Book 1 Chapter 552

"What? A date?"

That afternoon.

Celia made a bewildered expression upon hearing the news in combat class.

"So he skipped class to go on a date?"

"Yeah, it seems there were many witnesses."

"Unbelievable."

Celia, with her arms crossed, let out a hollow laugh.

Leo was undoubtedly the strongest in the second year.

No, the title of the strongest in Lumern would be more fitting now.

But if you asked if he was a perfect honor student in everything like Celia, that wasn't the case.

In practical subjects related to combat, such as conquering hero dungeons and mission execution, he was undeniably the best.

However, in other subjects, it was not so.

Even though it was the Hero Academy, Lumern was still an academy where teenagers, boys and girls, received education.

History, social studies, mathematics, language, music, art, etiquette, etc.

They also learned general education subjects.

It couldn't be said that his grades in those subjects were terrible, but they weren't top-tier either.

This was definitely in contrast to the top students of each department, who competed for top grades in all subjects.

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

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

Celia narrowed her brows.

Elena Zerone.

She was undeniably a beauty so stunning that even Celia, a woman, was amazed.

Moreover, she was currently one of the top three most skilled individuals in Lumern.

On top of that, her background was also impressive.

Celia knew that Leo was popular with the female students.

However, there had never been any rumors of him dating anyone.

'Leo is a man too, and if it's Elena Zerone…'

As Celia was agonizing over her cousin's unusual behavior.

"So what? Leo is a man too. He might want to go on a date with a beautiful woman."

"Shut up, Butter. Do you think Leo is like you?"

Celia glared sharply at Avad.

Avad, self-proclaimed the most handsome boy in the second year, was also famous for being kind to all female students.

Thanks to that, he had caused the most romantic entanglements among the second-year students.

Seeing Celia, who glared with narrowed eyes and arms crossed, clenching her teeth, Avad raised his hands and said.

"Whoa, calm down, Celia. You're getting too worked up?"

"I have to consider matters between the Zerdinger and Zerone families!"

"Even if you're a perfectionist, aren't you going too far?"

"Hmph."

Celia snorted and brushed her hair back.

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

"Come to think of it, the first-years saw Leo and Senior Elena heading towards the pier earlier."

"What? They went to Lumeria City?"

"Senior Elena has skipped class before."

"Are the two dating?"

"They'll be Student Council President and Vice President next year, right?"

"In terms of their positions, they do fit."

People always found other people's love lives interesting.

Even more so if the subjects were the most famous students in the world, the Student Council President of Lumern.

"Sia, what happened?"

Karl quickly asked Chen Sia, who worked with Leo in the student council, to figure out the source of the rumor.

"Lord Leo asked Senior Elena to be the Vice President. Senior Elena, in return for accepting the Vice President position, asked Lord Leo out on a date."

"Oh?"

Karl's eyes sparkled.

That rumor also quickly spread throughout the second year, thanks to the second-year student council members.

Meanwhile, it was time for class, and the combat instructor approached.

The professor, who was calling out the attendance, wore a puzzled expression.

"Leo is absent, that's unusual."

"He skipped class to go on a date."

"That's a common yet uncharacteristic reason for Leo."

Looking at Eliza, who spoke casually while tidying her nails, the combat instructor looked surprised.

However, he didn't elaborate further.

Whether to skip class or not was a student's personal freedom.

And since falling behind due to attendance or failing to keep up with the pace was also the student's responsibility, many professors didn't pay much attention to student absences.

"Then, we will begin the class. Today's class will be Vasterra in teams of eight to foster cooperation."

"Yes!"

The students responded energetically.

However, the talk about Leo and Elena continued.

"But it's surprising. Senior Elena asked him out first. I can't imagine her being so forward."

As Iliana muttered, Duran, who was in the same group, chuckled.

"It's the natural order of things that the stronger get more. People are drawn to the strong."

As Duran clenched and unclenched his fists, Haul, who was in the same group, muttered.

"Speaking of which, we've already met our toughest opponents from the start?"

"Hmm! Chelsea, Chloe, Karl, Chen Sia, Eiran, Teid, Nella, Eliza."

Iliana, with her palm open and brought to her eyebrow, peered as if looking far into the distance at the opposing team.

"We are… Celia, Duran, Avad, Warden, Jureden, Haul, Turkha, me."

Excluding Karl, if judged purely by combat strength, the strongest second-year students had gathered.

"Are the strongest going at each other from the start? I like it."

As Turkha grinned with a combative smile while cracking his knuckles, Avad smiled faintly.

"That's not all."

"What?"

"The team characteristics are also complete opposites."

As Celia added to Avad's words, Jureden, Turkha, and Haul wore expressions of confusion.

"Hmph. You couldn't even figure out that simple thing? Pathetic."

"What?"

