Book 1 Chapter 552

552.

"What? A date?"

That afternoon.

Celia, who heard the news during her Combat Studies class, made an incredulous expression.

"So, he skipped class and went on a date?"

"Yeah, it seems there were many witnesses."

"That's unbelievable."

Celia folded her arms and let out a scoff.

Leo was clearly the strongest second-year.

No, now it would be more fitting to say the strongest in Lumerne.

But if you asked if he was a perfect honors student in every aspect like Celia, the answer was no.

In practical subjects like combat-related courses, conquering Hero Dungeons, and performing missions, he was undeniably the best.

However, other subjects were not the same.

Even though it was a Hero Academy, Lumerne was strictly an academy where teenagers, boys and girls, received education.

History, society, mathematics, language, music, art, etiquette, and so on.

They also learned liberal arts subjects.

His grades in those subjects couldn't be called terrible, but they weren't top-tier either.

This was definitely contrary to the department's top students, who vied for grades that could be counted on one hand in all subjects.

But even so, Leo had never skipped class since enrollment.

'Especially not for a date with a girl? That's not like Leo.'

Celia narrowed her eyebrows.

Elena Zereon.

Indeed, even Celia, as another woman, found her astonishingly beautiful.

Moreover, she was one of the three most skilled individuals in Lumerne right now.

On top of that, her background was also impeccable.

Celia knew that Leo was popular among female students.

But there had never been a rumor that he was dating anyone.

'Leo is a man too, so if it's Elena Zereon…'

Celia was fretting over her cousin's deviation when.

"What's the big deal? Leo's a man too. He might want to enjoy a date with a beautiful woman."

"Quiet, Avard. Do you think Leo is you?"

Celia frowned fiercely and glared at Avard.

Avard, widely acknowledged as the handsomest boy in the second year, was also famous for being kind to all female students.

Thanks to that, he had spread the most rumors of romance among the second-years.

Seeing Celia with her eyes narrowed, arms folded, and grinding her teeth, Avard raised both hands and said,

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, Celia. You're too excited, aren't you?"

"I'm in a position where I have to consider the matters between the Zerdinger and Zereon families!"

"No matter how much of a perfectionist you are, isn't that going too far?"

"Hmph."

Celia scoffed and swept back her hair.

Besides that, the entire second year was abuzz with the news that Leo had skipped class and gone on a date with Elena.

"Come to think of it, the first-years said they saw Leo and Senior Elena heading to the dock earlier."

"What? They went to Lumeria City?"

"Senior Elena skipping class isn't new, it's happened more than once or twice."

"Are they dating?"

"Next year, they'll be the student body president and vice president, won't they?"

"Considering their positions, it suits them."

Everywhere you go, other people's relationship stories are fun.

Even more so if the subjects are the student body president and vice president of Lumerne, the most famous academy in the world.

"Shia, did something happen?"

Carl quickly asked Chen Shia, who worked with Leo in the student council, to ascertain the source of the rumor.

"Young Master Leo asked Senior Elena to take the position of vice president. And Senior Elena asked Young Master Leo out on a date in exchange for accepting the vice president position."

"Ohh?"

Carl's eyes sparkled.

That rumor also quickly spread throughout the entire second year by the second-year student council members.

In the meantime, class time arrived, and the professor in charge of Combat Studies approached.

The professor, calling roll, made a puzzled expression.

"Leo is absent, that's unexpected."

"They say he skipped class and went on a date."

"That's a common but un-Leo-like reason."

The Combat Studies professor looked curiously at Eliza, who spoke calmly while filing her nails.

But he didn't bring up the topic further.

Whether a student skipped class or not was their personal freedom.

And many professors didn't care much about student absences, as catching up with attendance days and progress, or falling behind, was the student's responsibility.

"Then, let's begin class. Today's class will involve Bastela, played in teams of 8, to develop cooperation."

"Yes!"

The students replied energetically.

But even after that, stories about Leo and Elena continued endlessly.

"But it's surprising. Senior Elena asked him out on a date first. I can't imagine it from someone so haughty."

Durand, who was in the same team, chuckled at Illiana's muttering.

"It's the natural law for the strong to claim more. People are bound to be drawn to the strong."

Howl, who was in the same team, muttered as he watched Durand clench and unclench his fists.

"By the way, we met a tough opponent right from the start, didn't we?"

"Hmm! Chelsea, Chloe, Carl, Chen Shia, Eiran, Tayde, Nella, Eliza."

Illiana, with her palm flat against her eyebrow, stood on tiptoe and surveyed the opposing team as if looking far away.

"We are… Celia, Durand, Avard, Woredun, Juredun, Howl, Turka, and I."

Excluding Carl, if considering pure combat power alone, the strongest of the second-years were gathered.

"Are the strongest forces facing off right from the start? I like it."

Turka cracked his knuckles and gave a belligerent smile, and Avard grinned.

"That's not all."

"What?"

"The team characteristics are completely opposite."

As Avard finished his sentence, Celia added, and Juredun, Turka, and Howl looked puzzled.

"Hmph, you didn't even notice something so simple? How pathetic."

"What?"

Turka bristled at Durand's sneer.

