Editor : Amethyst00



Leo, having skipped breakfast, slipped out of the Clocktower Dormitory and headed toward the Hall of Summoning, where the offices of the Summoning Department professors were gathered.

"Oh, Leo! What brings you here so early in the morning? Did you come because you have something to ask?"

Professor Yura, a third-year major in summoning, greeted Leo with a cheerful voice.

"I came to see Professor Artienne."

"Artienne? She should be at the professors' dining hall right now."

Yura, who informed him of Artienne's whereabouts, approached Leo and threw an arm over his shoulder.

"By the way, Leo. I've got something to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Don't you think we need more professors to manage the dorms? There are quite a few professors like me who have time on our hands."

"If we do that, it won't be a fight between students anymore."

Leo smiled faintly and removed Yura's arm.

At that, Yura clicked her tongue in disappointment.

Currently, the professors in charge of dormitories had been thoroughly screened and selected by Harrid and Sedgen, pillars of Lumene.

As for the department professors—if people like Yura or Len were given authority over the dorms, the outcome was obvious.

Bonus stamps and penalty stamps would be flying everywhere.

Since the declaration of the departmental war, the fierce competition had caused an increasing number of professors to eye dorm management roles.

'If stamps are handed out recklessly, Professor Harrid will definitely scold them.'

Shaking his head inwardly, Leo made his way to the professors' dining hall.

Upon entering, he spotted Professor Artienne just about to start her meal and approached her.

"Oh? Leo. What brings you here so early?"

"I had something I wanted to ask."

"That's unexpected. A model student like you coming to ask a question?"

Artienne smiled in surprise.

"Asking when you don't know is a good habit. Ahem. You can ask me anything."

"It's about the Initial Spirit Evocation. Yesterday—"

"Leo, you haven't eaten yet, have you? The professors' dining hall food is better than the student cafeteria. Here, try this."

Before Leo could finish, Artienne pushed a piece of untouched food into Leo's mouth.

Leo chewed the meatball he had been suddenly fed.

"I'll go get something new."

Artienne smiled and left to get more food.

Meanwhile—

"Ppyak-ppyak."

"The professors' food is tastier? Let me try."

"Master, I want an apple pie."

Leo's summoned beasts appeared and took an interest in the food on the tray.

Though they had tasted all kinds of food sold at Lumene, this was their first time encountering food from the professors' dining hall.

On the table, Fiora, in her red chick form, pecked at some bread.

Kiran stirred and ate soup with a spoon as big as himself, and Alty used a fork to pick up food.

The rare sight of the three mythical summons gathering and eyeing the food drew the attention of curious professors.

Some of them even felt despair watching Fiora and Kiran bicker over food.

"Urgh… I've devoted my life to studying the Three Mythical Beast…"

"The phoenix and the fairy should be noble and pure beings…"

"My thesis on the Three Mythical Beast… it's all wrong… my reputation is ruined!"

"You can just clean it off."

The professors who researched the Three Mythical Beast were devastated.

"But at least Pegasus is elegant."

Looking at Alty, who was daintily eating with a fork, the professors nodded in agreement.

'If they knew Alty's true nature, they'd cry.'

Leo clicked his tongue lightly.

Not wanting to shatter the professors' illusions any further, Leo reached out his hand.

Clench—!

"Ppi-hyuk?!"

"Gah!"

With one hand, Leo grabbed Fiora and Kiran and stretched his hand into the air.

A black hole opened in the void, and Leo tossed the two unruly summons into it.

"Alty. You too."

"Yes."

Alty, in the form of a young child, gently floated into the black hole.

Leo spoke.

"Don't be discouraged. Those kids are just… unusual. And they're still just kids."

At Leo's words, the professors specializing in summoning elementals nodded.

"See? Elementals really are the best."

"Elemental Lord are truly dignified beings."

The professors researching Elemental Arts loudly praised the nobility of the Elemental Lords.

'They're even more vulgar.'

Leo shook his head, recalling the Elemental Lord of water and fire that had been subdued by Elsie.

Again, not wanting to break their illusions, he kept his mouth shut.

At that moment—

Artienne returned.

