Chapter 158
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Whoooosh—!
A ferry cut across Lake Lumeria, heading for Lumerne.
Students from each academy gathered on the deck, talking amongst themselves.
However, the overall atmosphere was not good.
Understandably so, as they had just witnessed a student being expelled.
“Excuse me.”
An Ikote student carefully addressed Chen Xia, one of the students leading them.
“Is there something you need?”
“The professor who just sent Sirina away, what's his name?”
“That's Professor Ain.”
“What!”
At Chen Xia's words, the Ikote students looked startled.
Ain Elandu.
They never dreamed that the man famous as the Knight of the Frozen Sea would come as a mere escorting professor.
“If someone like him is our escort professor, does that mean our academy gets to learn from him?”
“Yes, that's right.”
“Amazing! That's Lumerne for you!”
“To think we can learn from the Knight of the Frozen Sea!”
The gloomy atmosphere from just moments ago completely vanished.
Where else could they get the chance to be taught by a knight like Ain?
Besides Ikote, exclamations of awe also erupted from the Emeral and Scoun students.
It was likely because they, too, had heard that the professors escorting them were Ren and Yura.
The students from the three great academies showed excited reactions.
As the tense atmosphere eased, the ship drew closer to Lumerne.
The thick fog lifted, and upon seeing the massive Lumerne Academy spread out before them, the students from the three great academies let out cries of admiration.
“So that's Lumerne Academy.”
“The place where hero candidates study.”
A few of them swallowed dryly.
Among them were some who gazed with an unmistakable look of yearning.
They were, of course, the prospective applicants to Lumerne.
After arriving at the dock and disembarking, the students swarmed into the academy grounds.
“Nothing special.”
“It's just ordinary, isn't it?”
“I think our academy is better.”
Amidst such murmurs, they entered the main auditorium of the first-year classroom building.
Sedzen stood on the auditorium stage, and in the seats were Lumerne's first-years, arranged by department.
“Welcome, students of the three great academies. I am Sedzen.”
As Professor Sedzen spoke in a low voice, the hall grew noisy again.
“Sedzen? The Sedzen, famous as one of Lumerne's renowned professors?”
“I heard so many heroes have passed through his hands...”
“Amazing... Incredible!”
As exclamations of admiration erupted from all over, Sedzen let out a soft chuckle.
“Take your seats. Ikote on the left, Emeral in the center, and Scoun on the right.”
Hearing Sedzen's words, the students from the other academies sat down with tense expressions.
‘To think I'm sitting in the same room as Lumerne students.’
‘I never thought this day would come.’
Just sitting in the same place as the students praised as hero candidates made their hearts tremble.
On the other hand, there were those who thought differently.
‘Just how much of a gap is there between them and me?’
Among the students of the three great academies, some were preparing for Lumerne's entrance exam, but not a few had enrolled in one of the three after failing to get into Lumerne multiple times.
Having been called the best among their peers since childhood, many couldn't accept their current circumstances.
Amidst the mingling of envy and jealousy, Sedzen spoke.
“Welcome, everyone. I am very pleased that such a meaningful event has been arranged. Though it will be a short time, this is an opportunity to exchange values with one another. I hope you use it as a chance to leap toward a better path.”
Sedzen said, his gaze sweeping over the students.
“I hope this will be a time where you can gain a great deal. That is all.”
***
The students from Ikote, Emeral, and Scoun strictly followed Lumerne's academic schedule.
Although they were invited as guests, Lumerne had no intention of changing its schedule for them.
The very first thing they did was to mix the 600 students and assign them to classes.
Despite being grouped together as the three great prestigious academies, there was surprisingly little interaction between the students of Ikote, Emeral, and Scoun.
This was understandable. Unlike Lumerne, where different departments were united through homeroom classes, students from the other academies rarely had a chance to mingle.
They shared a sense of rivalry, but events like exchange meetings were extremely rare.
As such, when the 60 students from the other academies gathered in one place, a very awkward atmosphere formed.
