Book 1 Chapter 236

The three people who received a lunch invitation from Mel headed to the first-year magic building.

Mel asked them to eat in her lab and to wait in the first-year magic building for a while until it was ready.

"Whew. The first-year magic building. What memories."

"We were having classes here just a few months ago, weren't we?"

"Fresh freshmen! We had those days too."

"Anyone would think we've graduated."

When Kal arrived at the first-year magic building and dramatically acted cheeky, Chloe held her head and Leo burst into laughter.

Meanwhile, the first-year students who were struggling with their textbooks on the café terrace in front of the magic building spotted the three and their eyes widened.

"Wait. Those three people… aren't they Senior Leo, Senior Chloe, and Senior Kal?"

"Where, where?"

"It's true!"

The first-year students looked surprised.

Magic department students rushed over.

Seeing them, Kal mumbled.

"Oh. As expected, the top students competing for 1st and 2nd place in the magic department and the student council president are popular with their juniors…"

"Senior Kal! Hello!"

"Senior, nice to see you~"

"What brings you here?"

The first-year students swarmed around Kal.

At that, Kal's eyes widened.

Chloe, standing a step back, tilted her head.

"He's very popular with the juniors."

"Kal was the one who approached the first-years most friendly at the welcome party."

"He only did that to promote his products, didn't he?"

"Still, from the juniors' perspective, Kal is easier to approach. And he's fun."

"I can't deny he's fun, but…"

Chloe trailed off, looking at Kal, who was chatting amicably with the juniors.

Seeing that, Leo chuckled.

"What? Are you jealous?"

"J-jealous, me!"

Leo chuckled again, looking at Chloe, who flared up with a slightly flushed face, and pointed to one side.

"It looks like there are some kids over there who want to get close to you too?"

Chloe looked in the direction Leo pointed.

"S-Senior Chloe…!"

"It's my first time seeing her in person."

"I've read all the magic theses Senior Chloe wrote in her first year! I want her autograph!"

The first-year students were gazing at Chloe, their eyes sparkling.

Leo patted Chloe's shoulder.

At that, Chloe cleared her throat and approached the juniors.

"You guys. Why are you staring like that?"

"Gasp! S-Senior?"

"If you have something to say, say it. I'll listen."

Chloe, as always, adjusted her grimoire, stood up straight, and held herself with dignity.

She tried to act with authority as a senior, but it appeared differently in the eyes of the juniors.

"Ah, no, Senior!"

"Sorry for staring!"

"We won't even make eye contact again!"

"Ah, no… you don't have to go that far…"

"We-we apologizeeeeeee!"

The first-year students screamed and scattered.

Chloe's hand, which wanted to approach her juniors, futilely cut through the air.

Leo approached.

"What in the world… what did I do to make them so scared?"

Seeing Chloe's tearful face, Leo said.

"Didn't you freeze all the test-takers during the entrance exam? Isn't that why?"

"That was because Professor Harlind told me to do my best!"

"Anyway, because of that, you've gained the reputation of being a scary senior."

"Ugh!"

Chloe's shoulders drooped.

Meanwhile, Kal, who had become popular with the juniors, wore a smug expression.

"By the way, don't you have anything to ask me?"

At his words, the first-year students' eyes sparkled.

"We do!"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"How did you become a second-year student?"

"…What does that mean?"

"Senior Kal, you said it yourself. That you became a second-year even though your skills are inferior to other students."

"You also said your intelligence isn't that great compared to other students! So of course, you must have some study tips, right?"

"Classes are so difficult! How did Senior Kal understand such class material?"

The first-year students treated Kal as someone who had luckily become a second-year.

Students who had experienced Kal during the entrance exam would find it difficult to say such things, but the students here had not met Kal during the entrance exam.

The first-years believed there must have been some incredible secret to Kal becoming a second-year without being advised to drop out.

"Maybe it's because he's close to the student council president?"

"As expected, you have to be close to those in power…"

Seeing the juniors seriously discussing, a vein popped out on Kal's forehead.

"These insolent brats!"

Being too informal at the first-year welcome party had been the cause of the problem.

