Chapter 123

Valenciaunos looked up at the six-story building that loomed before him.

It was a good building, constructed from large bricks and neatly coated with plaster.

“Isn’t your sister a mage? There’s no way to fight inside that narrow corridor.”

“So you’re suggesting we set it on fire?”

At his outrageous statement, Sererassie and Jin simultaneously frowned.

“We can’t burn it all down. The landlord who commissioned the student council is also a court noble.”

Valenciaunos shook his head.

“Those guys need to breathe, right? For now, let’s open the front entrance, and I’ll create some smoke to force them out. It’s not like we’re making air with no purification magic, so eventually, they’ll crawl out. Then, sister, you can zap them with electricity, and Jin, you’ll catch them and hand them over to each academy.”

Jin nodded.

The power to punish students rested with the heads of each academy.

Originally, the Capital Academy was a place for the offspring of high nobles, and naturally, each of them came from families that could cause civil wars if offended.

So no matter what kind of trouble they caused, it was necessary to cover things up within the academy.

These days, however, that tradition had faded, and some commoners also attended, but the privilege still remained with academy students.

The reason Old Schola members didn’t drop out but rather were on long-term leave was also due to this.

As long as they could avoid expulsion, that was all that mattered, and even if expelled, they could enter a different academy.

If they participated in a few fights between academy students, they could regain their hero status in that new academy.

‘Those guys were true experts in street fighting. We conscripted them all and put them to good use in urban warfare.’

Valenciaunos recalled memories from before his return and finished a lengthy incantation.

“Flames that spread thickly.”

It was a fire magic, ‘Gray Tear,’ that produces enough smoke to be used as a smoke screen against wyvern bombardments.

It was a failed fire spell that only created smoke without flames, and thus was upgraded to generate smoke.

Three fists’ worth of a fireball shimmered in the air, and soon gray smoke began to billow heavily.

“Let’s get started.”

Jin cast wind magic and brought the rising smoke under control.

Sererassie nodded cautiously, and Valenciaunos approached the building’s front door and grasped the doorknob.

He felt the presence of security magic, but he trusted his own body.

Crack!

The moment he grabbed the doorknob, it sprang out like a mimic and bit his hand.

It had enough force to break bones, but the doorknob turned bright red and even discharged electric shocks.

Szzzz!

Zzzzzt!

Those attacks had no effect on Valenciaunos.

He casually shook off his wrist, tore the doorknob free, and flung the door open.

“Kids these days are bold.”

It was an age of chaos and romance.

‘I should send anyone who gets expelled to Helena. She’ll keep them busy with her subordinates.’

Whoosh!

Jin blew smoke into the opened doorway.

Valenciaunos wrapped himself in the smoke like a halo and stepped into the building that resembled a dungeon.

The alert magic rang out loudly.

“Come out! If you don’t, we’ll come in!”

The stairs were located on either side of the building’s corridor, and he chose the right staircase.

“What’s that noise?”

“Cough, cough! Hey! It sounds like there’s a fire!”

“Can’t you hear the alert magic? Who’s broken in?”

“Get up! You stupid idiots!”

Students on long-term leave, who had been enjoying their hangovers and tobacco from the previous day, rushed out of their rooms in small groups.

They quickly regretted it, as the corridor was filled with smoke, making it hard to see ahead.

“What’s going on?”

“Damn it!”

“I can’t see!”

With a whoosh, smoke flooded into the room.

“Cough, cough.”

The windows in the rooms were small, just big enough to poke a face out.

They had no choice but to open the larger corridor windows or head down the stairs to escape out of the building.

“Yeah, they’re crawling out.”

Waiting for them there was the most infamous bandit in the capital, Valenciaunos.

* * *

“W-What?”

“Why stop? Are you crazy?”

“No… there’s… Duke over there.”

“Still not sober… Oh no!”

“T-That bandit who was going to assassinate the Duke of the Northern Region!”

They were well-versed in rumors and even the most recent infamy.

Valenciaunos, dressed in a luxurious uniform with platinum hair, ascended the stairs surrounded by smoke like the cloak of a god of death.

In the smoky haze, a pair of golden eyes glimmered with a dangerous air, unlike that of a human.

