The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Davey thought she had taken life too lightly, gazing at Tadia lying practically lifeless in a medical bed.

Every single resident of Heins Territory was someone whom Davey was responsible for protecting and leading. The same went for the academy.

In fact, he had built the academy in Heins Territory, instead of some foreign territory or neighboring territories, to help facilitate Myuu’s desires to pursue her studies at school.

He believed that once he started something, it was only right to see it through to the end.

Sitting on a bench in his private garden, Davey looked out over the Heins territory below. He sensed a presence approaching and then spoke without turning his head.

"Perserque, you’re here.”

"Evangeline, let’s go see Daddy," she said cheerfully.

"Kyahaha!"

Perserque gently placed the tiny, adorable Evangeline into his arms. She giggled brightly as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, nestling her head against him.

"It’s nothing. I’m just realizing that ideals are just that—idealistic and unrealistic.,” Davey replied with a faint sigh.

Perserque tilted her head curiously before looking up at the sky.

There used to only be two moons in the night sky, but there was a relatively new third moon as well.

"Davey, ideals are all about perspective," Perserque said as she sat beside him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Depending on the person, the third moon Thanatos is already ideal to others.”

She was right. It allowed for a world that shouldn’t exist, which made it closer to ideal.

"There’s a fine line between ideals and miracles," she added.

"Kya! Kya!"

As Davey gently patted Evangeline’s back to soothe her, she lifted her head and planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Illyna kisses her often, so she must’ve picked it up that way. Evangeline is a much faster learner than Darian," Perserque noted with a warm smile.

Davey couldn’t help but smile at his daughter’s sweet gesture.

"Is it about the academy?"

"Huh? Yeah… It’s just that I’ve been too hands-off with the territory in general lately," Davey admitted.

While he had done plenty of managing, overseeing every issue that arose within a territory with so many residents was impossible. The academy’s situation itself was proof of that. řáℕοВƐș

"Did you confirm anything about the girl who tried to take her own life?" Perserque asked.

"It’s clear she acted of her own will. There’s no sign of mental manipulation or resistance."

When Myuu found her, Tadia had still been conscious, making it unlikely that she’d been overpowered and hanged by someone else.

"Myuu seemed pretty shaken by it.”

Watching someone you know trying to kill themselves was undoubtedly traumatic. The fact that the Earth Spirit he had assigned her acted on its own showed just how disturbed she had been.

Heins Academy was one of those places where trouble always seemed to be just around the corner. The war orphans attending along with the nobles and royals on their high horses from various nations stirred the pot in the place.

"New academies don’t usually gain this much popularity," Davey remarked.

"It’s probably because the faculty is so exceptional—and the funding doesn’t hurt, either," Perserque replied.

There were undoubtedly other factors. In fact, there were far more faculty than the ones Davey had given a hard time before. There was still an insufficient number of professors compared to the student body.

In the end, his inability to monitor everyone individually was his own oversight.

"Reporting in," Aina’s voice interrupted his complicated thoughts.

"Go ahead," Davey said.

"Name, Tadia. A fifteen-year-old commoner from the Western Continent. She’s in the same club as Lady Myuu."

“Club…?"

Heins Academy had over a hundred officially registered clubs operating with his approval. He remembered that Myuu was in a club for drawing, something she was very passionate about—it would seem that was where she had met Tadia.

"Is the club related to this incident?"

"No, it’s not."

"Then why mention it?"

"I was just covering basic background information. Now for the main point," Aina teased with a slight smirk, leading Davey to narrow his eyes.

"It seems this incident is connected to a professor in the medical department—Professor Chonchi," Aina continued.

"Professor Chonchi?"

"Yes. He only recently joined Heins Academy. He was originally a professor at the Central Academy on the Central Continent, but later resigned due to certain circumstances before coming here."

"What circumstances?"

"A bribery scandal."

Davey closed his eyes briefly, suppressing a sigh.

"Go on."

* * *

Perhaps focusing solely on the faculty members’ qualifications and knowledge when hiring hadn’t been the best approach.

Davey made his way to the research lab belonging to Baron Gorneo, a senior professor at the academy.

"Ah, Prince Davey! What brings you here?"

"I need to speak with you about something important. Do you have a moment?"

"Oh… Of course, Your Highness. Please, come on in."