Especially among Lumern students, there are many nobles.

Once given an inch, they were taking a mile with Kal.

'Chloe causes problems by being too scary, and Kal causes problems by being seen as too easy.'

Leo, who had been shaking his head, paused.

'Hmm.'

He scanned the entire first-year magic building.

'An unpleasant gaze.'

He felt someone watching him.

He was used to stares, as he was always in a position to be noticed wherever he went.

However…

'I don't particularly like being stared at from hiding, as if being scouted.'

Leo curled the corners of his mouth.

***

"Hmph. Is that the famous Leo Plove?"

5th floor of the first-year magic building.

From a spot with a view of the entire magic building entrance, a first-year female student with binoculars opened her mouth wide and ate bread with gusto.

"On the outside, he just looks like an ordinary pretty boy, doesn't he?"

A male student standing upright in a corner of the room replied to the female student's mumble.

"Don't judge by appearances. He's the man who became student council president in his first year."

The male student said indifferently.

"He is the most promising hero candidate to carry the next generation after the Sword Saint. He might be someone for whom we must sacrifice our lives in the future, so get to know him well."

The female student looked at the male student and scoffed.

"Well, you, being from Lumern, might have to risk your life to protect him. But it has nothing to do with me."

"Is it true that the Shadow of Shan moves only for Shan? A dog that merely follows its master's orders, without justice or conviction."

"Hmph. I'd rather be a dog that follows its master's orders. What you call justice and conviction looks like a mental illness to me."

The two glared at each other chillingly.

It was not the aura a hero candidate would possess.

A sticky, cruel killing intent that entangled people.

It was when both of them lowered their stances simultaneously.

"If students are caught fighting, it's disciplinary action."

The male and female students flinched at the voice from beside them and simultaneously swung their arms.

Thump-! Thump-!

Leo grabbed both students' arms with his hands.

"Hoo."

Leo exclaimed and looked at the two students.

The male student released his strength and became compliant.

But the female student was not.

Whoosh-!

With her arm still held, she raised her leg, trying to stomp on Leo's arm.

Thump-!

Leo grabbed the female student's ankle with his free hand, just as she was trying to stomp down on his hand.

Then he stomped on the top of her foot with his own foot.

"Ugh!"

The female student held her foot and rolled on the floor.

The female student, who had shed a tear watching Leo easily subdue her, gritted her teeth and mumbled.

"H-how did you get in here?"

"Through the door."

Leo said nonchalantly and crouched in front of the female student.

"Fighting on the first day? You're full of vigor."

"Y-you were fighting too just now!"

Leo chuckled, looking down at the female student who was groaning, holding her ankle.

"I wasn't fighting; I was just reprimanding my juniors."

Saying that, Leo looked at the male student.

The tall, thin male student adjusted his glasses and politely greeted Leo.

"I am Fritz Edgon from the first-year Magic Department. Lord Leo Plove."

Leo scratched his cheek, looking at Fritz, who bowed elegantly like a butler.

"Lord Leo? Just call me Senior."

"This is more comfortable for me."

Saying that, Leo looked at the female student.

"You don't seem to be from the Magic Department."

"I'm from the Knight Department," said the female student, limping as she stood up.

"My name is Elle Jane."

With black hair and black eyes, she was clearly an Easterner.

"Alright. What was your reason for watching me?"

"Watching? I was just gazing at Senior Leo's respected face from afar~"

Leo chuckled, looking at Jane, who clasped her hands together and made a charming, coquettish sound.

"Oh, really? Then let me ask you one thing. Why isn't Chen Xia returning?"

"Huh? Why are you asking me about that person?"

"I'm asking because you're practicing the same aura cultivation method as Chen Xia."

At that, Jane paused.

She slowly unclasped her hands, narrowed her eyes, and stared at Leo.

This time, Leo looked at Fritz and said.

"You two don't seem to be from the same affiliation, so why did shadows from different affiliations enroll as students?"

Fritz looked surprised.

"How did you know that…?"

"I can tell by looking."

Among the existing students, there were no students with the same aura as these two first-years.

'Except for Chen Xia, that is.'

