Editor : Amethyst00



"All I can say is that it's amazing."

Drianna let out an exclamation as she sketched the landscape of the Dragonia Citadel that unfolded before her eyes.

The place where the representatives of the Hero Academies had gathered was a tall tower located at the very center of the Dragonia Citadel.

This place, known as the Tower of Wisdom, offered a full view of Dragonia's landscape.

As Lunia watched Drianna, who was engrossed in her sketch, captivated by the beautiful scenery, she murmured, "Does that even mean anything?"

"What do you mean by that?" When Leo asked with a puzzled face, Lunia replied,

"I know that Drianna is amazing as a smith. Every piece of equipment I received from her after signing the exclusive smith contract was incredible."

Equipment, inevitably, is consumable.

No matter how excellent a smith may be, even the legendary arms used by heroes of the past quickly lose their function if not properly maintained.

And no matter how carefully they are maintained, as long as they are used, they will eventually break down.

That is why most heirlooms of hero families with long histories are usually kept in storage rather than used.

Though they are undeniably powerful and brimming with mighty strength, if you recklessly use them, the heirlooms would not survive.

The extraordinary thing about Dweno—the one called the Divine Blacksmith and the creator of divine artifacts still existing in the modern era—was that he defied that common understanding.

Dweno's artifacts, as long as they were maintained, would return to a like-new state in no time.

As long as they weren't completely destroyed, even if they were chipped and tattered, they could quickly be restored to their original form.

Of course, that didn’t mean they were immortal.

Smiths capable of maintaining divine artifacts were extremely rare to begin with, and the replicas obtained as raid rewards from Hero Record did not possess the same restoration capabilities as the originals.

Because of that, even Lunia, Eiran, and Aru—who had acquired Dweno’s divine artifacts as raid rewards from his world—could not carelessly use them.

They were, quite literally, weapons of last resort to be used in critical battles.

And that was the same for everyone else.

'If it weren’t for the Unyielding Damien, Dweno’s artifacts would have been much rarer than they are now.'

Damien restored many of Dweno’s artifacts to like-new condition and passed them down to future generations.

The reason so many divine artifacts remain to this day was thanks to him.

Even those who wield divine artifacts face these limitations.

That was why students of the Hero Academies sought contracts and maintained relationships with Damien’s smiths.

For a prospective hero, their fate could hinge on whether they met a capable smith during their time here.

In that sense, Drianna was a grateful presence.

She was supplying them with the necessary equipment, all with excellent performance.

If nothing else, Drianna was a genius as a smith.

But—

"She’s hopeless as an artist."

"I never thought I’d say this, but I have to. Don’t call that girl an artist. That’s an insult to art."

If Dweno had heard them, he might have gone into a frenzy.

'Art? Did you just call that thing art? Come here. Come and lay your head on the anvil. I’ll personally smash it with a hammer and fix whatever’s inside.'

His face twisted in fury, hammer swinging wildly—that image came to mind vividly.

The party's reliable shield, its oldest member, and always composed advisor.

But when it came to art, Dweno was hopeless.

He openly called himself the greatest artist and a worshipper of beauty.

'Well, he really was an amazing artist.'

Leo didn’t know much about art.

In his previous life, he had lived far from such things, and though he was reborn into nobility, he still never took much interest.

But even he could tell that Dweno was extraordinary as an artist.

Though he teased him as a pervert, Leo—and even Aaron—could see the beauty in Dweno's creations.

It was the same for Lysinas and Luna.

Even in this age of cultural prosperity, nothing compared to the beauty of Dweno’s works from that era.

'It really is a shame.'

What Dweno truly wanted to pass down to future generations wasn’t weapons that took lives—but beautiful works of art.

'Weapons are crucial in our time. We have to fight enemies. It’s true that we need powerful weapons to protect ourselves.'

He recalled the image of Dweno carving stone with his hammer and chisel.

'But if we reclaim the world, the weapons I leave behind will soon become tools of harm. I won’t grieve over that. That is the fate of weapons. Still, I want to show future generations that even in this age of despair, beauty existed. It’s too bleak to leave behind only weapons from a dark time. Showing that beauty existed is far more valuable.'

Among the Great Heroes, the one who most regretted the current age was likely Dweno.

Lysinas, who guided the world to salvation.

Luna, who turned countless desperate situations into hope through magic.

Aaron, who wrought countless miracles with his immense courage.

