Chapter 231

231

Abad LeWalyn sat by the window in the third dormitory lounge, lost in thought.

“What are the professors’ intentions?”

He glanced to his front, where his peers who were to lead the dormitory for the coming year were seated.

Duran Moira.

Eliza Hergin.

The top students in the Department of Knights and the Department of Summoning.

The only issue was that their relationships were poor.

“The same goes for the second dormitory.”

Celia and Chelsea were the heads of that dormitory.

“Warden tends to be indifferent to others, so there won’t be any troubles, but conversely, he won’t mediate the disputes between the two.”

Abad squinted his eyes.

It was the same now.

Duran sat with his arms crossed, not moving an inch, eyes closed, while Eliza was engaged in manicuring her nails, just as she usually did.

At a glance, both seemed indifferent to each other, but there was a fierce battle of wills taking place between them.

“Shall we start with the discussion about the dormitory member selection?”

At that, Duran opened one eye, and Eliza glanced at Abad.

“Before that.”

Duran spoke.

“I think it’s necessary to elect a practical leader, even if there are three dorm heads.”

“Oh my, well said. You were intending to ask me to take on that role, weren’t you? Don’t worry. As the heir of the Hergin family, I will splendidly lead the dormitory.”

Eliza, crossing her legs, reached out and looked at her neatly organized nails.

Then she nodded with satisfaction.

Seeing Eliza like that, Duran curled the corners of his mouth.

“Do you really think a self-righteous person like you suits the leader’s position?”

“I’ll return that statement to you.” Watching the two glare at each other, Abad burst into laughter.

“How am I supposed to resolve this? I have no clue.”

Even as he thought that, Abad had no intention of giving up his position as leader.

If the two agreed, he intended to claim it through his abilities.

“We three have no common ground. If this continues, can we really lead the dormitory well…?”

Abad paused in his thoughts.

“Common ground?”

His eyes lit up.

Then he conjured magic between the two who were trying to grab swords and whips.

Whoosh-!

At the sudden gust, both frowned and looked at Abad.

“What is it, Abad LeWalyn?”

“Is that so? You also cannot concede the leader’s position, can you?”

“Right, Eliza. I can’t simply yield my spot. But before that, I want to discuss future matters.”

“Future matters?”

“Yes.”

Abad trudged over and sat on the sofa.

Then he made a serious expression.

“We have one common ground.”

“I don’t think so.”

“I agree with Duran Moira.”

Seeing Duran smile cynically and Eliza remain aloof, Abad grinned.

“You both share the common trait of having bad personalities, at least?”

“Are you provoking us now?”

Duran frowned, and Eliza shot daggers at Abad.

With a soft smile, Abad spoke.

“Just kidding. Our common ground is this: we all want to defeat Leo Flove.”

Duran and Eliza’s eyes flickered.

“And yet, on the other hand, we acknowledge that we can never truly win against him, right?”

Until a year ago, it was utterly ridiculous when an unknown student snatched the class representative position.

Leo seemed like an inadequate choice for the class representative.

However, at some point, he stood shoulder to shoulder with them, overtook them in a blink, and began to move ahead.

And now, he stood far ahead.

“Who says that anyone acknowledged that?”

Duran said in a displeased tone.

But Eliza remained silent, listening to the conversation.

“Duran, let’s acknowledge what needs to be acknowledged.”

Abad’s eyes devoid of emotion now.

Duran clicked his tongue.

“But I don’t intend to give up.”

Eliza declared firmly.

“I’m the same. That’s why I mentioned our common ground.”

Abad chuckled.

“Our goals are the same. So, I think collaboration isn’t bad at all?”

“Collaboration?”

“Yes. Since the competition among the dormitories is a foregone conclusion, then…”

Abad’s eyes narrowed.

“Let’s aim to win the dormitory competition.”

Duran and Eliza fell into thought, and after a moment, they sighed deeply.

“I don’t like the feeling of being persuaded by you, but I’ll go along with it.”

“Then first, the dormitory members will be important.”

With their interests aligned, the three quickly consolidated their opinions.

“Howl from the Department of Knights is an excellent student. Definitely necessary.”

“We also need Jureden from the Department of Summoning.”

“I don’t think it’s good to recruit students solely based on their grades. They should also fit the dormitory atmosphere, right? Our goal is to defeat Leo Flove. It’s best to recruit students who can align with that goal.”

“Do you have any students in mind?”

At Eliza’s question, Abad chuckled and pulled out a stack of cards.

They were cards with the names and photos of dormitory students.

“When did you prepare this?”

“Since the first year. I made this to look for talents to recruit into the family.”

Smiling brightly, Abad drew one card.

“The student we must recruit first is this one.”

Eliza’s eyes twitched.

“Kal Thomas? He’s the lowest scorer in the Department of Magic, right? Why is he our number one recruit?”

“You know Kal’s usefulness well, don’t you?”

“Hmph. Usefulness and excellence are different. We need to beat Leo Flove’s dormitory. Are you really thinking of using your connection with Leo Flove to make him a spy?”

“Surely not.”

Abad chuckled lightly.

“Although Kal’s grades are the lowest, he has the distinct aspiration of being a supporter. He is a student who is clearly differentiated from other students. Moreover, he excels outside of grades. Most importantly, he is flexible enough in his mindset to fulfill his role in any dormitory without being swayed by the dormitory atmosphere.”

“Hmm!”

“Duran, what’s your opinion?”

“He’s useful enough.”

Eliza frowned at the response from the two.

“Alright. Then let’s have Kal Thomas in our dormitory. But will he actually want to come?”

“We’ll see.”

“Already? They’re indeed excellent, being called the golden generation.”

Rina, who received the report in the principal’s office, showed an amused expression.

“I thought they would struggle a bit more.”

“The current second-years will likely surpass your expectations.”

“Halind, if you say that, I am intrigued.”

Rina set down her documents.

“By the way, I’m worried. The number of incoming students is insufficient. Aren’t there only about 300?”

The auditor from the board of directors displayed an uncomfortable demeanor.

He was someone sent by the board because they didn’t trust Rina, the new principal of Lumeran, who had no results or reputation.

‘Are they implying they might dismiss me if something goes wrong? It doesn’t seem like the chairman’s intention.’

Rina secretly curled her lips.

“You needn’t worry about that. We’ve already conducted additional examinations.”

“What?”

It was when the other auditors from the board were taken aback.

Someone entered the principal’s office.

“Welcome, Alby. How was the exam?”

Alby had gathered those who narrowly missed the cutoff in the previous entrance examination on Rina’s orders, and they had just taken the supplementary test.

Rina decided there was no need for unnecessary showmanship at the additional test, so it hadn’t made headlines globally.

“We’ve accepted about 100 additional students.”

“Now there’s no need to worry, right?”

“Um, yes.”

The board’s auditor responded somewhat reluctantly.

After he left, Alby opened his mouth.

“Principal Rina.”

“Call me principal now, Professor Alby.”

“Principal.”

“What?”

“I noticed something strange about a few of the new students recommended by you.”

“Did you catch on?”

“Did Professors Halind and Sedgen notice as well?”

“They agreed.”

“I know they are excellent.”

Alby narrowed his eyes.

“But I believe the three of them understand better than anyone that the shadow candidates fundamentally cannot mix with the ‘hero candidates.'”

“Giving shadow candidates a chance to become heroes.”

Rina rested her chin on her hand as she spoke.

“That was my condition for accepting the position of principal.”