Editor : Amethyst00



Two days later, in the morning.

Leo and Celia headed for the docks at Lake Lumeria.

Wearing their Lumene uniforms, the two drew everyone’s attention.

“Oh? They're Lumene freshmen.”

“My, how fresh-faced they are.”

People on the street smiled and cheered them on.

At that moment, a fruit vendor tossed them two apples.

Leo caught them and smiled in thanks.

“Thank you!”

“Yeah, good luck and study hard!”

Crunch—! As Leo bit into an apple and handed the other to Celia, but she shook her head.

“I’m good.”

“Lumene really is amazing. People seem to like you here.”

“We’re the future.”

Heroes enjoy a lot of public support.

And Lumene students are hero candidates.

They follow in the footsteps of previous heroes to prepare for times when the world might face threats.

People cheer on these hero candidates.

“Even though Tartaros has been quiet lately, but who knows when they’ll be a threat again. And—”

Celia stopped walking and lifted her chin.

“We can’t keep losing to Seiren forever!”

Humans and elves don’t get along well.

Because of that, the Elf Hero Academy, Seiren, and Lumene often hold exchange competitions for the sake of racial harmony.

Starting with quizzes like real students, then sports.

And even mock battles to test their strength.

They compete in all kinds of methods, calling it the Lumeiren Competition, a prestigious event with centuries of history.

The Lumeiren Competition had a positive effect, helping ease relations between the two races to certain extent.

But at the same time, because racial pride was at stake, students often risked everything including their lives in the competition.

In last several years, Lumene had been lagging behind Seiren.

“Just watch. I’ll flatten Seiren’s nose!”

“Yeah, yeah. Good luck.”

Watching Celia clench her fist with blazing eyes, Leo chewed the apple while giving a half-hearted cheer.

As they neared the docks, more freshmen could be seen.

Flying through the air with staffs, riding summoned beasts—these were basics.

There were even students covered in all sorts of weapons.

“They're desperate to stand out.”

Celia shook her head at that sight.

Then, a boy with light orange hair blocked their path.

“Wait! Hey, you two, the guy and girl who look great together! Mind if I talk to you?”

“And you are?”

“My name’s Carl Thomas. I’m from the Moira Kingdom!”

“So?”

“It’s nothing big, but.”

With a grin, Carl pulled out business cards and smoothly handed them to Leo and Celia.

“From weapons to potions! Carl’s Shop! If you ever need anything for your classes, come see me!”

He winked, laughed brightly, and ran off to another student.

“There really are all kinds of weirdos.”

Celia put the card away, looking exasperated.

“I’m going to go meet some of the new students from our country.”

The Lordren Empire is the western continent’s powerhouse.

That meant plenty of new students from the empire.

“Go ahead, I’ll just look around for a bit.”

“Okay. See you at the docks later.”

After Celia left, Leo strolled around, observing people.

The docks weren’t just full of freshmen; many families had come to celebrate too.

The bustling sight of so many different cultures crowded together made Leo feel nostalgic.

‘This feels like Godthrone.’

The city known as the last bastion in the Age of Calamity.

And the city under Lysinas's guide, together with Kyle, fired the first shot in the counterattack against Erebos.

As Leo was lost in memory—

Thump—!

“Huh?”

A blonde girl, reading as she walked, didn’t see Leo and bumped her head into his back.

“Oh, sorry. I wasn’t looking ahead.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

She apologized, then immediately went back to her book and walked away.

‘She’s going to bump into someone else like that… Hm?’

Leo noticed a card on the ground.

It was the student ID of the girl who’d just bumped into him, with her photo and the name Chloe Mueller.

He glanced around, but Chloe had already disappeared into the crowd.

‘I’ll return it when I see her next time.’

Freshmen are bound to meet again.

“Carl’s Shop! Here, take my business card!”

Carl was handing out his business cards to other freshmen nearby.

When he made eye contact with Leo, he grinned and came over.

“We meet again?”

“How’s the advertising?”

“Not bad. But the high-and-mighty nobles don’t even glance at me.”

“Most Lumene students are nobles, so they barely pay attention, right?.”

“Yeah, haha.”

Carl shrugged and laughed.

“Let me introduce myself again. Carl Thomas. I’m fifteen!”

“I’m Leo Plov. From the Delad Kingdom, same age as you.”

“You're a noble, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow, and you don’t seem to care that I’m a commoner?”

Leo smiled at Carl’s surprised tone.

“By the way, Delad Kingdom means you took the western exam, right? I heard it was brutal. Amazing that you passed it!”

“It wasn’t easy.”

After that, Leo and Carl chatted.

Thanks to Carl’s outgoing nature, they became friends quickly.

“What’s your majors? My family’s been alchemists for generations! So I’m going for Magic Studies.”

“I’m planning to take Magic Studies too.”

“Really? Then let’s be close from now on, Leo!”

Carl beamed with joy.

Of course, Leo planned to study not only Magic, but Knight Studies and Summoning Studies as well.

As they chatted for quite a while, a massive ship appeared through the mist over Lake Lumeria.

It was the vessel connecting Lumene and Lumeria City.

“Wow! It’s huge!”

Carl exclaimed in awe.

A moment later, a silver-haired man in uniform stepped off the docked ship.

“All freshmen, gather!”

The freshmen, after saying goodbye to their families, gathered in front of the man.

“Start the headcount.”

Assistants waiting behind the man used a magic checker to verify the students’ IDs.

As Leo took out his student ID, he noticed a girl fumbling around, searching for something.

“Wait a sec.”

“Huh? Where are you going?”

Carl followed behind.

Chloe, looking troubled, seemed puzzled when she saw Leo approached her.

“Here.”

“Huh?”

“You dropped this earlier.”

“Oh, thank you!”