Baron Gorneo, seemingly aware of the reason for the visit, wore a bitter expression.

“I ran into all sorts of issues while working on my research. My apologies,” he explained as he hastily cleared away his research materials before taking a seat.

“It’s fine. A messy lab is only to be expected when doing research.”

"I’m guessing this is about Tadia.”

"Yes... Myuu seemed quite startled. Could you tell me about what happened?”

"She was a diligent, good-hearted student, remarkably talented and frequently chosen for scholarships. From what I know, she sent all the money she earned back to her younger sibling in her hometown."

"I believe I asked for all war orphans to be admitted regardless of their age," Davey remarked.

"Whether they choose to enroll is up to them. I assume they have their personal reasons," Baron Gorneau replied with a sigh as he took out a long pipe.

"Please excuse my rudeness. Do you mind if I smoke?"

"Go ahead," Davey said, gesturing for him to proceed.

With a bitter expression, the baron lit his pipe. "I was shocked when I heard that the girl attempted suicide. It was completely unexpected."

"So she really wasn’t the type to act impulsively like that."

"Not at all. She was always talking about graduating from Heins Academy with excellent grades, securing a job here in the territory, and bringing her younger siblings here to live with her. That’s why I had already decided to take her under my wing as an apprentice."

"Do you have any idea why she attempted suicide?”

“Well…”

The baron hesitated, his expression uncertain. "Tadia often had conflicts with noble students. No matter how much we emphasize equality within the Academy, the inherent class distinctions resurface the moment students step outside its walls."

"Then there’s a possibility that bullying her drove her to take her own life."

"Perhaps, but I don’t think that alone would push her to such an extreme."

Davey narrowed his eyes as he recalled her personal details.

"However... she seemed unusually anxious recently.”

Davey nodded silently.

"Your Highness, about Tadia..."

"She’ll be fine. Though she’s in an unresponsive coma right now, I can force her awake if necessary," Davey reassured him.

The baron let out a sigh of relief. "She’s such an unfortunate child. Please, show her mercy. If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.”

"Are there any other problems within the academy that I should be aware of?”

"There have been significant tensions between commoner and noble students. We’ve tried to keep the two groups apart as much as possible, but..."

For children born into privilege, being treated as equals to commoners was likely a bitter pill to swallow.

Ultimately, Davey didn’t learn much more from Baron Gorneo. That lead having dried up, he decided to examine her recent test score since it seemed to be somewhat tied to the incident.

Her grades seemed to have taken a sharp downturn overall. Despite her previously exceptional performance, her scores had started inexplicably plummeting one day. He knew such a drastic drop couldn’t simply be attributed to a bad day.

For someone who regularly received scholarships, losing over half her points on multiple tests was almost impossible unless done intentionally.

On his way to her hospital room, Davey quickened his pace at the sound of a commotion inside.

"Bring the high-grade recovery potion! Quickly!"

Inside, Tadia was convulsing, frothing at the mouth. Physicians were frantically attempting emergency treatment.

"What’s happening?" Davey asked as he entered.

"Your Highness! You’re just in time! Tadia suddenly started convulsing and foaming at the mouth like this!"

"Step aside.”

Rushing forward, he placed his hand on her chest, adopting a stance as though he was about to perform chest compressions.

Then…

“Hmph!”

Fwoom!

He infused a surge of mana into her body, with the blue energy flowing through his fingertips. To others, it seemed like he was performing chest compressions on a patient suffering a seizure. However, Davey didn’t stop after a single infusion; he continued to press down on her chest repeatedly, pushing mana into her with precise, forceful bursts.

"Cough!”

Tadia suddenly spat out a blackened, ominous mass.

“Kaaa…”

Tadia, whose airway had been blocked, finally gasped deeply as sweet air once again filled her lungs. She then went limp.

"It’s a blood clot," Davey muttered.

The professors and physicians stared at the mass in shock.

"How... How did this happen?"

"Who administered a coagulant to this patient?!" one of the physicians shouted in alarm.

Their cry caused a growing murmur among the onlookers.

The situation, however, was straightforward.

Someone had given a coagulant to a patient who already lacked sufficient platelets for their blood to clot naturally. The internal bleeding from her neck injuries had ultimately flooded and blocked her airway. Under natural circumstances, such an event would’ve never occurred. But if someone had orchestrated it deliberately, it was an undoubtedly effective move.

