Chapter 264
Chapter Title: A Gathering of Heroes
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264
“I heard there was some trouble with the Azonia students.”
That evening.
Before heading to Demian, Ain summoned Celia, Chen Xia, and Duran for a talk.
“Of course, Azonia took Chloe Müller first. But couldn't you have handled it more wisely?”
At Ain’s words, Celia spoke.
“If we had spoken to the professors, I believe it could have been resolved without major friction.”
“So you fought Azonia knowing that? Don't you think that was a rash decision? They may have provided the pretext, but this could have escalated into a conflict between our schools.”
The four great hero academies shared the same beginning.
They were founded by the Heroes of Genesis to train the heroes who would succeed them.
Though their directions differed based on the personalities, traits, and races of their founders, their ultimate goal was the same.
The complete subjugation of Tartaros.
For that reason, all the hero academies were cooperative partners.
However, after so many years, friction between them was inevitable.
Even with a shared goal, their methods were different.
In fact, for such reasons, there had been large-scale wars not just between the academies, but also between the races.
The most recent of these was the war between humans and elves.
The Luse Match, a battle of pride between the two schools, had also begun as a friendly competition for ‘inter-racial harmony.’
As a result of that war, it became difficult for not only humans but other races to set foot in elven territory, even to this day.
And the war between humans and elves.
That conflict had begun with a clash between the students of Lumerne and Seirun.
At Ain’s words, Duran spoke up.
“The reason we went to rescue Chloe Müller ourselves, without informing the professors, is because student matters should be resolved by students.”
“Besides, the Azonia students were targeting Young Master Leo. Since they resorted to such drastic measures, we felt a warning was necessary. A warning that we won't stand by if they mess with our students.”
“I believe if we had resolved it through the professors, they would have looked down on us. They might have even used more extreme methods later.”
Ain, who had been exuding a chilly atmosphere, broke into a satisfied smile.
He was pleased with his students’ confident demeanor, even under his questioning.
*Clap, clap, clap—*
“Elegant! Elegant!”
Just then, Professor Sedzen burst in, clapping with a moved expression on his face.
“For their comrades! For their friends! They do not tolerate injustice! That is the very chivalry of Lumerne! Excellent! Student Celia! Student Chen Xia! Student Duran!”
“Professor Ain! I believe they deserve a reward, not a punishment! Let's give them 50 points each for their conduct…!”
“Professor Sedzen. It's problematic for you to just hand out points because they were in your class during their first year.”
“Ain! Do you see me as such a narrow-minded professor, one who would give out points for such a petty reason!”
Sedzen feigned indignation, but it was well-known that he showed great affection for the students he had once supervised.
“The points Professor Sedzen mentioned are excessive, but your actions are worthy of a reward. I will give each of you 10 extra points.”
“Ain, you've been acting as Halind's lackey quite a bit lately, and you're becoming more and more stingy, just like him.”
Ain let out a small sigh at Sedzen’s comment.
“Go and prepare to leave for Demian.”
“Yes.”
The three answered in unison and left.
After the students were gone, Ain asked.
“What was the reaction from Azonia?”
“They sent an official apology. We also received a promise that nothing like this will happen again.”
“It’s been noisy from the very start.”
“It can't be helped. This is different from the Luse Match.”
The Luse Match was an annual event between Lumerne and Seirun.
As such, they prepared for it every year, and the students of Lumerne and Seirun were familiar with each other.
But this time was different.
Demian had gathered all four hero academies in one place.
Different races meant different values.
Furthermore, as hero candidates representing their races, their pride was strong.
And all of them had suddenly been brought together.
The four great hero academies were fundamentally cooperative, but their academic schedules rarely overlapped.
An occasion where entire grade levels lived together in one place for two weeks was even rarer.
What’s more, this particular second-year generation was special, regardless of the academy.
“We may be witnessing the gathering of the heroes who will lead the world in the future.”
Ain burst out laughing at Sedzen’s words.
“If that's truly the case, then as a professor of Lumerne, there could be no greater honor.”
***
As the sun set, the Lumerne second-years headed for Demian.
A massive mine attached to Dweronia served as the entrance to Demian.
As a vast, long tunnel unfolded before them, voices of complaint arose from among the female students.
“Aww! I wore my nice going-out uniform, and now it's getting ruined~”
“Why is the entrance to Demian like this!”
Hearing the complaints, Karl, with his hands clasped behind his head, muttered.
“They're already making a fuss. Man, I'm worried, so worried.”
“About what?”
Chelsea tilted her head at Karl’s muttering.
“Less than an hour after arriving in Dweronia, an incident already broke out between us and Azonia.”
Karl clicked his tongue.
“And now, all four great hero academies are gathered in one place. How many incidents and accidents do you think are going to happen?”
“You think so?”
At Chelsea's indifferent reaction, Karl shrugged.
“That's how it is. Besides, while they call it an 'invitation,' it's more like Demian summoned the other hero academy students to evaluate them.”
“That's a little unpleasant.”
“Well, for us or Azonia, it’s just a little unpleasant and that’s it.”
Karl shook his head.
“But Seirun might just lose their minds. The Seirun kids are a bunch who are completely convinced they're the best of the four great hero academies, right?”
At Karl's words, Chelsea recalled the Seirun students.
“That’s definitely true.”
During their first-year field trip, the Seirun students had looked down on the Lumerne students.
