Chapter 433

433.

Early morning.

As the sun began to rise, the second-year students started to wake up sluggishly from their sleep.

“I want to wash up.”

“Ugh… I’m hungry.”

“I didn’t sleep well at all.”

Whimpers echoed from all around.

The hero candidates, who had arrived at the training session with high spirits, invited by Dragon Lord, had fallen into shabby conditions in just a single day.

“This is like refugee camp or something.”

“Refugees don’t even have it this bad, right? This is a complete beggar’s den, a beggar’s den.”

Despite the short break, Kal appeared refreshed and lively compared to before.

After yawning widely, Kal muttered his complaints.

In fact, when they went to sleep the night before, they weren’t in this sorry state.

Each Hero Academy conducts survival training in the wilderness.

By the second year, students should have the skills to survive even if dropped in the middle of a desert or an ocean.

Even among such students, only the exceptionally gifted were selected for this training—but their current pitiful state could be attributed to one cause.

The bizarre and formidable Guardian Army under Melina.

Worse, not only were they dealing with Guardians that had vulnerabilities to physical attacks, but even those with strong physical defenses started appearing.

After a grueling day of training and a restless night, it was natural they looked so disheveled.

As Leo clicked his tongue in disapproval.

Prrlang~

“Huh? What’s this?”

A paper flew toward Leo and Kal.

When Kal unfolded it, neat and pretty handwriting revealed a short message.

“Student Kal, please come to the west part of the forest without drawing the attention of other students. – Dragon Lord.”

Kal sucked in his breath in surprise.

Leo also found the same content on his paper.

“Is it the same for you, Leo?”

“Yeah.”

“Woah, what in the world is going on?”

“Let’s just go.”

Knowing what was happening, Leo remained calm as he walked with the excited Kal to where Melina had called them.

When they slipped away from the group and approached the bushes to the west, they found Lunia, Eiran, Ar, and Driana there as well.

“Huh?! L-Leo-sama?”

Upon spotting Leo, Eiran gasped and quickly hid behind Lunia.

“Why are you like that?”

When Lunia asked curiously, Eiran replied:

“It’s embarrassing to show such a state before Leo-sama.”

“You’ve already shown him all sorts of looks before.”

“When have I ever behaved poorly in front of Leo-sama?”

“Some strange outburst of fantasies or something.”

“Ma-Ma-Stop saying that!”

Eiran tried to cover Lunia’s mouth as she made an exasperated face.

“Did you all get summoned by Dragon Lord too?”

“Yeah. This looks like Dwenno’s world conquest team, huh?”

Kal tilted his head in confusion.

Meanwhile, Ar was trying her best to tidy up her messy hair with her hands.

“Maybe Lord Melina plans to give us special training?”

Ar frowned when her hair refused to comply.

“Whatever it is, I desperately want to clean up.”

The feline beastman was known among the beastmen for being especially meticulous.

Looking at Ar, Kal said,

“You’re a cat, so just give yourself a cat wash.”

“Are you teasing me? As the heir of the Tuen family, how could I just slap water on my face and call it a day? And besides, don’t you need water for cat washes too?”

“Ah, not the water way. What’s it called… grooming? Don’t cats use their saliva to clean their fur?”

Kal earned a punch in the ribs as he chuckled.

Though a light hit, it felt like taking a dropkick from Chelsea.

Watching Kal roll on the ground, Ar sneered until…

“Hello, everyone. Did you all sleep well last night?”

Everyone except Leo immediately tensed upon hearing the voice behind them.

Sak-sak~

Kal’s mouth dropped open as Melina appeared with a bright smile.

Though her face was covered by a veil, her presence was commanding.

“Hi, Eiran-san and Kal-kun, haven’t we met yet like this? Nice to meet you. I’m Dragon Lord Melina.”

“Ah, hello, great lord of the dragons. I’m Eiran from Eresar.”

“Hoo, you don’t need to be so nervous.”

Melina’s gentle laugh made Eiran’s face flush slightly.

