"Yes, nice to meet you. Leo Plow. Just call me Xia."
"I'll call you Leo Young Master, then."
Chen Xia, with her eyes gently curved, spoke in a friendly manner.
"I didn't know you had a talent for summoning. What field are you interested in, Leo Young Master?"
"I'm aiming for spirit summoning."
"Then we'll see each other often."
Chen Xia smiled and showed her palm.
Swish-!
Small droplets gathered, and an undine, a lower water spirit, appeared.
"Leo Young Master, which spirit have you contracted with?"
"I haven't contracted with any yet."
Chen Xia nodded.
If it were a major, it would be different.
Among the students who chose a minor, there were quite a few who had only spiritual affinity and mana power without a contract.
Chen Xia thought Leo was one of those cases.
"If you need advice on summoning spirits later, just let me know. I'll help you."
She seems to enjoy helping others.
"Thanks."
"Ahem. How old are you, Leo Young Master?"
"Fifteen."
"Then I'm the older one. I'm seventeen."
'Seventeen?'
Leo looked at Chen Xia with a strange expression.
The admission age for Lumern is from 14 to 17, so it wasn't unusual.
However, Chen Xia was small in stature and had a very youthful face.
'If she said she was the same age as Chelsea, I would believe her, but two years older?'
"Leo Young Master, are you thinking something impolite about me right now?"
Seeing Chen Xia's sleepy eyes, Leo replied with a sly smile.
"No."
"But you were, right?"
As Chen Xia continued to look at him suspiciously, the class time arrived.
Unlike the previous knight studies class, the summoning studies class had significantly fewer students.
However, even after the class had started, the professor showed no sign of arriving.
"It's about time for the professor to come, but he's not here."
As Chen Xia looked puzzled, Leo glanced up at the sky.
"He's here."
Hearing this, Chen Xia also looked up.
A giant wyvern was descending, flapping its wings.
Whoosh-!
Upon reaching the ground, the wyvern landed with a flap of its wings.
"Wow! A Black Wyvern!"
"It's a high-level summon!"
The students cheered at the appearance of the rare summon, which they might not see in their entire lives.
A person descended from the Black Wyvern.
The female professor, who appeared to be around 170 cm tall, had her long gray hair tied up loosely, giving her a wild look.
Her tight leather outfit accentuated her curvaceous figure, and she had a leather whip attached to her waist.
"Hello, first-year chicks! My name is Yura Marrin! I'll be your summoning studies professor for the next year!"
"It's an honor to meet you, Professor Yura!"
The students greeted her in unison.
Yura Professor crossed her arms and nodded at their response.
As her ample chest jiggled, a few male students blushed.
"Where are all the assistant professors and teaching assistants!"
At Yura Professor's shout, an assistant professor hurried over.
"Professor, we're ready."
"Why are you so late! Assistant Professor!"
"Because you suddenly changed the class schedule, Professor!"
"Don't whine! My class schedule has been unpredictable for a while! You should always be prepared!"
"Ah! That's such a stretch!"
Assistant Professor Carlo made a pained face.
'She's so unreasonable.'
The students, including Leo, thought the same.
Can we really learn anything properly from such a professor?
Of course, a few male students were too busy staring at Professor Yura to care.
"Anyway, you're ready, right?"
"Yes."
"Good, kids. Being here means you all have talent as summoners, right?"
Professor Yura's expression turned serious.
"If there's anyone who thinks they have a little talent in summoning and chose this as a minor, I have some advice for you."
Her eyes glinted dangerously.
"Leave now."
No one moved.
The students who had passed the entrance exam wouldn't be scared off by just this.
"There's no one, right? Then I'll take that as you're all prepared. Let's move."
Chen Xia raised her hand.
"Where are we moving to?"
"Where else?"
Yura Professor smiled and pointed to one side.
There, the teaching assistants were leading a group of griffins.
"It's the practical training site."
***
The students who climbed onto the griffins in pairs cheered.
Flying summons were rare.
Since they were so difficult to summon, most students aspiring to study summoning had never ridden a griffin before.
"I'm glad I came to Lumern!"
"Will I soon be able to contract with such a summon?"
The students were filled with excitement.
"Hey! Switch now! I'll take control!"
"Aah! Just a little longer!"
After 10 minutes, the first-year students began arguing over who would hold the reins.
