countries gathered there.
Among them were numerous children from families with the power to wipe Aleham off the map.
The mere fact that hundreds of people his power could not touch were on his land was incredibly irritating to Vihir III.
One of the nobles, who had been watching him cautiously, spoke up carefully.
“Today, the students from Lumene stopped by the royal palace to speak with the palace mages…”
‘WHOOSH! CRASH!’
“Argh! Is it not enough that those insolent whelps have trespassed on my land, but now they’ve invaded my castle with their filthy feet?!”
Throwing a golden goblet that had been filled with wine, Vihir III spewed even greater fury.
“What in the world are you all doing! You, the nobles of this country! My retainers! You mean to say you let those presumptuous, snot-nosed brats do as they please?!”
At Vihir III’s tirade, the nobles could only bow their heads.
They couldn’t stop them even if they wanted to.
The reason Lumene had dispatched students this time was, for all intents and purposes, ‘Hero Dungeon Exploration.’
The Hero Record belonged to the hero academies.
And neglecting a Hero Dungeon was a matter that could threaten the world, just as maintaining world peace was.
The hero academies never used the Hero Dungeons they recovered for private purposes.
Therefore, no country had the authority to stop Lumene from exploring a Hero Dungeon.
This wasn’t some kind of unwritten rule.
3000 years ago.
It was the ‘Law of the World’ established by Rodia, known as the Dragon of Genesis, after gathering all the heroes and kings of the world.
But no noble here could say that.
The moment they did, their head might be chopped off.
Just as all the nobles were cautiously watching the king’s mood.
“Calm yourself, Your Majesty.”
“Ahem! Duke Evern.”
At the words of the young man who entered the conference hall, Vihir III’s anger subsided.
At his appearance, the nobles’ faces brightened.
Delean Evern.
A man who had settled in Aleham five years ago and quickly rose to become one of Vihir III’s closest confidants.
And Delean was also the only person in this country that the arrogant Vihir III respected.
Delean was a graduate of Lumene from 10 years ago.
Aleham, which hadn’t produced a single student admitted to Lumene, let alone a graduate, for hundreds of years, was now able to embrace a talent who was a Lumene graduate.
Delean’s existence was not widely known to the public.
But everyone gathered here knew that he was deeply involved in Aleham’s state affairs.
The appearance of the one person who could calm Vihir III was a welcome sight for the nobles.
“As a graduate of Lumene, I am well aware of their insolence.”
Delean shook his head as if he was fed up and continued.
“But it’s not as if we have a way to stop Lumene. They are the kind of people who think they are the law.”
At Delean’s words, Vihir III’s clenched fist trembled.
“But do not worry, Your Majesty.”
Delean bowed with proper etiquette.
“They are nothing more than first and second-year brats. They will never reach Your Majesty’s treasure.”
At those words, Vihir III’s face relaxed.
The one leading the secret conquest of the Hero Dungeon that Aleham was hiding was none other than Delean.
No matter if hundreds of students had come to Aleham to investigate, they were, at best, first and second-years.
And the one who had hidden that Hero Dungeon was a graduate of Lumene.
The difference in skill was obvious to anyone.
“But isn’t the student council president, Leo Plov, among Lumene’s second-years?”
An uncomfortable look once again clouded Vihir III’s face.
“Leo Plov, I have indeed heard he is a monstrous Hubae.”
Delean smiled faintly.
“But he is still just an inexperienced second-year. No matter how amazing he is said to be.”
“Hmm. Delean, I’ll be counting on you.”
Seeing the look of relief on Vihir III’s face, Delean smiled faintly.
“I will restore Aleham to its former glory.”
* * *
After leaving the Pleasure District, Leo headed straight for his lodging.
Laurel had been hiding her identity as the Great Spirit of Light and acting as the master of the Pleasure Castle, a pillar of this country’s underworld.
‘I’ve never been interested in the Hero Dungeon. But I do know that this country has been making suspicious moves for at least the last five years.’
As the master of the Pleasure Castle, she couldn’t ignore the rumors that naturally came to her ears.
Just then, Leo arrived on the main street.
“Leo oppa. Leo oppa, where did you get your lodging? I haven’t gotten one yet.”
Chelsea asked, her eyes sparkling.
Seeing Chelsea, Eliana shouted, “Ah!”
“Chelsea! You’re trying to party up with the Class Rep to get a free ride on this assignment, aren’t you?! Don’t get ahead of yourself! I’m going to be the one to party with the Class Rep!”
“Am I you?”
“You were scheming something like that?”
At Eliana’s cry, Chelsea looked dumbfounded, and Chloe narrowed her eyes.
Eliana gasped, “Hmph!” and covered her mouth.
“The Class 5 kids are really dependent on Leo.”
Chloe crossed her arms and smiled faintly.
“Not us in Class 1.”
Class 1 and Class 5, who were rivals during their first year, would often compete at the drop of a hat.
Since Sedgen, the homeroom teacher for Class 1, was always shouting about taking down Harrid, Class 1 naturally tried not to lose to Class 5.
Class 5 didn’t care at first, but eventually, a rivalry ignited.
A considerable part of it was due to Chelsea, who couldn’t stand losing to Celia in Class 1 and pestered her friends.
Even now that it had become a competition between dorms, a subtle sense of rivalry remained between the former members of Class 1 and Class 5.
At Chloe’s words, Chelsea snorted, “Hmph—!”
“Would you mind not lumping me in with that idiot?”
“That’s right. Not all of us are like Eliana.”
“Hey! Carr! You can’t say that! Aren’t you trying to party up with the Class Rep to coast along too?”
Eliana flared up at Carr’s words.
But this time, Carr was confident.
“Oh~ no no. As if I’d do something so despicable?”
He shook his head with a smug look.
“What’s the most important thing in this mission practicum? Information gathering, right? That’s my specialty.”
Carr propped up his chin with his finger and grinned.
“I got a lot of requests for cooperation during the practicum. So I already partied up with Chloe. Unlike some people.”
“Keuk!”
Unable to refute his words, Eliana looked vexed.
“Then since we’re all here, why don’t we share some information?”
“You got information from the Pleasure District?”
“Yep. It’ll be very useful.”
“Alright, then let’s meet at Leo’s lodging and have a meeting.”
At Carr’s words, Chelsea spoke.
“I’ll use a Familiar to show you where Leo oppa’s lodging is. Everyone, bring your mentees.”
Chelsea used magic to hand over Familiars to Carr and Chloe.
Just as they were about to disperse.
“Hehehehe, Lady Chelsea.”
Eliana stood before Chelsea, rubbing her palms together.
“You didn’t give me a Familiar?”
Seeing Eliana smiling cutely with a servile grin, Chelsea said.
“You’re useless.”
“We were in the same Class 5. Can’t you show a little kindness to your best friend?”
“Nope.”
“Class Rep! They’re all leaving me out!”
At Chelsea’s cold attitude, Eliana grabbed onto Leo and complained.
Sighing at the sight, Chelsea handed a Familiar to Eliana as well.
* * *
“Leo Sunbae-nim! Welcome! Chelsea Sunbae-nim, you came too.”
Luke, who was waiting at the lodging, greeted Leo and Chelsea cheerfully.
Looking at Luke, Chelsea wore a sour expression.
“You got a room in a place like this?”
At Chelsea’s reaction, Luke’s expression turned serious.
“Is a room with a private shower too much of a luxury after all?”
Luke had chosen a clean and comfortable hotel for his lodging.
And that was its only merit.
On a street lined with all sorts of luxurious accommodations, this place looked almost shabby.
But for Luke, who was from the countryside, even this was an excessive luxury.
“Here you go, drinks are free as a service!”
Luke poured drinks for the two of them and handed them over.
Just as Chelsea was looking at Luke with a slightly pitiful gaze.
“Luke, you wait in the lounge, and when Chloe, Carr, and Eliana arrive, come to my room with them. Chelsea, you go wash up too.”
“Okay.”
“Yes.”
Leaving those words behind, Leo went up to his room.
He went into the bathroom, and as he showered, he said.
“Laurel, what do you mean there have been suspicious movements in this country for the last five years?”
—It’s exactly as I said. The royal palace has been secretly exploring a specific area.
