Unlike other nations, Ragna held a vote among the nobles every ten years to decide who would become the next king. Anyone could receive a vote, but the king was always chosen from one of the Five Great Families, due to their immense influence and prestige. Because of this, many felt snubbed and refused to participate in the vote, calling it extremely unfair.
"I know your name is Zurio, that's not what I meant," the girl replied coldly, purposely ignoring the part where he said he would become the future king of Ragna, as she considered it a childish dream.
"Oh, sorry. My full name is Zurio Langley."
"That's not what I meant either."
"Then what did you mean?" Langley asked, confused.
The girl huffed. "You surprised me. I didn't know you were strong enough to defeat Ray with a single blow, that's all."
"Oh, that," he scratched his head, "I got a bit lucky," he chuckled. "But I surprised you? I don't follow, do we know each other?"
"Is there anyone in this school who doesn't know you? You're the only transfer student in the history of Pronter Academy."
He looked genuinely surprised.
"You didn't know that? Ugh, never mind," she extended her hand, annoyed by Zurio's ignorance, and they shook hands. "My name is Lysa. I'm ranked fifth strongest in the school. If you ever need anything, let me know."
"Thanks for your kindness, Lysa, haha," Zurio smiled, and the girl blushed.
"Well," noticing the stares from the other students around them, she coughed to hide her embarrassment, "I came here to stop a fight, but it seems my presence wasn't needed after all. I have a Magic III test soon, so I'll be going now."
"Bye, Lysa!" He waved and turned to head back to his classroom, only to be surprised by the appearance of the Swordsman Skill II teacher.
"And where do you think you're going? Take Ray to the infirmary and come with me to the headmaster's office, young man."
"Oh, come on…" he muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
It had been a few months since he last saw Headmaster Lympus face to face, something that rarely happened. He still remembered the occasion.
After his parents died to the strongest fire dragon in the world during an expedition, the rest of the Langley family did everything they could to have the king confiscate Zurio's inheritance when he was just ten years old. They wanted it divided among themselves.
The king at the time, however, thought that was far too cruel and refused.
When Zurio turned 17, he received a visit from a bearded old man dressed as a mage. It was the headmaster of Pronter Academy, who had come to his castle to personally invite him to transfer into the school's second year.
According to him, the next king would be chosen when Zurio turned 20, and there were rumors that the chosen one would be someone close to the Langley family. That meant all of the young man's assets could be seized in three years.
Headmaster Lympus was one of those who despised the king-voting system and believed it corrupted the kingdom. He promised to protect young Langley by placing him in Class 2-B and teaching him everything he could to help defend himself from his enemies. Even if his inheritance was taken, at least he could become an adventurer.
What Lympus didn't expect, however, was how weak Zurio would turn out to be during his second year.
All the teachers and classmates, without exception, considered him a complete failure. Normally, people were either good at melee combat or at magic. Zurio was a rare exception, because he was terrible at both.
The last time Langley had spoken with Lympus, it was clear how disheartened the headmaster was. He had clearly given up on him.
Because of that last conversation, Zurio wasn't very excited to speak with the headmaster again, but he had no choice and was brought into his office.
"Hello, boy!"
"Hello, Lympus…"
"How have you been? It's been a while since we talked, hasn't it?"
"Yeah, during the opening ceremony for the third year," Zurio sighed.
"Yes, yes, exactly," the old man scratched his beard. "Tell me, what brings you here?"
"I was dragged here by the Swordsman Skill II teacher because of a commotion the whole school witnessed."
"What happened? Did they call you a merchant's son again?"
"No, no, that doesn't bother me anymore. In fact, I even say it proudly now. I really am the son of merchants, after all," he said enthusiastically, then looked at the headmaster, who waited for an explanation, "turns out I got into a fight—"
"A fight? What happened? Are you hurt? We need to take you to the infirmary immediately!"
"Don't worry, Headmaster, I'm not the one who's hurt. It's Ray and I already took him to the infirmary, as the teacher asked."
Lympus looked puzzled, not understanding the situation. "I don't get it, what do you mean?"
"I defeated him using a skill I learned."
The two stared at each other in silence for a few seconds, until Lympus broke it with a loud laugh.
"Hahaha, okay, Zurio, April Fool's Day is long past."
"I'm serious, Headmaster, ask anyone. Ask, I don't know, a girl with pink hair named Lysa, she was there and even spoke to me."
He looked at Langley's face in disbelief.
"You really defeated Ray?"
"Yes, in the school courtyard, but I'm sorry, Lympus, it won't happen again."
Tears welled up in the headmaster's eyes.
"I knew it! I knew you had the dog inside you!" He hugged Zurio, catching him off guard. "Don't worry about Ray—I know very well he's a troublemaker, what matters right now is that you finally found your inner strength!"
"I didn't expect you to be this happy."
"Of course I'm happy! We both need to show those idiot nobles that you're not the helpless boy they think you are!"
"Thank you, Lympus, I never would have made it this far without you."
"This is just the beginning, boy. Keep training and let me deal with the teachers."
They said their goodbyes.
Pronter Academy operated as a boarding school, with male dorms on the third floor and female dorms on the fourth. As a third-year student, Zurio was entitled to a room of his own. After leaving the headmaster's office, he returned to his room and sat on his bed, staring at his desk.
He couldn't believe what had happened. He had defeated the thirtieth strongest student in the school ranking, been acknowledged by Lysa, and even praised by Headmaster Lympus, all in less than an hour.
"All it cost me was a million kerrys."
He stood up, excited.
"Isn't that right, System?"
[Welcome back, Zurio.]