Chapter 57

【57】56.

The accommodation that Class 5 secured was an entire inn within Berkiya.

The majority of students in the class reacted with great bewilderment upon arriving at the inn.

“Uh, do we really have to sleep here?”

“No mice or anything will come out, right?”

“What about laundry? Cleaning?”

“By any chance, are we expected to prepare our own meals?”

All students from noble families showed signs of confusion.

On the other hand, students from commoner backgrounds, like Kal, were very calm.

Kal even teased his friends.

“Hey, you guys look like spoiled noble ladies right now.”

“What did you say?”

“How dare you act so smug, Kal!”

Chelsea and Iliana reacted with obvious irritation.

Kal let out a scream as he got hit by both of them.

However, the resistant reactions of the students from noble families were not easily subdued.

Until now, all provisions for food, clothing, and shelter had been fully taken care of by Lumeran, no matter how strenuous the training or classes were.

In fact, at the Lumeran dormitory, servants helped with laundry and cleaning, creating an environment where students could focus solely on their studies.

But it was different now.

The school trip had been anticipated with high hopes, yet it turned out to be an accommodation that commoners might stay in.

Even worse, they had to take care of everything on their own.

“Couldn’t we have secured a better place to stay?”

Even Nella, the oldest and most mature student from the class, showed a troubled reaction.

“At the sight of your response, I think it was actually a good choice to pick here.”

“Huh?”

“Come on, everyone, stop complaining. This is also a great experience. Comfortable sleeping arrangements, laundry done by others, meals prepared for us—these conveniences aren’t always going to be available. As Hero Candidates, we must be able to handle any situation.”

At Leo’s words, jeers erupted from various corners.

“Teacher’s pet! You’re the teacher’s assistant!”

“Even being top of the class has its limits!”

“I know Professor Halind didn’t give you the authority to choose the accommodations!”

“Let’s chip in some of our own money to move to a different place.”

Listening to the protests laced with dissatisfaction, Leo spoke up.

“Originally, Professor Halind had planned to have us pitch tents and sleep outside.”

Everyone froze at this statement.

Nella, who was the vice-leader and seemed to hear this for the first time, looked shocked.

“And it was me who persuaded him to have us stay here instead.”

The entire class’s faces turned pale.

To pitch tents and sleep outdoors in this blizzard-hit area!

‘Indeed, the worst professor of Lumeran!’

“I’ll go tell him we can’t stay if you don’t like it here.”

“Hey! Grab him! Stop him!”

“Ahhh! Stop! Leader!”

Terrified Ted and Iliana clung onto Leo’s arms.

In the end, the students decided to quietly spend the ten days at the inn.

“And one more thing. Professors Halind and Sena will not be staying here. We’ve been left entirely to our own devices, but they have warned us to keep within the rules.”

Leo smiled faintly.

“If we get caught violating the regulations, such as men and women sharing a room, they’ll make sure we pay dearly.”

“Tch, no fun at all.”

Iliana muttered under her breath.

“You have until tomorrow morning to enjoy your free time. Spend it wisely exploring the city.”

With Leo’s words, the students each went back to their rooms.

Although they were initially dissatisfied, the realization that there was no supervision gradually raised everyone’s spirits.

“Let’s tidy up our room and change into casual clothes before shopping!”

“It seems there’s a hot spring here. I’ll check it out first.”

“I’m going to the weapons shop!”

Seeing the cheerful atmosphere of the friends around him, Leo muttered to himself.

“Kids adapt quickly.”

“Leo, you sometimes talk like an uncle, you know?”

“I know. I’m going to report to Professor Halind.”

“Should I come too?”

“No, you stay here and observe anything unusual.”

“Alright.”

Halind and Sena were staying at the mansion of the Eresar family, not far from the inn.

Upon leaving the inn, Leo caught sight of a luxury hotel across the street.

There was an air of busy movement over there.

A person who looked like the owner of the hotel was shaking his head towards the elves trying to use the hotel.

‘That place also seems to be taking in group guests.’

After momentarily losing interest, Leo headed towards the Eresar family mansion.

Upon arrival, Leo reported the situation to Halind, who was staying in the guest room.

“Everyone’s settled into their rooms and enjoying their free time.”

“There were complaints about the accommodations, weren’t there?”

“Because Professor Halind said he’d put everyone in tents, everyone’s been pretty quiet.”

Halind let out a deep sigh.

“Leo Flove.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“I know you’re an excellent class leader.”

“Thank you.”

“But why are you always blaming me for your plans?”

“Isn’t it better for the scary person to play the bad guy?”

At Leo’s confident statement, Halind chuckled.

Though he had worked at Lumeran for many years, this was the first time he had come across a student like Leo.

Even the fourth and fifth graders who trembled in his presence were using him like this.

‘Is he fearless or just bold?’

“Alright. Take a break too. It would be a joke if you can’t keep up with the schedule you’ve made yourself.”

“Understood.”

Leo lowered his head and as he stepped out of the room, an elf approached him.

“Mr. Leo Flove.”

“Yes?”

The well-dressed elf woman bowed respectfully.

“Lord Erquent requests an audience with you, Mr. Leo Flove.”

