Book 1 Chapter 124
“What did you do to those kids just now?”
“Don’t worry. I just sent them far away.”
He answered with a listless expression to the hero’s shelter employee who asked with a flustered face and abruptly turned around.
And disappeared into the crowd.
‘Why is a dragon here?’
A dragon.
A race praised as the strongest on land.
In the past, they settled and lived all over the land, but now they were rarely seen outside of Draconia, known as the kingdom of dragons.
‘Such a dragon in Lumina City.’
He was momentarily intrigued but decided to lose interest.
Given the numerous issues that had occurred in Lumern over the past six months, he thought it wasn’t strange for a dragon to visit to observe the trends.
Afterward, Leo continued to show Celia around Lumina City.
During that time, incidents similar to what happened at the hero’s shelter occurred frequently.
Students who had dropped out were often seen searching for professors and begging for one more chance.
Some first-year students, seeing this, mocked their former classmates.
The divide between those who survived and those who didn't was starkly clear.
As the sun began to set, upon returning to the hotel, they saw a familiar face.
“Uncle Jiss.”
“It’s been a while, Leo. How have you been?”
“Yes, I’ve been well.”
Jiss, the vice-head of the Zerdinger family, smiled warmly at Leo.
Besides Jiss, there were also individuals who appeared to be Zerdinger knights at the hotel.
As Zerdinger had rented out the entire hotel, no one else was present.
The Zerdinger knights cast curious glances at Leo.
The class representative of Lumern’s first-year students, and a boy who had mastered the Phoenix Breath, a skill only recognized bloodlines of Zerdinger could learn.
The knights couldn't help but pay attention.
“So? What conclusion did the family reach?”
Celia asked with a tense expression.
‘She seems more worried than I am.’
Leo chuckled, seeing Celia, who was far more interested in the succession issue than he was.
“To conclude, Leo’s acquisition of the succession rights has been postponed.”
“Ah…”
Celia let out a sigh of disappointment.
“Why?”
Jiss smiled wryly at Celia, who wore a look of discontent.
“First and foremost, the family doesn’t know exactly what kind of child Leo is.”
“Still, I don’t understand! Leo is Aunt Reina’s son, and he’s skilled enough to be called a direct descendant of Zerdinger!”
“It’s a decision made by the family meeting, so will arguing with Uncle Jiss solve anything?”
Leo asked, tapping Celia’s forehead, which had flushed with indignation.
“Does being postponed mean they will judge later?”
“Yes. It seems they will make a decision after the family members meet you in person and judge.”
“You mean…”
“Visit Zerdinger during the winter break.”
“Understood.”
Jiss smiled faintly as Leo nodded indifferently.
Celia still wore a displeased expression, but knowing that arguing wouldn’t solve the issue, she didn’t bring it up again.
“For now, don’t worry about family matters. What you need to focus on most is the second semester.”
“Yes.”
“It will be very different from the first semester.”
“That different?”
“Yes.”
Jiss, a graduate of Lumern, looked at his nephews with a meaningful expression.
“From now on, you can consider it the real Lumern Academy.”
***
While staying in Lumina City, Leo and Celia spent their time busily preparing for the new semester.
And on the day of the opening ceremony.
Students gathered at the pier heading to Lumern.
Since each grade had a different pier, they didn’t encounter students from higher grades.
“Oh my! Nice to see you! How was your vacation?”
“It was great! You look a bit tanned?”
“I stayed at a villa during the vacation.”
The girls were busy chatting about their vacation stories.
“Hmph, I did some monster hunting during the vacation.”
“I was busy with party invitations when I returned. At the parties, daughters from noble families I didn’t know acted like they knew me?”
“Do you know where I went on vacation?”
The boys boasted about their heroic deeds during the vacation.
“Seeing this makes me realize the semester is starting.”
It was when Celia pushed her hair back and smiled faintly.
“Leo! Celia!”
“Chloe!”
Chloe approached them from afar, smiling brightly.
“Did you have a good vacation?”
“Yes! How was yours?”
“I was busy with family matters.”
As the class president and vice-president of Class 1, the two were close friends.
“How was Leo?”
“Well, it was ordinary.”
“Ordinary? Attending the Azonia entrance ceremony is ordinary?”
“Azonia entrance ceremony?”
Chloe’s expression turned surprised.
“I’ll tell you the details later.”
Leo replied with a smile.
“Yo! Leo! Chloe! Celia!”
Just then, Carl spotted the three and approached them with a smile.
Seeing him, Celia looked surprised.
“It’s amazing that Carl survived until the second semester.”
“Hmph. Isn’t it all skill?”
Carl chuckled, putting his hand on his chin with a meaningful expression.
“But honestly, I’m also surprised I survived.”
It was true that he had worked hard in the first semester, but there were limits.
To be honest, he still felt bewildered to be in this position.
“Anyway, Leo, the class is gathering over there. Let’s go there.”
“Okay.”
Leo nodded and said to Celia and Chloe.
“See you later.”
“Yeah. Go well.”
“Hahaha! I’ll take the first place spot in the second semester!”
Carl provoked them with a laugh, and Celia, with her arms crossed, looked at him with amusement.
“Don’t even dream of it.”
Classes 1 and 5, thanks to Sedgen and Halind, had a strong unspoken rivalry.
As Leo and Carl headed towards where Class 5 was gathered, girls greeted them from all around.
“Ah! It’s Leo!”
“Hi Leo~”
Giggling and waving their hands, Leo saw the girls and Carl smiled bitterly.
