Chapter 498

498.

As the Festival of Twilight approached, the entire realm of Lumeran was bustling with festivity.

The Festival of Twilight is a celebration in honor of Lumeran.

Thus, the students of Lumeran prepared fervently for this grand event. A few clubs even went so far as to prepare special performances dedicated to the festival.

“Clubs? This school really is full of life, isn’t it?”

Lady Luna smiled gently as she observed the bustling activity around her, noting how busy the Lumeran students were with club activities.

“It’s nothing like the school I went to.”

“Lady Luna, did you attend school?”

Chen Sia’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Yes. I attended a school called Barharun, where they train elves.”

“Barharun! I’ve heard of that from Lady Lunia!”

“Lunia? Oh, the one with the red hair?”

At Eiran’s mention, Luna nodded, recalling Lunia.

The memories of the Hero’s World had already been passed to her, including those of her past confronting fragments of Erebus.

“What was Barharun like as a school?”

Chen Sia asked, her eyes brimming with curiosity.

Observing Chen Sia’s earnest gaze, Luna replied, “It was a school to select high elves, specifically established by the gods to choose the Elf King.”

“T-these gods you’re talking about?”

“This era is quite different from back then.”

Eiran’s eyes widened, and Chen Sia marveled. A school founded by the gods?

These days, such a concept was unimaginable.

“Lady Luna, have you ever met a god?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Wow, that’s incredible. You’ve met a god yourself.”

“Not just me. That guy over there must have met them too.”

Luna pointed toward Leo, who was walking casually behind, seemingly disinterested.

“Back in the Era of Catastrophe, anyone who made a name for themselves would have met the gods.”

Luna spoke dismissively of the gods, as if they were mere pebbles one could stumble upon along the road.

In response to her offhand attitude, Eiran and Chen Sia looked at Leo with renewed admiration.

“Of course, gods are wise beings, aren’t they?”

“Are they truly omnipotent?”

At this question, Luna smirked.

“Gods are stupid, perverted, and incompetent trash.”

Eiran and Chen Sia froze, stunned by Luna’s unexpected assessment.

“Not all gods are like that,” Eiran interjected.

“Yes, there are the occasional competent ones, but most of the time they’re useless,” Luna added bluntly.

Leo agreed with her, having also formed similar opinions from his experiences with gods who had survived countless aeons. Many of them were hedonists, elevating people to hero status for no reason other than amusement, disregarding the consequences on the lower realms.

“Thus, once you truly understand the essence of the gods, you realize they’re not very trustworthy.”

The testimonies from the two Great Heroes left Eiran visibly troubled.

“It’s nothing like the fairy tales or storybooks.”

“Indeed. Reality tends to be harsh. Most of the stories we hear are fabrications. Bit by bit, as you grow and realize this, you become an adult.”

Luna tousled Eiran’s hair, offering reassurance.

At this exchange, Leo quipped, “That’s just like you.”

“What do you mean, ‘like me?’”

Luna squinted at Leo, perplexed.

Leo retrieved a Great Hero storybook from his coat, one familiar to everyone present except Luna.

The children’s storybook titled [Heroes of the Beginning].

A tale almost every child in this world read for the first time.

Leo opened the storybook to its character introduction page.

There was a picture of Luna, depicted with a smile as gentle as spring itself.

“Compassionate elf, progenitor of the star clouds, Luna? Is this you?”

“I’m not compassionate.”

“I beg to differ.”

Without hesitation, Luna snatched the book from Leo, waving it mockingly in the air.

As Luna’s “attack” unfolded,

Chen Sia inquired, “Were you a candidate for the Elf King, Lady Luna?”

“Nope. Back then, the elves were corrupt in many ways.”

Luna shrugged dismissively. “They’d never select someone like me, born of the heavens.”

“Even recently, there were similar incidents in elf society.”

“Indeed, the elf race is a messed-up group,” Luna agreed, sticking out her tongue.

While Luna spoke, Eiran winced awkwardly, and Leo shook his head.

“You shouldn’t be the one saying that, as an elf.”

Though proud of their heritage, elves are a race that cherishes their dignity deeply. Luna, having witnessed their failures from a young age, wasn’t burdened by the same attachment.

“It’s the truth,” Luna insisted, tugging at the ends of her ears humorously.

“But I don’t hate all elves!”

She then embraced Eiran and cuddled her head against the girl’s.

“Ooh, my cute Eiran.”

Seeing Luna dote on Eiran like a proud mother with her child, Leo smirked.

Eiran, clearly enjoying the attention, smiled faintly.

“Regardless, though it might have been different in the beginning, Barharun was a chaotic school. Which is why I prefer Lumeran a lot more.”

Chen Sia nodded in response.

At this point, the group had arrived at the club section.

Their reason for visiting was simple: Luna wanted to explore.

As soon as the group entered the club area:

“Hiiik?!”

“Le-Leo Flove!”

“The Student Council President!”