Eiran, a lover of hero tales, knew every detail about the silent dragon’s heroics.

With the presence of the greatest hero of this era, some excitement was inevitable.

“Kal Thomas, my name is Kal Thomas, Lord.”

“Nice to meet you, Kal-kun.”

Under the veil, Melina’s lips curved into a soft smile.

After seeing it, Kal, who had been nervous, hesitated for a moment before carefully asking,

“Lord… have we met somewhere before?”

“Hoo-hoo, are you trying to hit on me now?”

“No, that’s not—”

Kal looked perplexed, not realizing why he had asked out of a vague sense of familiarity.

After jokingly greeting Kal, Melina continued,

“I’ve called all of you here because there’s something important I want to ask.”

“Something important?”

“Yes, in a little while, the instructors who will be training you during this training session will be introduced. Absolutely, don’t be excited, understood?”

“What could possibly excite us?”

“Do you understand, Ar?”

Ar, who was wearing a curious expression, received a closer and emphatic smile from Melina.

“Yes.”

Watching Ar’s slightly uneasy nod, Melina smiled in acknowledgment.

“Great, then please return to your friends. We’ll meet again soon.”

With expressions of ‘Is this the end?’, the group returned to the campsite despite their confusion.

-Why did you have to phrase it that way?

Using magic, Leo whispered audibly only to Melina.

-Surprise events are always fun, aren’t they?

Watching Melina’s cheerful reply, Leo let out a dry laugh.

“How does someone like you dare to approach Dragon Lord?”

“No, it’s just because I felt like I’ve met you somewhere before.”

Lunia looked exasperated while addressing Kal, who in turn crossed his arms and asked seriously,

“Leo, didn’t you sense something too?”

“Hmm.”

Leo shook his head while suppressing a smile.

‘Truly perceptive.’

Kal’s observational skills were unparalleled, no matter what.

They returned to the campsite with a nagging sense of unease.

Upon arriving, they found students lined up by schools.

In front of them were familiar faces.

“Whoa, Senior Ris, Senior Ulta, and Senior Jamua are all here.”

Kal marveled at the presence of last year’s top graduates from Lumeran.

“Lunia-ya! Senior Rienia is also here!”

“That senior wouldn’t miss an event like this. But, what’s with that getup? Sunglasses and a baseball cap?”

Unlike the purely cheerful Eiran, Lunia was less thrilled to see Rienia, the former student council president of last year.

She was well-known for her eccentric behavior.

During the last year’s Ruse Tournament, Rienia had taunted Leo with the championship trophy and even got provoked by Polyum instead.

Her current mysterious outfit with crossed arms and head bowed low wasn’t reassuring.

Additionally, there were graduates from the Seirun Academy present.

From the Azonia Academy side, last year’s student council president, Vanir, leading the graduates was unsurprisingly there.

“Why did she tell us not to get excited?”

Ar swished her cat tail as she wondered aloud.

Driana too tilted her head as she looked at the graduates.

“As you say, there doesn’t seem anything out of the ordinary.”

Just then, as students were gathering,

“Move it! What are you all dilly-dallying for?”

Suddenly, Riena lifted her head and barked loudly.

Caught off guard by this sudden outburst, the students froze.

“Start running immediately!”

With the abrupt order, students began moving frantically.

“Fall into proper rank! Hero candidates, is this all you can do?”

Raising her voice until her neck reddened, Riena intimidated everyone. Watching her, a girl from Seirun began to sniffle.

“Se-Se- Senior, you’re scary. Why are you doing this?”

Clearly shaken by the unexpectedly fierce demeanor, the student who was usually known to be kind, seemed scared.

“Who said you could call me ‘senior’? I am an instructor here to train all of you recruits. Address me as Instructor from now on. Understood?”

“S-Se-Senior.”

Despite Seirun’s cold northern winds, Riena’s chill voice made the Seirun girl shed tears.

“Tilena recruit, step forward!”

