Chapter 313

After breakfast came to an end.

Leo and Chelsea left the dormitory cafeteria for Mel’s special class on heroism.

“Chelsea, I see Leo’s coming along too.”

“Nella! Let’s go to the lecture room together!”

Nella, one of the top beauties of the second grade, approached with her characteristic lazy smile.

“It’s been a while since we’ve gone to class together like this.”

Nella said with a gentle smile.

“It has. Back when we were in 1st Year, Class 5, the six of us often went together.”

Chelsea said with a wistful expression.

Leo, Chelsea, and Kal had been close friends since the beginning of 1st Year.

Add in Nella, Iliana, and Teid.

They formed the core strength of Class 5.

“Why don’t we all go out in Rumelia City this coming weekend?”

“Let’s do it! We should invite others from Class 5 who are free!”

Chelsea smiled brightly and seemed happy.

“Would it be okay with you, Leo?”

“I’ll make time.”

Nella smiled faintly at Leo’s response.

“By the way, is your dorm ready for the mock battle preparations?”

When Leo asked, Chelsea widened her eyes then smiled mischievously as she placed her finger on her lips.

“Are you trying to scout right now? Even you, Brother Leo, are our enemy during the midterms, so I won’t tell you who the king is!”

“I didn’t ask who the king was, I just inquired about the mock battle preparations.”

Chelsea awkwardly laughed while scratching her head.

Seeing this, Nella smiled and answered.

“We’re doing well. The king has already been chosen. How about Glory?”

“Ours is already decided.”

They continued their light conversation.

“By the way, do you often get asked who is the king of Harmony?”

“Yeah, students from Class 5 often ask.”

Nella smiled lazily.

Chelsea rolled her eyes in annoyance.

“Kal and Teid subtly keep asking. As for Iliana…”

“Ah! Chelsea and Nella! And Class Leader!”

Iliana waved cheerfully and ran up to them.

“Perfect timing! Who is the king of Harmony?”

Chelsea gave a cold look.

“You, fool, ask so straightforward.”

“Who are you calling a fool?”

Iliana lunged at Chelsea.

She began poking Chelsea’s soft cheek.

Used to this by now, Chelsea bit Iliana’s finger.

Amidst the commotion,

“Wow! What’s the occasion for the four of you to be going together?”

“We’ll be going with you too.”

Kal and Teid approached after spotting the group of four.

“It’s been a while since we’ve all gathered like this.”

When Teid said this with a smile, Chelsea nodded in agreement.

“That’s right. We were just talking about it before. Do you have time this weekend? We were thinking of going around with some of the Class 5 kids.”

“That sounds good, doesn’t it?”

“I’ll clear my schedule.”

The six of them happily chatted.

“By the way,”

Kal put his interlocked hands behind his head and spoke.

“Is the king decided for all of you?”

At Kal’s question, Chelsea opened her sleepy eyes.

“Even if I asked, you wouldn’t answer, right?”

“Would anyone directly ask like that? You’d have to sneakily gauge it.”

Kal chuckled softly.

By the time they arrived at the lecture room.

“Leo.”

As they sat down in their seats, Celia approached.

“Professor Mel is looking for you.”

Confused, Leo got up from his seat upon hearing Celia’s words.

“I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Alright, see you later!”

Chelsea waved with a cheerful smile.

Seeing Chelsea like so, Celia narrowed her eyes.

“You haven’t been giving Leo any information about our dorm, right?”

“How do you see me? Even if so, I wouldn’t recklessly share dorm secrets.”

“You freely talk to Abad, though.”

“But I don’t spill confidential things!”

Chelsea stuck her tongue out.

“Then it’s a relief.”

Celia nodded and returned to her seat.

“Exactly what do you see me as? I am the Dorm Leader, too.”

Chelsea muttered under her breath.

Seeing Chelsea, Iliana who was resting her chin spoke,

“I understand why Celia would worry. Chelsea, if it’s someone like the class leader or Abad, they could probably coax anything out of you, right?”

“Coax anything?”

