Editor : Amethyst00



Flash—

A brilliant light burst from the warp gate.

And from within, the students of Lumene Academy appeared.

Step— Step—

The eyes of those standing in front of the warp gate fixated on the Lumene students.

"White hair and red eyes… That must be Leo Plov, the student council president of Lumene."

"The youngest student council president and a hero…"

"I heard he even seized the throne of the Kingdom of Tonkan?"

"He's smaller than I expected."

"Maybe because of his size, he doesn't seem very imposing."

By the time the murmurs reached Leo's ears, the gazes that had been fixed on him soon turned toward Elena, who stood by his side.

"That woman must be Elena Zeron…"

"Amazing! She's beautiful…!"

"She's called the Queen of Lumene, right?"

"She looks noble at a glance!"

Unlike the skeptical murmurs directed at Leo, Elena was met with waves of praise.

Celia, Abad, Juen, and Shasha also received glowing admiration.

Seeing the reactions of those who appeared to be Davienne nobles, Leo mumbled with a bored expression, "Why are they so obsessed with evaluating others?"

To his murmur, Lyl responded, "High-ranking nobles in any country tend to be like that, brother."

Lyl shrugged as if it were a common occurrence.

"There are many royals and high officials who don't care about public reputation. Of course, even they can't openly talk down about Lumene students or heroes… But when comparing fellow Lumene students, they tend to favour those from better families. The same goes for heroes."

Leo clicked his tongue at Lyl's explanation.

"And perhaps because of Carl's recent achievements, nobles who are hung up on lineage are placing even more weight on bloodline now."

Carl's registration in the Hero Record.

That incident caused as much shock as when Leo's name was first added to the Record.

Leo had been a famous figure since his admission.

Among the competitive batch of entrants, he proudly claimed the top spot.

On top of that, he attracted everyone's attention as the unprecedented "All-Class" student.

He went on to make a series of groundbreaking moves, eventually becoming the first-ever first-year student council president in Lumene's history.

Later, he revealed that the great hero Kyle had truly existed and was even named his successor.

But Carl was different from Leo.

Unlike Leo, who had been extraordinary from the start, Carl was a student who barely survived at the bottom ranks.

A completely unknown student.

He gained some fame by conquering Dweno's world, but the impression was that he had simply ridden on the coattails of those with overwhelming power.

Then, one day, he suddenly rose to the status of a hero.

And he wasn't even a noble—just a commoner.

While Carl became an aspirational figure among commoners, to the nobles who looked down on commoners, he became a thorn in the side.

Unlike Leo, who was dubbed the "Nameless Hero," Carl was called "The Herald of the Beginning."

That title, which seemed deeply connected to Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning, drew even more attention to Carl and increased his popularity among commoners by the day.

In fact, he was one of the most popular heroes among commoners recently.

Given this situation, nobles who cared about status only doubled down on their obsession with lineage.

Leo clicked his tongue again at Lyl's explanation.

'So all this happened over the winter break.'

He hadn't had time to sense the change in atmosphere.

And for good reason—during winter break, Leo had been busy traveling between the Zerdinger family and the Lezentan region.

Moreover, the nobles he met were from the Lordren Empire.

Even though it was his maternal family, none of the nobles in the empire would dare disrespect someone acknowledged as a direct member of the Zerdinger family.

But this was a distant foreign country far removed from the Lordren Empire.

And even if he was recognized as a direct member of the Zerdingers, Leo's surname was still Plov.

Being from an obscure, nameless kingdom in the western frontier, the nobles of Davienne inwardly looked down on him.

They judged him as still young, despite being Lumene's student council president and a hero.

It was typical behavior from nobles who paid no attention to global affairs and only cared about flexing their authority in their own backyard.

Just as Leo was making a dismayed face—

"Princess Treniconi of Davienne is arriving!"

A noble in extravagant clothing shouted loudly.

At that, the gathered nobles parted.

Musicians, likely an orchestra, began playing, and a red carpet was unfurled between the parted nobles.

Down that carpet walked a woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties, exuding confidence.

Following her were people who appeared to be her close aides.

Despite the nation being in the midst of a civil war, they displayed an excessive level of formality.

As the music swelled, Princess Treniconi proudly approached Leo and said, "It is an honor to meet you. I am Treniconi, the First Princess of Davienne."

Treniconi offered a graceful greeting.

Just as Leo opened his mouth to respond—

"Elena Zeron, vice president of Lumene."

"Oh. The famed Queen of Lumene, I see."

Elena, standing beside Leo, smiled gently.

Regardless of their year, from an external viewpoint, Elena as vice president was considered a lower rank than Leo.

Yet she stepped forward in his place.

Princess Treniconi didn't seem offended by this.

In fact, she appeared to welcome it.

'The princess is the same as the others.'

Leo clicked his tongue inwardly.

He hadn't come to be treated like royalty.

He only wanted to resolve the civil war quickly and subjugate the cause of the abnormal climate in Davienne.

The fragment of Erebos.

Then, Princess Treniconi spoke again.

"It's a shame. It would've been nice if the Davienne students enrolled in Lumene had come along as well."

Except for Xian, Davienne had the largest territory in the east, so many Lumene students came from there.

Elena smiled at the princess's disappointment.

