Book 1 Chapter 353

353

The Hall of the Comet.

A building located in the center of Seirun.

But this place was not merely symbolic for being in the center of Seirun.

Numerous magical legacies left by the Comet Sorceress.

And it was a place where the history Seirun had built up until now lay dormant.

Originally, it was not a space easily permitted to outsiders, let alone students.

But today.

This place was opened for the academic conference held in Seirun.

Accordingly, the mages who came to attend the conference could not hide their excitement.

"The Hall of the Comet, no less."

"I never thought I'd get to see the magical legacy left by the Comet Sorceress with my own eyes."

5000 years ago.

The Comet Sorceress, regarded as the greatest mage after Luna, the progenitor of the Nebula.

She was not merely an idol for elves alone.

Just as Luna was an object of respect for all mages.

Seirun, who was regarded as Luna's successor and reinterpreted Luna's legacy to pass it down to future generations, was also an object of deep respect for mages.

"Allowing the Hall of the Comet to be freely open during the conference period is an act of consideration from the acting principal, Rehagan."

Orlen calmly said to the conference attendees who had entered the Hall of the Comet.

"The tour of the Hall of the Comet will be handled by Seirun's students. I hope this will be a time for you to appreciate the value of the magical legacy left by the Comet Sorceress."

At his words, all the mages attending the conference looked surprised.

It was a well-known fact that Rehagan, the current acting principal of Seirun, was an elf supremacist.

For such a Rehagan to reveal Seirun's legacy to external mages was quite unexpected.

Seirun's students were assigned to the mages attending the conference.

In fact, the students were guides in name, but their real role was to monitor and prevent any mischief.

"Hello, I am Eiran Ersar, in charge of guiding you."

Eiran, standing before Leo and Associate Professor Anna, greeted them politely.

'Eiran Ersar.'

Associate Professor Anna fell into thought as she looked at Eiran.

'I heard she's a magic swordsman with overwhelming skill.'

As the second-ranked student in the second year of a rival school, Associate Professor Anna had done a lot of research on Eiran.

'Her performance in last year's Luser War was impressive. According to Professor Halind, she has quite a deep connection with Leo…'

"L-Leo-nim. It is an honor to be in charge of guiding Leo-nim."

Associate Professor Anna covered her mouth, watching Eiran stammering with her face flushed and head bowed.

'Oh my. Goodness gracious.'

Associate Professor Anna gasped inwardly, seeing Eiran who was clearly showing affection for Leo at a glance.

Leo looked at such an Eiran and said.

"Please guide us well."

"Yes!"

Eiran, who answered with a bright smile, stepped forward and said.

"Where would you like to see first?"

"I'd like to see the original grimoire written by the Comet Sorceress first."

"Yes! I'll guide you to the library!"

Eiran took the lead and began guiding the two.

Following behind Eiran, Associate Professor Anna poked Leo's arm.

"How nice for you, Leo. Having such a fresh school life."

Leo looked at Associate Professor Anna as if asking what she meant.

"It seems Eiran has feelings for Leo."

Associate Professor Anna said, a somewhat sly smile on her face.

"Isn't that the dream of many male students? A beautiful, blossoming girl has feelings for you. It's youth."

"Associate Professor Anna, you talk as if you're not in your youth."

Leo let out a small laugh.

Associate Professor Anna, smiling faintly at Leo, said.

"Tell me. You're very popular among female students in Lumerne, aren't you? You receive as many love letters as students Abard or Duran among the second-year male students, don't you?"

'L-love letters?'

Eiran, walking ahead, pricked up her ears.

"You're popular with juniors too. And seniors are also very interested in you, aren't they?"

Associate Professor Anna, with a subtle smile, poked Leo's side.

"Haven't you dated at least once?"

'D-dating?!'

Eiran's face turned beet red, as if it might explode at any moment.

Seeing that, Associate Professor Anna let out a quiet chuckle.

"The elf lady is innocent after all. To be so flustered by just dating."

'…What's going on in her head is probably not just dating.'

Leo let out a hollow laugh and said.

"I'm busy with studies, where would I find time to date?"

"Talking like a boring honor student."

Associate Professor Anna made a bored expression.

At that, Eiran felt relieved.

"There are so many pretty female students. Isn't Leo, a teenage boy, also at an age to be very interested in the opposite sex?"

