Chapter 706
Chapter 706
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 706
Chapter Title: A Not-So-Peaceful Weekend
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706.
Karl sat under a parasol in the Clock Tower dormitory garden, enjoying the warm spring weekend with a relaxed expression.
“It’s so peaceful.”
“I know, right? I thought for sure the class president would have us stuck in the mountains all weekend.”
Iliana nodded in agreement, sipping the milk tea from the garden's outdoor café.
It was pure bliss, just enjoying the weekend like this.
Watching the two, Nella asked with a puzzled look.
“The other Magic Department kids are busy preparing for tomorrow's lecture. You two seem pretty relaxed.”
At her question, Chelsea, who was sitting to one side, smiled.
“I don't need to prepare.”
As one of the top third-year students in the Magic Department, alongside Chloe and Abad, Chelsea was full of confidence.
Karl was confident for a different reason.
“Hmph. It's not like you can prepare for Professor Ren's class anyway.”
Iliana nodded, chiming in.
“That's right, that's right. You just have to power through it with spirit.”
“I don't think that's it.”
Tade interjected, but Iliana paid him no mind.
The five of them, currently enjoying snacks at the outdoor café, had been in the same class during their first year.
They had been close friends since their first year and remained so even after moving up a grade.
The five of them passed the time playing a board game that had recently become popular on campus.
Chelsea, about to roll the dice in her hand, glanced at the Clock Tower and muttered.
“It's almost lunchtime.”
“You're right. What should we eat?”
“Chelsea, you brought up lunch, so you decide what we're eating.”
At that, Chelsea rolled the dice, lost in thought.
A large, troll-shaped piece on the game board moved the number of spaces shown on the dice, approaching Karl's wizard piece.
And it tried to smash Karl's piece with a giant club.
“Nice try.”
Karl gave a scornful look and played a card from his hand, successfully defending against the attack.
The game the five were playing was a type of labyrinth escape game, where they had to evade a chaser.
As her attack was nullified, Chelsea frowned and said.
“Want to get sandwiches?”
“No, I had one for breakfast.”
Iliana said flatly.
Meanwhile, Karl's piece escaped.
Chelsea rolled the dice again.
The troll's next target was Iliana, who was nearby.
“Ah! Stay away! Stay away!”
Iliana shrieked.
The wooden game board thumped as the giant club was about to finish off Iliana's piece.
Iliana took out a card.
“Hey! How do you have that card!”
Chelsea looked annoyed, and Iliana cackled.
Even at Lumerne, where the world's greatest talents gathered, the way they spent their weekends wasn't so different from others their age.
In fact, this kind of ordinary rest was a culture highly emphasized at Lumerne.
With a sullen expression, Chelsea chose a menu item.
“Let's get Southern desert cuisine.”
“No. I've had it too many times, I'm sick of it.”
Iliana rejected it again.
“How about Shan Empire cuisine?”
“Hmm? That sounds good.”
“Ah. I'm not really feeling that.”
Just as Iliana looked tempted, this time Karl objected.
After that, Karl and Iliana shot down every menu suggestion Chelsea made.
Chelsea's face crumpled as she said.
“Fine, you guys pick then.”
“Aw, you can't even decide on that?”
“Yeah, and you're the honor student who doesn't even need to prepare for class.”
“Because you two keep saying no to everything I suggest!”
“Okay! I won't complain next time.”
“Let's just get whatever. Anything.”
Hearing the two of them, Chelsea clenched her fists.
Veins popped on her small fists.
“How about traditional food from the southern Rodren region?”
At Chelsea's words, Karl and Iliana looked at each other, then shook their heads in unison.
“I'm really not in the mood for that today.”
“Yeah. Something else!”
Crash—!
Chelsea flew up and delivered a dropkick straight to their faces.
The table overturned, and Karl and Iliana went tumbling to the ground.
Nella and Tade, having anticipated this, had already secured the café's tableware and stepped back.
Chelsea stomped on the two of them repeatedly, growling.
“You decide! You!”
The screams of Karl and Iliana echoed.
“I knew this would happen.”
Tade clicked his tongue, apologizing to the café staff as he handed over the tableware.
Nella crouched down to clean up the overturned board game.
Then she let out a dry laugh.
Chelsea's troll was beating Karl's and Iliana's pieces with its club.
***
“By the way, is Leo really busy?”
Nella, who had come to the restaurant for lunch, asked Karl with a curious expression.
Rubbing a cold potion bottle against his face, Karl nodded.
“Yeah. He said he had some things to think about this weekend, so he's a bit busy.”
Hearing that, Tade frowned.
“When that guy Leo says he's busy, it makes me nervous for some reason.”
“Huh? Why?”
Iliana tilted her head, a fork in her mouth.
They were currently at a traditional restaurant serving food from the southern Rodren region.
Watching Iliana humming while she ate, Chelsea clenched her fist tightly.
Tade sighed at the carefree Iliana.
“Because I get the feeling he's up to something.”
At Tade's words, Nella rested her chin on her hand.
“It is a little worrying. Leo can be unpredictable sometimes.”
If you were to ask if Leo was an honor student, everyone would nod.
He wasn't the top of the department in every subject.
But in practical exams—that is, evaluations related to a hero's aptitude—Leo was overwhelming.
Based on that overwhelming skill, he not only became the youngest student council president but also achieved the rank of Hero in the shortest time in Lumerne's history.
If someone like that wasn't an honor student, then who was?
The problem was that Leo wasn't a *perfect* honor student.
Leo broke school rules too.
Of course, he never got caught, so he was never punished.
But breaking minor school rules wasn't the issue.
