Book 1 Chapter 368
368
Flash-!
The warp gate glowed.
“It’s hot.”
Leo, who emerged from the warp gate, muttered, feeling the desert heat.
The place Leo arrived at was Uargela, an oasis city.
It was one of the foremost metropolises in Elehem.
Leo walked through the warp gate’s interior.
Following behind Leo, Luke spoke.
“Huh, it’s incredibly hot, isn’t it?”
Already feeling the heat, Luke was sweating profusely.
As it was also a sweltering summer in the center of the continent, they had long since changed into summer clothes.
But the desert weather was so hot that even summer clothes seemed useless.
Luke watched Leo, who wasn’t shedding a single drop of sweat, and was astounded.
Meanwhile, other students also began to emerge via the warp gate.
As Uargela itself was a giant metropolis, there were many teams who came to investigate this place.
Seeing the Lumern students emerging through the warp gate, people coming and going through the warp gate began to murmur.
“Lumern?”
“Why are they here…?”
In response to the surprised expressions of the people, the first-years reacted in various ways.
Some students were puffed up with pride, while others felt embarrassed.
As for the second-years, they were generally unenthusiastic, having grown accustomed to people’s attention.
With that, Leo stepped outside.
And he narrowed his eyes at the sight before him.
Luke’s eyes widened at the scenery spread out beyond the warp gate.
The city streets were dazzling.
Bathed in the light of the magic stone lamps lit throughout the streets, the entire city sparkled.
The faces of the people coming and going on the streets were all bright.
They chatted merrily.
Street vendors were selling all sorts of goods.
All kinds of fresh fruits, food, and even bouquets.
It was a scene reminiscent of a festival.
“It’s a bit different from what I imagined.”
“Indeed.”
Luke also nodded at Leo’s murmur.
‘It’s almost as splendid as Rodren’s capital.’
Leo recalled Rodren’s capital, which he had visited with his cousin, Celia.
Rodren was one of the wealthiest nations in the world.
To think there was little difference in the streets of a major city between such two nations.
As it was a place where they had to carry out a mission, their preliminary investigation into Elehem was already complete.
Therefore, they were also aware of Elehem’s situation as one of the world’s poorest countries.
But the current street was a scene far removed from that of a poor country.
While Leo was deep in thought.
Other students also exited the warp gate, and their eyes widened upon seeing the streets of Uargela.
“Wow! Amazing!”
“It’s almost on par with Lumeria City, isn’t it?”
Other students were also in a very excited mood at the street scenery, which was different from their imagination.
Especially the female students hummed tunes and rejoiced.
They had worried that they might have to stay in low-quality accommodation, but seeing the street scenery, those worries vanished.
“I had worried so much about accommodation, but it turns out I worried for nothing.”
“Let’s find accommodation first!”
“Right! The school gave us generous support, so since we’re here, we should sleep somewhere nice!”
The students streamed out of the warp gate.
“Should we also find accommodation first?”
“Sure, will you find one?”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Leo opened his palm.
Flare-!
With a small flame, a small red chick appeared.
Cheep-!
It was none other than Piora.
Leo handed Piora to Luke and said,
“Once you find accommodation, just let me know the location through this fellow.”
“Yes.”
“After you’ve secured accommodation, investigate the unusual incidents in this city on your own.”
“Me, by myself?”
“You can do it, right?”
“Yes!”
Luke replied enthusiastically.
Cheep- cheep-!
Piora climbed onto the crown of Luke’s head.
And tilting its head, it pecked a few times, then, seemingly pleased with Luke’s beautiful silver hair, it elegantly flapped its wings once and settled down.
It was as if a bird had settled into its nest.
“Take care.”
Cheep-!
Piora nodded in response to Luke’s words.
Watching that, Leo said,
“Don’t buy it everything it asks for.”
“Yes.”
Luke, having replied, ran off to find accommodation.
Watching his retreating figure, Elsi, who was perched on Leo’s shoulder, said,
-What’s the reason for sending him alone?
“He’s from the countryside, so he lacks experience.”
Leo turned around.
“I want him to have as many varied experiences as possible. And I also want to let him know that he’s a truly amazing person.”
-What do you mean by wanting to let him know he’s amazing?
As Elsi tilted her head, Leo replied calmly.
“Luke has lost a lot of confidence recently.”
It was just as Leo said.
Other students are quickly improving their skills.
However, Luke was constantly treading water due to the restrictions Leo had placed on him.
The first-years, unaware of this fact, often mocked and scoffed at Luke.
They scoffed that he was lucky to get admitted and become the student council president’s mentee, but ultimately he was a talentless fellow.
Most first-years treated Luke as merely a lucky person.
Leo also knew that fact.
Elsi, who heard Leo’s story, muttered.
-He must be having a really hard time.
“It is hard.”
There’s nothing more painful than not receiving a reward for your efforts.
Especially in a school where he had to compete with others, the thought of falling behind alone was enough to cause immense stress.
“He probably has no confidence in himself and feels like he’s walking an unseen path.”
-But Luke hasn’t stopped trying, has he?
Trusting Leo’s words, Luke was doing his best.
He held back, even though he could immediately remove the restrictions and display skills capable of overwhelming most students.
‘Senior, can I really defeat Ayna?’
