Chapter 056
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Request
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Class 5 ended up renting out an entire inn within Verchia for their lodging.
Upon arriving at the inn, the majority of the class reacted with utter bewilderment.
“D-Do we really have to sleep here?”
“There aren’t any rats, are there?”
“What about laundry? And cleaning?”
“Don’t tell me we have to prepare our own meals too?”
The students from noble families were all taken aback.
In contrast, the commoner students, like Karl, were unfazed.
Karl even took the opportunity to tease his friends.
“Pfft. Do you know how much like spoiled little noble ladies you sound right now?”
“What did you say?”
“How dare you, Karl!”
Chelsea and Iliana bristled at his comment.
Karl yelped as the two of them started hitting him.
However, the noble students’ aversion didn’t die down easily.
Until now, Lumerne had always provided for the students’ basic needs—food, clothing, and shelter—without any shortcomings, even while subjecting them to grueling training and classes.
In fact, the dorms at Lumerne had attendants who handled laundry and cleaning, creating an environment where students could focus solely on their studies.
But this was different.
They’d been so excited for a school trip, only to end up in lodging fit for commoners.
Worse, they had to handle everything themselves.
“Couldn’t we have found a slightly better place to stay?”
Even Nella, the oldest and most mature student in the class, seemed troubled.
“Seeing your reaction makes me think choosing this inn was the right decision.”
“Huh?”
“Alright, everyone, stop complaining. This is a good experience. Comfortable beds, laundry done by others, meals prepared by others—you can’t expect such conveniences to always be available. As hero candidates, you must be able to handle any situation.”
Leo’s words were met with a chorus of boos.
“He’s a stooge! The professor’s stooge!”
“There’s a limit to being the top student!”
“We know Professor Halind gave you the authority to choose the lodging!”
“Let’s just pool our money and move to another inn.”
Listening to the disgruntled protests, Leo spoke.
“Professor Halind’s original plan was to have us sleep outside in tents.”
At that, everyone froze.
This was news even to the vice president, Nella, who looked on with surprise.
“I managed to persuade him to let us stay here instead.”
The entire class went pale.
To think he planned to make them pitch tents and sleep outdoors in this blizzard-swept town!
*He really is the most vicious professor at Lumerne!*
“If you don’t like it here, I can go tell him we can’t stay.”
“Hey! Grab him! Stop him!”
“Aaargh! Stop, class president!”
A horrified Tiede and Iliana clung to Leo’s arms.
In the end, the students quietly agreed to stay at the inn for the next ten days.
“And one more thing. Professor Halind and Assistant Professor Sera won’t be staying here. They’ve left us to our own devices. However, they said to stay within bounds.”
Leo smiled faintly.
“They warned that if anyone is caught doing something like a boy and a girl staying in the same room, or any other act that violates school regulations, they’ll face a terrible fate.”
“Tch! No fun.”
Iliana grumbled.
“You have free time until tomorrow morning. Feel free to explore the city.”
At Leo’s words, everyone headed up to their rooms.
Although they were initially unhappy, the thought of having the place to themselves gradually lifted their spirits.
“Let’s tidy up our room, change into our winter clothes, and go shopping!”
“I think there’s a hot spring. I’m going to check that out first.”
“I’m heading to the weapon shop!”
Watching his friends return to their typical teenage liveliness, Leo muttered.
“Kids adapt quickly.”
“Leo, you know you sound like an old man sometimes?”
“I know. I’m going to report to Professor Halind.”
“Should I come with you?”
“No, you stay here and keep an eye on things.”
“Okay.”
Halind and Sera were staying at the Ersar family mansion, not far from the inn.
As Leo left the inn, he noticed a luxury hotel across the street.
A general sense of bustling activity emanated from it.
He saw someone who looked like the hotel owner shaking his head at a group of elves trying to enter.
*Looks like they’re also hosting a large group.*
Leo quickly lost interest and headed for the Ersar mansion.
Arriving at the mansion, Leo reported the situation to Halind, who was in a guest room.
“Everyone has been assigned a room and is enjoying their free time for now.”
“I imagine they had complaints about the lodging.”
“They quieted down after I told them you were planning to make them sleep in tents.”
Halind let out a deep sigh.
“Leo Flove.”
“Yes, Professor.”
“I know you are an excellent class president.”
“Thank you.”
“But why are you pinning your own plan on me?”
“Isn’t it best for the scary person to play the villain?”
Halind let out a dry laugh at Leo’s confident reply.
He had taught at Lumerne for a long time, but he had never encountered a student like Leo.
To think a student would use him—a professor feared even by fourth and fifth-years—in such a way.
*Is he fearless, or just audacious?*
“I understand. Get some rest. It would be quite amusing if you couldn’t keep up with the schedule you planned yourself.”
“Yes, sir.”
Leo bowed his head.
As Leo was leaving the room, an elf approached him.
“Mr. Leo Flove.”
“Yes?”
The elf woman, dressed in a neat suit, bowed politely.
“The head of the family wishes to see you, Mr. Leo Flove.”
“The head of the family? Do you mean Lord Rune Ersar?”
“Yes.”
Though puzzled, Leo followed the elf woman.
