Haruto was frozen in shock, not believing his eyes.
Those cruel mana blades pinning what remained of Ryuujin to the wall couldn't be his, right? He wasn't that sort of person...
Yet as he sat in the principals office, being interrogated, the undeniable reality started to set in.
"You're lucky that no other students were harmed except for Ryuujin, but be that as it may, you are the prime suspect of murder against the heir of one of the most influential families in the Alarian kingdom! Regardless of whether you are innocent or not, they will be baying for your blood."
As the principal sighed, Haruto hung his head. If it had been any other situation, he would've quite enjoyed the sight of the office, with its modest wooden decor and minimalist design.
Yet the sound of carriage wheels clacking against cobblestones drifted up through the open window, which overlooked the front courtyard.
As Haruto and Principal Akira stood up to watch, he saw numerous elaborate carriages trundle into the courtyard, many flying pennants with noble houses seals and even a carriage with the royal pendant on it.
Haruto was well and thoroughly screwed.
"What is the meaning of this? How dare you! My son has been killed on these school grounds, how could you allow this to happen!"
Haruto stood in the corner, behind a pillar, eavesdropping on the argument happening.
Currently, the head of Ryuujin's house, the Black Dragons, had turned up, demanding the handover of the murderer immediately.
The other houses had come along in a show of force and the 3rd heir to the Alarian kingdom was here too, to address such an act on school grounds.
"There were assassins, mi'lord, and I believe they were sent against one of our students here. It seems Ryuujin was caught up in the mess and was collaterl damage in the ensuing fight. Luckily, one of our students survived this terrible tragedy. I am very sorry for your loss. The school has made an unforgivable mistake in its security and we humbly apologize."
Wow, the headmistress is lying! What bravery! Does she want to defend me or what?
"However, your son made a mark on the would be assassins, thoroughly decimating them. You should be very proud of him, taking out many fully grown and trained assassins."
"DO YOU THINK I WOULD BE PROUD? My son is dead! I demand immediate reparations from this pigsty of a school!"
It seemed that the patriarch of the Black Dragons was more interested in the monetary gain he could squeeze from this school, rather than being actually concerned about his child's death.
He didn't even bother to hide the unmistakable greed in his eyes, his hands rubbing together in an imitation of grief but was really greed.
"Where is this student anyways? I must question him. How can my talented and gifted boy Ryuujin die but some second rate trash survive? Impossible!"
Suddenly, a hand grabbed onto his collar.
Barely having any time to turn around or react, he was hauled in front of the delegation without ceremony.
"This it the one, my prince. His mana exactly matches the mana we found at the site."
"W-what? How did you investigate the incident scene? We kept it under guard!"
The headmistress stuttered in surprise. Haruto attempted to twist around to catch a look at his mysterious assailant, aware of the many glares the nobles were directing at him.
"Oh, it was easy. They were all too slow to even see me anyways. It's fine, I never touched anything."
The third prince spoke up, directing his words at his attacker.
"Brilliant work as always, Kensei. You once again prove to be the famous detective on top of the worlds greatest swordsman!"
Haruto went dead silent. Finally craning his neck to look at the man behind him, he was stunned.
He didn't even need his 'mana analyze' to tell this man had the highest mana blood concentration he had ever seen, it practically radiated off him in waves.
His black hair fell in loose locks over his eyes, giving him a slightly mysterious vibe.
Yet what caught Haruto's attention the most was the necklace hanging around his neck.
It was intricately, carved a silver rendition of a dragon clutching a real ruby, with gold linings.
It was a delicate thing, beautiful but not something you would see on a man.
Kensei Zenka, the man, the myth, the legend, the pinnacle of manablades himself, smiled down on him, seemingly amused.
"Surprised, kid? It's not everyday a random kid like you gets picked up by Kensei himself."
On a second look, Kensei probably looked younger than he actually was.
Haruto could just make out the lines and creases of age, yet it was not pronounced enough to suggest an actual old man. Haruto put his age in the late 30's.
"You have an interesting affinity. S-Tier! Not bad. Heavenly is a prettty good affinity too, I fought a guy with it once, very tedious."
"You! You killed my son! You scoundrel, I'll have your head!"
The Black Dragon patriarch raged at Haruto, but the prince stepped in, raising a placating hand.
"Now, now, let's not get worked up, I'm sure this scrawny kid couldn't possibly have murdered an entire squadron of assassins and Ryuujin, most likely he got lucky and ran away? Isn't that right, Kensei?"
Kensei looked down at Haruto and winked, a friendy act that made Haruto feel slightly more at ease.
"Not possible sir, this kid doesn't have enough mana capacity to even fill a bucket, let alone slaughter that many people! It must be like the headmistress said."
Faced with the testament of the strongest man alive, the patriarch had no choice but to back down and start negotiating the damage fees with the headmistress.
...
"So, I'm interested in taking you on as an apprentice. Whadd'ya say to that?"
"huh-?"
Haruto was once again sat in the principals office, but this time, the third prince, Kensei Zenka, and the headmistress was present as well.
"You should seriously consider, Haruto. As your headmistress, I should duly advise you that being a recognized apprentice of Kensei Zenka would essentially grant you legal immunity from this...little incident."
It seemed the headmistress didn't particularly care for Ryuujin either, not being too upset over his death.
Yet as Haruto sat there, an opportunity of a lifetime was quite literally served up on a silver platter, but he just couldn't figure whether this was some sort of elaborate trap.
"But the thing is, I still need to better gauge your abilities. I hear there's currently a year tournament going on? Well, this little mishap shouldn't stop any festivities! I want to see what my boy..."
"Haruto. Haruto Ichika."
"Ah yes, Haruto here is capable of! It would be a wonderful demonstration for me and raise the students morale! Think of it as a personal favour for me, yes?"
Kensei cheerfully winked at the principal, yet her stone face never slid.
"I can make the suitable accomodations, but the utmost safety precautions must be held up. I cannot allow another accident to happen again."
So they're going to sweep the murder of a prominent student under the rug? Is this actually more common than I thought? Maybe it's like those school shootings I saw on the news...
Kensei clapped Haruto on the back, sending him reeling forward from the impact.
"Then it's settled, m'boy, put on a good performance for this old man, will ya? I haven't seen some good entertainment for a long time!"
...
The announcement the next day that the tournament would resume in 3 days time was a surprise, but the school seemed to take it in stride.
Ryuujins cronies seemed to not even remember Ryuujin, or register his disappearance. Students schoolwide barely even acknowledged his existence.
The corridor the fateful incident had taken place was still frequently traversed, with only the occasional whistle at a still uncleaned bloodstain.
Damn, this world is super desensitized to violence, huh? I wonder what causes it.
As the day of the first round of fights rolled around, the stands around the arena were packed with cheering students, and in the vip room sat Kensei, with the third prince pleading leave, citing 'aversion to blood'.
The uproar was tremendous as the students realised Kensei was here, a fact passed like wildfire through the audience.
A visit by the strongest man alive to their school tournament was like having a top tier football team scout watch a kindergarden football game!
As the excitement reached its peak, the matches of the day kicked off, with the first match being...Tsubasa vs Hiroshi...