Chapter 219
Chapter Title: Unexpected Guests
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The streets of Lorend, capital of Rodren, the reigning power of the western continent.
As befitting the capital of a nation hailed as the strongest human kingdom, the streets were teeming with people.
Recently, the crowds had grown even larger.
It was a natural phenomenon, given that this was the location for the Lumerne Academy entrance exams.
But the lively streets weren't entirely a good thing.
“Get him!”
“Thief!”
“Stop right there!”
Urgent cries echoed through the outer streets of Lorend.
“Hmph! You think I'll stop just because you tell me to?!”
The robber grinned and quickly ducked into an alley.
As befitting the imperial capital, Lorend's security was excellent.
However, with the influx of so many outsiders, the existing guards were struggling to maintain order.
Where the light is brightest, the shadows are deepest.
Even in an age of heroes, criminal organizations were bound to exist.
In fact, the more they were suppressed by heroes, the more secretly they delved into the shadows to expand their influence.
A prime example was the Thieves' Guild.
And right now, Lorend was in a perfect state to become a target for the guild's members.
‘I've already got this alley completely figured out!’
The outer districts, unlike the central ones, had relatively fewer guards.
As a result, thieves from out of town were running rampant.
*Swoosh-!*
At that moment, a girl stood in the middle of the alley, arms crossed defiantly.
“Huh? Get out of the way! You wanna die?!”
the robber shouted, raising his dagger.
The girl scoffed at the robber and raised her staff.
‘A mage!’
The robber's eyes widened, and he quickly turned to flee deeper into the alley.
One of the reasons he had survived so long as a robber in the Thieves' Guild was his quick judgment.
‘Hmph! No matter how good a mage she is, she can't catch me in this complicated all—’
“Hey, this is getting tedious. Can't you just turn yourself in?”
“Gah?!”
The robber was startled by the voice coming from right beside him.
The sky-blue-haired girl who had blocked his path moments ago was now running alongside him, an indifferent look in her eyes.
The robber swung his dagger instinctively.
*Whoosh-!*
In that instant, a gale erupted.
“Gyaaaaaah!”
The robber, now high in the air, flailed before plummeting to the ground.
*Thud-!*
“Guh!”
Having fallen from a considerable height onto the stone pavement, the robber writhed in pain.
Chelsea had cast the spell with just a look.
*Whoosh-! Thud-!*
“S-Save me... Keuk!”
The robber, lifted into the air again, was slammed back down onto the ground.
Chelsea dusted off her palms lightly and tilted her head, noticing the robber wasn't breathing.
“Mister, you should breathe.”
Still, the robber's breath remained hitched.
“If you don't breathe, should I drop you from a height that will actually kill you?”
“I-I'm breathing! I'm breathing!”
The robber scrambled to his feet and dropped to his knees.
Chelsea used magic to crumple the robber's dagger, rendering it useless.
Then she made him walk to the guards on his own.
When Chelsea brought the robber in, the guards who had responded to the report saluted her.
“Thank you for your cooperation!”
“No, I only did what was natural as a Lumerne student.”
Chelsea said with a gentle smile.
The gathered onlookers began to murmur.
“A Lumerne student?”
“No wonder... I knew she was skilled.”
“Is that a Lumerne uniform?”
“Wait. Isn't that Chelsea Llewellyn?”
“Chelsea Llewellyn?”
The murmuring crowd recognized Chelsea and broke into cheers.
Chelsea smiled at them and waved.
Having drawn an even more enthusiastic response, Chelsea left the scene.
A short while later, Chelsea spotted a male student wearing the same uniform as her.
It was none other than Karl.
Like Chelsea, Karl was also on his way back from catching a criminal.
“How many did you catch today?”
“Five.”
Karl grumbled, massaging his shoulder.
“Seriously, why don't these criminals ever seem to decrease in number?”
“All sorts of riffraff are flocking to our country, hoping to pick up some scraps. That's probably why.”
Wherever people gather, the crime rate inevitably rises.
This was especially true now, with the increase in travelers for the exams.
The most significant characteristic of travelers is that they have a lot of money.
For the Thieves' Guild, they were a mouth-watering target.
Like flies to food, thieves hoping to score big by emptying the travelers' deep pockets were flocking to Lorend.
The measure Lumerne took to maintain public order was to deploy its students.
All the newly promoted second-year students without any special circumstances were currently in Lorend.
Chelsea and Karl returned to the Lumerne students' lodgings.
“To think we'd be dragged here during break just to catch criminals!”
“Our vacation time is so precious!”
“Our school works its students way too hard!”
The Lumerne students, gathered in the lounge of the high-end hotel provided by the academy, were voicing their complaints.
Seeing this, Karl suddenly began to chuckle.
“What useless thing are you planning now?”
“Just watch.”
In response to Chelsea's question, Karl cleared his throat and shouted.
“Professor Halind! Good day!”
“Eek?”
“P-Professor Halind?!”
The complaining students gasped and whipped their heads toward the sound.
Their eyes were filled with pure terror.
“Puhahahahahahahaha!”
Karl watched his classmates, clutching his stomach as he roared with laughter.
“Hahahaha! Gak! Guh?!”
Of course, his end came when he was mobbed and beaten by the other enraged students.
As Chelsea watched with a look of pity, two male students entered the hotel lounge.
“That's why I'm saying you're too soft, Abad Llewellyn.”
“Is that so?”
Duran said with a smirk, and Abad scratched his cheek.
