Editor : Amethyst00



As the sun set that evening, countless people bustled along the streets of Raysar.

The large tavern on the street was crowded with people.

Gulp— Gulp— Gulp—

Eliana, seated in one corner, enthusiastically downed the contents of her beer mug.

"Puhah! Ha~ That's good!"

After downing it in one shot, Eliana slammed her beer mug down.

"There's nothing as sweet as this drink after a day's work!"

"If someone heard you, they'd think it was real alcohol."

At that moment, Chloe walked by and chuckled dryly.

"Oh! Isn't it the swordsmanship instructor! I heard your class was packed again today?"

Eliana gestured to the seat across from her.

"How is it? Is teaching fun?"

"Swordsmanship is hard for me since I don't know much about it."

Chloe let out a small sigh.

Her assigned role was that of a former knight who now worked as a swordsmanship instructor in town after years on the battlefield.

"You look the part, though."

Eliana smiled brightly.

"Helping students with hints or giving them quests is all part of training them."

"Hm?"

"So I decided to do a bit of research starting yesterday."

"Eh? Research?"

"Yeah. All the kids who come to me are knights or warriors."

In this city, there were countless entrances to the Shadow World.

The hints related to those entrances usually came from NPCs associated with that class.

Since Chloe was a sword instructor, it was inevitable that front-line warriors using aura would seek her out.

"Researching on them? Not magic research, right?"

"No. I was testing how much training intensity a person can endure."

"Chloe, just checking…"

"Yeah?"

"You didn't use Leo's training methods as reference, did you?"

"I did. Do you want to try too? It seems quite effective—"

"Eeeek?!"

Eliana recoiled in horror and shot up from her seat.

"What are you two chatting about so cheerfully?"

Just then, Nella appeared behind her, grabbed Eliana by the shoulders, and sat her back down.

"Leo's training! Chloe's going to torture me with Leo's training!"

Eliana, pinned by Nella, clutched her head and thrashed like she was having a fit.

Nella gave Chloe a scolding look.

"Chloe. You shouldn't torment Eliana like that."

"I wasn't trying to."

Chloe looked flustered.

"What's all the commotion now?"

Celia, who had come with Nella, asked.

Chloe explained the situation, and Celia brushed her hair back with a sigh.

"That's not worth all that fuss."

"Celia, your hands are shaking."

At Nella's comment, Celia clutched her trembling hands.

"Ugh?! My body reacted instinctively…!"

No one had suffered from the "training" that was more like torture before enrollment more than Celia.

Watching the two girls reacting with deep trauma, Chloe thought:

'Now that I think about it, the first-years screamed too.'

Not just from Lumene, but students from other schools also screamed.

'I wondered if it was really training… I guess it really was torture-level.'

Leo had brushed it off like it was nothing, which Chloe had found strange—and now she realized it truly was.

"You guys are here too?"

At that moment, the tavern door opened, and three people walked in.

It was Abad, Duran, and Walden.

Abad smiled and said:

"Should we join tables?"

Eliana smiled slyly at the suggestion.

"Tonight is girls' night."

"Really?"

Abad looked disappointedly at Celia.

Celia waved her hand briskly.

Then Duran spoke.

"Chloe."

"Hm?"

"There's a rumour going around that the sword instructor is a mad scientist experimenting on her students. First-years are reportedly stockpiling joint medicine from the alchemy shop."

"Hm. Maybe I overdid it. I'll tone it down."

"I'm not interested in that. What I want to know is—what kind of training are you doing?"

"Huh?"

"It looks really effective."

Duran leaned uncomfortably close to Chloe.

Seeing him up close, Chloe blinked her blue eyes.

"I reinterpreted Leo's training methods in my own way."

"A reinterpretation of Leo's training from a mage's perspective… Fascinating. Will you share it with me?"

"You're a bit close, Duran."

Chloe looked uncomfortable as Duran eagerly sat next to her.

"Come on, Duran. You can ask later. It's girls' night, so let's eat somewhere else."

Abad dragged Duran to another table.

Walden, following them, glanced back.

Celia and Eliana were holding onto Nella's arms.

In Nella's veiny hand was a bottle of actual alcohol.

Walden shook his head lightly.

Once the boys left, Celia sighed and released Nella.

"Nella, you're kind of aggressive, you know?"

"Am I?"

"Duran didn't approach Chloe with bad intentions."

"I know. But Duran tends to be a bit too casual around girls, so I couldn't help it."

Nella sighed softly.

"Well, he is a prince who's used to getting his way."

Celia clicked her tongue.

Watching them talk about Abad and Duran, Eliana's eyes sparkled.

"Jealous, are we? Are you two officially dating?"

"We're still getting to know each other."

"Duran doesn't seem to dislike you either."

"Really?"

Nella blushed at Chloe's words.

Celia looked baffled.

"What do you even like about that sharp guy?"

"At first, I thought he was arrogant… but the more I saw him, the more I liked him. Especially how he focuses and works hard when he sets a goal. That's cool."

"Hmm. I still don't get it."

"You're getting along well with Abad, though, despite always bickering."

"Well, he's kind of annoying, but he's a decent guy deep down."

Listening to them talk about Abad and Duran, Eliana grumbled.

"This is exactly why I didn't let them sit here. It's sweet, but kind of irritating to watch. Right, Chloe?"

"Is it?"

"Aah. Isn't Leo coming?"

"Leo doesn't interact with first-years much, so he wouldn't come here."

"Tch."

Eliana pouted.

