Chapter 220

220

“What, what is it?”

“An enormous sound just now…!”

The Lumeran students who were resting in their rooms were surprised and came downstairs to the first floor.

“Didn’t someone just say ‘Leo’?”

Kal asked in surprise, to which Eiran, who had her hands covering her ears, slowly removed them and replied.

“I, I heard that too.”

Celia narrowed her eyebrows and opened the door to step outside.

And in the distance,

she noticed a girl standing prominently at the dormitory gate and tilted her head in confusion.

“Is she a beastgirl?”

Apparently, it was the beastgirl who had screamed.

Firstly, her appearance was quite striking.

Not because she was a beastgirl, but her outfit caught everyone’s eye.

Although the western winter isn’t as harsh as the northern, it’s still very cold.

Yet, the beastgirl’s attire was extremely thin.

Too thin, in fact—she was wearing a short-sleeved shirt.

Her white hair was topped with cat ears that twitched nervously, and the tail between her back and hips swayed irritably.

Decisively, her sapphire-like blue eyes carried an extremely fierce aura.

She looked like a cat about to fluff its fur and hiss at any moment.

“She seems incredibly angry, doesn’t she?”

Chloe, who peeked out after Celia, tilted her head.

“But why is she causing such a commotion looking for Leo?”

“Hold on. Isn’t that outfit from Azonia Academy?”

“What?”

Upon hearing Chloe’s words, Celia looked at the girl’s attire in surprise. Sure enough, it was an Azonia uniform.

“Why would an Azonia student be looking for Leo while causing such a ruckus?”

Celia stepped outside, clearly bewildered.

Seeing Celia, the Azonia student, Ar Tune, widened her eyes.

“Celia?”

Ar recognized Celia, who was extremely famous even in Azonia as a Lumeran student. She had heard her name numerous times.

Ar sized Celia up from head to toe, crossed her arms, and raised her chin.

“My name is Ar Tune.”

“Ar Tune?”

‘Celia thought to herself. ‘The representative of Azonia’s first grade? Why is such a big shot here looking for Leo?’

Celia suddenly remembered something.

‘Ah, now that I think about it, she mentioned during the summer break that they had taken on Aron’s world together, didn’t she?’

It was a well-known fact that Aron’s world had unexpectedly opened during this year’s Azonia entrance exam.

Leo had also mentioned taking the entrance exam together with Ar.

If that’s the case, Leo must have been a comrade who battled life and d*ath with Ar.

However, there was no trace of such camaraderie from Ar.

While Celia was pondering this, Ar spoke.

“So? Where’s Leo Flove?”

“Leo isn’t here right now.”

“If he’s not here, where is he?”

“He hasn’t arrived yet due to family matters.”

Ar frowned at this.

“If you don’t mind, could you tell me why you’re looking for Leo? It doesn’t seem to be for something pleasant.”

“I came to challenge Leo Flove to a duel.”

‘…’

‘What has he done this time?’

Leo wasn’t the type to go around making enemies, but neither was he exceptionally good-natured.

“If you don’t mind, can we discuss why you want a duel with Leo inside?”

“Sure.”

Ar nodded and followed Celia inside.

‘She doesn’t seem like a bad kid.’

As Ar entered, the Lumeran students turned their gaze toward her.

Thanks to the loud shout earlier, all the students had gathered on the first floor.

Many students felt uneasy under her gaze, but Ar didn’t bat an eyelash.

“Azonian student?”

“That was her shouting for Leo, right?”

“Who is she?”

“Apparently, Ar Tune?”

“What? The year representative from Azonia?”

“Wow… If she’s here, aren’t those the Seirun year representatives?”

“What? What’s going on here?”

Students who hadn’t realized that the Seirun year representatives were present started buzzing as they pieced the situation together.

Hearing this commotion, Ar’s ears twitched, and she looked toward where the Seirun students were.

She immediately spotted three elven figures. Among them, a girl with vibrant red hair and equally red eyes caught her attention, making her narrow her eyes.

“Lunia El Rundah. The top student of Seirun’s first grade.”

Meanwhile, Lunia also recognized Ar and tilted her head.

“Ar Tune… The year representative from Azonia.”

An unexpected meeting between the top students of Seirun and Azonia created a palpable tension as they sized each other up.

“Prestigious guests have arrived.”

At that moment, Duran pushed through the crowd and approached.

Not only Duran—Chloe had also positioned herself in a corner of the lounge, while Abad and Chelsea were observing the situation from not too far away.

Eliza casually filed her nails as usual, but her eyes sparkled with interest.

Seeing this, the Lumeran students swallowed hard.

Leo, Chen Sia, and Warden are all absent due to personal family matters.

Even so, some of the strongest hero candidates from this generation gathered in one place, creating a distinctly more tense atmosphere than usual.

