Chapter 402
Chapter Title: A Day at the Oasis
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402.
The oasis city of Ouargla in El-Hem.
The great oasis in the center of Ouargla was reminiscent of a vast beach.
It was a kind of oasis sand beach, one of Ouargla's main tourist attractions.
Students from Lumerne and Azonia were playing in the water there.
"Everyone's so carefree."
Celia swept her hair back as she arrived at the oasis beach.
The usually impeccable honor student watched the first and second-year Lumerne students enjoying themselves in the water with a slightly disapproving expression.
Behind her stood her mentees, Aina and Martina.
"This is nice too, Lady Celia. We've finished our practical training mission, after all."
The Lumerne students had nearly completed their mission training schedule.
The suspicion that El-Hem was hiding a Hero Dungeon had been proven true.
As feared, the Hero Dungeon they had concealed caused a massive anomaly that nearly destroyed Dobela, but thanks to the students of Lumerne and Azonia, the first invasion ended without significant damage.
Subsequent second and third invasions occurred, but by then, upperclassmen from Lumerne and Azonia had arrived as reinforcements.
Afterward, El-Hem became embroiled in an international dispute.
Not only had they concealed multiple Hero Dungeons, but evidence of their collusion with Tartaros was also uncovered.
With the appearance of a Hero Hunter as undeniable proof, El-Hem could no longer feign ignorance.
Every race and nation across the globe condemned El-Hem.
The state of the world was chaotic.
International relations were a tangled web of various interests.
However, even in such a complex global landscape, some things were never tolerated—colluding with Tartaros was one of them.
Because of this incident, El-Hem faced a crisis so severe that it wouldn't be surprising if it quietly vanished from history.
"They said a world conference will be held at Lumerne in the future to decide El-Hem's fate, right?"
"Yes."
Celia nodded.
Afterward, professional dungeon raiders from Lumerne, Seirun, Azonia, and Demian were dispatched to conquer the rampaging Hero Dungeon.
"I wanted to finish the job with our own hands."
"But we still helped a lot of people in El-Hem, didn't we?"
Martina said, looking at Celia's slightly vexed expression.
While the dungeon raiders were active, the first and second-year students of Lumerne helped the people of El-Hem who were in need.
The king of El-Hem and his key officials were mostly arrested for colluding with Tartaros and concealing the Hero Dungeons.
While helping people in need might have been considered interference in domestic affairs when El-Hem's government was in power, that was no longer the case now that the monarchy had collapsed.
"True. A hero is someone who guides the world toward what is right. Helping and saving those in need is an important duty."
Celia sighed.
"Yes. Everyone worked so hard, so after the mission training ended, Young Master Leo used his authority as student council president to give us two days of free time, right?"
The Lumerne students had Leo to thank for being able to relax and have fun.
"Still, as Lumerne students, we must maintain our dignity."
Celia was watching her fellow students, dressed for swimming and playing happily, with a slightly displeased look on her face.
"Celia, you're here?"
"Hello, Senior Nella!"
"Hello."
As Nella approached, Martina answered energetically, while Aina greeted her softly in a small voice.
"Nella, you too."
Celia pressed her temples.
Nella was also dressed for a proper swim, wearing a swimsuit.
"It's summer now, anyway. We all worked hard, so it's nice to have some fun before we go back to school, isn't it?"
"That's right. If you're just going to be a wet blanket while we're having fun, you might as well go back to your room."
Chelsea said, appearing from behind Nella.
"I'm not scolding you for having fun. I'm saying you should set an example as a second-year senior. Then again, you'd fit right in playing with the first-years, Chelsea."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're still just a kid, aren't you?"
"We're only one year apart, you know?"
At that, Celia looked down at Chelsea, let out a small laugh, and swept her hair back.
Chelsea did indeed look young for her age.
Staring sullenly at Celia, who had closed her eyes with a relaxed expression, Chelsea aimed the toy in her hand at Celia's face.
*Squeeeert-!*
Water sprayed from the toy, drenching Celia's face.
"Hoo."
Celia took a deep breath.
Then, her eyes wide, she lunged at Chelsea.
"You little!"
Chelsea fled without looking back.
"Get back here!"
"Am I crazy? You think I'd get into a physical fight with you, a Knight major?"
