Chapter 16 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: The Freshman Representative
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In the center of the sprawling Lumerne Academy lay a massive training ground called Erek.
It was where major school events were held, most notably the entrance and graduation ceremonies.
And now, every student of Lumerne was gathered here in Erek.
"Look who showed up."
"Soaked to the bone, just as I thought."
"Puhahaha! See! Didn't I say hardly any of them would be dry?"
A few of the more ill-natured upperclassmen jeered at them.
Several prideful freshmen trembled with humiliation, but no one dared to lash out.
Amidst the commotion, Artian, who had led the freshmen to the center of the Erek training ground, spoke.
"Line up according to your respective regions. The top students will come forward as representatives."
At her words, the students formed five lines, arranging themselves in neat rows and columns.
As expected, the number of students from the western region was noticeably smaller.
The professors watching from the stage clicked their tongues.
"Just as expected of Professor Albi, I suppose? The number of students from the western region is quite extreme."
One of the instructors said reproachfully to Albi, who sat with a blank expression.
But Albi didn't so much as blink.
Leo stood at the very back.
"Ah! Leo! Hi!"
Just then, Chelsea Llewellyn, his teammate from the entrance exam, approached him with a bright smile.
"It's been so hectic, I'm only just now seeing you!"
Leo let out a small laugh as he looked at Chelsea, her eyes sparkling as she spoke to him warmly.
"You should get in line."
"Okay!"
Standing next to Leo, Chelsea chattered away.
"I was so moved watching you fight back then, I'm thinking of minoring in the Knight Department."
"Hmm? Now that you mention it, didn't you say you wanted to be a Battle Mage?"
"Yep!"
At her immediate reply, Leo looked at Chelsea for a moment before speaking.
"In that case, you should probably focus more on your magic training for now."
"Huh? But my magic is plenty strong. Why should I focus more on magic training?"
Just as Leo was about to say something to the slightly bewildered Chelsea,
"We will now begin the entrance ceremony. First, we will have a word from our headmaster."
Chelsea fell silent at the announcement from the professor officiating on the stage.
With that, an old man appeared at the center of the stage.
The freshmen's expressions tensed.
There wasn't a single person here who didn't know him.
The one praised as the greatest of all living human heroes.
The Sword Saint, Kalian Veydean.
"You've all worked hard to get here, you little fledglings."
Kalian spoke, his spirit belying his age.
"I won't waste your time with a long speech. I'll tell you about the path you must walk!"
Bang—!
Kalian slammed his fist on the podium.
"If you dream of becoming heroes, then always put yourselves on the line! And surpass your limits! Those who won't,"
The freshmen held their breath at the Sword Saint's roar.
"have no place in Lumerne."
With those final words, he stepped down from the stage without a second thought.
A brief silence fell.
And then…
"Waaaaaaaaaah!"
An explosive cheer erupted from the freshmen.
Those few words, hardly even a speech, held the power to ignite the hearts of the new students.
The Sword Saint turned back, made a V-sign with his fingers at the professors, all while maintaining a solemn expression.
At the sight, several professors clutched their heads.
'Headmasteeeeer!'
'You would have been so cool if you'd just stayed serious!'
'*Sob*, the longer I work as a professor at Lumerne, the more my image of the Sword Saint shatters.'
Whether they liked it or not, the professors knew.
That the greatest hero whom everyone admired, the Sword Saint, was in fact an endlessly flippant old man.
The officiating professor also clutched his head as he spoke.
"Next, we will have a speech from the freshman representative."
At those words, everyone in the Erek training ground focused on the professor's announcement.
The freshman representative.
A title that signified the absolute best among the freshmen of Lumerne, a gathering of geniuses.
Literally, the strongest hero candidate among hundreds of other hero candidates!
Even the top students standing at the very front looked tense.
As everyone watched with anticipation, the officiating professor opened his mouth.
"The freshman representative is… Leo Flove."
"Leo Flove?"
"Who's that?"
"The freshman representative isn't one of the top students?"
The freshmen looked around, murmuring amongst themselves.
The six top students sitting in the front row also wore expressions of bewilderment.
Even the professors, who hadn't known who the representative was, reacted with surprise.
Just then, the officiating professor spoke.
"Student Leo Flove. Please come up to the stage."
At those words, Leo rose from his seat.
Chelsea's eyes widened as she looked up at him.
Over in another row, Karl's jaw dropped.
It was highly unusual for a regular student, not one of the top scorers, to be chosen as the representative.
The upperclassmen, too, showed their surprise.
All eyes were fixed on Leo.
'I'm the freshman representative?'
Leo was also bewildered.
He had certainly made a memorable impression during the entrance exam, but he had thought Celia and Abad's scores would be higher.
They were the ones who had performed the best in the actual test, which was why they had shared the top spot.
As he ascended the stage, still puzzled, his eyes met with Albi, the proctor from the western exam.
The usually expressionless Albi offered him a smile.
It seemed it was a recommendation from the proctor.
Putting his questions aside, Leo stood on the stage.
A pre-written speech was waiting on the podium.
"To our respected professors and upperclassmen, thank you for welcoming us freshmen. From this day forward, we, the new students, as proud members of Lumerne…"
Leo read the speech without a hint of nervousness.
Various gazes, filled with a mix of emotions, fell upon him.
Curiosity and doubt about how a regular student had been chosen over the top scorers.
Envy and jealousy for occupying such a glorious position.
