He had received several messages from Alice Zenovia. It had only been a little more than two days outside the Origin Expanse, yet Alice Zenovia acted as if the universe was about to collapse. And that was merely because he didn’t answer her ‘properly’ before.
[Alice Zenovia(fierce beauty): “–”…really?!?]
[Alice Zenovia(fierce beauty): How can you be so cold to me? I’m a kind-hearted woman, who is giving her utmost to support you, yet you’re acting like that?]
[Alice Zenovia(fierce beauty): I am disappointed in you!]
[Alice Zenovia(fierce beauty): Come on…just message me properly once you’re back…]
[Alice Zenovia(fierce beauty): As long as you agree to sit for the entrance exam of the Saphirelake Military Camp, I will forgive your insolent self! That’s how generous I am!!]
It was the first time Michael found the time to look at her messages. And he was surprised to have received so many from her. He had not expected Alice to be that affected by the response he had given before. In his opinion, his answer had been more than enough to show that he was alive.
‘Am I the first who was daring enough, to ignore her?’ Michael wondered after he re-read her message.
His frown turned into a faint smile while thinking about it, and he put the crystal watch’s screen aside while shaking his head lightly.
He couldn’t believe that Alice Zenovia was actually behaving like a spoiled brat merely because he didn’t answer her as enthusiastically as she had hoped.
It was quite fun.
“What’s wrong with your face?” Danny asked as he sat down with three plates and a bowl.
They were all filled to the brim, just like Michael’s plates.
“Why? Is it handsome?” Michael joked light-heartedly, feeling good.
Danny was about to take a bite of his food when he froze in his tracks. His expression turned sour, and he looked at his brother as if he had lost his sanity.
“…That was a joke…” Michael grumbled, which caused another change in Danny’s expression.
“You got a girlfriend?” He asked.
“Huh? No,” Michael responded with furrowed eyebrows.
He chose to change the topic because it looked like they weren’t going anywhere with this discussion. Furthermore, he didn’t really want to answer most of Danny’s questions. That would only make him worry too much about his little brother’s safety. Michael also thought about Alice Zenovia and the invitation she issued when they first met.
Danny took a bite from one of his plates while looking at his brother. He was thinking about something before he answered,
“Did someone tell you that you should apply? Did your school send you a notification about it?” He asked.
“A notification? Why would I receive a notification from school?” Michael responded in confusion. He was not sure what Danny was trying to imply.
“…Michael…you do know that you took your final exam the day before your War Rune manifested…right?” Danny followed up while staring at his brother as if he had grown another head.
Michael was already familiar with this expression, but he could only return a blank stare to his brother.
“You didn’t prepare yourself for the graduation ceremony?”
“Prepare what?”
At that point, Danny was certain that his brother was either an idiot or addicted to the Origin Expanse. Maybe, it was both!
“Wait! Do you even know the score of your final exam?” Danny asked sternly, just to see Michael shaking his head.
“I am probably somewhere in the top ten of my class. But it doesn’t really matter, does it?”
Danny could only sigh when he heard what his little brother said. He was about to open his mouth, but he was not too sure if it would be a waste of time and breath to mention this to Michael.
“So, you want to tell me that you came back to sell the goods of your territory, and purchase necessities for your territory, and not to purchase a new suit and prepare yourself for the graduation ceremony on the weekend?” He asked at last, even though he was pretty sure what Michael’s answer would be.
Michael nodded as an answer.
“I actually forgot that we have a graduation ceremony,” He mumbled before shaking his head, “That’s not important right now. Do you think I should join a military academy or not?!”
This time it was Danny’s turn to stare blankly at his brother. The graduation ceremony and the afterparty were considered one of the most important social events for graduates, yet Michael didn’t pay any attention to it.
‘Is it because he had no friends in school? I heard that Elite Schools make it hard for ordinary students, but Michael never complained about his school-life,’ Danny thought while pressing his lips together in a thin line. ‘Maybe, it is not that important for Michael to be present at the graduation ceremony. If he is on bad terms with his classmates, or he’s getting ignored altogether, it might be better for him to not go…’
Danny freed his mind after a while. He continued to eat, and thought of an answer to Michael’s question, rather than trying to convince him to be present at the graduation ceremony. Michael was very responsible, in the first place. He knew what to do, and what he shouldn’t do.
