Book 1 Chapter 337

Leo was walking down the hallway with Anri.

It was impossible for Laura, a young mage who had dedicated her entire life to magic, even if she was from the lower classes, to conduct a class that could satisfy Seiran students, who were exclusively made up of elites among elves.

That's why Laura, who was initially enthusiastic upon seeing Leo, quickly became disappointed and sent Leo away with Anri.

This was because she believed it was better for students to study on their own.

"Teacher Laura is such a good person," Anri said, walking ahead of Leo.

"She cares a lot about all the kids in our class. And her magic lessons are fun, so they're really easy to understand."

Anri praised Laura endlessly.

"You'll quickly come to like Teacher Laura too."

Anri's smiling face clouded over slightly.

"Even if she's not good at teaching other subjects."

Anri, whose ears had drooped slightly, soon gave an awkward laugh.

"Ah, I'm sorry. You must be feeling pretty bad about coming to the lower class, and I said something unnecessary!"

"Don't worry about it," Leo replied calmly, and Anri fidgeted with her hands.

"But I'm a little curious. The fact that you came from the intermediate class to the lower class… means one of the lower-class students… I mean… that…"

Anri spoke haltingly and with difficulty, watching Leo's expression.

"I don't think any students from the lower class are going up to the intermediate class."

"Ah."

Anri gasped.

Then she managed a difficult smile.

Both Lumen and Seiran had fierce competition among students.

If one person came down from the intermediate class to the lower class, it would be natural for one person to go up, but since Leo hadn't come from the intermediate class to the lower class, no students from the lower class were being promoted.

"I'm sorry for saying something unnecessary."

Anri smiled awkwardly and hurried her steps.

Following Anri, Leo fell into thought.

'The problem seems incredibly serious.'

That someone as skilled as a grade representative was in the lower class, and that the lower class was being neglected like this.

Seiran's problems seemed more serious than he had imagined.

'There was always a tendency to be overly obsessed with star magic.'

Even so, Seiran hadn't exclusively favored star mages.

But the current situation was practically equivalent to not providing opportunities to students exceptional in other fields.

No matter how outstanding their talent and skill, they were just first-years.

To think they were teaching themselves without the guidance of professional teachers.

Just as Leo narrowed his eyes,

"We're here."

Anri led Leo to a dilapidated auditorium building.

In the vast auditorium, first-year students were sparring, each holding a weapon.

Watching them, Leo asked, "Don't you have separate theory classes?"

At Leo's question, Anri scratched her cheek.

"Yeah, we try to do theory classes as much as possible, but… for now, we're focusing on practical training."

"Really?" Leo nodded.

Watching Leo, Anri adjusted her grip on her spear.

"How about it, Rail? Since you're here, want to have a spar?"

At Anri's question, Leo smiled faintly.

"I'll just observe today."

"Okay? Alright. You must be feeling troubled."

Anri didn't insist further and began sparring with other students.

A few students whispered, looking at Leo.

"Who's that?" a male student asked, and Anri gave a wry smile.

"He came from the intermediate class this time."

"Really? He's a dropout just like us."

The male student clicked his tongue and looked puzzled. "But why is he just watching?"

"He said he'd just observe today."

"He hasn't realized he's in hell yet."

The male student sighed and began sparring with Anri.

Leo, who had been observing them from a distance, rested his chin on his hand.

'There are many skilled kids.'

Anri, for instance, was skilled enough to aim for grade representative even among Seiran's first-years.

Other students, too, were highly skilled.

Their only deficiency was one thing.

Their low achievement in star magic.

After watching the students for a moment, Leo got up from his seat and left the auditorium.

The lower-class students saw Leo but didn't bother to speak to him.

The lower-class students had considerable dissatisfaction with the intermediate and advanced classes.

The reason lower-class students had to be taught by a single teacher in the same class without any distinction in their grouping was because most of the personnel assigned to the first year were invested in improving the skills of the advanced class.

The intermediate class was in a better situation.

This was because Seiran's higher-ups paid attention to them, as they could move up to the advanced class at any time.

But the lower class was not.

Only Laura.

