Book 1 Chapter 22

The Hero's Tower in the center of Lumen.

This is a place for the faculty of Lumen rather than its great students.

And at the top of the Hero's Tower is the principal's office.

Principal Kalian, who was sitting at his desk with a relaxed expression, turned his head towards the window.

WHOOSH-!

A woman with crimson hair appeared with a burst of flame.

"Welcome, Pirina."

Kalian, who had greeted Pirina with a gentle smile, suddenly changed his expression.

"Has the intruder moved?"

An intrusion incident that occurred within Lumen five years ago.

There were no casualties, so it was not publicly known, and the perpetrator was never caught.

However, Lumen is not just an educational institution, but a place where the Hero Records are kept.

Not only did they breach Lumen's security, but they also caused an incident within Lumen and were not caught.

It was unofficially suppressed because it was certain to cause great chaos if the incident became known to the world.

However, the search for the perpetrator did not stop.

So Kalian asked Ellen to invite Pirina to Lumen.

Because there was no better mythical beast than a phoenix to oversee the surveillance of the vast Lumen.

"It's not that, but I have good news."

"Good news?"

"A contractor of a phoenix has appeared among Lumen's students this time."

"Is that true?"

Kalian asked in surprise.

"Did you contract with them? Or did they contract with another phoenix?"

"They contracted with my child who was born this time."

"Wasn't your child supposed to contract with the successor of the Lundua family?"

"That was the plan, but it turned out this way."

"A young phoenix, so they could form a contract… Still, to form a contract as a student! Was there any other talent among the fifth-years besides Ulta?"

Kalian naturally assumed the contractor would appear among the highest-ranking students.

Except for Ulta, the contractor of Pegasus, all the students in the Summoning department in their fifth year specialized in spirit magic, so he found it surprising.

"They are not in their fifth year."

"Oh? Are they in their fourth year? I see! The top student in mythical beast summoning in their fourth year was quite outstanding."

"They are not in their fourth year either."

Pirina shook her head.

Principal Kalian's expression changed subtly.

"Are you saying they're in their third year?"

"No."

"……"

"Second year?"

Seeing Pirina smile without answering, Kalian let out a hollow laugh.

"Are you saying a contractor has appeared among the first-years?"

"That's right."

"Who?"

"Leo Flov."

"Hahahaha. Leo Flov?"

He was a student recommended as a potential hero by Alby, who was known to be difficult.

So, the student who was chosen as class representative against the opposition of other professors has suddenly become a phoenix contractor.

'Didn't that student major in knight studies?'

Principal Kalian stroked his beard in surprise.

'I need to meet that student soon.'

***

"Thank you for your hard work!"

The first-year students, who had finished their summoning class, loudly said goodbye and rushed out of the practice grounds.

It was already late evening.

Being in their growth period and having just taken the taming exam, the students' stomachs were growling for food.

The first-year students, without exception, hurried to the student cafeteria.

"Young Master Leo. If you don't mind, would you like to have dinner together?"

"Sure."

Leo was about to leave the lecture hall with Chen Xia.

"Student Leo."

"Yes."

"The professor is looking for you."

Carlo approached and said.

"It looks like I'll have to eat dinner separately then."

"I can't help it. See you in the next class then, Young Master Leo."

Chen Xia left the lecture hall first.

Leo followed Carlo to the professor's office.

When Carlo knocked on the door of the professor's office, a brief "Come in" was heard from inside.

"You can go in."

After greeting Carlo, Leo entered the room.

Despite Professor Yura's free-spirited personality, his office was neatly organized.

Professor Yura, sitting at his desk, gestured to the seat opposite him.

"Sit down."

As Leo sat down, Professor Yura opened his mouth as if he didn't need to wait.

"I'll ask directly, Student Leo."

"Yes."

"The mythical beast you contracted with earlier, it's a phoenix, right?"

'So, you knew.'

"Yes."

At Leo's answer, Professor Yura was visibly stirred.

He had expected it, but hearing a definite confirmation from Leo's mouth was surprising.

"Can you show me once?"

Seeing Professor Yura ask with a trembling voice, Leo put his hand into his school uniform pocket.

Pirina had said she would come to pick him up tonight, so Fiona was still with Leo.

He placed Fiona on the desk.

"To think I'd see a young phoenix in my lifetime!"

It was already difficult to see an adult phoenix, but to see a baby phoenix, which was even rarer, made it impossible for the professor of Lumen not to be excited.

"Haa~! What a majestic appearance!"

Majestic or not, Fiona was nodding off like a sick chick.

'Is their eyesight bad?'

"What's its name?"

"Fiona."

"How in the world did you find it? I didn't even know there were phoenixes in the Forest of Mythical Beasts."

The status of a professor at Lumen was by no means low.

They were all highly skilled in their respective fields and were also commanders with considerable authority in case of emergency.

Even for such professors, Pirina's existence was a secret.

Leo, who had heard this from Pirina, had prepared an excuse.

"While wandering in the forest, I found an egg. I don't know why it was there, but it was a phoenix egg."

It was a flimsy excuse that was hard to believe.

However, there was no explanation for the phoenix contract other than by chance.

Moreover, there was no way to confirm Leo's words.

"Even so, it wouldn't have been easy to recognize it as a phoenix egg, would it?"

Phoenixes are legendary mythical beasts about which very little is known, despite their fame.

It's not for nothing that related information is traded at high prices.

"My maternal family is associated with phoenixes, so I have read ancient texts about phoenixes."

