Book 1 Chapter 336

336

Third overall rank in Seirun's first year.

Eclair Welarun looked at Leo, calming her pounding heart.

'Wh-when did he arrive?'

Seeing her classmate with white hair and red eyes, she calmed her startled heart and glanced at the male student, Ellic de Won.

Ellic adjusted his horn-rimmed glasses and calmly watched Leo.

Seeing his expression, it seemed he had noticed long ago that this boy was listening to their conversation.

'Ugh! How embarrassing.'

Second in Seirun's first year.

Ellic de Won had been a close friend since their admission.

However, she also considered him a rival she had to overcome, as well as a dear friend.

Eclair felt a little intimidated by the fact that Ellic had noticed while she hadn't, but she quickly regained her composure.

'I'm an orthodox mage, and Ellic is a combat mage! That's the difference!'

Eclair, who had cheerfully shaken off her thoughts, tilted her head.

"Who?"

At Eclair's question, Leo pondered for a moment, then smiled faintly and said,

"My name is Rail."

He casually made up an alias by combining Leo and Kyle's names.

At Leo's words, Eclair tilted her head.

"I haven't heard that name before. Are you not in the advanced class?"

"No."

"Alright, then you shouldn't spread rumors anywhere, okay?"

*Ahem!* Eclair cleared her throat and proudly said,

"You surely know Rea Tingel, the first-year top student and a direct descendant of the Tingel family, right?"

"Yes."

Leo calmly lied.

All Leo knew about Rea was that she was a descendant of Seirun Tingel and the niece of Tina, who had come to Lumen as a visiting professor.

There was no reason for Leo, a great hero, to be interested in a mere fledgling hero candidate, even if she was promising.

'But I can't just openly say I don't know.'

It would also be strange for a fellow first-year student to claim ignorance of the first-year top student.

At Leo's response, Eclair raised a finger and said,

"That Rea! She summoned the Fairy King Shylod in class today!"

Eclair, speaking with an excited face, seemed like a chatterbox, unable to contain her eagerness to share what she had said in class today.

At Eclair's words, Ellic calmly said,

"Strictly speaking, it wasn't a summoning. She only called forth the Fairy King's will, didn't she?"

In the case of top-tier mythical beasts like Phoenixes, Fairies, and Pegasi, when they answer the call of someone trying to summon them, they don't always send their main body.

They can also just convey their 'voice' to the summoner.

Usually, that is not called a 'summoning.'

If only the voice was heard, there is usually a reason for it.

When the contractor's vessel is still insufficient, they can only hear the mythical beast's voice in that manner.

"Just hearing the Fairy King's voice, who had been silent for 5000 years, is almost the same as summoning him! The teachers said so too, didn't they?"

"That's just the teachers' assertion. Summoning studies don't call that a summoning. How can you present it as a summoning when Rea herself doesn't even consider it one?"

"Ugh!"

"And it wasn't a summoning ritual accomplished by Rea's power alone, was it?"

"It wasn't a summoning ritual accomplished by her power alone?"

When Leo asked curiously, Ellic nodded.

"Yes. You know, don't you? Today, the advanced class had their lesson in the Hall of Comets."

The Hall of Comets.

It was the very heart of Seirun, where the magical artifacts and grimoires left by Seirun, the Comet Mage, were kept.

Of course, Leo knew nothing about the Hall of Comets.

He merely assumed it was related to the Comet Mage because of its name.

"There, Rea took the lead and wielded Cometes. She heard the Fairy King's voice by utilizing Cometes' power."

'Cometes…'

The magic staff representing Luna was Folium, but Luna did not exclusively use Folium.

Depending on the battlefield and situation.

And depending on the nature of the enemy she faced.

Luna used other staves in addition to Folium.

One of them was Cometes.

It was a magic staff made by Dweno, and although not as powerful as Folium, it was a staff Luna frequently favored.

'Of course, it's not the real one.'

Cometes, like Folium, was broken in Luna's last battle.

The genuine item was not passed down to later generations.

The Cometes currently passed down was the reward the Comet Mage acquired 3000 years ago,

when he first conquered Luna's world.

Although a fake, it is a magic staff imbued with powerful strength.

