Editor : Amethyst00



The center of the world—and the very city that houses Lumene Academy.

Lumeria City.

As such, Lumeria City had long been regarded as the city that represented the human race.

A place where countless talents gathered, where people followed, and where endless development bloomed.

Thus, Lumeria City was more advanced than any other city in the world.

Even more so than the capital of the Lordren Empire—considered the strongest human nation—or the Xian Empire, known for its long-standing history.

In every cultural field as well, Lumeria led the way.

From literature to cuisine—

—and even fashion.

The main street of Lumeria City, known as Courage Street.

Even within that vibrant street, there was a district lined with only the finest high-end shops.

One such boutique, reserved exclusively for VIPs, was today entirely chartered for just two customers.

"Leo! How's this one?"

Shlaaak—!

The curtain flung open as Elena emerged, smiling sweetly.

At once, the sound of dry gulps echoed from all around.

A waiting female staff member wobbled, then collapsed where she stood.

Another worker, startled, rushed to catch her—but she, too, had blood trickling from her nose.

The middle-aged store manager trembled as she looked upon her employees' disgraceful state.

With eyes flaring like twin torches, she seemed ready to incinerate her staff on the spot with just a glance.

This was a VIP-exclusive showroom.

And Leo and Elena had come here to shop.

What Elena wanted to buy was—of course—swimsuit.

The heir of House Zéron herself was here to try things on.

The pieces were meant to be displayed, sure—but some were so revealing they shouldn't be gazed upon lightly. For that reason, not a single male employee was allowed inside.

The only man present here was Leo.

The problem, however, was that Elena's charms were utterly indifferent to gender.

The manager, seasoned from years of handling VIPs, withstood it with sheer willpower. But the more inexperienced staff couldn't withstand Elena's overwhelming presence—her allure was practically a weapon.

Each time Elena stepped out in a new outfit, more female employees fainted.

In front of the mirror, Elena smiled and struck several poses.

"How do I look, Lizea?"

She was addressing Lizea, her personal maid from House Zéron, who assisted with changing.

Lizea, a powerful mage who had served Elena since childhood, was one of the few immune to her enchantment.

"You look absolutely stunning, Lady Elena."

She replied with a bright smile, which made Elena tilt her head slightly.

Then, she puckered her lips and sent a kiss toward Leo with a loud smooch.

Leo, resting his cheek on his hand while sipping coffee, replied nonchalantly,

"Looks good on you."

At that, Elena's smile soured into a slight pout. She scoffed.

"I'll try another one."

Shlaaak—!

She turned and marched back into the fitting room, clearly in a bit of a mood.

Watching her go, Lizea casually glanced around at the remaining staff.

Normally, no customer would tolerate this level of chaos in a store.

But Lizea knew full well— Her lady was different.

And today, she had no intention of hiding her difference.

Lizea approached Leo, who still wore an indifferent expression.

"Lord Leo."

"Yes?"

"Please, just one word—tell the lady she looks beautiful."

"She's not the type to be satisfied with empty flattery."

Leo replied with a slight smile.

Lizea looked at him with a peculiar expression.

Leo Plov.

As the vassal of House Zéron, and a prominent figure since his very entrance into Lumene, his name was known far and wide.

'And now… he had risen to the unprecedented position of the King of the World.'

Even so, being king didn't mean wielding absolute power without opposition.

However, the influence of that title—its very name—was beyond comprehension.

'It's no wonder my lady would be drawn to him… But still—he's so… dry!'

Elena Zéron—of all people!

Lizea had seen many beautiful women in her lifetime, but never one more dazzling than Elena.

'No—there were exactly two.'

Lysinas the Wise Queen, and Luna, Poet of the Star.

Of course, both were from ancient history and thus excluded by default.

'And yet, even when my lady flirts with him so blatantly, he doesn't even blink…'

Perhaps this kind of detachment was what made one worthy of ruling the world.

Clicking her tongue, Lizea muttered, "Even just as a formality, please. Otherwise, I fear this shop will suffer a total staff collapse."

"Elena, what's taking so long?"

Her voice called from within the fitting room. Lizea gave Leo a brief smile and stepped inside.

A short while later—

Shlaaak—!

The curtain parted once more, and Elena stepped out.

She now wore a white bikini that emphasized her waistline.

The bottom was tied with ribbons at the hips, while the top was adorned with a large ribbon across her back.

Striking a confident pose in front of the mirror, she gave a light spin.

Then, folding her arms, she cast a provocative smile at Leo.

"How about this one?"

"Beautiful."

Leo answered with a faint smile.

Elena stared at him for a moment—then her face instantly soured.

"Next."

Seeing her moody response, Leo glanced over at Lizea and shrugged. Lizea simply sighed.

Moments later, something flew over the curtain.

It was the top of the bikini she had just worn.

Apparently, she had thrown it with some force in a burst of irritation.

Click.

Leo clicked his tongue, handed the top to the store manager, and asked, "Got anything a little more modest?"

"You mean something more modest in design?"

"Yes. She should have at least a sliver of girlish dignity."

'…For someone that beautiful, calling her a girl seems a bit off. And aren't you technically younger than her, anyway?'

The manager stifled a laugh at Leo's oddly older-brother-like tone, then brought out a black one-piece swimsuit.

It had sheer lace arranged like a skirt over one side of the waist.

Not exactly modest by everyday clothing standards—but compared to the bold designs Elena had tried so far, this one was certainly restrained.

Leo gave a slight nod of approval, and the manager brought it into the fitting room.

Not long after—

"Did Leo pick this one?"

Elena's pink eyes sparkled as she poked her face out through the curtain.

