The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Chapter 898: Growing Pains

"feed him potatoes, i say!" professor olman insisted, his voice resolute.

"why complicate things? just send his soul to the lord’s side and be done with it," professor alice suggested casually.

the professors continued their debate over the punishment, completely ignoring the reactions of chonchi and viche whose faces grew increasingly pale with each passing suggestion. every professor glanced at them with murderous looks.

"this is slander! and those two test papers cannot be used as evidence!" chonchi shouted, his voice trembling with indignation.

"not evidence, you say?"

baron gorneo stood in response.

"the special question his highness provided was exceptionally difficult, but solvable with effort.”

“that’s...”

“also, if one could solve it, they would’ve noticed the change that prince davey had made. in fact, the revised problem was even easier in terms of difficulty. there’s no reason why a cadet would be able to answer the harder problem correctly but miss the easy question.”

it was a problem that couldn’t be solved without understanding the question in its entirety.

in other words, for someone who didn’t grasp the problem but merely memorized the solution, it was almost impossible to notice the subtle changes. it was no different from swapping a question that required four additions and two multiplications with one that required eight additions instead.

“that’s...”

“now, now, let’s not dwell on this too much. why don’t we confirm it for ourselves?”

at davey’s suggestion, everyone turned to look at him.

“will that suffice?”

it was an extremely simple issue. the reason grade manipulation would be needed in the first place was because the manipulators couldn’t achieve high scores on their own.

in short, those who relied solely on their family backgrounds clearly hadn’t put in the necessary effort to answer the questions perfectly.

professor chonchi trembled at his words.

"see? we might as well just beat them up. all of our efforts to build a reputable institution have gone to waste because of those two,” alice muttered, her hand pressing into the table hard enough to leave an imprint.

"lock them up in solitary confinement and feed them potatoes. not boiled ones, though—they’re too tasty," olman added, still clutching onto his potato.

“how about we—”

“no, what i’m saying is—”

it almost seemed as if the professors were executioners, judging by how vehemently they were debating on how to punish the two. meanwhile, chonchi and viche’s faces grew stiffer with every passing moment.

"professor chonchi," davey called out.

"hmph?! y-yes!”

"do you have anything else to say?”

chonchi hesitated, glancing around nervously before bowing his head.

"please, forgive me! i never intended for it to reach this point...!"

"as many of you know, including those who joined later on, heins academy operates under an international treaty to establish it as a completely neutral institution. it forfeits any political or territorial advantages, existing for the sole purpose of universal education. that’s why, despite holding the position of headmaster, i delegate most of the school’s authority to the faculty and the student council."

‘in order to give students the opportunity and skills to become leaders themselves.’

"but now, you two have blatantly defied the most basic principles of the academy.”

ssss...

“hmph?”

"engaging in corruption is your choice," he said coldly, "but every choice comes with consequences. do you agree?"

chonchi and viche took steps back, their fear evident.

"w-what do you intend to do with us?!" viche stammered.

"hmmm, well i quite like professor alice’s suggestion.”

"to k-kill us?! you can’t! your only authority over me is that of a heins academy headmaster and their subordinate faculty! i quit from this moment on!”

"resigning solves everything, does it?"

“at least you won’t have the justification to—”

“ah, trying to say that you’re no longer associated with heins academy and i can’t do anything as the headmaster?”

“y-yes! since i will resign from my position immediately, this matter can be left to our respective nations to handle!"

“y-yes, me too! i request that our respective countries have jurisdiction over us!"

realizing they had already been caught, they figured any further attempt at hiding was pointless, so they desperately resorted to brazen tactics.

the faculty at heins academy was mostly composed of individuals from various nations. in reality, there were only one or two professors from the rowane kingdom, a place which constantly struggled with a lack of talent. this also made it difficult to hold such individuals accountable; often, their wrongdoings ended with little more than hefty compensation payouts.

but—

smack!

“huh... what?!” professor chonchi gasped.

thud!

without hesitation, davey grabbed him by the collar and delivered a punch. blood spattered out along with several of his teeth as he tumbled across the floor.

“grr... if this incident gets out, it’ll be a serious blow to the reputation of heins academy... if we handle this calmly, it can be kept under wraps—”

“you have no right to speak after causing this mess. also, i have zero intention of keeping this under wraps.”

he gave professor chonchi a sinister smile, making him tremble in fear once again.

davey raised the medical department’s textbook he had in his hand and struck down hard.

