Editor : Amethyst00



That evening.

While the Lumene students were having dinner in their dorm, a visitor arrived.

“Chelsea! How can you even call this food?!”

“You got a problem with my cooking?”

“Cooking? This is cooking? Don’t insult the word cooking, will you?”

“What? You’re dead today!”

“Run! She’s about to cast magic!”

“I’m telling Professor Harrid!”

“Class rep! Can’t you just be in charge of cooking duty? Yours tasted the best out of all of us!”

“Yesterday we even snuck a few dishes from the Seiren party.”

Before the door even opened, noisy chatter could already be heard inside the dorm.

The theme of this field trip was self-sufficiency, so every meal was the students’ responsibility.

Of course, since most of them had grown up comfortably and had no connection to cooking, it was impossible for decent meals to come out of it.

As a result, Lumene’s mealtimes were always like this—one commotion after another.

At the students’ disgraceful racket, Sena buried her face in her hands and turned her head away, while Harrid let out a long sigh.

“Ha ha! The students are certainly lively!”

Only Rune smiled warmly.

“I-I’ll go inside first and calm them down.”

With an awkward smile, Sena hurried in.

Moments later, once things had quieted down, Sena opened the door again.

The whole class was eating quietly and elegantly, as if nothing had happened.

“Good to see you all.”

“Hello, Chairman Rune of the Grand Council!”

Class 5 greeted politely in unison.

Of course, they still didn’t forget to glance at Harrid for cues.

“Ha ha. I hope I didn’t interrupt your meal. I came to you with an announcement.”

“An announcement?”

Carl gave him a puzzled look.

“Yes. You all must have heard already. That multiple undead, including a Death Knight, have appeared in the Fairy Forest.”

Everyone’s expressions grew grim at those words.

“So the Council convened a meeting. I’m here to inform you of the result.”

The students of Class 5 exchanged confused glances.

“The Grand Council of El-Salvekia has decided to officially commission this investigation to both Seiren and Lumene. You will join forces with Seiren to investigate the abnormal situation in the Fairy Forest.”

At this, everyone looked shocked.

“Of course, it would be dangerous with only you inexperienced students. That’s why we’ve also put in a commission to Seiren. You’ll form a joint team with their upperclassmen to investigate the anomaly.”

“Does that mean… it’s an official commission?”

“That’s correct.”

An official commission.

Normally, Lumene first-years only did practice commissions starting in the second semester, and real commissions from their second year onward.

This meant the process was being pushed forward by a whole year.

“Though it’s an official commission in name, remember—it’s still an extension of your practice. If something beyond your ability occurs, the commission will immediately be suspended. Also, though it’s official in name, it’s practically an unofficial request, so there will be no commission rewards.”

Some students looked disappointed at that, but the mood didn’t last long.

An official commission!

It felt like they were finally being recognized as proper Lumene students.

“Did you come personally for the commission, Chairman Rune?”

Leo asked with a puzzled expression, but Rune shook his head.

“No. In truth, I came because of you, Leo.”

“Me?”

“Yes. This child wanted to meet you, so I brought her along.”

Rune smiled and gently pushed forward the girl standing behind him—Eiran.

“She’s cute!”

“Class rep! How do you know her?”

The Class 5 students looked in amazement at the shyly fidgeting Eiran.

To Eliana’s question, Leo answered plainly.

“She’s Chairman Rune’s granddaughter.”

“Oooh.”

“L-Leo… have you been well? I… I was told I could come visit sometime, so I—I’ve come, despite the discourtesy…”

“Welcome.”

“You seem close to Leo? Hello, I’m Eliana. Have you eaten? Want to join us?”

“Hey, Eliana. You can’t serve guests this.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.”

Eliana and Carl hurriedly cleared the food off the table.

Chelsea glared at them, grabbing their necks in a mock stranglehold.

Eiran looked flustered at the sight. The atmosphere was completely different from Seiren’s.

“Have you eaten yet?”

“N-no, not yet.”

“Then will you eat? The others complain about the taste, but it’s not inedible.”

