LHAHS Chapter 313
After finishing breakfast, Leo and Chelsea left the dormitory cafeteria, heading toward Mel's special Hero Studies class.
"Chelsea. Oh, Leo's here too?"
"Nella! Let's go to the lecture hall together!"
Nella, one of the most beautiful girls in the second year, approached them with her signature languid smile.
"It's been a while since the three of us went to class together like this," she said with a soft laugh.
"Yeah," Chelsea replied with a nostalgic look. "Back in first-year Class 5, the six of us used to be inseparable."
Leo, Chelsea, and Carl had been close friends since the start of their first year. Along with Nella, Eliana, and Tade, they formed the core of Class 5.
"Since it's been a while, how about we go to Lumeria City this weekend?" Nella suggested.
"Let's do it! If anyone else from Class 5 is free, they should come too!" Chelsea beamed with excitement.
"Leo, you're in, right?"
"I'll keep my schedule open," Leo replied.
Nella smiled in satisfaction.
"By the way, how's your dorm's preparation for the mock battle going?" Leo asked.
Chelsea's eyes widened before she grinned mischievously, putting a finger to her lips. "Are you trying to spy on me? Even if it's you, Leo, you're still the enemy for the midterms, so I'm not telling you who our King is!"
"I wasn't asking about the King," Leo said dryly. "Just how your preparations are going."
Chelsea scratched her head with an awkward smile, realizing her overreaction.
Seeing this, Nella chuckled and replied, "We're doing fine. We've already chosen our King. What about Glory?"
"We've decided on our King too."
A few casual remarks were exchanged.
"Do you get asked a lot about who Harmony's King is?" Leo asked.
"Yeah. Even our old Class 5 friends keep asking," Nella said with a sleepy smile.
Chelsea let out a sigh. "Carl and Tade keep trying to get it out of me in sneaky ways. And Eliana…"
"Ah! Chelsea, Nella! And the class rep is here too!" Eliana ran up to them, waving enthusiastically. "Great timing! Who's Harmony's King?"
Chelsea's face turned cold. "This idiot just asks outright."
"Who are you calling an idiot?" Eliana pounced on Chelsea, poking at her soft cheeks.
As if used to it, Chelsea bit Eliana's finger.
Amidst the noisy chatter…
"Oh! What's this? The four of you together?"
"Let's go together."
Carl and Tade spotted them and walked over.
"It's been a while since we've all gathered like this," Tade said with a laugh.
"Yeah, we were just talking about this. Do you guys have time this weekend?" Chelsea asked. "We were thinking of hanging out with the Class 5 crew."
"That sounds great."
"I'll make time."
The six of them chatted happily.
"By the way," Carl said, lacing his fingers behind his head, "you all have your Kings decided, right?"
Chelsea narrowed her eyes. "Even if you ask, I won't tell."
"Who would be dumb enough to ask outright? You have to fish for it," Carl laughed.
Before they knew it, they had arrived at the lecture hall.
As they settled into their seats, Celia approached. "Leo."
Leo looked up.
"Professor Mel is looking for you."
Puzzled, he stood up. "I'll be back in a bit."
"See you later~" Chelsea waved with a bright smile.
Celia narrowed her eyes. "You haven't told Leo anything about our dorm, have you, Chelsea?"
Chelsea frowned. "What do you take me for? No matter what, I wouldn't just spill dorm secrets."
"But you tell Abad a lot of things."
"Still, I don't just blurt out classified information!" Chelsea huffed, sticking out her tongue.
Celia nodded. "Good. That's a relief."
As she returned to her seat, Chelsea muttered, "What does she take me for? I am a dorm leader."
Resting her chin on her hand, Eliana remarked, "Well, I get why Celia's worried. Chelsea, you'd do anything for the class rep or Abad."
"Anything is a bit much…."
"And, how should I put it? You're like an adorable little sister. If someone coaxed you a bit, you'd probably spill."
"Yeah, yeah! Feels like you could be lured with candy."
"What do you think I am?"
Chelsea's expression turned cold as she smacked both Carl and Eliana.
Tade commented, "Chelsea, you do feel different from the other dorm leaders."
"How so?"
Carl replied, "In our dorm alone, there's ambition everywhere. Well, considering we have heirs from noble families, it's only natural."
The Lewellin and Hergin families. Two of the most prestigious hero lineages. Abad and Eliza, as the successors, naturally had strong pride and ambition.
And then there was Duran—the crown prince of Moira, a small but renowned knight kingdom. His pride was no less than Abad or Eliza's.
"In our dorm, too, the three of them have clear goals," Eliana added.
Chloe, who aimed to complete the greatest magical tome in the world with her original magic.
