“How could this happen?!”(Noble 1)

Right after the downfall of the Hoggs, the noble families in Akud came together for an emergency meeting to look for a way to mend their situation. Three of the most powerful noble families in Akud the Mists, the Bennets, and finally today the Hoggs have fallen at the hands of the town’s Lord. On the other hand, the last powerful noble family in Akud, the Mono Household is obsessed with that Law Enforcer Soma and has been ignoring everything else happening in the town including what happened to the Mists, the Bennets, and the Hoggs. The Monos have refused to participate in anything the other noble families do until they restore their scarred honor which means that they have been ignoring all of the meetings between the noble families up till now including today’s one.

“All of those Glorious Nobles were arrested or killed after being found guilty of crimes? How can that be?! They are Glorious Nobles for fuck’s sake! What crimes?! No matter what they do, Glorious Nobles are above the laws and rules put in place to bind the commoners! What is that Lord thinking?!”(Noble 1)

“…Perhaps our approach to this matter was a mistake from the beginning?”(Noble 2)

“What do you mean? Pray tell”(Noble 3)

“Our job here in Akud is to take control of the rich mines here in Akud and to send everything mined there directly to Vitos. And then once the church in the capital takes control of the government, we will be given the lion’s share of this town, right?”(Noble 2)

“That’s right, and that’s why we had the powerful noble households take control of the hunting grounds and some of the farms, so they attract the attention of everyone in the town. While we, the less-powerful and less-noticeable noble households take control of the mines without anyone noticing. That’s the plan that Cardinal-dono asked us to follow”(Noble 3)

“Right, but we are forgetting an important point here”(Noble 2)

“And that is?”(Noble 3)

“Akud is an independent town with the weight of its Lord’s words being heavier than the words of the king himself. Moreover, Akud doesn’t have nobles nor any regard for them. We ourselves were allowed to hold on to our noble status thanks to the words of the previous Lord who was on board with the church’s plans. But after he died and Leona took his place, that all changed, and that’s why we had to stop her from getting in our way by holding the people’s lives hostage. But the Mists, the Bennets, and the Hoggs kept pushing her buttons thinking that she will have no way of retaliation which led to their downfall which brought us to this situation. Don’t you see it? If only they kept themselves under her radar we would have taken control of the whole town”(Noble 2)

“…”(Noble 3)

“What are talking about?! Are saying that WE the Glorious Nobles should have constrained ourselves by the laws of those commoners?! Have you no pride?!”(Noble 1)

“…But on the other side of the coin, if they had held themselves back we wouldn’t be in this situation now. All they did was run after their own personal gains regardless of how Leona could have reacted. If only the Mists stopped their slavery until we achieve our goals, they would still be here among us today, and the same could be said about the Bennets. And if only that spoiled brat Mira didn’t become a student in the Academy, the Hoggs would have been here with us. Mira Hoggs didn’t only become a student, but she started causing all kinds of troubles, so her mother would cover them up and then rub the whole thing in Leona’s face. And the same could be said about the Monos, but look… they are still refusing to hear us out and are head pent on picking a fight with that Law Enforcer Soma, and I don’t need to remind you that he is the solution to all of Leona’s problems. We tried to eliminate him using dozens of men, but he annihilated them all, and now the Monos are intending to eliminate him using one useless brat and a delusional ex-knight. All I can see is a group of moths racing towards an open flame enchanted by its light”(Noble 3)

“…K-Keh!”(Noble 1)

“I don’t like it, but it’s as he said…”(Noble 2)

“…Then what should we do now?”(Noble 1)

“Our only option is to stay under the radar for as long as possible, and we have to completely cut our connection with the mines”(Noble 2)

“I understand staying under the radar, but why cut our connection with the mines? Our men are still in there, you know”(Noble 1)

“At this point, staying under the radar can be considered late, and since three noble families have fallen already, Leona is bound to start to suspect us and launch an investigation against us. If we don’t cut our connection to the mines she is going to find out about it ruining everything for us”(Noble 2)

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Dealing with the Hoggs Household took Leona, Dalis, Milin, and Soma until it was already afternoon. That’s why Soma’s class was pushed back till the afternoon.

“Today I’m going to teach you about Physical Enhancement! You can train Physical Enhancement alongside Body Reinforcement! Body Reinforcement can be achieved by moving your mana in circles all over your body and up till now, you have been doing it by sending equal amounts of mana to all of your body parts. But for Physical Enhancement, you’ll have to start sending more mana to the body parts you are going to be using. For example, you want to throw a punch with your Physical Enhancement on. To do that you’ll need to send more mana to your feet, legs, back, arm, and fist. To throw a punch with your Physical Enhancement on, you’ll need to send more mana to all the body parts-muscles and bones- that are involved in the action of throwing a punch, and you can determine those parts yourselves by a repeated trial and error. Physical Enhancement is used to increase the power of your physical abilities using your own mana, and that includes your five senses. For you the students of the Actual Combat Class, you’ll be training your Physical Enhancement alongside Body Reinforcement as in doing both of them at the same time. You’ll be moving your mana in circles all around your bodies while you send more mana to some of your body parts, and you’ll be doing it as we do a slow hand-to-hand combat training. You each have to make choose a partner and do as Marina and I do. Use your Mana Perception Skill to sense the mana moving in our bodies and once you grasp how to do it, move to trying doing it yourselves”(Soma)

Soma faced Marina took a punching stance and moved his fist as if to punch Marina but at a really slow speed. From the perspective of the students using Mana Perception, they could feel Soma’s mana move in circles all over his body but with more mana being sent to his feet, legs, back, arm, and then fist. Facing him, Marina pent one of her knees and strained her other leg against the ground backward, and crossed her forearms to block the punch coming her way. And once again from the perspective of the students using Mana Perception, they could feel Marina’s mana moving in circles all over her body with her feet, legs, back, neck, head, and then arms having more mana than her other body parts. Moreover, even though Marina is sending more mana to more body parts than Soma, the overall amount of mana being sent to Marina’s body parts used to block is exactly the same as the amount Soma is sending to his body parts used to punch.

Soma’s fist connected with Marina’s crossed arms causing a muffled sound to come out from the contact point. Right after that Marina took the action of punching Soma, and Soma took the action of parrying Marina’s punch instead of blocking it. They kept doing it slightly changing their stances and actions every time, and they were also changing the amount of mana and the body parts the mana is being sent to. They punched, kicked, blocked, and parried all in slow motion, so the students would understand what they have to do. After some time, the students faced each other one-on-one and started imitating Soma and Marina, and on the other hand, Soma and Marina kept doing it to give the students a point of reference in case they made a mistake, and this was also the perfect chance for Marina to train herself.