The students on leave met each other’s eyes momentarily.

“From the slums yesterday… that fire mage.”

“We’re in trouble.”

“AAAAH!”

One panicked student quickly began to chant ‘Lightning Arrow.’

It was as fast and skillful as expected from a seasoned student.

“That’s how you should act.”

Valenciaunos smiled and drew his black iron sword, ‘Black Tear.’

The brilliant golden mana blade shone briefly, and the ‘Lightning Arrow’ ricocheted off.

‘Nice. Well-made.’

If made with inferior iron, mana wouldn’t flow well.

A good sword needed to feel like mana adhered to it smoothly and soaked through, and ‘Black Tear’ was definitely superior to ordinary knight swords.

The student who cast ‘Lightning Arrow’ tried to cast another spell, but he quickly leaped up the stairs.

“Block him!”

“Damn it!”

“Cast physical enhancement spells!”

A barrage of magically enhanced kicks rained down, but he didn’t flinch, utilizing the egg-sized piece of metal hanging from the hilt of ‘Black Tear.’

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Legs aimed at his knees or thighs quivered and faltered as Valenciaunos seized one of the attacking ankles and swiftly dragged him down the stairs.

Thud! Thud!

The students fell down the wooden staircase like rolling logs.

“We’re more in number, and there’s no place to escape. Just fire spells from the end of the corridor!”

They were true experts in street brawls.

As the initial confusion from the royal family’s arrival settled, they regained composure and began to act as a team.

The student group positioned themselves in the corridor and began to chant spells.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

‘Fire Arrow’, ‘Wind Fist’, ‘Shock Lightning’, and ‘Quagmire’ flew in.

There were even several black magicians, casting curses like ‘Shadow Binding’, ‘Conjectural Eye’, ‘Will-o’-the-Wisp’, ‘Echo’, ‘Illusion’, ‘Red Hives’, and ‘Hallucination’.

It was remarkable how many rare destroyers were among them, with spells like ‘Spear of Power’, ‘Flame Blade’, and ‘Flame Burst’ appearing repeatedly.

Yellow, blue, red, and purple beams of light rushed toward Valenciaunos.

He smiled brightly.

Sizzle!

Szzzzzt!

The various spells struck his body but scattered harmlessly away.

Thud, thud!

“What the hell.”

“Damn it!”

Even moderately strong spells could only make him falter momentarily.

He had endured spells even from the genius mage Sererassie.

No matter how they flew and soared, the students who couldn’t get jobs were no match for his magical resistance.

Some quick-thinking students attempted to bind him with earth spells, launch additional spells, or drew daggers.

These were all experiences Valenciaunos had gone through for about forty more years.

“Okay. Let’s play.”

He leaped and dodged the earth magic.

Several dagger-wielding students charged at him from the front and back.

Those from the upper and lower levels had descended the stairs.

They had blessed physical enhancement spells on their bodies and shock-enhancing spells on their daggers.

In response, Valenciaunos quickly flung open a steel door.

“AAAH!”

The one who kicked the door with his shin slid across the corridor floor, and one who had been hiding in a room startled and stumbled.

Valenciaunos seized him by the collar with his heated hand, threw him to his comrades, and brought the blade of ‘Black Tear’ down onto their heads.

“AAAH!”

“Stab him!”

“The blade isn’t piercing!”

He broke the daggers made of inferior iron with his scaled hands.

“Crazy! You broke the blade with your bare hands?”

He stepped on a foot and elbowed a chin.

“No way!”

Utilizing air shoes with adjusted output, he ruthlessly kicked between their legs.

“Let’s tear them apart!”

“The flames that bloom wildly.”

Whenever a crowd gathered, he boldly unleashed an incantation.

Thud!

The Old Schola members in the rear, in a panic, hastily began chanting spells.

“Flames, take refuge in my hand…”

“Winds!”

“Bloom wildly…”

But when rushed, mistakes were inevitable.

It was not easy to maintain composure while witnessing their comrades being torn apart right before them.

Moreover, the smoke grew thicker and thicker.

“Winds, Kelluk! Cough!”

“My eyes are blurry. Cough! Achoo!”

“I cursed you…! Cough!”

