Editor : Amethyst00



Eliana, who had been struck by Lysinas's tail and sent flying, picked herself up.

'It feels like… I got hit with a battering ram…!'

An excruciating pain beyond imagination.

It literally felt like her body was shattering.

Every time she moved a muscle, searing pain spread, making it difficult to even move her body.

Boom—!

As Lysinas landed on the ground, the earth shook.

Eliana bit her lip hard.

Overwhelmed by the Dragon Fear emitted by Lysinas, she couldn't think straight.

Her mind, now in panic, was in utter chaos.

'What should I do? What should I do?'

Should she surrender just like this?

Or should she simply give up?

'If it were the class president… what would he have done?'

At that moment, an image of Leo came to her mind.

Just thinking that far brought a sense of calm to her previously chaotic thoughts.

'If it were the class president…'

Clench—!

She gripped her sword and used it like a cane to stand.

'He would've fought back!'

Determination lit up in Eliana's eyes.

'Look carefully at Lady Lysinas!'

So far, she had only taken a direct hit once from Lysinas's attacks.

Of course, even grazing or dodging them had delivered tremendous shock, but still, she had managed to avoid most of Lysinas's attacks.

'If I can dodge, that means I can counterattack.'

Vwooom—!

Her magic stirred.

And with it, dragon language magic was activated.

Eliana moved her body through the flashes of light pouring from all sides.

'Focus!'

Her eyes tracked the trajectory of the light aimed at her.

'Light magic is my specialty!'

Sensing the subtle fluctuations of mana and capturing every movement of light with her eyes, Eliana avoided all of Lysinas's complex magical attacks.

Everyone widened their eyes in awe at her incredible agility.

Clench—!

Eliana gripped her hand.

A dimensional rift opened, revealing her long spear.

Gritting her teeth, Eliana threw the spear directly at Lysinas.

Whoosh—! Flash—!

Her spear flew like a bullet of light.

Infused with both magic and aura, the spear shot straight toward Lysinas.

Boom—!

Fragments of light scattered in all directions.

But her attack was deflected in vain by Lysinas's scales.

Even so, Eliana, now right in front of Lysinas at incredible speed, swung her sword.

"Haaah!"

With a shout, Eliana's aura aimed to slash Lysinas.

But in that moment, Lysinas simply pressed down on her with her hand.

Crash—!

Watching the brutally crushed Eliana, the third-year students tightly shut their eyes.

"……You're this big… and that reaction speed is totally cheating…"

At Eliana's groaning words, Lysinas lifted her hand and smiled softly.

["Are you done now?"]

Ssshh—

To that question, Eliana placed a hand on the ground and stood up.

Staggering, she raised her sword again.

"Of course not."

She smiled while pointing her sword.

Lysinas's Dragon Fear remained as overwhelming as ever.

But Eliana was no longer trembling in terror as she had before.

'Is this just reckless bravado?'

That was the initial thought, but her eyes clearly still held fear.

She hadn't forgotten the fear.

She had overcome it.

["You've done everything you could."]

Lysinas spoke with sincerity.

She had been fleeing but managed a counterattack.

Even though her attack didn't cause damage, the fact that she fought the Wise Queen this far was impressive in itself.

Even Lysinas hadn't expected a mere girl like Eliana to come this far.

And still, she wanted to keep fighting.

Despite her immobile body, she refused to give up.

It was a stark contrast to the frightened girl who had just tried to escape.

"I'm not particularly smart…"

Eliana chuckled.

"A little while ago, I just wanted to run away. But now, I don't want to give up."

["Why?"]

"Because if I give up now, I'll probably give up again next time too."

It was a sudden realization.

If she could face this fear…

There was hope that she could go even further.

"And also…"

["Also?"]

"If it were the class president, he definitely wouldn't give up."

["……"]

Lysinas silently stared at Eliana.

'Class president… So this is what Kyle would've done…'

In Eliana, Lysinas saw many reflections.