Leo's problem was the incidents he caused out of the blue.
And they were large-scale incidents, on a whole other level.
As if to prove that he was powerful enough to sway the entire department's schedule.
From the students' perspective, he had caused incidents that were nothing short of disasters.
A prime example was when he suddenly planned the Festival of Heroes last year.
A major incident he orchestrated as soon as the de facto decision-maker of the student council, Vice President Hark, handed over authority to Elena.
That event was still strongly etched in the minds of all students except the first-years.
“Hey. Chelsea, Karl, Iliana. You guys just went on a mission with Leo, right? Did you notice anything suspicious?”
The three of them shook their heads.
“We were busy with the mission.”
At Chelsea's answer, Tade scratched his head vigorously.
“Ah. I really have a bad feeling about this.”
“Aren't you being a little too sensitive?”
Chelsea said, poking a piece of food with her fork.
“You think so?”
Tade tilted his head.
“Yeah, yeah. It's not like the class president is a troublemaker.”
Iliana still responded nonchalantly.
Just then, Nella stared intently at Karl.
“Karl?”
At her word, everyone's eyes turned to Karl.
Seeing Karl, who had stopped eating and wore a serious expression, Tade sucked in a breath.
“Hey. Why are you making me nervous?”
“No. There wasn't anything strange about Leo.”
“Then isn't that fine?”
“But when I went to the student council room this morning, Senior Elena's mood was a little strange.”
“Senior Elena? Why?”
“How should I put it... she seemed strangely on edge?”
“Is it anything new for that selfish witch to make everyone's life difficult with her temper? I think you're overreacting.”
Iliana said nonchalantly.
At that moment, the other four's gazes shifted to a spot behind Iliana.
“…”
After a moment of silence, Iliana asked with a tearful face.
“She's behind me right now, isn't she?”
The four of them nodded.
“Who, I wonder, is this 'witch'?”
“Hiiiek?!”
Iliana freaked out at the sound of Elena's soft voice right next to her ear.
Elena smiled, placing her hands gently on Iliana's shoulders.
“Oh, don't be so scared. I'm well aware my nickname is 'witch.' Plenty of underclassmen actually call me that. It's not a huge offense.”
“Ahahaha. Right? Senior Elena, you're as generous as the ocean.”
Iliana said, eagerly rubbing her hands together.
In response, Elena added.
“Yes. It's not a huge offense... when you don't get caught.”
“…”
The color drained from Iliana's face.
A moment later.
Elena, sitting atop Iliana who was now a human chair on the floor, took an elegant sip of the tea that came with dessert and spoke.
“It's true that Leo is up to something.”
At her words, Chelsea looked puzzled.
“What is it?”
“If I knew, do you think I'd be this on edge?”
With a sullen expression, Elena poured a heap of sugar into her tea.
Karl, knowing she ate sweets when stressed, scratched his head.
Seeing Elena like this, Nella wore a look of confusion.
“But last year, you knew in advance that Leo was planning the Festival of Heroes, didn't you, Senior Elena?”
“That's because he needed my cooperation, so he told me beforehand.”
Stirring the sugar into her tea with a flick of her spoon, Elena narrowed her eyes.
“That man is definitely plotting to drag me down into the pit of chaos with him.”
At Elena's words, the other students' faces grew serious.
After all, Elena knew Leo's work as student council president better than anyone.
As such, her words carried significant weight.
“Can't you stop him?”
Tade asked in a desperate voice, and Elena clicked her tongue.
“Leo is the student council president. What can I do?”
She may be called the Queen and Witch of Lumerne.
But there was nothing she could do when it came to Leo.
“I just have to do as I'm told.”
Watching Elena pout, the third-years clutched their heads.
***
That evening.
The beginning of the problem started in a truly petty way.
The rumor that the student council president, Leo, was plotting something spread throughout the Clock Tower dormitory in an instant.
“The student council president is a very heroic person. I'm sure it's nothing, right, sister?”
Ferena Hergin asked with a puzzled look.
At her younger sister's question, Eliza clicked her tongue.
“Ferena, take my advice. Don't trust that man too much. He's got a black heart.”
With a look of incomprehension at Eliza's clear distrust of Leo, Ferena opened her personal locker in the dormitory.
And her face stiffened.
“W-what is this!”
Seeing Ferena let out a shocked scream, Eliza looked over, confused.
“Why?”
“My snacks are gone!”
The snacks she had prepared to enjoy with her beloved older sister for the first time in a while had all vanished.
“Are you sure you didn't misremember?”
“No way! I'll never forgive whoever did this…”
Ferena's face twisted with rage.
At that moment.
Cries of injustice rang out from all over the Summoning Department dormitory.
The common complaint was that all their snacks had disappeared.
The incident wasn't limited to the Summoning Department dormitory.
“What is this!”
A scream echoed from the Magic Department dormitory.
“Who scribbled on the wall!”
“Who used my magical formula solutions for origami!”
“Huh? This isn't the grimoire I was reading.”
Hearing the bewildered and angry shouts of the Magic Department students, Elena, who was doing her homework in her room, narrowed her eyes.
She went out to the common room.
Looking at the dormitory common room, which had become a crucible of chaos, Elena's eyes flashed.
She threw the quill pen in her hand toward her desk.
Thwack—!
A fairy, approaching the inkwell right in front of Elena's homework, met her gaze.
The fairy, which had a stamp hanging around its neck, quickly opened the window and fled.
She rushed over and threw open the window, but the fairy was nowhere to be seen.
*‘…That fairy. I'm sure that was one of Leo's summons, wasn't it?’*