Chapter 181
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“The sparring evaluation is just a week away now.”
Evening, after combat class had ended.
Kyle, utterly worn out, trudged toward the dormitory’s large bathhouse and asked.
“Yeah.”
“Ah, seriously. Who do you think I'll end up fighting?”
“We might even end up facing each other.”
“Yikes! I’ll pass on that, thanks.”
Kyle recoiled at Leo's words, shaking his head.
A fight against the year representative…
Whoever it was would be unlucky, Karl thought, clicking his tongue.
“By the way, I never thought you'd actually complete your Bible.”
“It's not complete. I'm still a long way from the level I'm aiming for.”
“But still. You used Senior Torua’s magic, didn’t you?”
The entire school was already buzzing with rumors about Leo's magic.
“Hey, if this goes well, won’t the Magic Tower come asking to research it?”
“As if Lumerne would ever allow that.”
From the Magic Tower’s perspective, Leo’s Bible was undoubtedly something they would do anything to study.
But there was no way Lumerne would permit it.
For Lumerne, allowing Leo to be researched was tantamount to a talent drain.
Leo and Karl entered the bath, washed themselves, and soaked in the tub.
“Ahh! A bath after a seriously tough day feels like heaven, I tell you.”
“You sound like an old man.”
“You’re the one who acts most like an old man among the first-years.”
Kyle grumbled at Leo’s remark.
“Pardon me for a moment.”
Splash—
Just then, Abad came and sat down next to the two of them.
“What’s up?”
“I was curious about your magic, Leo. It’s only natural for a mage to be curious.”
Abad smiled faintly.
Afterward, Abad questioned Leo about his Bible.
“Hmm. If that’s the concept, then it’s literally your own unique magic. But the spell structure itself is fascinating. It could even be applied to wind magic.”
“I suppose so.”
Leo nodded, watching Abad mutter to himself with his chin in his hand.
The faces of the other male students who had been listening with interest turned strange.
“What on earth are they talking about?”
“I can’t understand a single word.”
A male student from the Knight Department, who was nearby, gave Karl an incredulous look at his comment.
“Hey, how can you say that when you’re in the Magic Department?”
“Not all Magic Department students are the same, you know.”
“Wow, how are you so shameless? Don’t you feel inadequate?”
“I’m not at a level where I would. Do you feel inadequate looking at Celia, Chen Xia, or Duran?”
“No, I don’t.”
Kyle, who had been chatting with the surrounding students, said.
“Anyway, Abad. Who are you going to pick for the sparring evaluation? You can fight someone if you nominate them and they accept, right? Is it Leo?”
At Karl’s question, Abad rested his chin on his hand.
“No.”
Watching Abad grin, Karl wore a peculiar expression.
“Why?”
“No, I’m just amazed that you and Chelsea are siblings.”
Abad, who always wore a smile like a spring breeze, and Chelsea, whose stormy personality could erupt at any moment.
The Llewellyn siblings might have looked similar, but their personalities were polar opposites.
Abad chuckled at Karl’s words.
“If not Leo, then Celia?”
“I’d like to fight Celia too, but right now, there’s an opponent I’m determined to defeat.”
“Who?”
“Woreden.”
Kyle looked puzzled at the unexpected opponent.
“You don’t really have any connection to Woreden, do you?”
“Woreden doesn’t have a connection with anyone.”
Though Woreden was first in the Summoning Department, he had little interaction with other students.
He preferred to be alone and was a man of few words.
Furthermore, the intimidating aura from his large frame made it difficult for other students to approach him.
“But he’s definitely strong. Overwhelmingly so.”
Abad smiled.
“Let’s just say he’s someone I want to defeat before I take on Leo or Celia.”
“Hmm. It’s hard to imagine who would win.”
Kyle also knew how strong Woreden was.
But even so, Abad was the top student in the Magic Department in terms of combat ability alone.
It was, as expected, impossible to predict.
“Have you decided on an opponent, Leo? There are quite a few guys who are eager to fight you, right?”
“Don’t even get me started. Do you know how many times they come to our classroom a day?”
Kyle grumbled.
The students Abad mentioned who wanted to have their sparring evaluation with Leo.
They were Duran and Eliza.
Woreden had also nominated Leo, but he wasn’t as aggressive about it as Duran and Eliza.
“But whenever those two come together, they always end up fighting each other. I wish they’d just fight one another instead.”
As Karl grumbled, Abad burst out laughing.
“Anyway, should we talk about the Magic Department exam too?”
When Karl spoke seriously, Abad nodded.
“Sounds good.”
“Let’s talk over dinner. Maybe we can study a bit together, too.”
Kyle took the initiative.
For Karl, studying with Abad, the top student in the Magic Department, was a huge help.
Abad didn’t seem to mind Karl’s proactiveness and readily agreed.
In truth, while Karl was very close with Chelsea, he surprisingly had few interactions with Abad.
Not only were they in different classes, but during magic lessons, Karl mainly hung out with Chloe.
