The smartest man in the world is a baby. Imagine that one day, out of the blue, you would definitely think that the speaker is an incredible idiot or a prankster.

What if a serial killer was the Pope of Peace?

You might think the world is crazy.

But what if they decided that they were and you had no way of contradicting them? This madness was the reality of the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Ambrosia.

After their destructive fight, the arena was under renovation, and Candace had taken away Dora and Iris.

Oddegürd left to fend for himself behind her, claimed that the cause of the destruction was a natural explosion inside the arena, but no one believed it.

Everyone had already heard someone talking about the boy landing near the dorm, everyone remembered the feeling of the aura before, and some overly emotional council members had already said words.

Dora and Iris had a fight, and this was the result.

The heroine and the monster fought, but the outcome was unknown and the authorities committed the taboo of lying down right in front of them.

They were strong and so reality had to bend to their desire so that a student could beat people from honorable families, threaten death, destroy a cultural monument, and continue to walk freely.

They were strong, what would you expect to do?

This was the world they lived in, this was their reality.

A month and a few weeks had passed since then, the academy was entering a study period before the end of the second semester, this was the time when students formed groups and spent more time reading books.

Those with strengths in raiding, that is, students who raided frequently, could be excused, as they were then special assets of the kingdom.

It was also a privilege for the strong, but a strong person would always consider a stronger person a privileged person.

Due to their meeting, Dora's group was also excused from these studies.

Candace decided that he would train separately in the C-Rank Rifts, then fight Iris to gauge her level.

In the meantime, the others would go to other C-rank Rifts with Elizabeth as insurance.

The reason was rather simple, Dora's pressure had reached a level where just being exposed to it was enough to knock out most of them.

This also allowed them to let their knights train with them, but neither Hope nor Barron answered the call.

Hope spent all his days training in Sunnah's mansion.

The latter's family concession occupied a vast territory including a forest and a field in which the young man spent his days.

He had just completed his morning routine, consisting of a thousand blows into a tree trunk with an iron bar reinforced by magic.

He was shirtless and wiping his face with a towel, Sunnah was watching him nearby, next to her a box of sandwiches and juice.

"You're finishing early today?" she asked as he walked towards her.

"I'm just waiting for someone, but they're late... Ah!"

A little further on, Maxim, Lisa, and behind them, Cid arrived.

Hope threw the towel over his shoulder and walked to meet them, followed by Sunnah.

"What are you all doing here?" he asked indifferently.

"Hm? Did you hit your head? You confirmed that you would be joining the raid, correct?" Lisa frowned.

"Ah? I did it?... I don't know, you can't do this without me?"

They looked at each other, intrigued.

"Um... What are you saying, seriously?" Maxim scratched his nose. "You haven't stopped crying for your sister and Lady Mercy for weeks, now that we're about to join them in a Rift, why-"

Hope grabbed him by the collar, staring him straight in the eyes.

"Be careful what you say, the Hope that acted like a child is long dead. Don't mess with me."

He let go of him and walked towards the mansion with his arms stretching his arms.

The others looked at him with slight disdain before Lisa groaned.

"Oi, idiot, if you don't want to join us, don't make us move for nothing."

"Yeah, and I think it's the perfect time for you to stop being Lady Mercy's knight, you're never around." Maxim rearranged his collar.

Hope stopped and glanced at them, releasing his aura.

"I'll let it go today, but there won't be another time." He waited impatiently and walked away.

The four council members looked at him with disdain and Cid spat on the ground, disgusting Sunnah.

"That idiot... Does he even know why he's here?"

"I know, he's such a trouble, isn't he, Cid? This must be so hard for you, Miss Sunnah."

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"Everything is fine, Maxim... He does his best every day... But..."

"And he always trains without shirts when you watch him, have you noticed?"

"Hey?"

"I've been watching you carefully... Of course to make sure he hasn't done anything inappropriate!... and he never takes his shirt off until you're here... What a snake..."

They looked at him in silence before Lisa burst out laughing.

She wiped away a tear as she watched Hope walk away.

"Finally, this might be a good time to go to a Rift with them, I can't wait to see... Don't you think, Cid the Amputee?"

Cid didn't look at her and focused on the iron bar Hope was using to train.

"How useless..."

*

*

Later that day, in the Hunters Guild headquarters situated in Sungem Town, three girls were sitting together around a table in the building's cafeteria. They were chatting amiably and enjoying their meal along with some wine. Many people were looking at them with embarrassed smiles. Suddenly, a tall man with a ponytail approached their table and caught their attention.

"Excuse me, ladies, I am Sorhu, the tank of the Dragon Rage team, at your service," he said while striking a comical pose.

His group members, who were seated further away, found this amusing and burst out laughing. However, the three girls just looked at him for a moment before resuming their conversation.

The man named Sohru groaned but regained his composure.

"Are you new to this guild? I've been here for a long time and I'm sure I wouldn't miss such beautiful creatures."

The girl with long black hair stopped eating and took a thinking pose.

"Hm? Isn't that a death word?"

"First rule of Candace's book…"

"Yeah, yeah, killing a human will be doomed to becoming a slave to Midgard... But I have the Dora Monthly Pass to do whatever I want."

"Zuri…"

Zuri held up a golden card with a chibi image of Dora giving the middle finger, making Mercy sigh.

Freya took a sip of wine and looked at her watch.

The increasingly annoyed man placed a hand on the table and smiled at Zuri.

"So your name is Zuri? Pretty cute, what's the keyword to make you kill me? Because I wouldn't mind having those hands on my throat."