“You have good grades and you’re popular with the girls too?”
“I don’t really feel it.”
“You ranked 3rd in the first-year male student popularity poll last semester, you know.”
Carl grumbled.
“Who even conducted such a poll?”
“Who else? I did.”
He explained that he conducted a popularity poll among the girls while running a business targeting the entire first-year class.
“Although it’s unofficial, it has considerable credibility. Hehehe.”
“Why would you investigate something like that?”
“I was thinking of making and selling a photo book.”
Leo let out a hollow laugh at Carl, who was giggling.
‘Still, I’m curious about the rankings.’
“Who was number 1?”
“Abad Lewalin.”
Abad, who was certainly handsome, always kind to those around him, and always wore a gentle smile, was bound to be popular.
Furthermore, he was the heir to the Lewalin family, a noble family of heroes.
Skill, appearance, personality.
He was a man without any flaws.
“Number 2?”
“Durran.”
Carl said with a displeased expression.
“His personality is terrible, but his appearance, skill, and pride are high. Crucially, he’s a prince.”
As the prince of the knight duchy Moira, he was designated as the next king of Moira due to his overwhelming skill, even though he was not the eldest son.
“And you’re 3rd. It’s a very close call with Durran.”
“That’s surprising. I don’t really feel it.”
“That’s only natural. Abad and Durran receive confessions and letters every week, but you haven’t received anything.”
Carl shrugged.
“Why is that?”
“…Think about the people around you.”
“The people around me?”
Leo, Carl, and Chelsi are already famous as close friends within the school.
So, where Leo was, Chelsea was almost always there.
Furthermore, Nela, the vice-president of Class 5, is a renowned beauty in the school.
She is always together with him during school events.
Additionally, Iliana, who often helps with class work, is not someone to be looked down upon in terms of appearance.
Besides them, he is also very close with the class presidents of other classes, Chloe and Chen Xia.
“Crucially, Celia. The fact that you two are cousins is a secret. Because people don’t know that, quite a few people mistake you two for being in a relationship.”
Since they had been together since the entrance ceremony, it wasn’t unreasonable for people to think that way.
“That’s why other girls don’t dare to approach you.”
Carl grinned.
“How is it? Doesn’t it feel good to be popular?”
Leo let out a hollow laugh at Carl, who was poking him in the side and teasing him.
“If it becomes known that you and Celia are cousins, you’ll shoot up to number 1 right away.”
“Zerdinger did say they would announce it publicly soon.”
“Really? The students’ reactions at school will be interesting.”
Carl grinned.
“There are quite a few people who look down on you because you’re from a backwater kingdom, so I’ve been feeling bad. There are still many who gossip about you.”
Carl was outraged that his friend was being looked down upon.
Leo smirked at Carl’s reaction.
“Ah! It’s the class president!”
A cheerful voice was heard.
Turning his head, Iliana waved at them.
“Leo, have you been well?”
“Welcome, Leo.”
Tade and Nela also greeted them warmly.
Overall, the atmosphere in Class 5 was very good.
This was understandable, as along with Class 1, Class 5 was the only class with not a single student who had dropped out.
Unlike other classes, their bonds were naturally stronger.
While exchanging greetings and talking about their vacations.
“Everyone’s atmosphere is good, youthful. I can feel the youth.”
Someone said with a voice amplified by magic.
Following that, the eyes of the first-year students turned towards the direction of the voice.
There stood a man with black hair.
“Who is it? I’ve never seen him before.”
“Is he a professor?”
“No, none of the first-year professors looked like that.”
All the students looked at the mysterious man with puzzled expressions.
‘That dragon from before.’
The man said in a languid voice.
“You’re full of ambition and vitality. I’m just old. Sigh.”
‘What, what is this?’
The first-year students looked bewildered at the man who uttered complaints with no hint of ambition. (Added)
“Greetings, gentlemen. My name is Riben. I am the vice-principal of Lumern.”
The students’ eyes widened.
Professor Riben, the vice-principal of Lumern.
He was a professor who had been away from the academy for the past five years.
Because of that, even the fifth-year students knew little about the vice-principal.
It was no wonder the first-year students were surprised by his sudden appearance.
Riben took out a student roster from his pocket.
“This year’s enrollment is 440 students. Of those, 346 students have survived until the second semester.”
This meant 94 students had dropped out.
While it might seem like many students were expelled at first glance, considering Lumern’s standards, more students had actually survived compared to other years.
Every year, by the end of the first semester of the first year, nearly 200 students were expelled.
Especially this year, due to Alby, the wizard with the evil eye, being in charge of the western entrance exam, the number of new entrants was smaller than in other years.
Considering that, 94 dropouts was a very small number.
“The world calls you the Golden Generation. You all know that, right?”
At his words, the first-year students beamed with pride.
“Therefore, the principal, Calian, personally asked me to become the overall professor for the second semester of the first year.”
Students murmured at Riben’s words.
“However, it’s bothersome.”
He said with a listless expression.
The students looked taken aback.
“I know you are outstanding. But I don’t know if you are at a level worthy of my teaching. Therefore, I want you to prove yourselves.”
Riben pointed his finger towards Lumern.
“From now on, head towards the main gate of Lumern.”
The students looked confused.
Having already experienced a Kraken attack at the entrance ceremony, they expected the opening ceremony wouldn’t be easy either.
But why were they suddenly told to head to the main gate?
“I warn you, it won’t be easy.”
Riben muttered in a listless voice and then curled his lips upwards.
“Perhaps no one will arrive.”