Book 1 Chapter 133

Elena's expression turned blank for a moment.

Seeing Elena like that, Leo chuckled.

"I was joking."

'Are you teasing me?'

Elena let out a snort of laughter, looking at the impudent first-year student who dared to tease her, the so-called queen of the school, so casually.

"Then are you joining the party?"

"No. I've already decided on a place for my mission practice."

"Did you perhaps receive an offer from another攻略 party?"

"No, that's not it."

"Then why aren't you participating in a攻略 party? It's beneficial for you."

"Why is joining a攻略 party beneficial?"

Seeing Leo ask back with a puzzled expression, Elena was genuinely flustered.

She had thought it was an offer that a first-year student absolutely could not refuse.

After all, it was tantamount to declaring that she would hand-feed him the rewards of the Heroic Dungeon攻略.

'But why is he refusing? Could it be that he doesn't understand the value of the Heroic World?'

That was unlikely.

Leo was an exceptionally outstanding student, to the point of being the class representative.

It was impossible for such a student to not understand the meaning and value of conquering the Heroic World.

'Or is it simply a matter of pride?'

However, from Elena's perspective, Leo didn't seem like the type to flaunt such emotions.

"If you have nothing else to say, I'll be going now."

Leo bowed his head and left.

Watching his retreating figure, Elena narrowed her eyes.

"Hmm."

As if displeased, Elena toyed with the ends of her hair with her fingers.

The members of the Blue Moon party glared, looking back and forth between Leo and Elena.

How dare he refuse the invitation of Elena, the Queen of Lumen!

The other students also looked at Leo with disbelief.

Angry voices erupted from within the Blue Moon party.

"That arrogant brat! How dare he refuse Elena's invitation?"

"Is he so blinded by being the class representative that he can't see anything else?"

"Senior Elena! Shall I give him a stern lesson?"

Sensing an opportunity, the Blue Moon party members spoke up one after another.

They harbored the hope that if they pleased Elena now, they might be able to join this攻略.

Elena, who had been twirling her hair, smiled faintly as she looked at them.

"Who told you to speak to me so casually?"

At her words, the Blue Moon party members flinched.

There were even 4th-year students in the Blue Moon party who were older than Elena.

Yet, they couldn't say a word.

After giving them a smile, Elena left the first-year dormitory with the clack-clack sound of her heels.

'This is humiliating.'

She had been rejected from joining a party in front of many people.

Tomorrow, it would be splashed across the school newspaper.

Of course, Elena didn't care in the slightest if such a thing happened.

She wasn't the type to pay attention to the chatter of worthless people.

'My charm isn't working at all.'

Elena's pink eyes gleamed with a seductive light.

From birth, she possessed a charisma that drew people in.

It wasn't simply about her background, talent, or appearance.

She was born with a devilish charm, like a curse, that would relentlessly drive herself and those around her to misfortune.

However, that curse, combined with her overwhelming heroic talent, became her powerful weapon.

With just her gaze, she could make ordinary people obey her.

Even those with strong wills felt a strong attraction to her.

Those who knew of this ability either feared or were hostile towards her.

Yet, to Leo, Elena's charm had no effect whatsoever.

"Orbe."

"Yes, miss."

"Please find out which region Leo Flob is going to for his mission practice."

Orbe, Elena's attendant, paused at her words.

"It's against school rules to find out a student's personal information."

"You know I'm not the type to care about such things, don't you?"

Elena said, gently twirling the ends of her hair.

"Understood."

Orbe bowed his head and disappeared back into the darkness.

Walking alone through the night campus, Elena muttered.

"Leo Flob…"

Elena curled the corners of her lips.

"This is interesting."

***

The next morning.

The rumor that Leo had refused Elena's offer to join her party spread throughout the entire school.

"Hahahahaha!"

Hark, the 4th-year representative, burst into laughter while reading the newspaper with his eyepatch pushed up.

Leele, the 2nd-year representative, dropped her fork while reading the newspaper at breakfast and gaped.

"Doesn't our school newspaper write its articles a bit too sensationally?"

As Chelsea muttered while looking at the school newspaper distributed to each classroom every morning, Cal shrugged.

"What can you do? The newspaper club has to make a living too."

The newspaper's headline read, "[The Queen's Humiliation]" in large letters.

"By the way, the newspaper club is quite brave."

"They do some crazy things sometimes."

Cal chuckled and asked Leo, "How does it feel to have humiliated the Queen?"

"Not particularly."

"By the way, after being so publicly disgraced, won't she seek revenge?"

"That won't happen."

'She's not the type to tarnish her reputation by seeking revenge. Besides, she's the type who wouldn't care what anyone says.'

The problem is Elena's followers.

'Elena's followers are very jealous,'

Leele's words from before came to mind.

'Well, I don't care if those kinds of people run wild anyway. Even if it's a bit troublesome.'

The riff-raff were of no interest to Leo anyway.

'To enter the Forbidden Library, I need Elena's permission.'

It was stated that to research the Hero Record, Elena, the acting principal,'s permission was necessary.

Previously, she wouldn't even listen, but now, for some capricious reason, she said she would grant his request.

'That doesn't mean I'll be able to enter the Forbidden Library though.'

She could refuse after hearing the details.

'Besides, I refuse to have my school life tied down by wanting to enter the Forbidden Library.'

Elena is a strong candidate for the next student council president.

Joining the dungeon攻略 party she leads would undoubtedly lead to troublesome matters.

'I'm already busy enough.'

While it was important to enter the Forbidden Library and find out why the Hero Records were divided, the current priority was to find the traitor within Lumen.

'I can discuss the Forbidden Library slowly later.'

*Creak*

The classroom door opened, and Halind entered.

