Both Myrla and Kelton trailed behind me, keeping a small distance away as I approached the commotion that was happening at the back of the lecture hall. There were about a dozen or so students gathered here, but most of them were just standing by, watching as three students in particular confronted Cecil.

  “It’s absolutely ridiculous,” a tall young man with red hair said as he picked up a book off the ground. “To think an elf like you was given the privilege of being admitted to such a prestigious institution, and you aren’t even taking your education seriously? I mean, what is this?”

  The red-haired man held the book open to his two friends. One of them was short but built like a [Warrior], and the other was tall and lanky like a [Mage] of sorts. They burst out laughing at what they saw on the book, and even a few of the onlookers giggled. Evidently, the red-haired man was the leader of the trio.

  “Doodles? Drawings? Are you a child? How were you even allowed into the Holy Academy in the first place?”

  “Give that back,” Cecil said with a glare, his fists clenched.

  But the red-haired man just laughed. “Oh, right— it’s because you’re a ‘saint’. So, Saint Cecil, why don’t you show us your miracles.”

  Walking forward, he came to a halt right before the elf. Their gazes bore into each other, the former with a cocky grin, and the latter with a defiant gaze. I was surprised by this reaction though— the Cecil I knew was a lot more loud and snarky, yet here he was, staying quiet despite all the mockery he was receiving.

  “Come on, you don’t have to be shy,” the red-haired man continued. “I’ve seen Saint Skyler perform miracles in front of my very eyes. Surely you can show us one of your miracles too?

  He gestured at the watching crowd with a sneer.

  “I mean, I’m sure everyone here would love to see a miracle for the first time. Isn't that right?”

  The onlookers all exchanged hesitant glances. A few of them nodded as a susurration washed over them.

  Cecil just gritted his teeth. “I cannot do that.”

  “Not everyone is as fortunate as me— witnessing miracles is such a rare thing.” The red-haired man placed a hand on his chest. “So showing such simple charity to your fellow classmates is what a saint would do.”

  There was a pause. Cecil just lowered his head. The red-haired man grinned wickedly.

  “Unless… you’ve been lying about being a saint this entire time?”

  And I decided now was the time to finally step in. I walked forward, stepping past the red-haired man’s two snickering friends as I spoke out.

  “Did you not hear him? He asked for you to hand that notebook back,” I said, drawing the red-haired man’s attention.

  “Wait, you’re that peasant boy…?” He narrowed his eyes at me.

  And Cecil blinked, while the red-haired man’s two friends just stared. Perhaps they were all taken aback by the boldness of my actions, but no one stopped me as I simply walked up and snatched the notebook from his hands.

  “It seems you’re either dumb or deaf, though. So… I’ll be nice and do just that for you.” I handed the notebook back to Cecil as he stared at me with round eyes.

  The red-haired man and his pair of lackeys exchanged confused glances. There were even a few gasps that came from the onlookers, and even both Myrla and Kelton looked away like they didn’t know me. I wondered for a moment why everyone was eyeing me like I had just committed a crime.

  “Roland, Dustin, are my eyes deceiving me? Did that child dare disrespect me like that?” the red-haired man said, pointing at me with a frown. “Don’t you know who I am?”

  “No, and I don’t particularly care—” I started.

  But the red-haired man interrupted me, pointing indignantly at himself as he practically shouted. “I am Claudius Franz Dawnlight! Does that clue in your uneducated plebeian brain as to who I am?”

  I just shrugged back at him. “...nope, never heard of you. But if I’m being honest, considering how much of an entitled asshole you are, I don’t think I even want to know you either.”

  Claudius stared at me slack-jawed. Like no one had ever uttered those words to him before. His short friend— Roland— stepped forward, raising a hand threateningly at me as he sputtered.

  “How dare you talk to a prince of the Sanctus Empire that way!”

  The other man— Dustin— nodded as he pointed at me. “For making such a mockery of Prince Claudius… are you asking to be executed?”

  I blinked when I heard that. “Wait, you’re a prince of the Sanctus Empire?”

  Claudius grinned when he saw my reaction. He puffed up his chest and spoke proudly, raising his head.

  “That is right. I am the Seventh Prince of the Sanctus Empire. It appears that because of your peasant background, you never heard of me. But I shall forgive you, as long as you get on your knees and beg for forgiveness.”

  “Oh, wow…” I whispered as I stared at him with wide eyes. He grinned for a moment longer, before I wiped the expression off my face and tapped a finger on my chin. “Wait, doesn’t the emperor have, like, twenty other children with four different wives? That’s definitely why I never heard of you before— because your own father probably has never heard of you either.”

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  I snapped my fingers like I just had an epiphany, and Claudius opened his mouth.

  “What—”

  “Is that why you’re going around bullying other students?” I continued, tilting my head at him. All the while, I wore a smirk plastered across my face. “Because you don’t feel loved at home by your dearest father? So you take it out on those around you like the insecure and spoiled brat that you are?”

  Claudius bit his tongue, cutting himself off. I raised a brow at him.

  “What’s wrong? Did I strike a nerve?” I said, before turning to face his two lackeys who were just about to open their mouths as well. “Also, last I checked, disrespecting a member of the royal family isn’t grounds for capital punishment. And even if that was true, we’re not in the Sanctus Empire right now, are we?”

  I winked back at them as I gestured all around us. Roland and Dustin opened their mouths, looking like they were about to shout in outrage.