“Wow. Look how awkward this is.”
In the classroom, Karl muttered as usual, leaning back deeply in his chair with his hands clasped behind his head.
Tilting his chair back and forth, Karl grinned.
“Can't just sit here and watch!”
The friendly Karl shot up from his seat.
The students of Class 5 watched him with an 'Here he goes again...' look, but the students from the other academies, not knowing what was happening, focused on Karl's actions.
Striding to the front of the classroom, Karl spoke.
“Hey, everyone! I'm Karl Thomas! Fifteen years old! I'm in the Magic Department!”
Karl grinned.
“It's only for a short while, but we're classmates now, so let's get along! And on that note!”
Opening his subspace, Karl placed a potion bottle on the teacher's desk.
Thud—!
“This is a special fatigue recovery potion I made! It's super popular, not just with first-years but with the upperclassmen too, you know?”
Karl's popular business item since the beginning of the semester, the fatigue recovery potion, had already gained fame for its effectiveness.
Thanks to that, it had become a favorite item sought out not only by first-years but also by second and third-years.
“It's a short time, but studying is gonna be tough! So, for you guys, I'm offering a special discount. This isn't an everyday opportunity, you know?”
At Karl's words, the students from the other academies looked dumbfounded.
A hero candidate, of all people, suddenly starting a business?
But the students of Class 5 wore familiar expressions.
“Karl. Does that mean you'll sell them to us cheap too?”
When Iliana asked, her eyes sparkling, Karl shook his head.
“Nope.”
“Hey! That's discrimination!”
“Booo—!”
“You merchant!”
“Have you lost your way!”
Jeers erupted from Class 5.
Karl just laughed heartily, as if to say, 'I can't hear you!'
Seeing this, the tense students from the other academies seemed to relax and broke into laughter.
It was then.
“You said you're Karl Thomas, correct?”
A male student in an Ikote uniform sitting at the back sneered.
“First off, I'm scheduled to enroll in Lumerne next year. You'll be my senior, so I'll address you with respect.”
“Well, that's an honor. But who are you?”
“Habiden Virsen.”
“The Crown Prince of the Virsen Kingdom?”
Karl looked surprised.
The Virsen Kingdom.
A powerful nation located in the northern part of the continent, it was a knightly powerhouse renowned for its many famous knight orders.
In particular, the commanders of Virsen's two great knight orders, the Winter Knights and the Snow Knights, were heroes whose names were listed in the Hero Record.
Habiden was a crown prince who had studied under them and had been recognized for his talent as a knight since childhood.
In other words, he was arguably the most influential student among the current Ikote attendees.
“This is a real honor.”
“Yes. You should consider it an honor. However.”
Habiden spoke to Karl, who was scratching his cheek and smiling awkwardly.
“I came here to meet my future Lumerne seniors, not some merchant. Besides, senior. You're a commoner, aren't you?”
“Yeah. So?”
“Hah. To think a mere commoner is acting so high and mighty. Are there no proper nobles or royalty in this class?”
“Looks like I've made the Crown Prince uncomfortable.”
Karl smiled slyly.
At Karl's attitude, Habiden's eye twitched.
“Don't get cocky just because you're a Lumerne student. I'll be one too next year.”
“I wasn't being cocky.”
“Hah. This commoner scum really is getting ahead of himself.”
With a look of utter disbelief, Habiden gave a vicious smile.
Habiden's attitude was clearly different from Sirina's earlier.
He had no intention of challenging a professor's authority, nor did he plan to break any school rules.
Furthermore, he didn't want to antagonize the more renowned students.
As someone aiming to enter Lumerne, he knew it was foolish to flaunt his status.
But he blatantly ignored Karl.
‘With that level of mana, it's a wonder he's even in Lumerne. He probably won't even be here by the time I enroll. And even if he is, he's in the Magic Department, so we'll never cross paths.’
While causing as little trouble as possible would be the wisest course, Habiden, who had lived his entire life ruling over others, had no intention of holding back against someone who looked like a pushover like Karl.
