Chapter 336

336

Third place overall in Seirun’s first-year rankings.

Eclere Wellarun tried to calm her pounding heart as she looked at Leo.

“Ah, when did you get here?”

Surprised by the sight of her classmate with white hair and red eyes, Eclere quickly glanced at the male student, Elric Dwen, to collect herself.

Elric was calmly adjusting his horn-rimmed glasses while keeping a steady gaze on Leo.

It seemed he had already noticed that this boy was listening to their conversation.

“Uh! How embarrassing.”

Eclere, ranked second in Seirun’s first-year class, was friends with Elric since their entrance. But she also considered him a rival to surpass, despite their friendship.

Realizing that Elric had noticed something she hadn’t, Eclere felt a little intimidated but quickly regained her confidence.

“I’m a pure wizard while Elric is a combat wizard! That’s the difference!”

Cheerfully shaking it off, Eclere tilted her head.

“Who?”

In response to Eclere’s question, Leo hesitated for a moment before smiling and answering.

“Rail.”

A made-up name, combining Leo and Kyle.

Eclere furrowed her brow upon hearing the name.

“Never heard of it. Not from an upper class, I take it?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, then you won’t mind me spreading rumors, will you?”

With an exaggerated cough, Eclere proudly declared,

“Lea Tinggel, first in the first-year class and direct descendant of the Tinggel family! Surely you must know her?”

“Yeah.”

Leo calmly lied, knowing only that Lea was a descendant of Seirun Tinggel and the niece of Tina, who was invited as a guest professor at Lumeran.

As Great Hero Leo, he didn’t have much reason to pay attention to promising hero candidates who were still just freshmen.

‘Not that I can outright say I don’t know.’

It would also be strange for a first-year student to not know the top student in their year.

In response to Leo’s reaction, Eclere raised her finger and said,

“As for Lea, she summoned the Fairy King Silrod in today’s class!”

With an excited expression, Eclere seemed eager to share what she had witnessed in class, behaving like a chatterbox.

Elric then calmly interjected,

“Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a summon. She merely called upon the will of the Fairy King.”

In cases of high-ranking familiars like Phoenixes, Fairies, and Pegasi, when they respond to a summoning, it’s not always their physical form that appears; they can instead send only their “voice.”

Typically, this isn’t referred to as a “summon.”

When only their voice is heard, it indicates there’s an important reason.

For those who are not yet worthy as a contractor, it’s possible to only hear the familiar’s voice as a form of communication.

“Still, wasn’t it practically the same as summoning Him, considering we heard the voice of the Fairy King, who had been silent for 5000 years? The teachers said so too!”

“That’s merely the teachers’ claim. Summoning theory doesn’t consider that a proper summon. If Lea herself doesn’t consider it a summon, it’s inappropriate for you to label it as one.”

“Uh!”

“Moreover, it wasn’t Lea’s solo effort either.”

“Isn’t it?”

Surprisingly, Leo asked. Elric nodded in agreement.

“Exactly. You know we were at Comet Hall today.”

Comet Hall.

The core area of Seirun, containing magical tools and magic books left behind by the Comet Wizard Seirun himself.

Leo, of course, knew nothing about Comet Hall, only associating it with the Comet Wizard by its name.

“At Comet Hall, Lea successfully captured the essence of Cometes, using its power to hear the voice of the Fairy King.”

“Cometes…”

Though her primary wand is Polium, Luna wasn’t confined to using only that during battles or depending on circumstances and opponents.

Among the other wands she used, one was Cometes, created by Dwenno.

“Though it wasn’t the original. Cometes broke alongside Polium in Luna’s final battle.”

The real Cometes was lost after 3000 years.

The current version is an artifact left by the Comet Wizard when he initially explored Luna’s world, serving as a powerful magical wand, albeit a reproduction.

“Among existing magical wands, it might be considered the strongest?”

