Next Day ~
"How was your day with Rose yesterday?" I asked Irethiel as I changed into my academy uniform.
"It was nice, humans had developed many incredible things in only a few centuries," Irethiel said as she watched the anime.
She appears to have become addicted to them.
"Hmm, did you tell Rose about what I requested for?" I asked.
"Yes, I did, but she says it wouldn't be that simple to keep an eye on that half-dragon because someone seems to be around her all the time, as you suspected before," Irethiel responded.
"...I see," I uttered.
'My knowledge of Ivica from the novel does not appear to be exactly the same, so even I don't know who that person is around her,' I speculated.
"... By the way, How much chaos did you cause yesterday? We learned that you made a scene, so Rose had to return quickly," Irethiel questioned.
"It was many times less than I prefer, but if I had the chance, I would—" I came to a halt in my sentence.
"...Let's just say I was settling someone else's grudge," I explained.
!?
"So...is the grudge finally settled?" Irethiel inquired, intrigued.
"No, I haven't even started yet, ...yesterday was just a teaser, and he won't rest in peace until I make their lives more miserable," I replied.
"...."
Irethiel had many questions about who Ares was referring to, but she ultimately decided not to delve any further.
As she discovered that Ares holds many secrets, and knowing them could endanger her life.
[Curiosity is what killed the cat.]
Irethiel was startled awake from her daze when she suddenly heard a quote from the anime she was watching.
"...."
"Oh, you don't know what a teaser is, do you?" I said.
"No, I understand what that means," Irethiel said quickly.
'She seems to be aware of it from the anime?' I was thinking to myself.
"Good for you, I suppose," I said.
And soon after, I left the dorm and made my way to the advisor training ground.
And as soon as I stepped onto the training grounds, I was greeted by Ziona, Kevin, and Bianca.
Bianca appears to have arrived earlier than usual today.
"Speak of the devil, and here he appears," Bianca exclaimed as she saw me walk in.
!?
"...Good morning?" I exclaimed perplexed, as I noticed Ziona, Kevin, and Bianca staring at me.
"What have you done now?" After noticing them staring at me, Irethiel inquired telepathically.
"There's nothing good about this morning after the scenes you caused yesterday," Bianca sighed.
"Oh, so that's what this is all about," I said.
"...Yeah, you went overboard with Prince Aretrus yesterday; the Queen of Escratia kingdom, along with the parents of many other students, is critisizing the Academy because of you," Bianca explained.
"Isn't it their fault they're weak?" Bianca made a remark.
"Whether he is strong or weak, he is still the prince and, more importantly, the Queen's son," Bianca stated.
"...You don't mind if I beat up other students; the only reason it became a problem was because I beat up a prince?" With curiosity, I inquired.
"...I know it's cruel, but it's the way it is. Nobody cares if some regular students are beaten; they will simply say, "They were beaten because they are weak."
But it's a different story when it comes to the princes and princesses of kingdoms," Bianca elaborated.
"Am I not also the prince? Isn't it acceptable if one prince beats another?" I remarked casually.
"...."
"...Yes, if that were the case, it wouldn't have been much of a problem,...but you have been disowned!" Bianca proclaimed.
!?
"Is that so? Well, I couldn't care less anyway." I said, shrugging.
They do not provide me with funds or support, nor do I receive preferential treatment because I am the prince.
Keeping their surname was therefore pointless, and I doubt anything would change even if I were not the prince.
"Then I welcome you to the disowned community," Ziona said, a huge grin on her face.
"I'll be in your care then," I said, chuckling as we fist bumped.
"...."
When Bianca saw us, she just shook her head and smiled awkwardly.
"So, when exactly did this happen?" Curious, I enquired.
"The Queen of Escratia kingdom announced it this morning after your video went viral," Ziona replied.
"Which video?" Perplexed, I asked.
"You ought to do more internet browsing," Ziona remarked as she pulled out her phone and opened a video to show it to me.
And when I watched the video, I was left astonished.
"...."
"Who has that much of a free time to edit that, I wonder?" I said after seeing a video.
The video showed me seamlessly beating Aretrus, but the worst part was that it had been altered to appear more ruthless, with music playing in the background.
It highlights me punching Aretrus unmercifully repeatedly while he couldn't even resist, and the slow-motion shot of me kneeing his face is flawless.
And as soon as my knee struck his face.
[KO!] appeared written on the screen.
Furthermore, the video concludes with Aretrus' name being scratched from rank 8 and replaced with mine.
"...."
"That bitch," I muttered inadvertently.
As far as I recall, only one person was free enough to record these videos while everyone else was busy fighting.
...Yes, it's certainly seems to be Ayla's doing.
And now I understand why she came with us to this meeting.
"...."
"After seeing that ranking list, the internet was already out of control and was criticizing the Hero Association.
But after watching this video, it got even crazier," Bianca spoke out of the blue.
"Yes, read the comments on that list right now," Ziona suggested.
And as I continued reading the comments, I realized how bizarre they were.
[Now who is the rank 10 bitch?]
[He'll take rank 1 on his own if you can't give it to him.]
And there were many other comments...
...
And the hashtag [Ares vs Hercules for Rank 1.] was trending.
"...."
"Now that I think about it, Miss Bianca, you're ranked 10th, right?" Ziona suddenly questioned.
"...Yeah, I was previously ranked 15th, but now I'm ranked 10th.
However, given that Mika is currently ranked 17th, I don't think it is fair to place me above her.
I know I've grown stronger, but I still don't believe I'm strong enough to defeat Mika right now," Bianca stated.
"...."
We decided to end our conversation after a brief period of continued discussion.
***
We then put on our safety gear and started practicing the same skill we had learned from Bianca in our previous class.
The training was no different than us getting thrashed by Bianca.
And Bianca finally stopped her so-called training when the bell rang, signaling the end of the class.
"Miss Bianca, could you at least tell us how being beaten is related to us learning the skill you wanted to teach us?" Kevin inquired as he lay on the ground after Bianca's beating.
Hearing Kevin, Ziona and I turned our attention to Bianca because we were curious as well.
"Oh! The only requirement is that you must at least have a basic understanding of how the skill functions in order to learn the scroll that contains the skill.
Likewise, facing the skill regularly and getting used to it is the simplest way to comprehend it; that's how I learned it as well," Bianca explained.
"...."
"Haaa, at least the beatings I'm receiving don't seem to be in vain now; all I need to do is understand the fundamentals of skill before I would be able to use the scroll, right?" Kevin said.
"Yes!" Bianca agreed, nodding.
"...Miss Bianca, could I please see that skill scroll for a moment?" I requested because I wanted to try something.
"Hmm? Sure," Bianca said as she took out the skill scroll from her storage ring and passed it to me.
I unrolled the skill scroll as I took it from Bianca and gave it a quick glance.
"It is not easy to learn skills; you must work hard to at least practice the fundamentals—"
Bianca came to a halt in her sentence when she noticed the skill scroll glowing.
***