Chapter 657
Chapter Title: Arhi
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657.
Early dawn.
The Summoning Department’s dormitory in the Clock Tower Dorms.
Within that building existed a vast garden accessible only to students of the Summoning Department.
*Rustle, rustle.*
‘Though it’s a bit too vast to be just a garden.’
Stepping into the garden barefoot, Eliza took a deep breath.
It was spring, but the dawn air, just before sunrise, was still chilly.
Breathing in the early morning spring air, Eliza opened her eyes.
A vast expanse of nature unfolded before her.
Though called the garden of the Summoning Department's dormitory, this place was, to be precise, one of the islands in Lake Lumeria.
It was originally one of the islands off-limits to students.
This place had been assigned as the dormitory's garden.
The Summoning Department wasn't the only one with such a space.
The Knight and Magic Departments were also each assigned an island for their gardens.
The assigned islands also had distinct characteristics for each department.
While the Knight Department's island was ideal for training and the Magic Department's was good for magical experiments, the Summoning Department was given a place with a well-tended natural environment.
Summoners were those who lived alongside spirits and phantom beasts, beings of great nature.
As such, an environment where they could feel nature up close and absorb its energy was essential.
It was here that they communed with their summoned creatures and honed their skills as summoners.
And Eliza was one of the Lumerne Summoning Department students who started her day the earliest.
“Oh! Eliza! Good morning!”
“Good morning, Senior Lil.”
Seeing Lil smiling brightly and waving, Eliza gave a slight bow in greeting.
After exchanging greetings with Lil, Eliza walked to one side of the garden.
And there, she began to tend to a cultivated patch of land.
It was a small hobby of Eliza's, who was also a member of the gardening club.
In fact, she had also tended to the garden at the Noblesse Dorm during her second year.
“Ooh…! So that was your vegetable patch, Eliza!”
“A vege… patch?”
Lil exclaimed in admiration as he watched Eliza tending the soil.
“What kind of crops are you going to grow?”
Lil's eyes sparkled.
“I'm planning to make it a flowerbed, not a vegetable patch.”
“What? A flowerbed? You mean you're going to grow flowers?”
“Yes.”
“Miss Eliza? Flowers?”
“What's that supposed to mean?”
Seeing Eliza suddenly bristle, Lil became flustered.
“But you can't eat flowers, can you? Wouldn't crops be more efficient?”
Eliza felt a throbbing in her head.
‘This is why people from military families…’
Witnessing this typical behavior of someone from a military family who overemphasized efficiency, Eliza said.
“It's a hobby.”
“A fine hobby.”
“Leo Flove, I never thought I'd see eye-to-eye with you on something.”
“Though it doesn't suit you.”
“You really…!”
Her eyes flashing, Eliza turned her head and was startled.
“S-Sir?”
“Wait a minute, where did you pop out from!”
Even Lil, who rarely batted an eye at anything, stared at Leo with utter surprise.
“My room has a door that can lead anywhere inside the dorms.”
The door in the student council president's room teleports you to a random location if you open it without thinking.
But Leo had confirmed through experimentation that if he opened it while thinking of a destination, he could go wherever he wanted.
“Ooh! The authority of the student council president, I see.”
“How convenient… Wait. It can go anywhere?”
Eliza's face hardened.
“Don't tell me it can go into bathrooms or other people's rooms?”
“Nah. Even for Lumerne, they wouldn't go that far….”
“You know it too, Senior. This school is more than capable of something like that.”
“…”
Lumerne was one of the world's top educational institutions, but it was also a school that occasionally demonstrated a mad, chaotic management style to match.
“Don't worry, I have no intention of misusing it for strange purposes.”
“This school really is crazy.”
Eliza looked dumbfounded.
She considered protesting to the school immediately, but knowing it would be utterly useless, Eliza let out a small sigh.
‘Leo Flove. He's certainly not the type to do anything insidious.’
Having struggled so hard with him as her target, Eliza understood the kind of person Leo was quite well.
And because of that, she also had a certain amount of trust in him.
“Anyway, Sir. What brings you here at this ungodly hour before the sun has even risen?”
“I have business with Eliza.”
“With me?”
Eliza crossed her arms, a look of confusion on her face.
“Yes. I've received a request.”
“And?”
“I want to put you in the party.”
“Who's the client?”
“Demian.”
“…”
Eliza's expression turned slightly grave.
Lil, who was listening, had a similar reaction.
Hearing that the request came from Demian, both of them intuited that this was a major incident.
“Sir. Do you not require my help?”
“You're about to leave for a mission yourself, aren't you?”
“Ugh! I wanted to be of service to you, Sir!”
Lil looked slightly frustrated.
“Let's hear the details.”
“Alright. Let's go to my room now.”
“To your room?”
“Yes. We leave tomorrow.”
“I see, so we only have one day to prepare. But it's still after curfew, isn't it? Leaving the dorm at this hour is against the rules.”
“Rules are meant to be broken, aren't they?”
“Hmph.”
Eliza scoffed.
“Lil. Keep this a secret.”
“Of course!”
Lil clenched his fist and nodded.
Leo opened the garden door, then took a step back from it.
Eliza stepped inside.
*Fwoosh-!*
Her vision shifted, and Eliza found herself in a vast, stark-feeling room.
“Sit on the sofa and wait. I'll go get the others.”
The reason Leo brought Eliza first was simple.
Among the third-years, Eliza woke up the earliest.