Chelsea looked back at Celia, pulled down her lower eyelid with her index finger, and stuck out her tongue.
Seeing this, Nella laughed and shouted.
"No using special abilities on the oasis beach!"
After saying that, Nella turned to Aina and Martina.
"Hehe. Don't those two look like they get along so well?"
"Umm... Do they?"
Martina just laughed awkwardly.
Meanwhile, on the oasis beach.
"Step right up! Step right up! A hit product even the second-year honor students love to play with! Water gun wands! Water bombs! And to beat the heat of the hot oasis, delicious ice cream and drinks!"
Karl had set up a stall and was doing business.
Business was booming.
With summer approaching, the students' desire for water play was already high. When Chelsea, Iliana, Nella, and Dade started playing with the toys Karl had given them for promotion, the demand for his products skyrocketed.
On top of that, he had ice cream and drinks to cool them down from the scorching desert heat.
It was impossible for them not to sell.
"Senior! A water gun wand, please!"
"Me too!"
"Here you go!"
Karl handed over the water gun toys with a wide grin.
Watching the money pile up in his pouch, Karl beamed.
"Wahahaha! Juen! We're going to be rich!"
At Karl's words, Juen made a wry face.
"Aren't you going to play, Senior Karl?"
"I am playing right now, aren't I?"
"Don't you feel down doing business while everyone else is having fun?"
"I do feel a little down. But when I look at the sales, that feeling completely disappears!"
Watching the genuinely happy Karl, Juen shook her head.
"By the way, these water gun toys are made with a patented magic formula from the Southern Magic Tower, right?"
"That's right! And I'm very grateful!"
The toys Karl made were items created by applying the magic formula used in Juen's magic staff.
"I have to admit, your eye for turning something like that into cheap, best-selling toys is pretty amazing, Senior Karl."
"Of course."
"You do know that 80% of the profits have to be paid to the Southern Magic Tower as royalties, right?"
*Crack-*
Karl's face stiffened.
On the verge of tears, Karl grabbed Juen's ankle and clung to her.
"Have mercy! 80% of the profits means I'm bankrupt! Have mercy!"
"L-let go of me."
Juen struggled to shake Karl off, a flustered look on her face.
"Hmph, playing with such pathetic toys. How pitiful."
Eliza, who was lying on a sunbed under a parasol wearing sunglasses, scoffed at the sight.
Iliana, who was passing by, said.
"This is actually quite fun."
"Hmph, what's so fun about such a crude toy?"
"Watch."
*Squit-*
Adjusting the water gun to lower the pressure, Iliana shot Eliza in the face.
Silently wiping her face with a nearby towel, Eliza picked up her whip and said.
"If your intention was to annoy me, that was an excellent choice. Shall I carve some whip marks onto that pale skin of yours?"
"Hieeeek?!"
As Iliana recoiled in horror, covering herself, Chen Xia approached and stopped Eliza.
"No violence."
Chen Xia was just about the only student Eliza would listen to.
Eliza clicked her tongue at Chen Xia's appearance.
Then she snatched the water gun wand from Chen Xia's hand and sprayed it all over Iliana's face.
"Sputter! Sputter!"
"Hmph."
After scoffing at Iliana, who was shaking her head wildly, Eliza was about to hand the wand back to Chen Xia.
*Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-!*
Chelsea could be seen dashing across the sand.
She threw a water bomb at Celia, who was chasing her.
Celia scoffed, snatched the water bomb out of the air, and tossed it aside as if discarding it.
*Roll-roll-thump-!*
The rolling water bomb came to a stop at Eliza's feet.
"...What is this?"
Eliza narrowed her eyes, and Chen Xia and Iliana dove for cover without hesitation.
*Kaboom-!*
The water bomb exploded, releasing a tremendous amount of water.
It was a simple formula that compressed water, but the bomb's power was immense.
The water pressure sent the parasol and sunbed flying, and Eliza ended up with her face planted in the sand.
"..."
"..."
Those nearby swallowed nervously.
Pushing herself up, Eliza brushed the sand from her face and spat out the grains that had gotten into her mouth.
She watched Celia and Chelsea's chase with calm eyes, then walked over to Karl's stall.
Karl and Juen gaped at her.
