Editor : Amethyst00



"Sunbae! Did you sleep well?"

From early morning, the central hall of the Clocktower Dormitory was bustling with students.

Among them, the first-years, visibly tense, greeted Leo and Carl with sharp, disciplined bows as the two headed toward the dining hall.

Lumene had undergone major changes this year.

As a result, all year levels, who previously lived separately, were now living together in the same space.

"When we enrolled, the first-years would tremble just at the sight of a senior."

At Leo's muttered comment, Carl, who had his fingers interlocked behind his head, nodded.

"Yeah. But Leo, you weren't nervous at all around the seniors when you were a first-year."

In fact, it was the upperclassmen devoted to club activities who trembled when they saw Leo.

After all, Leo, as student council president, would slash club budgets whenever he got the chance, making him akin to the Grim Reaper in the eyes of students who were passionate about club life.

At Carl's remark, Leo simply shrugged.

Even the current second-years, thanks to the mentoring system, had gotten along with the third-years above them, but they still froze like mice before cats when in front of the higher grades.

First-years, who were particularly fearful of seniors, would sometimes even run away upon seeing one, too scared to greet them.

Compared to those times, the fear first-years had of their seniors had certainly lessened.

Of course, it wasn't completely gone—most first-years still stiffened up in front of upperclassmen.

Especially when it came to truly prominent seniors.

"Anyway, I prefer things this way. Our school used to be way too rigid in terms of senior-junior relationships. Compared to other hero academies… ugh."

As Carl shook his head, Tade joined in from behind and spoke.

"Isn't it just because now you can run your business with students from all years?"

"Well, there's that too!"

Carl gave a proud thumbs-up.

And so, the three of them entered the dining hall.

After receiving their trays of food and taking a seat, Leo picked up his fork and asked,

"So? Anything happen in the two weeks I was away?"

"Well, there was something. At the start of the semester, a fairy we'd never seen before completely wiped out the dorm pantry. It caused quite a stir."

As Tade sipped his milk from a mug, Leo tilted his head.

"Why did that cause a stir?"

"There were a lot of rumors that you were scheming something again. People thought you were trying to start a food war between departments, and things got wild."

"Oho?"

Leo stroked his chin and his eyes sparkled.

"Not a bad idea."

"Don't. I'm asking you as a friend—please, don't."

Tade said sincerely.

Leo chuckled at Tade's reaction.

As Leo and Carl listened to Tade fill them in on what had happened at school during their mission, time flew by.

Suddenly, a moment of silence fell over the usually rowdy cafeteria, packed with the entire student body each morning.

Click—clack—click—clack—

The sound of someone's footsteps echoed as they entered the dining hall.

"Elena-sunbae! Welcome back from your mission!"

The first-years, frozen for a moment, snapped into disciplined greetings.

The cafeteria buzzed again.

Elena waved off the first-years indifferently and walked on.

"Elena-sunbae's already back? I thought she was on a month-long mission."

"With her skills, a mission like that would be over in no time. Still… she doesn't look like she's in a good mood?"

Carl wore a slightly worried expression.

When Elena was in a bad mood, it was Carl who usually suffered the most.

Carrying her tray, Elena headed straight for Leo's table.

Carl and Tade tried to stand and vacate the seats, but Elena simply passed by.

"Is it just me, or is the air around her freezing cold?"

As Tade tilted his head in confusion, Carl looked at Leo.

"Leo, do you have any idea what this is about?"

"Who knows."

Leo responded with a smirk, and Carl and Tade both thought the same thing.

'It's him.'

Tade patted Carl's shoulder supportively.

Carl's shoulders slumped.

bl

3rd Year Hero Studies Class.

"Today's class ended a bit early!"

Artienne beamed as she tidied up the class materials.

"The third-years have really improved their attitude and enthusiasm lately! Hehe! This professor is thrilled to see such exemplary seniors!"

Her eyes sparkled as she spoke.

Of course, improved student behavior in Professor Artienne's class was almost expected.

Artienne the Judgement Hammer.

She had become nearly as terrifying as Professor Harrid, the so-called "Wailing Wall of Lumene."

So naturally, students tried not to get on her bad side.

"Well then, let's use the rest of the class time for self-study! If anyone has questions, don't hesitate to ask!"

Students began organizing their belongings.

Leo glanced over his notes from today's class.