Turkha bristled at Duran's sneer.

Haul and Jureden sighed as if accustomed to it.

"We are a team that is all-out offense, while they are a team that is all-out defense."

Iliana said indifferently, and everyone looked at her with surprised eyes.

Even Warden, who normally didn't care about others' affairs.

"Why are you all looking at me all of a sudden?"

Seeing Iliana ask with a disgruntled expression, Celia showed a moved expression.

"That idiot who only knew how to charge has now figured out the characteristics of allies and enemies! Iliana! I am so moved!"

As an honor student, Celia was very caring towards her fellow students.

It was a little different from Chen Sia, who made others comfortable; Celia was the type to identify their shortcomings and help them study.

Even with a dual class, Iliana belonged to the Knight Department and took classes with Celia.

And Celia had tried very hard to fix Iliana's charging tendency.

But it hadn't been fixed even recently.

So, when they went into battle, Iliana, who used to charge headfirst, was now observing the battlefield situation, which moved Celia.

"It seems Celia's efforts have paid off."

Haul exclaimed.

"Hey! What do you guys think of me!"

Iliana cried out with a scowl, and Turkha replied bluntly.

"An idiot."

"Sia! Chloe! They're treating me like an idiot!"

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

"They say the best revenge is betrayal."

"Oh?"

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

"Who betrays in class!"

As they watched Iliana admire the situation, stroking her chin, Haul and Jureden yelled.

"As Iliana said, the difference between our team and theirs is specialization in offense and defense, respectively. It's extreme. It's not for no reason that the teams were formed like this."

"A battle of spears and shields, huh?"

Haul clasped his arms and wore a serious expression.

"First, to break through their defense, we need to dismantle the opposing formation. Moreover, the enemy has Karl Thomas, who is quite skilled in strategy. If we push them with our strengths, we're likely to fall into his trap."

Duran said calmly, and Iliana looked surprised.

"You think highly of Karl?"

"It's the truth."

Duran glanced at Karl, who was talking amongst his teammates.

"He's stayed at Lumern until he's almost a third-year, regardless of his magical ability. Even if he's a bit lucky, he can't survive on luck alone. The fact that he's in the same place as us is clearly due to his skill."

"I agree with Duran."

Avad smiled faintly.

"The person I'm most concerned about on their side is Karl, I think."

In a team battle, Karl is a very painful presence.

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

Karl has always been a variable in dramatic situations.

While he might not be a combatant, his ability to grasp the flow of battle and command, or his unpredictability, is the best Avad knows of in Lumern.

'He doesn't seem to think his strengths are that great, though.'

"So, first, I hope the opponent actively attacks us so they can't utilize their strengths."

"To make them attack actively, we'd have to leave our goal open. That's too much of a risk."

"Hmm. Is there no other way?"

As Avad and Celia conversed, their teammates were all pondering.

Warden, who had been silently observing the situation, spoke.

"Iliana Laden."

"Huh? Why?"

"You have something to do by standing at the front line."

"Huh?"

"You are the key to this Vasterra."

"Me?"

Iliana's eyes widened as she pointed a finger at herself, and Warden nodded.

***

"Hmph. I expected more from you, but it's an ordinary strategy."

Eliza said with a bored expression.

"I appreciate the high evaluation, but I'm not a genius strategist. How can I come up with special strategies every time?"

Karl shrugged.

"If our strengths are similar, it's best to maximize our own. So, defense is the best strategy for now."

"Hmph."

Despite Karl's explanation, Eliza looked at him with a slightly displeased expression.

'No, aren't people's expectations of me too high lately? I'm the weakest in our school, and I could be expelled at any moment.'

Karl chuckled sadly to himself.

"It seems like it will be a stalemate."

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

"If there is?"

"Iliana is on the other team."

"Iliana Laden? Why is she a variable?"

"If I were on their team, I would assign Iliana the role of provocation."

"I know Iliana is usually boisterous, but I don't think she's particularly good at provoking."

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

"Hmm?"

"Well, Celia, Avad, and Duran are all smart, but they're not very good at cunning tactics. They wouldn't use Iliana for provocation… Huh?"

At that moment, Iliana walked forward to the front line.

Chelsea, who was at the front line, smiled faintly as she saw Iliana facing her.

"Be prepared."

"Yeah, but Chelsea. Do you have the class representative?"

Chelsea's eyes twitched slightly.

Not only Chelsea, but Eiran, who was positioned right behind her, perked up his ears, and Chen Sia, standing next to her, had a blank expression.

Chloe, positioned at the rear, wore a gentle smile.

Meanwhile, Iliana continued to chatter excitedly about Leo and Elena.

After chattering to herself for a long time before the match started, Iliana soon wore a serious expression and muttered with her arms crossed.

"Hmm, but class representative, you're not planning to stay out all night, are you?"