“So, why do you want to challenge Leo to a duel?”

If someone as high-ranking as the year representative of Azonia bore a grudge, it would undoubtedly cause significant headaches for both the school and their family.

Especially since Tune’s clan is one of the most renowned hero families among beastmen.

The matter could escalate into a diplomatic issue if it became serious.

At Selia’s question, the Lumeran students wore puzzled expressions.

Few knew that Leo had participated in Azonia’s entrance exam over summer break.

The sudden arrival of Azonia’s first-year representative, who had declared a duel with Leo, naturally raised suspicion among the students.

“Could it be a dojo challenge? To knock down the currently famous Leo Flove! Something like that?”

“Oh, didn’t they say Azonia students have a tendency toward battle mania?”

“If it’s something like that, it could be interesting, right?”

As various speculations flew around, Ar clenched her fists.

Her cat tail, which had been drooping till then, stood stiffly, bristling with anger.

“Leo Flove… That guy… That guy…”

Ar muttered and then suddenly shouted.

“He mocked me and played around with me!”

“PUHACK! Cough! Gasp!”

Lunia, who had been sipping her warm tea, suddenly choked and began coughing violently, spraying tea everywhere.

“After that, he just left me and ran away!”

CLUNK! THUD!

Chloe accidentally dropped the magic book she always carried.

“Oof!”

Kal, who happened to be standing nearby, grabbed his foot and rolled on the floor after accidentally stepping on it.

But Chloe, who was deeply shocked, simply stood there in a daze.

“I can’t forgive someone who played around with a girl’s pure heart!”

“Tha, that… How could Leo-sama… Leo-sama….”

Eiran was visibly shocked and murmured under her breath.

“Hold on! Hold on!”

Chelsea suddenly stood up from her seat, her face flushed, and ran over.

“There’s no way Leo-nii would do such a disgraceful act! What’s with the fabrication?”

“Fabrication? I’ve been harmed by Leo Flove, I tell you!”

Ar stood up as well without backing down and shouted.

The inn’s interior was now in a chaotic uproar.

“Humph. So that’s why. Leo Flove definitely has a bit of a dark side.”

“Hmph. Disappointing, Leo Flove.”

Eliza said without mercy, and Duran crossed his arms, snickering.

Celia tried to remain calm but had a splitting headache due to the utterly unimaginable reason.

‘It doesn’t seem like the year representative from Azonia is lying, but what in the world did you do?’

Just as Celia was thinking this,

“What? Why is everyone on the first floor?”

A puzzled voice called out.

Everyone’s gaze turned toward the speaker.

A man with white hair and red eyes stood there.

The man in question, Leo Flove, was present.

“Leo Flove!”

“Hmm?”

With a fierce expression, Ar stood up from her seat.

“Prepare yourself!”

Ar dashed forward, her eyes wide, as her claws extended.

Leo raised his fist in response.

POW!

“Ouch!”

“What are you doing?”

As Leo asked with a bored tone, Ar, who had grabbed her head and crouched down, raised her head.

“Leo Flove! Have you forgotten what you did to me?”

“Eh? About that… I’m sorry, but it’s not like I could do anything about how things turned out, could I?”

“Hey, Leo! Did you really play around with her?”

Celia, observing the situation, hastily asked.

“Huh? Yeah. But of course, I couldn’t have possibly entered Azonia.”

“Huh?”

Celia paused.

“I tricked her into attending Azonia’s enrollment ceremony. But then, halfway through, Professors Ain and Yura caught me, so I had to return without explaining the situation properly.”

“I thought we would make Azonia the greatest hero academy together! I dreamed of grand things! But it turns out you were just playing around with me! I won’t forgive you!”

Pushing Ar’s face away while she lunged at him, Leo asked,

“What do I need to do to make you feel better?”

“Transfer to Azonia immediately!”

“Does that even make sense to you?”

“Why not? If you can take the entrance exam as a Lumeran student, transferring makes perfect sense! Transfer now!”

Looking at the whining Ar reminded everyone of kittens nagging about small issues.

Kal muttered while watching the scene.

“I’ve always noticed that he’s very popular.”

At this, Iliana added:

“And I always say, I’d rather not have that kind of popularity.”

All the Lumeran students nearby nodded in agreement.

*

On the outskirts of Lorand lies a colossal training ground.

Since it’s used for the empire’s grand military parade, the place can easily accommodate tens of thousands of people without any problem.

And now, countless spectators had gathered here.

The long-awaited day of Lumeran’s integrated examination had finally arrived.

Typically, the attention of spectators during Lumeran’s entrance exam would be directed at the test-takers.

But this year was different.

Most of the attention was drawn to the second-year students present.