“Hey, Leo! Don’t make her eat that! You’ll ruin the school’s image!”

“Die!”

“Gah! I surrender, I surrender!”

Chelsea now focused on strangling only Carl.

“Then… I’ll accept your kindness.”

Cautiously, Eiran picked up a piece of meat with her fork and took a bite.

Her small mouth chewed earnestly, then she spoke.

“It’s food made with heart.”

“Right? Right? It’s edible, isn’t it? They’re the weird ones!”

Chelsea, who had been strangling Carl, now brightened and rushed over.

Startled by Chelsea’s sudden friendliness, Eiran flinched.

At that moment Rune stepped in, smiling kindly.

“Our Eiran is also a Seiren student, you know.”

“Really?”

“But she wasn’t in class earlier today.”

“Why weren’t you there?”

“We didn’t really get to talk with the Seiren kids earlier because of lessons, so this is a good chance to hear more!”

At the mention of Seiren, everyone’s interest in Eiran grew.

Seeing the students crowd around, Eiran’s face turned pale.

“E-excuse me for a moment!”

She shot up from her seat and hurriedly ran upstairs to escape.

Class 5 looked taken aback, while Rune’s face stiffened.

“Aren’t you going after her?”

Leo asked, and Rune carefully replied:

“Leo, could you go instead? It was thanks to you that my granddaughter found the courage to leave her room in the first place.”

He recalled how shocked he’d been when his granddaughter, who had always shut herself away, came to him earlier asking to visit Leo.

“I suppose I only vaguely hoped she might mingle with her peers, without truly understanding her heart.”

At Rune’s words, Harrid gave Leo a small nod.

So Leo went upstairs in pursuit of Eiran.

At the end of the second-floor corridor, he noticed the terrace door was open, and stepped outside.

There in the corner sat Eiran, crouched down.

When her eyes met Leo’s, she panicked.

“L-Leo…! Forgive me for showing you such a pitiful sight!”

Leo gazed at her, and thought of another elf girl.

“Velkia.”

Though thousands of years had passed, Leo could still see traces of her ancestor in Eiran.

Back then, Velkia too had been shrouded in darkness when they first met.

“I can’t just leave her like this… she reminds me too much of Velkia.”

With a wry smile, Leo draped his outer coat over Eiran.

“B-but then you’ll be cold…”

“Don’t worry about me.”

Ignoring her fluster, Leo stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall beside her.

“So why did you run from Seiren?”

“At first, I wanted to attend Seiren. Because I admired heroes.”

Eiran hugged her knees as she spoke.

When she first entered, she had been placed in the intermediate class.

She had talent, and she worked at it—but she hadn’t devoted her entire being to honing swordsmanship and magic.

Instead, she preferred reading heroic tales far more than fighting.

For someone who loved heroes, simply being in the same space as aspiring heroes was enough.

But for someone born into one of the greatest elven houses, yet with no ambitions and just drifting along, Eiran became an easy target of mockery.

The introverted girl suffered under that ridicule.

“When Seiren life was starting to feel overwhelming, I met someone like the sun.”

“Who?”

“Lady Lunia.”

Eiran’s face lit up.

“Lady Lunia is amazing! There’s nothing she can’t do! She’s always confident, always kind to everyone! She’s like a real hero!”

Her face shone as brightly as when she spoke of heroic tales.

In many ways, Lunia was the closest thing to a true hero among peers Eiran had ever met.

And for a girl who adored heroes, Lunia was enough to capture her heart.

“So I started to admire her. Because she was so different, so amazing… I thought I wanted to follow after her.”

That small goal—wanting to watch someone remarkable up close.

Once she had that, her talents bloomed, and she shot up from intermediate to advanced class.

“And once I was in Advanced Class 1, Lady Lunia was so kind to me. But… at some point, she started to scare me.”

“Why?”

“During a sparring evaluation, I must’ve made a huge mistake. From then on, I think she hated me.”

Leo frowned.

