Chapter 8: The Privilege of The Powerful
That evening, Dora's family celebrated the announcement of his acceptance by gathering for a party with his mother, sister, Hope, Elizabeth, and, regrettably, Albert who showed no hesitation in joining them, leading Dora to harass him.
"It's a private party, can you go?"
"Sh-shut up! I'm only here to keep an eye on you."
"You just want to eat for free, beggar."
"Oh, you... Your mother's beautiful son."
"... Yes, you ugly women't."
The gathering was brimming with such instances, following the examination Dora was assured of being an esteemed student of the academy, while Albert endured the consequences of being a boot licker.
Dora's mother and Wendy erupted in cheers, though not openly surprised, she uttered, "Your acceptance was just a formality, I never questioned it." What a lovely remark from a mother, albeit burdening him with the expectation of giving his utmost effort. On the other hand, Hope appeared perturbed while conversing with her sister.
"Just once more, please, I'm strong enough to assimilate it."
"Hope, the problem is not if you can or not assimilate it, the problem is that if you wish to become a top Emissary you can't rely on me for gathering soul stones at your place."
"Just one last for the academy, just to make it fair, I'll do the rest myself."
"... Now you're disappointing me, I gave you Hero Time as a last reward for your hard work, what's happened to your will to fight? You call it unfair because Dora and Cid have trained more than you?"
"... No, I've trained more than anyone in this village. If you spent more time around you'd see it... But for once you're here you stick to someone else. Forget what I asked."
Following her battle with Barron, Dora's triumph left Hope grappling with internal turmoil. On one hand, Barron had showcased abilities that far surpassed his own, leaving him feeling genuinely inadequate for the first time.
It was a bitter pill to swallow, knowing that on the other hand, his rival was on the verge of defeating Barron effortlessly. This realization erected an insurmountable wall before Hope, fueling his impatience to overcome it. In his final sentence, there seemed to be an underlying secret concealed within.
"Hope, you know that I am the captain of the royal guards, as such, it's impossible for me to be here every day, or weeks, or even months, I have to fight for the people, and in return, I cannot pass a lot of family time, you should understand it."
"I'm not crying over it, I'll beat you one day anyway, so you'll be the one waiting."
"And I'll be more than happy if you do it, and that's why you really should stay closer to Dora, he'll be more useful than any E-rank group once he takes this seriously.
"Here, do you still have to talk about him every day? He's my friend but you're my…Never mind! I shouldn't be surprised!"
As he began to stroll away, Elizabeth attempted to trail behind him, but her pursuit was abruptly halted by an unexpected call.
"Hey, Liza, I want a private talk about something important."
She turned toward Dora a little worried.
"Eh... Is this urgent?"
"Since I have to leave tomorrow, yeah."
"Huh, oh, so maybe a little later?"
"... I'd prefer now since you're still sober, my decision to join the academy depends on it."
"S-sober?! You little... Hope, could you...Um...Oh Dora, does this have to be in private?"
Hope gave them a strange gaze and turned his back.
"Leave me out of it, Your favorite person is asking for a date, you shouldn't refuse."
He left the place grumbling, Elizabeth tried to hold him back in vain but the young man was already far away, Dora watched the scene carefully with a frown.
"Um, is this a bad time to say my request is a bit illegal?"
"...It's okay, I'll talk to him later, what do you want to ask?"
"Not here, come with me."
As they made their way down the hallway, they finally reached his bedroom. When Dora turned the doorknob, Elizabeth couldn't help but be taken aback by what she saw. His room was nothing like the rest of the house. It boasted a grand, opulent bed, a cozy sofa, an elegant tea service, and most notably, a peculiar clock hanging from the ceiling.
"What... What is this place?" She asked dumbfounded "It wasn't like that yesterday."
"... So you did come to my room... this place is one of my techniques, a room in another dimension that only I can open, time passes more slowly here too so we will have plenty of time to chat."
He sat down in an armchair and she did the same, her eyes wandering around the room that looked like a royal bedroom.
"SO? What exactly do you want? You said it was illegal."
"Not something impossible for the Captain of the Holy Royal Knights to do. Firstly, as someone you think has great potential for the future, I want to have a royal scholarship."
"A... A royal scholarship?"
"Yes, I did my research and found out that for special students recommended by the kingdom, the academy will offer a scholarship, so I want that one."
"Y-Yes, but it's the scholarship for students from the noble caste! For normal people it's the excellence scholarship, that's the one you can access!"
"Yes, and that's why I need you, the one who can force the Kingdom to build a guard post for her village, to use the same authority to make the wonderful Avatar, who can use every type of branch, feel at home at the academy."
"... Every? Are you really serious... No, wait! What you're asking concerns the order of the crown, you will alienate a lot of people if you get what you ask for."
"Ah? How sad, guess my career as a professional peasant can keep going."
"My, my, MY! Why are you so complicated? Didn't you promise to your mom?!"
"Yeah but who knows if I will succeed? Suddenly I feel so unworthy of studying at the academy, guess I'll just chill forever."
"..... Now you'll really be the one owning me something, do you think it's fair for the others?"
"I don't know, I feel like Hope getting a cheat stone without trying... sounds familiar?"
Elizabeth was at a loss for words as Dora had backed her into a corner. She knew that even a commoner could earn a scholarship, but the high cost of living in the capital made it difficult to make ends meet with just the excellence scholarship. If he was expected to give his life for the kingdom, then the kingdom should be willing to make sacrifices as well, this was one of his driving forces.
"I expected you to be a glorious warrior, not a kid blinded by money."
"That sounds a lot like a 'you' problem. So? My lady? Do we have a deal? Are you gonna make me a spoiled brat?"
"Fine then, you'll get it... Do you also want me to be your Sugar mommy as a bonus? Filthy gigolo."
"Oh, that won't be necessary, only if your brother beat me."
"Good, but as a senior, I can confirm one thing to you: you, with this scholarship, will bring all the hatred in the world on yourself."
"Surprisingly, I feel like I've lived this all my life."
They clasped hands, finalizing their deal, Elizabeth unaware that she had unwittingly granted permission for a demon to unleash violence.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Yalatola
Yalatola Your words are my fuel. Give me more comments, and let me know you're here.
Final Arc Begins
Kalaharis arc is over and we are now entering the final volume
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone