Chapter 381

The streets of Dovella.

It was a place where mercenaries of countless races from all over the world gathered, and where fights never ceased.

But now, the streets of Dovella were as silent as a graveyard.

“…How should I put it? I heard rumors this was a much more gruesome, filthy neighborhood.”

“Far from being gruesome and filthy, the streets are incredibly clean, aren’t they?”

Chelsea shrugged at Carr, who was muttering in disbelief.

The streets, which should have been littered with liquor bottles, drunks passed out from drinking, and all sorts of filth, were so clean they were almost sterile.

There wasn’t even a single drunk, let alone any noise spilling out from the pubs.

“I think I know why it’s like this.”

Chloe, who had been quietly observing the street, muttered softly.

“Why is that?”

Chloe’s mentee, Betty, asked with sparkling eyes.

She genuinely respected Chloe and wanted to learn everything from her mentor.

In response to Betty’s question, Chloe pointed at several buildings.

There were traces that looked as if they had been scorched by lightning.

On closer inspection, the walls and ground all over the street bore similar marks.

“The Prince’s doing, I see.”

“Yeah, knowing Duran’s personality, he wouldn’t hesitate to clean up this street the moment he saw it.”

Juen looked puzzled at Carr and Leo.

“Why would Duran-sunbae do something so troublesome?”

At that question, Leo shrugged and glanced at Carr.

Before she knew it, Carr was wearing a blank expression, his lips twisted slightly.

Seeing that, Juen frowned and took a step back.

“What’s with that weird expression?”

“I see, it’s someone’s arrogant and dogmatic face.”

Chelsea giggled, and Carr imitated Duran’s tone.

“A filthy street. You’d better clean up the dirty things in front of my eyes right now. Otherwise… Crackle-!”

As Carr made lightning effects with both hands, even mimicking the sound of Duran unleashing his Thunderous Aura with his mouth, the first-year students covered their mouths to hold back their laughter.

Eliana and Chelsea were openly clutching their stomachs and laughing, while Chloe held her head and sighed.

“I told you not to do that ridiculous Duran imitation, didn’t I?”

“Why? It’s my personal specialty, created by thoroughly analyzing and researching our country’s Prince.”

“Why did you even thoroughly analyze and research Duran-sunbae?”

“Because when we were first-years, we were rivals with Class 1, where Duran was.”

Chelsea chuckled.

“One day, Carr started doing that, saying that if he analyzed the behavior patterns of the key figures in Class 1, he could predict what they were thinking. The Celia Zerdinger version is also hilarious.”

At Chelsea’s words, Carr straightened his back and struck Celia’s unique hair-sweeping pose.

“Duran, don’t damage the streets over something so trivial.”

“Hmph. Don’t order me around, Celia Zerdinger.”

Seeing Carr now playing both roles by himself, the first-year students couldn’t hold back their laughter.

Carr’s impersonations had a strange sense of realism—similar enough to feel familiar, yet off just enough to create a huge sense of incongruity—which made them even funnier.

Carr could even play three roles by himself, including Chloe, but he refrained from doing so after getting frozen in ice for performing it in front of her before.

Austin, who belonged to the Zerdinger family and was in the Knight Department, wore a bitter smile, and Luke, who thought of all his sunbaes as gods, didn’t know what to do.

“Ah! That’s so funny! Ahahaha!”

“Is that funny, Eliana Laden?”

“Of course… Hiek?!”

Eliana stiffened at the cold voice from behind her.

The other students, who had been bursting into laughter, also snapped their mouths shut.

Only Chelsea was still clutching her stomach and giggling.

“Hmm? Do the first-year students from the Magic Department think they can look down on their sunbaes in the Knight Department?”

Celia, who had appeared from behind Duran, swept her hair back and smiled.

At that, Juen and Betty’s faces turned pale.

Even if they were from different departments, sunbaes were still -sunbaes.

Moreover, Celia and Duran were among the top three students in the second-year Knight Department.

If they got on their bad side, their school life could be completely ruined.

“Um… well, this is… Um…”

Carr, who had committed the offense, was sweating as he tried to come up with an excuse.

“Hehe. Please be lenient.”

Chen Xia, standing next to Leo, covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

At her words, Celia and Duran looked over at Chen Xia.

“Carr was just joking to lighten the mood, right? I don’t think Celia and Duran are the kind of people who wouldn’t let that slide, are they?”

She soothed Celia and Duran with a mature smile.

“Yeah. They’re our hubaes, after all. Please be generous.”

When Leo added his voice, Celia swept her hair back again.

“Leo, if even you say that…”

Duran shot Carr a cold look, then snorted.

“I-I’m alive…”

“That’s why I told you not to do it.”

Chloe looked at the relieved Carr with an exasperated expression.

In the meantime, Leo approached Celia and Duran.

“I heard there’s an anomaly in the Forest of Monsters.”

“Hmph, you’re quick with information.”

Duran curled up the corners of his lips.

Celia spoke up.

“Perfect timing. I was just about to ask the top students of each year to come to Dovella.”

“Celia, did you really find traces of a Hero Dungeon in the Forest of Monsters?”

At Chloe’s question, Celia nodded.

“Yeah. I can’t say for sure yet, but it looks like there might be more than one Hero Dungeon.”

“What?”

“Let’s go to the base we’ve secured first. We’ll share the information we’ve gathered there.”

—

“Using the Lord’s Castle as a base—whose idea was that?”

“It was mine.”

“I knew it.”

“Any complaints, Carr Thomas?”

“No, not really.”

Carr answered Duran as he laced his hands behind his head.

Duran snorted at Carr, then jerked his chin and said,

“Carr Thomas, take Chloe, Leo Plov, Chen Xia, and Chelsea Lewellin to the conference room.”

“Yes, yes. As you command. What about Eliana?”

“Hmph, Eliana Laden might be qualified too.”

Leaving those words behind, Duran abruptly walked off.

Juen, who had been watching, pouted.

“Carr, why are you agreeing when Duran is treating you like a complete servant?”

“What can I do? That’s just his personality. He acts like that to everyone, not just me. He’s a Prince—there’s nothing I can do.”

“Still! Carr is the conqueror of Dweno’s Hero Record. Shouldn’t he be treated with more respect?”

Haviden, Duran’s mentee, happened to be passing by and spoke to Juen, who was sulking.

“Isn’t it obvious that even Carr has no choice but to yield to Duran?”

“What do you mean, yield!”

“It’s not wrong.”

When Carr agreed with Haviden, Juen grew even more furious.

“I can’t accept that!”

Juen, the top student in the first-year Magic Department, and Haviden, second in the first-year Knight Department, were famous for growling at each other whenever they met.

As traditional rivals between departments, and as talented students vying for second place in the entire first year, neither backed down even in the smallest skirmishes.

“They’re at it again. Austin, you’re friends with both of them. Try to stop them.”

Martina, who was in the same Knight Order as Leo, spoke to Austin with a troubled look.

“It’s no use.”

Austin sighed.

Seeing that, Carr muttered like an old man reminiscing about the past.

“They’re young. It’s youth. It’s youth.”

“How big is the age gap between us and them for you to say that?”

“I was just copying you.”

When Leo opened the door to the room in the Lord’s Castle where they were staying and asked with a hollow laugh, Carr grinned and replied.

“Perfect timing. Duran told us to gather the kids and head to the conference room, right?”

“Okay, you guys go on ahead.”

“What about you?”

“Ar said she’s coming here soon with the Azonia students.”

Leo answered calmly.

“We’ll need the cooperation of the Azonia students this time.”

—

An hour later, Leo, who had left the Lord’s Castle, met with the Azonia students.

The Azonia representatives who had come to Dovella wore serious expressions as they listened to Leo explain the situation in front of the Warp Gate.

“Leo Plov, are you saying there might be multiple Hero Dungeons?”

Lewen, a fox beastkin ranked third in Azonia’s second year, asked with narrowed eyes.

“Yes.”

“A huge battle awaits us! My heart is pounding!”

“Is rampaging all you ever think about, you idiot?”

“You damn fox…!”

Lewen was just starting to bare her fangs at Borman, the fifth-ranked student and her nemesis, when—

“Save the fighting for later.”

Dion, the second-ranked wolf beastkin, cut in coldly.

Lewen and Borman were about to snort when another voice spoke.

“But I’m worried. We have to tell Lumene about Azonia’s weakness.”

At Tabon’s words, Lewen and Borman fell silent.

Dion also let out a quiet sigh.

Watching the four of them, Ar said,

“I told you, the Black Rabbit already knows about that.”

The weakness of Azonia that Tabon mentioned.

It was deeply connected to the reason the Azonia students had come to Aleham this time.

The true purpose behind Azonia’s second-year students coming to Aleham.

It was none other than to hunt down the Hero Hunters who had been discovered in Aleham.

Azonia had been relentlessly pursuing Hero Hunters since this year.

Azonia, one of the world’s great pillars alongside Lumene, was focusing all its efforts on tracking down Hero Hunters with ‘Transformation’ abilities.

From Azonia’s point of view, they were a weakness that needed to be erased from this world.

It had been five thousand years since the Age of Heroes began.

The beastkins had revered the great hero Arron and claimed to be his descendants.

However, in all that long history, there had been no beastkin other than Ar who could freely ‘transform’ without the full moon, like Arron.

Even Azonia, the founder of Azonia, had been unable to do that.

But the Hero Hunters could freely transform even when the full moon had not risen.

To Azonia, that was a fact they wanted to hide at all costs.

The four students here had been deeply shocked when they first heard it.

In that situation, if they were to cooperate with Lumene, that fact would naturally be exposed.

“There’s a big difference between a few people knowing and many people knowing.”

Lewen spoke in a subdued voice.

“I think ending this within our own ranks is the way to protect Azonia’s glory.”

“Still, if we cooperate, we can definitely catch their trail…”

“Ar, you can only say that because it’s you.”

“What?”

Lewen stared straight into Ar’s blue eyes.

“You, who can transform like Arron, will never understand how we feel, will you?”

Ar’s expression turned flustered.

Leo silently watched the Azonia students.

All of them, except for Ar, were intimidated.

This wasn’t like the Azonia students Leo usually knew.

Normally, the Azonia students were full of confidence.

They sincerely respected Arron and never spared any effort to become like the idealized Arron they imagined.

But now, it was different.

‘They feel a wall between themselves and Ar.’

That was why they were intimidated.

‘No, they’re not just intimidated—they’ve completely lost their will.’

The Azonia students had made such a fuss about defeating Ar when he’d seen them before.

But now, he could feel that will had been completely broken.

Leo burst into laughter.

“What’s so funny, Leo Plov?”

When Tabon asked with a frown, Leo answered,

“No, it’s just that you guys are similar.”

“Similar? To whom?”

“Who else?”

The Azonia representatives wore puzzled expressions at his sudden words, and Ar looked stunned.

“Th-The Black Rabbit! Wait a minute!”

“Being cowardly and intimidated is exactly like Arron.”