Book 1 Chapter 366
366
“What in the world is that supposed to mean? A land of pleasure?”
“Another word to describe the country of Eleham.”
Kal shrugged at Juuen’s question.
Chloe, who had been contemplating after hearing that, tilted her head.
“Is it perhaps because of the casinos?”
“Ah, now that you mention it, Eleham is famous for its casinos.”
Juuen, who was from the South, nodded.
Eleham was famous for having royal casinos in every city.
“It’s partly because of the casinos, but it’s not just that.”
Kal crossed his arms.
“Eleham is the poorest human nation, and at the same time, it’s a country where all sorts of illegal activities that are illegal in other countries are legal.”
“So what does that illegality have to do with being called a land of pleasure?”
Chelsea still wore a baffled expression.
The other students, except for Leo, still couldn’t understand Kal’s words.
“As expected, young ladies from prestigious families are innocent.”
Celia said at Kal’s remark.
“What are those illegal activities?”
“It’s a bit embarrassing to say.”
“Shouldn’t you explain what it is before saying such a thing?”
Leo, who was listening to the story, said at Celia’s words.
“He’s probably talking about things like illegal drug sales or financial transactions in embarrassing relationships between men and women. If such things are legal, you’d probably see them openly on the streets.”
“What?!”
The female students, momentarily flustered by Leo’s words, soon blushed and turned their heads sharply.
Seeing Celia react as if embarrassed, Kal said.
“Miss Celia, I shall answer your question. What is illegal, you ask? It is none other than….”
“I get it, so shut up!”
Thwack—!
“Cough?!”
With a heavily reddened face, Celia struck Kal’s Adam’s apple with a karate chop.
Luke laughed, watching Kal clutch his neck and roll on the floor, then said to Juuen.
“Senior Kal is really entertaining.”
“Kal? Who’s that?”
Juuen openly ignored her mentor.
After the small commotion subsided, Leo said.
“If there’s such a danger in Aleham as Kal says, it would be good to go fully prepared.”
Celia tilted her head at Leo’s words.
“Is there really a need to call it a danger? I know it’s a bad place, but we’re students of Lumerne, aren’t we? I don’t think anyone would dare to treat us poorly.”
Most of the students nodded at Celia’s words.
“Think about it. Whether it’s gambling, drugs, or, well, those kinds of things.”
Kal put his clasped hands behind his head and agreed with Leo’s words.
“It’s true that it’s generally a tough neighborhood for people to live in. Celia, as you said, we are indeed students of Lumerne, and no one would dare treat us poorly, but…”
Kal furrowed his brows.
“There are plenty of people in the world who don’t care about such things. Especially those who rush in headfirst.”
Luke nodded as if he understood Kal’s words.
However, the other students wore expressions indicating they didn't quite grasp it.
Celia, Chelsea, and Martina were nobles of the Lodren Empire, which occupied most of the territory in the Western Continent.
Among them, the heroic noble families of Zerdinger and Rwalin, considered the pinnacle of power, were included.
Chloe also belonged to a family associated with the Northern Magic Tower.
While the Müller family itself didn’t hold a significant position in the Northern Magic Tower, being a family affiliated with the Magic Tower itself implied a good lineage.
Juuen was the daughter of the Southern Magic Tower Lord.
Aina was none other than the great-granddaughter of the Sword Saint.
Betty also came from a prominent magical family.
Having grown up seeing only good things since childhood, they couldn’t help but be ignorant of the world’s darkness.
Seeing their reactions, Leo said.
“Kal’s point is that people who have nothing to lose are frightening. Well, it’ll be hard to understand just by words.”
Leo smiled faintly, looking at Celia.
“It might not be bad to gain some experience through this opportunity. Professor Halinde wouldn’t send us with our mentors for no reason.”
“You talk as if you’ve experienced such things.”
Chloe tilted her head.
Hearing that, Kal chuckled “Hoo-hoo-” and stroked his chin.
