Book 1 Chapter 219

The streets of Lorend, the capital of Lordren, the hegemon of the western continent.

As expected of the capital of a nation recognized as the world's strongest human power, the streets were teeming with people.

Recently, even more people had flocked to the city.

This was a natural phenomenon, as it was the venue for the Lumern entrance integrated examination.

However, the liveliness of the streets wasn't always a good thing.

"Catch him!"

"Thief!"

"Stop right there!"

Desperate voices echoed from the outer streets of Lorend.

"Hmph! Do you think I'll stop just because you say so?!"

The robber chuckled and quickly darted into an alley.

As the capital of an empire, Lorend's public safety was excellent.

However, with the influx of numerous outsiders, the existing guards alone were struggling to maintain order.

Where there is light, there are also shadows.

Even in an era of heroes, criminal organizations were bound to exist.

The more they were suppressed by heroes, the more they burrowed into the dark to increase their power.

The most prominent example was the thieves' guild.

And Lorend, at this moment, was a prime target for the members of the thieves' guild.

'I've already memorized this alley!'

The outer districts, unlike the city center, had fewer guards.

As a result, thieves from outside were running rampant.

*Swish-*

At that moment, a young girl stood in the middle of the alley, arms crossed.

"Hah? Get out of my way! Do you want to die!"

The robber shouted, brandishing a dagger.

Seeing the robber, the girl scoffed and raised her staff.

'A mage!'

The robber's eyes flashed, and he quickly turned, fleeing deeper into the alley.

One of the reasons he had been able to continue his robberies as a member of the thieves' guild was his quick judgment.

'Hmph! Even if she's a mage, she can't catch me in this complicated alley…'

"Hey, wouldn't it be easier if you just surrendered?"

"Cough?!"

The robber was startled by the voice from beside him.

The girl with sky-blue hair, who had blocked the robber's path just moments ago, was running beside him with a bored expression.

The robber instinctively swung his dagger.

*Whizz-*

At that moment, a gust of wind blew.

"Aaaargh!"

The robber, thrown high into the air, flailed and crashed to the ground.

*Splat-*

"Ugh!"

The robber, falling from a considerable height onto the stone floor, writhed in pain.

Chelsea used magic with just her gaze.

*Whizz-* *Splat-*

"P-please spare me… Keek!"

The robber, who had been suspended in the air, plummeted to the ground again.

Chelsea lightly flicked her palm and, seeing that the robber was no longer breathing, tilted her head.

"Mister, are you breathing?"

Even so, the robber's breath had stopped.

"If you don't breathe, shall I drop you from a height that will truly kill you?"

"I-I'm breathing! I'm breathing!"

The robber shot up and knelt.

Chelsea used magic to crumple the robber's dagger, rendering it useless.

Then, she made him go to the guards himself.

As Chelsea brought the robber in, the guards, who had been dispatched after receiving the report, saluted her.

"Thank you for your cooperation!"

"No, as a Lumern student, it was just something I had to do."

Chelsea said with a slight smile.

The gathered onlookers murmured, seeing this.

"A Lumern student?"

"No wonder… her skills were so impressive."

"Is that the Lumern uniform?"

"Wait. Isn't that Chelsea Lewalyn?"

"Chelsea Lewalyn?"

The murmuring onlookers recognized Chelsea and let out cheers.

Chelsea smiled and waved at them.

Drawing an even more enthusiastic reaction, Chelsea left the scene.

A moment later, Chelsea spotted a male student wearing the same uniform as her.

It was Karl.

Karl was also on his way back after apprehending a criminal, just like Chelsea.

"How many did you catch today?"

"Five."

Karl grumbled as he rubbed his shoulder.

"Seriously, why are there so many criminals?"

"It's probably because all sorts of riff-raff are flocking to our country, wondering if there's anything to steal."

Where people gather, crime rates naturally increase.

Especially now, with an increase in travelers for the entrance exam.

The biggest characteristic of travelers is that they have a lot of money.

To the thieves' guild, they were a tempting target.

Like flies attracted to food, thieves who wanted to line their pockets were flocking to Lorend.

The measure taken by Lumern to maintain public order was the deployment of students.

All students in the second-year promotion class, who had no special circumstances, were in Lorend.

Chelsea and Karl returned to the Lumern student dormitory.

"To be dragged out during vacation and have to catch criminals!"

"Vacation time is so precious!"

"Our school overworks us students too much!"

The Lumern students gathered in the luxurious hotel lounge provided by Lumern were complaining.

Seeing this, Karl suddenly started to chuckle.

"What useless thing are you planning now?"

"Just watch."

In response to Chelsea's question, Karl cleared his throat and shouted.

"Professor Halind! Hello!"

"Eeek?"

"P-Professor Halind?!"

The students who had been complaining let out startled cries and looked in the direction of the voice.

Fear was etched on their faces.

"Puhahahaha!"

Seeing his peers, Karl clutched his stomach and burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Cough! Cough?!"

Of course, his end was being beaten up by his angry fellow students.

As Chelsea watched this with a look of pity, two male students entered the hotel lounge.

"That's why you're too soft. Abad Lewalyn."

"Is that so?"

