I played with her a lot in the afternoon. We ran a lot in the fields and played with the pigs. My best memory was when we climbed the tallest tree near the forest."Ugh... Hey! Wait for me!" she shouted, unable to catch up as I literally jumped from branch to branch, all hail the power of the emissaries?
(My parents used to say that people in the countryside were like animals, but here I was the real monkey.)
**
In a second, a flash passed between the council members who were approaching the conflict zone.
They shuddered and widened their eyes as they saw Princess Solaria several meters in front of them, rushing with marvelous speed.
"Shit! Shit! Shiiiiiiit!!!! There was a sin?! Among the knights??? Why didn't anyone tell me? Whyyyy??? Damn, you Eryl!!!... Damn... Mother will kill me..."
In contrast, Moonra stopped moving, frozen in a running stance, his eyes twitching in disbelief.
"I... insulted him... I insulted a sin... I insulted... a... sin..."
The group was divided between those who were slowing down for Moonra and those who wanted to catch up with Solaria, but in the end, they were mostly trying to stay around Eryl, the only person who understood what was happening and was willing to talk.
"Greed? What is it? Is it so hard not to be enigmatic?" Lisa groaned, already tired of the situation.
"I agree with her, I'm starting to understand what's going on but if you're willing to leave major clues you better talk about it already."
"Hm? I expected you to be more interested in cooking your own food, Lady Freya, but something important happened, so don't worry, I'll tell you everything... But we have to ensure the future of another great potential knight in priority."
Freya nodded, despite the urgency of the situation, she didn't feel moved at all, she already knew Dora's potential, she knew how strong he would be, but she also knew who he was facing.
No matter how strong he is, an E-rank will always be an E-rank, a popular saying among emissaries, and the most important factor in a possible fight between these 2: Dora remained a D-rank at most, so there was nothing to fear for Thomas, nothing bad could happen.
"By the way, Lady Freya and Mercy, isn't it very quiet all of a sudden?"
The two looked at each other briefly before slowly opening their mouths.
"Oh no!!!!" They screamed.
In the turbulence zone, the drama had already begun. Dora was facing Thomas when a ray of light appeared behind Thomas and brushed against Dora, who only moved his head to dodge it.
"Hm? How did you miss? I was 25 feet in front of you, how did you miss?"
Thomas sighed and looked at his back.
"You two stay out of this."
Behind him, Hope and Cid were breathing heavily. The young hero seemed very frustrated while his companion was angrier.
"I can understand why Cid would want to test me but... Hope?"
Hope clenched his fists, he wanted to speak, but his heart was beating faster than ever, his blood was boiling in his veins, but it wasn't anger.
He looked at Dora's face and remembered Leon's cruel fate, so he could only lower his head.
"Damn stupid peasant, you dare to insult my tutor? I'm going to kill you!!!"
"What? Are you going to trample me with this prosthetic leg?"
"... Fuck it."
Cid spread his arms, and several luminous balls appeared around him, but nothing bothersome to Dora.
"Cid, no!" Hope cried desperately, while Dora, impassive, smiled provocatively.
"Go ahead, step out of your boundaries."
"It's your face I'm going to take out, you idiot!"
He fired the bullets towards Dora, the students behind him barely had time to throw themselves to the ground.
An explosion occurred, spreading a light cloud of dust.
The students were stunned and the council members had finally arrived, just in time to witness a disturbing scene.
The cloud of dust that cleared revealed that Dora was, as expected, unharmed, but what surprised everyone was the location of the impact marks on the ground, all around Thomas.
The young man, one arm raised, cast a dark look at Cid who flinched.
"If you had managed to hit him, you would have hit Lady Eilejveden as well."
Cid gritted his teeth and spat on the ground, Thomas turned back to Dora who was now genuinely surprised to see Thomas pronouncing Zuri's name perfectly.
"T-Thomas…"
"Hope, I think I taught you to never fight someone stronger than you."