The topic was none other than The Heroes of the Dawn.

'I wonder how those three are doing.'

Leo thought of the three heroes he had met:

Seiren the Comet Mage.

Rodia the Dawn Dragon.

Lumene the Twilight Knight.

The page of the Dawn world, where Erebos was imprisoned, was under strict surveillance deep within Dragonia.

If anything happened, word would reach Melina immediately.

'Now that I think about it, what about Azonia and Damien?'

He had never met the successors of Aaron and Dweno—two heroes known as the Grand Warrior and the Unyielding.

Leo leaned on his hand, pondering.

'If they're anything like Rodia or Seiren, they're bound to be weird, too.'

He spun his pen with his fingers.

"Any questions?"

Artienne looked around the room with sparkling eyes.

Her gaze was so piercing that some students felt compelled to ask something, lest they feel guilty.

Just then—

"I'd like to know about Azonia and Damien's actual personalities."

"Ooh, Leo!"

Artienne clasped her hands together and smiled brightly.

"Leo asking a question? How rare!"

She laughed in delight.

"As you probably know, Leo, the official records don't go into much detail about the heroes' personalities."

Their achievements were well-documented—but not who they were as people.

"But there are many stories in the unofficial histories. Until recently, they weren't considered reliable."

She paused before continuing.

"However, since a few of the recently revealed heroes have been so different from our preconceptions, there's been a surge of academic interest in these accounts."

The students easily guessed who those heroes were.

'Luna and Lysinas really shook things up.'

Leo smirked.

"Still, Lord Kyle really was something else."

Celia, sitting next to Leo, leaned on her hand and muttered.

Leo turned to her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, come on. Lady Lysinas and Lady Luna loved him so deeply, and he didn't even notice."

She sighed.

Chloe nodded.

"He did great things, sure… but he was really dense."

"That's his charm! That clumsy side hidden behind his perfect exterior!"

"…"

Leo went silent, then asked Eliana,

"How's Kyle's image these days?"

Eliana answered with a bright, unfiltered smile.

"In terms of romance? Total idiot."

A rather toned-down phrase for someone who saved the world.

'So unfair,' Leo muttered inwardly but couldn't say it out loud.

Watching the students talk, Artienne laughed.

"Isn't it fun to talk about the human side of these great figures we don't know personally?"

"What do the unofficial records say about the two of them?"

"Well, Damien is said to have been extremely meticulous. A perfect hero type. But—"

"But?"

"He apparently had a huge complex about his appearance."

"His appearance?"

Students looked puzzled.

"Yes. Damien is described as being incredibly beautiful."

"Beautiful?"

"Pretty enough to be mistaken for a girl. Slender limbs like an elf, and supposedly, he couldn't even grow a beard—which is a big deal among dwarves."

Eliana flipped through her textbook and pointed to a portrait of Damien.

"Doesn't look that way to me?"

"It's said that all surviving portraits show him wearing a mask and using magic to alter his bone structure."

"A hero like that, having an appearance complex? Hard to believe."

Duran frowned, and many students nodded.

"Exactly. Especially for someone known as the Unyielding. But according to the stories, he developed the complex after Dweno mocked his un-dwarflike appearance during their first encounter."

"Ah…"

The students nodded in understanding.

"Of course, the Dweno I met would never judge someone by looks, so take it with a grain of salt."

As Artienne smiled gently, Leo wore a strange expression.

'Did that bastard Dweno try to strip him?'

It was plausible.

While Leo placed unexpected faith in the unofficial accounts…

"As for Azonia, she fought her way to the top of all beastkin, and her personality is described as quite warlike. But also…"

"But?"

"There are records describing her as extremely indulgent. Apparently, she loved drinking and slept with many men to produce strong children. Not unusual, considering the culture of beastkin at the time."

"Yeah, their old customs were a bit like that."

"Seems believable, honestly."

The students nodded.

"Oh, and—"

"And?"

"She was reportedly a huge gambling addict."

That made the students laugh.

"Now that doesn't really fit."

"Right? Haha. Anyway, those are the traits and stories in the unofficial accounts."

After listening, Leo came to a firm conclusion.

'Alcohol, sex, gambling. They really did it all.'

Viewed this way, even the heroes of the Dawn had their flaws.

But Leo thought that was only natural.

'We're full of flaws, too.'

So there was no rule saying their successors had to be any different.