Chapter 133
Elena looked momentarily stunned.
Leo chuckled at her reaction.
“I’m just kidding.”
‘Is he making fun of me?’
Elena burst into laughter at the casual teasing from the formidable first-year she had once thought untouchable.
“Then you’re joining my party, right?”
“No, I’ve already decided where I’m going for now.”
“Did you get an invitation from another party?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then why not join my party? It’s advantageous for you.”
“Why is it advantageous to join a party?”
Elena was genuinely taken aback by Leo’s puzzled response.
She thought her offer was irresistible for a first-year.
She had even promised him a part in the Hero Dungeon raid.
‘But why is he refusing? Doesn’t he understand the value of the Hero Dungeons?’
It seemed impossible that someone as outstanding as Leo would not grasp the significance of such an opportunity.
‘Or is it simply his pride?’
Elena didn’t think Leo was the type to be swayed by pride.
“If you don’t have anything more to say, I’ll be leaving.”
Leo bowed his head and began to leave.
Elena watched him go with a narrowed gaze.
“Hm”
Elena twisted a lock of her hair, her irritation evident.
The Blue Moon party members stared at Leo and then at Elena, their eyes wide in disbelief.
How could he reject an offer from the Queen of Lumene?
Other students looked at Leo with astonished expressions.
Angry voices erupted among the Blue Moon party members.
“That audacious twerp! How dare he refuse Elena’s offer?”
“Can’t he see it’s a chance to shine as the freshman representative?”
“Elena, do you want me to teach him a lesson?”
The Blue Moon party members scrambled to speak.
They hoped that by supporting Elena, they might secure a longer tenure in the party.
Elena, still twisting her hair, smiled at them.
“Who told you to speak to me?”
The Blue Moon members were taken aback by her words.
Even her seniors from the Blue Moon party, who were older than Elena, remained silent.
Elena smiled once more and then left the first-year dormitory with a decisive stride.
‘How humiliating.’
The rejection of her offer in front of so many people would surely make headlines in the school newspaper the next day.
Of course, Elena didn’t care in the slightest.
She believed that those without value were unworthy of her attention.
‘I suppose my ability is ineffective against him.’
Elena’s pink eyes glowed with a mysterious intensity.
She had always possessed a compelling charm, not merely from her background, talent, or appearance.
It was as if she had a curse that made her presence and surroundings intensely captivating.
This curse, combined with her overwhelming talent, became a formidable weapon.
Her mere gaze could compel obedience from ordinary people.
Even those with strong willpower found themselves drawn to her.
Those aware of her power were either fearful or hostile.
Yet, Leo’s resistance to her influence was complete.
“Orbe.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Find out where Leo Plov is planning to practice his mission.”
Orbe hesitated momentarily.
“It’s against school rules to access a student’s personal information.”
“You know I’m not one to care about that, right?” Elena said, gently twisting her hair.
“I understand.”
Orbe, his expression resolute, vanished into the shadows.
Elena murmured to herself as she walked alone through the quiet school at night.
“Leo Plov…”
A smile curled at the corners of her mouth.
“How amusing.”
The next morning, rumors swirled through the school about Leo’s refusal of Elena’s invitation to join her party.
“Bwahahahahahaha!”
Hark, the fourth-year representative, chuckled heartily while reading the newspaper, his eye patch slightly askew.
Lille, the second-year representative, nearly choked on her breakfast when she saw the headline and dropped her fork.
“Isn’t the newspaper being a bit too provocative with their articles?”
As the school newspaper was distributed, as it was every morning, Carr shrugged while Chelsea grumbled about its sensationalism.
“What can we do? The newspaper department needs to make a splash somehow.”
The newspaper headline screamed in bold letters: “The Queen’s Humiliation”.
“Speaking of which, the newspaper sure has guts,” Carr noted with a grin.
“They do have a flair for the dramatic.”
Carr then turned to Leo with a smirk.
“How does it feel to have embarrassed the Queen?”
“Doesn’t feel like much,” Leo replied nonchalantly.
“Though, I’ve been on the receiving end of humiliation myself. Do you think there will be any backlash?”
“Not likely.”
‘I’m not one to care about retaliation. What others say doesn’t bother me.’
The real concern was Elena’s followers.
‘The Queen’s followers are bound to be envious.’
Leo recalled Lille’s earlier comments.
‘Well, they can be annoying, but they’re not a major issue.’
Those bums weren’t much of a concern to Leo anyway.
‘I need Elena’s approval to access the Forbidden Library.’
He had previously been told that gaining permission from Elena was necessary to investigate Hero Records.
Although he hadn’t been granted a favor before, he hoped his request might be reconsidered now.
‘It’s not as if she can’t refuse access to the Forbidden Library.’
He knew he could be denied entry after the request was reviewed.
‘Besides, I’m not going to get into too much trouble just to get into the Forbidden Library.’
Elena, a strong contender for the next student body president, would likely be preoccupied with her own duties and wouldn’t be easily persuaded.
‘I’m actually quite busy.’
While accessing the Forbidden Library was important for understanding the Hero Records there, finding the traitor within Lumene was a higher priority.
‘We can discuss the Forbidden Library later.’
Creak-
The classroom door opened, and Harrid walked in.
As students scrambled to their seats, Harrid addressed them.