"Ah... Huh... I wasn't... Sorry..."
He lowered his shoulders, with a pitiful expression on his face.
"It's okay, I was mostly speaking for Barron since he's an idiot."
"Huh?! Say that ag-"
"QUIET!!!"
Everyone jumped at the young man's angry cry. He looked angrier than ever, glaring at all the students.
"I will no longer tolerate anyone disrespecting this academy. Noble or not, no matter how strong you are!"
He said this last part while looking at Iris. The girl was at a loss for words. In front of her, the council and the Princess, her duty, but behind her, the one who moved her for some reason.
The princess herself looked at Dora in silence and smiled.
(Great... He actually looks better than in the picture, now I have a very good motivation.)
"Hm, Thomas, don't shout in front of dear Anesi, he is a very formidable student and I would appreciate it if you would not annoy him."She walked towards them and placed herself between Thomas and Dora, then noticed Zuri.
"... Oh... You... I forgot you were there."
"Huh? The P-P-Princess knows me?! Awawawa...Thank youuuuu!!!"
Zuri jumped with joy and shook her hand, much to Solaria's dismay, but this small peace would soon be considered a memory of a time when everything was okay.
"Princess, I only allowed you to finish your sentence because I respect you, now please refrain from interrupting the council."
"What?"
"Thomas!"
"Stay out of this, Miss Iris! You've clearly shown your limits."
Iris opened her eyes wide, no one could put a word to what was happening.
Thomas had reached a level of anger never seen before.
"This is the Royal Academy, a place where the future guardians of the kingdom are raised. Many generations of great figures have succeeded one another here, so it is a sacred place for me."
He then turned around, looking at each person.
"But look at you, look at everyone you see. Do you think you are worthy of this inheritance? Do you think you are showing the level of merit needed for this academy? Be a little ashamed!"
He turned to the council members, mainly Iris and the heirs to the throne.
"What part of you is truly worthy of being a leader? You value people in the name of their strength, you ignore their crimes and their horror, and you consider yourself the best student. The best students are a bunch of honorless discriminators, how can we expect normal students to be better?"
He then looked at Hope and Cid.
"We may all be different, in power, but aren't we all human? Why are we so obsessed with being special? Does it make you feel better saying poor people are worse than you? At least, they live in the trash because they have no other choice, you are trash by insulting them!"
With a very resolute expression, he finally turned to look at Dora and took a step forward.
"Do you know how little these people think of the common people? Isn't it horrible? People come here and act like monsters towards people who are less fortunate, then jump into the arms of their parents to receive love... How? How can someone understand the beauty of life but still be such trash? I wish I had never been a noble!"
He stopped, right in front of Dora whose eyes had narrowed.
"I wanted to believe in you, I wanted to believe in trash people who would rise above rich idiots and teach them humility... Why are you such a monster?! You're just like them... Do you know what sets an emissary apart from a monster? A monster acts without thought, regardless of the damage it inflicts. Doesn't that make you a monster?
He remained silent, waiting for a response. Dora seemed a little confused, not because of Thomas but because around him there was no murderous aura, from his point of view, that was what really made him dangerous at that moment.
"Iris, I'm willing to talk to you if you take him off my face."
Dora suddenly said with disinterest. Iris was a little surprised but walked towards them hesitantly.
"... Thomas..."
But the boy just smiled.
"Hmph, of course, you would accept it. It doesn't matter anymore, Anesidora, you have long been suspected of beating other students, today we finally have enough witnesses to prove it. Do you know the penalty for public fighting?"
"It will not happen." Zuri walked forward and stood in front of Dora. "My knight only defended me when these people insulted me, that was chivalry. Of all things, they should be the ones expelled for insulting a baron's daughter."
Thomas couldn't help but laugh lightly, a laugh that terrified Hope and the other council members.
"You prepared your shot really well, well done. Oh, let me guess, you're also going to ask You did a great job preparing your shot. Let me guess, you're going to ask for him not to be punished too, aren't you, Princess?"
