Nobility(3)

Count Heilak was currently in a very bad mood.

There were several reasons for this, but the biggest reason would be that things weren’t going as he had thought they would.

The woman who completely shattered the Sky Island that suddenly appeared above the Kingdom of Puhara a few days ago.

In such an anxious situation, the image of the woman who destroyed the massive Sky Island couldn’t help but remain in the memories of the people in the Kingdom of Puhara.

And this was the same for Count Heilak, who had been preparing to evacuate by packing all his wealth into carriages.

The magic that shattered the massive Sky Island into pieces and then gathered them to turn them into snowflakes of magical power.

Although what was visible to the eye was the woman who flew up and destroyed the island, he knew there was another person using magic from an unseen location.

Thanks to this, the two were perfectly imprinted in Count Heilak’s mind without any blurry images, and from the next day, Count Heilak devoted himself to finding out their identities by mobilizing all his connections and information networks.

For Count Heilak, who had quite extensive connections befitting his position as a count, it didn’t take long to find out that the two were Aria and Meiyel, professors at Lua Academy.

Upon obtaining this information, Count Heilak immediately wrote a letter to Mira, the dean of Lua Academy, and sent it.

Hoping that his letter would arrive before those of others.

To a third party, it might look like the impatience of a madman, but the reason Count Heilak was this impatient was simple.

‘My voice in important positions has diminished too much recently…!’

Because recently, the voice Count Heilak could raise had become extremely small.

Count Heilak.

If one were to ask who he is, one could answer that he’s a typical villainous type of noble.

He was able to attain the position of count through all sorts of efforts and devotion due to his obsession and desire for high positions, but the problem was that along with the enormous devotion, despicable methods were also embedded in the tower he had built.

Flattery, sowing discord, bribery, contract killing, backdoor deals, and so on.

Count Heilak didn’t hesitate to do anything to raise his position.

And the position raised through such despicable methods eventually caught up with him, and Count Heilak, feeling his standing narrowing recently, tried to draw in the two who had achieved the feat of destroying the Sky Island to his side this time.

‘Surely, as they’ve achieved such a feat, their recognition and fame will certainly be acknowledged by His Majesty.’

The two who had prevented the Sky Island, which could have destroyed the Kingdom of Puhara, without any damage.

The support and fame they would receive from those around them would surely be enormous. And if he could just draw these two, who would have a solid path ahead of them, to his side, his narrowed standing would widen again.

Of course, if other nobles knew, they would look askance at the sight of Count Heilak, whose standing had already narrowed, making moves, and in severe cases, his position as count itself might be shaken, but there would be no problem if he could just coax the two.

And Count Heilak had the confidence that he could coax the two.

Who was he? Wasn’t he the man who had risen to the position of count by coaxing others like this all along?

As Count Heilak had fed countless bribes to numerous people until now, he could be confident in at least the method of coaxing people.

Being women, they would probably be crazy about jewels or accessories, or huge mansions. If they showed a stronger aspect of being true warriors or magicians, he could just hand over high-quality weapons or rare books to match that.

Of course, this confidence came from not knowing that the temple and the Pope were behind the two, as he had rushed over after investigating only their names and occupations too hastily, but Count Heilak, not knowing this, glared at Mira, who was offering an artificial apology with a fake smile in front of him.

Mira, who kept repeating that it wasn’t possible with a half-twisted smile behind an expression that seemed sincere.

This damned woman…!

“What nonsense! Didn’t I tell you to bring them immediately!!!”

“I’m sorry, but His Majesty the King’s command to summon them to the palace tomorrow has already come down…”

“Then they should come today before going to His Majesty!!! This is why stupid ones are…”

Finally unable to hold back, Count Heilak raised his voice and shouted, but the answer that came back was just the same as before.

Count Heilak already knew that His Majesty had summoned the two. That’s why he had rushed here to Lua Academy by carriage so urgently.

If they go to His Majesty’s summons tomorrow, other nobles would rush in like mad, and he would no longer be able to touch them, so Heilak was in a nail-biting situation.

Therefore, if he could just see their faces right now and take them to his mansion, all his plans would be perfectly resolved, but this damned academy dean woman was only giving the same answer to his words.

