The peace didn't even last until the next day.
The Royal Military Academy was a boarding school.
As its name suggests, it trains commanders.
Students were free to go out but could not return home.
When they come back, they have to report to the instructor immediately.
"I wonder how much they bullied someone today."
Instructor Faro went to meet the students returning from their outing.
But!
What awaited him was a completely unexpected result.
"What happened?"
"Ugh, Instructor."
"Why are your arms…?!"
Faro was so shocked he almost fainted.
Everyone had a broken left arm.
Upon closer inspection, it wasn't just a simple fracture. The muscles and nerves were completely twisted.
These kids were all from notable families in the empire.
Their parents would be furious to learn their children weren't just hurt but had suffered severe muscle and nerve damage…
'I'm finished. I need to find out what happened.'
Cold sweat ran down Faro's face.
He sent them out to cripple one student, but they came back crippled themselves.
"Tell me what happened!"
"Well…"
Mateo couldn't bring himself to say it.
How could he admit they were beaten by Kane Rehinar, known as the continent's greatest dullard?
There was no greater disgrace.
"Stop stalling! This is a serious incident."
Mateo gritted his teeth and spoke.
"Kane Rehinar, Sasha's brother, did this."
To be exact, it was Camilla who did it beside Kane, but he didn't mention that.
"Kane Rehinar?"
"Yes."
Faro grabbed Mateo's arm.
"All your mana circuits are severed."
"Ugh, Instructor… What do I do now?"
Mateo was in despair.
He could no longer use mana.
He might have to live as an ordinary person for the rest of his life.
"Did Kane Rehinar really do this to you? That dullard Young Master?"
They all nodded.
Now that Kane wasn't there, they began to vent their anger.
"He attacked us out of nowhere, saying we bullied Sasha."
"Isn't this crossing the line?"
"We were only trying to befriend Sasha…"
They felt incredibly wronged.
They even made up lies to tell Faro.
No, they were faithfully following Kane's threats.
"I can't believe the dullard Young Master harmed you. Rumor has it he's struggling as a beginner-tier 1st class knight."
The students were all Mid-Tier 2nd class.
Mateo was even a High-Tier 2nd class.
It was hard to believe they were defeated by the dullard.
"We thought so too, but it was all lies!"
"You're not blaming that dullard for what someone else did, are you?"
"It's true! Please believe us."
"You can check at the Black Crow Inn."
"Hmm."
Faro looked around at them and then spoke.
"But where is Sasha?"
"Probably with his brother."
"That's against the rules."
Faro smiled slyly.
There was only one reason he bothered with this trivial matter: power.
To help the person he was aligned with rise to power, the Rehinar family needed to fall.
But as long as Duke Carl lived, it was difficult.
No matter how much the Rehinar family was declining, their guardian was an influential figure even the emperor couldn't easily deal with.
'But things change without an heir.'
The firstborn, Kane Rehinar, was known to be a dullard, unfit to become the head of the family.
That left Sasha.
Though he seemed timid at first glance, he was surprisingly talented.
Faro decided he needed to crush Sasha early.
He pretended to turn a blind eye to the bullying, subtly helping and encouraging it.
If something happened to Sasha, the Rehinar family would be utterly ruined.
Resolving this incident well could accelerate that plan.
"We need to publicize this incident."
"You're not planning to inform our families, are you?"
"Of course, I am. You got hurt under my watch. And it wasn't a simple fall; your arm nerves are damaged. I can't handle this alone."
The students protested vehemently at Faro's words.
"No, please don't!"
"If my father finds out, he'll kill me!"
"Can't you handle this yourself, Instructor?"
Despite their desperate pleas, Faro refused.
"I know you don't want your parents to find out you were bullying a friend, but this is serious. If this reaches His Majesty the Emperor, everyone involved will be in grave danger."
The atmosphere in the Fresia Empire was more tumultuous than it seemed.
Noble infighting.
The emperor's deteriorating health.
The fierce competition for succession.
It was like walking on thin ice.
Bullying among friends was a minor issue.
But now the heir of the Rehinar family was involved…
Even though the Rehinar family was declining, they were still a trusted family of the empire.
If the guardian got angry, even the emperor might intervene in this matter.
"Inform your families. Tomorrow, we'll summon Sasha and the dullard young master to address this incident."
* * *
The next morning.
Kane and Sasha went to the Royal Military Academy.
"Brother…"
"Are you nervous?"
"It's because of me that you got summoned."
"I expected this since the moment I broke those bullies' arms. Don't worry."
Kane comforted Sasha.
Blata chimed in.
"Little Brother, you don't need to worry about anything. What's the worst Kane could do, kill them?"
"Is that supposed to be comforting?"
"Isn't it?"
"You're making Sasha more anxious."
"Sasha, Little brother, are you anxious?"
Blata considered Sasha his subordinate, already settling on how to address him, emphasizing "brother" in every sentence.
The only somewhat normal person was Camilla.
"Young master Sasha, please relax. We have the upper hand when it comes to right and wrong."
"But we did destroy Mateo's mana circuits."
"I think it's fortunate. If Young master got too angry, he'd have killed them all."
"What!?"
Camilla said it casually.
"The kind Young Master you knew is gone. The Young Master is much stronger and colder than you think."
That's why Camilla had followed Kane's orders without hesitation.
If Kane had intervened directly, it wouldn't have ended with just broken arms.
Not a single person would have survived.
"Why is no one else worried…"
"We're here. Let's see their faces."
Unlike Sasha's anxiety, Kane looked very calm.
He even seemed amused.
The Royal Military Academy was like a miniature Fresia Empire.
