LHAHS Chapter 402
The oasis city of Wargella in Aleham.
At the center of Wargella, a vast oasis stretched out, resembling a massive beach resort. The oasis sands served as one of Wargella's main tourist attractions.
There, Lumene and Azonia students were playing in the water.
"They're all so carefree," Celia muttered, brushing back her hair as she arrived at the oasis sands.
As a diligent top student, she wasn't entirely pleased with the sight of Lumene's first- and second-years splashing around.
Standing behind her were her mentees, Aina and Martina.
"But isn't this nice, Lady Celia? We've wrapped up our field mission, after all," Martina said.
At this point, the Lumene students had nearly completed their field training. The suspicions that Aleham had been hiding Hero Dungeons turned out to be true.
As feared, the concealed Hero Dungeons had triggered a massive anomaly that nearly led to the destruction of Dovela.
Fortunately, thanks to the students of Lumene and Azonia, the first wave of invasion was dealt with without major casualties.
Though second and third waves followed, by then, senior students from Lumene and Azonia had arrived as reinforcements.
Afterward, Aleham was engulfed in an international crisis. Not only had they hidden multiple Hero Dungeons, but evidence also emerged of their collusion with Tartaros.
With the undeniable proof provided by the emergence of Hero Hunters, Aleham had no way to deny the allegations.
Nations and races across the world condemned Aleham. The political landscape was in turmoil. International relations were often entangled with complex interests, but one thing was universally unacceptable—collaborating with Tartaros.
Aleham now faced the possibility of being quietly erased from history.
"The issue of Aleham's punishment will be discussed at an upcoming world summit hosted by Lumene, right?"
"Yeah," Celia nodded.
To deal with the rampaging Hero Dungeons, professional dungeon raiders from Lumene, Seiren, Azonia, and Damien had been dispatched.
"I wanted to finish the job with our own strength," Celia muttered, a trace of frustration on her face.
"But we still helped a lot of people in Aleham," Martina pointed out.
While the dungeon raiders were active, the first- and second-year students from Lumene focused on aiding those in need.
With Aleham's king and key figures arrested for their ties to Tartaros and the concealment of Hero Dungeons, the royal authority had collapsed.
Under normal circumstances, interfering in a country's internal affairs would be considered political overreach. But with Aleham's monarchy in ruins, there were no such restrictions.
"You're right. A hero is someone who leads the world toward righteousness. Helping those in need is just as important," Celia sighed.
"Exactly. Everyone worked hard, so Young Master Leo used his authority as student council president to grant us two days of vacation," Martina added.
Leo's effots to secure a vacation was the main reason the Lumene students could now relax without worry.
"Even so, as Lumene students, they should at least maintain some dignity," Celia murmured disapprovingly as she watched her fellow students enjoy themselves in swimwear.
At that moment, Nella approached. "Celia, you're here?"
"Senior Nella, hello!" Martina greeted cheerfully, while Aina mumbled a quiet greeting.
"Nella, you too?" Celia pressed her temples.
Nella, also dressed for the occasion, shrugged. "It's summer, after all. And after everything we've been through, what's wrong with having some fun before heading back to school?"
"Yeah, yeah. If you're just here to kill the mood, why don't you head back to the dorm?" Chelsea appeared from behind Nella, speaking bluntly.
"I'm not against having fun. I'm saying, as second-years, we should set an example," Celia replied. "Then again, I suppose it makes sense that you'd fit in better with the first-years, Chelsea."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Chelsea frowned.
"You're still just a kid."
"We're only a year apart, you know?"
Celia smirked, brushing her hair back as she looked down at Chelsea. Chelsea, already small for her age, did look noticeably younger than most of her peers.
Watching Celia pose with an elegant expression, Chelsea narrowed her eyes. Then, without warning, she aimed the toy water gun in her hand at Celia's face.
Squirt—!
Water sprayed directly onto Celia's face.
"Hoo…" Celia took a deep breath. Then, she lunged at Chelsea with her eyes wide open.
"You little—!"
Chelsea turned and ran without hesitation.
"You think you can get away?!"
"What kind of idiot fights a knight major in hand-to-hand combat?" Chelsea looked back, tugged down her lower eyelid with her index finger, and stuck out her tongue.
Nella laughed. "No special abilities allowed on the oasis sands!" she called out.
Then, turning to Aina and Martina, she chuckled. "Those two sure seem close, don't they?"
"Um… do they?" Martina replied with an awkward smile.
Meanwhile, Carl had set up a stall, busy selling goods.
"Step right up! The hottest items even top second-year students can't get enough of! Water gun staffs! Water bombs! And to cool off in this scorching oasis, delicious ice cream and cold drinks!"
His business was booming. With summer approaching, the students were eager for water activities. And when Chelsea, Eliana, Nella, and Tade started playing with the promotional toys Carl had given them, demand for his products skyrocketed.
On top of that, cold drinks and ice cream were the perfect way to beat the desert heat. It was a guaranteed success.
"Senior! One water gun staff, please!"
"Me too!"
"Here you go!" Carl handed out the toy water guns with a bright smile. As he watched the money pile up, his grin grew even wider. "Juen! We're going to be rich!"
