Editor : Amethyst00



Chelsea had grown up without ever lacking anything.

She was born into a good family, with wonderful parents and a fine environment.

And she even had outstanding talent.

She was the one who monopolized all the affection of her household and actually lived doing everything she wanted.

It was the sort of environment where it wouldn’t have been strange if she had gone astray.

But she didn’t, because right beside her was someone worthy of admiration.

Abad Lewellin.

Chelsea’s elder brother, and heir to the Lewellin family.

Chelsea devoted herself to following Abad and supporting him in every way she could.

At first she sought to become an all-rounder mage like her brother, but after realizing her natural gift was more suited to being a battle-oriented mage, she changed her path.

All of it was for the sake of her family’s future and her brother.

And then, one day—

She met a boy.

A white-haired boy who was with Celia Zerdinger, the rival she had competed against since childhood.

At first she thought him unpleasant and irritating.

The closer he was to Celia, the more it seemed he might become an obstacle to Abad being the very best.

But that thought soon changed.

That day—

His back as he charged at the impossible without a shred of hesitation was enough to capture Chelsea’s eyes.

Like a hero straight out of the fairy tales she had read since childhood.

Leo’s figure stole Chelsea’s gaze with overwhelming force.

Chelsea’s dream had never been to be a great hero herself.

Admiring and striving toward a hero was nothing more than part of her efforts for her beloved brother.

Her pure desire was to help him, and for that she had worked tirelessly.

Which is why, in some sense, Leo was the very first boy she truly fell for.

‘I still admire my brother.’

Chelsea gripped her staff tighter.

‘I want to be of great help to him and to our family.’

That much had not changed.

‘But even so… I’m allowed to chase what I want too, aren’t I?’

The boy who had taken a place deep in her heart.

The more she looked at him.

The more she admired him.

The more that admiration grew until it was as heavy a weight in her life as the respect she bore her brother.

‘Leo-oppa is like a hero straight out of a storybook.’

The girl who once only dreamed vaguely of heroes was gone.

‘Whenever I watch him, my heart pounds.’

It was like meeting in the flesh the heroic tales she had only known through books.

‘I want to become that. Someone like Leo oppa. Someone great enough to be admired, to be a hero in someone else’s eyes.’

Though not yet fully clear, Chelsea was step by step.

And with certainty, painting in her heart the future she wanted to become.

Watching from afar, Abad smiled softly.

“Wow. Your sister’s no joke.”

Class 8’s vice-rep, Jurgen, came over to Abad, the class rep, shaking his head.

“She wasn’t that good before, was she? Even if she’s a battle mage, to go toe-to-toe with Haviden in close combat like that.”

“Yeah. She’s changed in a way that even startled me.”

Whraaaash—!

Chelsea’s winds surged wildly.

Whoooosh—!

The gusts carried even to the edge of the arena, sweeping back Abad’s hair.

‘That’s it, Chelsea. The wind doesn’t only blow in one direction. It should be free. You can become anything.’

Abad smiled gently at his sister chasing her dream.

The girls nearby shrieked— kyahh! kyahh!— at the sight of his smile.

Abad glanced toward Class 5.

There was Leo, chin in hand, watching Chelsea.

Abad knew well that Leo was the reason Chelsea had changed.

‘I feel a bit jealous, actually.’

With a faint laugh, Abad turned his eyes back to Chelsea.

‘Show me how you’ve grown, Chelsea.’

bl

Fwoooosh—!

“Guh!”

Haviden’s eyes widened.

He re-gripped his spear and slashed it toward Chelsea.

Claaash—! Chiiing—!

The wind aura scattered.

At the same time, his strike was blocked by Chelsea’s staff.

“How dare you! A mage playing at being a knight?!”

Haviden bellowed in rage.

Chelsea smirked.

“Playing knight? I’ve never once pretended to do that.”

Swiiish—

Wind mana swirled violently around Chelsea.

“I told you already, right? That’s not how you wield the wind.”

Repeating the very words once told to her, Chelsea’s body shot forward.

Claaash—!

“Wh—!”

As Chelsea vanished from his sight, Haviden gasped and flared his aura armor.

But she reappeared at his back.

She jabbed her staff into him.

Whoooosh! Bang—!

The protective winds around him scattered.

Chelsea narrowed her eyes.

“Wind Break!”

Kraaack-kraaaack-kraaaash—!

“Arghhh!”

Blasted at point-blank by magic, Haviden was hurled aside with his elemental.

Shhrrraaaash—!

“Ugh!”

Haviden’s eyes bulged.

‘She’s neutralizing my winds? How?!’

His wind aura had no effect on Chelsea.

It was proof that her pure mastery over wind far surpassed his—but Haviden could not accept it.

‘No, my aura output just isn’t enough!’

Kraaaaash—!

A storm of aura roared out.

But Chelsea deflected it easily, brushing aside his attacks with her winds as if they were nothing.

“H-How….”

“I fight someone who handles far stronger wind aura than you all the time. Stuff like this? Laughable.”

Tilting her chin arrogantly, Chelsea looked down on him. Sparks flared in Haviden’s eyes.

“Then try this one!”

Wooooom—!

Aura gathered at the tip of his spear.

Chelsea’s eyes flicked sharply.

Armed with wind, she met his charge head-on, parrying his relentless strikes without pause.

The knight-course students watching began to stiffen.

“Hey, no way… is that for real?”

“Her close combat is nearly knight-course level!”

Everyone knew Chelsea aimed to be a battle mage.

Everyone knew she trained hard in melee.

But her skill was enough to shock even the knights, who prided themselves on swordplay.

Her movements as she blocked Haviden’s attacks were far from ordinary.

“Wait… is she a magic swordsman?”

One knight student blurted in confusion.

