The Legendary Hero is an Academy Honor Student

A guest arrived at the Plov family mansion on the evening ten days after the Fragment of Erebos had vanished.

“Everyone, eat up. I put in a little extra effort today.”

Reina smiled warmly as she served dinner to her son’s friends.

“Wow! Thank you!”

“This looks amazing!”

Chelsea and Eiran exclaimed as they looked at the feast spread out before them.

“Aunt, you’re an excellent cook.”

Celia said in admiration.

At Celia’s praise, Reina covered her mouth and laughed.

“Hohoho!”

Watching the scene, Carr muttered,

“I know, right? Most of the people here are hopeless at it.”

The girls’ eyes flashed dangerously.

Carr quickly slipped behind Leo.

“Mother, you only made the soup. The chef made everything else.”

“Making soup takes a lot of work too, you know.”

Reina replied shamelessly.

And so, a lively atmosphere filled the room.

Even though the training retreat was over, quite a few students were still spending their vacation at the Plov estate.

As if she enjoyed the lively mood, Reina treated her son’s friends with exceptional kindness as well.

“Shall we continue what we were talking about earlier?”

Abad, seated next to Chelsea, paused his meal, took a sip of water, and continued.

“The state of the world after the subjugation of the Fragment of Erebos.”

As Abad brought up the topic, Eliana poked at her salad with a fork and said,

“Wouldn’t Tartarus’s power shrink while ours rises sharply?”

“It’s true that the whole world is basically in a celebratory mood right now.”

Tide nodded in agreement with Eliana.

At that, Celia shook her head.

“I think a little differently.”

“What do you think?”

“Tartarus might launch a major offensive.”

Celia spoke with a serious expression.

“From Tartarus’s perspective, another Fragment of Erebos has been subjugated, just like 3,000 years ago. For them, that’s a catastrophic blow.”

“I see. So you’re saying there’s no telling what they might do now that they’ve been cornered?”

Chloe nodded as if she understood.

Listening to the conversation, Leo fell into thought.

‘Hell Kaiser isn’t the type to launch a reckless attack just because one Fragment of Erebos has disappeared.’

As Celia said, it was true that Tartarus had suffered a catastrophic blow.

But even so, given Hell Kaiser’s personality, with the Monster Queen subjugated and the Giant King unable to move, the odds of him making a rash move now that the balance of power had collapsed were low.

‘Of course, that doesn’t mean he’ll just sit still either.’

Leo let out a quiet sigh.

‘Whatever it is, he’ll make a move.’

Meanwhile, Reina listened to the students’ discussion with a gentle smile.

‘Excellent. While everyone else is swept up in celebration, they’re seriously discussing the future of the world.’

She thought they were truly worthy of being Hero Candidates.

“Leo, what do you think?”

Lunia, who had been part of the conversation, asked as if seeking Leo’s opinion.

“I think...”

Just as Leo was about to speak,

the dining hall door opened, and a maid approached Reina to whisper something in her ear.

At her words, Reina’s eyes widened, and she rose from her seat.

A moment later, a small commotion broke out outside the dining hall.

As all the students turned their heads in surprise,

the door opened, and several people walked in.

Celia’s and Chelsea’s eyes widened.

“Uncle Gis?”

“Rozes-nim? What brings you here?”

Gis Zerdinger and Rozes Lewellin had come to visit the Plov family.

At the reactions of the two girls, the other students also looked startled.

Gis Zerdinger and Rozes Lewellin.

Both were Lumene graduates.

Furthermore, they were renowned powerhouses of the Lordren Empire.

Though their names were not recorded in the Hero Record, they possessed power on par with Heroes, and their status and prestige within the Lordren Empire were such that calling them Heroes would not have been an exaggeration.

So it was only natural for the students to be shocked by the sudden appearance of such influential figures.

“I heard you went through quite an ordeal. To have overcome it... well done.”

Gis approached his nephew and niece, Leo and Celia, and patted them on the shoulders.

“What brings you here?”

“We came to deliver a personal letter from His Majesty.”

“His Majesty the Emperor?”

Celia, Chelsea, and Abad all looked startled.

The absolute pinnacle of power on the western continent.

A personal letter from the Emperor of Lordren?

“Rozes.”

At Gis’s words, Rozes nodded and stepped toward Leo.

“Leo Plov of the Zerdinger family, receive this letter from the Emperor.”

At those words, Leo stood before Rozes with a puzzled expression.

Just as the stern-faced Rozes was about to take out the luxurious case containing the letter from his Subspace, another commotion suddenly broke out outside.

“What’s going on now?”

Carr poked his head out through the door with a curious expression.

“Huk?!”

Then he let out a startled scream.

“What is it?”

When Chloe asked with a puzzled expression, Carr replied,

“The living room is packed with people from all kinds of races!”

“What?”

“And they’re all big shots!”

Carr was right.

Outside the dining hall, a crowd of influential figures whose faces often appeared in newspapers around the world had gathered.

“I think I have a rough idea of what’s going on.”

Reina crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.

As a Lumene graduate herself, Reina quickly grasped the situation.

“What’s going on, Aunt?”

“Everyone visiting our house right now is affiliated with Hero Guilds.”

“What? Why are Hero Guilds at the Plov estate?”

“To recruit Leo, I’d imagine.”

At those words, everyone’s eyes widened.

===

“What the hell are those Hero Guild bastards scheming?”

Inside Lumene’s principal’s office, Leena spoke in an irritated voice.

