Class 5B ended up renting an entire inn in Berquia for their accommodation.
Most of the students in the class showed a very perplexed reaction upon arriving at the inn.
"Um, are we really going to sleep here?"
"There won't be any mice or anything, right?"
"What about laundry? Cleaning?"
"Do we have to prepare our own meals?"
The students from noble families all showed a bewildered reaction.
In contrast, the commoner students like Kal were very calm.
Kal even teased his friends.
"Heh. Don't you all look like incredibly spoiled noble ladies right now?"
"What did you say?"
"Kal, you're being so arrogant!"
Chelsea and Iliana reacted with anger.
Kal screamed as he was hit by the two of them.
However, the resistance from the students from noble families did not easily subside.
Until now, in Lumern, even though the students were given rigorous training and classes, their living conditions were always well-provided for.
In fact, in the Lumern dormitories, there were servants who helped with laundry and cleaning, creating an environment where students could focus solely on their studies.
But things were different now.
They had been looking forward to a field trip, but ended up in an accommodation fit for commoners.
Worse still, they had to take care of everything themselves.
"Couldn't we have gotten a better place to stay?"
Even Nell, the oldest and most mature student in the class, showed a troubled reaction.
"Seeing your reaction, I think it was a good idea to choose this place."
"Huh?"
"Come on, everyone, stop complaining. This is a good experience. Comfortable beds, laundry done for you, meals prepared for you—these conveniences aren't always available. As candidates for heroes, you need to be able to handle any situation."
At Leo's words, jeers erupted from various directions.
"Flunky! Professor's flunky!"
"Top student, but only to a certain extent!"
"I know Professor Halind gave you the authority to choose the accommodation."
"Let's chip in our money and move to a different place."
Leo, who had been listening to the complaints, said:
"Originally, Professor Halind was planning to have us sleep in tents outside."
Everyone froze at this.
This was the first time Nell, the vice-class president, had heard this, so she looked surprised.
"I managed to persuade him to let us stay here instead."
The entire class turned pale.
The thought of being made to sleep in tents in this blizzard!
'Sure enough, the most ruthless professor in Lumern!'
"If you don't like it, I'll go tell him we can't stay here."
"Hey! Stop him! Hold him back!"
"Ahh! Stop! Class president!"
Terrified, Taid and Iliana hung onto Leo's arms.
In the end, the students decided to stay at the inn for the next ten days.
"And one more thing. Professor Halind and Vice-Professor Senna won't be staying here. They've left it entirely up to us, but they did set some boundaries."
Leo smiled.
"They warned us that if anyone is caught violating the rules, like a boy and girl staying in the same room, they'll make an example of them."
"Tch! No fun."
Iliana grumbled.
"You have free time until tomorrow morning. Enjoy exploring the city."
At Leo's words, everyone went to their respective rooms.
Initially, there were complaints, but the thought that they were on their own gradually lifted the mood.
"Let's tidy up our room, change into our uniforms, and go shopping!"
"There seems to be a hot spring. I want to go there first."
"I'm going to the weapon shop!"
Seeing the lively atmosphere of his friends, typical of teenagers, Leo muttered to himself.
"Kids adapt quickly."
"Leo, did you know you sometimes sound like an uncle?"
"I know. I'm going to report to Professor Halind."
"Should I come too?"
"No, you stay here and check for any unusual incidents."
"Okay."
Halind and Senna were staying at the Ersar family's mansion, not far from the inn.
As Leo left the inn, he saw a high-end hotel across the street.
There was a busy atmosphere around the hotel.
The owner, who seemed to be the hotel manager, was shaking his head at the elves trying to use the hotel.
'They must be receiving a group of guests there too.'
Leo quickly lost interest and headed to the Ersar family's mansion.
Upon arriving at the mansion, Leo reported the situation to Halind, who was staying in a guest room.
"Everyone has been assigned rooms and is enjoying their free time."
"There were complaints about the accommodation, right?"
"Everyone was quiet when they heard Professor Halind was going to make us sleep in tents."
Halind sighed deeply.
"Leo Flaubert."