Chloe grinned as she accepted the student ID Leo handed her.

“You saved me! I’m Chloe Mueller!”

“Chloe Mueller?”

Carl looked shocked.

“Chloe Mueller, the top scorer from the northern exam?”

“Yep. And you two?”

“I’m Leo Plov, and this guy is…”

“Carl Thomas! From weapons to potions, everything you need for classes! Here, my business card!”

Carl quickly handed Chloe his card, getting right to his sales pitch.

Chloe, intrigued, said,

“A shop? Looks like you’re planning to be a supporter, huh?”

“Haha, see, that’s what makes the honor student different! You figured it out right away.”

“I picked up a thing or two from the seniors at the Mage Tower.”

All Lumene students are called hero candidates and possess outstanding talent.

But even among them, there are differences.

Some students realize they lack the talent to be a hero during their time at school.

They become supporters—helping heroes, providing supplies, offering combat support.

They’re essential, but most students don’t pay much attention to the supporter role.

After all, everyone who enters Lumene dreams only of becoming a hero.

But it seemed Carl had chosen the supporter path from the start.

“Anyway, I just barely made the cutoff.”

“If your goods are good, I’ll be a regular.”

“Oh! I'm making connections with a honor student already! I’m lucky today!”

Carl laughed heartily.

“This must be fate. Since, we’re all in Magic Department. Let’s stick together!”

“Magic Department?”

Chloe tilted her head.

“You, sure, but you too?”

“Yeah.”

“Not Knight Department?”

As befitting of the honor student, Chloe saw right away that Leo possessed Aura.

“I’m aiming for a double major.”

“What! You’re a magic swordsman? That’s amazing!”

Carl made a big fuss.

Though rare, students with two special talents are called dual class.

In Lumene, there were quite a few dual class students.

Chloe just accepted Leo’s answer with a nod.

Meanwhile, a staff member came by to check all three of their IDs.

After the headcount, the staff stepped back and the silver-haired man in uniform came forward.

“I’m Professor Ain Elandieu from Lumene.”

“Ain Elandieu? The Glacier Knight?”

“That’s Ain Elandieu!”

“I want his autograph!”

“Silence!”

Ain silenced the excited students.

“We’ll move to Lumene now. Everyone, board the ship.”

“Yes, sir!”

bl

Before the entrance ceremony, freshmen crowded the deck to take in the scenery.

As befitted a ship run by Lumene Academy, the deck was pure luxury.

The deck was literally like a social party atmosphere.

World-class chefs served traditional dishes from various countries, delighting the freshmen’s palates and senses.

Even Professor Ain sat on deck, leisurely enjoying wine.

Dressed to the nines, silver-uniformed staff busily tended to the students, and the noble students were happy, laughing and mingling.

“As expected, Lumene Academy really is something else.”

“Now, I’m really looking forward to school life.”

The new students let their imaginations run wild about the life ahead.

Leo frowned at the sight.

“Something feels off.”

“What do you mean?”

Carl, with a plate piled high, looked at him curiously.

“It’s a hero academy, but it feels more like a party.”

“It’s just before the entrance ceremony. Anyway, Leo! I got some info.”

“Info?”

“Yeah! Look over there!”

Carl grinned, pointing to a big, dark-skinned boy eating quietly in a corner of the deck.

“That’s Walden Thaiden! Top scorer from the southern exam, and he’s majoring in Summoning!”

“A elemental mage, huh.”

“That’s right. Did you check ahead of time?”

Leo didn’t bother to correct him; he could tell at a glance.

“And over there’s the eastern top scorer, Chen Xia!”

The small girl with black hair and eyes was tasting foods from other countries with a curious look.

“She’s majoring in Knight Studies and apparently beat all her competitors in the exam with her fists.”

Carl shook his head in disbelief and then pointed the other way.

“And that’s the central exam’s honor student. Our kingdom’s third prince, Duran Moira. Major in Knight Studies.”

A blond boy gently swirled his wine glass, surrounded by friends.

Carl made a face and pointed next to Leo.

“And the northern top scorer.”

Chloe was munching cake while reading a book.

“There are two honor students from the west: the famous Celia Zerdinger and Abad Lewellin.”

“Leo, here you are?”

Celia approached.

“Hey, Celia.”

“Celia? Wait! You mean Celia Zerdinger?”

“That’s right.”

“Leo, the girl you’re close with is Celia Zerdinger? That’s huge!”

Carl grinned and held out his hand to Celia.

“I've introduced myself earlier, but I’m Carl Thomas!”

“Hm? You guys got close already, I see? I’m Celia Zerdinger.”

Celia shook Carl’s hand and looked at Chloe.

“And you?”

“I’m Chloe Mueller.”

“The top scorer from the north?”

“That’s me.”

Chloe smiled confidently.

Celia studied her for a moment, then asked Leo,

“What are you thinking about?”

“It’s just… This isn’t the image I had of the academy.”

Lumene is known for selects the best talented individuals and trains them into heroes.

As such, the school life there is famous for being brutal, and the dropout rate is extremely high.

So it felt strange for them to be treated to a luxurious cruise before the entrance ceremony.

“Even at Lumene, would they really put the students through the wringer before they even start?”

“You’re overthinking it,”

Celia agreed with Carl.

At that moment—

Boom—!

The ship shook violently.

“Maybe I'm not.”

“What’s going on?”

As Leo muttered, something shot up from the lake.

Splash!

“Kyaaa! What is that?!”

“N-no way, a kraken?”

“A kraken? What is going on?!”

A giant squid tentacle slammed onto the deck, throwing the party into chaos and sending the students into panic.

“P-professor Ain! Please help us!”

A girl hurriedly ran to Ain, pleading for help.

At that, Ain frowned.

“Help you? Why should I?”