Chapter 127
Chapter Title: The Name of Kyle
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127.
Opening Ceremony.
As the students lined up by year, only the first-years stood with particularly grim faces.
The second-years standing next to them watched with puzzled expressions.
“What’s with them?”
“I heard they got put through the wringer on the first day back.”
“They look like that just from a little training on the day of the opening ceremony? They’re calling them the golden generation, but they don’t look like much.”
“Apparently, the vice principal trained them himself.”
“What? The vice principal?”
The second-years who had been sneering right next to the first-years were startled.
The vice principal.
He was a man shrouded in mystery, even to the upperclassmen.
Hearing that this very same vice principal had personally instructed the first-years, the second-years felt a sense of discontent.
“Are the first-years getting special treatment, or what?”
“This is blatant favoritism. How can we stand going to school here?”
Throughout the break, talk of Lumerne’s first-years had been everywhere.
And the ones they were inevitably compared to were none other than the second-years, just one grade above them.
In such a situation, the news that the vice principal had trained the first-years felt like their juniors were getting preferential treatment, and complaints erupted among the second-years.
Meanwhile, Leo was in the student representative waiting room, changing into his formal uniform.
The representatives from the other years had not yet arrived, leaving Leo alone in the room.
He had just finished changing and stepped out of the dressing room.
“That’s why I don’t like Elena.”
“But Senior Hark, you’re from one of the three great families too, aren’t you? You could just borrow your family’s power like Senior Elena, couldn’t you?”
“You think I’d do something that embarrassing?”
Ril, a second-year, and Hark, a fourth-year, entered the waiting room.
“Leo! Did you have a good break?”
Ril spotted Leo and smiled brightly.
“Yes.”
“Your performance in the departmental competition was impressive, Leo! To be squeezed between such outstanding seniors and an amazing junior. I’m really out of luck.”
Watching Ril let out a deep sigh, Hark wore a look of disbelief.
“What are you talking about? You’re the undisputed number one of the second-years.”
For a student representative, Ril luce thought of herself as far too ordinary.
But Ril was a student whose position as the top of her year had never once been threatened since her enrollment.
First in written exams.
First in practical exams.
First in various combat and mission evaluations.
A 100% success rate in conquering the World of Heroes.
She was an honor student setting astounding records.
Among the upperclassmen, not a single student had maintained such an unshakeable top position in their year as Ril had.
Lis had competed fiercely with Ulta, and both Hark and Elena had briefly lost their representative positions to other students.
Unlike those seniors, Ril was enjoying a long reign as her year’s representative.
She was, quite literally, an iron wall.
“You know the others call you ‘Monster Girl,’ right?”
“Senior Hark! Why would you mention such a weird nickname in front of Leo!”
As Ril pouted, Hark chuckled and ruffled her hair.
Ril, who gave her all in everything, was also a junior beloved by the senior student representatives.
That’s why even Hark, who didn’t pay much attention to others, would often tease her.
After a good laugh at Ril’s expense, Hark covered his eyes with the blindfold hanging around his neck and said.
“Anyway, I’m going to sleep. Wake me up sometime before the ceremony starts.”
With those words, Hark was instantly fast asleep.
“He falls asleep so easily.”
“He really does.”
As Leo marveled, Ril let out a deep sigh.
Of course, Leo could see through the fact that Hark wasn't just someone who fell asleep anytime, anywhere because he was a heavy sleeper.
‘His Aura trait is Accumulation. A rare one.’
The Accumulation trait.
It was the ability to store power during normal times and unleash it all during battle.
‘Though he does seem to genuinely sleep a lot.’
While Leo was musing to himself, Ril spoke urgently, her face flushed.
“Leo! ‘Monster Girl’ is just a nickname the seniors made up to tease me! I have a perfectly respectable nickname, the Tempest Spiritist…!”
Just as Ril, who wanted to be a dignified and cool senior to her junior, was trying to shed the strange image that had been attached to her.
“Isn’t ‘Tempest Spiritist’ a bit too plain?”
Elena, who had just entered the waiting room, smiled brightly and floated over to Ril.
Then she pulled Ril’s head into an embrace.
Ril stiffened, like a mouse before a snake.
Chuckling at her junior, Elena said.
“That’s why ‘Monster Girl’ is perfect.”
Looking at Elena teasing her, Ril pouted.
Elena, who was patting Ril’s head as if she were adorable, looked at Leo and spoke.
“Leo. I heard about you during the break. You participated in the Azonia entrance ceremony?”
At those words, Ril’s eyes widened as she looked at Leo.
“Our dear junior is quite surprising. He causes extraordinary incidents wherever he goes. Does that mean he’s a big shot?”
As Ril held her breath watching Elena gaze at Leo with interest.
Elena had a whimsical personality.
While she was called the Queen of Lumerne, she was also called a witch.
Unpredictable as she was, she was also famous for her harsh judgment of others.
‘To be precise, she ignores anyone she doesn’t acknowledge.’
As far as Ril could remember, the only student Elena had ever deemed a ‘big shot’ was Lis Jerdinger.
The sight of her smiling with her pink eyes sparkling was beautiful enough to make even Ril’s heart flutter, and she was a woman herself.
But Leo simply smiled calmly.
“It’s an honor to be seen in such a favorable light.”
Elena narrowed her eyes at the composedly smiling Leo.
“Leo. You said you had a favor to ask me, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I might be willing to grant that favor now. But in return.”
Elena smiled brightly.
“Will you grant one of my favors too?”
‘What kind of favor does Leo want to ask Senior Elena?’
Ril was glancing back and forth between Leo and Elena.
“Are you hitting on a first-year now, of all things?”
Hark, who had been lying down asleep, lifted his blindfold and stared at Elena with cold eyes.
