Chapter 64

【64】63.

“d*ath Knight?”

“A d*ath Knight in the sacred sanctuary?”

Upon hearing Leo’s report, Halind and Lur wore serious expressions.

“I can’t believe it.”

However, an elf wearing glasses sitting in Lur’s office raised a question.

“Indeed, tragically, monsters have appeared in the Fairy Forest for quite some time now. But a d*ath Knight? There’s no such precedent, is there?”

Shaking his head, the elf turned to Leo and asked.

“Are you absolutely sure you saw a d*ath Knight?”

“Why would I claim to have seen something I haven’t?”

“I’m not saying that you’re lying, student of Luneran. We received reports from our students about the appearance of skeletons. That’s why I came to inform the Council President. But there was no mention of a d*ath Knight.”

‘This must be a teacher from Seirun.’

The teacher of Seirun adjusted his glasses and asked.

“Lunarian student, have you ever seen an undead before?”

“Not in this life.”

“In that case, you might have mistaken a Skeleton Knight for a d*ath Knight. It’s a fairly common misunderstanding.”

‘There’s no way I could have mistaken it after taking down d*ath Knights by the battalion in my past life.’

With a snort of laughter, Leo replied.

“Seems like the students of Seirun often make mistakes, huh?”

At that remark, the Seirun teacher hesitated for a moment, then cleared his throat.

“Hmm. Even our students make occasional mistakes.”

The Seirun teacher then changed the subject.

“In any case, Lunarian student, if you truly encountered a d*ath Knight, it would have been rather difficult to survive. It’s a monster even our first-year students at Seirun would find hard to handle alone. Are you saying you escaped alone?”

“Yes.”

“You seem quite confident in your abilities.”

The teacher smirked and turned to Halind.

“Professor Halind, what do you think?”

“I believe the words of our school’s student. Professor Herdium.”

Saying this firmly, Halind looked on as Herdium furrowed his brow and then turned to Lur.

“President of the Council, what do you think?”

“He’s not one to lie, is he.”

Lur smiled and Herdium gave a look of resignation.

“Let’s discuss further about the d*ath Knight at a later time.”

At Lur’s statement, both Halind and Herdium nodded.

“Professor Halind, Leo, go ahead first. I have something separate to discuss with Professor Herdium.”

“Understood.”

Halind bowed and left the office with Leo.

“Looks like there’s been a change in the schedule.”

Upon leaving the office, Halind muttered this.

At that, Leo wore a puzzled expression.

“A change in schedule? What do you mean?”

“Professor Herdium is the homeroom teacher for the advanced first-year class at Seirun. They arrived here for a mission training session.”

Halind smiled faintly.

“We’re here on a study trip and Prof. Herdium requested combined classes.”

“Combined classes?”

“We’ll experience the style of teaching in Seirun, and they’ll experience ours.”

“Sounds fun.”

“It will be fun. But this isn’t just about fun. It’s a great opportunity to broaden our horizons. This isn’t something we can just wish for. In that sense, our class is lucky.”

“You’re right.”

“The advanced first-year class at Seirun is made up of their top students. It will benefit us greatly.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Prof. Herdium has invited us over for the evening. Inform the class accordingly.”

“Yes.”

*

“Whoa! We’re going to meet students from Seirun!”

“Hey! How do I look? Is my hair set alright?”

“Does this necklace suit me?”

Before the evening banquet, the students of Class 5 were buzzing with excitement.

“Kal, what are you doing?”

Leo looked curiously at Kal, who was seated on the first floor, making catalogs.

“Making a catalog. Maybe the students from Seirun will need the goods I deal with?”

Kal smirked, to which Chelsea skeptically crossed her arms.

“Are you planning to do business right here?”

“It’s advertising, advertising. I’m preparing for business during the joint classes that will begin tomorrow.”

At that, Chelsea nodded.

“Time’s up. Let’s go.”

As Leo checked the clock and spoke, the students of Class 5 got up.

Upon stepping outside,

“It’s freezing!”

“What’s the point of setting your hair if it’s going to mess up like this!”

Crying out, they were battered by the snowstorm.

Kal chuckled at their plight.

“Are you idiots?”

Of course, shortly afterward, he got a face full of snowballs.

“At least we’re close by, so it’s lucky.”

Nella smiled faintly.

The accommodation for Seirun was a luxury hotel just in front of Luneran’s lodgings.

“So this is where Seirun had rented the whole place. Hmm! They really have plenty of resources.”

Kal sniffed, to which Chelsea shrugged.

“Seirun is famous for being the richest among the hero academies.”

The status of hero academies varies across species.

Even Luneran, for example, has many factions dissatisfied with the current system.

Because of the Hero Record, their best talents are forced to enroll in Luneran. Though many find prominent positions in their home countries after graduating, a significant number also join the hero guilds managed by Luneran.

This naturally leads to resentment over talent outflow.

But Seirun was different.

Seirun was the central hub of the Elven States, functioning as one of the major forces representing all elves.

“Isn’t it said that Luneran’s facilities compare to a drop in the ocean compared to Seirun’s?”

“Indeed. Elves, more than anything else, value ‘bloodlines.’ As such, it’s safe to say there are hardly any students from unknown noble families or commoners in our school.”

“The sense of authority must be intense.”

