Book 1 Chapter 166
Leo grumbled as he watched Shasha's retreating back, her shoulders slumped as she walked back to the dormitory.
“So I’ve ended up with something strange.”
“Are you referring to me as something strange, Master?”
Leo pressed his temples, looking at Arti, who was wriggling her body with an equally strange tone of voice.
Leo remembered Albus, his partner from his past life with whom he had made a contract.
As a summoner, he had trusted Kyle's abilities and given him his infinite trust.
Kyle also trusted Albus and fought alongside him.
However, Albus was lost in the battle against the Legion Commander, the Death King.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve lost a covenantee twice to that guy.’
Against the Death King, considered the strongest among the Legion Commanders, Kyle lost Elsi and Albus.
He lost two covenantees.
It was then, as Leo recalled that time, that he gave a bitter smile.
“Ah—! To treat a Pegasus, known as the 'pure white illusion,' like a stone rolling on the street.”
Arti seemed pleased when Leo looked at her as if she were pathetic.
Leo, who had been lost in thought, felt a headache coming on.
‘Do all the top three mythical beasts these days have a screw loose?’
The chirping Phoenix.
The Fairy Prince who was chased away for playing pranks.
And on top of that, the perverted Pegasus.
A combination that a mythical beast summoner could only dream of.
Of course, with the word "strange" attached, for Leo, it was a nightmarish combination.
“So, Master. Where should I stay? I don't mind even a stable. No, I'd even prefer…!”
“Can you please be quiet? Don't further ruin the image of a Pegasus.”
Leo let out a deep sigh and said,
“For now, wait until I call for you. I have people to introduce you to.”
Since they had made a contract, it was necessary to introduce Arti to other contractees.
“Yes! I will hide in the bushes and wait for Master’s call!”
Rustle- rustle-
Arti disappeared into the bushes.
Watching her, Leo let out another deep sigh and returned to his room.
The room was still in disarray from Fiora and Kirian's squabble.
Leo picked up a summoning textbook rolling on the floor with one hand and wildly swung it at the two of them.
“I told you to finish this by the time I got back?”
The two mythical beasts, easily subdued by Leo, knelt in a corner of the room and raised their hands.
The good Elsi diligently cleaned the room the two had messed up.
Seeing her, Leo said,
“I have someone to introduce you to.”
[Who is it?]
As Elsi tilted her head, Leo raised his spiritual energy and said,
“A new colleague.”
Leo drew a summoning circle and called forth Arti.
Arti, who swiftly jumped onto the summoning circle, looked around the room with a disappointed expression.
“What, this isn't a stable.”
Leo gave up on expecting Pegasus-like behavior from Arti and said,
“This is Arti, who is temporarily my covenantee. Everyone, say hello.”
At those words, Elsi’s eyes widened.
[Did you contract with a Pegasus?]
“Yes.”
[Nice to meet you. I am Elsi, the shadow spirit.]
Elsi flew in front of Arti and politely raised the hem of her skirt to greet her.
Seeing Elsi, Arti also elegantly raised the hem of her dress and returned the greeting.
“I’m Arti, a Pegasus.”
As she said that, Arti noticed two mythical beasts standing in the corner, hands raised, staring blankly at her.
“A Phoenix and a fairy?”
It was truly a bizarre situation.
It was an incredible event to see the top three mythical beasts – a Phoenix, a fairy, and a Pegasus – in one place, something rarely seen even in a lifetime.
Moreover, the contractor of those three mythical beasts was a single person.
In the history of summoning, there had never been a summoner who had contracted with all three top mythical beasts.
An unprecedented, great achievement that no hero had ever accomplished.
“Why are you two kneeling with your hands up?”
“We were stretching.”
[I was stretching.]
The two who were being punished subtly got up and pretended to warm up.
Then they stood in front of Arti and crossed their arms.
“I’m Fiora. I’m the leader here, so you can call me leader from now on.”
[I am the head of this group. Call me boss.]
The two proud mythical beasts glared at each other.
“I’m the leader! You wingless fairy!”
[I’m the boss! You shorty chick!]