Juen, however, looked less than thrilled. "Aren't you going to go have fun, Carl?"
"I am having fun."
"Everyone else is playing. Doesn't it feel kind of depressing to be working?"
"It does. But when I see the sales figures, that depression disappears instantly!"
Seeing Carl's genuine joy, Juen sighed. "By the way, aren't these water gun toys made using a patented magic formula from the Southern Magic Tower?"
"Yeah! I'm grateful for that!"
"Using that to make cheap toys and hitting the jackpot… I have to admit, your business sense is impressive."
"Right?"
"Just remember, you owe 80% of the profits as royalties to the Southern Magic Tower."
Crack—
Carl's face stiffened. His smile vanished as he clung to Juen's leg. "Please, spare me! I'll go bankrupt at 80%! Have mercy!"
"L-Let go!" Juen struggled, looking thoroughly flustered.
Meanwhile, under a parasol, Eliza scoffed, lounging with sunglasses on. "Tch. Playing with toys like that, how ridiculous."
Eliana passed by. "They're actually pretty fun."
"Hmph. What's so fun about those cheap, childish toys?"
"Here, watch."
Squirt—
Eliana adjusted the water pressure on her water gun and sprayed Eliza's face.
Silently, Eliza reached for a towel and wiped her face. Then, picking up her whip, she said, "If you were trying to piss me off, congratulations. Should I leave a nice whip mark on that fair skin of yours?"
"Eep?!" Eliana backed away.
Just then, Chen Xia approached and gently intervened. "No violence."
Clicking her tongue, Eliza reluctantly relented—then promptly snatched the water gun from Chen Xia's hands and sprayed Eliana's face in retaliation.
Splutter! Cough!
Eliana, drenched, gasped and flailed.
Eliza scoffed, handing the water gun back. And then…
Boom!
The sandy beach was soon engulfed in chaos.
At the center of the beach, Leo sat on a sunbed under the shade of a parasol, gazing toward the oasis. Beside him, Chloe was also seated on a sunbed, reading a book.
Despite the relaxed vacation atmosphere, her eyes occasionally flickered toward Leo.
This spot was one of the quieter areas of the oasis sands.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the oasis, bubbles continued to rise to the surface.
Blub-blub-blub—
"Phwah—!"
Aru suddenly burst out of the water.
Chloe, who had been stealing glances at Leo, quickly turned her gaze back to her book.
Aru frantically crawled toward the shore, shaking off the water clinging to her fur, panting heavily. "Black Rabbit, I'm exhausted! I quit!"
Her ears drooped as she whimpered, but Leo simply stood up and stepped toward her, his feet sinking slightly into the sand.
"You were the one who wanted to train your Howling."
Aru had awakened a new ability during the last battle. Her Howling could now trigger the beastman transformation in others.
Even Leo had never seen such an ability before.
That kind of ability was exactly what Aaron had always wished for.
Aaron had hoped his beastman transformation could be passed down to others. If it had, more of his kin might have survived on the battlefield.
But in the end, Aaron couldn't accomplish it. Not just Aaron—no other beastman had ever fully inherited his ability.
It wasn't until 5,000 years after Aaron's death that a beastman with the same power had appeared.
Tartaros did manage to extract Aaron's Hero Record fragments to grant transformation abilities, but… that transformation isn't possible without a fake Brave, so it's a different case.
Besides, based on reports from those who fought them, even that power was incomplete.
Regardless, Aru had unintentionally inherited the very ability Aaron had longed for.
At first, she was thrilled. But when she realized she couldn't control it properly, she turned to Leo for help.
And the first thing Leo did… was throw her into the water.
The first reason was that her Howling would be a nuisance to those nearby. The second was that learning to control her breathing underwater would help with Howling.
But Aru, a cat beastman, despised water.
Of course, Leo wasn't the type to care about that.
"I hate water! I hate it!"
"Too bad. Get back in."
At Leo's calm command, Aru's eyes darted around.
At this rate…!
She decided to flee.
Grab—!
Of course, Leo caught her tail, and she face-planted into the sand.
"Gyahhh!" Aru flailed desperately.
Leo sighed, crouching down in front of her. "Aru, you've stepped into a realm even the Brave Hero couldn't reach."
Aru froze and looked up at Leo.
"As the Brave Hero's successor, you've accomplished something even he couldn't."
"Ugh—!" Aru clenched her fists tightly.
"And yet you're running away?"
"No way!"
"Aaron would be disappointed if he saw you like this. Are you okay with that?"
"Absolutely not!"
Leo smiled gently and reached out, ruffling Aru's white hair. She instinctively narrowed her eyes like a pleased cat.
After pulling his hand away, Leo grabbed Aru under her arms and lifted her up. Her ears perked up, and she stared at Leo with round feline eyes.
Seeing her expression, Leo smirked. "Then, Aru."
"Yeah?"
"Get back in."
Whoosh—!
"Hey! You damn Black Rabbit! You're the worst—!"
Sploosh—!
Without hesitation, Leo tossed Aru back into the water.
Then, arms crossed, he watched as she floundered.
Beside him, Chloe let out a sigh. "Now I see why Celia and Chelsea complain so much about your training methods."