“Did you review all the options for mission training yesterday?”
“Yes!”
“Then, prepare and submit a brief plan outlining why you selected the commission you chose.”
“Understood!”
The mission plans were quickly drafted among the students of Class 5.
After reviewing the submissions, Harrid remarked, “Students often select requests based on their current abilities. Occasionally, they choose overly ambitious tasks, but it’s rare for them to pick something beyond their capabilities.”
He paused when he saw Leo’s outline.
“Are you sure you want to undertake a bandit sweep in Garan Province, Leo Plov?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm. You continue to surprise me.”
Harrid stroked his chin thoughtfully.
As a professor, he was responsible for guiding students away from overly ambitious requests, but in Leo’s case, he was curious about his plan.
‘Well, everyone must have their own strategy,’ Harrid thought with a chuckle. ‘I didn’t expect I’d ever trust a freshman this much.’
Shaking his head, Harrid stamped his approval on the mission training plans.
After a series of brief interviews with other students, he said, “Mission training starts in two days. Make sure we’re all prepared.”
“Yes, sir!”
* * *
Reaper Scans
[Translator – Aine]
[Proofreader – Ash]
Join our discord for updates on releases! https://dsc.gg/reapercomics
* * *
Whoo-oh-oh-oh-oh!
A cold wind howled.
A land of year-round winter.
Here, where elves trained to become heroes.
Seiren.
“Ha-choo!”
As Lunia, a red-haired elf, walked down the corridor, she sneezed loudly.
“Sniffle.”
Seeing Lunia rubbing her nose and sniffling, her friend asked with concern, “Miss Lunia, are you okay?”
“Yeah, just sniffling!” Lunia replied.
Elves were naturally resilient to the cold due to their origins in frigid climates.
Lunia, a Phoenix-wielder from the prestigious El Lunda family, was particularly strong in winter.
However, even the most resilient beings could dislike the cold.
“By the way, Mr. Herdium mentioned that Leo might come as an exchange student. Whatever happened to that?”
Eiran, who was slightly excited by the prospect, watched as Lunia shook her head.
“I don’t think anything came of it. They’ve proposed he stay nearly half a year, but there’s no way Lumene would let a student like Leo go for that long.”
Leo Plov’s reputation was so widespread that even in Seiren, everyone knew his name.
“He’s moving ahead fast. Besides, Leo isn’t the only talented first-year at Lumene.”
Lunia’s competitive spirit flared as she thought of the first-years at Lumene with whom she would be competing.
‘This will be interesting.’
Just as she was about to smile with a competitive edge, a stern voice cut through.
“That’s not very becoming of our class representative.”
Lunia’s expression soured as she turned to see the boy who had spoken.
Eiran quickly lowered his head.
“Haddin, hello.”
“Hmm. I see you’ve finally come to your senses,” Haddin said coldly, adjusting his glasses.
“You’re aware that you’ve tarnished Seiren’s reputation as the year’s representative, right?”
Eiran winced at Haddin’s words.
“I don’t want you to bring any more shame to the school.”
Eiran couldn’t muster a response.
Lunia glared at Haddin, clearly displeased.
“And Lunia, how many times have I told you not to scowl like that?” Haddin said sharply.
“What’s wrong with my expression?”
“You look like a street thug.”
Haddin’s gaze swept over Lunia’s outfit.
She had loosened several buttons on her school uniform and let it hang loosely.
“Also, you’re not up to code, once again.”
Haddin Dertian.
Seiren’s top third-year student.
The only male third-year student representative.
Also known for his strict adherence to school rules.
He often called out Lunia’s less-than-stellar behavior.
“How many times have I told you that as a representative, your appearance should be impeccable?”
“Yes, yes, okay. Fine.”
Lunia sighed and buttoned her uniform properly.
“Is that better now?”
“Hmph.”
Haddin, adjusting his glasses, snorted in approval.
“But what brings you to the first-year class?”
“You and I will be going on this mission together,” Haddin announced.
“…”
Lunia looked unenthused.
“You don’t seem thrilled.”
“Do you think I should be delighted?”
“As your senior, it’s my duty to teach you the proper conduct expected of a representative.”
‘How kind of you. Should I be grateful?’
Lunia gritted her teeth internally.
“So, where’s the mission training taking us?”
“It’s to an area called Garan, at the southwestern tip of the continent.”
“What exactly is in Garan?”
‘I just hope it’s warm.’
“Isn’t that the realm of humans and beastmen? Why would you go all the way there?” Eiran asked, looking puzzled.
“There might be an ‘Undiscovered Hero Dungeon’ there, the vice principal said. Anyway, Lunia, departure is in two days. Be thoroughly prepared.”
Haddin left after making his announcement.
Then, suddenly, he added, “Eiran, continue as you have been.”
“Yes, sir,” Eiran replied.
“Hmph.”
Haddin walked away with a dismissive snort.
Lunia, who had been contemplating about something, now focused intently.
She did not forget to place a small stone inside the snowball she was forming.
With a mischievous grin, she prepared to throw it at Haddin’s head.
Eiran, alarmed, grabbed Lunia’s arm.
“Lunia! You’ll get into trouble!”
“It’s okay. That stiff won’t get hurt too badly.”
“No, you can’t do that!”