“Senior Hark, you should mind your own business.”
Elena said to Hark with a smile.
Her eyes, however, were not smiling.
Hark Liguard.
He was one of the few students who could stand up to Elena, the so-called Queen of Lumerne.
If the Jer-on family had long held the position of Lumerne’s chairman, the Liguard family had ruled over Lumeria City.
As the heir to one of Lumerne’s three great families, he was a man on equal footing with Elena.
Ril hurriedly tried to mediate between the two glaring seniors.
“S-Seniors! You can’t fight!”
“That’s right. What are you two doing in front of the juniors?”
A man appeared, lending his support to Ril’s words.
It was none other than the student council president, Lis.
At Lis’s appearance, Elena returned to her usual composed expression, gave Leo one last smile, and then pushed Ril’s back.
“Ril, let’s get ready.”
“You can’t pull any strange stunts like last time.”
“We’ll see how you do.”
Ril sighed deeply and entered the dressing room.
“Hark, let’s get ready too.”
“Yes, Senior.”
Lis entered the dressing room first.
Hark, following behind, looked at Leo and said.
“You’re Leo Flove, right?”
“Yes.”
“You should probably be a little careful.”
“...?”
Hark looked troubled.
“She’s had a tendency to see people around her as toys since she was little.”
“I can tell she has a selfish personality.”
“Right. But the problem is when she finds a ‘special toy.’”
Hark sighed.
“She gets bored easily, so it usually doesn’t become a big deal. But she seems interested in you, so you should be careful for now.”
“Thank you for the advice.”
“Yeah. Anyway, I have high hopes for you too.”
Hark gave Leo a grin.
“High hopes?”
“Yeah, talented juniors are always welcome.”
Leaving those words behind, Hark entered the dressing room.
Leo was newly aware of the fact that many people were paying attention to him.
If the gazes on him during the first semester were merely out of interest, they had now changed to ones of acknowledgment.
‘From now on, Tartaros will be watching me in earnest.’
Being an All-Class like Kyle and having started to make unusual moves, Leo would be a target of vigilance for Tartaros.
‘The traitor here at Lumerne might even try to harm me directly.’
Leo took a deep breath.
‘I need to be on my toes from now on.’
***
After the opening ceremony, the first-years immediately moved to attend their classes.
Most schools would take it easy on the first day, but Lumerne was not one of them; classes began right away.
The first class was none other than Heroics.
Gathered in the large lecture hall by class for the first time in a while, all the first-years wore exhausted expressions.
It was the aftereffect of being hit by the ‘Nightmare’ curse.
It was then.
“Everyone! It’s been a while! Did you have a good break… Ack!”
Artian, who had entered the lecture hall with a bright smile, tripped and fell flat on her face.
She was just as clumsy as she had been in their first year.
Of course, the first-years, who remembered Artian’s terrifying side all too well, didn’t even think of laughing and instead tensed up.
Groaning, Artian stood up in front of the lecture hall and smiled brightly.
“Did you all rest well during the break? I missed you all so much during the break that I’ve been counting down the days until the new semester!”
At her words, a few students looked touched.
Artian was certainly a scary professor.
But her attitude towards her students was always sincere.
That was why, despite being terrifying, she was a very popular professor.
“Oh? You all feel the same way.”
Artian suddenly started talking to herself.
It seemed she was conversing with the spirits she had contracted with.
“The spirits I’ve contracted with said they wanted to see you all too!”
“Really?”
“See, the spirits just talk tough, but they actually adore us!”
The very source of Artian's scariness.
Hearing that the spirits had wanted to see them, the students grew excited.
It seemed they had grown fond of them, despite all the beatings.
“Yes! They said they’ve been counting down the days, certain that some students slacked off on their Heroics homework, so they could finally punish them!”
Watching the innocently smiling Artian, the students’ faces hardened.
Artian, who had relayed the spirits’ words without much thought, also became flustered and went to a corner to reason with them.
“Everyone! You’re scaring the children! How could you say something like that?”
Watching the scene, Karl spoke.
“I worked really hard on my Heroics homework.”
“Me too.”
Dade let out a deep sigh.
After reasoning with the spirits, Artian cleared her throat and stood at the podium again.
“Anyway, please submit your homework after class. Today, we’ll be having a lesson on the issues that have come up in the field of Heroics during the break!”
Hearing Artian’s words, the students looked puzzled.
“New issues in the field of Heroics?”
“What could it be? Did they discover a new Hero Dungeon?”
“Or maybe they unearthed a Hero’s relic.”
Issues in Heroics were significant events that could change the state of the world.
“I’m sure you’ll all be surprised! As you all know, during the Azonia entrance ceremony, the introductory chapter of the [Brave Hero] Ar-on, which had never been opened before, was conquered.”
It was an incident that had been plastered all over the newspapers, so every student knew about it.
The first-years, in particular, couldn't help but be conscious of the fact that a student from another hero academy of their own generation had already conquered a Great Hero's page.
However, nothing had been announced about the contents of the World of Heroes or its rewards.
As the students wore tense expressions.
Artian spoke.
“And a certain name was mentioned by the conqueror.”
Artian, holding a piece of chalk, began to write something on the blackboard.
Tap—tak—tak—
The sound of chalk on the blackboard was the only thing that echoed through the large lecture hall.
Seeing the name written on the board, the students began to murmur among themselves.
Leo also recalled what had happened in the World of Heroes.
‘Come to think of it, Ar heard my name from Agon.’
The name written on the blackboard was one all too familiar to Leo.
[The Surviving Hero, Kyle]
Putting down the chalk, Artian turned around and said.
“We don’t know if this is the same person as the Hero of the Beginning, but… for the first time in the world of a Great Hero, the name ‘Kyle’ has been officially mentioned.”