Book 1 Chapter 172

172

A cafe in the first-year classroom building.

Lees brought the coffee he ordered and sat down in front of Leo.

The first-year students around them widened their eyes and whispered when they spotted Leo and Lees.

A meeting between the first-year representative and the fifth-year representative, who was also the student council president.

They couldn't help but be interested.

Moreover, recent revelations that Leo's maternal family was the Zerdinger made them even more curious.

The next generation's owner of Zerdinger and his cousin.

By anyone's standards, this was a combination that could discuss the hegemony of the empire.

Just then, a few female students, their faces flushed, approached Lees.

"Excuse me! Student Council President! Could we please get your autograph?"

"Me too! We're in the Knights Department!"

Two first-year female students, their eyes sparkling, requested autographs.

Lees smiled and signed for the two of them.

"It's no trouble. Study hard."

"Thank you!"

"Wow! It's the President's autograph!"

The two female students, who were excitedly squealing, saw Leo and smiled brightly, waving their hands.

"Well then, Leo. See you next class."

Leo said, watching the two happy female students leave.

"You're quite used to it."

"Because I am. You're also a year representative, so when your juniors come in, it'll be like this, won't it?"

At Lees's words, Leo looked puzzled.

"Other year representatives don't seem to be as popular as you, Lees."

Hark, the fourth-year representative, sleeps every day and doesn't deal with people around him.

Elena, the third-year representative, is the queen of the school.

Leo sees her casually, but she always has a retinue around her.

In Lil's case, the second-year representative, she was kind and friendly, but her strong desire to help her juniors meant she would hold onto first-year students and not let go, so once caught, you had to listen to her talk for several hours.

Because of that, first-year students were so fed up they were afraid to approach her.

At Leo's words, Lees let out a small laugh.

"Well, those guys are a bit eccentric, aren't they?"

'I don't think it's just 'a bit'.'

As he let out a dry laugh to himself, Lees spoke.

"Anyway, let's talk about these things later."

Click-

Lees picked up his coffee cup.

Lees, taking a sip of coffee, smiled faintly.

"The coffee here is still the same."

"It seems you haven't been here in a long time?"

"It's my first time since my first year. As you know, the Lumen Department's schedule is more hectic than I thought."

Lees put down his coffee cup, leaned comfortably against the backrest, and said.

"Surprisingly, I didn't have time to look back on my memories. It's only now, as a graduating student, that I have the leisure to visit places of memory."

Leo nodded at Lees's words.

"Indeed, you're also the successor of Zerdinger, Lees, so you must have had even less time."

As the successor of the great hero noble family Zerdinger, Lees must have had no choice but to be even more diligent in his school life.

Celia was also famous among first-year students as a flawless top student.

This was due to her mindset of not being able to show even the slightest flaw as a direct descendant of Zerdinger.

Lees, who was Celia's brother and the successor of Zerdinger, must have had no choice but to lead a perfect school life.

'Given his personality, he must have been even stricter with himself than Celia.'

That was also the reason why Lees was called the 'flawless student council president'.

A man who rose to the top in this Lumen, full of talented students.

A student council president recognized by all students.

That was Lees Zerdinger.

"Yes. Well, thanks to working hard, I'm fully enjoying school life now, though."

Most fifth-year students were relaxed after the second semester began.

They had been rolling through the struggles of competition and survival for a long five years.

Now that graduation was approaching, there was no longer any reason to care about competition and survival.

Lumen's fifth-year students transfer their club and department positions in the second semester and spend their time leisurely.

The professors don't interfere much either.

It was, literally, giving a rest to students who had worked hard for five years.

Lees didn't seem much different.

He explained that he had finished handing over student council affairs.

"Well, there's still a headache left."

"A headache?"

"The next student council president."

At Lees's words, Leo recalled the two students currently being mentioned as candidates for student council president.

The first was Hark Rigard, a fourth-year student.

He would be a fifth-year next year and was one of the top three strongest students in the entire Knights Department.

Moreover, he was also the successor of one of Lumen's three great hero noble families.

"Whether you look at his year, his skill, or his background. Honestly, there's no one quite like Hark."

Lees sighed lightly.

"But he's not very interested in the student council president position. He also thinks he's not cut out for the student council president role."

"That's surprising. I heard a rumor that he wanted to be student council president to keep Elena in check."

"It's true that Hark and Elena are rivals, but Hark doesn't really care whether she becomes student council president or not. The reason that rumor is circulating is because the fourth-year students don't like Elena very much."

At Lees's words, Leo rested his chin on his hand and thought of Elena.

'She's definitely the type to have a lot of enemies.'

Leo let out a dry laugh.

She does what she wants without caring about others' opinions.

It might seem like she's just immature, but the problem is that Elena has the 'ability' to do so.

In particular, Elena was said to have had many troubles with seniors one year above her since the beginning of the semester.