Chen Xia, who sought to rise as a hero from the shadows and change public perception.
"And the class rep… well, he's a hero just by existing."
"Yeah, back in first year, he boldly declared that his goal is Erebos's complete eradication."
"The scale of that is just different," Carl muttered.
"What about Harmony's dorm leaders? What are their goals?"
"For Walden, it's becoming the strongest," Nella replied.
Tade crossed his arms. "Hm, that's exactly the kind of goal he'd have."
Eliana clicked her tongue. "The class rep's feats are so overwhelming that it's easy to forget, but Walden's a monster too."
"I'm curious. If those two fought seriously, who would win?"
"Leo would win."
Walden's strength was superior to most, but Leo was on an entirely different level.
"Celia's goal is to become a knight surpassing her predecessors," Carl noted.
"See? Everyone has a clear goal. That's why they all aspire to be heroes."
Silence followed.
"Chelsea, why do you want to be a hero?"
"Well… since I got into Lumene… To help my brother and be useful to my family…." She hesitated. Then, she turned the question back on them. "Then do all of you have a goal? A reason for wanting to be a hero?"
"Hah! Of course!" Eliana grinned. "I'm going to become the greatest magic swordsman and make my name known!"
"I want to make a contract with a fairy," Tade said.
"I want to become a hero and save many people," Nella smiled gently.
"I don't have grand ambitions. I just want to survive and succeed as a supporter," Carl shrugged.
Hearing their answers, Chelsea grew even more flustered.
Why did I enter Lumene?
Just following those ahead of her had been enjoyable.
Abad, the mage she had admired since childhood.
And Leo, whom she had admired from the moment she first saw him.
She had never truly asked herself: Why do I want to be a hero?
That evening, after a full day of classes, the second-year students gathered at Lumene's pier, where each dorm was assigned one of Lumeria City's islands for the mock battle.
Carl scratched his head. "Wow, we have to engage in espionage even during the preparation period?"
Before him, students were constructing defense towers and setting up traps around their strongholds.
Eliza, crossing her legs as she trimmed her nails, remarked, "While the others are working hard, why don't you help as well?"
Carl looked at her and scoffed. "You're not doing anything either."
Eliza smirked. "I am doing something."
Satisfied with her nails, she flicked her gaze toward the island.
"I'm keeping watch for spies."
Carl's lips curled into a smirk. "She's here."
Eliza's eyes twitched. "Celia Zerdinger? What is she doing here…?"
"I called her," Carl said casually. "I gave her the token you gave me."
If Noble's students were moving in and out of the island frequently, Eliza's summoned beasts would undoubtedly alert her. To prevent that, she had distributed tokens to her dorm members—markers that signified they were part of Noble and, therefore, not intruders.
However, Carl had passed one to Celia.
"Hoh? Interesting." Eliza grinned.
The other Noble students quickly took notice of Celia's arrival, murmurs spreading among them.
From his position atop the defensive wall, Duran narrowed his eyes as he spotted her.
Meanwhile, Abad, resting his chin on his hand, smirked, observing her with interest.
Celia stopped in front of Carl. "I read your letter."
She glanced at Noble's stronghold before turning back to him.
"What are you up to?"
"No tricks. Just a proposal for an alliance."
Celia folded her arms. "You want to team up to take down Glory? Your dorm leaders would never agree to that."
She knew Duran and Eliza too well. Their pride was sky-high. Even if their goal was to defeat Leo Flove, they wouldn't accept cooperation with another dorm.
They'd have to take him down with their own hands to be satisfied.
"I wouldn't agree either," Celia added flatly.
Chelsea would be against it.
Walden, who was directly aiming for Leo, definitely wouldn't accept it.
At Lumene, student duels were allowed, but serious full-power battles were restricted. If a student got seriously injured outside of sanctioned duels, there would be heavy consequences.
However, midterms were different.
For the first time, they had a legitimate chance to fight Leo seriously—without holding back. No one who aimed for the top would want to waste this opportunity.
That went for Celia as well.
At her skepticism, Carl simply smiled. "I'm not saying we should join forces."
His expression turned serious. "If we openly allied, Glory would notice. Then they'd focus entirely on defense. If they commit to defense, bringing down their stronghold would be difficult—even with two dorms working together. And like you said, some students would oppose the alliance itself."
They had been given a month to prepare. That preparation period was largely focused on fortifying their strongholds.
If Glory focused purely on defense, even two dorms working together would struggle to breach their fortifications.
"So what's the plan?" Celia asked, eyes sharp.
"Let's establish a non-aggression pact," Carl said firmly. "The agreement lasts until Glory's stronghold falls."