"Professors. I need to speak privately with Leo. Could you please give us some space?"

Though Artienne asked politely, the other professors didn't listen.

"Leo, how about working with me on a research project? You won't have to do a thing. I'll list your name first as the author."

"No, no, work with me—"

"Ahem! I was here first."

The summoning professors, typically focused on research, showed great interest in Leo.

Overwhelmed by her senior colleagues, Artienne shrank back.

Among summoning professors, Artienne was one of the youngest.

She couldn't raise her voice at her sky-like seniors.

Until—

"You old geezers! He came to see me with a question!"

Artienne suddenly widened her eyes and shouted.

Startled, the professors scattered.

Apparently, Artienne's wraith was feared not only by students but also by her senior professors.

"S-Sorryyyyyyy!"

Artienne, on the verge of tears, bowed her head over and over.

Yura burst into loud laughter at the sight.

It seemed she found it amusing to see the normally stern and dignified seniors flustered by the youngest professor.

Watching her, Leo chuckled quietly.

'She must've been bullied a lot by Professor Harrid back in school.'

With a flustered expression, Artienne sat beside Leo.

"Leo, try not to mention you're receiving personal tutoring from me in front of the other professors."

Many professors still had their eyes on Leo.

If word got out that she was receiving private lessons from Artienne, things would definitely get noisy.

"Understood."

That's why Artienne had quickly stopped Leo earlier.

"So? What exactly are you curious about regarding the Initial Spirit Evocation?"

Artienne began eating as Leo joined her and spoke.

"Is it possible that a failed summoning could result in multiple heroic spirits being summoned at once?"

"I've never heard of such a case."

Artienne tilted her head.

Then, after a moment of thought, she said,

"Usually, even summoning a single spirit is difficult for most. The Initial Spirit Evocation is the most basic of the basics in spirit evoking. That's why summoning multiple, unspecified spirits through it is extremely difficult. Historically, no summoner has done that."

"I see."

"But…"

"But?"

"There are only legends—not proper records—but if it were a summoner on the level of the Wise Queen, Lysinas… maybe it would be possible."

Hearing that, Leo looked down at his palm.

His power belonged to Lysinas.

"Why do you ask?"

"There were rumors among the students yesterday… that someone saw a ghost."

"A ghost?"

"Yes."

Artienne's eyes sparkled at Leo's reply.

"That's fascinating!"

bl

Last night.

The rumour among Magic Department students about seeing a ghost had become a hot topic throughout the school.

But it was soon overshadowed by an even bigger scandal.

"I mean, seriously. You saw a ghost yesterday?"

"Ah! Stop it already, I'm sick of it!"

"I barely said anything—"

"More importantly! I told you, didn't I? Those two were suspicious! Eliza, who always spoke so formally and kept a clear distance from everyone, used casual speech with that Carl guy!"

The third years from the Magic Department chatted excitedly.

Third years from the Summoning Department were also shocked.

Eliza, though a troublemaker, was a clear leader and focal point within their department.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say most summoning students were her followers.

Though not exactly well-behaved, she was like an untouchable noble delinquent.

And now Eliza had stayed out overnight with a commoner like Carl?

"Does that even make sense?"

Carl's best friend, Tade, clicked his tongue, and Jurgen, a third-year from Summoning, spoke nonchalantly.

"Why wouldn't it? Carl's a good guy."

"But considering Eliza's usual personality…"

"It is strange."

"You're surprisingly quick to accept reality, huh?"

The students from the departments to which Carl and Eliza belonged were especially riled up.

Of course, the Knight Department found it all entertaining too.

"This calls for popcorn!"

"Carl's slacking off on duty!"

"But if it's the punishment room… would they be locked in the same room?"

"Ooh. It's gonna be steamy in there for two days!"

Watching the third-years from the Knight Department chatter and laugh, Celia frowned.

"So low. And you call yourselves the Knight Department, all about chivalry?"

"Ah, no. It was just a joke…"

"You shouldn't mock others like that. Want to get scolded?"

Chen Xia smiled brightly as she scolded her classmates.

The knights who'd been gossiping turned to Duran for help.

"What are you looking at?"