It made sense. It was a masterpiece crafted by Dwenno itself, infused with Luna’s magic, and further blessed with Seirun’s magic power.

Indeed, it was a formidable wand by itself.

“Given the help of Cometes, even someone relatively less experienced could perhaps hear Silrod’s voice.”

Cometes contained the magic of Silrod’s own Vow Keeper, Luna.

“Even with various contributing factors, the fact that someone her age could converse with the Fairy King shows extraordinary talent, doesn’t it?”

As Leo developed interest in the first-year top student, he thanked,

“Thank you for the story.”

With that, Leo made his way back to his room.

When Leo disappeared, Eclere muttered in amazement,

“Middle or lower class, I’m not sure which, but he’s an unusual one. He didn’t seem intimidated at all to be in front of us.”

“There’s no reason for someone from a lower class to feel intimidated by us.”

“That’s true, but isn’t class rank like a social hierarchy at our school now? I heard it wasn’t like that last year.”

Eclere pouted while hugging a cushion.

“I wanted to spend my school days filled with the scent of youth! Make friends, fall in love, all those exciting things! I don’t like this authoritarian school life!”

Eclere sprawled on the sofa, flailing about.

At this, Elric adjusted his glasses.

“If I report this behavior to the teachers, it’ll result in a penalty.”

“Are you going to tattle?”

“Be careful around other students. Neither Lea nor I might care, but others may.”

Recalling the peers who covet the class representative position, Elric slouched even further.

“Yesterday I saw the lower-class students chatting in the classroom. They looked happy.”

“…It’s probably the beginning of the semester. They’ll probably become close soon.”

“Will they?”

With a deep sigh, Eclere sat up, looking dispirited before returning to her room.

Watching Eclere leave, Elric adjusted his glasses, looking toward the 1st-year building, “The Beginning’s Castle,” visible from the lounge.

“I’m not sure if this is alright.”

Although he had reassured his friend Eclere, Elric too felt the oddity in the academic atmosphere.

“Are all other hero academies like this?”

With a sense of doubt, Elric sighed deeply.

*

The next day.

Leo left his dormitory early.

The map provided by Orlen, who escorted Leo to the 1st-year dormitory after arriving at Seirun the previous day, also indicated the location of Leo’s assigned class.

The area for 1st-year classrooms was rather complex, so Leo left early to arrive at the classroom with ample time.

“I guess I’ll skip breakfast.”

Whenever Leo occasionally skipped a meal, his friends would overreact as if something terrible was happening.

“Hey! Honestly, is it right to let someone in their prime growth years skip meals?”

“Exactly! Exactly!”

Whenever Kal spoke about the importance of a meal, Chelsea and other friends would agree.

Of course, Leo, who remembered his past life, didn’t really empathize with this meal-praising philosophy.

This trend seemed to hold true at Seirun as well, where the dining area attached to the dormitory buzzed with students brimming with energy.

Bypassing the lively dining hall, Leo headed toward the classroom area early.

Soon, he found his assigned classroom.

“Hmm, is this expected?”

Leo chuckled faintly.

The class assigned to Leo at Seirun was the “lower class.”

“How can their judgment be so predictable?”

With a look of curiosity, Leo entered the classroom labeled “Lower Class Classroom.”

He paused momentarily.

The lower class classroom was spacious.

Despite having over a hundred desks, it didn’t feel cramped.

Additionally, the classroom appeared old, and the overall atmosphere was distant from a studious environment.

“Isn’t this strange? I’ve heard that Seirun classes are divided into advanced, intermediate, and lower ranks, with additional subdivisions of class numbers like 1, 2, 3 within the same tier.”

Leo confirmed the classroom name engraved above the door.

Perplexed, Leo entered the classroom and took the front seat.

As an exchange student, it was necessary for him to project the image of a diligent top student.

After taking his seat, Leo glanced at the clock above the blackboard.

Next to the clock, there was a large inscription:

“Believe in yourself.”

“This must be Seirun’s teaching.”

