"It’s my first time coming to Lumeria after enrolling."
As Leo stepped off the ferry connecting Lumerne and Lumeria, he spoke, and Celia nodded.
"Me too. I’ve been so busy that I didn’t have the chance to come."
Many Lumerne students visited Lumeria on weekends, but there weren’t many first-year students who came regularly yet.
The reason was that they still weren’t accustomed to their academic schedules.
Leo adjusted the collar of his uniform.
"Isn’t wearing a uniform even in Lumeria a bit of a rigid rule?"
"I don’t mind. The academy uniform has a great design, and just being a Lumerne student is a tremendous honor."
Celia shrugged.
"Besides, the reason for that rule is to prevent anyone from doing something foolish in Lumeria. If you’re wearing the uniform, the school will immediately know who did something stupid. I’ve heard it’s a rule a lot of students break, though. Of course, if you get caught by a professor..."
Celia made a slicing motion across her neck.
"That’s it."
As she said, many students walked around Lumeria in casual clothes and often got caught by professors.
"By the way, why does the student council president want to meet both you and me?"
It was quite strange for the student council president, who had been out on a mission, to request a meeting outside.
However, Celia looked at him incredulously at the question.
"Are you really asking because you don’t know?"
"I’m asking because I don’t know."
"Don’t you know who the student council president is?"
"I don’t."
At Leo’s answer, Celia let out a deep sigh.
As they entered the bustling Curaju Street, Celia spoke.
"The student council president, Rhis, is the heir of our family! In other words, he’s your cousin."
"Really? My cousin is the student council president?"
"Really? Yes, really! How can you not know Rhis? He’s the top student at Lumerne and the heir to our family!"
"I just didn’t know."
Leo shrugged nonchalantly, and Celia grabbed her head in frustration.
While they talked, they arrived at the inn where they had stayed before the entrance ceremony.
Jingle- Jingle-
As they entered, a bell chimed.
"Welcome! Ah, you’re students from Lumerne! Are you planning to stay over the weekend?"
The clerk greeted them with a bright smile, and Celia spoke.
"Rhis Zerdinger is staying here, right?"
"You mean Rhis Zerdinger? Yes, he’s staying here. Are you acquaintances or do you have an appointment with him?"
As the heir to the Zerdinger family and the student council president of Lumerne, Rhis was quite the celebrity.
Many people recklessly visited him to establish connections.
The clerk, familiar with such situations, was wary.
As a staff member of a high-end hotel, their duty was to provide the guests with the best possible rest.
"I’m—"
"Oh? Isn’t this Celia?"
Someone in the first-floor lobby recognized her.
It was a man from the Eastern Region with black hair and eyes, approaching with a bright smile.
"Senior Ri Jamua. It’s been a while."
Celia greeted him formally.
**Ri Jamua**.
A fifth-year student at Lumerne.
"Haha! Isn’t that too stiff between us?"
Ri Jamua laughed heartily.
"Miss Clerk, they’re with me."
"Ah, I see. My apologies."
"No problem. Come on in."
Waving off her concern, Ri Jamua led Celia and Leo inside.
"By the way, who’s this?"
"This is Leo Plov, my cousin."
"Oh? So you’re the famous first-year representative?"
Jamua’s eyes sparkled.
All-Class Prodigy.
That alone was enough to cause a sensation across the entire school.
Even in Lumerne’s history, which was full of talented students, an All-Class Prodigy was unprecedented.
Some students and professors still considered Leo a fraud.
‘Well, in my past life, being All-Class was considered unusual too.’
Leo, understanding their skepticism, didn’t mind.
"You must be an outstanding knight."
Jamua grinned at Leo.
"Rhis is waiting for you. Let’s go upstairs."
Walking ahead, Jamua puffed his chest confidently.
"Magic and summoning are great, but the best thing is the body! This body right here!"
Jamua pounded his chest with his fist.
"If you sharpen your swordsmanship while supplementing it with magic and summoning, you’ll become an incredible knight!"
Celia nodded in agreement.
"That’s true. Leo, you’ve been neglecting your swordsmanship lately."
"Oh no! That won’t do! Neglecting training means you’ll never become a great knight."
"Really? Celia, how about we ramp up the intensity of our training?"
Celia, regretting bringing it up, avoided Leo’s gaze.
Unaware of the context, Jamua thought Leo was full of enthusiasm and laughed with satisfaction.
"That’s a great attitude!"
"Quiet, Jamua."
As they reached the top of the stairs, a sharp voice interrupted them.
"Do you not remember that professors told Dual-Class students not to speak carelessly about their departments? Let alone pressuring an All-Class junior the first time you meet them?"
Leaning against the wall in the second-floor corridor was a woman with light brown skin and reddish-brown eyes from the Southern Region.
She wore the Lumerne uniform, and the badge with a "5" on her left chest indicated she was also a senior.
The book and staff embroidery on her right shoulder signified she was from the Magic Department.
She stepped away from the wall, her shoes clicking against the floor, and pushed Jamua aside to stand in front of Leo and Celia.
"Hello, my name is Torua Yan. You must be Celia? Rhis told me a lot about you."
"Hello, Senior Torua."
Though it was their first meeting, Celia had also heard about her from Rhis.
