Chapter 366

366

“What do you mean by that? A country of pleasures?”

“Another word used to describe the country of Aleham.”

At Juen’s question, Kal shrugged.

After hearing that, Chloe, who was pondering, tilted her head in confusion.

“Could it be because of the casinos?”

“Ah, now that you mention it, casinos are indeed quite famous in Aleham.”

Juen, who hails from the southern region, nodded.

Aleham is famous for having a royal casino in each of its cities.

“It’s not just because of casinos, but more than just that.”

Kal crossed his arms.

“Aleham is simultaneously the poorest human nation and also a place where various illegal activities in other countries are perfectly legal.”

“So what does that have to do with it being called a country of pleasures?”

Chelsea still looked perplexed.

The other students, except for Leo, still didn’t understand what Kal was talking about.

“Looks like even young ladies from noble families are quite innocent.”

At Kal’s words, Celia spoke up.

“What are those illegal activities?”

“It’s a bit embarrassing to say.”

“You should explain before making statements like that.”

At Celia’s words, Leo, who had been listening to the discussion, interjected.

“It probably refers to things like illegal drug sales or transactions involving inappropriate intimate relations between men and women. If those are legal, such actions would also be openly displayed on the streets.”

“Wha…?”

At Leo’s explanation, the female students momentarily looked perplexed before turning their heads away, their faces flushed in embarrassment.

Looking at Celia’s bashful reaction, Kal said,

“Celia, let me answer your question. What’s meant by ‘illegal activities’ is… well…”

“I get it! Stop being so noisy!”

Puck!

“Guack?!”

Celia, with a blazing red face, violently struck Kal’s throat with water magic.

Watching Kal clutching his throat and rolling on the ground, Luke smiled and said to Juen,

“Senior Kal is really amusing.”

“Kal? Who’s that?”

Juen blatantly ignored her own mentor.

After the small commotion settled down, Leo said,

“Kal is right. If there are such dangers in Aleham, we should prepare ourselves accordingly before going.”

At Leo’s words, Celia raised her eyebrows in doubt.

“Is it really a danger? I understand it’s not a good place, but we’re students from Lumeran! Who would dare to mess with us?”

Most of the students nodded in agreement with Celia’s statement.

“Think about it. Whether it’s gambling, drugs, or any other such things.”

Kal, with his hands clasped behind his head, agreed with Leo’s words.

“Fact is, these places are tough environments to live in. Yes, Celia, we’re from Lumeran, and no one should mistreat us, but…”

Kal furrowed his brow.

“There are plenty of people in the world who don’t care about such things, especially the reckless ones.”

Luke nodded understandingly at Kal’s words, but the other students still seemed unsure.

Celia, Chelsea, and Martina are nobles from the majority of the western territories occupied by the Rodren Empire.

In particular, the two families known for wielding peak power such as the Heroic family Zerdinger and LeWalyn are among them.

Chloe belongs to a family within the Northern Magic Tower.

While the Müller family does not have a prominent standing within the Northern Magic Tower itself, simply being part of the Tower means they belong to a prestigious lineage.

Juen is a daughter of the Southern Tower, while Aina is the great-granddaughter of a legendary Sword Sage.

Even Betty hails from a powerful magic family.

Having grown up surrounded by only the finest things, it’s unsurprising that they’re unaware of the darker aspects of the world.

At their expressions, Leo said,

“Kal is trying to say that those who have nothing to lose are indeed frightening. It might be hard to understand just by hearing it explained.”

Leo smiled faintly at Celia.

“Experiencing such realities may not be a bad thing. Professor Halind wouldn’t send us with mentors for no reason.”

“You make it sound like you have experience with such things.”

Chloe tilted her head in question.

At that, Kal chuckled mischievously and stroked his chin.

“Chloe, what kind of experience are you talking about?”

“Are you trying to say something strange with that creepy face?”

Chloe glared at Kal, who grinned lewdly.

“Ah, I was just wondering. Is the experience you were mentioning about, you know, Leo’s ‘female experience’? Considering Leo’s popularity, enjoying clandestine meetings with students late at night…”

Clash!

“Using magic in the library is prohibited!”

Kal immediately screamed in panic as Chloe’s magic power surged, threatening to freeze him solid.

“Cut it out with your nonsense. Leo has never been involved in any scandals. What are you saying?”

Lumeran encourages free romance among students, so there’s nothing unusual about them dating.

However, the rules are clear about boundaries.

For instance, it’s forbidden to enter the opposite gender’s dormitory rooms late at night.

This regulation applies to first-year students and even now for second-year students who live in co-ed dormitories.

Of course, being in the heat of youth, some try to break these rules each year, but they inevitably get caught by the dormitory supervisors and face their consequences.

