Book 1 Chapter 716

716.

John from the Knight Department and Illesa from the Magic Department.

Finally, Ledin from the Summoning Department.

About 2000 years ago.

They were all top talents with bright futures, highly renowned as the student council president of Lumen and gaining worldwide attention.

However, Chelsea looked at those distant seniors with pity.

John and Illesa were kneeling.

The knight, clad in bloody, hollow armor, and the mage with a red cloak and no head, sitting like that, looked quite eerie.

But there was no fear.

Just an infinitely small presence.

It was because of Leo, who sat before them with his arms crossed and legs crossed.

Beside John and Illesa, Ledin lay sprawled.

The arm that Leo had been pulling was dangling at a strange angle.

All three had lost the arrogant demeanor they once had as seniors.

They were just endlessly cowering before Leo.

Chelsea, who had been nursing Iliana, cautiously approached Leo.

Then, she asked the seniors with the eerie appearances,

"I have a question. Why can't you move in front of Leo oppa?"

Chelsea had revealed Leo's identity to the heroic spirits.

But they didn't seem to believe the fact.

It was understandable.

Even during their lifetime, Kyle's records were already heavily damaged.

Of course, not like when Leo had just reincarnated, completely a fictional character.

Or a swindler who stole the achievements of a great hero.

However, even back then, opinions were divided in academic circles on whether the Hero of the Beginning actually existed.

A great hero whose existence was questionable.

Given that situation, they wouldn't easily believe the word reincarnation.

Yet, the three heroic spirits couldn't move an inch in front of Leo.

Was it because Leo twisted Ledin's arm at an odd angle?

'I don't think so.'

Even if fists were closer than laws, they were graduates of Lumen, weren't they?

She didn't think they would have succumbed to violence.

"It's because this person is the one who summoned us,"

Ilesa said with a slightly sulky voice.

It was bizarre to hear a voice from a headless person.

"If this person wills it, they can send us back."

"Ah."

In other words, their existence as heroic spirits was due to Leo's spiritual power, hence their docility.

If they displeased Leo, they would return to the form of mana, unable to exert their will.

Chelsea, nodding as if she understood, had another question.

"Then why do the three of you have such… those… scary appearances?"

"This is our appearance at the moment of our deaths, junior."

In response to Chelsea's question, Illesa shrugged and pointed to John.

"This noble knight here lost his physical body in war. So only his armor was summoned."

Then she pointed to Ledin.

"This summoner lost the lower half of his body."

Finally, Illesa pointed to herself.

"And I, Illesa Lyant, a great apprentice archmage, was unfortunately bitten on the neck by a demonic beast-snap!"

Having said that, Illesa said in a complaining voice,

"It's probably because the spiritualist art of the person who summoned us was clumsy, so they couldn't summon us in our complete forms."

Ilesa expressed her dissatisfaction.

"You had a beautiful face, it's a shame."

"Oh, my, my. I was quite beautiful. I often heard I was like a blooming flower during my school days."

"A blooming flower, my foot. You were a crazy woman with flowers in your hair."

John scoffed.

"What are you saying? You're someone who's never received a single love letter in your life."

'The animosity between departments is the same now as it was 2000 years ago.'

Perhaps it was the same when Lumen was first established.

As Chelsea thought that, she asked her last question.

"This is what I'm most curious about. Why did you surprise us?"

At first, she thought they were ghosts.

But now, talking to them, they were just ordinary students, only scary in appearance.

'…Is it that I'm not normal for calling these people ordinary?'

Certainly, her common sense had changed a lot since coming to Lumen.

'Do I appear that way to others too?'

Chelsea shook her head vigorously to shake off her thoughts.

Meanwhile, Illesa feigned ignorance.

"Huh? What are you talking about? I don't know anything."

At Illesa's reaction, Chelsea glanced at Leo.

"Shall I make you understand what I'm talking about?"

Seeing Leo smile menacingly, Illesa flinched.

'Wow, he's like a thug. Leo oppa is good at threatening too.'

Chelsea was admiring how he could do everything when.

Illesa said hesitantly,

"Uh… when I was first summoned, I had almost lost my sanity. So I moved according to instinct."

"Moved?"

"Seeing the people who screamed and ran away when they saw us… it was somehow fun?"

Illesa said with a slightly excited voice.

"You know, it was like playing tag!"

Illesa grinned, shaking her clenched fists up and down.

"During my school days, I only studied and trained hard for combat! So seeing people scream and run away was really fun!"

Chelsea muttered to herself at Illesa's words.

'What about the others?'

Looking at John and Ledin, they had similar reactions.

'…These people are definitely our seniors.'

To act like malevolent spirits and chase them to kill them over something like that.

It felt like the seniors would do the same now.

As Chelsea let out a deep sigh, seeing the three who showed no discord,

"I've been curious since a while ago."

Leo opened his mouth.

"Why are you the only one answering?"

Leo pointed at Illesa with his toe.

Indeed, only Illesa was answering Chelsea's questions.

Illesa answered Leo's question.

"Isn't that obvious?"

"Obvious?"

"Yeah. This person is from the Magic Department."

"So what?"

"You weren't asking these people, were you?"

Seeing Illesa draw a line as if it were obvious, Chelsea tilted her head.

"I did ask the two seniors…"

"Why are they seniors? The only senior here is me!"

