Chapter 313
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After breakfast.
Leo and Chelsea left the dormitory cafeteria for Mel's special Heroics class.
“Chelsea. Leo’s with you?”
“Nella! Let’s walk to the lecture hall together!”
Nella, one of the second year's most beautiful students, approached them with her characteristically languid smile.
“It's been a while since the three of us have gone to class like this.”
Nella said with a gentle smile.
“You're right. Back in our first year, in Class 5, the six of us used to hang out all the time.”
Chelsea wore a wistful expression.
Leo, Chelsea, and Karl.
They had been a close-knit group since their first year.
Add to that Nella, Iliana, and Dade.
They were the core strength of Class 5.
“Speaking of which, how about we all go hang out in Lumeria City this weekend?”
“Let’s do it! We should invite the other Class 5 kids who are free, too!”
Chelsea beamed, delighted by the idea.
“You’re okay with that, Leo?”
“I'll keep my schedule open.”
At Leo's reply, Nella smiled faintly.
“By the way, are the mock battle preparations for your dorm going well?”
At Leo’s question, Chelsea’s eyes widened before she smiled bashfully and brought a finger to her lips.
“Are you trying to spy on us? Even if it's you, Leo, you're an enemy during midterms, so I'm not telling you who our King is!”
“I didn't ask who the King was, just about your preparations for the mock battle.”
Chelsea laughed awkwardly and scratched her head.
Watching her, Nella smiled and answered.
“It's going well. We've already picked our King. What about Glory?”
“We've already decided on our King, too.”
They chatted lightly.
“You must get asked who Harmony’s King is a lot, huh?”
“Yeah. The Class 5 kids ask all the time.”
Nella gave a languid smile.
Chelsea looked utterly fed up.
“Karl and Dade are always trying to subtly pry it out of me. As for Iliana…”
“Ah! Chelsea and Nella! And the Class President!”
Iliana came running over, smiling brightly and waving.
“Perfect timing! Who's Harmony's King?”
Chelsea’s expression turned cold.
“This idiot just asks so bluntly.”
“Who are you calling an idiot?”
Iliana lunged at Chelsea.
And she started poking Chelsea’s soft cheeks.
As if used to it, Chelsea playfully bit Iliana's finger.
Amidst the boisterous atmosphere.
“Oh! What's this? The four of you walking together?”
“Let us join you.”
Karl and Dade spotted the group and came over as well.
“It’s been a while since we’ve all gathered like this.”
Dade said with a smile, and Chelsea nodded.
“Right, we were just talking about it. Are you guys free this weekend? We were thinking of hanging out with the Class 5 group.”
“That sounds great.”
“I’ll clear my schedule.”
The six of them chatted cheerfully.
“By the way.”
Karl laced his fingers behind his head and spoke.
“You've all decided on your Kings, right?”
At Karl’s question, Chelsea narrowed her eyes.
“Even if you ask, I'm not going to answer.”
“What kind of idiot asks that directly? You have to probe subtly.”
Karl chuckled.
In the meantime, they had arrived at the lecture hall.
“Leo.”
As he took his seat in the classroom, Celia approached him.
“Professor Mel is looking for you.”
At Celia's words, Leo stood up with a puzzled expression.
“I’ll be right back.”
“See you later~”
Chelsea waved with a bright smile.
Watching her, Celia’s eyes narrowed.
“You haven't been telling Leo any of our dorm's information, have you?”
“What do you take me for? I wouldn't just carelessly spill our dorm's secrets.”
“You tell Abad all sorts of things, don't you?”
“But I don't just blurt out classified information!”
Chelsea stuck her tongue out.
“Then I’m relieved.”
Celia nodded and returned to her seat.
“What does she take me for? I'm a dorm leader, too.”
Chelsea grumbled under her breath.
Watching her, Iliana, with her chin propped on her hand, said.
“I can understand why Celia would worry. You’re head over heels for the Class President and Abad, right?”