His comrades laughed again, and other people from the other people's table, as if waiting for this opportunity, joined his celebration.

"Give up Sohru, the lady looks too refined for you."

"Yeah, you're more cut out for a lumberjack, let me do the talking instead."

"You guys are crazy…" a drunk girl complained, but her laughter and her beer demonstrated her tolerance.

Another man joined the table, followed by two others.

Soon the girls were surrounded by a mass of men and women, curious to see the beauty of their faces.

"Oh man, are you going to join the guild? Now I'm motivated to come more often!"

"Don't be so stiff, we're all a little shy at first but you'll get used to it soon."

The three girls could no longer hide their annoyance.

Freya crossed her arms, looking at Zuri who was waving her card like a fan, when Sohru snatched it from her.

"What is this? Do you play cards too?... Hm? Hey, haha, looks guys, this girl drawing gives you the middle..."

He tried to show them the card before losing consciousness.

Zuri, with a deadly glare, retrieved the card and wiped it with a tissue.

The people around moved away slightly, laughing nervously.

"Oh? Hey, I warned you, man, it always ends like that with you..."

"Yeah, fuck this guy."

Another man leaned toward Mercy.

"Hey, your friend is scary, don't you think?"

Mercy stirred the contents of her bowl, without showing the slightest emotion.

"Excuse me, but this girl is with me."

After being hit by a punch, the man was thrown away.

Hope positioned himself in front of Mercy, staring at her with a threatening look. Everyone's focus was on him, and the guild members looked at him with surprise.

"Who is this guy?" they wondered. Hope rubbed his fists and maintained a serious expression.

"I'm somebody, and if you keep bothering these girls, you won't like me."

He released his aura which spread around him in a warm white light.

"Oh? You really came." Mercy looked up, but Hope ignored her and stayed focused on the guild members.

The man he had hit stood up angrily and walked towards him.

"Bastard..."

Other members came closer and surrounded them.

"This is the Hunter's Guild, asshole, if you hit any of us, consider yourself grounded."

"I'm sorry, asshole, but no one's getting grounded today." Lisa appeared at the door, followed by Maxim, Cid, and Sunnah.

Hope glanced at them and slammed his fists.

"Well, I guess I can share a little... So? Who wants to go down first?"

He released his aura, stronger than before.

The rough wind was blowing Freya's hair, becoming increasingly annoyed.

One of the guild members walked straight toward Hope, but Maxim punched him in the back and stood next to Hope.

It was at that moment that the others went into a fury and several waves of energy crossed the building.

"Well, Hope, it's us against all of them."

"... You think I need your help? Well, suit yourself."

He glanced at Mercy who had pushed her bol forward and sighed in annoyance.

"... After all, nah, I'll do better without you, step as-" A punch sent him flying to a nearby table.

"Didn't see that coming? Fucker!"

Hope clenched his fists and jumped on the boy, but three other members stepped in.

"I see... In that case, I'll just dispose of you all."

At the door, Lisa watched mockingly, Sunnah looked at her worried and murmured.

"Lisa... there are some B-ranks among them..."

"Shhhh, wait, I want to see him getting pounded."

Hope was circled by several people, Maxim too.

Both exchanged a gaze before taking off their shirt.

Hope removed a bracelet from his wrist and threw it at Mercy.

The girl caught it and looked at him in surprise.

"I finish them and I take it back, and now all of you... Remember that you were the cause of all this, but it's too late now: Hero Time!"

He shone in a blinding light. The members were also concentrating their energy and were about to jump on him.

"Hm?" Freya, Mercy, and Zuri looked up.

Hope's energy surrounded him and made him difficult to look at.

He looked around and noticed the frozen appearance of some people.

"I see... But I warned you, it's too late now."

He concentrated his energy even more, among the members of the guild, three people lost consciousness.

"Uh?" The one he had hit flinched and took a step back, before falling too.

The phenomenon spread, more and more people around him collapsed, and hope increased his energy again and again.

Freya, Zuri, and Mercy stood up, a smile growing on the two seconds' lips and an embarrassed expression on Freya.

Hope took a step forward, the building cracked in several places, Maxim lowered his arms and stared in shock.

"You said you wanted a fight? But I don't see any balls here." Hope released a final wave of energy, and many people fell back.

He could see everything, every reaction, the nobles were emotional, the guild members were fighting to stay conscious and even the council members were shaking.

Lisa's teeth chattered frantically and Sunnah eventually lost consciousness as well.

Hope tensed his abdominal muscles and looked at the people in front of him.

"Any last wish?"

Several people in suits appeared from a nearby room, looking out of breath.

"Y-You..." one of them murmured.

Hope crossed his arms and sighed.

"Tch... Forget it... I have no reason to fight people so scared."

He walked over to Mercy and reached out for his ring.

"... Hope." She said a worried expression on her face.

"I'm doing this for me, don't thank me."

He took his ring and walked towards the door. No one spoke, Freya and Zuri showed a smile while Mercy became frightened.

"Wait, Hope!"

"Please don't call me, I don't want people to think we're close."

"Hope, stop!"

He stopped just in front of the door, releasing his aura and glaring at her.

"Excuse me, but the time when you could give me orders is over."

The entrance to the building cracked and other guild members felt unconscious.

Hope stood menacingly just ahead.

"I wouldn't order such a noisy valet." A voice sounded right next to Hope.

He looked at Mercy and finally noticed something.

Everyone's gaze was directed at him, but he couldn't feel their pressure.

"Boy?"

The voice sounded again.

He slowly turned his back and opened his eyes wide as he met the ruby's eyes of a beautiful face with long gray hair.

"Step aside."