Leo narrowed his eyes, recalling his friend.

He had already noticed during the first-year orientation that there were several other students besides these two who emitted an unusual aura.

And he also knew that they were 'Shadows'.

"Well, you were caught too easily because you're inexperienced."

"Since a great hero candidate points out our inexperience, I don't know what to do with myself."

Jane said curtly.

"You don't like that a Shadow enrolled in this school, do you? Ask the Headmaster about that. And about Chen Xia…"

Jane glared fiercely at Leo and said.

"I'm not obligated to tell you!"

Saying that, Jane swiftly left the room.

Leo, who had been watching her, looked at Fritz.

Fritz politely bowed his head.

"I also cannot explain the reason until I receive orders from the Headmaster."

"Alright. I understand. I'll ask him directly later."

Leo stood up.

'I can just ask Mel anyway.'

***

Boiling-

Stew was simmering in the pot.

Lumern professors usually decorate their offices to suit themselves.

Typically, in the offices of magic department professors, there are items necessary for magic research on one side.

But in Mel's office, there was prominently a kitchen.

"It's a hobby," Mel explained with a benevolent smile to the surprised Chloe and Kal.

As Chloe and Kal sat down, Mel used magic to bring the dishes to the table.

The two's eyes widened at the feast spread before them.

"I-isn't this too much?"

When Kal asked, sweating nervously, Mel's eyes widened.

"You are all growing adolescents. You need to eat a lot to grow big and strong."

Saying that, Mel personally served food to the two.

Kal mumbled, looking at the piles of food on their plates.

"It's like seeing my grandmother."

"Me too."

"Professor Mel! How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"It's rude to ask a lady's age. Hohoho."

Kal scratched his cheek, seeing her gently smiling while covering her mouth.

Chloe, who put a meatball into her mouth with a fork, widened her eyes.

"It's delicious! So incredibly delicious!"

"Really? Let me see…"

Kal also tasted the food and was surprised.

"Awesome! It's even tastier than the food at the restaurants in our school!"

Excited by the delicious food, the two enthusiastically began their meal.

Mel chuckled, watching them.

"Ugh… my stomach feels like it's going to burst."

"Me too… I need to go on a diet… Kal, won't you make me some diet pills? They'd sell really well."

"The girls in our dorm were telling me the same thing yesterday."

"So what did you tell them?"

"I told them that if you eat diet pills like you eat snacks, you'll get fat."

Kal looked at Chloe with lukewarm eyes.

"I'll tell you the exact same thing."

"Didn't you get hit by the kids in your dorm for saying that?"

"Yeah."

"Then why can't you think that I'll hit you too?"

Chloe, a vein popping on her forehead, repeatedly hit Kal with a book.

Kal fended off Chloe's attacks with his arm and asked.

"By the way, Professor Mel. Why did you invite us to dinner?"

"Hm? No particular reason. I was just feeling a bit lonely eating alone."

Kal thought, looking at Mel, who smiled gently with her chin in her hand.

'She really feels like a grandmother.'

"By the way, Kal is very interested in elixirs, and Chloe is very interested in grimoires, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"That's right."

Mel smiled and approached the bookshelf in her office.

And she pulled out a book.

Rumble-!

Then the bookshelf opened like a sliding door, revealing a huge space inside.

There was a secret room inside.

Mel came out of it with a potion bottle and a grimoire.

Thud-

Mel placed the two items on the desk and smiled.

"It's a grimoire written with dragon's blood and dragon language magic."

"Gasp!"

Kal's mouth dropped open.

Chloe's eyes also widened.

"You can't take them out, but you can look at them as much as you want in my lab."

"Ooooh!"

"Thank you!"

The two, with bright expressions, received the potion bottle and grimoire from Mel.

While their attention was focused there, Mel handed a note to Leo.

"Lord Leo. This is the information you requested about student Xia."

Leo took it and unfolded the note where the two's gaze couldn't reach.

And he checked the contents and his eyes twitched.

"Is this true?"

"Yes."

Mel sighed bitterly.

"Due to family circumstances, student Xia is resigning as a hero candidate."