Book 1 Chapter 162

162

At Leo's words, Shasha momentarily wore a perplexed expression.

It wasn't just Shasha; everyone around them reacted similarly.

"What did you just say…?"

Leo spoke, looking at Shasha who asked with a bewildered face.

"I called you an impertinent brat."

Shasha looked utterly dumbfounded.

"You… How dare you to Her Imperial Highness!"

An agitated Barden tried to shout, but Shasha raised a hand to stop him.

Then, she stared intently at Leo with her golden eyes and asked,

"Is there something about me that you dislike as a lord?"

"Whether I like it or not, why would I be your vassal? Our countries are different to begin with."

"Well, your maternal family is 'Gerdinger'. You may be from the Kingdom of Delard, but you are also from the Rodren Empire."

At Shasha's words, the students in the Grand Library opened their eyes wide.

"Leo Flobe's maternal family is Gerdinger?"

"Wait. So he's related to Celia Gerdinger?"

"No wonder… I thought they were dating, always together, but they were relatives."

Students from the Rodren Empire also reacted with surprise.

"Scoop! Scoop!"

At that moment, a student who appeared to be from the newspaper club exited the Grand Library with an excited expression.

'The rumors will spread by tomorrow.'

It was a fact that the Gerdingers were going to announce soon anyway, so there was no particular problem.

'Still, it's not pleasant to have someone else's story exposed like this. And what if my maternal family is Gerdinger? So what?'

Leo still looked at the princess before him with indifferent eyes.

The princess, who had lived at the pinnacle of a huge power group called the Empire, took it for granted that she was Leo's lord.

*Flutter-!*

Shasha, who had taken out a red fan from her embrace and spread it open, narrowed her eyes.

"Hmm- I see."

"What now?"

"I haven't yet shown my worth as a lord to Senior Leo."

Shasha nodded as if understanding and smiled with her eyes.

"You want me to prove it, don't you? That I am worthy of being your lord."

*Clack-!*

Shasha folded her fan and curled up the corners of her mouth.

"Wonderful. Indeed, to accept an unprecedented All-Class as my vassal, I'll need to demonstrate my worth first."

Shasha, completely mistaken on her own, nodded.

"Alright. I will prove my worth to you in this joint class. Hohohoho!"

Having said that, Shasha left the Grand Library.

The Rodren Empire students also scurried after her.

As Shasha left, the entire Grand Library began to buzz.

"What? So if there's value to serve, he could be pulled into their faction later?"

"Hmm. He's arrogant, but if it's him…"

The surroundings became noisy due to the deeply mistaken people.

Chen Xia smiled faintly at the sight.

"Young Master Leo will become even more popular."

"I reject this kind of popularity."

***

As lunchtime was nearing its end.

Rumors about Leo and Shasha had spread throughout the school.

Students gathered in the open field for Summoning Studies were chatting incessantly about related stories.

Among them, the most sensational story was none other than that concerning Leo's family.

"Hey! Leo! Is your maternal family really Gerdinger?"

"Yeah."

"Seriously. Why didn't you say anything?"

"Is there any particular reason to go around talking about it?"

Leo shrugged at the question from Teid, a classmate.

Looking at Leo, Teid clicked his tongue.

'Normally, people would be desperate to boast. Well, it's Leo, after all.'

Then, Teid looked around.

The most enthusiastic reactions came from the female students.

Leo was very popular, being the class representative and handsome enough to be called a beautiful young man.

However, despite his popularity, female students surprisingly didn't show much interest in Leo.

This was because of Celia.

Since the beginning of the semester, there had been rampant rumors that they were dating, seeing them always together.

If the rival was Celia Gerdinger, there was no hope.

Furthermore, the other female students who were close to him were all formidable, so they didn't even dare to look his way.

But now that it was revealed that Leo and Celia were relatives, the female students' interest couldn't help but skyrocket.

"Teid! You're close with your class representative, right?"

"Yes."

"Do you happen to know what your class representative likes?"

A female student from the Summoning Studies department asked in a sweet voice.

'Ugh! Don't ask me such things!'

Teid, inwardly shedding tears of blood, answered the female student's question.

Meanwhile, Yura appeared, accompanied by Associate Professor Carlo and the professors from Scown.

The first-year students, who had been chatting among themselves, fell silent upon seeing them.