“I noticed that you didn’t apply for the Lord ID yet, so I guess you haven’t heard the news yet,” Danny explained slowly, “One of the Alliances affiliated with humans is on the verge of waging war with another extraterrestrial lifeform!”
Danny’s words crashed down on Michael like a tidal wave. Michael’s expression turned sour, but he continued to listen intently as Danny continued to explain.
“For now, everyone is preparing for the worst-case scenario while hoping for the best, but it looks like the situation is slowly turning worse. In a few years, at most, war will break out and the military will send out draft calls. That is something pretty much every Lord with the necessary access permission can tell.”
Danny took a few bites of his food to give Michael the necessary time to digest the shocking news. However, Michael opened the holographic screen of his crystal watch instead.
He used the Bartholomew Network to look up news about the war, only to figure out that most news articles and reports of the last few days were related to the ‘cold war’, the ‘next interstellar war’, and topics closely related to the conflicts between the extraterrestrial race and the Tritan Alliance.
Michael didn’t know much about the Tritan Alliance, but the summary was quite simple.
When mankind left the solar system, they encountered the Barbarians and Warlock Centaurs in the adjacent stellar system they’d traveled to. Mankind helped them solve their problems and create an alliance by causing a huge massacre.
Both the Barbarian race and the Warlock Centaurs were honorable warriors, who loved to clash with other races and fight. Mankind made sure that they became allies before using their military power to improve their influence.
That had worked out very well until today, but it looked like being in an alliance with war and violence-loving races came back to bite them at last. It didn’t seem easy to have war-loving companions.
“Many Lords, big families, and influential clans desire to send their children to military academies, and universities with military courses. They want to make sure that their children and disciples can accumulate military merits and form connections with high-ranked members of the military without being on the battlefield. That way, they can improve their military ranking quickly once everyone is drafted for war,” Danny said, summarizing the key points to his little brother.
He was not sure what Michael had seen online, but he was drained of all his color.
“So…”
“So, I think you should apply to a military academy. The person who told you to apply to one probably tried to help you out. I don’t know who that person is, but he – or she – should have seen some talent in you. Of course, you should stay vigilant because that person might try to lure you into their organization, or something like that, thinking that you are just an ordinary person that can be used as a replaceable extra or an experimental lamb,” Danny cautioned before he added another note,
“That doesn’t mean the person has to be bad. He or she could have good intentions. You will have to figure out their true intentions on your own.”
Michael couldn’t agree more. He had already suspected Alice Zenovia’s intentions, but he was not yet sure what she was trying to do. She told him to apply to the Saphirelake Military Academy in their first meeting itself. That was a little weird.
However, the recent messages affirmed that she was a straightforward person, who couldn’t hold back when she wanted to say something. Alice Zenovia didn’t seem like a dishonest person.
Even if she wanted to bait him, Michael was pretty sure that she wouldn’t turn him into a meatshield. Of course, he couldn’t be certain of that. It was just his gut feeling telling him that she did not mean any harm. He could be wrong.
“But I am not sure if you will get accepted into a military academy. It will be quite difficult because the acceptance threshold should be much higher than in the years before. Even if you get accepted, you will have to compete against prodigies who’ve trained meticulously since they started to walk and have years of teaching and lessons to back them.
It won’t be easy to procure resources, but if you can make it, you’ll be able to get your hands on treasures and resources that you would never be able to obtain otherwise. After all, the government showed its willingness to increase the funding for universities, and even more so Military Academies to prepare for war!”
Michael was a little dumbfounded after listening to his brother. He was not sure what to do right now, and he opened his chat with Alice Zenovia subconsciously to ask her a question.
However, he held back and didn’t hit the enter button. Michael deleted the message before he looked at his brother.
“I understand what you’re trying to say, but…why did you never apply to a university, or military academy then?”
**
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