Chapter 135
Chapter Title: Two Encounters
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“We escaped!”
Lunia shouted, stretching as she stepped out of the city.
“I seriously thought I was going to die from suffocation in there!”
“Weren’t you supposed to drop the act when you’re just with other students?”
“Act? What a strange choice of words.”
“Then what is it?”
Lunia flashed an elegant smile.
“A consideration, so as not to shatter people’s illusions.”
Leo shook his head.
“Anyway, you. You were teasing me earlier, weren’t you? Huh?”
Lunia’s eyes shot up, but Leo asked without batting an eye.
“Do you have to act like a well-behaved model student in front of the upperclassmen?”
At his question, Lunia’s expression soured.
“Most of the upperclassmen don’t know what I’m really like.”
“Most?”
“Yeah. Some of them do. You saw the senior with the glasses who was the leader of the group earlier? He knows my personality.”
Lunia scratched her head vigorously.
“So I thought it would just be him, and I came along thinking I could be comfortable. But then other second and third-years came along, and it was so exhausting.”
“If playing innocent is part of your daily routine, it shouldn't be tiring, should it?”
“It wouldn’t be tiring if they just left me alone!”
Lunia crossed her arms and scowled.
“But they kept making moves on me.”
“Moves?”
“Yeah. One of the second-years kept trying to ask me out on a date in a roundabout way!”
“You could have just said no.”
“That’s the thing! He kept beating around the bush so I couldn’t give him a firm no! It’s so annoying!”
*Thwack-! Thwack-!* Lunia hysterically kicked a nearby tree.
It seemed she had accumulated quite a bit of stress on the way here.
“And on top of that, they’re all so steeped in elitism, seriously! Ugh! The way they talked was so damn pretentious!”
Lunia, the first-year representative of Seirun, had been famous since she first enrolled.
A prestigious family and beautiful looks.
And while her personality was, well, like this, she thoroughly played the part of a model student on the surface, earning her the expectations and attention of Seirun’s teachers and upperclassmen.
There were traitors like Lauta from before, but they were a minority.
Usually, upper-class students held their upper-class juniors in high regard.
“What was it that you disliked so much?”
“They kept talking about you! Saying you just got lucky interpreting the Founder’s magic! Or that your interpretation was wrong! If they think so, they should come up with a new interpretation themselves! If they can’t do that, they should just shut up and keep it in their own heads! Why come to me and badmouth you! Ugh! I’m so pissed!”
*Thwack-! Thwack-! Thwack-!*
Just thinking about it made her angry again, and Lunia kicked the tree once more.
Leo chuckled at the ferocious sight.
“Are you getting angry on my behalf because they were badmouthing me?”
*Flinch-!*
Lunia’s kicking stopped.
She then glanced at Leo and scoffed.
“Hmph! I just didn’t like them looking down on my rival when they don’t know a thing!”
“Right, right.”
Leo nodded as he watched Lunia speak coyly, her chin held high.
“How’s Eiran doing?”
“Good! She’s completely adjusted to the academy now! No one looks down on her anymore!”
Lunia chatted with Leo, smiling cheerfully as she recounted the events that had happened since the school trip.
They had exchanged letters, but talking in person was still the best.
‘I can talk to this guy surprisingly well.’
Lunia thought to herself as she conversed with Leo.
Though their species were different, she felt a strange sense of familiarity with him.
In the midst of their conversation, Leo asked casually.
“So, you came to investigate a Hero Dungeon. Is it really okay for you to go on a bandit subjugation with me?”
“Yeah. We’re just investigating, anyway. It’s not like they’re going to enter the Hero Dungeon without me… Hup!”
Lunia, who had been answering without thinking, gasped and covered her mouth.
“Is that so?”
“Wh-what could you mean? A Hero Dungeon? Ahahaha.”
Leo watched Lunia belatedly feign ignorance and said.
“It’s no big deal? Then I can contact Lumerne right now, can’t I? Tell them there are Seirun students here.”
Leo took out the communication orb given for practical missions and waved it as he asked.
Lunia, her eyes darting around at the sight of Leo, let out a deep sigh.
“Fine! Our vice principal said there might be a Hero Dungeon in this region! Happy now!”
From the moment Seirun students appeared in this area, the existence of a Hero Dungeon was easily predictable.
Deciding she couldn’t hide it, Lunia confessed obediently, and Leo nodded.
Lunia looked at Leo with a slightly sulky expression.
“Let’s get going.”
Leo didn’t ask any more about the Hero Dungeon and instead took a map out from his clothes.
“It looks like the bandits have made their hideout in the ruins at the eastern edge of the Garan region.”
At his words, Lunia nodded.
“Alright. Let’s hurry up and wipe them out.”