A short while later, they arrived at an office in the center of the mansion, and the elf woman knocked politely.
“Come in.”
At the words, the elf woman opened the door and bowed deeply.
As Leo entered the room, he saw Rune attending to his duties.
“Welcome, Leo. My apologies for summoning you, but I’m swamped with work. Would you mind waiting a moment? Feel free to look around the office if you’re bored.”
Watching Rune speak without pausing his quill, Leo nodded.
“It’s no problem. I’ll look around, so please take your time.”
With that, Leo began to explore the spacious office.
The Ersars were one of the most historic families among the elves.
As such, numerous artifacts adorned the walls.
While slowly examining the items made by elven or dwarven artisans, Leo’s gaze stopped on a worn-out dagger.
It was a strangely shaped dagger.
The blade was short enough to be called a dagger, but the hilt was as long as a longsword’s.
In effect, the blade-to-hilt ratio was nearly one-to-one.
“Erquint?”
Rune, who had been busy with his work, looked up.
“How do you know of Erquint? The history of that item is passed down only to the heads of the Ersar family.”
“I once read a book in Lumerne’s grand library about lost weapons from legends and literature. I saw it there, but… I never dreamed it actually existed.”
Leo explained hastily.
Erquint was a masterpiece crafted by Dweno using Starlight Ore, a rare mineral imbued with the power of starlight.
He had originally given it to Luna for self-defense in chaotic battles, but Luna passed the sword on to her disciple, Verchia.
And just before Kyle and his companions left for their final expedition.
It was lost during the final battle with Tartaros.
It was undoubtedly a legendary sword, but one whose existence was unknown to most.
*This isn’t the real one.*
The faint stellar mana he could feel was different from the original’s.
It felt like an empty shell.
“Is there such a book? Well, Lumerne is a hero academy, after all. It’s a reward one of my ancestors received for conquering Lord Verchia’s World of Heroes. We treasure it, as it was an item used by Lord Verchia herself.”
*So that’s why it felt like just a shell.*
Weapons obtained through the World of Heroes cannot be used by anyone other than the one who conquered it.
As Leo nodded in understanding.
Rune, having finished his work, approached and gestured for him to sit on the guest sofa.
As Leo took a seat, Rune began to prepare tea himself and spoke.
“I heard about you from Halind. All-Class, is it?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re the top-ranked first-year at Lumerne, I hear?”
“That is correct.”
“Hmm.”
Rune nodded.
Then, his expression turned serious.
“I know it’s rude to ask this of you when we’ve only just met.”
“What is it you wish to ask?”
“Would you be willing to meet my granddaughter?”
Leo’s eyes widened at the unexpected words.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I want you to give my granddaughter a push.”
Rune sighed deeply.
“My granddaughter is a first-year at Seirun. It may sound like I’m boasting, but… she’s a talented child and was admitted to Seirun with excellent grades.”
Leo nodded.
“But as soon as she enrolled, she hit a wall.”
“A wall?”
“Yes. She knew she was a talented child. She was always the best among her peers.”
Most of Lumerne’s new students were the same.
“But it’s a wide world out there. Upon entering Seirun, she had to face students with better grades than her own.”
“Ah.”
Leo immediately understood what he meant.
“She can be a bit gloomy, but she’s a diligent child, so her grades improved quickly. However, it seems there was just one person she couldn’t surpass. After that, she completely lost her will to study at Seirun.”
“I understand the story. But how am I supposed to meet your granddaughter if she’s at Seirun?”
“If she were at Seirun, I wouldn’t be asking you.”
Rune buried his face in his hands.
“Right now, even though the semester is ongoing, she’s come home and is holed up in her room.”
Leo looked dumbfounded.
“No matter what I say, she refuses to go back to school.”
“…”
“That’s why I’m asking you, the top first-year at Lumerne. Can you give that child some motivation?”
***
Seirun Academy divides its students by grade and then sorts them by academic performance.
Classes are broadly divided into advanced, intermediate, and basic.
In the first year, due to the large number of students, there are multiple classes for each tier.
Naturally, there are skill differences even among the advanced classes.
Among them, Advanced Class 1 was where only the best of the first-years were gathered.
The homeroom teacher of Advanced Class 1 looked at the seated students and spoke.
“I have an announcement today.”
The students stood up straight and faced the teacher.
“Starting today, the advanced classes will be participating in mission practicums.”
The students of Advanced Class 1 stirred at his words.
Mission practicums?
Those weren’t scheduled until the second semester at the earliest.
“Don’t be nervous. Isn’t this just the school’s upper management acknowledging the excellence of the advanced classes?”
At the elf teacher’s smiling words, the students of Class 1 puffed up with pride.
Being here was an honor for their families.
Meanwhile.
The president of Class 1, Lunia, who should have been ecstatic, was staring at the ceiling with a vacant expression.
Her mind was filled with the name of a single person.
*Leo Flove? Who the hell is he? What kind of thief steals my contractor! I’ll never forgive him… Never.*
*Fwoosh!*
Lunia’s eyes began to burn with fury.
“And so, the destination for our Advanced Class 1 is…”
The elf teacher began to write the destination on the chalkboard.
“Verchia, in El-Salvakia.”