Chapter 236
Chapter Title: Lunch and a Revelation
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236
Invited to lunch by Mel, the three headed to the first-year magic building.
Mel had asked them to wait in the first-year magic building for a bit while she prepared the meal in her lab.
“Ahh, the first-year magic building. Brings back memories.”
“We had classes here just a few months ago, you know?”
“Look at all the fresh-faced first-years! We were like that once.”
“Anyone would think you're an alumnus.”
As Karl made a slick fuss upon arriving at the first-year magic building, Chloe clutched her head, and Leo burst out laughing.
Meanwhile, at a café terrace in front of the magic building, a group of first-years wrestling with their textbooks spotted the trio, their eyes widening.
“Wait. Those three… aren't they Leo, Chloe, and Karl?”
“Where, where?”
“It's really them!”
The first-years looked completely surprised.
A crowd of magic students swarmed over.
Watching them, Karl muttered.
“Ooh. As expected, the top two magic students and the student council president are popular with the underclassmen…”
“Karl! Hello!”
“It's good to see you!”
“What brings you here?”
The first-years swarmed around Karl.
Karl's eyes widened in response.
Taking a step back, Chloe tilted her head.
“He's incredibly popular with the underclassmen.”
“He was the one who was friendliest to the first-years at the welcoming party.”
“That was just to promote his products, wasn't it?”
“Still, from their perspective, Karl is easier to approach. He's fun, too.”
“I can't deny he's fun, but…”
Chloe trailed off, watching Karl chat amicably with the first-years.
Seeing this, Leo let out a soft laugh.
“What? Are you jealous?”
“J-Jealous!”
Leo chuckled at Chloe's flushed, indignant face and pointed to one side.
“Looks like there are some kids over there who want to get to know you, too.”
Chloe looked where Leo was pointing.
“I-It's Chloe…!”
“This is the first time I've seen her in person.”
“I've read all the magic theses Chloe wrote in her first year! I want to get her autograph!”
The first-years were staring at Chloe, their eyes sparkling.
Leo gave Chloe a gentle pat on the shoulder.
At that, Chloe cleared her throat, *ahem*, and approached the underclassmen.
“You there. Why are you all staring like that?”
“Gasp! S-Senior?”
“If you have something to say, say it. I'll listen.”
As always, Chloe adjusted her grip on her grimoire, straightened her back, and stood tall.
She tried to act with the dignity of an upperclassman, but the first-years saw it differently.
“N-No, it's nothing!”
“We're sorry for staring!”
“We'll never make eye contact again!”
“N-No… you don't have to go that far…”
“P-Pardon usaaaaah!”
The first-years scattered, letting out screams.
Chloe's hand, which had wanted to reach out to them, cut through the empty air in vain.
Leo walked over.
“What… what on earth did I do to make them so scared of me?”
Leo said, looking at Chloe's tearful expression.
“I heard you went around freezing every single applicant during the entrance exam. Isn't it because of that?”
“That was because Professor Halind told me to do my best!”
“In any case, thanks to that, you've been branded as a scary upperclassman.”
“Ugh!”
Chloe's shoulders slumped.
Meanwhile, Karl, now a celebrity among the first-years, wore a smug expression.
“Anyway, is there anything you want to ask me?”
At his words, the first-years' eyes lit up.
“Yes!”
“Hah? What is it?”
“How did you make it to the second year?”
“…What's that supposed to mean?”
“You said it yourself, Karl. That you became a second-year even though you're less skilled than the other students.”
“You also said you weren't as smart as the others! So you must have some secret study tips, right?”
“The classes are so hard! How did you understand this kind of material, Karl?”
The first-years were treating Karl as if he'd only become a second-year by sheer luck.
Any student who had faced Karl during the entrance exam would have hesitated to say such things, but these students hadn't met him then.
The first-years believed there must be some incredible secret to how Karl became a second-year without being advised to drop out.
“Maybe it's because you're close with the student council president?”
“So you really do have to get close to people in power…”
Watching the underclassmen discuss this seriously, a vein popped on Karl's forehead.
“You insolent brats!”
Acting so casually at the first-year welcoming party had been the cause of this mess.
Lumerne students, in particular, are often nobles.
