Chapter 162 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: A Royal Misunderstanding
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162
At Leo's words, Shasha's expression turned to one of utter incomprehension.
It wasn't just Shasha; everyone around them felt the same.
"What did you just say…?"
Leo looked at Shasha's bewildered face and repeated himself.
"I said you're an arrogant little brat."
Shasha stared, dumbfounded.
"You… How dare you speak to Her Highness the Imperial Princess like that!"
An agitated Baden started to shout, but Shasha raised a hand to silence him.
Then, gazing intently at Leo with her golden eyes, she asked.
"Is there something about me that you find unsatisfactory as your sovereign?"
"Satisfactory or not, why would I be your subject? We're from different countries, to begin with."
"Because your maternal family is the 'Jerdinger' family. You may be a citizen of the Dellad Kingdom, but you are also a person of the Rodren Empire."
At Shasha's words, the students in the Great Library widened their eyes.
"Leo Flove's maternal family is the Jerdingers?"
"Wait. Doesn't that mean he's related to Celia Jerdinger?"
"No wonder… so they were always together not because they were dating, but because they were relatives."
The students from the Rodren Empire reacted with surprise as well.
"This is a scoop! A scoop!"
Just then, a student who looked like he was from the newspaper club rushed out of the Great Library with an excited expression.
'The rumor will be all over the school by tomorrow.'
It wasn't a huge problem, since the Jerdinger family was planning to announce it soon anyway.
'Still, it's not pleasant to have someone else spill my story like this. And so what if my maternal family is the Jerdingers? What about it?'
Leo continued to stare at the princess before him with indifferent eyes.
The princess, who had lived at the apex of the colossal power structure that was the Empire, took it for granted that she was Leo's sovereign.
*Fwip-!*
Shasha produced a red fan from her sleeve, flicked it open, and narrowed her eyes.
"Hmph. I see."
"What now."
"It seems I have yet to show Senior Leo my value as a sovereign."
Nodding as if she understood, Shasha smiled with her eyes.
"You want me to prove it, don't you? That I am worthy of being your sovereign."
*Snap-!*
Shasha closed her fan and curled her lips into a smirk.
"Wonderful. Indeed, to accept the unprecedented All-Class as a subject, I suppose I must first demonstrate my own value."
Completely misunderstanding the situation, Shasha nodded to herself.
"Very well. I shall prove my worth to you during this joint class. Ho ho ho ho!"
With that, Shasha swept out of the Great Library.
The students from the Rodren Empire hastily followed after her.
Once Shasha was gone, the entire library began to buzz with conversation.
"What? So if she proves her worth, she can bring Leo Flove into her faction later on?"
"Hmm. He's arrogant, but if it's him…"
The misunderstanding caused a commotion all around.
Watching the scene, Chen Xia smiled faintly.
"It seems Young Master Leo will become even more popular."
"This is the kind of popularity I can do without."
***
By the end of lunchtime.
The rumor about Leo and Shasha had spread throughout the entire school.
The students gathered in the open field for their Summoning class were chattering away about it.
The topic causing the biggest stir was, of course, the one about Leo's family.
"Hey! Leo! Is your maternal family really the Jerdingers?"
"They are."
"Whoa. Why didn't you say anything?"
"Is there any reason I had to go around announcing it?"
Leo shrugged his shoulders at his classmate Teide's question.
Teide clicked his tongue as he looked at Leo.
'Normally, people would be dying to brag about something like this. Then again, this is Leo.'
Teide glanced around.
The female students were having a particularly enthusiastic reaction.
As the class representative and handsome enough to be called a pretty boy, Leo was already quite popular.
Despite his popularity, however, the female students hadn't shown him that much interest.
It was because of Celia.
Rumors that the two were dating had been rampant since the beginning of the semester, as they were always seen together.
If the competition was Celia Jerdinger, there was no hope.
On top of that, the other female students he was close with were all formidable in their own right, so others didn't even bother looking his way.
But now that it was revealed that Leo and Celia were relatives, the female students' interest was bound to skyrocket.
"Teide! You're close with your class representative, right?"
"Yeah."
"Do you happen to know what he likes?"
A female student from the Summoning Department asked in a sweet voice.
'Ugh! Don't ask me things like that!'
Teide wept tears of blood internally as he answered the female student's question.
Amidst the chatter, Yura appeared, accompanied by Assistant Professor Carlo and the professors from Skaun.
