Book 1 Chapter 463

463.

Leo's morning started early.

At an hour that could easily be called dawn.

Leo, having left his dorm room, came down to the common room.

"Leo, good morning."

Chloe was coming down from the girls' dormitory, yawning slightly.

Rubbing her eyes as she descended the stairs, Chloe seemed to be still half-asleep.

This was one of the rare times Chloe, who usually showed no vulnerabilities, appeared relaxed.

With a slightly hazy expression, she reached for a table in one corner of the common room.

Bottles of milk, provided to dorm students every morning, were neatly stacked there.

After finishing a bottle of milk, vitality began to return to Chloe's eyes.

Chloe, having fully woken up, grabbed a book and followed Leo out of the dormitory.

Leo was going for his morning training.

Chloe was going to enjoy the morning air and read a book.

*Click!*

They opened the door and went out.

Next to the dormitory were individual mailboxes for the dorm students.

Leo and Chloe found a particular mailbox stuffed so full of letters it looked like it would burst.

"Isn't that your mailbox?"

Chloe asked with a flustered expression.

"It is."

Leo, with a puzzled look, opened the mailbox to check its contents.

Seeing the colorful stationery and pretty handwriting, Chloe asked with a 'no way' expression.

"Are those really all love letters?"

"Looks like it."

He often received letters, but this was on a completely different level than usual.

Leo made an incredulous face.

"There are quite a few letters from outside too?"

There were letters not only from young ladies of prestigious families in other countries but also from those who appeared to be princesses from certain nations.

The cost of sending letters to Lumern was quite expensive.

Yet, all kinds of letters had flown in to Leo from all over the world.

"Is it because I became a hero?"

Leo chuckled, showing an unconcerned reaction.

"Are you going to read them all?"

When Chloe asked, cautiously, Leo shook his head.

"No."

Leo stuffed the letters back into the mailbox and headed to the training ground for his practice.

"Aren't you going to read in the garden?"

"Yeah. But the autumn breeze is cool, so I feel like changing the atmosphere a bit today."

Feeling an inexplicable unease, Chloe followed Leo.

A moment later.

"President! Is it because it's the second semester? I want to start my morning training with a fresh mindset, could you help me?"

"Starting new magic training…"

"Hey! I'm trying to improve my connection with spirits and I'm wondering if I could get some advice."

The training ground, which was always quiet, was now full of female students.

Seeing the female students burning with enthusiasm from the day after school started, Chloe's mouth gaped open.

'Right, even the ones who were just testing the waters until now will become more overt.'

Iliana's words from yesterday flashed through Chloe's mind.

'This is what she meant? She's usually clueless, but she's incredibly perceptive about these things.'

Chloe, pressing her temples, recalled Iliana who had predicted this situation, and looked at Leo.

Chloe's gaze wavered slightly.

'I know Leo isn't the type to be swayed by the popularity or attention of female students, but…'

As long as Leo was human, wouldn't he naturally feel some affection for female students who approached him with warm smiles?

Moreover, the female students who overtly approached Leo were exceptionally beautiful.

'They came to morning training even wearing makeup. Wow, and she's even showing a lot of skin!'

Mumbling to herself, Chloe glanced at Leo's face.

Leo, looking at the female students, was wearing a gentle smile.

Chloe, blinking as she watched Leo's face, silently left the training ground.

'What? Chloe Muller. Is she just leaving?'

'She was annoying, being with him since dawn.'

'Is she removing herself?'

The female students secretly rejoiced as they watched Chloe leave.

"Such passion from early morning."

Leo said with a smile.

"Their desire to become stronger is remarkable."

"Since you're working so hard, we should also put in more effort."

One of the most mature-looking female students said, elegantly sweeping her hair back.

An subtly alluring atmosphere.

Leo smiled at her.

"I'll do my best to help you all too."

"Yes! Before that, I made this for you."

"Me too! It's a stamina recovery potion mixed with fruit juice! It's surely delicious!"

The female students took out drink bottles and tried to give them to Leo.

"Keep those. You'll need them more than I do."

"What?"

The female students wore puzzled expressions.

"Well, since it's still early in the morning, how about we start with some light physical training?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Physical training, sure."

Despite feeling something was off, the female students burned with enthusiasm.

To catch Leo's eye somehow, they had to show their best.

A moment later.

*Aieeeeeee!*

From early morning, the desperate screams of the female students began to echo.

Sitting on a bench in Glory Garden, enjoying the autumn breeze and her morning reading, Chloe glanced up.

"They're all having a tough time."

***

"Ughhh."

Morning Combat Studies class.

As it was the first class of the second semester, it was held in the grand auditorium.

With all second-year students gathered, Karl sat next to Leo with a dazed expression.

"Why are you so exhausted so early in the morning? Did you get special training from Leo Oppa too?"

Chelsea, sitting next to Leo, giggled and asked.

The story of Leo giving a group punishment-like training to the female students who had come to hit on him in the early morning had already spread throughout the entire school.

"Do you know how much I've been harassed since this morning, not just by second-year students but also by upperclassmen?"

Karl replied with a look as if his soul was about to escape.

"That love potion that caused such a commotion last time. You wouldn't believe how many are clamoring for me to make it for them."

"The student council banned the making of that strange potion, didn't they?"

Chelsea frowned deeply.

The love potion.

It was a potion Karl had made using a recipe from Dwenno's alchemy book last semester, which had caused a huge uproar.

At the time, it was deemed a failure, but the student council had banned the manufacture of that particular potion.

Karl also didn't want to get into trouble with the student council by making an ineffective potion, so he lost interest.

'Well, it was a perfect success, though.'