"Ahem. Is everyone here?"

The first-year students whispered among themselves, seeing her discomfort.

"Why is the professor like that?"

"Maybe because it was revealed that Leo's maternal family is Gerdinger?"

"Indeed. Then the probability of him choosing the Summoning Studies department would decrease."

"It's true that Class 5 representative's skill as a summoner is great, but it's also true that it lacks impact compared to what he's shown as a knight or a mage."

At that remark, Yura's eye twitched.

'What do you mean, it lacks impact?! He's the one who contracted with a Phoenix on the first day of enrollment! Huh! If you compare impact, even a knight or a mage's grandfather would have less impact than summoning!'

Suppressing her urge to shout that, she said,

"Before class, there's an announcement. It's about the sparring evaluation."

Yura crossed her arms.

"The sparring evaluation will be from next week. Sparring partners will be determined through a lottery, as announced previously."

At her words, tense expressions appeared here and there.

Most students hoped not to meet students with high grades.

"Alright. That's all for the announcements for Lumerne students. Shall we start the class now?"

At Yura's words, the Scown students looked nervous.

Lumerne's Summoning Studies class.

How long they had awaited it!

As everyone wore tense expressions, Yura crossed her arms and said,

"The class we'll be having during the joint session period, starting today, will be very helpful not only for Scown students but also for current Lumerne students."

At her words, everyone looked puzzled.

"I've called someone to help with today's class."

"Greetings, students of Scown."

As soon as Yura finished speaking, a majestic voice resonated.

Everyone looked around with surprised faces.

Amidst this, only Leo and Yura accurately pinpointed the source of the voice and looked up at the sky.

*Crackle! Boom-!*

Suddenly, thunder and lightning struck.

Through them, a man riding a Pegasus descended to the ground, exuding an intense presence.

*Thump-!*

Seeing Ulta appear on his Pegasus, not only the Scown students but also the Lumerne students looked aghast.

Pegasus.

For summoners, it was one of the three mythical beasts, like a dream.

It is said that it's rare to see one of the three mythical beasts even in a lifetime.

Under such circumstances, seeing a Pegasus firsthand, the Lumerne students couldn't help but be deeply moved.

"That's Senior Ulta's Pegasus, the one we only heard rumors about!"

"What luck!"

While most students were marveling, Yura asked with an annoyed expression,

"Why such a dramatic entrance?"

"To emphasize an important point for summoners. That is love."

At Ulta's words as he dismounted from the Pegasus, Yura let out a deep sigh.

With a somewhat resigned voice, Yura said,

"This guy's name is Ulta Regrision. He's the amazing fellow who contracted with a Pegasus while still a student."

At her words, everyone began to murmur.

"From today, you will learn one thing. That is, how to summon and contract with a 'powerful summon'."

At Yura's words, the Scown students looked puzzled.

Summoning and contracting with a powerful summon.

That was the ultimate goal pursued by summoners.

It was only natural that the Scown students didn't understand why this was being presented as a special class when they were already learning it at Scown.

Just then, a girl raised her hand.

"Professor. I have a question."

A female student from Scown.

Yura's eyes sparkled as she recognized her face.

'Shasha. A candidate for Lumerne's enrollment next year, originally skilled enough to enter Lumerne directly, but a rather unique princess who went to Scown because she wanted to try their classes?'

She was a girl with absolute confidence in her own abilities.

As such, she was a promising talent that Lumerne was also keeping an eye on.

'If she also enrolls next year, the Department of Summoning Studies couldn't ask for more.'

"Yes, what is it?"

"Isn't it obvious to command powerful summons?"

Yura grinned, looking at Shasha who spoke in a somewhat dismissive tone.

"Yes. It's obvious. But what I'm going to teach today isn't simply how to command powerful summons."

Yura crossed her arms and wore a meaningful expression.

"It's about how to contract with a summon that surpasses your own capabilities, and how to handle it."

At her words, all the students looked surprised.

"Among you, there's someone who particularly needs this kind of lesson, isn't there?"

Yura smiled, looking at Shasha.

"Like the Rodren Imperial Family's Pegasus, for example."

The Rodren Imperial Family had, for generations, possessed a Pegasus with whom they had an oath.

At Yura's words, Shasha smiled brightly.

"That sounds interesting."

***

Almost all students listened to Yura's lecture with intense focus.

