The Emperor's expression darkened the moment Aestrea's words echoed across the arena.
A visible vein pulsed on Franci's forehead, his fingers gripping the armrest of his throne so tightly that the wood beneath her began to creak.
"Such insolence..." he muttered, his voice brimming with rage.
The air around him grew heavy, suffused with a suffocating pressure that made the crowd fall silent.
Aestrea, still on his knees under the crushing force of her aura, raised his head slightly.
Despite the blood dripping from his mouth and the visible strain on his body, a faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
"A Mana Vessel, as its name suggests, serves as a substitute for a mana channel or vein. It can be used when a mana vein is fractured or simply absent. However, the quality of a Mana Vessel cannot match that of a real mana vein."
Aestrea began to explain, completely disregarding Francis's comments.
"Even if some of them may store high-level magical spells, it doesn't apply to me because I utilized a swordsman ability, not a mage ability. Therefore, your Majesty..."
He paused and gave Francis a smirking glance.
"I cannot be eliminated for such reason, even if I need to say, that I DO have an opinion against you."
But he wasn't done, as he lifted his head and stared directly into the Emperor's eyes.
"Then, Your Majesty, could you explain why I was disqualified, aside from the blatant favoritism towards the Royal Academy?"
The moment those words rang out, the atmosphere seemed to have turned even colder than before, the crowd started whispering to each other, having different opinions.
But interestingly, both Evelyn and Empress Isabella seemed to be in accord with Aestrea's opinion.
They both looked at Aestrea with a look that was oddly approving, almost as if they understood exactly what he was doing.
But no one dared to say anything out loud.
The Emperor clenched his fists tightly as he noticed the public's reaction.
His image had just declined, and if a journalist were present, they would undoubtedly seize the opportunity to further tarnish his reputation.
'Ah... this useless Emperor. I had almost forgotten that he's in a pact with Lilith, the Succubus Queen.'
Aestrea sighed inwardly.
Like in every "Hero against a Demon King" novel, the Demon King had seven demon generals, each representing one of the seven deadly sins.
One of these generals was Lilith, who obviously embodied the sin of Lust.
In the early chapters, the author revealed tons of hints for the future, and one of them was about the Emperor's pact with Lith.
This was also the reason why Emperor Francis did not have relations with the Empress, Isabella.
Isabella possessed what was called a "Sanctified Soul," which could not be corrupted.
So, if the Emperor were to engage in relations with her, he would suffer fatal consequences alongside Lilith.
However, Lilith only discovered that the Emperor was about to have relations with Empress Isabella, on the night of their marriage.
As for why the Emperor made a pact with Lilith, Aestrea hadn't read that part yet.
'It seems that I'll be the one taking the job of getting his head.'
Aestrea declared inwardly; he didn't know if in the novel, the Emperor was truly killed or his pact with Lilith was broken, but he honestly didn't care.
He had considered various ways to escape in case he was declared a traitor or something similar.
Although Aestrea's actions might have seemed reckless, he had already thought through all his options in case he truly offended the Emperor.
Some of those options included fleeing to another kingdom or accepting the Headmistress of the Royal Academy's proposal, among other possibilities.
He felt confident based on the basic knowledge he had of the novel's plot.
As for the emperor, he remained silent while thoughtfully gazing at Aestrea. It seemed that he was seriously considering his words.
"I'll overlook this offense for now," Francis finally spoke, his voice booming across the arena with cold authority.
"But if you challenge me again..."
His eyes glinted with a dangerous, murderous intent.
"I won't show mercy."
Aestrea couldn't help but smirk inwardly at the Emperor's threat.
"As for the competition..." The Emperor's gaze swept over the crowd.
"The results will remain the same. Student Aestrea could have registered his Mana Vessel before entering the practical dungeon."
"Is that clear?" The Emperor's voice dropped to a cold, dangerous tone as he looked directly at Aestrea.
The pressure in the air grew heavier, pressing down on him.