"If I were to date students, well, it would feel like committing a crime."

"A crime?"

Associate Professor Anna looked puzzled, but Leo merely smiled.

Eiran, while listening to their conversation with a thumping heart, diligently guided them to the library.

"This is the library where Seirun-nim's grimoires are kept."

"As expected of Seirun-nim."

Associate Professor Anna let out an exclamation of admiration.

As a mage.

It was a great honor to see the magical records personally written by one of the great heroes of the great creation who saved the world from crisis.

"Associate Professor Anna, do you have any questions?"

As Eiran asked with a gentle smile, Associate Professor Anna smiled faintly.

"I'm fine, you go to Leo."

"Huh?"

Associate Professor Anna pushed Eiran's back, who was flustered.

Even while flustered, Eiran approached Leo, who was walking between the library's bookshelves.

"Those were the good old days. I had such a time myself."

Associate Professor Anna burst out laughing.

"Now I'm being worked like a slave by that damn professor…"

It was then that Associate Professor Anna sighed, thinking of Ren.

"Um… you're Associate Professor Anna from Lumerne, right?"

Someone cautiously spoke to her.

'Seirun's first-year students?'

Associate Professor Anna made a puzzled expression.

This time, it wasn't just outsiders who were allowed to tour the Hall of the Comet.

Seirun students also toured.

All students who were not guided by the conference mages formed groups and were touring the Hall of the Comet.

The same was true for the first-year lower-class students.

"My name is Angre Bizan."

Angre, who bowed respectfully as a representative, raised her head and said.

"Senior Leo told us to definitely express our gratitude if we met Associate Professor Anna."

Associate Professor Anna gasped, looking at the brightly smiling Angre.

'Ah, these are the students who received guidance from Leo this time.'

The lower-class students who had greatly improved their skills through [Introduction to Star Magic].

Anna nodded, recalling the names from the materials Leo had given her.

And she smiled faintly.

"There's no need to thank me. I merely presented a path to you all. It is your part to pioneer that path and achieve results."

"Still, for us, there was only despair. That's why we wanted to express our gratitude. So here…"

Angre handed a paper box to Anna.

Inside the paper box were letters full of gratitude not only for Anna but also for Ren.

It was a sincere expression of gratitude from students who didn't know their faces but were grateful to the Lumerne faculty who had given them a chance.

Receiving it, Associate Professor Anna felt a pang in her heart.

"Of course, there's no guarantee we can continue attending school in Seirun… but we have no regrets."

Associate Professor Anna patted Angre's shoulder, watching her speak with a bright smile.

"Don't worry, nothing bad will happen to you all. Even if something does go wrong, Professor Ren will probably help you when he receives these letters."

For Professor Ren, these students were also important assets who had opened up new possibilities for his thesis.

'He might make a fuss about getting them admitted to Lumerne.'

Anna took a deep breath.

'A lot depends on this conference.'

Whether [Introduction to Star Magic] is heresy to the elves.

Or whether it is a new possibility, it was clear that it would have an enormous impact on the magical world thereafter.

'Let's focus.'

*Footsteps-*

Leo, who had been walking, stopped.

And he reached out and took down a grimoire from the bookshelf.

Seeing that, Eiran said.

"Most of the records here were left by Seirun-nim during her early days of magic, so few people look for them. It's unexpected that Leo-nim is interested in these records."

Leo looked at Eiran, who was blinking her eyes and looking curious, and said.

"These days, mages tend to refer to later records to understand a mage's disposition."

It is certainly appropriate to look for records from after a mage's magical values were established to understand their disposition.

"But I'm an old-fashioned mage."

Leo let out a small laugh.

"Just as a beginner's mind is important, I believe a mage's early actions form their values."

"Leo-nim is certainly mature, isn't he? But what era are you talking about?"

Eiran's eyes sparkled like a girl listening to an old story.

'5000 years ago.'

Leo, who chuckled and answered inwardly, flipped through the magical records Seirun had left in her teens.

In fact, the records of the Comet Sorceress from her early to mid-teens were not given much attention in the elf magic academic world.

This was because most elves focused on reinterpreting star magic, the greatest achievement of the Comet Sorceress, and researched Seirun based on that.