While Valenciaunos had become nearly immune to the flames and smoke, the Old Schola members were not.

“I can’t take it anymore!”

“AAAH!”

One after another, they opened the corridor windows and gasped for fresh air, coughing.

Valenciaunos gave them a gentle push on their backs.

“AAAH!”

Thud, thud, crash!

Old Schola members fell like rain from the third floor.

Many rushed out without even fighting, bolting straight for the first floor.

Sererassie struck her staff to the ground and smiled sharply.

“Just as I thought, you’re my brother. In a conflict as unpleasant as this, there’s no one who can beat you.”

Flashing!

Jin bound the fallen members and spoke.

“Is that a compliment?”

“If you take it as a compliment, it is; and if you take it as an insult, it is.”

Jin thought of her long hair and the mischievous smile that rose with golden flickers, her expression unreadable, and mused that they looked quite alike.

* * *

The notorious student violent organization.

‘Old Schola’ had officially been exterminated.

Jin summoned the student council members, binding most of them and sending them off to their respective academies, while the court noble who had commissioned the work sent a small donation to the student council and a larger donation to Jin personally.

In a building with doors wide open to let the smoke escape, Valenciaunos sifted through room after room, gathering items of potential worth.

“Sister, isn’t this a reagent?”

“It’s high-quality sulfur and thunderbird feathers. Quite good. You’ve got a good eye. Hand it over.”

“This must be from the treasury. I thought it would be here.”

“Indeed, it seems we’re both driven by money. Your thoughts are quite similar to mine.”

“Distinguished mage? But why are you holding out your palm like that?”

“Hmm… Well, this is acceptable.”

During this time, Sererassie found a few worthwhile fire grimoires.

“How good are they?”

They weren’t of exceedingly rare quality, but they also weren’t the officially published textbooks.

“They’re exactly the kind of grimoires that students at the academy would find irresistibly desirable. Practical and pragmatic.”

Valenciaunos thoroughly searched rooms and confiscated almost all the money bags.

Sometimes he drew two or more from one room, leading to an even more meticulous search.

Jin could only stick out his tongue in amazement.

“Okay. Half of it is yours. Go celebrate with the illegitimate children.”

A spring blossom-like smile instantly appeared on his face.

“Thank you.”

“Right. Now that you’ve become president, you understand? The kids following you are the ones you have to feed.”

Watching his smile, Valenciaunos grinned like an old man.

In an instant, Jin saw the shadow of the old professor of swordsmanship who had once been a knight.

“What’s wrong?”

Valenciaunos asked languidly but coolly.

His golden eyes gleamed dangerously.

Jin shook off his nervousness and replied.

“Isn’t His Grace here to capture these fellows for some answers?”

“Correct.”

“But those five, no. Six of them aren’t saying a word, are they?”

Six mages, whom he’d seen before, kneeled on the first floor.

Sererassie and Valenciaunos exchanged looks momentarily at Jin’s question and then smiled as if it didn’t concern them.

Sitting back against the large corridor window as the sky turned orange, the half-siblings looked remarkably beautiful.

“Brother, you should say something.”

“Right. Jin. There are several reagent workshops on this street, aren’t there?”

Although collectively known as the Street of Learning, it was a scale combining several districts in terms of electoral zones.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“One of those workshop masters is likely to be a councilor.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Can you summon him?”

Jin nodded without hesitation.

In the electoral district where the votes of academy students were the most crucial, the influential and powerful student council president had more than enough strength to bring a councilor to them.

“Yes. Should I say that Duke Valenciaunos wishes to meet Councilor Marcus?”

Valenciaunos shook his head.

“No. Say that Duke Sererassie wishes to meet him. Only then will he understand. Have him brought to this coffee house. Good work today.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Jin recognized the moment to withdraw.

With sparkling blue eyes, he swept the student council’s illegitimate children away, dragging the six thugs with him as they exited the scene.

* * *

“You’ve arrived.”

“Yeah.”

A man and a girl entered the coffee house.

Marcus, a bourgeois councilor with a bear-like stature clad in fine clothing and sporting a thick beard, was bowing his head to a girl half his height.

The grand sorceress, Parnesia, with her lifeless white hair and crimson eyes, had a brown complexion like coffee.