  “You—”

  “How dare—”

  But Claudius cut them off.

  “That’s enough, Roland, Dustin.”

  They blinked, turning to him as he drew back.

  “But Prince Claudius—” Roland started.

  And Dustin called out as well. “We can’t just ignore this disrespect—”

  However, Claudius raised a hand, and they both quietened. He glanced dismissively at me as he strode towards the front of the exit hall.

  “I won’t bother wasting my breath on a mere peasant. He said what he said— he made his bed, now he’s going to sleep in it. Even if he doesn’t realize it yet. Now let’s go.”

  Both Roland and Dustin exchanged an apprehensive glance, before nodding. They hurried after the red-haired man, making their way out of the lecture hall. I watched them go, before I turned to Cecil.

  “What a bunch of assholes, am I right?” I grinned at the elf.

  But he just snarled at me as he picked up his belongings. “I didn’t need your help. You should have minded your own damn business.”

  He started out of the room too, and I rolled my eyes at him.

  “Rude, but I guess I expected that. It’ll probably take a while before I can actually befriend him,” I muttered under my breath.

  The watching crowd dispersed now that the commotion was over. They spoke in hushed voices as they pointed my way. Myrla and Kelton— both of whom had been waiting to the side the entire time— finally approached me now that it was all blown over.

  The first thing the former did was walk up to me in shock. “What are you doing, Eli? You just made an enemy out of a prince of the Sanctus Empire!”

  “The Seventh Prince, Myrla.” I wagged a finger at her. “Basically, barely even considered royalty.”

  “That doesn’t matter, he’s still a prince!” She gesticulated wildly. “He’s a part of the royal family!”

  “I mean, I’d rather be friends with a saint than a prince,” I said simply.

  And I was telling the truth. A young saint would grow up to have significant influence over the Church of Life, while a prince— especially one so far down the line for the throne— would probably just go back to the Royal Palace of the Sanctus Empire once he graduated and waste away his years throwing balls and parties with other lower ranking nobles.

  Besides, this was Lux. It was the Church of Life. Even if Claudius somehow became influential within the Sanctus Empire in the future, that didn’t serve towards my goal in the slightest.

  Anyway, I didn’t do what I did just because I wanted to befriend Cecil. It was because I also knew what it was like to be mistreated by humans as an elf— however, I couldn’t say this to anyone. So I didn’t elaborate any further.

  “Already making enemies on your first day, huh?” Kelton said as he placed a hand on his chin. “As expected of a child prodigy like you— always taking action. That must be how you got here at your age.”

  “Hey, wait! But I’m a child prodigy too! What about me?” Myrla protested.

  “Maybe next time you should’ve been the one to intervene.” I grinned at the young girl.

  Kelton nodded in agreement with me. “I concur. Eli’s already leaving a lasting impression on both his fellow students and his teachers. Meanwhile, you…”

  He looked at Myrla almost disappointedly.

  “What have you done?”

  Myrla glared at him, but she remained silent for a moment. I chuckled and I looked between the two of them. And the young girl just poked Kelton’s side.

  “I’m going to spill soup all over your bed tonight so you won’t be able to sleep with any blankets or bed sheets, Kelton. I know where you sleep.”

  “That’s a weird way to say you’ve been stalking me.” He tilted his head at her.

  And Myrla opened her mouth. But I just chuckled and waved a hand at both of them, drawing their attention.

  “Come on, let’s stop messing around. I’m starving, and I don’t want to wait in line for too long to get my lunch.”

  “He started it!” Myrla harrumphed, trailing after me.

  Kelton just grinned at her. “Yeah, Myrla, stop messing around.”

  “Don’t make me steal your food, Kelton—”

  ***

  “Prince Claudius!” Roland said, practically panting as he kept up with the Seventh Prince of the Sanctus Empire. “Are you really not going to do anything about that boy?”

  Dustin nodded in agreement, keeping pace with Claudius without stumbling about. “I concur— if we let a peasant disrespect you like this, then the other students will think they can get away with it too. It’s setting a terrible precedent.”

  “Don’t you two imbeciles think I know that?” Claudius spat as he came to a halt in the middle of the gilded hallway.

  He glared back at them as they both shirked back. They swallowed nervously, but he just shook his head.

  “However, as much as I wish to make a fool out of that child, it would be… below my status to personally get my hands dirty at that moment. Especially considering he is a mere [Healer], is he not? With all our classmates watching, they would certainly think lesser of me if I were to lash out in anger at that moment.”

  Claudius looked down at the palm of his hand, before balling it into a fist. He was an [Arcane Spellsword], so he might not have been the strongest, but he was strong enough to send that child flying across the classroom with a simple backhand.

  Even still, that wasn’t the right move to make back then. Growing up in the Royal Palace of the Sanctus Empire, the prince was acclimated to navigating through court politics from a young age. So he was going to apply his experience here in the Holy Academy as well.

  “Find out everything there is to know about that boy… Eli, was it?” Claudius said, looking up towards both Roland and Dustin. “It doesn’t even matter if it’s true or not— as long as it’s a rumor that can be used against him, I want to know about it. And we’re going to make sure word spreads around the entire campus about it.”

  Both of them nodded at once.

  “Yes, Prince Claudius!” they said and took off running.

  Claudius just turned around as he bit his thumb, grinning to himself. “I’m going to make sure he regrets ever crossing my path— that his time here in the Holy Academy is so miserable, he will have no choice but to drop out.”