Chapter 434

434.

“Wasn’t that special instructor’s name Arkhan? Didn’t he look familiar?”

Chelsea handed a wooden bowl to Leo as she spoke.

“Didn’t he resemble Lady Aron?”

“Choke, choke.”

At Leo’s words, Kal, who was drinking water nearby, began coughing as if he’d been hit by an accident.

The students nearby distanced themselves from Kal.

“Oh! Now that you mention it, he did look like her.”

Chelsea exclaimed in astonishment.

After ladling stew from a cauldron made by alchemy, Leo handed it to Chelsea.

“Wow! It smells delicious!”

Chelsea cheered at the aroma rising from the stew.

Today’s breakfast was prepared by none other than Leo.

During expeditions in the past life, mealtime was one of the few moments of leisure and peace they could enjoy.

Therefore, even the Great Heroes desired to eat delicious meals during such times.

The cooking duties were rotated, but the most popular turns belonged to Kyle and Luna, who both excelled in cooking.

Kyle, due to his experience as a mercenary, was adept at wilderness living, while Luna’s alchemy skills translated into excellent cooking.

“Rissinas was a terrible cook, and Aron would be content with just grilled meat.”

Still, meals would come out acceptable when the two prepared them.

The problematic member was the Dwarf.

“Food is also art! I’ve prepared a creative dish for all of you!”

Despite having deep knowledge of alchemy, he would create horrifying dishes in the name of art.

Whenever he stood by the fire with suspicious actions, Luna would rush in to kick him away.

“Mmm~!”

After tasting the stew, Chelsea held her cheeks with a spoon in her mouth as a blissful smile spread on her face.

She nodded her head back and forth, clearly relishing it.

“Is it edible?”

“Yeah! It’s good! Amazingly good! I’ve been thinking for a while now, Brother Leo is a good cook too! You’re good at everything!”

With Chelsea’s bright response, the students waiting in line before Leo gulped audibly.

“Leo! Hurry up and give me some too!”

“We need to have something delicious to endure that terrible training from yesterday!”

The hungry teenagers clamored around Leo.

As students who had received stew from Leo began their noisy meal, one of them remarked emotionally:

“We’re saved because Leo is in our group!”

Tied, who had been emotionally drained from last night’s inadequate dinner, was now happily gulping down the stew. It was like rain in a drought, soothing his spirit.

“Make sure Chelsea doesn’t touch the cooking. Anything she makes is poison.”

While Kal warned amidst his drinking, Chelsea, who was sitting in front of him, kicked his back with her foot.

Nonetheless, Kal remained firm.

“Her cooking might be able to k*ll even demons.”

With the start of the official breakfast, cheers erupted in various areas.

“Ugh~!”

After tasting the stew, Chelsea held her cheeks and smiled happily.

Is it edible?”

“Yeah! It’s good! Amazingly good! I’ve been thinking, Brother Leo can cook well too! You can do everything!”

Chelsea’s bright response made the students waiting in line before Leo gulp audibly.

“Leo! Hurry and give me some too!”

“We have to eat something good to endure yesterday’s tough training!”

Hungry teens crowded around Leo.

As students who received stew from Leo began their noisy meal, one of them said emotionally:

“We’re saved because Leo is in our group.”

Tie, who had been emotionally drained from last night’s bad dinner, was now happily gulping down the stew. It felt like rain in a drought, soothing his spirit.

“Make sure Chelsea doesn’t touch the cooking. Everything she makes is poison.”

While Kal was warning while drinking, Chelsea kicked his back with her foot.

Nevertheless, Kal remained firm.

“Her cooking might be able to k*ll even demons.”

As the actual breakfast began, lively cheers erupted in various areas.

“Here you go, everyone, eat.”

Chen Sia handed out the dishes with a cheerful smile to Chloe and Celia.

The students dining with Chen Sia also received their bowls.

And everyone’s expression became strange.

“… The stew is green?”

Clara asked with a slightly stiff face, to which Chen Sia replied.

“I added herbs that help with fatigue recovery. Moreover, if they’re well-prepared, they taste great. It might look a bit odd, but it will taste good.”

Celia bravely took a sip.

“Hmm. It’s good. There’s no way Chen Sia would give us anything strange, right?”

With those words, the other students also tried the stew prepared by Chen Sia.

“Wow, it really is good.”

“I feel my fatigue fading.”

“Although the look is a bit off, it’s really good, huh?!”

“But what exactly did you add to make it green?”

“I carefully prepared a plant called Atrophy.”

