Book 1 Chapter 261
“We have to find the black rabbit first.”
“Who is the black rabbit?”
As Arga muttered while walking the streets of Dweronia, the wolf-girl student walking beside her tilted her head.
“Who else? It’s the student council president, Rumern.”
“Ooh!”
“As expected, our leader!”
As Arga spoke, the students from Azonia who followed her exclaimed in admiration.
“Your ambition is extraordinary! Leader!”
“As expected, the number one of Azonia’s second year!”
“You plan to face Leo Flov first, right!”
“I do plan to face him, but…”
Arga adjusted her Azonia school uniform beret.
“We have to prevent unnecessary fights before these idiots cause trouble…”
“Leader Ar is aiming for Leo Flov’s neck! Find him!”
“Listen to me, you idiots!”
Before her words were even finished, Arga shouted back at the students following her.
‘The black rabbit calls me a simple-minded fool cat, I need to deal with these guys!’
Arga clenched her fist, veins bulging on her forehead.
‘There are people who are truly simple-minded fools!’
The ones currently following Arga were none other than the students of Arga’s faction.
Arga hadn’t created the faction herself.
The reason for the faction’s formation was due to Azonia’s school culture.
Hero academies are fundamentally meritocratic everywhere.
Rumern teaches all students equally according to its school culture.
Those who cannot keep up in the process must leave the school.
Seirun strictly divides students into upper, middle, and lower classes and educates them according to their class level.
And Azonia.
Azonia’s educational philosophy is singular.
Survival of the fittest.
Unlike Rumern or Seirun, Azonia does not have exams to evaluate academic performance by semester.
Every moment is an exam.
Duels occur daily by grade, and rankings are determined.
The weak can challenge the strong at any time to seize their position.
And the preferential treatment of the strong is certain.
Students of lower rank must obey the commands of students of higher rank.
Of course, it is not an absolute command.
Only the top five students by grade have absolute command authority.
And their positions are equal.
As a result, students gather under the top-ranking students according to their inclinations, forming factions.
They cannot issue commands to students of other factions.
Therefore, faction formation is very natural in Azonia.
Arga covered her face with her hands and sighed deeply, looking at the students wagging their tails like puppies in front of her.
The number one of Azonia’s second year.
Arga Tune.
Her faction students were particularly known for their high loyalty.
There was no other reason.
It was because Arga was strong.
From the moment she enrolled, Arga had been plagued by challengers aiming for her position.
After the faction was formed, other factions even plotted to overthrow Arga organizationally.
However, Arga broke through it all solely with her own strength.
Now, no one dares to easily covet Arga’s position.
Overwhelming strength.
Beasts, like their admiration for strength, also admire the strong.
Yet, she did not wield the privileges given to her as the number one.
All students in Arga’s faction were equal.
In Azonia, where it is natural for the strong to wield privileges, Arga’s actions were highly unconventional.
Naturally, students of lower rank gravitated towards Arga’s faction.
Other factions often mocked Arga’s faction behind her back, calling it a ‘gathering place for the weak.’
Whenever she heard such things, Arga did not let the speakers off the hook.
This was why Arga’s faction was so loyal to her.
“Leader! I have a good idea!”
At that moment, a large bear-beast male student confidently said.
Arga’s cat ears twitched under her beret.
‘I bet he’s going to say something stupid.’
Duruan Tig.
He was second to none in his faction for thoughtlessly starting trouble.
“What is it?”
‘Still, I should at least listen.’
“This is something I overheard from Wenn’s plan.”
“That bear?”
‘I’m even more worried.’
Wenn Damun.
He was known as the smartest student among the second-year bear-beasts.
Of course, that ‘smart’ was only in the context of ‘bear-beasts.’
Among beasts, bear-beasts were known for their great strength.
Therefore, they were also the species most inclined to solve everything with brute force.
Not all bear-beasts were like that, but Wenn Damun was a student who was smart yet possessed the typical disposition of a bear-beast.
In other words, he was good at devising tricks but didn’t consider the consequences of those tricks.
“We find a student who is close to Leo Flov and bring them to our lair.”
“Rejected!”
“Why?”
“Are you trying to kidnap a Rumern student right now?!”
Arga exclaimed, and Duruan shook his head.
“No, Leader. Kidnapping would escalate things. I know that much! We just need to invite them politely and treat them politely!”
“What if the black rabbit’s friend refuses to go?”
“Well… use a little force…”
“That’s kidnapping, you idiot!”
Arga kicked Duruan in the stomach and flinched.
“Wait. If someone came up with such a terrible plan… does that mean they’ve already put it into action?”
“I think so?”
Arga grabbed the back of her neck.
‘Hey, Principal! Why would you put something like that up as a prize!’
The reason Azonia students were so eager to defeat Leo was not just due to Leo’s fame.
The principal of Azonia, Zephia, had put a prize on Leo’s head.
‘The one who defeats Leo Flov in a martial arts match and brings glory to Azonia will be given the chance to challenge the hero Arion’s hero record!’
The hero Arion was the object of admiration for all beasts.
And Azonia students yearned to become the strongest martial artists like him.