A single teacher was guiding the students.

The school had judged them as having no potential, and advanced and intermediate students directed scorn and contempt towards the lower-class students.

Having been treated that way and even robbed of opportunities, it was impossible for the lower-class children to look favorably upon Leo, who came from the intermediate class.

Leo, who had left the auditorium, said, "Elsie."

Simultaneously with Leo's call, a black mass gathered, and Elsie appeared.

-Yes, Leo.

"Find a place around here where many summoners gather."

-Just a moment.

Elsie closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment.

Soon, Elsie opened her eyes and said, -It's this way.

As Leo expected, the first-year lower-class students majoring in summoning were focusing on their training not far away.

Leo watched the lower-class students gathered in an empty classroom, communing with spirits and phantom beasts, and clicked his tongue.

'As expected, the kids' skills are good.'

There were no overwhelming talents like Anri.

But among the students studying summoning, there were many whose presence in the lower class was inexplicable.

'I roughly understand the problem now.'

Stroking his chin as he walked down the hallway, Leo soon returned to the lower-class classroom.

There, he encountered Laura, sitting at the lectern and diligently reading an Aura Studies textbook.

"Ah, Student Rail. What brings you here? Did you perhaps leave something you needed?" Laura asked with a bright smile.

Leo sat in front of Laura and said, "I want to attend class."

"Pardon?"

"I want to attend your class, teacher. Can't I listen alone?"

"Th-that's not true at all!" Laura smiled brightly and stood in front of the lectern.

Then she cleared her throat with an "Ahem!" and began.

"We will now begin the Aura Studies lecture."

***

Click-clack, click-clack.

In the second-year classroom area.

A girl with brilliant red hair was walking down the hallway.

All the second-years who spotted the girl's appearance flinched.

The top student of the second year.

Lunia El Rundia had finally appeared in the classroom area.

After the schedule for the second-year Smith exclusive contract major.

The high elves who judged Lunia needed correction did not merely order supplementary classes for Lunia.

She was to receive all her lessons alone.

Ostensibly, it was special treatment for the top second-year student, but in reality, it was isolation to prevent Lunia from influencing other students.

Lunia, who had come to the classroom after a long time, opened the classroom door.

Creak-

The classroom door opened, and the second-year advanced class 1 students, who were preparing for class, brightened at Lunia's return.

"Lunia, you're back! How were the special classes?" A student approached Lunia, acting familiar.

Lunia glanced at him and showed a cold expression.

"Could you not talk to me?"

The student who was approaching flinched at Lunia's cold voice.

Lunia disliked the male student who had spoken to her.

He was the friend who had taken third place during the first year.

But because Luca was a half-elf, he had been excluded from the departmental schedule, and this student had taken his place by promotion.

Moreover, he was a typical pure-blood elf supremacist.

She didn't even want to exchange words with him.

He noticed Lunia's cold gaze and soon left.

Lunia went to her seat, the furthest back by the window, and plopped down.

Several students gathered around Lunia.

"How were the special classes?"

"It was so empty without you."

Lunia smiled faintly, looking at her school friends, with whom she was usually close.

"It wasn't particularly special. Just a class on an elf's mindset, I guess?"

"Ah…"

At Lunia's words, her friends gasped and gave bitter smiles.

Having been in the same class throughout their first year, they knew that Lunia was a bit rougher than other elves.

But not a single student thought that was a big problem.

'Because it's Lunia.'

'Just because her words are harsh and her actions are rough doesn't mean Lunia has a problem, does it?'

Just as the students were thinking to themselves.

Creak-

The classroom door opened, and Eiran entered.

Eiran spotted Lunia, her eyes widened, and she ran over.

Then she tightly grasped Lunia's hand and teared up.

"You're back, Miss Lunia!"

"Did you do well while I was gone?"

Lunia patted her tearful friend's head and smiled faintly, then looked at her other friends and said, "Was there anything special that happened while I was gone?"

"Something special happened yesterday. The whole school's in an uproar because of it."

"What happened?"

"First-year Leah Tingel."

"What about the first-year top student? What kind of trouble did that excellent student cause?"

