"Get out of here!" My father shouted desperately at the girl. She was shaking slightly, probably scared by my father's anger, and was looking at me with incomprehension.

Now that I think about it, maybe she was waiting for me to defend her.

(Poor people have no strength so they help each other a lot.)

I regret having been such a coward.

*

*

(Hm? Why am I thinking about this?)

Thomas effortlessly avoided Dora's multiple attacks in the vortex without showing any signs of fatigue. The smaller stones moved at bullet-like speed, only to be intercepted by the orbs of light surrounding Thomas.

The spectators were in disbelief and stood up from their seats. Some of Dora's classmates put their hands on their heads, unable to accept what they were witnessing. They could not help but question why even Thomas couldn't defeat him.

No one could remain seated; some of them, victims of the retaliatory violence of Dora, wished to get rid of him for good. However, a defeat from Thomas here would mean that even the council would have no power over him.

Some fell to their knees, others remembered that they used to pray to a God and reproduced the movements, every heartbeat has the same wish:

“Please... Make Thomas win!”

The council members were in awe of this feat. Eryl dispelled her shield as Dora's pressure lifted, and what remained was a powerful wind that raged and stung their skin.

They watched in horror and admiration. Solaria was trembling, she turned to Zuri and grabbed her by the collar, asking for an explanation.

"How... How did you become his noble?! How??? What trick did you pull?"

She was boiling with rage, more than most people present, she knew that Dora was a miracle, and with each second that passed, she could no longer handle her emotions.

But in front of her, the girl with black circles around her eyes was laughing at her.

"Kukuku... What's wrong, Princess? You look a little tense."

"... Are you laughing at me?"

Zuri stepped aside and looked at the group with a ladylike smirk.

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"You think I don't see what you were trying to do? Kukuku... You wished it was you, right? You'd like him to choose you, wouldn't you?"

"... Fuck it."

She jumped on her, her hands aiming for Zuri's neck but stopped in mid-air, pulled by Eryl.

"Unhand me! Unhand me this moment, stupid elf!"

"Princess, you can't attack another noble."

"Well, she can, but Dora would tear apart anyone threatening me, Kukuku... sorry, Solaria."

Solaria struggled like an animal to get rid of Eryl, but the grip of the maid whose hair had turned purple was from another world.

“This is why you don’t give a gold ingot to a monkey.”

Everyone turned toward Freya. Arms crossed, the girl stared at Zuri in disdain, the baron's daughter narrowed her eyes and pretended to watch the fight.

Freya sighed and did the same.

"Do you realize what is happening? You are indeed just the daughter of a baron, you can't read a situation."

"... urgh... why is everyone bullying me?"

"Will you stop making a fool of yourself now? Because of you, the Kingdom will lose a precious fighter!"

Suddenly, everyone's attention was drawn towards the battlefield. Thomas skillfully dodged a barrage of lightning bolts, while his orbs shielded him from the rocks hurled at him by Dora. The council members began to realize, to their surprise, that Thomas was untouched and unharmed even though he was closest to Dora's pressure amidst all the chaos.

"... huh?"Hope was taken aback and shuddered.

Despite Dora's continuous attacks and the increasing speed of the cyclone, Thomas remained calm.

"Who do you think his opponent was? Did you expect him to be like that other hero? Thomas is at C-rank, weren't you there when Dora said that he wasn't at this level yet?"

At Freya's words, Zuri frowned and looked at the battle. She had known Dora the most, among the person present, and it wasn't an understatement.

No one, not even Hope was as close to him as Zuri was, she knew him in all his facets, but it was this aspect that made her blind to the situation.

Dora was unbeatable, undefeated, if he lost, it was a plan, if he ran, it was because he had another plan, but never did he get into a fight voluntarily and lost.

The council members were astonished as they watched Thomas withstand Dora's relentless attacks without any harm.

"He may be strong, but there's a difference between being the strongest and having the best potential." Freya said.

Suddenly, Dora burst out of the vortex like a rocket and clapped his hands. The vortex froze and collapsed into a huge block of stones.

"Good, now it won't be so easy to dodge."

He raised his hands, mimicking the act of holding a bow and arrow. The wind gathered at the tip of his imaginary arrow, ready to be shot. Suddenly, a shockwave shook the arena, causing the stone block to explode and sending debris flying in every direction. A few pieces of debris brushed against Dora.

He lowered his hands slowly and observed the phenomenon before him. The students, who had been distressed moments ago, now gradually raised their heads to see what was happening.

“L-Look!"

“T...Thomas?”

Some of the teachers wiped the sweat from their foreheads, looking anxious.

"Here we are."

Then, Hope and Barron's eyes widened as they felt a new sensation in the air. Dora's previous aura of chills was now replaced by a strange and pleasant cold mixed with a feeling of dizziness.

"What is this?" Hope whispered as Freya closed her eyes.

“Thomas’ True Ability: Star Power."

The ground of the field began to resemble a starry sky, with a nebula rising around Thomas.

“I hope you had fun.”

A light wind blew over Dora and the energy around Thomas exploded around him.

The young man had glowing symbols on his arms and face, his eyes were glowing, and the entire arena was covered in a starry sky.

“Because now it’s my turn.”