'Could it be considered the strongest among existing magic staves?'

In a way, it was natural.

It was a divine-grade magic staff personally crafted by Dweno, and Luna herself had infused it with magic.

Furthermore, the current Cometes is imbued with Seirun's magic as well.

It was, quite literally, a formidable staff by itself.

'If she borrowed the power of Cometes, even if still insufficient, it would be possible to hear Shylod's voice.'

Cometes is also imbued with Luna's magic, who was Shylod's covenantor.

'Even with various complex factors, to converse with the Fairy King at that age. She must be exceptionally talented.'

Leo, feeling intrigued by Seirun's current top first-year student, said,

"Thank you for sharing the story."

Leaving those words, Leo walked off to find his room.

Once Leo disappeared, Eclair murmured as if in wonder.

"I don't know if he's in the intermediate or lower class, but… he's a unique kid. He's not intimidated by us at all."

"There's no reason for him to be intimidated by us just because he's in a lower class, is there?"

"That's true, but. In our school right now, class rank is practically social rank. I heard it wasn't like this last year."

Eclair pouted her lips and hugged a cushion.

"Even kids in the same class just stare at me, recognizing me as the class representative, and don't even think about getting close! I wanted to have a school life full of youthful scent! Make lots of friends! Even have aドキドキ romance! I hate this kind of unnecessarily authoritative school life!"

Eclair lay on the sofa and thrashed about.

Ellic adjusted his glasses.

"That behavior of yours right now. If I tell the teachers, you'll get demerits."

"Are you going to tattle?"

"If not to me or Rea, then be careful with your actions in front of other kids."

She slumped her body, recalling the classmates who were constantly eyeing the position of class representative.

"Yesterday, I saw the lower class kids chatting in the classroom. Seeing that, I thought, 'how nice it must be for the lower class kids.'"

"…It's still early in the semester. You'll get closer soon."

"Really?"

Eclair sighed deeply and sat up.

With a gloomy face, Eclair returned to her room.

Watching Eclair, Ellic also adjusted his glasses and looked at the 'Castle of Beginnings,' the first-year building visible outside the lounge.

'…I wonder if this is okay.'

Although he had tried to comfort his friend Eclair, Ellic also recognized that the academic atmosphere was strange.

Eclair was like,

'Are other hero academies like this too?'

Ellic, filled with doubt, sighed deeply.

***

The next day.

Leo left his room early in the morning.

The map Orlen had given Leo after he arrived at Seirun the day before, which guided him to the first-year castle, also included the location of the class Leo would be studying in.

The first-year classroom area was quite complex.

Therefore, he left the dormitory early to arrive at the classroom with ample time.

'I'll just skip breakfast.'

When his friends saw Leo sometimes skip a meal, they would make a fuss as if something terrible was happening.

'Hey! Honestly, for us at an age when we're growing so much, does it make sense to skip meals?'

'Hear, hear! Hear, hear!'

When Kal talked about the importance of a meal, other friends, including Chelsea, would agree.

Of course, Leo, accustomed to his previous life, didn't really empathize with that one-meal eulogy.

That tendency seemed to hold true at Seirun as well, as the dining area included in the dormitory complex was bustling with students and full of vitality.

Passing by such a dining area, Leo headed early to the classroom area.

And a moment later, he found his assigned class.

"Well, is it obvious?"

Leo let out a chuckle.

The class Seirun had assigned to Leo was the 'lower class.'

"How can their thought process be so transparent?"

Leo, entering the classroom with a curious expression, paused for a moment.

The lower class was vast.

Despite having over a hundred desks and chairs, it didn't look cramped.

Furthermore, the classroom itself was generally old, and the atmosphere was far from an academic one.

'What is this? I heard Seirun is divided into advanced, intermediate, and lower classes, and even within the same class level, it's divided into classes 1, 2, and 3?'

Leo discreetly checked the name 'Lower Class Classroom' above the classroom door.

With a puzzled expression, Leo entered the class.

And sat in the very front row.

After all, as an exchange student, he needed to show the image of a diligent honor student.

Seated, Leo checked the clock above the blackboard.

And next to it, there was a large phrase.

[Believe in yourself.]

'Seirun's motto.'