As the students hastily took their seats, Halind, standing at the podium, said,

"Have you all checked the mission practice requests from yesterday?"

"Yes!"

"Then, please write and submit a brief mission plan explaining the reason for choosing the request you selected yesterday."

"Understood!"

Class 5 promptly wrote their mission plans.

Afterward, Halind carefully checked whether the requests chosen by the students were too demanding and if they possessed sufficient ability to execute them.

During this process, he paused upon seeing Leo's mission plan.

Usually, first-year students going on mission practice for the first time choose requests that match their abilities.

Occasionally, they might be overly eager and choose a request that is too difficult to handle, but it's rare for them to choose a request that is significantly below their capability.

Choosing a request that is too easy for their skill level typically occurs when older students have already fulfilled their required mission practice points but still have remaining mandatory mission counts.

"Are you sure about the bandit subjugation mission in the Garan region? Leo Flob."

"Yes."

"Hmm. You certainly do surprise me in many ways."

Halind stroked his chin.

While students who attempt requests that are too demanding for their skill level should be guided by professors, he was unsure how to proceed in this situation.

'Well, he must have his reasons.'

He thought Leo would have a plan.

Thinking this, Halind let out a wry laugh.

'I never thought I'd come to trust a mere first-year student this much.'

Shaking his head, Halind stamped Leo's mission practice plan.

After the brief interview, Halind said,

"Mission practice begins in two days. Please prepare yourselves accordingly."

"Yes!"

***

*Whooooooosh*

A cold wind howled.

A land of eternal winter.

Seirun, where beautiful elf students study to become heroes.

"Achoo!"

Lunia, a girl with red hair, sneezed as she walked down the corridor of Seirun.

"Heeeng-!"

As Lunia rubbed her nose with a sniffling voice, Eiran looked at her with concern.

"Lunia, are you alright?"

"Yes. Sniffle-!"

As inhabitants of a cold region, elves are strong against the cold.

Especially Lunia, the successor of the Lundua family who wields the power of the Phoenix, was inherently more resistant to the cold.

However, being resistant to the cold and disliking the cold as a constitution were different matters.

Lunia, in particular, disliked the cold immensely.

"By the way, Professor Herdium mentioned that Leo-nim might come as an exchange student, but what happened?"

Eiran asked in a slightly excited voice, and Lunia shook her head.

"It's unlikely. They offered to let him spend nearly half a semester here, but Lumen wouldn't send a student like Leo away for so long."

The name Leo Flob was already so famous that there was no one in Seirun who didn't know it.

'That guy. He's already ahead by a mile. And Leo isn't the only first-year in Lumen.'

Thinking of the first-year students from Lumen with whom she would have to compete throughout her school life, Lunia curled the corners of her lips.

Lunia's personality was such that she became even more ignited when facing opponents worth defeating.

'This will be interesting.'

Just as she was sparkling with a belligerent smile.

"That's not a look befitting a class representative."

A stern voice was heard.

Lunia found a male student in front of her and made an annoyed expression.

Eiran hastily bowed her head.

"Hello, Senior Hardin."

"Hmph. Eiran. I hear you've finally come to your senses lately."

Hardin said with a cold smile, looking at Eiran as he adjusted his glasses.

"I know well that you have tarnished Seirun's name as the class representative."

At Hardin's words, Eiran flinched.

"I hope you will not do anything that compromises the school's dignity as class representative any further."

Eiran couldn't offer any response to his words.

Lunia glared at Hardin with a sullen expression.

"And Lunia, how many times have I told you not to make that expression?"

"What's wrong with my expression?"

"It's the expression of a street thug."

As he pointed this out, Hardin glanced at Lunia's attire.

Lunia, with several buttons of her school uniform top undone and the top tucked out over her skirt, was dressed very casually.

"And you're wearing that sloppy uniform again."

Hardin Dertian.

The top student of Seirun's 3rd year.

In other words, he was the male class representative of the 3rd year.

He was a senior who, proud of being a Seirun student, frequently lectured Lunia.

"How many times have I told you that you must maintain proper conduct as a class representative?"

"Yes~ Yes~ I understand."

Lunia replied rebelliously and buttoned her top, tucking her uniform in neatly.

"There. Are we done?"

"Hmph."

Hardin, adjusting his glasses, scoffed.

"By the way, why are you going to the first-year classroom?"

"It has been decided that you and I will go on this mission together."

"……"

Lunia wore a weary expression.

"You don't have to look so delighted."

"Do I look delighted?"

"This is a good opportunity for me, as your senior, to teach you the proper conduct befitting a class representative."

'Ugh, how annoying. Should I just punch him?'

Lunia gritted her teeth inwardly.

"So? Where should I go for the mission practice?"

"The Garan region, located at the southwestern edge of the continent."

"Garan?"

'At least it'll be warm, which is good.'

"Isn't that a territory of humans and beastmen? Why are we going all the way there?"

Eiran asked with a puzzled look.

"The vice principal mentioned that there might be an 'Undiscovered Heroic Dungeon' there. In any case, Lunia, we depart in two days. Prepare thoroughly."

With those words, Hardin left.

Then, he suddenly said,

"Eiran, continue to do your best as you have been."

"Yes."

"Hmph."

With a cold scoff at Eiran's reply, he walked away.

Watching his retreating figure, Lunia hesitated for a moment before starting to gather snow.

Not forgetting to put a small pebble inside the snowball, Lunia carefully began to make it.

And then she was about to throw it directly at Hardin's head.

Eiran, in a panic, clung to Lunia's arm.

"Lu-Lunia! If you do that, you'll get into a fight with Senior!"

"It's fine. That annoying guy won't get hurt by something like this."

"I won't allow it!"