"Your name is Chen Xia, right?"
"That's right. Nice to meet you, Leo Plov. Just call me Xia."
"You can call me whatever feels comfortable."
"Then I'll call you Young Master Leo."
Chen Xia, with her gentle eyes, spoke in a friendly tone.
"I didn't expect you to have a knack for summoning. What's your area of focus, Young Master Leo?"
"I'm aiming to specialize in Spirit Summoning."
"Then we’ll be seeing each other often."
Chen Xia smiled brightly and opened her palm.
Whoosh—!
Tiny droplets gathered, forming a lower-tier water spirit, an Undine.
"Which spirit have you made a contract with, Young Master Leo?"
"I haven’t made one yet."
Chen Xia nodded.
It wasn’t uncommon. Among students who chose summoning as a minor, many didn’t have contracts but only possessed spiritual energy and affinity with spirits.
She assumed Leo was the same.
"If you ever need advice on summoning spirits, let me know. I’ll help."
She seemed like the type who enjoyed helping others.
"I’ll count on you."
"Ahem. By the way, how old are you, Young Master Leo?"
"Fifteen."
"Then I’m older. I’m seventeen."
"Seventeen?"
Leo glanced at Chen Xia with a peculiar look.
The admission age for Lumerne ranged from 14 to 17, so it wasn’t strange. But Chen Xia’s small build and youthful face made her look much younger.
"She looks like she could be the same age as Chelsea. And yet, she’s two years older?"
"Young Master Leo, you’re thinking something rude about me, aren’t you?"
As Chen Xia squinted at him, Leo replied playfully.
"No."
"I think you are."
While Chen Xia kept her suspicious gaze, class began.
Unlike the Knight Studies class earlier, the Summoning class had far fewer students.
However, even after a long while, the professor didn’t show up.
"The professor should be here by now, but they’re not," Chen Xia said, puzzled.
Leo looked up at the sky.
"They’re here."
At his words, Chen Xia also looked up.
A massive wyvern flapped its wings as it descended.
Whoosh—!
The wyvern landed on the ground with a strong gust of wind.
"Wow! A Black Wyvern!"
"It’s a top-tier mythical beast!"
The students cheered at the rare sight of the mythical creature.
A person climbed down from the Black Wyvern’s back.
The female professor, about 170 cm tall, tied her gray hair roughly behind her back, giving her a wild appearance.
Her tight leather outfit emphasized her voluptuous figure, and a leather whip hung at her waist.
"Nice to meet you, first-year chicks! My name is Yura Marnin! I’ll be teaching you summoning for the next year!"
"It’s an honor to meet you, Professor Yura!"
The students greeted her in unison.
Yura nodded, crossing her arms. As her ample chest moved, some male students blushed.
"Where are the assistant professor and teaching assistants?"
At her shout, a man who seemed to be the assistant professor came running frantically.
"P-Professor, the preparations are complete."
"Why are you so late, Assistant Professor?"
"It’s because you suddenly changed the class schedule, Professor!"
"Stop whining! My unpredictable schedule isn’t new! You should always be prepared!"
"Ugh! That’s so unreasonable!"
Assistant Professor Carlo looked distressed.
"She’s quite the handful," the students, including Leo, thought.
Would they really be able to learn properly under such a professor?
Of course, a few male students were busy gawking at Yura.
"Anyway, everything’s ready?"
"Yes."
"Alright, rookies. Being here means you have talent as summoners, right?"
Yura’s expression turned serious.
"If there’s anyone here with mediocre talent trying to minor in summoning, let me give you some advice."
Her sharp gaze gleamed dangerously.
"Leave now."
No one moved at her words.
Having passed the entrance exams, no student would be scared off so easily.
"So, no one’s leaving? Then I’ll take that as your commitment. Everyone, move out."
Chen Xia raised her hand.
"Where are we moving to?"
"Where else?"
Yura grinned and pointed to one side with her finger.
There, teaching assistants were leading a group of griffons toward them.
"To the practice site."
***
Students, riding in pairs on griffons, cheered excitedly.
Flying mythical beasts were rare.
Most summoning students had never had the chance to ride a griffon because of how difficult they were to summon.
"I’m so glad I came to Lumerne!"
"Soon, I’ll make a contract with a beast like this too!"
The students were brimming with excitement.
"Hey! It’s my turn! I want to steer now!"
"Oh, just a little longer!"
After ten minutes, the first-years began arguing over who would hold the reins of the griffon.
"This is quite fun."
Chen Xia, holding the reins, spoke with excitement.
"You should be careful."
"Huh?"
"Griffons are hard for first-timers to handle."
"But they’re so gentle and obedient right now."
"That’s because they’re wary of the professor."
Leo glanced at Yura, leading the group from the front on her Black Wyvern.
"Well, knowing her personality, she probably won’t keep them subdued for long."
"Kreeeak-!"
"Wha—?"