“Why are you picking a fight with my brother again?”
“I was merely correcting Abad Llewellyn's hopelessly soft judgment.”
“What? What's wrong with my brother's judgment!”
As Chelsea reacted sharply, Karl, who had been on the floor, stepped in.
He slipped his hands under Chelsea's armpits and lifted her up.
As Chelsea struggled with her feet off the ground, Karl spoke.
“Whoa, whoa, calm down. It's not like our prince's foul mouth is anything new, is it?”
“You are always so rude, Karl Thomas.”
“A man's got to be consistent.”
Karl said with a sly grin.
One was the heir to the Moira Duchy.
The other was a commoner from that same duchy.
In a way, their statuses were polar opposites, but while Duran and Karl didn't get along, their relationship never reached a breaking point.
The Moira Duchy was a duchy of knights, and though not large, it was a nation that placed great importance on talent.
It was a country where anyone, regardless of status, could be recognized for their skills.
And students of a hero academy were the cream of the crop.
Whatever the reason, Karl had successfully been promoted to the second year.
In his own way, Duran acknowledged Karl.
That was why he didn't inflict any serious harm on him, even when Karl acted so slyly.
“So? What's going on?”
Karl asked, tilting his head, and Abad replied with his characteristic gentle smile.
“There were a bunch of prospective students outside. It seems they came to greet their future seniors, hoping to make a good impression. They even brought a lot of gifts.”
“Gifts?”
“What kind of gifts?”
“All sorts of sweets and snacks.”
The female students let out a cheer.
Most of the Lumerne girls were crazy about desserts.
“Huhu! Such well-mannered juniors!”
“This is the best part of being a senior~”
The girls excitedly started to head out of the lodgings.
Watching them, Abad added with a wry smile.
“But Duran chased them all away, so no one's there now.”
“Why'd you chase them away when they came to greet us?”
A girl from Class 1, who had been in the same class as them for the first year, grumbled, and Duran scoffed.
“Those brats don't have the right to call us seniors yet. Do you really want to accept gifts from arrogant fools who dare call themselves our juniors?”
“But surely some of them will end up being our juniors, right?”
“From what I saw, none of them had what it takes to pass the entrance exam. To dare call me a senior with such skills. Utterly disrespectful.”
“Sometimes, he really does seem like a prince.”
“Wow... that's an arrogance only royalty can possess. A noble couldn't even imitate it.”
The Class 1 students who were somewhat friendly with Duran whispered among themselves.
But when Duran looked at them, they feigned innocence as if nothing had happened.
One by one, the students who had been out on patrol returned.
Even the students from the Rodren Empire were spending their vacation here.
Not only were their school friends here, but they could also tackle their killer vacation homework together.
“By the way, where are Celia and Chloe?”
“They're not back yet?”
“Maybe they're eating dinner out?”
The Class 1 students were wondering about their absent class president and vice president.
Just then, Celia and Chloe entered the lodgings.
But they weren't alone.
The students doing their homework on the first floor looked up in surprise at the three people who came with them.
They were also wearing uniforms, but not Lumerne's.
It was Lunia, Eiran, and Luca, whom they had seen during the Lu-Se Games.
The year representatives from Seirun Academy had come to visit.
“They came as guests today to observe the Lumerne entrance exams and decided to stop by to say hello.”
After Chloe's explanation, Lunia stepped forward with a beautiful smile.
“Hello, students of Lumerne. My name is Lunia El Lundua.”
“Nice to meet you, Seirun's year representatives!”
“How is Seirun doing?”
“Is the cleanup finished?”
The Lumerne students swarmed around them.
The timid Eiran was startled and hid behind Lunia.
Luca burst out laughing at the sight.
“Yes. Thanks to all of you, Seirun has returned to its former state. We were in such a state back then that we couldn't properly express our gratitude... but I wanted to thank you all.”
Lunia bowed her head with a beautiful smile.
“Thank you for fighting for Seirun.”
“Lumerne and Seirun have been rivals for a long time, but in other words, we're friends who engage in friendly competition, aren't we?”
“That's right! And it was an invasion by Tartaros! It's only natural that we'd join forces!”
“It's nothing to be thanked for!”
Faced with the beautiful Lunia, the male students cleared their throats and tried to act dignified.
“Honestly. Those guys lose their minds whenever they see a pretty face.”
“By the way, I thought this before, but Seirun's third-ranked student... isn't he, like, super cute?”
“Yeah! He's the type you want to protect.”
The female students squealed as they looked at Luca.
“How are you any different from them?”
Karl looked at the girls with a pitying expression before turning his gaze to Lunia.
Lunia was perfectly playing the part of a model Seirun student.
But Karl knew the truth.
That Lunia was actually a terrifying, gangster-like elf.
Just as Karl shuddered, recalling her true nature...
“S-Sir Karl! Have you been well?”
“Oh, Eiran.”
Eiran struck up a conversation with Karl, the student she was closest to among those present.
While they were exchanging pleasantries, Eiran glanced around furtively and asked.
“Um... S-Sir Karl. Where is Sir Leo?”
“Leo's not here due to some family matters.”
At those words, Eiran's ears drooped.
‘Leo! You lucky bastard!’
Karl cried out inwardly.
Just as the Lumerne students' lodgings grew boisterous with the visit from the Seirun students...
“GET OUT HERE RIIIIIGHT NOOOOOW!! LEO FLOVE, YOU BASTAAAAAAARD!”
A tremendous, eardrum-shattering shout echoed through the air.