Chapter 405

405.

“World Summit?”

Kal’s eyes widened in surprise at Leo’s words.

Not only Kal, but everyone else who had been having dinner together showed a surprised reaction.

World Summit.

It literally means a meeting where the world’s leaders gather.

Its origin dates back 3,000 years ago.

The first World Summit took place not anywhere else but in Dragonia, and it was none other than the Dragon of the Cataclysm, Rodia, who brought the world’s leaders together back then.

The reason for the convening of the World Summit was the return of Erebus.

The attendees were the current legends now known as the Heroes of the Cataclysm—Lumeran, Seirun, Azonia, and Demian—and the heroes they led, gathered in one place for the meeting.

Since then, the World Summit has been held whenever there is a major issue in the world.

There are five main locations.

The summit takes place at the Four Great Hero Academies, with Dragonia leading the way.

“Wow, a summit? So all the world’s powers gather in Lumeran?”

Iliana’s tongue clicked in disbelief.

“Maybe? Attendance isn’t mandatory, but missing the summit might mean you’re falling behind in the flow of world affairs. Most likely, everyone will attend if they can.”

“So, Chloe, how do you know all this?”

“Books.”

Iliana asked, and Chloe pointed to the book she was holding.

“But the library is closed.”

“Hmm. By chance, I have a book about the World Summit stored in an alternate space.”

“…You store books in alternate space?”

For Iliana, who usually avoids books except for textbooks, magic books, and swordsmanship manuals, this was a cultural shock.

“But it doesn’t happen often, right?”

“Of course. Given its massive influence and consequences, the conditions for holding it are quite stringent. Consent from the Four Great Hero Academies is required, and in the end, the Dragon Lord’s approval must be obtained.”

Kal stroked his chin, muttering.

“Didn’t the last World Summit happen about 100 years ago?”

“It was exactly 97 years ago.”

“Wow.”

An event that might occur only once in a lifetime.

Seemed like they were about to witness a historic moment quite closely.

“Do you feel excited?”

Kal’s muttering made Iliana grumble.

“It does feel exciting, but also, we’ve got some annoying responsibilities. We’ll probably be swamped with preparations for welcoming guests, right?”

“That’s true. There will be many who want to see our school’s students.”

“So, we might have to prepare to show something to these kinds of people?”

“With final exams already busy, do we really need to be treated like zoo animals?”

At Iliana’s remark, complaints began erupting here and there.

As usual, large-scale school events always made the students’ lives more difficult.

In the midst of it all, Celia spoke.

“Does the fact that the World Summit is happening mean that the ‘Silent Dragon’ is finally breaking her silence?”

At her words, the students’ eyes widened.

Silent Dragon.

It was Melina’s nickname, given since she had almost never shown up publicly for a long time.

“There’s a feeling this will be a summit worth keeping an eye on for many reasons.”

It was palpable that the tide of history was moving.

In the midst of all of this, Chelsea spoke to Leo.

“This time, Leo must be the busiest.”

“Why?”

“Cause you’re the student council president. Don’t you have a lot to prepare?”

Chelsea said this while bringing a fork loaded with dessert cake toward her mouth.

With her cheeks puffed full like a squirrel, Chelsea mumbled as she ate, causing Leo to chuckle.

“I’ve got plenty of capable seniors over me; why would I be busy?”

“Isn’t the vice-president going to return anytime soon?”

“Still some time.”

“So, until then, Leo, you need to prepare for the summit?”

“It’s fine. Hak will handle it. He becomes more efficient when there’s a tight schedule.”

If Hak had heard that, he’d probably grab Leo’s collar and lunge at him, but Leo said it casually, making everyone shake their heads.

‘Is Leo not scared of Hak?’

Even after spending a year at Lumeran and having juniors now, most of the second-years are still scared of their seniors, especially Hak.

Not only is Hak the strongest in the fifth grade, but he’s also the heir to one of Lumeran’s three great noble families.

But Leo was clearly thinking about taking advantage of someone like Hak.

Everyone looked at Leo with looks of exasperation.

As Leo got up to leave his tray, Iliana quickly spoke up.

“I’m really lucky to be in the same year as Leo.”

“Right. If he was a senior or junior, he’d probably make us do all the work.”

Iliana’s comment made Chelsea nod in agreement.

“The power of the student council president comes from their execution abilities, but Leo seems to be unrelated to that.”

While Celia rested her chin, muttering, Chloe nodded.

“True. He’s completely manipulated Hak. Though Hak actually holds the real power, in the end, he feels like he’s submitting to Leo.”

“Let’s offer our condolences to our seniors.”

Iliana placed her hands together as if in prayer.

Seeing her friends do this, Kal clicked his tongue.

“They know one thing, but they don’t understand two.”

“What?”

At Chelsea’s puzzled expression, Kal looked at her.

“Hey, why do you think Leo’s exploiting the seniors?”

“To avoid doing work himself and for his own convenience.”

At Iliana’s answer, everyone looked at her as if she were pitiful.

“Is Leo like you?”

“Don’t just think about it.”

“Chloe! Other dorm people disrespect me!”

Even as Iliana complained to Chloe with a frown, Chelsea clearly agreed with that sentiment.

Looking at all this, Kal said:

“Leo exploits the seniors because he’s competent. Imagine when these seniors graduate. Who do you think he’ll exploit?”

This made everyone stiffen.

“You’re seeing the future of our own selves in our seniors?”

Kal chuckled.

