Chapter 065
Chapter Title: A Flawed Interpretation
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The next morning.
Since the Lumerne students had been invited to Seirun the previous night, classes were held at the Lumerne dormitory.
The Seirun students' reactions upon arriving at the dormitory were not much different from Lumerne's when they had first arrived.
“Oh my? You're sleeping here?”
“Could it be that Lumerne is struggling financially?”
“Can you even sleep in a place like this?”
Watching them express their disdain, Iliana crossed her arms and shook her head.
“What a bunch of spoiled young masters and ladies.”
“That's not something you should be saying, considering you had a similar reaction just two days ago… Gak!”
Karl, who had been teasing her, was jabbed in the side by Iliana and collapsed.
And so, the Lumerne and Seirun students took their seats and readied their writing tools.
“I have a question.”
A female student raised her hand.
“Hm? What is it?”
The friendly Karl asked with a smile, and the Seirun girl inquired with a puzzled expression.
“What is the general skill level among you first-years at Lumerne?”
“Our skill level, you ask.”
“Well, it varies from student to student.”
The students of Class 5 looked at each other and shrugged.
A male student from Seirun crossed his arms and asked.
“Varies? You mean you don't separate students into advanced, intermediate, and basic classes?”
“That's right. Unlike Seirun, which divides classes by academic performance, Lumerne believes all students should be educated equally.”
“So that's Lumerne's system. How disappointing.”
At Chelsea's explanation, the Seirun boy sighed and muttered.
Hearing this, Chelsea's eye twitched.
“What's so disappointing about it?”
“I seem to have misspoken. My apologies if I offended you, my lady. However, we are from Seirun's advanced Class 1. We receive instruction befitting our level. I'm not saying Lumerne's philosophy of providing equal educational opportunities to all students is wrong... but it does make me question whether this class is worth our time.”
A few Seirun students glared at the boy.
However, the majority seemed to agree with him.
“Wow, he's so obnoxious.”
“I merely stated a fact, my lady.”
At that, Iliana flew into a rage and shot up from her seat.
“Ha! If you're all that great, how about a duel? I hear Seirun has combat evaluations even for first-years, right?”
“Sit down, Iliana.”
“Alright, Class Rep.”
Of course, she immediately sat down at Leo's command.
But the overall atmosphere in Class 5 was tense.
The Seirun students watched them with arrogant expressions.
“I don't know how amazing your usual classes are.”
Leo stepped forward.
“But I, for one, don't see what's so great about you so-called advanced Class 1 students.”
“Even for Lumerne's year representative, isn't that a rather rash statement?”
The Seirun students were provoked.
Leo wore an indifferent expression.
“I'm just stating a fact. After fighting that guy yesterday, I wasn't particularly impressed.”
At Leo's words, the face of the Seirun boy who had spoken so carelessly flushed with shame.
He was the student who had fought Leo yesterday and been beaten one-sidedly.
“Besides, weren't you the ones who made the rash statements first?”
As Leo gave the Seirun students an icy look, they flinched.
Just as a strange tension filled the air.
“Brrr! It's cold. Huh? What's going on?”
Lunia appeared, opening the door.
Seeing Lunia's puzzled expression, a student named Luka approached with a wry smile.
“There was a bit of an argument.”
“L-Luka! An argument!”
“It was just a disagreement.”
A few students hurriedly tried to stop Luka.
But it was too late.
“Care to explain, Luka?”
Looking at Lunia, who asked in a gentle voice, Luka recounted what had just happened.
“Hmph~”
Lunia, her eyes narrowed, put on an apologetic expression.
“Students of Lumerne. It seems one of ours has misspoken. I will have a word with them later, so could I ask for your generous understanding?”
Watching Lunia speak in her gentle voice, the boys of Class 5 broke into goofy smiles.
“Not at all! These things happen!”
“If Miss Lunia says so!”
“Hahaha! We're not offended in the slightest!”
A few of the Class 5 girls shot them a glare.
Karl clicked his tongue in disbelief.
“Is that the same person who was so intimidating yesterday?”
“Right?”
Leo let out a dry laugh as he watched Lunia effortlessly play the part of a quiet but sharp honor student.
Lunia turned to the advanced Class 1 students and smiled sweetly.
“Everyone! It's good to have pride in our school, but shouldn't we prove our school's greatness through our skills?”
“She's not just pretty, she's so sweet too!”
“Wow! That's the ideal elf!”
“Why don't we have a beauty like that in our first year?”
Watching her classmates, who were completely smitten, mutter as they stared at Lunia's back, Iliana shook her head.
“Ugh, you idiots. You'd fall for any pretty girl.”
“Iliana, if you just kept your mouth shut…”
“Huh? What about my mouth?”
“Have mercy! Ma'am! I won't mess with you again!”
While Karl was getting grabbed by the collar for needlessly provoking Iliana.
The faces of the Seirun advanced Class 1 students who saw Lunia's expression were turning pale.
It wasn't visible from the Lumerne side, but Lunia's face was the very picture of menace.
With the situation thus settled.
Leo spoke quietly to Lunia as she passed by him.
“Quite an act you've got there.”
“Shut up.”
Lunia glared at him before taking her seat with the Seirun students.
A short while later, Halind and Herdium entered the dormitory.
With Herdium standing to one side to observe, Halind began the class.
“This morning, we will conduct a lecture on Lumerne's major courses. Knight, Magic, and Summoning. Please gather according to your major.”
At his words, the Lumerne students separated by major.
The Seirun students, however, hesitated, unsure of what to do.
“Lumerne teacher.”
“There is no such title as 'teacher' at Lumerne. Address me as Professor.”
At Halind's words, Luka, who had raised his hand, paused before speaking.
