LHAHS Chapter 422
[Students! And honored guests who have come to visit Lumene! Welcome! I am Runeba Tess, the commentator for this tournament!]
Runeba greeted everyone in a cheerful voice.
[Today, we have a special guest. The professor in charge of the second-year magic department! Professor Len!]
[Greetings, I am Len Hors.]
Len introduced himself in a refined manner.
[Professor, what are your thoughts on this tournament?]
[I've been watching with great interest. This year's freshmen have followed a different academic schedule than before. Every student took the first-semester final exams, and thanks to the mentor system, they received guidance from their second-year seniors. Seeing them grow well under this new system has been incredibly rewarding. I find the system introduced by our new headmaster, Professor Rina, to be very appealing.]
[Indeed. That is why many people are paying attention to Lumene's new academic structure. But, Professor Len, how do you feel about the fact that not a single magic department student made it to the semifinals?]
Runeba, determined to make the commentary entertaining, deliberately brought up a highly sensitive issue for Len. And the moment she finished speaking, screams erupted from the magic department's seating area.
Harrid's eyes twitched.
[Moreover, as a professor of the magic department, it's a bit surprising that you volunteered to commentate on a duel between students from the knight department…]
[Who said there isn't a single magic department student in the semifinals?]
[…Pardon?]
[And what do you mean by "a duel between knight department students"?]
[Uh, well, I mean…]
Len spoke in a chilling voice, staring directly at Runeba. Runeba, locking eyes with him, immediately realized she had touched on something she absolutely should not have.
[Luke Eldar is a dual-class student! He will officially transfer to the magic department starting next semester! And throughout the entire first semester, he received private tutoring from me… Beep…!]
[We apologize for the brief broadcasting error.]
Yura hurriedly cut off the sound with an amplification spell. It was not against Lumene's rules for a professor to provide personal lessons to a student. However, loudly announcing such a thing in a public setting could lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.
Thus, Len's rampage was swiftly interrupted by other professors rushing in. Ain clamped a hand over Len's mouth and dragged him away. As Len struggled and thrashed, Harrid gave Ain a signal with his chin, and without hesitation, Ain twisted Len's neck.
With that, Len immediately went limp.
Taking over the microphone in his place was Mel, the first-year magic department professor.
[I'm Mel! Nice to meet you all.]
She spoke with a bright smile, prompting cheers from the students.
Upon hearing Mel's voice, Aru's feline ears twitched. "Hey, doesn't that Lumene professor sound kind of like the Dragon Queen?"
"Now that you mention it…"
"Hmm. They do sound similar."
Lunia and Drianna tilted their heads in thought.
"It's probably just a coincidence."
"Yeah. It'd be weird if the Dragon Queen were working as a professor at Lumene."
Soon, they lost interest. After all, it wasn't something that would make sense under normal circumstances.
Meanwhile, Runeba continued her commentary, [Now then, let's introduce our contestants! Despite maintaining the lowest rank in the grade throughout the entire semester, he made a miraculous turnaround by advancing to the semifinals in the final practical exams! The protagonist of this dramatic reversal—Luke Eldar!]
"WAAAAAH!"
Thunderous cheers erupted. While the first- and second-years regarded Luke with complex expressions, the upperclassmen saw him as a rising star. Since Lumene was full of fiercely proud hero candidates, Luke's gentle, somewhat naive demeanor made him particularly popular among the older students.
Surrounded by the enthusiastic cheers of his seniors, Luke blushed slightly and gave an awkward smile. His unassuming demeanor only made the upperclassmen cheer even louder.
[Oh! Luke! Your popularity is incredible! Now then, let's introduce the next contestant! The most anticipated sword prodigy among this year's freshmen—Aina Beidna!]
As Aina stepped into the arena, cheers just as loud as Luke's, if not louder, erupted.
The previous year, before the Hero of the Beginning and the Nebula Pioneer reappeared, the aging Sword Saint had defended against the Queen of Monsters with his life. Had it not been for him, most of the students here might have lost their lives.
Remembering the Sword Saint's noble sacrifice, many had paid close attention to his great-granddaughter, Aina, ever since her enrollment.
Amidst the deafening cheers, Luke and Aina stood face to face at the center of the arena.
"You made it here," Aina said plainly.
"Yes, Aina." Luke took a deep breath. "I'll do my best so I won't be embarrassed in front of you."
"Luke Eldar."
"…Yes?" Luke blinked in surprise. This was the first time Aina had called his name directly.
"Why did you enroll in Lumene?"
The unexpected question left Luke briefly puzzled, but soon, he smiled and replied, "I've admired heroes ever since I was young. Heroes are incredible people. I just wanted to be like them."
Aina stared at him. There was no grand ambition behind his words, no elaborate reasoning behind his desire to help others. He had simply dreamed of it since childhood, and the done it because he felt it was the right thing to do.
Aina recalled how Luke had helped her during the entrance exam. Without hesitation, Luke had always helped others.
After her match against Juen, for the first time since enrolling at Lumene, she had looked around herself and realized something—All of her peers had their own goals.
They're fundamentally different from me.
Aina's gaze darkened.
Everyone carries an ideal as they pursue heroism.
Becoming a hero wasn't her goal. She had honed her sword and enrolled at Lumene solely to exact revenge on Tartaros.