Give them an inch, and they were taking a mile with Karl.
*Chloe has problems because they're too scared of her, and Karl has problems because they see him as a pushover.*
Shaking his head, Leo paused.
*Hmm.*
He scanned the entire first-year magic building.
*An unpleasant gaze.*
He could feel someone watching him.
Being someone who drew attention wherever he went, he was used to being watched.
But…
*I don't much care for being watched like I'm being scouted from the shadows.*
Leo's lips curled into a smirk.
***
“Hmph. So that's the famous Leo Flove?”
Fifth floor of the first-year magic building.
From a spot with a full view of the magic building's entrance, a first-year girl holding a telescope took a bite of bread. *Nom!*
“He just looks like a regular pretty boy on the outside.”
In response to the girl's mumble, a boy standing with a proper posture in a corner of the room replied.
“Don't judge him by his appearance. He's the man who became student council president in his first year.”
The boy said calmly.
“He is the most promising hero candidate to succeed the Sword Saint and carry the next generation. He may be someone we have to dedicate our lives to in the future, so observe him well.”
The girl shot the boy a scornful look.
“Sure, for someone affiliated with Lumerne like you, he might be someone to protect with your life. But it has nothing to do with me.”
“Indeed, they say the shadows of Shan move only for Shan. Dogs that follow only their master's orders, without any justice or conviction.”
“Hmph. I'd rather be a dog that follows its master's orders. What you call justice and conviction looks like a mental illness to me.”
The two glared coldly at each other.
It wasn't the kind of aura a hero candidate would possess.
A sticky, cruel killing intent that ensnared people.
Just as the two of them lowered their stances simultaneously.
“Getting caught fighting with another student means disciplinary action.”
Startled by the voice from beside them, the boy and girl swung their arms at the same time.
*Thwack! Thwack!*
Leo caught both students' arms with his hands.
“Hoh.”
Leo let out a sound of admiration as he looked at the two students.
The male student relaxed his arm and became compliant.
The female student, however, did not.
*Whoosh—!*
With her arm still caught, she lifted her leg to strike Leo's arm.
*Thwack!*
Leo caught the girl's ankle as she tried to stomp down on his hand.
Then, he stomped on the girl's instep with his foot.
“Ack!”
The girl clutched her instep and rolled on the floor.
Tearing up slightly as she looked at Leo, who had subdued her so easily, the girl gritted her teeth and muttered.
“H-How did you get in here?”
“Through the door.”
Leo said nonchalantly, crouching down in front of the girl.
“Fighting on the first day? You're full of vigor.”
“Y-You just fought too!”
Looking down at the girl groaning and holding her ankle, Leo chuckled.
“I wasn't fighting. I was just disciplining my juniors.”
Saying that, Leo looked at the male student.
The tall, thin boy adjusted his glasses and bowed politely to Leo.
“I am Fritz Edgon of the first-year magic department. Leo Flove.”
Leo scratched his cheek, looking at Fritz, who had bowed as elegantly as a butler.
“Just call me senior.”
“This is more comfortable for me.”
Having said that, Leo looked at the girl.
“You don't seem to be from the magic department.”
“I'm in the knight department.”
The girl said, getting up with a limp.
“My name is El Jane.”
With her black hair and black eyes, she was clearly from the East.
“Alright. Why were you spying on me?”
“Spying? I was merely admiring my respected Senior Leo from a distance~”
Leo chuckled at Jane, who clasped her hands and spoke in a sweet, coquettish voice as if trying to be cute.
“Oh, is that right? Then let me ask you one thing. Why hasn't Chen Xia returned yet?”
“What? Why are you asking me about her?”
“I'm asking because you've learned the same aura technique as Chen Xia.”
Jane froze at his words.
She slowly unclasped her hands and narrowed her eyes at Leo.
This time, Leo turned to Fritz and spoke.
“You two don't seem to be from the same group, so why have shadows from different factions enrolled as students?”
Fritz looked surprised.
“How did you know…?”
“I can tell just by looking.”
Among the current students, none have the same kind of energy as these two first-years.
*Except for Chen Xia, that is.*
Leo's eyes narrowed as he thought of his friend.
He had noticed early on, when he was guiding the first-years, that there were a few other students besides these two who gave off a foreign energy.