“Plus, what to say… You give off the vibe that if you’re gently coaxed as if you’re an adorable younger sister, you’d spill the beans.”

“Right! Right! It seems like if given candy, you could be kidnapped!”

“What exactly do you see me as?”

Chelsea coldly faced Kal and Iliana to lecture them.

Seeing Chelsea like this, Teid commented,

“Chelsea, you’re certainly different compared to other dorm leaders.”

“What are you different about?”

Seeing Chelsea tilt her head and ask, Kal said,

“Our dorm is full of ambition. It’s natural, after all, since we’re heirs to noble families.”

The LeWalyn family and the Hergin family.

Families renowned as hero houses known by anyone who hears their names.

Abad and Eliza, heirs to their respective families, naturally have pride and ambition.

And Duran,

As the crown prince of Moira, known as the Kingdom of Knights, has pride that rivals Abad’s and Eliza’s.

After hearing Kal’s words, Iliana said,

“Our dorm also shows clear paths when looking at the three of them.”

Chloe, who aims to complete the world’s greatest magic book with her original magic writings.

Chen Sia, who seeks to ascend to the hero’s seat as a shadow and change societal perceptions.

“And the class leader is… someone whose existence itself is heroic.”

“Right, didn’t she confidently declare in first year to fully eliminate Erebus?”

“The sheer scale is different.”

Students shook their heads.

“What about the goals of Harmony’s dorm leaders?”

“It seems Wardens’ goal is ‘the strongest.'”

Nella smiled faintly as she replied.

At this answer, Teid crossed his arms,

“Hmm, that’s certainly a goal worthy of him.”

“Nella, your achievements are so extraordinary that it overshadowed even Warden, but Warden himself is a monster.”

Iliana stuck out her tongue.

“I wonder, who would win in a fair fight between the two?”

“Leo would definitely win.”

Warden’s strength was evaluated to be superior even to top students from other grades.

Had Leo not existed, Warden would undoubtedly have been the grade representative.

“Celia aims to become a knight who surpasses the previous generations.”

Kal crossed his arms.

“Everyone has such firm goals. That’s why everyone dreams of becoming heroes.”

“…”

Chelsea blinked.

“Why do you want to be a hero, Chelsea?”

“It’s… because I enrolled in Lumeran. To help my family by assisting my older brother…”

Rarely showing hesitation, Chelsea began answering and then asked in return,

“Then, do all of you have a purpose? A reason to become heroes?”

“Fufu! Of course! To become the best sword magician who fits the family and build a reputation! So many people will look up in admiration! Ho ho ho ho ho!”

Iliana clapped her hand over her mouth and burst into laughter.

“I want to make a pact with a fairy.”

Teid smirked.

“I want to become a hero and save many people.”

Nella, who usually has a lazy smile, showed a benevolent smile.

“I don’t aim too high. But I intend to stay active for as long as possible as a supporter and rise through the ranks.”

Kal shrugged.

Chelsea, witnessing friends with such clear objectives, became increasingly bewildered.

Reasons for entering Lumeran?

“Because I’ve loved hero tales ever since I was little.”

It’s the same even now.

She has talent and skill.

Hence she came to Lumeran somewhat absentminded.

There wasn’t even a specific reason for entering at the young age of fourteen.

“Just because I wanted to attend school with my older brother.”

Had Chelsea aimed to be the top student in her grade, she should have waited another year to enroll.

‘Why did I enroll in Lumeran?’

For the first time after becoming a second-year student, Chelsea asked herself a question she should have wondered about during her first year.

Back then as a first-year, she never considered such doubts.

It was enough joy just to follow whoever was always right in front of her.

Abad, the magician she admired from a young age.

And Leo, the hero she came to admire from the first day she met him.

It was enough simply to study together and overcome difficulties.

The young girl, who has never set foot on her own stage, was flustered.

‘Why do I want to become a hero?’

While Chelsea was lost in thought,

“Kal, where are you going?”

Iliana looked puzzled as Kal got up from his seat.

“Bathroom.”

Kal answered convincingly and headed toward where the classroom door was.