Before Leo could finish speaking, the griffon began to roar.
It wasn’t just the griffon Leo and Chen Xia were riding.
The griffons, which had been obedient to the students until now, suddenly started to go wild.
Chen Xia, flustered, pulled on the reins, but the griffon showed no signs of calming down.
"Ahhh! It won’t listen!"
"Why is it acting like this?!"
"Professor! Help us~!"
The other students were also in a panic.
Professor Yura, riding the Black Wyvern, laughed gleefully.
"If you can’t handle a griffon properly, can you really call yourself a Lumerne student? Try to get it under control!"
"Wh-what! Ahhh—!"
Chen Xia, who was panicking, was almost pulled off the saddle by the griffon’s strength.
Her hips lifted halfway out of the saddle, but she quickly regained her balance, showing her Knight Studies background.
Chen Xia frowned and tightened her grip, preparing to wrestle the reins into submission.
But Leo wrapped his right arm around her waist and pulled her back toward him.
"W-what? Young Master Leo? What are you doing so boldly…!"
"Griffons are prideful creatures. If you try to overpower them, they’ll resist even more."
Leo grabbed the reins with his left hand and pulled them gently.
The griffon, which had been thrashing wildly against the reins, paused at the familiar, skilled touch.
It started to calm down.
"This one’s well-trained, so it’s easy to handle," Leo thought.
Griffons were hard for first-timers to manage, but for someone experienced, they were among the easiest flying beasts to control.
Chen Xia watched with amazement.
"Young Master Leo, have you handled a griffon before?"
"No, this is my first time in this life."
At his words, Chen Xia turned her head to stare at Leo’s face.
Leo looked back at her with a "What?" expression.
"It seems to be true."
Chen Xia turned her gaze forward, tilting her head in puzzlement.
"But how are you so good at handling a griffon? Do you have a special trick?"
"I studied the basics from the textbooks."
"Hah! No wonder you had the confidence to provoke everyone at the entrance ceremony."
Chen Xia burst out laughing, clearly impressed.
Leo ignored her and pulled her closer.
"I’m going to speed up, so stay close."
"You’re being awfully bold with an older lady, aren’t you?"
"Older lady? Oh, sorry."
"And rude too."
Chen Xia squinted at him and pinched the back of Leo’s hand that was around her waist.
Realizing Leo had no ulterior motives, she relaxed and leaned comfortably against his chest.
Once they were ready, Leo shouted.
"Let’s go!"
With a loud screech, the griffon soared into the sky.
"Wow—!"
Chen Xia exclaimed at how different the griffon moved under Leo’s control.
"Interesting," Yura said, her eyes sparkling.
"For a student, he’s incredibly skilled at handling a griffon. Who is that kid?"
"Let’s see… That’s Leo Plov, Professor."
"Leo Plov? The student representative? I heard he’s aiming for Knight Studies."
"Indeed. He even won a match against Duran Moira, the top scorer from the Central Region, in the previous class."
"And he handles a griffon like that? Does he own one?"
"No, he’s from a minor noble family in a small kingdom. They couldn’t afford a griffon."
"So… it’s talent, huh?"
Yura’s eyes gleamed as she licked her lips.
"At this level, he could major in Summoning instead of Knight Studies."
"Professor, I get your excitement, but the Knight Studies professors won’t stand for it."
"What are they going to do? There are plenty of students with knightly talent, but summoning talent is rare. Besides, he hasn’t officially chosen his major yet, right?"
Yura smiled boldly.
Carlo looked uneasy at her expression.
"I just hope nothing happens."
The griffons carried the students to a massive island in Lake Lumeria.
The lake was so vast it could be mistaken for a sea, and many such islands were scattered across it, often used as practice grounds.
"Whew."
Chen Xia agilely dismounted from the griffon.
As Leo got off, the griffon rubbed its beak against his cheek.
Leo reached out to offer it a fruit from a nearby tree but stopped when he noticed a large gray feather on the branch.
"This is…?"
"Young Master Leo, is something wrong?"
"It’s nothing."
Leo tucked the feather into his pocket.
Meanwhile, the other students were arriving on the island.
"Ugh!"
"So exhausting."
"I feel like I’m going to throw u—urp!"
Most students were completely drained just from riding the griffons.
Of course, some were fine.
Notably, the top scorer of the Southern Exam, Warren Tiden, and a slightly haughty-looking female student who was calmly grooming her nails.
Both had handled their griffons as skillfully as Leo.
"Warren, Eliza… They’ll definitely be the aces of this year’s first-year Summoning class!"
Yura’s eyes sparkled as she observed the two students.
"Some students here have exceptional taming skills. Now, stop lounging around and gather up!"
Yura, who had been smiling with satisfaction, shouted, and the students scrambled to assemble.
As she looked over the lined-up students, Yura smirked.
"Today, we’ll be having a practical test!"
End Of Chapter