The first-year students, who had been talking amongst themselves, quieted down at her appearance.
"Ahem. Is everyone here?"
Seeing her display her displeasure, the first-years began to whisper.
"Why is the professor acting like that?"
"Maybe it's because the news about Leo's maternal family being the Jerdingers got out?"
"That makes sense. It would lower the chances of him choosing the Summoning Department."
"I mean, it's true that Class 5's representative is incredibly skilled as a summoner, but compared to what he's shown as a knight or a mage, it's less impactful."
At those words, Yura's eye twitched.
'Less impactful, my foot! That kid contracted a phoenix on his first day of school! Ugh! If you want to compare impact, even if you brought the grandfathers of knights and mages, summoning would still be more impactful!'
Suppressing the urge to shout, she spoke.
"Before we begin the class, I have an announcement regarding the sparring evaluation."
Yura crossed her arms.
"The sparring evaluation will begin next week. Your opponents will be determined by a sparring lottery, as previously announced."
At her words, tense expressions appeared here and there.
Most students were praying they wouldn't be matched with the top-ranking students.
"Alright. That's all for the Lumerne students. Shall we get started with the class?"
At Yura's words, the Skaun students looked on with tense expressions.
Lumerne's summoning class.
How long had they waited for this?
As everyone stood with tense faces, Yura crossed her arms and spoke.
"The class we'll be conducting during this joint session will be a great help not only to the Skaun students but to the Lumerne students as well."
Everyone looked puzzled at her words.
"I've called someone to help with today's class."
"Greetings, students of Skaun."
The moment Yura finished speaking, a grand voice echoed through the air.
Everyone looked around with surprised faces.
Among them, only Leo and Yura pinpointed the exact location of the voice and looked up at the sky.
*Crackle! KRRR-RUMBLE-!*
Suddenly, thunder and lightning filled the sky.
Through it, a man riding a Pegasus descended to the ground, radiating a powerful presence.
*Thud-!*
Seeing Ulta arrive on his Pegasus, not only the Skaun students but also the Lumerne students stared in astonishment.
A Pegasus.
One of the three legendary mythical beasts, a dream for any summoner.
It was said that one could live an entire lifetime and still find it difficult to see even one of the three.
To see a Pegasus in person, the Lumerne students couldn't help but be moved.
"That's the Pegasus of the legendary Senior Ulta!"
"What incredible luck!"
While most students were marveling, Yura asked with an annoyed expression.
"Why did you have to make such a flashy entrance?"
"To emphasize the most important aspect of a summoner. Which is, love."
As Ulta dismounted his Pegasus, Yura let out a deep sigh.
In a voice that sounded halfway to giving up, Yura said.
"This guy's name is Ulta Legression. He's the incredible fellow who managed to form a contract with a Pegasus while still a student."
At her words, a murmur went through the crowd.
"From today, you will learn one thing. It is the method of summoning and forming a contract with a 'powerful summon.'"
At Yura's words, the Skaun students looked puzzled.
Summoning and contracting a powerful summon.
That was the ultimate goal pursued by every summoner.
It was something they were already learning at Skaun, so for her to speak of it as a special class, it was natural for the Skaun students to be confused.
Just then, a girl raised her hand.
"Professor. I have a question."
A female student from Skaun.
Recognizing her face, Yura's eyes lit up.
'Shasha. A candidate for admission to Lumerne next year. She has the skills to enter Lumerne directly, but she went to Skaun because she wanted to experience their classes as well. A rather peculiar princess, isn't she?'
She was a girl with absolute confidence in her own abilities.
As such, she was a rising star that Lumerne was also keeping a close eye on.
'If she enrolls next year, the Summoning Department couldn't ask for more.'
"Yes, what is it?"
"Isn't it a given that we should wield powerful summons?"
Watching Shasha speak in a somewhat bored tone, Yura smirked.
"Yes. It is. But what I'm going to teach you today isn't simply how to wield a powerful summon."
Yura crossed her arms and wore a meaningful expression.
"It's how to form a contract with a summon that surpasses your own capabilities, and how to handle it."
At her words, all the students looked shocked.
"There's someone among you who especially needs this kind of lesson, right?"
Yura smiled as she looked at Shasha.
"Like the Pegasus of the Rodren Imperial Family, for instance."
The Rodren Imperial Family had, for generations, possessed a Pegasus that had made a pact with the family.
At Yura's words, Shasha smiled sweetly.
