Chapter 124

124.

“What did you just do with those kids?”

“Don’t worry. I merely sent them away.”

He nonchalantly replied to the staff member of the Hero’s Shelter who looked bewildered, then briskly turned around.

And then he disappeared into the crowd.

‘Why is a Dragon here?’

Dragon.

The race known as the strongest on the ground.

In the past, they used to reside in various places on the continent, but now, they are rarely seen outside Dragonia, the so-called kingdom of Dragons.

‘There’s a Dragon in Rumelia City.’

Though his interest was momentarily piqued, he decided to let it go almost immediately.

Considering the various incidents in Lumeran over the past six months, it wasn’t odd to think that a Dragon might come to observe the situation.

Afterward, Leo also showed Eliana around Rumelia City.

In the meantime, the situation that had occurred at the Hero’s Shelter played out again.

Students who had withdrawn were often seen pleading with professors for one more chance.

Some of the 1st-year students mocked them, mere days ago their former classmates, as they observed the scene.

The distinction between survivors and those who didn’t make it was becoming starkly clear.

As the sun began to set, they returned to the hotel where a familiar face awaited.

“Uncle Giese.”

“It’s been a long time, Leo. How have you been doing?”

“Yes, I’ve been well.”

Giese, the deputy head of the Zerdinger family, greeted Leo warmly.

In the hotel stood a group of knights who appeared to be from the Zerdinger family.

Since the Zerdinger family had rented out the entire hotel, there were no other guests.

The knights glanced at Leo with curious eyes.

The boy who had become the representative of the first year at Lumeran Academy and had mastered the Phoenix Breath, a skill only bl**d relatives of the Zerdinger family could learn, was someone the knights couldn’t help but take notice of.

“So? What has the family decided?”

Celia asked nervously.

‘She seems more concerned about this than I am.’

Seeing how much attention Celia paid to the matter of succession compared to himself, Leo smirked.

“In summary, it’s been decided that Leo’s eligibility for inheriting will be delayed.”

“Ahh…”

Celia heaved an expression-filled sigh.

“Why?”

Celia looked visibly dissatisfied, which prompted Giese to give a bitter smile.

“Firstly, the family doesn’t truly know what sort of person Leo is.”

“But still, it’s unacceptable! Leo is Reina’s son and possesses more than adequate abilities to be considered part of the main lineage!”

“Decided by the Zerdinger family council—do you think arguing with Uncle Giese is going to resolve this?”

Leo teased Celia as he tapped her forehead.

“Does this mean the decision is just being postponed?”

“Yeah. It seems the family folks want to meet you personally and then make a judgment after assessing.”

“That means…”

“Come visit the Zerdinger family during the winter break.”

“Understood.”

Calmly nodding, Leo glanced at Giese who responded with a small smile.

Celia continued to wear an unsatisfied expression, but realizing that arguing wouldn’t change anything, she refrained from bringing up the subject further.

“For now, don’t worry too much about family matters. What you both need to concentrate on now is the second semester.”

“Yes.”

“It’s going to be quite different from the first.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

As a Lumeran graduate, Giese looked meaningfully at his nieces and nephews.

“From now on, it’s the real Lumeran Academy.”

*

During their stay in Rumelia City, Leo and Celia busied themselves preparing for the new semester.

And on the day of the opening ceremony, students gathered at the dock headed towards Lumeran.

Since docks were divided by grade, there was no chance to meet the upperclassmen.

“Wow! Nice to see you! How was your summer?”

“Good! You’ve put on a little weight, huh?”

“I spent most of my summer at the villa.”

Female students were eagerly chatting away, exchanging stories of their vacations.

“Hmph, I took down a few monsters during the break.”

“Back home, I was bombarded with party invitations. Funny how every unknown noble daughter pretends to know me when at a party.”

“Guess where I went during summer?”

Male students were boasting loudly about their adventures during the holidays.

“Looking at this crowd, it finally feels like school is starting again.”

As Celia was brushing her hair and smiling, a voice called out.

“Leo! Celia!”

“Chloe!”

Far off in the distance, Chloe was waving brightly as she approached.

“Did you enjoy your vacation?”

“Yeah! How about you?”

“It was hectic with family stuff.”

Being the class president and vice president of Class 1, they were particularly close.

“How was it for you, Leo?”

“It was normal. What about you?”

“Normal? Was attending the Azonia Academy opening ceremony normal for you?”

“Attending the Azonia Academy opening ceremony?”

Chloe wore a shocked expression.

“I’ll tell you more later.”

Leo smiled as he replied.

“Yo! Leo! Chloe! Celia!”

At that moment, Kal approached them, smiling.

Seeing Kal, Celia gave a surprised look.

“Isn’t it amazing? I can’t believe Kal survived to this semester.”

“Hmph. All thanks to my skill, right?”

Kal, resting his chin on his hand with a meaningful expression, chuckled.

“But honestly, it’s a bit surprising even to me that I’m still here.”

Kal had worked hard during the first semester, but everyone knew there was always a limit.

To be honest, even Kal felt strange to still be standing where he was.

“Anyway, Leo, the rest of the class is gathered over there. Let’s go.”

“Got it.”

Leo nodded and turned to Celia and Chloe.

“See you in a bit.”

“Alright. Good luck.”

“Ho ho ho ho! In the second semester, we’re going to take the top spot from Class 1!”

As Kal teased while laughing, Celia crossed her arms and gave a disdainful look.

“No way.”

Class 1 and Class 5 had silently developed a strong rivalry due to Sedgen and Halind.

As Leo and Kal approached the area where Class 5 was gathered, female students greeted them from various directions.

“Ah! There’s Leo!”

“Leo, hello~”

—Giggling students greeted him while waving.

Watching the scene, Kal gave a wistful chuckle.