It was then that Howl and Juredun sighed as if accustomed to it.

"We're a team completely focused on offense, and they're a team completely focused on defense."

Illiana said nonchalantly, and everyone looked at her with surprised eyes.

Even Woredun, who usually had no interest in others' affairs.

"Why are you suddenly looking at me?"

Celia looked at Illiana, who asked with a bewildered expression, with an emotional look.

"That fool who only knew how to charge is now understanding the characteristics of friendly and enemy forces! Illiana! I'm so touched!"

Celia, as an honors student, was very caring towards her classmates.

It was slightly different from Chen Shia; while Chen Shia comfortably accommodated others, Celia was the type to find deficiencies, point them out, and study together.

Even though it was a dual class, Illiana belonged to the Knight Department and took classes with Celia.

And Celia had tried very hard to correct Illiana's charging tendency.

But it hadn't been corrected even until recently.

So, for Illiana, who would always charge when a battle started, to now observe the battlefield situation, Celia couldn't help but be moved.

"Celia's efforts have paid off."

Howl marveled.

"These guys! What do you think I am!"

Illiana frowned and shouted, "Wah-!" Turka answered bluntly.

"A fool."

"Shia! Chloe! These guys are treating me like a fool!"

As she complained with a tearful face, Carl's voice was heard from the opposing team.

"They say the best revenge is betrayal."

"Hoo?"

"Don't fall for it! You idiot!"

"Who betrays in class!"

Howl and Juredun yelled at Illiana, who was stroking her chin in admiration.

"As Illiana said, the difference between their team and our team is that they specialize in defense and we specialize in offense, respectively. To an extreme degree. They probably didn't form the teams like this for no reason."

"It's a battle between a spear and a shield."

Howl folded his arms and made a serious expression.

"First, to break through that defense, we need to dismantle their formation. Plus, the enemy has Carl Thomas, who is quite skilled in strategy. If we press them by leading with our strengths, there's a high probability we'll fall into his scheme."

As Durand spoke nonchalantly, Illiana made a curious expression.

"You rate Carl very highly?"

"Because it's true."

Durand glanced at Carl, who was talking among his teammates.

"Despite his magic skills, he has remained in Lumerne until now, nearing his third year. Even if he has some luck, he couldn't survive on luck alone. The reason he is in the same place as us now is clearly because he has skill."

"I agree with Durand's words."

Avard smiled faintly.

"I also think Carl is the most concerning presence on their side right now."

In a team battle, Carl was a very formidable presence.

"There's nothing scarier than a strategist holding the best hand."

Carl had always played a crucial role as a variable in dramatic situations.

While not a powerhouse as a combatant, in terms of grasping the flow of battle and commanding, or unexpectedness, Carl was the best in Lumerne as far as Avard knew.

'He himself doesn't seem to rate his strengths that highly, though.'

"So, first, I'd like the opponent to actively attack us. So they can't utilize their strengths."

"If we want the opponent to actively attack, we'd have to leave our goal unguarded. That's too much of a risk."

"Hmm. Isn't there any clever idea?"

It was when the entire team was pondering Avard and Celia's conversation.

Woredun, who had been quietly observing the situation, spoke.

"Illiana Raden."

"Huh? Why?"

"There's something you need to do, standing at the very front."

"Huh?"

"You are the key to this Bastela."

"Me?"

Illiana's eyes widened as she pointed to herself with her finger, and Woredun nodded.

***

"Hmph, I had high expectations because it was you, but it's a very ordinary strategy."

Eliza said with a bored expression.

"I appreciate the high praise. But I'm not a genius strategist, how can I come up with a special strategy every time?"

Carl shrugged.

"If the forces are similar, it's best to maximize our strengths. In that case, defense is the best strategy."

"Hmph."

Even with Carl's explanation, Eliza looked at Carl with a slightly displeased expression.

'No, haven't expectations for me been too high recently? I'm the weakest in our school, it wouldn't be strange if I got expelled any time.'

Carl chuckled sadly to himself.

"A stalemate will continue, then."

"Yes. However, if there's a variable…"

"If there is?"

"It's that Illiana is on the opposing team."

"Illiana Raden? Why is she a variable?"

"If I were on their team, I would have given Illiana the task of provocation."

"I know Illiana Raden is usually flighty, but I don't think she'd be good at provocation?"

"That's true. But the situation is a bit special right now."

"Hmm?"

"Well, Celia, Avard, Durand. All three are smart, but they're not very quick-witted. So they wouldn't use Illiana for provocation… Huh?"

Just then, Illiana walked out to the front line.

Chelsea, who stood at the front, smiled faintly at Illiana, who stood opposite her.

"Be prepared."

"Yeah, but Chelsea. You know the class rep."

Chelsea's eye twitched slightly.

Not only Chelsea, but Eiran's ears, who was positioned right behind, perked up, and the expression vanished from Chen Shia's face, who stood next to her.

Chloe, who was positioned at the very rear, gave a gentle smile.

Amidst this, Illiana continued to happily chatter about Leo and Elena.

Illiana, who had chattered alone for a long time until the start of the game, then made a serious expression, folded her arms, and muttered.

"Hmm, but class rep, surely you're not going to stay out all night today, are you?"