And he also knew they were ‘shadows’.
“Well, the fact that you were found out so easily is because you're inexperienced.”
“To be called inexperienced by the great hero candidate himself, I don't know where to put myself.”
Jane said bluntly.
“You don't like that shadows have enrolled in this school, do you? You can ask the headmaster for the reason. And as for Chen Xia…”
Jane said, glaring fiercely at Leo.
“I have no obligation to tell you!”
With that, Jane turned sharply and left the room.
Watching her go, Leo looked at Fritz.
Fritz bowed politely.
“I, too, cannot explain the reason for that without an order from the headmaster.”
“Right. Understood. I'll ask him myself later.”
Leo stood up.
*I can just hear it from Mel anyway.*
***
*Bubble, bubble—*
A stew was simmering in a pot.
Lumerne professors usually decorate their offices to their own tastes.
Typically, a magic professor's office would have a corner dedicated to items needed for magic research.
But in Mel's office, there was a full-fledged kitchen.
“It's a hobby.”
Mel explained to the surprised Chloe and Karl with a benevolent smile.
As Chloe and Karl took their seats, Mel used magic to bring the dishes to the table.
The two stared wide-eyed at the feast spread before them.
“Isn't… isn't this too much?”
Karl asked, breaking into a cold sweat. Mel's eyes widened.
“You're all growing teenagers. You have to eat a lot to grow up big and strong.”
Saying that, Mel personally served food to the two of them.
Karl muttered, looking at the food piled high on his plate.
“She's like my grandmother.”
“Mine too.”
“Professor Mel! If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?”
“Asking a lady her age is rude, you know. Hehehe.”
Watching her cover her mouth with a gentle smile, Karl scratched his cheek.
Chloe's eyes went wide as she put a meatball in her mouth with her fork.
“This is delicious! Incredibly delicious!”
“Really? Let me see…”
Karl was also surprised after tasting the food.
“Wow! This is even better than the food at the restaurants on campus!”
Excited by the delicious food, the two began to eat with gusto.
Watching them, Mel chuckled softly.
“Ugh… I think my stomach's going to burst.”
“Me too… I need to go on a diet… Karl, can't you make some kind of weight-loss potion? It would sell like crazy.”
“The girls in my dorm said the same thing to me yesterday.”
“So what did you tell them?”
“I told them that if you take weight-loss potions like you eat snacks, you'll still get fat.”
Karl gave Chloe a lukewarm look.
“I'll tell you the same thing.”
“You got beat up by the girls in your dorm for saying that, didn't you?”
“Yeah.”
“Then why can't you imagine you'd get hit by me, too?”
A vein popping on her forehead, Chloe started whacking Karl with her book.
Karl blocked Chloe's attacks with his arms and asked.
“By the way, Professor Mel. Why did you invite us to lunch?”
“Hm? Oh, no particular reason. I was just feeling a bit lonely eating by myself.”
Watching Mel smile, her chin resting on her hand, Karl thought.
*She really does feel like a grandmother.*
“By the way, Karl, you're very interested in elixirs, and Chloe, you're very interested in grimoires, aren't you?”
“Yes.”
“That's right.”
Mel smiled brightly and walked over to the office bookshelf.
And she pulled out a single book.
*Rumble—!*
The bookshelf slid open like a door, revealing a large space inside.
There was a secret room within.
Mel emerged from it with a potion bottle and a grimoire.
*Thud.*
Placing the two items on the desk, Mel smiled.
“It's dragon's blood, and a grimoire written in the draconic tongue.”
“Gasp!”
Karl's jaw dropped.
Chloe's eyes widened as well.
“You can't take them out, but you're welcome to look at them as much as you like in my lab.”
“Ooooh!”
“Thank you!”
With bright expressions, the two took the potion bottle and the grimoire from Mel.
While their attention was focused on the items, Mel handed a note to Leo.
“Leo. This is the information you requested about student Xia.”
Taking it, Leo unfolded the note where the other two couldn't see.
He read the contents, and his eyes twitched.
“Is this true?”
“Yes.”
Mel sighed bitterly.
“Due to family circumstances, student Xia is withdrawing as a hero candidate.”