In short, this wasn’t a simple coincidence; it was an attempted murder.

A female physician hesitantly raised her hand. "I... I did! B-But it wasn’t me who caused this—I administered it three hours ago! Baron Gorneau was with me the whole time as well…"

If it wasn’t her, someone else must’ve entered unnoticed and sabotaged her equipment.

Davey pondered what possible purpose it could serve, only to come to the most reasonable and simple conclusion: it ensured Tadia couldn’t reveal something.

"I suppose now we’ll have to wake her up," Davey said firmly.

"W-Wake her up?!"

"Normally, I’d leave someone who’s been through mental troubles alone to recover at their own pace," Davey muttered, placing his hand gently on her forehead. "But that’s not an option anymore."

[9th Circle Dark Magic]

[Absolute Control]

The spell took effect, forcibly driving deep into her subconscious to awaken the part of her mind that had retreated into slumber. This spell wasn’t easy to perform, nor did it come without significant strain on the recipient, but he had no other choice.

Fwoosh!

Dark energy surged into her body, momentarily swirling before retreating back into his hand.

Then, suddenly—

"Gah!"

Tadia jolted awake, her eyes instantly opening as she shot upright and violently coughed.

The medical staff were dumbfounded to see Tadia miraculously conscious.

Conventional medicine couldn’t save her—they were sure of that much. Even the best priests had declared that her symptoms, including an unresponsive consciousness, were beyond their ability to cure. Even so, Davey had somehow managed to awaken her.

"As expected of... Saint..."

"Incredible..."

Ignoring their whispers, Davey focused solely on Tadia.

"Tadia."

"Y-Your Highness...?" she stammered.

"Are you in any pain?"

"N-No... I don’t think so," Tadia replied, her expression still dazed.

Satisfied, Davey glanced at the others around the room.

"Could you give us a moment?"

"But, Your Highness—"

"There’s something urgent I need to discuss with this patient.”

The physicians exchanged hesitant glances but eventually relented, leaving Davey alone with Tadia in the quiet hospital room.

As soon as the door closed, he spoke bluntly.

"Who was it?"

"I’m sorry… Your Highness, but I don’t understand what you mean," Tadia mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

"Who pushed you to this point? Was it one of the noble students? Or was it a professor?"

As he mentioned the word professor, her eyes subtly flinched.

"Don’t bother trying to hide it. Just tell me.”

Tadia looked down at her trembling hands, eyes brimming with tears. Then, unable to hold it in any longer, she began to cry.

"Sob… Sob…”

"Tadia."

"It’s not fair... It’s just not fair, Your Highness!" she sobbed, clinging to Davey in desperation.

"Why?! Why does my being a commoner mean I have to be treated like this? Just because I’m a war orphan?! What did I do to deserve this? What’s the point of trying so hard when this is all I get?!"

His expression grew cold as he listened.

"Tell me everything.”

"They said they’d kill my siblings if I spoke up.”

"Kill them? Who said that?"

"..."

"It’s okay, you can tell me. I promise you that I’ll protect both you and your siblings from any harm.”

Tadia looked at Davey with tear-filled eyes.

"Do you really mean that?"

"Of course. Whoever’s been tormenting you, I’ll deal with them personally. You can trust me, alright?"

His reassuring smile seemed to help steady Tadia’s emotions. After a long pause, Tadia finally spoke.

"Professor… Professor Chonchi... and Professor Viche..."

Chonchi was a professor in the medical department, and Viche was a professor in the swordsmanship department.

"It’s because... I discovered the corruption that they’ve been hiding," she admitted with a trembling voice.

Davey’s lips curled into a cold smile.

As expected, humans remained indifferent to even the greatest problems in the world if those issues don’t directly affect them.

Ideals were never easy to achieve.

"And what corruption would that be?"

"Grade manipulation..."

ChubbyCheeks & FriedNook's Thoughts

Editorb’s Thoughts

Bro, all this setup of abhorrent corruption literally bad enough to lead students to suicide, and it’s simply changing grades? Also, where’s their Statistics teacher/dean? I’m pretty sure there are plenty of distribution tests to determine whether scores for an assignment are likely to have been artificially skewed. Especially when that teacher had already been effectively fired from their previous job for bribery. Do better, Heins Academy, smh

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