Book 1 Chapter 135

"It's an escape!"

Lunia shouted, stretching as she stepped outside the city.

"I thought I was going to die from being so suffocated!"

"Weren't you not pretending when you were with other students?"

"Pretending? What a strange choice of words."

"Then what is it?"

Lunia flashed a graceful smile.

"Consideration that doesn't shatter people's illusions."

Leo shook his head.

"By the way, you teased me earlier, didn't you? Huh?"

Lunia glared, but Leo asked without batting an eye.

"Do I have to act like a good, model student in front of my seniors?"

Lunia's expression turned sullen at the question.

"The upperclassmen barely know my personality."

"Barely?"

"Yeah. There are some seniors who do know. You know the leader of the group earlier, the one with glasses? He knows my personality."

Lunia scratched her head vigorously.

"So I came comfortably thinking I was only coming with that senior. But then other second and third-year seniors, besides him, came along, and it was incredibly tiring."

"If pretending was your daily life, it wouldn't be tiring, would it?"

"If you just left me alone, there would be no reason to be tired!"

Lunia crossed her arms and scowled.

"But they kept making advances."

"Advances?"

"Yeah. That second-year kid kept hinting at asking me out!"

"You could just refuse."

"That's because they keep beating around the bush, making it impossible to refuse outright! It's annoying!"

Lunia kicked at a nearby tree hysterically.

It seemed she had accumulated quite a bit of stress on the way.

"And everyone is so steeped in elitism, really! Ugh! Their words were so grating!"

Lunia, the first-year representative of Seirun, had been a famous girl since her admission.

A prestigious family, beautiful appearance.

And although her personality was like this, she had meticulously acted like a model student on the outside, receiving all the expectations and attention from Seirun's teachers and seniors.

Of course, there were traitors like Lauta, but they were few and far between.

Normally, upperclassmen viewed their underclassmen very favorably.

"What's so displeasing about it?"

"They keep talking about you! Saying you were lucky to interpret the Headmaster's magic! That your interpretation was wrong! If they think that, they should come up with their own new interpretation! If they can't do that, then just shut up and think it in their own heads! Why do they come to me and badmouth you! Ugh! I'm so angry!"

Thinking about it again made her furious, and Lunia kicked a tree.

Leo laughed at her ferocious demeanor.

"You're getting angry on my behalf because they were talking badly about me?"

She froze.

Lunia stopped kicking.

Then she glanced at Leo and snorted.

"Hmph! It's just that I don't like them belittling you, who knows nothing!"

"Yes. Yes."

Leo nodded, watching Lunia speak primly with her chin raised.

"Is Eiran doing well?"

"Yes! She's adjusted to school now! No one's ignoring her!"

Lunia happily chatted with Leo about the events after the field trip.

They had exchanged letters, but talking face-to-face was still the best.

'I actually get along surprisingly well with this guy.'

Lunia thought to herself as she talked with Leo.

Despite their different species, she felt a strange sense of familiarity with Leo.

Amidst this, Leo casually asked,

"So, I came to investigate the Hero's Dungeon. Is it okay for me to go with you to hunt down bandits?"

"Yes. We're just investigating anyway. You're not going into the Hero's Dungeon without me… Whoa!"

Lunia, who had answered without thinking, gasped and covered her mouth.

"Oh really?"

"W-what are you talking about? Hero's Dungeon. Hahaha."

Leo spoke as he looked at Lunia, who was belatedly pretending ignorance.

"Is it nothing? Then I can contact Lumern right now, can't I? There are Seirun students here."

Leo took out and shook the communication orb given to him when he went on practical training missions and asked.

Lunia, who had been rolling her eyes at Leo, let out a deep sigh.

"Fine! Our vice principal said there might be a Hero's Dungeon in this area! Are you happy now!"

As soon as Seirun students appeared in the area, the existence of a Hero's Dungeon was predictable.

Lunia, judging that it couldn't be hidden, honestly confessed, and Leo nodded.

Lunia's expression turned slightly sullen as she looked at Leo.

"Let's go."

Leo didn't ask any more about the Hero's Dungeon and took out a map from his pocket.

"It seems the bandits have made their hideout in the ruins at the eastern edge of the Garan region."

Lunia nodded at his words.

"Alright. Then let's hurry and sweep them away."

*Crack*

Lunia cracked her knuckles and smiled ferociously.

"Villains who harm innocent people. I can never forgive them."