At the same time, he naturally passed by the desk where Celia was sitting.

Thud-

Celia looked puzzled as Kal dropped something on her desk before walking away.

But without showing it, she quickly stowed it in her pocket.

‘Starting now.’

*

By evening, after the day’s classes ended.

Second-year students had all gathered at Lumeran’s dock.

The students, gathered dormitory by dormitory, sailed above the lake while strictly guarding against each other.

In this year’s mid-term practical examination, the mock battle of dormitory competitions saw the bases playing a crucial role.

Each dormitory was assigned one of the islands within Rumelia City.

“Wow, are we already into espionage during the preparation period?”

Kal scratched his head while making a headache-inducing expression.

In front of Kal, students were seen constructing defense towers intended to protect their base.

Besides these, various traps were being set up all around the area for base protection.

Eliza was relaxing with her legs crossed, tidying her nails when she said,

“Other members from the dormitory are working hard, so shouldn’t you help out too?”

Exhaling and looking at Eliza, Kal responded,

“Then, aren’t you slacking off?”

“Are you telling me, an heir to the Hergin family, to do manual work like that? That’s a joke, isn’t it? And by the way, I’m not doing nothing.”

Eliza glanced at Kal while looking at her manicured nails with satisfaction.

“With all due respect, I’m on guard against espionage.”

Since revealing the trap layouts could lead to strategies for breaches, standing guard was also an important task.

Currently, the entire island is under surveillance by Eliza’s familiars.

“Yeah, yeah. By the way, I’m here with Abad’s permission.”

“Abad?”

Eliza tilted her head.

Currently, Abad was in command of the total defense operations of Nobles.

“Yeah.”

“Seems like Abad gave you some kind of task.”

Eliza curled her lips slightly.

“What kind of task?”

At her words, Kal replied,

“He’s here now.”

With this, Eliza’s eyes moved.

“Celia Zerdinger? How did you end up here…”

“I called her. She passed on the mark you gave me.”

If the Noble dormitory students continued entering and exiting the island, the familiars would undoubtedly report this to Eliza.

To prevent that, Eliza had distributed markers to the dormitory students.

If they had the marker, the familiars would not be on guard. Kal had given his marker to Celia.

“Hmm? This is getting interesting.”

Eliza curled her lips.

Noble dormitory students began murmuring as they spotted Celia.

Duran, stationed on the fortress guarding the base, looked toward Celia.

Abad rested his chin on his hand, smiled faintly, and looked at Celia.

Celia stood before Kal.

“I read the letter.”

Celia glanced at Nobles’ base briefly.

“What’s your plan?”

“No elaborate plans. I’m just proposing an alliance.”

At Kal’s words, Celia crossed his arms.

“You’re suggesting we jointly attack Glory, but the dormitory leaders wouldn’t agree with you, would they?”

Celia knows that both Duran and Eliza are bundles of pride.

Both would not agree to having two dormitories teaming up against one dormitory, no matter the excuse of ‘defeating Leo Flove’.

‘Whether it succeeds or fails, they should take him down with their own hands before feeling satisfied.’

“I wouldn’t agree either.”

Chelsea would oppose it.

Warden, who aims for Leo, wouldn’t accept it either.

At Lumeran, while duels between students are permitted, all-out duels with real swords are not allowed.

This is because if a student gets hurt, it could be serious.

However, during exams, things are different.

This was the chance to fight Leo seriously.

You wouldn’t want to miss such an opportunity.

Celia would feel the same.

At Celia’s words, Kal said,

“The talk is not about combining forces.”

Kal wore a serious expression.

“Doing an outright alliance would make Glory figure it out. If they realize, they’d focus solely on defense. If Glory decides to completely defend, it would be hard to take down their base. Also, as you said, there are those who’d dislike the alliance itself.”

The month-long preparation period was also a time to fortify their bases into fortresses.

If Glory firmly decides to defend such a fortress, even with the two dorms allied, it would be hard to break through.

“Then what?”

“Let’s form a non-aggression pact.”

Kal said seriously.

“The term will be until Glory’s base falls.”