The morning found Max to be wide awake, too excited to fall asleep last night. When he heard the grandpa clock sound 5 times, he jumps off the bed. Freshening up quickly, he began his morning stretches. He didn't want to tire himself out so he did not do any strenuous exercises. Taking a cold bath banished any form of drowsiness. Dressing up took an entire hour, half of which went towards choosing proper clothes. Grooming himself took 2. He wanted the first day to be perfect. Staring at himself in the mirror, Max found himself harbouring narcissistic thoughts. Quickly banishing any such thoughts, Max went down for breakfast. Today he wanted to have a light breakfast so that he does not feel sleepy afterwards.

Checking himself in the mirror for one last time, he went to the stables for his horse. The weather was nice outside and he did not want to take a carriage. His mansion was close to the academy so he didn't take any guards since the locality was posh and security was top notch. His horse's name was Thunder. It was a huge 6-foot tall warhorse, which retired after getting injured. Max bought him some time ago from one of his father's friend. It was said that during his prime, Thunder's charge sounded like real thunder. Even though he was injured, he made a complete recovery under Max's care. He had a shining black coat with a white star mark on his forehead. Even though he is relatively old, the bulging muscles show that this old horse still has some miles left in him. Max set Thunder at a comfortable gait and began to enjoy the surroundings on his way to school. Even though he had passed through the same path many times, the intensity of activity still managed to surprise him. Officials going to their offices, newspaper boys shouting on the streets, roadside taverns and shops opening etc. When people saw the earl's insignia on Max's clothes and the sword at his waist, they naturally parted to make way for him. Max leisurely led Thunder through the streets. "Aah.... so peaceful", thought Max.

But heavens seemed to have some different plans today. A quarter mile away from the school gates, Max came upon a commotion. A carriage belonging to Earl Morgan's house was blocking the whole road. The Morgan house had just recently been elevated from baron to earl due to the engagement of the eldest daughter to the 2nd prince after he cancelled his engagement to the duke's daughter. "What an otome game like scenario", thought Max, without knowing the meaning of either otome game or scenario. As he drew near the scene of the commotion, he saw the driver of the carriage arguing with a boy about the same age as him. The boy was dressed in commoner's clothing and had a cheap looking sword on his back. Commoners are not allowed to carry swords, the only exception being adventurers. Becoming an adventurer at such a young age meant that this guy's origin was not simple at all, especially considering the unusual black hair and eyes that was the same as the previous hero. Behind the boy stood a girl with auburn hair and blue eyes. The girl was frail looking and was shyly tugging at the shirt of the boy to stop him from arguing. The girl was neither drop-dead gorgeous nor did she have any makeup on. She was the type that grew on you the more you looked at her.

Suddenly warning bells began to sound in Max's mind. Like the oracles of temples, scenes began to play in Max's mind. They seem to predict how this situation would unfold. The scenes that entered in Max's mind made him frown. A part of him was telling him to completely avoid the situation since it was troublesome. But an even larger part of him was telling him to step up now so that he can spare everyone from trouble later. Just then he saw a white-haired butler speaking to someone inside the carriage with a respectful and apologetic tone. Max's instinct told him the person inside was most definitely female and that the situation was about to escalate. So without wasting any time he took a deep breath and shouted in a stern voice, "What is this ruckus, how dare you people block the path of Maximilian Radcliffe, have you all got too much spare time. Do I need to throw some people in the dungeon to show you all the worth of time? " The crowd was startled by the sudden loud voice, but when they turned, they saw a huge warhorse covered in armour with the insignia of the house of Earl Radcliffe and on top of it was a handsome young man in the typical attire of high ranking nobles looking down on them with cold eyes. Most people living in the neighbourhood knew Max by his face even if they never talked to him. Adding to that the insignia of one of the top Earl houses and ornamental sword at the waist of the boy was enough to disperse any interest the crowd had for the scene. They immediately scattered. Max urged Thunder forward and asked the driver, "What the hell happened?". The driver immediately gave a low bow and replied, "Reporting to young Lord, this boy intentionally cut the harness of the carriage of Lady Aisha Morgan".

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Max raised an eyebrow at this. The situation seemed to be more troublesome than he previously thought. He turned his gaze towards the young man. The boy seemed to be looking defiantly at him. Sighing, Max got down from his horse and addressed him, "My name is Maximillian of House Radcliffe. Intentionally harming the property of a noble is a severe crime. You must have a very good reason for your actions. Say it". The boy immediately replied, "I acted out of self-defence. I saw a high-speed carriage barrelling down the street towards me and had no choice but to act so. " The driver shouted indignantly, "Don't lie! It was you who jumped in front of the carriage." The situation seemed to again go out of control as both parties adamantly stuck to their point. It was at this time that Max noticed that the girl behind the boy had minor injuries and her clothes were also dirty on one side. Max seemed to get a picture of what happened. Most probably the speeding carriage caused the injury to the girl. Unable to bear his companion's injury, the boy must have lashed. Knowing this, Max fixed his gaze on the girl and asked, "Miss, can you tell me what happened here?" Suddenly been spoken to, the girl was flustered and could only give out some broken sounds. The boy on the other hand suddenly panicked and said in a raised voice, "What do you need from her? She is not involved in this."

Max replied in an irritated voice, "Shut up! I am not talking to you. Don't speak out of turn commoner!". To which the boy replied in an indignant tone, "How rude! Is this how a noble should be? Terrifying and opposing commoners and flaunting their statuses...". The boy seemed to start a tirade about the nobility out of nowhere. Max decided that this cannot be allowed to go on for any longer. He suddenly lashed out with a hook which connected cleanly with the boy's chin. The boy did not expect to be sucker punched out of nowhere and immediately lost consciousness. Max caught the collapsing boy. He had his Adventurer's card in his front pocket. Max took it out and read the name on it. "Shin, huh....". Then he turned to face the girl who had turned from flustered to pale and said, "Don't worry miss, he is not hurt. But I need you to cooperate with me if you want it to stay that way".