As the two started bickering again about who was the leader and who was the boss, Leo swung his summoning textbook at them.
Arti’s jaw dropped as she watched.
Her covenantee was not only a contractor of the top three mythical beasts, but she was also treating other mythical beasts like this?
Elsi smiled bitterly at Arti.
[It might be shocking, but you’ll get used to it. Leo doesn’t treat the top three mythical beasts specially. Kirian calls this hell…]
“Is this heaven?!”
[……?]
“So you’re the administrator here. Please take care of me from now on! Master! Please swing a book at me too!”
Elsi, who had been definitively certified as the administrator by the newcomer, watched Arti run towards Leo with a puzzled look.
[Are all the top three mythical beasts strange?]
Of course not.
***
The next day, during magic class.
Chloe, who was waiting as a magic class instructor, asked Leo,
“Leo. You look tired? Did you not sleep well last night?”
Leo’s eyes were hollowed out, thanks to being pestered by his contractees all night.
There was no physical exhaustion.
Leo’s robust stamina, close to that of a monster, was not the kind to be tired after a day of running wild.
However, managing his contractees consumed an immense amount of mental energy.
The top three mythical beasts were incredible enough to exhaust even the strong mental fortitude of a great hero.
“Uh, I was doing something briefly last night.”
Seeing Leo's tired expression, Chloe asked,
“Would you like a fatigue recovery potion?”
Chloe held a fatigue recovery potion from Kal’s, with ice magically added, floating in it.
Sipping the potion through a straw, Chloe said,
“This relieves fatigue and is surprisingly delicious.”
Chloe, who had been a regular user of Kal’s fatigue recovery potion since her enrollment, smiled.
Kal had added flavor to his best-selling fatigue recovery potion.
As a result, it had become even more popular among the female students.
“Then I’d be grateful.”
At Leo’s words, Chloe reached for a new potion from her pocket.
However, Leo’s hand, reaching for the potion bottle in Chloe’s hand without thinking, was faster.
“Oh?”
Chloe let out a surprised exclamation.
Leo took the potion bottle from Chloe’s hand and took two sips through the straw.
It was a summer morning, with the sun beating down.
The cold fatigue recovery potion was enough to wake him up.
Feeling the fatigue disappear, Leo smiled and returned the potion bottle.
“It certainly wakes me up a bit. Thanks.”
“Uh, uh… well…”
“Leo student, please come over here for a moment.”
Leo approached as Assistant Professor Anna called him.
Chloe quickly turned her back to Leo.
‘Wh-what should I do? Wait. Isn’t it weirder if I’m flustered? He probably isn’t even thinking about it!’
After Leo left, Chloe, her face flushed, looked flustered.
‘Sh-should I just take out the straw and drink it? No. It’s just one sip left, so why bother drinking it? No. But it’s a waste!’
Chloe’s heart pounded as she opened her mouth and brought her trembling hand towards the straw, but quickly stopped herself.
‘But is this really a French kiss? Ah, no! I’m drinking it because it’s a waste! Because it’s a waste…!’
“What are you doing?”
“Hiccup?”
Startled, Chloe, who had unconsciously bitten the straw, turned to see Leo, her eyes wide as a rabbit’s.
Gulp—!
Chloe, having taken a sip of the fatigue recovery potion, gave an awkward laugh.
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
“Really? Assistant Professor Anna said she’s finished preparing for class and wants you to come.”
“Ah, understood!”
Answering Leo hastily, Chloe watched his retreating back.
It was a summer morning, with the sun beating down.
Chloe glanced at the ice melting in the potion bottle.
Clink—!
The ice melted with a sound.
Chloe, looking with a sulky face and pouting lips at the retreating figure that seemed so indifferent to her own panic and confusion, put the straw in her mouth.
Slurp—!
The sound of the straw sucking air echoed hollowly.
***
I arrived in front of the magic lecture hall, following Anna.
Anna turned around, with two magic lecture halls before them.
“You two will now conduct classes in each of the two lecture halls.”
At those words, Chloe’s expression turned surprised.
“Assistant Professor Anna, aren’t we, Leo and I, supposed to be instructors helping with the professor’s class? Why do we have to lecture?”
