Editor : Amethyst00



Lumene, First-Year Faculty Office.

Nine men and women stood with tense expressions.

They waited stiffly, as if for someone.

At that moment—

Step, step—

A sharp-looking middle-aged professor walked up before them.

The sight of him made the nine grow even more tense.

“So, you are the ones chosen as the temporary teachers this time?”

“Yes, sir! That’s right!”

The Lumene professor swept his sharp gaze across all nine.

Then, folding his arms, he dragged a chair forward with a screech—! and sat down before them.

What incredible pressure!

If I recall, the professor in charge of us from Lumene was supposed to be Professor Harrid. Then this must be him.

Th-this is one of Lumene’s greatest professors!

The promising young teachers from Icott, Emerald, and Skarn tried to calm their pounding hearts.

All of them had come as temporary teachers at Lumene for training at the Hero Academy.

It was also a chance to be appointed as associate professors at Lumene.

They straightened up and focused on the professor’s words.

“Good. Then, you.”

“Y-yes?”

He jerked his chin toward the female teacher from Icott standing on the far left.

“Tell me about the mindset of a teacher.”

“A teacher is someone who helps students. To give them what they wa—”

“Wrong! Next!”

“A teacher is someone who leads stud—”

“You’re wrong too! Next!”

Seeing the merciless way the Lumene professor dismissed them, the others grew even more nervous.

As expected of Lumene…!

There must be some profound philosophy behind his educational values!

They swallowed dryly, brains racing.

But not a single one of the nine gave an answer that satisfied him.

“Phew— I expected more from teachers of your caliber, but this is disappointing.”

“S-sorry, sir.”

“No. Nothing to apologize for. You’re still in the position of learners, aren’t you? No—truth is, humans are creatures who learn from birth to death. Even I, from time to time, learn from my students.”

This time his expression softened.

The temporary teachers, seeing this, looked moved.

'I heard Professor Harrid was terrifying…'

'The rumors were wrong.'

'What character! There’s so much we can learn from him.'

“So then, what mindset should a professor have? It is none other than—!”

He crossed his arms again.

“Elegance.”

“…What?”

“Elegance! That is the mindset a teacher must have! Teachers must always be the object of admiration for their students! Always ready to be looked up to! Now! Starting now, we’ll do introductions! Each of you, present yourselves elegantly!”

“What are you doing, Sedgen?”

“You’re here, Harrid.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be handling students?”

“Heh. I heard promising young teachers had arrived, so I came to give them some guidance. Just give me an hour.”

“Drag him out.”

Harrid, without hesitation, cut down Sedgen’s enthusiasm.

Then Ain and Len, who had come with him, seized Sedgen and began pulling him out of the office.

“Ain! Len! Without my guidance, you two wouldn’t be where you are today! These young professors have such bright futures! Surely they have much to learn from me… Oof! Let go! Let go! You dogs of Harrid! I said let me go!”

Though Sedgen’s desperate cries rang out, Ain and Len mercilessly dragged their master out of the faculty office.

“I-is that really okay?”

When the Emerald professor asked cautiously, Yura, who had come with Harrid, smiled gently.

“It’s routine. You’ll get used to it.”

Despite the commotion just now, the other professors in the office didn’t so much as twitch.

As the temporary instructors looked on in amazement, Harrid sat down in the chair Sedgen had vacated and spoke.

“From now, I’ll announce the department schedule.”

“Um… shouldn’t we introduce ourselves?”

The female professor on the far left raised her hand and asked timidly.

Harrid’s cold gaze landed on her.

“…Why should we do that?”

“Eek!”

Overwhelmed, she shrank back in fear.

Harrid turned away and began reciting the schedule.

One of the Skarn teachers, flustered, quickly raised his hand.

“P-professor! Could we have a moment to take notes…?”

“I heard you’re all young and talented teachers.”

Harrid spoke indifferently.

“Surely you can grasp something of this level in one go.”

And with that, he continued.

The nine strained to cram his every word into their heads.

When Harrid finally finished, he narrowed his eyes.

“Any questions?”

None of them asked. They were too busy organizing his words in their minds.

“As expected of excellent teachers. To understand in a single hearing.”

Curling his lips in satisfaction, Harrid jerked his chin.

“Then off you go.”

He returned to his seat.

The temporary teachers looked at Yura with troubled faces.

Meeting their gazes, Yura smiled again.

“It’s routine. You’ll get used to it.”

Her words were exactly the same as before, not a syllable different. The temporary teachers looked bewildered.

“Professors from Skarn, please follow me. After lunch, you’ll have the Summoning major class.”

At Yura’s words, the Skarn professors followed her out.

Ain and Len, having returned after dragging out Sedgen, also left with the Icott and Emerald professors to prepare for classes.

Harrid, at his desk, narrowed his eyes.

'Could one of them be a spy?'

All semester, Tartaros had carried out operations against Lumene.

Behind every major incident—Tartaros.

Yet the upper ranks of Lumene still hadn’t uncovered the faction’s tail inside the school.

And now, they had brought in hundreds of outsiders.

There was no guarantee Tartaros wouldn’t pull something again.

Their aim must be to slowly, but surely, shake Lumene.

Indeed, the incidents of the first semester had rattled Lumene’s standing.

The result was this joint class.

Of course, Lumene’s reputation and influence were still unblemished.

But—

'A small tremor becomes a small crack, and a small crack becomes a great fracture.'

In such a situation, cutting off outside exchanges and focusing inward might have been best.

