Book 1 Chapter 987

Elena, sitting with her legs crossed in the conference hall, rested her chin on her hand with her elbow on the armrest of her chair.

And she yawned languidly.

Even then, the Zeltsian family was raising their voices, claiming to be spokespersons for several prominent families.

Their claims were consistent.

They demanded an explanation for why Cal was given preferential treatment.

It was true that Cal had received preferential treatment.

Strictly speaking, Cal had not met the requirements for promotion to the third year last year.

The board of directors was convened, and after a long meeting, it was an exceptional case where promotion was decided with special treatment.

In the 3,000-year history of Lumen, Cal was the only student to receive such preferential treatment.

"But he received it because he deserved it."

Lumen is a Hero Academy.

The educational goal of Hero Academies is to train heroes.

In that sense, it was no exaggeration to say that Cal had already met the graduation requirements.

A feat of becoming a hero as a student.

While Lumen has produced many heroes now, that doesn't mean Cal isn't special.

In the first place, among the heroes whose names were listed in the Hero Records, Cal was a type with a new disposition that had never existed before.

From Lumen's perspective, they needed to research the potential of a new hero.

That alone was enough reason for Cal to remain at Lumen.

But such reasons were not important to the prominent families.

They could not tolerate Cal, who was of commoner origin and had a poor academic record, receiving preferential treatment.

If someone from a prominent family had received preferential treatment, there would have been no such controversy.

"That's why they're outdated."

Elena, with a bored gaze, glanced at the Zeltsian patriarch and the families who agreed with him.

A narrow-minded way of thinking that considers the position of a hero to be the exclusive property of prominent families.

In reality, most of them couldn't even enter Lumen.

They were people who had nothing but the radiance left by their ancestors.

That was the reality of many families called prominent families.

The reason the Zeltsian family was the head was that they had occupied one of the hero family seats until relatively recently.

Although their family's fame had declined to the point where they were no longer called a hero family.

"Elena Zeroun! Are you even listening to me?!"

Seeing Elena, who was idly twirling her hair, the Zeltsian patriarch raised his voice.

Elena smiled faintly.

"Huh? What did you say?"

"Eeeeek?! Why are you running Lumen biasedly?!"

"Ah, that? If that's the point, speak briefly. Why are you rambling on with unnecessary details?"

Elena showed an expression of annoyance.

"Wh-what?!"

The Zeltsian, whose eyes were wide with anger, exploded, but Elena didn't even glance at him.

Elena, leaning deep into the chair, said calmly.

"The reason for running Lumen biasedly?"

"That's right! Explain why you gave preferential treatment to Cal Thomas!"

The Zeltsian patriarch shouted.

Even if he said Cal was qualified to be a hero, they probably wouldn't listen.

There was no group more unreasonable than vested interests who considered themselves special.

As they had vested interests, they had power and thus often mistook themselves for the law.

Because all problems could be solved by suppressing them with force, even if they acted unreasonably.

But there was one thing they, in particular, forgot.

That the logic of power applied to them as well.

"That's the Zeroun family's will, isn't it?"

"What?"

"What are you to Lumen?"

"……"

At Elena's question, the Zeltsian patriarch closed his mouth.

"Who are you to be spouting off about Lumen's management? Just to clarify, Lumen Academy belongs to the Zeroun family."

"That…! Lumen is everyone's!"

"Everyone? That's strange. The founder of the academy, the Knight of Twilight Lumen, bequeathed this asset to our family's ancestor."

"……"

"And for the past 3,000 years, the Zeroun family has operated Lumen Academy for the world."

The Zeroun family did its best to operate the school in accordance with Lumen's wishes.

At the same time, they maintained their status as a hero family for the past 3,000 years.

There was no reason for such a Zeroun family to listen to outsiders regarding the school's operation.

"B-but it compromises fairness…"

"If that's your complaint, become a hero as a student, like Cal Thomas. I'll give you early graduation, not just promotion. Then you won't have any complaints, will you?"

Elena's smiling face was filled with blatant ridicule.

The Zeltsian patriarch, his face flushed and grinding his teeth, looked at the other hero families.

In his gaze, which pleaded for help, not a single hero family agreed with the words of the Zeltsian patriarch and the prominent families.

'Damn! Are you all in on it!'

The Zeltsian patriarch, having reached that conclusion on his own, said nothing more about Cal.

He glared at Cal, who was sitting in the representative's seat of the Hergin family, looking around nervously.

'That seat was originally my son's!'

The Zeltsian, who had been a hero family in the southern continent, had maintained a close relationship with Hergin for a long time.

The Zeltsian, who once had a reputation comparable to Hergin, began to decline a hundred years ago.

Thirty years ago, they were even removed from the hero family position.

But even so, their relationship with the Hergin family was maintained.

That's why the Zeltsian patriarch had been working towards a political marriage with the Hergin family since his son was born.

Even without Cal, there was no guarantee that his son would have been betrothed to Eliza.

However, he blamed Cal entirely for the failed political marriage.

'A lowly commoner!'

Grinding his teeth, the Zeltsian patriarch said.

"Let's get back to the original agenda! It's about the Arhi Kingdom!"

The Zeltsian patriarch glared.

"The Arhi Kingdom has recently been accepting refugees indiscriminately! Several prominent families attending this meeting, including Zeltsian, are concerned that Arhi may threaten the peace of the continent!"