“Professor. The Seirun students don't have majors.”
“I'm aware. The Seirun students may choose the discipline they focus on most.”
Only then did the Seirun students begin to move.
In the end, the Seirun students were divided in much the same way.
Knights and Mages were the most numerous, while Summoners were the fewest.
‘Is Professor Halind planning to conduct the class by himself?’
‘Even for Professor Halind, it should be impossible to teach all the major courses at once.’
“Chelsea, Nella, Tiede.”
The three students stood up as Halind called their names.
“You will be conducting the class.”
“What?”
“U-Us?”
“But Professor, for us to teach the class is…”
“Consider it a review of what you've learned. You are all outstanding students in your respective departments. I trust you are capable of explaining what you learn at Lumerne, are you not?”
Even so, Nella and Tiede hesitated.
Chelsea, however, stepped forward without hesitation.
The characteristic confidence of a heroic noble family was on full display.
‘A class taught by students. Interesting.’
Herdium's eyes gleamed.
‘It's a bit strange that the year representative isn't one of them... but let's see just how skilled Lumerne's top students from each department are.’
As Herdium watched with interest, the exchange class began.
And as the class progressed, the Seirun students were shocked.
“Mmm! S-So that kind of approach is possible!”
A male student listening to Chelsea's lecture exclaimed in surprise as he took notes.
“Ugh! T-This is something even at Seirun... No! It might be even more in-depth…”
A female student in Nella's class also didn't know how to react.
“Aha! So this is how Lumerne interprets summoning circles? In that case, could it also be applied like this?”
“Yes, ah. Th-That's right.”
Exclamations of admiration also erupted from the Summoning group.
Lunia, too, absorbed the new knowledge from Lumerne like a sponge.
Watching them, Halind let out a small smile.
‘Approaching it from the perspective of another race opens your eyes to new methods.’
This applied not only to Seirun but to Lumerne as well.
‘There might be friction, given that the pride of each school is on the line... but that will serve as a foundation for further growth. In that sense, our class is fortunate.’
Herdium's eyes also gleamed.
‘Indeed. All three students are exceptional. They're at a level where they wouldn't be out of place even in an advanced class. The female mage is particularly outstanding. As expected of a direct descendant of the Llewellyn family. This generation of Lumerne... they won't be easy opponents.’
Among the Seirun students, there were some who tried to deny it out of pride, but Herdium was different from the young students.
The very fact that he was in charge of advanced Class 1 meant he was an exceptionally skilled instructor at Seirun.
If he were the type to let his pride get in the way and belittle the abilities of students from another school, he would not have reached this position.
‘Hmph, when the competition is skilled, the reward for victory is all the greater. I believe in my students!’
As he stroked his chin, praising himself, the class came to an end.
“After lunch, we will attend Seirun's class.”
Lunch was held at the Seirun dormitory.
The Seirun students ate with serious expressions.
They had thought they were superior in terms of curriculum, but after attending Lumerne's class, they found there was a great deal they didn't understand.
A few students actively engaged with the Lumerne students to understand what they had learned, but the majority of Seirun students just watched cautiously.
And so, the afternoon class with Seirun began.
“Students of Lumerne! This morning's class was truly fascinating! In that spirit! I shall now present you with a Seirun class!”
If Lumerne's teaching method was about choice and focus, Seirun's was about balance.
Aura, Magic, Summoning.
These three disciplines were taught in a single class.
It could have easily turned into a class that was neither here nor there, but Herdium's skill as an instructor was overwhelming.
The Knight Department students deepened their understanding of magic and summoning, allowing them to grasp countermeasures much more easily.
The same was true for students of the other departments.
Watching the Lumerne students constantly exclaim in amazement, Herdium grew excited.
‘It feels just like teaching my own students at the start of a new semester!’
When the learners are full of passion, the teacher also feels good.
‘The ability to flexibly accept new knowledge is a strength of the Lumerne students. This is something our Seirun students should learn from.’
Even while conducting the class, Herdium was contemplating ways to guide his students in a better direction.
It was impressive how the Lumerne students listened attentively with sparkling eyes, even though it was right after lunch when concentration tends to drop and one might feel drowsy.
Of course, there was an exception.
“Yaaaawn—oops.”
Leo, who had yawned without realizing it, hastily covered his mouth.
But from Leo's perspective as an all-class, the lecture was unavoidably boring.
It was all material he already knew; in fact, he might have even been able to teach the class better than Herdium.
‘Th-th-th-th-that! That brat! How dare he!’
When everyone was focused, a single person showing boredom was bound to stand out.
Herdium, who had been holding high expectations for Lumerne's year representative, couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.
‘Why is a student like that the year representative for Lumerne! When there are so many other passionate students!’
“Now, let's move on to Star Magic.”
‘Alright! Let's see if you can still look bored while learning about Star Magic!’
It was a lecture they would never hear at Lumerne.
Indeed, not just the Magic Department students, but those from other departments as well, had their eyes wide with interest.
Feeling invigorated by their passion, Herdium began to draw a massive magic circle on the blackboard.
“This encompasses the entire curriculum for Seirun's first-years.”
The sound of chalk echoed calmly.
Seeing the magic circle, composed of Star Magic formulas, Leo narrowed his eyes.
‘What's this? Why did he draw the magic circle with a flawed interpretation? There's no way the magic would activate like that.’
Since it was a type of magic Luna had particularly favored, the interpretation drawn on the board grated on Leo's nerves.
Just as Herdium finished drawing the magic circle and turned around, Leo raised his hand.
Seeing this, Herdium chuckled inwardly.
‘Just as I thought. Of course he'd be interested in Star Magic—’
“Professor. Your interpretation is wrong.”