“Is the name of Count a joke to you?! I said bring that woman Aria and that woman Meiyel here right now!!!”

“I’m sorry, but it’s still impossible.”

“Ugh…!!”

Even when he pushed forward with his position as count as a last resort, the answer that came back was consistently that it was impossible.

Can’t this woman see these knights behind him?

Ten knights brought for protection and display of power. Each of them was a knight with outstanding skills enough to enter the 3rd Corps of the Knight Order.

Yet she answers firmly without even being scared, rather subtly showing a face that says she’s annoyed.

‘Could it be…’

Unable to understand Mira’s fearless behavior at all, Count Heilak gritted his teeth and then raised the bloodshot in his eyes at a thought that crossed his mind.

Could it be that this woman also knows that his position is falling and is subtly disrespecting him like this?

Thinking this way, it seemed to all fit together, and Count Heilak felt his face heating up red.

How dare a mere academy dean to this Count Heilak?

The more he thought about it, the more his head burned with anger. Although it could be said that it was all the result of his own karma, to Count Heilak, it was nothing more or less than an infuriating situation.

And finally unable to contain that anger, Count Heilak raised his right hand high, putting strength into it, and at the moment that hand was about to strike down on Mira, cutting through the air.

Tuk──

In the blink of an eye, an invisible force activated, stopping Count Heilak’s swinging hand in mid-air.

“From what I hear, it seems you’re looking for me and my sister…”

Along with a voice that sounded somewhat sleepy, she slowly descended to the ground.

The sight of her coming down, pressing her hat down deeply and almost hanging from her staff, looked like an ordinary little child, but Count Heilak, who already knew her information, opened his eyes wide upon seeing her.

“Oh! Are you Miss Meiyel!”

It was undoubtedly Meiyel no matter how he looked at her. Then, this invisible force stopping his hand must be her magic.

As soon as Count Heilak made this judgment, he showed a friendly smile and said to her.

“I was just looking for you and your sister, Miss Aria, and this is perfect. Do you have time by any chance? Why don’t you come with me, skipping the academy classes for a while? I’d like to make you an offer you won’t regret.”

A direct statement that following him would be more beneficial than mere academy classes.

It was actually true, and it was a statement worth agreeing to for her. After all, it was a request from himself, a count, who had come all the way here.

And Meiyel twitched her eyebrow slightly at his words about an offer she wouldn’t regret. Seeing this, Count Heilak inwardly beamed, thinking she had fallen for it.

However, that was only for a moment.

Crunch───!!

“Aaagh?! M-Miss Meiyel? What are you doing?!”

Soon, the invisible force began to press on his arm more strongly.

At the muscle pain that felt like his arm might be torn off if the force strengthened even a little more, Count Heilak broke out in a cold sweat and urgently asked Meiyel.

And the next moment.

Seeing Meiyel’s face coldly glaring at him, Count Heilak felt that something was going wrong.

However, it was too late, and the spilled water could no longer be put back.

---

I thought it couldn’t be, but he’s trash beyond imagination.

I thought this while looking at Count Heilak.

The commanding tone of speech, the change in how he addressed me as soon as he saw me, and on top of that, the voice dripping with disgust just from hearing it once, and even going so far as to disregard the academy that I consider most important.

No matter how I looked at it, it was obvious that following his words would result in something worse than dog food, so I couldn’t help but harden my expression.

Naturally, more force entered into the magical constriction binding his arm.

As the constriction strengthened to a level where he would feel pain double that of muscle soreness, a scream returned from Count Heilak, but I cleanly ignored it and whispered to Mira, who was standing next to me, so that only she could hear.

“That guy… he said he’s a count… Is he a noble in an important position by any chance…?”

“What? No, not at all. Although he’s called a count, recently he’s a half-fallen noble to the point where even his standing position is precarious. He’s probably at a level where it’s hard to even get invited to important parties now?”

“Is that so…?”

I asked Mira for information about Count Heilak just in case, but at her answer, I let out a small exclamation.

I was worried about what to do if he was in an important position since he said he was a count, but it seemed he was a noble buried in the ground beyond imagination.

Certainly, hearing that, I could see that there wasn’t even a speck of loyalty towards Count Heilak in the eyes of the knight guards standing behind him.