"Where is your maternal family?"

"Zerdenger."

Professor Yura was surprised.

'Well… If it's Zerdenger, it makes sense. The source of the aura flame they use is the power of a phoenix.'

If one only had the talent as a summoner, there would be no more perfect condition for a phoenix contractor.

'Still, a mere fifteen-year-old kid contracting with a phoenix now.'

Professor Yura's eyes gleamed.

Although there were still unanswered questions, what was important now was Leo's talent in contracting with a phoenix as a student, and that too, just one day after enrolling.

"I understand. Thank you for your time. You can go now."

Professor Yura escorted Leo to the professor's office door.

And before opening the door, he said seriously.

"Student Leo."

"Yes."

"It would be best to keep the fact that you contracted with a phoenix a secret for now. It will cause a commotion if it becomes known."

"Understood."

"Yes. Well then, have a good dinner and see you in the next class."

Tap-tap- Professor Yura patted Leo on the shoulder and closed the door.

Then he sat down and pondered.

'How on earth am I supposed to teach that raw talent?'

Professor Yura was filled with dreams.

A summoner with unprecedented talent as his student!

He wanted to nurture him into the best summoner by any means necessary.

'Should I let him skip grades? It's also a dilemma to be in charge of such a talented student!'

Thinking of the disciple who would later be known as a great summoner, Yura was lost in happy contemplation.

If Leo wished, he was willing to give him private lessons.

Professor Yura had no doubt that Leo would choose summoning as his major.

Of course, wouldn't it be unreasonable for someone with such talent to go to another department?

'Heh, for the next five years, the best major department will be our Summoning department!'

Professor Yura did not know.

The fact that Leo had no major department.

***

The next morning.

Leo headed to the Magic Building with Karl to attend magic class.

"Oh! Chloe!"

Karl waved his hand at Chloe, who was walking in front of him with a magic major textbook under her arm.

"Hi, Leo, Karl. Yawn."

"Why are you yawning so early in the morning?"

"Because I was reading magic books late last night."

"Really? Then how about this?"

Karl smiled mischievously and took out a small bottle from his pocket.

"Karl Trading Company's fatigue recovery potion! Only 5 shillings."

"It's not anything strange, is it?"

"The ingredients and certification marks are all on the label here."

"Hmm."

Chloe, after checking the label, nodded and bought the fatigue recovery potion.

As she drank it, she glanced at Leo.

"You're really taking magic class?"

"I told you I would."

"This guy even took a summoning class yesterday!"

At Karl's words, Chloe looked at Leo as if it were amazing.

"What class did you take yesterday?"

"I'm aiming to be a pure magician, so I didn't have any classes yesterday. So I studied in the library."

"Wow, you're a real top student."

The three arrived at the Magic Building, chatting casually.

The venue for today's class, the [Grand Lecture Hall], was a large circular lecture hall that could accommodate up to 500 people.

Seeing the lecture hall, Karl smiled.

"The best seats in the back are still available! What are you guys doing? Let's go quickly!"

"What are you talking about? The best seats are in the front."

"It seems we have different paths."

Karl was about to disown Chloe without hesitation.

However, Chloe grabbing Karl's ear was faster.

"Ouch ouch ouch?!"

"You're planning to sleep in the back, aren't you? A magic student should listen diligently to the lecture."

"Hey! Let go and talk, okay? Huh? Hey!"

Chloe managed to seat Karl in the very front row of the lecture hall.

"If you do this, you'll get caught by the professor if you fall asleep!"

Chloe laughed at Karl, who was screaming.

"Conversely, if you study diligently, the professor will view you favorably."

Though Karl looked at her with resentful eyes, Chloe simply opened her major textbook, unfazed.

Leo, who was sitting in front of them, stifled a chuckle.

Just then, a man walked onto the lecture hall stage.

Clop- clop- clop-

He was a handsome man, fitting the description of a handsome man, wearing a neat suit and with pomaded hair.

As a few female students let out gasps, he stood in the center of the stage and smiled.

"Nice to meet you, first-year students. My name is Ren Horse. I will be your professor for magic theory for the next year."

Applause erupted at Ren's introduction.

"Are there any students with questions before class?"

A barrage of questions from female students poured in.

"Professor! Do you have a girlfriend?"

"How old are you?"

"What is your ideal type!"

Useless questions unrelated to the class poured out.

Even so, Professor Ren answered all of them with a kind smile.

"A handsome professor. The female students are all over him. But Ren Horse? I've never heard that name before. Chloe, do you know him?"

Karl, with a pen resting on his upper lip, asked, scratching the back of his head. Chloe shook her head.

"I've never heard of him either."

After the personal questions ended, Professor Ren said.

"Today, we will be covering the introduction to magic theory. Before that!"

Snap-!

Professor Ren snapped his fingers.

Rustle-rustle-!

Papers began to flutter throughout the lecture hall.

The bundles of paper accurately reached the students' desks.

"Before we begin the class, we will have a simple magic theory test."

"Whaaat?"

"A test on the very first day~ Teacher, you're too mean~"

Complaints poured out from various places.

There were also female students who whined in a cute manner.

"For your reference, students who do not meet the minimum score will not be allowed to take any further magic major classes."

"……!"

The light atmosphere suddenly turned cold.

Amidst this, one student cautiously raised their hand.

"Professor, what if a magic major student fails the exam?"

"Well, naturally."

Professor Ren answered casually, as if asking such a thing was strange.

"Expulsion."