Chapter 69

【69】68

The next morning.

The students from Lumeran and Seirun gathered in the center of their dormitory.

Halind and Herdium were each leading their respective groups of students.

As Leo and Lunia, as representatives of their class, were helping to organize everyone—

“Hey, wait. Isn’t that Eiran over there?”

One of the Seirun students said, sounding confused.

At this, Lunia’s eyes widened, and she turned her head.

And then she spotted Eiran following behind Lur, looking rather shy.

The Seirun students began murmuring as they noticed Eiran.

“Student Eiran!”

Herdium also approached, his face showing surprise.

“Student Eiran! Did you reconsider after hearing my words and decide to return to school?”

In response, Eiran offered a somewhat awkward smile while Herdium beamed with pride.

Herdium, since coming here, had held private discussions with Eiran, who was his assigned student.

Eiran had suddenly stopped attending school, which had left Herdium feeling quite disheartened considering her immense talent.

“Thank you for your concern, Herdium. But I am fine.”

“No, Lur teacher. You are now the Grand Assembly President, are you not?”

“Eiran. Do you realize how worried we were when you returned to the main house without a word?”

“Miss Lunia… Uhm, well…”

“Are you feeling a little better now?”

The school had been informed that Eiran wasn’t attending because she was unwell.

As Lunia approached her with an expressionless face, bombarding her with various questions, Eiran started to feel flustered before Leo stepped in.

“Are you participating in this mission too?”

“Ahh! Master Leo.”

In her Seirun uniform, there was no mistaking Eiran as a fine candidate for heroism.

When Eiran smiled brightly at the sight of Leo, Lunia hesitated and furrowed her brow.

‘Eiran, who barely speaks to me, is actually so friendly with him?’

“Let me greet the Lumeran students.”

“Okay.”

Lunia watched with a faint smile as Eiran went to greet the Class 5 students, with whom she had quickly become friendly overnight.

However, Lunia’s expression turned sour when she noticed Eiran chatting warmly with the other Lumeran students.

“Leo.”

Suddenly acting as the top student, Lunia grinned and called out to Leo.

“Can I speak with you for a moment?”

With a look that implied “Why is she acting like this again?”, Leo followed Lunia to a nearby secluded alley.

“Hey, what exactly did you do? Why does Eiran seem so much closer to you than to me?”

Once they were alone, Luna’s demeanor shifted abruptly, and Leo regarded her with a curious expression before answering.

“It seems Eiran finds you intimidating.”

“How is that even possible? Haven’t I known her for longer?”

“Well, just about two days.”

“That’s even less believable! I’m her classmate!”

“Eiran told me she’s afraid of you?”

“What? That’s ridiculous.”

“After the combat evaluation, you appeared so intimidating that she thought you disliked her.”

“Well, that happened unintentionally. Eiran’s too talented for me to confidently guarantee a victory over her.”

“Then why didn’t you try to be more supportive? She seemed to want to be friends with you.”

Eiran looks up to Lunia, someone who was confident in all things, according to Leo.

“Support her? For someone as talented as Eiran? That would probably be offensive rather than helpful.”

Among elves, helping others is a virtue, but extending unnecessary help toward someone of equal standing might appear as an act of condescension.

It seemed that Lunia had recognized Eiran as a worthy rival and thus stopped treating her as someone to protect.

‘Such different personalities…’

It was clear from their differences in thinking that this might be the obstacle preventing them from becoming closer friends.

“Support her. She seems to need someone like you.”

Leo’s words fell on Lunia, who still looked confused.

As they returned to the group of students, Lunia asked:

“By the way, aren’t you in the top class?”

“Yeah.”

“Really? How is that even possible?”

“If you don’t believe it, why ask?”

“It sounds like something from a fairy tale.”

In response to Lunia’s words, Leo released Aura, Magical Power, and Spiritual Power simultaneously.

Lunia’s jaw dropped as she observed this.

Looking utterly astonished, she stared helplessly while Leo grinned at her.

“It seems I’ll need to properly challenge you eventually.”

“But didn’t I win during our duel?”

“That wasn’t a proper duel, was it?”

Smiling again, Lunia crossed her arms.

“I’m the type who likes to see things through to the end, especially with stronger opponents.”

“Alright, fine. I’ll take you on if the chance comes.”

As Leo and Lunia finished talking and returned to the group, footsteps echoed.

Tap. Tap.

From afar, students wearing Seirun uniforms appeared — none other than the upperclassmen.

Precisely twenty of them lined up neatly in front of the first-year students.

A representative of the older students stepped forward.

“Teacher Herdium, the second-year students have arrived upon receiving the request for this mission.”

“Oh! Is student Rauta here as well?”

“Yes.”

“Your thesis on the Magic of the Stars was truly fascinating.”

“I am glad you found it interesting, teacher Herdium.”

“Thanks to your skill, student Rauta.”

“Yes, but I heard a strange rumor earlier, teacher Herdium.”

“About what?”

“They say someone from Lumeran has deciphered the magic of our ancestor.”

“Rauta, it’s just a baseless rumor.”

“Why spread such nonsense to inconvenience teacher Herdium?”

At Rauta’s question, the second-year students chuckled.

“It’s actually true.”

“Pardon?”

“Here is Lumeran’s first-year representative, Leo Flove, who successfully deciphered the magic.”

With a smile, Herdium introduced Leo.

The second-year students from Seirun looked at Leo with incredulity.

After a brief moment of silence, Rauta regained his composure and approached Leo with a confident smile.

“So, you’re Leo? Deciphering our ancestor’s magic — that’s quite impressive. My name is Rauta Algara. I’m in the Advanced 2nd class of Seirun Academy.”

“I’m Leo Flove.”

