Editor : Amethyst00



“What did you just do to those kids?”

“Don’t worry. I simply sent them far away, that’s all.”

He replied with an unmotivated face to the staff of Hero’s Rest, who asked with a startled expression, then—swish—turned his body around.

And disappeared into the crowd.

‘Why is a dragon here?’

A dragon.

A race praised as the strongest beings on the continent.

Long ago, they lived scattered across the lands, but now, outside of the Dragon Kingdom known as Dragonia, they were rarely seen.

‘A dragon in Lumeria City, huh.’

For a moment, his curiosity stirred, but he soon decided to drop the thought.

Considering the various incidents that had occurred in Lumene over the past half year, it wouldn’t be strange for a dragon to come observing the situation.

After that, Leo continued showing Elsie around Lumeria City.

In the meantime, similar incidents to what had happened at Hero’s Rest occurred now and then.

There were often cases where students who had withdrawn went around begging professors to give them one more chance.

Some of the first-years laughed at those who had once been their classmates not long ago.

The line between those who survived and those who didn’t had become starkly clear.

When the sun went down and Leo returned to the hotel, he saw a familiar face.

“Uncle Zeiss.”

“It’s been a while, Leo. How have you been?”

“Yes, I’ve been well.”

Zeiss, the vice-head of the Zerdinger family, greeted Leo with a warm smile.

Inside the hotel stood several others who appeared to be Zerdinger knights.

The Zerdinger family had rented out the entire hotel, so there was no one else there.

The knights cast curious looks at Leo.

A boy who was both Lumene’s first-year grade representative and a master of the Phoenix Breath—an art known only to Zerdinger’s recognized bloodline.

It was only natural for the knights to pay attention.

“So? What decision did the family make?”

Celia asked, her face tense.

‘She seems to care more about it than I do.’

Seeing Celia far more concerned about the succession issue than himself, Leo let out a small laugh.

“To put it simply, the matter of Leo obtaining succession rights has been postponed.”

“Ah…”

Celia let out a sigh of disappointment.

“Why?”

Zeiss gave a wry smile at Celia’s discontented expression.

“For now, the main reason is that the family still doesn’t know enough about who Leo truly is.”

“But that doesn’t make sense! Leo is Aunt Reina’s son, and his ability is more than enough to be called a direct descendant of Zerdinger!”

“Even if you argue, it won’t change what was decided in the family meeting, will it?”

Leo flicked Celia’s forehead as she flared up and asked,

“When you say postponed, do you mean they’ll decide later?”

“Yes. It seems they’ll make the decision after meeting you personally and judging for themselves.”

“That means…”

“Come visit Zerdinger during the winter vacation.”

“Understood.”

Seeing Leo nod calmly, Zeiss smiled faintly.

Celia still wore a displeased look, but knowing this wasn’t something that could be solved by arguing, she didn’t say more.

“For now, don’t worry about family matters. What you should focus on right now is your second semester.”

“Yes.”

“It’ll be quite different from the first semester.”

“Different, how?”

“Very.”

As a Lumene graduate himself, Zeiss looked at his nephews with a meaningful expression.

“From here on, you can think of it as the true beginning of Lumene Academy.”

bl

During their stay in Lumeria City, Leo and Celia spent busy days preparing for the start of the new semester.

And then came the day of the opening ceremony.

Students gathered at the dock leading to Lumene.

Since each year used a different dock, they wouldn’t run into upperclassmen.

“Oh my! It’s been a while! How was your vacation?”

“Good! You look like you got a tan, though.”

“I stayed at my family’s villa during the break.”

The girls chatted eagerly about their vacation stories.

“Heh, I went monster hunting during the break.”

“When I got back, I was buried in party invitations. And when I went to those parties, all these noble girls I’d never met suddenly acted like they knew me.”

“Guess where I went during the break?”

The boys bragged about their own adventures.

“Seeing this, it really feels like the new semester’s started.”

Celia brushed her hair aside and smiled softly.

“Leo! Celia!”

“Chloe!”

From afar, Chloe approached, smiling brightly.

“How was your vacation?”

“Good! What about you?”

“I was swamped with family affairs.”

As class representative and vice-representative of Class 1, the two were close friends.

“And you, Leo?”

“Well, it was ordinary enough.”

“Ordinary? You call attending Azonia’s entrance ceremony ordinary?”

“Azonia’s entrance ceremony?”

Chloe’s eyes widened.

“I’ll tell you the details later.”

Leo smiled as he replied.

“Yo! Leo! Chloe! Celia!”

At that moment, Carl spotted them and approached, grinning.

Celia looked at him with an amused expression.

“It’s kind of surprising. The fact that you survived into the second semester.”

“Heh. That’s all skill, you know.”

Carl put a hand on his chin and chuckled.

“But honestly, even I’m surprised I made it.”

He had worked hard during the first semester, sure—but there were still limits.

Honestly, even now, it felt surreal to still be standing here.

“Anyway, Leo, the rest of our class is gathered over there. Let’s go.”

“Alright.”

Leo nodded, then turned to Celia and Chloe.

“See you in a bit.”

“Okay. See you.”

“Hahaha! This time, we’ll take the top class spot for sure!”

Carl laughed boastfully, and Celia crossed her arms with a smirk.

“Keep dreaming.”

Thanks to Sedgen and Harrid, Classes 1 and 5 had developed a strong mutual rivalry.

As Leo and Carl walked toward where Class 5 had gathered, the girls nearby began greeting him one after another.

“Ah! It’s Leo!”