“Rep! What kind of spell did you cast on Chelsea?”

Eliana asked in shock.

“Nothing special.”

“Then?”

“We just sparred seriously every time we trained.”

It was already well-known that Leo had been training Chelsea since the start of term.

But no one knew the extent.

Until now, her magical ability alone had stood out—her close combat had never been shown.

Not in midterms, on the school trip, the inter-department battles, mission practice, or even inner-class duels.

But the second semester was different.

It was the time to display everything one had.

And the fruits of Chelsea’s training with Leo all semester were shining now.

“Unbelievable.”

Eliana gaped at Chelsea.

Even so, none of the knight students truly believed they would lose to her in martial skill alone.

The problem was that Chelsea was a mage.

‘If she starts using magic in earnest, that’s basically a disaster for the knight-course kids!’

Especially with sparring evaluations coming up, the knight students could not help but grow tense.

“This… this makes no sense.”

“It makes sense.”

Chelsea sneered.

“The world is bigger than you know, little frogs in a well.”

She slammed her staff into the ground.

Kraaaash—!

A ferocious whirlwind erupted.

Skreeeeech—! Skreeeeeeech!

“Gyaaaaah!”

Haviden was sucked in and spun like grain in a thresher.

Fwoooosh—!

Thud—!

His spell collapsed and he crashed to the ground, gagging.

“Urgh! Blegh!”

The world spun madly around him.

Watching his miserable defeat, Chelsea gave a derisive snort and descended from the arena.

“Wooooo!”

“Chelsea! Chelsea!”

“You’re amazing, sis!”

“Small but mighty!”

Cheers erupted among the Lumene students.

The boys especially were fired up.

Of course—Chelsea was one of the most popular girls in the entire school.

Soaking in their reaction, she grinned confidently, made a V sign, then ran over to Leo.

Groans of despair rose from the boys.

“Leo Plov.”

“Lucky bastard!”

But Chelsea didn’t care. Standing before Leo, her eyes sparkled.

“Leo oppa! Leo oppa! How was it? Did I do good? Wasn’t I amazing? Compliment me sharp and proper!”

Chattering away, she pushed her head toward him. Leo chuckled and reached out, patting her head.

“Yeah, yeah. You did well. Grown a lot—enough to surprise me.”

“Hehehehe.”

“Looks like you don’t even need to train with me anymore.”

“Huh?”

Leo smirked.

“Feels like you’ve found your own path.”

Chelsea now seemed to have completed her style as a battle mage.

She was already worthy of being called a full-fledged mage.

Hearing that, Chelsea panicked.

“N-No, I’m still lacking! There’s so much more I need to learn from you, Leo oppa! So… um… what do you call it…”

“She means she wants to keep training under you.”

“Yeah!”

When Carl added in, Chelsea nodded quickly.

“Oh ho, Chelsea. If you want his brutal training that badly, then maybe you’ve awoken to a new ki—”

“What nonsense! Do you want to die?!”

Chelsea glared and drove her fist full-swing into Carl’s side.

“Guhh!”

As he curled on the ground clutching his ribs, she kicked him without hesitation.

Leo laughed at the sight.

“Chelsea Lewellin!”

Haviden staggered closer, wiping his mouth.

His eyes wide, his jaw clenched, struggling to hold back the dizziness.

‘Humiliation!’

Never before had he bowed so miserably to a peer.

And in front of everyone—he had even vomited.

As a prince of a kingdom.

As a knight hailed as a genius.

This was his first taste of such disgrace.

His body trembled.

Rickiden sighed softly as he supported him.

“What now? Still not beaten enough?”

Chelsea said with a bored tone.

Haviden shouted, eyes blazing.

“I admit defeat! This was a first for me!”

“Huh?”

“From today, I’ll train harder to catch up to you!”

“Ha! Don’t flatter yourself. You’re not even on my radar.”

Chelsea’s voice dripped with annoyance.

“Hmph… Maybe so. You were overwhelmingly strong. But I’ll work until you have no choice but to look my way!”

“Hey. Hehehe—he’s fallen for you.”

Groaning on the ground, Carl snickered.

Chelsea stomped him viciously with a savage look.

“Maybe Carl’s right. Maybe I have.”

But as Haviden admitted it openly, Chelsea scowled.

Booing poured from Class 5.

“Oooh~ Our youngest, getting confessions in front of everyone now.”

“Ah, youth.”

“Kids are so cute.”

As the playful voices rang out, Chelsea gave a wicked grin.

“Hope you’re ready to deal with the consequences.”

“Gah!”

Everyone panicked and bolted.

Chelsea started to chase them, but stuck her tongue out at Haviden first.

“If you want to confess to me, you’d better get at least as strong as Leo oppa!”

Then she ran off, eyes blazing, after the classmates who had teased her.

“You’re all dead!”

Her ferocious voice was followed by screams from every direction.

Haviden clenched his fist as he watched Leo step in to calm her.

“If I can just catch up to him…!”

Seeing him, Carl pulled himself up holding his ribs.

“This guy has no clue.”

“What do you mean?”

“That line about being as strong as the rep…”

Eliana clicked her tongue—tsk tsk tsk—and wagged her finger.

“She might as well have said you’ll never hear a yes your whole life.”

Grinning slyly, Eliana’s words were echoed by Tade with a shrug.

“She’s telling you not to stare up at a tree you’ll never climb.”

Haviden looked dumbfounded.

“But… we’re both just human…”

“Just human?”

Carl, Eliana, and Tade shook their heads.

“He’s on another level.”

Nella, with her signature languid smile, gazed at Leo’s back.

“Sometimes he feels like someone from another world.”

As the Lumene students all agreed in unison, Haviden could only stare blankly.

‘Just how amazing is he…?’