Editor : Amethyst00



The courtyard of Lumene Academy.

Under the blazing sunlight, students bustled about in a daze.

The weather had already settled into the sweltering heat of summer.

Thanks to the oppressive heat, their uniforms had long since switched to summer wear.

Students sagged under the hot sun.

But it wasn't just the weather making them droop more than usual.

"Why! Why are we stuck studying on this golden weekend instead of hanging out in Lumeria City?!"

Eliana flopped dramatically onto a bench, whining like a child throwing a tantrum.

At her display, Chelsea—sitting beside her—cut her off with a blunt tone.

"Because finals are next week."

After the aftermath of the incident in the Kingdom of Davienne on the eastern continent had finally wrapped up, and the world was beginning to forget it—

The students of Lumene were now staring down the final exams that marked the end of the first semester.

The pressure of their grades, layered with the heat, weighed heavily on them all.

This year, Lumene Academy had gone through a major curriculum reform.

The brutal expulsion-based survival system had been abolished.

But that didn't mean things had gotten easier.

In fact, in some ways, it had grown even more merciless.

Though students were no longer expelled mid-semester, those who failed by year's end were still forced to leave the academy.

This was still Lumene, after all.

That hadn't changed.

As such, all students, regardless of year, were equally tormented by the unforgiving schedule.

If anything, competition and pressure surrounding grades had only intensified.

"I wanna go out! I wanna have fun!"

Eliana flailed her arms wildly, making a tearful face.

Chloe, sitting nearby and reading a book, spoke without looking up.

"Eliana, if you keep flailing like that and hit Chelsea—"

Thump!

Before Chloe even finished her sentence, Eliana's foot struck Chelsea in the side.

"Hooh?"

"I-it was an accident…!"

"You little—!"

With eyes blazing, Chelsea lunged at Eliana.

As the scene turned chaotic, Chloe slowly shook her head and said,

"…Hm? First-years are coming."

At that, Eliana sprang to her feet like nothing had happened, fixing her posture with elegance.

Back straight, she swept her hair back with a graceful motion.

Chelsea blinked at the sudden transformation.

"Ah! Seniors! Hello!"

A group of first-year magic students spotted Chelsea, Chloe, and Eliana and greeted them with wide eyes and a respectful bow.

Eliana stepped forward and responded with a smile on behalf of the group.

"Yes, hello. How's your studying going?"

Smiling like a mature upperclassman, she asked gently, making some of the male students blush slightly.

"It's hard!"

"I don't understand why the written exams are so difficult!"

They responded loudly and energetically.

Eliana giggled softly at their reaction.

"Yes, the exams here are definitely harsh. But if you try hard, you can do it."

"Yes, ma'am!"

The boys answered cheerfully.

Then the girls stepped forward.

"Senior Eliana, even though you're a Magic Swordswoman and your main department is Knight Studies, you still take the magic exams every term, right?"

"You're amazing! I heard Professor Len's tests are extremely difficult!"

"Fufu. It's nothing special. Chelsea and Chloe here are much more impressive."

Eliana turned to her sides with a soft smile.

The first-year girls' eyes sparkled brightly.

Of course, they knew Chelsea and Chloe were on another level entirely.

But compared to those unreachable stars, Eliana was a more relatable and human senior.

That was why, among first-year magic students, Chelsea and Chloe were admired with awe and longing—but Eliana was someone they looked up to with warm respect and fondness.

"How do you manage to do well in magic exams while majoring in Knight Studies? Is there a secret?"

While her scores weren't among the academy's top, she had still managed to avoid failing the notoriously difficult Lumene magic courses for three years—as a Knight Studies student, no less.

That alone was more than enough for the first-years to respect her.

The problem was—

"Thorough review and preview, of course?"

'The problem was that she was full of nonsense.'

Chelsea narrowed her eyes, recalling their time as first-years in the same class.

'Eliana, do your review!'

'Reviewing is eating!'

'Then at least do your preview!'

'Previewing is drinking!'

For the record, this bizarre doctrine of "eating review" and "drinking preview" was still active even now, in their third year.

Despite Chelsea's deadpan stare, Eliana laughed cheerfully and chatted with the younger students.

"Please teach us next time, Senior!"

The first-year girls giggled and waved goodbye.

The boys also bowed awkwardly before leaving.

"Senior Eliana is always so graceful."

"She's so pretty… I bet she has a boyfriend."

"She was really close with Senior Carl back in first year, right? Maybe they're, you know, like that."

"Ugh… I'm jealous of Senior Carl …"

The whispers of the first-years drifted behind them.

Once they had disappeared, Eliana immediately clung to Chelsea.

"Chelsea! I hate exams!"

"Get off. It's hot."

Chelsea coldly shoved her away by the face.

"Chloe~ So cool and gentle~ So different from Chelsea…"

Eliana nuzzled into Chloe's chest with a sigh of comfort.

Chelsea stood up and began cracking her knuckles.

