Editor : Amethyst00



Elena, seated with her legs crossed in the conference hall, propped her elbow on the armrest and rested her chin on her hand.

And then she yawned in boredom.

Even at that moment, the Zeltian family was raising their voice, acting as the spokesperson for various noble houses.

Their demand was consistent.

They wanted an explanation for why Carl had been given special treatment.

It was true that Carl had received preferential treatment.

Strictly speaking, Carl had not met the requirements to advance to the third year last year.

It had been an unprecedented case, where the board was convened, and after a long meeting, advancement had been granted as a special exception.

In Lumene's three-thousand-year history, Carl was the only student to ever receive such a privilege.

'But he received it because he deserved it.'

Lumene was a military academy for heroes.

The goal of such academies was to raise heroes.

In that sense, it was no exaggeration to say that Carl had already met the requirements for graduation.

An achievement of becoming a hero while still a student.

Now, Lumene may have produced multiple heroes, but that didn't make Carl any less special.

From the beginning, even among the heroes whose names were etched into the Hero Record, Carl was a new type unlike any seen before.

From Lumene's perspective, they had to study the potential of this new kind of hero.

That alone was enough reason for Carl to remain at Lumene.

However, such reasons were of no importance to the noble houses.

They simply could not tolerate that someone from a commoner background, with previously bottom-rank grades, had received special treatment.

If someone from a noble house had received it, there probably wouldn't have even been a controversy.

'That's why they're relics of the past.'

With bored eyes, Elena glanced sideways—at the head of House Zeltian and the families siding with him.

A narrow-minded mindset that thought the position of hero was a privilege exclusive to the noble houses.

Most of them hadn't even managed to get admitted into Lumene.

All they had were the faded halos left behind by their ancestors.

That was the true nature of many houses called "noble."

The reason House Zeltian was leading them was that, until relatively recently, they had held one of the seats among the heroic noble houses.

Now, their fame had faded so much they could no longer even be called a heroic house.

"Elena Zeron! Are you listening to me properly?!"

At that moment, the head of Zeltian raised his voice at Elena, who was twirling her hair like she couldn't care less.

To that, Elena gave a slight smile.

"Hmm? What was that again?"

"Eeek?! I said—why are you running Lumene in such a biased way!"

"Oh, that? If that was your main point, you could've just said it briefly. Why drag it out with so many useless words?"

Elena made a face that showed she found it bothersome.

"W-What?!"

Zeltian's eyes bulged as he exploded in anger, but Elena didn't even glance at him.

Leaning back deep into her chair, Elena said flatly,

"The reason for running Lumene in a biased manner?"

"Yes! Explain why Carl Thomas was given special treatment!"

The head of House Zeltian shouted.

Even if she said Carl had earned his place as a hero, he probably wouldn't accept it.

There was no group more irrational than the entrenched elite who believed only they were special.

They possessed power, and with it came the illusion that they were the law itself.

Even if they were being unreasonable, they believed they could solve everything by pressing down with force.

But what they forgot was—

That the logic of power also applied to them.

"That's just the Zeron family's prerogative, isn't it?"

"What?"

"What are you to Lumene, exactly?"

"……"

Zeltian's mouth shut at Elena's question.

"Who are you to be making demands about Lumene's management? You seem confused, so let me clarify. Lumene Academy belongs to the Zeron family."

"Nonsense…! Lumene belongs to everyone!"

"Everyone? Strange. Because the Academy was an inheritance passed down to our ancestors by the Twilight Knight, Lumene himself."

"……"

"And for the past three thousand years, the Zeron family has run Lumene Academy for the sake of the world."

The Zeron family had honoured Lumene's will and given their all to run the academy.

And during those three thousand years, they had maintained their status as a heroic house.

There was no reason why such a family needed to listen to outside opinions when it came to the management of the school.

"H-However, this undermines fairness…"

"If that's a problem, then rise to the position of hero as a student, like Carl Thomas did. We'll grant you early graduation, not just advancement. That should settle your complaints, right?"

Elena's smiling face carried a blatant smirk.

The head of Zeltian bit his lip, his face flushed, and looked around at the other heroic families.

But none of them supported his or the other noble families' claims.

'Eek! So they're all in this together, huh?!'

Jumping to that conclusion on his own, the head of Zeltian said no more about Carl.

He simply glared at Carl, who sat awkwardly in the representative seat of House Hergin.

'That seat should have belonged to my son!'

Once a heroic family of the southern continent, House Zeltian had maintained close ties with the Hergin family for generations.

They had once stood as equals in fame with Hergin, but about a hundred years ago, their decline began—

And thirty years ago, they lost their place among the heroic families.

Even so, they had preserved their relationship with House Hergin.

That was why the Zeltian lord had been preparing for a political marriage between his son and Eliza from the moment his son was born.

There was no guarantee his son would have ended up with her even if Carl hadn't been there.

But he blamed everything on Carl for ruining the marriage plan.

'A lowborn commoner!'

Grinding his teeth, the head of Zeltian shouted,

"Let's return to the original agenda! This concerns the Kingdom of Arhi!"

His eyes widened.

"The Kingdom of Arhi has recently been accepting refugees indiscriminately! The noble families attending this meeting, including Zeltian, fear that this could threaten the peace of the continent!"

