The time passed very fast since my meeting with Lissa, you know, the usual, annoying some people, training with Livia, I also started going to the brothel every day, not for what you think, but to pay the price for the creation of the artifact that I commissioned to Lissa, the materials needed for its creation were not a joke.

But it would be suspicious to spend such a large amount of money in one night in the brothel, even the family would not overlook it, so I have been paying little by little, even so the amount spent was not small, but that helped my profile as a bastard who spends large amounts of gold in the brothel, even when I paid the full price for the artifact I still kept going to maintain the alibi.

During that time I used to make up some of the girls in the brothel to kill time, I never touched a single hair on them, it's not that I'm a eunuch who is not interested in women, they just didn't particularly catch my attention after having spent so many years with a beauty like Livia, and that was also the other reason, I always took Livia with me on my visits to the brothel, I could feel her dissatisfaction seeing me making up the women in the brothel, and a dissatisfied ally is the worst thing there can be.

But after a while she seemed to resign herself and it didn't seem to bother her so much, of course she still pushed away the girls that came too close, but she wasn't as hard as at the beginning, I guess she made friends with the girls in the brothel, they were very nice women after all and sometimes she talked to them.

Now I was together with Livia about to enter the brothel, when we passed through the door the rabbit girl who greeted us the first time we came quickly approached and wrapped around my arm

"Mr. Arthur~ welcome."

"Mia, you are still as beautiful as ever."

"And you're still just as flattering."

Mia was one of the girls in the brothel and you could say she was like the big sister to them all, protecting them from some customer who went too far overboard and giving her advice and taking care of the resident arrivals

"Miss Mia, could you let go of the young master's arm? it doesn't allow him to walk properly."

"Eh?~ but you are also holding his arm Livia".

"I am his personal maid, I have to be close to the master."

"Hmp! Again taking advantage of your position!"

The girls looked at each other almost shooting lightning out of their eyes until I interrupted them.

"How is Miss Lissa feeling?"

Mia stopped looking at Livia and turned her attention to me before she put on a complicated expression

"Miss Lissa is fine, just for...some complications."

"...Take me to see her."

"Yes."

We followed Mia until we arrived in front of Lissa's office.

-Knock Knock

"Miss Lissa, Mr. Arthur is here to see you"

"...Let him in"

A voice that seemed weaker and more tired than usual answered, Mia opened the door and after bowing she left.

"Hehehe...sorry to greet you looking like this."

Her complexion was paler than that of a healthy person and she had barely visible dark circles under her eyes, most likely from not having slept well for several days

"I know this is a stupid question but how do you feel?"

"If I'm honest I feel like shit, these painkillers are becoming useless and the holy water is less and less effective."

This was to be expected, in the novel when the protagonist group could meet Lissa she was practically on the verge of death.

"You still couldn't get the ingredients?"

"Hydra's blood is already solved, although it cost me a fortune, the problem is the ether, you know how rare it is for a vein of mana to form."

The so called "Vein of Mana" is a natural phenomenon in which the mana is concentrated in high quantities in a single place, this makes the plants, animals and in general the entire ecosystem of that place change, giving a single strand of grass the ability to be used to create a potion of medium range, and at the point with more concentration of mana is the ether, which is the purest form of mana so to speak.

The problem with this is that for a vein of mana to form is exceptionally rare, as a lot of conditions have to be met for it to happen, and that added to the fact that it doesn't last forever, after a few months the mana will dissipate again, disappearing along with the ether.

"But enough about me, that just makes things gloomy, before long you'll have to go to the academy won't you?"

 

"Yeah, it's amazing how it's been 2 years already".

"Yeah, and look at you, you're getting more handsome every day, you've already made several of my girls fall in love with you, you know? you'd better take responsibility"

After some jokes and casual chats Lissa commented something more serious

"So, are you planning to be expelled from the academy?"

"Yes, being in the academy I won't be able to move freely and the family will have their eye on me at all times."

"I understand, but how do you plan to get their eyes off you?"

"Very simple."

I said with a smile

"I just have to act as heartless and disgusting as possible enough to get myself kicked out of the family."

"But then they'll try to kill you, you know how cautious they are, they won't leave a loose end no matter how insignificant"

"That's where you come in."

"Oh?"

Lissa seemed interested when I commented on her involvement.

"You see, when the time comes you'll have to..."

***

After another 2 months, the time to go to the academy came, I would be lying to say that I wasn't nervous or excited at all, after all, the academy is where most of the important characters and events would be concentrated.

Right now I was in a carriage along with Livia on the way to the academy.

"You look excited young master."

Commented Livia who was sitting next to me.

"And a little nervous too"

I answered her honestly while smiling

"You don't have to worry"

Livia grabbed my hand and looked into my eyes as she said with a determined expression.

"No matter what, I'll be by your side to support you"

"Hehe, as expected from my personal maid."

I said to him as I stroked his head and my nervousness disappeared completely.

After that the carriage ride lasted 2 days and we finally arrived at the academy.

"It's pretty big"

The Athena Academy, the best academy in the empire, with first class facilities and equipment, known for its challenging theoretical and practical tests, the simple fact of being admitted already gives you a considerable status and if you manage to graduate, getting a job as a royal guard is not impossible.

It is worth noting that being a royal guard is one of the most honorable and best paid jobs there are.

The academy looked like a huge castle from afar but its inside was even more impressive, passing through the luxurious gates I could see something like a square with several food stores, blacksmith shops and so on, in the center was a shining marble statue of the war goddess Athena.

