Chapter 265
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Welcome
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The stirring of Dweno's mana soon subsided.
Leo murmured, looking down at his hand.
‘I'll have to check this out later.’
The fact that Dweno's mana was reacting definitely meant something was here.
‘It wouldn't be strange if some of Dweno's creations were slumbering within Demian.’
Leo glanced once at the highest point of Demian Academy before walking on.
They passed the statues of the Great Heroes and entered Demian Academy.
Demian Academy was a grand, ancient castle, five thousand years old.
It was a structure that held five thousand years of dwarven history, starting from the end of the Age of Calamity.
Architectural styles vary with the era, region, and race.
And Demian Academy was a blend of all the world's architectural styles, its defining feature being the continuous renovations made each time a new trend emerged.
As a result, the designs of the buildings within the castle walls were incredibly diverse.
“It’s like we’ve come to an architectural museum.”
Chloe said, her eyes sparkling.
“Isn’t it a bit too haphazard? It doesn’t feel very harmonious.”
Chelsea tilted her head.
She had a point.
While being able to see the architectural styles of various eras and regions at once was certainly a plus, the jumble of different designs also felt strange.
“That very chaos is what you might call the aesthetic of Demian.”
Someone spoke up just then.
The students' gazes turned toward the voice.
A dwarf was stroking his bushy brown beard, a smile on his face.
“It’s been a while, Depeto.”
“Good to see you, Professor Sedjen.”
At Sedjen's greeting, Depeto let out a hearty laugh and greeted him warmly.
“Everyone, say hello. This is Depeto Smith, Demian’s Head Smith for the second years.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Sir Depeto!”
“A pleasure!”
“The pleasure is all mine, young hero candidates of Lumerne. It’s an honor to meet such famous prospects as yourselves. Now, come inside. Our second-year students are waiting.”
At Depeto's words, the Lumerne students looked puzzled.
‘The second years are waiting?’
‘Are we choosing a Smith as soon as we arrive?’
The Lumerne students, their expressions tense, straightened their clothes.
Being evaluated with all the schools gathered together felt unpleasant.
But they couldn't let it show.
“Looks like you’re nervous.”
Chelsea giggled, looking at Karl.
“Of course. A dedicated Smith contract is crucial for my school life ahead.”
At Karl’s words, Chelsea covered her mouth and said playfully,
“Even though you’re barely hanging on for the second semester?”
“Oof, you really know how to hit where it hurts.”
Karl clutched his heart and groaned.
“Hmph. What a useless gesture, Karl Thomas.”
A sneer came from behind.
Karl openly stuck out his tongue in distaste, and Chelsea’s face contorted in anger.
The one who had interrupted their conversation was none other than Emio.
“Do you really think the Demian students would give a second glance to an underachiever like you?”
“That’s why I have to at least make a good first impression, isn’t it?”
Karl said with a sly grin, and Emio scoffed.
“I still don’t understand Abad. Why he would accept someone as low-class as you into his dorm as a first priority.”
“I know, right? If I had gone to Leo’s or Chelsea’s dorm, I wouldn’t have to deal with a rude punk like you.”
Karl sighed as if in regret.
Normally, Emio would have flown into a rage at those words, but now he only offered a deep sneer.
“Abad probably only brought you into his dorm because you’re Chelsea Llewellyn’s best friend.”
“Hmph! My brother isn’t the type to pick people for reasons like that! You must be pretty bitter that you barely managed to get into Noble because no one else would take you, huh?”
“Have you said your piece!?”
“No! I haven’t! What about it!”
Chelsea growled fiercely.
“That’s enough.”
Leo stepped between the two.
“We’re at another school. Refrain from fighting. And Emio.”
Leo looked at Emio with cold eyes.
“Refrain from making comments that belittle or ignore your classmates, would you?”
“Hmph, taking your friend’s side, are you?”
“What if I am? Want to have a duel?”
Emio flinched as Leo gave a cold smile.
Then, he scowled and walked away.
“Argh! That damn bastard! I swear, I’m going to find a day and tear him to shreds!”
As Chelsea stomped her foot on the ground irritably, Karl laughed.
“Tsk, tsk! Weren’t you supposed to only use pretty and kind words in front of Leo?”
“Oops!”
Chelsea gasped, covering her mouth and widening her eyes.
Seeing Chelsea darting her large eyes around, watching his reaction, Leo let out a small laugh. He patted her head before heading toward Sedjen at the front.
As the year representative, he needed to be at the head of the student group.
Chelsea’s mood seemed to lift at Leo’s touch, and she giggled.
Watching her, Karl shook his head and straightened his tie.
‘It's frustrating, but he's not wrong. The Demian students will most likely not even look at a bottom-ranked student like me.’
The Demian students would want to choose someone they could work with for as long as possible.
Having Juen as my mentee, I don’t have to worry about being expelled during the first semester.
‘That kid Juen will easily make it to the second semester, and even the second year. But I won't.’
If his final exam scores are terrible, Karl's time at Lumerne will end in the first semester of his second year.
‘Surviving to the second year is a miracle in itself.’
My initial goal was just to somehow survive until the end of the first semester of my first year.
‘It can't be helped. I'm not Leo, Chloe, or Chelsea.’
Other students might have scoffed if they heard him.
In fact, many second-year students did ridicule Karl.
A guy who got lucky and became friends with the top students of the second year.
A student who barely survived to the second year thanks to them.
And now, a once-in-a-lifetime lucky bastard who managed to snag Juen, the biggest catch of the first-year magic department, as his mentee.