Bzzt—

Of the three monsters of the Knight Department, Duran looked the least pleased. Even his aura began to leak out.

Seeing this, Nella looked puzzled.

"Duran seems really upset, doesn't he?"

"He was considering Carl as his sister's future husband."

"Oh."

From Duran's perspective, someone who would soon be leading a country, it was alarming that a national hero might be "exported" abroad.

Trying to handle this with the power of the Moira Kingdom was difficult, because Eliza was the heir of the Hergin family.

Though not royalty, the Hergin family had immense influence in the northern continent.

In history, fame, and power, they rivaled—and perhaps surpassed—the Moira Kingdom.

Meanwhile—

Even the second-years were buzzing with talk about Carl and Eliza.

"Hey, Juen. We were supposed to spar today, remember? Let's do it now."

Aina approached Juen, who looked like her soul had left her, and spoke with a blank expression.

"Juen?"

Tilting her head at her dazed state, Aina waved a hand in front of her face.

"Can you hear me? Juen. I said let's spar."

"Okay, okay~ That's enough."

"Shasha, Luke, let's go."

On either side, Shasha and Luke grabbed Aina's arms and dragged her away.

The first years, since it was a story about upperclassmen two years ahead, mostly kept their mouths shut.

But the fourth and fifth years were surprisingly indifferent.

"I thought it'd been quiet lately."

"There's always someone causing trouble."

For the seniors who had seen it all, such scandals weren't surprising.

Even after school, the gossip about Carl and Eliza continued. Eventually, night fell once more.

Curfew time, Magic Department dormitory lounge.

"Hey! We've been robbed!"

"That Leo kid's fairy did it, I'm sure of it!"

"No! Judging by the clean sweep, it had to be the phoenix!"

The dorm had been thrown into chaos by an assault from Leo's summons.

Seeing this, Chelsea grabbed her butterfly net and stood up.

"You going hunting?"

Chloe, who had been calmly reading a magic tome, looked up in surprise.

"Yes. They stole my expensive hidden cookies."

Chelsea pulled out a red feather from her pocket.

Her hands trembled with rage.

"I'm going to pluck them bald."

Growling, Chelsea left the dorm.

Sabaak, sabaak—

With her light, signature footsteps, she quietly moved through the corridor.

She had to rely on faint light since magic lamps and lanterns weren't allowed.

The hallways at night had a creepy atmosphere.

But Chelsea didn't flinch.

'Where are you, you damned chick!?'

Chelsea's eyes sharpened.

At first, she had been friendly since Fiora was Leo's phoenix. But if her cookies were stolen—well, that was a different story.

Growling fiercely, Chelsea stalked the halls.

Portraits of Lumene's most illustrious students lined the walls.

Clank—clank—

From down the corridor came the sound of metal scraping.

Chelsea's eyes twitched.

Clank—clank—

"Magiciannnn… dieeeeee!"

A blood-covered armored knight growled murderously at her.

Looking up at the knight, a full head taller than herself, Chelsea swung her butterfly net and smacked his helmet.

Clang! Spin—spin—spin—!

The knight's helmet spun in place.

"Whoever you are, your cosplay is pretty intense."

Chelsea scoffed.

"If we fight in the hallway, the professors might hear. Let's just go our separate ways."

Ghosts? No such thing!

Confidently, Chelsea assumed it was just some twisted Knight Department student and walked past.

Normally, she'd have knocked him down for bonus points.

But today, her target was Fiora.

"Graaah! Magician! Die!"

"Oh, come on!"

When the knight began chasing and shouting, Chelsea turned and dropkicked his helmet.

Ping! Tong! Clatter!

The helmet flew off the knight's neck and clattered across the hallway floor.

"…."

Chelsea stared silently at her victim.

No head.

"…Magic? A summoning?"

She muttered in disbelief.

Vwoooom—!

Aura burst forth from the headless knight's sword.

At that moment—

Every portrait in the hallway turned to face Chelsea.

Locking eyes with the paintings, Chelsea nodded.

'Run.'

"Grrrrrraaaaaaah!"

The armored knight roared and gave chase.

"What the hell is thiiiiiiiiiiiis?!"

Chelsea's scream echoed throughout the hallway.