*Crack-*
Lunia cracked her knuckles and smiled menacingly.
“Villains who harm innocent people. I’ll never forgive them.”
As a hero-in-training, Lunia possessed a fundamentally strong sense of justice.
“Then.”
Leo turned his back to Lunia, knelt down, and sat on his heels.
“...? What is it?”
“Hop on.”
“What? Why should I!”
Lunia asked, her face slightly flushed, and Leo replied calmly.
“We need to get to the bandits’ hideout quickly, don’t we?”
“I can just fly there with magic!”
“Even so, it’ll be much faster if I carry you and run.”
Though she was boisterous, as a young lady from a noble family, she hesitated when a boy her age told her to get on his back.
But she soon sighed and complied.
“If you get any weird ideas, you’re dead.”
“What weird ideas are there to get?”
“You… Never mind. I won’t even say it. Ugh.”
Sighing deeply, Lunia, now on Leo’s back, wrapped her arms around his neck.
Leo stood up and bent his knees.
Then, he leaped forward with incredible speed.
Feeling the immense headwind, Lunia momentarily closed her eyes.
But she soon grew accustomed to the wind, and when she opened her eyes, she could see them moving at a tremendous speed.
‘He is fast.’
Lunia pouted.
Then, she rested her chin on Leo’s left shoulder and thought.
‘By the way, did he get taller?’
The fact that the younger boy, who used to be about her height, had shot up so much made her feel strange. Lunia tightened her grip around Leo’s neck.
***
“So, we plan to explore the surrounding area for an ecological survey for the time being.”
“Yes! Yes! Please, stay as long as you like! I will ensure you have no inconveniences during your stay!”
Hadin spoke in a polite voice.
Watching Hadin, the lord of Garan rubbed his hands together ingratiatingly.
A female second-year student from Seirun, watching from a distance, sneered.
“How pathetic. But that’s just how humans are.”
Elves were a race that took immense pride in their own culture above all others.
Moreover, the students of Seirun were widely perceived as the chosen ones, so they were generally arrogant.
Of course, not all students were like that.
But the upper-class students, being held in such high esteem, often harbored speciesist views.
And the three students here were all from the upper class of their respective years.
This dungeon exploration team consisted of two third-years, two second-years, and one first-year.
Hadin, the third-year leader, was an active dungeon conqueror for Seirun, while the other students were all candidates.
This practical mission was also a test of sorts to gauge their capabilities as dungeon explorers.
“By the way, for Miss Lunia to neglect her mission and go off to subjugate bandits. She may be exceptional, but perhaps she’s still a bit childish?”
She asked, looking at her male classmate and senior.
At her question, a male second-year from Seirun replied.
“She’s probably just overflowing with a sense of justice.”
He was a student who had shown blatant interest in Lunia from the start of the mission.
“Still, she could have subjugated the bandits with us. Why did she have to go with a student from Lumerne?”
The male second-year from Seirun grumbled with a look of incomprehension, to which a male third-year responded.
“I heard that Lunia considers Leo Flove her rival.”
The story of the brief joint classes between the Lumerne and Seirun first-years during the first semester was well-known.
It was also famous within Seirun that Herdium, the homeroom teacher of the first-year upper class 1, had highly praised the Lumerne first-years.
As Herdium was renowned as an elite teacher, the Seirun students couldn’t easily dismiss his remarks.
“Well, considering the recent Gigantes incident, they are quite capable. But even so, I believe our first-years could have handled that just fine, don’t you think?”
The female second-year said bluntly.
“That’s right, sir. There’s no way a Seirun student couldn’t accomplish what some Lumerne student did.”
He scowled, displeased that Leo had gone off alone with Lunia, and showed his open hostility.
“It’s obvious that Seirun will win this year’s Sei-Lu Tournament anyway, isn’t it? The second-years of our generation were pathetic. And the third-years were no match for you seniors, were they?”
At the male second-year junior’s words, the Seirun third-year’s face stiffened.
“That’s not entirely true. There’s a monster among the Lumerne third-years.”
“A monster?”
“Are you talking about Elena Jer-on?”
The second-years asked, tilting their heads, and the third-year nodded.
At their senior’s reaction, the Seirun second-years laughed.
“Even so, it’s just one person, isn’t it? Aren’t the other Lumerne third-years pathetic?”
“That’s right. We’ll have no problem this year. The current Lumerne second-years are nothing special.”
For the past three years in the first-year competitions, last year’s first-years… in other words, the current Lumerne second-years, had been particularly badly defeated by Seirun’s first-years.
“Still, Lumerne’s first-year representative last year was quite skilled. Don’t get complacent just because you won easily last year.”
“Ah, you mean that girl with the strange way of talking, Ril or something? She was only skilled compared to the other students.”
