Chapter 30: Emergency Signal to the Association
Sector 1, Tower of Guide and Sentinel Association.
The Association’s central command occupied the tallest tower in Sector 1. Its glass walls hummed faintly with protective wards that kept the miasma from ever touching its halls.
Inside the monitoring division, alarms blared.
"Emergency signal from Imperial Star Academy, Resources Department!" a young operator called out, fingers flying across the holographic console. "Detected abnormal energy waves. Source confirmed to come from the Divine Tree branch."
A senior operator rushed over, scanning through the data readings that were reported from the academy.
"That’s not possible. The tree isn’t due for replenishment for another 3 weeks." He tapped the screen, pulling up the data that was recently made yesterday. It showed the energy stored at almost a quarter of its full amount.
However, the new readings they had just gotten were completely different. It showed a full energy restoration.
Seeing the bizarre data before him, he quickly reported it to the head of the association.
Inside an office on one of the top floors in the Association tower, a woman in a white cloak with the order of the association’s seal embroidered on her back entered.
"Master, there has been a new incident at the Academy."
"I’ve seen it," replied a man’s voice. Without turning around, he kept on, instructing her, "No need to send a team. I remember they requested a new combat instructor to the academy. We might as well have him look into it on his way. Saves us the trouble of sending a team."
"Will it be fine?" The woman asked with an unusual look in her eyes. "The Admiral seems to disapprove of your decision."
"Whether he approves it or not, he can’t disobey my order," the man laughed.
Not many people knew, but the appointed admiral of the Association was also his son. Lloyd, the Master of the Association, handed the matter of becoming a combat instructor to him to broaden his son’s view.
But the real reason behind his order was to allow his son to find a pair inside the school.
With thousands of students in the academy, surely there would be a guide who could match him perfectly, right?
The admiral in question had just finished his own debrief in another office. A file already stamped and approved by the Imperial Star Academy sat on top of his desk with the word ’Confidential’ marked on the top right.
***
Irene walked out of her classroom with her friends beside her, engaged in easy-going chatter. But Irene couldn’t register a word of what they were saying.
Her mind kept circling back to the same thing that had been bothering her.
Aisha.
The name alone could make her chest tighten with madness. Seeing her get out of the cafeteria without humiliating herself was frustrating. She should have been shamed until she couldn’t show her face to anyone. That was how it should’ve been. Aisha should’ve screamed and lashed out at Reign, giving her the perfect image of a disgraceful woman.
But none of that happened.
Not to mention her room being taken by Aisha because of a promise her mother couldn’t break.
Irene’s fingers curled at her sides. It unsettled her more than she wanted to admit.
She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she nearly walked past the school’s main entrance without noticing the commotion gathering near the front gates.
"Oh my gosh, is that—"
"It’s Prince Soren!"
Excited whispers were heard from the crowd of students near the entrance. A sleek black hover car was parked there, and beside it stood the prince dressed in a military uniform, his golden hair catching the light of the afternoon sun.
Several girls slowed their pace to steal a longer look, murmuring behind their hands. Even a few sentinels found their eyes following the prince.
"I didn’t see him at class today. It was because he was at the military headquarters!"
"So cool! He must be waiting for somebody."
"Is he really alone? What about the other two S-rank sentinels he’s always with?"
A school cannot be completed without untouchable figures—students who are so exceptional that everyone else could only admire them from afar.
At the Imperial Star Academy, they’re known as the Academy’s Elite Aces.
Soren Valerius was one of them. An S-rank sentinel born to the royal family. A real prince. He possessed both extraordinary talent and appearance that made him even more distinguished from ordinary students.
Together with the other four S-rank Sentinels, who are all from equally reputable and noble families, they stood as everyone’s object of admiration.
Not only that, but these five young sentinels have advanced to the premium classes where they can learn directly from military officials and participate in zone exploration.
"Irene!" One of her friends grabbed her arm. "Isn’t that the prince? What is he doing out the front gates? Is he waiting for someone?"
"He must be," the other girl chimed in. "It must be you, Irene! You’re so mean, you didn’t even tell us he came all this way just to escort you home."
Irene stared in surprise at the man standing in front of the gate. She hadn’t heard anything from him since last week. She even told him her schedule and sent him a couple of messages, but did not get a reply from him.
She thought it was strange. But when thinking about it, he had just joined a zone exploration, which he told her last time. He must have been too busy dealing with the contaminated zones and forgotten to reply to her.
Thinking like this, Irene’s cheeks flushed.
He must have been feeling remorseful and decided to surprise her instead.
Encouraged and unable to deny her friend’s words, Irene made her way toward him.
"Your Highness," she greeted him with a sweet smile.
"Oh, Irene!"
Soren blinked, surprise flicking across his face.
Because of this, Irene had a strange feeling that he wasn’t especially waiting for her.
"Are you waiting for someone, Your Highness?"
Soren did not respond for a second. Then, as if nothing was amiss, he smiled brightly at her and said, "You caught me. I was waiting for you."
It wasn’t a lie. He was waiting for someone, just not Irene. However, he couldn’t say the truth in front of her, not in front of everyone. Of course, since he was courting her, he was looking forward to seeing Irene again. He had already planned to call her to meet him at a restaurant he had reserved.
But for some strange and unknown reason, instead of going back to his residence and resting after just getting out of a contaminated zone, he came to wait outside the gate for someone else.
A flash of a woman sitting leisurely on the hospital bed appeared in his mind.
"Let’s go, Your Highness?"
Soren snapped out of his daze and turned to Irene, who was waiting for him to open his shuttle. Nodding his head, he perfectly displayed a gentlemanly manner of opening the door to his beloved and also entered it.
When the prince’s shuttle had just left, a few seconds later, Aisha came out of the gates with the three friends she had made that day.