Chapter 111
Chapter 111: The Overly Complacent Royal Capital
***
Smack smack—
"Mmph!" "Pff!"
Along with muffled grunts, both of their heads snapped back high, followed by their burly bodies.
My swift as the wind straight punches weren't something these pampered children could possibly react to. Their faces still wore those sleazy expressions, but in my eyes, their originally prominent noses had now flattened, the force of impact rippling across their faces like water waves, distorting what were once fairly decent features, this was naturally me holding back.
The next moment, blood spurted half a foot into the air as their tall figures toppled straight backward.
Thud!
And I landed just at that moment.
Dusting off my little hands, I turned around to face the three girls whose mouths hung slightly open, eyes filled with disbelief, and playfully blinked.
"Shall we go?"
"...Oh, oh, okay..." Sarah nodded blankly, her expression dumbfounded as if she still couldn't process the visual shock before her eyes. "Wow... Peylo, you..."
"That was seriously too violent... but I love it!" Sophia called out excitedly.
"Ahhh—!"
"My nose is broken... broken... fuck..."
The wailing only started now. I paid them no mind and simply grabbed Daisy's arm, pulling it over my shoulder, then turned to smile at her. "Daisy, let me carry you."
"Uh..." Daisy's eyes were unfocused, clearly still in a daze.
"Are you sure you can manage?" Sarah looked at my small body with instinctive concern, then suddenly remembering what just happened, she shook her head with a wry smile. "Uh, never mind what I just said."
I hoisted Daisy onto my back.
My small hands rested on the curve of her smooth thighs, feeling the soft, full sensation pressing against my back. My heart warmed at first... and then nothing followed. That feeling faded quickly.
Intimate contact with girls didn't seem as... how should I put it? Neither the imagined embarrassing awkwardness, nor the shy reluctance, nor even that kind of blushing, heart-pounding affection, none of what I'd imagined was there.
All that remained was a faint, somewhat inexplicable irritation... Well, though I'm reluctant to admit it, that was probably jealousy.
...Why though... What exactly did she eat growing up...
Looking down again at my own meager development, my lips pouted and my heart felt slightly bitter.
There's nothing embarrassing about admitting it, I really have been caring more and more about this... I should find a chance to ask Daisy for her secrets.
"Peylo, thank you."
Warm breath came from around my neck as Daisy's hair tickled my face.
I smiled.
"No problem... Let's go!"
I ran forward carrying her on my back.
Meanwhile, those two male students still lay on the ground with their hands covering their faces, writhing around like worms. Tears, snot, and blood all mixed together as they occasionally raised their palms to slap the ground hard, trying to alleviate the pain from their noses. It looked like they wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.
"They're going to be late, right?" Sarah's voice came from beside me.
"Serves them right! Who cares about them." Sophia, running on the other side, still had an excited flush on her face. "Peylo, so you're actually really good at fighting?"
"Somewhat good."
"I couldn't tell at all! You're so small, but you're the strongest!"
...Ugh, could you please stop constantly emphasizing how small I am? Is that fun...
"Peylo, who did you learn Body Refinement from!"
"Born with it."
"Liar!"
"Those two punches looked so fierce... Peylo, you didn't actually break their noses, did you?"
Unlike Sophia's carefree attitude, Sarah was frowning, looking quite worried.
I gave her a reassuring smile. "No, it just hurts a lot."
"Those two people, you can tell just by looking that they're not commoners' children... If they're nobles from the Royal Capital, there might be... trouble later..."
"It's fine."
I knew what she was worried about.
Although I'd only encountered a few people from the Royal Capital so far, it was enough for me to deduce the general situation here from their words and actions.
Clearly, the atmosphere among the upper echelons of this city... wasn't very good. Whether it was the words of the carriage guards on the way here, Fat Granny's warnings, or the childish behavior of those noble children at the academy, they all constantly emphasized this point to me.
Those two students just now, as well as that group I encountered last night, especially that red-haired A-something-lex guy, even after knowing I was a Wintermoon, he still planned to forcibly take me to their dormitory. And according to Fat Granny's words, these people would still restrain themselves somewhat at the academy; outside, they truly did whatever they wanted without consequences.
They were just students, after all. What did they have? What could they do? In this world where might makes right, I could take on a thousand of them. So why did they dare to be so unrestrained? It was because they believed the families behind them could protect them... no matter what they did wrong, they wouldn't receive the punishment they deserved.
They were certain of this, which was why they dared to act without restraint.
If even the children were like this, it wasn't hard to imagine what their elders were like.
I'd only been in the Royal Capital for a few short days, yet I'd already seen through all of this. Sarah, born and raised in the Royal Capital, must understand even more clearly. She was from a knight family, perhaps not of high standing, which was why she worried, afraid those people would retaliate. Looking at Sophia, on the other hand, she wasn't worried because she too had a family backing her.
Human nature.
Just as Fat Granny said, the Royal Capital had been comfortable for too long, so long that some people had forgotten their place.
Victoria... That woman must have it tough.
Is that why she always looks like everyone owes her money?
"Peylo, it's over there, we've arrived!"
Daisy's words came from beside my ear. I looked ahead and saw the rusty iron fence with an entrance sealed by wire mesh. Behind it was the training grounds.
The training grounds were about the size of two soccer fields. The ground was paved with large stone blocks that had been polished quite smooth. Many students were already standing inside, it looked like we were among the last batches to arrive.
"Are we late?"
"Probably not..."
After entering the training grounds and gently setting Daisy down, I was momentarily confused about what to do next, so I just walked toward where most people were gathered. Before long, I saw a large wooden sign that read "Ceylon Lakeside" in the distance, with a white-haired old man standing beside it who looked somewhat familiar... Ah, it was Teacher Melville.
So I waved at Sarah and the others. "This way!"
After walking over quickly, I respectfully called out to him.
Teacher Melville glanced at me and pulled out his pocket watch to check the time.
"...Less than a minute late. If you had come any later, you could have gotten an early Body Refinement lesson... Go stand at the back of the line."
"Teacher." I pushed Daisy forward. "She's injured."
I was hoping to see if there was alcohol or herbs to disinfect Daisy's wound, but Teacher Melville walked over, grabbed Daisy's arm, and simply peeled back the cloth to take a look before laughing.
"It's just a scrape. You call this an injury? Students of the Royal Academy... don't care about such minor things. We'll deal with it after the ceremony ends."