The motto of each hero academy was the final message left by their founders.

At Lumeran: “Transcend your limits.”

At Seirun: “Believe in yourself.”

At Azonia: “Move forward.”

At Demian: “Pursue possibilities.”

While pondering over the mottos of each hero academy,

Ding-dong!

The school bell signaling the start of class rang.

Leo momentarily scanned the classroom with an odd expression.

“Why is no one here? Did the teacher trick me?”

While pondering this with a furrowed brow, remembering Orlen,

Click!

The door opened, and an elven woman entered.

The teacher, upon making eye contact with Leo, paused, then checked the classroom label outside anxiously.

“Excuse me… I don’t recognize you, who are you?”

The elven teacher asked gently.

“I am Rail, who has joined the lower class recently.”

“Oh… lower class…? Perhaps you are from the intermediate class?”

“It’s complicated, but you can think of it that way.”

Realizing that Seirun’s administration hadn’t informed the teachers about the exchange student, Leo sighed internally before answering.

An unusual response.

Yet, the elf teacher looked moved and approached Leo happily.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Laura Quir, your new homeroom teacher! Let’s work hard together on our studies!”

Laura grabbed Leo’s hand while tearing up, appearing genuinely delighted to have a student to teach.

“I’ll do my best to help you get back to the intermediate class!”

“Ah, yes. But where are the other students?”

“Oh, well…”

Laura’s face fell in embarrassment.

She hesitated before explaining,

“…First class is… Auric Foundation Studies.”

“…”

Leo blinked.

“Auric Studies class?”

After contemplating for a moment, his brows furrowed further.

“Are you teaching the class? Is there no other teacher?”

“…Yes.”

Laura slumped, observing Leo’s reaction with her ears flattened.

“Can a wizard teach auric studies?”

It was immediately clear.

Laura was not a knight but purely a wizard.

To see a wizard teach Auric Studies?

Frowning suspiciously, Leo caused Laura to nervously ramble,

“Uh, are you perhaps a dual class knight magic user? Don’t worry! I really studied hard! I’m sure it’ll be helpful!”

Clutching her fists tightly, then dropping her shoulders,

“…No, I probably won’t be much help. It’s okay if you come in third period like the other students.”

“Second period is what?”

“Basica mana studies.”

“Is that also taught by you?”

“…Yes.”

‘This is absurd.’

Of the four major educational institutions in the world, Seirun’s curriculum was excessively chaotic.

It was apparent that Laura, in front of him, was indeed a proficient wizard.

But proficiency in wizardry doesn’t mean she can teach auric studies or mana studies.

“Where are the other students?”

“…The lower class students only come in during the third period for Magic of the Stars.”

‘I’m starting to understand how it works.’

Just as Leo took a deep sigh,

Click!

“Teacher, hello. I just stopped by to leave my textbook.”

A cheerful-looking girl entered the classroom.

“Angr.”

Laura called out to the girl with a bitter smile.

Angr, heading toward her seat at the back, noticed Leo and immediately exclaimed in surprise.

“From the intermediate class?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Angr gave a wry smile before introducing herself,

“My name is Angr Bizan. What’s yours?”

“Rail.”

“Let’s do our best together, Rail.”

Extending her hand, Angr gave an amicable greeting but then let out a deep sigh.

“It’s going to be tough.”

Frowning as he shook Angr’s hand, Leo thought,

‘Is this really the lower class?’

It was evident that Angr’s skill wasn’t at a lower class level at all.

She was comparable to the top-level students in the first year’s knight department at Lumeran.

‘Is this place really a dumping ground?’

Seeing such a talented student wasting away in the lower class baffled Leo, who had come to Seirun to observe heroes with potential.

‘This way, any potential could fade away.’

Even before his eyes, Angr already bore a hint of doubt in her expression.

Leo pondered seriously,

‘Maybe I should just suggest to Mel that all the promising students transfer to Lumeran?’