Chapter 123

123.

The morning of the day for departure to Rumelia City.

A visitor came to the Flove family.

“Hnnnngg… Big Brother Leo, good morning.”

“What? Why are you here, Chelsea?”

“Huh?”

Chelsea, who had been yawning, suddenly woke up and widened her eyes.

Then she noticed Celia talking with Leo and crossed her arms.

“Obviously, I came to play at Big Brother Leo’s house!”

“Leo, how long has she been here?”

“About a month?”

“A month? She’s so shameless!”

“What’s it to you? Bea-”

“Here!”

Seeing the two girls bickering as soon as they met, Leo clicked his tongue.

“When are you two going to grow up?”

The two girls often met because of Leo, but they still disliked each other.

“Mother, Celia has come.”

“Ack! Aunt!”

Celia ran to Reina and bowed her head.

“Good morning. How have you been?”

“Yes. What brings you here so early?”

“We’re going to Rumelia City together.”

“Really? Have you eaten breakfast yet?”

“Not yet.”

“In that case, let’s have breakfast.”

“Yes!”

During breakfast.

Celia, who had not spoken to Reina in a while, noticed Chelsea actively participating in the conversation with a friendly manner and opened her eyes wide.

She elbowed Leo.

“What.”

“Seems like you and Chelsea are quite close with Aunt.”

“Chelsea is naturally good with people and gets along well with adults. Mother has wanted a daughter for a while, so she seems to like Chelsea a lot.”

“Hmph. That wily one.”

Celia gave Chelsea a side-eye.

“You said you’d come visit during the break, but you never did.”

“I was busy with family matters, but it’s related to you, so I’ll tell you later.”

“Alright.”

After breakfast, Leo came out to the entrance carrying his luggage.

He greeted Reina and Deid who had come to see him off.

“I’m leaving now.”

“Alright, come back safely.”

“Take care of your health and study hard.”

“Yes.”

After Leo finished his goodbye, Chelsea bowed her head.

“Lord Duke Flove, Lady Reina. I’ve been a bother for a month. It was really fun!”

“Hehehe, it was fun for us too. Come visit again.”

“Yes! I’ll definitely visit during winter break!”

“Aunt, I’ll also visit during the break.”

“Yes. Send greetings to your brother and Giese. And tell Ris to finish his graduation preparations well.”

“Yes.”

With the goodbyes done, the three got onto the same carriage and left the mansion.

On the way to Delan’s Warp Gate, Celia asked.

“Well, Leo, did you finish all of your vacation homework?”

“Of course.”

“Not just knightsmanship, but you had to complete wizardry and summoning too. It must have been hard, right?”

“It wasn’t.”

“Huh. You, it’s fine.”

“Did you finish all of yours?”

“Of course. Though I did suffer a bit because of the special activity assignment.”

“That was tricky for me too.”

Chelsea grumbled.

The special activity assignment.

Literally, it’s about having a special experience during the vacation and writing a report based on that experience.

“Big Brother Leo should be fine.”

“Really? What did you do during the break?”

“I attended Azonia’s enrollment ceremony.”

“Whaat?”

Celia widened her eyes in surprise.

“Wasn’t Aron’s page attacked during this year’s Azonia enrollment ceremony? Did you actually see that?”

“I not only saw it but was involved, but I shouldn’t say more than that.”

“How did you even attend the enrollment ceremony?”

“My mother had an old admission recommendation for Azonia. Thanks to that, I could attend. Though I met Professors Ain and Yura and had to return halfway through.”

“It must’ve been fun?”

Celia’s face lit up with envy.

Every student of Azonia was an outstanding warrior.

That’s why Leo, who had competed with Azonia’s candidate students, was enviable.

“Still, it’s impressive how many talented students are there, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Among them, Ar stood out as a bit special.”

“Ah, you’re talking about Ar Tune, the top student of this year’s Azonia admissions?”

