Chapter 41: A Few Quiet Days

The Spear Training Hall was located a few blocks away from the Sword Training Hall. Max walked into the hall, looking around at the people inside.

"What do you want?" a voice suddenly called out.

Looking toward the direction of the sound, Max saw a middle-aged man sitting on a chair. It was the Teacher. Max quickly walked over to him. Ignoring a Teacher's call during his own class would cause a lot of trouble, so formally requesting a conversation was the wise choice.

"Greetings, Teacher. I would like to have a talk with one of your students named Steven Fitzgerald," Max requested, waiting for the Teacher's answer.

"What did he do to you?" the Teacher asked.

"Nothing of the sort. I came to have a friendly conversation," Max said.

"About what?" the Teacher asked.

"Yesterday, I healed his elbow injury. I came to check on him," Max said, giving healing as the reason.

"Are you a Healer?" the Teacher continued his questioning.

"Yes."

"Then what about these things?" the Teacher pointed at the swords and bow on Max's shoulder.

"Yes, I also have the Swordsman and Archer classes," Max said. Confused by this question, he almost believed he was known all over the academy. However, there were a few who did not know of him. Surprisingly, that was a refreshing feeling.

"Oh, you must be the one who joined with a recommendation," the Teacher said, looking at Max for the first time since they started the conversation.

Max did not answer his question and stood silently. With all these questions, he somewhat understood why people sought power; who in the world would want to answer all these questions? If he were not considered mediocre, and had not joined the academy through recommendations with his status as the son of a Grand Duke, these teachers would have at least given him some respect. But these men almost believed Max would never gain power, so they found the courage to toy with him.

"Did you not hear me?" the Teacher asked, noting Max's silent response.

God damn it, what was this guy expecting him to say? 'Yes, it was me'? What a weird situation he was in.

"Get out of my class this instant," the Teacher suddenly declared.

Max was taken aback by this sudden order. Startled, he did not argue with the man as he walked out of the class.

Exiting the Training Hall, Max did not leave the building. He simply sat at a nearby place, waiting for the class to finish. He just wanted to know what was going on around him, though he was not restless about the situation. He would just try to talk to the guy; if he also behaved like the others, he would go back to how he was two days earlier.

---

The class finished around 5 in the evening, and people started to exit the building. Sitting opposite the building, Max watched the doorway to see whether that guy would come out. After a group of students exited, he noticed Steve coming out with his own group of people. Max did not rush, simply remaining seated in his place. When Steve was about to cross his spot, Max called out his name.

"Steve."

Everyone walking by turned their heads toward him. Max signaled the guy and waved him over. Max could clearly see the hesitation on his face, but after some reluctance, Steve said something to the group he walked with and came toward Max.

"Hey man, what's up? Do you need something?" Steve asked without any emotion on his face. Max immediately noticed his rough tone.

"Nothing, it is just I am currently feeling very strange behaviors around me. Did something happen to everyone?" Max asked directly.

"I don't know, man. You see, I am currently busy. Take care," Steve said and walked away from the spot.

"Dude, come on. Consider this as a return of favor for healing you," Max said quickly.

He had expected some change in his behavior, but he did not think he would change this much. Steve had seemed like a very nice guy as far as he had talked to him on two occasions.

"Didn't I tell you to be careful about dealing with the four families of the Capital?" Steven said and walked away.

Max thought for a while regarding those Four Families; however, he had already expected that much. But what was with this change? What kind of instructions must they have received from those families, that made even friendly people become so cold?

With the satisfaction of his talk with the guy, Max walked back to the dorm. At the very least, he had confirmed who was responsible for this odd situation.

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'I should write Father,' Max thought.

This situation was too weird to ignore. He did not care about how he was treated in the academy, but these Four Families would definitely make things hard for his father. So, informing him of what had transpired so far would make things easy for the future. However, he also thought of talking to the Academy Head Teacher.

'Would his behavior also change?' Max thought. Would these Four Families influence even the Academy Head?

However, he quickly shook his head. If that were true, he would have already been expelled from the academy. Still, he decided to have a talk with him just in case, before he wrote to his father.

---

Leaving the training blocks, he walked toward the Teachers' block. He just wanted to get rid of this awkward situation around him.

As soon as he reached the Academy Head Teacher's office, he was called in as usual and entered the room. The old man sat there, reading something as always. Max skipped the greetings and stood silently until the old man spoke. However, what he received was merely a signal to sit on the chair. Without making any noise, Max sat down and waited. The reading of the document continued for five more minutes until the Head Teacher finished, closed it, and set it aside.

"Student Maximus, I have received a few requests regarding the help you offer. Would you like to take a look?" the Head Teacher asked as soon as he freed up.