“Head over heels… who is…”
“And, how should I put it? You seem like a cute little sister who'd spill the beans if someone sweet-talked you.”
“Right! Right! You seem like the type who could be kidnapped with a piece of candy!”
“What do you all take me for?”
Chelsea punished Karl and Iliana with a frosty glare.
Watching her, Dade said.
“It's true, Chelsea. You do have a different vibe from the other dorm leaders.”
“How am I different?”
As Chelsea tilted her head and asked, Karl spoke up.
“Just look at our dorm, it's filled to the brim with ambition. Well, I guess that's natural since they're the heirs of their families.”
The Llewellyn family and the Hergin family.
Renowned hero families that everyone knew by name.
As the heirs to those families, Abad and Eliza were bound to have immense pride and ambition.
And Duran.
As the crown prince of Moira, a small but renowned kingdom of knights, his pride was no less than Abad's or Eliza's.
Hearing Karl, Iliana said.
“The three in our dorm also have very clear paths they want to follow.”
Chloe, whose goal was to complete the world's greatest grimoire with her original magic.
Chen Xia, who intended to rise to the rank of hero from the shadows to change public perception.
“And the Class President... well, his very existence is heroic.”
“That’s right, he declared it so boldly in our first year. The complete annihilation of Erebos.”
“He's on a whole different scale.”
The students shook their heads.
“What are the goals of Harmony's dorm leaders?”
“In Woreden's case, it's to be the 'strongest'.”
Nella answered with a faint smile.
At her answer, Dade crossed his arms.
“Hmm, that certainly sounds like a goal fit for him.”
“It’s just that the Class President’s achievements are so extraordinary, but Woreden is a monster in his own right.”
Iliana clicked her tongue.
“I’m curious. If those two fought for real, who would win?”
“Leo would win.”
Woreden’s strength was considered superior to the other top students in their year.
If not for Leo, Woreden would have undoubtedly been the year's representative.
“And Celia's goal is to become a knight who surpasses her ancestors.”
Karl crossed his arms.
“See, everyone has a firm goal like that. That's why they all dream of becoming heroes.”
“……”
Chelsea blinked.
“Chelsea, why do you want to become a hero?”
“Well… because I enrolled at Lumerne. To help my brother and be useful to my family...”
Chelsea, flustered for a rare moment, stammered out her answer before asking back.
“So you all have goals? Reasons for wanting to be heroes?”
“Hmph! Of course! I'll become the greatest magic swordsman befitting my family and make a name for myself! So that many people will look up to me! Ohohohoho!”
Iliana covered her mouth and burst into laughter.
“I want to form a contract with a spirit.”
Dade grinned.
“I want to become a hero and save a lot of people.”
Nella wore not her usual languid smile, but one of benevolence.
“As for me, I'm not aiming to be a hero. I just want to last as long as possible, make a name for myself as a supporter, and get ahead in life.”
Karl shrugged.
Seeing her friends, each with their own clear objectives, made Chelsea even more flustered.
The reason she enrolled at Lumerne?
‘Because I've loved stories of heroes since I was a child.’
That was still true.
She had the talent and the skill.
So she had vaguely come to Lumerne.
There was no particular reason for her enrolling at the young age of 14, either.
‘I just wanted to go to school with my brother.’
If Chelsea had been aiming for the top of her year, she should have enrolled a year later.
‘Why did I enroll at Lumerne?’
It was a question one might have in their first year, but for Chelsea, it was the first time it had crossed her mind as a second-year.
She hadn't thought to consider such things in her first year.
Just following those who were always in front of her was enjoyable enough.
Abad, the mage she had admired since childhood.
And Leo, the hero she had come to admire from the day they first met.
Studying with them and overcoming challenges together was more than enough.
The girl, who had never once stood on her own stage, was bewildered.
‘Why... do I want to become a hero?’
As Chelsea was lost in thought.
“Karl, where are you going?”
Iliana reacted with surprise as Karl stood up from his seat.
“The restroom.”
Karl replied nonchalantly and headed toward the classroom door.