Celia’s eyes sparkled.

“I’d like to test her skills once.”

As Celia flared with competitiveness, eyes sparkling with a fiery red, Leo leaned his chin and reminisced about Ar.

‘I wonder how she’s doing?’

As they conversed, the carriage carrying the three arrived at the Warp Gate.

People working at the Warp Gate saw them and gasped in shock.

“Wait, isn’t that Lumern’s uniform?”

“The boy is Leo Flove, but who are the girls?”

“Huh? Isn’t that Celia Zerdinger and Chelsea LeWalyn?”

Since the Delan’s enrollment ceremony happened six months ago, quite a few people remembered Celia and Chelsea’s faces.

After completing the gate usage procedures and approaching the attendant, he visibly tensed.

One of the Lumern grade representatives and daughters of the renowned hero family.

Having such a notable trio of Hero Candidates in one place made the attendant naturally nervous.

“Let me confirm your names. Sir Leo Flove, Lady Celia Zerdinger, Lady Chelsea LeWalyn, am I correct?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you. Please step up to the Warp Gate. I’ll activate it.”

The three boarded the Warp Gate heading to Rumelia City.

Flash!

In a bright flash, the scenery changed before their eyes in an instant.

Arriving at the Warp Gate bustling with people, Leo stepped out of the gate building and outside was the vast Lumern Lake stretched out.

“It feels like it’s been an awfully long time since I’ve seen this in two months.”

Celia swept her hair with the wind and smiled wryly.

“Miss Chelsea!”

At that moment, a young man in a wizard robe approached Chelsea.

“Lord Lewin!”

“Did you enjoy your vacation?”

“Of course.”

Lewin from the LeWalyn family, as a wizard, politely greeted Chelsea and then bowed to both Leo and Celia.

“My name is Lewin Frampt.”

“It’s been a while, Lord Frampt.”

“It’s been a while, Lady Celia.”

Lewin Frampt was a noted figure even in the empire, and he had met Celia before.

“I’ve been asked to escort you to Lord Vice.”

“Alright. I should head to the dorm first.”

“Alright. Let’s meet before then, if possible. If not, see you at the start of school.”

“Alright! I’ll go ahead!”

“Go on ahead! Hee hee.”

“Hmph!”

As Celia waved her hand and spoke, Chelsea stuck out her tongue and left with Lewin.

“She’s getting more and more annoying each day.”

“She’s cute though.”

“I am not cute!”

Celia rolled her eyes and said as they headed toward Kuraçu Street of Rumelia City.

“Let’s head to the dorm for now. Uncle Giese will be coming over this evening. He has something to discuss with you.”

“Something to discuss?”

“Yes. While you were away for the summer holiday, there was a lot of talk about your place within the family.”

Even though Leo, Reina’s son and the inheritor of the Phoenix Breath technique, didn’t have his name officially entered in the Zerdinger clan registry, it’s said that the family’s attitude has greatly changed after his excellent performance in the first semester of first grade.

“Most people agree with officially recognizing you as my cousin.”

Leo proved his worth during the first semester.

Since many countries and powers are carefully observing Leo, the Zerdinger family also needs to act quickly.

Even for a prestigious hero family like Zerdinger, losing someone with the talent of Leo would be a loss.

“However, there’s one issue still under discussion.”

“What issue?”

“About your inheritance rights.”

Celia said seriously, and Leo was surprised.

“Inheritance rights?”

“Yes.”

Currently, the first successor in the Zerdinger family is undoubtedly Ris.

The second successor, holding the next inheritance rights, is Celia.

There are no other official successors after them.

This means that Leo is considered as a contender for the third successor.

It’s not just about being officially recognized as a member of the Zerdinger family.

It literally means gaining power within the Zerdinger clan.

“Well, there’s a lot of opposition, so it’s unsure.”

Celia shrugged.

Then she mischievously smiled at Leo.