The club students, who were busy preparing, immediately screamed upon seeing Leo and Chen Sia, fleeing hurriedly without even making eye contact.

Perplexed by this reaction, Luna asked,

“What’s with them? Why are they running like they’ve seen a plague-stricken person just because they saw you?”

“Lord Leo is regarded like a grim reaper among the clubs.”

“A grim reaper?”

“Yes.”

Chen Sia giggled as she explained. The infamy of Leo’s first inspection as student president, during which many clubs had their budgets audited and slashed, still lingered.

From that moment on, whenever Leo approached, the club presidents instinctively cowered in fear.

“So, which club do you want to visit first?”

“Wouldn’t it be best to visit one related to magic?”

“Then let’s visit the Department of Magic Engineering.”

Leo led the group toward the Department of Magic Engineering.

*

“Kiiaaaa!”

In the fifth year of the Department of Magic, Jaeme Deckt, the former head of the Magic Engineering Department, screamed as soon as Leo entered the area, hiding behind a curtain and trembling.

His reaction, akin to seeing a demon, piqued Luna’s interest. Grabbing Leo by the hand, she revealed him to the frightened Jaeme by pulling the curtain aside.

“Kieeeeeeek!”

Seeing Jaeme curl up in agony like a vampire facing sunlight, Luna closed the curtain again.

As he began having a seizure, she pulled it open again.

“Kiiaaaaa!”

She slammed it shut again.

“This is fun!”

Seeing Luna’s devilish grin, Leo playfully pushed Eiran toward her.

“You didn’t come here for budget cuts today, so let’s stop this.”

“R-really?”

Jaeme cautiously peered from behind the curtain with a frightened expression.

“Yes, and besides, as a graduating senior, it doesn’t matter whether your budget gets affected or not, right?”

“Yes, there is! The research of the Magic Engineering Department will continue even after I leave!”

Jaeme asserted boldly.

“Okay then, no budget cuts.”

Only after this reassurance did Jaeme fully emerge from behind the curtain, visibly relieved.

“So why are you here?”

Leo nodded toward Luna and Eiran.

“We have some visiting students who want to observe.”

“Exchange students from Seirun?”

Jaeme adjusted his glasses.

“Right. What kind of magic are you researching in the Magic Engineering Department?”

“The recent project we started is about magic that makes flowers bloom.”

“What?”

Luna’s eyes widened.

Seeing her reaction, Jaeme elaborated, “You’ll know this if you’re from Seirun, but Leo here restored the floral magic sigil and returned it to the elf society.”

Jaeme retrieved a chalkboard from the corner, displaying the sigil for flower magic.

“Furthermore, it’s been revealed that this magic was something Lady Luna, the progenitor of the star clouds, once wished for.”

This fact became widely known during last summer’s break while exploring Luna’s world.

“Though, even though the sigil was restored, it’s not fully understood yet. That’s why Leo is still the only magician who can use the magic of flowers,” Jaeme added wistfully.

A magic a mage wishes for often represents their inner soul and nature. Using it implies understanding the heart of the one who wished it.

From this perspective, Leo was the only magician in the world who truly understood the heart of the progenitor of the star clouds.

“We also want to understand the heart of the progenitor of the star clouds. That’s why we’re studying the method of using the floral magic through the ‘Introduction to Star Magic.’”

“Introduction to Star Magic?”

A momentarily confused Luna asked,

“Why do you want to understand the heart of the progenitor of the star clouds?”

“You’re an elf yet you’re asking such a strange question.”

Jaeme chuckled, perplexed.

“You’re magic itself.”

“…”

“Every magician in this world respects you.”

Luna had left behind countless foundations that ensured magic would flourish throughout the centuries after the catastrophe.

“Elves think only they truly respect Lady Luna, but all magicians admire her like a star.”

Jaeme smirked.

“Because of that, magicians everywhere want to understand the heart of such a figure.”

Shocked, Luna froze solid as Jaeme beamed at her.

“Chief! Come over here for a moment!”

“It’s ‘Honorary Chief!'”

Jaeme stomped off angrily. Luna watched him in disbelief.

These young magicians—her distant juniors—admired her in ways she’d only just realized.

It was an odd mix of pride, awkwardness, and nervousness.

“Feeling good?”

At that moment, Leo smiled.

“What’s it like being a shining star in the night sky?”

“What?”

“Every magician in today’s era is a descendant of Luna Rubyneance, the progenitor of the star clouds.”

Leo glanced at the magicians around them.

“You’re literally the greatest master and the goal to aspire toward for all magicians. You’ve become a guiding star in the night sky.”

Luna stood dumbfounded.

“It’s only possible because of you, Luna.”

Leo turned to her.

“I’m incredibly pleased that you get to witness all this.”

His gentle smile made Luna’s face turn crimson, as if it might burst into flames imminently.

“Not a good look for you.”

Hearing Leo’s chuckle, Luna inwardly screamed.

‘This is all your fault! You idiot!’