The mottos of each hero academy were the last words left by their founders to the school.

Lumen: Overcome your limits.

Seirun: Believe in yourself.

Azhonia: Move forward.

Demian: Pursue possibilities.

While recalling the mottos of each hero academy.

Ding-dong-daeng-dong-

The bell announcing class rang sooner than he realized.

Suddenly, Leo wore a peculiar expression and looked around the classroom.

'Why is no one here? Did that teacher really screw me over?'

It was when Leo narrowed his brows, recalling Orlen.

*Drag-*

The classroom door opened, and a female elf entered.

Dressed as a teacher, her face hardened when her eyes met Leo's.

Then, with a flustered expression, she checked the classroom name outside and looked at Leo.

"Um… I haven't seen you before, who are you?"

The elf teacher cautiously asked, looking at Leo.

Leo calmly replied,

"I'm Rail, who just joined the lower class."

"Lo-lower class…?! You're not from the intermediate class, are you?"

"It's complicated to explain, but it'll be easier if you think of it that way."

Leo realized that Seirun's higher-ups hadn't even explained the exchange student situation to the teacher and clicked his tongue internally as he answered.

A strange answer.

But the elf teacher ran up to Leo with an moved expression.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Laura Kyr, your homeroom teacher starting today! Let's study hard together, from now on with your teacher!"

Laura, her eyes welling up with tears as she even held Leo's hand.

Leo wore a peculiar expression looking at Laura, who was so delighted and even moved by the fact that she could study with a student.

"Your teacher will do her best to help you get back to the intermediate class!"

"Ah, yes. But where are the other kids?"

"Th-that is…"

Laura looked flustered.

Then she stammered,

"Well… the first class is… Basic Aura Studies."

"…"

Leo blinked.

'Aura Studies class?'

He frowned, pondering for a moment.

"Are you teaching the class, teacher? Are there no other teachers?"

"…Yes."

Laura's ears drooped, and she subtly watched Leo's expression.

'A mage teaching Aura Studies?'

He could tell at once.

Laura was a pure mage, not a knight.

For such a Laura to teach Aura Studies?

As Leo frowned, Laura hurriedly said,

"H-have you perhaps chosen Knight Studies as a dual class? Don't worry! Your teacher has really studied hard! It will definitely help!"

Saying so, Laura, who clenched her fist tightly, soon slumped her shoulders.

"…No. I won't be much help. You can just come in for the third period like the other children."

"What's the second period?"

"Basic Spiritual Power Studies."

"Are you teaching that too, teacher?"

"…Yes."

'This is a mess.'

It was one of the world's four great educational institutions in name.

For Seirun's curriculum, it was excessively disorganized.

He understood that Laura in front of him was an excellent mage.

But an excellent mage cannot teach Aura Studies or Spiritual Power Studies.

"What about the other kids?"

"…The lower class kids only come in for the third period, Star Magic class."

'I roughly get how things are running.'

It was when Leo let out a deep sigh.

*Drag-*

"Hello, Teacher. I just stopped by because I left my textbook behind."

A female student with a cheerful impression entered the classroom.

"Anri."

Laura called the female student's name with a bitter expression.

Anri, heading to her seat in the back, discovered Leo and then exclaimed, "Whoa?" in surprise.

Then she approached Leo.

"Are you from the intermediate class?"

"Yes."

"That's too bad."

Anri offered a wry smile and said,

"My name is Anri Bijan. What's yours?"

"Rail."

"Let's work hard together, Rail."

Anri, extending her hand and greeting him warmly, soon let out a deep sigh of complaint.

"Though it will be difficult."

Leo, shaking Anri's hand, narrowed his brows.

'…Is this the lower class?'

Anri's skill, even at a glance, was not at a lower-class level.

It was at the level of a top-class first-year student in Lumen's Knight Studies department.

'This has turned into a completely garbage school, hasn't it?'

For a student of this caliber to be rotting in the lower class.

As Leo had come to Seirun to see students with heroic qualities, he was simply dumbfounded.

'At this rate, even existing qualities would disappear, wouldn't they?'

He could immediately see the doubt in Anri's eyes right in front of him.

Leo seriously considered.

'Should I just tell Mel to transfer all the promising kids to Lumen?'