For such beasts, the reward of challenging the hero’s hero record was an irreplaceable treasure.
Given that such a prize was offered, it was no wonder that the entire second-year class went mad.
“First, let’s find Dion.”
“Why Dion?”
Dion Den.
Arga’s childhood friend and the undisputed number two in Azonia’s second year.
He was considered Arga’s greatest rival.
And Wenn belonged to Dion’s faction.
“If an idiot from his own faction is going to cause trouble, he needs to be stopped…”
“Arga Tune!”
At that moment, a desperate voice was heard from afar.
Arga turned her head.
A student belonging to Borrman’s faction, a tiger-beast who ranked fifth in Azonia’s second year.
“It’s a disaster! Rumern students have invaded the place our school has secured as a base! They claim we kidnapped their students…”
Arga looked up at the sky and lamented.
‘That bear brat. I’ll find him and beat him to a pulp.’
***
Leo was leisurely sightseeing in Dweronia alone.
Statues of Dweuno were erected throughout the city.
And fitting its reputation as the world’s largest floating city, all the statues were made of gold.
It was no exaggeration to call them works of art, so beautiful were the statues.
They looked as if they could come to life at any moment.
Seeing them, Leo chuckled.
‘This city worships Dweuno.’
Even the name was derived from Dweronia.
As such, it was clearly a city built to honor Dweuno.
‘What would Dweuno have thought if he saw this city?’
Leo burst into laughter as he thought that.
Certainly, his friends were often recorded differently from reality.
Dragons spoke of Lissinas as a wise and just great sage.
While she did have those aspects, she also possessed a considerable amount of cunning.
‘She told a lot of lies too.’
Luna and Arion were deceived the most.
When Luna was indignant that Lissinas was a swindler, Arion would timidly agree beside her.
‘She also gave people false hope through lies. Well, since most of that hope turned out to be real, it’s hard to call it a lie now.’
He remembered Lissinas, who deceived people with well-intentioned lies to give them hope.
In any case, she was not as righteous a dragon as the dragons remembered.
‘And Luna.’
A gentle and benevolent progenitor.
‘Bullshit. She was a tomboy and a fierce female gangster.’
How could Dweuno have said, “If only she would shut her mouth, she’d be a divine work of art”?
‘And Arion is…’
A brave and strong man.
In reality, he was timid and weak.
That’s why the entire expeditionary force was always surprised in major battles.
‘How that coward could muster such courage remains a mystery.’
Leo smiled wryly as he thought of Arion.
Finally, Dweuno.
‘Dweuno was recorded just as he truly was.’
It was true that he served as the mental pillar for the party members as the eldest.
His strong will and steadfast personality.
And with an unwavering, steel-like spirit, he never withheld advice.
If Lissinas was the leader who led the expeditionary force, Dweuno was the pillar that supported it.
‘Arion died… if Dweuno hadn’t been there, everyone would have collapsed.’
After Arion’s death, Dweuno was the one who suffered the greatest shock and guilt.
But even in that situation, Dweuno took care of the other party members.
‘Snap out of it! Lissinas! What are you doing wavering when you’re the leader!’
After barely defeating Erebos, Dweuno got angry.
‘Luna! Stop crying! We made a choice! Arion also made his resolve! Cast aside your sorrow! Forget Arion’s death! Think of only one thing!’
He spoke particularly harshly to Luna, who was wavering the most.
Hearing those words, Luna genuinely became angry at Dweuno.
But Dweuno willingly played the villain.
‘Kyle.’
Dweuno’s steadfast eyes came to mind.
‘It’s not your fault, my weapon was poorly made.’
He alone bore the responsibility for Arion’s death.
Calming his mind, before the next battle, Dweuno looked down at his hands and muttered.
‘Now that I think about it… Luna, you were right. My hands… are unsightly.’
Dweuno had always been proud of his hands.
He claimed these hands were the ones that created beauty.
He boasted that they were the prettiest hands in the group.
At such times, Luna would tease him about his unsightly dwarf hands.
At Dweuno’s words, Luna was taken aback.
‘Oh, no. Your hands are quite cute too!’
At those words, Dweuno burst into laughter, and only then could the two reconcile.
That was the last conversation between Dweuno and Luna.
‘When I think about it, that was his personality.’
He always accepted everything as an adult.
Therefore, his recorded personality in history was the closest to the truth.
Big brother.
‘Well, the pervert part is missing, though.’
Leo burst into laughter.
If Dweuno saw this city, he would probably curse.
Dweuno pursued beauty, but he extremely disliked ostentatious luxury.
If he saw his golden statues, he might have crushed them with those cauldron-lid-like hands.
As Leo was lost in past memories, reminiscing about Dweuno, someone spoke to him.
“You.”
Someone spoke to Leo.
Turning around, he saw a small-statured woman standing there.
Her height reached Leo’s waist.
Anyone could tell she was a dwarf.
However, she didn’t seem like a typical dwarf overall.
Her fashion was very flamboyant.
“You have a beauty that differs from the typical male form, even though you are male.”
She looked Leo up and down, then asked seriously.
“Would you be interested in becoming a nude model?”
‘What is this woman, Dweuno?’