“That’s right. For someone like her to be the year representative. Lumerne has really hit rock bottom.”
“My, my. What’s wrong with our cute Ril?”
Startled by the voice that came out of nowhere, the Seirun students whipped their heads around.
Standing there was a beautiful girl, smiling.
The Seirun third-year’s expression hardened slightly.
“Elena Jer-on? Why are you here?!”
“Hello, students of Seirun.”
Elena said, gently twirling the end of her hair with her finger.
“You know, I like people who try hard.”
The Seirun students were flustered by the sudden remark.
“Our cute Ril is a child who always tries her best. And she’s kind. Last year, she couldn’t show her true abilities because she was taking care of her classmates. Since then, she’s worked incredibly hard, vowing to restore Lumerne’s honor.”
Elena smiled sweetly, thinking of the only junior she doted on.
“I don’t care if you gossip about other schools where no one can hear you.”
*Smile-*
“But I happened to overhear that gossip, and now my feelings are hurt. So, I’ll give you a chance to apologize. If you kneel politely and bow your heads, I’ll forgive you.”
Flustered by Elena’s words, the male second-year from Seirun spoke with a hint of defiance.
“I was merely stating a fact. I don’t think it’s something to kneel for.”
“That’s right! If you don’t like the assessment, prove us wrong with your skills!”
“I gave you a reason for my displeasure and a chance to apologize.”
A predatory glint entered the eyes of Elena, the so-called Queen of Lumerne.
“You’re the ones who threw that chance away.”
The moment her words ended, a bright light erupted.
*KABOOM-!*
The lord’s mansion was instantly devastated.
Startled by the sudden explosion, Hadin and the lord rushed over.
Hadin’s face hardened as he saw a familiar face stomping on the head of his female junior.
“My, it seems you’re not in a position to be mocking our academy, are you?”
*Press-!*
Elena usually looked down on those around her, but she couldn’t tolerate others looking down on Lumerne.
She was the daughter of the Lumerne Academy’s chairman.
And the future chairman of Lumerne.
She could not forgive those who insulted her alma mater.
“Elena… Jer-on.”
“Hello, Hadin.”
Elena smiled brightly at the third-year representative from Seirun, her rival for the past three years.
“I think you need to educate your juniors a little.”
***
“R-Run! It’s a witch!”
“You wanna die? Have you ever seen a witch this pure and innocent-looking?”
“I wouldn’t say pure and innocent, though?”
“What? You wanna die first?”
Lunia glared at Leo.
Even so, her magic unerringly targeted the bandits.
The bandits screamed as they were swept away by a surging wave of fire.
Lunia burst into laughter and chased after the screaming, fleeing bandits.
“You villains who torment innocent people! I’ll send you to hell!”
‘Judging by her expression, she could be a witch.’
Leo chuckled and shook his head.
‘That side of her is just like Luna.’
If Lunia heard that, she would have been delighted, and if Luna heard it, she would have been furious. Thinking this, Leo looked toward the entrance of the castle ruins in the distance.
‘It’s a complete ruin.’
The entrance to the castle ruins had completely lost its former sturdiness.
Leo followed Lunia into the ruins.
Inside, Lunia was using her magic to subjugate the bandits.
The skills of the Seirun Academy’s first-year representative were, in a word, overwhelming.
Though the bandits were said to be of a considerable size, they were no match for her.
“A-A hostage! Take a hostage!”
The bandits spotted Leo and swarmed toward him.
“Isn’t it usually the other way around?”
Leo let out a dry laugh and casually raised his hand.
*Flash-!*
Instantly completing the magic formula, Leo sent a vortex of fire flying toward the bandits.
“Aaaargh!”
The bandits screamed and scattered in all directions.
The bandit group was annihilated in an instant.
“Hmph! A bunch of nobodies, trying to act tough.”
Lunia dusted off her hands and looked at Leo.
‘What’s he doing?’
Lunia approached Leo with a puzzled expression.
Meanwhile, Leo was kneeling and sweeping his hand across the ground.
‘…It seems… Gardsrone itself is buried underground.’
Even if thousands of years had passed, it was the final fortress, the world’s last line of defense.
He had found it strange that such a fortress remained only in texts, having vanished without a trace.
But upon entering the castle ruins where faint remnants of the past remained, Leo knew.
‘This is the upper part of Gardsrone’s wall.’
The walls of Gardsrone had possessed a height and thickness unimaginable in the present day.
Gardsrone was a city so massive that it couldn’t even be compared to the refugee city of Reysar.
As Leo swept his hand across the ground, he realized a faint energy was flowing beneath the earth.
‘Dark magic… I see.’
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
‘Did Tartaros bury Gardsrone?’