"No problem, Head Teacher," Max said. Of course, he wanted to help them, since he had promised to take requests himself.

"Very well. These requests came from outside of the Capital, so I will ask them to travel to the Academy for further check-ups," the Head Teacher said, nodding his head. "There are plenty of requests arriving every day, but some Experts can easily solve those. So, I only promised your appointment for the cases that needed your skill."

"Great, that is settled then. So, what is the purpose of your visit?" the Head Teacher finally asked.

"That is…" Max's voice suddenly faltered.

Was it an appropriate topic to discuss with the Head Teacher that no one was talking to him? However, he quickly snapped out of that thought, realizing he had come for the bigger picture of his land. Thus, he quickly explained what had happened and what had suddenly changed after the nobles' visit in the early morning.

Hearing everything, the Head Teacher nodded his head, as if he understood everything.

"These kinds of things are very common in academies, so do not worry," the Head Teacher said. "When people hear something new that intimidates them, they usually resort to subduing it. This is the norm of the world. As a student of this academy, which I consider one of the best, you shouldn't worry about anything."

"Since you are the heir of the Grand Duke, I expected you to know all about these political matters," the Head Teacher continued. "You seem different, but that is a good thing; your parents did not force such things into your mind. However, as the person who will inherit the title, you must experience these situations naturally and understand them on your own. That will shape your future."

"Therefore, I advise you to face these gimmicks fearlessly. If you need friends to talk to, I will introduce a few second-year students. They are people who faced a similar situation and overcame it."

Hearing the Head Teacher speak so casually about this topic, and furthermore mentioning seniors who had faced similar situations, Max felt a little relieved. This meant the situation was not targeting him and his family directly, but was simply a political gimmick meant to break him. He would have definitely been upset if he had grown up in a family that pushed him with expectations and ambitions. However, his family let him do what he wanted, so he did not bother about all this.

"Not a problem, Head Teacher. As you said, I will go through this hurdle on my own and learn from it," Max said. He then stood up and gave a thankful bow.

"That is great, Student Maximus. I will let you know when the parents reach the academy, which might be in two days," the Head Teacher said.

"Yes, no problem." Saying so, Max left the office with a clear mind. He didn't necessarily need to write to his father. Since the pressure was not directed at his family but rather at himself, handling it would be easy.

---

Since the situation inside the academy had settled into a normal routine, Max did not bother writing to his family. Doing so would only cause them unnecessary worry. After all, no parent would be pleased to learn their child was being ostracized by the other students. Although he suspected they would inevitably hear about the matter anyway, he ultimately decided against sending a letter.

Over the next two days, Max's life reverted to how it had been previously. He kept to himself, making no attempt to speak with anyone. Even Anne, who sat beside him and constantly cast him pitying glances, failed to initiate a conversation. Max could easily understand her hesitation; if a prominent families' hair like Moon was forced to remain subdued, ordinary students like Anne naturally had to be cautious.

On the second day, fulfilling his earlier promise, Max healed two bedridden patients who were entirely unable to walk. However, their conditions were nowhere near as severe as Lydia's. That child's special condition was on an entirely different level, making any ordinary affliction pale in comparison. As usual, the healing sessions concluded with emotional embraces and words of gratitude. Meanwhile, the Head Teacher continued accepting new patients, and Max placed no restrictions on the influx of people.

With only four days remaining until the competition's voting phase, the academy grew increasingly busy. A newly issued circular allowed students to campaign across different classes and within specially allocated zones. Harboring no hope for the competition, Max avoided these activities altogether. Instead, he spent his time in the library, where he finished reading a book on poisons before picking up a text covering Basic Healing and Children's Anatomy. He simply wanted to deepen his understanding of the subject, as his previous discussion with the teacher outside Lydia's room still weighed heavily on his mind.

"Never go against the Norm of Nature." That was what the teacher had told him. However, he was still confused over her exact phrasing, whether she had warned him "never" or "don't." He would need to meet with her again to clarify the matter, but for now, Max simply carried on with his regular days. He continued attending all his practical classes, steadily increasing the proficiency of his selected skills. Although he felt it was unlikely he would receive any Duel challenges given his current situation, he still wanted to grow stronger for his own sake, rather than for external reasons.

Soon, Friday arrived, and the voting commenced first thing in the morning. Max had wanted to skip the process entirely, but participation was mandatory. Consequently, he cast his vote for himself for the "Diplomatic Affairs Head" position, while submitting a null vote for the remaining two roles. He did not care who won. The final results would be posted that evening, after which the official Duels would begin, providing a formal stage for those harboring grudges to finally vent their anger.