Shaking hands with Rauta, Leo introduced himself.

For a moment, Leo noticed a black ring on Rauta’s hand as their gaze locked.

When Leo’s eyes wandered to the ring, Rauta quickly released his hand and turned his attention to Lunia.

“And you’re Lunia El Rundah, are you not? It’s truly an honor to meet such a renowned first-year representative.”

“Your praise is too kind.”

“I’ll be observing your abilities during this mission.”

After saying this, Rauta lightly patted Lunia on the shoulder and returned to the group of second-year students.

“He doesn’t seem like a good senior.”

“You noticed right away?”

“His face was smiling, but his eyes weren’t.”

Leo remarked, and Lunia sighed.

“I heard rumors about how he disrespects lower and mid-tier classes but puts on a model student act in front of the teachers.”

“It seems every school has its fair share of such people.”

Leo chuckled.

Meanwhile, the second-year students began warm conversations with the first-years.

“Our second-year club seniors only seem to want to tease us.”

“Is the relationship between first and second years usually this harmonious?”

While observing the second-year students, Class 5 felt left out, envious of the camaraderie.

Kal, returning to Class 5 with a puzzled look on his face, voiced this sentiment.

“You wouldn’t know since you don’t participate in club activities, but our school’s second-year students only view their juniors as playthings or free labor.”

Kal shook his head while explaining.

“Compared to that… oh, how envious!”

While everyone exchanged envious glances, Halind and Herdium gathered the students.

“We will now begin the group formations. Groups will be decided by lottery, and the group leaders will be the second-year students from Seirun.”

As soon as Halind finished speaking, the first-year students drew lots.

Each group consisted of four first-years and one second-year.

“Leo, which group did you draw?”

“Group 1.”

“Oh! I got Group 1 too!”

Kal grinned and made his way toward their designated group leader, who turned out to be Rauta.

“So you’re Group 1 from Lumeran. Good to have you.”

“Likewise!”

Kal greeted cheerfully.

A moment later, two of the Seirun first-years arrived — Lunia and Eiran.

“Are you in Group 1 too?”

“Master Leo, are you also in Group 1?”

“That’s right.”

At the sight of Leo, Eiran’s face lit up.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Eiran.”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Lord Kal.”

While observing this exchange, Lunia frowned.

‘She’s so timid around me, but as soon as Leo appears, her mood brightens completely.’

She recalled Leo’s earlier suggestion to care for Eiran.

‘I’m capable of doing this properly!’

“Eiran, come here. You should greet the senior first.”

“Apologies! Apologies!”

Eiran apologized profusely, her shoulders hunched, annoying Lunia further.

“Eiran, stop being so overly submissive. You’re a representative of this grade at Seirun. You should show more self-confidence…”

“Too… too much submission! I deeply apologize! I am sorry for occupying the position of grade representative!”

Thinking Lunia was angry, Eiran bowed deeply to apologize.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant at all!”

Lunia had intended to boost Eiran’s confidence but, instead, had the opposite effect, leaving her feeling flustered.

“Grade representative? Miss Eiran, you’re also a first-year representative?”

“Yes. Eiran is the second-highest scorer among the first-years.”

“Oh? That’s impressive!”

Unlike Lumeran, where only the top-ranked student becomes the class representative, Seirun allows the top three students to hold this position.

After calming Eiran down, Lunia greeted Rauta.

“Senior Rauta, nice to have you guiding us.”

“Yes, it’s our pleasure. Seniors will guide the first-year representatives.”

“It’s an honor to guide two such distinguished representatives.”

“Well, two of this year’s representatives are tarnishing the school’s reputation, but…”

Eiran’s face went pale at Rauta’s words.

Lunia’s expression hardened.

“Senior, wasn’t that a bit harsh?”

“Lunia, you’re certainly an extraordinary student, but not Eiran or Luca here.”

Rauta spoke bluntly.

“Do you know what the second-years think about this year’s group of first-year representatives? Absentees and half-bloods leading the grade.”

Lunia’s expression turned grim.

‘Argh! If he weren’t a senior, I’d smash his face in!’

Lunia was well aware of how the seniors viewed the first-year representatives. It was a fact that rumors had surfaced about Eiran and Luca, apart from Lunia herself.

‘But Eiran and Luca earned their spots purely on merit!’

“Second-years, please gather.”

“I’ll be back, so prepare yourselves.”

Once Rauta had departed, Lunia stomped her feet in frustration.

“What an insufferable b*stard! One day, I’ll crush his face!”

“Wow, you’re pretty intense, aren’t you?”

At this, Lunia sharply turned her head to see Kal grinning and giving her a thumbs-up.

“So the perfect student is just a front, huh!”

“What makes you think that?”

“I figured it out from the first day when you grabbed Leonardo by the collar.”

Chuckling, Kal extended his hand.

“My name is Kal Thomas.”

“You’re entertaining. I’m Lunia El Rundah.”

Lunia, tossing aside her façade of perfection, firmly shook Kal’s hand.

“Still, you’re right, his words were irritating, huh Leo?”

Kal leaned back with his hands crossed behind his head, muttering under his breath.

“He was definitely too harsh.”

“Hmph! He probably just has an inferiority complex.”

“What does the upper class have to feel inferior about?”

“I heard they were in the lower tier until last year. It seems they suddenly grew to the level of the top tier when they entered their second year.”

At Lunia’s statement, Leo hesitated.

“Suddenly improved?”

“Yes. Thus, at the start of this semester, there’s been quite a buzz throughout Seirun about them. They’re the talk of this term.”

‘Suddenly improved scores?’

Recalling the incident during the midterm exams, Leo narrowed his eyes and glanced at Rauta.

‘Could it be?’