"If it's trouble, it's trouble. She caused a huge incident." The female student exclaimed.

"They say she spoke with the Fairy King Sillode yesterday."

"What?"

"That's why there's such a commotion."

"Something amazing happened, then."

"Perfect timing. We were planning to go see Leah Tingel with our close friends after school today."

Just as the students were chatting excitedly.

The classroom door opened, and an elf teacher entered.

The students quickly returned to their seats.

Watching the students, the elf teacher said, "I have an announcement. I trust you are all well aware that midterms are approaching soon."

The elf teacher quickly surveyed the students.

"For first-years, this is your first midterm. There are some first-years for whom this exam is important, such as those in the lower classes, for instance."

The teacher smiled faintly.

"Even inferior students will surely put in effort during midterms, won't they? To accommodate these first-year lower-class students, upperclassmen are prohibited from approaching the first-year lower-class. It's a time when they need to focus intently on their studies."

At those words, the students began to murmur.

Suddenly, an announcement to avoid only the first-year lower-class?

Something felt strange.

At that, Lunia raised her hand.

"Yes, Student Lunia El Rundia."

"I think first-year lower-class students need the guidance of their seniors even more, don't they? Why are you preventing that?"

"Because even if excellent students like yourselves offer advice, students at the lower-class level won't understand it and it will only cause more confusion."

'…There must be something going on with the first-year lower class.'

She had keenly felt that Seiran had changed this semester.

'Whenever the higher-ups did something shady, they would control students by giving such unreasonable excuses, wouldn't they?'

Lunia narrowed her eyes.

'If they tell me not to meet them, it makes me want to meet them even more.'

***

Lunchtime.

Leo, who had attended Laura's Aura Studies, Spirit Energy Studies, and Magic Energy Studies classes, was lost in thought.

'She's a good teacher.'

As Anri had evaluated, Laura was an excellent person as a teacher.

Even though it wasn't her area of expertise, he could feel that she was doing her best to work hard for the students in Aura Studies and Spirit Energy Studies.

'Still, I don't think the class content will be of much help to the current lower-class kids.'

Leo thought as he headed to the cafeteria.

And as soon as he entered the cafeteria, he made an exasperated expression at the scene that unfolded.

The cafeteria was also divided by rank.

Advanced, Intermediate, Lower.

The advanced class section had a lavish buffet.

The intermediate class had reasonably decent school meals.

Finally, the lower class only had water and bread.

There weren't even any students eating at the lower-class tables.

Leo was the only one who had come to eat.

"Who's that? I haven't seen that face before?"

"Is he from the lower class?"

"It's been a long time since a lower-class student came to the cafeteria."

The mocking laughter of the first-year elves could be heard.

'If our school kids saw this, they'd cause a riot over food discrimination.'

Lumen students were used to the delicious school meals provided at Lumen.

In addition, they could also dine at the best restaurants that had opened in Lumen, so all the students were gourmets.

Therefore, Lumen students were particularly sensitive to food.

Not being satisfied with the meal menu didn't mean they could go hungry.

Leo ignored the students giggling at him, went to the lower-class section, and ate bread and water alone.

Intermediate and advanced students scoffed, but he just dismissed it as dogs barking.

"Oh? It's that kid I saw last night." Eclaire, who was eating in the advanced class section, made a curious expression.

"Who?" At her words, the gray-haired girl looked up.

"Why? I told you earlier there was a strange lower-class kid." Eclaire said to her friend with a bright smile.

At her friend's words, the first-year top student, Leah Tingel, sipped her drink and looked where her friend was looking.

Seeing a 'familiar face' in a Seiran uniform, Leah, who had casually dismissed it, hastily checked Leo's face again.

"Huff?! Cough! Cough!"

And she was so surprised that she choked and coughed.

Eclaire, flustered, patted her friend's back.

Once calmed, Leah checked Leo's face again.

Seiran uniform.

And pointed ears.

Aside from that, it was clearly a face she had seen in a newspaper from 'human society,' which was hard to come by in elf society.

'Why is the student council president of Lumen eating lunch in the Seiran first-year cafeteria?!'