As a hero candidate, Lunia was fundamentally a girl with a strong sense of justice.

"Then."

Leo knelt down with his back to Lunia.

"…? What?"

"Get on my back."

"What? Why would I!"

Lunia asked, her face slightly flushed, but Leo said calmly,

"We need to get to the bandits' hideout quickly, don't we?"

"We can just fly with magic!"

"Even so, it would be much faster if I carried you on my back and ran."

Although spirited, as a young lady from a prestigious family, she hesitated when a boy her age told her to get on his back.

But after a sigh, she got on his back.

"Don't get any weird ideas, or I'll kill you?"

"What weird ideas are there to have?"

"You… Never mind. I won't say anything. Sigh."

Lunia sighed deeply and wrapped her arms around Leo's neck, while on his back.

Leo got up and bent his knees.

Then he leaped with incredible speed.

Feeling the tremendous headwind, Lunia momentarily closed her eyes.

But soon she became accustomed to the wind and opened her eyes to see them moving at incredible speed.

'He's fast, alright.'

Lunia pouted her lips.

Then she rested her chin on Leo's left shoulder and thought,

'Come to think of it, has he grown taller recently?'

Feeling a strange emotion at the fact that the younger boy, who was about her height, had suddenly grown taller, Lunia tightened her grip on Leo's neck.

***

"So, for a while, we plan to explore this area for ecological research."

"Yes! Yes! Please stay as long as you wish! We will ensure you have no inconveniences during your stay!"

Hadin said in a polite voice.

The lord of Garan wrung his hands, looking at Hadin.

A second-year female student from Seirun, watching from afar, sneered.

"How pathetic. Well, humans are all like that."

Elves are a race with particularly strong pride in their culture, above all other races.

Moreover, Seirun students generally have an arrogant attitude, believing they are chosen.

Of course, not all students are like that.

However, the upperclassmen, who are revered, have many students with racialist values.

And these three students were all from the upper years.

This dungeon exploration mission consisted of two third-years, two second-years, and one first-year.

Hadin, the third-year leader, works as a dungeon conqueror for Seirun, and the other students are all dungeon conqueror candidates.

This practical mission was also a kind of test to assess their capabilities as dungeon explorers.

"By the way, Lunia is neglecting her mission and going to hunt down bandits. Although she's outstanding, perhaps she's still a bit immature?"

She asked, looking at her fellow student and a male senior.

To her question, a second-year male student from Seirun replied,

"She's probably overflowing with a sense of justice."

He was a student who had shown blatant interest in Lunia since the beginning of the practical mission.

"Still, why did she go with a student from Lumern to hunt bandits together?"

The second-year male student from Seirun grumbled with a look of incomprehension, while a third-year male student said,

"I heard that Lunia considers Leo Frobs her rival?"

It was a well-known story that the first-years of Lumern and Seirun had a brief joint class in the first semester.

The fact that Heridium, the homeroom teacher of Seirun's first-year advanced class, had highly praised Lumern's first-years was also famous within Seirun.

As Heridium was known as an elite teacher, Seirun students couldn't easily dismiss his remarks.

"Well, looking at the recent Gigantes incident, she's quite capable. But even so, I believe our first-years are fully capable of achieving that."

The second-year female student said curtly.

"That's right, senior. How could Seirun students not do what a Lumern student can do."

He scowled and openly revealed his animosity, displeased that Leo had left with Lunia alone.

"Anyway, the Seru Battle this year will clearly be won by Seirun, won't it? The second-years, who are of the same generation as us, were pathetic. And weren't the third-years no match for you seniors?"

At the words of the second-year junior male student, the Seirun third-year's face hardened.

"That's not entirely true. There's a monster among Lumern's third-years."

"A monster?"

"Are you referring to Elena Zerón?"

The second-years asked with a puzzled look, and the third-year nodded.

The Seirun second-years laughed at their senior's reaction.

"Even so, she's just one person, isn't she? Aren't the other Lumern third-years pathetic?"

"That's right. This year will be easy for us too. Lumern's second-years are really nothing special right now."

In the first-year battles over the past three years, last year's first-years – who are now Lumern's second-years – were particularly defeated by Seirun's first-years.

"Still, last year's Lumern first-year representative was quite skilled. Don't get complacent just because you won easily last year."

"Ah, you mean that girl named Lil with the strange way of speaking? Even so, she's exceptional among the other students."