Torua was known as the top scorer in the written exams for the fifth-year Magic Department.
"And... you must be Leo Plov?"
Torua looked at Leo silently before letting out a scoff.
"Professor Ren spoke so highly of you that I was looking forward to meeting you... but what’s this? That pathetic mana capacity? I feel like a fool for expecting anything."
"Did you just call Leo pathetic?"
Celia bristled with anger.
"I just stated the truth. So, Leo."
Click- click-
Torua approached Leo and said.
"You should quit the Knight Department and Summoning classes immediately and focus on magic."
Torua put her arm around Leo’s shoulder and pointed to the ceiling.
"Leo, look up. Can’t you see the shining potential of yours, like stars in the night sky?"
"All I see are the magical chandelier lights on the ceiling."
"You didn’t understand me. I meant for you to close your eyes and see."
"Then all I’d see is darkness."
"You have the ability to evaluate things intuitively. That’s an essential trait for a magician. It seems you’re naturally suited for magic."
Torua was a typical magician who only cared about her own perspective.
"Senior Torua, didn’t you just say earlier that we shouldn’t impose department choices on others...?"
"Celia, sorry, but this is a matter for the Magic Department, so please don’t interfere."
Celia frowned and asked Jamua.
"Is this okay?"
"Of course not. But she’s such a stubborn magician that no matter how much you talk to her, she won’t listen."
Jamua shook his head.
"If the professors find out about this, she’s going to get into big trouble."
"But they don’t know, do they?"
"They will."
"Why?"
"Because I’m going to report her."
Celia looked at him blankly, astonished by the bond of five years of tumultuous friendship.
***
"Brother!"
"Celia, how have you been?"
When Celia entered Rhis's room, she smiled brightly and hugged him.
Leo looked on with a curious expression.
As someone from the Zerdinger family, Celia always emphasized maintaining an impeccable appearance and behavior. This was the first time Leo saw her acting spoiled.
‘She really is just a fifteen-year-old kid, huh?’
Leo chuckled at this glimpse of her true nature, and Rhis addressed him.
"You must be Leo. I’ve heard a lot about you. How is your mother doing?"
"She’s doing well. Have you met her before?"
"I met her when I was young. And I’ve exchanged letters with her several times since I came to Lumerne."
"With my mother?"
Celia looked surprised, and Rhis laughed.
"Your mother was quite famous during her school days. You’ll naturally hear about her legends as you continue your school life."
"Like what?"
"For example, she gathered the students to storm the principal’s office because the dorm cafeteria desserts were terrible. That’s a very famous story."
"That was her?"
"I knew it sounded like my mother."
Celia’s jaw dropped, and Leo looked as if he had expected this.
"That’s right. Thanks to her, students can now enjoy delicious desserts in the dorm cafeteria. I got to try those desserts back then, and... as student council president, I fully supported her opinion."
Chuckling, Rhis nodded as he spoke.
"Anyway, I’m sorry to call you out on a weekend. I figured I wouldn’t get to see you for a while once things get busy back at school, so I wanted to meet you like this."
"I don’t mind at all!"
Seeing Rhis after a long time, Celia happily chatted with him, acting spoiled.
Even while doting on his younger sister, Rhis kept an eye on Leo.
‘I see why Celia admires him so much.’
As the heir of the Zerdinger family and the student council president of Lumerne, Rhis was impeccable.
His skills were exceptional, and his character was extraordinary.
‘He truly is someone close to being a hero.’
It seemed inevitable that Rhis would rise to the position of a hero.
"So, brother, which Hero Dungeon did you raid this time? Which hero was it about?"
Amid their lively conversation, Celia asked.
"That’s still classified, so I can’t tell you. But I can say that I recovered two pages."
"Really?"
"Yes. One of them is too damaged to even recreate the Hero’s World."
Rhis spoke regretfully as he checked the time.
It was already dinner time.
"It’s time to eat. You don’t know any hidden gems in Lumeria, do you?"
"No. Are there such places?"
"Of course. Do you think I spent five years at Lumerne for nothing? I’ll take you to a truly amazing spot today."
"Wow!"
Celia got up with a bright smile.
"Leo, is there anything you don’t eat?"
"I eat everything."
"Good. Got it. Go ahead downstairs. I’ll tidy up my things and join you."
Humming a tune, Celia nudged Leo out of the room.
Rhis pulled out a box containing the pages of the Hero Record he had recovered this time.
It was an item that should never be shown to regular students, so he always kept it with him when going out.
Holding the small box, slightly smaller than his palm, Rhis froze.
An unusual force was emanating from the box.
‘What’s this? Is the Hero Dungeon we raided about to go berserk?’
Rhis’s expression tensed.
Damaged pages were unstable.
Even after a successful raid, they sometimes triggered a berserk reaction and reformed the Hero Dungeon.
Opening the box to check, Rhis furrowed his brows.
The Hero Record showed no reaction.
‘Wait. Don’t tell me?’
He quickly opened the box containing the heavily damaged page.
A small piece of a page, about the size of a fingertip, emitted a faint gray light.
For the first time, the page, which had shown no signs of activity, revealed its power, leaving Rhis astonished.
‘What on earth... is this?’
End Of Chapter
