LHAHS Chapter 312
Leo stared at the crystal orb that sealed Kiran's wing, lost in thought.
So that ridiculous slime's power source was that thing, huh?
Kiran, the Fairy Prince. A royal fairy and heir to the Fairy King.
Due to his excessive mischief, the current Fairy King, Sylord, had stripped him of his wings and banished him from the Fairy Land as punishment. Though he had managed to reclaim one pair, the remaining two were still missing.
And one of those missing pairs was right here.
Leo recalled Kiran's whereabouts—the island of phantom beasts in Lake Lumene. According to reports, he was currently playing all sorts of pranks on the first-year summoning students.
Of course, that information came from his sworn enemy, Fiora.
Well, at least it doesn't seem like he's going too far.
As Leo pondered, Chloe was engaged in a heated discussion with Tina about magic theory.
"Hoh. So this is your unique magic formula? Impressive," Tina remarked as she examined the structure of Ice World, Chloe's personal spell.
"Yes. For my midterm project, I plan to apply Ice World to my familiar," Chloe explained.
"You're going to incorporate a field spell into summoning magic? That's an interesting idea." Tina's eyes gleamed with curiosity before turning to Leo. "What about you? What's your project plan?"
"I plan to incorporate elementals."
"Elementals?" Tina smiled, clearly pleased. "That certainly has a lot of versatility."
Then, as if recalling something, she tilted her head.
Leo said, "By the way, I have something I'd like to ask."
"What is it?"
"Where did you get that?" Leo pointed at the crystal orb.
Tina's lips curled into an amused smile. "You've got a keen eye."
She reached for the orb, placed it on the desk, and tapped it lightly.
Chloe, now seeing it up close, tilted her head. "What's that wing inside?"
"A fairy's wing."
Chloe's eyes widened in shock, but Tina turned her attention back to Leo.
"As expected of an All-Class. You reacted sensitively to fairy magic, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
"So, do you want it?"
"Would you give it to me?" Leo asked with a grin.
Tina smiled back. "If you do me a favor."
"What kind of favor?"
"I want to examine your body thoroughly."
Leo blinked. "…You want to what?"
Chloe's expression stiffened as her face turned red.
Tina, ever expressionless, flatly added, "I was simply expressing my interest in the capabilities of an All-Class. What exactly are you imagining?"
"N-No, it's not like that, I just…"
"Could it be… you thought I meant stripping him down or something?"
"That's not it! It's really not!" Flustered, Chloe waved her hands wildly.
"So?" Tina asked, unfazed. "Will you let me examine you?"
Leo shook his head. "I'll have to decline."
"That's a shame." Tina placed the crystal orb back in its original spot, her expression unreadable. "If you ever get curious, feel free to visit. If you're interested in dissection, even better."
With that, she saw them to the door and silently slipped back into her office.
As they walked down the corridor, Chloe muttered, "Leo, just so you know, I wasn't imagining anything weird."
Leo raised an eyebrow. "Then what were you imagining?"
"I mean, that is… Ugh, never mind! Let's just go eat dinner!" Clearing her throat, Chloe strode ahead.
Smirking, Leo followed behind her.
That evening, Leo summoned Kiran inside his dorm room.
WOOONG…
The summoning circle pulsed, and Kiran's head popped out.
[What's up, Leo?]
Elsie and Arty followed, stepping through the circle as well.
"I found one of your missing wings," Leo said.
[What? Really?!]
Kiran's eyes widened before he let out a triumphant yell and began spinning excitedly around the room. With every flap of his wings, a silvery powder scattered through the air.
Fiora—now in her human form thanks to magic—was nibbling on cookies. She shot him a glare.
"Stop spreading dust everywhere, you dumb fairy."
[Pfft. Look at Fatix talking nonsense.]
"Fatix? Are you stupid? I'm a Phoenix."
[Nope. A fat Phoenix. Fatix. You've been stuffing your face with snacks again—about to get all chubby like a pig?]
"Who are you calling a pig?!"
Fuming, Fiora pulled a fly swatter from her sleeve and swung it wildly at Kiran.
SPLAT—! SPLAT—!
You think you can hit me with those slow attacks?
Kiran darted through the air, dodging effortlessly.
Arty, watching the chaos, approached Leo. "Master."
"What?"
"Could you also call me a pig and spank me with the fly swatter?"
Leo pinched the bridge of his nose. "Arty."
"Yes, Master?"
"I wasn't going to say this, but…"
"Yes?"
"You're a Pegasus."
"That's correct."
"In my past life, I had a contract with a Pegasus." Leo gave Arty a long look. "That one was always serious. I'm not saying you have to be like that all the time, but could you at least stop making such perverted requests every time you see me?"
Arty froze. "…Are you saying that, compared to your previous familiar, I'm excessively vulgar and embarrassing?"
"I didn't say it like that."
"I see. So I've been disappointing you." Arty bowed her head, her body trembling slightly.
Elsie asked worriedly, [That might've been a bit harsh. Arty does work hard in battle…]
Leo, however, remained indifferent. "Isn't it even weirder that she's happy to hear this?"