Illesa grabbed Chelsea's shoulder and shook her violently.

Chelsea looked flustered as the headless mage shook her.

John and Ledin remained unfazed by Illesa's words about not treating them as seniors.

Chelsea, watching them, had a look of realization.

"Ah."

"Why?"

"Come to think of it, there was a class war 2000 years ago."

"What's that?"

"As expected, Leo oppa doesn't know."

Knowing Leo wasn't very interested in history, Chelsea explained about the class war.

It was understandable that he wouldn't know if he wasn't interested, as it wasn't even a Lumen course subject.

The Class War.

It was literally a great war where knights, mages, and summoners formed factions and fought.

It was a civil war among the human races, one of the largest wars in the history of heroes.

Lumen had been a neutral zone for 3000 years, so the war did not occur within Lumen, but it was still affected. The three heroic spirits who attended Lumen at that time strictly drew lines between themselves.

"The Class War barely stopped after the invasion of Tartarus."

Leo frowned at Chelsea's explanation.

"These guys are so idle they do all sorts of crazy things!"

Leo, who knew how the world had collapsed during the age of calamity 5000 years ago, couldn't help but feel his blood boil at the story of such a civil war.

"Who do you think saved the world for you to fight amongst yourselves?!"

"W-we didn't start the war."

"W-we were just caught up in the war."

"Th-that's right!"

As the atmosphere of the person claiming to be the Hero of the Beginning turned menacing, the three heroic spirits, who had been speaking casually, addressed Leo respectfully again.

They thought that if they made a mistake, the human in front of them might really tear off their limbs.

Chelsea looked bewildered at the sight of the living being more terrifying than the dead.

'No, Leo oppa is someone who died and came back to life.'

Chelsea shook her head, watching the heroic spirits cower before Leo.

"If you ever talk about animosity between departments in front of me again, I'll really tear you apart."

"Of-of course."

"It seems to be an era of harmony!"

"Heroes must value harmony!"

"But Leo oppa, you made the departments fight."

"Huh? What did you say?"

"It's nothing."

Chelsea quickly shook her head as she saw Leo smiling at her.

While Leo was fond of her, Chelsea knew well that she could end up in a terrible situation if she made a mistake.

"So? What are your lingering regrets?"

If they became heroic spirits, it meant they had regrets.

At Leo's question, Chelsea could easily guess what the three heroic spirits' regrets were.

'They were the ones in the portrait corridor… so they couldn't fulfill their potential.'

Chelsea looked at the three heroic spirits with a sad expression.

They were former student council members.

Young heroic spirits who had to die without realizing their dreams.

How regrettable that must have been.

'Knight senior must have wanted to achieve great deeds on the battlefield. Mage senior's dream must have been to be praised as an archmage… Wouldn't the summoner senior have wanted to interact with powerful summoned beasts?'

As Chelsea had a slightly wistful expression, recalling the typical dreams and romantic ideals of each class.

John shouted with spirit,

"I want to be popular with women! In my life, I was only popular with smelly men!"

"……."

At their grand yet humble dream, Chelsea's face instantly turned miserable.

"Uh… I'd like to have a girlfriend. I was popular in my youth, but I never had a lover because I was needlessly reserved."

Ledin also had an embarrassed expression.

"I want to have a boyfriend too! I used to laugh at romance before I died! But after I died, I feel resentful!"

Ilesa also jumped up and down.

Chelsea covered her face.

'These are the seniors.'

After composing herself, Chelsea said,

"But you all died anyway. You won't be able to have lovers, will you? Or perhaps, would you three date each other…"

"I'd rather choose death."

John said ruthlessly.

"You're already dead."

"I'll die again."

Ledin also said in a cold voice.

"I refuse these people, no matter how much you give me."

Ilesa snorted.

"…Then you won't be able to date?"

At that remark, the three looked at each other and said simultaneously,

"Then we'll sabotage your dating."

"Why does it end up like that?"

"Because we couldn't do it, we'll be envious if our juniors do."

"……."

'What kind of people are these.'

Chelsea pressed her temples when.

"Accepted."

"……?"

Chelsea turned her head at Leo's ominous voice from behind.

Leo was laughing there as if it were amusing.

'Ah.'

Chelsea instantly understood what that laughter would bring.

'Disaster.'

***

The next morning.

Chelsea came to the breakfast hall with a tired look.

"Chelsea. Did you come back late yesterday?"

"Yes, brother."

"Aren't you out too late at night?"

Looking at Abad, who asked with concern, Chelsea smiled faintly.

"I'm fine."

'…I wonder how Leo oppa plans to use those seniors?'

They were heroic spirits who clearly enjoyed tormenting students.

Given Leo's recent tendency to torment students,

Chelsea didn't want to deeply contemplate how they would appear before the students.

Sighing, Chelsea ate her sandwich and tilted her head at the newspaper Abad was reading.

"Heavy snow due to abnormal temperatures in the eastern part of the continent?"

"It's the Kingdom of Devian, where a civil war recently broke out."

"You said it was a civil war between the second prince and the first princess, right?"

"Yes."

"But it's heavy snow when summer is approaching."

"There are rumors that it's the work of an archmage."

"That's a magician with nothing better to do."

Chelsea grumbled as she chewed her sandwich.

Abad chuckled at that.

"Right?"