Of course, even by the end of the trip, a considerable number of them hadn't changed their views.
And during the Luse Match, most Seirun students had eyes that showed they didn't doubt their superiority for a second.
“The moment they heard that Demian was going to evaluate Lumerne, Azonia, and Seirun on the same level, their pride must have taken a massive hit. Those oh-so-noble Seirun students, I mean.”
Karl clicked his tongue.
While Chelsea was one of the top three mages in her department and had earned a degree of respect from the Seirun students, Karl was not.
The moment they heard about Karl's grades, they had openly looked down on or ignored him.
‘They make the nobles at our school look cute by comparison.’
“Don't worry too much. No matter how arrogant they are, do you really think they’d commit an openly rude act as invited guests?”
At Leo’s words, Karl sighed dramatically.
“That’s true, but… I heard the person acting as Seirun's temporary headmaster is really something else.”
“I heard their headmaster was changing, but a temporary one has already been decided?”
Chelsea tilted her head.
“Yep. It changed just a little while ago. It's hot-off-the-press news that almost no one at Lumerne knows about. The problem is the person who became headmaster.”
Karl's expression turned serious.
“Lehagen li Creo.”
“Huh?”
Chelsea openly scowled.
“Who’s that?”
“Leo, you don't know Lehagen? He's a famous elven hero, isn't he?”
“I don't really know much about modern heroes.”
“Ah, right. You've never been that interested in that stuff, have you, Leo?”
Chelsea nodded.
Heroes were usually objects of admiration, so it was common for every hero candidate to have one or two active heroes they respected.
But Leo only knew about the heroes of old from his heroics classes at Lumerne.
He had no interest in the heroes of the present.
From Leo's perspective, whether they were heroes of the past or present, they were all his distant juniors.
“He's a hero who calls himself the 'Knight of the Progenitor.' He's a fanatic of the Progenitor.”
Karl clicked his tongue.
“He's famous for being an extreme supremacist. He's the kind of guy who openly looks down on heroes of other races.”
At Karl's words, Leo's brow furrowed.
“That guy’s a complete hardhead, isn't he?”
“A hardhead, indeed.”
“Even for Seirun, it seems strange to appoint someone like that as headmaster.”
The supremacist tendencies of the elves were famous even before the Age of Calamity.
Even so, not all elves shared those tendencies.
Luna, too, was an elf far removed from elven authoritarianism.
‘The problem with her was that she was a tomboy who was too careless about such things.’
Excessive authoritarianism makes a race rot from within.
The elves couldn't be ignorant of that.
As such, the position of Seirun's headmaster was suited for a wise individual with a broad perspective.
‘Even the high elves should know that, shouldn't they?’
And yet, in such a situation, an individual with strong supremacist tendencies had become headmaster.
Leo couldn't understand it.
“The Demon Queen's invasion of Seirun was the problem.”
“That was the problem.”
“Yes. And that’s when the Progenitor descended, right?”
Though the reason was unknown, the descent of the Progenitor of the Nebula and the Hero of the Beginning, Kyle, was on many people's lips as a miracle.
The ultimate skill of star magic.
The sight of the Demon Queen being vanquished by Demise had been witnessed by everyone in Lumerne and Seirun.
“The elves designated that day as the Day of Miracles. On top of that, Seirun has been sanctified, and there's even talk of relocating the entire academy to preserve it.”
“That's extreme.”
“Yeah, but that’s not the important part.”
Karl sighed.
“Because of the miracle of the Progenitor appearing in the present world, the supremacists among the elves have gained a stronger voice.”
At Karl's words, Leo frowned.
‘Weren't most of the elven supremacists of this era fanatics of Luna?’
They were the ones who praised the Progenitor of the Nebula, Luna, as the greatest of the Great Heroes.
Some of the more extreme among them even claimed that only Luna was a true Great Hero.
An image of Luna flashed through Leo’s mind.
‘That ever-confident fool.’
Luna was an elf who easily got cocky and was just as easily discouraged.
She used to boast that one day she would be hailed as a great figure among the elves, but…
‘She probably wouldn't have wanted to be worshipped like this.’
Leo smiled bitterly as he thought of his friend.
In the meantime, they exited the tunnel.
And the Lumerne students let out gasps of admiration at the sight of the massive castle before them.
The castle gates were wide open.
And in front of them stood four colossal statues.
Statues sculpted so vividly they seemed alive.
“So these are Demian's famous statues of the Great Heroes.”
Someone muttered in awe.
And next to those statues, a new one was being built.
Its face had not yet been properly sculpted, and only its rough form had been carved out, but the Lumerne students knew who this statue depicted.
There was only one hero who could stand shoulder to shoulder with the four Great Heroes.
“It's a statue of the Hero of the Beginning, Kyle.”
“Wow! I've never seen Sir Kyle's face before!”
“I really want to see it when it's finished!”
Gasps of admiration erupted from the students.
While everyone was captivated by the statues.
Leo was gazing up at the towering structure of Demian.
At its highest peak.
*Thump—*
Feeling his heart pound, Leo looked down at his hand.
‘This feeling… Don't tell me, is it calling out?’
His mana was reacting.
But it wasn't Leo's mana.
It was the mana of Dweno, flowing within Leo's body.
Dweno's flame, which had been awakened by Pibua's divine power last time, was reacting.
‘To its own creator?’