That was indeed the case.
Students chosen as instructors were supposed to assist professors, not conduct classes themselves.
Yet, they were suddenly told to teach the admission candidates.
Both Leo and Chloe were understandably bewildered.
“It’s Professor Ren’s order. He said you two have enough skill to teach the admission candidates. He also said it would help with review.”
Anna smiled, but she sighed deeply inwardly.
‘Professor! Why are you making us lecture four people!’
‘The students who will be admitted next year should know in advance! The greatness of their seniors from one year above! Shouldn’t they worship the greatness of Leo Flov!’
‘No! Haven’t you considered that they might lose motivation after seeing those four people?!’
‘Oh! Oh! Assistant Professor Anna! It is said that a lion pushes its cubs off a cliff! We don’t need students with such weak spirits in the Lumern Department of Magic!’
‘Pushing cubs off a cliff is a false rumor, isn’t it?’
Anna tried to dissuade Professor Ren with all her might, but he was not the kind of person to listen to her.
Remembering that time, Anna pressed her temples.
‘I think I’ve been getting more gray hairs lately.’
Professor Ren’s outbursts, which used to happen only once every six months until half a year ago, had become more frequent recently.
Of course, the culprit was Leo Flov, who was right in front of her.
‘Should I resign?’
Anna let out a deep lament.
“What about Abad and Chelsea?”
“Since they are not Professor Ren’s responsibility, they are assisting under Professor Oar, so they will probably conduct classes in a different format.”
With 300 Emerald students, Ren and Oar, another first-year magic professor, divided the classes in half.
Naturally, the admission candidate classes were also divided in half, with students attending classes in their own ways under Ren and Oar.
Of course, if there was a rotation, Oar’s students would come here, so they wouldn’t only attend one professor’s class.
At Anna’s words, Leo and Chloe exchanged glances.
“Can’t be helped.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Saying so, the two entered their respective classrooms.
Anna called out to their backs,
“You two will also be conducting classes in rotation.”
‘Since they are Leo student and Chloe student, after all.’
When it came to magic theory, there was no one among the first-year students who could surpass them.
‘No, in a way, they are more proficient in theory than even the upperclassmen.’
Anna also predicted that there would be no significant problems with the classes.
‘The problem is the admission candidates.’
Anna let out a deep sigh.
‘I hope they don’t get discouraged for no reason.’
*
“Failure. How pathetic. To fail, blocked by a mere first-year student.”
“A mere first-year? Do you call the Pegasus’s covenantee a mere first-year?”
Elena, Kaelian’s secretary, spoke with a cold smile to her compatriot who spoke with anger.
“Whether they are the Pegasus’s covenantee or not, aren’t they just a first-year brat? Well, at that level, they were defeated by a mere ‘human,’ weren’t they? I’m going to all this trouble for you, and you can only do that?”
The man’s face contorted as he looked at the annoyed Elena.
“It seems our long-term infiltration into Lumern has been in vain thanks to you. How will you take responsibility?”
Elena looked at the man with a pathetic expression.
“I’ve already been discovered. Lumern will be pursuing me soon. Since it’s come to this, this operation must succeed at all costs.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“It’s simple. You need to go berserk.”
“You want me to go up against Lumern? I’ll be instantly annihilated at this rate! My existence will be completely erased!”
“If you don’t take a gamble now, you’ll lose the chance to ever revive, won’t you?”
The man shut his mouth tightly at Elena’s sneer.
“Even if I wanted to go berserk on your behalf, I’m only a ‘fragment.’ So wouldn’t it be more appropriate for you to attack Lumern?”
“Understood.”
Saying so, the man disappeared from the spot.
Elena adjusted her glasses.
‘By the way, that brat. He was bothersome even when he was an All-Class, and now he’s contracted with a Pegasus?’
Hatred flickered in Elena’s eyes.
‘Why a Pegasus of all things? He resembles him so much it’s hateful.’
A long time ago.
Elena’s eyes, recalling a human she had fought many times, became murderous.
‘He resembles that detestable Kyle too much.’