It was grand and imposing.
Magnificent buildings lined up, intimidating anyone who approached.
In front of the grand training ground, representatives of various noble families surrounded someone.
A girl who appeared to be 16 looked like she was about to cry.
Kane recognized her immediately.
'Rose Rehinar. Not a twin sword prodigy like Sasha, but still exceptionally talented.'
She was Sasha's twin sister, Rose Rehinar.
"What are all these adults doing to a child?"
Kane had no respect for them.
They were all corrupt nobles.
Traitors.
He owed no courtesy to such people.
His voice drew everyone's attention.
"Kane… big brother?"
Rose, on the verge of tears, called out.
A man in an instructor's uniform stepped out from among them.
"Did you truly turn the future of the Fresia Empire, genius Mateo, into this state?"
It was Faro.
He asked loudly on purpose.
But Kane ignored him.
Kane's steps halted in front of Rose.
"It's been a while."
"…Brother!"
Kane knew Rose's personality very well.
After all, she was his favorite character back when he was Ray.
Though she appeared mature, she had a dark side.
Carrying a sense of duty towards her family.
Always pretending to be cheerful and brave.
The weight of it gradually broke her down.
Back when he was Ray, he caused a lot of trouble for her unintentionally.
'This time, I won't let that happen.'
He wants his favorite character to be happy.
It was a common thought among gamers.
That's exactly how Kane felt about Rose.
Blata, sensing Kane's thoughts, seized the moment.
"So, you're Kane's weak spot, huh? I'll save you once, no matter what. Got it?"
Blata, jumping from Kane's arms, nestled into Rose's embrace.
Surprised, Rose held Blata.
"Hehe. Humans can't touch my noble head, but since Kane likes you, I'll allow it. Go ahead and pet me."
Despite his words, Blata was affectionate towards Rose.
He gently nudged Rose's hand with his tiny paw.
At that moment, one of the perpetrators' parents tried to push Rose's shoulder.
"…Step aside now."
Blata's eyes turned fierce.
[Who dares to touch someone I care for?]
It wasn't Blata's usual voice.
It sounded like a voice from the depths of hell, a monster's voice emerging from the abyss.
"Ah!"
The hand on Rose's shoulder quickly withdrew.
The killing intent was suffocating.
The air grew oppressively heavy.
Everyone's faces turned pale under the crushing pressure.
"Enough."
At Kane's voice, the oppressive atmosphere vanished instantly.
"Aww. I was about to showcase my magnificent evil power. Why stop me?"
"You don't use a dragon-slaying sword to kill a fuckin rat."
Blata's sulky expression quickly brightened.
"Hehe. Right? If Kane hadn't stopped me, this place would've been a bloodbath."
"Not just a bloodbath, it would've turned into a demon forest."
"Hmph. Only Kane understands my power."
Blata, urging Rose's hand to pet him again, beamed.
Seeing this, Blata looked like a plump, adorable chonkers.
It was hard to think of him as a vicious evil beast.
'At times like this, he truly feels like a five-star evil beast.'
For the first time, Kane felt the power of an evil beast.
Blata was in his infancy, equivalent to a 7-8 year-old child.
Even so, he made everyone present tremble with fear.
This was the power of a ferocious evil beast.
A monster capable of wiping out a small kingdom alone.
* * *
"Who goes there!"
Faro shouted into the empty air.
Unable to believe that a young Blood Tiger had displayed such overwhelming killing intent, he looked around frantically and yelled loudly.
"Who dares emit such a powerful aura!?"
"Could there be an assassin from an enemy nation hiding among us?"
What a spectacle. They're so desperate to save their own skins. And these people call themselves nobles? No wonder the Fresia Empire is falling apart.
"What a disgrace."
Could they even hear Kane's voice through their fear? Intimidated by Blata's killing intent, they pointed fingers.
"A mere child speaking like that!"
"Is that what Duke Carl taught you!"
"How dare you act so insolent here!"
Kane smirked at their words.
"Did you just say 'how dare' to me? Viscount Rosta?"
"What? Viscount Rosta? You insolent brat!"
A middle-aged man named Rosta swung his arm.
Smack!
Kane's head snapped to the side.
Blata was delighted by the sight.
"Hehe. Good, good! Keep provoking Kane!"
None of them understood Blata's intentions.
Kane's eyes flashed.
A purple light shone from his eyes and shot towards Viscount Rosta.
"Gah!"
Viscount Rosta clutched his chest, suddenly struggling to breathe.
"As I recall, my rank is higher than yours, not lower."
Kane was the heir of Duke Carl. Even if Viscount Rosta was the head of his house, his rank was indeed lower than Kane's.
"The price for striking me will be very fucking high."
Kane reached towards Camilla.
Her sword, strapped to her side, flew into his hand.
Swoosh!
The sword sliced through the air.
Shhhk!
It wasn't just an arm injury like his son's.
It was his head. Viscount Rosta's head rolled on the ground.
If it had ended there, it would have been fortunate, but…
Thud!
The sword left Kane's hand and pierced Viscount Rosta's son's chest.
Father and son both dead.
It all happened in an instant.
"Murder! He's committed murder in the capital!"
One of the nobles shouted.
But they quickly fell silent.
"Keep your mouth shut, or you'll be next."
Kane's cold voice and the killing intent radiating from his purple-glowing eyes silenced everyone.
"Hic!"
The nobles, terrified by Viscount Rosta's death, were stunned.
Rosta was a 4th Class warrior.
He wasn't someone who could be killed so easily.
But Kane killed him, like he was killing a mere chicken.