"This is quite fun."
Chen Xia, holding the reins, spoke with an excited tone.
"Be careful."
"Huh?"
"Griffins are proud creatures. If you try to control them with force, they'll become even more unruly."
Leo grabbed Chen Xia's stomach with his right arm and pulled her closer.
"Ah? Leo Young Master? What are you doing so boldly...!"
"Griffins have strong pride. If you try to overpower them, they'll become more unruly."
Leo gently pulled the reins with his left hand.
The griffin, which had been struggling and pulling the reins, paused at the familiar touch.
Then it began to calm down.
'This one is well-trained, so it's easy to handle.'
For a first-time rider, it was difficult, but for someone familiar, there was no easier flying summon to handle.
Chen Xia looked at Leo with a surprised expression.
"Leo Young Master, have you handled a griffin before?"
"No. This is my first time in this life."
At this, Chen Xia turned her head to look at Leo's face.
Leo looked back at her with a puzzled expression.
"It seems to be true."
Chen Xia turned her gaze back to the front and tilted her head.
"But how can you handle a griffin so well? Do you have any special techniques?"
"I studied mainly from the textbook."
"Hmm! Indeed, you have the skills to provoke someone like that at the opening ceremony."
Chen Xia laughed, seemingly impressed.
Leo, ignoring her, pulled Chen Xia closer.
"I'm going to increase the speed. Don't fall off and stay close."
"Isn't that a bit too forward for an older lady?"
"Older lady? Ah, sorry."
Chen Xia, who had her eyes half-closed, pinched the back of Leo's hand that was around her stomach.
But realizing Leo had no ulterior motives, she leaned back against his chest comfortably.
Once they were ready, Leo shouted.
"Let's go!"
As Leo pulled the reins, the griffin let out a roar and soared high into the sky.
"Oh-!"
Chen Xia exclaimed in admiration at the griffin's clearly different movements compared to when she was holding the reins.
"Huh?"
Professor Yura's eyes also lit up.
"Who is this student who can handle a griffin so skillfully?"
"Let's see, it's Leo Plow."
"Leo Plow? Isn't he the student representative? I heard he's aiming for knight studies."
"He actually won against the top student from the central region, Duren Moira, in the previous class."
"Can someone who can handle a griffin like that really be a knight studies major? Does he have a personal griffin?"
"No, he's from a noble family in a small kingdom, but not one that can own a griffin."
Carlo, looking at the student roster, answered diligently.
"Then... it must be talent."
Professor Yura's eyes sparkled as she licked her lips.
"Someone with that level of skill could major in summoning studies instead of knight studies, right?"
"Professor, I understand your point, but the knight studies professors won't let him go, right?"
"What can they do if they don't let him go? There are plenty of students with knight talent, but not in summoning. Besides, he hasn't chosen his major yet, right?"
Professor Yura smiled aggressively.
Seeing this, Carlo looked worried.
'Ah, I hope nothing goes wrong.'
The place they arrived at on the griffin was a large island in the middle of Lake Lumernia.
The lake was so vast that it could be mistaken for the sea, and it had several such islands.
Therefore, it was often used as a practical training site.
"Whoa."
Chen Xia nimbly dismounted the griffin.
As Leo dismounted, the griffin rubbed its beak against his cheek.
Leo, about to give it some fruit from a tree, paused.
A large gray feather on the branch caught his eye.
'This is...?'
"Leo Young Master, is something wrong?"
"It's nothing."
Leo tucked the feather into his pocket.
Meanwhile, the other students also arrived on the island.
"Whoa!"
"It's, it's so tiring."
"I feel like I'm going to throw up... Ugh!"
Most students were exhausted just from riding the griffin.
Of course, there were some who were fine.
The most notable was Warden Taiden, the top student from the southern exam.
Another student, a girl with a slightly arrogant expression, was also fine.
She was tidying her nails and looking at the other students with disdain.
These two students handled the griffin as skillfully as Leo.
'Warden, Eliza. These two are definitely the aces of this year's first-year summoning studies!'
Yura's eyes sparkled as she looked at the two students.
"There are a few students with excellent taming skills. How long are you going to lie there! Everyone, gather up!"
As Professor Yura, who was smiling satisfactorily, shouted, the students hurriedly gathered.