“Ah, Atrophy? So this is what it tastes like; I had no idea.”

As the students nodded in admiration, their movements suddenly stopped.

“Wait, isn’t Atrophy a poisonous plant?”

“And not just any poisonous plant, but a famous one known for its potent poison, right?”

“Carefully prepared Atrophy helps with fatigue recovery and tastes good. You didn’t know, did you? Since we have a lot, eat a lot and stay strong!”

With Chen Sia’s bright cheering, the students struggled to continue their breakfast.

Since they were aware of her hard work in finding ingredients early in the morning and preparing the stew, it was hard to refuse her kindness.

Still, this was considered the better case scenario.

“What is this?”

“Stew.”

As Eliza asked, looking perplexed at the contents of the bowl, Iliana answered confidently.

“It looks like this but it’s tasty. Maybe.”

“Maybe? Maybe?! Didn’t you even taste it?”

“It’s still way better than what you made yesterday!”

“Are you picking a fight with me as soon as breakfast started?!”

“Duran, where are you going?”

“To find something to eat.”

“I’ll come too.”

Wherever Iliana was responsible for meals had turned into chaos.

Not just in Lumeran, but even in other school groups, there were many areas where disturbances were spreading.

Then,

“Black Rabbit!”

Ar, who had been rolling around on the ground since morning at Rienia’s behest, ran and shook Leo.

“Thanks to you, I’ve been going through hell since morningaaaaah!”

Seeing Ar vent her anger, Leo said:

“Why did anyone tell you to cause a commotion?”

“I wasn’t causing a commotion!”

“You were about to, though?”

Kal interjected, causing Ar to glare.

“No I wasn’t…! Wup?! ”

Leo inserted a spoonful of stew into Ar’s mouth, making growling sounds.

Ar’s eyes, initially wide, then narrowed sharply as if to say, ‘What is this trick?’

With her tail and ears stiffened and her claws bared, Ar was ready to create a ruckus like a wild cat.

However, after tasting the stew, she soon began munching contentedly.

When Leo handed her his entire bowl, Ar happily continued eating.

Witnessing this, Nella gave a peculiar smile.

“Every time I see it, it seems like the representative of Azonia is very happy. Is she quick to forget unhappiness? She’s extremely positive.”

“Keke- Because she’s simple, because she’s simple. Choak!”

As Nella giggled at these words, Kal kicked Ar in the side.

“What if you give Brother Leo’s share away?”

Chelsea sighed deeply and then quickly ladled some stew to feed Leo with ‘Ah-!”.

“I’m fine. I’ve already completed that training.”

Upon Leo’s words, Chelsea made an expression of longing as she ate the stew.

“By the way, until when are we going to continue that training from yesterday?”

“Probably until we clear it.”

When Tyed murmured discontentedly, Leo smiled and replied.

“You’ll have to pass that to receive real training from the instructors.”

“Eeek?!”

Ar, who had been enjoying the stew happily, suddenly widened her eyes and devoured the rest extremely fast.

She then stood up, swallowed the stew down in one gulp, and shouted.

“Then, we should overcome that training quickly!”

Seeing Ar’s sudden surge in motivation, Lumeran students looked at her with puzzled expressions.

“Black Rabbit! I’m going to prepare for the training!”

As Ar dashed off, Chelsea stared at her with a bewildered expression.

“Why is she like that all of a sudden?”

“There must be a reason.”

Kal, with a spoon in his mouth, answered and whispered to Leo.

“Is she really herself at 100%?”

“Seems that way.”

“What exactly happened?”

“Probably something happened while we didn’t know. I’ve already passed the first day’s training, so I’ll ask her if I see her.”

At Leo’s words, Kal nodded.

“Why isn’t anyone suspecting anything?”

“Her looks have changed completely, so it seems they think she’s someone similar. Moreover, there are actually other beastmen who mimic the style of heroes. They couldn’t even imagine it’s her.”

“That’s true.”

Even if Luna and Seirun had revealed themselves in this world, it wasn’t something miraculous events happening continuously.

“What are you two whispering about?”

Chelsea narrowed her eyes and leaned in.

“We were talking about today’s training. Asking if there are any secrets.”

” Hmm?”

At Kal’s composed answer, Chelsea slightly frowned in suspicion but soon nodded.

Then,

“Hurry up and finish eating! Until when will you keep dragging?”

Rienia called out sharply.

“I really don’t want to get involved with that person.”

Kal shuddered while looking at Rienia.