"My lady! You can't stick your face out like that!"

"It's fine, no one can see anything. And even if he did see, that guy wouldn't bat an eye anyway."

Leo glanced lazily at Elena, who was grumbling in a pouty voice, and gave a slight nod of his chin as if it were too much trouble.

"Just try it on."

At that, Elena slipped back behind the curtain with a quick swish.

A short moment later—

The curtain opened, and Elena stepped out, looking herself over from different angles before smiling brightly.

"Does it suit me?"

"Not bad."

Hearing that, Elena smiled gently.

"I'll go with this one."

"An excellent choice."

The store manager beamed with a radiant smile.

A little later, Lizea left the fitting room with the staff who had finished tidying up. As expected of a VIP showroom, privacy was part of the service.

Still in her swimsuit, Elena sat down across from Leo with a cheerful smile, resting her chin in her hand.

Leo sipped his coffee and spoke.

"They all looked good on you."

"Flattery."

"It's not flattery. The hanger's good."

"Are you saying I'm pretty?"

"Then are you saying you're not?"

Leo looked at Elena as if the question was absurd.

Elena narrowed her eyes at him.

"For someone who thinks I'm pretty, you sure acted unimpressed no matter what I wore. I dressed up today, you know?"

"To me, it looked like a little show-and-tell."

"Wow. No wonder. Your standards are Lady Lysinas and Lady Luna. I don't stand a chance."

"You'll be as beautiful as they are, once you grow up."

Elena's eyes widened.

He didn't seem to be saying it with any particular intent.

"Hm?"

But the way he said it—calmly, as if simply stating the truth—made her heart flutter.

Turning her head slightly, she looked out the window, barely managing to suppress the twitch of her lips.

Then, standing up, she called out.

"Lizea."

At her call, Lizea, who had been waiting outside, stepped back in.

"Yes, my lady."

"I'm buying everything I tried on today."

"All of them?"

"Mm. All of them."

Elena gave a soft smile.

"I'll just change into them until he sick of them during the trip."

Shrugging her shoulders, she stood up.

"Well then, shall we go get some ingredients?"

"I thought we were going to an uninhabited island."

"Yup."

"Weren't we going to live off the land there?"

Elena crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.

"Leo. We're going there for fun. Fun. We're not going there to survive. We're going to eat, drink, and enjoy ourself to the fullest."

"I'll assist you, my lady."

"No, Lizea. You can go back now."

Elena smiled sweetly.

"I'm going with Leo. Just the two of us."

bl

"Can you see them?"

"No."

Chelsea and Chloe had the newspaper pulled right up to their faces.

They had poked small holes where the eyes were, giving themselves a narrow field of vision.

The two of them were currently sitting in a café located on the upper-class side of Courage Street.

Directly across from the boutique that Leo and Elena had just entered.

After confirming the pair had gone inside, they had been on stakeout here for quite some time.

"Carl! What are you doing? Get over here and keep watch too!"

Carl, who had been sitting at a distance enjoying his coffee, completely ignored Chelsea.

To be frank, Chelsea and Chloe looked suspicious no matter how you sliced it.

And honestly, Carl had no desire to get involved.

'No, even if they've concealed their presence—those two aren't normal humans.'

One of them was the hero who saved the world, and the other ruled over every student at Lumene like a tyrant.

If either of them sensed something was off, they'd immediately catch on.

'Do they not realize how shady they look? Or do they not even have the mental capacity to consider that?'

Carl clicked his tongue.

"They're coming out!"

Chelsea spoke urgently.

She and Chloe jumped to their feet.

Carl pulled his wallet from his pocket and said to the server, "I'll cover that table's bill too."

And with that, Chelsea and Chloe quickly moved to tail Leo and Elena.

As he paid the bill, Carl muttered under his breath,

'I better get double for this later.'

Skipping class and breaking school regulations—Carl figured that kind of hazard pay was only fair.

A little while later—

Leo and Elena had moved into the city market and were buying groceries.

"What the…? What are they doing?"

Chelsea, watching from a distance, tilted her head.

"Looks like they're just grocery shopping."

Chloe tilted her head as well, and Carl chimed in, "They look like newlyweds."

"Hah?"

"What makes grocery shopping look like newlyweds?"

Chelsea scowled. Chloe shot Carl a look of disbelief.

Carl shook his head.

"Spoiled noble ladies…"

"Hah? You picking a fight?"

"Carl."

Chelsea cracked her knuckles, and Chloe opened her thick spellbook.

Chelsea, from the prestigious Lewellin family of the Lordren Empire.

And Chloe, though from a lower-ranked house, was born into a noble line of mages from the Northern Magic Tower.

Both, by all accounts, were upper-class ladies.

Though the Müller household wasn't particularly wealthy by noble standards, that was still far removed from how commoners lived.

"Common folk do their own grocery shopping. Sometimes couples go together."

"Oh…"

"So that's why it looked like that…"

"…Sometimes I really feel like we live in different worlds."

As Carl shrugged, the girls exchanged awkward glances.

Then—

"Wait, they're linking arms."

At Carl's words, Chelsea and Chloe whipped their heads around.

"Hey! Don't overreact to every little thing! Our goal is just to find out where they're heading over break—"

"Carl Thomas?"

A familiar, harsh voice cut in.

There was unmistakable hostility behind the tone, and Carl furrowed his brows as he turned.

Chelsea and Chloe also reacted to the voice.

And when they saw who it was, Chelsea crossed her arms with a deeply annoyed expression.

"Emio? What are you doing here?"

Standing there was Emio, a former Lumene magic student expelled a year ago—and one of their former classmates.