‘What do you think?’
‘How can *I* defeat Ayna?’
Luke denied his own potential.
But…
‘Even so, Senior Leo said it was possible, so I’ll try.’
He couldn’t believe in his own potential, but he believed Leo’s words.
“In that regard, he resembles Verkia and Bihal.”
Leo recalled his disciples from his previous life.
Disciples who continuously thought they were lacking, yet never stopped striving.
That’s why they were able to achieve great things, like rebuilding the world after the Age of Calamity ended.
“During the investigation, by being treated as a Lumern student, he’ll regain some confidence.”
No matter what, admission to Lumern is an achievement Luke earned.
Among only Lumern students, they might not know how great it is, but seen from the outside, it’s a truly remarkable feat.
“Furthermore… the place I’m going now might be a bit too stimulating for a child.”
At those words, Elsi tilted her head.
With that, Leo disappeared into an alley.
Rustle-
“He’s gone, right?”
Just then, a girl sitting not far away lowered the newspaper she was reading and gestured with her eyes towards the alley where Leo had disappeared.
“Senior.”
“Yes, what is it, junior?”
Austin cautiously called his mentor.
“Why are we secretly watching the young master?”
In response to Austin’s question, Iliana gave a meaningful smile.
“You don’t know anything. The class president, you see, is incredibly good at missions like these.”
Iliana elegantly folded the newspaper and said,
“So, if we just follow the class president well during the mission practice, we can breeze through it.”
Watching such Iliana, Austin made a bewildered expression.
“Did you also make me ask Luke for his destination just to follow the young master?”
“Of course!”
Iliana’s eyes sparkled.
Watching such Iliana, Austin let out a deep sigh.
“Can’t we just conduct the investigation with our own efforts?”
“It’s not that we *can’t*.”
Iliana shook her wallet, which contained support funds.
“Since we’ve already received generous funds, wouldn’t it be nice to do the mission practice comfortably?”
“As a Knight of Zerdinger, I cannot condone this. The virtues of a Zerdinger Knight are, firstly, diligence; secondly, morality; and thirdly…”
“Ah! Be quiet! The virtue of the Raden family is that ‘what works best is best’!”
“No matter what, this is mission practice, so thinking of playing around is…”
Austin tried to persuade Iliana somehow.
Watching such Austin, Iliana smiled brightly.
“Austin. Do you know what your young master said to Senior Harch, who is now the vice president, when he became student council president last year?”
“What did he say?”
“If I tell you to do it, just do it.”
“…”
Austin hung his head low.
It wasn’t that Iliana was lacking as a mentor.
No, rather, she was excellent.
She taught well and guided well.
But when she goes off the rails like this, there’s no reasoning with her.
“Alright, let’s follow him!”
Iliana, who stood up, chased after Leo with Austin.
“By the way, why does he make such an old man-like expression?”
Iliana tilted her head, recalling Leo’s expression.
Entering the alley, Iliana and Austin chased after Leo.
Whenever they came to a fork in the alley, they smoothly moved forward by asking people passing through the back alley which way Leo had gone.
And a moment later.
“An entrance?”
Something like an entrance appeared in the back alley.
Iliana tilted her head, looking at the entrance draped with curtains, as if dividing off an area.
Just as she was about to enter.
“Hehehe. This isn’t a place for little kids like you, whose blood hasn’t even dried on their heads yet.”
The old woman standing at the entrance said with a cackling laugh.
At those words, Iliana crossed her arms.
“Just now, a kid dressed similarly to us passed through here, didn’t they?”
“If it’s that young master, yes, he passed through.”
“We’re following him.”
Iliana lifted her chin.
“If he went in, that means we can go in too, right?”
“That’s true. This isn’t a place that picks and chooses who to let in. However…”
The old woman glanced- at Iliana and Austin.
“It’ll be too stimulating for little ones to come here.”
Watching the old woman cackle- laughing, Iliana humph-ed and laughed.
“Grandma. I might look like this, but I’m a grown lady. I’m far from innocent. Humph! How stimulating could it possibly be?”
Iliana confidently opened the entrance curtain and went inside.
Austin was just about to follow Iliana when.
Screeeeeeeam-!
Iliana’s scream echoed.
“Senior!”
Austin, startled, hastily drew his sword and was about to enter the entrance when.
Whoosh-!
Iliana ran out from behind the curtain at full speed.
Iliana, her neck flushed red, stammered and slumped down on the spot.
“Senior! What happened?!”
“M-men! And, and-and-and w-women! In the middle of the streeeeeet!”
Watching Iliana babble incoherently, seemingly having suffered culture shock, the old woman tsk-ed her tongue.
“It seems those drugged up people just happened to be at the entrance.”
“What on earth is this place?!”
As Iliana asked with a flushed face, the old woman replied.
“It’s the Street of Pleasure, where the Castle of Pleasure is located.”
Hehehe, the old woman laughed.
“The dirtiest paradise in the world. It’s not a place for young ladies or gentlemen like yourselves. Though that young master walked in quite calmly.”
Austin made a tense expression.
Iliana muttered.
“Could the reason the class president had that old man-like expression be…!”
“Senior. The young master is probably just here for investigation.”
Austin defended Leo, but Iliana wasn’t listening.