While Kal was speaking, Class 5 arrived at the hotel.

At the hotel entrance, a footman waiting there opened the door properly.

“Welcome, everyone.”

“May I take your coats?”

“Right this way.”

In the lobby, footmen courteously took their coats, with some students like Chelsea handling it nonchalantly while others, like Kal, fumbled with it.

“This way, please.”

The students were led by the footman into the grand banquet hall of the hotel.

“What in the world is this?”

Kal muttered in disbelief.

The grand banquet hall was extravagance personified.

“Isn’t this the level of parties hosted by His Majesty the Emperor of our empire?”

Even Chelsea, a direct descendant of the renowned LeWalyn family, found it excessively luxurious.

While everyone was amazed, Herdium approached.

“Welcome. I’m Herdium Wintel, currently teaching students at Seirun. Please call me Professor Herdium.”

“Thank you for inviting us, Professor Herdium.”

Class 5 students bowed politely.

“In the hope that our students will lead Seirun and Luneran in the future, may this be an opportunity to form deep camaraderie.”

After finishing his speech, Herdium smiled once and returned to his seat.

Haldin and Sena had already arrived and were dining.

“Let’s eat since we’re hungry.”

While Kal rubbed his hands together, Chelsea gave him a sharp look.

“Don’t act rude like you usually do. The students from Seirun are watching.”

“I understand. I don’t intend to embarrass the school.”

Though there was curiosity about Seirun Academy, Luneran and Seirun were rival hero schools that had maintained the rivalry for a long time.

Especially, in recent years, Seirun had been outperforming Luneran in various exchanges.

Luneran was secretly looking for chances to surpass Seirun, while Seirun was trying to maintain its current edge.

This evening was also a meeting point for the future rivals of their school years from another school.

Their increased attention to their appearance during the normal times was for this very reason—they didn’t want to appear submissive.

As the party began, the students of Luneran and Seirun curiously observed each other.

Initially, the air was somewhat awkward, but the similar goals and being the same age group soon broke the ice.

Leo also had several students from Seirun approach him with curiosity.

“I study spirit magic in Seirun. How about you?”

“I’m also into summoning.”

“Ho. How’s the spirit magic class at Luneran?”

The first student introduced himself as a spirit mage.

“I’m training in spear combat.”

“Also a knight student.”

“Oh. I wish to broaden my horizons on Luneran’s knights. May I request a sparring match tomorrow?”

“Of course.”

The second student introduced himself as a knight.

Several students came and went.

Meanwhile, Leo noticed something.

“Why aren’t there any students studying magic?”

As the music changed throughout the party, sometimes quiet and conversational, other times upbeat and lively, the elves danced freely.

Class 5 seemed unfamiliar with this atmosphere.

Human social gatherings usually had designated times for dancing.

But this wasn’t unfamiliar to Leo.

“Elves are as fond of dancing as they were in the old days.”

Elves have always loved dancing and singing. Flirting through dance and song was common.

Even Luna would occasionally sing and dance during their campouts.

The dance that the Seirun students performed now was the same that Luna had danced long ago.

“Dwenno once praised such elegance as an art.”

“How such a stubborn character can dance and sing beautifully is beyond me!”

“… And we’d often fight over saying the same nonsense.”

While reminiscing about the past, someone approached.

“Remember me?”

“Hi again.”

Lunia smiled faintly.

At that moment, dance music started up.

“Had you like to dance?”

“Alright.”

As Leo extended his hand, Lunia took it.

“You are familiar with Elven dances?”

“I studied it a long time ago.”

Lunia’s tone was surprised, but Leo replied as if it was no big deal.

“Enjoying the party?”

“Yeah. By the way, it’s a bit curious, but Seirun doesn’t have a separate magic department, does it?”

“We don’t divide into faculties like Luneran. We focus intensively on our primary studies.”

“I see. That was the vibe I was getting.”

He recalled the previous students introducing themselves as spirit mages, summoners, spear knights, and sword knights.

“But I didn’t see anyone studying magic, did I?”

“It seems like you don’t know much about Seirun. In Seirun, magic is mandatory.”

“Mandatory?”

“Yes, because we’re the magical race.”

“But even in a magical race, there must be students who don’t have a natural aptitude for magic?”

“Such students cannot enter Seirun.”

‘So fundamentally dual class.’

While answering this way, Lunia cheerfully danced away.

Leo easily accommodated her energetic steps.

Lunia greatly enjoyed dancing with Leo.

‘He’s surprisingly good at this!’

Her skill made the dance more enjoyable than usual.

As the dance session ended, Lunia, stepping back a bit with a slightly regretful expression, asked.

“By the way, I haven’t asked your name yet. What’s your name?”

“Me? Leo Flove.”

“…”

Lunia froze, her face stiffening as she prepared to let go of Leo’s hand.

Leo, noticing her reaction with a puzzled expression, asked.

“What’s wrong?”

“Was it you?”

“What?”

The kind, top student aura from earlier was gone, replaced by an intimidating vibe as Lunia glared.

“Were you the thief who stole someone else’s contract?”

“Oh.”

Realization dawned on Leo as he nodded and flashed a grin.

“You’re using it well.”

“How dare you say that now!”

An enraged Lunia grabbed Leo’s collar.

“Fight! There’s a fight!”

The party atmosphere deteriorated instantly.