It was natural that the knowledge of star magic she left behind was still not perfectly interpreted even after 3000 years.

However, Leo wasn't particularly curious about Seirun as a star mage.

His curiosity was largely about the pure Seirun, untouched by Luna's influence.

Leo, reading through the grimoire, clicked his tongue.

'It's like her to leave such arrogant records in her personal journal.'

Leo ground his teeth, recalling Seirun, who had called him an idiot.

It was a good thing she had left a note in her personal journal saying not to let anyone but her direct descendants see it.

If not for that, he would have been recorded as someone who passionately loved Luna.

'If that were the case, I would have strangled her the moment I saw her.'

Cursing at a junior he had never even met, Leo turned his attention back to the grimoire.

Although he was All-Class, Leo was still a mage himself.

One could see a lot from the records personally left by a mage.

'She's a complete wild child, alright.'

Seirun's personality, as reflected in the records, was full of confidence in her magical values.

Although no separate notes were left, one could tell her disposition just by looking at the interpreted records.

'Isn't this just a spitting image of Luna?'

They were childish records typical of a teenager, but they were full of self-belief.

'If she had met Luna directly, they would have fought terribly.'

Leo let out a small laugh.

'And they would have become inseparable friends.'

Leo, putting the book back on the shelf, thought.

'It's fitting for her to leave "Believe in yourself" as a lesson.'

He felt as if he had learned a little about Seirun.

'But why on earth did she leave such lies in her journal? Even if you write a novel, shouldn't it be based on reality?'

Seirun was the conqueror of Luna's world.

If so, she would have understood Luna's feelings at least a little.

"Eiran."

"Yes?"

"What do you think if the progenitor of the Nebula liked the Hero of Beginnings?"

"…I can't imagine it."

Eiran, who usually liked to fantasize, shook her head.

"Well, it's hard to dare imagine noble Luna-nim liking someone…"

"Then what if the Hero of Beginnings liked the progenitor of the Nebula?"

"A tragic love story? That's cool!"

'…These damn pointy-eared folks are interpreting it exactly how they want. She's not noble! Not noble at all!'

Leo gnashed his teeth inwardly.

In the end, Seirun had written a novel to her liking and left it to her descendants.

'If I ever meet her, I'll kick her butt.'

***

After the tour of the Hall of the Comet concluded.

At the point when the conference presentation was approaching.

Acting Principal Rehagan stepped forward.

"I extend my gratitude to the distinguished guests who have graced this occasion."

He spoke in the Hall of the Comet with an expressionless face.

On the platform where he stood was 'Cometes,' the magic staff symbolizing the Comet Sorceress.

The mages marveled at Cometes, which they saw in person.

"I believe that through the Hall of the Comet, this has been a time to once again realize Seirun-nim's greatness."

At Rehagan's subsequent words, the mages attending the conference wore expressions that said, "Of course."

But no one spoke up specifically.

Openly opposing it would only be tiring, and it was an undeniable fact that the Comet Sorceress was great.

However, any mage already knew about the Comet Sorceress's greatness, even without such emphasis.

"In that sense, before the conference, our Seirun would like to talk about a discovery for an even greater leap forward."

At Rehagan's words, everyone looked puzzled.

"I officially declare here that the Hero Record of the great hero of creation, Seirun-nim, has been discovered."

*Murmurs-*

At his words, not only the conference mages but also the Seirun students attending for the tour looked completely surprised.

*Footsteps-*

In the midst of this, Orlen walked onto the platform, carrying an elegant wooden box.

Rehagan curled the corners of his mouth.

'If I'm credited with being the first to discover and announce Seirun-nim's Hero Record, I could certainly become the principal of Seirun.'

Though currently only an acting principal.

If the power of the Pureblood Council grew stronger, he would officially ascend to the position of principal.

*Click-*

When the wooden box opened, there was a fragment of a Hero Record.

"This is it, the Comet Sorceress Seirun-nim's…"

*Whoosh-!*

The Hero Record shone for an instant.

Rehagan, seeing that, paused.

'This reaction… could it be that the hero's world is opening?'

It was when Rehagan was surprised.

Leo's face, who had been observing the situation, stiffened.

'This?'

Leo rose from his seat.

"Leo?"

The moment Anna was flustered.

*Fwoosh-!*

Black flames surged from Seirun's Hero Record.