Dormitory supervisors are vigilant about unauthorized intrusions, so no one has ever succeeded in breaking this rule.

At Chelsea’s words, Kal wagged his finger.

“Ho ho, how much you don’t know.”

Kal smirked triumphantly.

“Of course our schoolmates have never been involved in any scandals with Leo, but… remember the Smiths Exclusive contract last time? Leo was sneaking out every night to meet a girl from Seirun and only returning at dawn!”

“What?!”

Chelsea looked thoroughly surprised.

Chloe too gasped.

Seeing their shocked friends, Kal grinned wickedly.

“At that time, Leo told me everything. What he did with the girls.”

Kal’s suggestive tone made Chelsea and Chloe’s faces flush red.

“Do you want me to tell you what they did?”

“Just, just forget it. I’m not curious…”

“What did Leo do with them?”

As Kal’s voice lowered, Chelsea shut her mouth, fuming.

Cleo too swallowed her saliva nervously, her eyes darting anxiously toward Kal’s mouth.

Once the room fell silent, Kal whispered,

“They studied magic diligently.”

“…And that’s the end of it?”

“That’s it.”

Kal burst into laughter at the sight of Chelsea and Chloe, whose faces had turned crimson with anticipation while focusing on his words.

“What exactly were you two thinking?! Hahahaha! Cough!”

Chelsea delivered a powerful dropkick to Kal’s stomach.

As Kal painfully rolled around on the ground, he attempted to rise, only to collapse again after taking a body blow from Chloe.

“Isn’t it bad enough to beat someone who’s already down… Wait! I said, stop! I hit a bone! I broke a bone!”

Although Kal screamed, Chelsea and Chloe, still angry from being teased, continued to stomp on him without mercy.

Watching this, Celia folded her arms, looking utterly disdainful.

“These people are so immature.”

Seeing the antics of the seniors, the first-years thought to themselves:

‘Not much different from us even if they’re in second year.’

“What’s with the look? Aina?”

Aina stopped moving during her practice sparring with Martina, causing Martina to look at her with a slightly bewildered expression.

Martina, selected from the Zerdinger family training grounds by Leo to enroll at Lumeran, was an exceptionally talented young woman in swordsmanship.

However, compared to Aina in front of her, Martina felt like a firefly before a full moon.

The granddaughter of the Sword Sage.

A girl possessing talent that was impossible to compare with her own—Martina could feel like the sword itself was in love with her.

Even the renowned young knight, Habidden, who held a prestigious position among the knights, was impressive, but from Martina’s perspective, considering her upbringing among skilled knights since childhood, Aina was already far beyond what a first-year student should be.

Thus Martina had one thing she couldn’t quite figure out.

“Are you worried about Luke?”

At Martina’s question, Aina glanced at her.

Aina, being concerned about Luke—a struggling student in the same department—was a fact probably known only to Martina due to their shared time mentoring under Celia.

Because they often met privately under Celia’s guidance, Martina naturally noticed Aina occasionally looking at Luke.

“Martina.”

“Uh huh?”

“If we were to compare our skills, what would you say?”

“Isn’t it impossible to compare?”

Aina, the class representative who transcended even the Knight Department, to Luke, the class struggler—placing them on the same scale felt utterly absurd.

As Martina said, Aina’s eyes dimmed slightly.

“So why did Senior Leo choose Luke as a mentee but not me?”

“That seems a bit of a rude question toward Miss Celia.”

Martina scratched her cheek awkwardly as she spoke, prompting Aina to reply,

“I have no issues with Senior Celia’s guidance. On the contrary, it’s been extremely helpful, and I deeply appreciate her.”

Celia, called a prodigy of the sword, truly understood the genius in another genius. Celia had generously shared her rich experiences, enabling Aina to grow far beyond what she had expected.

“Then what I’m curious about is why Senior Leo accepted Luke but not me.”

The Sword Sage bestowed his inheritance to his beloved great-granddaughter with one stipulation for the heir: that she must gain the acknowledgment of “Leo Flove.”

At Aina’s question, Martina crossed her arms.

“Hmm… it doesn’t really seem like Master chose Luke so much as recognized his potential.”

“Potential?”

“Yeah. When he formed his knights, it was the same; he accepted those he judged as having potential.”

“…So, do I not have any potential?”

As Aina’s eyes dimmed, Martina shook her head and said,

“No, it’s more like you don’t need Master’s guidance, right?”

Martina smiled.

“I think Master believed that even without his direction, you would continue to advance splendidly.”

“…”

“Let’s end the training. If Lady Celia catches us chatting, she’s going to scold us.”

At Martina’s words, Aina nodded, gripping her sword tightly.

‘During this training exercise… I will gain Senior Leo’s acknowledgment no matter what.’