“Chloe. What kind of experience are you talking about?”
“Why are you making such an unpleasant expression, trying to say something weird again?”
As Chloe scowled and glared at Kal, Kal smirked slyly.
“No. I was wondering if Leo’s ‘experience’ might be with women, or something like that. Given Leo’s popularity, enjoying secret dates with female students in the middle of the night could also be…”
Rumble-thump!
“Magic use is forbidden in the library!”
Kal, who had been teasing Chloe, shrieked in alarm at Chloe’s magic, which seemed ready to freeze him instantly.
“Stop talking nonsense. Leo oppa has never been involved in such scandals, so what gibberish are you spouting?”
Dating was not strange in Lumerne, as relationships were free.
However, it was stipulated in the school rules not to cross the line.
A prime example was the rule prohibiting entering a dorm room of the opposite gender in the middle of the night.
It was the same for first-year students, and it was also the same for second-year students, who now used co-ed dorms.
Of course, even so, being passionate teenagers, there were always brave souls in both first and second years who dared to brazenly violate that rule.
Inevitably, they were caught by the dorm supervisors and thoroughly reprimanded.
Since the dorm supervisors strictly monitored the unauthorized entry rule, there has never been a successful case.
At Chelsea’s words, Kal raised his index finger and wiggled it.
“Heheheh—You don’t know anything.”
An arrogant Kal grinned.
“Of course, there are no scandals with students from our school! But during the last Smith exclusive contract, Leo went out every night to meet a Sayrune female student and came back at dawn!”
“What?!”
Chelsea wore a deeply flustered expression.
Chloe also gaped.
Kal smirked slyly, looking at his two flustered friends.
“Leo told me everything back then. What he did with the female students.”
At Kal’s suggestive voice, Chloe and Chelsea’s faces turned red.
“Shall I tell you what they did?”
“N-No, I’m fine? I’m not curious about that…”
“What Leo did with them was…”
As Kal lowered his voice, Chelsea, who had been indignant, fell silent.
Chloe also gulped and watched Kal’s lips with trembling eyes.
As silence fell in the room, Kal whispered.
“He said they studied magic diligently.”
“…Is that it?”
“That’s it.”
Kal burst out laughing, seeing Chloe and Chelsea, their faces heavily flushed, concentrating on his words.
“What in the world were you two thinking?! Hahahahahaha! Cough!”
Chelsea landed a dropkick squarely on Kal’s abdomen.
Kal, who was miserably rolling on the floor, struggled to get up, only to be hit with a body blow by Chloe and collapse back down.
“Where do you get off hitting me where I’ve already been hit… Wait! S-Stop! You hit my bone! You hit my bone!”
Kal screamed, but Chelsea and Chloe, holding a grudge for him teasing them mischievously, did not stop stomping on Kal.
Seeing their antics, Celia, with her arms crossed, wore a look of exasperation.
“I don’t know why he’s so childish.”
Seeing their seniors behave that way, the first-year students thought.
‘Second-year students aren’t any different from us.’
***
After discussing the mission practical, they moved to spend time individually with their mentors and mentees.
In Chelsea’s case, she didn’t have a mentee, so she followed Leo.
The three of them arrived at a training ground for second-year knight students and each took a seat.
“By the way, what happened with your magic?”
Chelsea asked, looking curious.
She had heard previously from Leo that Luke had also begun studying magic.
The fact that Ren personally taught Luke magic was famous even among the second-year magic students.
Chelsea herself had gone to ask questions and had seen Luke receiving lessons on the basics of magic from Ren multiple times.
At Chelsea’s question, Luke scratched his head and said.
“I can use simple magic now.”
“Show me once.”
As Chelsea asked, sounding amused, Luke demonstrated a simple Magic Missile.
Seeing it, Chelsea said.
“You don’t have much talent as a magician, do you?”
“Hahahaha.”
Luke laughed awkwardly.
It wasn't merely because Luke lacked mana that she made this assessment.