"Lumene remains strictly neutral. We normally wouldn't have gotten involved in your civil war… but since Seiren intervened first, we had no choice but to step in for the sake of balance."

At those words, Princess Treniconi frowned.

"Still, it's unfortunate that Wright Suvian didn't come, even when his homeland is in danger."

Wright Suvian.

A 5th-year magic department student.

Heir to the prestigious Suvian family, one of Davienne's heroic houses.

'Wright absolutely should not have come.'

Elena made a disappointed expression.

In Davienne, the Suvian family carried deep symbolic significance.

They were a heroic house.

A "heroic house" meant a family that had produced generations of heroes.

And in the current age, heroes had a standing rivaling that of kings.

Such families naturally held authority comparable to royalty.

Some heroes even founded nations themselves and earned the title of "Hero-King."

There are generally three types of noble families with such power:

Those who, like the Zerdingers and Lewellins of Lordren, loyally serve the imperial family.

Those who, by forming duchies, gain semi-independence and the title of archduke.

And finally, those who claim loyalty to the crown but act independently and focus on defending the nation in their own way.

The Suvian family was the latter.

They strictly adhered to neutrality in foreign politics.

So expressing regret that Wright didn't come was foolish.

'Wright always praised the late crown prince as an exemplary man.'

Though she hadn't met him, Elena had heard much about the former Davienne crown prince who died in battle against Tartaros.

And yet, this was the kind of person aiming for the throne now.

She didn't expect much from the second prince either.

No one knew how they got Seiren involved, but once Seiren intervened, it was obvious that Lumene would step in to mediate.

Lumene and Seiren.

Both were foreign forces from Davienne's perspective, but Lumene was human and Seiren elven.

Lumene had far more influence over surrounding nations.

And yet they allowed Seiren to intervene?

'They're definitely foolish.'

Elena clicked her tongue.

'Is this country nearing its end?'

She clicked her tongue again, pitying her classmate with whom she had studied for five years.

"Come now! We can't just stand around! Since Lumene has come all this way to aid Davienne, we must hold a grand party!"

One of the aides behind Princess Treniconi made a fuss.

To that, Elena smiled faintly.

"We appreciate the sentiment, but we must head straight to meet with Seiren."

"Pardon? After such a long journey, you should rest…"

"We came via warp gate, so it wasn't tiring."

As Elena spoke, Princess Treniconi and her aides exchanged glances.

They were clearly eager to invite Lumene's students to their party.

They weren't fools.

They knew better than anyone that gaining Lumene's support would instantly tilt the civil war in their favour.

Princess Treniconi thought to herself, 'They said the real power of Lumene lies with Lady Zeron… and it seems that was true.'

Anyone could see that Elena was leading the conversation.

Indeed, she held all practical power in Lumene.

Though Leo had become a hero, he was still only in his third year, and likely inexperienced outside of battle.

Thus, the nobles of Davienne believed that the massive authority of Lumene's student council rested with Elena.

'But still, the student council president is Leo Plov.'

They figured that if Leo agreed to attend, the Lumene students would have no choice but to join the party.

Princess Treniconi beamed and said, "Great hero, Leo Plov. It is an honor to speak with you. Please share your noble tales with the people of Davienne—"

"Ahem? What do you think you're doing?"

Elena interrupted her with a peculiar hum.

Princess Treniconi turned to her in confusion.

"Pardon?"

"To whom do you think you're speaking without permission? I thought you knew your place, but it seems I was mistaken."

Elena wore a beautiful smile.

But her eyes glinted sharply.

Under her overwhelming pressure, the princess and the surrounding nobles turned pale.

The knights, mages, and summoners accompanying them were overwhelmed by her presence.

"I'll ask again. Who gave you permission to speak? Who are you to address him so freely?"

Her face was expressionless now, her tone ice-cold.

"W-what do you mean…?"

Throughout the conversation, Princess Treniconi hadn't even looked at Leo.

She hadn't greeted him either, but Leo hadn't taken offense.

It wasn't just the princess—none of the high-ranking nobles had shown him any courtesy.

They all inwardly dismissed Leo as a frontier-born.

"Do you take the position of Lumene's student council president so lightly? That a mere princess—not even a queen or crown princess—dares to speak so casually?"

But Elena hadn't taken their behavior as simple disrespect.

She'd thought they at least knew their place.

The truth was, the Lumene student council president held authority even emperors couldn't ignore.

Leo's reputation had already soared sky-high.

For a mere princess to speak to him without permission—

Elena would never allow it.

"H-how dare you treat a princess of Davienne like this and expect to walk away unharmed!"

One aide mustered the courage to shout.

But that only further provoked the Queen of Lumene's wrath.

"And if I don't walk away unharmed, then what?"

Elena tilted her head coldly.

"Who do you think you are?"

"W-we are Davienne's—!"

"So your greatest achievement in life is being born into a good family. What exactly do you think you can do? And besides…"

Elena furrowed her delicate brows, wearing an expression of incomprehension.

"What even is a 'Davienne'?"

At her words, the princess and the nobles turned ghostly pale.

Watching from behind, Leo whispered to Lyl.

"Shouldn't we stop that lunatic?"

"I mean… she's not wrong."

Lyl tilted her head.

Leo clicked his tongue inwardly.

'They've spent too much time together. She's become just like her.'