Kyle, who, as the last standing, announced the dawn of a new era.

And—

Dweno, known only as the maker of the divine artifacts that made all this possible.

The current world was beautiful enough.

But no one knew of Dweno the artist—who had dedicated himself for that beauty.

As Leo gave a faint bitter smile—

Aru, who had been listening, suddenly stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"I’m curious to see what kind of dreadful drawing she’s making."

Aru smiled playfully and crept up to Drianna like a cat.

"Drianna, can I see your drawing?"

"Oh, Aru. Taking an interest in art?"

Drianna gave a cheerful smile.

"Well, it's just a sketch, nothing special. But it’s good to take interest in beauty."

Mm-hmm!

Nodding proudly, Drianna showed her the sketchbook.

Aru’s jaw dropped.

"What the hell is this?!"

Hearing that, Lunia and Chelsea approached with curious expressions.

Just how dreadful must it be to shock her like that?

"Let’s see, let’s see… huh?"

"What? Why is it so well-drawn?"

Lunia and Chelsea were just as surprised.

Drianna's sketch beautifully captured the grandeur of Dragonia’s landscape.

Seeing the three girls stunned, Drianna clicked her tongue.

"A pathetic drawing with not even a speck of originality. But if I use that as a base and add my aesthetic sense to recompose it… Fufufu. A splendid piece of art will be born!"

The three girls thought seriously.

‘Shouldn’t this girl just give up on art already?’

Just as they were still reeling from Drianna’s artistic “skills”—

"Don’t you think it’s about time we discussed why we were invited here?"

Hardin adjusted his glasses.

The vice student council president of Seiren, Hardin glanced at Leo, then looked toward Dorberman and Marigold.

"We still don’t know exactly why we were suddenly invited to Dragonia, but I believe we all have our guesses."

Maybe not Leo.

But Dorberman and Marigold were clearly a grade above Hardin, even though they were from different schools.

Not to mention, both were student council presidents.

So Hardin’s tone remained very respectful.

At his words, Dorberman let out a small chuckle.

"It’s probably because of the school competition."

An unprecedented event in Hero Academy history.

Even the Lumeiren Competition alone drew the world’s attention.

But now, the four Hero Academies would face off?

It was literally a competition to determine the best Hero Academy.

A matter of pride for the four races.

Of course, Leo was considered the best among all the Hero Academies.

He became student council president in his first year and ascended to hero status in his second year.

A being beyond the level of any student.

But even so, in a Hero Academy competition on the scale of national military powers, an individual's ability had its limits.

Having the best student and having the best school were two separate matters.

That’s why the proposed inter-academy competition from Lumene was a matter of massive interest.

"Azonia will participate. Our school, which values combat as a virtue, has no reason to refuse."

Dorberman crossed his arms.

From the moment the topic was raised, there had been an uproar within Azonia demanding they participate no matter what.

"I expected nothing less from Azonia."

"Seiren will participate too, of course?"

At Dorberman’s words, Hardin adjusted his glasses again.

"Regrettably, if it were just the Lumeiren Competition, perhaps. But with all four schools involved, Seiren intends to abstain."

"What?"

Dorberman looked surprised at the unexpected response.

"To be frank, Seiren currently lacks the resources to host a large-scale event."

Of the four Hero Academies, Seiren had undoubtedly endured the most upheaval recently.

Last winter—there was the large-scale invasion by the Monster Queen.

Then, early this year, the Pureblood Society took control of Seiren.

Although the return of the Poet of the Star and the Comet Mage were historic events, what summoned them were massive internal crises.

On top of that, Seiren was undergoing sweeping changes in school policy after its stance that only students who had mastered star magic would be accepted.

The internal situation was bad.

The Lumeiren Competition was held annually, and since it was hosted by Lumene this year, Seiren could barely manage to attend.

But a larger event like an inter-academy competition? That was another matter entirely.

"Seiren cannot participate unless we’re at full strength."

"Tsk. So you won’t fight if the odds are against you?"

"I hope you’ll consider it a rational decision."

Hardin replied calmly as Dorberman clicked his tongue in displeasure.

But Dorberman said no more.

As student council president, if Azonia were in Seiren’s shoes, he might have made the same decision.

‘It’s just a shame this opportunity didn’t come until our 5th year.’

"We of Damien will also abstain. We have departmental schedules. I know it’s a fun and meaningful event, but it’s just too sudden."

Marigold smiled regretfully.