"Yes, Professor."
"I know you're excellent as a class president."
"Thank you."
"But why did you have to blame me for your own plan?"
"Isn't it better for the villain to be the scary one?"
Leo's confident response made Halind laugh.
After working at Lumern for a long time, this was the first time he had encountered a student like Leo.
To think that a fourth or fifth-year student would use him like this.
'Is he fearless, or just bold?'
"Alright. You should rest too. It would be funny if you couldn't keep up with the schedule you made."
"Yes."
Leo bowed.
As he was about to leave the room, an elf approached him.
"Mr. Leo Flaubert."
"Yes?"
The neatly dressed elf woman bowed respectfully.
"The head of the family wishes to see Mr. Leo Flaubert."
"Do you mean Run Ersar?"
"Yes."
Leo, though puzzled, followed the elf woman.
A short while later, they arrived at the central office of the mansion. The elf woman knocked politely.
"Come in."
As the door opened, the elf woman bowed again.
Leo entered the room and saw Run, who was busy with his work.
"Welcome, Leo. I'm sorry to call you, but I'm busy right now. Can you wait a moment? If you're bored, you can look around the office."
Run, who was continuously writing with a quill, nodded.
"That's fine. I'll look around while you work."
Leo began to explore the spacious office.
The Ersar family was one of the oldest and most prestigious elf families.
As such, many valuable artifacts were displayed on the walls.
Leo slowly admired the items made by elf and dwarf craftsmen, but his gaze stopped at an old, worn dagger.
It was an unusual dagger.
The blade was long enough to be called a dagger, but the handle was as long as a longsword.
The ratio of the blade to the handle was almost 1:1.
"Erquint?"
Run, who was busy with his work, also looked up.
"How do you know about Erquint? The history of that item is only passed down to the heads of the Ersar family."
"I read a book in the Great Library of Lumern about legendary weapons that have disappeared. I saw it there, but I never imagined it actually existed."
Leo quickly defended himself.
Erquint was a famous sword made by Dwen using the rare luminous stone, which contained the power of starlight.
Originally, it was given to Luna as a protective weapon in case of a battle, but Luna gave it to her disciple, Berquia.
And just before Kyle and his companions set out on their final expedition,
it was lost in the final battle with Tartarus.
It was certainly a legendary sword, but it was usually unknown whether it even existed.
'It's not the real one.'
The faint star mana it emitted was different from the real thing.
It felt like an empty shell.
"Is there such a book? Well, Lumern is a hero academy. This was a reward our ancestor received for conquering the Hero's World. Since it was used by Berquia, we keep it as a precious item."
'So that's why it feels like an empty shell.'
Artifacts obtained from the Hero's World can only be used by the conqueror.
While Leo was nodding, Run finished his work and offered him a seat on the guest sofa.
Leo sat down, and Run, making tea, said:
"I heard about you from Halind. You're in the All-Class, right?"
"Yes."
"And you're the top student in the first year at Lumern?"
"That's correct."
"Hmm."
Run nodded.
Then he put on a serious expression.
"I know it's impolite to ask for a favor on our first meeting, but..."
"What kind of favor?"
"Would you meet my granddaughter?"
Leo's eyes widened in surprise.
"What do you mean?"
"I want you to give her a shock."
Run sighed deeply.
"My granddaughter is a first-year student at Seiron. To say this is boasting, but... she is a talented girl who entered Seiron with excellent grades."
Leo nodded.
"But as soon as she entered, she hit a wall."
"A wall?"
"Yes. She knew she was a talented girl and was always the best among her peers."
The same goes for most students who enter Lumern.
"But the world is vast. As soon as she entered Seiron, she met students with better grades than her."
"Oh."
Leo immediately understood.
"She is a diligent girl, despite some dark sides, and her grades improved quickly. But there was one person she couldn't surpass. After that, she completely lost her motivation to study at Seiron."
"I understand the story. But how can I meet your granddaughter at Seiron?"
"If she were at Seiron, I wouldn't ask you."
Run covered his face with his hands.
"Right now, she's back home in the middle of the semester