“Lord? Do you mean Lur Eresar?”

“Yes.”

Leo followed the elf woman with a curious expression.

Soon they arrived at the study in the center of the mansion where the elf woman knocked gently.

“Enter.”

With the voice, the elf woman bowed again and Leo entered the room to find Lur Eresar busy at work.

“Good to see you, Leo. Sorry for calling you here, but I’m busy. Would you mind waiting a little? If you’re bored, feel free to look around the study.”

While Lur kept moving his quill non-stop Leo nodded.

“Sure, go ahead with your work. I’ll take a look.”

After saying this, Leo began to look around the spacious study.

The Eresar family was one of the oldest and most prestigious among the elves.

Therefore, the walls were covered with various precious objects.

As Leo strolled around, slowly inspecting the items crafted by the dwarves and elf artisans, his gaze paused on an old dagger.

This was a peculiar dagger.

While the blade was of dagger length, its handle was as long as a longsword. Practically, the ratio of the blade to the handle was nearly 1:1.

“Erquent?”

Lur, who had been busy, also raised his head.

“How do you know about the Erquent? Its history is only passed down to the heads of the Eresar family.”

“I’ve read about it in the library at Lumeran. It was in a book about legendary or lost weapons from old texts. I must say, though, I never imagined it existed as a real weapon.”

Leo rushed to explain.

Erquent was a famous sword crafted by Dwenno using the rare luminous mineral, the Celestial Stone, imbued with the power of starlight.

Originally meant for protection in the event of a great war, it was given to Lunia. However, Lunia later gifted it to her disciple, Berkiya.

Before Kyle and his companions embarked on their final expedition, they lost it in the final battle with Tartarus.

Certainly, this legendary sword was unknown to most people.

‘It’s not the real one.’

The faint star mana was different from the original.

It seemed like only the shell remained.

“Is there such a book? Of course, Lumeran is the Hero Academy. This weapon was a reward from our ancestor’s conquest of Berkiya’s Hero’s World. Since it was a tool used by Berkiya, we treasure it greatly.”

‘So that’s why it felt like only the shell was left.’

Weapons obtained from Hero’s World cannot be used by anyone other than the ones who conquered it.

As Leo nodded, Lur approached, finished his work, and offered him a seat on the guest sofa.

Accepting the seat, Lur personally prepared tea and spoke.

“Halind has told me about you. It’s your entire class, right?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re the top student in the first year of the entire Lumeran?”

“That’s correct.”

“Hmm.”

Lur nodded and then adopted a serious expression.

“Though I might be presumptuous to ask this, would you mind a request?”

“What kind of request?”

“Would you visit my granddaughter?”

At this unexpected question, Leo’s eyes widened.

“What does that mean?”

“Give her a wake-up call.”

Lur sighed deeply.

“My granddaughter is in her first year at Seirun. While it might sound like boasting, she’s a talented girl who entered Seirun with excellent scores.”

Leo nodded.

“But after entering, she hit a wall.”

“Wall?”

“Yes. She always knew she was talented and was always the best among her peers.”

Most students entering Lumeran were like that.

“But the world is vast. Upon entering Seirun, she encountered students better than her.”

“Ah.”

Leo immediately understood.

“While she does have a moody side, she’s diligent and her grades quickly improved. However, there was one person she couldn’t surpass. After that, she completely lost her motivation to study at Seirun.”

“I get the story. But how am I supposed to meet your granddaughter, who’s at Seirun?”

“If she were at Seirun, I wouldn’t have asked you.”

Lur covered his face with his hands.

“Right now, she’s in the middle of a semester but has returned home and is holed up in her room.”

Leo wore an expression of disbelief.

“No matter how we try to reason with her, she continues to refuse school.”

“…”

“So, I’m asking you, the representative of the first year of Lumeran, to give her that wake-up call.”

*

Seirun Academy classifies students according to their grades, based on their year.

Classes are broadly divided into upper, middle, and lower.

In the first year, due to the large number of students, classes are separated into several sections depending on their level.

Naturally, there is a difference in ability even among students in the same upper-level class.

Among them, the top group of first-year students was placed together in the Upper-Level Class 1.

The homeroom teacher of Upper-Level Class 1 sat among the students and announced.

“We have an announcement today.”

The students stood straight, looking at the teacher.

“Starting from today, the upper-level classes will participate in mission practice.”

At this, the students of Class 1 stirred.

Wasn’t mission practice scheduled for the second semester?

“Don’t worry. Isn’t it a recognition of the excellence of the upper-level class by the upper hierarchy of the school?”

The elf teacher’s smiling words made the Class 1 students wear proud expressions.

Truly, being here was a family honor.

On one side,

Their class president, Lunia, who should have been elated, was lying on her back with a vacant look on her face.

Her mind was full of one person’s name.

“Leo Flove? What kind of person does this nonsense? What kind of thief took my contractor? I won’t forgive him… I won’t forgive this.”

Hiss!

Lunia’s eyes began to blaze.

“So, our destination for the mission practice.”

The elf teacher began to write the destination on the blackboard.

“Our destination is Elsalbekia’s Berkiya.”

——————==