Rather, seeing their expressions of annoyance no matter what he said, it seemed like a relationship where they were just working for money.

If that’s the case, I wanted to dismember him right here, but after scanning the surroundings with a wave of magic power, I had no choice but to give up on that idea.

“Everyone’s watching…”

The commotion caused by Count Heilak must have been quite big, as students and professors alike were all watching this side with their faces peeking out from the windows.

From the direction of the professor’s office where I had come down, Morgan and Isolde were observing this side with interested faces, and Mu looked like she might rush out at any moment if something were to happen.

Anyway, with so many people watching, I shouldn’t show such a cruel sight as dismemberment.

It would be a problem for my image, and more importantly, if I did that, the academy that had just restarted operations would fall into great chaos.

Therefore, while inwardly praising Count Heilak’s judgment for coming to the academy instead of the temple and thus avoiding death, I slammed my staff down with a thud.

“I’ll show you the answer of refusal through action…”

“Uh, uwaah?!! S-Someone catch me! Hurry and catch me, I say!!!”

As I slammed my staff down, Count Heilak’s body began to rise in response.

He flailed his arms and legs at his body that had instantly risen over 50 meters, and at that ridiculous sight, Mira beside me, the students watching from the windows, and the professors all burst into laughter without exception.

“Pfft…!”

“Kik, puhaha!”

“Khaha…!”

And it seemed this was the same for Count Heilak’s knight guards as well.

Perhaps it was their first time seeing the person they served in such a state, the knight guards seemed to be trying their best to hold back, but one by one, their shoulders shook slightly, and I used a telepathy spell to speak to Count Heilak high up there.

“Don’t think about messing with us like that again… But since it’s the first time and this is a public place, I’ll let you off with just a safe falling game this time…”

“W-What do you me…!!!”

Just that this safe falling game would be skydiving without a parachute, that is.

Count Heilak tried to ask me back at my telepathy spell, but before those words could even finish, his body began to soar towards the sky at an unbelievable speed due to the magic I had deployed.

『Gravity Reversal』

With the reversed gravity bursting as if exploding all at once, Count Heilak’s body, wrapped in my Artifact Shield, disappeared high into the sky.

At a speed even faster than the Demon King’s dragon we saw on the Sky Island, he became a dot and then completely hid his appearance, becoming impossible to confirm with the naked eye.

He must have reached the stratosphere by now.

As I was roughly gauging Count Heilak’s position, who had flown into the sky, by the magic power of the shield I could feel, Mira asked me with a face that was both delighted and worried at the same time.

“Um… Miss Meiyel? Where did you send Count Heilak flying to?”

“Well… I think he might be falling by now…?”

“Falling… No, wait a moment. You don’t mean…?”

Mira, who had been pondering to understand the meaning of my words, soon made a fearful expression.

It seemed that Mira had finally realized that my action was to drop him from an unimaginably high altitude.

And just as Mira was muttering, a small dot began to appear slowly in the sky and started falling towards this direction.

Count Heilak falling at a truly tremendous speed without even a scream. Seeing him, Mira hurriedly tried to pull out her staff, but I restrained her with one hand and swung my staff.

“『Gravity Manipulation』.”

As I safely caught him by manipulating the gravity at the position where he was falling, with a thud sound, Count Heilak’s body stopped and halted 30cm above the ground.

The sudden stop would put enormous strain on his body, but that’s what the Artifact Shield I had put on him was for. Of course, the vivid sensation of falling would have remained as it was.

And looking at Count Heilak’s face, as expected, it seemed he had fainted from fear at the moment of falling and couldn’t even scream.

Perhaps he had fainted during the ascent process. But either way, it would certainly have become a trauma.

“You’re truly admirable, Miss Meiyel. Truly.”

“Thanks…”

As I put the unconscious Count Heilak down on the ground, Mira praised me with sincere words, and I just nodded vaguely in response and flew up towards the professor’s office, leaving the unconscious Count Heilak behind.

“Then please take care of the aftermath… I have a class in 30 minutes…”

Surely there won’t be any more visits after doing this much. It should have served as a warning to any nobles who were thinking of coming like this.

Now that I’ve lightly administered punishment, I need to prepare for the more important class.

That’s the duty of a professor, after all.