Book 1 Chapter 896
896.
Two days had passed since the announcement of the dance party schedule.
At dawn, during curfew hours.
In the vice president’s office of the student council, Kal had set up a status board on the blackboard and was reporting to Elena.
“First, we took measures to prevent Chelsea, the third-ranked risk individual, from asking Leo to be her partner first. We also hinted to Leo that Chelsea would likely go with Abad.”
“Oh, really?”
“Chelsea considers me an ally, so we continuously collaborated to keep others who were asking Leo to be their partner in check. The main target was Iliana.”
“Can’t we just leave Iliana alone?”
“Well, Leo wouldn’t accept even if she asked, but… isn’t there a proverb that says ‘there’s no tree that won’t fall after ten axe blows’?”
That was true.
Considering Iliana’s impulsiveness, she wasn’t the type to be disheartened by a single rejection.
On the contrary, she would constantly make advances toward Leo.
“The more attempts, the higher the probability! In the current situation, Iliana is like a joker who can create variables. So, it’s correct to keep her thoroughly in check.”
“Is that so?”
Elena nodded as if she understood.
“What about Celia?”
“The risk concerning Celia has been resolved. When I asked Leo, it seems he already has someone in mind as a partner.”
“That’s good. What about Lil?”
“Eliza is doing her best!”
Kal gave a thumbs-up.
“Besides, Chloe doesn’t seem interested in the dance party at all.”
“Why?”
“It looks like she got hooked on some magical theory a few days ago.”
“Ah, I see.”
Elena recalled Chloe.
Chloe was a junior in her department whom Elena found endearing.
First of all, as a fellow mage, she definitely possessed strengths that Elena did not.
Her research and passion for magic.
It wasn't something Elena was particularly interested in, but it was something she respected as a fellow mage.
‘Though she seems to have a subtly sly side.’
Recalling something that happened a few days ago, Elena clicked her tongue.
“Still, I’m keeping an eye on her just in case.”
“Right. She’s the type to act impulsively out of nowhere.”
Kal tilted his head at Elena’s words.
‘Chloe. Did she do something to Senior Elena?’
As he briefly pondered, Elena asked.
“So? What about Chen Xia?”
“Well, how should I put it? She’s quiet? She’s the same as usual. That’s what makes me uneasy.”
“…That’s certainly true. If she’s quiet, she definitely has something up her sleeve.”
Elena’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Chen Xia, who served Leo as his shadow, was the student who spent the most time with Leo, whether he knew it or not.
‘And yet, she’s so mature.’
Her appearance was young, but her inner self was very mature.
That aspect bothered Elena.
Though Leo looked like a late-teen boy on the outside, he was an adult no matter what.
‘Not just any adult, but an old man who has experienced all the hardships in the world.’
In that sense, Leo and Elena had little in common.
This was because Elena had grown up in an environment where she lacked nothing, able to have whatever she wanted since she was young.
Conversely, Chen Xia was different.
As a shadow, she had grown up being rejected by the world since childhood.
She had also walked a rough path.
Her attitude towards Leo was more mature than Elena’s.
This was an advantage Elena could not possess.
Elena, recalling Chen Xia, sighed softly and asked Kal.
“So? When should I ask Leo to be my partner?”
“On the last day.”
“The last day?”
Elena furrowed her brows.
Seeing Elena, Kal said.
“Yes. In the meantime, annoy Leo as much as possible. Then pretend to give in and ask him. That has the highest probability.”
“What if he makes a commitment with someone else before then?”
“I’m here to make sure that doesn’t happen, aren’t I? And…”
“And?”
“Leo said he found Senior Elena cute when she got angry. He’ll probably give in, pretending he can’t resist.”
“He said I was cute?”
“Yes.”
“Not pretty?”
Elena grumbled, sounding displeased.
But a smile played on her lips, as if her mood had lifted.
‘Her mood has lifted, at least.’
Kal breathed a sigh of relief.
‘Now I just need to keep the other girls in check for a few days.’
Kal looked at the status board with a serious expression.
‘Alright! Kal! You can do it!’
Kal’s eyes burned with determination.
‘For a comfortable start to the second semester! I stake my honor as the one preparing for this beginning!’
It was a resolve that others might have found pathetic, but Kal was more serious than anyone.
***
Third-year Summoning Department class.
The third-year students were gathered in groups on the Isle of Spirit Beasts, the main venue for the Summoning practical class.
“Hey, have you decided who you’re going with?”
“Hehe.”
“What? What’s with that laugh?! Have you really decided?”
As expected, the dance party, just a few days away, was the center of attention.
Students were slowly starting to decide on their partners.
“Excuse me, President!”
Just then, a female student approached Leo.
Leo looked puzzled, seeing his female classmate from the Summoning Department blush slightly and hesitate.
“Here!”
Leo smiled gently, watching the female student gather her courage and hand him an envelope.
“It’s for Wereden, right?”
“Yes! Please!”
“I’ll deliver it safely.”
“Thank you!”
The female student smiled brightly and left.
Soon, another female student approached and handed him another letter.
This time, it was a letter for Duran.
“Young Master Leo is very popular,” Chen Xia said with a soft smile, and Leo neatly put the letters away, saying.
“Wereden and Duran. Those two are just so fiercely dedicated to training.”
If you were to name the most representative training fanatics among the third-year students, it would be Wereden and Duran.
The two trained whenever they had a moment.
Therefore, they were the kind of people who considered even reading letters a waste of time.
However, they accepted letters when Leo handed them over.