First-years were not allowed in this tavern.

It was also the only place in Raysar where they didn't have to follow the role-play rules.

So most second- and third-years gathered here after their schedules.

"Anyway."

Eliana leaned her chin on her hand and glanced toward the tavern staff.

"Don't they look like shadows?"

"Yeah. I saw some who had Xia's vibe."

Chloe nodded.

Celia and Nella joined the conversation.

"Do you think Leo wants heroes and shadows to grow closer?"

"Seems that way. I've never seen so many shadows in my life."

Celia crossed her arms.

Even the Zerdinger family had many shadows, but she'd only met them indirectly, never face-to-face.

"Hmm. What would it feel like to fight alongside shadows?"

Eliana crossed her arms and looked serious.

"Shadows are meant to guard heroes, right?"

"Right."

"I can't picture it. As a knight, I'm used to protecting, not being protected. What about you, Celia?"

"Same here, Eliana."

Being protected was normal for them.

Nella's family, the Cavens, were also prestigious like the Raden and Zerdinger families.

"We're still unfamiliar with fighting Hero Hunters, aren't we?"

At that point, Nella stopped.

A waiter had brought their food and drinks.

After he left, Nella smacked Eliana's hand reaching for a beer mug.

"Ugh. So stingy, Nella."

While Chloe, Celia, and Eliana's mugs were filled with non-alcoholic drinks, Nella, having gone through her coming-of-age ceremony, had real alcohol.

Ignoring Eliana's complaints, Nella turned to Celia.

"You've fought before, right?"

"Only once… and not alone. The Hero Hunters weren't normal either."

Celia recalled her fight against Hero Hunters who had obtained demonic power from conquering the Legion's world.

They were monsters—humans who embraced malice and abandoned their humanity.

Far more terrifying than magical beasts or demons.

"If I remember them… cooperating with shadows is essential. Leo must have arranged this gathering for that reason."

Just as the girls nodded thoughtfully—

Ding-a-ling—

The tavern door opened.

"Hey! It's the Seiren kids."

Chloe looked toward the entrance.

"Oh! Hello, everyone."

Eiran greeted them with a bright smile.

Lunia approached.

"Hey."

"Where's Aru?"

When Eliana tilted her head, Eiran answered:

"She went to train."

"Training? At night?"

"Yeah. She said it was special training."

Eiran smiled, recalling how happy Aru had looked going off to train alone with Azonia.

"What were you guys talking about?"

"Shadows and Hero Hunters."

"We're interested in that topic too. Can we join?"

"Of course."

Lunia and Eiran joined them.

"How are the Hero Hunters moving among the elves?"

"Not good. We tracked traitors to eliminate them, but many of them defeated the trackers and disappeared."

Lunia sighed deeply.

Most of the traitors had ties to the Pureblood faction.

It was infuriating—they used Luna's name yet shamelessly defiled her ideals.

As Lunia expressed her frustration—

"Uwaaah! I lost again?!"

"That girl's really unlucky!"

A commotion erupted in a corner of the tavern.

"What's going on?"

"Gambling."

As Lunia looked confused, Celia sighed.

The tavern also operated a gambling den.

Students could enter, but it was mostly used by shadows to kill time.

"I just don't get what other races find so fun about that."

Lunia sighed.

Eliana tilted her head.

"Elves don't gamble much, right?"

"Of course not. Elves hate irrational things. We dislike gambling because it statistically favors the house."

"Aaaagh! Just one more round!"

"Stop, Leah. You're out of money."

"Lend me some! I'll pay with my body if I have to!"

"D-Don't say things like that!"

"…"

Lunia froze when she saw Leah being dragged away by Luke, who was dressed like a security guard—he must've been assigned to work at the gambling den.

"Didn't you say elves hate gambling?"

Eliana giggled.

Just then, Leah spotted Lunia and rushed over.

"Lunia-sunbae! Lend me some money! I'll double it and pay you back!"

"…Who are you?"

"Huh?"

"L-Lunia, come on, it's Leah."

"I don't know this elf—no, human."

"You're even denying she's an elf…"

Chloe shook her head.

As Leah slumped her shoulders—

"Want me to lend you money?"

"Really?!"

Leah's eyes sparkled.

"As long as someone vouches for you."

Everyone turned at the voice from behind.

Lunia and Eiran stared blankly.

'Lady Azonia?'

'What happened to Aru?'

bl

"Are we nearing the center of the Azo Desert?"

"Yes."

"We're almost there."

"Stay alert. If the shadows discover us, things will get messy."

The masked man in the lead spoke coldly.

They moved stealthily through the Azo Desert.

Then—

Dust kicked up in the distance.

"What's that?"

"A beastkin is approaching."

One of the man's subordinates peered through a telescope at the figure running through the dust.

"White hair, blue eyes… It's the hero Aru Tune."

"Oh? Aru Tune is moving alone?"

The masked man grinned coldly.

"How fortunate. A chance to eliminate one of the great hero's successors."

"But sir, if we fight Aru Tune, we'll fail the mission."

"Hmph. Even if we fail, Aru Tune's head is worth it."

He scoffed and moved forward.

Then—

"Sir. Aru Tune has vanished."

"What?"

The masked man's eyes twitched.

"You found me?"

Crack!

Aru's fist smashed into the man who spotted her through the telescope, his head bursting like a watermelon.

Sniff sniff— "Ugh. You guys stink."

Appearing behind them, Aru sniffed and grinned fiercely.

"You're Hero Hunters, aren't you?"