‘If I get a little closer to Abad, maybe Chelsea will get off my back a bit.’
Kyle muttered to himself as he headed for the dining hall.
Upon entering the dormitory dining hall, they found the entire place in a state of utter chaos.
Students were whispering amongst themselves, exchanging bewildered words.
“Is this even okay?”
“I don’t think the upperclassmen will just stand by.”
“Did something happen?”
Kyle tilted his head and approached a first-year student nearby.
“What’s going on?”
“Karl, and… Leo?”
“It’s Leo.”
“Leo?”
“Where, where?”
Swoosh—
In an instant, the noisy dining hall fell silent.
Everyone was focused on Leo.
Kyle was a little flustered by the attention.
“What is it? What in the world is going on?”
Just as Karl was getting bewildered.
Thump— Thump—
Celia appeared, parting the crowd, and handed Leo the school newspaper with a confused look on her face.
Seeing it, Karl gasped.
Abad’s eyes widened as well.
[First-Year Leo Flove! Becomes a Candidate for Student Council President!]
Leo murmured, looking at the massive headline splashed across the front page.
“They really did it, huh?”
“You knew?”
“Brother Lis told me about it a while ago. That someone had recommended me for student council president.”
The students were stunned by his words.
“I don’t know who it was, but does it make sense to announce a recommendation like this?”
“Right. There’s Senior Hark and Senior Elena.”
“Recommending someone other than those two will just get you on their bad side.”
The students, unaware of the full situation, began to murmur among themselves.
“Who recommended you for student council president?”
At Celia’s question, Leo folded the paper and said.
“Senior Elena did.”
“What?”
“Senior Elena?”
Every student wore a look of utter shock.
If what Leo said was true, it meant he had the support of the woman known as the Queen of Lumerne.
“Leo, what are you going to do?”
Kyle asked, swallowing a dry gulp of saliva.
A first-year student council president?
It was an unprecedented event, something that had never happened in the history of Lumerne.
‘No, honestly, isn’t this a poisoned chalice?’
Even if he declined, Leo had surely already been marked by the upperclassmen.
And even if he accepted, it would clearly be difficult for Leo to become the student council president.
At Karl’s question, Leo smirked.
“What do you mean, what am I going to do? I have to become the student council president.”
***
“Wait a minute. Does this make any sense?”
“No matter how you look at it, this isn't right! A first-year as a candidate for student council president!”
The second-year dormitory was in an uproar upon hearing the news.
“Hey! Ril! Have you heard anything? You’re the year representative, aren’t you?”
A student from the Summoning Department urgently asked Ril.
Ril, clutching the newspaper, stared intently at the article with a grave expression, then broke into a wide smile.
“What a relief. With this, there’s no way I’ll become the student council president, right?”
“Hey! Is that what you should be thinking about right now?!”
“B-but! If an ordinary person like me becomes the president, it would bring great shame to Lumerne’s name…!”
“When are you going to fix that timid personality of yours! You’ll be more than qualified to be student council president by the time you’re a fifth-year!”
“W-when I’m a fifth-year…?”
Ril pondered for a moment, then her face fell.
“Can’t we just pass it on to Leo?”
“Argh! Seriously! You know how embarrassing it is for a year to not produce a student council president, and you’re still saying that!”
“I-I’m sorry.”
Looking at their timid year representative, the entire second year clutched their heads.
“Elena!”
“Look at the paper!”
“Senior Lis…!”
Elena, who was having a meal in the third-year dormitory dining hall, frowned as her classmates swarmed around her.
She wiped her mouth with a napkin and glared.
“What’s with all the commotion?”
Everyone gulped at Elena’s gaze.
Just as they were all treading carefully, having incurred the wrath of the school’s real power player.
“Elena. Look here. Senior Lis has pushed Leo Flove as a candidate for student council president.”
Elena’s eyes widened at the words of Tak-on, the vice-captain of the Blue Moon Party and a third-year from the Knight Department. She reached out, took the newspaper, and read it.
“Hmph? It seems the president has made his decision.”
As Elena rose from her seat with a scrape of her chair, the third-years spoke up.
“This is absurd! He’s just backing him because he’s his cousin!”
“Senior Lis wouldn’t do that, would he?”
“S-still.”
“Isn’t he just setting up a puppet because Senior Hark has no motivation?”
“Even so, would he really make a first-year the student council president? The fourth-years are probably going to raise hell.”
Watching her classmates frantically exchange words, Elena said.
“Everyone, calm down.”
“This is no time to be calm, Elena. No matter if he’s the student council president, this is a clear act of disrespect toward you.”
At Tak-on’s words, Elena smiled faintly.
“The president wasn’t disrespecting me.”
“Then what is it?”
“The one who recommended Leo for student council president was me.”
“……”
“……”
For a moment, the third-years just stared blankly.
“The look on the president’s face when I brought it up was priceless. I’ve known him for a long time, but I’ve never seen him make that face before. You all should have seen it.”