“Why don't you take your little merchant act to some marketplace?”
Shrugging at the irritable Habiden, Karl was about to put away the potion bottle when it happened.
“Hey. If you don't like it, you can get lost! This is our class, and you're not even a student at our school, so why are you acting like you own the place?”
Habiden's eye twitched.
The one who had stood up was an all-too-famous girl.
“Chelsea Llewellyn.”
Habiden's lips curled into a smirk.
Chelsea was someone whose status he couldn't dare to trifle with.
Even if their countries were different, the gap between royalty and nobility is vast.
However, Chelsea's home country, the Rodren Empire, was a vast empire that occupied most of the western continent.
On top of that, she was from the direct line of the Llewellyn family, one of the two great pillars supporting the empire.
Her status was in no way inferior to Habiden's.
Furthermore, her personal skill was also highly renowned.
She was, in essence, a first-year who was receiving worldwide attention.
But Habiden had no intention of backing down.
Habiden, too, had immense confidence in his own abilities.
Moreover, Chelsea was a mage, and the same age as him.
Knowing this, Habiden felt a sense of rivalry toward Chelsea.
“Are you taking his side just because you're in the same class?”
“Hmph. I'm just annoyed because you're being insolent to my friend, that's all.”
“A friend? A commoner?”
“What does being a commoner or a noble have to do with friendship? Ugh! How disgusting.”
Chelsea stuck her tongue out and looked at Habiden with pity.
Seeing Chelsea, Habiden's eye twitched.
“Chelsea.”
Karl looked touched.
“I'll give you a 50% discount coupon.”
“Hey! Are you trying to ruin the mood!”
Chelsea yelled, kicking Karl repeatedly in the butt.
“How absurd.”
Just as Habiden's lips curled into a smirk.
“If you're so displeased, why don't you test his skills.”
He looked toward the source of the voice.
Leo was there.
Habiden's eye twitched.
“His skills, you say?”
“Yes. It seems you're underestimating Karl's abilities.”
Leo's lips curled into a smirk.
“If you're so confident, you can see for yourself. The skill of Lumerne.”
“Hoh.”
Habiden let out a sound of interest.
“That sounds good. But I won't be facing Senior Karl.”
Habiden said, glancing at Chelsea.
“Instead, I would like to spar with Chelsea Llewellyn.”
“Don't make me laugh. You don't even know your place.”
“Do it.”
“Eh? Brother Leo!”
Chelsea's eyes went wide as she looked at Leo.
“Go, Chelsea! Show them the power of Lumerne!”
“It's not me who should be showing them, it's you! You!”
Glaring daggers, Chelsea threw a punch at Karl.
“As for Senior Karl, my friend will face him.”
Habiden glanced at another Ikote student sitting next to him.
He was a boy who was about a head and a half taller than Karl.
“Fine.”
Leo nodded.
Staring intently at Leo, Habiden's lips curled into a smirk.
“I'd like to see your skills as well, Senior Leo Flove. Just how amazing that incredible All-Class is.”
At Habiden's words, Leo burst out laughing.
“Don't you think it's a bit much for me to step in just to deal with you?”
“What does that...”
“It means I don't want to waste my time sparring with someone who isn't even skilled enough.”
“Kgh!”
Sparks flew in Habiden's eyes.
“Once I defeat Chelsea Llewellyn, you're next!”
“Oh my. You dream big.”
Chelsea stuck out her tongue and shouted sharply.
“I'll make you regret stepping up without knowing your place, so be prepared!”
***
“I don't think this is a good idea. They've been getting a lot of attention lately.”
“I know. So I'll get straight to the point.”
“Then speak quickly.”
“Tell me the target's exact location.”
At the grim voice, she let out a chuckle.
“It seems this tedious mission will soon be over. Good.”
With a look of relief, she spoke in a cold voice.
“It's in the very center of the Great Library's artifact repository. I'll draw you a map with the exact location soon.”
“Good. May the great black flame bless you.”
“May the great black flame bless you.”