"I remember that the author was very fond of mythology."

The gods do exist in this world, Thor, Zeus, Odin, Loki, all of them are real, or at least those of Greek and Norse mythologies

The academy has the blessing and protection of the goddess Athena, so it could be considered one of the safest places to be, that is also the reason why several leaders of other kingdoms send their children to study in this academy, because it has the protection of a goddess.

Several people and carriages were starting to arrive little by little while admiring the majesty of the academy, but my eyes were looking for someone in particular

"Bingo"

I started walking moving people in my path, some turned to confront me but when they saw who I was they swallowed their words and lowered their heads so I wouldn't notice them or remember their faces

"Kya!"

"Accidentally" I bumped into a girl who was carrying a coffee in her hand and when the girl fell to the ground her coffee stained my shirt

"Ah! I'm so sorry it wasn't-!"

The girl tried to apologize but when she looked at the face of the boy she had collided with her blood froze.

'All right, time to get the act started.'

"How dare a maggot like you stain my clothes!"

The surrounding people who heard my scream stopped walking and turned their attention to us

"R-really sorry!"

The girl stood up hurriedly and apologized in a nervous manner.

"You really think a simple apology will be enough? this shirt wasn't cheap at all you know?"

"I-I'm so sorry!, I'll pay you for it but right now I don't have much money!"

Said the girl as she bowed deeply

"Wait...aren't you Anisa Lukvit from that ruined noble family?"

When the girl heard that she bit her lip and tightly clenched her skirt

"Pff hahahahahaha! I guess so, clearly you wouldn't even have the money to pay for my shirt!"

I made sure to laugh as loudly and obnoxiously as possible for a certain someone to hear.

 

"Well, now that I look at you...you have a nice body."

Anisa felt a shudder at my disgusting words, which, really weren't a lie.

Her hair was a shade of navy blue as were her big eyes which combined with her short stature gave her an adorable appearance, but in contrast, her body was well developed in all the right areas and overall she had an attractive figure

"Since you don't have the money to pay for my shirt, how about paying me in a different way, hahaha, who knows...if you do a good job I might send some gold coins to your family."

The surrounding people were murmuring while Anisa was trembling with tears about to come out of her eyes, I really felt like caressing and protecting this little girl but her suffering wouldn't last long

"Hey you!"

Here it is

"Leave the girl alone!"

Our protagonist

A tall black haired boy with eyes like a ruby was the only one who dared to step forward to protect the girl

"Mind your own business! Do you know who I am?"

"It doesn't matter who you are!, in Athena academy everyone has the same status, and in my eyes you're just a jerk who enjoys bullying others!"

Said the tall black haired boy while not taking his crimson gaze off my eyes.

"What did you just say?!"

I said while releasing my mana to press him, the people around felt overwhelmed by the pressure of my mana but the black-haired boy didn't even flinch and even replied

"!!!"

He released a pressure much stronger than mine but instead of expelling it recklessly he concentrated only on me, a demonstration of the precise control he had of his own mana.

Livia was about to jump to knock the boy out but I secretly signaled her not to act.

"How dare you-!"

"Stop it!"

A voice made everyone stop and fall silent as a golden haired, blue eyed girl emerged from the crowd with her maid behind her

"It's the princess!"

"Wow, she's even more beautiful than I heard."

"She's very elegant."

Her aura was commanding but she had a certain charm that drew people in, every movement was charged with the elegance and finesse that a member of the royal family should have

"Sir Reclesia, please end this disturbance."

"But this guy was the one who-"

"Sir Reclesia, although within the academy the use of the family name is not allowed, your actions are embarrassing both the Reclesia family and the royal family, are you willing to face the consequences of such an act?"

She asked with a calm and serene tone but her words generated enormous pressure to those who heard them

"Kgh!"

I finally stopped my momentum and turned quickly to leave.

Once we were away from the crowd I relaxed my expression and let out a sigh.

"How was it?"

"Even I wanted to punch you"

"Hahaha, then it was perfect"

With that ended my triumphant entrance to the academy.

***

"U-um, thank you very much"

Anisa thanked the black-haired young man for helping her in that difficult situation where no one dared to step forward

"Don't worry, my grandfather taught me to help anyone in need."

"Still thank you very much, could you tell me your name?"

"Sure, I'm Kein West, the future strongest swordsman."

He said with a big smile as he extended his hand to her.

"Hahaha, nice to meet you. my name is Anisa Lukvit."

She said as she shook his hand feeling calmer from Kein's animated aura.

"You have a pretty high aspiration, but if you want to reach to fulfill it I advise you to be more careful."

Beatrice approached them and warned Kein.

"The boy you just faced now is Arthur Reclesia, a member of one of the most important families in the empire and even if he is an idiot it is not a good idea to mess with him so carelessly."

She said with a cold tone but with the clear intention of helping the boy to stay out of trouble.

Kein seemed to realize this and said.

"Thank you very much for the warning, but I can't stand idly by when I see someone like him bullying the weak, if an obstacle presents itself I will simply overcome it with my sword, I may look like an idiot to you, but that's the path I decided to follow to become the strongest swordsman"

He said with unwavering determination in his eyes.

"Ha~ I guess it can't be helped, but at least make sure to be more careful next time"

"I'll keep that in mind."

While the 3 of them were chatting animatedly, a girl with long ears from the crowd stood looking in the direction Arthur left in

"That boy..."