Arc 1 P3

"What the hell is the headmaster thinking?! OW!" Antonolov almost burned his hand as he tried getting a beaker he just took out from the flame. As things turned out, he's not in the mood for coffee anyway.

"That just stresses out the urgency of the situation."

"Urgency? You mean to cause confusion?" The old professor dropped a sugar cube into his hot beaker and the took a sip. "Fifty thousand years later and we're still stuck in the same cycle."

"I'll talk to the headmaster," Wilhelm looked at Valerie left in the dust of the turn of conversation. However, he said nothing and turned to leave.

"I'll come with!" She politely excused herself and followed Wilhelm.

***

The Academy was the only prestigious school of the elite in the city. Training five thousand future protectors of the city, the school taught a wide variety of fields which could be categorized into three topics.

First was culture. These were any study, be it art or sciences, that focused on creating and restoring the legacies of the city for the next fifty thousand years. Painters, musicians, actors, art restorers, all and more of the related departments saw moderate interest.

Next was advancement. This field, while always lowest of the three in terms of enrollees, was perhaps the most vital of them all. Specializing in practices that'd help further ensure the city's survival, they were responsible for the city's backbone. Chemists, physicists, nutritionists, surgeons, any job that contributed to further and ensure humanity's survival was taught here.

Last, but not the least was order. And this was exactly the concerns of the people present at the headmaster's quarters.

"It is as you've said, Professor Rañez," headmaster Park Ju-won said, eyeing Wilhelm then Valerie. "It's precisely because these children will take the reins from us and ensure the city lived on for the next hundred thousand years that we needed to be transparent with them. Am I correct Miss," he opened his holographic terminal and searched for the name of the other female student present. "Miss Trasdiva. You're filling in for the student council president today also?"

The prim and proper-looking girl, someone Valerie knew, nodded. "Yes, headmaster."

The man nodded a few times. "I can understand artists needed some off time but he must remember to uphold his duties."

"I'll be sure to pass your message, headmaster."

"But sir," Wilhelm said. "The announcement included all students. If only those in the order specialization courses were notified then I'd understand, but…"

"It was General Chen Jiyan's proposal, you know?"

The surprise from the three was expected. The highest ranking officer of the military allowing all Academy students access to their database was unthinkable. There'd be a serious data leak which could jeopardize military operations.

"I think," student council representative Trasdiva stepped forward. "I think we should trust the general's and in turn the headmaster's decision."

"Kaya…"

Personally, Valerie could see their reasoning, however, she didn't fully support the idea herself. While the military and the headmaster had some sort of grand, super advanced plan in play, they could've at picked some other method other than exposing classified information to the general populace. Even if the access was only limited to students, it won't take long for an outsider to exploit a loophole.

Her wrist band notified her of a call so she left Wilhelm and Kaya. If she were to choose, she'd side with the professor… and not because of a biased perception. Admiration and rumination were separate things.

She made the answer gesture and the person on the other side of the line immediately spoke.

"Val, are you still at school?"

"No—I mean, yes… father."

The audio indicated her father was moving. A rustling of cloth followed. "Ah, it's morning already. Good. I'm just calling to check up on you. I've been so busy I haven't seen you or your mother. Is the new cook up to your liking? That tainted could've been a student in the Academy if not for his lineage. You know I…"

Valerie quietly listened to the rambling on the other side of the line. Her father was very talkative, perhaps too talkative due to his line of work. A politician's best weapon and armor is his tongue. Intelligence came second. Her father mastered the art of prattling on and on, especially on certain occasions.

"Oh, dear. Look at me, making you endure an old man's ramblings, haha. Tell me about your day, Val. Anything interesting happened lately? I heard the son of the Carussos seemed to have turned to truancy. Is that true?"

Valerie's lips curved into a smile. However, her smile didn't reach her eyes. Those blue irises she inherited from her father saw nothing but coldness. She didn't need to have synesthesia to learn that. After all, she's—

Valerie Neue.

"I've heard that too. Anyway, there's something that happened just earlier. It's actually quite worrying."

"Oh? Do tell."

Tell? You tell me. You already know.

She told him about the headmaster's announcement and how the military was behind it. She also said that the student forum was full of questions about the weird decision.

"Father, can I ask you something?" Valerie said, not expecting she'd get anything out of it but instead just to sound concerned. "What's happening to the city?"

"Now, now. There's nothing happening, dear. It might imply there is, but if it came from General Jiyan as you've said, then maybe he's just testing how you students would react. Think of it as a drill of sorts."

After a couple more pleasantries, the call ended. Valerie heaved a huge sigh and slumped to the floor, hugging her knees tight. Another day survived.

Minutes later, a message about something his father 'forgot' to tell her arrived. As expected, she thought. He's one of the first ones to exploit the information breach. It's about the child of another politician who's suspected to have become tainted.