Looking at such Kal, Leo clicked his tongue.

“Now that I think about it, Kal was assigned to Riena.”

Leo shook his head thinking about revealing the future to his friend.

Thus the second day of the training camp began.

*

“Whoaaaaaah!”

Ar, with wide-open eyes, climbed the cliff with incredible speed.

“Why is she like that all of a sudden?”

Seeing Ar’s intense climb up the cliff, Celia looked confused.

But soon, losing strength, she slipped down with a “slither-slither.”

“Are you alright, Mr. Ar?”

Seeing Ar sprawled out on the ground, Iris cautiously inquired, and Ar jumped up.

“I’ll conquer this accursed cliff quickly and move on to the next step!”

With a dirt-covered face, Ar climbed the cliff once again.

“Beat you to the top, representative of Azonia.”

“You’re just unnecessarily fueling your competitiveness.”

Duran sneered as Celina shook her head.

“Hmph. Wait and see, Celia Zerdinger. I’ll be looking down at you from the top.”

“What?”

Celina narrowed her eyes and growled at Duran before climbing the cliff.

“C’mon, everyone, let’s take it easy.”

Iris pleaded with the three people as she frowned, but they ignored her.

“I noticed this before, but the youth these days are incredible.”

From a far distance, Aron shaded his eyes and murmured as he overlooked the cliff.

“Can you see them without using magic?”

“Hmm.”

When Melina asked in amazement, Aron casually nodded his head.

While Melina was marveling at the physical capabilities of the Great Hero that surpassed all limits,

Leo spoke:

“What do you think?”

“They all possess strength that doesn’t match their age. Especially this Ar kid. He’s much stronger compared to when I saw him before? Didn’t you say only about a year has passed since then?”

Aron was impressed as he looked at Celia and Duran.

“These human boys and girls are amazing as well. The breathing techniques they are using seem somewhat similar to mine.”

“The later generations have improved upon your breathing technique.”

“Ahha. Indeed, it’s fascinating how it can be applied in such a way. I never would have thought of that.”

Aron marveled.

Then he tilted his head in curiosity.

“If their techniques are adapted like this, might other children be able to master Extrasensory Perception?”

Extrasensory Perception.

Aron’s sensory skill.

It was also a representative skill of Aron that Leo could only imitate to a degree.

“If that’s possible, it’ll be a great power for the Beastmen.”

Melina said with a slightly excited tone.

“That’s pleasing if it would help.”

Aron said with a happy smile.

“However, that elf girl seems similar to Berkiya. Although they carry completely different vibes.”

Aron sniffed with a tilt of his head.

“Even their scent is similar.”

“Ah, that child is the descendant of Lady Berkiya.”

“Really?”

Aron’s eyes opened wide in genuine surprise.

“Amazing. So she has descendants too.”

Aron couldn’t hide his joyful smile upon hearing that his disciple had left descendants.

“It’s gratifying somehow. The efforts we made seem clearly worthwhile.”

Aron, wagging his tail, added.

“Observing this makes me somewhat happy. The results of our efforts are undeniably evident.”

Watching Aron savoring, Leo spoke:

“Keep an eye on a child named Ar.”

“Is…isn’t he a bit scary? Is there any reason?”

As Aron tilted his neck slightly inquiringly, Leo replied

“He possesses the power to tame other beastmen through howling.”

“…”

Hearing that it’s the very ability he had long craved, Aron opened his eyes wide and stared at Ar.

“Is that a good sign?”

Aron brightened his eyes and smiled.

“But that elven girl resembles Berkiya. Despite the different aura.”

Aron sniffed and tilted his head.

“Even their scent is similar.”

“Ah, that child is Lady Berkiya’s descendant.”

“Really?”

Aron’s eyes widened in genuine surprise.

“Amazing. So she also left descendants.”

Hearing about his disciple’s descendants, Aron couldn’t help but smile joyfully.

“It’s fulfilling somehow. Our efforts didn’t go to waste, clearly noticeable.”

Wagging his tail, Aron spoke.

Aron’s eyes widened as he glanced at Leo again.

“Among them, keep an eye on a child named Ar.”

“Isn’t…he somewhat frightening? Is there any reason?”

Seeing Aron’s slightly withdrawn question, Leo explained.

“He’s a child who has the power to tame other Beastmen through howling.”

“…”

Upon hearing that it was an ability he had long desired, Aron widened his eyes and stared at Ar.

“Hmmm, that’s promising.”

Aron’s eyes brightened and he smiled.