As he did, he naturally passed by the desk where Celia was sitting.
Thump—
Celia looked puzzled as she saw Karl drop something on her desk before walking away.
But she quickly hid it in her clothes without showing any reaction.
‘It’s starting.’
***
Evening, after a full day of classes.
All the second-year students gathered at Lumerne's docks.
Gathered by dorm, they flew over the lake, warily eyeing one another.
In the Inter-Dorm Mock Battle, the final practical exam for midterms, the base played a crucial role.
Each dorm was assigned one of the islands in Lumeria City.
“Wow, do we really have to engage in espionage right from the preparation period?”
Karl scratched his head, looking troubled.
Before him, students were busy constructing defensive towers to protect their base.
In addition to that, all sorts of traps for base defense were being installed in the vicinity.
Eliza, filing her nails, spoke with her legs crossed.
“The other dorm members are working hard. Why don't you help them?”
Looking at Eliza, who blew on her nails, Karl replied.
“Hey, you're not doing anything either.”
“Are you suggesting that I, the heir to the Hergin family, should do such menial labor? What a jest. Besides, it's not as if I'm doing nothing.”
Eliza, looking satisfied with her manicured nails, glanced at Karl.
“I am standing guard in case of any spies.”
If the location or types of traps were discovered, the enemy could devise a counter-strategy, making security a vital task.
Currently, Eliza's summons were monitoring the entire island.
“Yeah, yeah. For the record, I'm here with Abad's permission, too.”
“Abad’s?”
Eliza tilted her head.
Abad was currently in command of Noble.
“Yeah.”
“It seems Abad has assigned you a task.”
The corners of Eliza’s mouth curled up.
“What is your mission?”
At her question, Karl said.
“Speak of the devil.”
At his words, Eliza's eye twitched.
“Celia Jerdinger? How did you get here…?”
“I called her. I gave her the mark you handed out.”
If Noble students were constantly coming and going from the island, Eliza's familiars would surely have alerted her.
To prevent that, Eliza had distributed marks to her dorm members.
Those with the mark would not trigger the familiars' alert, and Karl had given one to Celia.
“Hmph? How interesting.”
The corners of Eliza’s mouth curled up.
The other Noble students also noticed Celia and began to murmur among themselves.
Duran, standing on the defensive wall protecting the base, saw Celia and his eyes twitched.
Abad, his chin resting on his hand, watched Celia with a faint smile.
Celia stood before Karl.
“I read your letter.”
Celia glanced at Noble's base.
“What's your scheme?”
“There's no scheme. I'm simply proposing an alliance.”
At Karl's words, Celia crossed her arms.
“You want to launch a joint attack on Glory? Your dorm leaders would never agree to that.”
The Duran and Eliza she knew were nothing but bundles of pride.
They would never agree to an act like two dorms ganging up on a third.
Not even to take down Leo Flove.
‘Whether they succeed or fail, they're the type who won't be satisfied unless they defeat him with their own hands.’
“Me too.”
Chelsea would oppose it.
Woreden, who was aiming for Leo, wouldn't accept it either.
At Lumerne, while sparring between students was permitted, all-out, life-or-death battles were forbidden.
It would be a disaster if a student got seriously injured.
But exams were different.
It was a chance for anyone to fight Leo seriously.
They wouldn't want to waste that opportunity.
That was true for Celia as well.
At Celia’s words, Karl said.
“This isn't about joining forces.”
Karl’s expression turned serious.
“If we form an open alliance, Glory will notice. Then they'll just focus on defense. If Glory decides to turtle up, it will be hard to break through their base. And as you said, some people would hate the idea of an alliance itself.”
A one-month preparation period was given.
That preparation period was also a time to fortify their bases into fortresses.
If a dorm decided to defend from within such a fortress, it would be difficult to break through, even with two dorms allied together.
“Then?”
“Let's sign a non-aggression pact.”
Karl said seriously.
“The pact will last until Glory's base has fallen.”