“You’re good at academics and are also popular with the girls?”

“I don’t really notice anything special.”

“Didn’t you rank third in the 1st-year male student popularity vote?”

Kal grumbled.

“What kind of unofficial voting was that?”

“Who conducted it? It was me.”

Kal explained that he had organized a popularity vote among all first-year students while doing business.

“The vote wasn’t official, but it still holds a certain amount of credibility. Hu hu hu.”

“Why did you even organize a survey?”

“I thought about making a photo collection to sell.”

Kal laughed, causing Leo to roll his eyes.

‘But I do wonder about the rankings.’

“Who’s in first place?”

“Abad LeWalyn.”

Abad, not only was he handsome but also consistently kind and gentle to others, naturally had great popularity.

He was also the heir to the illustrious LeWalyn family, known for their heroes.

Skill, looks, personality—there’s nothing lacking in this guy.

“What about second?”

“Durran.”

Wearing an irritated expression, Kal explained.

“Unfortunately, his attitude is rough, but his looks and skills, plus his pride, make him stand out. And most importantly, he’s a prince.”

As a prince of the knight kingdom Moira, though he wasn’t the firstborn, Durran was already pre-nominated as the next king of Moira due to his overwhelming abilities.

“And you came in third, Leo, with a very small margin from Durran.”

“Strange. I didn’t really notice it.”

“That’s expected. Abad and Durran get confessions or letters every week, but you’ve never received anything.”

Kal shrugged.

“Why is that?”

“Think about the people around you.”

“People around me?”

Leo, Kal, and Chelsea were already famous as close friends around school.

So wherever Leo went, Chelsea was mostly there.

Nella, the vice class president of Class 5, was considered one of the top beauties in school.

During class activities, she was always by Leo’s side.

On top of that, Illiana who frequently helped with class matters wasn’t exactly lacking in beauty either.

And besides them, Chloe and Chen Sia, the presidents of other classes, were also very close to Leo.

“Decisively, Celia. It’s a secret, but since you two are cousins, a lot of people think you’re in a relationship.”

Since they’ve been seen together since the entrance ceremony, this thought wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

“That’s why other students avoid approaching you.”

Kal chuckled knowingly.

“How does it feel? Pretty cool to be so popular?”

As Kal nudged his side teasingly, Leo rolled his eyes.

“You’ll skyrocket to first place the moment everyone knows you’re related to Celia through your family connection.”

“I heard that the Zerdinger family plans to reveal it publicly soon.”

“Really? It should be amusing to see the school students’ reactions.”

Kal grinned.

“The underestimation is rather bothersome. Plenty of students subtly look down on you because you’re from a border kingdom. And the gossip still continues.”

Seeing his friend being disrespected, Kal felt indignant.

At that moment, as Leo was about to reply with a smirk, a cheerful voice reached them.

“Oh! There’s the class president!”

Turning around, they saw Illiana waving her hand.

“Leo, how have you been?”

“Come on in, Leo.”

Teid and Nella also warmly greeted him.

Overall, the atmosphere in Class 5 was very positive.

It was only natural since Class 5, along with Class 1, was one of the only two classes out of ten that hadn’t had a single dropout.

Therefore, their unity was bound to be stronger compared to other classes.

The classmates were exchanging greetings and discussing their summer experiences when a voice rang out.

“Such good vibes, so fresh, filled with youth.”

At the sound of the expanded magical voice, all first-year students turned their gazes toward the source.

Standing there was a man with black hair.

“Who’s he? Never seen him before.”

“Is he a professor?”

“No, I don’t think there was such a professor among the first-year faculty.”

All students looked bewildered at the mysterious man.

‘That Dragon from before.’

The man said in a lethargic voice.

“Full of energy and vitality, quite the opposite of just me who’s aged so much. Hmm.”

‘What… is this guy?’

The first-year students were shocked, witnessing what seemed to be a complete lack of enthusiasm accompanied by his complaints.

“Nice to meet you all. My name is Riven. I’m the vice-principal of Lumeran.”

The students widened their eyes.

Riven, the vice-principal of Lumeran.

The professor who had been absent from the academy for the past five years.

Because of this, even the fifth-year students didn’t really know much about the vice-principal.

Hence, when the missing vice-principal suddenly appeared, it was natural for the first-years to be surprised.

Riven pulled out the student roster from his pocket.

“This year, there were a total of 440 new students. Of those, 346 have made it to the second semester.”

That meant 94 students had dropped out.

Although at first glance, it might seem like a lot of students had been expelled, in reality, considering Lumeran’s standards, an unusually large number of students had actually managed to survive.

Every year, around the end of the first semester for first-years, almost 200 students on average were usually forced to withdraw.

Moreover, with the west entrance exam overseen this year by the famous magician Alby, the number of admitted students was smaller than usual.

Considering that, the 94 dropouts were actually a very small number.

“There’s even talk of you being called the ‘Golden Generation.’ I believe you’re all aware.”

With that, the first-years proudly grinned.

“So the principal, Kalyan, personally asked me to oversee the second semester.”

The students started whispering upon hearing Riven’s statement.

“But, well, it’s troublesome.”

He said, with a completely lazy expression.

The students were thrown off.

“You might be extraordinary, I get it, but whether you’re worth teaching? Not sure. So, prove it to me.”

Riven pointed towards Lumeran with his finger.

“From now on, proceed towards Lumeran’s main gate.”

The students looked confused.

Since they had already faced a Kraken attack at the enrollment ceremony, they were prepared for the opening ceremony not to be easy.

But suddenly directing them towards the main gate?

“Warning—this isn’t going to be easy.”

While muttering with a lackluster voice, Riven raised a corner of his mouth into a slight smirk.

“Perhaps none of you will even make it there.”