Duran said with a smirk, and Abad scratched his cheek.

"Why are you picking on my older brother again?"

"I was merely correcting Abad Lewalyn's excessively soft judgment."

"What? What's wrong with my older brother's judgment!"

As Chelsea reacted sharply, Karl, who had been lying down, intervened.

He slipped his hands under Chelsea's armpits and lifted her.

Chelsea's feet left the ground, and she struggled as Karl said,

"Whoa, whoa, calm down. It's not like our prince's speech has been polite for just one day."

"You are always rude, Karl Thomas."

"A person should be consistent."

Karl said with a sly smile.

On one side was the heir to the Duchy of Moira.

On the other side was a commoner from the Duchy of Moira.

In a way, they were polar opposites in status, but although Duran and Karl's relationship was strained, it had not reached a breaking point.

The Kingdom of Moira, being a knightly duchy, was not a large country and placed great importance on talent.

In this country, anyone, regardless of their status, could be treated well if they had talent.

And students of the Hero Academy were the best talent.

For whatever reason, Karl had succeeded in advancing to his second year.

Duran, to some extent, acknowledged Karl.

That's why, even though Karl was sly with him, he didn't cause him significant harm.

"So? What's up?"

Karl asked, tilting his head, and Abad replied with his characteristic gentle smile.

"There were a lot of entrance candidates outside. They came to greet their future seniors, apparently. They also brought a lot of gifts."

"Gifts?"

"What gifts?"

"There were a lot of snacks."

The girls let out cheers.

Most Lumern girls were crazy about dessert.

"Heh heh! They're polite juniors!"

"This is why being a senior is fun~"

The girls, with excited voices, started to head out of the dormitory.

Abad added with a wry smile, watching the girls.

"Duran chased them all away, so there's no one there now."

"Why did you chase them away when they came to greet us?"

The first-year student, who had been in the same class for the past year, grumbled. Duran scoffed.

"They're not worthy of calling us seniors yet. Do you want gifts from presumptuous people who dare to call themselves juniors?"

"But there might be some among them who are worthy of becoming juniors."

"As far as I could see, none of them could pass the entrance exam. How dare they call me senior with such abilities. Utterly rude."

"Sometimes, when I see him, I really think he's a prince."

"Wow… that arrogance only royalty can possess. Nobles can't even imitate it."

Students from the first year, who were somewhat friendly with Duran, whispered among themselves.

Then, when Duran looked at them, they acted as if nothing had happened.

Thus, the students who had gone on patrol returned one by one.

Students from the Lordren Empire also spent their vacation here.

Not only did they have school friends, but they could also work on their killer vacation homework together.

"By the way, where are Celia and Chloe?"

"They haven't returned yet."

"Are they planning to eat dinner outside?"

Just as the first-year students were looking with confusion at the class president and vice-president who hadn't returned.

Celia and Chloe entered the dormitory.

But they weren't the only two.

The students who were doing their homework on the first floor were surprised to see the three who came with them.

They were also wearing uniforms, but not Lumern uniforms.

Lunia, Eiran, and Luca, whom they had seen during the Ruse Battle.

The grade representatives of Seirun had visited.

"We're here as guests today to watch the Lumern entrance exam, so we just stopped by to say hello."

Chloe explained, and Lunia stepped forward with a beautiful smile.

"Hello, Lumern students. My name is Lunia El Lundia."

"Nice to meet you! Seirun grade representative!"

"How is Seirun?"

"Are the internships over?"

Lumern students swarmed.

Eiran, who was shy, was startled and hid behind Lunia.

Luca laughed, seeing this.

"Yes. Thanks to you all, Seirun has returned to its original state. We didn't have a chance to properly thank you at the time… I wanted to express our gratitude to you all."

Lunia bowed her head with a beautiful smile.

"Thank you for fighting for Seirun."

"Lumern and Seirun have been rivals for a long time, but in other words, we are friends who compete in good faith."

"That's right! And it was Tartarus's invasion! It's natural to join forces!"

"There's no need to thank us!"

Seeing the beautiful Lunia, the male students cleared their throats and put on a dignified air.

"Honestly. They lose their minds whenever they see someone pretty."

"By the way, as I thought before, Seirun's third place… isn't she incredibly cute?"

"Yeah! The type you want to protect."

The girls squealed as they looked at Luca.

"What's the difference between you and them?"

Karl, who looked at the girls with a look of pity, turned his gaze to Lunia.

Lunia was playing the role of the perfect Seirun top student.

But Karl knew.

That Lunia was actually a terrifying elf like a gangster.

As he shivered, recalling her true nature.

"C-Cal! Have you been well?"

"Oh, Eiran."

Eiran, who was the closest to Karl among the students present, spoke to him.

While exchanging greetings, Eiran furtively asked, glancing around.

"Um… well… Cal, where is Leo?"

"Leo isn't here due to family reasons."

Upon hearing this, Eiran's ears drooped.

'Leo! You fortunate bastard!'

Karl exclaimed inwardly.

Just as the Lumern students' dormitory became lively with the visit of the Seirun students.

"Get out right now!! Leo Flob, you bastard!!!"

An ear-splitting scream echoed.