“Where?”
—The underground of Uargela here, and the Monster Forest. The Hero Dungeon is probably in the Monster Forest.
‘Swoosh—!’
At Laurel’s words, Leo asked in puzzlement as he washed his hair.
“How can you be so sure the Hero Dungeon is in the Monster Forest?”
—Because I know what’s in the underground of Uargela.
“What’s there?”
—Rodia’s Vault exists there.
At those words, Leo paused.
Stepping out of the shower, Leo dried his body with a towel, put on a pair of pants, and then slipped on a robe.
“Rodia’s Vault?”
—Yes. It’s a vault Rodia left behind for the one who would become my contractor.
“Hmm.”
Just as Leo was stroking his chin.
‘Knock, knock—’
“Leo oppa, I’m out.”
Chelsea’s voice was heard.
“Come in.”
‘Creak—!’
“Leo oppa, I don’t really like this hotel’s bathroom. The hot water wasn’t working, so I had to use magic, which was annoying…”
Chelsea, who had entered the room grumbling and was closing the door, paused.
The room was dim, faintly illuminated by the moonlight.
With the moonlight at his back, Leo was ruffling his hair with a towel.
The firm muscles of his chest were visible through the opening of his robe.
Though he had the outward appearance of a delicate pretty boy, Leo’s body, honed by real combat and training, had a masculine appeal.
“He’s definitely different from my brother.”
Chelsea let out a sound of admiration.
As they were siblings, Chelsea had often seen Abad in a relaxed state that others couldn’t.
The aura Leo exuded was distinctly different from Abad’s.
As Chelsea let out sounds of admiration, “Ooh— ooh—,” Leo chuckled.
“What’s so fascinating?”
“No, it’s just that since we always study magic together, I forget, but at times like this, I can really feel how much you’ve trained as a knight.”
Chelsea approached Leo and said.
“Can I touch your muscles?”
At the purely curious question, Leo let out a hollow laugh but nodded.
‘Poke, poke—’
“Wow, they’re firm but also elastic. So this is what a man feels like.”
Chelsea, who had been touching Leo’s arm here and there while exclaiming in wonder, had her gaze shift to his chest.
For some reason, she was swept up by a strong desire to touch it.
‘He said I could touch his muscles, so it should be okay to touch it lightly, right?’
She swallowed dryly and placed her hand on Leo’s chest muscle.
Finding the sensation different from his arm, Chelsea suddenly thought that this situation might look quite embarrassing to others.
‘If I make a big deal out of it, it’ll just make the atmosphere weird.’
Hiding her face, which was about to turn red, Chelsea pretended to be nonchalant and was about to take her hand off Leo when.
“Leo! I’m here!”
‘Creak—!’
Carr, who suddenly opened the door and entered, froze upon seeing the scene inside the room.
The atmosphere in the room was strange.
His friend, hair wet and wearing a robe.
And another friend, touching that friend’s arm and chest.
Faced with a scene beyond his imagination, Carr bowed his head.
“Sorry to interrupt.”
‘Squeak—!’
Just as Carr was about to close the door.
‘WHOOSH—!’
A gust of wind blew.
Carr, who was about to leave, was forcibly pulled into the room by Chelsea’s magic.
“It’s not like that.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t see anything. You can continue what you were doing…”
“I said it’s not like that. I was just curious, so I touched him.”
Chelsea maintained her composure and explained the situation to clear up the misunderstanding.
“You don’t have to make excuses. I’ll keep your secret. I’ll never tell anyone you two were in a dark room together, even if I die.”
“I’m telling you, you’re misunderstanding.”
“I saw you groping a wet Leo with my own two eyes, so what’s there to misunderstand? I’m starting to feel a little hurt. The three of us are best friends, right? You don’t have to keep secrets from me.”
“Do you know how many times Leo oppa and I have seen each other drenched in sweat?”
“Gasp! You two, since when…”
“I’m talking about training! Stop having such dirty thoughts!”
Chelsea, who had been struggling to maintain her composure, finally exploded.
“Kids these days are so precocious.”
As Leo finished drying his hair and muttered, Elci sighed.
—Leo, you’re being too relaxed.