“Um, yes?”

“Come out here.”

Tilena hesitantly stepped forward.

“Get down on the ground.”

“Uh? This is dirt…”

“I don’t repeat myself three times. Get down.”

With a small cry, Tilena obeyed and lay down.

“Roll to the left. Now the right.”

Confused Tilena rolled on the ground as tears welled up in her eyes.

Seeing this, every school’s students displayed expressions of dissatisfaction.

“Why are you crying here?! Pull yourself together!”

Riena bellowed in increased anger.

“I’m sorry!”

Still being berated, Tilena wiped her tears away quickly.

Watching this, Torua asked a former Seirun graduate she knew,

“Why is she getting so worked up alone?”

“Unsure, she has been reading strange books recently. She seems to believe that she’s an ideal instructor now.”

Riena’s classmate replied with an exasperated face.

“Hmm? Should we mimic her? It looks somewhat entertaining.”

Torua’s eyes sparkled.

Meanwhile, after roughing up the underclassmen enough, Riena addressed everyone,

“This instructor is not a bad person. Depending on your actions, this training session can become a paradise or a hell. Understood?”

“Yes.”

“Your voices are too low!”

“Yesss!”

Watching the fierce Riena, Lunia sighed deeply.

“That’s what I expected.”

“Our senior is scary.”

“I don’t know such a person.”

Ignoring Ar’s comment, Lunia acted as if she didn’t know her.

Leo also couldn’t help but chuckle dryly at Riena’s performance.

‘She’s a unique character, as I noticed before.’

As the intense atmosphere spread over the campsite,

“Hello everyone.”

Melina appeared.

With the entrance of the Dragon Lord, all second-year students let out exclamations of “Ohhh!” but quickly straightened up under Riena’s intimidating aura.

Observing the scene, Melina started her speech as usual.

“Seeing future heroes makes me truly happy. I hope you gain a lot from this training session.”

After delivering the speech, which was filled with the usual cliches about sleepiness, Melina announced,

“Before we start the intensive training session, we have invited a special instructor.”

As Melina spoke, the graduates looked curious.

The students, hearing the words ‘special instructor,’ sparkled with excitement.

Jebek-jebek—

Everyone’s eyes were drawn to the beastman youth who appeared.

“Special instructor, summoned by me, Akan.”

“Uh, nice to see you all.”

Kal, who had been stifling a yawn, froze momentarily when the special instructor appeared.

“Kheug?”

“What’s wrong?”

When Kal gasped, Teid, who was in front, turned around with a curious look.

Lunia and Eiran had wide-open mouths.

Driana blinked her eyes several times.

The youth, moving with a somewhat stiff and timid gait, carefully approached Melina.

Everyone was puzzled.

“Hmm, seems like there’s no real vigor, isn’t it?”

“The instructor invited by the Dragon Lord must be somebody great.”

As students wore expressions of confusion,

“Huf! Huf!”

Ar let out a deep breath.

Her ears pricked up, and her eyes grew round like a cat’s.

It seemed she was about to jump at any moment, her muscles tensed.

Ar’s tail swished back and forth.

Ping!

“Meow?!”

Leo had silently appeared behind Ar and strongly pulled her tail.

“What are you doing! Black Rabbit!”

Ar turned around and scolded Leo, who had grabbed her tail before quickly returning to his place.

Just then, Riena’s voice of reprimand rang out.

“Who are you? While Lord is speaking!”

“I-It’s because of the Black Rabbit!”

Even though Ar tried to protest with injustice in her voice, Riena’s decision was firm.

“Come with me!”

“I’ll take care of this later, Black Rabbit!”

As Ar was dragged away by Riena, she shouted with mixed frustration.

Watching Ar being dragged away, Aron slightly showed a frightened expression.

Seeing this, Leo shrugged while secretly observing.

‘Ar should learn a lot from Aron.’

But Aron was the one showing fear toward Ar.

‘This is a long road ahead.’

With a dry laugh, Leo shook his head.