“Hi, Leo~”

Kyaaa—!

Hearing the cheerful voices and seeing the girls wave, Carl gave a bitter laugh.

“Good grades and popular with girls too, huh?”

“I don’t really notice it.”

“You ranked third in the first-year male popularity poll, you know?”

Carl grumbled.

“Who even holds a poll like that?”

“Who else? Me.”

He explained that he’d done it while running his business across the first-year classes, conducting a popularity vote among the girls.

“It’s unofficial, sure, but still pretty credible. Heheheh.”

“Why would you even do that?”

“I was thinking of making a photo book to sell.”

Leo let out a helpless laugh at Carl’s giggle.

‘Still, I’m kind of curious about the rankings.’

“Who was first?”

“Abad Lewellin.”

It made sense. With his handsome looks, constant kindness, and gentle smile, Abad was bound to be popular.

And he was also the heir of the Heroic House of Lewellin.

Talent, looks, personality—he lacked nothing.

“And second?”

“Duran.”

Carl made a sour face.

“His attitude’s crap, but his looks, skills, and pride are all top-tier. Plus, he’s literally a prince.”

Duran, the prince of the Knightly Principality of Moira. Though not the eldest, his overwhelming talent had already named him the next king.

“And you’re third—barely behind Duran.”

“That’s surprising. I never noticed.”

“Of course you didn’t. Abad and Duran get love confessions and letters every week, but you never got anything.”

Carl shrugged.

“Why’s that?”

“…Think about the people around you.”

“The people around me?”

Leo, Carl, and Chelsea were already well-known as an inseparable trio at school.

Wherever Leo was, Chelsea was usually nearby.

Add to that Nella, the class vice-representative of Class 5 and one of the academy’s top beauties.

They were always seen together at class events.

On top of that, Eliana, who often helped with class work, was no less attractive herself.

And not to mention, he was close with other class representatives like Chloe and Chen Xia.

“But the biggest one is Celia. You two being cousins is a secret, remember? Since no one knows that, a lot of girls think you two are dating.”

Considering they’d been together since the entrance ceremony, it wasn’t an unreasonable misunderstanding.

“So basically, the other girls don’t even think of approaching you.”

Carl snickered.

“Well? Feels good to hear you’re popular, doesn’t it?”

He poked Leo in the side teasingly, making him let out another awkward laugh.

“The moment people find out you and Celia are cousins, you’ll probably shoot straight to number one.”

“Zerdinger family said they’ll make it public soon.”

“Really? Then the school’s gonna explode with reactions.”

Carl grinned.

“I’ve been annoyed at how some guys keep looking down on you just because you’re from a backwater kingdom. Still plenty who talk behind your back too.”

Carl’s voice burned with indignation at the thought of his friend being looked down on.

Leo chuckled faintly at his words.

“Ah! The class rep!”

A cheerful voice called out.

When they turned, Eliana was waving at them.

“Leo, how’ve you been?”

“Welcome back, Leo.”

Tade and Nella also greeted him warmly.

Overall, the atmosphere in Class 5 was bright and lively.

It was no surprise—out of all ten classes, only Classes 1 and 5 had no students withdraw.

Their bond was naturally stronger than most.

As they exchanged greetings and chatted about their vacations—

“You all seem full of energy. Ah, how youthful.”

A magically amplified voice echoed.

All the first-years turned toward the source.

A man with black hair stood there.

“Who’s that? Never seen him before.”

“A professor?”

“No, there wasn’t anyone like him among the first-year professors.”

The students all looked puzzled at the unfamiliar man.

‘That dragon from before.’

With a lazy tone, the man spoke.

“Brimming with enthusiasm and youth, huh. Meanwhile, I’ve done nothing but get older. Sigh.”

‘Wh-what is with this guy?’

The first-years looked bewildered at the man, who didn’t radiate even a trace of motivation as he sighed to himself.

“Nice to meet you, everyone. My name is Rivein. I’m the vice principal of Lumene.”

The students widened their eyes.

Professor Rivein, vice principal of Lumene.

He was a professor who had been away from the academy for the past five years.

Because of that, even fifth-years knew little about him.

So his sudden appearance was bound to surprise the first-years.

Rivein took a student roster from his pocket.

“This year’s intake was 440 students. As of the second semester, 346 remain.”

That meant 94 had withdrawn.

At first glance, it sounded like a large number, but considering Lumene’s standards, it was actually fewer than usual.

Normally, by the end of the first semester, nearly 200 students would be expelled on average.

Especially this year, since Albi, the Magician of the Evil Eye, had overseen the western entrance exams, the total intake had been smaller than normal.

So, 94 withdrawals was actually a small number.

“The public’s been calling your group the Golden Generation. You’ve heard that, haven’t you?”

The first-years’ faces brightened with pride.

“And that’s why Headmaster Kalian personally requested me to oversee the entirety of your second semester.”

The students buzzed at his words.

“But, you see… it’s such a bother.”

He spoke lazily, and the students blinked in confusion.

“I get that you’re all exceptional. But whether you’re worth teaching—that, I don’t know. So I’d like you to prove it.”

Rivein pointed toward Lumene Academy.

“From now on, head for Lumene’s main gate.”

The students exchanged puzzled looks.

Having already experienced the Kraken attack during the entrance ceremony, they were prepared for the opening ceremony to be anything but peaceful.

But to be suddenly told to head to the front gate?

“I’ll warn you—it won’t be easy.”

Muttering in his usual unmotivated tone, Rivein’s lips curled slightly.

“Maybe… none of you will make it there at all.”