While all of her classmates idolized Leo Plov and aspired to be like him, she had only seen him as a necessary figure.
Luke Eldar and I… No. It's not just Luke Eldar. I'm different from everyone else.
Throughout the entire first semester, Aina had never once pushed her limits. During the entrance exam and the mentor selection, she had given up as soon as she deemed it impossible. Even in her duel against Juen a few days ago, the moment she hit a wall, she had forfeited.
On the other hand, Juen had tried to surpass her limits to defeat her.
Luke Eldar is the same.
Aina knew what Luke had been like before enrollment. Back then, his skills couldn't even compare to hers, and she had thought of him as someone unfit for Lumene.
I was wrong. More than anyone else, that guy belongs in Lumene.
Having continuously surpassed his own limits, he now stood before her.
Senior Leo acknowledging him was only natural.
Until now, Aina hadn't been able to accept why Luke had been chosen as Leo's mentee instead of her. But now, she finally understood.
I… am not qualified to be a hero candidate.
At the referee's signal, the two students returned to their positions.
Luke drew his sword, watching Aina with tense eyes. Aina, however, simply stared at the ground in silence.
A coin was flipped into the air, marking the start of the duel.
Ting—!
The moment the coin hit the ground, Luke became a silver flash, charging straight at Aina.
"She looks deflated," Leo muttered as he watched Aina, then turned to Celia. "What's wrong with her?"
"How should I know?" Celia responded curtly.
"So Aina never came to see you."
"She never needed my help to begin with." Celia let out a short sigh. "Aina is someone who will grow stronger on her own."
"Even so, knowing how much you like taking care of others, I bet you helped her a lot."
"You're right. She always seemed a little unstable. As her mentor, I wanted to help her find her footing." Celia made a bitter expression. "But maybe I was just a lousy mentor because, in the end, I wasn't able to help her."
"Being too responsible can be a problem too."
"What?"
"You were a good mentor. Aina was just in a a more unstable state than you thought."
Leo had no idea why Aina sought his recognition, but he did know one thing—everything for her was merely a means to an end.
He had seen countless people like Aina, consumed by their desire for revenge against Tartaros.
That's not necessarily wrong. In a way, vengeance can serve as a powerful driving force.
However, pure hatred inevitably devoured the person who harbored it. That was why, even though Leo could have given Aina what she wanted, he deliberately chose not to. If he had chosen Aina as his mentee, she would have used that as fuel for her hatred.
If that had happened, it would've been impossible to stop her. What she needed wasn't an adult who would understand and comfort her, but a peer—a brother or sister figure who would try to understand her while constantly challenging her.
"You might not have realized it, but you were the one who kept Aina from straying or breaking down."
"Really?" Celia tilted her head, arms crossed.
"If she comes to you after this match, make sure to scold her properly."
"I was planning on it anyway. I won't feel satisfied unless I say something to her." Celia scoffed, brushing her hair back.
"By the way, Leo, how do you see this match playing out?"
"On pure ability, Aina has the advantage."
"Yeah. But in that mental state, it'll be hard for her to keep the upper hand against the current Luke."
"That won't be the case."
"Huh?"
"Aina is the type who can always bring out 100% of her skill, no matter the situation. Even if her mental state is in shambles."
"Then Luke has little chance of winning."
"That's right." Leo smiled.
Seeing his expression, Celia tilted her head. "You seem relaxed. Are you satisfied just seeing him make it this far?"
"Of course not." Leo shook his head. "Aina will be a great challenge for Luke. And maybe, just maybe… she'll break past her own limits as well."
"That'll just make it even harder for Luke to win."
"True. But he won't go down easily. Just as Luke will be a stimulus for Aina, Aina will be a stimulus for Luke as well."
Chaeng—!
Luke's sword, gleaming with silver aura, clashed against Aina's blade, enveloped in golden aura.
Kakak—!
The two blades locked in a contest of strength.
A moment later, a golden flash streaked through the air.
Chaezhezhezhezeng—!
But every golden strike was intercepted by Luke's silver blade.
Amazing.
Luke's eyes widened. This was his first time facing Aina in a fight.
In the knight department, students constantly engaged in mock battles within their respective years. But as the lowest-ranked student, Luke had never had the chance to cross swords with Aina. He had only been able to watch from a distance.
He had already known that, technically speaking, he was no match for her precise and refined swordsmanship. But now that he was experiencing it firsthand, it was on a whole different level.
I can't feel any emotion in her strikes.
Her sword was purely mechanical, cutting without emotion. That made it merciless and precise. Because there was no emotion, it was impossible to predict.
Aina is incredible! How can she fight like this?
Struggling to withstand her strikes, Luke stepped back.
As she watched him, Aina had her own thoughts.
A sword filled with emotion.
She could clearly sense Luke's feelings through his strikes. However, she had been taught to suppress her emotions when wielding a sword. That was a fundamental lesson for any knight.
Emotion clouded judgment, so a skilled knight reads their opponent's emotions to anticipate their attacks.
In that regard, Luke's swordsmanship was entirely transparent and full of openings. However…
I can feel too much emotion.
His attacks were so vividly clear that it was impossible to predict them.
How is that even possible?