The face of Aaron, who faced fear head-on.

Luna, who struggled to turn the impossible into possible.

Dweno, who never wavered.

And Leo, who never gave up.

Finally… a reflection of himself, who sought hope even in despair.

'So that's how it is.'

Lysinas closed her eyes.

It was all coming through clearly.

The very ideals that she and the so-called great heroes had pursued.

Seeing this girl, who had surpassed her limits like a living embodiment of their teachings, Lysinas couldn't help but smile.

Flash—

With a bright light, Lysinas returned to her original form.

"You pass."

"But… all I did was get beaten up."

"Were you really trying to land a hit on me?"

With a burst of laughter, Lysinas patted Eliana's head.

At the same time, her injuries began to heal.

"Ohh."

As relief washed over her face, Lysinas spoke.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of hero you'll become."

At those words, Eliana's eyes grew wide.

To hear such words from the Wise Queen?

It was a tremendous honor that would be remembered in history.

Blushing, Eliana didn't know what to do as she giggled shyly.

Lysinas gave her a gentle push on the back.

Beaming, Eliana returned to her seat.

"Now then. Next up is Duran Moira."

With Albi's call marking the end of the previous match, everyone turned to Duran.

As he clenched his fist, sparks flew.

Rising from his seat, Duran bowed respectfully toward Lysinas.

The mock battle had begun.

"Class president! Class president! Lady Lysinas complimented me!"

Eliana ran up to Leo with a wide grin and bounced with excitement.

"Jealous, aren't you? Jealous?!"

"Totally."

"Ahem!"

Puffing out her chest and strutting proudly, Eliana made Leo laugh.

Watching this, Carl remarked, "Getting praise from Lady Lysinas… must be nice."

"Ohohoho! Yes! Be even more jealous!"

"I'm genuinely jealous."

"Me too."

"Huh?"

When Chelsea and Chen Xia chimed in, Eliana became flustered.

"What's wrong with you guys? Normally you'd scoff or say something sarcastic! Why are you being sincerely jealous?"

"Because we really are jealous."

"Exactly."

As the gloomy reactions of Chelsea and Chen Xia continued, Eliana cowered behind Leo in fear.

"C-Class president… They're acting weird!"

This mock battle wasn't a test of individual skill.

It was a test to show everything you've learned and be acknowledged by the Wise Queen.

That's why Chelsea and Chen Xia weren't confident they could pass.

And looming over them all was Leo's special training.

"D-Don't worry too much! I'm sure you'll be recognized too!"

And so, a rare scene unfolded with Eliana comforting Chelsea and Chen Xia.

'This is how we push, pull, and support one another to move forward.'

Leo watched the scene with quiet satisfaction before turning back to the arena.

Duran's battle had begun.

bl

Students, weary after the mock battles, trudged back to the dormitory.

By the time it ended, the sun had set and night had fully arrived.

Lysinas, left behind in the training grounds, stretched.

"Mmm~ feels good to loosen up the body."

Leo approached the smiling Lysinas and asked,

"So? What do you think of the third-years?"

"They were all amazing."

Lysinas beamed.

"Some stood out even more. You've had your hands full, haven't you?"

It hadn't been hard to tell who had influenced the third-years.

At Lysinas's words, Leo sighed.

"It's been tough. You came to mind a lot."

Lysinas chuckled.

"So? Have you figured out your party members?"

"Celia, Abad, Chen Xia, Chloe, Walden. I'll take these five for sure."

Lysinas's reason for conducting this mock battle wasn't just to assess the current generation of hero candidates.

She was also directly selecting members to accompany her for missions in the Davienne Kingdom.

The moment she learned that a fragment of Erebos had resurrected and begun moving…

She couldn't just sit back and watch anymore.

As the Wise Queen, Lysinas had resolved to personally destroy that fragment.

"Tomorrow's the fourth-years, right?"

Lysinas hummed.

"You look happy."

"Of course. Unlike 5000 years ago, this era is overflowing with talent."