There were even first-year students who mocked Karl.
When he was younger, he was praised for having some talent, but now he knew.
He was just an ordinary person, not much different from anyone else.
‘Being among real geniuses makes me feel it to my very bones. Still, I've made it this far.’
Karl took a mirror from his pocket, fixed his hair, and grinned.
‘Even so, I'm curious to see just how far I can go.’
Putting the mirror away, Karl composed himself into a neat appearance.
Meanwhile, the Lumerne students arrived in front of a massive door.
From inside, thumping sounds and a boisterous clamor could be heard.
Sedjen opened the door.
A blast of noise and energy washed over them.
“We are the glorious descendants of Dweno! Raise a toast!”
“A toast!”
“Let’s enjoy this moment! Raise a toast!”
“A toast!”
Wahahahahaha—!
Inside, a rowdy party was in full swing.
In the great hall, there were four long tables that looked like they could seat hundreds of people.
The tables were laden with food.
At one of the tables, under a banner embroidered with Demian's symbol of an anvil and hammer, dwarves who appeared to be Demian students were already enjoying a boisterous party.
They were stomping their feet on the tabletops, dancing and singing with one another.
The festive excitement of a marketplace festival filled the entire hall.
The Demian students, partying with mugs full of beer raised high in their hands—as was fitting for dwarves—spotted the dumbfounded Lumerne students entering the hall. They pointed and shouted.
“Look! Our friends from Lumerne are here!”
“Waaaaaah!”
“Welcome to Demian!”
The dwarves offered a boisterous welcome.
“Wait, weren’t they supposed to be evaluating us?”
“What is this…”
While some of the Lumerne students wore confused expressions,
A few dwarves approached them.
“Professors, please come this way. We’ve prepared seats for you.”
“You must be tired. May I take your coats?”
“We’ll take your luggage.”
Demian's uniforms were incomparably more formal than those of Lumerne, Seirun, or Azonia.
A black robe over a white shirt, with a neat black tie and black trousers.
Finally, a black mortarboard was the key point.
“Aren’t mortarboards for graduation ceremonies?”
“Apparently, that’s part of the Demian uniform.”
“Wow, isn’t that stuffy?”
“I don’t know. But they say they hardly ever wear their uniforms normally. Just look.”
Many of the Demian students were wearing their uniforms sloppily.
The mortarboards were piled up in a corner near the Demian tables, rolling on the floor.
Just then, a male student stepped forward.
He had the short stature typical of a dwarf.
But his face was beardless.
His face was also quite neat and had a cute impression.
“Oh my, isn’t that dwarf rather handsome and cute?”
“He is! I thought all dwarves were bearded old men.”
The female students squealed.
The male students muttered as they watched the female Demian students enthusiastically chugging alcohol.
“They’re pretty cute, aren’t they?”
“There’s a certain charm unique to dwarves.”
“Clank, clank.”
“Hey! It’s not like that.”
The male students snickered.
“A pleasure to meet you! My name is Dignes. I’m the top student of Demian’s second year. You must be Leo Flove, right?”
Dignes extended a hand to Leo with a handsome smile.
“I’m Leo Flove. It’s a pleasure to meet you, too.”
Leo smiled and shook his hand.
“Looking forward to the next two weeks with you all! Your seats are over here!”
Dignes guided the Lumerne students to their seats with a cheerful laugh.
It was a spot marked by an embroidered banner depicting the crossed sword of the Knight Department, staff of the Magic Department, and amulet of the Summoning Department, symbols of Lumerne Academy.
“Hey! What do you mean by ‘looking forward to the next two weeks’?”
“Are you talking about the Smith contract?”
“How is it going to work?”
The female Lumerne students, seemingly fond of Dignes, asked with tinkling laughter.
“You’ll find out tomorrow. Today is a welcome banquet just for you, so please enjoy yourselves.”
Watching Dignes leave with a charming smile, Karl muttered.
“I thought all dwarves were burly macho types, but there are suave guys like him, too? He seems like the type to make a lot of girls cry, though.”
At Karl’s words, Chelsea tilted her head.
“He seems like a nice person. What makes you say that?”
“Yes, yes. A little lady like you wouldn’t notice.”
“We’re only a year apart, are you going to keep treating me like a kid?!”
Chelsea aimed a kick at Karl, but he deftly dodged it.
Just then, the doors opened and the Azonia students came in.
The Azonia students froze for a moment when they saw the Lumerne group.
The Lumerne students did the same.
An awkward atmosphere flowed between the two schools, but it was only for a moment.
The Demian students greeted them with the same friendly smiles they had shown Lumerne and guided them to their seats.
Azonia, who knew Demian had gathered the three hero academies for an evaluation, reacted similarly to Lumerne at this reception.
But they soon shifted into a festive mood.
“A pleasure to meet you, Professor Sedjen. I am Tigan of Azonia.”
“A pleasure, Instructor Tigan. I am Sedjen.”
Sedjen and Tigan shook hands.
The two were meeting for the first time today.
“I apologize again for the unpleasant incident this afternoon.”
“Boys will be boys. Our elegant students don’t mind such things.”
Sedjen said with a chuckle.
Tigan responded with a hearty laugh.
“It’s been a while, Ain.”
“You’re here, Berga?”
Ain greeted his old friend, Berga, an instructor from Azonia.
“Ain. I have something to tell you concerning Reina’s son, Leo Flove.”
“Concerning Leo?”
Ain looked puzzled at his friend bringing this up so suddenly.
“What is it?”
“Send Leo Flove to our school as an exchange student.”