Chapter 707
Chapter 707
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 707
Chapter Title: A Midnight Game
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707.
*Clack-!*
Training swords, reinforced for practice, crossed.
It was a daily sight in the garden assigned to the Knight Department’s dormitory.
Besides sparring, the garden was bustling with students training their bodies.
“To build up your traps, you have to train like this!”
Amidst the activity, members of The Power, a club composed solely of Knight Department students, were actively helping the first-year male students with their training.
“This sculpted physique! Isn't it magnificent?”
Meret, a fifth-year Knight Department student, flashed a grin as he showed off his bicep.
Seeing this, the first-year male students looked on with envy.
“If you train, you can all become like me! For a Knight Department student, physical training is essential! And with a body like this, you’ll be popular with the female students too! Anyone want to join our club?”
“Me, me!”
“I want to join!”
The first-year boys raised their hands one after another.
Watching from a distance, Celia quietly asked Niel.
“Niel, has Senior Meret ever had a girlfriend?”
“He has not.”
“Then isn’t that just fraud?”
“It’s not exactly fraud. Thanks to Meret’s guidance, quite a few male students have successfully gotten girlfriends.”
“That’s a bit sad.”
“I’m not so sure. They reap what they sow. The leaders of The Power club have historically had nothing but muscles for brains.”
Niel shook her head lightly, gazing at the prisoner of pectorals.
Having finished her sparring session, Celia unzipped her sweat-soaked tracksuit.
She rehydrated, pulling at the collar of her top to let some air in.
But soon, as if that wasn’t enough, she began flapping the hem with both hands.
Niel, noticing the occasional glimpse of a slender stomach, frowned and grabbed the edge of Celia’s shirt.
“Young Lady, there are too many eyes watching.”
“Oops.”
It was a natural reaction to the heat.
Celia straightened her clothes.
Of course, no one was openly staring just because they could see something.
And certainly, no one was sneaking furtive glances.
This was the student whom Niel, the top-performing fifth-year in the Knight Department, served as her lord.
It was obvious that getting caught peeking would make their school life miserable.
“Everyone’s working so hard, though.”
Celia looked out over the garden as she drank her water.
This place was, in a word, a training ground.
Every night.
This was how the Knight Department students spent their time, with passionate individual training and sparring.
The reason was simple.
It was an atmosphere that had formed naturally as the upperclassmen and top students began training.
“Ugh! I hate this kind of atmosphere!”
Just then, Iliana approached, grumbling.
Fanning herself with her hand as if she had just sparred with Chen Xia, Iliana pouted.
“It’s not even summer yet, but we have to be drenched in sweat like this every day? It's not like we're doing some kind of moonlit exercise routine!”
Celia clicked her tongue at Iliana’s complaints.
“It’s voluntary, anyway. If you don’t like it, just rest.”
“Then Xia will just drag me out!”
This training atmosphere had formed while Iliana was away on a mission.
Even so, it wasn't mandatory, so she could rest in the evening if she wanted to.
But Chen Xia wouldn’t allow Iliana to rest comfortably.
‘Young Master Leo asked me to look after Lady Iliana.’
“That’s because you’re lazy. You brought this on yourself.”
“You class president’s lackey!”
Iliana grumbled at Chen Xia, who was approaching at that moment.
Chen Xia just smiled sweetly at her.
“Whoa! Whoa! What’s that?”
“Gasp! Isn’t that a Pegasus?”
“I’ve never seen one before!”
A commotion erupted among the first-years.
“What? What’s going on?”
Iliana’s eyes sparkled as she ran toward the source of the noise.
In front of the small spring in the garden, a Pegasus was drinking water.
“It’s Young Master Leo’s Pegasus. Why is it here?”
Iliana approached the Pegasus.
“It’s dangerous to approach it carelessly.”
As Celia frowned, Iliana scoffed and laughed.
“I’ve seen the class president’s Pegasus a few times. And they say Pegasi are friendly to beautiful girls.”
Iliana flicked her hair back with a flourish.
“There’s no way a Pegasus like that would threaten me, right?”
With those words, she confidently walked toward the Pegasus. Celia turned to Chen Xia.
“Isn’t that just a myth?”
“It is.”
At that answer, Celia crossed her arms with a look of pity.
Meanwhile, Iliana, having reached Arty, cautiously extended her hand.
“Here, boy.”
At her words, Arty, who had been drinking, walked over to Iliana.
“Wow! Could I have a talent for being a summoner?”
Iliana’s eyes lit up as Arty was more friendly than she expected.
‘Should I try riding it?’
Ever since she was a child, Iliana had dreamed of riding a Pegasus.
Normally, she wouldn’t dare, but this was Leo’s summon.
‘It’s so gentle. And if anything happens, the class president will come to help, right?’
He might even be nearby.
And so, Iliana fearlessly climbed onto Arty’s back.
The other students were horrified.
“Hey! You can’t just ride a Pegasus like—!”
“Ta-da! Look at this!”
Contrary to their expectation that it would get angry, Arty docilely let Iliana on its back, leaving everyone stunned.
The three great mythical beasts were known for their pride.
Pegasi, in particular, hated being ridden by anyone they didn't acknowledge.
While everyone was surprised by the unexpected situation, the reckless perpetrator, Iliana, wore a smug expression.
Then, she noticed a necklace around Arty’s neck.
“What’s this?”
She pulled on the necklace, and at its end hung a bonus point stamp.
“Why is this here?”
The moment Iliana voiced her confusion, Arty kicked off the ground and began to charge into the middle of the Knight Department students.
“Gah!”