It was just a potion made purely under Dwenno's sensibilities, so its effects were different from what people expected.

'Anyway, it's a potion that would cause problems in many ways if used on a student.'

"How brazen! Who commissioned it, anyway?"

"I don't know either. They requested it anonymously. I was so busy this morning reporting it to the student council."

"What kind of idiot would want a potion like that?"

"Probably one of the female students targeting Leo."

"Why are they suddenly targeting Leo Oppa using even illegal potions?"

"Our naive little lady is still oblivious to the ways of the world, I see."

"I'll make your future dark."

"Aieeeeee—! Stop! Stop!"

Karl shrieked and struggled, seeing Chelsea gripping his face with both hands and pressing down on his eyes with her thumbs.

Karl, barely escaping Chelsea's grip, spoke.

"It's probably because Leo became a hero this time. He was already a 100% winning lottery ticket. Imagine that lottery ticket's prize money skyrocketing, immensely so. If they secure Leo, it's a complete life turnaround. Wouldn't the girls who were targeting Leo from the start become even more desperate?"

Karl rested his chin on his hand.

"Leo, isn't it a waste? You could date anyone you like, so why not take this chance to enjoy a school life straight out of a novel? If it were me, really. *Sigh*~"

"How vulgar."

"Oh, come on! Vulgar, you say! I'm just encouraging healthy, sweet, bittersweet, heart-pounding, and even dangerous love between men and women! When else would you experience such things if not during your student days?"

"Vulgar."

"Hey, Leo, tell me. You're interested in that kind of stuff too, aren't you?"

Karl, feeling unfairly accused by Chelsea's continuous reproaches, said to Leo.

"Not particularly."

Leo smiled faintly.

"See? Leo Oppa is different from you!"

"Why aren't you interested? You're a man too!"

"Think of me as an adult with more experience than you imagine."

"The same age but an adult? Besides, you only study and train, so what kind of experience could you possibly have?"

Karl, who knew Leo's daily routine well, wore a puzzled expression.

But Chelsea, on the other hand, gaped.

'Now that I think about it, Leo Oppa truly is much of an adult, isn't he?'

The legendary great hero.

Not a student.

'Ah, if he's an adult, then as expected…'

"Hey, are you sick? Why is your face suddenly red?"

"Ah, nothing at all?"

Chelsea shook her head vigorously at Karl's question.

It was then that Leo smiled faintly at Chelsea.

*Thump!*

"My students! Did you have a good vacation!"

The door opened, and Sedgen appeared.

"I know some of you had an elegant vacation!"

Sedgen said, looking at all the second-year students.

"It's a good thing to have experiences beyond what's typical for your age. I hope all of you use those experiences as a stepping stone for a bigger leap forward! And for those who didn't, don't lose heart or shrink back! You're still too young, not just young!"

*Ahem-hem!* Sedgen, who had been encouraging the students with his arms crossed, opened his eyes wide.

"In that sense! I will now talk about the second semester's Combat Studies practical evaluation for second-year students!"

At that declaration, the students stared blankly at Sedgen.

They were already second-year students who had grown accustomed to school life.

There was no reason to be surprised that the second-semester practical evaluation was mentioned from the very first class.

Then Duran raised his hand.

"What is it! My beloved student! Duran!"

"Does this announced Combat Studies practical apply until midterms? Or for the entire second semester?"

"It's an evaluation for the entire second semester. And starting today, second-year Combat Studies classes will be self-directed classes."

At those words, the students wore surprised expressions.

This was a bit unconventional.

Combat Studies was a class that held as much weight as their academic classes.

For such a class to be self-directed throughout the entire second semester was unexpected.

"Well, in fact, the classes for the second semester of the second year will strongly take on the nature of independent assignments."

Sedgen grinned.

"For the second semester Combat Studies, your ranks will be determined by your quest scores."

"You mean…"

"Exactly. From the second semester, you will officially take on quests as hero candidates and be dispatched to various parts of the world!"

***

"Wow, that's truly unprecedented."

After class, it was lunchtime.

Karl, in the plaza restaurant in front of the Hero's Tower, expressed his astonishment.

"I can't believe the classes themselves will be self-directed. That's practically the first semester curriculum for third-year students, isn't it?"

It was true that students officially started taking on quests from the second semester of their second year.

However, it wasn't typically a system of self-selected quests like this.

Most of the time, it ended with quests being arranged that were appropriate for second-year students' level.

While it was different for a few students, that was only true for top-tier students.

Autonomy wasn't granted to the entire grade in this manner.

"It's because the higher-ups have high expectations for our generation. Plus, it seems the professors also think we're capable enough for this level."

At Chelsea's words, Karl made a sad face.

"Couldn't they show some consideration for students at the bottom too?"

"Karl, we'll advance using your corpse as a stepping stone."

"Don't just kill people! And don't use them as stepping stones either!"

Karl wailed.

"By the way, what's Leo doing at the bulletin board?"

Karl looked at Leo, who was standing in front of the plaza bulletin board, with a puzzled expression.

"Looks like he's looking at quests."

"Aren't most of the quests on the plaza bulletin board difficult to solve and low in points?"

"That's right."

"Why is he looking at those? He could easily pick any easy quest. I heard escorting high-ranking officials pays well and gives high points, it's practically a vacation."

As Karl spoke enviously, Chelsea replied while looking at the menu.

"Since it's Leo Oppa, he must have some profound reason."

While Chelsea and Karl were placing their orders.

In front of the bulletin board, Leo was squinting at one quest paper.

The grey quest paper read, 'Extermination of Grave Robbers'.

A quest that seemed minor at first glance.

However…

'The fact that all the robbed tombs are hero's graves is bothering me.'