But Lumene had taken in outside students.

The Headmaster’s will must be: “Let them try.”

The greatest hero of this age.

The man who defeated a legion commander of Tartaros.

The Sword Saint, Kalian Beidna.

To reaffirm his strength, Kalian had arranged this joint class.

A declaration that if anything happened, he would be the first to step forward.

'I must support him well.'

Harrid sighed deeply and unfolded the student roster.

Though Sedgen was officially in charge of managing visiting students, the background checks were Harrid’s duty.

Because of that, the highest echelon of Lumene had placed personnel under him.

Sedgen’s sudden interference earlier was, in fact, a gesture to lighten Harrid’s load.

Harrid’s sharp eyes moved across the student names.

bl

Lunchtime.

Leo strolled leisurely through Lumene’s Grand Archive.

The archive was full not only of Lumene students but also many from other academies.

They wandered in awe, marveling at the place.

After lunch, Leo was to attend the Summoning class. His classmate Chen Xia approached with a smile.

“The Hall of Heroes is packed with people.”

The Hall of Heroes, also called the Relic Vault.

There lay countless legendary weapons once wielded by active heroes.

Right now, the Sword Saint Kalian’s blade was on display.

Even for Lumene’s own students, seeing Kalian was rare.

So it was natural that students from other academies had flocked to see the treasured sword of this era’s greatest hero.

“Come to think of it, Leo, you’ve spoken with the Headmaster several times, haven’t you?”

Chen Xia’s eyes sparkled.

“What kind of person is he?”

“He just felt like a neighborhood grandpa.”

“You’re probably the only student in the world who’d call the Sword Saint a neighborhood grandpa.”

Chen Xia burst into giggles and pulled a book from the shelf.

It was about Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning.

“Perfect. Lately these books are so popular, it’s hard to get one because students borrow them right away.”

“You interested too?”

“Of course. Oh right, Leo—you said you were making a club about the Hero of the Beginning, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. Once I get members, it’ll be approved.”

Leo had been steadily preparing the club alongside his coursework.

“Though most people already joined other clubs, so none of my close friends are free.”

At that, Chen Xia paused, then smiled.

“I’m not in a club. Want me to join?”

“Oh? Really?”

“But in exchange…”

She tilted her head with a playful smile.

“Call me big sister.”

“…Do I really have to?”

“Of course. You always treat me like I’m younger, but I’m two years older than you. I am your senior.”

She lifted her chin, brushing her hair back slowly, eyes turning oddly sultry.

“Don’t you feel the charm of an adult?”

“You look like a kid pretending to be grown-up.”

Chen Xia’s face soured.

At that moment—

Murmur, murmur—

The archive grew noisy.

Leo and Chen Xia turned to the entrance, puzzled.

A peculiar sight unfolded there.

A blonde girl in Skarn’s uniform entered, flanked by Lumene students.

Even those following her were of mixed grades.

Who is she, to have so many trailing after her? Huh? Wait. I know some of those faces.

Among them, Leo spotted familiar ones—students who had taken the western entrance exam with him, even seniors who had done so before.

The common trait: they were all nobles of the Lordren Empire.

As Leo watched curiously, the girl scanned the room, then her eyes met his.

She smiled and walked toward him.

“You’re Leo Plov, aren’t you?”

A girl about Chelsea’s age spoke in a graceful voice.

“Yeah. And you are?”

“You don’t know me?” she asked, a little taken aback.

“It’s my first time seeing you, so of course not. Are you supposed to be famous or something?”

Leo’s offhand reply made nearby first-years gape, trying to mouth something at him.

But before they could, a second-year—Barden, a collateral of the Zerdinger family—frowned and barked:

“Mind your tongue, Leo Plov. This is none other than Her Imperial Highness, Crown Princess Shasha Sienne Lordren of the Empire.”

At Barden’s introduction, Leo raised his brows.

The twin great houses of heroes in the Lordren Empire:

Zerdinger and Lewellin.

For ages, they had served as vassals upholding the empire—under House Lordren, the imperial family itself.

The imperial house granted its vassals great power, yet the relationship of lord and retainer had never wavered.

For the Lordren family was also a house of heroes, producing many in each generation.

If Zerdinger and Lewellin were knights and mages, Lordren was “summoners.”

In times of crisis, it was always the emperor of Lordren who rose as the final defender of the empire.

And succession was determined purely by ability.

At just fourteen this year, Shasha had already claimed the title of crown princess four years ago, surpassing her siblings.

Leo had already heard of her from Celia and Chelsea.

“And what business does the Princess have with me?”

“To meet a future vassal,” Shasha said.

The entire archive stirred.

The three great academies were filled with successors of powerful rulers.

Shasha was one of them.

And now she had, in effect, publicly declared that Leo would be recognized as a future asset of the empire.

All eyes fixed on them.

Even the Lordren students looked shocked, as if they hadn’t foreseen this.

“So then, Leo Plov. Since I’ll also be a Lumene student next year, I’ll call you ‘senior.’ Leo-sunbae.”

With elegance, Shasha extended her hand.

“Would you escort me to the next Summoning class?”

No matter how merit-based Lumene was, this was the crown princess of the Lordren Empire.

She would be untouchable.

And she would soon be a Lumene student.

Everyone watched to see how Leo would respond.

Turning her down here would be trouble.

But in the end, this is her way of warding off other factions that have their eyes on Leo Plov.

A clever move.

As the students marveled, Leo spoke flatly:

“What’s this cheeky brat even saying?”