"…Sincerely, the freshman representative, Leo Flove."
*Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap—!*
Applause thundered as the speech ended.
"Excellent, Student Leo. Now, as the freshman representative, please share a word about your aspirations."
the officiating professor said with a mischievous smile.
A statement of aspiration from the freshman representative.
This was a sort of tradition at Lumerne's entrance ceremonies.
It was a chance for the student who had overcome fierce competition to become the representative to say a word to the entire school.
However, it was also intended to provoke the other first-year students.
'So it's a provocation aimed at the others who thought they were worthy of this spot?'
Leo smirked.
Having always been at the top, there were surely many students who coveted this position.
Leo turned and looked down at all the freshmen.
"I am Leo Flove, the freshman representative."
The officiating professor's face showed a hint of disappointment at Leo's polite introduction.
'This year's representative is a quiet one, I see. Well, a respectable aspiration befitting a top student isn't bad either.'
The truth was, even a student with a fiery personality would find it difficult to speak recklessly in this position.
'Looks like it'll be a smooth entrance ceremony this year…'
"If you want this spot, come and take it."
The officiating professor's eyes shot wide open.
The other freshmen's jaws dropped.
Leo gave a small smile and descended from the stage.
Leo had perfectly understood the school's intention and played along.
'But still, wasn't that a bit much?!'
The officiating professor screamed internally.
Even the upperclassmen let out incredulous laughs.
"This entrance ceremony is one for the books."
"We've got a pretty audacious junior this year."
All eyes were drawn to Leo.
Despite this, Leo descended the stage without batting an eye.
On his way back to his seat, his eyes met Celia's.
Celia, who had been staring at him blankly, gave a small scoff and lifted her chin.
Abad, sitting next to her, smiled warmly at Leo.
"Wow! Wow! You were the representative, Leo?"
Chelsea whispered excitedly as he returned to his seat.
"Aren't you disappointed Abad didn't get it?"
"It's a shame my brother didn't get it, but we both saw you fight in person, didn't we?"
Mhm-! Chelsea said, crossing her arms and nodding.
"He hasn't said it, but I'm sure my brother acknowledges you too, Leo."
"Is that so?"
Leo glanced at the back of Abad's head in the seat in front of him.
A short while later, the entrance ceremony came to an end.
***
After the ceremony, the freshmen were immediately guided to the dormitories.
The dorms were, of course, separated by gender.
Each dormitory, resembling a grand mansion, stood side by side.
There was a garden in the center, and the surrounding grounds held a training field.
As the freshmen gathered, one of the dormitory managers spoke.
"Dormitory rooms are single occupancy. There is also a curfew. In special cases, staying out overnight is permitted with a valid reason. However."
The dormitory manager let out a short sigh.
"Entering the dormitory of the opposite gender is strictly forbidden."
The manager's expression turned stern.
"I am well aware that you are all at an age where you're interested in the opposite sex. But please, maintain the boundaries."
"Yes~"
The freshmen replied cheerfully.
The manager gave a wry smile at their response.
They might say that now, but being hot-blooded teenagers, there were always students who broke this rule at least once a year.
'Of course, they never do it again after that.'
"Alright, find your luggage, unpack in your assigned rooms, and reassemble here in one hour."
The manager said, gesturing to the luggage that had been delivered during the ceremony.
The freshmen chattered with their friends as they searched for their bags.
Then they checked their room assignments.
"Oh! Leo! We're in adjacent rooms!"
"Really? That's great."
Leo smiled as Karl spoke in a bright voice.
"By the way, I was so surprised! I can't believe you were the student representative!"
"Tell me about it. I had no idea either."
"You must have done something amazing on the exam."
"I guess the proctor took a liking to me."
Leo and Karl carried their luggage up to their assigned rooms on the second floor.
The eyes of the other freshmen were on them.
"That's the freshman representative?"
"Why was he chosen over the top students? Does he have connections or something?"
"You think you can become the freshman representative just with connections?"
'I'm already drawing attention on the first day.'
After changing clothes in their rooms and gathering again, they spent the rest of the time in a flurry of activity.
First was class assignment.
Lumerne's curriculum was primarily major-focused, but there were also general education courses.
For those classes, they would attend with their classmates.
For the first years, there were ten classes, from Class 1 to Class 10.
Leo was assigned to Class 5, along with Chelsea and Karl.
After that, they were given a tour of the Lumerne Academy facilities.
As one of only four hero academies in the world, Lumerne's campus was vast.
Just touring the main facilities took half a day.
When they returned to the dormitory after the tour, the dorm supervisor was waiting for them.
"Welcome. I am Obelio, the supervisor for the first-year dormitory. You've all had a long day. Starting tomorrow, a week of provisional classes will begin."
During this provisional period, students could freely attend any class they wished.
Even those aspiring to be knights could attend classes on magic or summoning.
In the process, some students even discovered talents they never knew they had.
"Classes start first thing tomorrow, so don't get too excited. Get to bed early tonight."
As Professor Obelio dismissed them, the students headed to their respective rooms.
"Haaah~ What a whirlwind of a day!"
Karl said, stretching tiredly.
"I'm so excited for tomorrow! Anyway, Leo! Good night!"
"Yeah, you too."
After saying their goodbyes, they entered their own rooms.
Once inside, Leo changed into his sleepwear and climbed into bed.
He drifted off to sleep, savoring the comfort of the bed.
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