My System Just Exploded, And You Ask Me to Become a God?-Chapter 26 --Highway Robbery

Joad looked at the unfamiliar man in front of him, only to find the man staring right back.

"You're Student Joad, correct?"

"That's me. And you are?"

A flicker of doubt crossed Joad's eyes.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Bruce, from the Pyrothian Kingdom. I came to Ilan Royal Academy specifically to apologize for what happened earlier."

Bruce's attitude was surprisingly courteous, which caught Joad completely off guard.

Given the previous chaos, Joad had expected the Pyrothian Kingdom to send troops, not apologies.

Bruce quickly continued, explaining:

"Previously, our people from the Pyrothian Kingdom acted without proper manners and nearly caused you harm. We deeply regret that."

Joad nodded and looked at Bruce.

The two locked eyes for a moment before Joad couldn't hold it in anymore and asked:

"So... you're just here to apologize?"

Standing to the side, Bachelor Geoffrey couldn't help but smile.

Of all the people to mess with, they just had to choose Joad. Satisfying this kid was no easy task!

Bruce caught on immediately and took out a storage pouch.

"This is our compensation from the Pyrothian Kingdom. Please accept it, Student Joad."

Joad smiled as he received the pouch, but upon checking its contents, his smile vanished instantly.

"Only two thousand mana stones?"

"Hm?"

Bruce paused, frowning slightly.

What did he mean by only?

Two thousand mana stones wasn't a small amount, was it?

Given Joad's status as a regular student, this compensation could've saved him twenty years of struggle! How could he not be satisfied?

"Student Joad, are you saying our compensation is... insufficient?"

Joad was speechless. Was this some kind of handout for beggars?

He had nearly died in the ancient ruins, and his life was only worth two thousand mana stones?

"Well... it's not that I think it's too little, but Edward didn't just harm me—my junior also suffered. So, you see..."

He definitely thought it was too little.

Geoffrey screamed internally but remained expressionless.

The Pyrothian Kingdom had been the one bullying others to begin with!

Ivy stood there in complete confusion, having no idea what was going on.

Bruce finally understood and added another thousand mana stones.

"Please accept this as well, Student Joad."

Joad frowned slightly. Was the Pyrothian Kingdom really this stingy?

He had clearly overestimated them.

Still, if he demanded too much, he'd look greedy.

So he waved it off and said casually,

"Fine. Let's leave it at that."

Bachelor Geoffrey chuckled inwardly. The kid just scored three thousand mana stones and still wanted more?

Bruce nodded. "Since the matter's been settled, we can—"

"There's one more thing!"

Joad suddenly raised his hand, looking slightly conflicted.

Lena, standing nearby, quickly spoke up:

"Joad, if there's anything else, just say it. I'll make sure you get properly compensated today. You didn't go through all that suffering for nothing."

Her face was full of anger, and she shot Bruce a fierce glare.

What was even more surprising was how respectful Bruce was toward her, even adopting a submissive stance.

Joad saw this and said immediately:

"Although we weren't severely injured, surviving the ancient ruins cost us greatly. Some of our items were damaged—shouldn't those be compensated too? Pyrothian Kingdom is wealthy. This may be nothing to you, but to us, it was a major loss."

"That's only fair."

Bruce nodded. Joad did have a point.

The ancient ruins' upheaval was no small matter. Survival likely required powerful protective measures.

Joad nodded back and continued:

"First off, my storage pouch. It held a lower-tier formal-grade magical artifact. Don't give me that look—it was a gift from my father. We at House Whide do have some savings. Also, my brother Harvey gave me five thousand mana stones, and I had two thousand bottles of anti-magic potions..."

At first, Bruce didn't think much of it.

But as Joad went on, his demands became increasingly outrageous, and Bruce felt numb.

Seriously? An apprentice mage walking around with this much treasure?

Bachelor Geoffrey, who had predicted the start of all this, had clearly underestimated Joad's greed.

Still...

House Whide was indeed in a unique position, especially with the Marquis currently missing.

By Joad's estimates, the total losses came to at least ten thousand mana stones!

Bruce was stunned. He thought the matter had been settled.

But Joad then glanced at Ivy and added:

"And then there's my Ivy. She's the heiress of House Rima. Her belongings are worth far more than mine. So how about this—just thirty thousand mana stones. We'll forget the rest."

???

Bruce was stunned speechless.

Wait, was this... actually happening?

Bachelor Geoffrey nearly spat out blood.

That was basically the entire annual budget of Ilan Royal Academy!

This kid was clearly extorting them!

Bruce opened his mouth several times but couldn't find a way to argue back.

After all, House Whide was indeed special, and Ivy was House Rima's heiress.

Logically speaking, Joad's claims weren't baseless.

And in the chaos of the ancient ruins, it was true that surviving would've required considerable resources.

Still... Bruce couldn't shake the feeling he was being scammed—but he had no evidence.

Everything sounded perfectly reasonable... and yet it wasn't.

Joad finished and looked at Bruce with a friendly smile.

Lena, seeing Bruce hesitate, frowned and snapped,

"Joad's been through so much, lost everything he had, and you're not going to compensate him? Then I'll report this to the professor myself!"

Bruce nearly fell over in fright.

"Vice Instructor Lena, please don't be upset! No need to trouble Duke Blazefury—I can handle this!"

Vice instructor? Duke Blazefury??

Joad froze.

Wait—what was going on with Lena? Did she have some hidden identity?

While he was still processing, a storage pouch was thrust into his hands.

Bruce turned and swiftly left, using an elite mage's rapid levitation spell.

He didn't dare stay a second longer, terrified that Joad might open his mouth again with more claims.

Lena stepped up to Joad and said seriously,

"Joad, if that's not enough mana stones, just wait a bit—I'll bring you more later."

Joad was stunned, nodding in a daze as he watched them leave.

"You little rascal, you're ruthless!"

Grand Scholar Geoffrey glared at Joad, jealousy written all over his face.

Even he, a grand scholar, was shaken by the sheer amount of mana stones involved.

Joad blinked and asked in confusion,

"Grand Scholar Geoffrey, just now... what's with that 'vice instructor' title?"

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Bachelor Geoffrey paused, then replied seriously:

"There's something you might not know—Lena's been taken under the wing of Duke Blazefury from the Pyrothian Kingdom."

"What? Duke Blazefury took a liking to a young girl? Lena's still a kid! That Duke—"

"Stop! Stop right there!"

Grand Scholar Geoffrey was completely speechless.

What the hell was this kid thinking?

How could he come up with this kind of nonsense?

"I'll have you know—Duke Blazefury is a woman. A woman. Got it?"

"Ohhh!"

Joad scratched the back of his head, then asked again:

"So what now?"

Bachelor Geoffrey sighed.

"That Peter fellow from before? He was sent by the Pyrothian Kingdom to escort Lena."

"But as you've seen, things didn't go as planned. And Bruce—he's one of Duke Blazefury's subordinates."

"I see!"

Joad nodded, finally understanding.

"I was worried that girl might be headed down the wrong path!"

"What is wrong with you?!"

Bachelor Geoffrey shot him a glare and continued:

"The Pyrothian Kingdom is leagues ahead of the Ilan Principality in power."

"Thanks to Lena, our principality could gain prestige and benefits we never imagined."

"So... are you saying we'll soon be able to walk sideways wherever we go?"