As Elena giggled cheerfully, Tak-on pressed his temples.
“Wait. Elena. So you’re saying… you’re the one who recommended Leo Flove for student council president? Why?”
“Because.”
Elena crossed her arms.
“I wanted to.”
The third-years all wore dazed expressions.
It felt as though all their efforts to help Elena become student council president had been for nothing.
‘Well, she was going to do it with her own strength, and we were just helping, but still.’
‘Even so…’
“So.”
Elena smiled brilliantly.
That smile was unmistakably tinged with the tyrannical nature that had earned her the moniker, the Witch of Lumerne.
“Are you dissatisfied with my decision?”
Unlike the frantic second and third-years, the fourth-years’ reaction was surprisingly calm.
“I have no idea what the president is thinking.”
“I know, right? He’s been a truly respectable senior for four years, and now he goes and pulls a stunt like this in his final year.”
The fourth-years, who were muttering with serious faces as they read the newspaper, glanced at Hark, who was sleeping with his head down on the table, and let out a deep sigh.
“Still, looking at that guy, maybe it would be better to have a first-year as president.”
“I agree.”
The fourth-years had already half given up on the student council president race.
***
Lis’s announcement sent a massive shockwave through the school.
And not just Lumerne.
Outsiders who heard the news were on edge, focusing their attention on the situation at Lumerne, unable to believe the reports.
Normally, the entire school should have been turned upside down.
But the atmosphere at Lumerne was surprisingly quiet.
The fourth-years, who should have been the most vocal in their opposition, were mostly taking a cautious wait-and-see approach.
And as for the third-years, Elena had them under perfect control.
The second-years were in an awkward position to act first when the third and fourth-years were silent.
Only the first-years were nervously watching their seniors as… the first-year sparring evaluation began.
Originally, like the Summoning Department’s familiar relay during the first-semester midterms, the first-year sparring evaluation had a rather festive atmosphere.
The first-years, who had been honing their skills, had grown incomparably stronger since their admission.
As a result, it wasn’t uncommon for the established power rankings to be overturned in the spars.
Students who hadn’t stood out in the first semester would suddenly emerge as dark horses.
Top-ranking students would sometimes be defeated by those in the lower ranks.
Literally, since the outcomes were unpredictable, many interesting results often occurred.
That was why not only the first-years but also the upperclassmen would often observe the exams to appreciate their juniors’ skills.
However, this time, the number of people wishing to observe the first-year sparring evaluation was so large that it had to be held at the school’s central grand training grounds, Erec.
Faced with a record-breaking crowd, the first-years were visibly even more nervous.
[We will now begin the nomination ceremony for the sparring evaluation!]
A fifth-year holding a magical amplification device began to act as the MC.
Usually, a professor would handle this, but this time, a fifth-year student had taken the role.
The reason was simple.
Cheira, whose duties had lessened as a graduating student, volunteered out of boredom.
[As you all know, this sparring evaluation will proceed in a slightly unusual way! The first spars will be conducted via ‘nomination’! Isn’t this exciting? We get to see which students have a rivalry! Man, this is gonna be fun! How great would it have been if we had this back in our first year?]
The excited fifth-year from the Knight Department, Cheira, chattered on enthusiastically.
Known for being a chatterbox, she was thoroughly enjoying the current situation.
‘That girl, that girl! I knew she’d be like this!’
‘Hey! Someone drag her off!’
Just as the other professors were rushing to stop her from going off the rails.
[Cheira Sikun. It seems you wish to have a little chat with me?]
[Eek?]
When Halind, the Wailing Wall of Lumerne, gave a warning, Cheira flinched.
Halind.
He was a terrifying professor who, if he set his mind to it, could have any student ‘forced to withdraw,’ regardless of whether they were a graduating senior or not.
Instantly snapping to her senses, Cheira rushed over to Leo with a trembling voice.
[W-well then! We’ll start the nominations with the year representative, Leo Flove!]
Doing her best to avoid Halind’s gaze, Cheira approached Leo with stiff movements.
[Leo. Is there an opponent you’d like to face?]
“Yes.”
[Oh! I wonder who the year representative wants to fight! Now, point your finger to nominate them.]
At those words, Leo raised his hand.
The upperclassmen looked at Leo, the newly mentioned candidate for student council president, with expressions of disapproval.
‘Whoever he picks, let’s see how well he fights.’
‘He’s just a first-year, after all.’
Most of them were highly displeased with the fact that a first-year had become a candidate for student council president.
Leo pointed not at the training grounds where his first-year classmates were gathered, but beyond, toward the spectator stands.
As everyone stared in shock at where Leo's finger was pointing.
Leo was pointing directly at one of the fifth-years.
[Uh… so… uh…]
Cheira’s voice was filled with bewilderment as she looked back and forth between Leo and the person he was pointing at, then she asked cautiously.
[You want to fight… Lis?]
“Yes.”
Leo smiled.
“You never said I had to pick a first-year, did you?”