"You said it threatens peace?"

"That's right! Patriarch of Zerdinger!"

As Selde narrowed his brow, the Zeltsian raised his voice.

"The founding of the Arhi Kingdom is a blessing in itself! No matter what anyone says, the King of Arhi has been recognized by King of Wisdom, His Majesty, as the King of the World who will lead the era."

He wanted to deny that he was the King of the World.

But he couldn't.

Disobeying the will of the King of Wisdom was not tolerated.

Depending on the degree, it could be considered treason against the world, and the family itself could disappear into the annals of history.

"However, the King of Arhi, even if he has power, is still young and immature mentally!"

At that moment, Elena's eyes twitched.

Cal barely managed to suppress a laugh.

"While it's true that he carries the fate of the world, I fear he may wield too much power."

Currently, Arhi is considered a land of opportunity on the continent.

Not only humans but also countless races are gathering, and rumors are spreading that it is under the protection of Dragonia.

It is said to be a peaceful land where people are treated according to their abilities and are not plagued by monsters and demons.

As such, immigrants are increasing in search of new opportunities.

The continued increase in the country's population means an increase in human resources that will be responsible for the future.

The emergence of a new great power.

Moreover, the king of the country is a world king recognized by the gods.

In addition, the stronger the Arhi Kingdom becomes, the weaker the national power of countries from which people emigrate becomes.

This was not a welcome situation for the existing kingdoms.

Therefore, they intended to check Arhi by using Leo's youth as an excuse.

It was a transparent and shallow ploy, but it was not easy to bring up the matter, as the interests of several countries were at stake.

"If I speak rashly, it could lead to conflict, which is troublesome."

Cal clicked his tongue inwardly.

At that moment, Hark, who was sitting at the representative's seat of the Rigard family next to the Hergin family and had his face buried in the table, flinched, shivered, and then jerked his head up.

"Are you saying we should stop immigration to Arhi?!"

"Th-that's right. It's no use opposing it…"

"I agree! I strongly agree!"

Hark raised his voice with bloodshot eyes.

"If the number of immigrants decreases, the amount of work also decreases! That means more time to sleep… Ugh!"

"Senior Hark, please calm down."

Cal frantically covered Hark's mouth.

It was something unimaginable before, but Cal, anticipating what would come next, had no choice but to stop him desperately.

"I hope you will not be disrespectful to the acting patriarch of Rigard."

The Zeltsian patriarch said to Cal with a sinister smile.

He thought Hark agreed with their opinion.

'No, if you don't shut his mouth, it won't be good for you!'

As Cal sighed, Hark, who had shaken off Cal's arm, said to Cal with veins bulging on his forehead.

"Ho? Cal Thomas. You've grown a lot? Now that you're a hero, does a senior not feel like a senior anymore?"

Cal let out a deep sigh at Hark's words.

"Acting patriarch of Rigard. Please ignore that rude person and continue what you were saying."

The Zeltsian patriarch said with a pleasant smile, and Hark said.

"Stopping immigration is simple."

"That's right. If we impose sanctions on the Arhi Kingdom…"

"The country with a high immigration rate should govern properly."

"……"

"It is prohibited by international law to prevent immigration, so the superiors who run the country poorly should come to their senses and run the country properly… Ugh!"

Liss, who attended the meeting with the patriarch of Zerdinger, couldn't stand it any longer and covered Hark's mouth.

Amidst the commotion, the patriarch of the Rwalin family, Chade, who was presiding over the meeting, declared.

"We will take a break from the meeting."

At those words, the prominent families' alliance, led by the Zeltsian patriarch, stood up with their faces flushed red and left the conference hall.

By then, Hark was struggling in Liss's arms.

Eventually…

Crack!

"Gurgle?!"

Liss slightly twisted his junior's neck.

Seeing the limp Hark, Liss clicked his tongue.

"Elena seems to have matured recently, but this guy is more reckless than when he was a student."

"He probably hasn't slept well in the Arhi Kingdom lately."

Cal sighed.

Meanwhile, Elena stared fixedly at the departing prominent families' alliance.

Elena, twirling her hair with her fingers, had a disgruntled expression.

"Miss Elena, they say sweets are good when you're feeling down."

At that moment, Leo, in disguise, placed a cake and tea in front of Elena.

Elena looked at the attendant who suddenly brought her cake and tea with a puzzled expression.

"Senior Elena."

Then Cal approached and whispered in Elena's ear.

"This is Leo."

At those words, Elena's eyes widened.

Then, with a relieved expression, she started eating the cake with a fork.

"Senior Liss."

"Huh? Why?"

"Butler? Can you lend me this butler during this meeting?"

Liss let out a wry laugh, seeing Elena speaking with a bright smile.

"If you lend him to me, I'll be quiet and won't cause trouble."

"……"

Liss looked at Leo.

As Leo nodded, Liss smiled.

"All right."

"Attendant? Can you bring more cake for this young lady?"

"Young lady."

"Huh?"

"If you eat like that, you'll get fat."

"……"

Elena glared at Leo, who smiled and went to get more cake.

Meanwhile.

Cal scratched his head and looked outside the conference hall.

There, he could see the Zeltsian patriarch leading the prominent families' alliance.

'As expected, that guy is the most likely one.'

Cal sighed softly, looking at the head of the family who would want him gone the most.