A week passed in the blink of an eye, and the day of the school trip finally arrived.
In front of the Lumeren teleportation gate, the first-year students gathered by class.
"It's quite warm today."
"Going to a cold place in this heat, isn't this like a summer retreat in a way?"
Today marked the start of the summer uniform season, so all the students were wearing their summer uniforms.
Despite taking off their spring and autumn uniforms and putting on their summer ones, the unusually hot weather had Nella fanning herself while muttering, to which Iliana replied cheerfully.
As Class 5 was chatting, Celia approached from Class 1.
"Leo, why is your class going to Elsabekia? It's the coldest country."
Wearing a white short-sleeved blouse, a red ribbon tie, and a red and black checkered school uniform with knee-high socks, Celia looked perfectly put together despite the hot weather.
Lumeren had a policy that as long as the students met the basic requirements of the school uniform, they were free to style it as they wished.
Given that the students were teenagers who liked to express themselves, they often customized their uniforms in unique ways.
For example, a boy with jewels dangling from his uniform, a student who had modified their uniform to store weapons, or even a student who had transformed their uniform into a wizard's robe.
As a result, it was quite rare to see a student like Celia, who wore her uniform so neatly.
As a member of a hero's family, maintaining a proper appearance was Celia's motto.
"Your class is going to the warmest place you can go."
"Of course. I hate the cold."
Celia replied bluntly to Leo's question.
"Well, it would have been different if you could have gone to Seilun."
Watching Celia laugh happily, Karl asked,
"But Celia, you look incredibly happy?"
"Duran said he wanted to go to a cold place, so I challenged him to a competition to see where we would go."
Celia brushed her hair back with a smug look.
"As you can see, I won."
"A competition between the top and second student in the Knight's Department... That's a huge match! Why didn't I know about it? What did you compete in?"
"Rock-paper-scissors."
"......"
"The look on that guy's face when he threw a fist! Hohoho!"
"Celia, deciding the class trip destination by rock-paper-scissors isn't something to be proud of. Can you please be quiet?"
Chloe scolded her, looking embarrassed.
"You'll encounter more humans in a warm place. Be careful."
"I actually want to meet those kinds of people."
Celia grinned at Leo's words.
Humans are not allowed to enter the elf territory.
Most humans found in the elf territory are illegal border crossers.
In reality, most humans who invaded the elf territory were thieves.
"We need to show those who tarnish the honor of their race what for."
"Monsters and humans are different."
"I know. Do I look like someone who would let my guard down?"
Celia smiled, and Leo shook his head.
"That's not what I meant. Don't ignore the evil in humans."
Celia's eyes widened.
"I'm saying this because I'm worried about you."
"Hey, I don't need your worry! And why are you calling me 'big brother'! I'm the older sister!"
Celia, flustered, pouted.
"Be careful too! The Fairy Forest is a monster-infested area!"
Nodding at Celia's words, Leo turned to Chloe.
"Chloe, be careful too."
"Sure. See you in ten days, Leo. Karl."
Chloe waved.
After parting ways with them, Chen Xia came over to say goodbye.
"Master Leo, see you in ten days."
"Be careful on your trip."
"Yes."
While they were having a brief conversation, the homeroom teachers appeared.
"Leo, Nella, check the headcount."
"Everyone, gather here."
At Halind's command, Leo took charge of Class 5.
Since Halind was their homeroom teacher, the Class 5 students quickly lined up in rows.
"Everyone is here."
"Good."
Standing in front of Class 5, Halind said in his usual cool tone,
"The school trip is also part of the curriculum. I hope no one is going with a light heart."
"Yes!"
Seeing the orderly response from Class 5, Halind nodded.
The classes boarded the teleportation gate one by one, starting with Class 1.
"Destination, Elsabekia, gate connected."
"Magic will activate in 5 seconds."
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Teleport."
Whoosh!
The view changed with a bright light.
Whoosh!
What they saw was a snowstorm.
"Ah!"
"What is this!"
"It's so cold!"
