Chapter 257
Chapter Title: Mentors and Mentees
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As Juen watched Luke stand before Leo, she spoke up.
“Senior. Can’t you take him as your mentee?”
“He’s in the Knight Division, and I’m in the Magic Division, though?”
“There’s no rule that says you can’t take a mentee from another division, is there? Besides, Senior Karl, you don’t have a single mentee right now, do you? Shouldn’t you at least take Luke?”
“That’s true.”
Karl let out a deep sigh.
But then, he let out a soft chuckle.
“But he probably won’t come to me.”
“Huh?”
“I’m talking about you guys.”
“…?”
“Didn’t you give up a little too easily?”
At Karl’s words, Juen frowned.
“Excuse me, Senior. What have you been watching? We’ve tried every desperate move we could think of, you know?”
“Right. Juen, you especially unleashed a torrent of flashy spells I wouldn’t even dare to attempt.”
It wasn’t just Juen.
Aina, Haviden, and Sasha also unleashed their best attacks on Leo.
“But haven’t you all learned it too?”
Karl smiled.
“That the stronger the attack, the bigger the opening?”
Clang-!
Luke’s sword was blocked by Leo’s.
“At first, the challenge Leo gave the first-years looks too easy. But you quickly learn it’s an insurmountable wall. Then, all the stragglers give up on their own.”
Karl looked at the four of them and smiled.
“And when only exceptional people like you are left, you end up trying every attack you possibly can.”
“That’s right.”
Juen, with her arms crossed, nodded.
“Then let me ask you one thing. In the past week, have any of you ever observed Leo’s movements closely?”
“Of course we…”
Juen’s face stiffened as she was about to answer.
It wasn’t just Juen.
The other three were the same.
“And one more thing.”
Karl grinned.
“Have you ever closely observed that kid, Luke, when he clashes with Leo?”
*'Never.'*
The four of them hurriedly began to observe Leo and Luke’s movements.
To them, Luke wasn’t competition.
They had never ignored him, but they thought a comparison was impossible.
And in reality, it was.
Defeating Luke was too simple.
But…
*'When did he grow so much?'*
Luke’s movements were distinctly different from a week ago.
The shock was especially great for Aina and Haviden.
*'His swordsmanship… It's incomparable to a week ago.'*
He was still no match for them.
But considering his growth rate, it was astonishing.
Especially since it was obvious whose movements he had been studying to build his skills.
*'Senior Leo, and… me and Haviden.'*
Aina’s hands trembled slightly.
Aina had been conscious of Luke.
She couldn’t help it.
After all, Luke had clearly been acknowledged by Leo during the entrance exam.
But at the same time, she had looked away.
But now, the first-year with the lowest scores, whom she had paid no mind, was keeping up with Leo’s movements better than they were.
It wasn’t because Leo was going easy on him.
For the past week, Leo had basically only been defending and evading.
*'I was so focused on landing a single hit that I only thought about my best attacks.'*
Aina clenched her fists tightly.
*'I never… not once… observed my opponent.'*
When facing an impossible opponent, you’re supposed to observe their movements and form a strategy.
It was so basic.
But for a whole week, she hadn’t properly observed Leo’s movements even once.
Her face flushed with shame.
Karl watched them and smiled warmly.
*'We were like that, too.'*
It wasn’t a problem unique to the current first-years.
The current second-years had also been criticized a lot by the professors for the same thing.
*'Well, in this case, Leo is essentially doing the professors' job.'*
Meanwhile, Leo chuckled as he watched Luke keep up with his movements.
Normally, this challenge would have been impossible for him.
But Luke, with his own ability and persistence, was slowly catching up to Leo’s movements.
And in an instant.
Fwoosh-!
Luke’s aura strengthened to an absurd degree.
Luke’s mana trait.
Mana amplification through emotion.
If he had the will, it could act as a finishing move to turn the tables at any time.
Swish-
“Hoh.”
Leo let out a sound of admiration as Luke’s sword lightly clipped the end of his hair.
“I did… Ugh!”
Luke, who had been beaming at his success, tripped over his own feet and fell pathetically to the ground.
“A clumsy finish.”
Leo chuckled and looked at the four frozen students.
*'This should be good motivation for those kids, too.'*
They probably wouldn’t challenge him just because Luke succeeded.
Luke’s achievement was the result of barely managing to succeed after a week of observing only Leo’s movements.
The other four, however, had not.
The fundamental principle of turning the impossible into the possible is not miracles, but effort.
Leo extended a hand to Luke, who was struggling to get up.
In response, Luke hurriedly pulled a piece of paper from his coat.
It was the form for writing a mentor’s name.
Leo wrote his name on it.
“Th-thank you, Leo. I! I’ll do my best as your mentee!”
Leo smiled gently at the brightly beaming Luke.
It was the kind of smile that, had Celia, Chelsea, or the Slayer Knights seen it, would have made them tell him to run for his life.
***
With her arms crossed, Juen stood smartly before Karl.
“Hm? What is it?”
“Please be my mentor.”
“What are you talking about?”
Karl looked bewildered.
“I had a realization after hearing what you said just now, Senior. I realized there’s a lot I can learn from you.”
“I think you’re just fired up. Cool your head. I mean, it’d be great for me to have you as a mentee, but you could get a much better… Hey, hey, hey, hey!”
Juen pulled a paper from her coat, wrote Karl’s name in the mentor section, and dashed off.
“I’ll be in your care starting tomorrow~ Ohohohoho!”
Just as Karl was standing there, dumbfounded.
“Senior.”
This time, Aina approached Karl.