Hero Guilds.

Organizations led by Heroes whose names were recorded in the Hero Record, and to which those walking the path of a Hero belonged.

There were many Hero Guilds in the world.

And the forces backing them were diverse.

At times, a nation would take the lead in founding one to support its Heroes, while in other cases, prestigious Heroic Houses would form an alliance and establish one together.

Others were created by the graduates of Hero Academies.

The Hero Guilds connected to Hero Academies in particular had long and storied histories.

In the case of guilds affiliated with Hero Academies, all of their founders had been people directly taught by the Genesis Heroes.

Backed by a history spanning 3,000 years and their close ties to the Genesis Heroes, they wielded tremendous influence, and many people wished to join them.

But joining them was just as difficult.

“They’re graduates of this school, so they should know the rules better than anyone, shouldn’t they?”

“The Guild Alliance has apparently submitted a proposal to the board. In fact, several Hero Guilds have already started making their move.”

The news Harrid brought Leena was that the Hero Guilds intended to make recruitment offers to students.

Hero Guild members were dispatched to the front lines in the war against Tartarus.

The activities of Hero Guilds were excessively dangerous.

That was why students were forbidden from joining Hero Guilds.

But now, the Hero Guilds had proposed that the rule be lifted.

Leena saw right through the reason behind their actions.

“Is it to win over Leo Plov?”

The reason the Hero Guilds had gone so far as to propose changing Lumene’s school rules was to recruit Leo.

An All-Class, just like Kyle, the Hero of Beginning.

And on top of that, the youngest student council president in Lumene’s history, an unprecedented achievement.

That alone made him a talent any Hero Guild would covet.

‘But Leo Plov’s value has already gone far beyond that.’

Leena narrowed her eyes.

A boy of only sixteen.

An age overflowing with potential.

And yet he was already being evaluated as someone who might have surpassed Lumene’s strongest and possessed power comparable to that of a Hero.

And during the recent revival of the Fragment of Erebos, Leo had fought on the front lines alongside Arron the Brave and Dragon Lord Melina.

Most people focused on the feats of the resurrected Hero and the Silent Dragon, who had finally broken her silence, but the Hero Guilds were focused on Leo, who was still only a student.

“Because he proved he’s not just comparable to a Hero, but someone who surpasses most ordinary Heroes. What exactly is the deal with that student of yours, anyway?”

“It’s a stretch to even call him my student. I haven’t really taught him much.”

Harrid had been a teacher at Lumene for a long time and had guided many students, but Leo was the first student he had ever had so little to teach.

“His skill, personality, temperament, goals. It’s no exaggeration to say that guy was born to be a Hero.”

Leena nodded at Harrid’s words.

It was no surprise that the Hero Guilds were coveting him.

“Even so, there should be a limit.”

Leena frowned as she looked down at the documents.

The Hero Guilds’ goal was to recruit Leo.

And beyond that, it was to bring the golden generation, those evaluated as having brilliant futures, into their guilds as well.

“To think they see this as an opportunity when we don’t even know what kind of disaster may be about to fall on the world.”

Just as Leena was deeply wary of Tartarus’s movements, the Hero Guilds were also wary of Tartarus.

And among them were those who saw the current situation as an opportunity.

“The public is always going on and on about how Heroes are noble beings.”

Leena narrowed her eyes.

A Hero was a great being who could only be forged by overcoming trials.

And it was also true that they appeared noble, since they were acknowledged by the gods.

Indeed, noble Heroes did exist.

But...

“Where there is light, there is shadow.”

The gods had little interest in the character or ideology of those who accomplished great deeds.

All it took to have one’s name recorded in the Hero Record was to achieve something the world would hail as great.

“That’s why there are also many Heroes with eccentric personalities.”

Leena clicked her tongue at Harrid’s words.

“It’d be one thing if they were merely eccentrics. The real problem is the lunatics who never once doubt their own justice.”

Heroes were not as noble and great as the world imagined.

Among them were those who would carry out cruel acts without hesitation in the name of their own justice.

Those who would sacrifice the few for the many without batting an eye.

And there were countless Heroes who pursued their own ambitions.

Heroes were beings who led the world.

There were plenty who had become intoxicated by the fact that they had been chosen by the gods.

Leena rested her chin on her hand.

‘This is probably why Tartarus still hasn’t been subjugated after 5,000 years.’

After the Era of Calamity came to an end,

Tartarus’s power rapidly diminished.

Then the Age of Heroes began, and the power of Heroes grew dramatically stronger.

Of course, Tartarus still had the catastrophic Three Great Legion Commanders.

But even so, with Tartarus’s strength in decline, it should not have been strange for their power to continue weakening compared to the Era of Calamity.

It was a situation where it would have made sense for them to diminish further.

But despite countless large-scale wars over the past 5,000 years, Tartarus had only grown stronger.

The reason was simple.

‘Because they all want different things.’

Countless Heroes existed, and with them came countless different ideals and senses of justice.

So even when their goal was the same, the process was never smooth.

The world had spent far more time checking and restraining one another according to their own interests than it had cooperating.

By contrast, Tartarus moved toward only a single goal.

That was the greatest reason the current world situation had come to be.

And it was the same now.

They wanted Leo Plov and the outstanding Hero Candidates to realize their own respective justices.

‘And that justice is not necessarily the right one.’

“Leo Plov is no longer just a student.”

Leena sighed.

“He’s the center of this era.”

***

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