Assisting Yura's class was none other than Ulta.

Ulta, who had contracted with a Pegasus in his third year, was the very summoner who had contracted with a summon exceeding his own capabilities.

Of course, Ulta's uniquely abstruse explanations were interpreted by Yura, who stood beside him, and the class proceeded in this manner.

Of course, not everyone showed fervent interest in the class.

Leo, Wareden, and Eliza, while concentrating, weren't hanging on every word.

Leo was a Phoenix contractor, and while Wareden and Eliza weren't quite at that level, they too had contracted with powerful summons beyond their capabilities in their childhood.

Since they had experienced it firsthand, they weren't particularly interested in this class.

"To conclude, it means love alone isn't enough."

"…It means there's a part where you have to put your life on the line."

Yura rubbed her temples as if she had a headache, interpreting Ulta's words.

"Alright, everyone. Now that you've heard the explanation, let's try a practical lesson."

"Practical?"

"You'll proceed with contracting Ulta's Pegasus."

At that, everyone's eyes widened.

"C-can we really do that?"

A Scown student asked in an excited voice.

Ulta smiled, looking at him.

"Of course."

"And if someone succeeds in contracting…"

"Then they become Aeiria's oath-bound."

Ulta gently stroked the Pegasus's muzzle and smiled.

"Provided that's possible, of course."

Rewriting the oath of a summon that already had an oath-bound implied being a summoner superior to the existing one.

And with a skill capable of easily overwhelming the existing summoner.

Surpassing the Pegasus's current oath-bound and rewriting the oath was an almost impossible feat, not only for students but even for powerful individuals who had risen to heroic status through summoning magic.

Thus, students gathered around Ulta.

"Leo, come here for a moment."

"Yes?"

"This class would be meaningless to you, wouldn't it?"

"That's right."

For Leo, the Phoenix's oath-bound, it was a largely meaningless class.

"Then take care of that one."

Leo pointed at Shasha, who was fanning herself with an indifferent expression, as if uninterested in the Pegasus.

"As you know, the Rodren Imperial Family are the oath-bound of the Pegasus. At first glance, it resembles the Runda family, but deep down, it's different. If the Runda family's contracted Phoenix arranged contracts with other Phoenixes, the Rodren Imperial Family has contracted with one Pegasus for generations."

Every Emperor of Rodren throughout history had been the oath-bound of the Pegasus.

It was a blood contract made through lineage.

However, not every Emperor of Rodren had been able to summon the Pegasus.

Even if they had a contract, if their capability to summon the Pegasus was insufficient, they couldn't summon it.

"It's a kind of preliminary contract. So your know-how will be needed."

"Understood."

Leo nodded and approached Shasha.

Shasha smiled, looking at Leo.

"Hello, Senior Leo. Is something the matter?"

"Professor Yura asked me to help you a bit."

"Me?"

"Yes. You're already the Pegasus's oath-bound, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"She asked me to help you be able to summon that Pegasus."

"Oh my. I don't know how to thank the professor for her consideration. But what kind of help can Senior Leo be in summoning a Pegasus?"

The fact that Leo was a Phoenix's oath-bound was a secret.

Therefore, Shasha looked at Leo with a condescending expression.

'She's always so arrogant.'

"I can help. It's not a Pegasus, but I've contracted with a powerful summon."

"Hmm. So it's a 1:1 lesson. I can certainly feel that even Lumerne's Department of Summoning Studies is paying attention to me, a candidate for next year's class representative."

Shasha, smiling confidently, curled up the corners of her mouth.

"But I don't want to become a spectacle in front of everyone."

"Then I'll tell the professor that you don't need my help."

"Senior Leo truly is an unapproachable man."

Shasha frowned.

"Alright. Considering Senior's sincerity, I'll accept Senior's help."

"It's not my sincerity; it's the professor's."

"Senior is also curious, aren't you? Whether I'm a valuable person."

"Not at all."

"But I don't want to be a spectacle here, so please give me special tutoring at night. I'll talk to the professor."

Leo sighed softly, watching Shasha decide and act as she pleased.

'She keeps doing whatever she wants.'

It seemed this princess truly wouldn't be satisfied until she heard him call her his lord.

Regrettably, Leo only knew one way to make this type of person listen.

'Looks like I'll have to teach her a lesson.'