"Karl Thomas, do you have anything more powerful than a water gun wand or a water bomb? I don't care how much it costs."
Looking at Eliza, who spoke in a surprisingly calm voice, Karl swallowed hard and handed her a large cylinder.
"It's a prototype water cannon. The power is so strong it's danger—"
"Those two won't die from something like this, so it doesn't matter."
Holding the water cannon, Eliza turned around.
The sound of her grinding her teeth could be heard.
"You're dead."
The beach began to turn into a warzone.
***
In the middle of the beach.
Leo sat on a sunbed under the shade of a parasol, looking toward the oasis.
Next to him, Chloe was also sitting on a sunbed, reading a book.
Exuding a vacation vibe, Chloe's gaze occasionally drifted toward Leo.
This was a fairly quiet part of the oasis beach.
And from the middle of the oasis, air bubbles were constantly rising to the surface. *Bubble-bubble-bubble-*
"*Pffwah-!*"
A moment later, Ar Tune emerged from the water.
Chloe, who had been glancing at Leo, quickly turned her attention back to her book.
Ar Tune hastily scrambled to the water's edge and shook the water from her body.
Panting for breath, she said.
"Black Rabbit, I'm exhausted! I want to stop now!"
Seeing Ar Tune on the verge of tears, Leo stood up from his seat.
He walked across the sand toward Ar Tune and said.
"You're the one who said you wanted special training for your howling."
In the last battle, Ar Tune had gained the ability to awaken the Beastification ability in other beastkin through her howling.
An unknown ability that even Leo was unfamiliar with.
'And it was also the ability that Ar-on had so desperately wanted.'
Ar-on had wished for his Beastification ability to be passed on to other beastkin.
If it had, more of his kind could have survived on the battlefield.
But in the end, Ar-on never achieved it.
Not only Ar-on, but no one after him ever managed to gain the ability to freely Beastify.
A beastkin who fully possessed Ar-on's Beastification ability only appeared 5,000 years after his death.
'It seems Tartaros used a fragment of Ar-on's Hero Record to obtain the Beastification ability... but that's impossible without a fake Brave, so I'll set that aside.'
And according to the testimonies of those who fought them, their Beastification ability wasn't complete.
In any case, Ar Tune had unintentionally obtained the very ability Ar-on had coveted.
Ar Tune, too, had been incredibly excited when she first learned of it.
However, after realizing she couldn't control it properly, she had deliberated and eventually reached out to Leo for help.
The very first thing Leo did was throw her into the water.
The first reason was that her constant howling would be a nuisance to others, and the second was that regulating her breathing underwater would make it easier to howl.
However, Ar Tune, being a cat beastkin, despised water.
Of course, Leo wasn't one to care about such circumstances.
"I hate water now! I hate it!"
"It doesn't matter if you hate it. Get in."
At Leo's cold words, Ar Tune's eyes darted around.
'If it's come to this!'
Ar Tune chose to flee.
*Grab-!*
Of course, Leo caught her by the tail, causing her to fall forward.
"Ugyaaaaah!"
Ar Tune struggled.
Leo sighed, walked over to Ar Tune, and crouched down in front of her.
"Ar Tune, you've stepped into a realm that not even the Brave Hero could reach."
Ar Tune froze and looked up at Leo.
"As the successor to the Brave Hero, you've accomplished something he couldn't."
"Ooh-!"
Ar Tune clenched her fists.
"So are you going to run away?"
"No!"
"Ar-on might be disappointed if he saw you like this. Are you okay with that?"
"Absolutely not!"
Seeing her reaction, Leo smiled gently and stroked her white hair.
In response, Ar Tune made a cat-like expression.
Leo removed his hand from Ar Tune's head, then reached down, put his hands under her arms, and lifted her up.
Her ears perked, Ar Tune stared intently at Leo with cat-like eyes.
Leo grinned at her.
"Then, Ar Tune."
"Yes?"
"Back in you go."
*Whoosh-!*
"Hey! You damn Black Rabbit-aaaaah!"
*Splash-!*
Having mercilessly thrown Ar Tune back into the water, Leo crossed his arms.
Watching the scene unfold, Chloe sighed.
"I can see why Celia and Chelsea can't stand him."