Any two individuals, even twins, had differences.
Even if their physical resemblance was over 99%, their thoughts would diverge greatly.
Thus, monolithic organizations were only possible on paper.
Imperial Defense Academy wasn't monolithic. With its constituents, it was never destined to be.
Instead, a group of powerful factions backed by powerful forces led its operations.
These factions were composed of people nurtured by the said powers or those who sought refuge in them.
A faction was thus essentially a group of cadets brought together for mutual benefits. But there was a chain of command that must be followed.
Who led these factions?
Like the outside world, the inside of the institution also faced the influence of the Big two and small two.
Prime Families and Military were the big two. Trade Union and Adventure Guild were the small two.
Of course, Military Faction was always the strongest and the largest.
Second was the Prime Family's faction. But since a Prime Family's influence lasted only on their home planet, the Nial and Caron families didn't have much influence on Earth.
It was rather Xander faction headed by Charles Xander and backed by the rulers of Earth—Xander Family that rose in the past two years.
After its meteoric rise, it was almost as strong as the military faction.
Since the start of the year, there were many conflicts between the Military and Xander faction.
The latest one being in the Mission 'Purge'. They competed to destroy the highest number of hideouts.
It was a very close tie, but unfortunately, Xanders won.
It was a huge blow to the military faction.
They couldn't write it off as a one time thing. The future was looking even more bleak.
Xander faction was strengthened by the addition of Narcis Xander, a Level 4.
The worst part was that Ryan Albert, the grandson of Marshal, also joined Xander faction!
He was supposed to join the military faction, but for some 'friendship', he abandoned the military faction.
It wasn't that no one from military side joined Xanders before, but this was the grandson of a Sovereign!
The one who was potentially the leader of the Military Faction.
The next genius in line, Adir was from Caron Family. He was still at the peak of Level 3. He belonged to the Caron Family and wouldn't matter much in the larger scheme of things.
But the future seemed set.
Once Charles Xander and Williamson graduate, Sarah would emerge as the strongest in the academy.
Thus, Military Faction would be the undisputed first. For a year.
Xanders would be weakened for a year, but not too much. Adrian would advance to level 6 next year and would hold the Xander faction together.
Then came the worst.
When Sarah graduates, the military faction would have to face the combined wrath of Narcis and the idiot, Ryan.
Of course, open fighting wasn't encouraged. But what about duels?
If a faction's leaders were crushed in the duels, who would want to join the losers?
In fact, a faction simply needed to prevent members of the rival faction from completing the missions. That was enough to disintegrate a faction.
The reason no such thing happened until now was because of the balance between the factions.
The Military and Xander faction were locked in rivalry. The Adventurer faction sided with Military and Trade Union faction with Xander's.
But soon, the balance would break.
Military faction would lose its supremacy turning the academy into the backyard of Xanders.
One would expect the Dean to step in. But for some reason, he didn't seem to care at all!
In the most luxurious dorm of the academy, the Amethyst Community, the two vice heads of the Military Faction gathered.
In an exquisite room with white marble and rare paintings, they sat side by side on a couch as they did their favorite pass time.
Staring at the spirit garden in the backyard and cursing to vent work stress~
"I swear our academy has it the worst. Sarah is the strongest from our faction. But she doesn't even bother to participate in events most of the time." Mia grumbled with a grievance.
As the leader of Reapers in the Military Faction, everyone only saw her aloof appearance.
Except for the handsome man holding her hand.
He was her partner in both profession and life. Dhruv. Leader of Blue Dragons in Military Faction.
"I wonder what the people under you would think if they see you acting this way." Dhruv chuckled and scraped her nose gently.
"You know what? I'll ask that Varian to join us. Actually, why didn't he contact us already?" Mia swatted his hand and clutched her forehead.
"Maybe he thinks it is beneath him to ask by himself?" Dhruv guessed.
It was reasonable. After all, every cadet knew about the factions and their workings.
Every year, factions would recruit members a few days after tutors were selected.
So Varian should be fully aware of their existence. Or so they thought.
The problem was that back then, Seth didn't bother to tell Varian. So Varian didn't attend the faction selection and immersed himself in practice.
Heck, he didn't even know about the Sovereign Treasures until Richard introduced them.
But to them, it appeared as if he was expecting them to contact him. Beg him.
"Ai, this pride is too much." Dhruv sighed helplessly.
"I'd be surprised if he can be humble after reaching Level 5 in first semester." Mia looked at the garden with a complicated face.
"No...we're just half way through this sem. I remember you advanced to level 5 in what, third or fourth semester?" She glanced at him sideways and said.
Dhruv's face twitched as he looked at Mia's expressionless face. 'Are you praising him or mocking me or both?'
"And his master is the Sir Evander." When Mia said his name, her eyes were full of worship.
To many, Evander was a personal hero.
After losing his wife and son to Pluto War, he not only wasn't crushed, but forged himself to be a peak Level 9.
His exploits in the frontlines were legendary.
"If it's him, I think there must be a reason for choosing Varian. Maybe he has other difficulties for not contacting us." Dhruv changed his opinion.
"Either way, let's meet him. We can't let this faction decline. Since they're familiar with each other, let Sarah convince him. She's the head of the faction anyway." Mia's face showed resignation upon mentioning the "Head".
Unless it was important, Sarah didn't intervene in the faction matters. If not for them begging her to attend the faction choosing ceremony, they'd be branded as liars for using her name.
As they were about to contact Sarah, Mia's comm buzzed and she was informed of a guest who wanted to visit her.
She agreed immediately.
"Who is i—?" Dhruv couldn't help but ask.
"It's me." Richard Tylor entered the room and smiled lightly.
He was clad in black and white butler suit. With a kind smile on his wrinkled face, he looked like a normal butler.
'High awakener butler.' Dhruv sighed inwardly and greeted the old man.
After Mia served him a cup of tea, she cut to the chase.
"What brings you here, Grandpa Richard?" Mia asked in a cordial tone mixed with respect.
Richard was someone from Sovereign Albert's generation.
He was the butler of Evander and watched him grow up.
In the past, when Dhruv and Mia attended several high level gatherings of military families, they would often see Richard.
He'd attend the meeting in Evander's stead.
Their parents, Mid Generals and Level 9s, showed proper courtesy to him.
He was one of the honorary staff of the academy.
Calling him Grandpa meant they were qualified enough.
Richard was not a person who put on airs. He patted Mia and answered. "Master has an order regarding Young Master."
Dhruv and Mia's ears perked up.
'Sure enough. It must be Sir Evander asking Junior Varian to not join the factions until now. He was letting Xanders grow to blow them down with Varian's entrance. The time has come, right?' Dhruv couldn't stop grinning.
Richard said. "Fend off all unnecessary disturbances to Varian. Do not let Xander faction intervene with his practice, even at the expense of Military Faction."
His final words were uttered in the most solemn tone they ever heard.
"In short, support him with everything you can. Do not ask him to do anything for you."
Dhruv and Mia's faces stiffened. They looked at each other and saw the same feeling in other's eyes.
'This is too much. Even Sarah helped them out for joining the faction. She was his own daughter and he hadn't uttered a word. But this was his disciple and he was going so far?'
"B-but…" Dhruv stuttered.
"Grandpa Richard, you know how hard everyone in the faction worked to to reach this position, right? How should we answer them if they question us?" Mia gritted her teeth and asked.
Richard's eyes flashed and he thought back to the scene a few minutes ago.