"Huh?... Yeah! Of course! That was my plan all along, you bad guy who bullied poor Anesi, stop reading my mind." She winked at Dora, who was at the limit of his understanding.
"Do I know you?"
"... Fufu, you don't? Fufu, look at my face, are you sure you don't???"
"... Should I?"
As they argued, Thomas took a deep breath and looked at his right arm. Without him realizing it, Iris had already grabbed him, like the perfect puppet for Dora. She looked at the ground with a sad expression.
Thomas smiled and looked at the sky.
"You know, Iris, I admire you a lot."
"Hey?"
"Yup, today I think I can finally say it." He lowered his gaze and put the confused eyes of the student council President. "I loved you."
A cold cheer spread through the crowd, followed by screams of amazement. Iris, paralyzed, dropped her arm.
"W-w-w-wha... HUUUUH?!"
"T-Thomas?!" Hope shouted at the ears of his mentor.
Hm? You seem surprised, I thought that I couldn't hide it very much. But yeah, I've always loved you, from the moment I met you. The reason I joined the council, the reason I kept trying again and again to be better, it was all you. You were my model, the one I wanted to see on the throne."
"W-w-wait!... What are you saying... Everyone is watching!"
"Don't mind us!" Lisa shouted in the back.
"You big ass traitor!" Maxim started to cry.
The reactions were varied and confused, some cheered for him, and others, Iris fans cried in anger, and Sunnah was on the ground, unable to handle the pressure her friend was put into.
Zuri's sharp teeth could be seen as she grimaced.
"Ew... What am I watching? Dora, let's go, it's getting weird."
"... Yeah... This escalated way too weirdly."
He turned his back, ready to leave, when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"Wait, I'm not finished with you yet."
"I'm not interested in your love life."
"Don't worry, it won't be about that, don't worry about listening to me."
He turned toward Iris again, with a sad expression.
"I really liked you... But I can't lie to myself anymore, Iris, you're really a terrible person too. You used to be so dazzling... but look at you now, I can't ignore any more what you're doing... I can't follow you."
"Thomas…"
"You're not different than him. Now, Anesidora Carper..."
Dora, more and more annoyed, narrowed his eyes.
"I know people like you, you can have what you want and you're acquaintance with nobles, but you're cruel, so I know you won't refuse that: I challenge you to a duel, right now."
"... Crual... Let me guess, if I win you will quit being an emissary?"
Thomas shook his head and took out his glasses.
"Let's not choose this, as emissaries, we have a duty to fight as much as we're alive, the loser should suffer from the winner's cruelty, don't you think? If I win, you will leave the academy, on your own. Like this, there won't be a problem with the nobility."
"I see... Interesting... I'm getting the template now, so what should I choose?... Oh, but I don't know you well, how can I be sure I'm choosing something you'll really hate? Unless Hope gives me some ideas?"
He looked into his eyes for a moment, the tension gradually rising. The council members looked at each other, and the situation went from a potential danger, from a funny moment to a dramatic outcome.
Dora looked at Hope, Cid, and Iris, then smiled darkly.
"I see, I see what kind of person you are... Good, now I can choose a suitable punishment. If I win, I will fight Hope and Barron, one by one and if I beat them, they will leave the academy, and Iris will become my servant and leave the council."
He took a step forward, Zuri stepping back slightly so the two could face each other properly.
"Of course, you are prohibited from quitting the council or the academy, and no one from the council will be allowed to bother me anymore, is that okay? Vice President?"
Thomas remained silent for a moment. The council panicked as murmurs rose among the students.
"Oi, Thomas, you don't think about accepting, do you?"
"V-Vice President Thomas, I think this is a bit extreme..."
He glanced at Hope for a moment, the young boy was trembling slightly, and fear was clearly visible in his eyes, at the idea of facing the undefeated monster.
He smiled softly and turned to Dora.
"If that's what it takes to purge the academy of its biggest poison, so be it."