Chapter 559

559.

Ruse Tournament.

The competition between Lumeran and Seirun boasting a long history and tradition.

Even though Lumeran and Seirun take turns hosting the event every year, the Ruse Tournament always garners unprecedented attention.

It is a stage where talents from the two races, humans and elves, who will lead the future, showcase their abilities; naturally, many people are captivated by it.

Moreover, a year in the life of a Hero Academy student is much denser than for others.

There are also cases where students, who were seemingly ordinary a year ago, make remarkable performances during the Ruse Tournament.

Thus, the Ruse Tournament is also an opportunity to demonstrate achievements made over the course of a year.

People always become excited at the appearance of new heroes.

Consequently, the sudden emergence of unexpected dark horses is one of the elements that make people look forward to the Ruse Tournament every year.

Aware that they are in the spotlight, both Lumeran and Seirun throw themselves fully into the preparation for the Ruse Tournament each year.

Substantial budgets and manpower are allocated, and guest lists are prepared.

“But bringing Azonia and Demian into this, with so little time left! Gathering four schools in one place! He may be my cousin, but he’s not in his right mind!”

One morning, a week after the inauguration ceremony, Celia was screaming in the student council room.

Frankly, it wasn’t a big issue for Seirun.

Since Seirun was going to be a guest this year, it simply had to arrive in Lumeran.

The only difference was that the competition would involve three schools—Lumeran, Azonia, and Demian—instead of just Lumeran.

However, from the perspective of the Lumeran Student Council responsible for receiving them, it was a daunting challenge.

Council members were rushing around like mad inside the Hero’s Tower.

With a history spanning 3000 years, the four Hero Academies had established cooperation but had never all gathered in one place historically.

Truly an unprecedented plan.

“Do you really think it’s possible to gather all four Hero Academies in one place?”

Celia’s assistant, Niel, a fourth-year from the Department of Knights asked, perplexed, while helping with the paperwork.

Niel, from the Loda Family, a vassal family of the Zerdinger, was Celia’s knight, herself a direct descendant of the Zerdinger family.

First-year Martina from the Department of Knights, also affiliated with the Zerdinger family, nodded in agreement.

“It’s not easy to even make contact with Azonia and Demian right away, is it?”

As they spoke, Celia clutched her head in frustration.

“That Leo, if he says he’ll do it, he’ll probably push it through somehow.”

“But even so, it’s a far-fetched plan. Shouldn’t we try to persuade Young Master Leo?”

Right when Niel said this seriously,

“Huh, are the vassals of the Zerdinger family going against their lord’s orders just because they find it troublesome?”

“What?”

Niel’s forehead veins popped.

The source of the comment was none other than fifth-year Matchel Luzia from the Department of Magic.

Matchel, the heir of the Lu Family, a vassal family of the LeWalyn family, was famously on bad terms with Niel, who was one year younger.

An invisible spark flew between the two.

Bang.

“Eek? N, Niel Senior?”

Niel handed over the pile of documents he was holding to Martina and walked up to Matchel.

With the stack of papers obscuring his view, Martina grew increasingly flustered.

With his arms crossed, Niel at Matchel’s desk said,

“Who said it was troublesome? Initially, it seemed like a far-fetched task, so I suggested persuasion.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“Then are the vassals of the LeWalyn family claiming they blindly follow their lord’s orders with just a ‘Yes, sir’ without any dissent? That must be pretty convenient, huh?”

As the two growled at each other, Celia looked awkward.

“Hey, message from Senior Elenna.”

Kal, with a vacant expression, stepped between the two of them.

“Senior Elenna says it’s distracting and you should take your lovers’ quarrel elsewhere.”

“I’m not having a lovers’ quarrel!”

“Is it about being affiliated with Zerdinger?”

“But Celia and Chelsea get along fine, right?”

Niel and Matchel both snapped at the same moment, causing Kal to scratch his head.

“Who’s getting along with whom?”

“Just bear with it for now. The situation is about to get worse.”

Kal sighed.

It was at that moment.

“Hey.”

A chilling voice rang out.

Everyone turned sharply to look at where the voice came from.

There stood Hark, devoid of any semblance of vitality.

“Are you slacking off?”

“Hark Senior, this isn’t slacking off…”

“Are you slacking off?”

Hark leaned his face close to Niel and asked aggressively.

“I work this hard too, you know. I’m even working at this stage in my final year because of those cursed underclassmen. Why are you slacking off?”

“N, Hark Senior? Pull yourself together.”

“Hey, Hark. Calm down! Why’re you so serious about a quick chat?”

Niel and Matchel, who seemed ready to fight a moment ago, quickly backed down under Hark’s momentum and tried to calm him down.

But Hark’s outburst didn’t stop.

“Quick? Quick? You’ve got some nerve!”

With wide eyes, he pointed fingers not just at Niel and Matchel but also at other students taking brief rests.

“Don’t eat! Don’t drink! Don’t sleep! Don’t even blink or breathe! Stop everything and work!”

“Hark Senior? Breathing is kind of necessary to live.”

“Then d*e. Just d*e and work till you drop.”

“Hark Senior! … Whoops?!”

“Yup. That’s it. Have some candy and calm down, please.”