At that moment, Aestrea was about to retaliate when he suddenly felt a pair of soft hands landing on his shoulders.
"Aestrea..." Vivian called out his name in a soft tone.
"You have no choice. Be thankful. His Majesty has already forgiven you."
Aestrea froze for a moment, his anger still bubbling inside him, but Vivian's words made him pause.
He glanced at her and seeing the concern in her eyes.....
He sighed before nodding slightly, though his expression remained tense.
'I'll make sure I'm the one getting your head.'
But of course, he wouldn't let this slide.
Upon reaching my hotel room, I immediately lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. I honestly still had to go and meet up with the Saintess...
But I was too mentally tired for that.
I fought for I don't know how many hours straight and even created a Mana Vessel for my right arm.
Unfortunately, it's broken.
So, I need to meet the Saintess as soon as possible because I'll need her aid in healing my mana vein once again.
Not to mention, the student exchange program... will be happening in a week or so.
And I'll need to be attending the Eternum Royal Academy as one of their students.
Why did I have to be the one being picked?
I'm too lazy to deal with those arrogant pricks.
Lumi's voice was suddenly much louder, snapping me completely out of my thoughts.
I blinked, then blinked again.
Then, I turned to look at her, only to find her standing there... completely naked.
"Ah...!" My face immediately flushed.
"What the hell, Lumi?!"
She glanced down at herself with an embarrassed look.
"My clothes..." she said softly, realizing she was still in her usual naked state.
She then quickly looked back at me, clearly unsure how to react.
"Ah, right. I completely forgot," I muttered, rubbing my face in embarrassment.
Every time I transformed Lumi into a sword, her clothes would get torn apart in the process. It was something I was used to by now, but it still slipped my mind from time to time.
Because of that, I bought special mana strings for clothes, this way, the clothes wouldn't shatter the moment Lumi was transformed into a sword or a gun.
I just forgot to give them to Lumi...
With a small sigh, I stood up and walked over to my drawer.
"I've got something for you," I said, pulling out a set of clothes made from mana strings.
I had even remembered to grab underwear, just in case.
Lumi's face lit up, and she nodded excitedly.
She wasted no time, quickly starting to get dressed in her new clothes.
Those mana strings were really useful; it just needed a basic spell to clean them completely, and if she wanted to have different clothes, she just needed to insert mana while thinking about an outfit.
Unfortunately, they were really expensive.
But of course, Lumi deserves the best.
"Master~, do I look cute?" she asked, suddenly appearing right in front of me with a playful little jump.
She spun around, showing off her new outfit with a huge smile.
I couldn't help but smile back.
"Lumi looks adorable." I gave her head a soft pat, unable to hold back a smile.
"Hehe~" She giggled happily, her eyes shining with joy.
It was just at that moment that I forgot about taking a bath. My eyes immediately turned to the bed and...
Without wasting a second, I immediately spammed clean magic on it.
"Lumi, I'm going to take a bath. You can play for now," I said, tapping her head twice before making my way to the bathroom.
To my surprise, when I entered the bathroom, the bathtub was already filled with warm water, and a few scent flowers had been placed around it.
It looked like someone had been thoughtful.
Maybe Lumi had set it up?
Or was it just the hotel staff?
I shrugged and quickly undressed before stepping into the tub.
"Ahh... this feels great."
The water was really warm and felt thoroughly refreshing. The scent of the flowers seemed to ease my mind as I closed my eyes.
"Eternum Royal Academy, huh..."
It was divided into five years, with each year having multiple courses and countless classes. Thinking about it, I don't know what kind of course I'm going to choose.
Mana application, mana control, summoning classes, fighting classes...
There were plenty to choose from.
Even though it's just going to be a semester there...
I should have as much fun as I can, right?
I mean, if I 'accidentally' blew up one of the classrooms, they'd probably expel me from the student exchange program, right?
I'm going to be able to meet the other main characters, although they all are women.
From that crazy sword instructor to that student council president.
If I'm really going to attend the same academy as the main characters...
I might as well have as much fun as I can.