As a result, Leo inadvertently became the one who delivered letters to the two of them.
“So?”
“Yes?”
“Have you decided on a partner for the dance party?”
When Leo subtly asked, Chen Xia put on a serious expression.
“There’s someone I want to ask to go with, but they’re a twisted person, so I think they’d deliberately refuse if I said anything.”
“Really? So there’s someone with as bad a personality as me.”
“Indeed. Their personality is *very* bad.”
Leo chuckled at Chen Xia’s words.
Chen Xia glared at Leo.
“Who does Young Master Leo intend to go with?”
“The person who asks me first.”
At that, Chen Xia stared intently at Leo and muttered softly.
“Liar.”
Leo let out a hollow laugh at Chen Xia’s distrustful words.
‘Was I so untrustworthy?’
Leo mumbled to himself and shrugged.
From the moment he realized there were schemes afoot, Leo had intended to go with the first person who asked him to be their partner.
But with her showing such distrust, Leo could only feel sorry.
A moment later.
Yura walked over briskly.
“Alright! Today, as I mentioned in the last class, we’ll form teams of two! Everyone, choose your partners.”
At those words, just as Chen Xia was about to speak to Leo.
“Leo Plov. Team up with me.”
“Chen Xia. Join my group.”
Eliza and Wereden each spoke to Leo and Chen Xia.
At the unexpected response, Chen Xia paused for a moment.
‘What is this? Was Wereden also instigated by Kal?’
She thought Eliza might interfere since she was in a relationship with Kal, but Wereden was unexpected.
As Chen Xia pondered internally, Wereden said.
“This class is about forming a bond with the spirit beast contracted by your partner.”
“Yes.”
“You haven’t contracted a high-ranking spirit, but your affinity with the water spirits you have contracted is very high. I want to bond with the spirits you’ve contracted.”
Wereden was a genius in spirit magic.
As such, there was no attribute he couldn’t handle, and his adaptability was also outstanding.
He could even handle spirits contracted by other people.
However, there was one type of spirit Wereden uniquely couldn’t handle: the water spirits contracted by Chen Xia.
Wereden had been deeply interested in their responsiveness for a long time.
Listening to Wereden’s words, Chen Xia pondered for a moment before nodding.
“Alright.”
Chen Xia, sensing that Wereden’s goal was purely for growth, accepted his request.
Besides Chen Xia and Wereden, many others formed groups with students who had contracted spirit beasts they had long been curious about.
“Alright, alright. We’ll be switching team members after 30 minutes anyway.”
Yura clapped her hands to organize the situation, and only then did they begin to form groups smoothly.
Leo teamed up with Eliza.
“Now, go to a place where each of you can concentrate and begin the class! Professor Carlo and I will be walking around giving advice! Now, begin!”
As soon as Yura finished speaking, the Summoning Department students began to disperse.
Eliza started walking without a word, and Leo followed her.
After a while, when they arrived in a deserted part of the forest, Leo said.
“You want to bond with Arti, right?”
“Of course, as someone who handles pegasi.”
“But this guy actually likes human contact, so it should be easy, no?”
When Leo said this with a gentle smile, Eliza crossed her arms.
“Even so, he has inherited the power of the Pegasus King. Liking the touch of other summoners doesn’t mean he’ll be easy to handle.”
“That’s true.”
Leo nodded, just as he was about to summon Arti.
Seeing Leo, Eliza hesitated for a moment.
“Why?”
Leo looked puzzled, sensing that Eliza was different from usual.
Seeing Leo, Eliza hesitated, then clicked her tongue and said.
“Leo Plov. Have you decided on a partner to go with to the dance party?”
“Not yet. Why do you ask?”
“Then, will you go with me?”
“…?”
Leo’s eyes widened at Eliza’s sudden words.
Looking at Leo, Eliza regretted it internally.
She had blurted it out in anger at Kal’s actions.
But now that she had said it, she felt pathetic for asking someone she didn’t care for to be her partner just to spite Kal.
‘And this person isn’t likely to agree anyway.’
Sighing softly, Eliza opened her mouth.
“I said something unnecessary. Just forget about this story…”
“Okay.”
“Yes?”
Eliza looked dumbfounded at Leo’s words.
Leo smiled gently, looking at Eliza.
“Let’s go together. To the dance party.”
***
This morning.
Iliana, who had tried to talk to Leo about going to the dance party but had been obstructed exactly 19 times, recalled those who had hindered her.
‘Kal, Chelsea, Xia, Celia.’
Celia had dragged her to the disciplinary committee even though she had done nothing wrong.
Kal and Chelsea had told her Professor Ren was looking for her, only for her to find out that wasn't true.
After that, Kal, Chelsea, Celia, and Chen Xia continuously prevented her and Leo from talking.
She hadn’t thought it was strange until the 18th time, but this morning, she definitely felt it.
‘What?! They were preventing the class president and me from talking!’
She immediately understood why they were doing it.
The dance party.
‘It’s too much!’
Iliana made a tearful face.
But that was only for a moment.
An uncharacteristic mischievousness began to well up on Iliana’s face.
Honestly, she didn’t have the confidence to ask Leo to be her partner, breaking through the four people’s efforts to keep her in check.
There was a high probability that she wouldn’t even be able to speak to Leo like this.
‘But I can’t just stand by and take it.’
Iliana, who had been making an angry face, curled up the corners of her mouth.
‘Good. If I can’t have him…’
With a hateful glint in her eyes, Iliana thought.
‘I’ll destroy it! No one can go to the dance party with the class president!’