“Look over there! That’s the Golden Generation of Lumeran’s second-year students.”

“Isn’t that Chloe Mueller over there? A prodigy from the Northern Mage Tower!”

“Duran from the Kingdom of Moira is there too.”

The students at the top of the class immediately captured everyone’s attention.

With quite a bit of attention focused on them, the second-year students all wore expressions as if they were brimming with pride.

Of course, amongst all this, there was someone who diligently minded their own business.

“This is going to be a hit! A big hit!”

“Are you rolling out another business idea?”

Chloe, who had been encouraging her juniors from the Northern Mage Tower, chuckled as she saw Kal approaching and looked at him curiously.

“Admission amulets!”

“Admission amulets?”

“Yeah! Considering I barely made it into Lumeran and survived until second year, shouldn’t I be the perfect spokesperson?”

Kal laughed lightly.

“So I’m pitching it to the test-takers and making sales!”

“Isn’t that kind of… fraudulent?”

“What fraud? I’m not overcharging anyone. Plus, as a bonus service, I’m handing out fatigue recovery potions!”

Watching her friend’s business acumen, Chloe shook her head disapprovingly.

Meanwhile, Leo was offering encouragement to his knights.

“Put your best effort forward.”

“Understood!”

“Whatever challenge is given, never give up.”

“Of course!”

“Leo-sempai!”

Just as Leo was offering his kind words to the knights, a bright voice called out to him.

Everyone from the Slayer Order looked and saw who had called, quickly assuming respectful postures.

The owner of the voice was none other than the princess of this country, Shasha.

A likely candidate to be the next Emperor of Rodren, she approached Leo with numerous retainers.

“I’ve been counting the days until today.”

Shasha beamed warmly.

“The day when I become Leo-sempai’s junior and receive his guidance!”

“Huh, sure. Do your best.”

Leo responded with a disinterested expression.

At Leo’s tone, the royal knights who accompanied Shasha glared at Leo, eyes wide with anger.

But Leo didn’t flinch in the slightest.

Shasha, unperturbed, smiled confidently.

“I’ll be Leo-sempai’s direct junior, so I aim to become the year representative!”

“Great. Work hard.”

“Haha! You can count on me!”

As he watched the cheerful princess depart, Martina asked in confusion,

“Lord Leo, isn’t it inappropriate to speak so casually with the princess?”

“What difference does it make? She’s a junior. And more precisely, I’m not even from this country.”

Leo’s nationality, after all, was the Delrad Kingdom.

As the second-years were cheering on their juniors they knew,

“Everyone, pay attention.”

A low, resonant voice spread throughout the testing grounds.

“My name is Halind Edmond. I am the supervisor responsible for this year’s Lumeran Integrated Examination.”

Halind’s appearance elicited exclamations throughout the crowd.

One of the most renowned professors in Lumeran Academy had appeared, so such exclamations were inevitable.

The candidates tensed up, anxiously awaiting the announcement.

“Right now, I will reveal the task for the entrance exam.”

Upon hearing this, the candidates began to buzz in whispers.

“Survival?”

“Do we need to survive?”

“In extreme situations, we will evaluate your ability to handle emergencies. Only those who survive within the set time or demonstrate outstanding crisis management skills will pass.”

As Halind explained, sighs of relief began spreading throughout the crowd.

“What? All we have to do is survive?”

“Is the integrated test being graded leniently?”

“If we just survive, it sounds easy enough!”

“Guess there was nothing to worry about.”

The hopeful chatter of the candidates did not go unnoticed.

Halind, with no change in his expression, replied coolly.

“Lenient? Easy?”

The cold tone immediately put the candidates on high alert.

“Apparently, the notion that Lumeran’s entrance exam is anything similar to a joke has taken hold among you. And it seems none of you know what, or rather, who, you must survive against.”

Halind’s lips curled into a smirk.

“Your adversaries, those who will be hunting you, are none other than your seniors. To be exact, the second-year students from Lumeran Academy.”

At this revelation, the candidates, as well as the second-years themselves, blinked in shock.

“To say you must survive within the given time also means that failing to do so within that time will be considered a failure.”

Halind’s eyes gleamed.

“In other words, there is no guarantee of students passing this year. It would not be surprising if we end up with zero new admissions.”

The faces of the candidates began to harden.

‘No way! A second-year life without juniors would be unbearable!’

Even the second-years internally screamed in panic.

“Second-years, if any of you would prefer a school life without juniors, I shall personally see to your expulsion immediately.”

With Halind’s ultimatum, everyone froze.

“That’s not fair!”

“Exactly! We can’t fight against second-years!”

As a few voices raised objections, Halind’s smirk widened.

“Break through your limits. Isn’t that Lumeran’s teaching? This is exactly how things are done at Lumeran.”