But Eliana ignored the looming threat and whined to Chloe,

"Chloe~ make me a spell that gives me a perfect score on the exam~"

"Making that kind of spell would be harder than just studying."

"Are you stupid? If studying's hard, that's why you make the spell."

With a small sigh, Chloe handed the large grimoire she was reading to Chelsea.

And Chelsea immediately smacked Eliana on the back of the head with the corner of the book.

As Eliana collapsed to the ground, twitching, Chelsea looked down and muttered,

"How does she keep that fake act up in front of the first-years without getting caught?"

"Seriously. It's kind of amazing."

Even Chloe shook her head, mystified.

bl

While the entire student body was spending their days in a frenzy over exams—

There was one student completely unaffected by them.

And that student was none other than the student council president, Leo.

"So peaceful."

Leo sat relaxed in the student council room, located atop the Heroes Tower overlooking the Lumene Academy grounds, sipping his coffee as he observed the students below.

"Their faces look bright, too."

"You call that bright?"

Carl, who had been helping with paperwork, gave him a look of disbelief. Leo simply shrugged.

"They're not crying, are they? Then they're bright."

Carl shook his head at Leo's offbeat comment.

'Well, Leo making students cry ever since third year began isn't exactly new.'

Leo had been quiet during his first and second year, but once he became a third-year, he started to reveal his true nature in earnest.

To be more precise, he began throwing surprise practical exams that plunged the students into chaos.

Even after the Davienne incident, unexpected situations kept popping up until right before midterms.

Because of that, the students of Lumene—regardless of year—had become so desensitized that they didn't even blink at most crises.

Carl, reminiscing on the hectic first semester of their third year, smiled warmly to himself.

'I'm gonna relax during summer break no matter what.'

It was at that very moment, as Carl was yearning for that sweet, healing vacation—

Click!

The student council room door opened and someone entered.

Carl didn't even need to look to know who it was.

There was only one person in this school who would barge into the student council room without knocking.

"Hmph. The juniors have gotten quite arrogant, haven't they?"

Elena, Queen of Lumene, tilted her head in displeasure.

Then she gave Carl a sly smile.

"Hey, Carl."

"Yes."

"I can understand that old man over there, but what about you? A junior not even glancing at her senior, let alone greeting her?"

"Pfft. Senior Elena, you're graduating soon, aren't you?"

"So? Not scared anymore?"

"Well, I guess not."

Carl nodded lazily.

Though inwardly, he was trembling.

Even so, he wanted to at least try rebelling, just this once.

The reason was simple.

Since last year, even though he wasn't part of the student council, Elena had been overworking him mercilessly.

And she still was.

So at this point, he figured, might as well go all in on the rebellion.

"Hmm. So you're thinking—'I'm already being worked like a slave, so what's there to fear,' huh?"

"Something like that."

Carl nodded flippantly.

"Oh, Senior Elena, could you go buy us some drinks?"

"Wow, Carl. You've really grown bold, haven't you? Is this what they call the guts of a hero?"

Elena clapped her hands in admiration.

Then she smiled sweetly.

"But Carl. Did you know? The authority to appoint the next vice president lies with the current one."

"Senior Elena, what would you like to drink? I'll get it right away."

"Coffee. From the first floor."

"I'll run like Eliana being chased by Chelsea!"

Carl shot out of the room like a bullet.

He was in such a hurry, the door didn't even close properly and remained slightly ajar.

Watching him disappear, Elena smiled innocently and plopped onto the student council room sofa.

Then, crossing her arms, she looked at Leo—who was staring out the window—and pouted.

"Still, I'm your senior. Aren't you ignoring me too much?"

Leo chuckled softly.

"How's the graduation prep going?"

"The graduation exam? Not even a problem."

Elena was considered one of the most gifted students in Lumene's history.

If she put her mind to it, graduation exams were nothing.

As she answered casually, she stared intently at Leo's face.

Just as Leo was taking another sip of coffee—

"You finally look like your usual self again."

"Seems I made people worry."

After the Davienne incident— So many things had happened, and Leo had seemed a bit off since then.

Those who were close to him had noticed.

Now that he looked more like his normal self, Elena spoke again.

"Can't I have my graduation gift early?"-

"Graduation gift?"

"Yeah."

Elena smiled slyly.

"This summer break—go with me. Just the two of us. To a deserted island."

Having tried rebelling against Elena just once, Carl had now only managed to make his already twisted school life even more tangled. He made it to the first floor and back at an incredible speed.

Truly, it was a miraculous feat.

Sure, he'd broken a couple of school rules along the way, but punishment from the disciplinary committee could wait—right now, appeasing the Queen's mood was more important.

And so, just as Carl arrived at the student council room door, panting heavily—

"This summer break—go with me. Just the two of us. To a deserted island."

He froze in place at the sound of Elena's voice, carried through the still-slightly-open door.

Carl's expression turned strange.

'A grown man and woman alone on a deserted island…?'