'That doesn’t sound right. With her personality, she wouldn’t hate someone over something trivial… and Eiran doesn’t seem the type to do something hateful, either. I’ll need to ask her myself.'

With her admiration gone, what remained were envy and jealousy from those she had surpassed.

Students who had considered her beneath them couldn’t stand how far she’d grown, and turned to malice.

'So that became her trauma—making her fear her peers.'

If it had been him, he might’ve grown cynical instead, but Eiran was simply too gentle.

“For someone who’s scared of her peers, you seem awfully comfortable around me.”

“That’s because you feel similar to my grandfather!”

“Grandfather?”

Her radiant face suddenly froze.

“N-no! I don’t mean you’re old! I mean… you have… an adult’s charm… W-what am I even saying!”

Flustered, she buried her face in her knees.

Leo chuckled and asked:

“Did you leave Seiren because you thought, unlike others, you had no dream of being a hero—and so were just a burden?”

“…Yes.”

'She’s kind.'

The girl simply lacked the aspirations expected of a hero.

'If she had completely given up, there’d be nothing I could do. But…'

Remembering the pristine Seiren uniform in her room, Leo asked:

“Do you like stories about Velkia?”

Though the question was sudden, she answered eagerly.

“Yes! She’s our ancestor! I love her stories as much as any great hero’s!”

“Then you know why Velkia was able to become a great hero, don’t you?”

“Huh?”

“Because she admired her mentors—the great heroes—and followed in their footsteps. That’s why she became one.”

“…!”

It’s not only those with grand ambitions who can become heroes.

'By that logic, except for Lysinas, none of us were suited to be heroes. Luna, Dweno, and I wouldn’t even be considered at all.'

Thinking of his friends, Leo continued:

“Why care so much about what others think? Just go down the path you want.”

Eiran’s eyes widened.

Seeing them, Leo let out a dry laugh.

'Different personality, but just like her ancestor.'

Those eyes full of admiration.

Even though Velkia had acted prickly, she had always looked at Kyle with eyes like that.

Leo extended his hand. Eiran hesitated, then took it.

“Let’s go down. The Lumene kids are all good-natured.”

Drawn along by Leo’s hand, Eiran returned downstairs.

Class 5 welcomed her warmly.

“Oh! She’s back!”

“Sorry for overwhelming you.”

“No, maybe she just ran off because of Chelsea’s cooking.”

“You brats!”

Chelsea’s eyes blazed, but she held back, worried about frightening Eiran again.

At first overwhelmed, Eiran soon found herself smiling without realizing it.

Before long, she was naturally mingling with her peers.

Rune’s face was overcome with emotion.

“My granddaughter… fitting in so well with her peers!”

“I’ve heard Eiran is among the top five in Seiren’s first-year class. Why did she leave the school?”

“Until recently I thought it was because of an insurmountable student, but it wasn’t that. The problem was Seiren’s atmosphere.”

“The atmosphere?”

“As you know, Seiren grants many privileges to advanced students. Those with low grades are naturally weeded out.”

“Lumene is the same, though.”

“True. That’s inevitable in a school system. But Seiren’s tendency is far stronger.”

Since classes themselves were ranked, it was unavoidable.

“And for my granddaughter, it must have been too heavy a burden.”

Rune gave a bitter smile.

“I attended Seiren, and later worked there as faculty, so I never thought of it as a problem. But clearly the system wasn’t suited for her.”

He looked at Leo.

'I never understood Eiran’s fear. In that sense, for her to meet Leo… it’s truly a great blessing.'

Feeling gratitude toward the human boy who gave his granddaughter courage, Rune wiped at his eyes.

Seeing this, Harrid spoke.

“To climb higher, she must overcome it. With her skills, Eiran can surely succeed.”

“Yes… but I think I’ve just thought of an even better way.”

“What way?”

“Professor Harrid.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

Rune, his tears wiped, now wore a serious expression, and Harrid matched his mood.

“Does Lumene accept transfer students?”

Harrid let out a heavy sigh.

'First I’m told to send one away, now I’m being asked to take one in. Why are so many elves suddenly inquiring about transfers?'