[Huh?]
Elsie flew closer. Beneath Arty's lowered head, her face was flushed. Her eyes gleamed with delight.
"A lowly, unsightly Pegasus… Ahhh! Who else in the world would dare say such cruel things to me…!"
"……" Elsie clutched her head.
Leo sighed. "…Are you crying?"
[No, I just can't believe these are my companions.]
"Aahng!" Arty clutched her heart and collapsed.
Leo turned away from the madness, only to hear…
[Hahaha! Fatix! Fatix!]
"Get back here!"
Fiora swung at Kiran again, only for the fly swatter to miss and smack Elsie instead.
A heavy silence fell.
Fiora swiftly hid the fly swatter behind her back. Kiran scurried behind Arty.
Simultaneously, they pointed at each other.
"It was that fairy's fault!"
[It was that phoenix's fault!]
Elsie rose, silent. Between strands of her black hair, a dark glow flickered in her eyes.
Leo clicked his tongue. She's pissed.
Fiora, Kiran, and Arty had never seen this side of her, but Leo had.
This wasn't the present Elsie—it was the Elsie from the distant past.
The one who had lost everything. The one who burned with hatred.
SRRRK…
Her form expanded, absorbing Leo's energy.
Before Fiora could react, Elsie's shadow swallowed the fly swatter from her grasp.
Expressionless, she ruthlessly beat Kiran into the ground.
[W-Wait! Ack?!]
Then, she turned to Fiora.
"Roll up your pants."
"W-What?!"
The air turned frigid.
Leo sighed. I should've just gone to bed.
Fiora, panicked, backed away. "I didn't do anything wrong! Even my mom never hit me…"
"Roll them up," Elsie said coldly, her voice devoid of emotion.
With a tearful expression, Fiora hesitated before reluctantly rolling up her pants.
Elsie flipped the fly swatter upside down and smacked her calves—hard.
SMACK! SMACK!
"Ack! That hurts!"
In an instant, Elsie had subdued both a phoenix and a fairy—two of the most sought-after summons in existence.
Then, in an icy tone, she warned, "If you act out again, I won't let it slide."
Kiran, flattened against the floor like a crushed bug, weakly twitched. [Y-Yes, ma'am…]
Fiora, sniffling while clutching her throbbing calves, nodded. "O-Okay…"
The room fell into silence.
Leo turned to Arty, who was hiding behind him. "You like getting scolded. Why don't you go ask her to punish you too?"
Arty shook her head frantically. "I… I don't want to be punished by that Elsie."
Leo sighed at the absurdly perceptive perverted Pegasus.
[So an elf has my wing?!]
Kiran, recovering, shot back up, his excitement returning. For a long time, he had been desperate to retrieve his wings. Regaining all of them was necessary to restore his status as the Fairy Prince.
Now, hearing that Leo had found one of the missing pairs, Kiran's entire body tensed with anticipation.
[What are we waiting for?! Let's go right now!]
Leo, propping his chin on his hand, remained unimpressed. "It won't be that easy. The current owner is that guest professor, after all."
[Excuse me?! The wings belong to me! Why the hell is that elf the owner?!] With his hands on his waist, Kiran glared furiously.
"Well, she's the one keeping them, so technically, she owns them now."
[Pfft! If I get my power back, it'll benefit you too! Why are you being such a coward about this?]
Scoffing, Kiran spread his wings and shot toward the window.
[Watch me! I'll get my wings back myself!]
Leo lazily watched him go. "That won't be easy."
Elsie, who had returned to her usual palm-sized form, floated near his shoulder. [What kind of person is this Professor Tina?]
Leo hesitated. "She's… a weirdo."
[Hmm. Can't imagine.]
"If Kiran gets caught, do you think there'll be any trouble?" Elsie asked, stirring sugar into her tea with a spoon as big as she was.
Leo took a sip of his own tea. "Well… she might try to dissect him."
Elsie sighed deeply. Let's hope nothing happens…
The next morning, at the second-year dormitory cafeteria.
This was the place where dorm students started their day, so most students had usually gathered for breakfast, but today, Leo strangely found himself eating alone.
"Leo! Good morning!" Chelsea, carrying a tray piled with food, beamed as she sat across from him.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah."
The three dorms—Glory, Harmony, and Noble—were always in competition. During free hours, interactions between dorms were common, but in the mornings, students usually ate with their own dormmates.
Even Celia, despite being Leo's cousin and close to Chloe, never ate breakfast with them.
Chelsea, however, often did. She either joined Leo or Abad.
"Mmm~" Chelsea hummed in delight, cupping her face as she savored the strawberry jam served that morning. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she spoke up. "Oh, right! Leo, did you hear about it?"
"Hear about what?"
"A fairy appeared near the second-year dorms last night."
Leo's spoon stopped mid-air.
He scanned the cafeteria.
There were unusually few students.
Now that he thought about it, all of the summoning students were missing.
"There were too many witnesses for it to be just a rumor. Everyone's freaking out about it," Chelsea giggled as she buttered her bread.
Leo covered his face with his hand.
That idiot actually did it.