Chelsea knew that Luke’s power was semi-forcibly restricted by Leo’s magic.
However, Chelsea’s assessment of his lack of talent was due to the magic spell Luke had woven.
‘It’s ordinary.’
He had simply followed what was in the books.
Luke’s individuality was not felt.
Since magic was a highly advanced era, lower-tier spells like Magic Missile could be easily used by anyone who could simply use mana.
“Don’t you have any magic that expresses your unique characteristics?”
At Chelsea’s question, Luke hesitated and said.
“Well, I did try to create my own unique magic.”
“Unique magic? You?”
Leo smiled, sounding intrigued.
“Go on, show me.”
“I’m still not very good at using it, though.”
“It doesn’t matter, just try it.”
At Leo’s words, Luke used his magic.
Chelsea exclaimed in admiration at what she saw, and Leo stroked his chin.
“This could be useful.”
“I agree with Leo oppa.”
***
“What are you looking at, Aina?”
Martina, who was sparring with Aina, looked slightly flustered as Aina stopped moving.
Martina, a trainee from the Zerdinger family chosen by Leo to become a Lumerne student, was a girl with outstanding talent in swordsmanship.
However, when compared to Aina, who stood before her, she couldn’t shake the thought of a firefly before a full moon.
The granddaughter of the Sword Saint.
She was a girl with talent that couldn’t even be compared to her own.
It was almost as if she was loved by the sword itself.
In terms of skill alone, Habiden, the second-ranked in the Knight Department, was also formidable.
But in Martina’s eyes, having met renowned knights since childhood, Aina’s pure swordsmanship skill already far surpassed the level of a first-year student.
Because of this, Martina had one thing she couldn’t understand.
“Are you concerned about Luke?”
At Martina’s question, Aina glanced at Martina.
Martina was probably the only one who knew that Aina was concerned about Luke, the failing student in the same department.
This was because as fellow mentees of Celia, they often met on private occasions.
Therefore, Martina naturally came to know that Aina occasionally looked at Luke.
“Martina.”
“Yes.”
“How do my skills compare to Luke’s?”
“Isn’t a comparison itself impossible?”
Aina, the class representative, and Luke, the last-place student, leaving aside the Knight Department.
Comparing them on the same level was absurd.
At Martina’s words, Aina’s eyes darkened.
“Then why did Senior Leo choose Luke as his mentee and not me?”
“That sounds a bit rude to Miss Celia.”
Martina scratched her cheek, looking troubled, and Aina replied.
“I’m not dissatisfied with Senior Celia’s guidance. No, on the contrary, it helps me a great deal. I’m always grateful to Senior Celia.”
Celia was also a girl called a genius of the sword.
A genius understands a genius.
Celia generously shared her experiences with Aina, and Aina was able to grow faster than she had imagined through those experiences.
“What I’m curious about is why Senior Leo recognized Luke but didn’t recognize me.”
The Sword Saint left his legacy to his beloved great-granddaughter.
However, a prerequisite for fully inheriting the legacy was the condition of being recognized by ‘Leo Flobe’.
At Aina’s words, Martina crossed her arms.
“Hmm, I don’t particularly think Young Master recognized Luke.”
Martina tilted her head and said.
“Perhaps he saw Luke’s potential?”
“Potential?”
“Yes, it was the same when he accepted us into the Young Master’s knight order. He accepted trainees he judged to have potential based on his own criteria.”
“…Does that mean I have no potential?”
As Aina’s eyes darkened, Martina waved her hand.
“No, rather than that. Isn’t it because you can already advance without the Young Master’s teachings?”
Martina smiled faintly.
“I think he believed you would progress well even without Senior Leo’s guidance.”
“…”
“Let’s finish the sparring. We’ll be in trouble if Miss Celia catches us chatting like this.”
At Martina’s words, Aina nodded.
She then gripped her sword tightly.
‘In this mission practical… I will definitely get Senior Leo’s recognition somehow.’