"That sounds interesting."
***
Almost every student listened to Yura's lecture with immense concentration.
Assisting Yura's lesson was none other than Ulta.
Ulta, who had contracted his Pegasus in his third year, was the very embodiment of a summoner who had formed a pact with a summon far beyond his own capabilities.
Of course, Ulta's characteristically abstruse explanations were interpreted by Yura, who stood beside him, as the class progressed.
However, not everyone showed such fervent interest in the lesson.
Leo, Woreden, and Eliza, for example, were concentrating but not hanging on every word.
Leo was the contractor of a phoenix, and while Woreden and Eliza were not quite at that level, they too had formed contracts with powerful summons that surpassed their abilities in their childhood.
Since they had experienced it firsthand, this lesson wasn't of particular interest to them.
"In conclusion, love alone is not enough."
"...He means there are parts where you have to risk your life."
Interpreting Ulta's words, Yura clutched her head as if a headache was coming on.
"Alright, now that you've all heard the lecture, let's try a practical exercise."
"Practical?"
"You will attempt to form a contract with Ulta's Pegasus."
At those words, everyone's eyes widened.
"Is-is that really okay?"
A Skaun student asked in an excited voice.
Ulta smiled at him.
"Of course."
"What if someone succeeds in forming a contract…?"
"Then they will become Eiria's new contractor."
Ulta gently stroked the bridge of the Pegasus's nose and smiled.
"If that's even possible, of course."
To rewrite the pact of a summon that already had a contractor meant that one was a summoner superior to the original contractor.
And not just slightly superior, but skilled enough to overwhelmingly dominate the original.
To push aside a Pegasus's contractor and rewrite its pact was an act considered nearly impossible not just for students, but even for those who had reached the rank of Hero through summoning.
With that, the students began to gather around Ulta.
"Leo, come here for a second."
"Yes?"
"This class is probably meaningless for you, right?"
"That's right."
For Leo, the contractor of a phoenix, this lesson held little meaning.
"Then I want you to take care of her."
Yura pointed at Shasha, who was fanning herself with a bored expression, clearly uninterested in the Pegasus.
"As you know, the Rodren Imperial Family are the contractors of a Pegasus. At a glance, it seems similar to the Lundua family, but they're different on the inside. The Lunduas had their contracted phoenix act as an intermediary for contracts with other phoenixes, but the Rodren Imperial Family has contracted with the same Pegasus for generations."
Every emperor of the Rodren Empire throughout history had been the contractor of a Pegasus.
It was a blood pact, passed down through the bloodline.
However, not every Rodren emperor had been able to summon the Pegasus.
Even with the contract, if they lacked the capacity to summon it, they couldn't.
"It's a kind of provisional contract. So, she'll need your know-how."
"Understood."
Leo nodded and approached Shasha.
Shasha smiled upon seeing him approach.
"Hello, Senior Leo. What can I do for you?"
"Professor Yura asked me to help you out."
"Me?"
"Yes. You're already the contractor of a Pegasus, right?"
"Yes."
"She asked me to help you so you can summon that Pegasus."
"Oh my. I don't know what to do with the professor's consideration. But how could you possibly be of any help in summoning a Pegasus, Senior Leo?"
The fact that Leo was the contractor of a phoenix was a secret.
Therefore, Shasha looked at Leo as if he were ridiculous.
'This girl is arrogant about everything.'
"I'll be helpful. It's not a Pegasus, but I have contracted a powerful summon."
"Hmph. A one-on-one lecture, I see. It seems even Lumerne's Summoning Department is paying close attention to me, a candidate for next year's class representative."
Shasha smiled confidently and curled her lip.
"However, I have no desire to become a spectacle in front of everyone."
"Then I'll tell the professor you don't need my help."
"You truly are a haughty man, Senior Leo."
Shasha frowned.
"Very well. In consideration of your sincerity, I shall accept your help."
"It's not my sincerity, it's the professor's."
"You're curious too, aren't you? Whether I am a person of value."
"Not curious at all."
"But I don't want to be a spectacle here, so please give me a special tutoring session at night. I'll speak to the professor about it."
Watching Shasha decide and act as she pleased, Leo let out a small sigh.
'She just keeps doing whatever she wants.'
It seemed this princess wouldn't be satisfied until she heard him call her his sovereign.
Unfortunately for her, Leo knew only one way to make this type of person listen.
'She needs to be educated.'
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