After the contract had been signed, William took everyone that was part of his Team inside the conference room that was under the Head Prefect's management. As the leader of a newly formed organization, there were some important things that he needed to discuss with them.
"I'm sure that most of you are curious as to why I decided to form an organization within the academy," William said. "Unfortunately, I can't tell you the details yet because it is something that concerns the Kingdom's security."
The expressions of the students suddenly became serious as they listened to William's explanation.
"All I can tell you is that I intend to create an elite unit that will be able to cope with any kind of situation, regardless of what it is," William explained. "Of course, in order to make that happen, each and every member must reach a certain level of proficiency and perfect their teamwork.
"There's also the problem of the weapons and equipment that you will use whenever we go out on missions. All of this requires money and resources and, to be perfectly honest, I don't have these resources."
Spencer coughed lightly when William came out clean. He had already known that the Ainsworths were not that well-off when it came to money. Even their main residence in Lont couldn't compare to what they had in their Duchy.
"Sir William, you already know that making an organization requires funding," Priscilla commented. "If you don't have the resources then why make one in the first place?"
"That's because, I am confident that we can make things work out if all of us work together." William grinned. Although he didn't have money and resources right now, there were many ways to get them.
As someone that had accompanied Ezio for half a year wandering the Hellan Kingdom, William had seen the darkness and filth of humanity. He planned to use his knowledge in order to gain the funds needed for his private army.
"First things first, I want all of you to have a mount," William continued his explanation. "This way, we can travel anywhere in a moment's notice."
"What would you guys like to have as a mount? At the very least, the mount should be a Class C Beast." The red-headed boy ignored his officers and stared at the regular students in his organization. "If you have any recommendations, feel free to tell me."
"M-Mount?" one of the students' eyes widened in surprise. "You're going to give us mounts? For free?"
The one who spoke was a commoner and he was eighteen years old when he passed the entrance exam. He followed William because he felt that he had nothing to lose by becoming his direct subordinate. Never in his dreams did he think that the first thing that his Head Prefect would ask was what kind of mount they wanted.
"For free? Yes." William nodded. "However, whether you can tame them or not will depend on your ability."
William glanced at his officers with a grin. "I know that all of you are very capable, and you can secure a mount of your own. However, if you need help in acquiring one, just tell me, maybe I can help. Just take note that the limit is a Class C Beast. It can't go higher than that."
The students got really excited and started to discuss what kind of Beast would be ideal for them.
William watched this scene as he sat leisurely in his chair. What he didn't know was that inside the Dean's Office, Simon, the current Dean of the Hellan Academy was rubbing his temples due to the letter that had just arrived a few minutes ago.
Noah had informed Simon that the Kingdom was about to recognize a new Knight Order that would be called the "Angorian War Sovereign", or AWS for short.
He was tasked to prepare for a short ceremony within the academy grounds for this new order to be recognized by the entire student body.
"Celine, your disciple will be the death of me," Simon sighed as he put the letter aside and looked at the ceiling. "Just what in the world is happening?"
This was the first time that a First Year Student would become the head of an organization that would be given the same rank as the Knight Order of the Hellan Kingdom. This was not a simple thing to do because this would basically give William the rank of a General in times of War.
Simon couldn't think of a single reason as to why the King would do something like this. If not for the fact that the letter was delivered with the King's official seal, he would have thought that this was just a prank made by the red-headed boy.
The Dean of the Academy rubbed his tired eyes as he stood from his seat. He had to obey the king's wishes and discuss it with the staff. Simon also wanted to have a private talk with William to ask him why something like this was approved.
-----
Est hastily left the Magic Class Division along with Ian and Isaac after reading the King's letter. He couldn't believe that the shepherd he knew would do something like this. William had just left Lont for a week and when he came back, he became the leader of a new Knight Order?
This was something unheard of!
The reason why he rushed to the Martial Class Division was to confirm whether this news was true or not. Depending on its credibility, he might need to change his plans when it came to interacting with the boy who seemed to be hell bent on forming his own private army.
Unfortunately, when he arrived at the Martial Division, he was barred from entering. The guards said that the Head Prefect had ordered them to not allow anyone aside from the Martial Division to enter the premises, because he was going to discuss something important with the First Year students.
Because of this, Est had no choice but to return empty handed, and wait for the boy to come and find them after the meeting was done.
----
William sat comfortably on his chair, not knowing that he had alarmed many influential people in the capital.
Currently, the students were discussing the kind of Mount that they wanted. The commoners were very excited, and it affected the mood of the lesser nobles as well. All of them agreed that the mount should be fast, and must be able to fly as well. This way, it would give them plenty of leeway to travel on both air and land.
"A creature that can travel on both air and land sounds good." William nodded his head in agreement. The only creature he had encountered that was capable of doing those feats was the Winged Black Panther that attacked him at the outskirts of the Strathmore Forest.
Although it would be a bit tricky to catch these creatures, it was not impossible. He already had someone that could help him do this in his mind, he just needed to find the opportunity to talk to that creature and make him agree to his request.
William subtly listened as the students mentioned beast names like Gryphons, Winged Tigers, Pegasus, and many more flying beasts.
The red-headed boy almost spat at them for trying to bite off more than they could chew.
Gryphons and Winged Tigers were Class B creatures. As for the Pegasus? They were Class A Beasts that only allowed a select few to mount them. They were known to attack those who trespassed on their territory and were very aggressive creatures.
Fortunately, Priscillla stepped up and woke them up from their daydreams. In the end, she gave one recommendation and William thought that it was a very good choice.
"We should go with Hippogriff," Priscilla proposed. "They are easier to tame and less aggressive than the Gryphons. Also, they become loyal mounts once you properly train them. They are the mainstay of the Kingdom of Freesia's Air Cavaliers.
The students unanimously agreed with Priscilla's proposal and looked at William in anticipation.
"Very well." William nodded in acknowledgement. "Hippogriff it is. However, only those who will be able to complete the regular training will be given the right to have one. You must show me that you are worthy to own a Hippogriff."
The students cheered in happiness and left the room with big smiles on their faces. Only the officers, Kenneth, Priscilla, Spencer, Drake, Conrad, and Dave, were left with William. The hippogriffs were only for the regular students, but the leaders were different. They had to stand out from the rest in order to lead their subordinates effectively in the roles that they were meant to play.
"Who among you doesn't have a mount?" William inquired. "Speak now, or forever hold your tongue."
Conrad and Dave raised their hands. Although Conrad was a noble, he was the third son in a family of Marquese. He wasn't highly favored in his family which was why he decided to enroll at the academy in order to grasp his own fate.
He didn't amount to much because he was surrounded by very capable individuals, namely Priscilla, Spencer, and Drake. However, even though these teenagers were stronger than him, he was stronger than them in one aspect and that was socializing.
Because of this, he was able to form a circle of friends who had very high potential, just like Dave who became an officer before him.
Dave on the other hand was just a commoner that came from the South of the Hellan Kingdom. After successfully enrolling in the academy, he hoped to be under a nobleman's wing. This way, he would be able to live a better and comfortable life.
Aside from these two, none of the other officers raised their hands.
It meant that they already had a mount of their own and didn't need William to provide one for them.