"A threat to peace, you say?"

"Yes! Head of House Zerdinger!"

As Selde furrowed his brow, Zeltian raised his voice.

"I believe the founding of the Kingdom of Arhi is something to be celebrated! No matter what anyone says, the King of Arhi was recognized as the World's King, the one to lead this era, by the Wise Queen, Lady Lysinas!"

Deep down, he wanted to deny that title of World's King.

But he couldn't.

To reject the will of the Wise Queen was unacceptable.

Depending on the severity, it could even be seen as treason against the world—and lead to a house being wiped from history.

"However, the King of Arhi may have power, but mentally he is still young and immature!"

At that, Elena's eyes twitched.

Carl barely held in a laugh.

"He may bear the world's fate, but we fear he may wield excessive power recklessly."

At present, Arhi was seen as the land of opportunity on the continent.

Not just humans, but countless races were gathering there. Rumours even circulated that it was under the protection of Dragonia.

Whispers spread far and wide that it was a peaceful land free from monsters and demons, where people were treated according to their abilities.

And as such, immigration was increasing.

A growing population meant an expanding pool of human resources for the future.

A rising new power.

On top of that, the King of the nation was acknowledged by the gods as the World's King.

And the stronger the Kingdom of Arhi became, the more countries would lose their people to it—weakening their own national power.

This was not a welcome situation for the existing kingdoms.

So they were looking to use Leo's youth as a pretext to check Arhi's growth.

A transparent, petty scheme—but with so many countries' interests involved, no one could bring it up easily.

'If someone speaks rashly, it could lead to conflict… what a headache.'

Carl clicked his tongue inwardly.

Just then, from the seat beside the Hergin delegation, House Rigard's representative, Hark—who had been sleeping face-down on the table—suddenly jolted upright.

"Are you saying we should stop immigration to Arhi?!"

"Y-Yes. Even if you object—"

"Agreed! Totally agree!"

Hark's bloodshot eyes gleamed as he shouted.

"Fewer immigrants means less work! Which means more time to sleep—mmph!"

"Hark-sunbae, please calm down."

Carl hurriedly covered Hark's mouth.

Such a thing would have been unthinkable before, but knowing what Hark was likely to say next, Carl had no choice but to stop him.

"I'd prefer you not show disrespect to the Rigard representative."

The head of Zeltian curled his lips and said to Carl.

He thought Hark was siding with them.

'No, you don't want to hear what he'll say if I don't shut him up!'

As Carl sighed, Hark brushed his hand away and glared at him, a vein popping on his forehead.

"Oh? Carl Thomas. Getting bold now? Just because you're a hero, you think your sunbae doesn't matter anymore?"

Carl let out a deep sigh.

"Deputy of House Rigard. Please ignore that rude person and continue your point."

With a smile, the head of Zeltian urged him on.

Hark replied,

"Stopping immigration is simple."

"Yes. By imposing sanctions on Arhi, we—"

"All it takes is for the countries with high emigration to run their governments properly."

"……"

"Stopping immigration is prohibited by international law. So the idiotic leaders of dysfunctional countries should just run their nations properly and then— mmph!"

Unable to take it anymore, Rhys, attending with the head of House Zerdinger, clamped his hand over Hark's mouth.

Amidst the commotion, the head of House Lewellin, who was overseeing the meeting, declared,

"We will take a short recess."

At his words, the noble house alliance, led by Zeltian, all stood with flushed faces and exited the hall.

Until then, Hark was still flailing in Rhys's arms.

Eventually—

Crack—!

"Grgh?!"

Rhys casually twisted Hark's neck a little.

Watching Hark go limp, Rhys clicked his tongue.

"Elena seems to have matured recently, but this guy is more out of control than he was as a student."

"Maybe he's not getting enough sleep in Arhi lately."

Carl sighed.

Meanwhile, Elena stared coldly at the noble alliance as they left.

Twirling her hair with a finger, she had an expression of clear irritation.

"Miss Elena, they say something sweet helps when you're in a bad mood."

Just then, a disguised Leo placed a cake and some tea in front of her.

Elena looked at the attendant who had suddenly brought her dessert with a puzzled expression.

"Elena-sunbae."

At that moment, Carl leaned in and whispered by Elena's ear.

"That's Leo."

Hearing that, Elena's eyes went wide.

Then, with her mood visibly improved, she began eating the cake with a fork.

"Rhys-sunbae."

"Hm? What?"

"This aide. Could I borrow him for the rest of the meeting?"

Seeing Elena smile brightly, Rhys gave a dry laugh.

"If you lend him to me, I promise to behave and not cause trouble."

"……"

Rhys looked at Leo.

Leo gave a small nod, and Rhys chuckled.

"Alright."

"Aide? This young lady wants another piece of cake. Could you fetch it for me?"

"Young lady."

"Mm?"

"If you eat like that, you'll get fat."

"……"

Elena glared at Leo, but Leo simply smiled and went off to get more cake.

Meanwhile.

Carl scratched his head and looked outside the conference room.

There stood the head of House Zeltian, leader of the noble alliance.

'As expected, that man is the biggest threat.'

Carl let out a small sigh as he looked at the head of the house who most likely wanted him gone.