Chapter 11 - Strength of the Rankers Part 1

[Time: Day of Departure]

The Alliance's warship arrived in the orbit of Planet Cerra Z1429:2.

The blue spaceship was so large that it was easily visible to the naked eye as it hovered directly above them. It was the first time Mersa had seen a ship of such magnitude, and she was totally hyped up.

An azure shuttle slowly descended to the surface, and as the doors opened, four people emerged. All the observing students gasped in admiration. Not only did Victor, of the Elf sub-race, come, but all three other White Wolves did too. Most likely, they had come out of curiosity about the famous White Wolf Princess.

Rankers were treated like celebrities, and among them, Victor was one of the most popular, even outside the Alliance. He had conquered many dangerous caves and, thanks to his immense efforts, the Kollos Alliance had repelled the last advance of the Crimson Empire. A war hero. What’s more, two years ago, he had become a 'C' Class Ranker, which further elevated his fame.

The four newcomers looked at the white-haired girl curiously. Hailed as the most gifted being in the universe, the wolf girl was sheepishly looking at those who stood at the pinnacle of power.

[Mistglan/Principal: It is time to go.]

Hearing his voice snapped Mersa back to reality, and she excitedly advanced towards the shuttle, with her two 'escorts' leisurely walking behind her.

[Vorst: Now that I think about it, is Principal-sensei coming along?]

A difficult expression appeared on the adult's face.

[Mistglan: Uh, yes. There are some complicated circumstances…]

[Vorst: I see. Women, huh.]

[Mistglan: Wh-wh?! No. You are mistaken. No way, not at all.]

[Vorst: Got it. *Eyes full of compassion*]

[Mistglan: Geh… *depressed* Now that I think about it, you don’t seem to be affected by all of this at all.]

[Vorst: Mental fortitude. Besides, no one is looking at me anyway.]

That was the truth. Everyone was only interested in the Rankers and Mersa. Not many even spared a glance at the Principal, let alone the 'powerless'. Marc shrugged, then he suddenly accelerated.

At that moment, as Mersa was climbing the stairs into the shuttle, one of the White Wolves (male) extended his hand towards the little girl. Marc's pupils contracted as a silent killing intent poured out. Silent killing intent, also known as 'hidden' killing intent, was a forte of assassins; it was incredibly difficult to master. But what was even more impressive was that the Rankers around the young Vorst couldn’t even sense it. Hiding his anger, a smile bloomed on the young man’s face.

[Vorst: Mer-chan~ Wait for me!]

Just as she was about to reach out her hand, she heard a voice calling out to her. As if a button was pressed, she immediately stopped and turned around. With a shining smile, she watched as a young male quickly approached. When he arrived, with a brilliant grin, he grasped her hand and they entered together.

The ex-principal shook his head as he observed the child's playful personality. Surely, after the black scorpion incident, Vorst had changed a lot. He was quite playful before, but now Vorst also had those strange outbursts of thoughtfulness. Near-death experiences changed people; he nodded with a knowing look as he entered after the children. Too bad he was mistaken.

The young-looking White Wolf frowned after the children passed him. What was that timing? The truth was that he was focused on courting the little girl, but the 'powerless' easily interfered with his plans. His name was Belien, an Upper Circle Tier in power. Handsome, talented, and powerful, he had already conquered the hearts of many women. This time, he intended to acquire his target. In his eyes, the young Mersa was a perfect candidate… but that 'powerless'…

***

[--Marc--: As suspected…]

The doors to his cabin opened despite being in the 'locked' state. Belien, being a White Wolf, had high security clearance and could enter nearly any place inside the ship.

[Belien: 'Powerless'.]

His voice was definitely pleasant to hear, but right now it had a cold edge to it.

[--Lily--: Marc, it's wise to keep a low profile right now.]

[--Calla--: Who cares? He doesn’t have friendly intentions either.]

[Vorst: Oh, Mr. Belien.]

There was no surprise on the child’s face; in fact, his expression remained unchanged as usual. Plus, there was no shift in his attitude despite the cold greeting from an elder. The White Wolf discarded that small detail, thinking that 'the child' was probably used to this treatment.

[Belien: 'Powerless', I will give you some advice. Stay away from the Princess if you know what’s good for you.]

Marc grinned widely inside. A threat, huh? Normally, he would annihilate anyone who dared to make such obvious threats, but right now he had to admit that his power was insufficient. Plus, killing him outright might affect Mersa in some way… He made a decision.

[--Marc--: Lily.]

[--Lily--: I hear and obey.]

Using his permission, the demoness took a bit of control over Vorst's body. Now it was time to show why, in the Floating Castle, she was hailed as the 'Master of Deception'.

Young Vorst tilted his head to the left with a confused look, perfectly embodying the image of someone who had no idea what was going on. With her 'Omen of Deceit,' Loki's acting skills were impeccable.

[Belien: Listen closely, just keep…]

Just as Belien was about to inject some bloodlust into his talk, he sensed someone approaching. Knocking could be heard on the other side of the door. The White Wolf threw an intimidating look at the young child, but Vorst, with a completely innocent expression, immediately opened his mouth.

[Vorst: Please enter.]

With that, the doors opened, and the former Principal of Heran's Combat School entered.

[Mistglan: Oh, isn’t it Belien? Am I interrupting something?]

[Belien: No, not at all. I was just giving young Vorst some pointers on training. I guess I’ll excuse myself.]

[--Marc--: Haha, pointers on training? Pffffffffff… *burst of laughter erupts*]

[Vorst: Hello, Principal-sensei.]

Mistglan shook his head as White Wolf left the room.

[Mistglan: Vorst, from now on call me Mistglan-sensei. And what did he talk about?]

The child in front of him only shook his head with innocent eyes.

[Vorst: No idea.]

[Mistglan: "What a big difference from this morning... I guess he is just a child, huh?" Well, I brought you cookies, but don’t eat too much before lunch, okay?]

[Vorst: Got it.]

The small boy answered with a regular, relaxed expression, his gaze fixed on the box that Mistglan placed on the table.

As Mistglan passed through the door, he swiped his card through the terminal. With this security in place, Belien wouldn’t be able to enter freely anymore. Ranker clearance was obviously higher than any Circle Tier. Mistglan’s senses were far superior to Belien’s, so he immediately sensed him entering Vorst’s room, which was how his timing was so perfect. What’s more, he had heard the entire conversation. But he had completely fallen for Loki’s act.

[Mistglan: "With how oblivious he is, my work will only increase…" *Sigh*]

***

[Mersa: Aaan~]

[Vorst: Aa… *nom nom nom*]

[Mistglan: ...]

[Mersa: Aaan~]

[Vorst: Aa… *nom nom nom*]

[Mistglan: … You guys…]

[Mersa: Aaan~~?]

[Vorst: Aa… *nom nom nom* Hmm?]

[Mistglan: You need to mind the surroundings! And Vorst, can’t you eat by yourself?!]

[Vorst: Hmm… That’s what Mistglan-sensei said. So, Mer-chan?]

[Mersa: No. *resolute voice* I’ll feed you. Aaan~]

[Vorst: *shrug* Aa… *nom nom nom*]

[Mistglan: *Sigh* "This is going to be a long journey…"]

Piercing glares were directed at the trio. Mersa didn’t notice anyone besides Vorst, and he completely ignored them, reinforcing Mistglan’s opinion of him as being oblivious to the situation he was in. Thus, in the end, only the ex-principal was affected by the crowd.