“What is it?”
“Could you tell me the name of the senior in the Knight Division who is closest to Senior Leo?”
“That would be Celia.”
“Thank you.”
Aina gave a deep bow and left.
“Let’s go together, Miss Aina. I have business with Senior Woreden.”
Sasha went with Aina.
“Senior Karl.”
“What now? You too, Prince?”
“I would like to meet Senior Duran.”
*'The prince combo, huh.'*
Karl, chuckling to himself, nodded in understanding.
Karl took Haviden to the Noble Dorm and approached Duran, who was relaxing in the common room.
“What is it, Karl Thomas? Do you have a suggestion for me, your dorm president?”
“There’s a junior outside waiting for you who’s just like you.”
“Haviden, is it? A decent one has come.”
Duran chuckled.
“Hmph. It seems he was considering you as a second choice after Leo Flove.”
As Eliza snorted from the side, Duran’s face twisted fiercely.
Seeing this, Karl tried to placate Duran.
“Hey, what does it matter? The important thing is that Haviden, one of the top three first-year knights, chose you as his mentor.”
Truthfully, he wanted to side with Eliza and tease Duran, but when Duran got angry, it was Karl who would have to deal with the fallout.
“Hmph.”
Karl got up and left the dorm.
“Ahem.”
Just then, Eliza cleared her throat.
Karl, not realizing Eliza had something to say to him, started heading back to his room.
Whoosh! Thwack-!
“Gak!”
Eliza’s whip coiled around Karl’s neck.
“What now!”
“Karl Thomas. Haven’t any first-years come looking for me? Princess Sasha, for instance.”
“Sasha? She went to Woreden.”
Eliza’s shoulders trembled.
Sparks flew from Eliza’s enraged eyes.
“Why did she, a summoner, go to that man! Why!”
“How should I know?”
“This is a humiliation! Why isn’t a single junior asking me to be their mentor!”
“You were secretly looking forward to it, weren’t you?”
“Looking forward to it? Forwaaard?! Don’t be ridiculous! This is a matter of pride for the heir of the Hergin family!”
Given her personality, Eliza seemed like the type to find a mentee bothersome, and she would, but she had secretly been looking forward to it.
She thought that, given her reputation, juniors would be lining up for her.
But there was no one.
She had pinned her hopes on Sasha, of all people, but she had gone to Woreden, whom Eliza considered a rival.
The Noble students screamed at Eliza’s massive fit of hysterics.
The Third Dormitory, Noble. It was a dorm primarily composed of students from prestigious families with strong pride in themselves.
Even so, an angry Eliza was terrifying.
*'Geez, why do they become so pathetic only in front of Eliza?'*
Only Karl was clicking his tongue in front of Eliza.
Despite the ferocious Duran and the prickly Eliza, Karl’s affability shone even before them.
“In my opinion,”
At Karl’s words, Eliza’s eyes flashed.
Looking at Eliza, whose eyes warned him not to spout nonsense, Karl spoke calmly.
“Isn’t it because you’re too amazing?”
At those words, Eliza’s eyes twitched.
Eliza sat down, crossed her arms and legs, and gestured with her chin.
“Explain.”
“The first-years must have thought something like this: ‘With my skills, I could never dare to become Senior Eliza’s mentee.’ Of course, if there had been a student who passed your high standards, you would have made them the best in the Summoning Division. But the first-years were too intimidated to approach you.”
“And Princess Sasha?”
“She was played by Leo’s spirit arts this time. So I think her pride was seriously hurt. She probably wants to learn from a spirit arts expert to prepare for it in the future.”
“Hmph. How cunning. Are you trying to placate me with plausible words?”
“Well, yes. But it’s also the undeniable truth.”
Karl shrugged.
*'Hmph. Abad and Duran certainly have a good eye for people.'*
Eliza looked at the dorm students cowering before her with a disdainful expression.
Then she clapped her hands lightly.
At that, her followers rushed over to set out refreshments.
“Yes, well, I thought it would be a bother anyway, so it’s more convenient for me not to have a mentee.”
Having regained her composure, Eliza let out a soft laugh.
“Karl Thomas. You don’t have a mentee either, do you? Struggle as best you can. You seem more useful than I thought.”
They were arrogant words, but it was Eliza’s own way of telling him to do his best.
Of course, Karl flinched at her words.
*'She'd throw a fit if I told her I ended up with Juen as my mentee.'*
After a moment of hesitation, Karl spoke.
*'Ah, whatever. It'll be even worse if I tell her later.'*
“I got a mentee.”
“Oh? And who might that be?”
“Juen Torvina.”
Eliza’s eye twitched.
“Why would she become your mentee…?”
“I don’t know. Said she had something to learn from me.”
Having said that, Karl quickly made his escape.
He couldn’t stop what was coming now.
If he, the one who got the top first-year of her division as a mentee, tried to calm her down, it would only seem like he was mocking her.
*'I did my best. The rest is up to you guys.'*
Karl mentally cheered on the dorm students and quickly went up to his room.
***
Lumerne’s headmaster, Riina, rested her chin on her hand.
She was looking down at a fancy letter.
Knock, knock-! The door burst open.
“Riina. It’s about time for the second-years to go to Demian, isn’t it? Have you heard anything yet?”
“It just arrived.”
Riina gently waved the letter in her hand.
“But they’ve made a rather arrogant request.”
“An arrogant request?”
“Yes.”
Riina tossed the letter onto her office desk, the corners of her mouth curling up.
“It says they intend to ‘evaluate’ the students from the three hero academies at Demian.”