"Lumilia, explain what's that Souta Ieshi man that you said," Ursus said.

"You may not know it but I know him too well," Lumilia said and she paused for a moment before she continued, "He's my classmate. He's the top student in Ladro Institute and currently the famous strongest first-year student who rivaled Yanagi Shina's deed when she was still a first-year student."

"He's your classmate?" Ursus looked at Lumilia in the eyes and asked. He was stunned when he heard that man also was a student of Ladro Institute but what shocked him the most was that Souta was the top student.

"Yes." Lumilia nodded her head and added, "Did you know that the Ladro Institute is very protective of its top students. You shouldn't lay your hands on him if you don't want to face the Ladro Institute's wrath."

Ladro Institute was well-known for supporting its top students. The incident where Yanagi Shina beat the royal prince was still fresh in everyone's mind. No one dared to take revenge on her because they know she had Ladro Institute's full support in her back. As long as she wasn't at fault she could use Ladro Institute name.

That support was really Lumilia's goal in enrolling in the Ladro Institute. She wanted Ladro Institute's support no matter what so that she could attain her freedom. Unfortunately, she didn't even manage to enter the top 10 with her current strength. She tried her best to increase her strength in the past few months, but then she realized that there were tons of stronger people in the whole kingdom and the gap between them was too large.

If she could only enter the top 10 ranker then she would receive the Ladro Institute's attention and protection.

And if Souta could really rival Yanagi Shina's deeds, then there's no doubt about it. The Ladro Institute was going to back Souta in case Gregory laid his hands on him.

A single noble family like Vidrato Family was like an ant to the power of the Ladro Institute. Four to five teachers were enough to bring down his whole family. No, if those all-powerful people came on his door then he would be gone.

Bargan Hevifield, the Flame Master of the Melosa War. The man who singlehandedly pushed back the Melosa Army in the outskirt of the Desolate Woods twenty years ago.

Sabrina Lon Divan, the Magic Caster of Destruction. A woman who graduated from Ladro Institute. She once fought the legendary S-Rank Adventurer on her own to a standstill. She was famous for her AOE spell that could take thousands of monsters in an instant.

Lastly... Azrim, the principal of the Ladro Institute. The demi who was called to matched a God from the God's Continent fifty years ago. This demi was well-known in the whole continent of Giza as the Raging White Fox.

Ladro Institute was like a factory that nurtured high-quality products in the whole kingdom.

"That..." Gregory opened his eyes widely when he heard her words.

Top student of Ladro Institute? Could rival Yanagi Shina's deeds? If all of these were true then it's impossible to touch Souta without getting himself burned.

The scariest part about Ladro Institute wasn't it overall power but its various connection over the whole kingdom. The Ladro Institute nurtured a lot of students and some of these students become an influential figure in the whole Hebrei Kingdom.

Just like the captain of the royal guard. That man was extremely powerful and he doted the students of Ladro Institute.

If Gregory touched the Ladro Institute's top students, then he would gather the attention of all those scary people. It's not worth getting on the bad side of those people.

"Are you saying the truth?" Ursus asked. He couldn't believe what he heard just now. The top student of the Ladro Institute was an adventurer. He thought that it was impossible for that guy to become a top student if he couldn't focus on his study.

"If you don't believe me, then you can ask him and check his device," Lumilia said while pointing the device on her wrist that record their information.

This device could also track the student's whereabouts so that the Ladro Institute could send force if something bad happened.

With this, they would understand that they couldn't touch Souta. In fact, they should curry his favor in case he became a big shot in the future.

"..." Ursus and Gregory couldn't say anything. They have no other choice but to believe Lumilia's words.

"If there's nothing else, I'll go now father, " Lumilia said before she bowed and left the room.

Actually, Souta wasn't even in the top 10 ranker of the first year. Bryan's rank was even higher than him but he was recognized as the most powerful first-year student. It was because in the special test he alone dominated the whole test. He fought several rankers alone and still managed to beat them.

Even if it wasn't a ranking battle that feat alone made him acknowledged as the most powerful first-year student that rivaling Yanagi Shina's deeds. Some of the people in the Ladro Institute were already comparing Souta Ieshi to Yanagi Shina when she was still a first-year student.

"Wait, stay here. I've something important to tell you." Ursus stopped Lumilia from leaving.

"I'll leave now." Gregory glanced at Ursus and said before he stood up.

"Take care, Lord Gregory," Lumilia said to Gregory in a polite tone.

...

Outside the room, Jusmin, Brianna, and Jane looked at Lumilia with a worried expression. They heard lord Gregory's loud voice and aura from the outside. They could feel that he was angry at something.

After a few seconds, the door opened and Gregory left the room. They all looked at Gregory and saw his face with a frown.

They wondered what really happened inside.

...

Souta turned his head and looked in the direction where he felt the outburst of mana. It mana outburst didn't last long as it immediately disappeared.

He recalled that's the direction where Lumilia was heading before. It seems that something happened for a moment there.

He shook his head and looked at Yuko. He smiled and said, "It's fine now, it will fully recover tomorrow."

"Mu." Yuko stuck out her tongue and licked his cheeks.

"Good girl, good girl." Souta smiled as he patted her head.

He then heard footsteps behind him. He turned his head and saw a chubby middle-aged man with blonde hair.

The middle-aged man stopped walking and looked at Souta.

Souta also looked at the man and felt a hint of killing intent but it immediately vanished.

After a few seconds, the middle-aged man averted his head and started walking once again.

"That man... I'm looking forward to it." Souta smiled while looking at the back of the man. There's no doubt about it. That was killing intent.

With that look and aura, Souta could guess that man will make a move tonight.

"I guess I will trigger another quest tonight... probably... I'm not sure..." Souta rubbed his chin as he muttered. Once again, he heard footsteps behind him. He guessed that it was Lumilia and the other because of the number of footsteps.

He turned his head and saw that it was Lumilia and the others. He was right so he patted Yuko and said, "Let's go Yuko, let's continue our job."

The two followed Lumilia.

...

It was late at night when it's Souta's time to guard Lumilia. Souta was fully armed tonight because he guessed that man he saw this afternoon will make a move.

"Souta, are you there?" Lumilia said from inside the room.

"Yes, I'm here," Souta replied to her.

"Once you go back to the institute, can you keep this a secret from Lynn and Nayo?" Lumilia said.

"I understand but..." Souta said as he looked at the door. He then leaned his back on the door and continued, "Are you sure about this? You're not going back."

"I... I don't know what I should do... Recently my father managed to acquire a bottle of Crystal Flame Bee honey and the other nobles wanted to get a piece of it. They also knew that I'm the target of the nobles from Melosa Country. They used this chance to pressure our family to hand the honey. In exchange, they will help us from the problem of the nobles from Melosa Country." Lumilia decided to tell him the problem she was facing.

Souta lent her his ears as he listened to everything she said.

The two of them were leaning back on the door. They were separated by a single piece of metal.

Souta looked up at the starry night as the cold breeze of night gently blew on his face.

After a while, Souta opened his mouth and said, "You've been hit by reality, huh? If you don't want it then reject it."

"But I don't..." Lumilia didn't manage to finish her sentence as Souta interrupted her.

"You don't have power but you have me here." Souta grinned as he said. "Yuko is also here. Just ask me and I will help you with all of my power. That's the problem with nobles, you're too dependent on your parents. You can't make a choice on your own. You have to at least think about yourself before you follow others."

'Did I say everything right? I could vaguely remember those words from my old world.' Souta thought as he rubbed his chin.