Caught off guard, Iliana tumbled off Arty’s back.
“What the—!”
“A Pegasus?!”
“Why is it here?!”
The training grounds descended into chaos as Arty ran around like a wild colt.
But it was only for a moment.
The faces of the fleeing Knight Department students soon turned fierce.
“Hey! Get it!”
“Catch that Pegasus!”
The fourth and fifth-years started chasing Arty.
‘Aah! They’re all chasing me with such scary faces!’
Arty galloped toward the forest, a blissful expression on its face.
‘They’re chasing me to catch me! What will happen if I get caught!’
Its fantasies running wild, Arty, having turned the Knight Department grounds into a mess, disappeared into the forest.
The Knight Department students, having barely managed to chase Arty out of their territory, stood there with dumbfounded expressions.
The commotion was over, but they couldn't make sense of what had just happened.
“What in the world was that?!”
***
*Rumble-rumble-rumble-!*
On a weekend night.
Despite it being after curfew, upperclassmen from each department left their dormitories and headed for the central hall.
“What seems to be the matter?”
Melina, the dormitory supervisor on duty tonight, asked with a sweet smile.
It was already a well-known fact that Melina was a Dragon Lord.
Because of this, there were few students who could confidently make demands of her.
“We just have something to discuss with the student council president.”
One of those few students was Elena.
She replied with a gentle smile, then looked up at the ceiling and said.
“Leo! You’re listening, right? Let’s talk!”
At her words, Leo materialized from thin air.
*Thud-!*
Landing lightly on the floor, Leo smiled and asked.
“Seniors, are you having a good night?”
“Thanks to a certain someone, we’re having a *very* good night.”
Elena retorted sarcastically, the corner of her mouth curling up.
From the Summoning Department, Runba stepped forward.
“Leo. Someone cleaned out our dorm’s snack supply, and we found this.”
Runba opened his palm, revealing a red feather.
“The same goes for the Magic Department. Thanks to your fairies, our dormitory is a complete mess. And just to be clear, I can be quite a troublemaker myself, but I don’t go around harassing people on a department-wide scale.”
Elena said in a chilling voice.
Following her, Meret from the Knight Department stepped up.
“Your Pegasus trashed the Knight Department’s training grounds! The damages from that are no joke!”
Seeing Meret, who looked like he had lost everything and was on the verge of tears, Leo’s expression turned a little serious.
‘That Arty. Did it cause more damage than I thought?’
“Today was leg day! Now I can’t do my—.”
“You, step back.”
Niel grabbed Meret by the scruff of his neck and pulled him back.
Tak-on stepped forward in his place.
“I think you owe us an explanation. The reason your summons went on a rampage.”
At that, Leo spoke with an expression that suggested it was no big deal.
“I’m starting a game.”
“A game?”
“Yes. From now on, my summons will be roaming around at night.”
Leo grinned.
“Did you happen to see that my summons were carrying stamps?”
“We did.”
“Those of you who catch my summons can stamp them for yourselves.”
The students looked surprised at his words.
“Naturally, the more you catch them, the higher your chances of winning the inter-department competition.”
“How are we supposed to catch your summons?”
“Whether you use a butterfly net or a snare, do as you please. They’ll resist to avoid having their stamps taken, but they won’t attack you.”
After saying that, Leo snapped his fingers.
On the central hall wall, the emblems of each dormitory appeared, followed by a scoreboard.
“Currently, the Summoning Department is in first place.”
The Knight Department was in second.
The Magic Department was a close third.
Seeing this, the students began to murmur amongst themselves.
Just then, Elena narrowed her eyes and asked.
“The summons will appear outside the dormitories as well, right?”
“Yes.”
“And the curfew?”
“It still applies.”
“So, you’re saying that from today until the midterm exams are over, we’re supposed to evade the professors to go around catching your summons?”
“I never said to break the rules.”
“It’s not a crime if you don’t get caught, right?”
Leo grinned at her words.
“Anything else?”
“I’ve hidden problems all over the dormitories.”
“Problems?”
“Yes. You can also earn points by solving them.”
“This sounds just like a game.”
“That’s why I said it. The game is starting.”
Leo shrugged.
“Additionally, if you defeat a student from another department during curfew, that’s also bonus points.”
At those words, the students from different departments looked at each other.
Leo’s meaning was simple.
At night, the dormitories would become a lawless zone.
He was literally pushing them to fight each other.
Seeing the tense atmosphere, Leo handed out flags embroidered with each department’s emblem.
“Keep these safe.”
“Why?”
“The department whose flag is stolen will be eliminated.”
“Wait, does that mean—.”
“We can invade other dormitories?”
Leo nodded in response.
‘That means there’s a way to invade.’
The students’ expressions turned serious.
“Lastly, regardless of the department rankings, we will be selecting an MVP for each year level. The chosen MVPs will become the year representatives.”
At that, Niel raised her hand.
“Yes, Senior Niel.”
“The MVP is selected based on who acquires the most points, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Then, besides being the year representative, is there a prize for the overall first-place winner?”
For the fifth-years, the position of year representative was no longer a major concern.
The student most likely to take first place was Elena, after all.
‘Or perhaps Lil, the fourth-year from the Summoning Department who’s currently away on a mission.’
As the upperclassmen shared this common thought, Leo said.
“I’ll grant you one wish, within my power to do so.”
“A wish?”
Elena’s eyes sparkled.
“This should be fun.”
Leo chuckled at Elena’s smirk and said.
“That’s all the announcements.”
Leo checked the clock.
There were just about ten minutes left in the day.
Leo grinned.
“The game begins the moment it strikes midnight.”