Sitting on the sofa with her arms and legs crossed and her eyes closed, Eliza waited for the other party members to gather.
A short while later, Chelsea appeared with Leo.
“Chelsea, wait here for a bit.”
“Okay!”
After Leo disappeared, Chelsea looked at Eliza and spoke.
“What's this, Eliza?”
“Do you have a problem with it?”
“Not really.”
Chelsea sat down lightly on the sofa.
“If you and I were chosen as party members, the next one must be that guy, right?”
“Yes. It could only be him.”
Having predicted the party member Leo would choose, Chelsea and Eliza waited for him to return.
But when time passed with no sign of him, they looked puzzled.
*Creek-*
“What is this~? I need my sleep. Who drags a lady out at this ungodly hour? Can't you tell me later?”
“Quiet, Iliana Raden.”
Iliana's whining and Duran's irritated voice could be heard.
Leo, who entered behind the two, closed the door.
Duran, dressed in training clothes as if he'd been in the middle of his morning workout, grabbed Iliana by the scruff of her neck and headed for the sofa.
“What? Why Iliana?”
“An impurity has been mixed in.”
Chelsea leaned against the sofa with wide eyes, while Eliza narrowed her brows.
*Toss-!*
Duran casually tossed Iliana next to Chelsea and plopped down on the opposite sofa.
“Don't ask me. It was Leo Flove's choice.”
At Duran's words, Chelsea nodded and settled onto the sofa.
“Sorry for calling you all out so early in the morning.”
“Just get to the request details, Leo Flove.”
When Duran immediately asked for the main point, Leo scratched his cheek.
“First, I think we need to wake Iliana up.”
Seeing Iliana dozing off, her head bobbing, Duran snapped his fingers.
*Crackle-*
Iliana's eyes flew open.
Her hair standing on end as if from static electricity, Iliana looked around with wide-awake eyes.
It was a delicate electric shock, just enough to clear her mind.
‘Hoh? When did he become able to control his power to this extent?’
Leo marveled inwardly at Duran's fine control over his aura.
Amidst this, Leo spoke.
“They say the frequency of monster appearances has recently increased in the region bordering Tartaros in the eastern part of the continent. Demian dispatched an investigation team to look into it.”
Leo explained the details of the request.
“So it's a reconnaissance mission to confirm the survival of the investigators and the presence of a Hero Dungeon?”
Leo nodded in response to Chelsea's question.
“Right. That's why I chose you guys, who have good mobility, as party members.”
“I get all that, but why did you pick Iliana Raden?”
“Because I'm faster than you all, of course!”
Iliana, now fully awake, said as if it were obvious.
“Hoh?”
As Duran flashed a dangerously belligerent smile, Iliana quickly hid behind Leo.
“I chose these members because I believe this is the best team.”
Indeed, these four boasted the best mobility among the third-years.
“So, what will you do?”
“Hmph. Is there any reason not to go?”
“It will be a good experience.”
Duran and Eliza answered immediately.
“Of course I'm going!”
Chelsea also nodded as if it were a given.
“Huhu. The class president needs me, so of course I have to go!”
‘If I play my cards right, I might be able to rack up mission points for free. Hehehe.’
Although Iliana wore a slightly insidious smile, she readily nodded her agreement.
“Alright. Then everyone, take today to prepare for the mission.”
Lumerne students had to go through several procedures to go on a mission.
First, since they would be absent from class, they had to write a request for leave, if only for future make-up sessions.
After that came preparing the supplies needed for the mission.
“Leo, if we're moving as a party unit, we have to write a party name. What should we put?”
Chelsea asked while filling out the form.
“Is it okay if I decide?”
“Hmph. You formed the party, so you decide.”
At those words, Leo glanced at the coat rack in the corner of the room.
He looked for a moment at the black cloak hanging there, then opened his mouth.
“Arhi. Write the party name as Arhi.”
At his words, Chelsea's eyes widened.
“This means 'beginning' in the draconic tongue, right? Come to think of it, Class President, you said you were going to change the name of the country you're inheriting to this, too, right? So you've decided to push forward with this as the party name as well?”
“It's not for that reason.”
Chelsea shook her head.
“Huh?”
“Arhi was the party name of the Great Heroes led by Lord Lisinas.”
“What?”
At Chelsea's words, Iliana's eyes went wide.
Duran and Eliza also looked surprised, not having known this fact.
“Chelsea, how do you know that?”
“That's…”
“Lady Luna told me when she came to this world before.”
It was Leo who answered instead.
“The Great Heroes' party name was Arhi.”
At Leo's words, Duran's expression turned serious.
“Are we allowed to use such a name so carelessly?”
Using the party name of the heroes of old was tantamount to declaring they would inherit their will.
And to those living in the present, the Great Heroes were a kind of sacred ground.
They, hero candidates who had yet to even take their first steps as heroes, hesitated, wondering if they dared use that name.
It wasn't just Duran; Eliza and Iliana felt the same.
Looking at them, Leo said.
“I've already gotten permission, so it's fine. But if you're still concerned.”
Leo looked at his party members.
“We just have to become heroes worthy of that name as quickly as possible.”
“…”
After Leo's words, the four, who had been silent, wrote the party name in the blank space with determined expressions.
Before they knew it, the sky was beginning to lighten.
Leo gazed at the sunlight pouring in through the window and murmured.
‘It all starts now.’
The same brilliant sunlight as the morning rays he had barely managed to reclaim in the past.
‘Your will. I will be sure to pass it on to the next generation.’