'In that regard, am I similar to her?'

Thinking that, Leo shook his head.

'No. I'm the one who gets picked on by the second-years. She's the type to create incidents. I'm a moderate.'

"Anyway, though it doesn't show much on the surface, the third and fourth years aren't actually on very good terms right now."

The third year was dominated by Elena.

Because of that, the relationship between the fourth-year students who didn't like Elena and the third-year students naturally deteriorated.

"For now, the fifth-years are holding them back, but when we graduate, problems will truly start."

Lees sighed lightly.

"If Hark were to become student council president, some balance would be maintained. But forcing someone who doesn't want it would clearly backfire."

"That would be true."

Leo, who had been nodding at Lees's words, looked puzzled.

"But why are you telling me, a first-year, this?"

If he consulted with Lil, a second-year, that would be understandable.

After all, Lil, as a second-year, would naturally have more options than Leo, a first-year.

But Lees specifically came to Leo to talk about the seniors.

"The main point is from now on."

Lees adopted a serious expression.

"Since Hark is in that state, it's true that my heart leaned towards Elena. I feel a bit sorry for the fourth-year students, but I can't hand over the student council president position to someone who isn't interested. And entrusting the student council president position to someone with mediocre abilities is also a problem."

At Lees's words, Leo looked surprised.

He had thought that Lees, of all people, would smoothly entrust the student council president position to a fourth-year student.

But to take such a strong stance as to pass the presidency to a third-year?

"Even though she's self-willed, considering how she's dominated the third-year students, Elena has sufficient qualities to be student council president."

Lees sighed lightly.

"Moreover, I believe the role of student council president is even more important now."

"Important now?"

"Yes. Externally, the current world situation is unusual."

Tartaros, which had been holding its breath for a long time, began to stir.

It even extended its grasp to the hero academies.

It was rare for Tartaros to directly target hero academies, even in Lumen or Seirun, which boast thousands of years of history.

Lumen and Seirun, though outwardly quiet, were moving more swiftly than ever internally.

"Normally, the picture wouldn't be very good, but at a time like this, a long term for the student council president is by no means bad."

If a leader of a group continues to hold the leadership position, the group stabilizes.

Whether Hark becomes student council president or another fourth-year becomes student council president.

Elena becoming student council president was practically a foregone conclusion.

Lees's thinking was that it would be better to make Elena student council president early.

"Besides, for years 1-3, maybe, but for years 4 and 5, there's surprisingly almost no difference in skill. Well, Elena was a skilled person who didn't care about her year to begin with."

At that, Leo looked puzzled.

"Then couldn't you just hand the student council president position to Elena?"

No matter what, the current student council president chooses the next student council president.

Moreover, it wasn't unheard of in Lumen's history for a third-year to become student council president.

"You're right. In terms of ability, in terms of skill, Elena is suited to be student council president. And she herself was aiming for the student council president position."

Leo nodded at Lees's words.

"Then isn't there no problem?"

Lees let out a deep sigh, looking at Leo who asked as if there was no problem.

"Yes. There was no problem."

"…?"

At Lees's sudden words, Leo looked utterly bewildered.

Lees, taking a sip of coffee, pressed his temples.

This was an unusual sight for him, who usually didn't show much emotional change.

'Did something happen?'

"This morning, I called Elena and brought up the student council president discussion."

Lees's face contorted as if in trouble.

"But she refused the student council president position."

"Isn't she doing that to make you uncomfortable, Lees? Playing tricks on people is her hobby."

If it was the mischievous Elena, she was certainly capable of that and more.

"I thought that, but she told me something a little different."

"Something different?"

"Yes. She expressed her refusal, saying she wasn't cut out for the student council president role. And then she recommended a candidate for student council president."

"Who is it?"

That self-willed Elena recommending someone else as student council president?

As Leo felt his interest piqued and asked, Lees extended his index finger.

"…"

Leo frowned.

"No way?"

"Yes."

Lees's fingertip pointed straight ahead.

Exactly towards Leo.

"Leo, she recommended you as the student council president candidate."

'That woman, seriously.'

Leo felt a headache coming on.

***

"Hmm- hmm- hmm-"

Third-year classroom building.

Elena, sitting on a cafe terrace, rested her chin on her interlocked hands, wiggled her leg, and hummed a tune.

"That's unusual, Elena. You've been diligently attending classes lately. Is it because you're aiming for the student council president position?"

At her classmate's question, Elena smiled brightly.

"Not really. I'm not interested in the student council president position anymore."

Her classmate's face hardened at her sudden words.

"What?"

"More than that, I've found something I want to do."

"What is it?"

Elena smiled faintly.

"It's a secret."

Elena recalled a boy.

A white-haired boy who exuded the demeanor of a true great hero.

'Leo Flobe.'

Currently, Elena's greatest interest.

There was only one thing she desired.

'The birth of a flawless great hero.'