Editor : Amethyst00



The Lumeiren Competition.

A historic and storied rivalry between Lumene and Seiren, passed down for generations.

Held annually, with the two academies alternating as hosts each year, the Lumeiren Competition was nonetheless a perennial hot topic. It wasn’t just an ordinary event—it was a prestigious stage where young talents from both the human and elven worlds showcased their abilities. That naturally drew widespread attention.

After all, the passage of a year in a Hero Academy was fundamentally different in intensity from ordinary schools.

Students who had been virtually invisible a year ago often rose to shine brightly during the Lumeiren Competition.

That’s why the Lumeiren Competition wasn't just a competition—it was a showcase of a year's worth of growth and achievements.

And people always cheered for the rise of new heroes.

The unexpected emergence of dark horses was one of the key reasons the Lumeiren Competition remained a thrilling annual event.

Knowing this, both Lumene and Seiren poured everything into preparations every year.

Massive budgets were allocated, staff deployed, and invitation lists drafted with meticulous care.

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"BUT NOW?! WITH SO LITTLE TIME LEFT?! SUDDENLY YOU WANT TO BRING IN AZONIA AND DAMIEN TOO? ALL FOUR ACADEMIES IN ONE PLACE?! HE’S MY COUSIN, BUT HE’S LOST HIS MIND!!"

One week after the inauguration ceremony.

Celia was screaming in the student council room.

From Seiren’s point of view, this wasn't a huge problem.

As this year’s guest school, Seiren’s role was simply to attend. The only change was that the number of opposing schools had increased from one to three—Lumene, Azonia, and Damien.

But from Lumene’s perspective, which now had to host and manage all of it, this was sheer madness.

Student council members were now running around the Tower of Heroes like their lives depended on it.

Though the four Hero Academies had existed for over three thousand years and had long formed cooperative ties, not once in history had all four ever gathered in one place for a direct competition.

This was, in every sense, an unprecedented undertaking.

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"Is it even possible to gather all four academies together like this?"

Niel, a 4th-year from the Knight Department, asked with a puzzled expression as she helped Celia sort through documents.

As a knight of the Rhoda family, who served the Zerdinger family, and thus directly loyal to Celia, Niel’s concerns came from a place of duty.

Standing nearby, Martina, a 1st-year from the Knight Department and also a member of the Zerdinger faction, shared her worried look.

"Just getting in contact with Azonia and Damien is hard enough, right?"

As the two voiced their concerns, Celia clutched her head in frustration.

"Leo’s the type who does whatever he says he’ll do. If he’s decided, he’ll push it through no matter what."

"Even so, this is too reckless. Maybe we should try to persuade Young Master Leo…"

Niel looked serious—until a cold, mocking voice cut in.

"Hmph. So the Zerdinger knights disobey orders now just because it’s inconvenient?"

“…What?”

A vein bulged on Niel’s forehead.

The one who had spoken was none other than Marcel Rugia, a 5th-year from the Magic Department.

He was the heir to the Rugia family, retainers of House Lewellin, and known to be Niel’s sworn rival.

Sparks immediately flew between them.

Thud—

“Ugh? S-Senior Niel?!”

Niel shoved the documents into Martina’s arms and marched straight toward Marcel.

The towering stack of files now obscuring her vision, Martina flailed helplessly.

Niel crossed her arms and stood right in front of Marcel.

"Who said I’m doing this because it’s inconvenient? I’m saying we should talk to him because this looks impossible."

"Same thing, isn’t it?"

"So the Lewellin mages just say ‘Yes, sir!’ to every command without question? Wow, must be nice having no spine."

As the two glared at each other like wild beasts, Celia let out a sigh of deep exasperation.

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"Um, Senior Elena sent a message—"

Carl, his soul visibly half-departed from his body, stepped between the two.

“She said if you're going to fight, take your lover’s quarrel outside.”

"WHO’S FIGHTING?!"

"LIKE I’D EVER PAIR UP WITH A ZERDINGER!"

"But Celia and Chelsea pair up just fine, don’t they?"

As Niel and Marcel both flared up in unison, Carl scratched his head.

"Who’s pairing with who is not the issue right now."

“Just hold it in for now. This is about to spiral.”

Carl sighed heavily.

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Then, suddenly.

“Hey.” A chilling voice echoed.

Everyone turned at once, startled.

Standing there was Hark—or rather, what looked like a shell of his former self.

“…You guys taking a break?”

“Senior Hark, it’s not that we’re taking a break, we were just—”

“Taking a break, huh.”

Hark stepped in, his face right up to Niel’s, eyes blazing.

“I’m a graduating senior, and I’m still working like a dog because of those damn juniors. And you—why are you taking a break?”

“Se-Senior Hark? Calm down—”

“Calm down? CALM DOWN? It must be nice!” He whirled toward other students who had paused momentarily, jabbing his finger like a drill sergeant.

“NO EATING! NO DRINKING! NO SLEEPING! DON’T EVEN BLINK! DON’T BREATHE! JUST WORK!!”

“S-Senior Hark?! If we don’t breathe, we’ll die—”

“Then die! Die working—mmf?!”

“Okay, that’s enough. Eat something sweet and cool off.”

Before anyone had realized it, Elena had appeared beside Hark, a sweet smile on her face as she shoved a piece of candy into his mouth.