Chelsea let out a small sigh.

‘It’s not unexpected.’

Hero Academies represent their respective races.

Even though they’re educational institutions, they function on a national scale, so participation in a sudden large event was difficult.

Even if not to Lumene’s extent, it was sure to cause major disruption.

That’s why there were already many skeptical voices even within Lumene.

If they really had to—they could do it.

The problem was the difficulty of the process.

‘To be honest, we’d welcome it if it didn’t happen.’

Chelsea sighed deeply.

‘But it’s Leo-oppa who suggested this competition.’

Chelsea knew.

If it seems impossible, Leo would make it possible.

She glanced at Leo and, seeing him smiling, looked up at the ceiling.

Lunia also glanced at Leo’s face and shook her head.

‘He’s definitely going to push this through.’

Squeak—

The door opened softly, and someone entered.

It was a small girl.

Her long, beautiful silver hair—with streaks of black—flowed like a cape and brushed the floor.

Even though it dragged along the floor, her hair was as pure and clean as a gem.

A face as beautiful as a sculpture.

And her eyes were closed.

Two dragons stood beside her.

Everyone in the room instantly knew who the girl-shaped dragon was.

‘Dragon Queen, Melina.’

A face they had once seen at the world summit.

But meeting her in person, in the same room, the pressure was overwhelming.

Even Lunia, Aru, and Drianna—personally chosen by her as heroes of the era—couldn’t hide their tense expressions.

"Thank you for accepting the invitation despite your busy schedules."

Melina smiled brightly, clapping her hands together.

Then she sat down at the head seat.

"You may go now."

"Yes, my Queen."

The dragons bowed and left the room.

The students stiffened with tension.

"Now then, let’s begin in earnest."

Still with her eyes closed, Melina spoke seriously.

Just as the students swallowed dryly—

"Shall we have tea time?"

"…Huh?"

Hardin, uncharacteristically, responded with a dazed voice.

Melina asked him as he stood frozen, not even fixing his slipping glasses.

"Hardin, do you prefer black tea? Coffee? Or herbal tea? Tell me what you like."

bl

“This is nice. Having a tea time like this.”

Melina smiled softly as she sipped her black tea.

“The reason I invited you all is because I wanted to arrange a meeting to coordinate the timing of the Hero Academy Competition. So? Has the coordination been settled?”

At Melina’s question, Marigold responded.

“I have something to say regarding that.”

“What is it?”

“There’s no doubt that it’s a meaningful and significant event. However, because it was brought up so suddenly, it seems that both Seiren and Damien will find it difficult to participate.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. If only Lumene and Azonia are participating, then the event loses much of its meaning. So, instead of holding it this year, we were hoping to negotiate a later date.”

“I see.”

Melina nodded, then gave a gentle smile.

“Let’s hold it this year.”

“…Excuse me?” Marigold looked flustered at Melina’s words.

“The world is currently in a state of unrest. The fragments of Erebos are reviving, and there are ominous movements from Tartaros. On top of that, even the gods have appeared and shown us the path we must take.”

Melina set her teacup down.

“The truth about the world of Dawn is a secret that the Dragon Queen have hidden for thousands of years.”

Melina’s eyes slowly opened.

“For a long time, to prevent chaos in the world, the Dragon Queen secretly gathered heroes to challenge the world of Dawn. And they failed.”

The students focused intently on her words.

“The reason they founded the Hero Academies was because they hoped that we, the later generation, would carry on their will. The school competition proposed by Lumene isn’t merely about determining superiority among schools. It’s an opportunity to gauge each other’s strength and engage in friendly rivalry. I believe it will become a stage of unity to carry forward the founders' legacy and build the foundation for challenging the world of Dawn. I hope this becomes an opportunity for active exchange between the four academies—and even a festival for the entire world.”

Without realizing it, the world had built walls between races.

There wasn’t a single person here who didn’t know that.

“Still, I understand that each school has its reasons for finding this difficult. So let me make myself clear.”

Melina smiled brightly.

“If any school refuses to participate, I will personally scold them.”

She said it in the tone of a teacher gently scolding a child.

But when the one saying it was the peak of world power and officially the strongest being alive—it was nothing short of terrifying.

At Melina’s words, Leo casually sipped his coffee and said, “Since it sounds like the conversation’s over, shall we start coordinating the schedule now?”

Leo smiled shamelessly.

“So? When shall we hold it?”