"True."

Leo let out a dry laugh.

Compared to the days when they had to rack their brains just to form a subjugation team, the difference was night and day.

As Leo opened the door to the dormitory, Lysinas stepped inside.

Then her eyes landed on a painting—and she froze.

"Huh…? Dweno?"

A vividly lifelike painting that seemed ready to move at any moment.

Staring at it in shock, Lysinas asked, "That's from Dweno's world, right?"

"Yeah. I got it as a reward from a conquest in his world."

"Ahh… But to think someone other than Dweno could paint this well… I'm impressed."

Lysinas admired it, then looked to the elf painting beside Dweno in the artwork.

"This one's clearly Dweno's work."

It was easy to distinguish that the two had different styles.

Still, both were masterpieces worthy of display.

"Who is it?"

"The elf Dweno loved."

Lysinas looked genuinely surprised.

"Tell me everything! In detail!"

This uncharacteristic excitement from Lysinas was understandable.

She was about to hear an old story of a friend she didn't know.

Leo shared the tale of Dweno and Enniha.

"Wow… So that's why that pervert became obsessed with beauty."

Lysinas made a strange expression.

"Then he must've made those eccentric requests to this elf too?"

"He got the idea of asking someone to pose nude from Enniha, apparently."

"A match made in heaven."

Lysinas clicked her tongue.

Then she propped her chin on her hand and gazed at the painting.

"Still, I'm glad. At least he got to fulfill his wish after death."

With genuine relief, Lysinas asked, "So? What's this Dweno successor kid like?"

"A girl version of Dweno."

"How'd that happen?"

"Beats me. But she's got zero talent for art. Even Dweno told her to give it up."

"She doesn't listen, does she?"

"How'd you know?"

"You said she's a girl version of Dweno."

Lysinas giggled.

"What about Aaron's successor?"

"There's one. A cat brat."

As Leo shared about Aru, who had the opposite personality of Aaron, Lysinas's eyes sparkled.

"And Luna's successor? I vaguely remember her face."

"Exactly like Luna."

"…That explains everything."

Lysinas gave a hollow laugh.

They continued chatting pleasantly.

"…Even in peaceful times, we haven't changed."

"What would?"

Leo shrugged.

Hearing that, Lysinas nodded and poured tea.

She handed a cup to Leo, then poured her own and took a sip.

Silently, they both admired the paintings of Dweno and Enniha.

Then Leo asked, "So, what's your lingering regret?"

"Huh?"

Leo sipped his tea.

"I can't imagine you, like Luna, not knowing what it is."

"It's a secret."

Lysinas smiled slyly, and Leo furrowed his brows.

"What is it?"

"Curious?"

"If you're going to say it, just say it. Don't drag it out."

Leo took another sip, unfazed.

"I want to lay an egg."

"Pfft! Cough Cough!"

Leo choked violently.

"Just kidding. Funny? Why're you so flustered?"

Wiping his mouth, Leo scolded her.

"There's a line for jokes. Even Luna wouldn't say something like that!"

Catching his breath, he stared at her and scanned her up and down.

"What are you looking at?"

As Lysinas narrowed her eyes, Leo rubbed his chin.

"Just… since you said 'egg'…"

"You're having lewd thoughts, aren't you?"

"No! I just suddenly remembered you're biologically a lizard."

"You, come here. I'll kill you."

With a cold expression, Lysinas leapt at Leo and dropkicked his stomach.

She climbed on top of him and grabbed his collar, shaking him.

As the two wrestled—

"Lady Lysinas! Lord Leo! Sorry for disturbing you this late, I have something to repor—huh…"

Melina, who entered the room, froze at the sight before her.

She stared silently at Lysinas straddling Leo on the sofa.

Then she politely bowed her head.

"My apologies."

And left the room.

Watching her leave, En looked puzzled.

"My lord, the report?"

"Let's deliver it later."

"Huh?"

"They might be getting back together!"

Melina's eyes sparkled with excitement.