“Why? Having a chance at inheritance rights should make you excited right?”

“Like that could happen easily? And even if I did, what’s the point when you and big brother Ris are there?”

“Still, gaining significant authority within the Zerdinger house would be beneficial, right?”

“No interest.”

Upon seeing Leo’s nonchalant expression, Celia let out a hollow laugh.

In the beginning of the year, if she had heard such words, she might have stared at him incredulously.

However, since it’s coming from Leo, it somehow makes sense.

‘This guy is either a large vessel or has no ambition—it’s kind of confusing.’

Celia shook her head and said,

“Anyway, let’s rest at the dorm until Uncle Giese arrives. The preparations for the second semester can start from tomorrow.”

Despite several days remaining until school started, they had arrived in Rumelia City early to shop for the necessary items for the second semester.

“The preparations have increased a lot compared to the first semester. It feels like our proper Lumern life is about to begin.”

Celia mumbled while looking at the supply list and told Leo.

“You’ll also need to prepare magic and summoning skills, so it’ll be a lot of work for you.”

“It won’t be that bad.”

Leo answered while checking his supply list.

The two people arriving at the dorm quickly unpacked their luggage.

After Leo lay down on his bed, Elshi appeared.

“Leo! What is this incredible city?”

“Rumelia City. One of the largest cities in the world.”

“Wow! Incredible!”

Elshi, clinging to the window, expressed her admiration as she viewed the street scenery.

“Want to take a look?”

“Uh… don’t we need to rest?”

“We came here through a warp gate, so there’s no need to rest.”

Smiling mischievously, Leo got up.

After telling Celia that he’d go sightseeing, he headed out into the streets.

With Elshi perched on his shoulder, they explored the vibrant city, completely different from the era 5000 years ago, to their delight.

As Elshi enjoyed the view of the bustling city, Leo also walked leisurely around the streets of Rumelia.

“What? We’re students from Lumern!”

“Yes! Candidate heroes! Why won’t you let us in?”

On one side of the street, chaos broke out.

A group wearing the Lumern uniform stood nearby.

It was a café named “Hero’s Rest.”

Outwardly, it seemed ordinary, but only “Lumern” students and faculty could enter.

In other words, it was a dedicated lounge for students and staff at Lumern located in Rumelia City.

“So, please present your student IDs.”

“I left it behind! I won’t be long! Let me just come in for a while! You know my face, don’t you!”

While the group was getting upset, Leo took a closer look and clicked his tongue.

‘These are the ones advised to withdraw after the final exams.’

They were no longer Lumern students just a few months ago.

Thus, they weren’t allowed into the Hero’s Rest.

People around sighed as if this was something common.

“They must be here to beg the professors for another chance.”

“This kind of thing doesn’t happen only once.”

“But haven’t there been no re-admitted students yet?”

As people discussed around, Leo shook his head when suddenly,

“I’ll force my way through if you don’t move aside!”

A boy, who seemed to be the leader, unleashed an aura of power.

The surrounding people gasped when a voice with an oddly indifferent tone came from somewhere.

“It’s noisy.”

Leo, turning his head to the source of the voice, was amazed.

A man with black hair and dark eyes appeared.

“Lumern doesn’t offer a second chance to those who have been driven out. Accept it and walk your own path. Not all heroes come exclusively from Lumern.”

“Who are you?”

“We haven’t been expelled yet!”

The expelled students bristled.

The man lifted his hand.

Swish!

“Huff!”

In a flash, the expelled students disappeared into the ground.

To be exact, they were sucked into the shadows.

Everyone present widened their eyes as the man murmured disinterestedly.

“Hmph. They say the first-year students did amazing this year, but seeing these reckless, shameless students who’ve dropped out, makes me doubt that… Why did Kalyan call me again?”

Looking at the lethargic man muttering to himself, Leo narrowed his eyes.

He could easily identify who this man was.

‘Dragon.’