Book 1 Chapter 265

The mana of Dweno, which had been stirring, soon subsided.

Leo looked down at his hand and murmured.

"I'll have to check it later."

The fact that Dweno's mana reacted clearly meant something was there.

"It wouldn't be strange if the artifacts Dweno made were dormant in Damian."

Leo looked once at the highest point of Damian Academy, then moved his steps.

He passed the statues of the great heroes and entered the interior of Damian Academy.

Damian Academy was a giant ancient castle, 5000 years old.

It was a building that contained 5000 years of dwarf history, from the end of the Age of Calamity.

Architectural styles popular vary by era, region, and race.

And Damian Academy was characterized by a mix of all architectural styles in the world, with continuous renovations made whenever the trend in architectural styles changed.

Therefore, the designs of the buildings within the castle walls were diverse.

"It's like being in a building museum."

Chloe said, her eyes sparkling.

"Isn't it too disorganized? It feels unharmonious."

Chelsea tilted her head.

It certainly was.

Being able to see architectural styles from various eras and regions at once was definitely an advantage, but having such diverse styles gathered gave it an odd feeling.

"That very confusion is what can be called the aesthetic of Damian."

Someone said then.

The students' gazes turned towards the direction of the voice.

A dwarf stroked his bushy brown beard and smiled.

"Long time no see, Defeto."

"Good to see you, Professor Sedjen."

At Sedjen's greeting, Defeto burst into hearty laughter and greeted him warmly.

"Everyone, say hello. Defeto Smith here is the supervising Smith for the second-year students of Damian."

"Nice to meet you! Mr. Defeto!"

"Nice to meet you!"

"Good to see you too, young hero candidates of Lumerne. It's an honor to meet such famous hero candidates as yourselves. Come in, the second-year students of our school are waiting."

At Defeto's words, the Lumerne students looked puzzled.

'The second-year students are waiting?'

'Surely we're not choosing a Smith as soon as we arrive?'

The Lumerne students straightened their clothes, looking nervous.

It's unpleasant to be evaluated with all schools gathered.

But they couldn't show it.

"Nervous, are we?"

Chelsea giggled, looking at Cal.

"Of course. A Smith exclusive contract is very important for our future school life."

At Cal's words, Chelsea covered her mouth and said playfully.

"Even though you're barely making it through the second semester?"

"Ugh~ You're hitting a sore spot again."

It was when Cal clutched his heart and groaned.

"Hmph. You're doing something useless, Cal Thomas."

A sneer was heard from behind.

Cal openly stuck out his tongue, showing his displeasure, and Chelsea's face contorted mercilessly.

The one who interrupted their conversation was none other than Emio.

"Do you think Damian students would even look at an inferior student like you?"

"So shouldn't I at least make a good outward appearance?"

When Cal said it with a sly smile, Emio scoffed.

"I don't understand Abad either. Why he accepted a low-class fellow like you into the dormitory as the first priority."

"Exactly. If I had gone to Leone's or Chelsea's, I would have had less trouble with an ill-mannered guy like you."

Cal sighed, as if disappointed.

At those words, Emio, who would normally have gone wild, was now only giving a deep sneer.

"Abad brought you into the dormitory because you're Chelsea Llewellyn's best friend, isn't that right?"

"Hmph! My big brother isn't someone who picks people for such reasons, you know? Are you that upset that you barely got into Noble because you had nowhere else to go?"

"Are you done talking!?"

"No! I'm not! Why!"

It was when Chelsea was fiercely growling.

"Stop it."

Leo stepped between the two.

"This is another school. Refrain from fighting. And Emio."

Leo looked at Emio with cold eyes.

"Refrain from disparaging or ignoring your classmates, okay?"

"Hmph, are you taking your friend's side?"

"What if I am? Want to duel?"

Emio flinched as Leo gave a cold smile.

Then he scowled and left.

"Agh! You damn jerk! I'm really going to get you and smash you to pieces!"

Chelsea stomped her foot on the floor impatiently, and Cal laughed.

"Oh-ho! Oh-ho! Weren't you supposed to use only pretty and kind words in front of Leo?"

"Oops!"

Chelsea gasped in surprise, covering her mouth and widening her eyes.

Leo chuckled, seeing Chelsea glance around nervously with her big eyes, then patted her head and headed towards Sedjen.

He needed to be at the front of the students as the class representative.

Chelsea giggled, seemingly cheered up by Leo's touch.

Cal shook his head at the sight and straightened his tie.

'It's frustrating, but it's not wrong. Damian students are likely to ignore me, who is at the bottom of the grades.'

Damian students would also want to choose a student they could see for as long as possible.

As he had Ju-eun as a mentee, he didn't have to worry about leaving school during the first semester.

'A guy like Ju-eun would naturally advance smoothly not only to the second semester but also to the second year. But I'm not him.'

If his final exam grades were terrible, Cal's Lumerne school life would end in the first semester of the second year.

'It's a miracle I even survived until the second year.'

His initial goal was to somehow survive until the first semester of the first year.

'There's no choice. I'm not Leo, or Chloe, or Chelsea.'

Other students might have scoffed if they heard that.

In fact, many second-year students scoffed at Cal.

A guy lucky enough to be friends with the top students of the second year.

A student who barely survived to the second year thanks to that.

Even this time, a rare lucky guy who hooked Ju-eun, who could be called the biggest catch in the first-year magic department, as a mentee.

There were even first-year students who scoffed at Cal.