The Class 5 students screamed and hurriedly took out their winter coats.
"I thought we'd at least be inside a building!"
Karl exclaimed.
The teleportation gate where Class 5 arrived was outdoors.
"Why are you all making such a fuss?"
Leo, standing calmly in the snowstorm without batting an eye, asked Chelsea, who sniffed.
"Leo, aren't you cold?"
"I am."
"But why are you standing there like it's nothing?"
"It's embarrassing to make a fuss."
"Wow, impressive."
Chelsea was impressed.
"Sometimes I feel that while the class president looks like a pretty boy, he has a manly side."
"Right! Especially when his eyes become sharp, he looks really scary."
"But that's also when he looks the coolest, isn't it?"
The girls whispered to each other.
"Maybe we should have tried to look serious like Leo?"
"Even if we did, we'd get the same response."
"Right, we'd just be pretending."
The boys looked dejected.
"Stop chatting and line up."
At Halind's command, Class 5 lined up.
Leo slowly put on his winter coat.
"As expected, we're in the capital of Elsabekia, Verkia. Is there anyone who can tell me about Verkia's history?"
A few students raised their hands.
Halind nodded at Chelsea, who raised her hand first.
"Verkia is named after one of Luna's disciples, the Fairy Knight Verkia Ersar! And the Ersar family, descendants of Verkia, leads the Elsabekia Parliament!"
"Good. Five points."
Chelsea clenched her fist.
"As Chelsea Roulin explained, the elf nation is a republic without a monarch, unlike ours. The families that make up this republic are all noble families."
While listening to Halind's brief lesson, Leo thought,
'That arrogant brat is now called a Fairy Knight.'
Before the Age of Catastrophe, the elves were ruled by a single king.
The Fairy Knights were the guardian knights who served close to the elf king.
They are now lost to history.
The last Fairy Knight in history was Verkia.
Verkia.
One of the great heroes who led the elves' revival after the Age of Catastrophe.
While known to the public as Luna's disciple, Verkia was actually a joint disciple of Luna, Aron, and Kyle.
'He used to act so arrogantly towards me while fawning over Luna and Aron.'
Just as he was thinking about his not-so-cute former disciple,
Crunch, crunch.
Footsteps were heard through the snowstorm.
"I've been waiting for you, Professor Halind."
An elf with light silver hair appeared.
"Who is that? He's incredibly handsome."
Iliana muttered in a girl's voice, and Taid made a choking gesture.
Of course, he ended up rolling on the ground after getting a punch in the ribs from Iliana.
Seeing this, Leo said,
"Age doesn't matter? He looks at least 70."
Iliana giggled.
"Oh? Is the class president jealous? How can that face be 70?"
The other students also looked in agreement.
"Why would I be jealous? And you know elves live long and don't age much."
Elves have a similar childhood to humans, but their youth and middle age are much longer.
Their lifespan is generally 50 to 100 years longer than the average human, and they maintain a middle-aged appearance even when old.
So it wasn't strange for the man to be over 70.
However, humans usually find it hard to guess an elf's age by appearance.
"Be respectful! Do you know who this is and speak so casually?"
The accompanying elves shouted at Leo in angry voices.
Hearing this, the silver-haired elf smiled.
"Such lively students. The students Professor Halind brings are always well-disciplined."
"They're still first-years, so they're not mature yet."
"Hmm. First-years are always lively, and it's a good sight. Don't be rude to the guests."
"Sorry!"
The elves apologized in unison.
Halind stood the silver-haired elf in front of the students.
"This is Rune Ersar, the Speaker of the Elsabekia Parliament."
"Wow!"
"The Speaker?"
The appearance of the highest-ranking person in Elsabekia surprised the Class 5 students.
"Attention."
At Nella's command, the students stood at attention.
"Greet Speaker Rune."
"Hello! Speaker."
"Polite children. It's nice to see you. Seeing potential heroes like you makes me feel good. Do you have any questions?"
Seeing Rune laugh, Iliana hesitantly raised her hand.