Just as Hark was about to explode with anger, Elenna, who had appeared out of nowhere, grinned and shoved a piece of candy into his mouth.

Right when the angry Hark was about to burst,

“Leo said he should head back and rest for the day, and then come to the student council in two days.”

“Is that true?”

Hark glared suspiciously at Elenna.

“Yes. Leo said it looks like Hark Senior has been working too much and really needs a rest.”

At these words, Hark’s face brightened up.

Despite his typically irritable and sleep-deprived demeanor, Hark looked like a delicate young man.

When he smiled brilliantly, it felt as if some energy returned to the surroundings.

Humming a tune, Hark left the council room with the candy still in his mouth.

The student council members looked at his departing figure with pity.

Even though Hark had wreaked havoc in the student council for the past week, the members felt sorry for him because they knew all too well how Leo had kept him awake and working.

‘Is he really that happy?’

‘People really do come to appreciate fundamental rights as great joys when they’re being exploited.’

As the student council members all sighed with a mixture of sympathy and regret,

“What’s with the pitying stares? Even if you two don’t get along, should it affect you this much? Do you not feel any pity when you see him like this?”

When Niel scolded Elenna, she smiled mischievously.

“Yes. Not at all.”

At this response, the student council members all rolled their eyes, thinking, ‘Truly, the witch of Lumeran.’

“Our futures are going to look just like his. We’ll be mistreated just the same, so why pity him?”

“…”

At this, the entire student council’s faces hardened.

“Leo knows how to use people effectively. It’s like he knows exactly how to push people to their limits.”

Elenna wondered aloud, stretching out her hand.

Meanwhile, Karl, who was trying to distance himself from Elenna, had his collar grabbed.

“Where do you think you’re going? Since Senior Hark is resting, the work he was doing will have to be divided between you and me.”

“Save me!”

“Don’t worry, you won’t d*e.”

Elenna grinned widely as she dragged Karl along.

Watching this, Celia looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

“When will this hell end?”

*

It wasn’t just the student council that was busy.

The entire school was involved in the preparations for the event, now called the Hero Academy Tournament—no longer just the Ruse Tournament.

Works were ongoing during the free periods in the morning and afternoons, and extended deep into the evenings after school.

“Why the hell did I enroll in Lumeran just to dig dirt?”

A first-year from the Department of Knights, El Jane, screamed as she struck the ground with her pickaxe.

She was one of the Shadow Candidate students from the Shan Empire following Chen Sia, a representative student of that nation.

“And why does this work never end!?”

El Jane swung her pickaxe in growing frustration.

Lu, standing nearby, chuckled.

“This time, we’re expecting tens of thousands of spectators. It’s the first time in Lumeran’s history that we’re accommodating this many visitors, so we need to build enough lodgings for them.”

“Lu, do you just agree with everything Master Leo says?”

El Jane narrowed her eyes.

Looking at her, Lu said,

“Jane. If you swing the pickaxe like that, it’ll hurt you.”

“Huh?”

“Relax your lower back a bit…”

Lu adjusted El Jane’s posture.

“You know this?”

“I helped with farming back in the countryside.”

“Oh, that’s right. You’re probably skilled with tools. I’ve only trained in stabbing people.”

At El Jane’s ominous comment, Lu laughed uneasily.

“Lu, how’s my form?”

Aina approached Lu and asked.

“Maybe add a little more strength to your wrists?”

“Mhmm.”

Aina nodded at Lu’s suggestion.

“This could be a new form of training.”

“You really treat everything as training, don’t you?”

At Aina’s muttering, El Jane shook her head.

Though the Hero Candidates were all young, they were elite individuals with strong physical abilities capable of freely wielding their special abilities.

When these people were deployed to build lodgings for visitors, construct auditoriums, and the battlefield, the progress of various civil and construction projects was incredibly fast.

However, because there was so much work to be done, it seemed endless.

“Nevertheless, how skilled will the first-year students from the other schools be?”

“They were only concerned about Seirun.”

The first-years began talking with curiosity about this topic.

No matter which Hero Academy it is, there are always precocious talents who stand out globally from the first year.

However, there is relatively little information available about the other students.

By the second year, skilled individuals begin to shine, gaining fame, but in the first year, they remain obscured.

Thus, it is hard to compare their strength with students from other hero academies.

“Whoever they are, we’ll just have to show the world that we’re the best.”

Heibidden’s words were met with nods from the first-years.

“Yeah! No matter if it’s Seirun, Azonia, or Demian, let’s blow them all away!”

“Ooooh!”

“Come at us!”

The first-years shouted with enthusiasm.

Calmly observing this, Aina spoke matter-of-factly,

“Finish this first.”

The fiery momentum of the first-years was dampened as though someone had thrown cold water on them.

“What a buzzkill during a good mood.”

“Hmm? What’s that?”

While Lu scratched his cheek, Aina tilted her head, confused.

“Never mind.”

Lu laughed awkwardly and shook his head.

In this way, the entire Lumeran was busy preparing for the upcoming school competition.

A single invitation arrived at Lumeran.

The invitation sent directly to the Lumeran Student Council President was none other than from Dragonia.

Lumeran wasn’t the only one.

Invitations were also sent to Seirun, Azonia, and Demian.