When he was young, he was praised for having some talent, but now he knows.

That he is an ordinary person, not much different from others.

'Being among real geniuses makes me feel it even more keenly. But I've come this far.'

Cal took out a mirror from his pocket, tidied his hair, and smiled.

'Still, I wonder how far I can go.'

Cal put the mirror away and maintained a neat appearance.

Meanwhile, the Lumerne students arrived in front of a giant door.

From inside, pounding sounds and boisterous clamor could be heard.

Sedjen opened the door.

Whoosh!

"We are the glorious descendants of Dweno! Raise your glasses!"

"Raise them!"

"Let's enjoy this moment! Raise your glasses!"

"Raise them!"

Wahahahahaha-!

Inside, a boisterous party was in full swing.

In the enormous hall, there were four long tables that could seat hundreds of people.

The tables were laden with food.

At the table where a flag embroidered with the anvil and hammer symbols of Damian hung from the ceiling, dwarfs, seemingly Damian students, were already boisterously enjoying the party.

They stood on tables, stomping their feet, dancing with each other, and singing.

The lively atmosphere of a market festival filled the entire hall.

True to dwarfs, alcohol seemed essential. Damian students, who were enjoying the party, raising beer mugs full of beer in their hands, spotted the Lumerne students who had entered through the open door with dumbfounded expressions. They pointed at them and shouted.

"Look over there! Our Lumerne friends have arrived!"

"Waaaah!"

"Welcome to Damian!"

The dwarfs gave a fervent welcome.

"Wait, weren't they supposed to call us to evaluate us?"

"What is this…"

While some Lumerne students looked confused.

Some dwarfs approached.

"Professors, please go ahead. We've prepared seats for you."

"Are you tired? Shall I take your coat?"

"I'll carry your luggage."

Damian's uniform was incomparably more formal than Lumerne's, Sayrun's, or Azonia's.

A black robe with a white shirt. And a neat black tie and black pants.

Finally, the black academic cap was the highlight.

"Isn't the academic cap worn at graduation ceremonies?"

"They say that's Damian's uniform."

"Wow, wouldn't that be stifling?"

"I don't know. But they say they hardly wear uniforms normally. Look, actually."

Many Damian students wore their uniforms casually.

The academic caps worn on their heads were piled up in a corner of the Damian area, rolling on the floor.

Then a male student approached.

Short in stature, as expected of a dwarf.

But there was no beard on his face.

His face was also quite clean and gave a cute impression.

"Oh my, isn't that dwarf quite handsome and cute?"

"Indeed! I thought dwarfs were all bearded old men."

The female students squealed.

The male students murmured, looking at the Damian female students who were excitedly chugging alcohol.

"Isn't she quite cute?"

"I don't know, she has a dwarf-like charm."

"Clank-clank-"

"Hey! Not 'clank-clank'."

The male students chuckled.

"Nice to meet you! My name is Digness. I'm the top student of Damian's second year. You're Leo Flobe, right?"

Digness offered his hand to Leo with a handsome smile.

"I'm Leo Flobe. Nice to meet you too."

Leo also smiled and shook his hand.

"I look forward to working with you for the next two weeks! Your seats are over here!"

Digness laughed cheerfully and guided the Lumerne students to their seats.

There was a spot embroidered with a flag showing a cross between the sword of the Knightry Department, the staff of the Magic Department, and the amulet of the Summoning Department, symbolizing Lumerne Academy.

"Excuse me! What does 'I look forward to working with you for the next two weeks' mean?"

"Does that mean the Smith contract?"

"How does it proceed?"

The Lumerne female students, seemingly attracted to Digness, giggled and asked.

"You'll find out tomorrow. Today, we're holding a welcoming banquet for you, so I hope you enjoy it."

Cal murmured, watching Digness leave with an amiable smile.

"I thought all dwarfs were burly machos, but there's a cheerful guy like that too? But he looks like a guy who'd make a lot of girls cry."

At Cal's words, Chelsea tilted her head.

"He seems like a nice person, where would he do that?"

"Yes. Yes. A young lady wouldn't notice, would she?"

"We're only one year apart, why do you keep treating me like a kid?!"

Chelsea kicked at Cal, but Cal quickly dodged.

Meanwhile, the door opened, and Azonia students entered.

The Azonia students paused for a moment when they saw Lumerne.

Lumerne was the same.

An awkward atmosphere flowed between the two schools, but it was only for a moment.

The Damian students smiled warmly and guided them to their seats, just as they had for Lumerne.

Azonia, who knew that Damian had gathered the hero academies to evaluate the three hero academies, reacted similarly to Lumerne.

But soon, the atmosphere changed to one of enjoyment.

"Good to see you, Professor Sedjen. I am Tigan of Azonia."

"Good to see you, Instructor Tigan. I am Sedjen."

Sedjen and Tigan shook hands.

The two had met for the first time today.

"I apologize again for the unpleasant incident earlier today."

"Children can be like that. Our elegant students don't mind that at all."

Sedjen said with a hmph! and a laugh.

Tigan laughed heartily in response.

"Long time no see, Ain."

"You've come, Berga?"

Ain greeted his old friend, Berga, the instructor from Azonia.

"Ain. I have something to tell you regarding Raina's son, Leo Flobe."

"Regarding Leo?"

Ain looked puzzled, seeing his friend suddenly bring up the topic.

"What is it?"

"Send Leo Flobe as an exchange student to our school."