“you’re koshia sharen, the sole heir of duke sharen, a major figure in the central continent. beyond that, what else?”

“....”

“didn’t you hear? answer me.”

“that’s...”

“let me guess. you were born into a noble family but hold no official position, correct?”

of course, there were cases where children worked after being bestowed titles, but it was rare. in most cases, respect for noble children stemmed from the authority of their parents, not from themselves.

“shall i ask another question, then? alright. what do you think my status is?”

“...”

“i didn’t summon you here for some petty hierarchy play, koshia sharen. your fate has already been decided.”

“t-that’s...”

understanding a situation required firsthand observation; no amount of paperwork could replace what actually took place. that was why davey confronted him directly.

“the professor who inflated your grades, professor chonchi, has admitted to taking bribes and manipulating grades. professor viche broker also admitted to the same, and even confessed to orchestrating the connections between professor chonchi and noble families to enact similar schemes. denial is meaningless at this point.”

koshia glared back defiantly.

“i’ll ask you again. why did you do it?”

“what’s so wrong about it?”

“what?”

“it’s already outrageous that some filthy orphan received your favor to enter this academy and receive education. on top of this, she maintained high grades. commoners shouldn’t get smarter—they shouldn’t be treated well.”

“...”

“humans who are treated kindly take that kindness as some sort of entitlement. once they become smarter, they stop working and begin to complain.”

his words were chilling, but not unfamiliar.

“is this the philosophy of your father, duke sharen?”

“it’s my belief as well. the thought of sitting in class with such peasants is revolting. and yet, you—you’re blinded by idealism! thanks to this system you’ve built, commoners are growing close to nobles, and even looking down on them! how can you claim this is right—”

“and what exactly makes you so superior?” a voice interrupted sharply.

it was illyna and aeria, who had stepped into the room.

“you?!” koshia spat.

“did you not hear my question?” illyna shot back. “what makes you superior to tadia?”

“that’s...!”

“surely you’re not suggesting that simply being born into nobility makes you better?”

koshia gritted his teeth, unable to respond, and bowed his head in frustration.

“what are you two doing here?” davey asked them.

“perserque sent us to check on how things were going,” illyna answered.

“and what’s she up to right now?”

“evangeline isn’t feeling well—she’s running a fever. it seems like growing pains, but it’s worse than what most children go through. the physician said she’ll be fine, but...”

davey could tell how worried she was by her voice. he abruptly stood and snapped his fingers.

as much as koshia deserved punishment as the one who had actually taken advantage, he couldn’t simply turn him into a worse state than professor chonchi. instead, he chose something else for him.

davey plucked the hair follicles from his crown and cast a curse over him. he wouldn’t die—but he would never be involved in any sex life.

he had heard that koshia had his eye on several commoner girls. rendering him bald made sure he’d no longer be able to charm anyone.

of course, koshia wouldn’t realize the full extent of the curse until later. and unless he found someone on the level of a death lord dark mage, there’d be no way to find out that it was because of davey’s curse.

“all done. it was foolish of me to expect anything worthwhile from you. listen up: because of your selfishness, no students from your shan kingdom will ever be admitted to heins academy again. that goes for most other nations involved in this affair as well.”

“you do realize the shan kingdom sends massive donations to heins territory, don’t you?” koshia sneered. “if you expel me, those funds will be frozen.”

“and?”

“do you think you can handle the consequences?”

davey took a step closer, gripping his arrogant hand and slowly twisting it until there was a sickening crack.

‘say goodbye to ever holding a sword again.’

“arrrgh!!” kosia screamed, clutching his broken arm.

“still not getting what kind of situation you’re in, huh?” davey muttered. with a flick of his hand, a blade of blue energy emerged.

squelsh!!

he unhesitatingly pierced koshia through the chest with deadly precision.

“let’s see how duke sharen reacts to this."

chubbycheeks & friednook's thoughts

editorb’s thoughts

damn, author goin’ hard on us bald dudes ( ಥ ʖ̯ ಥ ) don’t worry bois, being bald doesn’t mean becoming incapable of charming anyone ever again. that is, not unless you’re my bald-as-hell boss retired pen—

....

i have had a sudden and fortuitous change of heart! my boss is great and supreme! all hail the supreme flightless bird!