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Chapter 85 - The Three Kingdoms

"What do we do, Alen? The duels start after the required subjects with Teacher Crowbell," Atro asked, his hands shaking.

"I think you should worry about your parents' visit first," I told him, guiding him to our classroom.

"They're not coming. They have more important things to take care of." A sudden sadness took over his tone as he looked down at the ground.

"Then we have more time to prepare for your duel." I patted his back a couple of times to comfort him. "We'll mostly focus on developing a strategy against Ximuss, then you can get some rest."

Silva tapped my shoulder with her fingertip and gestured with her thumb that she was leaving for her class.

That only left Atro and me alone as we headed to our classroom.

The worst part about today was that visits were long, and parents could get themselves really involved in the lessons.

As we walked down the hallway that led to the S Class classroom, we could already see parents talking with teachers before classes had even started.

The worst part was our classroom.

Students and parents stood outside, waiting for our homeroom teacher to arrive.

Thanks to the presence of their parents, students stood straighter than ever, making sure to show their noble qualities and not disappoint their family names.

Our classroom had all kinds of nobles from different kingdoms — elven royals, demi-human nobles, and human nobles. Of course, the two main ones that stood out were Fran's mother and Lyon's father.

I managed to get a quick glance at Fran through the crowd of parents and students. The usually serious and confident girl now had her gaze slightly lowered, while her whole body moved with the grace you'd expect from a princess.

She looked almost robotic doing that.

Her mother, Isadora Von Themys, stood next to her — tall and imposing. She wore the standard war armament of the Montanev Kingdom: a silver chest plate and various other pieces of armor on her arms, forearms, thighs, and legs. This armor was, of course, of much higher quality than what any normal soldier could get.

But what caught my attention the most was none other than her signature weapon: Ignilux Tenebrae, a longsword with the power to wield the elements of fire and darkness without the need for a spell by the one wielding it. A sword that is alive and can use mana by itself. It's the sword used in the great war against the dragons — the sword that could cut through dragons' thick scales and even damage the dragon god.

One of the legendary weapons — a sword you have to snatch from Isadora's corpse after you beat her in the game.

The sword also loses its... consciousness? Life? The game was obscure and never specific about what happened to it after Isadora's death.

"!!!" My body froze as I felt an immense pressure coming from... Isadora herself.

She probably noticed me looking at the sheathed sword on her hip belt.

"Is he that peasant student everyone keeps talking about?" a parent asked, prompting Isadora to stop staring at me.

"I heard the Yolte family from the Raychmen Kingdom has been complaining nonstop to Director Goldenlaw about her decisions regarding that boy."

"Atro... get away from me." I could sense some kind of extremely dangerous event was about to happen, and Atro would get dragged into it if he stayed.

"N-no... Alen... I-I'll stay." Atro seemed even more on edge than I was. His whole body trembled, and he was practically drowning in sweat.

"Thanks..." For some reason, those words made me feel not only weirdly emotional but also helped me feel way less tense about this whole situation.

"So you're the one who beat my son, huh?" A loud voice like a roar — so powerful it felt like my bones started to shake — erupted from the crowd waiting for our teacher to arrive.

The students and parents stepped aside, clearing a path to the source of the voice.

A tall, burly, and hairy demi-human with lion ears, a tail, and a thick brown mane stomped his way in front of... Atro.

He gripped Atro by the collar of his uniform and lifted him with one hand.

"You're the peasant Lyon lost to? The one who changed everything at the last second?" the demi-human growled in a low, raspy tone, grinning at Atro.

Atro's whole body froze. His face went pale as he was faced with one of the most important people in the world.

"N-n-n..." Atro could barely form a single word as his eyes filled with tears, and his voice became shaky.

I grabbed the lion man's arm with all my strength. "I'm the one who did that. He has nothing to do with it," I said, keeping my tone casual.