"That's right. For someone like that to be the grade representative, Lumern has really hit rock bottom."

"Oh dear. What's wrong with my cute Lil?"

At the sudden voice, the Seirun students flinched and turned their heads.

There stood a beautiful girl, smiling.

The face of the Seirun third-year student hardened slightly.

"Elena Zerón? Why are you here?!"

"Hello, Seirun students."

Elena said, gently twirling a strand of her hair with her finger.

"You know, I like people who work hard."

The Seirun students were flustered by her sudden remark.

"My cute Lil is always a hardworking child. And she's kind. Last year, she couldn't show her true abilities because she was taking care of her fellow students. After that, she worked very hard to regain Lumern's honor."

Elena smiled faintly, thinking of her only favored junior.

"You can badmouth other schools behind their backs as much as you want, I don't mind."

*Smile*

"But I heard you badmouthing them, and it upset me. So, I'll give you a chance to apologize. I'll forgive you if you politely kneel and bow your head."

The second-year male student from Seirun, flustered by Elena's words, spoke rather assertively.

"We were just stating facts. I don't think it's necessary to kneel."

"That's right! If you don't like these evaluations, prove it with your skills!"

"I've told you why I'm upset and given you a chance to apologize."

Malice flickered in the eyes of Elena, known as the Queen of Lumern.

"You're the ones who rejected the opportunity?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a bright light burst forth.

*BOOM!*

The lord's mansion was instantly devastated.

Hadin and the lord, who had been talking, rushed over at the sudden explosion.

And Hadin's face hardened as he saw a familiar face trampling on the head of the junior female student.

"Oh my, you don't seem to be in a position to confidently mock our school, do you?"

*Squeeze!*

Although Elena usually looked down on those around her, she could not tolerate others belittling Lumern.

She was the daughter of the chairman of Lumern Academy.

And the next chairman of Lumern.

She could not tolerate those who insulted her alma mater.

"Elena… Zerón."

"Hello, Hadin."

Elena smiled brightly at the Seirun third-year representative, with whom she had been competing for three years.

"Perhaps you need to educate your juniors?"

***

"R-run! It's a witch!"

"Do you want to die? Have you ever seen such a pure and innocent-looking witch!"

"She doesn't look pure and innocent, does she?"

"What? Do you want to die first?"

Lunia glared at Leo.

Even so, Lunia's magic steadily targeted the bandits.

The bandits, caught in the surging waves of flame, screamed.

Lunia burst into laughter and pursued the fleeing bandits, who were screaming.

"You villains who torment innocent people! I will send you to hell!"

'Judging by her expression, she really is a witch.'

Leo chuckled and shook his head.

'That side of her is similar to Luna.'

He thought that Lunia would have been happy if she heard it, and Luna would have been angry, as Leo gazed at the entrance to the castle ruins in the distance.

'It's a complete ruin.'

The entrance to the castle ruins had completely lost its former sturdiness.

Leo followed Lunia into the castle ruins.

There, Lunia was using her magic to defeat the bandits.

The skill of Seirun Academy's first-year representative was truly overwhelming.

Although they were of considerable size, they were no match for rural bandits.

"A-a hostage! Take a hostage!"

The bandits spotted Leo and swarmed him.

"Shouldn't it normally be the other way around?"

Laughing wryly, Leo lightly raised his hand.

*Flash!*

Leo instantly completed a magic formation and sent a vortex of fire towards the bandits.

"Aaaargh!"

The bandits scattered in all directions, screaming.

It was only a moment before the bandit group was annihilated.

"Hmph. They're just messing around."

Lunia dusted off her hands and looked at Leo.

'What is he doing?'

Lunia, with a puzzled expression, approached Leo.

Meanwhile, Leo was kneeling and sweeping the ground.

'…It seems… Gardesron itself is buried underground.'

Even after thousands of years, it was the last fortress, the last line of defense for the world.

It was strange that such a fortress, which only existed in literature, had vanished without a trace.

However, upon entering the castle ruins with faint remnants of the past, Leo knew.

'This is the upper part of Gardesron's wall.'

Gardesron's wall, which had a height and thickness unimaginable today.

Gardesron was a city of incomparable scale to the refugee city Reisar.

As Leo swept the ground, he noticed a faint aura flowing within the earth.

'Dark magic… I see.'

Leo narrowed his eyes.

'Did Tartarus cover Gardesron?'