“How can you do this!?”

A silver plate fell to the floor, spilling cups of tea and their contents onto the tiles of a luxurious living room. A man in a tuxedo had just slapped a little boy covered in mud.

A woman with short, elegant hair knelt in front of the little boy and embraced him.

"Please! Honey, he's just a child!"

She rubbed the little boy's cheeks, crying.

“Your father only wants what’s good for you, please, please, Thomas, don’t ever do that again!”

It was at this moment that something was born in the little boy, an awareness of his environment.

(This world is really rotten...)

In the hallway, the council members rushed after Eryl.

“What do you mean by knowing his limits? You mean Dora will know how strong he is? And how come he could kill Thomas?"

Eryl smirked at Hope's question.

"You get it wrong, Sir Balder, it's not about the strength of one but... Let's put it this way, what is the most important rule in the kingdom?"

"... Protect the people?" a young man from the council asked.

"No, the most important rule, the one that has been verified has the first commandment..."

“The nobility is above the world.”

"Good, Princess, the nobility is above the law, anyone, absolutely anyone who is noble is protected by the law, it seems very ridiculous but a noble can commit a crime and will be not judged the same as a commoner, it's literally in the law. Now, the second rule, the second commandment..."

“The emissaries are assets of the kingdom, so they are also above the law, but below the nobility.” Mercy completed, eliciting a smile from Eryl.

"Very good, I'm taking a liking to this generation. We are in a world that could collapse at any moment because of rifts, we need strong people to protect the world and these people are emissaries. The nobility is above the law, but without emissaries, there is no world, so no nobility, so a powerful emissary will also be above the law, even more, if this emissary is sworn to protect the kingdom."

They reached the end of the corridor and entered the courtyard, distant screams could already be heard.

“Okay, that makes sense, but what does that have to do with Dora?”

The principle is quite simple, your Highness. Think of it in terms of a hierarchy. At the very bottom, there are the commoners - the poor, the rich, and the foreigners - without any distinction. Above them are the emissaries, and the stronger they are, the higher up they are placed. Then come the emissaries who have dedicated their lives to the kingdom, and even if they are weak, the mere fact that they are assets of the nobility places them higher in the hierarchy. Above them are the nobles, regardless of their rank, whether they are barons or dukes. Although they are not on the same level among themselves, they will always be above everyone else. Now, consider Anesidora, who is a commoner but also an emissary. He is a knight and, therefore, an asset of the kingdom. He is affiliated with the daughter of a baron and will be stronger than you can imagine. Do you understand now what's the problem?"

They slowed down a little, realizing her point, suddenly everything made sense, and in a disastrous way.

Dora never displayed any interest in monarchy, power, or anything that would elevate someone above him.

However, the reality was that he did mind it, but he had developed a habit of eliminating it, often in a violent manner.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

This was how he dealt with other nobles or why he avoided direct confrontation with Leon until he was certain he could defeat him.

"To put it simply, if he kills Thomas, nothing will happen to him, and from what I've seen of him, you don't want him to realize that now."

"... Well, I'm a princess, and an emissary, so by your little arithmetic I shouldn't be worried, right? No matter how strong he becomes! How are you even sure he will become strong?"

“One word, princess: Greed.”

The next moment, Solaria and Moonra stopped moving. They froze in mid-air, staring blankly ahead.

“Hey, guys, what are you doing?”

A council member shouted at them, leaving them there.

"Greed? What does that mean... Hm? What's their deal?" Mercy noticed their reaction and stopped as well.

Among the council, only Hope kept running, worried after hearing too many times that Dora was going to kill Thomas, but what motivated him was something else, something he couldn't explain.

Meanwhile, Thomas finally reached the war zone and stared in disbelief at what he feared most.

Dora was standing with one foot on a student's face, and 3 other students were hovering above him, groaning in pain.

In front of him, Iris, holding her hands like a prayer, tried to reason with him, but none of her words made sense, her eyes shone as she observed Dora's power, like a child before the gift that she waited all her life.

"Dora, I can't believe it... Is this... Is this gravitational magic?"

Dora looked at her in confusion, not expecting her enthusiasm, but it was only the beginning.

"Oh! Please, could you let them go? There's no need to fight them."

“Does this look like a fight?"

"Of course not! And that's why you must spare them, they don't understand who they are dealing with, they can't understand your power, and they shouldn't be the one tasting it."

Most of the other students were stunned as Iris spoke happily, which was a rare sight, especially at such an inopportune time. Even Zuri, who was a little behind Dora, appeared confused.

"... So what you're saying is that I shouldn't beat them, because they're unworthy?"

"Exactly! Look at this potential you have, you can't possibly go all out on them, you can't be satisfied with that!"

This situation was so bizarre that no one dared acknowledge it. The student council president, the epitome of every student, was seen petting the school monster.

Dora looked at the student under his foot and shrugged.

"... Well... That should be enough for Zuri's honor."

He snapped his finger and the floating students fell to the ground, then he walked towards his Zuri.

"Wait! Dora!"

"What? Are you going to tell me that I should accept punishment because I'm strong enough to handle it?"

"No! I told you it was just an accident, we sometimes use mock battles to resolve conflicts so we can just call it that. But I need to talk to you about something else."

Dora's eyes narrowed.

"About what? If I am cleansed from this... fight, then don't waste my time."

He walked away, followed by Zuri with a smirk. Iris looked a little confused but shook her head.

"Wait! Look, it's about... I... I'm just curious about your power, I think I misjudged you..."

"Excuse me ?" Dora stopped and turned back. "Misjudged? Misjudged, how? You mean when you told us to leave you alone at the entrance?"

"Ah... Yeah... sure... You'd remember... But that's exactly why I want to talk to you... please? Just a minute."

Dora looked at her for a moment. He never expected her, of all people, to ask him something, but he clearly remembered the moment when his attention towards her had dropped to zero.

Funny.

"Hm? Is that true? Is that how you talk to someone you've treated like trash? Because I was weak?"

"Ah... No... Huh... It was... I..."

"Stutter a lot, you can't even form a sentence but you want to talk. Please."

"L-Look, I-I'm sorry. I admit I did something really wrong, I have no excuse, but please just let me talk to you."

He crossed his arms, a mischievous smile on his lips.

“Then go ahead and talk!”

Iris stood in the middle of everyone, her body trembling slightly as the sound of murmurs rose around her. The other students were giving her disapproving looks, making her feel even more self-conscious.

Her heart raced, hoping that she wouldn't be singled out or reprimanded in front of everyone.

She placed a hand on her chest and lowered her head, unable to comprehend her emotions as they burned with a newfound desire.

- Don't let him go.

"I'm sorry. Forgive me for the way I treated you, I'm a horrible person, I don't know how... I'm not very good at dealing with people... But I have the feeling... You... If you could just give me a minute, in private."

She lowered her hands, looking defeated. She was the best student in the academy, the first prodigy since Elizabeth, the highest grade in the academy, and yet here she was, agreeing to be humiliated by the one deemed the weakest.

Surprisingly, this annoyed Dora a little as he grimaced, turned his back, and walked away.

"Disgraceful... And you really think I would devote my time to you and your people, you idiot.”

"Enough!!!" A powerful voice roared behind them.

Thomas, fuming with rage, stood among the students.

Iris startled, turned towards him and was surprised to see a whole new expression on his face.

“This is the last time you disrespect this academy, Anesidora Carper.”

Dora stopped, without even looking at him. His eyes were focused on the corridor in front of him, but a yellow glow in his eyes flickered.

It should be entertaining.