"Your eyes... your voice... you're not shaking. You're not afraid of me, boy," he muttered, sounding confused.

"Who's to say I'm not? But afraid or not, that's not important right now. You should let go of him."

Unlike Isadora — who could very well attack a student despite Aurum Academy being a neutral place — this guy wouldn't attack me.

Sure, his overwhelming presence was enough to leave me shaking inside, but I knew he was nothing to be afraid of.

The lion man started with a low chuckle, then burst into full laughter as he slowly lowered Atro back to the floor.

"Now I understand why you beat my son," he said, giving my back a pat so strong it made me stumble forward.

"Ouch..." It felt like I'd just been slapped in the back with enough force to leave a mark that would last for days.

The man laughing was Nemeor Alva — Lyon's father and King of the United Kingdom of Tiasbes.

Unlike Isadora, who's one of the main villains in the game, Nemeor becomes an ally to Kaida after she makes a name for herself.

The most we know about him, though, comes from what Lyon and a few other characters say in conversations with other units.

He's strict and values results above all else.

His wife is a really good character, though. She probably stayed in the kingdom to oversee its security from the regularly spawning gates there.

"Lyon! Come here!" Nemeor yelled, and Lyon immediately appeared from the crowd.

"Yes, Father!" Lyon said. I caught him shooting me a look full of hatred for a split second.

"Why don't you try being friends with this young man? Maybe you'll learn something from him." The lion king slapped my back a few more times, each one making me complain.

"But, Father. He—"

"He's approved by Goldenlaw herself to be in the S Class. And from what I saw in the record Goldenlaw gave us, this boy has the most points in the entire academy this year. He even climbed from the lower ranks of S Class to the fifth spot."

"I assure you, King Alva, this student is an anomaly, not the norm." Crowbell finally appeared behind me. He grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the lion king.

A laugh echoed from where Crowbell had come.

"Anomaly... you can be so rude sometimes, Kafka." A man — out of shape and stroking his beard — walked in and stopped next to Nemeor.

Behind this man, Theo and Cecil followed.

"Edgar. Still as flabby as ever," Nemeor said, shaking his head and crossing his arms.

"A king has no need to fight alongside his men. A king leads — his only purpose is to survive and rule," Edgar said, raising a finger with a smile.

Edgar Der Botcam, Theo and Julius's father, and King of the Raychmen Kingdom.

"Oh, hello, Mr. Alen." Cecil waved at me.

"I'm sorry we can't be with you today, Alen. We have a lot to do," Theo said with a tired voice.

"Oh, you're both friends with him?" Edgar asked, looking at me.

"Yes, Mr. Edgar. He's our good friend," Cecil said with a bright smile.

"I see..." Edgar gave his beard a few thoughtful rubs and let out a hmm.

"What are you doing here anyway? I thought you'd be with the other kid," Nemeor asked as he followed the teacher.

"I have to be with this one first for at least one period. After that, I'll go back to Julius," Edgar said with a single laugh as we all made our way into the classroom.

For a moment, I noticed Fran's lingering look at me.

"I don't know why you attract all sorts of weird scenarios, but please — make sure to keep this day at least half normal," Crowbell whispered as he let go of me.

"It's not like I want to attract problems..." I whispered back before going to sit at my desk.

Once all the students were settled in their desks, and the parents stayed at the back of the class, Crowbell started his lecture as usual.

I'd like to say that the lecture continued as any other day, but the presence of the parents behind us made it all the more uncomfortable for us.

It was even more uncomfortable when some parents began to complain to their kids about how little they participated in class or about the topics Kafka was teaching.

At this moment, seeing Kafka handle how annoying some parents could be, my respect toward him went up.

He definitely seemed used to dealing with parents after all his years of being g a teacher.

The three main parents, however, barely interacted in the class.

Nemeor and Edgar simply talked between them about random topics.

Meanwhile, Isadora had her eyes set on me.

This is going to be a long day.

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