Just as Hark, teetering on the brink of another outburst, was about to explode—

“Leo said you could go home and rest for today, and come back to the council in two days.”

“…Are you serious?”

Hark narrowed his eyes in deep suspicion.

“Yup. He said you’ve worked way too much lately, and you definitely need a break.”

At those words, Hark’s expression lit up like springtime.

Despite his chronic fatigue and perpetually irritable attitude, Hark was, at a glance, a fragile-looking and strikingly handsome young man.

And when that kind of person smiled? It somehow made the room feel warmer.

Now humming to himself with the candy rolling in his mouth, Hark practically skipped out of the student council office.

The rest of the council members watched him go with… pitiful eyes.

Even after all the havoc he had raised over the past week, they couldn’t bring themselves to be angry with him.

Because they knew—too well—how brutally Leo had been working him.

“Is he really that happy…”

“They say when you're exploited long enough, you start to feel joy over basic rights…”

As the entire student council stood there with sorrowful expressions, someone spoke.

“Why are you all looking at him like he’s some kind of tragic figure?” Elena blinked innocently.

Niel, her arms crossed, sighed.

“Even if you two don’t get along, watching him like that… doesn’t it stir a little pity?”

But Elena only smiled sweetly.

“Nope. Not at all.”

The council members exchanged glances, all muttering under their breath—

“As expected of the Witch of Lumene…”

Then Elena added cheerfully:

“Because that’s going to be us in the future. What’s there to pity?”

“…”

Everyone’s faces went stiff.

“Leo’s… surprisingly good at squeezing people dry. Like he knows exactly how far he can push someone to the edge.”

She said it almost admiringly, reaching her hand out casually.

Carl, who had been inching away behind her, was promptly caught by the scruff of his neck.

“Where do you think you’re going? Since Senior Hark’s resting now, we’ve got to split his workload between us.”

“S-someone save me—!”

“Don’t worry. You won’t die.”

Elena’s angelic smile deepened as she began dragging Carl off to his doom.

Watching this grim scene unfold, Celia looked up at the ceiling and muttered bleakly:

“…When will this hell end?”

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It wasn't just the student council that was busy.

The entire student body had been mobilized for the preparation of the Lumeiren Competition—or rather, what now had to be called the Hero Academy Inter-School Tournament.

Students were put to work during their free periods in the morning and afternoon, and then again until late at night after class.

Thud!

“I didn’t enroll in Lumene to dig holes in the ground!”

El Jane, a first-year student of the Knight Faculty, slammed her pickaxe into the dirt with a scream.

A candidate for the Shadow Unit, she hailed from the Xian Empire and was one of Chen Xia’s loyal followers.

“And why does the work never end?!”

Thud-thud-thud!

As El Jane swung her pickaxe again with growing irritation, Luke, beside her, laughed.

“They're expecting tens of thousands of spectators. Probably the biggest turnout in Lumene's history. We need to build enough lodging for all those people.”

“So, basically, whatever Lord Leo says is fine by you?” El Jane narrowed her eyes.

Luke responded calmly.

“Jane, if you swing like that, you’re going to wear yourself out.”

“Huh?”

“Relax your lower back a little… like this.”

Luke came around to adjust her posture.

“You know a lot, huh?”

“I used to help with farm work back home.”

“Ah, so you’re used to tools. I only practiced stabbing people.”

Luke gave a stiff laugh at Jane’s unsettling response.

“Hey Luke, how’s my form?”

Aina approached and asked.

“You could try putting a little more strength in your wrists.”

“Okay.” Aina nodded, calmly accepting the feedback.

“This can count as a new kind of training.”

“Do you always turn everything into training?”

El Jane shook her head with a sigh at Aina’s ever-serious attitude.

Even though they were all young, hero cadets possessed outstanding physical abilities and could freely use special powers.

Thanks to this, their progress on construction work—lodging for visitors, stadiums, spectator seats, and more—was blazing fast.

Still, the sheer scale of tasks meant the workload never seemed to end.

“I wonder what the other schools’ first-years are like.”

“We were just keeping an eye on Seiren…”

Their conversation turned toward speculation—what kind of opponents they might be up against.

In every hero academy, there were always first-year geniuses who made a name for themselves on the world stage.

But aside from those few, information on other students remained scarce.

By second year, the top talents often became well-known, but first-years typically stayed veiled in mystery.

That made it hard to assess how they measured up against the rest.

“Doesn’t matter who they are. We’ll show the world who’s best.”

At Haviden’s firm declaration, the first-years all nodded.

“Yeah! Seiren, Azonia, Damien—bring them on!”

“Ooh-rah!”

“Come at us!”

The group roared with youthful energy.

But then Aina, expressionless as ever, quietly muttered:

“Finish this first.”

And just like that, it was as though someone had dumped cold water over the whole mood.

“We were just starting to feel fired up…”

“Hm? What was that?”

Luke scratched his cheek, while Aina tilted her head in confusion.

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Luke let out an awkward chuckle and shook his head.

Thus, the whole of Lumene was thrown into chaos as preparations for the inter-school tournament continued.

And in the middle of it all, an invitation arrived.

Addressed to the Student Council President of Lumene, it came from none other than—Dragonia.

And it wasn’t just Lumene that received one.

The same invitation had been sent to Seiren, Azonia, and Damien as well.