“Ah, this is just the tragedy of high-achievers. Hahaha! Anyways, I lack talent, so Leo probably won’t exploit me.”

Kal laughed confidently.

Seeing his self-assured expression, the other classmates looked at him suspiciously.

‘For some reason, it’s you who seems like you’ll end up being the one most exploited.’

Everyone here has experienced Leo. This person finds the strengths of others and exploits them to the fullest.

“Want me to tell you? It looks like Kal will end up the one doing the most arduous labor.”

Chelsea’s quiet words made Iliana grin.

“Just let him enjoy it.”

“Why? Isn’t that mean?”

“His grades are at the bottom. He’ll end up working the hardest, so I feel sorry for him.”

Nodding her head after initially tilting it in confusion, Chelsea eventually agreed with Iliana.

*

With the large curriculum event of the World Summit approaching, vitality flowed through the ranks of the first-years.

“Finally, it’s time to show my skills to the world.”

“Ah~ what if someone from a country stronger than our kingdom scouts me? What should I do?”

“Will someone even sponsor me? I know some seniors who got such offers.”

The first-years were visibly excited.

Most wore self-satisfied expressions.

Especially since the summit occurred right before the end-of-term exams, it was enough to inflate expectations.

Even being a Hero Candidate, it was rare for a first-year to showcase their talents in front of world leaders who wielded great power.

The final exams were the place to display all achievements from the past semester.

With the confidence gained from the previous semester’s growth, all first-years were overflowing with self-assurance.

Thus, the students gathered in the hall of the first-year classrooms were each brimming with dreams, chatting animatedly.

Seeing this, Luke said,

“Everyone seems to be looking forward to the end-of-term exams.”

“Aren’t you?”

At Luke’s quiet muttering, Habidden, who had been sitting beside him, narrowed his eyes and spoke.

“I’m thankful if I just manage to continue my studies at Lumeran for the next semester.”

Luke chuckled awkwardly in response.

At this, mocking laughter erupted from various corners.

“Huh, did you hear that?”

“The guy’s goal is just to get through the second semester at Lumeran.”

“Wow, how does he not feel any shame? With those grades, he’s even planning to attend school next semester?”

“Isn’t he counting on the student council president?”

“Probably.”

“But isn’t it unfair that even failing students get to stay in school just because of connections?”

“Right.”

“If this continues, won’t both the student and the student council president get expelled?”

“That would be entertaining.”

“Ah, no way. He’s probably the one who’ll get expelled.”

“That’s another form of unfairness, though!”

Mocking laughter and taunts erupted from all sides.

“Shut up and stop barking. Close your mouths.”

Habidden’s icy words made the students teasing Luke flinch.

“What did you say?”

“Are you done talking?”

Habidden, ranked second in the Department of Knights and among the top five strongest students in the entire first-year class, usually didn’t provoke reactions like that, but these students were different.

The so-called “Aina Line.”

These were the students who formed factions following around Aina.

Faction-making was almost a tradition in Lumeran.

Though talented individuals gathered from all over the world, there were always standout talents.

Naturally, people gathered around these future heroes.

In the fifth grade, the representative faction was the Hak faction, and in the fourth grade, it was the Elena faction that was famous.

In the third grade, Ril had stood out but, because of her personality and the individualistic tendencies of the students, factions were less defined.

In the second year, although initially there were signs of multiple factions due to the many strong students, now they turned out to be the generation with the least factions.

As for the current first-years,

Among them, the most notable was the “Aina Bey” faction.

The issue was that Aina herself had no interest in factions and didn’t manage it either.

The self-proclaimed “Aina faction” members clung to her without her knowledge.

Recently, due to Aina’s immersion in personal training and study, the faction’s overreach had intensified.

Habidden curled his lips into a smug smile as he eyed those who showed hostility toward him.

“It’s amusing. You’ll find out once I beat you to see whether Aina Beydna protects you or not.”

At Habidden’s sarcastic smile, the so-called “Aina faction” flinched.

At least in the Department of Knights, the only student who could rival Habidden was Aina.

“We’ll see.”

Grinding their teeth, the Aina faction students left with a huff.

Habidden smirked at the sight.

“Thank you for helping.”

Luke chuckled awkwardly.

“Hah. Stop pretending to be this foolish underdog, Luke Eldar.”

“What?”

At this unexpected statement, Luke wore a confused expression.

Habidden stood up from his seat.

“Do you see us or other people in your world as mere decorations?”

Habidden said coldly.

“I know exactly how you view me and us. It’s an incredibly irritating look.”

Habidden knew.

This underperformer was eyeing the position of the top student.

The person who first told him this was none other than Duran.

“If he’s after the top student position, keep an eye on Luke Eldar.”

At first, Habidden didn’t understand.

“If Leo Flove chose him, there must be a reason. And his eyes… they look up.”

Duran grinned then.

“Don’t only look ahead and to the sides. Competitors are also behind you.”

When Habidden considered this advice and looked into Luke’s eyes, he understood.

Even if it wasn’t obvious,

Luke truly was trying to surpass him.

“Perhaps unknowingly to himself. But that’s even more irritating.”

And during the previous mission practice,

Habidden and the other first-years had witnessed it.

The top students who took the frontlines, including Habidden, saw it.

That very moment: Luke’s sword strike.

“It’s annoyingly inherent in his nature to be good, but if you’re going to challenge, at least show your teeth.”

Habidden snorted and issued a declaration of battle.

“So I can knock you down with a clear conscience.”